Love At Home

July

2010-08-02T01:40:00.000-04:00

Well, July has been an incredibly busy month also. It just seems like summer has blown by! Silly me, I took five classes this summer! Ugh!!! But, I'm all the closer to graduating. In the midst of all of my schoolwork, we've still been able to squeeze in some fun.

Fourth of July. We had no plans for the fourth, so we thought it would be fun to have a little get-together at our house. It was miserably hot, so the kids spent a considerable amount of time playing games on the Wii. When they weren't busy doing that, they had fun running each other over with the Power Wheels. Everyone brought yummy food, and we went to watch the fireworks when it got dark.

Joseph turns six!!! I can't believe how my baby has grown! He is turning into such a smart, handsome, polite little man. I just love him to pieces. This year he got to have his first party with friends. It was a Star Wars themed party, and the kids had a blast. Brad and I put a ton of work into the party, and it was worth it to see Joseph and his friends so happy. We had little missions for the kids - they got to blow up the Death Star (sidewalk chalk and water balloons), rescue Princess Leia (they had to pop balloons to find out which one she was in), shoot down bad guys (used a toy dart gun and cardboard cutouts), and fight R2-D2 gone bad (pinata and a dowel rod painted to look like a light saber). At the end of the party, all of the kids (Padawans) were rewarded with a certificate of completion, and their own lightsaber (colored bubble wands). All in all, it was a great day, and we were happy to share it with our friends and family.

Vacation. Brad and I took our first vacation EVER without kids! It was wonderful. I was a little nervous at first. But after four days of freedom, we came home feeling refreshed. The state paid for Brad to stay in a $200/night hotel room so that he could attend some teaching conferences. I tagged along and our nieces watched the kiddos for us. We only went to Morgantown, but it's far enough away that we can consider it vacation. And it was by far the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at. Even the continental breakfast was wonderful. We got to enjoy the beautiful scenery at Cooper's Rock, view some beautiful sunsets in the mountains, eat at some of our favorite Morgantown restaurants, and we saw some other sights that can only be seen in Morgantown...

The Mountaineer!!!

Our favorite pizza, from Casa D'Amici.

And, it's not likely you'll see this many other places...

...That's right. Filming "Girls Gone Wild" at a nightclub in Motown. Oh man!

And, last but not least...

Joseph lost his first (and second) tooth! He was so excited for the tooth fairy. He helped me make a special pillow to put his tooth in to leave for her. He woke up the next morning, and she had left him two whole dollars. Whoa, big spender!

Crazy...I've had a post two days in a row. And I have more to come, so it'll probably be three! Until tomorrow...

May and June

2010-07-31T15:10:00.000-04:00

So let me tell ya, over the past two months it has been nothing but a giant party here at the Newell home. It seems like every other day is someone's birthday. Plus, it's summer so there are lots of fun things to keep us occupied. Since it's been SOOoooOOooo busy, I'll start off with May and June.

Brad's birthday shindig. Lots of fun had. We went golfing and out for some yummy dinner.

Joseph graduated kindergarten. It was so super cute. The school had a little ceremony for all the graduates.

Axel's Pirate Party. Joseph and Andrew's friend, Axel Nelson, had a pirate themed party for his 6th birthday. The kids all dressed up, got to paint their own treasure chests, and had a treasure hunt. So cute.

Pittsburgh Zoo. We went to the Pittsburgh Zoo with grandma, grandpa, and aunt Stephanie. It was a really rainy day, but we got about two hours of rain-free fun, and it was a great day to see the animals. We were able to see almost every animal up close. The kids' favorite was the stingray tank, and Brad and I loved the penguins and the polar bears.

Over the Hill

2010-05-29T00:49:00.001-04:00

Happy 30th birthday to the most wonderful husband a girl could ask for!

(Does this look like anyone else you know?)

The End

2010-05-26T13:03:00.000-04:00

This Sunday, my favorite show on the planet came to an end. To mourn the end of LOST, we threw a party, complete with plenty of Dharma Initiative goodness and vague references to the show. Much fun was had by all! Someone at the party commented that "this was the coolest party he had ever been to." I was really flattered. Then, the thought came to me that maybe he hadn't been to very many parties...

...I'll just pretend that he has been to lots of parties, and mine was just so super awesome that it earned the title "The Coolest."

The kids and I spent a great deal of the afternoon on Saturday making these cookies. Unless you watch the show, you won't understand.

I made all of these delightful DI labels for our food. Again, you have to watch the show to understand.

And, I made t-shirts for the whole family.

To honor those who crashed in Oceanic flight 815 on September 22, 2004, I made these adorable little cupcakes. I made the white chocolate airplanes, which I then "crashed" into the sandy beach (gold golored sprinkles) in the South Pacific (cupcake liners that look like waves). I'm just so darned creative!

We asked all of our guests to bring some Lost-themed refreshments. Marci and Ryan brought "Sun" chips and "Jin"ger ale. Again, obscure references to the show that only fans would understand.

Costumes were optional, but we thought it would be fun! Our family dressed up as members of the Dharma Initiative, and our friend Morgan (left) was Richard Alpert (pay close attention to his black eyeliner) and his wife, Kim, was an Other.

Just one more obscure reference, I promise. Our friends Lindsey and Phil brought a pizza that resembled the famous "fish biscuit" eaten by Sawyer and Kate when they were trapped in the cages.

I leave you with my favorite scene from the finale:

Until the next time, Namaste.

T-ball and the Teddy Bear Clinic

2010-04-27T23:10:00.000-04:00

Joseph and Andrew are playing t-ball through the local YMCA. It is the cutest thing ever. Brad and I had as much fun watching them as they did playing. The highlight of the first practice: Andrew hit the ball and ran to third base instead of first. I about died laughing.

Also, Joseph's class got to go on a field trip to the "Teddy Bear Clinic." The students take a teddy bear or stuffed animal to the local hospital and they do all kids of "tests" to their toys. I went to watch with a few other moms, and they even let Andrew participate.

Look how cute my little boys are!

Joseph giving his puppy a "shot" at the TBC.

Isn't this darling? They gave them little surgical masks and hair nets and everything!

Joseph's puppy using the nebulizer. Haha!

As you can see, we've been busy now that the weather is nice. How have you been spending your warm sunny days?

Playing catch up

2010-04-12T19:55:00.005-04:00

Hello friends. I have been gone FOREVER! This is the longest I have ever gone without making a post. So, I'll catch you up quickly on what's been going on with our family. Here are the highlights of the past two months:

We went to Charleston to watch the Single A girls' basketball championship game. St. Mary's High School (the school Brad teaches at) made all the way to the championship game. Sadly, they didn't win. We had a good time though!

Andrew tried to drown. That's not really a highlight, just a happening. We went to a birthday party at a local pool and Andrew decided to give mommy and daddy a heart attack. Brad jumped in the pool fully clothed to rescue him, and in the process destroyed his Blackberry. It was a big huge fiasco. Thankfully, the Blackberry was the only thing harmed. I got into a really big fight with Sprint and finally talked them into giving Brad a new phone.

Joseph has become a ladies' man. All of the little girls in Joseph's class at school are in love with him. He has a little girlfriend named Laney. Apparently they're going to get married. He was going to marry Brionna, but she told him she wouldn't marry him until "he stops picking his nose." I think that's a reasonable request. Laney must not mind, because she sends him home with love letters almost everyday.

We went to an Easter egg hunt at the Haroldsen's house. It was loads of fun!

We went to spend Easter weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. They took us to see How to Train Your Dragon. Our review? A+++++! We LOVED it!

Other highlights include: finally getting my house decorated (will post pics this week), finishing a whole bunch of quilts (will post pics of these also), getting extremely sick (like, sicker than I have ever been), and watching a whole lotta LOST (I love Jack!).

It's been good catching up with y'all! Until next post...

The little boy in my house turned four!

2010-02-07T20:26:00.000-05:00

Boys in My House

By Erin Jo Kilmer

There are boys in my house – and Spiderman shoes
And 200 papers in various blues.
There's Bob (he's a builder) and Thomas the Train,
There's a fireman coat to wear in the rain.
They have cars on their shirts and frogs on their hats
There's a glove and a ball and a red plastic bat.
There's dirt on a face and a smudge on a nose;
Grass stains on knees and sand between toes.
There's bathtime at night with bodies to scrub,
And when we're all done there is dirt in the tub!
There's bandaids and bruises and curious bumps,
There's smiles and laughter and sometimes there's grumps.
There's odors most icky; there's boogers so green
There's more yucky things than I'll ever get clean.
There's piles of laundry; there's stories at night;
There's bedtime and bathtime and dinnertime fights.
There's cars and there's trains and there's books about trucks
There's Scoop, Lofty, Dizzy, and Travis, and Muck.
Sometimes there are bugs, and sometimes there are frogs;
Sometimes they are lions, or dinos, or dogs.
There are cute little vests and darling neckties
Dragged right through the mud – oh what a surprise!
There's running and climbing and jumping and falling
And laughing and crying and hugging and brawling
And rolling and losing and finding and creeping
And whining and stealing and sometimes there's sleeping.
There's tantrums and time outs and extra loud noise –
There's love in my house shaped like two little boys.

Andrew, my little boy, I love you so much! Happy fourth birthday!

It could be worse

2010-01-07T03:23:00.000-05:00

It's 3:30 a.m.

I am wide awake.

Frown.

I feel like crying because I am tired, my ears are ringing, and I can't sleep. Is this going to end?

I heard someone rumbling around in the kids' room. I went in there. Joseph threw up. Ugh.

What now?

I've watched all 5 seasons of LOST from beginning to end twice in the past three months. I'm about to start all over again. There's nothing else worth watching.

Things could be worse, right? I shouldn't complain. But I'm tired of being tired.

At least the weather is bad. Brad hasn't been at work since before Christmas. I'm thankful for that. I usually don't fall asleep until 4 a.m. Then I only sleep until 9 or 10. But at least I can sleep for that long. I haven't had to worry about kids at the crack of dawn.

Brad has to go back to work eventually.

But, it could be worse.

Christmas in Photographs!

2009-12-28T02:10:00.001-05:00

Christmas has come and gone. We had a great time, and I have lots of pictures to share, so I'll keep my rambling to a minimum. So, without further ado, our Christmas in photographs!

First item of business: I finished the quilt I started over a year ago. Ain't she purdy?

And, I made some pillows for my sisters:

We were blessed with mountains upon mountains of gifts:

We watched A Christmas Story. ALOT:

My sister bought me the perfect gift. CLUE: The Office. We had lots of fun trying to figure out who killed Toby:

Of course, I had to be Pam:

And Santa knew just what to bring the artist/musician:

And the future motorhead:

It looks like two little boys were very good this year! We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did too! Here's to hoping for a great new year!

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

2009-12-19T23:02:00.000-05:00

It irritates me to no end that this song is considered a Christmas song. Also, it irritates me that Barbara Streisand sings the "Christmas" version. Hello?! No one does it better than Julie Andrews. Seriously, though. The Sound of Music has nothing to do with Christmas. However, Christmas is my favorite time of year, so I'll share a few of my favorite things:

Decorating: Who doesn't love putting up the Christmas tree? It just makes your house so cheerful!

Taking the kiddos to visit Santa: Their faces just light up when they see Santa and think about all of the presents they're going to get. Little kids are so fun at Christmas time!

Making presents (And getting them, too!): I love making presents for my family. It's so much more heartfelt than just going to the store and buying stuff (Although, admittedly, I do that also).

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow: I love snow! It's so beautiful. And my kids are really enjoying this snow. I think it's the first time they've been old enough to enjoy it.

And lastly, the reason for the season: Jesus Christ. I am thankful for his sacrfice. And thankful that he is a part of my life. Right now, I'm sad that I am not at our Christmas program, but unfortunately I have been sufffering from some horrible insomnia. I was actually asleep last night, but woke up at 3:00 a.m. to the sound of a car spinning its wheels on our icy street for 15 minutes after he crashed his car into the concrete wall. The lack of sleep has left me with a splitting headache. But, even though I am not able to be at the Christmas program, I know that Jesus Christ is the reason for this season!

Merry Christmas everybody!

New Jeans

2009-12-04T23:25:00.000-05:00

Today I bought a new pair of jeans from Old Navy. The name of the style is "The Dreamer." Now, some of the other names they have for their jeans are "The Flirt," "The Sweetheart," and "The Diva." The latter three are all jeans tailored to very petite little things who have never had a baby. Anytime I ever buy jeans, my baby gut hangs over the top. So, I see these jeans, and the description says special front panel to slim your tummy and lift your butt. So, is the name "The Dreamer" supposed to mean "you're dreaming if you think you'll ever wear normal jeans ever again?"

Senior Portraits

2009-11-10T12:18:00.001-05:00

I did senior portraits for my beautiful niece. Tell me what you think!

And a graduation announcement:

Oh, Andrew

2009-11-07T20:09:00.000-05:00

Obstinate:
1. Firmly or stubbornly adhering to one's purpose, opinion, etc.; not yielding to argument, persuasion, or entreaty.
2. Andrew.

Oh, Andrew. You are driving me insane! You always insist on the opposite of anything and everything I (or anyone else) asks of or offers you. When did my sweet little baby turn into such a monster?

Halloween Festivities

2009-11-01T23:13:00.001-05:00

This has been quite an eventful week! First off, Joseph contracted the H1N1 (Swine Flu) virus. Joseph was in the ER last friday and he wasn't allowed to go back to school until this friday. I was thankful that he was able to return on Friday for his school Halloween party. I was signed up to be a volunteer. I love participating in his classroom activites. Five-year-olds are fun! Joseph came home with bags and bags full of goodies. One of the boys in the class exclaimed, "This is the best day of my life!"

This was the favorite goodie in our house:

Lime green vampire teeth!

Friday was gorgeous! We wanted to get out and enjoy the last of the nice weather, so we made a trip to Sweetapple Farm to participate in a costume parade and go on a haunted hay ride.

My handsome firefighters.

Let me just say, I was so thankful that they saw these costumes in TJ Maxx. I have made their costumes every year, and every year I scramble to get them finished minutes before trick-or-treat. They originally wanted me to make them The Wiggles, but they fell in love with these costumes and changed their minds. Thanks TJ Maxx!

My old lady costume.

Quite possibly the scariest thing out there. Before you know it, I'll be shopping the Quacker Factory on QVC. Oh yeah, I'm not pregnant. I just have a fat stomach. I seriously look like I am 6 months pregnant in this picture.

Sweetapple Farm. Beautiful!

As you can see, Joseph and Andrew were very excited for Halloween festivities!

Candy was given out for the best costumes. The judges said they were all the best. No child left behind.

So cute! There were bonfires all around the farm and they even sold little s'mores packets and hot dogs. We didn't have any, but it was fun to sit around the fire nontheless!

Andrew in the pumpkin patch.

Andrew and Joseph trying to kill the scarecrow.

Last but not least, the hayride. Tons of fun!

And that concludes Friday's festivities. Saturday morning was my last day of work. Yay! But I came home to a sick Andrew. He was running a fever. And the weather was nasty. Our town had trick-or-treat at the mall, so I gave Andrew some Tylenol and we avoided the nasty weather. It was packed, but there was plenty of candy and Joseph had a good time. Andrew wasn't so thrilled. He ended up riding around in one of those car strollers and I collected his candy for him. Poor guy.

Excited for candy.

Not excited about anything.

My handsome little guys.

Unfortunately, Andrew woke up with a fever of 105 degrees this morning. Ugh. So, I spent all morning in the ER and came home with a prescription for Tamiflu. More swine flu. May I just mention that I haven't been to church in 5 weeks, because someone has been sick every week. This flu season has been terrible.

Here's to hope that our family will be healthy soon. Keep us in your prayers.

More Photo Fun

2009-10-19T22:47:00.000-04:00

I made another sample for your enjoyment. I need to credit the following for use of their freebies. If you would like to use any of their products, please visit these sites:

http://www.storeide.se/gunhild/index.htm

http://totallyddesigns.blogspot.com/

http://censloft.blogspot.com/

Still busy...

2009-10-18T23:38:00.000-04:00

So, I tried to quit my job like I mentioned in my last post, but that didn't go so well. My boss talked me into working one day a week. I was kind of OK with that. Then we had a meeting this week about the holiday season. I was informed that I would probably be working 12-15 days in a row and that I wouldn't be allowed to request any days off. WHAT??!!! Sorry job, but my family and my sanity are way more important than a few extra bucks for Christmas. I think we can live without a flat-screen tv.

Since I have been working less I've actually had time to work on my house. Things are finally getting put away. I've done various home improvement projects and it's finally starting to feel more like home. I will add some pictures soon.

The last week has been less than fun. Joseph and Andrew had the flu (I'm pretty sure it was the Swine Flu) all week, and now I have it. Yuck.

Now that I am for real quitting my job, I am doing what my husband has been trying to convince me to do for years - start my own business. So, I am going to try my hand at photography and graphic design. I've done some minor projects and I have some requests to do senior portraits. I thought that it would be fun to do invitations, graduation announcements, birth announcements, etc. besides the photography. I may try my hand at blog headers/designs too. I feel pretty confident about it. Here's a sample I made:

I did the photography for this couple's sealing a few months ago, so this isn't a real "save the date." Just working on some ideas. Tell me what you think!

MIA

2009-09-27T12:24:00.000-04:00

Sorry folks. I have been gone for quite some time. I wish that I had something super exciting to fill you in on. Unfortunately, here is the story of the four weeks I've been MIA.

Week 1: Work and homework.
Week 2: Work and homework.
Week 3: Work and homework.
Week 4: Work, homework, 3 tests, 2 speeches.

Things have been pretty rough around these parts. I've had no time for anything that I want to do (blogging, sewing, photography), and I've barely had anytime for things that I need to do (like the fact that I've lived in my house for 2 months and I'm still not unpacked).

Anyhoo, I've been losing my mind, so I came to the conclusion that something has to go. So here's the list of things that keep me busy.

Family - I certainly can't get rid of them, although sometimes I could use a break from screaming kids!
Church - Definitely can't get rid of that either! I'm in the RS presidency and I have had no time whatsoever to devote to my calling.
School - It takes up a lot of my time, but unfortunately it is a necessity for me. If we ever want to be out of debt, I'm going to have to have a career. It stinks. I wish that I could afford to stay at home, but I can't.
Work - The bane of my existence. Brad gets home from work at 4:30 every afternoon, and I have to leave at 4:35 to get to work on time. Usually, when I come home he's in bed. Not good. I make barely more than minimum wage and I work my rear-end off with little to no reward (I'm thinking it's closer to no than it is little).

So, work has to go. It's for the best. If I am going to have to work to help support my family, I don't want to work at a fast food joint at the mall for the rest of my life. Which is the reason I need to finish school and do it fast!

Anyway, my blogging will no longer be on hiatus. This is my journal. It's how I keep track of all of things my family does. It's our memories. So it's important to me to keep this up, even if it isn't important to anyone else. So I think y'all will be hearing from me a little more often. One can only hope, right?

Milestones

2009-08-30T00:06:00.000-04:00

Two important milestones this week:

Joseph started kindergarten.

I turned 25, which means that I am half-way to being "over the hill."

Kindergarten:

Joseph's first day of kindergarten started off great! He has an amazing teacher, is going to a wonderful school, and is thriving. We're so happy that he's doing well. After I left Joseph's school, a friend and I took a little road trip. We ended up getting lost and had to frantically call around to get someone to pick up our kids from their first day of school. I felt so bad that I wasn't able to be there to pick up the poor little guy from his first day of school, but he seemed to emerge unscathed.

The handsome little guy before his first day of school.

Joseph and his friend Mackenzie. Thankfully her mom was able to pick Joseph up from school and the two had a good time playing together until I was able to get home.

Joseph trying to do a "K" in sign language. We thought that it would be cute to take a yearly photo of him holding up the number of fingers corresponding to the grade he's in. So, "K" for kindergarten, but it didn't work out quite as well as we had hoped.

My Birthday:

For starters, my awesome present - Brad bought me a t-shirt from the season 5 finale of The Office. Woohoo!

And, my parents pre-ordered season 5 on DVD, so I should be getting that in a few days. It's being released on September 8th. Squee!

My parents (as shown below)...

...threw an amazing party just for me!

All of this, just for me?? Not really. We actually went up for their annual company picnic, which just happened to fall on my birthday. It was loads of fun, and a great way to spend time with my family. Tons of food, games, and good times.

Grandpa with a Spongebob pinata.

Joseph had a great time painting (including painting himself).

He also had fun carrying around this bowl of pretzels and "serving" everyone.

This kid had a blast playing in a mud puddle.

On the way home, we stopped at Cabela's. The kids were amazed by all of the taxidermed (is that a word?) animals.

And that ends our fun week!

In other news, Brad LOVES his new job! We feel so blessed to be in this area. Brad feels like he hit "the job lottery." We are really enjoying Parkersburg. Everyone is SO nice here. We like being close to family and we are making new friends. Thanks to everyone - Joseph's teachers, Pleasants County schools, our new friends, and our family - for making us feel so at home here. We know our prayers have been answered!

Being Tested

2009-08-04T23:29:00.000-04:00

The last two weeks have been a serious test of my patience. I don't say faith - I know Heavenly Father gives us trials for a reason and he'll help us through the difficult times if we remain faithful and follow his commandments. So I just need to be patient and wait for the light at the end of the tunnel.

For starters, we moved into our new place. It's wonderful; a three-story townhome with a finished basement. It's in a great neighborhood, it's affordable, and we love Parkersburg. However, a few days after we moved in, Joseph decided that it would be a good idea to dump an entire bottle of laundry detergent all over the brand new carpet!!! It took an entire week of late nights to suck up all of the detergent, and now our carpets smell all mildew-y.

On top of that, I got a part-time job to help our family out a little. I'm working as a shift-manager at a restaurant at the mall. I work evenings, and by the time I come home every night, I am completely exhausted and I smell like a disgusting grease ball. I miss being home to spend time with my family. I know that this is for the benefit of our family, but it's hard to feel like I am being of any benefit when I am not home to cook nutritious meals, help unpack and organize our new home, help out with bedtime, etc. Even when I am home, I don't spend any time with my family because I am exhausted from working, so I spend most of the day sleeping. I feel like I am going through this vicious cycle of caffeine highs and total exhaution meltdowns.

To further add to the problems, out truck broke down, and it cost more than my first paycheck to fix it, and I had to pay for the traffic citation that I received the day we moved from Martinsburg to Parkersburg, leaving us flat broke. Ugh. But, I don't want my driver's license suspended and/or have a warrant out for my arrest and we need to have our truck to finish moving all of our stuff out of my brother-in-law's basement.

So things have been a little rough around here. I really could use some prayers and the support of family and friends right now. I know these probably seem trivial, but I feel like I am being tested to my absolute limits right now. Having a meltdown surely won't help anything! Thanks to all of those who read this blog. Knowing that I have friends and family who care really means alot. I hope my next post comes bearing better news. Until next time, please keep me in your prayers. Thanks!

Five

2009-07-20T23:30:00.000-04:00

My beautiful baby has turned into such a handsome boy. Where have the years gone? I remember the day he was born, and the many sleepless nights that followed. I remember his first steps and his first words. In a few weeks, we'll get to experience his first day of school. I couldn't ask for a more special, talented, handsome, wonderful child. What an amazing five years this has been. I can only hope he knows how much his mommy and daddy love him! We are so thankful that he is a part of our family.

Five is a special number, so we had to have a special party! Grandma and Grandpa drove down to visit on Sunday, and we had our annual BBQ -- for the past five years we have had a cookout for his birthday. It's become a family tradition. Joseph's primary teacher has the same birthday, and she also happens to have some kids who are friends with ours, so she helped us celebrate.

The birthday boy with Mommy and Daddy.

The Grillmaster gets the party started!

Joseph and Andrew were very anxious to eat the cake. Joseph picked out a Wiggles cake this year. Usually I make the cakes, but since we're still living out of boxes I have no idea where all of my cake decorating tools are.

Having fun with the Haroldson family.

Opening his presents from Mommy and Daddy: A Spiderman guitar (the kid has a serious guitar obsession), a Spongebob lunch box and backpack, a Spongebob DVD, a Berenstain Bears DVD, some Spongebob books, and his favorite book EVER -- If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

However, Mommy and Daddy's gifts were pretty insignificant compared to Grandma and Grandpa's gift: A Power Wheels Ford F-150!!

Joseph taking Aiden for a spin.

What an amazing gift! Joseph is very blessed to have grandparents who love to spoil him rotten!

Last but not least, Joseph's very sweet cousins made him a cake today. They also made him homemade pizza, and Aunt Darlene got him a fabulous gift -- an entire ream of paper to have all to himself!

Happy fifth birthday, Joseph! I love you, kiddo!

Moving Take One

2009-07-06T00:47:00.000-04:00

I've called this post "Moving Take One," because in a few weeks we'll be moving again. For right now, we are living with Brad's brother and his family until we can find our own place. So, I'll take you on a little journey of our first move, and the past few weeks with our family.

Step 1: A visit with Grandma and Grandpa. The Sunday before we moved out, I decided to take a trip with my boys to visit their grandparents. Even though we're living closer to them now, I knew that it would be a while before we saw them again because of the chaos involved with moving our family from one end of West Virginia to the other. We had a fun visit, and are excited to get the chance to visit with them again once things settle down a little.

Joseph and Andrew, happy to be with the Grandma and Grandpa.

Step 2: Loading up the truck and heading across the state. Neither easy, nor fun. I much preferred spending a lazy Sunday afternoon with my parents and my little boys.

It turns out that it is not very easy to load a 75-year-old piano into a 24-foot moving truck. It took an hour-and-a-half to load the piano because the wheels on the piano happened to be a fraction of an inch too short to make the piano go over the lip on the ramp; thus, the movers (aka, the Elders Quorum) had to come up with a strategy to get a 1000 pound piano up a 10 foot ramp without killing themselves or my piano. Luckily, one of the ward members in attendance lived around the corner and happened to have a bunch of two-by-fours and a very strong son and they were able to get the dang thing on the truck.

Brad looking slightly unhappy about the delays caused by the piano, which he despised before he had to load it into the big ol' truck.

Elder Hester using Elder Van Lydegraf as a bench while he played the piano for the inhabitants of our street.

Once the truck was loaded, Brad and I got the house all cleaned out and headed on our 5 hour trek to Parkersburg. Manuevering the 24-foot truck which was also towing our pick-up truck was also not an easy task. I followed Brad in our Honda. The truck would only go 40-miles per hour over the steep mountains between Hancock, MD and Morgantown, WV (which is about 2 hours of the 5 hour trip when you are actually going the speed limit). To make matters worse, I missed a red light (without my knowledge) while trying to make sure Brad got through a difficult intersection, and got my first ticket ever. EEk!

But, we arrived in Parkersburg safe and sound. Quite a few members of the Parkersburg ward showed up to help move our belongings into my brother-in-law's basement. Amazingly, it took about five minutes to move my piano and about a half hour total to unload the truck.

Step 4: Chaos!!!!!!!!!! My in-law's home is constantly filled with new and interesting people (and a couple of pets, too). I'd estimate that on a daily basis there are about twelve people in the house, and it seems like someone new is there visiting/staying every single day. It's been quite an adjustment for our little family. Joseph and Andrew have been a little overwhelmed. I have been too. I actually think the boys have handled it better than I have. We're really enjoying our stay, but we're pretty anxious to have our own home. Hopefully we'll be in our own place by August 1. It's nice to visit with our family, but I'm eager to get myself and my kids back to our regular routine.

Emily - one of the many visitors in the home. She has actually been quite a blessing to us. We appreciate the endless hours she has put into drawing pictures for Joseph.

Joseph and Scotty (again, another visitor in their home) proudly displaying their superhero costumes that Emily lovingly made them.

Ian, the dog. Ian has been very subdued throughout this whole process. I guess he's used to the constant influx of new people in his home. He also seems to handle Andrew and Joseph pulling his tail very well. Overall, I don't mind Ian - although, I don't care for him so much when he barks his head off at 7 am.

However, Bella the cat does not handle her new roomates so well. Her ears are always slicked back whenever she sees Andrew and Joseph, in nervous anticipation of being chased throughout the house (which happens about every five minutes if she's in their sight). She's taken to hiding until they're asleep.

A little more chaos. My in-laws hosted a 4th of July BBQ at their home, complete with about 20 unfamiliar faces for Andrew and Joseph. It was actually enjoyable chaos, though. There was yummy food, fun activities, and our own little fireworks display. Andrew and Joseph got to enjoy their first sparklers. Joseph was much more interested in them than Andrew. By the time it was dark, Andrew was too tired to care. It was a fun day, though, and it was good to meet some of the families in our new ward.

Now that you've read this post, I'm sure you can understand why it's been a while since I've posted anything. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be posting some pictures of our new house (keep your fingers crossed). Until then, good night!

New Job!

2009-06-09T10:23:00.000-04:00

I am so happy to announce that we are moving! YAY! Brad was offered a new job teaching for St. Mary's High School in Pleasants County, WV. I won't say much more than this has been a terrible year for our family, and we are happy to get a fresh start.

My in-laws, Darlene and Bryant, were gracious enough to allow us to live with them for a few weeks so that we can find somewhere to live. We are happy to be living near family. We are trying to find a home to live in a little town called Williamsport. It would be about 15 minutes from work and from our family!

We are also happy to have the experience of living with our Stake President's family -- Brad's brother Bryant is the stake president of the Charleston, WV stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will be a great experience to see how he runs his home on a daily basis. I know that they will be a good example to our family -- I will really enjoy learning ways to make our home a more spiritual place!

I'm grateful to Heavenly Father for helping us to learn and grow through our trials, and thankful for the new doors that he has opened for us. I know that this job is truly an answer to our prayers and I feel very blessed!

Lost in Translation

2009-05-31T21:00:00.000-04:00

My kids have recently discovered the catchiness of the Five Dollar Footlong song. Today, Andrew came up with his own version: Three Dollar Foot Short.

When we asked him why, he said "because I'm free (three) and my foot's not wong (long), it's short. And it's on my weg (leg)." My kid cracks me up. He is so funny sometimes.

Then Joseph came up with another version: Six Million Foot Big. There is no explanation for this one. He just felt the need to compete with his brother. Like the title of this post says, the meaning of the jingle has become lost in translation.

Oh, my children...

Birthday Parties!

2009-05-30T22:25:00.000-04:00

Just a little nod to The Office. If you watch it, you'll understand.

This week was a busy one. Two birthday parties in a row! Brad's birthday was on Friday. He turned 29 this year. I guess that makes it officially the last year he'll tell people how old he is on his birthday. It doesn't really matter how old he is, though. I'm pretty sure he'll always act like he's five. For instance, he asked for a Transformers birthday cake. So, I made an entire Transformers themed party for him. I made his favorite dinner: fish tacos with fresh mango salsa, and balck beans and rice. I got him a few presents: a Transformers t-shirt, and three books he's been wanting to read. And then we had our friends, the Clines over for Transformers cupcakes. I think he had a pretty good birthday this year. I love him tons, and I was happy to do something nice for him!

Then we went to a birthday for the Clines' daughter, Madison (Maddie). It was loads of fun for everyone. The theme was The Little Mermaid and there were plenty of "under the sea" activities.

Me and the birthday girl.

Yummy treats!

Making seascapes with foam stickers.

Doing a crabwalk!

The birthday girl being super cute!

Happy 29th birthday Brad and happy 5th birthday Maddie! Man you guys are old...I mean guy. Love ya Brad ;)

Techno Music

2009-05-24T21:01:00.000-04:00

No, this post is not literally about techno music. Really, it's two seperate stories to tell; one about my little technological genius, and the other about a very special musical device.

So...

Techno:
It's unbelievable how "plugged in" my child is. He is a little sponge; he absorbs everything he hears. Naturally he wants to repeat it. Recently, my kids tore down the curtains in their bedroom, so I have a blanket hanging over the window. When the blanket fell down from the window, Joseph responded, "There's got to be a better way!" He then proceeded to do an infomercial for his own invention, the "Sticky Curtain." I am very glad that it is summer, so that I can entertain my children outside rather then having them be entertained by Nickelodeon and it's one and only sponsor, Billy Mays.

Besides creating his own infomercials, he has also been creating his own websites. He LOVES the computer and all things technological. I encourage him to use the computer. He uses art programs, plays learning games, and listens to good music and he learns a lot! In this learning process, he has already discovered that you can find/learn/do anything with the power of the internet. So, yesterday, our swimming pool opened up. One of the neighborhood children was telling Joseph that he learned how to swim last summer, but he didn't remember how anymore. Joseph told him, "If you want to learn more about swimming, you can just go to pool.com." I about died...seriously. So hilarious! Also, he'll tell us things like, "go to joseph.com/andrew." But this is how it sounds -- joseph dot com splash andrew. Ha! We've tried to explain that they are saying slash, not splash but he doesn't know what a slash is, so we just let him call it a splash because it's really freaking funny.

It's amazing how technologically proficient an almost-five-year-old is. Brad was quoting the commercials (or commer-shun-als, as Joseph calls them) for Windows -- He said "I'm 5 years old and I'm a PC," because Joseph had figured out how to turn on music on a website, then minimize the window and turn on one of his computer games so that he could listen to his music while he played with his paint studio. Pretty soon, he's going to be teaching his parents how to use the technology instead of us teaching him!

Now...

Music:
I got a piano! I got a piano! I got a piano! I have been desperate for a piano since before I was born, I think. I love to play the piano. I'm not great -- I'm self taught. But I could be great with a piano to practice on daily. And now I have one!!!!!! I just can't believe it. I got it for free. It's an old upright piano and it still plays beautifully. It needs tuned, but every piano does after it's been moved. She (yes, it's a she) is PERFECT and I love her. I am so thankful for programs like Freecycle -- which is how I found my piano -- and I am so thankful for the church that was giving her away. This has forever been a dream of mine, and I thought that it was a long way off. And, I love you Brad for not complaining too much about moving the piano. Thanks for letting me live my dream.

Feeling Old...

2009-05-18T19:25:00.000-04:00

I registered Joseph for kindergarten today. I went into his school and I just felt overwhelmed with emotion--particularly feeling OLD! Where did the time go?

Time for an update

2009-05-17T18:51:00.000-04:00

Wow. Time has really flown by these past few weeks. We have been a really busy family. I'll give you a list of reasons why my blog has been neglected, accompanied by a few photos!

Reason #1: I did photography for a friend whose family was sealed in the temple. I devoted a great deal of time and attention to finishing and retouching photos for them. Here's a little sample of my hard work:

Reason #2: I have been in a spring cleaning frenzy. My house was a disaster. It is no longer. Here is what our spare room looked like (sorry I don't have an "after" photo).

Reason #3: Mothers' Day. I wanted to put together an extra special present for my mom on her special day, so I put photography skills to good use and was able to present her with framed photographs of her beautiful grandsons.

Reason #4: Television. The Office, in particular, has had a PHENOMENAL season (as if it wasn't amazing already). The season finale revealed that Jam is going to have a little Jambino. Squee!

And American Idol has been top notch as well. I am very sad, however, that my favorite did not make it to the finale. Sorry Danny! You and your many pairs of eyeglasses will be missed.

Reason #5: The Cookbook. My bestest pal just had a birthday and I decided to put together a cookbook for her as a birthday gift. Here is one of my favorite recipes that I included:

Orient Express
Marinade:
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chicken broth
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornstarch
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
Stir-fry:
8 oz cavatappi or penne pasta (really, any hollow pasta tastes good)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c. broccoli florets
8 whole canned baby corn, cut in half
1 red sweet pepper, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
½ c sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules, dissolved in 6 tbsp boiling water

Marinate chicken for about 30 minutes. Cook pasta; drain and set aside. In a non-stick skillet, fry eggs until set. Slice into small pieces and set aside. Heat 1 ½ tbsp oil in wok and stir fry chicken; set aside. Add remaining oil to wok. Stir-fry onion and garlic until tender. Add remaining vegetables and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Add a few tbsp water to wok and cover; let vegetables steam for about 5 minutes. Uncover wok and add chicken, eggs, pasta, soy sauce, and bouillon. Cook until heated through.

***********************************

Add these on top of my job as resident laudress, dishwasher, cook, maid, nurse, childcare provider, bill-payer, etc. and you have one busy woman!

Things seemed to have slowed down some for now, so hopefully I will be less neglectful of my blog. Thanks to all of you out there who actually read it! You'll be hearing from me again soon, I promise.

The Good, The Bad, and The Adorable

2009-04-23T00:46:00.000-04:00

The Good:

First item of business. This morning, out of the clear blue, Joseph looks at me and says, "Mommy -- Jesus created the whole earth." Apparently he is retaining the information he learns in Primary, and I'm glad that he is willing to share it with me!

Second. As I have mentioned in previous posts, Joseph is already a fantastic artist. Here is some new artwork!

A drawing of his cup.

A drawing of our fish in his tank (which died this week, by the way...eek).

A drawing of our home, which he labeled appropriately.

And this is my favorite. A message for daddy. It says: To daddy, Love (a heart) Joseph. The big red circle in the center is the Target symbol. He told me that this was a message to tell daddy that he wanted to go to Target. Ha!

The Bad:

If I had a million dollars, I would give it to whomever could tell the difference between these two place settings.

To the naked eye, there is no difference. But apparently to the toddler eye there is. My children fight every day over who gets what plate, what cup, what fork, spoon, high chair, etc. I bought them exactly the same for a reason, and yet my children still fight over them. This goes for things other than place settings as well -- clothes, bed...the list goes on and on! So, if you can find any difference, I pledge to give you something (not a million dollars) for solving all of my problems!

And now for...

The Adorable:

Even though my children are terrified of dogs (animals in general, really), they love to pretend that they are dogs. These are their "dog houses," and they played in them all last week.

How can you resist this sweet little face?

And, even though they fight over things they really are best friends. They love to play together, and they love each other!

Country Roads

2009-04-15T09:06:00.000-04:00

This is quite possibly the best moment EVER on The Office!

Almost Heaven

2009-04-14T21:16:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to let y'all know that I've started another blog. Read it so that you can make fun of me when I can't keep up with any of my goals!

http://almost-heaven-wva.blogspot.com

Spring Break - Take Two

2009-04-14T19:45:00.001-04:00

The past week was the best week ever! Berkeley County schools were on spring break, so Brad was home all week long. I loved having a little R&R time with my family. We were able to get some spring cleaning done, go to the temple, and Grandma and Grandpa came to visit on Saturday.

I always enjoy visits from my family, and my mom likes to spoil us just a little. Who doesn't like to be spoiled? She brought me a cute little antique syrup pourer filled with candy, and we went to an antique shop where she bought me some serving dishes to match my china. And, she brought Brad a big ol' bag of candy, and easter baskets full of goodies for the boys. I made a really nice dinner and lots of yummy baked goods for everyone to enjoy (and they did). After Grandma and Grandpa headed home we went for a walk on the C&O canal trail.

The only part of our week that we didn't enjoy was Easter Sunday. It always seems like the more spiritual the occasion is supposed to be, the more my kids misbehave. Brad had to leave before the sacrament was even passed because our children were being such terrors, and I wasn't able to offer any help because I had to stay to lead the music and sing. So, I was a little disappointed that we didn't really get to focus on the sacred meaning of the day. I just have to remember that they're little kids, and they were still wound up from the day before. But overall, we had a wonderful week, and we were all sad when daddy had to go back to work on Monday.

Here are some pics of our vacation:

My culinary creations

Andrew carrying his bike around a mud puddle.

Crossing the aqueduct over the Potomac river.

Daddy helping his boys.

The handsome hubby!

Me and my boys!

The Blessings of Temple Attendance

2009-04-07T18:14:00.000-04:00

I am so thankful that Brad and I had the opportunity to visit the temple today! It was such a beautiful, peaceful experience. It's difficult to say much more, as going to the temple affects everyone in such a personal way. I can say that every time I attend the temple, I feel my testimony of the gospel strengthened, and I learn so much more about Heavenly Father's plan for his children. I am reminded of how much He loves each and every one of us, and I know that He hears our prayers.

I also wanted to express my gratitude to Kathi and Chris for babysitting for us. This is the first time in four years that Brad and I have attended the temple as a couple. Usually we take turns, so that one of us is watching the kids. It was so much more meaningful to attend together, and the experience is so much more spiritual when you aren't stressed out from chasing children all over the temple grounds. So, to the Johnson family, we are incredibly thankful for your service. I hope that we have the opportunity to return the favor.

Some photos to remember the day:

Happy to be together!

The only downfall of the day: It was freezing!

Fun with the Keckley Family!

2009-03-31T21:50:00.000-04:00

I am really enjoying staying at home with the boys. After spring break, going back to school was just too much for me to handle. I missed my kids so much. I love being able to devote all of my time and energy to them.

I want my children to be able to enjoy the company of other children their ages, so we decided to take a road trip to Keyser, WV to visit our good friends, the Keckleys. It's been a long time since our last get together, so we thought that we would take advantage of the beautiful weather and our children had a blast. Bonna and Chris have two little boys, Garren and Calvin, but Calvin is missing from all of the photos because he was taking a nap while we played outside.

So here is a summary, in photos, of the afternoon in Keyser:

First, we played with sidewalk chalk.

Then, Andrew went down the slide...

...followed by Joseph.

Garren thought about going down the slide, but decided he didn't want to get all muddy like Joseph and Andrew.

The highlight of the afternoon was throwing rocks in the creek.

Joseph and Andrew had never thrown rocks into water before (surprisingly), so Garren showed them how it's done!

Andrew put all of his energy into throwing those rocks into the creek.

And Joseph enjoyed jumping over the creek. He later fell in, and we had to make a trip to Walmart to buy some shoes and pants for him to wear home. I didn't mind so much...he'll only be four once. And he had the time of his life jumping over (and in) that water.

Garren informed us that Joseph and Andrew are his best friends (soooooo adorable). I guess that means we'll be making a trip to Keyser again sometime soon. Bonna, a million thanks for having us! We really had a great time!

Potty Humor

2009-03-30T00:12:00.000-04:00

My three-year-old is obsessed with farting. Seriously. He cannot go for more than twenty minutes without talking about flatulence. He has gotten to the point where he forces himself to fart so he can talk and laugh about it. Here are some fart stories:

Last night, we went to Golden Corral for dinner and while we were waiting in line, Andrew began passing gas and telling everyone behind us that he had "stinky farts." When we sat down at our table, Andrew kept trying to talk to everyone at the tables around us about it too.
A few days ago, the boys and I were at Target and Andrew started letting stinkers. This is what he told everyone in Target, as loud as he possibly could: "Mommy, I just had stinky farts. Why do my farts smell like poop?"
When I am trying to change his diaper, he will put his hand under his butt so that he can feel the fart come out. No joke - the kid is crazy about his gas!

I'm pretty sure that he is amused by all bodily functions, and by private body parts as well. Yesterday I burped, and the kid seriously laughed about it for ten minutes, and tried to mimic the sound. And, tonight at dinner he started talking about his butt, which caused him to laugh hysterically. It's pretty disgusting that he was talking about his butt at the dinner table, but he was laughing so hard that everyone else was laughing too.

Obviously, it's inappropriate for him to talk to people in public about his bodily functions, and I have been trying to discuss this with him. I'm convinced that only a little boy could find farting this funny. I am hoping that this is just a phase that he'll grow out of. Right now it's still kind of funny, and there have been a few embarrassing incidents (like Target and Golden Corral), but most grown men are still amused by their own flatulence, so who knows? He may never grow out of it. Hopefully we can just control it in public situations. Oh boy.

Silly Boys...

2009-03-26T16:43:00.001-04:00

I love the things that my kids say. Here are just a few examples of the things have said recently:

Andrew tells me as I am getting him a snack from the pantry, "Mommy, I don't want the fruit snacks in the red bag. I want the same kind of fruit snacks I had yestertime."

Joseph was watching Ni Hao Kai-Lan (aka Chinese Dora), and she asked the audience (my kids) if the had ever gotten to stay up late for anything. In my mind I was thinking, "No, but now they're going to want to, since you put the idea in their heads Kai-Lan." Two seconds later, Joseph looks at me and says, "Mommy, can I stay up late tonight?"

Daddy and Andrew went for a ride in Daddy's truck. As Daddy was buckling him in, Andrew said, "Make sure you buckle yourself safe daddy." He then asked, "Are we in the big truck, daddy?" Daddy said "Yes, and someday you'll be big enough to drive the truck too." Andrew's reply, "Will I have big hands, too?" He then told daddy, "One day I'll drive the big truck with my big hands, and I'll have a big red and black jacket, too."

Joseph was sitting at the computer playing, and all of sudden he runs into the room Brad and I are in and exclaims, "WALMART!" and runs away. What?!

And some more silliness...

When we went to Pittsburgh this weekend, we went to the most awesome thrift shop. Over Christmas, Great Grandma bought some toy cars for the boys and left them at my mom's (aka Grandma) house for them to play with when they came to visit. Andrew became enthralled with these cars, so when I saw big bags of Matchbox cars for $2.00 in the thrift store I had to buy him some to take home. He also picked out a talking Dora backpack that cost $1.50. For the past six days, Andrew has done nothing but play with these cars and the backpack. He loads all of the cars in the backpack and takes them wherever he goes. I thought that I would share a few pictures. It's pretty darned cute!

It's his backpack. Load it up, with things and kick-knacks too. Anything that you might need, he's got inside for you. Backpack, BACKPACK!

Spring Break

2009-03-22T22:53:00.000-04:00

Look at these beautiful little faces and tell me that you could leave all of the most important moments of their childhood in the hands of someone else:

I miss these little guys so much. This week was spring break for Shepherd University, and we took a trip to Pittsburgh to visit family and friends. We visited with my friend Jenny from high school. She has three little girls, and it was load of fun. They have a bouncy house and a kiddie Escalade, and Joseph and Andrew were pretty excited!

Friday night, we spent the night at Grandma's house. We ordered pizza, met Grandma's friend Louise, and watched Noggin. Saturday was a super fun-filled day: We went to the children's museum, and it was great to see the boys having so much fun. On the way home from the museum, we stopped at a really neat thrift store and got a bunch of new books and toys.

Saturday night we spent the evening at Aunt Ginny's. She made us some delicious dinner and Joseph and Andrew loved playing with Uncle Scott and the big toy box. Aunt Ginny also had some decorations that the boys thought were "coconuts," and when I took my eyes off of them for two seconds, they had unraveled the "coconuts" (a.k.a. balls of yarn) from one end of the house to the other. I regret that I didn't get any photos of this...

Sunday morning, we went to church with Ginny and Scott. Afterwards, we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's to have some lunch before we traveled home. Grandpa happens to be an electrical genius, and he fixed one of Joseph's "new" toys that was broken. Then we headed back to wild and (sometimes) wonderful West Virginia.

Tomorrow I have to go back to school, which means that the boys go back to daycare. I cannot even begin to describe the way that my heart aches. Of course I always knew that I loved my children, but I honestly don't think that I realized how much until this week.

For several weeks prior to spring break, I had been throwing around the idea of quitting school after this semester. Being home and spending time with my children has just reinforced my feelings on the matter. I can't do it...I can't go back. My children need their mother. They need someone who can devote all of her time to them; to nourish them spiritually and intellectually; to give them guidance and direction; they need the mother that their Father in heaven intended for them.

I can't be a nurturer and a student and do both well. Right now, my children are getting half a mother and my professors are getting half a student. I hate that I have to choose, but I will always choose my family above all else. Heavenly Father has entrusted me to care for these sweet little boys, and this is the most important test I will be given in this life. David O. McKay said, "No other success can compensate for failure in the home." Now is not the time for me to succeed academically. A piece of paper that says that I made straight A's is not going to matter if I am doing a terrible job as a mother while I work to achieve those grades.

So, after this semester, I have officially decided that I am going to take a hiatus from academic life. Yes, call me a failure as a student. I've only had about a hundred different majors and still no diploma. But I refuse to be a failure as a mother - and that's what really matters.

Creative Genius?

2009-03-15T20:18:00.000-04:00

My creative project of the week: renovating my kids' room. Why did I need to do this you may ask? Well, if you haven't looked at the pictures above yet, please do. My children literally colored every single spot on their walls that they could reach. It was beyond the point of cleaning. I checked them for crayons every single time they went into their room, and yet I still would find more drawings on the wall every day. Not that I don't encourage artistic activities. Really, I do - just not on the walls of the house that I am renting. So, I painted the walls of their room before my landlord could find out what mess they had made. And, I decided to get a little creative, and finally decorate their room. I feel like this is the first time since my children have been born that they actually have a room that looks nice. I'm sure that it will stay that way for a whole five minutes. But seriously, how hard is it to not color on EVERYTHING?

My Children Never Fail to Surprise Me

2009-03-10T15:43:00.001-04:00

There are so many amazing things that my children do. I am constantly being surprised by the new things that they can do. For instance, Joseph is always reading things. I can't believe how many words he knows how to read. Both of my children are fantastic artists, and I am always so proud of the drawings that they bring home from school. Andrew just has the sweetest, bubbliest little personality and I love to hear the funny things he says. My children bring so much happiness to my life.

Most of the time...

Then, there's an experience like last night, that surprised me in a very different sort of way. We were at Sam's Club, shopping for our lifetime supply of various food items (or so you would think, except that Joseph is a bottomless pit; what seems like a lifetime supply of cereal actually lasts a week). All was happy in our shopping cart, and then out comes a very loud scream from Andrew. We looked over at Joseph and he had a mouthful of hair - that's right! He bit a huge chunk out Andrew's hair! What the heck?!

I am also surprised by the fact that Andrew is over the age of three and refuses to go to the potty. I stole an idea from Megan O'Neill using marbles and a jar as an incentive for using the toilet, and Andrew seems excited about the idea of putting the marbles in the jar, but we still are unsuccessful at getting him to go in the toilet.

When we first started trying, he kept screaming that he was "too wittle" to use the potty, and insisted that he liked his diaper. So, we got a Lightning McQueen potty seat, which has encouraged him to sit on the potty. I take him frequently, but to no avail. He just sits there, and tells me "the pee-pee won't come down." Grrrr....

Isn't it supposed to be easier to potty train the second child? I have tried to take him to the bathroom and let him watch Joseph, but he is just not interested at all, and for some reason he LOVES wearing his diaper. Why, oh why? Joseph was really difficult to potty train as well, but I actually think that we are having a MORE difficult time with Andrew.

So anyway, surprises, surprises. What else can I say?

A New Way to Stimulate the Economy

2009-03-03T18:27:00.000-05:00

I have the flu...it's been absolutely miserable. So, we decided to go through the Dairy Queen drive-thru to get some dinner. Yummy food + ice cream = happy family, right? Wrong.

The kids' meals from DQ come with toys. The problem with that is that none of the toys have anything to do with one another. So, Andrew got a really cool pair of sunglasses in his meal, and Joseph got some lame-o plastic fishy finger puppets. How fair is that?

So, Brad figured that this is part of the new economic stimulus package - when you go through the drive-thru with more than one child, make sure that only one of the children gets a cool toy. Hide the toys underneath of all the food so that the unsuspecting consumers don't realize until they get home. Go to Wal-mart to buy the equivalent of the toy that came in the kids' meal. See! Our economy is being stimulated - Not only did we go out to eat, we also went to Wal-mart to buy toys. Now if we can just get everyone to go to DQ and order two kids' meals, then they'll have to go to Wal-mart and spend money on toys! Hooray, the economy is fixed.

At any rate, Andrew looked really cute in the sunglasses from Dairy Queen, and daddy took Joseph to Wal-mart, where he got some stylish Transformers glasses, as seen below:

Andrew enjoying his corndog and his new sunglasses, courtesy of Dairy Queen.

Apparently the lame-o fish puppets aren't so lame-o, as long as you don't have to give up your sunglasses.

And, one trip to Wal-mart later...

...Joseph in his cool Transformers glasses.

A Place for Everything, and Everything in its Place

2009-02-27T20:01:00.000-05:00

I have been super motivated this week. Since we've moved to the eastern panhandle, I feel like I have had no motivation to be a homemaker. But suddenly this week, the bug bit me. We had a little extra money, since we got a nice big tax return this year, so we decided to splurge on some new furniture for our living room.

Looks pretty nice, huh?

Our old furniture had become very dingy and disgusting. Pastel colors and toddlers do not mix! Last year I bought material to reupholster my sofa and love seat. In May 2008, I was about 3/4 of the way finished with the love seat and haven't touched it since.

I don't know what I was thinking. It is something that I know how to do, but I don't know what I was thinking taking on a task like that when I am a full-time student, a wife, and a mother to two insane toddlers! It was just completely unrealistic to finish that project, or to even start it in the first place. I think the realization that the project was too difficult was the beginning of my motivation actually.

My house had sat, literally untouched since a week after we moved in. Most of our belongings were still in boxes in our garage, and our walls were bare. It's hard to feel at home when you have no where to sit. So, once we got the furniture in the living room, it became easy to accomplish the rest of what needed to be done. I spent the week scrubbing our house from top to bottom, organizing various areas of our house, hanging curtains, and removing decorative items and photos from their hiding place (the garage) and hanging them.

Now our house is sparkling clean, and for the first time since August I actually feel at home! It's amazing what a little bit of old fashioned housekeeping can do to lift your spirits!

What Would You Bring?

2009-02-17T23:11:00.000-05:00

First off...the chicken chow mein? Fabulous. I can't wait to try some more recipes from that blog. If you haven't had time to check it out - make time! It took me about ten minutes to throw in the crockpot and at 5 pm, dinner was ready with about ten minutes of additional work, which involved making rice to serve it over and steaming some broccoli as a side dish. I will definitely make this dish again!

Last night was family night in our home. I love Family Home Evening. I feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life. We have a very simple routine for our family night - a prayer, a few songs, a story from the Book of Mormon Reader, and dessert. It seems to work really well for us. It involves little to no planning, and it really seems to have an impact on our children.

Last night, we read about Nephi being instructed by the Lord to build a boat. After we read the story, we asked the kids what they would bring on the boat with them. Here is how they responded:

Andrew

Worms
A caterpillar
Cookies
A toy house
Mud

Joseph

Toys
Food

I love Andrew's answers. Too funny! I am so happy that our children have reached the age where they can actually be involved in FHE. It makes for a happy family...

As the children's hymn goes, "We are a happy family!"

Great News for Busy Moms!

2009-02-16T09:54:00.000-05:00

First off, I have been the epitome of busy mom the past two weeks. Things have just been absolutely insane around our house. The biggest reason for this was the fact that I had four tests and two papers due all in the same week. Also, I have not been feeling well, Andrew has been going through the terrible threes, Brad has been above and beyond stressed at work, and Joseph has been, well...Joseph.

But...
I have great news for all you busy moms out there! I found a really great blog for healthy crockpot meals. I have my first attempt in the crockpot right now. I'll post details as to how it turned out. I am trying the Crock Pot Chicken Chow Mein. Here is the address for all who are interested:

http://crockpotrecipes101.com/blog/index.htm

Until later, happy cooking (or fixing it and forgetting it, I guess)!

What a Sport!

2009-02-02T08:02:00.000-05:00

Too funny - This morning, as I was dressing Joseph in these clothes, he asked me what a quarterback was. I told him that it was a player on a football team. He responded with, "Is there a 15 on the shirt because he has 15 baseballs?" It looks like Joseph is going to inherit his mother and father's athletic abilities!

A Day Well Spent

2009-01-28T19:49:00.000-05:00

Today was a wonderful occasion - a snow day for our whole family! It's pretty rare for colleges to cancel, if that's any indication of how bad the weather here was. We woke up with about two inches of snow topped with another two inches of ice (notice the picture of the ice on our back porch). So, we spent the day doing fun activities as a family, including:

Painting suncatchers
Playing Candy Land and Don't Break the Ice
Painting pictures
Building puzzles
Coloring with markers
Baking mini brownie cups

All in all, it was a day well spent!

Children Are Special

2009-01-27T10:46:00.000-05:00

I love that my children have a relationship with their Heavenly Father. It fills me with joy that my children are communicating with their Father in heaven.

Family Home Evening is difficult with young children. Their attention spans are so short. So for our FHE, we have decided that our children can concentrate enough to have an opening and closing prayer, a song or two from the Children's Hymns, and a chapter from the Book of Mormon Reader. This has been going great! I am amazed at the grasp they have on what they are being taught.

Currently, we are reading about Lehi's dream and Nephi's vision. When we first read about Lehi and his dream, we mostly focused on the fact that Laman and Lemuel were the bad brothers who did not want to partake of the fruit of the tree of life, and that Nephi and Sam were the good brothers. This seemed to make sense to him, and we were happy with that.

So, last night we read about Nephi's dream, and the meaning of the things his father saw in his vision. I am so amazed at the knowledge that a four-year-old is capable of retaining. We talked with him about how the iron rod is the word of God and that the fruit of the tree is God's love. He loved the story and that made me so happy.

Later on, Joseph was pretending that he was in the wilderness . He told us that he was holding on to the iron rod so that he wouldn't fall into the river, and that he was on his way to eat the white fruit. (Tears...) I know that he already has a love for the gospel. This might seem like such a simple thing, but I love that he has taken what we talked about to heart. I hope that he will be able to remember these things throughout all of his life. I am thankful that my child is like Nephi and Sam, and wants to partake of the fruit of the tree of life. What a blessing!

For as often as I am stressed out by my children, moments like this make all of my stress fade away. I remember what my purpose is; I remember that I am a mother first, above all things, and that it is my responsibility to teach my children the gospel. It is a huge responsibilty, and I am thankful that Heavenly Father entrusted me to teach such wonderful little spirits!

My heart just melts when I hear my children say prayers. Joseph and Andrew always say that they are thankful for one another. They are so sweet when they pray. Their prayers are so meaningful and heartfelt. Even when I hear my children say that they are thankful for McDonald's, I know they mean it! Something like that is important to a little child, and I love that my children know that all of their blessings come from Heavenly Father, even McDonald's.

Children are so special. They are able to teach us just as much as we teach them. Heavenly Father tells us to be as children, and I can see why. They are so close to Him. They don't question or doubt. They have perfect faith. I am so thankful for my little angels, and I can only hope that I can be as good a mother to them as they deserve. I hope that in the midst of this world that we live in, I can have a home that will be a sanctuary for them; a haven where they can escape the turmoil of their surroundings; a heaven on earth. And I am thankful that Brad and I had the wonderful blessing of being sealed in the temple so that our family can be together forever!

What Television Teaches My Children

2009-01-14T14:33:00.000-05:00

Before I describe what television has taught my four-year-old, first I need to give everyone a little update: It turns out that we do qualify for our childcare assistance. We are under the income limit by fifty dollars. So, I was able to go back to school this week. Everyone in our family has been very happy about this. I have a very good class schedule, and the kids are back at their wonderful preschool.

Now, about the telly. Over the course of our vacation, my children had plenty of oppurtunities to sit in front of the tube and watch Nick Jr. When we lived in Morgantown, we had digital cable, so our kids could watch their favorite shows on Noggin. I used to get really annoyed by Noggin, because Moose, the entertainment between all of the shows, has a really annoying voice, which happens to be even worse when he sings. We no longer have digital cable, so we have either Nick Jr, the Disney Channel, or PBS to choose from. I now find myself missing that stupid moose.

I stopped turning on the Disney Channel. Have you ever watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Higglytown Heroes? Mickey Mouse Clubhouse makes absolutely no sense, and has no redeeming value whatsoever. The main "hero" in the Higglytown Heroes is a stoner named Pizza Dude. I do like The Wiggles, Handy Manny, and Little Einsteins, but these programs are rarely on.

Yes, I realize that many of you probably are thinking that I am the worst mom ever, because I let my kids sit in front of the TV. I strongly encourage healthy eating and exercise. I don't use the television as a babysitter. But a little TV never killed anyone. I'm certainly not going to tell my kids that they can't watch TV, because I would just be a complete hypocrite - watching TV is my favorite pasttime. And I really do believe that kids can learn something from television. All things in moderation, right?

Now I find that I am missing the fricking Moose, because as annoying as he is, he isn't a commercial. I like the actual shows that are on Nick Jr. much better than the shows on Disney or PBS. I far prefer the off-key singing of Uniqua from the Backyardigans to the rambling of a stoned pizza deliveryman. I think that there is actually something to be learned from most of the shows on Nick Jr. Plus, have you seen Yo Gabba Gabba? I love that show! My kids love to dance because of that show. But Nick Jr. is nothing but commercials, particularly Billy Mays pointing his finger at my kids telling them that they "need to go to the phone right now."

First, Joseph was telling Brad about these things he saw on an infomerical called Carpet Sliders. He told Brad to "put them on his feet and see where the fun will take you." He knows every word to every fast food restaurant jingle and frequently tells us that "batteries aren't included." Ninety-nine, as in $5.99 plus shipping and handling, has become a significant part of my son's vocabulary. Yesterday, we were in Target and Joseph pointed to a sign and out of his mouth came

"Daddy, that sign says 'cheap ninety-nine.' Cheap means that you can buy something for a dollar."

We couldn't do anything but laugh. It was truly hilarious. But, it's not hilarious that kids are being targeted at such a young age. Do they really need to have advertisements for the "Snuggy" on Nick Jr.? Joseph recently told me that he needs a Snuggy because "it's like a blanket with arms." With the financial crisis that our country is battling, doesn't it seem a little ridiculous to be pushing sales pitches on the future of our country before they're in kindergarten? I can definitely see the connection. When you are four years old and someone tells you that "you need to go to the phone and order now," you really think that you need to go to the phone now!

Well I should probably stop there. I don't really feel like starting some philosophical ranting and raving over Billy Mays and his newest way to bleed people dry. But come on Viacom - can't my kids have a party in their tummy without being subjected to finger-pointing and MickeyD's ads?

Open House

2009-01-03T09:12:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends and Family:

Please come and visit your favorite people in the whole world, The Newells. We are very lonely here, and we miss all of our friends and family so much. We live in a huge empty house. We are begging you to help us fill up our house.

Here is a list of reasons why you want to come visit us:

We are so awesome; How could you not want to spend time with us?
Great shopping - The outlets and a really nice mall are 5 minutes from our house.
I am a really good cook. Think of all of the meals that you'll get to eat if you are staying at our house.
We live less than an hour from the D.C. temple.
We live less than an hour from Washington D.C.
We live an hour from Baltimore, MD.
We miss you!

Please come visit! We always tell everyone that our house is always open for visitors. No one ever listens. We're serious. Now get your butts here. I mean it.

It's Been a While...

2009-01-02T15:52:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog. I feel like I've had a little case of writer's block, which is odd because so many things have happened. But now I'm feeling inspired, so y'all are gonna get an earful.

First, we had an almost wonderful Christmas. Santa visited, bringing tons of presents for all! We were able to visit family and friends, which was wondeful. However we had to cut our trip short because of illnesses. Joseph came down with pneumonia. The night before Christmas, the poor little guy spent the entire night awake with a terrible cough. We came home with Joseph running a fever and throwing up. Thankfully, he has recovered almost entirely. The wonder of antibiotics and cough medicine.

My worries over the Handy Dandy notebooks were put to rest on Christmas day. As I had hoped, the kids were too involved with all of the gifts they did receive to think about the ones they didn't.

Because Joseph has been sick, we've spent very little time outside of our home during this Christmas vacation, and we are all starting to go a little stir crazy. Today was a little better - we took the kids to a McDonald's with an indoor playplace so they could burn off some of their pent up energy. Mommy and Daddy are going nuts, though.

For starters, for the last year and half, we have received assistance from the state to pay for our kids to go to daycare while Brad was working and I was going to school. Now, the state has decided that Brad makes too much money (if you can believe that), so we are no longer going to receive that assistance. Thankfully, the classes that I need are offered in the evenings, because it would have cost us $960 per month to send my kids to daycare. Who can afford that? Not us, that's for sure. But I am not sure how I am going to manage being at home all day, every day. I went back to school because I couldn't handle being at home all of the time. I'm thankful that I am still able to take classes, but I don't know how I am going to retain my sanity while being home with my two monsters all day. My plans are to try some sort of home school routine, because Joseph requires constant stimulation. I am just not sure that I am disciplined enough to keep up the routine.

I also am facing another dilemma. What do you do with a five year old who refuses to feed himself? I know that he can. He does it all the time. The problem is during dinner time. We always try to have dinner as a family, and we are usually successful. But we end up with Joseph being sent to his room or time out every night. He refuses to feed himself dinner. It doesn't matter what it is. He just doesn't want to eat. I hate that our family time is always is always cut short because we have to fight with Joseph. Last night, his excuse was that his "fork isn't long enough." I just don't know how to handle it. I am always so frustrated with him. How am I supposed to be a good mother to a child who I am constantly frustrated with? And what is going to happen when I am home all day?

I have a lot on my plate right now. Joseph has always been a very difficult child. Going to daycare gave him a routine to follow and the stimulation that he needed. That made a huge difference in his behavior at home. But how am I supposed to provide the stimulation that he needs and meet my own needs also? I can't even afford to keep just Joseph in daycare, so what am I going to do? A lot of women stay home with their children, but a lot of children aren't like Joseph. I am just overwhelmed. I want so desperately to be a good mother, but I feel like I'm going to collapse in on myself like a dying star when I spend too much time at home. Is there any solution? Is there a way to find balance?

HELP!

A Visit from Santa

2008-12-15T14:28:00.000-05:00

I finally got my kids' pictures with Santa Claus! Right before Thanksgiving, I took my kids to the mall in Hagerstown because I knew that they had a Santa already. I thought that I would get a picture of them with Santa, until I found out that it was gonna set me back fifteen dollars for one measly four-by-six inch photo. Is that ridiculous or what?

However, Santa decided to make a stop at our subdivision on a fire truck! We were very excited! The kids had a blast, and they even got to sit in the fire engine. Andrew was absolutely ecstatic about sitting in the fire truck. I guess we have a future fire fighter in our family.

The problem that we have faced as our kids have gone around visiting Santa, is that all they seem to want for Christmas is a "Handy Dandy Notebook." This is a problem, because they don't make them anymore. They each got one last year for Christmas because we were able to find them on Ebay for about ten dollars. But this year, the cheapest I have been able to find is twenty. So that would mean forty dollars plus shipping for NOTEBOOKS. I made them notebooks for Halloween, but it was a huge hassle that I am not willing to go through again. I keep trying to explain to my children that there are no Handy Dandy Notebooks for sale, but they just say, "But I want a notebook for Christmas, just like I got last year."

Another problem is that last year, they had torn the notebooks apart within a month. They have wipeoff pages, so it's not like the pages would get all used up. It's just that my kids destroy everything. They seriously ripped out all of the pages. So, I am not paying forty bucks for notebooks that they are just going to destroy in seconds. I'm a little nervous about Christmas this year, though. I really hope that my kids will be too excited about all of their other presents to be concerned about these notebooks. But what if they aren't? How do I explain to a toddler that Santa can't make him a notebook? How am I supposed to handle a toddler who doesn't want any of his other presents because they aren't a Handy Dandy Notebook? EEeek!

Please Tell Me That This Is Just A Phase!

2008-12-04T22:52:00.000-05:00

It has come to my attention that my last post may have led some to believe that I may be pregnant! I could not be further from being pregnant. "Pogchap" is just someone Joseph has apparently added to his list of imaginary friends.

Speaking of imaginary friends, Joseph has an imaginary friend named "Gokagaddy." I am not sure if this is how you spell it. I spelled it phoenetically. Where does he come up with this stuff? My guess is that he misses his friends from Morgantown, so he had to make up a new friend. This friend has been hanging out at our house since we moved. I just wish I new where he got these strange names from - Pogchap and Gokagaddy.

Also, I am a little tired of my kids calling one another Steve (Joseph) and Joe (Andrew). When is this phase going to end?

I made the huge mistake of making my kids Steve and Joe costumes (from Blue's Clues) for Halloween, and ever since they have refused to go by their real names. For a while they would only refer to Brad and I as Diego and Dora, because that was what we dressed up as. They still call us that occasionally, but this Steve and Joe thing doesn't seem to be coming to an end anytime soon. Everyday when they come home from school, the first thing they do is rush to put on the costumes. They have a fit if the costumes are dirty. You should see these things - they are ragged! They have been worn, literally, every single day for over a month. They have to wear their brown dress shoes every day, because that is what Steve and Joe wear. All I do is draw pictures of thinking chairs, Blue's Clues houses, handy dandy notebooks, and crayons all day - yes, I even have to draw a crayon to look like theirs! The whole Blue's Clues addiction used to be kinda cute, but it has just gone way too far. I have to ween them from Blue's Clues. It's fine for them to like this show, but I just want Joseph and Andrew back - I did not give birth to Steve and Joe! Has anyone else ever gone through an obsession like this? I will gladly accept any advice...

The Funny Things My Kids Say...

2008-12-01T18:07:00.000-05:00

Sometimes my children say the most hilarious things. Here are some of the things that Joseph and Andrew have said in the past week:

Joseph: "Daddy, I went to the pretzel store to buy these pretzels."
Brad: "Oh really. What was the store called?"
Joseph: "Pretzelvania."

Joseph: "Daddy we're going to have a new baby."
Brad: "You don't say."
Joseph: "Yeah, his name is going to be Pogchap."

Andrew (very sweetly): "Daddy, I kill you." (We finally figured out that he said this because Brad is always saying, "You guys are killing me.")

Joseph (as Brad was putting new batteries in one of his toys): "Daddy, batteries aren't included. But now they're included."

Joseph: "It's time for Blue's Clues. It's nine-eight central."

Me (as Andrew passes gas while I am changing his diaper): "Andrew, are you letting stinkers?"
Andrew: "No, I had stinky farts. Two (and he holds up two fingers) stinky farts!"

Joseph: "Mommy, get me a tissue. There are too many boogers in my nose."

I'm sure that there have been other funny things this week, but everything they say is so funny that it's hard to remember them all!

Thanksgiving Break

2008-11-30T19:46:00.000-05:00

We have been waiting for weeks for Thanksgiving! I'm sure that everyone has. It's always nice to have a little time off to relax with your family. The problem is that usually you don't end up relaxing. But at any rate, it's nice to be with family.

This year, we decided to bring my sister, Stephanie, to our home for Thanksgiving. She goes to college in Philadelphia, and for the last two years in a row, she has had to spend Thanksgiving alone. We decided it would be a fun adventure for our family to retrieve her from her scholarly surroundings and bring her to a more relaxing environment, free from the hustle and bustle of big city living.

Our trip started out great:

Here is the happy driver! This picture was taken about two miles into our journey (hence, the happy face).

We saw this lovely autmobile (in Hagerstown, about five miles from our house). That's sure to make you smile!

And, our boys are happy because they are eating McDonald's!

All was well and good until we reached this sign. Stinking Delaware!

This sign is a sight that is sure to make anyone unhappy! Five dollars? And that wasn't the only toll that we had to pay!

And then we spent the next two-and-a-half hours looking at this. Yep, it took us two-and-a-half hours to go eleven miles. So, our trip turned just a little bit sour. A three hour drive turned into a six hour drive. Fun FUN for everyone!

But the boys were too excited to care! Aunt Stephanie is here! They spent the entire car ride home talking her ear off (mostly about Blue's Clues) and made her draw a thousand pictures for them. She even brought them new notebooks and crayons. This picture pretty much sums up how Aunt Stephanie spent her Thanksgiving break. Hopefully she didn't mind too much, because she is forever a hero in her nephews' eyes.

The Sci-Fi nerds spent the entire break talking about comic books and movies that I have never heard of.

Aunt Stephanie and her homeboys.

And the beautiful feast that I prepared. My house may not be unpacked yet, but at least I dug out my china so we could dine in style!

Friday was spent decorating the Christmas trees. This is the grown-up tree (which explains why the grown-ups are standing next to it).

We may have had too much sparkling cider...

Andrew with the kiddie tree. I swear, this is the cutest face I have ever seen!

And this one is pretty darn cute too!

And so our Thanksgiving break came to a close with a trip back to Philadelphia, and hours more spent in Delaware. Not exactly a relaxing trip, but like I said before, it's nice to be with family. And what's more important than family?

What a Crappy Day...

2008-11-20T16:12:00.000-05:00

Today was an exceptionally bad day. I couldn't sleep last night for several reasons:

1. I HAD to finish Twilight. It was too amazing. I couldn't put it down.

2. I have this huge zit on my forehead that was (and still is) throbbing like a migraine. What the heck is that all about?

3. I had the most insane heartburn. I can't remember the last time I had heartburn, but it was probably when I was pregnant.

The heartburn issue probably could have been solved earlier by taking a couple of Tums at 8:00 when it started. But I refused to put my book down to go get some, so instead, I didn't take any until midnight, when I finally decided to go to sleep. The heartburn was so bad by that point that it took a good while for the Tums to kick in. I ended up starting a new book (Bridget Jones' Diary) and didn't go to sleep until 1:30. Also, in this time period, I was busy convincing myself that my arm hurt, and that I was having a heart attack (instead of heartburn). You know, because paranoia and anxiety help you fall asleep easier.

So imagine my surprise when I was awakened at 6:30 by my kids chattering away in their bedroom. 6:30??? What the heck? But, they seemed relatively happy, so I went back to bed. Not for long, though. At 7:15, Andrew was screaming his head off because Joseph was sitting on him. Grrrrr... So, I begrudgingly removed myself from the bed. When I went to change Andrew's diaper, it was completely dry. Ok, so they were awake way before 6:30, because Andrew has never in his entire existence woken with a dry diaper. This means that Brad must have changed his diaper before he left. Brad leaves the house at 6:15 (I later learned that they were awake at 5:00, when Brad woke up). So, it goes without saying, I had mega cranky kids all day.

For some reason, it seemed like a good idea to take my kids to story time at the library. On a normal day this is a difficult task. So today it was pure torture. Joseph and Andrew just wanted to make a mess all through the library, and touch everything but the materials for the craft. We have this awesome little library, and Dana, who does story time is great. Once I finally got the kids to sit down and do the craft, everything was ok. But this didn't happen until after Joseph screamed about going to the bathroom, ran out into the parking lot ten thousand times, stole Jane the Librarian's calendar off of her desk, and tried to break her bobblehead bear. I did manage to get a few cute pictures in, though:

Andrew always goes straight for the puzzles when we go to the library. This kid loves puzzles!

Joseph joined in the puzzle playing. Because, you know, who wants to listen to a cool story when you can play with the same puzzles you've played with a million times

Finally Andrew sat down and made his turkey napkin ring. Very cute. Thanks Dana!

So, here's where the day gets crappier. I had this brilliant idea to get my blog ready for Christmas. This brilliant idea involved getting a picture of my kids in front of a Christmas tree. But it's not even Thanksgiving, so I haven't decorated for Christmas yet. But you know who has? Wal-mart. They started decorating for Christmas before Halloween. And, they had two big beautiful trees right when you walk in the store. So, I decided that I would take the kids in Wal-mart and take a picture of them in front of the Christmas tree. Well, apparently I was not allowed to do that, and the manager came and very politely informed me that photography is not allowed inside of Wal-mart. I was just a little bit embarassed. Like, ten people felt the need to come talk to me about it. So, I put my screaming kids into the shopping cart and went to get the few things I needed. But of course my kids were mad, because they wanted to play with the Christmas tree. And here is my wonderful reminder of this embarassing occasion:

So, yeah, I had a crappy day...

Giving Thanks

2008-11-16T16:37:00.000-05:00

This is my backyard. You would think that it would be hard to feel anything but happiness if this was what you were looking at out the window at every day. Yet, I manage to feel more and more gloomy every day that I spend here. I am desperate for Morgantown! I never thought that I would be saying that.

I wish that I had been more thankful for Morgantown when I had lived there. All I ever did was complain about it. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I'm not sure why I disliked it so much. But it really is a great town, filled with wonderful people. I can't begin to explain how much I miss it, but I'll try.

Reasons I Miss Morgantown, WV:

Friends. We had so many wonderful friends, who we had so much in common with.
Family. We were relatively close to most of our family. Joseph and Andrew loved that grandma and grandpa lived so close.
WVU. I LOVE WVU. I can't think of any school on the planet where I would rather get my education. Not to mention, who doesn't love seeing a flaming couch flying off a second story balcony.
Cost of living. I used to think that Morgantown was expensive until I moved here. Even MILK is more expensive here. Everything is double the cost.
Kids Korner. While we have found a really nice daycare here in Martinsburg, we will always love Kids Korner. Our kids had such a great time there, and they really miss all of their friends and teachers.
Good doctors. Even though I used to complain about Ruby Memorial Hospital, I always knew that everyone in our family was getting proper medical care. It really is a great hospital, and it uses all of the most current technology and medical practices.
Cooper's Rock. There is nothing better than escaping to Cooper's Rock for the afternoon. Great fun - for free!
Parks. There is nowhere for our kids to play here. There is one really big park that is overrun with teenagers who have nothing better to do than hang out on playground equipment made for toddlers and cause trouble. That's basically our only option.
An insect-free environment. I have been covered with bugbites from the second that we moved here. It is November. You'd think that all of the bugs would be gone for the winter. Nope - if it is above forty degrees, you get attacked by huge swarms of bugs here.
Safety. I can honestly say that I have never been anywhere so scary. I am terrified of this place. You couldn't pay me to send my kids to public school here.

And so, on that note, we intend to move back to Morgantown next August. We need our family and our friends close by. We need to have good medical care and goods schools for our children. I need the University that I love, flaming couches and all. And most of all, we as a family, need to be able to afford to live. Morgantown, sweet Morgantown, I promise that I will never take you for granted ever again!

In the meantime, I know that I need to be thankful for all of the wonderful things that I have. I really have a lot to be thankful for. I may not be happy in this town, but I have a wonderful husband, who loves me and treats me like a queen. I have two beautiful children, and although they drive me crazy sometimes, they really are wonderful little boys and my life would be incomplete without them. So for the next nine months or so, I just have to remember to be thankful for all of the wonderful blessings I have in my life, and hopefully Morgantown will have me back!

Plan? What plan?

2008-11-13T19:01:00.000-05:00

The fact that this bumper sticker is funny to me is somewhat of an enigma. If anybody who knew me ten years ago is reading this, they know why. It's funny how you think that you have everything all figured out and then nothing works out the way that you planned it.

Seven years ago, I was graduating high school. I had known since I was ten years old that I wanted to be a high school band director. It was the only thing that I had wanted to do my entire life. But apparently, God had a different plan for me.

I thought that art would be a good field of study, since it's something that I've always been talented at. Again, God had a different plan for me.

I thought that I would be a stay-at-home mom. Also, not in His plans.

I don't know why none of these paths was right for me. For some reason accounting is a perfect fit. I have had a million different majors in school, and finally one fits. Why accounting? It really is beyond me. All I know is that it makes me happy; it seems to make sense. Why couldn't it have made sense years ago? That would have made my life so much easier. I know I am definitely not the only person who has had this dilemma. It seems like some people know from the time they are born what they are going to do with the rest of their lives, and yet there are others, like myself, who feel like they could spend forever searching.

Accounting is seriously the last thing I ever thought would interest me, and yet I now find it to be interesting enough that I want to do it for a living. And on that note, I need to go study for the accounting test I have to take at 9 am.

That's What She Said...

2008-11-12T18:53:00.000-05:00

This picture pretty much sums up my entire week. That is how absolutely pathetic I am. My entire week revolves around The Office. Seriously. It is Wednesday and I cannot stop the excitement from welling up inside of me because I know that I have a date with Jim Halpert tomorrow night at 9 pm. How does a 21 minute show have this much power over me?

Fuzzy Tongue

2008-11-11T19:26:00.000-05:00

Today was probably the least productive day I have ever had. I seriously did nothing today but enjoy the fact that my husband and children were at home all day. I pretty much played on the computer and watched kids' shows all day. Apparently I passed the domestic feeling on to Brad because he washed and folded five loads of laundry today, did two loads of dishes, and he made dinner (fish sticks and macaroni and cheese, but I am certainly not complaining). He also cleaned out our garage. What a wonderful husband!

Maybe I enjoyed doing nothing so much because I was saving up my energy for what was to come later in the evening - haircuts! This is never a happy time in our home. It was absolutely inevitable that our children would have thick hair, because Brad and I both have extremely thick hair (although Brad's is getting a little sparse on top). Along with my thick hair, I have a double cowlick.

Joseph has the misfortune of sharing my DNA. If his hair gets longer than a quarter of an inch I cannot keep it from standing straight up. He also has the craziest widow's peak I have ever seen. Andrew's hair lacks the double cowlick and the widow's peak, but he has so much hair that he starts to look like a werewolf if I don't cut it often enough.

I face the problem of having to cut my kids' hair on my own, because anytime I have taken them to have someone else do it, they barely touch their hair with the tip of the scissors and then charge you a fortune. And, they way my kids' hair grows, I swear that they need a haircut every week. They have so much hair that it takes a long time to cut, during which my kids scream bloody murder because they are itchy.

Tonight, Andrew cried the whole time. As he was crying, he was rubbing his tears away which made the hair stick to his face and then he was wiping his nose and got hair in his mouth. He kept trying to remove the hair from his mouth, but instead got a tongue covered in hair. And I get to do this every month...FUN!

If you click on this picture so you can look at is full size, you can see all of the hair flying all over the place.

My handsome little boys with their new haircuts!

Pam Gets Domestic...

2008-11-10T20:25:00.000-05:00

Hooray! I am officially a blogger now! I have been saying for months now that I would start a blog. On Saturday night, I couldn't fall asleep, so I thought, "I'll finally start my blog." So, here it is.

I should start off by saying what a strange day it's been. I was feeling very domestic today. It's been a long time since I've felt that way. I got home from school today at 1:00 and decided I wanted to do something nice for my family. That something nice turned into two loaves of homemade bread, chicken noodle soup (from scratch, I might add), and brownies. Then I made a Family Home Evening lesson, and we sat down as a family and enjoyed all of these things. I am not sure what brought all of this on, but I kind of liked it. Before I went back to school, I was always cooking and cleaning and doing all kinds of domestic things. I forgot that there were some things about staying at home that I actually enjoyed. Maybe Heavenly Father was trying to reming me that, before everything else is family. Although my intention in going back to school has always been for the betterment of my family, I have to admit that it does bring out my selfish side. I get so caught up in school, that it tends to become the priority. And while it is important to do well in school, my primary purpose in being there is doing what's best for my family. I guess my whole domestic outburst today was just to remind me that sometimes I have to put aside the schoolwork and focus a little more attention on my husband and my kids.

And speaking of focusing attention on my kids, I have to mention that Joseph has become a fabulous artist. I am so amazed by his drawings. I'll spot him in a corner with his crayon and his notebook, and when I ask to see what he's drawn, it's always better than the day before. The subjects continue to become more recognizable each day, and as he practices drawing the same things over and over again, I notice that each time they become more detailed. I wonder what will become of this. My sister Stephanie had notebooks full of drawings like this when she was his age, and for anyone who knows her, we can only hope that he turns out to be half the artist that she is. Almost daily I go into Joseph's room and find new drawings on his walls. I've given up being upset over the crayon on the walls. I can always paint over it. But I don't want to stop what he is doing. His creativity is fascinating. In all the years I have been drawing, and with all of the talent that I possess, I felt that I have never been able to truly create. Sure, I can draw what I see, but I have never been able to just imagine something and then turn it into a drawing or a painting. If Joseph has that ability, I don't want to stop him. I know this might sound a little ridiculous; I am talking about a four-year-old. But if you could only see what my sister was doing when she was four, and then see what she does now, you would understand.

Shovel and Pail from Blue's Clues

Blue's Clues Thinking Chair

Another Thinking Chair, complete with the "yo-yos," as my kids call them

A self-portait

Steve from Blue's Clues (notice the striped shirt)

I think that this is supposed to be Joseph and Andrew. I love the facial expression of the person on the right!

Joseph ringing the doorball and opening the door. It says "open" on the door. Haha!

Riding in the shopping cart at Walmart.