Delete

I wish I could declutter my life the way I declutter my email inbox. I just received that dreaded message that my inbox was nearing capacity. So, says I, I guess it's time to clean it out. So I proceed to go to the oldest emails and begin to delete. Some pages I decide to keep one or two, other pages I get the joy of clicking one box and deleting the whole page. I went from 130 messages to 36 what a great feeling. Then I think to myself, "why can't my life be that easy?" Every so often my house could flash a bright red warning, Your house is at 78% capacity. Then I could go around all the clutter gathering areas of the house, look at a piece of mail decide whether I want to keep it, if not say "delete" and it's gone, if so, say "save" and it disappears somewhere that doesn't clutter up my house until I need it again. I really have no problem throwing stuff away. My problem lies in not taking care of it the moment it touches my hands. I guess you'd call it procrastination. Now I know a lot of you very organized people are thinking, "quit whining and get a file cabinet." Well, I have one and a recycling bin but it's not the same and not as much fun. Besides, your email box probably never "nears capacity" either.

You Made My Day

I normally am not a big fan of Valentines Day. I expect very little, I give very little. Today has changed my opinion thanks to the planning of my incredibly, wonderful, and good looking husband. Below are pictures of my surprise this morning.

Mark got up extra early this morning (a huge sacrifice) to literally clean the entire house! That's right ladies, I woke up to a clean kitchen, living room and basement. Leaving me free to fill my day with the things I want to do and none of the guilt of, "I really should be cleaning." The above message was left for me by my Jackson.
I found this lovely poster filled with my favorite treats. Below are taped two packets of wild flower seeds. These roses were on the kitchen table.

Here is an interpretation of the poster, each kid took a line: Mom, You are a "Jolly Rancher"! You have "Smarties" in your pants! (that's a Jacksonism) I love you "Now&Later"! (Something in Luke language) & "Kissables". (Liam) "Crunch". Naptime mom "Take 5"! We have very few "Dollars"! All of us "Runts" here in "Peanutopolis" may drive you "nuts" but we love you very much!

To finish off my perfect day Mark and I are going out to dinner tonight and then coming home to watch our favorite show, Lost!
Wow, my family's great! I love them so much. Thanks guys for really making my day!

MINE!!!!!

So who appointed me referee? Is that in the job description? If so, I got no job training! I am so tired of having to decide who gets "the toy", why is this my decision? Ok, here's the senario...said toy is laying innocently on the floor. No one has noticed it for some time now. Child A picks it up and begins to quietly play. Child B to whom the toy technically belongs enters the room and notices Child A and you know what hits the fan! So, as a loving parent, what do I do? Yes, the toy is Child B's but Child B hadn't touched the toy in eons and should learn to share. I tend to lean in favor of Child A but what about ownership? I DON'T KNOW AND I'M SICK OF IT!!!!!! Please someone come to my aid and give me some ingenious way to be fair and consistent. PLEASE!

I've Been Tagged

This is for Amy and Robin, sorry it took so long.

I've Been Tagged!
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: That would be January 1998, Mark and I were dating, I was living in Cincinnati doing and internship for graduate school (which I never finished). Teaching gospel doctrine and working at the Cincinnati Zoo. Wait a minute! This is all sounding very familiar, I guess I took a 10 year break in my life and now I'm picking up where I left off.

5 things on my to-do list today:

1. Finally do this post
2. Take a nap
3. Go to my last animal handling training at the zoo.
4. Do the dishes
5. Fold the laundry

Snacks I enjoy:

1. Hot Chocolate and Graham crackers
2. Salted almonds (with or without chocolate)
3. Artichoke dip
4. Chips and homemade salsa

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. Pay off our debt
2. Buy the farm of my dreams
3. Make sure my parents and in laws could retire comfortably
4. Take Jackson to the "heart of Africa"
5. Make sure my friends and family had what they needed

3 of my bad habits:

1. Procrastination
2. Saying things I later regret
3. Clutter

5 places I have lived:

1. Slidell, LA
2. St. Cloud, FL
3. Provo, UT
4. Cincinnati, OH
5. Bronx, NY

5 jobs I have had:

1. Farm hand in an orange grove
2. Early AM janitorial at the BYU Tanner Bldg
3. Cincinnati Zoo, Misc. teaching jobs
4. Wheeler Historic Farm Camp Counselor
5. Naturalist for Cincinnati Parks

5 things people don't know about me:

1. Played soccer as a kid
2. I went to a Milli Vanilli concert in high school
3. I was stung by a Man o War while snorkeling in the Keys
4. I always got teased for being so pale
5. Sorry, that's about all I've got. I'm pretty much an open book.

I tag David, Sara Craven and Julie.

I Should Have Known

I should have known it was going to be a bad day when I woke up at 3 am and there were 4 in the bed instead of 2.

I should have known when I got all the kids up this morning, fed them breakfast and then found out there was no school.

I should have known when after a sustained amount of silence (I know, I should know better) I walked into the kitchen to find this:

I should have known when all this happened before 9:30 am.

If that wasn't enough to give you a laugh try these...

Savanna: Mom! I won't go to bed unless I have candy!

Mom: Savanna, I don't listen to ultimatums.

Savanna: You don't listen to tomatoes?


After Mark made some sort of smart comment Jackson said, "Dad, you've got smarties in your pants!"

Resolutions Revisited

Okay, I think I'm ready.
There are two things that I would like to do better this year. The first will allow me to improve a lot of other areas in my life such as exercise, scripture study, cleaner house, etc. And what is this miracle resolution? Getting the kids to bed on time. You see, the reason Mark and I don't accomplish the things we want to is because by the time the kids are asleep (notice I did not say in bed.) all we want to do is veg in front of the TV or just talk to each other (I know, a novel idea). So, by the time we go to bed it is midnight and then we don't want to get up early enough to do anything worthwhile. So, with the kids down by 8pm we have 2 whole hours to do non-constructive stuff and then get up before the kids and do the constructive stuff! What do you think about that?! The hard part is actually doing it, but it's a great theory.

The second thing I want to do this year is be more involved. I want to practice what I preach and "stand strong and immovable" for what I believe in. I thought I'd start by sharing some websites with you that I feel are worthwhile.

www.cp80.com This is an organization that fights internet pornography by pushing for change in legislation so that you could choose whether you want porn on your computer just like you choose if you want HBO on your television. I love this idea of protecting freedom of speech while also protecting my right not to have unwanted sites in my home. I think with enough people fighting for it it could happen.

www.purefashion.com "Pure Fashion is a faith-based program that encourages teen girls to live, act, and dress in accordance with their dignity as children of God. Pure Fashion focuses on guiding young women ages 14 to 18 to become confident, competent leaders who live the virtues of modesty and purity in their schools and communities." (I love this!)

I am completely out of my comfort zone with this. It's not something that comes naturally but I feel like it's something I need to do. Please feel free to share ideas and encouragement, that's what blogs are for, right?

Resolutions

Resolutions. That word brings fear and dread to my heart. Actually, I take that back. It all depends on my mood. Today it does. When I'm feeling overwhelmed. When I feel in control and hopeful I love making resolutions. Maybe I should wait...I think I will.