Turkey and Family and white elephant gift.

So After my sister left, Thanksgiving came quick! Monday (3 days before Thanksgiving) I realized we didn't have any family to be with for the big day! And then I thought "gee, why don't we go visit family? We are out of school, we don't have any other plans. Lets pack up and go!" So we did. Wednesday we got in the car and drove. We picked Arizona Family because its closer, there's no snow/bad traffic, and we had some stuff to check on our Rentals. Good times. I even remembered my camera! Unfortunately, I left the battery on the charger on the counter. So no pictures this time. Oops!!  

After Thanksgiving, grandma agreed to keep Chloemonster for a week for us. Chloemonster is 4 (which I think might be one of my favorite ages of my kids-they can do so much for themselves, and usually follow directions). However, there is a reason I call her Chloemonster. She is so stinkin high maintenance. She's chit-chatty. REALLY chit chatty. And clingy. She FREAKS when she is at school and some part of her routine changes (she cried all thru picture day, one day her teacher was wearing a firefighter suit, and she honestly couldn't handle it, and one day they opened a new center and she wouldn't go anywhere near it) Never mind. Her crazyiness is a completely different post. So we left her at grandmas. We drove home with just Jerom and Avery. It was so peaceful and quiet! The house stayed WWWAAAAYYY neater and clean with her gone. I could not believe the difference. After 5 days instead of 7 days, grandma called and said "I'll meet you in vegas tonight. Chloe is ready to be home" Don't get me wrong. I love her, and I totally missed her. In fact, I couldn't let myself talk to her on the phone the first couple times. Its hard to let go and let her be somewhere else! And home is back to its usual messy/can't have my own thoughts for more than 1.5 seconds. Seriously not kidding.  

The next week, we had Dance recital performances. Avery has always done gymnastics; this time we decided to put her in an after school dance class at her school. 
Jerom thought he'd go for a drumming class. 
And chloe said she would be brave enough to go to her own dance class. 
So it was recital night!

Avery was giddy with excitement and could hardly contain herself. She practiced her songs and was excited and ready to go. Her missing front 2 teeth crack me up. I am ready for some more to grow in and take their spot!

Anyways, Chloe was really nervous about her performance. For WEeKS, she had been telling me she didn't want to do it. And for weeks, I told her she would be fine. Its scary, but she can get up with her class and do it. We practiced walking across the stage when nobody was there. Walking. She was too shy to do that some days. I don't know how to describe her. She can be outspoken, attitude, mind set on things, and other times she is so clingy, shy, hide her face in her hands kind of gal. Its so hard sometimes. Here's how Chloe was feeling before her recital.

You can't even fake that kind of excitement. Or lack thereof. She just didn't want any part of the evening. So, we headed over. I didn't talk to her about her performance. When it was finally her turn, we sent her up, and she actually stood up, walked up on the stage, and got in her spot. 
And then, SHE DID IT! 
She did her best to do her little dance. 
She stared at the floor the whole time, no smile on her face, but her feet were (slowly) doing what she learned and she even moved her arms a little.  
And then when she came back and sat down, she had this sudden burst of excitement and was joyous and happy the rest of the evening.

Abe is completely busy with school and performances. He has singing/performing groups that perform throughout the community all the time. People here are showy/singy/dancy like that. 
One night we went on a date and saw Jon Schmidt/Steven Sharp Nielsen. 
Amazing.
Look them up on youtube. 

Ok are you ready for a funny story?
Every year at the school Abe teaches at, they have an annual Christmas dinner. Its just a fun night where everyone brings a potluck dish and visits. They also do a white elephant gift exchange. From what Abe understands, gag gifts are pretty normal. Like a gigantic bra goes around every year. And the vice principal's underwear. (they aren't really his underwear, they just pretend they are). Awkward stuff like that. So we get curious about what to bring. When I was young and more creative, my friend and I would get a toilet plunger, and fill the bottom with candy. So thats what we decided to put together.

Don't worry--it was a brand new plunger. And the candy is unwrapped, inside a bag, inside a bag. Totally edible. Funny, right? 

Well, we took 2 gifts. Mine was candy and a amazon gift card. Totally likable. I'd much rather get something I can use. Anyways...we are at the party. Everyone is in a big circle. There's like 60 or 80 or more people. I don't know how many. Everyone has a gift. Then the vice principal reads a story and whenever he reads "right" or "left" you pass your gift. So whatever gift you end up with is what you get. make sense? SO we play. gifts are being passed around like crazy. and when it ends? I about died. the principal of the school ended up with our gift!! He's like a conservative, rule-following, not toilet plunger with chocolate kind of guy. I was so embarrassed!! I'm so glad it didn't have our name on it to know who it was from. BUT payback came when we opened ours...coconut bra and leis!! Abe stood up and danced it them in front of everybody. He's so silly like that.

In other news, I finally got around to printing my blog! I've been wanting it printed in a book forever now, but it always seemed so time-consuming to put together every pages format, pictures, etc. My friend told me about how she printed hers, and I ended up loving it. Instead of fancy book formatting, they grab all your posts, and put it together like a book. no fancy backgrounds or formatting.  You can choose a Hardback or softback cover, edit your writing, and get all your pictures in black and white or color. I loved the way mine turned out. So check out sharedbook.com I get email coupons all the time so let me know if you want a %off coupon. yay!

Well, thats it for now. Next time I'll let you know all about Christmas! and why our house is crazier than normal. Have a fabulous night!

I had the best day with you today

You know the song from Taylor Swift "I had the best day with you, today" I'd sing it for you if you were sittin here next to me. Well, back in November, my sister came to visit. It was the BEST!! Most of Abe's family has been here to visit us in our new place. My sister was the first of my family to come visit, and it meant so much to me!! It was so long ago...(6 weeks is a long time for me to remember something) We went shopping. We hung out. We went to some concerts at the school. We froze at a soccer game. Oh Yeah-we painted my bedroom wall. 

Before. Plain white.

After. Gray/blue.

I totally LOVE it! And with Jill's help, we had it done in 2 hours while Chloemonster was gone to school. YAY!! 

Back in October, I took the kids to the dentist for their annual cleaning/exams. I have always, always dreaded taking kids to the dentist. I know they have a gajillion cavities, and I end up feeling like the lousiest mom in the world. So off we went again. We've always gone to fabulous pediatric dentists, so my kids think its the BEST DAY ever. They don't get why I'm grouchy. Ok whatever. So we go. and guess what. NO Cavities. zero. zilch. all 3 kids? Yes. No cavities! Horray! I was totally doing the happy dance (in my head). And then the dentist says a different awful sentence "Your son needs orthodontic work. He needs it immediately." 

Sorry for the Halloween pictures...has it been that long since I posted? Wow. So he has a crossbite (when one tooth goes in front of the other) and his bottom tooth is being pushed forward and out of the bone. They say thats a bad thing...his gums are super thin. Once they go away from the front of the tooth, they don't' grow back. So, we went in to the orthodontist. He agrees (of course he did...he just wants more money) with the dentist. What do we do? I don't want him traumitized by a messed up smile for his entire life...so we went ahead with the treatment plan. Unfortunately, we don't have room in our budget for the extra expense. (seriously? have you priced out a set of braces? Its like a car payment. I don't care they aren't charging me any interest...its alot.)  We really had no idea how we were going to pay for it, but went forward feeling like everything would be ok. Who needs food when you have a beautiful smile, right? ha ha ha

I might as well add our halloween pictures. Butterfly. Angel. Ninja.

 Worms! Yum! For dinner! What's halloween without some groody food! Well, we made these in November when Jill was here, so close enough. Its really Jelloish stuff. And quite tasty, I might add.

Well, while Jill was here, Abe sent me an email of a job opening he found out about. So I responded. I'm an unskilled, stay at home mom with no work history. I can do anything though, right? Jill babysat while I went in for an interview. Later that day they called me. I got the position. 
Whoa. 
What?
For Real?
I start tomorrow?
Its part-time an overlaps when my youngest is at school?
Amazing how blessings come. My biggest challenge with getting a job is Chloemonster. I work 4 hours a day and she is in school 2 hours a day. SO I need help from friends. I hate asking for help. I really don't like to feel dependent on other people. I feel guilty blowing my child off on whoever is available. Luckily, some friends came to the rescue to help. I pay them, even though they don't want paid. I am not passing her around the relief society sisters just to get some free help while I work! I just can't do it.
So Jill was here for interview, and to babysit for my first day of work. She is amazing.
I've been there 6 weeks now and I absolutely love it!! Everything about it is so perfect for me. If you want more details, call me. I don't want to put out ALL my life details on a public blog...

So thats why I haven't blogged in forever! All my spare time is gone! I love it though. And now we can pay that orthodontist.
And to my sister-I had the best day with you...today!

friends!!

I'm a Ward Choir Dropout

I've never been in a ward choir before. There's been lots of reasons. I'm not really a singer. I'm not a fan of being up in front of people. I don't really want to go to practice. Our kids have always been really small and have made it so only Abe or I could be part of it. Abe is the singer. Abe is the Piano player. He has always been part of the choir and I stay with our kids. Until last month. Our ward choir started up with practices. Abe got called to be the choir pianist, so he naturally had to be there.  I had this CRAZY thought that our kids could quietly chill in the back row of the chapel for 30 minutes and I would join the choir. For once I wouldn't be home with kids while Abe was gone to yet another meeting. (its true...he is always gone with meetings, Young Men, scouts, service, and I am home with kids) Anyways. I thought it would be fun that our family could go together and have a decent Sunday family activity. The first week was a little rough, but not too bad. Last week...not so hot. Today was awful. Let me see if I can describe it. 3 kids. running. playing "horsie" with the ties on the girls dresses. crawling under benches. there was some squeals and giggling that I could hear over the choir singing. Several times I went down and asked (aka commanded, threatened) them to settle down, be quiet and relax. Unfortunately they didn't. I have decided I am not going back. There may have been tears when we got in the car to leave. My friend offered her husband to babysit. She is so nice. I can't do it. For now, I'll stay home and let my husband go.

In better news, I got to go  grocery shopping all by myself last night. I was in a splurging mood...I called my husband and let him know I'd be a while...I went and got my hair done. YAY ME!!

At least I am a cute-hair choir dropout.

I am thankful for good friends.

a picture worth a thousand words

We love to go out and play.

So, I just wanted to share some pictures. I dont' have a whole lot to say today...

Abe is such a goof.

seriously? he always makes us laugh.

This is abes toy. it makes him so happy. He has yet to go at its maximum speed. And he's tried.

Avery is a fabulous driver! Chloe loves to take abe and I for rides. so great.

Jerom is loving soccer. he is really not the best one on his team, but I love to see him out there sweating and doing his best.

Ok its storytime. yes,this is another failed dish. And its a sad one. over conference weekend, I decided we should have some good meals. So I planned us to have Chicken Enchiladas. Which is pretty big for me cause you have to have special ingredients and plan ahead (unlike cold cereal, macaroni cheese, etc). So I mixed it all up, put them together and baked them. Took them out of the oven, and everything was perfect. Abe slid the pan on the top of our stove about an inch. And then the glass shattered. everywhere. glass. all over the place. the handles broke off. glass was in the food. Unfortunately, we didn't get delicious chicken enchiladas that night. We probably had ramen. Happy General Conference meal. LOL.

Last weekend we had fall break. We headed out to go camping at Coral Pink Sand Dunes. ANd for real, I spent a night without electricity, toilet and running water. YAY ME! the 2nd and 3rd nights we were in a campground with a bazillion other people, which was ok with me cause there was clean bathrooms, showers and running water. Good times though. I think my favorite part of it all was in the middle of the night. Avery had been up several times and was having a hard time sleeping. Around 3 am she commented to abe "how long do we have to sleep for!" Maybe you had to be there. it was funny.

Chloe cracks me up.

You can't really tell but there is a golf ball at the top of this super tall sand dune. Its so fun to sit and play in the sand!

What good is going thru a Halloween box if you dont immediately use up the blue hair spray on your little white dog?

So with all our playing, my house is a disaster. I clean and tidy my house all the time. It takes me all day long. And then everyone comes home and within seconds, it looks like the following.

Chloe playing school. All those squares are where kids sit and she reads to them.

building a fort.

girls room on a clean day.

OHH I need your suggestions for my bathroom. Its white. All white. Once I went to my friends house and her bathroom was just plain white with nothing fancy and I loved it. I thought, its totally ok if my bathroom isn't this fancy jazzed up room. Well I'm ready for a little something. I'm thinking paint. Tell me about your favorite bathroom. What should I do with it? Maybe I'll even send out a prize for the person who I take their suggestions. Yay. I'm excited to hear what you have to say.

See the temple above my bed? I made it and put that up there for about $7! Yay me!

jeroms messy room

typical computer desk. Wow, I am a slob! Oh well...I'm sure it will be clean someday and I'll wish I had papers on the floor, kids making noise, and crazyness to keep me sane.

Oh yeah--can I tell you my happy news? I took my kids to the dentist and guess how many cavities?





zero.

Yep, you read that right. A. MAZE.ING.

Unfortunately, the bad news to go with it is that jerom needs orthodontics. now. or like 3 months ago. I'll keep you updated cause I am really not excited about that.

Now that is a slide! its like 20 feet up and is 2 twirly slides hooked together. crazy!

Steak n Potatoes

So I've been thinking lately that I haven't really posted very much exciting good stuff on here since we moved. Its just been a bunch of silly stuff from my phone...so...I'll see if I can get ya the 411.

we got 2 bearded dragons. I don't take care of t hem at all. its jeroms job

  I love it here!

I love being 1 mile to my kids school. and 1/2 a mile from Chloes school. Yeah you heard that right. Chloe is in a little preschool here. So 4 days a week, I get 2 fabulous hours to myself. WAHOO! Its a party every single day. 2 hours flies by so quick though. I can never get everything done I plan. But then I get to try again the next day and its fabulous!!

For the past 7 weeks, the city has been re-doing our road. So its been all dirt and torn up and loud trucks, etc outside doing construction. Friday afternoon they finally got our section of road paved. My girls were riding around on their bikes yelling "This is the BEST DAY EVER!!" Lol I am so glad to have the road put back together. I wonder how I lived on a dirt road for years in Paulden...I've been spoiled here.

When we bought our house, there were tons of flowers/bushes/plants. At least 40 in the yard. So I've been watering. I have a very basic knowledge of growing things. THey need dirt, sunshine and water. The sun and dirt are natural. So I turn on the water when I remember. Guess what. There are roses blooming everywhere! They are so beautiful. It makes me feel more like an adult. I really don't know how to grow things so its exciting to see things bloom. I have gotten to be a PRO at weed killer. Apparently I'm pretty good at letting weeds grow as well...so I've been perfecting my Round-Up Skillz.

I think I'm doing pretty good at making friends...it takes a long time to really make good friends. Like months and years and lots of time, effort, and get-togethers.  I know lots of people I can say "hi"to in passing, but there are a few that I can actually sit down with and say "can I tell you about this (insert: crazy, awful, embarrassing)  thing that happened" Its good.

My kids love school. Avery loves her dance classes. Jerom is doing great. Twice during primary jerom has walked up to me and handed me a tooth he pulled. Random.  Oh yea. I am in primary. So far I love it. And surprise surprise...abe is in Young Men. 

Oh yeah. I want to tell you this funny story but I totally have to hurry. So I won't proofread. Don't judge me.

We have neighbors next door. well duh, me. THey used to live in our house then the bank repo'ed it. so they moved next door and are renting. they have 5 kids. When we first moved in, they totally wouldn't talk to us. Their kids were never outside. Sure its awkward that we are in the house they were in for 10 years. OK whatever. The first day of school comes, and avery comes home from school and tells me all about her friends she met that day. Well, come to find out, her new friend Angie lives right next door! They became best buds. THEN>>>2 of their older kids end up in Abes music classes. And they love having him for a teacher. Its taken 3 months (yeah can you believe we have  been here that long?) but I think they are ok with us.  My kids and their 3 kids walk to school together in the morning, and I bring them home after school. Saturday they had a birthday party for one of their kids, and they invited us! So we went. We were the only white, english speaking people there. For the first time ever, the Dad spoke to us! I had always talked to their older daughter and mom. The dad said that when we first moved in, he saw abe with his shaved head (its not really by his choce...its a nickle family trait thats been passed down for generations; I'm totally fine with abe shaving his head though) and thought he was some troublemaker kind of guy from California and he didn't like us for that. When his kids came home from school and said "our neighbor is our choir teacher" he must have realized Abe isn't a tough troublemaker after all. So we partied until late saturday night with BBQ pinatas cake and crazy mexican music. Have you ever put pineapple on your hamburger? well they do. and it looks pretty good. I'm going to try it next time.

Jerom is playing soccer.

Well thats all. I'm sure I'll get you some more random updates. Maybe tomorrow I'll take some pics of hour house now that we are all moved in.