Project 365 Upload #6

Wow...I can't believe another week has gone by and I have managed to continue to find things to take photos of!

Feburary 10th, Day 41:

Thanks to Facebook, after nearly 20 years a few of the Murray High School girls were able to get together and meet each other for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Many of us have not seen each other since the night of graduation, so it was absolutely fantastic to catch up on the happenings of each others lives.



Feb 11th, Day 42:

I promised Tracey that I could bring home a piece of cheesecake for us to share. I TRIED to save it for when he came home from work, but the boys decided to help me eat it at lunch time instead. I mean seriously...how can you say no to such a sweet face that is enjoying cheesecake so much!



Feb 12th Day 43:

Poor JM has had quite the case of diaper rash thanks to the anti-biotics that he's been on for his ear infection. Even though we tried to take preventative measures by giving him a pro-biotic with each dose of medicine, he still ended up with quite the sore tooshey.




Feb 13th Day 44:

I remember how fun it was in Elementary school to participate in the Valentines parties every year. My girls were no less excited than I remembered being. They came home from school eager to share the goodies that they scored from others.



Feb 14th, Day 45:

I have to admit that I was pretty excited for Valentines this year because it fell on a Saturday. Tracey and I never do much for each other and always find pleasure in making it a great day for the kids, but this year I decided to treat him with his own personal "heart attack". I made 2 dozen hearts and wrote little reasons why I love him. I placed all of them in a heart shaped pancake for him at breakfast. I think he liked it!




Feb 15th, Day 46:

Today was our turn to host Family Home Evening with my side of the family. I really look forward to the second Sunday of the month when we all get together for a lesson and a treat. We take turns hosting the evening and today happened to be our turn at our home. Grandpa Dahl said he had heard that President Hinkley and his family carried this tradition, and I can say in the past 5+ years since we have been doing this that it has made a great difference in our family and the closeness that we share with each other.

How on Earth can you say no....to this?

Last night I went to The Cheesecake Factory with some of the girls that I went to High School with. Most of us haven't seen each other since graduation day, so it was pure delight to catch up with the happenings of the past ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, 19 years. I honestly don't feel myself aging, yet when I look around and see what we have and where we've been since high school passed, it's only obvious that time has ticked on. I have to say however, that with the exception of Kim's flat ironed hair, none of us look any different...maybe a little softer around the eyes, but that is about it!




So I told Tracey that I would bring home a piece of cheesecake for us to share while watching 24. As the evening happened, we actually ended up going to see a late movie, so I didn't get home until nearly 1AM.

I tried to resist the bag in the fridge. I really and truly did.

I *thought* I had put the cheesecake on the top container in the to-go bag so I purposfully reached for the 2nd container to warm up my lunch.

Oops.

Wrong container.




Sadly enough the cheesecake has been consumed.

But honestly....how can you say no to this?

At least I shared....right?

Project 365 Upload #5

Well, sorry it's not anything more exciting than more photos. I have really enjoyed this project so far....being able to capture little snippets from the life of our family.

Feb 2nd Day 33:

I finally finished the bathroom project that I've been working on for most of January. I really, REALLY love how it turned out...especially the cabinets. I feel like it's such a classy room and I really did it for very cheap! I got all of the decor items at Ross for dollars, and the towels came from clearance at Target for $2.50 each!



Feb 3rd, Day 34:

I am so proud of Sarah. Today she graduated from the Nova program at school. She worked so hard to complete all of the assignments including no television for an entire week over Christmas break. She was one of about 11 students in the entire 6th grade that completed every assignment, earning herself the Super Nova award. I know the things that she learned will help her as difficult choices arise in the next few years.



Feb 4th, Day 35:

I liked the look of my black cabinets in my bathroom so much that I have decided to start in on re-finishing the railing to our downstairs, and then hopefully move onto the kitchen cabinets. I started sanding down the railing today and it really isn't the funnest of jobs, but I am sure the end result will be worth it.



Feb 5th, Day 36:

Tonight we had our parent teacher conferences at the elementary. It's always so nice to go and hear good reports. In fact I was told by Tessas teacher that thanks to her, and her alone, the entire class was able to have an extra party, since she stayed in during a recess and cleaned the entire room. I wish she'd feel that passionate about cleaning her bedroom! Tessa still struggles with math, but her reading has really improved over this year.



Feb 6th, Day 37

After a rough night of screaming and no sleep, I decided to take JM back into the doctor as I suspected that his ear infection had not entirely cleared up. Mothers intuition was right and he started on another round of antibiotics. This time we are faced with the awful side effect of diarreah, so we have had to get a pro-biotic from the health food store to give him before each dosage, which helps, but doesn't eliminate the mess!



Feb 7th, Day 38:

Today we were able to go to Tracey's Grandma's 80th birthday party. It was a surprise party and I am glad that she didn't suffer from a heart attack when she walked into the room! I am so grateful that our kids have the blessing in their lives of knowing not only their grandparents but their great grandparents. I am so happy that we could all be there at the party to give her our love.



Feb 8th, Day 39:

My family issued a challenge for all of us to have the entire Book of Mormon read by the middle of October. We were a little slow on starting up with the challenge but have taken seriously this week to making it happen. Our personal challenge has been to read 6 pages a day. While some days we have been a little short, we haven't missed a day of reading since we began last Sunday and have completed about 37 pages so far! I love the opportunity that it provides us as parents to discuss the happenings of ancient times and relate them to our lives today. Even though it tends to be chaotic with the boys, the spirit that is brought into our home has is unmistakable and I am so grateful for it.



Feb 9th, Day 40:

Yesterday afternoon I landed myself an awful headache and at some point during the night it turned into a full fledged migrane. I woke up wondering how I would take care of the kids. I popped into Facebook for a moment to update my status and jokingly asked if anyone wanted to take my boys for the day. I was absolutely touched as 2 wonderful neighbors both showed no hesitation in wanting to help me out, and another drove my kids to school. I am so blessed to live in a great area with great people. Thanks Jen and Amy! Luckily I was rescued shortly thereafter by Tracey who came home early and I then slept the entire afternoon, waking up feeling much better.

WHATEVER!

My husbands attempt to sabotage my blog!

Just another movie...

The other day we made JM some "Easy Mac" since he was asleep when the family ate dinner. He obviously didn't wake up on the right side of the crib cause he wasn't happy about his food offering. Or at leat it took him a few minutes to warm up to the idea!

Weigh In Wednesday #4

Nothing too exciting to report. I'm exactly where I was 2 weeks ago which kind of surprises me since I haven't exercised but only once over the past 2 weeks and yesterday I had Arctic Circle for lunch, and a nasty gas station bratwurst and donut for dinner last night.

Aside from feeling like I have food poisoning from the brat, I guess life is good!

Stay tuned for the bathroom photos!

Project 365 Upload #4

Wow! I guess it's a good thing that I've got this little project going or I may have fallen off of the blogging bandwagon!

Actually I've been so busy making my bathroom pretty over the past couple of weeks that I haven't really had time for much else. I'll be putting the finishing touches on what I can today and then I will take some photos.

Just a little piece of advice to you all however....DON'T MAKE CURTAINS. Buy them. Your life will be much better! However, I am a girl that isn't going to give up, so before this day is done, I WILL have them looking decent. I hope. :)

Jan 26th:

Tracey has a great job in the fact that he is able to travel on occasion. Surely I don't love being on the single mom status, but his trips are always quick. It's nice that he has the opportunity to see a little bit of the country even though filming dentists doesn't exactly fall into the "wow that was exciting" category. However on his trip to Minnesota, he was able to spend a bit of time at the Mall of America.



Jan 27th:

Today we went as a family to the Draper Temple open house. How grateful I am that I am sealed to my family for eternity. I hope that my children will always remember the peace that they felt in the temple and strive to make the choice of having an eternal family for themselves one day. I am so grateful for my best friend, and my husband who is such a pillar of strength and an example to our family. I'm also happy that he doesn't seem to mind that he's stuck with me....forever!



Jan 28th:

I can't believe that Sarah will be heading off to Young Womens this year. Tonight was New Beginnings. She's so excited to be moving on and to be going to activities with Maddi. They both made a commitment to pray morning and night, read their scriptures for 5 minutes daily, and smile every day. I really hope that they both realize the importance of these simple things and how building a testimony while they are young will carry them through times of doubt as they grow older.




Jan 29th:

As part of one of our new years goals Tracey and I decided that we would make a better effort to take the kids out one on one for "dates". Even though this week wasn't exactly one on one, (because we got started a little late and had to double up), we sure had fun. Maddi, Sarah, Aunt Jana and I hit the local roller rink for a little skating fun. I have to say roller skating is a whole lot harder than I remember it being. However it was a great evening and we were able to have some good chats with the girls over a shake at Iceberg, about the difficulties of growing up and the importance of making good choices. More than anything I want my girls to know that I was a real teenager too, and that whatever they are going through I truly understand!




Jan 30th:

I get the biggest kick out of my boys. Never did my girls get a thrill out of watching the garbage being hauled away. Both Aaron and JM can hear the engine of the garbage truck from a block away and scurry to their bedroom window to watch for the truck to come. Every other week is a double treat when 2 days row they get to watch the show as the recycling man makes his rounds.



Jan 31:

There is never a dull moment with JM in the house. In fact, if it is ever quiet you know there is trouble going on. After a few too many moments of peace this is what we found. And the walls and floors and couches decorated quite nicely. Thank heavens it was washable!




Feb 1st (Day 32):

As much as we try to be conscious about eating right, Sunday afternoons always seem to be a time for indulging in a little "not so good for you" food. We often make brownies as an after church treat and eat them while playing games or watching a movie. This particular day we played Scrabble Upwords.