Life...is great

I  have so many blessing which I think I forget regularly.  Our life is quite crazy with working, school, Reagan school, managing who is watching our kids and so on and so forth.

A few weeks ago, I had been reading about freezer meals and after reading all sorts  of the different ways to do freezer meals, I decided to do it.  I spent a Friday night and part of a Saturday morning cooking.  I mostly did meats.  For example,  Friday night, I put a rump roast in the crockpot with diced chilies and italian dressing mix and let it cook all night.  I put chicken breasts in two roaster pans, one with mexican seasoning and one plain.  The plain I diced to use for chicken salad or enchiladas or stuff like that.  The seasoned chicken I shredded for chicken tacos, tortilla soup and so on.  Then I grilled a few chicken breast and sliced them for alfredo, nachos or whatever.  The next morning I shredded my roast for italian beef sandwiches.  With the leftover I made chimichangas.  I also put in a pork loin and shredded it to use for pulled pork or cafe rio tacos.  I left it unseasoned so it could be versatile.  Then I cooked hamburger with green peppers and onions for spaghetti and just as a basic thing.  I also cooked a batch a hamburger and added beans and taco seasoning for tacos.  Oh yeah, I also froze sliced peaches for smoothies and made twice baked potatoes to reheat.  I think I am liking this.  I did take about 3-4 hours but it wasn't spent hovering over the stove cause I did the crockpot and stuff.  So every night when I get home from work I go to my freezer find what I want and just heat and add stuff to it, add some sides, and you have a great meal.  It really has cut down on the what should I make for dinner dilemma.  I was pretty good about planning meals but this is a few steps faster when the meat is already cooked.  That day I also put a few crockpot freezer meals together.  I through all ingredients including raw meat into a gallon size bag and put in freezer.  When I am ready I pull it out and put in crockpot and turn it on.  Last time I forgot to turn it on until noon.   Duh!

Tender Mercies...

Last year we bought a new washer and dryer.  The front loading kind and I love them to pieces.  A few weeks ago as I was doing my million loads on Saturday, I noticed something was not quite right with my dryer.  The timer on it was not going down and when I put my hand in, it was hot but really wet heat.  I talked with Brian about it and we decided to call in on Monday to have someone come look at it.  So I hung two loads of laundry all over my house to dry.  Monday, I called to have a technician come out and they told me to check the vent to make sure it was not obstructed.  So as I was heading out to work, Brian said he would check it.  I told him if there was an animal in it to take care of it and not tell me.  He called me about 10 minutes later and told me it was full of water, hence the wet heat.  He said he had talked to Jaxon and Jaxon told him that he had put the hose in the dryer vent (which does not have a vent cover on it and is just at his level) with the water on and filled it right up.  A little funny in the morning did not become so funny that night when I checked to see if the dryer worked.  Nope, it didn't.  I am thinking we are going to have to replace the $700 dryer.  Deep breath as you look at your cute little boy.  So I sit down with Jaxon, telling him how he is going to have to work (take out garbage...) from now until he goes on a mission to help pay for a new dryer and how that was not a good choice.  Tuesday came around still didn't work.  Tuesday night when I got home I checked the dryer and IT WORKS!  And it still works.  The Lord knows every little thing that we need and can I just tell you the faith grew a little that day.  So Jaxon is off the hook, at least until the mission part but he still does have to do his work.

Where do boys come up with these things they do?   I will never know and may never want to.

With that note, and since Thanksgiving is around the corner, I am going to try to post a quick thing that I am grateful  for everyday or once a week I may post a list of 7,  You should do the same, we have so many blessings to be thankful for.

Great Things
1.  The tender mercies of the Lord
2.  a cute little boy that knew he had done wrong and was willing to work
3.  A dryer that after if dried out still works.

Remember

I remember this day like it was yesterday..  I was getting ready for class.  My drawing class didn't start until 9:15 am so I was taking my time.  My mom called while I was putting my makeup on and told me to turn on the TV.  I remember asking why and when she told me I ran downstairs and turned the TV on.  My roommates were gone already and so it was just me.  I sat in awe watching and holding the phone to my ear.  I was speechless.  I had been to NYC a few years before.  So I finished getting ready and went to class.  When I got there, the teacher said we could stay and draw or go home.  I remember staying and listening to the radio the entire time in unbelief.  The rest of day all classes on campus were cancelled.  I probably stared at the tv for hours that day.  And yet today, it is still a little hard to imagine it all.  Today I am drawn to the tv as well for the memorials and documentaries.  I can still see it my head.  All of it.

I told Brian today it is weird to think that our kids will be reading about this day in textbooks at school and I will always remember this day like is was yesterday.  The same is true for the people who remember so clearly Pearl Harbor yet I read about.  I wish I had a flag to hang at my house.  I would have hung it today.  In fact, just hearing the names read this morning, brought back emotion of all the lives lost ten years ago.

In church today they talked about service.  They referenced a letter that President Bush asked all Americans to make this a day of remembrance as well as a day of service.  I thought that was such a good idea.  One lady today talked about how people are good and that day and since then she has realized that people care about one another and watch out for each other.  So it is this day, ten years later, that we remember and that we will never forget.

She's a kindergartener

How did this happen.  She is in school.  Here is a picture of her first day.  She was a little nervous, but was great.

So Far Behind

It is already July?  How did that happen?  I realize I am so far behind in not only my blogging, but laundry, yard care (like months), cleaning, really pretty much anything that used to get done before I had a 8-5 job away from my home.  Life is just not the same when you work full time.  However, I am not complaining.  Yes, I have days when I just want to stay home and get stuff done, but I am grateful for my job that I have and for the opportunities that my family has.  For those of you who don't know,  Brian is returning to school, not for a degree, for a second degree.  We are hoping and praying that he will get into nursing school for January and we will be off and running.  No, he does not want to be a nurse.  He wants to be a Nurse Anesthetist.  It is a long and lengthy goal but we can do hard things.  We can do it.  So he is going to school, I am working and the kids are being kids, mostly.  It makes it hard to keep up on things.

So here are like the last four months or something like that.  Reagan's birthday, flooding on the river, running a 40 mile relay and other life happenings.  I would share Brian's wound, but I don't want anyone passing out while blogging.  Happy Day. 

Quick

Life is quick.  Here are a few quick pictures of the kids.  I will update the happenings or lack of later.

No longer a Baby

Last September, I planned at some point in the near future to put Jaxon in a big bed.  So I got it all ready in his room, made him a comforter, arranged and rearranged all the furniture.  His room has been a pile room.  He had an extra dresser, a rocking chair, crib, full size bed, another dresser, and a mini rocking chair.  Anyway,  I couldn't bring myself to put him in the big bed.  Not because he is my baby blah. But because I knew it would be hard and change and different.  Same with potty training.  I am fully aware that he could be potty trained but am just not ready to deal with the hardness. 

Fast forward to about 3 weeks ago.  Reagan informed Jaxon that he is a big boy now and he needs to stop peeing in his diaper.  Forget about the fact that she still wears a pullup at night and has accidents during the day.  Yes, I did potty train her 2 years ago and continually since that point. (hence the hard part from earlier)  So we decided to go for it.  It worked for a little while and then I went to work, we took him to Grandma's and he had lots of accidents.  So no go on that for awhile.  He does go number 2 regularly in the toilet though and I am hoping that is the hardest part to get through. 

On Tuesday night as we were getting ready for bed.  Jaxon informed me in these exact words" I a big boy now, I sleep in  big boy bed" and then said to me like he is 13 " I worried I fall off the big boy bed, it would hurt really bad".  And he did.  I put him in told him not to get out and he didn't.  It did take him awhile to go to sleep on Tuesday night and last night.  On Wednesday morning when he woke up he hollered at me, "Momma?" "Can I get out now?"  And then last night, I went to check on him cause I thought he was asleep and he is in his bed sitting up straightening his covers and looks at me and says "I lay down now".  He thought he was in trouble and I thought he was asleep. So far so good.  He doesn't get out without permission.  I am sure that will end soon but I will take it while it lasts.  This is so very different from when Reagan did the whole bed thing but that is okay.  They are very different kids in very different ways and I love both to pieces.

So my boy has grown up and is now longer a baby and tells me regularly.  I don't know if it is because he is older and bigger or if all of the other mothers around are having babies since I have had Jaxon but I have had several people ask me if I am pregnant.  I am not and I would like to say.."For once just let me be fat".  Just cause I have a little belly (okay and backside and thigh problem) that doesn't mean I am pregnant.  When the first person asked I laughed it off and when a few more starting asking it became not nearly as funny.  

Good Things.

1.  Tax refunds
2.  Big boys and girls
3.  Opportunities to grow and learn and do hard things.  It only makes you stronger.

Forever and a Day

I know that is has been so long since I have blogged.  There is a mostly good reason for it though.  Are you ready for it?  Brian is in school and is taking online classes and so he is occupying our main computer most of the day and the night.  Our laptop (which I have learned is a pile) hinges were broken.  So the screen would not even hold itself up unless it was supported by something.  After I looked around and realized that it was going to cost about 150 dollars to fix our barely year old computer, I decided to take matters into my own hands and fix it myself.  I ordered the hinges off of ebay, downloaded about a 100 page diagram of how to replace the hinges and went to town.  They day I did this, I had parts of laptop laying all over my bed, Brian came in and turned around and left.   It did not look good.  Well, after I took the whole laptop apart and replaced the hinges and then put everything back together, my poor keyboard wouldn't work.  I took it back apart probably 4 more times.  On the last time, the letters, a,k,d, enter and backspace worked but nothing else.  After some research, I ordered a new keyboard and fixed it again.  I am a computer repair genius.   At least I think, and no I will not repair anyone else's computer.  Although, I now know how to dissemble and assemble my computer, I do not plan on doing it again.  It did however save a lot of money by doing it myself.

That wasn't really what I wanted to blog about today, but I am so excited with my genius status right now.  On to better things, and this is way better than using the onscreen keyboard.  Although it works, it is slow.

I love it when I lose half of my post.  It is great.


Christmas 2010. 

Christmas was great this year.  I think it may have been the most meaningful Christmas yet since we have been married.  I made tons of dress up clothes for the kids and they love them.  Reagan is Snow White most days and has recently changed to Minnie.  I surprised Brian with a snowblower.  I had that up my sleeve for awhile.  It was fun.  I love surprises.  It keeps life fun and unexpected.  The sewer drain line backing up not such a great surprise however.  Back to Christmas,  This year we decided to not have Santa come to our house.  It started out by the kids never mentioning him and me never bothering to fill them in on the details.  Instead, we opted to tell them the real reason we celebrate Christmas.  As we put the nativity out and we talked about each figurine and what they meant and the baby Jesus coming to earth, I felt like our kids were young but they might get it.  As Christmas got closer, Santa still never came up and so we went with it.  I do not in any way condone any of you who choose to do the Santa thing, we just felt right about our family doing it this way.  For me, I felt like teaching my children about the Savior, helped me to be more aware of his life and his love for use.  It turned out great and when I ask Reagan why we celebrate Christmas, she tells me because baby Jesus was born.  On Christmas day,  my Grandma B. asked Reagan what Santa had brought her and she told her that Santa didn't come to our house.  My Grandma looked puzzled and my mom explained.  And it made me feel great that I was not emphasizing the commercial aspect of Christmas but the spiritual side and the real reason we celebrate.