February 26, 2012

February 26^th, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

Honestly this week has been a bit of a blur…  Without all the festivities it is a lot harder to remember what happened.  And let’s face it, nothing super important happened either.  Monday was President’s Day.  M and B-man had the day off.  We decided to head out to Winchester to visit our favorite things.  A children’s museum, Sharp Shoppers (a super cheap grocery store… it’s so much fun), and Sonic.  We hit them all in that order and managed to land ourselves at Sonic during happy hour.  M really loves their fresh fruit slushes.  That night for FHE we did a quick lesson.  The boys were super crazy, so it had to be fast.

Tuesday and Wednesday were both pretty slow.  Tuesday night M had mutual.  They started learning the dance routines for a big gala that the youth will be doing this year.  M is trying to have a good attitude learning the dances so that the young men will have less to complain about. Wednesday night one of M’ friends from work came over to show us his new car and borrow something from M.  He ended up staying taking all the boys for a drive in his fun new car, (some sort of Mercedes) and then staying through dinner and the rest of the evening.  The weather was nice enough that he threw the football around with B-man and M in the evening while I was working on dinner. 

Thursday M came home early from work, and then a good friend watched J and RM for us while we signed papers to refinance our house.  Rates are so good right now that it made sense for us to do it.  It will be great to have a lower payment on our house every month.  The paper signing went super fast and we were done in about thirty minutes.  We made it home just after B-man got home from school.  The rest of the afternoon M finished up packing for a trip.  We then drove him to the airport.  Poor J kept asking if he was coming with M, and telling him that he wanted to go on the airplane too.  It’s a hard age for a child to understand why their dad is going away, and they can’t come with too.  Dropping M off at the airport went really smoothly, and then we came home and had dinner.  Making dinner will be no fun while he is away…  M will be gone for a few weeks, and will be traveling to several different countries in the Middle East.  He is first going to Saudi Arabia.  He assures me it sounds more exotic than it actually is.

Friday was a normal day.  We got pizza from Costco for dinner and then watched a few episodes of “Diego” for our family party.  That night I worked on a few projects that really needed to get done.

Saturday was a super busy day.  I found out late on Friday that we had a basketball game.  I had a great friend that was willing to watch the boys for our 8:00 am game.  I dropped the boys off and then ran to the church.  The game was very fun.  We won by a lot.  We were tied for the first two minutes are so, and then we realized what we needed to do.  We changed to a man defense and then immediately started winning.  As soon as the game was over I rushed back to get the boys.  We had a little time to relax before we needed to go to B-man’s game.  I got a babysitter for J and RM because it would have been impossible for me to watch B-man and also make sure the boys were not running all over to court.  Plus the game was during their nap time.  I ended up running late between getting the babysitter, and picking up another player, but luckily they made it with at least one minute to spare.  The game was fun to watch.  Both teams had some excellent players on them.  After the game we had the rest of the afternoon to relax and play.  That evening I got another sitter for the adult session of Stake Conference.  I was happy that I was able to go.  I have always loved the Saturday night sessions.  (Probably because I am not wrestling with children.)

Today has been another crazy day.  The morning was great, because of Stake Conference I had an extra hour to make sure we were ready to go.  I must admit the prospect of a two hour meeting with my children and no M was a little daunting.  I had determined in my mind that if it got crazy and I had to leave with J or RM that we would just all leave and go home.  The conference was actually a broadcast from Salt Lake, and had excellent speakers.  We did pretty well until the first hour, and then we had a crazy twenty minutes.  I had to let things like children in the aisles slide.  We were in the gym so it seemed okay somehow.  After the rest hymn we were able to settle everyone down again for a few minutes.  The last speaker was Elder Scott.  He was giving an amazing talk.  I wish I could have taken notes, but that would have been impossible.  We really were kind of a spectacle.  I somehow managed to seat our family right next to the light switches, and we had a few close calls.  I was so grateful that I caught J every time his hand was slowly creeping towards those tempting switches.  The last ten minutes of Elder Scott’s talk RM decided he was done.  I slipped out into the hall, and decided to stay and try to catch the last of his talk.  It was hard to listen, J kept coming in and out, plus people talk in the halls, but I got more than I would have at home.  I consider it a moral victory that I made it to the end.  Actually I think I got lots of blessings as the kids did much better than I had anticipated.  We left immediately and ate a quick lunch at home.  Then I packed the kids up and drove to Rockville, MD to look at a piano.  I’ve been looking for a while for one for our home.  The piano looked great, and I am just trying to decide if I want to spend the money now on the piano.  The guy that was selling it had a yellow lab.  J was terror stricken and crying every time he came close, and RM was trying to crawl out of my arms to get to the dog.  Add to that little scene the fact that the house was full of breakable things and you can imagine that I was not spending any extra time in the house.  I left without a commitment.  I decided I needed to consult with at least M on this purchase.  Once home we went on a little walk outside to get some energy out, and then we were able to video chat with M and my parents.  It was good way to kill the afternoon.  We then had dinner, played “Go Fish” and it was time for bed.  The little boys were really ready since their naps had been shortened by our piano adventure.

We love you all!

The C Crew

Hijacked

You all know now that one of my sisters hijacked my blog.  I LOVED IT!  

Thank you for all the birthday wishes!  They made me cry happy birthday tears.  I found the post at the end of my birthday and it made me so happy.  I have the best family and friends!

P.S.  Those who know me best, know my love of the "disclaimer."  So here's one for you...  I was six months pregnant in that picture.  I just thought you should know that little piece of information...

February 19, 2012

February 19, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s been a great week.  Valentine’s and a birthday ensured that it would be.  Monday was a normal day.  Groceries, FHE, etc….

Tuesday was Valentine’s Day.  Since B-man has to be up so early, I didn’t do anything special for breakfast.  There just isn’t enough time.  But pretty much the rest of the day I spent working treats for the day.  Here’s what I made; bread (nothing romantic about that, but we were out), red jello with strawberries, and chocolate covered strawberries.  Actually now that I wrote it out, it doesn’t seem like much, but it felt like a lot…   It was actually a lot of fun and J loved helping.  B-man was thrilled that he didn’t have any homework after school.  The weather was also nice enough for him to play outside for a little.  That night for dinner we had pink pancakes, jello, and then our strawberries for dessert.  B-man and I ran off fast after dinner to get him to basketball practice.  

J really liked blowing out the candles.

Wednesday was a busy day.  I ran to the grocery store, ran home to put away the frozen stuff, and then ran to get B-man from school and to the dentist.  Of course all these things were on separate ends of town.  The dentist we have is so great and only for kids.  His office is decked out with toys, games, and videos for the kids to play with.  It made having two kids there waiting a lot easier.  We ended up staying longer because the doctor wanted to put in sealants on hid molars and I told him to just do it so I wouldn’t have to come back again.  Sadly our dental plan doesn’t cover them, but they are less than paying for a filling so we did it.  After a clean report we got B-man lunch and then dropped him off as school.  I then fed the little boys and let them finally sleep.  That night M had mutual.

Cheerful B-man.

Thursday we didn’t do too much.  It was a much slower day; in a busy fun week it’s nice to have a quiet day.  Friday was my birthday.  It was a great day, I slept in guilt free until a little after 7.  (Never in my teenage life would I have ever imagined that to be sleeping in…)  Then the rest of the day I got to spend with my favorite people.  M had the day off so he was home all day.  He made a load of bacon and juice to compliment our traditional cold cereal Friday breakfast.   We ran errands and when we were coming home we just happened to run into a friend.  She was dropping off a treat for me and when she saw that M was home she insisted on watching the little boys so we could go to lunch.  She is really so kind and I need to remember to do these types of things for other people.  We went to lunch and had a free sandwich from a shop nearby that we liked.  It didn’t take long, but it was great to have no little boys to wrangle with while we were eating.  When B-man got home we had a pretty quiet hour or so and then we left to go to dinner.  We wanted to eat early and also return a few things on our way.  (Stores that I don’t get to as often.)  It’s a long story, but all of my return errands failed and I couldn’t return anything.  It was pretty frustrating.  One return was in the mall, and while I was trying to return stuff M let the boys play on a little play set inside.  They were having a great time running around with all the other kids.  We then tried our best to clean their hands with wipes and headed to Red Robin for dinner.  When we arrived it was empty and we were happy that we decided to eat early.  The boys loved their dinner, and although it was crazy, I don’t think we disturbed the guests around us.  J especially loved having his own drink cup.  He downed his first cup of apple juice super fast.  It was amazing.  They all ate great dinners, and got our check as fast as possible before things really started to deteriorate.  Once home we bathed the boys and then got them in bed.  That night M and I watched some shows on Hulu, and took breaks to chat with people that called.  It was a great day.  (My sister even hijacked my blog!)

Entranced by the flame.

Saturday was our typical Saturday.  I headed out later in the morning to find some good deals.  There were two estate sales.  One was tiny and I found a few little things.  The other was an enormous house and they were selling a bunch of super fancy furniture, plus a lot of clothes, toys, etc.  I first checked out the furniture, and realized I couldn’t afford any of it.  But then I realized they were selling drapery rods, with the drapes too for amazing prices.  I debated on sizes, etc, but finally got some squared away.  One guy was buying stuff super fast.  It was amazing.  I then headed downstairs and started digging through their toys and clothes.  I spent the most time in the clothes.  Everything was super name brand clothes and I was able to find a bunch of great things for B-man.  After getting everything paid for and in my car I then headed back home.  After lunch M took B-man to his basketball game.  I decided to stay home with the boys so they could have good naps since M would be at the temple later that evening.  I wanted to make it as easy as possible without him.  Sadly, J ended up being on a nap strike and never fell asleep.  While M was at the game I worked on stuff for a party we would be going to later.  I did my hair and make-up so that I wouldn’t worry about it when the kids were running around.  When M got back from the game, he changed and then headed off to Stake temple night with some of his friends.  We managed to stay sane without him.  We went to the park by our house, and then had an easy dinner.  He made good time on the drive and made it back home with plenty of time to spare.  We both finished getting dressed for the party.  It was a Valentine’s party and we were supposed to come dressed as a celebrity couple.  We dressed up as Katniss Everdeen and Peeta from The Hunger Games.  The party was great.  We played a few hilarious games that were super simple, and of course there was lots of good food and friends around.  It was a great night.  We were all sad to go home. 

Making my wish.  Is it bad if I forgot what it was?

Today has been another fantastic day.  M had no meetings, and we had a great morning.  Church went pretty well (despite the senior primary having a serious bout of the wiggles).  We had our home teachers over in the afternoon, and then had some friend’s over for dinner.  We are anxious to get back into the habit of having people over.  We have a long list of people that we need to invite.  This family happened to have several children that match up with ours, and B-man loved having them over.  It was an easy night.  Now the kids are in bed and we are enjoying the peace and quiet.  We love our kids, but we also love their bedtimes…

Love,

The C Crew 

a small celebration

Dear people,

This is R's sister hacking into her blog! 

BECAUSE! IT'S HER BIRTHDAY!

And I just wanted to say to her: 

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

I also wanted to post the following photograph:

Proof of her loveliness & joyous goodness.

Now for my wish:

I wish that we get to take more awesome photographs

this summer when I come LIVE WITH YOU!

Now for your wishes:

{in the comments section please}



{...}

February 12, 2012

February 12, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

The beginning part of the week was mostly consumed with M’ preparation for his colonoscopy.  Monday night for FHE we honored Grandpa Richards (it was his birthday) and Matthias told us some stores from his life.  After FHE he reread all of the instructions, and we made a bunch of jello (yellow or green only) so that he would at least have something to eat.

Tuesday was a fairly normal day.  Errands and such.  I took J into the doctor hoping they would give him a blood test to see if he has any food allergies, but they just referred me to an allergist, and told me he had an ear infection.  (I was totally oblivious to that one…)  That night after dinner M started drinking the fun solution that cleaned him out, and I took B-man to his basketball practice.  I love being able to read during his practices. 

Wednesday M stayed home from work.  Late in the morning I dropped him off for his test and then went back home with the kids.  We played for a few minutes and then I took the boys to my “ex” visiting teacher so I could go get M.  She had just been switched and I didn’t know that when I had called to ask her.  I felt a little bad.  Getting M went smoothly.  I waited in the waiting room for ten minutes, and then they called me back to his little recovery room.  We waited for another 10-15 minutes and then he was awake enough for the doctor to come talk to us.  Everything looked good; we were both so relieved to hear that news.  Then we waited a few more minutes until we could get his stuff back and then we went home.  I was amazed at how much quicker M was “with it” this time around.   By the time we picked up the boys and got home he was totally with it, ready to eat, and back to normal.  The boys had loved playing at a different house and had apparently also loved all the fun food at their house.  I tried to assure my friend that I had fed them before dropping them off, but the still ate as if I hadn’t even fed them breakfast.  The rest of the day was delightful, we watched an episode of “Foyle’s War” while the boys were napping, and then had a pretty quiet evening once B-man came home.

Thursday was another quiet day.  I did go play basketball in the evening with some friends.  It’s good to get some exercise in.

Friday was another quiet day.  We had our family party and made pizza and then M took B-man to a school function where they dressed in their pajamas and went from room to room to hear stories.  While he was gone I worked on getting the boys to bed.

Saturday was busy.  I played basketball very early in the morning. (It was 7:00 am)  I am normally up by then, but not usually running around, and my body was a little confused at me asking so much of it.  After basketball I picked up a new light for over our kitchen table.  I found it on Craigslist in our town, which is always very convenient.  Plus it was WAY less than a new one, and our old one was hideous.  I’m excited to have something new to look at.  In the early afternoon B-man had his basketball game.  We took all the boys and it was crazy!  But it was fun to cheer on B-man.  He played the first half and then we took him to a birthday party for one of his friends.  Then while the boys were napping M went to a worldwide training meeting.  He said it was very good.  Once he got home, we worked on feeding the boys, and then I picked up a babysitter.  We decided to start celebrating my birthday early and went to “Not Your Average Joe’s.”  It’s one of our favorite places, and for your birthday they email you a coupon for a free dinner and dessert of your choice.  It’s so much fun, and we had a great time.  I love ordering the most expensive thing and not feeling guilty.  After we ran to a grocery store and then decided to stop by a stake dance for adults.  We popped in, danced a slow song or two, talked to some friends and then left.  They had a big band, and it was all very well done, but we decided to cut it short.

Sunday was fairly normal.  Meetings in the morning, slightly crazy church time, and then a fairly relaxing afternoon.   I tried a new recipe in the pressure cooker and it worked so that is always fun.

We love you all!

The C Crew