Christmas 2008

We had a pretty uneventfull Christmas. We opened presents on Christmas eve at Kenny's house. Bo chose it because it would be his last Christmas there for awhile. Next few years he will be on his mission. Then Christmas morning Santa came... for all of us. We opened presents then just relaxed while the kids played with their stuff. Normally we take the tree down, but it's STILL up. It was a nice 4 day weekend for Jim, we relaxed, and rode the horses. And with the snow and the melting of the snow, and kids that don't know how to turn a hose off, we had to drain horse corrals. It was still fun, it's work but not like house work (which I THINK I may hate worse than snow, I'm not sure yet). Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Yes a tornado DID indeed hit my house!

I hate this hat, he loves it.This is what Santa left for me, I love my new boots.Jimi, thrilled to get cloths, not as much fun for me though.And Sami, she's always a gift!

I still have time right?

I know what day Christmas is celebrated. I'm not ignorant. I'm not a procrastinator. I enjoy the season. (with the exception of the snow) I LOVE to shop. I LOVE to bake. So, as I sit here blogging, and making my Christmas TO DO list I am wondering WHY I haven't finished my shopping yet. Now I don't mean finish like, I have one or two more things to buy. I mean finish as, I've only bought 2 gifts, LITERALLY TWO GIFTS!! To make things worse, Jim's family celebrates and opens gifts on Christmas eve night. That is tomorrow if someone hasn't realized (besides me of course) I tried, I really have. Cori and I tried yesterday and that's why I have the two gifts I have. So, in desperation I decided to make a list of things to do before tomorrow evening, like bake and deliver goodies and clean my house, (as I mentioned I left my kids home yesterday to go shopping and I came home to a TORNADO) and it would be nice to have clean cloths to wear Christmas day. So needless to say, I have cut it a little short, and as I'm blogging Sami says to me "do you really think you have time to be posting?" She's right, I don't! I just needed a quick de-stresser for a moment. If I don't post again before Christmas I wanted to wish all my Family (who's package to send is on it's way out the door as soon as I'm done here, but probably won't be there for Christmas, I'm so sorry) and our friends a

VERY MERRY AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS! We really love you all!

Just like kids when we're not watching

This is Jim's horse Kayak, he has a personality all his own. Jimi was outside and saw him doing this for awhile so she ran in and got this video on her phone. Then when he saw her he acted a little embarrassed and came over to the fence. Jim always told me how horses were different and had very unique and personalities. I definitely see it. I also see how mares are so much like women. They are moody and if you put two together in one living space it's disaster. But this makes me wonder what they do when we're not watching, just like my kids. I also realize that they must be board, so we need to get some toys for them. (the horses, not the kids. Although they would probably appreciate it too.)

Friday Night for a Mom

Remember when we were young and we looked forward to Friday nights? We used to cruise North (main street) and stop and talk to friends until the cops would run us off. We would just gather and socialize, but it was so much fun. We knew we could sleep late on Saturday and just relax the day away. What happened? I sometimes even dread Fridays because the weekends are sometimes so chaotic that by Monday morning when the kids are back to school and my routine is back to normal I feel like I can relax.
(Trever is in the bottom row 3rd from the left in the green hoody and camo bandana)

Trever had his annual Christmas program at school, it was a cowboy Christmas theme, and was really cute. Then they got to see Santa and give their presents to their teachers and I took them home. Trever had been acting strange all day, just sleepy and not so rambunctious like his normal self he even took a nap. Well early afternoon he started saying his stomach hurt. He has that infection so we assumed it was that and gave him is zantac and milk and that usually works pretty fast. This time it was different, he kept holding his right side and saying it hurt so bad. By about 11:00pm he was laying in a ball crying. I admit I got really nervous, Jim did too. We decided to be better safe than sorry so I took him to the E.R. where we stayed until 7:00 this morning. The Dr. also really suspected appendicitis but after X-rays they turned the diagnosis to a blockage in his colon. Everything worked out good and he feels much better. He is terrified of needles, so when the first guy messed up the first IV I thought Trever was going to bolt out of there. I hate being in the E.R. up here, it really brings back bad memories. We had the same Dr. that saw Jimi when she first got sick and he remembered her, which made him a little more nervous too. I also remember the bed Ken was in when he was there, and when Jim had his seizure/stoke thingy, and when Alex passed out while passing Sacrament.

Now, I know he looks so peacefull sleeping, and he did sleep quiet a bit. What you don't see is every time he rolled around and the sheet came off his arm that had the IV he would freak if he saw it, so I kept it pretty well covered. You also can't see the chair that I got to "sleep" in. It was exactly the same one they had at UCLA with Jimi, so I had learned how to pull two together and cross my legs just right where I could actually sleep for a few minutes here and there. The problem here was I only had one. The nurses at UCLA said they always got a laugh (not just at me) when people woke up in those chairs from the pain they could see in their eyes and how it took 5-10 minutes to stand up straight. For some reason I REALLY had that problem last night, so it wasn't even worth the sleep. When I came home and actually laid in bed, my back almost wouldn't straighten. Needless to say it wasn't a fun party filled Friday night. (actually not for anyone, we were literally the ONLY ones in there the whole time, I know weird huh)

So, as a mom 15 years later I've decided that my Friday nights are sometimes more exciting than they used to be... just not always as fun! Responsibility sucks! But I wouldn't give up my little monsters for anything!

Let me count the ways.

I'm not sure I've ever mentioned that I HATE SNOW! I will now explain why. I grew up in Colorado where it wasn't uncommon to get 4 feet and school still wouldn't be canceled. I HATE being cold, I rather it be 112 then below 50. I hate that when snow melts it makes mud which makes a mess. I hate that the kids go out then come in and change into CLEAN DRY cloths, just to go right back out, and if I hadn't mentioned before I also HATE laundry. I HATE California drivers who assume 4wheel drive means, drive as fast as you can in the snow, never realizing that 4wheel drive will NOT help them stop! I could possibly go on for hours, but I will get to my point of what my day was like yesterday.

I wake up and see that the snow DIDN'T melt and go to turn on the news, but no cable. The power kept going out so that meant the pellet stove kept going out. The kids whom I normally have to drag out of bed were up before 6am and straight outside. I tried and tried to clean my house, but it was worthless because 1. I didn't want to, and B. they made messes faster than I could keep up. So I was sick of my bathroom sink being clogged. I have tried EVERY chemical to unclog it but NOTHING has worked. I ever broke a piece of PVC pipe underneath. So I put on my plumber hat, I mean how hard could it be. It would take a few minutes and all would be great. Right? WRONG!!! I spent 6 hours under the sink, making new fittings and replacing pipes that were broken, then since I guess that wasn't enough for me I decided to re-route my dishwasher drain because I think that's what started the problem. In the mean time I had to clean and unclog the pellet stove, which is a mess. I went outside (in the darn snow) and shook the pipe, and black soot went everywhere. Next thing I know I look up to Jimi taking pictures of me back under the sink. Isn't she a sweetheart! (add tons of sarcasm to that). I have decided that I'm just stupid. Who jumps into these things with NO knowledge of what there doing besides me?

Examples:

Jim: Hey lets get you a dirt bike.

Me: Ok, what's the worst that could happen?

Jim: Let's get you a horse, this one isn't quiet broke yet and very few people will actually ride her, and she's 19 hands, but she's a good horse.

Me: Ok, what's the worst that could happen?

Jim: Dany, I need your help loading these Boars into this trailer to take to slaughter.

Me: Ok, what's the worst that could happen? (did you know Boars actually kill and eat people)

Jim: Hey I need your help castrating these pigs.

Me: Ok, how bad could it be? (it's bad)

Jim: I need your help re roofing our house

Me: Ok, how bad can it be? Sure Kenny I will do your roof too. (at least I got paid for that one)

The list goes on and on. I guess I live for the moment and don't think of the what if's. So far it works for me, so I probably won't quit now.

And did I mention I HATE SNOW?

Today I did something that I am terrified of. I sang in Sacrament meeting. No I wasn't alone, there were four of us Karri, Lynn, Terrie and me. We sang "When the Son of God was born" I have been so nervous for weeks about it, but I have to say, we did really good. And... I really wasn't that scared. Don't get me wrong, I was nervous, but not near as bad as I thought it was going to be. So I'm on the road to overcoming my fear of singing in public. I think I will need to do a duet in Sacrament one time before this big musical play we are doing, where I have a whole song that I sing all by myself. I don't like to be afraid to do something, if I am afraid it just makes me want to do it even more. Adrenalin junkie I know, but I enjoy it. I had to be there early so Jim had to get the kids up and dressed and to church on time, not to mention feed them and the horses. They all looked great, and they were even early. I don't know his secret or if yelling is involved but I think he should do it all the time. Thank You Jim for being such a great dad and husband!

When mom's sick...

I have been sick for 2 days now, not HORRIBLY sick, but sick. Yesterday I had to Dr. up my horse because she had cuts all over her. Then Jim came home and we had to build another coral so we could separate the horses, so I was out in the cold from about noon until 9pm. So my back was killing me and I didn't sleep well, my dear sweet husband said he would get the kids ready for school. I let him! Only 3 of them missed the bus. (which isn't unusual, even for me) They get up so good for him, and not for me, but when Trever got home I looked at his hair and THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MOM IS SICK, AND DAD GETS THE KIDS OFF TO SCHOOL!!!

Future Bishop

We have always said that one day Trever would be a bishop for the church. Our Sundays start out with Trever never having any idea where his church shoes are, much less a tie, and usually not a white shirt because he can't keep them clean. He has shown up and in the middle of sacrament meeting he puts his feet on the bench in front of us and he won't have socks on. When we ask why... because he couldn't find black ones. My van is FULL of socks and ties. (not to mention shoes) So we are really excited if we can find all of his cloths and get to church on time. (almost NEVER) All the kids will look beautiful going IN the van on the way TO church, and all but Trever still look good once they are in, but Trever is a different story. His shirt will be un-tucked, no tie, no socks, one shoe on, shirt buttoned wrong, there's no telling. Jim finally took a picture of him only 2 minutes after church because he actually looked better than usual. I remember when he looked so sweet and Innocent.

Like he did at his baptism in August.

I SWEAR he looked great going IN the building!!!!

At least his tie is still on.

Riding by our house.

As I said before, we moved our horses to the house on Thanksgiving day. I wish I had before pictures because our backyard was a wreck. Weeds everywhere, and our dogs seem to think EVERYTHING is a chew toy. We worked really really hard, but it was worth it. Jim turned part of the shed into a "tack" room, and he organizes it almost daily. So far nobody has complained (that we know of) and I really hope they don't, Jim is so much less stressed when he can just go out to play, or um work, in his tack shed. Besides all the riding time we try to get in, even if it's just an hour before dark. Jim set up lots of lighting in the back yard so we can unsaddle and clean up the horses after dark. I just didn't realize how much horses pooed!

FHE

Monday we had FHE.(Family Home Evening) Sami and Trever were in charge of the lesson, and they decided to do it on "working together." In the middle of the lesson, Trever got mad that Sami wouldn't let him help and came to pout next to me. They were fighting and we just weren't feeling it. Finally Jim said, "wow Sami and Trever, I thought you guys were really fighting, that was a great skit on how fighting and not working as a team can really be hard. Now you guys should show us why working together is so much better." They fell for it, they smiled and hugged and then did a skit on working together. We all sang Silent Night, and then finished the night decorating a gingerbread house. We wondered why it never turns out like the one on the box. One reason my be because Jimi made the frosting (glue) and mixed the PRE-MADE frosting with the "extra" frosting recipe on the box. It was REALLY sweet. But... Those who throw stones, shouldn't live in GINGERBREAD houses!!!

Jim and Dany feeling Elfy! (turn off my music at the bottom of the page)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

My little Elve's

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Should I go to the Hospital?

I was wondering if I should go to the hospital because I think I fell of the planet for the last week. Or at least some of my blogging buddies think so. I'm fine, and I'm here, just busy. So here is my week. Thanksgiving was nice, I made two turkeys they were good.

We moved our horses over to the house, so we can ride whenever we want. (probably the reason I'm never blogging) Then trying to set up Christmas decorations. I don't enjoy this anymore. The kids actually set up the tree while I was outside, but I took their lights down, and fluffed the tree and restrung lights on it. I'm not OCD like others in my family, but I do like it to look nice. I have always let the kids decorate the tree, and as soon as they would go to bed I would fix it. Otherwise all the decorations are on the front bottom half of the tree. They never seemed to notice, and if they did I just told them their decoration fell off and that's where I thought it went. They were happy with that. I would like to shoot whomever put away the Christmas lights last year!!! Jim swears I helped but I KNOW there was NO WAY!

I have the thingy's that you wrap them on so they don't get tangled, and a few strands were on those. But the rest are in a BIG ball in a box, and it's no wonder why they don't work because when you pull them out all the bulbs break off.

It is enough to drive me crazy. (I know, not a far drive) I will get a picture of the tree when it's all done, hopefully today or tomorrow sometime, but darling Jimi has a volleyball tournament at school this morning. And Jim is working tomorrow and I am helping my sister in law/friend waitress a Christmas party Saturday night. Extra money for Christmas would be nice. (money???what's that?) Oh, and I spent a WHOLE day playing with backgrounds on my blog, and my Internet going up and down all day! DARN YOU MEDIACOMMMMM!!!