5 for Friday

5 general rules I have in my life:

1. Always try your best

2. Life is all about choices

3. Drink lots of water

4. Be punctual

5. Be honest

This week has been a not so great one. Probably one of the most stressful, overwhelming weeks I've had. Even more so than when Tanner was born. I am looking forward with hope that next week will be better.

Matt and I were not able to go to the temple yesterday because we were waiting around for the paper delivery guy to bring the papers. I guess his car broke down (poor him, but not poor us because we got called by some of our customers asking where their paper was) and they didn't show up until 5 o'clock. By then, Matt was at work and I didn't get home until 10pm. So they got delivered with today's papers. But we did get to go out for lunch together. We were going to go to the golf course but the road looked like it was rained out so we chose the Chinese food place. We ended up running into someone we hadn't seen in years and chatted with her so although it was nice to catch up, we didn't really get a "date". So I guess that means we'll get to go out again...right? lol

We will go to the temple next weekend. I planned a temporary alternate day this month. I'm not sure why I did, but I felt I should. It's a good thing I did.

I watched the movie "When in Rome" with Susanne last night. It was a good movie, but I probably wouldn't recommend it for the fact that it has sketch nudity in it. Think Titanic...when he sketches her naked. Although that may not phase other people, it does me. The story was cute and there was no swearing otherwise. It might make me a prude, but I just would rather not watch that stuff if I can help it. It's hard to know sometimes with movies. You live and you learn.

Glee...have you seen this show? I haven't and I would like to see one episode to see what the hype is about. Is it really any good? I imagine it's a bit like High School Musical crossed with Grease. Maybe I'm totally off base, but that's what it seems like.

I have been taking pictures for my "My life in Photographs" project...if that's what you can call it. It's kind of fun actually. It makes you really think about your life. I've always tried to keep a journal and although I'm not super faithful at it, I do try. Not too long ago, life seemed simpler and it was easy for me to keep up in my journal writing, but now it's not so easy.

Cleaning for other people has really taught me a lot. About myself and about what I want. I really enjoy cleaning for other people because I love seeing the end result and I love helping other people out.

Parenthood is HARD! I knew it was going to be hard but lately I feel like "what do I have to offer". Why did Tanner and/or the Lord choose me to be the parent of Tanner? Because I feel like I'm doing the worst job EVER! I'm glad that he's in Calgary right now because I really needed the break. Why don't parents ever get to have a "grandma" break? lol

The weather...although it has rained and rained, the prediction is that it's suppose to be a hot, dry summer and if that's true, we are all going to be wishing and praying for the rain. I know it may ruin farmers fields and even our own gardens, but this is the time to prepare. We need to stop being so complacent in our thoughts that we'll always have what we need and prepare now for the things that lie ahead of us. Storms are just the beginning. If we have poor fields, food is going to start to be scarce and then what? If we don't have what we have been told we need, then we have only ourselves to blame. So take this time and make sure you are at least prepared with 72 hour kits as a start. I know we have some work to do with our own 72 hour kits. We don't all have all the things we need. We have a large amount, but we are working toward having all of it.




Well, I'm off to clean my own house now. I hope everyone has a terrific weekend and I'll be back on Monday with "My life in Photographs".

True test...lol

I don't watch the Simpsons. We were never allowed in my house growing up and truthfully, I have always found it a bit rude and ridiculous. But I guess if Marge is like this, then I'm okay with that. I still won't watch it...lol

Which TV Mom Are You?

My Result: Marge Simpson

You are Marge from The Simpsons. You may not share Marge's blue bouffant, but you do share her animated style of mothering. Sometimes the pressures of maintaining a happy home may push you toward the edge, but at the end of the day, you believe in your children wholeheartedly, even when they're being rather, um, spirited.


You encourage your kids' creativity and individuality, whether that means watching them perform the saxophone or helping them raise exotic lizards. You may sometimes say things that sound like old-fashioned parenting clichés, but when it comes down to dealing with domestic disasters, you can be a pretty together, modern mama.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=tvmomogt&c=50652

What kind of mother are you?

I saw this on Sarah blog and thought I'd do the same. Makes you think what kind of mother you are.

I'm the "kind of mother" that encourages my child to "do it themselves". I encourage Tanner to put on his coat without me helping him, choosing what to wear and being happy with whatever he picks no matter how mis-matched I may think it is.

I'm the "kind of mother" that if I don't have a tissue, will wipe her childs nose with her fingers and wipe it on my jeans so it doesn't get Tanner's clothes dirty.

I'm the "kind of mother" that allows my child to veg out in front of the t.v. when he's sick so he'll actually rest.

I'm the "kind of mother" that give my child options and lets him pick

I'm the "kind of mother" that doesn't worry too frequently if he doesn't have a well balanced diet in a day

I'm the "kind of mother" who is dedicated to being an advocate for her child and will stand up for what I know is right and good for my child.

I'm the "kind of mother" who allows my child to help and doesn't get annoyed or irritated (for the most part) when it takes twice as long because he's helping me.

I'm the "kind of mother" that wishes I could be with my child all day and not have to work at night so I could put him to bed every night.

I'm the "kind of mother" that will give in to just about anything when he gives me "that look"...of course within reason.

I'm the "kind of mother" that laughs at her child constantly and telling him I love him and how funny he is.

I'm the "kind of mother" that loves my child so unconditionally that it doesn't even phase me when people gawk at him because he looks different on the outside.

I'm the "kind of mother" that let's her child play on the computer or watch a movie longer than I should so I can have a shower for longer than 5 minutes.

I'm the "kind of mother" that doesn't insist that he sit on the bench and not talk at all during church...come on...it's hard for us as adults. I do expect him to be reverent and we do talk about his Primary lesson at home afterwards, but as long as he's looking at a book or playing with one car quietly, I'm happy.

I'm the "kind of mother" that loves to watch her child discover new things or play with his toys or read a book. There is nothing more satisfying to me than watching him "read" a book.

I'm the "kind of mother" that will lick his fingers of whatever he doesn't want to lick off of them (like if he put his hand in pudding and won't lick the pudding off on his own). He thinks it's so funny when I do that because it tickles his fingers.

I'm the "kind of mother" that says prayers with him and reads the scriptures to him because I want him to learn to love the Lord. I miss reading the scriptures with him when I'm at work but we pray with him before I go to work.

I'm the "kind of mother" that just really really really loves her child and wants the best for him and hopes that I'm teaching him the things that he needs to know to learn and grow. I hope that I'm doing my best.

I'm the "kind of mother" that actually doesn't wish I was "one of those" mothers because every child is unique and when I look at other mother's, I try to emulate and practice what I admire about them and what they are doing but know that sometimes it doesn't work.

And just for extra I just want to write 1 thing that I admire most about my "mother" friends:

Adrienne: That you waited to train Macartney until she was ready. I pushed Tanner and it took me way longer, I think.

Sarah C: That you are so "effortless" at taking things in stride

Juliette: You are so patient with your boys.

Jamie: I don't know how you do it, but your kids are so dang smart! I think you might have some geneisus on your hands...lol

Sharon: You have such calm kids and I think it helps that you and Tyler are always (seemingly) calm and collected. You never seem frazzled with your kids.

Erica: That you love Josh so much and you are able to make work/being a Mom work for you.

Bobbi-Jo: You have written before that you admire me as a mother but it is I who admire so much your capabilities to be an amazing mother. You remind me so much of my own mother...having 4 girls. I only know too well the handful that can be...and you have a husband and hopefully will for a very very long time.

Christal: You have gone through so much to be able to have your kids and that is amazing to me that you would go through so much to be a mother. It shows to me how dedicated you are to actually being a mother and willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to be able to have your kids. That's amazing!

Anyways, for those of you I might have left out it is most likely because I don't know you as well as a mother. Or because you don't comment on my blog so I don't know you read this.

Happy Easter!

For Sharon's sake

First off, can I say how much I dislike reading black backgrounded blogs. I know a few of you (about 3 or 4 of you) have them, but they are SO hard to read. I still read them...don't worry I wouldn't stop, but it does make your eyes go funny. Maybe I'm getting old.

For mostly Sharon's sake I'm posting this because I told her I would. And I know she reads my blog every day (thanks). Plus I told her I'd blog about it because this kind of stuff gets my juices flowing. I went to Parented Pre-School today. I didn't go last week because Tanner was sick still. So we get there late (25 minutes) because the home visit lady that comes through the PUF program is running behind, therefore making me behind. We got there just in time for Circle time and class/playtime. In the parented "teaching" class we talked about, and got a hand out on, sharing. We started off in partners and we were given legos to build/play with. We were instructed that whatever partner was on the left hand side of the 2 got the lego. We didn't get any further instruction on what we were to build or how long we had or if our partner was getting a turn. Then the teacher comes and says: time to let your partner have a turn, give it to them. It was kind of an odd feeling but the point was how many times do we tell our kids to just go and play, without any further instruction and then when they are really involved with the toy, we say: it's time to let "suzie" play with it. It was kind of an eye opener for me. I didn't think about sharing that way. I don't usually have problems with Tanner sharing with other kids. He usually more than happy to. I do have to step in and help him to see that he has 100 other trains and that 2 trains isn't a big deal to share with someone else. But just the feeling that if you were lets say.......reading a good book and someone came up and said oh, I want to read that book and then took it from you. Or if someone said "you need to share that book now. Give it to so and so". That would be really hard. So we talked about different ways on how to share. I, personally, felt like there was no really good solution to it. We all have to learn to share and every child is different and responds differently to sharing. Some children don't have any problems with it, but others have a HUGE problem with sharing. Maybe we need to start calling it borrowing instead of sharing. We, as adults don't ask to share things with each other. We ask to borrow them so why are we trying to teach our kids about sharing when really, it's just borrowing?

I wonder, for those of you that are in Wednesday's class or any of the other ones what the response was in your class and what your take is on it.

I know one Mom said that her child just does not like to share all the time with the older sibling and so the Mom was asking what do you do in a situation like that. For me, if Tanner can't share, I just take the toy away. I try to help intervene but sometimes if that doesn't work, I just take it away. I know it's not fair to either child but life isn't fair. I think these kinds of things build children up and stregthen their character. These little things are their trials, in a way. Maybe that's a little far fetched, but if you think about it....is it fair if we are doing what we are told to do (obedience) that our car breaks down, or our dog dies, or our house floods, or our furnace stops working because it's so cold. NO! But those are our "bumps" or trials as adults, just like sharing or borrowing may be a trial for a child. Having that trial will help build up their charcter. I hope that makes sense. Maybe we need to start trying to approach it in a differnt manner. Most of us have things that work for us in our families, some have things that don't work. If it doesn't work, then try something different. Right now, well actually for the past 3 months, Tanner has been sleeping on a foam mattress in our room because he kept waking up in the night with bad dreams. For some families, that wouldn't work. But for us, in order for all of us to have a good night's sleep (which helps me be a better, non cranky mother and wife), it works. And really, in the eternal perspective, I don't feel that it will harm him to sleep there until he feels it's safe to sleep in his own bed. How would you like to be forced into a place you were afriad of just because someone else thought it was better for you? I wouldn't.

So maybe sharing isn't your child's thing. Maybe 90% of the time they doesn't want to share, but maybe sometimes, that's okay. Maybe the other child could find another toy. I'm not saying let your child have his way with toys all the time. I don't have multiple children but if I do, I would divide some of the toys for each child to be specifically their own. With those toys, I wouldn't expect my child to share if he didn't want to. But then I'd have some "everybody can play with these" toys (I'm really into quotation marks tonight for some random reason...sorry) and I would expect my children to share them. Of course the "special" toys would have to be put away until the playmate left but we don't have that situation. Generally the children Tanner plays with, are good at sharing too. There's not one of the children, that I can think of, that absolutely refuses to share their toys with Tanner every time he comes. Of course children have good days and bad days and some days they are going to be more willing to share than others, but we should be tolerant and understanding of that. And some days you'll just have to say "my child is playing with that and that's that". You can't always force the toy out.

We also need to be our children's advocate! I can not express that enough. If our child is having a temper tantrum or upset, I think (I'm not 100% perfect at this) we need to try to identify the childs feelings. I know with Tanner, I express to him that I know and understand it's hard for him and that I know he doesn't like it and I'm sorry that he is mad or upset. It usually helps him for the next time and then he'll say to me that he's mad. Sometimes they just need that tantrum, I agree, to just let out their frustrations and I think that's good. That's healthy, in my opinion. But sometimes it helps, at least for me it has, to just have a quick chat (like 1-2 minutes) about how he might have been feeling and why. Sometimes he just says "I don't know" but other times he can tell me it made him sad or mad or not happy. I'm not saying be an advocate just for our childs behavior, but in a lot of things. Our children can't always stand up for themselves and need that extra guidance or voice to stand up.

Well, that's enough of that. I hope you got your fill and I would love to hear people's responses to this.