Poor Daddy, No Trick-Or-Treating For You!

The other night the kids were talking about trick-or-treating and I told them that Troy could take them this year, because I took them by myself last year. Troy came in the room, and Adia said "Dad, Mom says you can go trick-or-treating this year" not knowing what we were talking about Troy answered, "No, I can't, I'm too old and people will think it's freaky if a man goes around asking for candy." So Adia turned to me and said, "Mom, you will just have to take us, Dad is too old and freaky to go." And now everywhere we go when people talk to her and ask her about Halloween, -you guessed it- she tells them, "my dad is old and freaky so he has to stay home on Halloween". At first it was just funny that she would say that, and it kind of embarrassed Troy, but then we saw the news and for every night this week they have been announcing that all people who have been convicted of a sex crime must stay in their houses and not answer the door on Halloween, and so now I keep telling Troy that people probably think he falls into that category. He hasn't yet learned to not worry about what other people think (He obviously hasn't spent enough time with Adia in public:) so it really drives him crazy when she says it now. Of course, that doesn't stop her from saying it. I just get a good kick out of it, and plan to keep my old freaky husband indoors all night.

So, happy haunting everyone, I hope you all get filled to the brim with candy, and enjoy the little spooks running around your neighborhood. I will leave you with our Jack o'lantern pictures. (We finally got around to getting that done last night, and we probably would have pushed it back even farther if it hadn't been our last chance before the big night.)

Adia is posing next to her pumpkin. It was a joint effort. I carved Cinderella, and she painted prince charming next to it.

As usual, this is the best picture I could get of Ethan next to his pumpkin. His says "this house is haunted" (He wanted it to be like the movie Monster House, One of his favorites.

Adia had no problem scooping out the "guts" she kept laughing and thinking it was so cool

Ethan on the other hand lasted about long enough to help Troy cut the lid, and tell him what to carve on it, and he was gone.

BOO!

I love this time of year. I don't particularly love Halloween, but I love that it's the kick off to the "Sharing and Caring Time of Year". I love that this time of year people start being a little kinder, loving each other a little more, and doing a little more for each other. I wish that it could be this way all year around, but it seems like when the Ball drops on December 31st, the magic is over and the world goes back to taking care of number one. I can't change the world, though, so I just enjoy it while it lasts. Anyway the reason that I am bringing this up is because I have been boo-ed Both in real life, and virtually. You know those fun little treats that you find on your doorstep this time of year, with a letter telling you that you have been spooked by a mysterious ghost, and you hang the sign on your door and then take treats with the same instructions to two friends? I love that, how you have fun making treats, and then get excited thinking of who you are going to spook, and then the real fun- the secret mission delivery! It gets you in the mood to keep giving for the rest of the year. Well, this is the blog version of that. Just as much fun, but without the chocolate:)
Now here is how the blogging "Boo-ed" goes. Comment "You've been boo-ed" to as many of your friends blogs as you like. Then have them link to your blog to get their "treat" (PICTURE). Next, put the treat on your side bar so everyone knows you've been boo-ed. Pass it on! Happy Boo-ing!

Thanks Melissa :)

Tagged again...

I have been tagged by several people lately for this one. I already did it a few months ago, but apparently I am so interesting everyone wants to know more about me :) So I am going to do it again...

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share 6 nonimportant things/habits/quirks about yourself.

4. Tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.

5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Here goes:
1. I love my life, but sometimes I secretly wish that I was still a little kid and living with my mommy.

2. I love to write, and am currently working on writing a book about our adoption experience.

3. I'm not allergic to cats, but I wish I was. That way I would have a good excuse to not like them.

4. Sometimes I dream about something, and then later on it will actually happen.

5. I hate running. I am really trying to like it, but it just isn't happening for me. Also, my husband pooped out of our training program, so I don't even have a partner out there hating it as much as I do:)

6. Friends are really important to me. I make friends easily, and keep them forever. Even if I haven't met a person, but have talked, e-mailed, chatted, whatever with them alot (in a friendly way, I don't get attached to the internet repair man or anything) I get attached, and feel like I am a part of their life. That sounds a little creepy now that I have written it... oh well:)

So, now I tag whoever hasn't done this before, or wants to do it again.

Yahoo!!!

THE PRIMARY PROGRAM IS OVER!!! We made it through, both kids did great, I remembered to breath through the entire thing, and I didn't vomit! It was great. Adia did run down the isle as she was comming back down to sit with us, but she is much slower than Ethan, and Troy was closer than I was, so he had to chase her, so I still count it as a success!

Long time, no post...

Do you ever have trouble thinking of a fun title for your blog? That's what just happened. Anyway, I haven't written in a long time, and for once it isn't because I didn't have anything to write about. It's because I haven't had a moment to sit down and write. It has been a busy week. Most of it is not interesting to anyone but me, and maybe my mom (Because, bless her heart, she really cares about even the boring things that happen to us.) but I will give you the highlights anyway. First, I really appreciate all of the kind comments about my last post. You all are way too nice to me, and I realized that I sure have all of you fooled:) I do feel a little bit bad about it though. The point of my post was not to get pity, or to milk complements out of anyone, it was to let you know how special that note was to me, and to thank the person who sent it. I'm sorry if that didn't come off the way I wanted it to. But to update you on that situation, Ethan has been awesome all week. I don't know what it is, but something clicked, and he is back to his old self, (and in some cases better than normal:)
On Friday we met with a behavior specialist, and she talked to us, and observed us and checked out our house, always writing of her little note book, making me very uncomfortable. It isn't that she was unkind, or judgemental, and I understand fully why she was doing what she did, but it took me back to the days of home studies, and social worker visits, and made me on edge all over again. Tomorrow we are going to meet with her again, and she will have a new behavior plan worked out for us to follow, and soon we will all be on our best behavior all the time, and you will not even recognize us for the wonderful manners, and the perfect life we will have. (At least I hope it will work that way, wish me luck there;) Really, I'm not expecting miracles, but this is an answer to prayers. We will have a plan, written by someone who has actually met Ethan, and tailored specifically for him, and then we have a specialist who will come into our home, and into Ethan's school, and even meet with his friends' families or primary teachers or whatever, and help us all understand how we can best help Ethan. It will be a great help to us.
Also on Friday we had a Young Women's Ice Cream Social/Silent Auction - recover-from-camp-fund-raiser. As some of you might remember me saying earlier in the year, We combined our youth program with another ward. There are very good reasons for that, most having to do with the other ward needing some stable examples, and our ward needing to learn that life isn't always perfect. Anyway, we have loved it, but it has taken a LOT of patience and understanding to get us to a point where we all feel like we belong, and get along, and aren't divided. One of the things that helped out the most was Girls Camp. It was great, but because we found out about combining about a month before camp we had to do a lot of last minute shuffling and cramming things together, and the budget just flew out the window. Our food bill alone for 68 girls, 12 Leaders, and 8 Priesthood leaders for four full days was over two thousand dollars. We didn't make the girls pay because most of the girls from the other ward, and a few from ours wouldn't have been able to come if it had cost them anything, so all of it came out of our budget. After it was all over we ended up about four hundred dollars in the hole, and the other ward was almost the same. The other ward was not allowed to have a fund raiser, but our ward was, so we had an ice cream bar and an auction to raise the funds. We wanted to pay back our debts, and have enough money to finish out the year. And if we could we wanted to get enough to buy subscriptions to the New Era for each of the girls for Christmas. So we asked for donations from our ward members, anything that they would be willing to give up and donate to our cause, money, used items, services, anything. We were earning money for both wards, but we could only ask for help from our ward members. We also printed up fliers and delivered them to EVERY house in our ward boundaries. We were overwhelmed by the support we had. We had a specific number that we were praying for, and after the night was over we ended up with the EXACT amount we had prayed for. It was a miracle. But it took a lot of work on our part. I spent all last week running around picking up donations (And storing them all in the guest bedroom at my house) and all of this week running around delivering things that people bid on, and then left before it was over. Whew, a lot of work, but worth it to see the miracles that happen in our lives every day.
This week we have been busy every single day. Monday Adia and I spent all day helping a friend of ours paint her new house, and getting ready for Family Night. This week it was really fun. We made treats for a few families, attached a little "Ghosty Note" and delivered them, rang the doorbell, and ran. The kids had a blast with it. They were so funny! Adia was really quiet until it came to the run away part where she would get so excited that she would laugh and yell "Run Ethan!" and " Be quiet, or they are going to know that we are hiding in these bushes" I'm sure everyone knew who we were, but it was fun anyway. Tuesday we had our friend *A* at our house ALL DAY LONG while her parents were at work, and then we had my young women class over to paint pumpkins in the evening. Wednesday *A* was back, and her dad locked his keys in the car. When we got home from giving him a ride to the other side of town to get another set of keys we found a message on our voice mail saying that Ethan was sick at school and needed us to go get him. So we loaded back into the car and picked Ethan up. When we went back to the truck it wouldn't start. We tried for about an hour, and we couldn't get it figured out, so we had to walk home -about five miles, in the freezing cold! Luckily we walked past a Shopko and spotted a run away cart. We loaded the kids in the cart and stole it. It made the trip much easier, and better for the kids, but I might end up in jail for it. Oh well, sometimes I think that might seem like a vacation... When we got home we called Troy who came home, fixed the truck enough to get it to a repair shop, and stayed with the kids while I went to Ethan's IEP. That went well, and I got home just in time for *A's* parents to come get her, get dinner on the table, and get ready for my book party. It went alright, but the show doesn't close for a week if you are looking for some awesome kids books at a really good price let me know and I will give you the website.
Today is our quiet day. All we have is a YW Stake meeting and Troy's Elders Quorum meeting tonight, and we are set. Then tomorrow we have the behaviorist coming again followed by Adia's Dance class having a fund raiser at the corn maze. And Saturday we have Primary Program Practice followed by (hopefully) my parents coming for a visit. Then Sunday is the dreaded program. I know that most people love the program, but they don't have an Ethan. I have had too many experiences with him running across the stand, and no one helping me catch him so I have to chase him down in my high heels. You haven't seen funny until you have seen a REALLY FAST little boy streaking through a church house followed by a surprisingly fast fat lady in high heeled shoes. It's great, unless you are the fat lady, then it's just humiliating. (And of course it only happens when the church is packed, or the stake president is visiting or something.) Yeah, that's my life, and that's the reason that I make myself sick worrying about the program, then spend the entire time on the edge of my seat, tense, and ready to pounce at any moment, and why I spend the entire day after the program sleeping it off, and my muscles are sore for three days after from being so tight throughout the whole event. Good times. Wish us all luck. We are going to need it.
I have been tagged, and I promise I will get to it Rebecca, but I haven't had time this week. Look for that to be on the way soon:)

Love Note from an Angel

Warning: This post contains a little complaining, and a lot of talking about Ethan's issues. If you can't handle it move on and try back again tomorrow when hopefully I will have a new post...

I had the strangest thing happen to me. I got a letter from an anonymous person - no return address, the card wasn't signed, etc.- Telling me that I am a good mom. It is strange Number one, because I don't know who sent it, but number two, because I wasn't sure that it's true. This week, actually this entire month, has been a tough one for us. Ethan has had a really tough time listening, following rules, even doing things that normally aren't an issue for him. (Troy blames me for bragging about him so much after Parent Teacher Conf.:) It has just been a really hard time, and I have yelled and snapped, and cried more than I should have. I have tried everything I know to do, and nothing has helped, and many things have made it worse. Some days I just feel like I am not doing any good for him at all. I am getting really discouraged about this whole motherhood thing, thinking that maybe I'm not cut out for it. Yesterday was no exception, in fact it was the worst day yet. Ethan is out of school on a break, and so he was home with nothing better to do than wreak havoc on my home. After breaking two dishes, tearing his room apart -complete with ripping his sheets and blankets, pushing his sister down the stairs, throwing food at the ceiling, and POOPING IN THE BATH TUB (for the SECOND time this WEEK!!! Something that he hasn't done since he was three I might add!) I was about ready to string him up by his toe nails. I had tried my mom's advice of "keep him busy" I tied taking away privileges, I tried only focusing on the good (though there wasn't much to focus on "Good job...um...breathing Ethan" ) I had tried just hugging him so he could feel how much I love him. Nothing worked. I was really at the end of my rope. Then I got this note. The person who sent it has no idea how much I needed to hear those beautiful words at exactly that moment. It is unbelievable how that boosted my spirits, and gave me confidence. I realized that I am a good mom. I might not do everything right, and I certainly loose my temper and patience too often, but I am doing alright. The fact that this kind of behavior is the exception rather than the rule now means that we have made some real progress. Certainly this progress is due a lot to Ethan and his hard work, and to Troy, and our family, and our friends support, but I had a part in it too. I needed that little reminder that I'm not so bad. I don't know if the angel (That's what I am calling this person, because what they did for me really was a miracle) is a reader of my blog or not, but I would like to thank her. She has made a huge difference in our house this week. I am lucky to have someone so sweet in my life.

Happy Blog-aversary!

I was doing a little "blog upkeep" today and realized that I missed my anniversary of my first blog post! How could I have forgotten? I can't believe that I have been blogging for a year! What did I used to do with all of my free time? Probably waste it on silly things like cleaning my house, or playing with my kids:)... Just kidding,... mostly:) I was thinking of how I could celebrate this momentous occasion, and I thought I would list my top five favorite posts. This has been tough, as there are a lot to choose from. I love blogging! It is such a great therapy for me, and it is a great way to stay connected to so many friends and family. So anyway, here are my top five. They may not be your favorites, and if you feel like I overlooked one that you liked, feel free to tell me about it in the comment section. Enjoy (In case you are wondering, you can just click on the title of the post and it will take you there. You don't have to sort through all of the old posts to find the ones I mention:)
In no particular order:
1. Lucky Me It was a good reminder that I have a pretty good life. It's amazing how much looking at life that way changes EVERYTHING. It makes you want to be a better person, and talk nicer to your family, and complain less about the things you can't control,... or that you can control...
2. I have a plan! It's just a good idea.
3. Lemon Face It cracks me up!
4. The Weekend, Missing Socks, and Mishaps Mostly just the part about Ethan and the socks. He is such a sweety, and I love his beautiful heart.
5. Sometime We Fall The things I learn from my kids just amaze me. What a good reminder of the special people I have in my life.

So, Happy Blogaversary to me, and thanks for reading:)

What a sneeze...

You know how in Jr. High all the boys turn their top eyelids inside out to make the girls scream? It's annoying and kind of gross, but eventually they grow out of it, and you can all get on with your life. Well, today I sneezed so hard my left eyelid turned inside out like that. It almost did make me scream. It was the strangest thing. I didn't really know what to do. I blinked a few times and it corrected itself, but now my eye lid is twitching, like it does when you don't get enough sleep or something, except it won't stop. For almost three hours now it has been twitching non stop. The only good thing is that it isn't very noticeable, I can just feel it, you can hardly see it at all. It's wild, and I don't know how to make it stop. I keep trying to sneeze again, thinking that maybe that will reverse it... I don't know, strange...

First Snow.

It snowed this weekend for the first time this fall. It was fun. I love the first snow because it usually isn't too much, and it us usually warm enough that it doesn't stick very long. The kids loved playing in it for a few hours until it all melted, and I liked coming back in the house and curling up with a blanket and Cocoa while Soup cooked in the crock pot. I love this time of year. Here are a couple of pictures of Adia catching flakes on her tongue after church.

Catch up time.

This weekend has been great. Our Uncle Levi, Aunt Cassie, and Cousin Michael came to visit. (My best friend from High school, and his family, not really related, but might as well be:) We had so much fun with them! We didn't really DO much, just watched some movies, visited, took a trip to Walmart, more visiting, dinner, more visiting... It has been a long time since we just talked, without being interrupted, or having to do something else, so we took advantage of it. We stayed up way too late every night that they were here, just talking and catching up. It's fun to think about things that happened when we were younger. (We have been friends since 8th grade, so we have a LOT of history together) And then to talk about growing up, and realize how much we have both changed, yet we seemed to grow together, as we are just as close as we were back then. How lucky I am to have a relationship like that. It doesn't happen that way very often, and though it does take work sometimes, it is a relationship that I truly treasure. I also am very lucky that both Levi and I married such wonderful people who really understand and respect our relationship. That doesn't always happen either, and I am blessed that I love Cassie just as much as Levi now. (Maybe more, she doesn't pick on me the way Levi does:) Anyway, there isn't much more to say, except thanks you guys, it was great having you. Oh, and to Stacy, Jeremy, Parker, and Payton (Who were also supposed to come stay with us, and backed out at the last minute for some crazy reason like having to move or something:) You better come up again soon! We missed you, and are holding you to that visit you promised!:)


Uncle Levi is the funnest! Ethan Loved snuggling with him on the couch. Ethan and I love watching movies with him, he talks through the whole thing and makes off the wall comments just like we do and no one makes us shush because Uncle Levi doesn't care if they try.

The picture turned out blurry, but it was so cute I had to include it anyway.

Isn't this the cutest little guy you have ever seen? We loved having Michael around this weekend, he is such a sweety!

Saving the day...

Just in case you are looking for a hero, I thought I would let you know that I am the " bravest mom in the WHOLE. WIDE. WORLD!" I was given this title by our friend Drew who lives a few houses down. Yesterday I was cooking dinner, and I heard someone crying. I went outside to check it out. My kids were inside, but we have several kids in the neighborhood, and I wanted to be sure that everything was alright. I saw Drew crying and jumping up and down on the side walk next to our house. I went over to him and asked what was wrong. Apparently as he was riding his bike he looked down and saw not one, but "two huge-mongous Tarantulas!" (really they were small, about the size of a pencil eraser, and just very hairy.) I told him that is wasn't a problem, and I slapped them both and killed them in one swipe. You should have seen Drew. He looked at me like I was a super hero, and then in a voice full of wonder that only a four year old is capable of he said "HOLY CRAP! YOU ARE THE BRAVEST MOM IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD! HOLY... CRAP..." I almost died laughing by how amazed he was. Apparently the mom at his house doesn't do the spider killing. Within minutes Drew had kids from all over the neighborhood gathered in our front yard as he reenacted the spider killing. They were all amazed too. Then it was time for dinner, and the kids all went home and I didn't think much else about it. But later as I delivered various shoes and bikes and scooters that were left at our house to the houses where they belonged I soon realized that my fame had spread. Every parent who saw me told me that they had heard the tale of my bravery. I am a total super star now:)

Another Score For Ethan!

Last night was parent teacher conference. As I'm sure I have said before, parent teacher conference makes me sick. Literally, I get so worried and anxious that I get sick to my stomach, and get terrible headaches. I have had enough bad experiences that I get really worked up about it. It usually turns out alright in the end, but it's hard to hear that you kid is doing bad in school, and that makes you feel like you aren't doing enough at home to help the situation. It's a lot of pressure number one, to know that your child is struggling, but number two to feel like it's your fault. Stress! So last night after a week of anticipation and dread building up in the pit of my stomach we went to the school to talk to the teacher...
It went great! They all raved about how much he is improving, and how great he is doing this year. They were very encouraging, and optimistic. They showed us all of the things that he has done this year, and we made goals to work on in the next few months. It was such a good experience that maybe next time I won't have to puke before we go. Great job Ethan! We are so proud of you!

Pretty Girl

Ooooh. What a pretty girl. And what a good job with her makeup. I taught her everything she knows. Did I mention I am a Mary Kay Consultant? I could make you look this pretty too:)

Observation week

This week is observation week at Adia's dance school. That is the week where parents, grandparents, friends, whoever can come and watch dance class and bring a camera to capture the moments of their kids performing so that they can send copies to family and friends who live too far away to come and watch. The rest of the time the teacher asks that everyone stay out so that the kids can focus on learning, and not performing for their audience. It seems a little cheesy, but I have to admit, I went lugging my two cameras (Video and digital) as well as my cell phone (Just to be on the safe side:) just like all of the other mothers. I had a great time. It was a lot of fun to see how Adia had improved since she started (She won't show me anything at home because "Ballerinas don't dance in houses, they dance in ballerina schools and on stages") She loved it too. After every thing they did she would turn to me and pose because she knew I was filming her. She also liked checking herself out in the studio mirrors, the teacher says she does that all the time:) She was very proud of herself, and the teacher was proud of her too. Great job Adia!

Water Fight!

ALTERNATE TITLES:
1. In the gutter...
2. What a good mom I am!
3. The way rednecks do it...
Today the city opened all of the fire hydrants in our neighborhood, I guess to clean them out, or get ready for winter, or something, not quite sure. Anyway, it made for a LOT of water. I mean, the gutters were full, and it was flooding the streets. It was really a pretty neat thing to see. And guess where my kids and I chose to experience this once a year opportunity... Yup, in the gutter. And we had a darn good time too. It was knee deep on the kids, so there was plenty to splash in. It was also running really fast, so we had "boat" races, and it knocked the kids off their feet a few times. We played for a good hour before the water was basically gone, and it was time to go in and dry off. Of course the batteries were dead in my camera. After it was all over I realized that it probably isn't the most responsible place to let my kids play, but I come from a place where there aren't any gutters... or fire hydrants...or water:) This is new and exciting to me too, and even though I do know better, for just this afternoon, I choose to be a kid instead of the mom. It was fun, I should do it more often.

Busy Weekend

Well, I know it's been a long time since I last posted, but that's probably the way October is going to be. Lots of posts at the first of the week, and not many toward the weekend. We have something going on EVERY. SINGLE. WEEKEND! Don't get me wrong, I love it. I am so excited because most of the time it's some of my favorite people coming up to visit me. I can't complain about that, it just doesn't leave much time for blogging.


On Wednesday I went to an Usborn book party. Have you seen these books? If you have young children in your home you probably have a couple, and might not even know it. They are awesome! They are those fun touchy-feely books, like "That's not my fairy, her crown is too shiny..." They also have great puzzle books, and tons of educational books, and the prices are pretty great too. I love them. (Of course, I haven't met too many books I didn't like, I'm kind of nuts about books.) Anyway, I love them like crazy, so I decided to host a party on the 22nd of October. If you live nearby be expecting an invitation. If you can't make it because you are busy, or because you live too far away, (Or possibly don't even know me:) leave a comment, or email me at kt123_us@yahoo.com with your e-mail and address and I will get you an e-invite. That way you can still get all of the great deals associated with my party.


Moving on, Thursday Grandma Gloria and Grandpa Jim came for a visit. We had a lot of fun with them that night, going out to dinner and doing some shopping. We made it home in time for Troy and I to watch the Debates. I learned a lot, and was surprised by a lot of what was said and done. My opinions did change on some of the issues, but I'm still on the fence over who to vote for. Feel free to comment and share opinions please. (Just no hate mail, living in "The Land of the Free" enables me to vote for whichever party I feel best about, and it doesn't matter where I live, or who my friends like better)


Friday we spent more time with Grandma and Grandpa, and then that night we left the kids home with a babysitter (Thanks "Show-and-Tell"!) and we went to the Utah State vs. BYU game. We sat in a section filled with BYU fans, and I cheered for Utah State. Let me tell you, I was NOT the popular one in the crowd. In fact, I thought Grandpa Jim was going to make me hitch-hike home:) In the end Utah State got slaughtered, though they did put up a good fight in the last quarter. It was alright by me either way, I just had fun getting out for a change.


The next day we watched Conference (Twice a year the LDS Church holds a meeting where the Prophet and other leaders speak and teach the members of the church about Christ, and how to live our lives to become closer to Him. It is broadcast on television here in Utah, and to meeting houses around the world, as well as on the Internet so as to be accessible to every member of the church) Wow! It was awesome! I learned so much, and loved each of the talks. I can't even pick a favorite, there were so many that I liked. I loved the general message that sometimes life might be hard, but we can rise above, and make it through. It seemed like every talk had a part in it meant just for me. Also, it was announced that there will be five new temples built around the world, one of which will be in Pennsylvania and will serve the area where Troy served his mission. He was very excited!


Sunday it was more Conference. We made a tent in the living room for the kids to snuggle in and listen to the speakers. It was stocked with tons of snacks, and conference activity books, and actually did pretty well all day. I'm not sure how much they got out of it, but at least they were quiet so I could listen. All in all it was a great weekend full of fun and inspiration.