No Buns in the Oven

So let’s get the other stuff out of the way first:

1. So Sayith Tay and Jay may come later this week…or not.  Sorry.

2. The exciting weekend of things will also come later this week (this I am slightly more sure of).

Today I’d rather have a little pity party of a blog.  Sorry friends.  You are more then welcome to stop reading now.  No offense will be taken.

I remember for awhile I felt like my blogs were all doom and gloom.  Then I turned a corner (or just made an effort to not blog when in a bad mood).  Now it seems you’ll get 2 whiney blogs in a matter of a week.

Again Sorry – and feel free to stop reading.  You’ve been warned.  I typically don’t post these ones on facebook either (where most of my traffic originates) since I want to vent and if people read its fine, but I’m not searching for attention…if that makes sense.

Now to why I’m writing.

I think a lot of this is piggy backing on this constant nausea I’ve had for nearly 2 weeks now.  I wake up and feel like I’m going to hurl, then feel fine for awhile, then sick, then fine, then I have a headache, then sick and so on.  It’s been rather annoying.  And like the title of this blog there is NO BUN IN THE OVEN.

Justin took care of that nearly 2 years ago so there better not be…

Maybe it’s the lack of sleep in combination with my crazy flux of sick feelings that is making more sensitive aka more whiney then usual.  For whatever reason, it’s happening.

I’ve also been thinking about something a friend said to me about a year ago.  There is nothing in particular that made me think this so please don’t try to read into it anything more then my recent Eeyore personality dwelling on all things depressing.

She and her husband had been going through a lot of crap and as she sat with me venting her little heart out she said “I’m tired of protecting him…I love him and don’t want anyone to see him in a negative light so I don’t tell anyone what happens when they aren’t looking”.  Essentially she loved him so much she was scared of anyone seeing him in a negative light.  So no matter what was going on in their home, nobody knew unless it ended with a smile.

She was depressed and defeated but left the house with smile in the morning to hide the sin and hurt in her home that he was causing.

How far do people go to “protect” the ones we love?  If we keep protecting them will they ever move through it?  I mean if she had told his friends or family could they not have intervened and tried to help him through it?  Is maybe exactly what he needed an embarrassing moment with somebody else to realize how ridiculous he was being?

Or is it our job to suffer the burden?  Is it our role as family to push through the tough situations alone for sake of holding up the “image” of each other?  Where is the line between slanderous gossip and talking to somebody for help?

So that’s what’s been going through my mind.  And today I end with a quote I saw on a lumber yard’s sign in front…

“There’s no point in being pessimistic…it won’t help anyway”

Friday Festivities

I usually write my blogs during my break/lunch at work…sometimes I pound out several blogs all at once and just save them to post later so you don’t have 50 of them at once (I’m exaggerating slightly).

I will actually probably end up doing that very thing today.  I kept meaning to jump on the computer the last few days since so much has happened.  I did a pretty good job at getting pictures even!!

I had a brief conversation with my hubby about my blogging plans and decided it would be a much easier read to split things up.  So that’s what you’ll get.  So I’ll give you Friday.

To tell you about Friday I must first mention Wednesday.  You see I need to bake a cake for Friday, and seeing as how the only time I would have to do it would be Wednesday, that’s what I did.  However, the icing and I did not get along and I was rather disappointed in the final result and will probably just stick to buying icing instead of making it.

So Friday came around and after work I headed to Jamie’s amazing house to set things up for a party.  I’m not exactly sure what to call this party.  It was a “bridal shower” for a vow renewal.  I could spend some time thinking of a witty nick name for this even, but I’m running low on creative juices this morn.

Jamie made a super awesome spread with the world’s best pasta salad, meatballs, strawberries, chips and dip and skewers with tomato and mozzarella.  We sat around and just enjoyed each other and the food.  We played a couple of fun games and were able to give Christina (the “Bride Again”) a gift with a gift card for her and Jeff (the “Groom Again”) to go out on a date and a gift pack of her favorite Philosophy product.

It was a great night with friends and all kids of food and love.  Thank you all for joining us to make this night special for somebody so dear to us all: Jamie, Neya, Aime, Candace, Lynne, and Kirstie.

The Wrath of a Red Head

It’s just one of those days.  Anyone in my earshot (or arms reach for that matter) should be warned.

I got splendid news this morning.  By splendid I really completely un-splendid.  To avoid giving you information you have no desire to learn I will express how it went with a metaphorical story.  Note: I am really excited to just find out metaphorical is in fact a word and that I spelled it correctly.

It was June 2011.   A young woman walks into target with her new comforter in tow to find out why it falls apart every time she tries to use it.  The woman behind the counter explains it was poorly designed and the only way to get it to work is to hand stitch all the seams back together.

Since this is the only comforter she has and must make it work for the sake of her freezing family at home.  She goes home and that night stays up all night without sleep to hand stitch all the seams (it’s a GIANT comforter).

Now it’s July 2012.  As one of her kids nestles into the blanket and a shiver runs down her spine.  How is she cold?  The blanket should be working – Mom fixed it.  She tells her mom about the situation and so the woman heads back to Target for answers.  The Target employee looks over the blanket for awhile and tells her that for the blanket to stay together AND keep somebody warm she has to only have 1 stitch and not a double stitch, and use glue that will hold the fabric together.

The woman then takes the blanket home and by hand un stitches each of the stitches she had done a year ago.  During that year she had added onto the blanket to cover her growing family. She had to go back and glue each of these sections together as well. She was not a happy camper.

So there friends is my day.  I spent a long time getting something done to find out a year later that doing that broke something else so I have to undo what I did and now do an extra step to make everything happy.

Lame…very lame.

So why has this gotten me such a horrible mood today? I’m not sure.  It’s frustrating, but it shouldn’t be THIS frustrating.  But apparently it was enough for whatever reason to turn me into a ball of frustration and irritability.

So beware what you say to me or how you look at me or you may experience the unjustified wrath of a red head.  Please accept my apology ahead of time (especially my hubby who will probably get it a few times tonight for no reason at all).

You've been warned.

The True Story of the Girl

I told you awhile ago about the “girl in my house” and how Justin left me a message to remind him to tell me the story about how a girl just walked into our house.

I now have the 411.

This all starts several weeks ago.  Around 10 PM on most nights a young girl (maybe 3) wanders up to our patio and plays in the kids play house and kitchen center outside our window.  At first we were wondering why we were hearing noises outside and then realized it was a little girl and we don’t mind.  She plays quietly and she’s having fun.

After about 30 minutes usually a woman (we assumed was her mother) comes and gets her.

Apparently this same girl took it upon herself to just walk into our house one afternoon during nap time.  We assume it was to play with our kids.  Justin (who was adorned in a pair of boxers since it was hot and the kids were sleeping) looked at the girl and told her it was nap time and she should leave.  She just stood there and looked at him.  So awkwardly (remember only wearing boxes) he had to literally push her out the front door.

He told me the story and although quite funny I was concerned people might accuse him of something inappropriate if they see him escorting a 3 year old out of our house in nothing but underwear.

I told him he should probably try to find her parents next time it happens and let them know what’s going on.

So a couple days later while we (Justin, Me, Travis, and Sam) sat around playing a game again this little girl walks in.  I walk over to her and ask her where her mom is (wrong question to ask – I know this now) and she stares at me blankly. I have to push her out side…really push her to get her to move and ask her again where her mom is.  Remember a woman is usually the one that comes to get her and our assumption is that it’s her mom.  I grab her hand and almost have to drag her down the stairs to look around for her mom.  A woman across the way looks at me and I ask if she knows where the little girl lives.  Here’s how it went down:

Woman: Oh that’s my brother’s daughter

Me: Oh, well she keeps walking into our front door

Woman: Oh, yeah, she does that

Me: We don’t mind if she wants to play, we just didn’t want you guys to worry where she was and my husband is home alone all day with the kids and I don’t think is appropriate for her to be over alone when I’m not home.

Woman: Sure, yeah we tell her not to do it, but she keeps on doing it ::as we’re talking the little girl begins to wander down the street:: Her mom had her the last few years but she was never home.  She’d just leave her alone all day.  She can’t even really talk and she doesn’t know any rules.

Me: Oh, wow, sorry.  We are totally ok if she wants to play I just wanted you guys to know where she was.

Woman: Yeah, ok

Me: Well, I’m going to go back in.  If she comes back over its fine with us
Woman: ::Looks around:: where’d she go?

Me: Down the street

Woman: Oh $@#* ::runs down the street::

So yeah…poor little girl. The worst part is the house she’s living in now is the apartment that has at least 4 adults and 4 kids…all the kids cuss, steal, and break things (ages 3-16).  She’s gone from living in a home where she was being neglected to living in a home with no rules.

The Stuff Takith Over

I wonder if it’s just me…really is it just me?

We’ve been in our apartment now for a little over a year and its starting to feel very cluttered to me.  At first the transition was pretty easy.  Going from a 1 bedroom garage converted into a house to a 3 bedroom apartment.  We had lots of space and barely enough stuff to fill it up.

Now, however, the clutter is becoming a little overwhelming.  I hate clutter.  I hate seeing a stack of papers…even if he stack is neat.  I much rather it be in a drawer.  I’d be happy if we had wall to wall shelves with tons of boxes full of clutter.  If the clutter is in the boxes at least I don’t see it.

But luxurious shelves we do not have.  Instead we stacks of things everywhere.  Organized stacks, but still stacks.

I’ve had this plan brewing in my head for a couple of weeks now.  The plan started a couple of weeks ago.

So we have a Wii.  Our Wii died.  Nintendo would refurbish it for like $90 and it would renew the warranty, but since the new Wii is coming we figured we could do without one for awhile and see how much the new one costs.

A couple of weeks ago a woman at work was selling a Wii for $125.  It came with controllers, extra accessories (even a Wii Fit Board) and about 15 games.  Some of the games we already had so I posted the duplicates on Amazon and they sold within a couple of hours (most of them at least).

There is something satisfying about getting rid of stuff and getting paid for it.  I want to get rid of more stuff.

I’d like to start going through my stacks of stuff and clutter and get rid of it.  In some instances I can probably even sell it.

The problem is I have to convince my husband this is a good idea.  While I hate stuff and would love to get rid of it my dear husband can’t get rid of anything.  Seriously...anything.  I could go into an entire rant on that but seeing as how we just celebrated our anniversary and that he is going to read this I’ll save it for another day (Love  you babe).  It will come. And on that day, Justin, you can try to defend yourself :)

So I think I will take some time every night for the next week or so and start plowing through stuff to get rid of.  I also think a trip to Ikea or Target will be in order to get containers or shelves to hide the stuff we keep. Wish me luck!

So Sayith Tay and Jay #31

Brittany M where do the voices on the radio come from? 

Taylor: The voices in the radio come from shows.  Then you hear the sound then you listen to the music on the show, but if you watch a show and its the same voice as the radio that's a match.

Jordan: Um the voices on the radio come from the people radio and they get louder and louder like their mom.  That's how it happens.

what is your favorite book?


Taylor: My favorite book is, I'll go get my favorite book so I can show you ::runs to room and brings back There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly" and starts singing it to me::

Jordan: My favorite book a Tinker Bell book.


what are ice cubes made of? 


Taylor: Its made of water.  And then it gets frozen and turns into ice.  Ice is slippery too.  I think its made by spiders.

Jordan: Ice cubes made of water.


who spends more time on the computer, mom or dad? 


Taylor: Daddy.

Jordan: Um Mommy.  You always take daddy's keys from him.  But now daddy has to give your keys back to you.  So why did you change your keys so that your keys are daddy's keys? (I have no idea what she's talking about)


what are people made of? 


Taylor: People are made out of skin.

Jordan: People made of keys.


how many people are there in the world? in your city? 


Taylor: 100,000

Jordan: People are in the world is princess and boys. ::mumble::
Me: What did you say?
Jordan: I didn't say anything to you I'm just talking to myself.


what is your favorite color?


Taylor: My favorite color is any color I want.  Like America and stuff.

Jordan: My favorite color is pink and purple and green and yellow.  All my colors.  And your favorite color is blue and Taylor's favorite color is red too.  And Taylor's favorite color is any thing you like and white and black.


how to plants grow? 


Taylor: Plants grow with water, seeds, and but you have to use a bug spray for a bug tree.  So you have to get your net and swing it around and the bugs go away.

Jordan: Plants grow when some people put water on the plants.

chocolate or vanilla?



Taylor: We can do chocolate or vanilla or strawberry.

Jordan: Um Banilla and chocolate too and banilla.


Jennifer Baker where is your favorite place to go to? 


Taylor:  My favorite place to go is, lets see...Boomers and Disneyland.  Not Old Mc Donalds.

Jordan: Um, my favorite place to go is drink.


How many animals where there on Noah's Ark? 


Taylor: I think it was 100 and a zillion.

Jordan: Um its a monkey.


Do you like to color or paint ? 


Taylor: Paint.

Jordan: Um I like to paint not color.


Do you have a favorite chore?


Taylor: My favorite job is cleaning up the floor.

Jordan: My favorite job in the house is cleaning up.


Anelya Hardson If you could make the raindrops a color what color would you choose?

Taylor: Any color I want.

Jordan: Um they would be pink.

6 and 200

So I had every intention to get this blog written yesterday on our actual anniversary, but the enormous amount of housework I had to get done got in the way (totally my fault for procrastinating of course).

Last weekend was my dad-in-law’s birthday dinner and my sis-in-law was there, naturally.

She designs shoes for a living for cool companies (She actually designed the ENTIRE shoe line for American Rag at Macy’s!!!!).  Part of this job is to spend an exorbitant amount of time in China.  The combination of this and what I assume are my usually good looking children persuaded her to take them overnight while she had the chance.

The time she chose to take them happened to be our anniversary weekend which I find awesome.

After gymnastics/ballet class for the girls she picked them up.  From what I gather from the girls they played outside, had a light bath (aka bath rave), got to sleep on the floor, and broke Aunt Genny’s mirror.

If you look at that list and think not all of that seems like a good time you are right.  Breaking the mirror was not, but everything else, including sleeping on the floor were highlights of the kids day/night with Aunt Genny. 

While the girls were out Justin and I enjoyed the quiet and Elijah enjoyed being the only child.  Although he would randomly run through the house calling for them.  Eli gussied up and the 3 of us went out to dinner for our 6^th anniversary.

We didn’t get to sleep in ::sigh:: since Justin had worship practice early on Sunday morning and I ended up staying home to do the aforementioned housework and rest what I could (been feeling icky lately).

So pretend this was posted yesterday…

Happy 6^th anniversary Justin! 

Thank you for being husband and best friend.  Thank you for making me laugh at your ridiculous humor (mostly just laughing at you for the record).  Thank you for taking care of our kids every day.  Thank you for finding the time and energy to serve me.  Thank you for keeping me lovingly accountable and putting up with my insane ideas and plans.

A lot has happened in the last 6 years.  We’ve grown.  We’ve cried (mostly me, lets me honest).  We’ve yelled.  We’ve laughed – a lot.  Let’s get this next year started!

On a side note – this is my 200^TH POST!

GOM and the Loose Tooth Girl in My House

There were a few things I wanted to blog about and I couldn’t decide which it would be.  So lucky you, you get all of them!  I’m sorry, please say we can still be friends…

1. The Grumpy Old Man (GOM)

There is this old bald man who rides around Anaheim in his electric scooter/wheelchair who I am pretty sure wants to end his life.  Our story starts on Monday when I was heading to the grocery store.  I was about to turn right at a green light and at the corner of my eye I saw GOM.  I assumed he would stop since it was green for me and a red hand (on the crossing signal) for him.  I was mistaken. I slammed on my brakes in time to barely miss him and got flipped off of course…

A minute later once I was in the parking area of the grocery store I was heading to I was turning into a parking spot when right between two cars GOM comes rolling out in front of my car.  I barely miss him again and this time his gratitude is shown by saying “Are you trying to kill me?!”  In my head I said “Are you trying to get killed?!”

In the store I heard him rudely yell at an employee that she needs to help him shop since he can’t reach things.  I’m all for helping him, but don’t be a jerk about it.  People are not obligated to help you GOM.  While in the store Jordan (3 years old – keep this in mind) is helping me push the kart and unfortunately as I turned to get something she pushed it right into him.  I grabbed her and told her to apologize right away and that she needed to be more careful.  His cheery response? “Get your f’in daughter under control”

Then a couple days ago while driving home I saw him again…flipping of cars as he rode across an intersection where cross traffic had the green light…he was literally holding up traffic for everyone that was trying to get out of Disneyland when they had the light to go.

I’m pretty sure he wants to die

2. The Girl In My House

There is a story to tell here.  I just don’t know what it is.  All I know is my hubby decided to send me a facebook message after I was in bed that says:

“did you realise that you tagged my dad in a couple of the 4th of july pics instead of rob webster? and also a girl jsut walked into our house today around 2 and i forgot to tell you about it but didn't wanna forget again so you get a message”

Ignore the massive typos. That is exactly what he typed.  Now he won’t answer his phone and I don’t know why there was a girl in my house.

3. The Loose Tooth

I know I should probably wait until her tooth actually falls out to get excited, but I can’t help it!  Taylor is losing her first tooth!  Here is how it went down.

::Taylor takes a bite of cookie::

Taylor: ::scream:: Mommy my tooth is broke!
Me: What happened?
Taylor: Its all wiggly
Me: Yay your first tooth is loose! You're going to get grown up teeth
Taylor: ::starts crying:: I don't want big fat teeth

In her very drama queen fashion she has also decided that she can’t eat “ever again”.

I’m excited that my first kid is losing her first tooth.  Not so excited that my first kid happens to be the most dramatic human being I know (excluding myself – I mean my parents gave me the nickname Scarlet O’hara for a reason when I was growing up…I’ve grown out of it I think)

FIRE! Death! And Torment…

So this blog is actually not related to any of the above mentioned, but I noticed something lately.

I’m a number nerd and I average around 20 readers per blog I post (thank you facebook).  If I don’t post it to facebook I get about 3 (thanks to you 3).  However, when I post a blog with a title that has some traumatizing word in it my readers shoot up to 40-50! 

That being said I must apologize for toying with your emotions.  I may never do it again…I said “may”.

I just spent 30 minutes at working testing something that involves me focusing on my computer screen without being allowed to distract myself with something that takes away that focus.  So what do I do?  I log into Blogger of course and find some random blog to start reading.  And then I find Kalli.

I like Kalli.

Kalli reminds me of who I think I am.  As I read how she writes and the things she writes about I think “hey, we’re pretty similar”…then I think further… and began wondering “are we?”

There is something about 3 kids ages 5 and under that suck some fun out of you.  I found myself thinking about the random weird person I was 6 years ago and how she progressively may be turning into an old maid.  You know when you play Old Maid and you see that wrinkly old face smiling at you and think “dang I might lose!”.  I’d rather not be that wrinkly old face. 

I’m not wrinkly…I’m ::pauses to remember age – seriously I had to think about it:: 27 but my personality is “over the hill”.

That’s just depressing.  I want my fun back.

So this is me attempting to encourage myself to be fun again.  I think that involves ignoring the housework tonight and buying dinner so I don’t have to cook.  That sounds like a good start.

I also the kids and I are having a dance party tonight.

There's Something About Brinner

Last night was “cooking night” which Justin has deemed baking night.  The girls and I usually bake something after dinner, but last night I decided the girls would help me make dinner instead.

Taylor’s favorite meal is breakfast.  Anything breakfast really and she eats twice as much as anyone else in our house (except for Justin – I’m pretty sure he may like breakfast as much as she does).  Most nights when I ask the kids what they want for dinner Taylor will shout “Breakfast!”  No matter where she is in the house…really.  I’ll be in the living room and say “Jordan what do you want for dinner” then I hear thumping as Taylor comes running from her room with a giant grin on her face “Breakfast!”

So on the way home yesterday I stopped by the 99 cent store to get a loaf of the big thick Texas Toast and basket of strawberries (what happened to the good old days when they came in the cute green baskets???)

When I got home I gave Taylor a very important job.  I told her it was a big girl job so she had to be a big girl.  I handed her the cutting board and strawberries and showed her how to use a butter knife to cut off the tops then cut the strawberries into quarters.  She was very proud of herself and every other slice of strawberry also involved her stuffing a piece in her mouth “I don’t think this one is pretty, I should eat it”.

Jordan helped me get gooey hands and dip the bread in eggs for the French Toast.  I held her hand as we flipped over the bread slice together and then she set the table for us while I cooked the cheesy scrambled eggs.  I would also like to point out they were VERY cheesy eggs since I gave Jordan the job of adding cheese as I walked away to get the butter so in a very Jordan like fashion (she loves cheese) she dumped almost the whole bag of cheese in.

We then enjoyed our Brinner (which always reminds me of Turk from Scrubs) of French Toast topped with oddly shaped strawberries and super cheesy scrambled eggs.  I had a great time cooking with the girls and of course I failed at getting any pictures.  So instead you get this picture from last Christmas where we got our Aprons which inspired the cooking night to begin with.

So Sayith Tay and Jay #30

Brittany M - what makes a person mean

Taylor: Hmm, A person that is mean that when they are not being really nice to you

Jordan: A person is mean when hurt somebody's feelings

Brittany M - what do mommy and daddy do for fun


Taylor: Um, you guys play games together.

Jordan: Mommy and daddy do for fun is let us eat yogurt.


Brittany M - what do mommy and daddy do when youre in bed


Taylor: Watch bad movies

Jordan: Mommy and daddy do when we're in bed is eat cookies


Brittany M - what does 5 times 5 equal


Taylor: 5 times 5 equals a miracle?

Jordan: 5 times 5 equal is um... I don't know... yogurt?


Brittany M - what is your favorite kind of popsicale? 


Taylor: Red white and blue where the middle is white and the very top is red

Jordan: My favorite kind of Popsicle is the kind with red and white.


Brittany M  - who spoils you more, grandmas or grandpas


Taylor: Grandma AND grandpa

Jordan: Grandma


Robert R Davis - How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?


Taylor: less the 5

Jordan: He'll chop wood like an alligator


Robert R Davis - Why did the chicken cross the road?


Taylor: I don't know why?...Mom, why?
Me: It's not a joke its a question
Taylor: Oh, then its because he needed to cross the street!

Jordan: Because he fell on the goose head.

So Sayith Tay and Jay #29

Rachel Reed - What do you love most about your sibling?

Taylor: Um, Let's see here. Um, alright.  Playing the pretty princess game.

Jordan: I like most about Taylor is you.
Me: That doesn't make sense.
Jordan: Something makes sense daddy doesn't let me win every time.

Rachel Reed - What is your favorite thing to do? Why?


Taylor: My favorite thing to do is play the game with the pretty princess and the witch.  Like when I was blue and you were purple and Jordan was pink.  I like it because you get the snappers on your ears and the necklaces and stuff and the bracelets too.

Jordan: My favorite thing to do is um, go in the shower first.  Mommy am I done yet?
Me: No
Jordan: But I want to get in the shower first before Taylor.


Rachel Reed - What is your mom/dad really good at?


Taylor: Um playing the monkey game.  I'm really happy when you do that.  But I don't know how to make you happy.  Dad's good at playing his own game with the monsters and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.  Sometimes the bad guys win and he loses.  And sometimes the good guys win.

Jordan: My mom is really good at making princess for you.  Am I done now?  Daddy is really good at taking things away like taking my pink playdoh away.

What do you want to do tomorrow?

Taylor: I want to tomorrow is eat some ice cream together at Disneyland and not go on roller coasters and go on It's a Small World and then the whale ride. I know its a long line, but its ok.

Jordan: I want to do tomorrow is play the princess game tomorrow.

What will you learn in school?

Taylor: Um, I don't know.  I'll learn about I don't knows.  I think I'll have an apple by my desk and tell the teacher that I know one thing.  I know the colors like red.

Jordan: I will learn when I go to school is to play with toys.

What Mommy Does When the Kids are in Bed

Sometimes I get massively frustrated by the fact that my dearest husband is so darn laid back.  It’s difficult to get a real opinion out of him since he is mostly just happy to go with whatever I want.  Some of you may think that’s great, but when its like that all of the time it starts to feel rather one sided and I keep thinking in the back of my mind someday he’ll just blow up and say “Actually I hate all of your ideas and we should have never done a single one!”

But it’s also a blessing.  He is so flexible and will let me do and try things all the time and doesn’t argue against my crazy ideas most of the time.  Right now is one of the times I greatly appreciate his laid-back-ness because I have projects brewing in my house.

In response to my recent post about my crazy children I have made a game plan.  As a good wife I ran all of my ideas and plans by Justin and in his typical Justin fashion I got “sure”.  So “sure” means run with it Raych! And running I am doing.

Project 1: Visual Schedule

I am making this HUGE schedule for the kids that breaks down their day into 30 minute increments with pictures of what they should be doing during this time.  Something I read said that instead of making the parents the “enforcer” giving the children an opportunity to fight back, make the “rules” the enforcer with the parents to follow through when a rule is broken.  How does this play out? 

An example could be right now it is 7:00 and the kids are making a mess.  I can point to the schedule and say here is the time, what should we be doing right now?  The answer would be brushing our teeth.  I then remind them that at 7:30 its story time so if they choose to keep making a mess then they will have to brush their teeth instead of doing the story so they will not get a story that night.

This will also help them prepare for what is coming and not be caught off guard.  It will keep us as parents accountable to the rules as well.

Project 2: Cleaning Up

My poor guinea pig children.  A friend of mine mentioned a great idea for helping the kids focus while cleaning up.  Starting this last weekend I have been setting a timer.  I tell the kids to follow me to the kitchen and set the timer on the microwave for say 5 minutes.  I explain to them they have 5 minutes to clean up their mess in the living room or any toys left out will be taken away.  Every minute I let them know how much time they have left to help keep them focused.  So far it has worked well for me.

I have also been taking away anything they do not use properly after one warning.  For example when Jordan thought it wise to open her pillow and start tearing apart the foam during nap I came in and asked her what a pillow was for, and when she told me for sleeping I asked if tearing it apart was sleeping.  When she responded with a no I told her if she doesn’t user it correctly I will take it away.  So 5 minutes later when she was doing it again she lost her pillow and had to sleep without one.

Project 3: Chores (The Resurrection)

After going through the Dave Ramsey class we started a “job” chart for Taylor.  She got compensation based on the work she did and only the work she did.  For example she would get $0.10 every time she dumped out the bathroom trash and $0.25 every time she put away her folded laundry.  So she could earn nothing every week or a few dollars.  We required that she split the money she earned into 3 even groups 1/3 for spending money, 1/3 for saving, 1/3 for Jesus.  We will change that Jesus part to a standard 10% once she knows how to do that herself, but for now she understands how to break things up into even groups. There is an envelope for each of the categories so she could take her envelope to the store and pick a toy, she can take her “saving” to the bank, and take her Jesus money to church on Sunday (of course we explain to her why we tithe and give money to Jesus).

I am now adding Jordan to the mix.  If you read my blog you know we are strapped for cash in our house so the “chore” budget is actually funded with all the change (like coin) we get back from our cash when food shopping.  It actually works out pretty well.

Each of the kids will have 5 “jobs” to do that they get paid for as well as requirements around the house like putting away their dirty clothes that they do not get paid for, but it is part of being part of the family and living together.

Project 4: Family Commitments

This is not really a project but a conscious effort on my behalf to ensure I have my priorities lined up.

God, my savior, creator, supplier, comforter, and peace is my first priority.  He gives me everything and I would have nothing without him.

Justin, my husband, companion, love, and laughter is my second priority.

Taylor, Jordan and Elijah, my children, blessing, joy and privilege are my third priority.

Family, Friends, and Church come in fourth.

There have been far too many days lately where I’m exhausted and put off things like family blog night or game night with the kids.  This needs to be unacceptable to me.  I rely sometimes on the fact that they are young and cannot keep me accountable.  Along with the schedule helping with this I have been praying intently lately for the energy to serve my kids by loving them and giving them the time they deserve to just spend time with me (and give Justin a much needed break).  Some of you saw the fruits of this prayer by reading a Tay and Jay blog last nigh for the first time in a long time.

So there is my long old blog about the Projects I’m working on.  I’ll post pictures and an update on how its working soon.

So Sayith Tay and Jay #28

So today instead of just answering questions I wanted to let you in on a couple of things that happened at the dinner table:

Me: Jordan, how old are you?
Jordan: ::holds up 3 fingers and counts them:: I'm 3! (that's right, she doesn't know how old she is unless she counts her fingers)

Taylor: Daddy what's 5 plus 5
Justin: 10
Taylor: What's 100 plus 100
Justin: 200
Taylor: Wow! You are really good at this! You're a number scientist!!

What do you miss most?


Taylor:  Mima

Jordan: I miss most, Mima.  I think I just miss Grandma because she loves me very much.

Who is the prettiest girl in the world?


Taylor: You

Jordan: Mommy

Who is the most handsome boy in the world?


Taylor: Dad, nope..dad

Jordan: Elijah

What is school?


Taylor: Um some place where you can learn things like about apples, ABC's, EFG's, HIJ's, and K.

Jordan: It's Taylor's school and its kinda blue.

What happens in summer?


Taylor: Oh flowers bloom, sun is bright, and summer you get to go swimming.

Jordan: What happens in summer is it turns to snow.

What did like about camping?


Taylor: Let's see, going throwing rocks.  I love it.  Love love love love it.

Jordan: I like about camping was when grandma and me and we went walking. And camping with Sammy and Brendan and Rob and Tawni and Brendan's mom.

What was bad about camping?


Taylor: Going fishing, because I never caught any fish.

Jordan: What was bad about camping was anything that was spooky.

Why has it been such a long time since we blogged?


Taylor: Because it was time yet. We have to blog to write messages.

Jordan:Because it takes to late because it was dark.