My Dancing Days!

Tonight I was thinking about my dancing days! I really miss those moments of dancing my heart and soul out! One of my favorite dance performances I did was the Tango to this song. Some of our dance steps actually came from this clip... just not so provocative. It took me back when I saw this clip and I remembered a lot of the dance. It was so fun and I wish that one of these days I can get Andy to learn and then take classes with me. It may take several years, but maybe in heaven he will have a natural skill for it... that would be my heaven, not so sure it would be his. :)

BTW, it makes me laugh that we have some friends who think this song is about redemption. It's obviously about prostitution! Just had to mention that because we have to tease them every time we talk about the song.

Who Will Save You?

Last night we were watching "Cutthroat Island." In the beginning the main character is trying to save her father who is drowning. The girls asked Andy why she was saving her dad. Andy said, "Well, if I were drowning wouldn't you try and save me?" I had to laugh at their witty response, "Maybe Mommy will." Let's just hope that never happens because if Andy is counting on me we will both die!

Be Still

This evening it took quite awhile to get my baby to stay in bed! Unfortunately, all three of my girls are sick but Katie took the brunt of it. She finally went down around midnight but even now she randomly cries out, "Momma!" After she went to bed I felt I needed to sit and be still.

I started searching on the Internet for some possible answers. Andy and I have been struggling with a particular trial. The trial itself is irrelevant, but it's frustrating. I've come across some information and it makes me think about our decision that we feel is right. I've been advised, "Don't worry. Things will work out." However, it's hard to not worry. I understand that the Lord knows the desires of my heart, but He also has a plan for me and my family. What I wonder is will the two come together? In the midst of trials I know that we need to do our part and work hard. In this trial I must rely on the Lord completely. Andy and I have done what we can and the rest lies in the hands of our Heavenly Father. I guess for now I just need to "be still" and put my trust in the Lord.

Positive Parenting Week 1

Take Time To Teach: Creating the Environment

1. Build on a positive foundation. As a parent be a coach, not a referee. The referee sees every mistake, calls them on it, and then gives them a penalty. A coach teaches them what they can and cannot do, and then they practice all week. Sometimes parents are constantly saying, "Don't, don't, don't!" Put a positive spin on things, "Shut the door quietly, please" instead of "Don't slam the door!" When your child is jumping on the couch tell them they may jump on the floor or outside on the trampoline.
2. Keep your word! Be honest and make it an absolute. Don't threaten your kids that if they touch "that" one more time you're going to cut their hand off! You obviously will not do that. If you tell your child you'll pick them up at 3:00, be there 5 minutes till. If you think you might be running late, tell them you'll try your best to be there at 3:00 but you'll probably be there a little later. If you tell them something and don't keep your word they trust you less and less.
3. Use the language of respect---Please and thank you. (This one I will gladly admit we usually don't have a problem with at home... It's the tone that we have a problem with. I said, "PLEASE!")
4. Use eye contact. Don't yell across the house for them to do or don't do something. Walk over to them and look them in the eye. For small children, get down on their level.
5. Use physical contact! (Angela chuckled and said, "Ally that doesn't mean you get to hit your kids!" She was joking, btw.) Touch their shoulder, give them a hug or kiss. They need it for their emotional growth. But don't expect too much in return. Even those children that give you the look of, "Don't touch me!" even need some sort of touch.
6. Keep your children out of the emotional corner. It becomes a power trip. If your child has gotten into the Oreo cookies and it's obvious because it's all over their face... Often we get upset and say, "Did you get into the cookies?" The child will look you straight in the face and say, "Nope!" They will lie to you! Instead try saying, "I see that you've been into the Oreo cookies. Those were for dessert and I guess you've already had yours."
7. Be on your child's side, always. You must always be your child's cheerleader. Build them up and encourage them.
8. Be at the crossroads. When they are leaving for school or coming home get up, greet them with a smile and a touch. You MUST be at the crossroads. That says, "I love you." Sister Tanner went on to say it's important for you to do this to your spouse. When Andy came home the other day I will admit it was hard for me to greet him with a smile. I was so upset about some things that he was responsible for and I failed in this area. I was too stubborn to smile at him... or give him a hug. The worst part is he didn't even think anything of it. He thought it was a normal day coming home from the office. We need to work on this one!
9. Learn to communicate---not control!

Our homework:

• Watch ourselves and see if we parent as a coach or a referee. I fully admit I am a referee parent. I seem to find everything my children do wrong. I've been trying hard to change that and remind myself that they are children, and human.
• Take one of the nine things above and work on it. First, recognize it, and then put forth the effort.
• Read Elder Bednar's talk "More diligent and concerned at home." Listen with both ears that hear and hearts that feel.

Sister Tanner's lesson was wonderful and there was a lot more that I could go into, but those were the things we were to work on this week. She also suggested reading Elder Ballard's talk "Daughters of God." I, too, recommend you read it. It is one of my favorite talks ever! I relate to so much of what he said. I went one step further and downloaded it onto my iPod. When I'm having a really bad day I put my headphones in so I don't have to hear everything going on around me and listen to his talk. Somehow, I tend to feel better.

This week I have been trying hard not to say, "Don't!" so much. Can I tell you how hard that is?! It has been such a struggle to put a positive spin on things. I thought I used eye contact appropriately enough, but I find that I do that when I'm upset and not other times. And I obviously need to be better about the crossroads with Andy. I am there for Sammy because I make sure she gets on and off the bus, but Andy is a big boy and he finds his own way home. I guess even big boys need hugs and kisses, too.

Positive Parenting

For those of you that follow my blog find that I struggle as a parent, as we all do. Back in the summer I was struggling especially with my challenge in life who is only 3 feet tall. How in the world can someone so small make me so angry?! Of course my frustration would shine through while running and I would gripe to Angela. She told me about this lady who teaches a parenting course and thought I would benefit from it. She had never gone to the parenting class, but had gone to a class on spouse relationships. Angela emailed me the link last night and the class started this morning. Wow! I walked away from that class and told Angela that Sister Tanner must have had a hidden camera in my house. It was awesome and if you ever have the opportunity I highly recommend going. It's a 10 week course and it's only $12.50 per person! They provide daycare for the morning classes and it's $3 per child. If you are at all interested in taking the class click HERE for more information. It's worth your time and little money. I'm going to try talking Andy into taking it with me Thursday evenings so he can get stuff out of it, too.

2nd ER visit

About 2:00 this morning Ashley woke up, crying. Usually if one of my girls wake up in the middle of the night I let them find there way to our bedroom floor... Yes, you can call me lazy. Anyway, it must have been that "mother's intuition" because I jumped out of bed right away. Ashley said there was something stuck in her mouth. She was wheezing and had a pretty deep cough. She wanted Andy so I went in and woke him up saying, "I think Ashley has croup. She's having a hard time breathing and she's calling for you." He got out of bed and went to Ashley. I asked him to give her a blessing and I was shocked to hear Andy reply, "I'm taking her to the hospital. You stay here and I'll call you to let you know how bad it is." Keep in mind, he's one of those people who will make you wait three days before you do anything. (He's his father's son! My MIL walked on a broken foot for months before they ordered an x-ray!) I couldn't sleep the whole time they were gone and I thought about calling someone to come over so I could be with my baby. The doctor saw Ashley about 3:00 and he confirmed it was croup. He gave her a dose of medicine to help with the inflammation and said she is highly contagious. The poor girl had it twice when she was a small baby. I hate to see her go through it again. But, the good news is we know how to treat it and she was home shortly after.

Small tangent, Katie fell last week and did the exact same thing Ashley did that sent her to the ER the first time. She fell with a tent pole in her mouth and cut herself. We thought we threw all the tent poles away, but we apparently missed one. Katie's cut was more on the roof of her mouth and she barely bled. I promise I'm not negligent as a mother... they're just sneaky, and clumsy!

I'm an addict!

Over the summer my family and I helped with our "family-community garden." It was taken care of by my mom, mostly, but Brigetta and I (with our families) went down on our assigned days and watered, weeded, and picked fruits and veggies. It was mainly planted as a salsa garden. And around here there was a plethora of everything. Tomatoes and peppers grew quicker than we could jar. It was my first year ever to do any kind of canning and I was so sick of it by the end of the season. As you may remember, Emily and I made apricot and cherry jam. After she left I made strawberry freezer jam. Then it was onto the salsa. I have so much salsa that I really didn't think I would go through it before it expired. My last couple batches I did I counted 90 jalapeno peppers and that doesn't include my mom's portion she took and the ones I gave away! What do I do with all that salsa?

A couple weeks ago I was trying an "invention" for dinner. Mostly they don't turn out as well as I hope and end up not doing it again. However, this one quickly became one of my addictions. It's so, so easy. I throw everything into my crock pot and let it cook... what could be easier? I put in (for my family of 5) 3 chicken breasts, 2 cans of black beans (mostly drained), 1 can of corn (drained), and 1 pint of homemade salsa. I call it my taco stew because it's kind of thick but still has the feel of a taco soup. I like to sprinkle cheese over the top and then eat it with corn tortilla chips. Oh, so good! My girls even like it and Andy has not yet complained about eating it four times in the last couple weeks. I may run out of my salsa after all!

Sammy's 6th Birthday Party!

Back row left to right: Gracie, Lexi, Courtney, McKinley, Kelsie

Front row left to right: Hannah, Ashley, Emma, Sammy, Sophia, Brooke
Sorry, a lot of the pictures were fuzzy. My camera is still acting funny so these were taken from a video camera. Thanks, Brigetta, for being the film director.
For Sammy's 6th birthday she had her very first party! She wanted a Hannah Montana Rock Star theme. It all started with a purple guitar cake she found on http://www.familyfun.com/ and fell in love with. The cake was much easier than I expected... however, I can't do a straight line to save my life so the strings look like there are a few broken or loose. I then made cardboard guitars for each of the girls. The bodies were shaped like stars and each had their name and then spray painted ocean blue. When the girls arrived they decorated them how they wanted using stickers, buttons, fuzzies, crayons, and whatever else was available. After they were done the girls "put on a show" to Hannah/Miley songs. It was quite the party and now the neighbors tease me that I taught the girls how to table dance. ;) So sorry I couldn't get them to download right here, but if you go to this link you can see one of my favorite "shows." I especially liked watching Hannah (far left, in yellow). She is the shyest kid you will ever meet, so it's so funny to see her rock out! As soon as her mom showed up she zipped her lips and wouldn't say a word to me. Funny girl! You can also see one of all the girls together here. It's pretty cute to see them all together. They really get into the chorus.

Sammy---6 years!

I wanted to post this yesterday on her real birthday... but I was feeling under the weather. Sorry, but today will have to do.

Six years ago I was feeling awfully big and uncomfortable. I went in for my last OB visit and was ready to discuss induction. Unfortunately, my doctor had to leave to deliver a baby and I was left with the NP. She stripped my membranes and sent me over to the hospital for a stress test. I was having regular contractions about 5-7 minutes apart. Andy and I went back to our schedules and by that evening we started timing the contractions. They were consistently 5 minutes apart. I packed my bag for the hospital and we headed out about midnight. Once we got to the hospital they monitored me for an hour and sent me home since I was not progressing. The nurse said, "Hopefully we'll see you in the morning." (This was Monday.) By Friday the contractions had not changed and I was getting very irritated. I had called my doctor's office numerous times and all the nurse told me was to try and go running. Running! I was so swollen I could only wear flip flops. I could have said some choice words, but I held my tongue. I felt helpless and called my mom in tears. She had 12 kids and I asked her what I could do. She gave me some tips and then said, "Or... you could just go to the hospital. Maybe they'll have pitty on you."

That night we went to visit my sister, Shiloam, who had her baby 10 days before and were waiting for my other sister, Brigetta, and her hubby, Brandon. They were coming down from Idaho to see the baby as well. After a few hours of chatting through contractions I said, "Andy, let's go to the hospital." He was not happy with me. He wanted to go home and get a good nights rest and then go in the morning. Ha! He would get some rest, while I toss and turn all night. I told him we were going no matter what.

We got to the hospital and the nurse called my doctor. She said, "You know... we're really not that busy... and you're up anyway." She is the only nurse I actually remember by name and maybe it's because I thought she was my saving grace. They started my IV and my epidural at the same time and Sammy was on her way. Very shortly after my water broke (on it's own) and then it was the waiting game. About 15 hours later I was fully dilated and the on call doctor came in. We pushed for about 45 minutes and the doctor said that she didn't think I was going to get the baby out on my own. (She was posterior, but the doctor didn't even try to turn her. She flat out told me she would rather be home with her dogs!) Since it was my first baby I really didn't know what to say or do. So we put trust in the doctor and she sent us in for a c-section. Samantha Hailey was born at 3:47 pm. She was 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 20 inches long. They rolled me out and we had quite the crowd. Brigetta and Brandon, Shiloam and John (+ their 2 boys), Andy's parents, and Nate Wyne all showed up! We missed our company Christmas party, but could care less. Everyone heard about our news and it was phone call after phone call congratulating us and asking when they could visit. Nate and Emily were among our first visitors. We always remember each other on December 20th since it's their anniversary as well.

Six years later, Sammy is happy and healthy and full of life! She loves school, her teachers, her friends, and I think most of all riding the bus! At times I don't know what to do with her and she and I butt heads most of the time, but we love her and are grateful she is in our lives. She is such a big help to her sisters and likes to be "in charge" when I take my daily shower. It amazes me how quickly time flies. I can't believe she is six years old! We love you Sammy and we're glad you were born!

Funny Card

Brigetta gave me one of the funniest cards for my birthday I just HAD to share! The front says, "I have just one question for you on your birthday... " And then it sings, "Do your boobs hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Can you tie 'em in a knot? Can you tie 'em in a bow? Can you throw 'em o'er your shoulder like a continental soldier? Do your boobs hang low?" The writing on the inside says, "That song's not so funny anymore, is it?" I laughed right out loud!!! Thanks, Brigetta for being my sister and making me laugh... especially when I really need it.

"Left Ear" will definitely stick!

Something funny happened around here last week... In order to make the connection you have to read this story of my sledding accident, if you don't already know about it. Anyway, Ashley and Katie were chasing each other around the living room while I was making dinner. All of a sudden Ashley started screaming and she ran in to see Andy. Daddy came to the rescue and calmed her down. Apparently, Ashley fell and hit the coffee table. When the girls came to the dinner table Ashley said, "Mommy, my ear is really red." Sure enough it was, so I checked it out a little closer. I called Andy in and told him to look on the backside of her left ear. She had a minor cut in the same place as mine. The cut itself was definitely NOT funny, but the fact that it was in the same place as mine made me chuckle. We sure have bad luck around here with left ears.

Thanksgiving 2009

It's a tradition with Andy's family that on Thanksgiving after we have stuffed ourselves till we hurt we sit around the table as adults and tell each other what we are thankful for in the past year. This year of course was no exception. So here is to my family and friends that couldn't sit at the table...

I have many things to be thankful for. This year has been one for our family to grow. We've learned a lot about our children, and taking care of their needs. Andy's job has been such a blessing and we are so glad that it allowed us to move to Nampa. We feel that we have settled in very well in our new home and neighborhood. We especially love our ward and all the good friends we have made. I am very grateful for the opportunity to run with Angela and find such an amazing friend in her. I enjoy all my time with her and don't know what I would do without her. Most of all this year I am thankful for my calling. We left our last ward kicking and screaming getting out of primary and swore it off! And after being in the 34th ward for six weeks I was called to be the second councilor in the primary presidency. I now know that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor. He had a plan for me and I have learned to change my perspective. I have grown to love those children and appreciate them as individuals... even if I can't remember them all by name. It's still not the easiest calling, but at least I can say that I'm grateful for it this year.

Just for fun!

Not a whole lot is going on around here other than normal life. So just for fun I had to mention two things that I thought were knee slappers.

First, when our family was here for the race my mother-in-law had offered to help out with sharing time in primary. Shout for joy!!! Anyway, she was telling the senior primary about this touching story of a husband and wife that involved old fashioned ironing. It really was a very sweet story and some of the kids started asking questions. One little boy, whom I think is around 9 or 10, stood up and said with a very puzzled look, "What is ironing?" I don't think any of us could help but laugh!

Second, today I was watching Angela's boys for about an hour. During that time Preston said he needed to go to the bathroom. He didn't make it in time for some of it and ended up needing new underwear. Since I was only having them for a short time I didn't have extra stuff and so I sent Katie to get a pull-up. Our house is surrounded by girls... and we have pink, princess pull-ups. I'm sorry, Preston. Once Preston saw the pull-up he started crying, "I CAN'T wear pink!" I tried my best not to laugh and even told him that we can cover it up with his pants. That didn't seem to matter in his mind and had a melt down over a pink pull-up. Bryce will be so proud!

Another Race... I know!

I apologize for not having any pictures. Our computer crashed and we lost EVERYTHING! So I don't have anymore photos to post for probably at least a few weeks.

Anyway, this last weekend I ran the Zeitgeist half marathon. I know a lot of you are sick of me talking about running, but what can I say... I love it! A lot of Andy's side of the family came out to Nampa/Boise to run the race with Angela and I. We had already planned to run it and then Emily called and said she signed up along with Nate, Lisa, Amy, and Troy. Pressures on, baby! It was fun to run with all of them and I think a few of them are crazy! Emily had swine flu and ran the insane, hilly course while having a horrible cough and on meds. She coughed hard enough they did x-rays to see if she cracked any ribs! And Troy did Zeitgeist for his first half marathon! This course is so brutal my legs are still sore. The first 3 miles of it is uphill and then straight down for about a mile. From there it's mostly level for a couple miles and then it climbs again. At about mile 8 it was literally straight up! I never stop running for my races and this one I couldn't make it to the top without walking. We were told it was down hill from there and when I reached the top I wanted to cry. We were lied to... it was not all down hill. However, I finished and we had quite the cheering section. Not only did our family run, but a lot of the other family members came just to cheer us on. That part was fun, but I don't think I'll be running that course anytime soon. I need to let my feet heal from the huge blood blisters, first. If you would like to see pictures click HERE. Thanks for posting, Mindy. Thanks to all of you that came out to run. I look forward to running with all of you again! And thanks to all the other family members that came out to support us. It was nice to have you here.

Catch Up Part 2

Okay, so I played a little catch up on the previous post, but this is what we've been up to in the last 2 weeks.

We had our Wanda Witch Party on the 17th which was a success in many ways! The clues were great, the challenges were awesome, and the costumes were hilarious! Here is a group shot, minus Andy and I. I'm still waiting to get some of the pictures of the challenges from the team captains. But when I get them I will definitely post them. Funny! Thank you all for coming and making the hard work and effort pay off!(This is a picture of one of the challenges. The hallow egg is on the end of a spoon and they had to make it up the jungle gym and go down the big, twisty slide without dropping the egg.)
I did run the Barber to Boise 10k the morning before the party and was happy with our time. I finished in 57 minutes and Angela came in 35 seconds after me. Our Bishop, I mean our new Stake President, also ran the race. He finished a few minutes before us and he and his wife were kind enough to stick around and cheer us on!
This last Saturday I ran the Prison Break Half Marathon! This picture doesn't do justice for that BEAST of a hill! If you look across in the picture you can get an idea of what it looked like... and did I mention it was the last part of the race!?! I think it was about mile 12.
I was very proud of myself for running the whole thing. Lately my knee has been failing on me and shockingly I didn't hurt one bit after the race. It was definitely not my best time, but for my first half marathon since July I was pleased. Angela ran the half marathon as well and was an animal! She was way ahead of me for most of the race. The only reason I knew it was her was because of her bright jacket she was wearing. Nikki and Brook ran the 10k that morning and, again, they were kind enough to stick around and cheer us on. At our weak moment in the race they happened to pull up in Brook's car and she got out to take pictures and cheer us on. It was overall a great race!

This picture is coming up on the finish line and I only love it because both my feet are off the ground. Usually my pictures look like I'm walking... trust me, I run the whole time! If you would like to see the rest of my pictures click on this.