Sundays

Today was a very important Sunday for us...we made it on time to church!! YES! I swear, no matter how early we wake up and start getting ready...we are still rushing to get there on time. What is the deal with that?!?

First off, let me warn anyone that is super "churchy" that may be reading this post. Stop now. Haha...it's not that bad, but I'd prefer to be open with what I write on MY blog. I don't want anyone coming back saying they got offended by what they read on my blog. It's my blog. You choose to read it, you suffer the consequences. (insert evil laugh here)

Sundays always make me GRUMPY. Pissed off. Upset. Frustrated. Annoyed. You get the picture. First of all, our church is from 10:30-1:30....the strangest time for church EVER. It's during my kids' naps and during lunch. It's very inconvenient. And yes, I know that I will be blessed and yada yada yada for sacrificing my child's nap if I go to church. But it seriously SUCKS. So we try to pack a lunch every Sunday that we put in the church kitchen so we can hurry and eat right after the church block. That way, we can feed the kids and then on the drive home, they fall right to sleep.

So why do I get so grumpy on Sundays?? Number one, I'm tired. Number two, my kids are tired. Number three, I'm hungry. Number 4, It's boring. Number five, I have a hard time seeing other people do their callings when I know I could do them better. Uhhh...there I said it. Do you ever think that? or is that just like a "ball family" trait? (we call it "ballitis"...pronounced like meningitis...lol) Oh and so number six, I don't have a "real" calling. We have lived here for a year this month! ONE WHOLE FREAKIN YEAR...and we are on the Activities Committee. Granted, it is a calling...but we all know that Activities Committee is for those people that the Bishopric couldn't find a calling for elsewhere...so ya stick 'em on the committee. Although I do plan Fan-freaking-tastic parties and events...I would like a calling that I can actually DO things. We need something that requires us to come to church on Sundays. That is the hardest thing we have been facing now that we have lived here for a while.

At the beginning, it was so fun and "needed" to go to church to meet people. We didn't know a single person here...so of course church is the place to go! Now that we are settled, we really thought we would be more involved in our ward. But it just ain't happenin....and yes, I have told the Bish a few times, "I NEED a calling!!" Jake has never been the super active type when it comes to church. So we really need more purpose to go to church...and a calling is just the right cure. A REAL one. :) It's hard with Jake because first of all, he is not the biggest social butterfly...I mean, he's an Engineer...nuff said. lol. And he could care less about making new friends and catching up with friends in the ward. He feels he has no purpose to go to church. He's even thought about just having them bring the sacrament to our house. We can read scriptures here in our home. Why do we need to drive the ugliest 20 minute drive of our lives, to go to church in Mojave?

So everyday after church, we whine and complain about the fact that we have yet to get a calling more suited for our needs. Is that bad? I don't care. It's how we feel. And we need solutions. Ideas. Thoughts. Inspiration. To help us stay active and interested in attending church for good reason.

I could just keep going and going on this topic. All things I wish I could change and spice up in our ward. And maybe Jake will get lucky and get a calling soon so I don't have to keep pushing him to go to church. Do you ever feel this way? Is this really stupid to feel this way?

Hollywood...Here I come!

What did you do today?

Do you ever wonder what other people do during the day? You know, the people who don't work...stay at home moms....what do they do ALL DAY LONG??? I'm always curious to see how people like to spend their time. And I'm always asking myself "what did I do with my time BEFORE I had these rugrats?!" I must have seriously wasted a lot of time. I thought it would be cool to document what I do as a stay at home mom (aka professional caretaker...that sounds more like my style...).

Every single freaking morning I wake up at 7. I'm not gonna lie, I hate it. I am not a morning person. Emerald is the first to wake up with knocking on her door (we put child lock on her door handle on the INSIDE...so she can't get out...it's brilliant, I know). Today when I opened her door to let her out (sounds like I'm letting an animal out or something...), she started talking about how she was riding a tiny horse and went on the ferris wheel with Reese (her little friend). Sounds like she has some good dreams.

Emerald goes potty after that and then we both climb back into my bed and watch a movie (Dora, Tinker Bell, etc.). By about 745 we can hear Charlie jumping in his bed. I really need to get a video of him doing this. This boy can get some serious air. We go get Charlie and then we eat breakfast. Fruit Loops with a cup of milk. Same thing EVERY morning. After Emerald eats, she usually heads back to watch the rest of her movie and I jump in the shower while Charlie finishes his breakfast.

Then we all get dressed, Emerald plays and I put Charlie in his room to play. (They do not play together much...Emerald is mean and Charlie sits on her.) During this time I attempt to do the dishes...which usually takes me about 45 mins to do a 10 min job. I'm constantly helping with dressing up a doll or finding a different toy or picking out colors of crayons for Emerald to use.

Charlie takes a nap from 10-12 while I continue in my attempt to pick up the house. I try to do a load of laundry every day...yes, I said it....A LOAD EVERY DAY. It's a lot of laundry. I think I clean for a good hour or two until I take a break and start blog hopping, sending emails, doing homework and of course, Facebooking. (Is that a word?) We have lunch at noon once Char wakes up and then after lunch, it's time for Emerald to take a nap. I can get the most done while Emerald is asleep. And there has been a few days when I actually do stuff when she is sleeping, but I usually take that time to do whatever I want. Read, add to my list of things I need to do, more homework, meal planning, etc.

Charlie is so good to just play in his room quietly. Such an angel. A hefty angel. :) Emerald wakes up at about 330/4 and then it's time for Char to take his 2nd nap. Can't wait till they can take naps at the same time...I could get a lot done...or not. Once Emerald is up, we color or do a craft together. Then I start making dinner and try to entertain her at the same time. Not always successful. And at 5, Daddy comes home and Mommy leaves. Just kidding. That's only like once or twice or three times a week that I feel the need to leave the moment Jake comes home. :)

This is a typical "outline" of what my days are like. But this is only when Emerald doesn't have school. She now has preschool 3x a week for 3 hours...so that changes things a bit. I get more time during the day to run errands and do craft projects for me.

The strange thing is that as I write this down, I realize how much of NOTHINGNESS I do during my day. But yet during the day, I am always running around and always having something to do. I guess it's just hard to put in writing what exactly goes into my day-to-day schedule. Maybe I will actually keep track one day and see how productive I really am. That would be interesting. Or not interesting AT ALL.

Wishy Washy

Decided to just start a new blog that will be the "journal" one. This blog will stay the same with pics of kids and updates. I am still planning on making it private though. ;) I'll be sure to send you all the link to the new "Lena" blog.

Gotta keep it real folks

Hey, so I have decided to make my blog private. I just feel like I have to hold back with what I REALLY want to write. And I really enjoy using this blog as a journal for myself. So if you are interested in reading about the more "intimate" details of my life, feel free to send me your email address. If you would rather not hear about my life that way, then DON'T tell me you want an invite to read my blog. :) I will be starting another blog to put up pics of the kids, updates, etc.

Peace out. ;)

The new house...

The pictures are probably really out of order...but we love our new house! Lots of little things that we want to change and we are just enjoying make this home "ours". This weekend Jake is converting one of the spare bedrooms into our Laundry/Food Storage room. I'm so happy...California has a weird thing about keeping the washer and dryer hooked up in the garage....I mean, really....the garage?!! Garage is for dirty tools and cars...NOT clothes! So it will be nice to have the indoor laundry room. Then I think our next BIG project will be re-finishing the kitchen cabinets. I actually don't mind the white that they are now...but we peeled back some of the paint and saw what a gorgeous wood they are underneath! I can't resist but to re-finish them!! It's been a while since I have re-finished any furniture (2 years) and so I'm really excited to get back in the game! :) I'm going to strip all the white and pink...yes, PINK! paint and then stain and gloss the natural wood.

Our current dilemma is where to put our huge tv! The "designated family room" is the area next to the kitchen, but I want that area to be the dining room in the near future. So we are kinda stuck with having the only option be in the master bedroom. Which also brings us to another project we want to do soon...putting tile in the "family room" are to convert it to our dining room. Luckily, I know how to tile! Yes! My mom and I tiled her whole kitchen and dining room when they were building the house. So we'll rip out the carpet and lay some tile and then put our new gigantic table there (that Jake will be building....right, Jake??).

And then there is the yard! Front yard is green...but don't be mistaken...it is 90% all weeds. :) So in October (once it cools off) we are taking out the weeds, maybe bringing in top soil and seeding the front lawn. We are also taking out the tree that is in the corner of the house (it's roots are bringing up the sidewalk and could ruin the foundation also). The backyard will have a cement patio and then a little bit of grass and then some rubber mats on the side yard for the kids' play set. Exciting huh?!?! I am stoked! It's so much fun to have all these projects to keep us busy each weekend...we are really enjoying it.

Sicker than a dog

I've been sick with pneumonia for the past week now....it just won't go away!! Luckily, I have fabulous friends who watch my kids and bring me dinner. It was really hard the first few days of being this sick...It makes me miss my Madre! The last time I was this sick was when we moved here from Utah...it was the worst move ever. But I had my Mom with me the whole time and man was she a lifesaver! It's definitely an adjustment to not having her so close. I wake up and feel fine, but then I do too much and end up bed ridden for the rest of the day. And not to mention that the antibiotics give me a serious stomach ache! Bleh. My inhaler seems to help with the breathing and hopefully this lingering infection in my lungs will soon pass.

Lots of things on my mind the past few weeks...I'm sure this has something to do with me getting sick too. We were supposed to close on the house last Friday but it has now been pushed to tomorrow or Thursday. Which sucks. I'm starting classes again in almost 2 weeks, I'm trying to get my little "toddler time" program going with the city and continuing to move forward on the adoption/foster care process. Lots to do. Although I love keeping busy...it sure does wear on you with two little munchkins to chase around!