4 Wheeler

Earlier today my Dad called me and asked me to bring the kids to his house. He wanted to show the kids something he bought. When we drove up the driveway Jor saw it. How he saw it I don't know. My Dad took the kids down by the motor home and show`ed them his new 4 wheeler. The kids were so excited. Jor was already sitting on it. So my Dad took the boys for a ride. Jor was in heaven. Cody thought it was the coolest thing ever. When they were done Dad was going to take Raquel for a ride but Brooklyn was watching him so he grabbed her and let her sit on it. That made her so happy. It was cute. Later this evening Dad took me for a ride. It really was so much fun. It will be fun to have it here until next January when my parents take it to Arizona and leave it there. It turned out to be a really nice evening with my Dad.

Jordin

The other day Jordin had been in the bathroom for a while so I went to check on him. As I open the door I saw Jor standing there with hair by his feet. A few days prior I had cleared off the cupboard above the toilet and Mat`s beard trimmer was up there. I was not thinking when I put it in the drawer where Jor could reach it. Jor had grabbed it and and started at his forehead and just went back from there. It almost looked like a reverse mohawk. The beard trimmer was on its shortest setting. When I saw him standing there I had to turn away so he wouldn't see me laughing. It really was funny. Its just hair it`ll grow back. Now if that had been my little girl it wouldn't have been so funny.

Jor`s hair is so blond and fine that if his hair is cut too short it looks like he is bald. I finally broke down tonight and cut his hair. I couldn't let him go to church like that. I cut his hair really short but you can STILL see where he cut it. Sigh. Its not wonder I have so much gray hair.

Recipe

I tried a new recipe tonight for dinner. It turned out so well I thought I`d share. It is so simple yet so delicious. Enjoy.

Serves 4

EVOO, 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 pkg puff pastry, salt & pepper, smoked gouda cut in 1/2 (or any cheese you like), 1 egg beat. Cut the chicken in half & season with salt & pepper, put EVOO in pan, cook chicken just shy of being done. Take your puff pastry and cut each sheet into 1/4. Work diagonally with pastry. Place 1 piece of cheese in the middle of the pastry. Put chicken on top of that. Top with another piece of cheese. Wrap like a present and pinch edges together. Brush with egg. Place seam side down on cookie sheet. Brush top with egg. Cook 12-15 minutes on 400deg.

My bathroom

Ok so it finally happened. It took a while but it was so worth the wait. About a month ago I bought the marble stone for my bathroom counter top. My brother did all the fabricating on it so I got a really good deal. He came and installed it last night. It looks so good. There was not enough of the marble to do the back splash so I went to Lowe's today and bought tile to do the back splash. I was really nervous to do the tiling myself but once I started it I realised how easy it was. It turned out so nice. I am really pleased with how it turned out. Now I need to get the mirror back up and frame that out. Then try and decide on a color for the walls.

My next project will be to tile the shower. I am going to be buying the materials in the next few weeks to get that started. Once that is done I will do the floor. My home was built in the early 80's and it totally looks it. It just amazed me how much different it looks. I have sanded and painted the vanity, put the counter top & back splash on. Just that little bit has made such a huge difference. With the few things I have done in my house I am really starting to love my house. I have always liked my house don't get me wrong, but I really love it now.

Ya I know, what a boring life I lead, but you know what. I have had so much fun doing it.

My men are so cute

Ok so I just have to say that I have these cutest men in my life. Jordin got the mail for me today. In the mail was a craftsman's tool catalog. When Jordin saw it that was all he wanted. Oh I forgot to mention that he had his friend at our house playing. He took the catalog out in the back yard to look at it with Tara. I went to check on them a little bit later and they were sitting at the kids picnic table looking at the catalog together. It was so cute.

Mat and I went out tonight & took the kids to my parents house. So when we got home this evening Jordin grabs the catalog and asks Mat to read it to him. So Mat and Jordin sit down at the computer and Mat reads the catalog to him. Spend more save more. Power outdoor projects with craftsman tools. Craftsman exclusive member.

It was so cute. After about 10 minutes of Jordin being enthused about the reading he finally gets off Mats lap. Walks to the couch and moves the pillows and tells Mat to go sit on the couch and get comfortable. So they sit on the couch and read for another 10, 15 minutes. Jordin shows Mat what lawnmowers to buy and what tools are the good ones.

Jordin may be the biggest pain in the butt but its moments like this that makes it all worth it.

A funny thing happened

Today my parents took me out to lunch for my birthday. We went to my Dad`s favorite restaurant. He is friends with all the employees, its just a small restaurant. They have the best Mexican food ever. Anyways we get seated and my Dad went to talk to the cook and tell him what he wanted to eat. The cook makes things that are not on the menu for my Dad. While he is talking to the cook one of the waitresses is talking to my Mom and me. My Mom tells her it is my birthday. She asked me how old I was. I know that I look younger than I am and I thought that it would be fun to see how old people think I am. So I asked her how old she thought I was. She thought about it for a minute. She finally looked at me and said...16. I had to laugh at her. WOW I knew that I looked young but that young... I said nope. She said, 17. When I told her I was a lot older than that her eyes went wide. So she said 20 thinking that I was really 16. I finally told her I was 28 she didn't believe me.

My Mom and I got a real kick out of it. She was so funny. She started calling me little girl. When I told her I have 4 children she was amazed. She has seen my oldest in the restaurant with my parents before so when my Mom told her that was my oldest all she said was wow. She sure gave me a good laugh.

Last night at 9:02pm Mat called me to tell me happy eastern time zone, (he is back east right now), birthday. It was so sweet. It made me feel so good to have him think of something like that. Its the little things that really make the difference.

I`ve come to a conclusion

I`ve come to a conclusion. I have decided that it IS ok to ask for help once in a while, or have other people watch my children. I have never been very good at asking people for help or finding someone to watch my children so I could get out. I never wanted to bother people feeling that I would be a pain in doing so.

The last few weeks I have been in a really bad place. Not knowing what to do with Jordin. Feeling like I was going crazy. Always being stressed. I use to think that if I had other people watch my kids, not only would I be a pain in doing so, but I wouldn't be a good Mother. But I wasn't a good Mother when I was walking around so stressed out and so crazy that I couldn't see straight. I didn't realise how bad I had been until yesterday. There is NOTHING wrong with having some time to myself and more importantly, NOT feeling guilty about it. I deserve it. I work hard all day, every day.

After getting out and spending some time alone with Mat I look back and can see a complete difference in myself. I am so much more patient with Jordin, I don't lose my temper as easily. I can see now that I was all wrong in my thinking that I would be a bad parent by taking time to myself. I was a bad parent by NOT taking time for myself. So from now on I am going to try to get out once a week by myself and I`m not going to feel guilty about it.

I feel much better!

Last night Mat and I drove to Bellingham and stayed the night. It was so nice to get away from the kids. I really needed it. This morning when I woke up I took a shower and didnt have to worry about how long Iwas in there. I just stood there for a while and thought how nice is this. No kids banging on the door, yelling that they need something. After we were ready for the day we went out for breakfast. No kids yelling or fighting. It was wonderful.

We drove to Vancouver B.C. I had to wait for Mat to get through customs so I saw a store and went in it and looked around. When I was done I needed to go meet up with Mat. I couldnt figure out how to get out with out going through customs to get into the US. I ended up having to back up about 50 feet or so because I was going to wrong way. I had to get out of the van and move a cone so I could get back where I had been. I cant believe that I did that. It was so funny. We had such a good day. It is so beautiful there. We took some great pictures.

I am so grateful that I was able to go. I really needed to get away. I feel much better now and feel that I can be a better Mother to my children. They deserve to have a good, sane mother.

Excited

I am so excited today. I am getting ready to go to Vancouver B.C. with Mat tonight. After the kids get home from school I am taking them out to my parents house to drop them off. Then I`m off to meet Mat in Bellingham for the night. Then early tomorrow we are going to drive the rest of the way to B.C. I had hoped to stay in B.C. tonight but Mat will have had a long day. He is still 12 or so hours from home. So to make it there tonight would make a really long day for him but that is ok. It will be nice to get away from the kids and just have time alone with Mat. Unfortunately we wont have a long time but we`ll still have fun.

It`s been a good day/Vancouver B.C.

I have been having such a hard time going to church lately. I have a wonderful lady who helps me with my kids. She is such a blessing to be. I don't know what I would do with out her. But it is still so hard to go to church. My children do not behave themselves. I don't get anything out of going. The only reason I go is because I know that that is where I need to be. I had such a hard time today at church. I cant tell you how many times I had to blink my tears back today. This morning went by so smoothly that we were ready about 15 minutes before we had to leave. It was so nice. I never have that happen. I thought, surely this is going to be a good day. Little did I know. I get to church and everything goes down hill from there. After I got home and put Brooklyn and Jordin in bed I was able to sit down and relax a little. My brother and his girlfriend came over for a few minutes. It was nice to have them here and visit with them. Things went better after they left. Jordin woke up from his nap, had lunch and went to his friends house to play. He was there until we were ready to go to my parents house. Brooklyn woke up and was really good. Today went better than I had expected. I was relieved. It was so nice not being as stressed as I usually am.

I am excited, Tuesday evening I am going to follow Mat to Vancouver B.C. We are going to spend the night there. In the morning Mat will deliver his last truck and we will be able to spend a couple hours in B.C. It will be so nice to get away for awhile. I have never been to Canada before. So I`m really excited to go. I have heard that B.C. is beautiful this time of the year. Mat and I rarely get out together so this will be nice getting out like this. He will be driving his truck up there so we wont be together driving up there. Once the truck gets delivered we will be together.