Learning

My word for the year is LEARNING. When you choose a word you have to be careful what you choose because you just might get what you ask for! (hehe)

I am learning lots this year:

• 
  I am learning what it is like to have teenagers in the house. Never a dull moment and if there is I had better go and check it out! (just like when they were 3)
  
• 
  I am Learning alot Spiritually. I have been fighting that growth, but once I let it happen things are better for sure. Sometimes I wish we could just be happy right where we are at but the Lord knows better and has better for us if we are willing.
  
• 
  I am learning slowly how to use my camera. I am definitally not my Sister or my Brother when it comes to taking pictures and I will never be. Its wonderful to have such talented people in the family that help you when they can. They may get frustrated when I ask questions but at Least I am asking!
  
• 
  Our family is trying to learn how to eat healthier. I started yesterday with a new menu plan that my husband has. So far so good for two days!(whoohoo I made it so far) My kids are eating and will be eating things they never have before! They dont like the Asparagus I steamed yesterday, We will see how they handle butternut squash tonight! (hehe)
  

So there is alot of learning going on here and if my little one gets into full day kindergarten I may just have to go back to school myself. Maybe I can actually finish school this time and get a degree!

Introducing...

The new villian in town!

Me!

That's right it's me!

The EVIL ANTI- MOM!!!!

I am best known for asking my children to do chores and actually having them do them! I am sooo evil! (insert evil cackle here)

My Dear husband and children bestowed this Honor on me on saturday!

I even lived up to my reputation this morning as I asked my two oldest to do dishes! All they had to do was fill the dishwasher! Yep ! that was pure evil of me! Did it get done? Sure did ! I did it! Maybe I should use some of my unkown powers and have them do the rest of todays dishes By HAND! (insert another evil cackle here)

Well I had better go! One of my duties each day is to sit around and think of all the other evil things I have to make my kids do! Better get right on it! I wonder now with all my super evil powers if I will melt when I take a shower! Well here goes nothing!

To all you other evil moms have a wonderfully evil day:) (you can insert another evil cackle here if you want)

So fun ....

and just too cute!!






We had a crazy weekend with family in from out of town. It was fun and all the kids were just too cute ! I had to bust out the camera and take some fun pictures of everyone:)

You can see more here.

It is all FHE fun and games....

Until someone gets hurt:)

Have you ever felt this way?

What do you think? and my own Personal Progress

I am working on getting my Young Women's Medallion again! I am working on getting it with my daughter! This is a wonderful experience as we do this together, we check up on each other and I think it helps us out to have a Buddie to do this with:) This will be something I will remember for a long time!

I am wondering if any of you would be willing to help me get one of my value experiences done?

I am in awe of all you wonderful mothers and I want to ask you what you think is an important attribute of being a mother and a wife, or what is an attribute you have seen in in someone else you admire and want to achieve?

you can either comment or email me at kaydee [underscore] m @ msn [dot] com.

Birthday Bowling Fun:)

Happy Birthday Brock:)



We bowled three games, had lot of food and tons of fun!


Showing off their bowling shoes.


Everyone's bowling ball except Kade, he had to hold his most of the time.

Too Tired

This little guy was just too tired to get on his pj's! He fell asleep with them in his hands! He had played so hard all day that he collapsed at around 7:30 (when his normal bedtime is around 8:30).

A fun time playing at the park

Today we had a FUN time! Kade and I met up with Jenn and Seth at the Park. The kids had fun playing but I think they had a better time posing for the camera.



Kade made sure he rolled in the sand and Seth didnt want me to miss him riding the scooter. He had to turn around just to make sure I took the picture:)




Here is Kade making a bridge for the little kids to go under.

Thank you Jenn for meeting us there:)

My Little Valentines

Sugar + Blender =

Did you know if you run out of powdered sugar that you can put white granulated sugar in a blender or food processor and blend it, that it will turn to powdered sugar?

I know powdered sugar is ground white sugar, and for some reason I just didn't realize that I could grind the sugar myself and make powdered sugar! I have always just bought it at the store. Isn't that where every mom gets their powdered sugar? Mine did! Well I was at my Mother in Laws a while back and she ground some sugar in her blender and made powdered sugar. I have learned so many little hints and tricks from her that I am thankful for. I was thankful I had learned this and I was able to grind up some sugar and make frosting for some cinnamon rolls chantel had made on sunday . I wish I could share the cinnamon rolls, but they are all gone now! Chantel can really bake and when she makes something they usually dont last very long!

Free Agency Vent

Free agency as my Dear mother in law puts it is a "mothers worst enemy". I saw this step into agency before, and I am seeing again as I let my five year old walk himself (sometimes) to class. How heartbreaking that he doesn't want me to follow him or let me hold his hand. I keep asking him not to grow up but I cant stop it.

Sometimes these steps into agency are seamless and go unnoticed, other steps are big and they need our help and when they finally get it is amazing, and some we do not want them to take and we try and protect them but we cant.

As my older two children grow and progress I am finding the enemy of agency creep its ugly little head again. They can maneuver and manipulate both their parents and others. This can lead you wonder how in the world you didn't notice certain things and wonder how everyone sees it but you. Communication between a parent and child is essential, but when that child has a hard time telling you things, you don't know how to help them and by the time they come to you, they have to answer and pay the consequences for what they have done or said. It is a hard road to travel.

I know the things I am dealing with are nothing compared to some others but I am having a hard time trying to decide how to handle a situation and some feelings might be hurt and there maybe more drama than I can handle at the moment. The normal avenues for handling things cant be taken and I am having a hard time trusting anyone that I talk to about this. I am so mad and, hurt over allegations and rumors being spread that I want to scream. If you know me at all I cant stand to see any one hurt or mad and I am always trying to the point sacrificing myself so that others don't feel bad. It is killing me that I may have to make a deciscion that might make someone else upset but I have to do it so I can protect my free agency and that of my child.

Sorry if vented to much but this is where I am at this moment and I cant pretend that I am not here.

Funny things Kade has said lately

Kade has come up with some cute and some funny questions over the last week and I thought I had better write them somewhere so I don't forget them!

1: I had some strawberries that needed to be cut so we could make some strawberry muffins. Kade had the strawberries out washing them and starting to cut them by the time I got over to help him. As I started to help him, he so excitedly said" Look mom now we are two players, instead of one player. I love it when we are two players." I had to tell him that I liked it better too when there were two players instead of one.

2: I walk Kade to his class everyday and this morning out of the blue he asks if it is OK to hug other people. I wondered what he was thinking and I wanted to make sure he remembered what I have tried to tell him about stranger danger. I answered him with "Yes, as long as he knew the person he was hugging." He then asked me if it was OK to hug Aunt Jamie. I said of course, and he then said "that's good I think I can wait for a hug from her" I had a hard time holding in the laughter.

3: After handing him a bowl of popcorn to snack on, he asked if I had bought the popcorn from an apricot tree! I had to tell him yes or he would not eat it!

Last week...

Last week was my 40th birthday! I keep telling myself that I cant be that old! I still feel like I am nineteen. I had a wonderful birthday ! I was surrounded by friends and family for lunch at Macaroni Grill. I was very spoiled by everyone. I love having my birthday at the end of January because most everything I get is usually pink and geared toward Valentines day! Thank you so much for everything! I don't think I tell my friends thank you enough:)

For dinner that evening my Dear Husband and Children took me out to dinner at Mi Amigos! It was great not having to cook or clean that day! Thanks Kirt :)

The next day all of the sisters in my family got together and had lunch for my Mothers Birthday. My mother never had a birthday lunch and it was great to be able to go out to lunch with her and all my sisters! I got a great card and magnet from my sister Candace! It has been a hit around here. The magnet is a "how are you feeling today" one and it is funny to see where everyone puts the frame for how they feel! I think all of us sisters need to do lunch a little more often:)

A Sacred Moment

I love to have those sacred teaching moments with my kids, and today we had one. Kade decided to watch our video of " Finding Faith in Christ". I was skeptical that he would actually sit down and watch it, but he did. As I sat there with Kade, he started asking questions. He asked "Why is Christ the light of the world?" My reply with out thinking to much was "Because he is the Son of God." I started getting choked up as I thought on what I was saying and realizing again the similarities between our temporal sun and Christ. Kade seemed to understand and kept asking me questions, and I kept marveling at my answers. Heavenly Father Does Love us and Sends us Angels especially when we need it the most! I needed one today and I am so thankful for the Sacred moment we had.

A day at the Zoo

We spent monday at the zoo with friends! It was lots of fun! We started the day of with the Sting rays! I think most everyone got splashed:) The boys had fun on the spider web and climbing up on the post to sit.



Kiley was too fun:) Here she is showing me her muscles! By the end of Bonnie was one of the lucky ones to get a ride in the wagon pulled by the kids.



We had quite a group of boys! (Seth and Kade were missing in this picture) Chantel and Kiley were the only girls!

I had to much fun taking pictures, I think I took too many!

I am trying ...

I have been trying to keep up but, it has been hard the last couple of weeks!

I have been busy with:

• getting a crown
• going to Colorado for a wedding
• coming back and needing a root canal badly because I spent my whole trip in SEVERE PAIN!
• Trying to catch up on laundry and house work.
• Getting ready for a primary activity day
• running errends, babysitting
• going to birthday parties
• Mother daughter enrichment night
• and finally getting a chance to edit pictures and start a new photo journal blog for all my pictures!

I hope tomorrow I can get a chance to come up for air and breath a little before we start into another hectic week!

Learn!!

I think I have finally come up with my word for the year!




"LEARN"




I ended last year by getting something new and I have started this year by learning all about it and I am having more fun than I should be allowed :) I have also learned some hard lessons with this and I am grateful for that too! ( I shot pictures for a birthday party and I lost a memory card full of pictures when my computer had a melt down with my sd card in the slot)


I also learned another hard lesson ! I learned that when you get carmel corn as a christmas present be careful when eating, you could crack a tooth and need a crown ! I went in today for a build up and a crown today. Thank goodness I did not need the build up but Note to self: Do not let the Dr. drill when things are not all the way numb, It causes severe pain!


In our ward our Bishop challenged us to read all the talks given by President Monson in the last General Conference. I found this and thought it fit my word for the year pretty well:

Learn what we should learn.
Do what we should do.
Be what we should be.

Hopefully I can put all three into practice!

I had way to much fun Today:) Can you Tell?



Of Course I owe my Dear Sister big for helping with this today!



It was sooo much fun to take these GREAT to be Eight pictures of "Perdy" ! She was so fun and a good sport for being the first one to for me to experiment with. I have learned so much and I cant wait to learn more!

a picture from the park

I took my daughter to the park today to meet up with some friends and I took my camera so I could practice. I think this is a fun picture and I have to say that this is my favorite picture of the day!

Happy Birthday!

Chantel, I hope you had a perfect day! I sure enjoyed taking you to the movies and out for lunch with your friends!

I am a very thankful mom right now! I got to spend time with Chantel and her friends and I am so Impressed with the friends she has chosen! What a blessing that is in our lives! I had lots of fun playing the limo driver and being a fly on the wall while she had her day! It was about time she had something special for her birthday since she has not had a birthday party from the time she was four!

Merry Christmas

Playtime pictures II

I am fun playing with my new toy and I have to say THANK YOU to my wonderful, and MOST PATIENT sister who took a couple hours out of her really busy day to help me learn something new! I still have a lot more to learn and and alot of practice ahead of me, but I am really looking forward to the challenge:)




It was fun to use my sisters kids as the subject of my pictures! They are so stinking CUTE!!!
I think I did pretty good on some of them and as you can see I still have a way to go.



I am going to have to learn how to take landscape pictures too so I can get all the beautiful pictures I can while I am in Colorado this winter and summer!

A Re-post of the Baked Potato Soup Recipe

4 to 5 Baking Potatoes

1/3 cup of butter

1/3 cup of all purpose flour

3 cups of milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup bacon bits, divided

2 green onions chopped

5 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 (8 ounce) container of sour cream

Directions:

1. Bake the potatoes in the oven or the microwave. (I prefer to bake them in the oven) After Potatoes are baked, peel and cut into cubes.

2. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour, stirring constantly till thick. Stir in milk a little at a time and cook about a minute. Stir in potatoes, salt and pepper, 1/4 cup bacon bits, 2 Tablespoons green onions and most of the cheese.(I did not add the cheese to the soup, I just served it on top of the soup) Cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in sour cream and heat through. Serve with remaining bacon, onion and cheese.
Makes 6 servings.

What have you Done?

I have highlited he things I have done:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Been to the top of a lighthouse
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (People haven't?)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37.Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Eaten New England clam chowder in New England
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Tag your it:) Now highlite the the things you have done!