Talented Thursday - A talented family

My new favorite toy is a plastic storage bin. I almost invested in a snow fort kit for $20 from L.L. Bean. I am glad I made do without. Today I handed over a green storage bin meant for gloves and hats and an old baby wipes box and look what my wonderful children made after two hours of work in freezing conditions. They say they still have more walls to build. I may just have found the perfect winter break activity.



In addition to their snow fort capabilities my family totally surprised me this week with their independance. Sunday night I came down with a horrible migraine(I am getting really sick of these things) In addition to the migraine I caught Tom's flu bug. Sunday night was absolutely horrible and I spent most of it on my bathroom floor. Monday morning brought no relief from the headache and extreme exhaustion. There was no way I was getting out of bed. Tom immediately jumped up (eventhough he had slept very little) and got the kids ready for school and dropped off at school. Lia was an absolute angel all morning. At 10:30 she climbed in bed next to me and slept until Tom came home at noon to check up on us and feed Lia. When my kids came home they were surprisingly good. Isaac made dinner for everyone (with mom directions from the other room) still I am pretty impressed he made spaghetti and broccoli on his own. He was so impressed with himself he made his own omelet the next night and today he made mac and cheese for his and Lia's lunch.

Rebecca was also an enormous help on Monday as she helped her Dad shovel the driveway and filled all the neighbor's goodie bags. It was amazing how great my family was on Monday. Of course I woke up Tuesday morning (late) and Tom said hey don't the kids need to get up? I guess I only get one sick day. But at least it was a good one.

Write a Little -- Need a little help

I am working on a virtual communities article for Wasatch Woman magazine right now and I have hit a writer's roadblock. Eventhough I pitched this idea I am stumped on what direction to take. What info do you think is the most interesting? what's new, what's safe, what are some good sites, how do I make money from blogging or how do I glam up my site? I'm just trying to narrow down the topics I am going to address with the article and want some feedback. So please share so I can write away.

Talented Thursday -- The Woman in Us.

This morning I woke up to an overwhelming dream. In my dream I had just been made the head server of a very fancy Italian restaurant. It was a huge promotion that I wanted. unfortunately I was also trying to juggle my kids who were at the restaurant that night, I was trying to figure out how I was going to fit college classes into my schedule and the chef had apparently just flew the coop so I was trying to cook up spaghetti for a huge passle of people. My dream ended to a woman calling to make a 10:45 p.m. dinner appointment. I had just asked the owner what we should do when I woke up. I had slept in 30 minutes which meant we were behind schedule for getting to school on time, again.

I have thought about this dream all day. The wierd part is I have had dreams about this particular restaraunt before. I was a measly server in those, but still overwhelmed. Somehow I knew in this dream I could handle all these tasks just not at that exact moment. I thought, "that was a wierd dream" until I realized that in real life I am the head server and the head chef and the mama and the appointment keeper and a student. All these things are important and somehow I am more capable of juggling and balancing then I was a few years ago. I do deserve the promotion I gave myself in the dream but somedays the woman in me is just a little tired and overwhelmed with all of it.

As I thought of this post today I thought of all the talented women I know and love who are master jugglers. There is something empowering about being a capable woman and yet at times we are so likely to feel like we are failures because we just can't make it all work at the same time. This is a hip hip hooray to all you other talented women out there who are trying to make it work and a reminder that you should just say no to to that ridiculous 10:45 p.m. appointment. There is a limit and we deserve a break.

I would also like to give a shout out for for my sister's new art web site. She is one of those jugglers trying to teach her children, make a living for her kids and overcome enormous personal obstacles. Check out some of her work here.

Talkative Tuesday -- Snow Addicts

I am absolutely amazed. I have to beg my children to go out and play in the summer, spring, and fall but come snowfall I can barely keep them inside (not that I want to). My children have been waiting impatiently for the snow, practically begging the powers that be for snow, talking about snow constantly while I have been expressing my gratitude for the obvious lack so far. I really hate to be cold and wet. Last night's snowstorm had Lia looking for her snowboots and coat during the windy blizzard like conditions occuring during the pitch dark of night. She was literally walking out the door to play in the storm. That is how much my kids love snow.

This morning I woke up with a full plate feeling overwhelmed, wishing I could clear everything but snowman building from my calendar. Somehow my wish came true and I found myself outside at 10 am playing follow Lia's snow trail through the front yard and build the mini snowman and kick it down. Her snow games are a little odd. Yes, I was cold and wet but I was grateful I didn't have to tell her to wait until Mom was done with all her "stuff." She was so happy to be wet and cold and for a few minutes I remembered why that white fluffy cold stuff is so magical.



Finally, we went back inside where I cleaned and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out what to get Tom's employees and partners for Christmas. I am still trying to figure it out. I have to come up with cool but economical gift baskets by Saturday. So if anyone has a great idea let's hear it. I also got to watch my friends two kids and they just cracked me up all afternoon, they are so cute.

Well, as soon as Becca and Isaac got home from school they were out in the snow again. I think it is hilarious how they were trying to sled down the driveway which is pure ice. This was not a big snowfall but there was no way they were going to miss a chance to use their sleds. Poor Rebecca slipped and fell at least four times. Her new warm waterproof and suprisingly stylish snow boots are unfortunately slippery as snot. Why can't anyone come up with the perfect snowboot.They played for a good 2 hours and I watched happily from my office window where I have direct access to the warm breeze from the heating vent. It was a perfect afternoon.

Friday's Favorite Find

I have been waiting all week to share my new favorite website on my blog. I spend hours looking at cooking sites and looking up new recipes. It's an addiction really. This week I ran across this scrumptious site that has really cool recipes and even more delectable photos with every recipe. It's beautiful. The link is also under my discover list as tastespotting. Enjoy!

Three Sob Stories

I am sorry to say this is not going to be the most upbeat post.
It was not a good day and so I am going to whine just a little bit.

I woke up to a screaming girl crying that she was wet, which meant a peed bed again. We have been having this problem once a week for the past month. I did finally buy a waterproof cover tonight. She of course refused to admit she had peed her bed and continued to yell at me as I threw her in the bath. Isaac was yelling at me about his clothes not being completely dry and Rebecca was yelling that she had nothing to wear -- which she did. By the time I got the kids to school I was ready to climb back in bed. At 8:45 I came home and fell on the couch only to have an immediate phone call from Isaac telling me he needed me to bring him another shirt because his friend had broken a glo stick and the fluid had squirted in Isaac's eye. They had pushed Isaac underneath the emergency shower in the science room and he was now soaked. I still had not eaten breakfast and I am one grouchy person without breakfast. Isaac said to take my time and so I did, only to arrive at the school to find a freezing soaking Isaac who thought it was all a big adventure. There seems to be some missing holes in his tale but that is his story and he is sticking to it. Hours later I picked my kids up and they immediately picked up where they had left off by having a yelling match with each other. I chimed in with my very loud voice and told them they could just knock it off or they were going to be doing chores the rest of the night. It is amazing how nice they got. Let's just say today was not my shining moment of patient, loving motherhood. I was ready to head for the hills by dinner time.

Sob Story #2
I have this beautiful formal dress in my favorite plum shade of purple. I consider it my cruise dress. Since we are going on a cruise in February I thought I better try it on. Sunday I tried it on to find that yes it fit everywhere but where I have gained 15 or more pounds. That thing just won't zip past my bust anymore. I am bummed and now I have to lose all that weight.

Sad Story #3
My little Becca informed me that she was privvy to a secret. She knew Santa was pretend. I asked her who told her this and she said it was me. I promptly told her I never said such a thing. "OK. I saw someone writing 'from Santa' on a present last year." My heart fell to pieces. I don't know where she saw this but I am heartbroken that she hasn't believed in Santa since she was six. That is too young for all that magic to go away. I tried to backpedal but it was too late and she is my too practical child.

OK I promise my next post will be more upbeat. I just had a few things to get off my chest. Hmm I wonder if my dress will fit better now.

Write a Little - My very own tag.

So, I thought, "Hmm supposedly I am a writer. I should be able to come up with my own tag post." I know you are all so sick of tags but I hope some of you will bear with me as I attempt my own.

This post is all about belief. Here are the rules --some of your answers can't be religious. You should include at least one belief about food and one belief or unbelief that reflects your philosophy about life.

6 Things I believe
1. I believe chocolate should be part of the food pyramid.
2. I believe God answers prayers.
3. I believe in sitting in front of a fireplace on a cold day.
4. I believe the name "Mom" is one of the coolest names ever.
5. I really believe there are guardian angels, especially for crazy rambunctious boys.
6. I believe we should teach our daughters the real meaning of beauty.

6 Things I don't believe
1. I don't believe how hard it is to think of six things I don't believe.
2. I don't believe in wearing flip flops in the winter (unless I am on vacation somewhere hot and tropical).
3. I don't believe in saying something is impossible.
4. I don't believe in exercising before 7 a.m.
5. I don't believe in ironing sheets or anything for that matter that isn't really, really wrinkled.
6. I don't believe in judging someone by the color of their skin.

6 Things I am not sure about.
1. I am not sure if I believe in haunted houses. Please don't tell me ghost stories to convince me of the scary supernatural. I don't like them.
2. Unfortunately, I only believe half the hogwash my kids tell me.
3. I am not sure I will ever be an organized person.
4. I am unsure if I am meant to be the mother to more than 3 kids.
5. I am not sure I believe the policemen when they tell me they pull over misbehaving semi-trucks.
6. I am not sure I believe that I will ever finish the novel I started.

OK. Now I tag, Kari Ann, Melinda, Stephanie, Trinity, Nicole and Taryn. You know the drill.