Two of my Five Extra Things

On my list of 30 things I want to do this year, one of my items was to think of five more things to do this year. Hear are two:

1) Floss my teeth. I am not a flosser and to be honest, I really hate to floss. I hate the extra time it takes to do something so seemingly insignificant. But, alas, the dentist is really insisting that I floss, and it is a good example for my kids. So, I am going to do much better with flossing.

2) Accept that I can't (and more importantly, shouldn't) do everything. I have a tendency to want to do everything. As I was driving along the other day, I thought to myself about how I really would like to take guitar lessons. Then I had to stop myself. Yes, learning to play it would be really cool, but I know how to play the piano and we have a beautiful one sitting in our living room that gets played once a week, if lucky, by myself or my husband (banging by our children doesn't count). Why would I try to pick something else up? Furthermore, do I not have enough to do already with being a mom, a wife, writing, working, unknown number of unfinished quilts (and I really do love quilting), working out (loosing that weight), church, housekeeping, staying sane. Why in the world would I pick up another hat, of my own free will, that is not required, not helping me accomplish anything else, and would end up being just another time consumer. So, alas, I must commit myself to being happy with who I am now and I cannot physically do everything. I have to pick and choose.

But I still want to learn to play the guitar... someday. :)

:)

My OCD Day

I admit that I have some funny OCD type quarks. For example, it really bothers me when the silverware is not evenly spaced out in the dishwasher. I put one in each compartment, all facing the same direction. Then, when each compartment has one, I start again, facing them in the other direction. Occasionally, other people load my dishwasher for me. It drives me nuts to open it and find all of the silverware in one or two compartments and the others virtually empty. I have to space them out.

Sooo.... yesterday I was putting clean clothes away after I had let them sit on my floor sufficiently long to either 1) bemoan my laziness (I prefer to look at it as a choice of time use) of putting them away, or 2) to gather dog slobber from my adorable dog (he is so sweet) that has a mouth that could almost fit my head in it. As I was putting my clothes away, I had this bizarre but strong urge to sort my clothes hanging in the closet by style (i.e. business, jackets, sweaters, etc) , sleeve length, and color.

Random.

I have to admit though, it really is nice and I do intend to keep it that way. My mom is almost fanatical about how her closet is organized. After organizing it, I called my mom and said "Something is wrong with me." She, of course, thought something was really wrong. When I told her what I did, she said "What's wrong with that?" She's so cute. :) Nothing was wrong with it per say, except for how odd the urge, which really was a compulsion, was to do that. I later started my period that day so I will chalk it up to that.

:)

Do I look 30?

Do I look 30? Now, be honest (unless, of course, you think I look older than 30, then don't be honest and only tell me, yes, I look 30 but not a day older). This picture was taken on my 30th birthday, which was this past Sunday. :)


Thank you in advance for your kind words on my not looking older than 30. Thank you doubly if you think I look younger than 30. No pressure. But please, be honest. :)


:)

Celebrating the Big 30

I celebrated my birthday, my 30th birthday to be exact, on Sunday. It was a great day. My husband made me breakfast and was home this morning to help me get the kids ready for church. Not only did he help me get them ready for church, he actually got to sit by me! That was exciting since he hasn't been able to sit with us for a year and half. (He sits on the stand and has morning meetings on Sundays. We had Stake Conference today thus the lack of meetings and no stand requirement.)

After church, we had lunch, naps, and then dinner at my parent's house. My mom, bless her heart, made me her famous ribs, and my dad, believe it or not, made my birthday cake! That was a surprise - he doesn't cook usually except for breakfast (which he is great at). Anyway, it was a great, relaxing day.

I'm going to take a page out of my friend Autumn's book and say 30 things that I am going to do this year:

1) Spend more time with my kids - when someone is faced with death (don't worry, I'm not), they never say "I wish I had spent more time at work." Well, I want to be sure that I keep my priorities straight so that when faced with death someday, I don't feel like I didn't spend enough time with my kids and my family.

2) Go somewhere International - I love to travel and going international places is really fascinating to me.

3) Learn to balance my responsibilities better.

4) Stay on my shopping diet.

5) Eat better and help my family to do so also.

6) Loose the recent weight I have put on (I think it is due to some medical issues I have - at the very least that makes me feel better, but I really do think that is the reason).

7) Finish writing my second novel.

8) Magnify my calling.

9) Keep my house clean (this can be accomplished through delegation though).

10) Make serious headway in our financial goals.

11) Have a hysterectomy.

12) Enjoy today instead of looking at tomorrow or yesterday.

13) Not be so hard on myself.

14) Make lunches for my husband to take to work so he doesn't go hungry or have to go out.

15) Get really good at Dance Dance Revolution.

16) Get really good at Guitar Hero.

17) Keep up with the laundry (good luck on that, but it was worth mentioning).

18) Keep track of our monthly budget better.

19) Accept the fact that it is ok if I don't finish one of my several unfinished quilts - but know that it would be great if I did.

20) Look for more ways to serve others.

21) Not get any tickets (I haven't gotten any yet so I hope to keep that track record going).

22) Accept myself for who I am.

23) Teach my son that angry voices are not ok.

24) Play the piano more often.

25) Think of five more things to do this year.

26) Maybe I should only be 25.

27) Submit my invoices to clients in a timely manner.

28) Try to get the trash out more consistently (this really lies on my husband but I need to remind him about it).

29) Did I mention loose the weight I've gained?

30) Brush my teeth each day. :)

Phew, I made it. There you go, 30 things (give or take) I would like to do this year. Wish me luck!

I'm Invisible

My mom sent me this today. It was sent to her by one of her missionaries (she and my dad were Mission Presidents in Italy 2001-2004)...

I'm invisible... ..

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response,
the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the
phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't
you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on
the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my
head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this?
Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of
hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is
it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney
Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Pick me up right around 5:30, please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the
eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum
laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never
to be seen again. She's going . she's going . she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return
of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a
fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she
stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put
together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for
myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only
thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in
a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter
in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with
a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly
sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To
Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are
building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would
discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after
which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great
cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave
their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They
made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their
building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw
everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit
the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving
a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the
man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a
beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."

And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was
almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I
see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you
does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no
cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over.
You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what
it will become."
At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a
disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of
my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn
pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder.
As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see
finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The
writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could
ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people
willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend
he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at
4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand- bastes
a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table."
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just
want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more
to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if
we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the
world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty
that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible
women.

29 Things to be thankful for in my 29th year

I will be 30 on Sunday and so I wanted to take this opportunity to mention some things that I have been thankful for during my 29th year (please note these are in no particular order)...

1. Jason
2. Nia
3. Justis
4. Mac - our most sweet and adorable puppy (notice I have left out our fish Lila)
5. My family - they give me so much support and encouragement
6. Jason's family - ditto to number 5
7. No passing of kidney stones - please note I didn't say "no kidney stones" - I have many of them but they haven't passed this past year (they are just stewing for the time being) for which I am grateful.
8. Workouts with my mom - we go to the same gym and it has been such a special time to be with her and talk and exercise
9. Nia got into kindergarten!
10. Working with my Dad
11. Making new blog friends
12. Making new business friends that are much more than just business (like you Meredith!)
13. Our van (we upgraded from a Honda Accord to a Honda Odyssey)
14. Dora the Explorer who teaches my kids Spanish
15. My trip to Hawaii
16. My trip to New York
17. My Faith in Heavenly Father
18. My knowledge and faith in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ
19. Tithing
20. Nonna and Grandpa's new backyard
21. My friend Shannon who is pregnant again
22. Our big January Snowfall and sledding down our street
23. My girl's club
24. Overcoming Depression
25. Professional Success
26. Children that play together, laugh together, and help each other
27. Time spent with my sisters this summer
28. Barbie Princess movies - I would watch them even without Nia!
29. Good Books

Missing the Bus

Who knew that missing the bus was such a traumatic event for a young child? Apparently, not me. Last week, we missed the bus one morning... let me repeat that - ONE morning! Ever since then, however, Nia has felt it quite important that at every prayer she says, she prays that we will not be late for the bus again.

To her credit, she was super cute on the morning after. She got up early, earlier than I did. She came into my room and woke me up. When we went down for breakfast, she leaned over to me and softly said "Heavenly Father whispered in my ear this morning to wake me up so we wouldn't be late again." Ahhh.... what a sweet and pure soul.

:)

My New Novel

I started my second Romance Novel this week. It was more difficult to start my second one than it was for my first time. I think that has to do with higher expectations. With my first one, there were no expectations. Now, I have some experience and knowledge I didn't have the first time around so I think I am holding myself to a higher standard. Rightly so, I suppose. In any case, I am quite excited about it. I have added a word tracker to the bottom of my blog so you can track my progress if you want. I am also adding it below:





My main character, the heroine, is named Amilee. If I had another daughter, which isn't likely, I would want to name her that. One thing that is fun about writing books is that you can use all the names that your spouse wouldn't let you use when naming your children. In my first book, my character is named Anna. When we had our first child, I wanted to name her Anna and Jason wanted Nia. We compromised with Annania, but we call her "Nia" for short. Thus, I named my first main character Anna. :)

Writing my first novel was one of my most enjoyable adventures. I hope this one is that way also.

Wish me luck!

:)

Nia's first day of school

Today was Nia's first day of kindergarten. She looked so adorable! She had a lot of fun although she was a bit distressed that recess was not as long as she thought it would be.

Justis was not happy with the fact that Nia was gone all morning. He was so glad when we finally went to pick her up. He has been more than a handful today but thankfully that is the exception, not the rule, for him.

One other note: I did not cry! Nia did not either so we made it through the day without tears. :)


:)

Mr. Destructo

For reasons unknown to me, my son has been Mr. Destructo today. This is a picture of my room. It may not look really bad, but please understand that it was worse than this... I just picked up the "whites" before taking the picture for obvious reasons.

Here's how it went down... While Nia was at school, I was on a conference call with a new client. My saving grace during this call was my husband who had stayed home until the cable repair man came out. It was one of those "He'll be there between 8-10" and luckily, for my sake, he showed up at 10am which meant my husband was home for my entire call (which was 9-11). As it was, Justis kept coming into my room (By day, an office, by night, a bedroom! It's magic!) wanting me to go with him so he could get an assortment of snacks.

After picking Nia up at the bus stop, we went home and had lunch and then naps. Justis was not happy about going down for a nap but the lull of the music did it's job. While he was napping, I did a little bit of work until I could no longer keep my eyes open. Finally, I laid down... Come sweet sleep, come. No, not you destructo, sleep!

While I was sleeping, I was awakened to a very hazy state by my son saying something. I wasn't sure what it was but it finally came to me that he had brought me a towel for a blanket. With a smile, I put the blanket over my legs and quickly fell back into lala land. What I didn't know, however, is that it was all a ploy to keep me asleep so he could wreak havoc all around me. I woke up a few times, only to realize that he was throwing every sock and every bit of folded "whites" onto the floor. He was obviously decorating. At one point, he thought it quite entertaining to open my eyelids, being dutifully attentive to each one. If that wasn't enough, he brought up a box of crayons and hit me on the face, a bottle of elmer's glue and pretended to decorate my face with it (thankfully he didn't open it), and the camera we had used today to take pictures of Nia's first day of school slammed into my face with the word "Smile!".

Finally, the culmination of it all bought me rudely to the real world, only to find that my once clean room was now littered with an assortment of panties and underwear (I wouldn't dare call my son's underwear "panties" :)), socks, and no longer folded whites. As if that isn't bad enough, I know he had at least one "Halls" lozenges, bit my daughters toe, and was very liberal with the tasting of toothpaste.

I had thought that Mr. Destructo had disappeared from our home a while ago. Apparently, he came back today. Hopefully it is only for a brief visit. :)

:)

Our Vacation: Sleeping in Special Places

When I was young, one of our favorite privileges was to "sleep in special places." If we were good, on Friday night we could sleep in special places like in the family room, the hall, on the couch, or an array of other odd locations.

For Labor Day Weekend, we had debated going out of town with my parents. I looked into some locations but in the end, it would cost us several hundred dollars to leave. However, I didn't just want to stay home because I knew if we did that, we would end up not doing anything except house/yard work.

My solution? Sleeping at my parent's house. It was just like old times! We got to sleep in special places! We pretended we were on vacation this whole weekend. The only thing we did at home was sleep there Saturday night (Jason had church meetings in the morning) and Jason mowed the lawn today. Other than that, we were on vacation.

It's funny that at almost 30 years old, I still love sleeping at my parent's house. I still like sneaking up to my parent's room in the morning (I sneak only to avoid the following of my little ones) and crawling into bed with my mom to talk or just lay there together.

We went out to dinner, had a picnic, had a bar-b-que, watched movies, shopped, and hung out. What a great vacation!

:)

Our Pee Pee Party

We have a tradition in our family... it's called the "Pee Pee Party." This came about when I was potty training my daughter a couple of years ago. I can't remember if I read about it or if it was just something I came up with, but when we potty train a child, we celebrate their success with a Pee Pee Party.

The first picture is a picture of the diarrhea cake. The second picture is the toilet cake. The third picture is our family that came. We are all wearing Spiderman masks because no one really wanted to admit that they were attending a "pee pee party". Well, that and aside from the toilet theme, my son particularly requested Spiderman hats. Apparently, there are no Spiderman party hats, only Spiderman masks. Thus we see...

I have to say, our family really are good sports for attending our Pee Pee parties. There are no demonstrations, but showing off underwear (for the trainee) is allowed.

:)

Working Like a Dog

These past two weeks I've been working like a dog! I am incredibly grateful to be able to work from home so I can be home with my kids. I love being home with them and I also love my work so I am very blessed.

I apologize for not having blogged for a few days, but what can I say, I've been busy! I want you all to know, however, that I truly do appreciate you checking my blog and making comments. :)