How Time Flies....

I was just kidding myself when I started this blog - thinking that I could keep it up! It's just ridiculous - I used to be an avid journal writer - weekly on Sunday! Hmmmm....that has definitely become a thing of the past!

It has been a busy year and I can't believe we are now looking forward to our next trip to Utah which is what I had just returned from when I last wrote!

Alyssa is going to be 2 next month (June 29)! She is working on getting potty trained already - by her own motivation! SWEET! Looking forward to not paying for diapers! She is sweet and smart and picks up on everything you do! Has the cutest personality and the highest pitch scream you have ever heard! Hmmmm...maybe she and I will do Soprano and Alto duets some day - she will definitely be the soprano! She is a tough girl, and has to be with her brothers around, but she still loves all the girly stuff. :)

McKay is so tender-hearted and happy! I love his dimples and his high pitched voice when he gets really excited about something. He is very analytical, detail-oriented and does a great, thorough job when he cleans the bathroom sink (he decided he would also clean the icky medicine cabinet while he was at it!) You go McKay! Due to being the middle child, I have realized how often I tend to ignore his needs. Ethan is just more demanding in nature, or more commanding...he will definitely be a leader one day...and Alyssa has just needed me by nature of being so young. So...McKay is there somewhere. I hope that he will soon emerge from his brother's shadow and come to realized and know for himself what McKay really likes isn't always what his older Brother likes...and that its great!

Ethan - wow, what a strong, literally, strong kid...physically, spiritually and mentally. He is bright and has a memory that is amazing. He loves Star Wars (The Clone Wars DVD we got him is on all the time...much to my chagrin, but he is up at the crack of dawn and I don't want to be too! He would love to learn karate, gymnastics, any sport or anything active. Unfortunately, our funds can't cover something like that right now. He loves his brother and sister and is doing a great job of answering the phone and being a great helper to mom. :)

Shawn was just called to be the 1st counselor in our ward bishopbric. Wow - that will be an interesting thing for all of us - mostly a blessing as I see it - I know that many blessings will come and I know that it will require sacrifice and humility and much time...for all of us. But we are grateful for the opportunity to serve the Lord. He is still working at Capitolbancorp Ltd. as a Risk Analyst...grateful that he is still employed!

I have been a busy mom - busier than busy really. Unfortunately, it is by my own choice! I have to learn to slow down and enjoy my life more. Preparedness has become a hobby for me and Shawn over the last two years. I have learned to use a solar oven, an alcohol stove, built and used my own rocket stove, learned to make our own bread and dinner rolls, can peaches, jam, pressure can meat and chicken and many other things! I love it. It has brought a huge amount of peace to my heart to know that I know how I would handle certain situations not if, but when they arise. :) I am still home schooling my kids and enjoy that....I love seeing the lights come on about anything - but especially when it has something to do with building their core character! For me, the numbers, colors, alphabet, etc. will come. Right now, my focus is teaching them true and false, right and wrong, good and bad, service, honesty, integrity, faith, and the Golden Rule....and most recently and emphatically - respect. I am following Nicholeen Peck's form of parenting - Teaching Self-government (www.teachingselfgovernment.com) and she wrote a book called "A House United". I cannot recommend it enough. I have a lot of mistakes that I made in my parenting to fix - mostly regaining respect from my children through being consistent, CALM and praising them more often.

I am also the ward choir director and love it! I have a great, supporting ward choir and really enjoy it. I also sang in a small vocal ensemble called Resonance Vocal Ensemble for the fall semester of 2009. It was great to perform again and use my voice to entertain and share my testimony of Christ. :)

Well, that is all I have time for. Sunday dinner awaits. It has been a nice day - it all started out by attending the Gila Valley Arizona Temple dedication. What a great blessing - and looking forward to having the Gilbert Arizona temple since that will be "our" new temple!

We're still alive....

Wow - how time flies and eludes me! Can't believe it is already August! I don't know if I'll get this updated soon or not, but we did enjoy a three week vacation to Utah (SLC and Bryce Canyon) in July! I went up with the kids for 11 days and then Shawn joined us for the rest of the time. It was a busy/fun/wonderful time with my family and friends! Wish I could have seen everyone I wanted to, but I just couldn't stretch out the time enough!

I'll try to post some pictures soon or a smilebox.

Glenn Beck plays clip of Ezra Taft Benson re: Communism in America

My friend emailed this to me today. I had heard something about this a few months ago, and this clarified what I understood. It was not a prophecy made by Pres. Benson, but a quote made by Kruschev.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTDmGt1Pafw

Either way...I believe it is coming or has come to pass...but too many of us want to close our eyes to it.

Mormon Temples Video

I am so grateful for the wisdom of the leaders of LDS Church and their response to the concern of HBO airing "Big Love" and attempting to depict what they understand to be sacred temple ceremonies. This video entitled "Mormon Temples" is short, powerful and beautiful. Please feel free to share it with anyone you know that is not of the LDS faith that has questions regarding the sacred nature of Mormon temples.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x_-TQivCx8

And, here is the church's new release in response to the situation:
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

Ethan's version of the hymn "How Firm a Foundation"

Are they learning "How Firm a Foundation" in Primary this year? I'm not really sure, but either through Primary or by listening to a CD we have in their bedroom that they listen to at night, he has begun learning the words to this hymn. Well.....almost all the words. Here is Ethan's version of the first line:

"How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent ingredient!" LOL!!!!!!!! I have NO idea where that word came from! But it's a real kick to hear him sing the song.

Photo highlights of Jan - Feb. 2009

I'm trying hard to keep my family and friends posted on our life and especially on Alyssa's milestones. Hope you enjoy this little slide show - nothing specific...just some fun pictures. Oh, one fun thing...I did my first complete wedding as a floral designer! Tamra asked me to do all the flowers for her and Kelly's wedding on January 10th! It was fun to do everything from the bouquet to the cake tops. :) I was pleased with the turnout - and it was a screamin' deal - we got it all done for less than $200! Down side was, I started Friday morning around 11:00 and finished Saturday morning at 4:30. Alyssa was sick and other stuff just took some time, but it was worth it!

I also came down with bronchitis in early February. That wasn't fun. I am determined to learn more and educate myself about natural remedies - homeopathic/herbal, etc.

Anyway...hope you enjoy this!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My Favorite Things

Hilary Weeks sings it best right here!



I admit, I love my "down time" from my life as a mother. I guess every mom does? I hope so. I'm trying to do my best, but on days like today, I feel that I'm failing miserably.

Introducing: Solar Chef Deanna!

We bought a SOS Sport Solar Oven back in October. I just tried it out for the first time a couple of days ago by making some banana bread in muffin tins! Very fun and easy and tasty! Here are some pics for you to check it out:

Here they are about 20 minutes into the process:



A side view of the oven:



This is how they looked before I took them out:


And, voila! The final product! Little mini banana bread/muffin thingies! Tasty!



Cooking time was about 1.5 hours at about 215 degrees. I started at 11:30 and finished around 1:00 p.m.

Dr. Mom is in....

Well, the story begins about a week and a half before Christmas when I got hit with a bad cold....that never left completely. It decided that it got tired of just being a nagging stuffy nose and morphed into a raging cough, sore throat, congestion, runny nose, low energy bug about a week and a half ago.

That was after I took Alyssa to the Phoenix Children's Hospital Urgent Care on Jan. 10th for a three-day high fever and found out she had a UTI! So, she was on an antibiotic for 10 days and then was well.

The week after that, I took McKay to NextCare Urgent care (what is it about me and waiting until the weekend to take my kids to the doctor/urgent care?) We found he had a double ear infection. He had one at about this time last year as well...hmmmmm, something to consider. So, he went on an antibiotic.

A couple days after my raging cough started, he got a fever again and started coughing....so did Ethan....then Alyssa! Shawn was able to resist for about a week, but in the end, it conquered him as well and he stayed home from work yesterday.

Yesterday, Alyssa woke up with goopy, icky eyes and super stuffed nose and a high (103) fever. Maybe most moms would take them to the doctor right away (I did leave a message for my doctor's office to call me..which they did, but I missed the call) but I didn't.

For a long time I have wanted to gain more understanding of and confidence in using herbal remedies to treat my families illnesses. Of course I would go to a doctor for something if I felt to, but I'm just getting tired of the whole antibiotic thing. I have been exposed quite a bit to herbal remedies and I believe they work...slowly...but surely they allow the body to heal itself. (Starting off with a healthy immune system is best...not like we have done it!) Anyway...I have decided that it is finally time for me to make the effort and take the time to learn and educate myself about it...and this seemed like a good opportunity.

Long story short, I made two trips to Desert Sage Herbs to get Peppermint, Yarrow flowers, Elder flowers and Cammomile and some other herbal remedies for the kids to help us fight all this junk we are dealing with. My sister-in-law Wendi and sister Jerilynn have both made something called a Children's Composition using these herbs and vegetable glycerine that they give their kids when they are coming down with something or are already sick. I wanted to give it a try.

All day Alyssa's fever came and went but remained pretty high - at one point it was 104 degrees. She was miserable. I had been giving her eyebright and echinacea for her cold to begin with but I knew I needed something else. So, I had read about giving children a warm bath with lavender oil when they have a fever to open up the pores and stimulate the circulation and help the toxins to escape through the pores. I gave that a try. She loved the bath and it did calm her well. Then I put an echinacea tincture (one drop) in her ears along with a drop of garlic oil and then put cotton in her ears. (She wasn't enjoying this, but I had to do it.) Then, when the home-made medicine was done, I gave her just a 1/4 teaspoon of it at about midnight. She was really hot at that time. But she went to sleep. I also gave her some Ibuprofen to at least help her feel a bit better to rest.

Results?

She slept the best she has for days! (Oh I guess I should also say at this point that she cut her first tooth on her 7 month birthday on the 29th...so this COULD have been related to that...hard to know.) She woke up with no fever at all! She was happy and back to herself again...although she did have icky eyes and nose still. I was soooo grateful to Heavenly Father for His help and for the faith I had that it would help her. I know we aren't out of the woods yet, but I am sure grateful that we could stop the fever she had and help her rest.

So...I tried giving the Children's Composition to Ethan and McKay and they liked it! It tastes really minty and sweet.

So it looks like I'm on my way to becoming a bit more well-versed in the "alternative" medicine arena! Don't know what you think about it, but I'm really excited!

I can fix anything!

At least that is what my boys think! :) I will admit that tape - any kind - is my favorite way to fix just about anything...ripped books, toy rifles, Formica that is coming off our counter, you name it, I might be able to fix it with tape! I personally love duct tape and packaging tape, but Scotch and Masking have their place too among my list of favorites. Is there any other kind I've missed? Oh, electrical tape...won't go there...that's for Shawn to make his favorite. :)

See How We've Grown!

I have been trying to put together a "Year in Review" in pictures for 2008 for about a month now! I started twice and then accidentally hit the "Remove all" button when I was selecting all my photos...Ah! FRUSTRATING! But I have finally done it! So, get something good to eat and make yourself comfortable because it is admittedly LONG! (102 slides) But it is so fun to see how the boys and Alyssa have grown!

So, enjoy! (I even paid for you to see it in full screen IF you want to) and if you'd like you can go faster by using the buttons in the bottom left hand corner. Oh, yeah...the music gets a bit monotonous too...so you can turn off your volume if it bugs. :)

Let 'r rolllllll!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Christmas Greeting 2008

There is always too many pictures to share and too much to say at this time of year. I will have to update this in a bit, but for now, here is the Christmas greeting that was sent out this year....and yes, I do know what year it is...but I guess I am just looking forward to what 2009 will bring! (sorry for the typo)

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Halloween at the Householders

The night couldn't come soon enough! The boy's would have worn their costumes every day if they could have! Thanks to Grandma Householder for the fantastic and EXTREMELY well-liked costumes (by the neighbors as well as the boys)! They were both a hit with all the neighbors!

Enjoy the slideshow!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

What I'm up to lately...

This link here pretty much explains it all...

iLearningglobal.tv

It is something that I believe in (continuous learning and improvement) and something that I hope will bless my family's life as I share it with others.

If you know of anyone that would appreciate what is offered by this online success education community, let me know! :)

Of course, this is what I try to squeeze in, in-between the diaper changes, meals and fun with my kids!

I did it!!!

Well, today was a day of accomplishment for me. So, I had to share the joy!

First, I exercised on our 3-year-old, brand new NordicTrak treadmill for this first time in about...hmmmm....2 years? And it was only the second time I have used it! THAT is an accomplishment! Yes, 3 years old...we have had it that long...bought it brand new. That alone would have made this day one to remember.

Second, I actually succeeded in having enough patience to allow my boys to help me clean the yard this morning and it was fun! :) If they are going to learn the value of hard work and enjoying the fruits of your labors, they have to labor! So, they helped me rake up all the dead leaves, pick them up and put them in the garbage and then I let them try out the blower (we have to blow our yard free of all the stuff that falls on the ground because we have "LOVELY" desert landscaping - i.e. ROCKS! for our "lawn". :) I felt I made a step forward in teaching my children the way I really want to, which sometimes clashed with my desire to just get the job done!

Next, I made it through another frustrating day of "I don't want to take a nap!"

***SIGH*****

And, Shawn and I performed "minor" surgery on my thumb where I accidentally got a cactus spine stuck in it from cleaning the yard this morning. OUCH! We had to use a razor blade to cut my thumb open a bit to get deep enough to pull it out. Shawn said I was brave. :) So, I say, "I did it!"

Last the best of all - I canned butter!!!!



Isn't it beautiful? It was really easy, but required some constant attention. You melt the butter, then slow boil it, then simmer for 5 or more minutes. Then pour/ladle in to hot jars (in oven at 250 degrees for 20 minutes). Then put the lid on (after sitting in steamy hot water). Proceed to shake every so often until the jars are just barely warm. Put in the fridge, shake them well every 5 minutes until hard. Refrigerate for at least one hour and VOILA!!! You have canned butter that should last at least 3 years!

The best part was finally crossing it off my list. But, of course, it will get put back on it again because I still have more waiting to can in my freezer! Now....where it is going to be stored? THAT is the question of the century! Just for fun....here is a picture of my kitchen!




Yep! We've finally got our food storage - and that isn't all of it! YIKES! But there is definitely a peace to knowing that if for some reason food becomes extremely expensive (not so hard to believe right now) or something, we will have food for our family.

Anyway....that was a tangent...well, not really because accomplishing the acquisition of a healthy long term food storage is definitely something to say "I did it!" about. :)

Alyssa's Blessing Day

Alyssa finally received her baby blessing today - one day shy of her 3-month birthday! Shawn gave her a very beautiful, inspired blessing. There were many who made comments about how beautiful it was. Those who stood in the circle were: Shawn, Shawn's father, Paul Householder, his brother Trevan, brother-in-law Eric, Bishop Scott Sandberg and Stu Manning who is a good friend of ours (and his beautiful & wonderful wife Susy) from our ward. I wish my father, John, and brother, Kent and my brothers-in-law Brian and Lanny could have participated, but the travel is a bit far from Utah. :\

She was just perfect and looked so beautiful in her blessing dress! We have both been looking forward to the day and Shawn has been meditating and fasted today for the inspiration to know what things were to be said in the blessing. Susy Manning actually caught much of it word for word and gave it to me afterward. I was sooo grateful because I have a hearing loss to begin with, and Shawn's voice is so low and quiet I had a hard time hearing him and the boy holding the microphone kept moving it farther and farther away from his mouth! :( So, I was kinda sad that I didn't hear most of it very well.

Some of the things she was blessed with included:

*The gift of Charity

*A testimony of the Book of Mormon, the Resurrection, Restoration and Joseph Smith

*She will be a blessing and a light to those around her

*That she will seek after that which is good and beneficial and the guidance of the Spirit

*As we live in a troubled world, that she will have the faith of her fathers

*Strong and healthy mind and body

*Peace of the Spirit and joy

*She will go to the temple and be sealed with a choice companion

*She will serve others and bless their lives

*She was saved to come forth in these latter days (in these troubled times) for a specific reason, which the Lord would make known to her at a later time

*Blessed to be prepared to do that which is desired of the Lord and that she will have wisdom and strength to accomplish those things


I'm sure there were a few other things said, but this is most of it. We are so very grateful to have her in our family and I am soooo happy and grateful to have a daughter! She continues to be a delight and brings much happiness and joy to all of us!

We love you beautiful Alyssa!

A Close Call

Well, living here in Arizona we really like swimming pools. My second son, McKay, is especially drawn to water...anywhere, anytime! Well, we went to my friend's swimming pool today and he didn't want to wait for me to put on his arm floaties. So, while I and my friend had our backs to the pool (and I had already asked him to stay out of the pool until I had them on him)he decided he couldn't wait.

He got in without his floaties! :(

I'm not really sure how long he was under the water, but my friend turned around first to discover him just by the edge of the pool, standing on the bottom with his head just under the water - eyes and mouth open!

You think you will always know what to do in such a situation or assume how you would react - jump in and pull him out(or in this case it would have been lifted/thrown him out since he was so close to the side of the pool). Well, we both just were bending over trying to reach down to grab his arms and pull him up and out. We couldn't reach him as quickly and easily as we thought we could. All the time, I just couldn't believe this had happened! The thought to jump in didn't even cross my mind! DUH!!!!!!!!

WHAT WAS I THINKING?

I guess this just goes to show that in such critical situations, your brain kinda shuts off or something.

Well, we finally reached him arms and pulled him out. Thank goodness he wasn't swallowing or trying to breath under the water - he didn't cough much at all - just took a really big breath once he was out. Have you heard of dry drowning? It happens when you have inhaled enough water so that it settles in your lungs and blocks the lungs ability to absorb oxygen. So, since he wasn't coughing, I hoped this wouldn't be a possibility.

I was soooo grateful that he was safe and that we found him in time. Ethan and my friend's daughter Makayla didn't even realize it had happened.

You can bet that we won't ever go near a pool without McKay having his floaties on first again!!!

A Day In the Life of a Caterpillar

About a month ago, during a trip to the library, Ethan said he wanted to get books on caterpillars and butterflies. So, we got several and looked at a few of them. :) Every now and then we come across more pictures of caterpillars and butterflies and the joy of learning continues.

Well, today, a boy that was playing with Ethan and McKay happened to point out a little green curled up caterpillar that was laying inside the scooper of a toy bulldozer on our back patio! Oh, the joy! :) A while back, Jack In the Box was giving little bug jars in their kids meals. Usually, I just toss the toys we get in kids' meals (especially McDonalds'....we don't go there much anymore anyway...hate the food.) Well, I happened to think well enough to keep this one! Perfect opportunity to use it! We scooped it up and put it in the jar with a little leaf.

Here is Ethan with the caterpillar right after we found it.





Ethan just about didn't let it out of his sight all day. He even created this little "home" for the caterpiller and his family and named him after his friend Ethan Webb!

Here is his "house" - he is underneath it all with the leaves. :)



He took it with him in the car while we ran a few quick errands and he wanted to take it with him to bed for his nap! I told him that the little guy needed some air and he might die! So, a little while after Ethan woke up from his nap, he came in to my bedroom where I was feeding Alyssa and he said, "I've decided that my caterpillar needs to turn into a butterfly. I want him to live." So, I told him to take it outside and set him down by the tree.





I have to admit that it was such a thrill for me to watch my son become so enamored with a living thing and care for it like he did! It made me realize that although we don't get through all the books we check out, something still sticks and sinks in!

Snips & Snails and Puppy Dog Tails....

"That's what little boys are made of..." or so the saying goes. Mine seem to just be made of pure 100% boy energy!!! How do I ever keep up? Discipline has been my main focus over the last three weeks. I have realized I have many problems to "un-do" that I have created by being inconsistent among other things. Although I have heard about "Love and Logic Parenting" a lot, I had never read the book until my friend Mandy Masters loaned me hers....and JUST IN TIME! I started using the methods immediately and they have made a huge difference! Let the natural consequences teach and discipline (insofar as possible) and present choices, show empathy for sad choices and try your BEST to not show negative emotions. It's not always easy...but it has made a big difference for me.

Ethan and McKay are best friends. McKay adores his big brother and often repeats his words and actions verbatim. Ummmmmm........hoping that is just a stage since I know that McKay is definitely a different boy than Ethan. Ethan is great, but McKay isn't Ethan. :)

We have enjoyed swimming lessons and swimming in our community pool, trips to the zoo, the play yard inside the mall, the Hall of Flame Firefighting museum (we have a family membership) and just running errands. They are always saying to me, "Mom, I wanna go somewhere!" Little did I know that I was passing on my tendency to not be able to just sit still and hang out when I was toting them around to do all my errands. Errands aren't so fun anymore now that I have THREE to tag along with me. :\

Anyway....here are some fun pictures of my boys drinking in the joys of life!

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Every mother should have a little girl

This is something I have heard non-stop from old to young mothers. I must agree! I just wish she would grow a little slower!!! I don't know why this amazes me so much, since I have already seen my two boys grow so fast. I definitely am enjoying our sweet Alyssa and having lots of fun dressing her in "girly" clothes.

She is sleeping through the night and has been known to sleep up to 10 hours! (You will see from her photos that I am starving her to death by letting her sleep so long!) She was a true camper since she didn't seem the least bothered by the cold nights and slept right through her rowdy brothers' morning antics at 6:00 a.m.

We are thoroughly enjoying watching her take on her own "look" and lose the newborn look. Her eyes are becoming a beautiful deep blue and her eyelashes look like they are on their way to being just like McKay's - REALLY long! Her smile is easily shown and she loves to wake up in the morning as the videos will attest to.

We love our little girl!!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook