Sexy Mommy Win!!!!

Here are the final results of round one of our Sexy Mommy Weight Loss Challenge:

Caroline: 5 pounds total weight loss
Heather: 6 pounds total weight loss
Susan: 6.5 pounds total weight loss
Stacey: 11.2 pounds total weight loss

Total weight lost by the four of us - 28.7 pounds! Hooray!

Now I get to decide whether to buy shoes or a summer bag as my prize. I have to say it feels really good to have shed some of the stress weight I have packed on the last few years. I feel lighter and healthier and we are all eating better around here.

We are starting round two on Sunday. It you want to join us, let me know!

Photo above: lunch today. Toasted corn tortillas, chicken breast and leftover grilled steak, avocado, lettuce, low-fat laughing cow cheese and tomatoes.

Do You Want To See The Library?

This weekend, I turned the living room into a library. Does anyone really need a living room these days? I LOVE the change - the bookcases are not as deep as the bench that was there before so it actually makes the room seem larger.

The bookcases are from IKEA (Billy) and they hold almost all of the kids chapter books. The top shelf all the way across holds regular chapter books and then the rest of the space is taken up with chapter books in a series. On the wall to the left of these bookcases is the piano with two more bookcases on either side. I need to find a mirror for over the piano and yes, I do have a thing for globes. You can find gloves around here for $2 or less at yard sales so last summer I stocked up.

Acts of Service

On Saturday night I had a nightmare where I forgot my Sunday lesson at home. I stood in front of the Gospel Doctrine class trying to teach my lesson from memory, but failing miserably.

On Sunday morning, I printed off my lesson, cleaned, make cookie dough, baked nine dozen cookies, made breakfast, supervised showers, folded two loads of laundry, ironed Sunday clothes, washed dishes, packed the Sunday bags and left for church - running late. We arrived in sacrament meeting, settled in on the bench and I reached in my bag to take out my lesson so I could glance over it again. It was not there.

You'd think when Heavenly Father actually warns me that I am going to forget my lesson, I would listen - but life was too crazy to check one more time as we rushed out the door. I debated for about two minutes before deciding I had to go back and get my lesson off the kitchen table. It is a 15-20 minute drive each way to my house from church. I motioned for a friend to meet me in the hall, asked her to watch my children and then raced home and back. My lesson went well, my friend sat with Max during the primary song and everything was fine. I am grateful for her service.

We are often blessed with acts of service and this week was no exception.

• Marsha came by on Wednesday morning and picked up my children for the free movies. This allowed me to fit the rest of the kids in the van and meet her there. She then followed me to the bank and my attorney's office and stayed with the kids so I could run inside quickly during business hours. I love Marsha and I love sharing my new calling with her.
  
• Marley brought over pulled pork sandwiches for the kids one afternoon - he's going to be a great missionary as his heart is already so tuned to service.
• Ken and Brad pulled up the thistle in the backyard after joining us for our first summer BBQ.

The Wagley's came over on Saturday to help me pull the IKEA bookcases from the car. Deb set up the bookcases in the living room while Tag set up the one in the toy room. James pull out the dead trees in the yard and then disappeared with my van for a few hours and returned with it sparkling clean. For that, he should be awarded a medal for bravery.


I am humbled by the many acts of service we receive. There are so many wonderful, kind people in the world and I am proud to call many of them my friends. Part of my lesson on Sunday was on the importance of choosing your friends wisely and surrounding yourself with people who will rejoice in your successes and comfort you in your time of need. I have been blessed to find good friends throughout my life and hope that I can be the best kind of friend to them.

"Service changes people. It refines, purifies, gives a finer perspective, and brings out the best in each one of us. It gets us looking outward instead of inward. Righteous service is the expression of true charity, such as the Savior showed."
--Derek A. Cuthbert, "The Spirituality of Service", Ensign, May 1990, 12

The Here and Now

Life right now is good. It is summer and though my days are actually busier, there is a relaxed feel to the days. The children are happily staying up later and sleeping in, spending whole days in their swimsuits and reveling in the lack of homework.

For the most part, I am good. After almost a full year of separation, the wheels are finally turning to make that change a permanent one. I hope to have everything done and finalized within the month - at that point, I hope to be able to really take a deep breath and move on.

I have had a lot of time to mourn the end of my marriage. I have had the time to step back and look at the good and the bad (and there really was both) and though I'm not sure we ever stop second guessing and wondering what could have been, I know that this decision is the right one for me and the children - and for their Dad.

Today is Father's Day and as I sit here at my computer, I am grateful this day is almost over. I did not realize how difficult this day would be for the children. Max woke up last night crying because he realized the primary was singing in church and he would have no one to look at. I tried to remind him of all the wonderful men in our ward who would be in the audience and have served our family and taken care of us in so many ways, but he was not consolable. I suggested he just sit next to me on the bench during the songs if he felt uncomfortable.

I also suggested he just make me breakfast in bed instead and that got a little smile out of him.

The children did not see or hear from their Dad today. They left messages both morning and night, but they went unanswered. Tonight they were blissfully distracted by dessert and games with friends. However, bed time brought more questions, more attempts to reach their Dad and more sad faces. There are days when I feel completely capable of making my children happy and loved, but there are days when I cannot be everything they need. Today was one of those days where I came up short. I could not make it better, I could not fix it, I could only say I'm sorry and usher them into bed to sleep away the last hours of Father's Day.

I am grateful for the Father's in my life. I love my Dad and I have always known how much he loves me and supports me. He has always been there for me and has been a wonderful example to me. I love my Father-in-Law who welcomed me into his family with open arms and has been nothing but kind to me in the 14 years I have known him. I am grateful for a Father in Heaven who knows me personally and strengthens me when I feel I can not do enough. I am grateful for all of the Father's who have taken time away from their families to serve mine.

Thank you and Happy Father's Day.

Girly Toes

Life in These Parts

On Friday we took a walk. Nine children (10, 9, 9, 8, 5, 5, 3, 1, 8 months) 1.4 miles there and 1.4 miles back. We passed a lake, saw several egrets, caught some butterflies, tormented some ants, found a playground and played for an hour, forgot the water bottles and had to stop at a garage sale and ask the nice lady for a pitcher of water, ate our picnic lunch at the park and then walked home. Both babies slept the entire way home and then took a three hour nap. Exhausted.

Signs of Summer

You can know that summer has truly arrived here in Minnesota when the local farmer's markets start opening up around the cities. Due to our wacky warm spring, there is a lot of variety already available. We picked up some pretty beets and herbs, delicious strawberries and kettle corn for the kids. I hope we can find a way to get there every week again this year.

Give Me Strength

Max has started summer band lessons which means he has to practice at home.
The trombone is LOUD - much louder than I thought!

Welcome Summer Party - The Before Photos

I forgot I had taken some photos with the other camera - the calm before the storm.

Watercolor House Craft

This is a simple little craft that can be done by any age.

Give each child a paper plate (the plates seem to have a little coating on them which works really well with watercolors).

Give them a pencil and ask them to draw a picture of their house.


Go over the lines with a permanent marker (if the kids are older, they can do this themselves).


Paint. Dry. Done.

Welcome Summer Party

Last day of school - welcome summer!


(Max wrote "the tyrant's are out of power!" - the child who wrote "scool's out" is going to summer school)