Humble Pie? Why, yes, I'd love some!

There is nothing as humbling as parenting. Lately, I have been made painfully aware of my shortcomings.
I hear my kids playing in the other room. Playing quickly turns into bickering, fighting, then Samantha yells, "Do it! NOW!" Yikes! She sounds just like me...and it is not flattering. To make matters worse, Julie barks her requests (whatever they may be) in a loud, angry tone...followed by a "RIGHT NOW!"
I like to run a tight ship, that is true. I need order and some type of peace in my life. But is this what it has all become? A home of bossy women barking orders at each other all the time? No wonder Landon is my sweetheart who just wants everyone to be happy. Who need this aggravation?
So its back to the drawing board for me. Again.
May I have a second helping of pie, please? I really like it, apparently.

Tagged

I got tagged a while back, and have not done my part yet (sorry Becca!), so here it goes.

The rules: Each player list 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags six more people.

1. I am a late night snacker. Even if dinner filled me up, when my kids go to bed, I want to eat something yummy. Chocolate in some form or another is my preference. I am not a huge fan of milk chocolate---the darker, the better for me. Actually, I should say I am a second dinner eater. Let's face it, it's not just a snack I am having. I eat more when Brian is gone. It's dumb, and everyday I resolve to stop doing it. But now the kids are in bed, Brian is in Colorado, and that ice cream sure looks good....

2. I love to exercise. I love to sweat. It makes me happy to move and shake it to music. Also, I LOVE exercise clothes. I love the tanktops the most. Why? Because I can finally show my greatest asset---my arms! My chest is small, my legs are big, my bum is jiggly...but my arms are nicely shaped and toned. I love them. It is vain, I know, but we all have something we like...right?

3. I dream of teaching dance. I grew up dancing---I did ballet, gymnastics, and clogging. I was only OK at any of them. But I loved it. I cannot possibly express how much I loved it and how it makes me feel when I dance. It's the greatest thing ever. I don't think I want to own a studio, but I would love to teach someday. Maybe someday soon.

4. I love to machine quilt. My very dear friend, Amanda, taught me so much about sewing and quilting. The biggest thing I learned from her was confidence in my ability to do it. I love picking out fabric. I love piecing the quilt together and seeing how it starts from something so dippy and small and turns into a beautiful picture. And I love giving my quilts to my family. Its perfect.

5. I am an extremely competitive person. I am the youngest of five, and always have felt the need to prove myself to everyone else. I am a sore loser---even with my children. Brian made us stop a game once because Samantha and I were fighting. I know, I know...I have a lot of growing up to do. I get very competitive with Brian, so I prefer to be on his team. It just helps keep our marriage happy. :) Once when we were dating, we were debating who liked onions more. It got to "I like them raw! Me too!" Hence, we each bit into a raw yellow onion and chewed it like it was the most delicious apple we've ever eaten...it wasn't, and it burned my eyes and throat as it went down.

6. I am a social person. I love people, I love things, I love parties and great conversation. I like having people around, which is probably why I want a lot of kids. I like it. I like big groups laughing and having fun. I love it.

That's it. That's not all there is about me, but that is all that I will share.
Now I tag Lyndsey Coons, Tisha Calhoun, Danika Park, Anne Anderson, Jessica Pulsipher, and Julie Rose.

Digital Scrapbooking

This has my interest peaked. Does anyone do digital scrapbooking? I need some more information. Do you print out your finished albums? If so, can I see one?

Saturday freedom

The past few months, our Saturdays have been filled with soccer and baseball games.

While it has been fun, I have been looking forward to it ending. I want to reclaim our Saturdays! I want a day where there is nothing you have to do...no obligations, no games, no meetings....just a day for fun.
But now, on the eve of the end, I find that I am a little sad. We have had little one-hour parties each and every Saturday since September. I am sorry to be saying goodbye to the new friends we have made. I want Samantha to keep practicing, to keep getting better each week. After all, she scored a goal last week!

Anyway, here it is. The end. We'll just have to find something great to do in our big, open Saturdays. The possibilities are endless---unlike the soccer and baseball seasons.

The Disneyland Canoes

We went to Disneyland just before Halloween, and one of the things we rode was the canoes. If you've never done it, it is quite fun. Little kids get an oar (which THEY love), everyone can go together (which I love), and you get to see animals along the way. It's great.

A word to the wise however...if you do take your kids on it, sit behind or beside them, not in front of them. Landon's lack of proper rowing technique soaked Brian's entire left side. I, on the other hand, was sitting behind Landon and got off the ride perfectly dry. :)

I did it!

Friday afternoon, a friend called to ask if I could teach her step aerobics class for her. A little background...I decided I wanted to teach aerobics this past summer, so I got certified and was trying to get a job at my local gym. So here I was, faced with the opportunity I thought I wanted, but SCARED TO DEATH!

Anyway, I said yes. My heart was beating a thousand miles a minute, my palms sweating, my hands shaking. But I said yes.

A couple hours later, I head to the gym. I walk into class, feeling as incompetent as can be. But I turn the music on. And the beat makes me remember why I wanted to do this. I love it! I love moving, dancing, teaching---I love it all.

The class would definitely say it could have been a LOT better, but I did it. I got through it and it was so fun. It made my night. Thank goodness I said yes. Badly teaching a rough-around-the-edges step class beats living with regret anyday.

Trick-or-Treat!

I love, love, love Halloween! I love the actual day when the costumes are on and my little kids are transformed into their characters for 1 day. This year I had Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, Jack Sparrow, and a flower. They looked so cute.

This year we went to the houses all around Samantha's school. The houses were decorated so cute! Some were a bit gory and scary for my taste, but we had a great time anyway.

Julie got the hang of trick-or-treating quite fast, especially since she had a trial run at our ward party a few days before.

I was wondering how her little bucket was getting so full so quickly, so I started to pay more attention at the doorstep. The people would hand out candy, Julie would grab the edge of the candy bowl and pull it down, helping herself to more pieces. After all, it is CANDY!

Samantha and Landon were complaining about how heavy their buckets were, asking Brian and I to carry them for little bits of time. We offered to carry Julie's, but could not pry her fingers from their death-like grip on her bucket...not even to get into the car.

Sadly, another Halloween has come and gone. But at least we have the piles of candy to remind us how much fun we had. :)

Jack-o-lanterns

When I was growing up, we usually got 2 pumpkins to carve as a family. Brian's family each got their own. I must admit, I LIKE getting my own pumpkin...my own little piece of art. So this year, we got five---one for each of us.

We are old school, and have resisted the movement to carve really fantastic pumpkins with a kit. Instead, we come up with our faces on paper and then do our best to carve them. I think they turned out pretty good this year.

Not bad for a bunch of amateurs.