It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!

Tonight Quincy slept in my bed since Quinn and Trey are still out of town. Of course we couldn't retire until she finished telling me all about the "no crying" rule at school.
Quincy: " No crying at school".
Me: " Who said"
Q: " Oh the principal makes the rules, writes them down on a piece of paper and gives a copy to each teacher to go over in class".
Me: " So your teacher read that rule to you and it came from the principal"?
Q: " Yes and do you know why? If you are at the computers and you start crying your tears might fall onto the computer and cause you to get shocked. AND if you are at your desk and your tears fall on your work then it will be ruined. It's OK to cry at recess if you fall and scrape your knee BUT it's not OK to cry during PE because your tears might fall onto the gym floor and someone could slip and fall AND it's not OK to cry during music because you can't sing and cry at the same time- you'll mess up the song"!
Q: " if you are crying because of a nightmare than you can just go tell the teacher and she will give you a hug and tell you to be stronger than the monsters because that's what Mary (name changed) did.

Seriously! who is this child and where did she get her imagination! I love it! Sounds like a future therapy patient......I better teach her now that crying is HEALTHY! I am glad to know she has such a caring teacher though.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

Today I turned 37. I don't even know how I feel about that number. But for posterity sake I want to record how the big day was spent........
Urgent care at 9 a.m.- red streaks running from my foot to my groin and intense pain in my leg signaled something might be wrong. apparently a blister that refused to heal was infected and that infection traveled into my blood stream. it was really really painful. i had to get a shot of liquid antibiotics in my hip. that was really really painful. I returned home and proceeded to lay on my couch for the next 9 hours watching episodes of the OFFICE on netflix- that was only kinda painful. What a crappy way to celebrate a person's birthday. so i decided that next week I will celebrate my birthday a few hours everyday to make up for missing any type of celebration on my actual birthday.

"mean guys"

This morning Quincy woke up in tears- she was sobbing. As I rushed to comfort her I said a quick prayer of thanks (I have felt very grateful for my opportunity to be a stay at home mom lately-this whole scene would have played out much differentenly if i was busy getting for work). Anyway after a big hug Quincy began to reveal the details of her bad dream-mean guys picked her up (I started to prepare myself for the worst- who were these mean guys and what did they do to her after picking her up that could have possibly produced this nightmare- I have watched one to many episodes of Law and Order SVU)......anyway the mean guys took her to Grandma and Grandpa Dance's house and......are you ready.......they wouldn't let her have any cookies! I breathed a sigh a relief and said another quick prayer of thanks that my seven year has been kept safe from "mean people" -
note to grandma and grandpa- please have cookies available upon are arrival. :)

We can do hard things........

I'm back.....this time long term. I got side tracked with all the other social networking junk out there and completely abandoned my very own blog. BUT I have a new purpose for blogging and renewed determination for documenting 2011 for the Peterson family. For the first time ever I am introducing a family theme (stole idea from a friend who borrowed it from another blogger). Our theme for 2011 is......drum roll please........WE CAN DO HARD THINGS BUT WITH THE LORD WE CAN DO ALL THINGS! Isn't that a beautiful statement. I have a testimony of this already. However, I forget and find myself putting my trust in man versus the Lord. AND then I get so annoyed with myself.  When I was first married I took a job as a receptionist for a not so nice guy. He was very demanding and intimidating. I was young and inexperienced. I hated working for him but given our situation it is what needed to be done. My job security depended on my ability of mastering a challenging data entry program (I didn't have the luxury of being trained by the previous employee). I prayed to understand the system and to be less intimidated by the boss. It was truly a miracle how quickly I learned the process and how my confidence increased. Interacting with that man and learning the system was hard but the Lord blessed me with the ability to triumph. I only lasted a month or two- the guy was a real ego maniac and it just wasn't worth the energy to put up with him.  Fast forward 8 years, 1 college degree and 1 child later I had another really hard choice to make. I worked at a job that I hated at first but then loved. It was an intense and demanding career. BUT the right people liked me and I was good at what I did so I excelled. I was also the main breadwinner. Quinn was finishing mortician school and we lived in Portland, Oregon. Our only child, Reece, had just turned 2 and I got the distinct impression that I needed to make some sacrifices and become a stay at home mom. This decision came after much study and prayer. It was so HARD.  I had no idea how we would live, eat or do anything. On paper, the loss of my income wreaked havoc on our financial situation. Nonetheless there was no denying that I needed to be a stay at home mom. Fast forward 10 years, 2 more kids and a move to Meridian, Idaho.  I reflect on that time and can see the Lord's hand in my life so clearly. I guess hindsight is always 20/20. I have faced extreme challenges in the last 10 years and am confident that I will continue face hard things my whole mortal experience. I want to strengthen my testimony in, and teach my children, the truth that with the Lord we can do all things. So we are kicking 2011 with a family party.....i don't know the details yet but I will share them asap. The first hard thing I am preparing myself for is the reality that my children will probably not be totally on board with this. This is new and will be out of their comfort zone (dare I mention our baby who is 4 still refuses to dress himself! and I have tolerated this in lieu of a temper tantrum). Not yelling at them to cooperate, resisting the urge to lecture them on appreciating my efforts and being patient with them will be HARD- more than I can express- BUT i am preparing now......Day ONE = January 1, 2011.

it gets easier

Tonight when i told Jamie and Todd, that Bob passed away on Monday, I didn't even cry. Tuesday, when I told Ruthie and Artie, the other neighbors, I couldn't stop the tears. We were driving home from Blackfoot when Corinne called to tell us the news. We will miss Bob very much. Corinne is staying in the house as long as her health allows. i am so glad. it would be hard to lose them both at the same time.

inquring minds want to know......

Yesterday, Trey's inquiring mind wanted to know....
what's a flat tire?
why do tires go flat?
what kind of bug is that?
can i squash that bug?
do elephant have ears?
why did the road workers paint those lines yellow?
what is reece doing at school?
when will quincy be home?
how do you spell rattlesnake?
are rattlesnakes nice?
is "poop" a naughty word?
when do i get to go to lacy's house?
what comes after monday?


Yesterday Bob's inquiring mind wanted to know......
how do i die?

and Corinne's inquiring mind wanted to know.......
what am i going to do after Bob passes away?

i guess, no matter what stage of life we are in, we never stop asking questions.

Counting my blessings

Seeking mature individual to care for our 3 children ages 8, 6, and 2 while we are at work...
3-4 evenings a week - usually Monday, Tuesday, Sunday...and some Wednesday's 

Must be able to pick-up children from daycare before 6 pm and care for them at our home in Star
Prepare dinner, assist with homework when needed, bath and bedtime routine ect.

Please call or text (number removed)

*Currently working 2 jobs so if I do not answer please leave detailed message (Age, location, desired wage, have own transportation ect.) 



i am weird, i know. sometimes for fun i browse the classified section of craigslist. maybe it's my way of staying connected to the world outside my four walls. sometimes i think the perfect part time job waits for me and if i don't cruise the job listings i'll never know. i came across this ad and it just broke my heart.  really a nanny picking up children from daycare? my heart breaks for those little children. my heart also hurts for the adults. i have to assume they don't want to be working two jobs. i also have to assume that they are working their tails off to put food on the table, clothes on their back and a roof over their heads, not to pay for a house they can't afford or cars they can't afford or any part of a lifestyle they can't afford. i have to assume that it breaks their hearts to have their babies picked up from daycare, fed dinner and bathed, by a nanny. but you know what they say about assuming........
at this moment i feel very blessed. we don't have much, money included. but it's 6:23 p.m. and my 3 year old is laying on the floor singing songs to ME. my 6 year old will soon return from a play date and tell ME all about her fun. and my 11 year old is showing off his football skills to his dad. soon our little family will gather around the kitchen and eat a dinner prepared by ME, even if it's cold cereal.

Tribute to Morrison's

Dear Blog: Three weeks ago we found out that our dear neighbor and friend had cancer. WHAT? HOW DID THIS HAPPEN I inquired? Just last week Bob was replacing some weather coverings on his roof and was full of life and now he lay on his couch, hardly able to carry on a conversation, he gets so winded. NO details. We don't know anything. Bob started losing feeling in his legs so he went in to get that checked. CANCER!
Two weeks ago: Bob gets oxygen and the type of cancer is confirmed: lung cancer. What can we do to help? Please let us help you, I cry. You have always done so much for us it's the least we can do. Bob is crying too. He doesn't want to impose on us. "Too bad"! I say. We are helping. Corinne, his wife, broke her back several years ago and can't drive or vacuum or stand for too long. Bob was her primary care giver. NOW WHAT? I demand to help- and they finally relent. I get to do their grocery shopping, clean their house and Reece gets to mow the lawn. They insist on paying for the cleaning and mowing, even though i made these really cute all inclusive service coupons for her birthday gift, and encouraged her to redeem them. They don't understand how important performing these acts of service (although they are paying) are to me. They also don't understand Why? Why would I, the busy mother of three make time to serve them. Well, let me tell you.....
Nine years ago when we bought our house Bob came over the first day he saw us. He told us he helped the previous owners with all their maintenance needs so he knew our house like the back of his hand. if we needed help he was there. Who knew that initial encounter would blossom into such a friendship. In the last nine years Bob has helped us do more and borrow more (he has every tool for any job) than I can count. Bob is 83 and if he hasn't seen it or doesn't know how to fix it then watch out. It probably can't be done. Every year Bob grows "us" a garden. Jelly belly's are kept stocked so my kids and any other neighborhood kids that tag along- can come over for a sugary treat. Trey has his very own special stash of suckers as Bob and Corinne didn't want to risk Trey ingesting a peanut butter jelly belly (he has severe food allergies). No one else gets suckers except Trey. Who DOES that? Bob.
This week: Oncologist delivers the horrible news: two months, maybe less. hospice came today for the first time and it was very overwhelming for Bob. They mixed up his medicines, talked to fast, talked to Corinne and NOT him. He is frustrated and sad and I cry when I am over there. I tell him that we are so sorry and that we love him. Bob has family and they live around the area and they are helping BUT i want to help too. I want them to know how much they mean to us. I will try not to impose too much but helping them gives me a sense of purpose right now. It makes me feel like what I am doing matters. I don't get that same feeling from serving  my own family (cooking dinner, doing laundry, scrubbing toilets, grocery shopping). I don't know why. Maybe it's because my family expects those acts and aren't so appreciative. Feeling appreciated and valued.......Isn't that every stay at home mom's plight? I digress......
no pictures. Bob says he's not having his picture taken for anything!  i asked him if i can come over and orally record some of his family history (he is always telling stories). NO- no one cares about my life is his response. i wish he would change his mind. i try to explain to him that generations to come will care. then i reminisce about my ancestors. do i care about their lives? not right now but i may in the future, when i have more time. what if i made the time? what could i learn from their histories? I digress......
funeral arrangements  have been made and quinn, only quinn, is to handle all the details. this service will be hard for quinn but Bob's family will be in good hands. quinn is good at his job. two months is too generous. bob has deteriorated so quickly already in just 3 weeks. i have literally witnessed the life being sucked out of him. he has no fight in his eyes. i think just worry for Corinne. Bob is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but hasn't been active for over 63+ years. This makes me sad too. does he know that after he passes through mortality his son, that died at age 19, will meet him? does he know that when Corinne's turn on earth is over he will meet her again? do they know that sacred ordinances can be performed on earth that will bind their family for eternity? I digress......
Tonight: Corinne couldn't find one of the medications she needed to give Bob. Hospice is coming tomorrow to review everything. I tell her I can come tomorrow while hospice is there and listen to the instructions and then at night if she can't remember i can help her. she indulges me and says i can come over all the while Bob is yelling in the background something about why would a mother of 3 want to burn herself out on two old people.....BLAH BLAH BLAH.
Well Bob let me tell you.........what goes around comes around. and that includes acts of service.

busy day

today was a busy day.
7:30 a.m.- woke up.
made my bed and said morning prayers.
woke up children.
made breakfast
made q's lunch.
drove morning carpool duty.
went to gym
registered reece for middle school
wallowed in depression upon realizing i am middle age!
went thrift store shopping with a friend
visited bob and corinne- more on them later.
made semi dinner for kids.
took reece to football practice.
volunteered to be team mom because no one else would.
went grocery shopping
read stories to q and t
threatened children if they didn't get in bed
in between all the activities i made various phone calls. entertained various thoughts. yelled at my children because i felt overwhelmed. ate too much junk because i felt overwhelmed. and then i wondered......how am i going to fit grad school into this life? what part of this schedule am i willing to let go of? will my yelling increase or decrease? will i end up gaining 20 pounds? is grad school really right for me and my family?

The tipping point......

the tipping point is actually the title of a really good book. the book touches on how "small and purposeful" actions can create huge results. one example the book cites is a study conducted on the new york city, subway, crime rates.  once upon a time, crime was prevalent in new york city. even more so on the subway. have you ever wondered how the city got that rate to plummet? who was the mastermind? according to the author (which i can't recall and am too lazy to go out to the car and get the book) several people and actions were responsible for this phenomenon.A bunch of ordinary people (with extraordinary minds) got together and realized that if they don't get the crime rate under control they are going to have really BIG problems down the road. these folks implemented several small and purposeful solutions (if you want to know more- read the book) which resulted in the crime rate, on the subway, decreasing by double digits. HUGE SUCCESS! so how does the tipping point apply to my life............
well i have a problem. the spirituality in my home is too low. the chaos and contention-too high. if i don't get this under control i will  potentially have some major problems down the road. so what small and purposeful actions can be implemented that might generate some BIG results. 1. limit all and any media time- i'm not saying do away with the computer or x-box or television but what if we limit our exposure to 2 hours total each day. if i get creative the kiddos might not even realize they are missing electronics. 2. increase amount of time spent on spiritual activities- again i am not talking hours and hours but what might happen if we just read 2 more verses in the scriptures each night or for that matter make sure we read faithfully EVERY night. 3. i need to wake-up earlier so i am prepared before the kids stumble out of their beds. - again i think 15 minutes earlier might do the trick.  my hypothesis is that by implementing these 3 small but purposeful strategies i will 1. be able to reduce the chaos and contention and 2. increase the spirituality in my home.  and this might just be the tipping point that put my family on a different path than we are currently walking.

Father Time take a time out

Geesh- i can't believe how fast time is zooming by. i can hardly catch my breath. quincy starts 1st grade tomorrow (actually she started yesterday and this is the first chance i've had to get back to this post). reece enters middle school 8.30 and trey and i are just trying to figure everything out. i keep thinking that once the kiddos are back in school time will slow down a little but then i looked at my calendar and september is already planned- the full month. then there's october- it's already half way planned and  then, well november and december are already history. oh and i called BSU to inquire about getting my MSW and if i want to apply for the fall semester of 2011 my application is due by early jan- which, is right around the corner! ARGHHHH! anyway here are some of the pics from the peterson family camp out. quinn is quite the guy. isn't camping supposed to be relaxing?  at our camp we were up with the sun-eating breakfast-exploring the mountains-hiking-riding ATV's and not hitting the tent until about midnight or later. when i got home- i seriously felt like i had been run over by a freight truck.

Right before my very eyes

I don't know how it happened. How did I miss this little man growing from this.....

to this......

Reece turned 11 today! his baby pic's are MIA- They're probably pre-digital camera.  I just can't believe that he's 11! WOW! He is evolving into quite the young man. Just a few tidbits about Reece.....
-he loves to be the life of the party. making people laugh is his speciality.
-he loves to read.
-he loves football and someday wants to play for the BSU broncos
-he already has a goal to serve a full time mission for our church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints)
-he has a tender heart. he doesn't ever want to hurt someone's feelings
-he is very tolerant.
-he is a fun older brother.
-his favorite pastime is hanging out with the family
-his least favorite way to spend time is singing in church
-his favorite food is anything-he's not a picky eater

i am blessed to have the opportunity to mother this child. he tries my every last nerve and patience thus stretching me and growing me in ways otherwise not possible. he was born for greatness. he is strong and i love him very much. happy birthday reser!

A thorn in my side!

i guess there has to be thorns to enjoy the roses right?  i give too much power to other people and allow them to get under my skin and become real thorns in my side. this is something i'm working on. i don't want to spend any of my energy on people i don't jive with. but it's hard. i tend to stew over things, get other people's opinion on the thorns, use time replaying incidents in my head, etc. i guess the truth is- it hurts to think that another person wouldn't adore me? you know appreciate all my good qualities while overlooking my faults. i guess that's part of life. on a more cheerful note......i'm dusting off the running shoes after a 10 week hiatus. the hip feels good and it's time to get back out there. i'm not looking forward to building up my base but hopefully it won't take long.

I'm Back

WOW my one week hiatus turned into several. My apologies-future generations-for letting time get away from me like that. I regret to inform you that I still can't change the background of this darn blog, or figure out any other tech savvy features of blogger. I went to a blogging conference and heard all sorts of fantastic information on SEO, html, word press, blogger in draft, etc. But by the time I finally got around to applying some of that info to this blog.....well let's just say i am short term memory challenged. so here's a synopsis of last few months:
I turned 36-totally depressed about that! i mean completely depressed!
Quinn turned 39- since he rarely verbalizes his feelings i have no idea how he felt about this
I ran my second half marathon- and injured myself pretty bad. it's been almost 10 weeks and i still haven't been able to run- i'm hoping next week brings some good news.
Quincy graduated from Kindergarten
Reece graduated from 5th grade-he's onto middle school in the fall

I hosted a family reunion type event- all of my siblings except one brother (good thing his wife and kiddos love us- they came w/o him) because he had to run his pharmacy. Of course I have no pictures of this event- who had time to take any pictures. I was busy entertaining 12 kids and 7 adults (truth be told: i have a knack for always missing the important touches, ie- pictures of a family reunion that will probably never happen again)

There is something so precious about listening to my little ones pour their hearts out to Heavenly Father in prayer. Tonight Quincy took her turn to pray and some of her requests were just so sweet. Like, "please bless all my classmates to be good tomorrow so we can get a glitter strip" AND "please bless mommy that she won't fall asleep while driving" (that has never happened) AND "bless the mommies everywhere to be nice to their children and give them what they need" (we read 1 Nephi 17 tonight for scripture study. In these chapters, Nephi is rebuking his brothers for being so hard hearted inspite of all the miracles they have witnessed. Nephi bears testimony that the Lord will give him strength to accomplish anything that has been commanded of him, including building a ship. I likened that unto my life and explained to the kids that mommies have been counseled, by living day prophets, to stay at home and care for their children, whenever possible. I bore my testimony that the Lord always provides a way for us to live His commandments and counsel. We talked about the blessings of having me always at home and that even though we don't get everything we want we have everything we need) She finished up her prayer with, " Heavenly Father bless Jesus-we love Him very much and we know that He is happy when we are being nice". Sweet Sweet Quincy!

For a good cause

Dear Mr. Giant Frog-
Thank you for entertaining my children for 2 hours tonight. I am sorry you lost your life in the process. They didn't know that you wouldn't eat chocolate chip cookies or enjoy being dunked head first into a bowl of water. They tried to gather you up some delicious rolly polly's and make you a comfy bed of grass. They couldn't understand why you wouldn't sit still and watch "Fantastic Mr. Fox". Or why you wouldn't jump on the trampoline with them. They are just children and are still learning. I will do my best to make sure none of your relatives experience the same fate. But I make no promises!

Almost

Today I was reading Trey a book on the Prophet. I asked him who our prophet was today and he said, " President Monster". Well he IS only 3.

What does that make you, the mother?

I worked at a trade show yesterday for a company called, CitySmart. There were 5 of us total at the booth and I was the only female. The owner (30) his two younger brother's (mid 20's) and a brother's friend (20 ish). The owner is married but the other three boys are single and capitalizing on any and all opportunities to flirt with girls that came by the booth. One particular girl (22) loitered around the booth longer than necessary. Upon discovering that three of the boys were brothers she inquired to me......"so what does that make you? their mother"? OH PLEASE! WHATEVER. after reeling from that comment for a few minutes I realized to that 22 year old there was no difference between 35 and 45. To her it just meant OLD! Of course logically I am not old enough to be the mother of a 30 year old, nor do i look old enough to be a mother of a 26 year old. To that 22 year old- 26 is probably OLD. The lesson learned: I will not judge plastic surgery recipients as harshly in the future. I may find myself in an office one day- desperately trying to recapture my youthful appearance.

May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day- WOW I can't believe it's been almost a month since I have posted. Crazy how time flies. Today after church the young men handed out candy bars to all the mother's with a little saying. Quincy asked me if she could have one. I told her no they were just for the mother's. She didn't give up. She then asked one of the boys. He told her no, as well. I found her walking out to the car in tears. I tried explaining to her that the candy was only for mother's not primary children. She looked up at me and said with all seriousness......But I will be a mother someday! How could I not share my candy with her?

Gospel according to my 3 year old

Me: Trey did you have a great time in Sunbeams today?
Trey: Yes.
Me: What did you learn about?
Trey: That Jesus died on the crosswalk for us.