(Very Late) 2017 Q&A

What can I say? I'm a few weeks behind, ha ha.

1) What did you do in 2017 that you'd never done before?
Made a move across the province based totally on faith, joined a school council, see Queen + Adam Lambert in concert, canning vegetables.

2) Did you keep your new year's resolutions and will you make more for next year?
To play more games with my kids, yes. To be healthier, not so much.

3) Did anyone close to you give birth?
Nope.

4) Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, my brother-in-law

5) What countries did you visit?
As usual, we didn't even leave our province.

6) What would you like to have in 2018 that you lacked in 2017?
Better anxiety management.

7) What dates from 2017 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 7th, for sure, the night that my brother-in-law's mortal journey came to a quick and unexpected end. Also, June 16th because it was the day we finally moved to Magrath. July 4th, for the concert, as well.

8) What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Honestly, getting through it was my biggest achievement. I was battling some extremely big trials.

9) What was your biggest failure?
I don't know that I'd call anything a failure, they were all learning experiences. (exactly what I said last year, but it still holds)

10) Did you or someone close suffer illness or injury?
Brettley's ear was sliced open really bad in November.

11) What was the best thing you bought?
The concert tickets!

12) Where did most of your money go?
A lot went toward moving, and we had to put quite a bit in to our van as well.

13) What song will always remind you of 2017?
Believer by Imagine Dragons

14) Compared the this time last year are you more happy or more sad?
I think (?) I'm happier. I was struggling a lot with anxiety at this time last year. I'm getting a good handle on my life the past couple of weeks and I feel positive about the future, so I'm definitely improving.

15) What do you wish you'd done more of?
Learning how to manage my anxiety better. That is probably my biggest goal for this year.

16) What do you wish you'd done less of?
Being depressed (?). Not a lot I could do about it, but I wish I hadn't needed to go through it.

17) How did you spend Christmas?
We did Christmas morning in our house (our nephew was here as well). Then we hosted a movie day in our garage for our most of our nieces and nephews, had supper with everyone (lasagna, garlic bread and Caesar salad) and then played Dungeons and Dragons with several of our nieces and nephews.

18) What was your favourite TV program?
Gilmore Girls (rewatching the series for the 5th time right now) and I got in to watching The Good Doctor.

19) What were your favourite books of the year?
All of the James L Ferrell books I read. They were all amazing.

20) What were your favourite treats/food in 2017?
Miss Vickie's Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar Chips (as always), SASH pizza and bacon.

21) What were your favourite movies of the year?
Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them. And Moana.

22) What did you do on your birthday and how old were you?
I turned 33. My dad was here that week, my brother came for a visit and I had very bad brain fog adjusting to a new dosage of my meds. Oh, I also had a few appointments that day.

23) What one thing would have made your year measurably more satisfying?
Not struggling with severe anxiety and depression.

24) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017?
If it fits and it's comfy then we're good, ha ha. (same as last year)

25) What kept you sane?
John, my niece (Charli), Aunt Christine, Alicia, Gilmore Girls and Dr Pepper

26) What was a valuable life lesson you learned in 2017?
Trusting in Heavenly Father and acting upon that trust, even when you can't see how things can possibly work out, will result in blessings that you can't even imagine at the time.
Also, don't try to fight your battles alone. Ask for help when you need it!

Finally, that severe depressive cycles won't last forever. YAY!

2016 Recap

I'm pretty sure I'm only blogging for myself now, since journaling is not my strong point, ha ha. 2016 was a pretty life-changing year for us. Everything with Caleb came to a boiling point early in January. He was coming home from school more than half of the time either crying or raging. We prayed to know if home schooling was a better option for him and got the strongest revelation we've ever received during our marriage. In early February, he started home schooling. I had to quit doing lunch supervision at the school a month later to help make his days easier, it was 100% worth it. When Caleb met with a psychiatrist later in the year, the psychiatrist told us that switching him to home schooling was probably the best thing we could have done for him. I felt pretty good when I heard that.

Brettley turned 5 and lost his first 2 teeth that day. He lost another a few days before Christmas and has another wiggly one at the moment.

I spent a large portion of the year with a buzz cut. What started as a way of getting really fried hair dealt with ended up being a really big convenience. I'm slowly starting to grow it out a bit now. We also found out that I don't have sleep apnea, after having to do a sleep test.

Caleb ended up with full time glasses. He's still learning to wear them full time but I understand the struggle, I'm still adjusting to wearing mine full time as well.

I did something totally out of character for me. John and I made an impromptu overnight visit to the Calgary area in March. We got to go to a wonderful gaming store, have a delicious dinner and then spend the evening with some family/friends. I'm a planner and don't do well with spontaneity at all, so this was kind of a big deal.

The kids had a lot of dental work done. Ty managed his first filling fine, but then got too stressed out about the extractions, so the extractions and crowns ended up being done under anesthesia. I sincerely pray that we never have to see him like that again. Caleb managed to tough out all of his fillings and his crown with our regular dentist. He was a total rock star!

We decided in March, after more prayer, that Ty and Brettley would home school starting in the fall. We set up a great space for them in the living room, but found pretty quickly that the dining room works a lot better for us, at least while they're this young. Ty was very happy that he could start home schooling since he'd been asking for it since Kindergarten.

Grandpa D built the boys a garden box, and we grew peas, beans, lettuce, spinach and dill. It was great! We're looking forward to planting it again this year. The boys loved snacking out of it.

John taught Caleb, Tyrell and I how to play chess. One of my goals for 2017 is to play more games with the kids.

Brettley started school at home. He grasps things so easily. He is great at math and is learning to read so well. The only two struggles with him are that he hates beating a dead horse (he likes to move on as soon as he's mastered a concept) and that he's still learning to understand structure (that one will come with time). Ty's strongest subject is math. He's improving in Language Arts, but still really struggles with his spelling. Caleb does very well with Social Studies, but is working on improving his Language Arts. We will start our summer vacation early this year, so we're taking that time to focus on strengthening their weaker areas.

I made a goal to participate in the 2017 Relay for Life in Wainwright. My mum and sister are going to participate as well. I'm looking forward to doing this in memory of my amazing father-in-law.

John turned 40. We celebrated by having a gaming session with our Dungeons and Dragons group. It was the perfect way for him to spend the day.

A bit of a sad note about our 2016 is that we tried for another baby and after many months of nothing I had to call it off to focus on my mental health again. On a more positive note, though, I feel more peace about being done having kids than I've ever had before. Maybe that's what I needed to get from the experience.

I was concerned about what to do for school photos, so my mum came and took pictures of the boys. Brettley, grade 1, said he wants to become a firefighter. Tyrell, grade 3, wants to become a scientist. Caleb, grade 5, wants to be an astrophysicist.

Part of school this year was learning how to take care of a home. The boys each have 4 chores to do daily. In the fall we're looking forward to adding cooking lessons in to our school year.

I started watching a friend's son every Thursday. The boys love him, even though I have to keep reminding them that he isn't a toy.

At the end of September, John was diagnosed with diabetes. He's been losing weight again and is currently the lightest that he's been in about 19 years. I'm still learning to eat better, but I'm slowly getting there. I was off of my meds for several months (checking in regularly with my doctor), so food was sort of my way of dealing with anxiety and depression then.

Tyrell turned 8 and started Cubs, which he loves. He was baptized on November 12th and we were blessed to have the man he was named after there to give one of the talks and be one of the witnesses.

We had the whole school fiasco that I blogged about a couple of posts ago. It ended up being a positive thing for us. We really like our new home education administration and the options we have with them, but it was one of the most stressful things we've been through.

The boys did swimming lessons in the fall. Tyrell and Caleb both passed their courses, but Brettley didn't quite get there. They are starting another round of lessons at the end of February.

We were told in November that Caleb doesn't have ADHD. The most likely culprit is severe anxiety that he has a difficult time learning how to process. He's continuing to do amazing on his meds and he hardly ever has rage attacks anymore. He is leaps and bounds ahead of where he was this time last year.

We enjoyed a quiet Christmas at home, but we're really looking forward to spending the next one with my family. We haven't gone there for Christmas since Tyrell's first Christmas.

John and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on New Year's Eve. I am so blessed to be married to him.

Now on to 2017 :)

A More Positive Update

It's been way too long since my last post, and it wasn't a very happy one. Things got sorted out for us with the school stuff. The boys are now with Vermilion Home Schooling, and we are very happy to be there. Our facilitator is great and very happy to help me know exactly what we need to do to keep the boys parent-directed but still have them receive an Alberta Education High School Diploma.

John started his 4 day work weeks. We are very blessed and he has enough vacation and banked time saved up that we are covered for it until mid-June, at least. We were pretty worried that John would have to get a second job, and now he might not have to get one at all.

Last Sunday was our ward's Primary Presentation. Caleb pleasantly surprised us all and decided to take part in it, despite his anxiety about it. He and Ty did wonderful. Brettley was...very wiggly, ha ha. He moved around a lot, but apparently people who aren't his parents found it entertaining, so it's all good.

Not too much else going on here, just excited to start our daily activities that we have planned for December. My mum bought the boys an elf for this year. I tried to fight it for a few years, but I've found him to be a really easy way of getting the boys to do their chores and listen to what they've been told to do, so I'm loving that side of it.

I hope that everyone is doing well! Is anyone still here?

But That's Not What It's Supposed to Look Like...

Surprisingly, this post isn't homeschool related. So for the past several months I have struggling with depression and anxiety. It was hard to take it seriously for quite a while, because it was nowhere near as severe as it was before I started taking Seroquel. Before then, depression and anxiety meant not being able to do even the easiest of household tasks, not being able to hold myself together when John wasn't here, majorly struggling with self-harm. This time around, I was still able to get the basic chores around the house done, I was able to function without John at home, I was able to be consistent with homeschooling and even feel excitement about it. Although I'm sure I will always struggle with the temptation to self-harm, I haven't given in for well over a year. So my life didn't look how I expected depression and anxiety to look, but it was there. I was almost ambivalent about Christmas, which is the opposite of how I usually am. I couldn't sit still with more than 10 people near me without having an anxiety attack (yes, that means I couldn't do church), and often was having anxiety attacks in stores. I was depression eating.

So this past week I decided to make some changes. I was willing to open up to a good friend and also to a bishopric member about what was going on. That was a huge step, I always try to hide when I'm struggling. I committed to only eating after supper once per week, which would eliminate most of my stress-induced chips and dip binges. I am committing to some sort of intentional movement every day that John works, even if it's just dancing to 2 songs one day. I started taking a multivitamin for women. I decided to take church 1 week at a time, and my goal for this Sunday is to sit in the hallway and be able to stay there at least long enough to partake of the sacrament. At any time after that, if the anxiety is too much, I'll go sit in the van and read Jesus the Christ until John and the boys are done their meetings.

Also, I made the connection that things really started going downhill right when I started taking birth control pills in an effort to help with PMS emotional issues. So since I just finished a pack anyway, I decided that the trade off isn't worth it, and I won't be continuing with them.

While things haven't been easy, I've remained optimistic that I will get through this rough patch, like I always do. I just need to pull out of it 1 step at a time.

A Perfect Week

I made a goal for 2016 to study my scriptures using a journal as well as have at least one good personal prayer (preferably two) every single day this year. I am happy to say that I have successfully completed that goal for the first week of the year.

Our Christmas went well, we enjoyed another quiet year at home. I was spoiled with colouring things, starter calligraphy books and tools as well as a calligraphy quill.

This month we're looking forward to Caleb having his first appointment with a new psychologist and to hopefully start the process of getting him coded for school.
I hope you've enjoyed the first week of 2016!

Christmas Soapbox Moment

Excuse my soapbox moment, but I've seen enough comments and posts lately that I feel moved to share my point of view on the subject. I have heard people say that Christmas stuff shouldn't start until December, and that December is the only acceptable time for it. Halloween stuff comes out in August, over 2 months before the holiday itself, and no one seems to bat an eye about the appropriateness of that. There are a lot of people (including myself) who like to buy a bit here and a bit there to spread out the cost rather than buy everything in one big trip. Is that so wrong? Who decides what is appropriate and what isn't? I feel that you start buying for a holiday when it's right for you. If you don't feel quite ready yet, simply don't buy yet. Seems fairly simple to me.

Also, there seems to be some misconception that it is not humanly possible to respect veterans and to listen to Christmas music at the same time, which is completely ridiculous. Remembrance Day is treated sacred in our home, yet the kids and I have been happily getting into the Christmas spirit this month as well as I busted out the Christmas playlist. It makes us happier and reminds us of something we are so grateful to be able to enjoy so freely thanks to those who fought for our freedoms. While I personally don't start decorating before November 12 (which is a tradition I chose for myself), I would find it incredibly rude and judgemental to pick apart someone who chose differently. It's completely unfair to assume that someone doesn't have respect simply because they choose to enjoy the festive Christmas spirit longer than someone else does.

Sorry, but this is a topic I've become passionate about the past few years.

What I've Been Making

I finished off our Tetris piece ornaments.

And made rupees for everyone except John, because I'd made his last year.

And started in on the Phineas and Ferb ornaments.

My 'Crafty' Side

I will be the first to admit that my mum kept all of her crafty talent and shared none of it with me while I was still in utero. I severely lack an imagination (I couldn't even read the first chapter of Harry Potter until I had the visual from the movie) and it took years to be able to draw a straight line with a ruler. However, I decided over Christmas holidays that I need to start being a bit creative just to have an outlet. Being a stay-at-home mum who doesn't drive, I kind of lose my mind in the winter. And summer... Pretty much any time, ha ha. So I bought Caleb's desk from him that he wasn't using for the price of a Skylanders trap (so, about $7). I used a fair chunk of my Christmas money from my parents to buy things for my desk like 2 new pen sets (huzzah for Staedtler pens), highlighters, organizers and so forth. Thus, my creative space was born.

So the 3rd Thursday of the month is about getting to share what I've been working on.

Mondays are set aside for personal writing, which is just that. It's personal.

Tuesdays are for learning about whatever I feel like learning about. Lately it has been Sensory Processing Disorder. There are a lot of traits from it that my kids have, so I have been learning about lots of fun activities to do with them. One that I think all 3 of them are going to enjoy this summer is 'painting' the fence in our back yard with water. We're also going to make them calm down bottles (if you're on Pinterest, I'm sure you've seen them). I've got a whole list, but it would probably just be a lot easier to check it out on Pinterest. There are so many fun activities that just about any kid would like.

Wednesdays are to build up our collection of geeky Christmas ornaments, aka Perler Beads Day. Here are the latest 5 that I've made.



The Batman is for John, Wonder Woman is for me, Green Lantern is for Caleb, Superman is for Ty and The Flash is for Brettley. They also match our geeky Christmas stockings that my mum made for us in 2013. I've also made 1 other ornament each for us, but they made it on the tree last month and are put away now.

Thursdays are my blogging day and, if I'm up to it, doing a decluttering chore. With my back out right now, though, it's not been happening.

Fridays I am finding floor plans for houses that I like on Pinterest and putting them onto graph paper, making a few changes as I see fit. This is actually one of my most favourite things to do. John keeps telling me to become an architect and then he will stay at home with the kids. I keep reminding him that I sucked at high school math and barely scraped a passing grade in Physics 20.

My side project recently has been assembling Busy Bag activities for the boys for church.


This one is part of Brettley's school stuff to help him learn the Alphabet, but it's being transferred to the Busy bag.



Here's part of the Colour Sudoku kit I made. I'm actually pretty excited about this one, since I love Sudoku and am pretty dang decent at it (right Amber?).



From the reactions I got while making this, the kids are probably going to be fighting after this Build a Pizza kit. They all thought it was so awesome.

So that's what I've been up to this past month in my efforts to be a little more creative.

Also, thanks again to Amber for my awesome new blog header :D

What's Up With Us?

As I mentioned yesterday, I'll be doing things differently on here. So the first Thursday of each month will be about what we've been up to as a family and individuals.

As a family we spent December doing some fun activities leading up to Christmas. We read books, watched movies, made a few things like the gingerbread house. We stayed home again for Christmas. I am officially a fan of Christmas at home! Brettley had been really sick the week of Christmas and John and I were not doing great either, so we had a very relaxed day. We opened presents, had breakfast and then pretty much did nothing for the rest of the day. We're all mostly healthy now, thankfully.

(Brettley was very sick that morning so this is the best picture I got)

Yesterday was our anniversary. The boys spent a couple of nights at my dad's, which was great. On Tuesday we went out for supper, courtesy of John's work. They gave us $100 in gift cards to Joey's. We both had good steak dinners. Yesterday we went out to St Albert, our home away from home. Checked out our favourite gaming store, as well as EB Games and grabbed a couple of things at Walmart. It was a really low key day, and we do well with that. We might do something a bit more planned out next year, since it will be our 10 year.

Over the past couple of months John had his annual performance review at work, It went so well that his supervisor said he almost felt that he needed to make up something bad just to add some variety to their meeting. And then he got a nice raise for the new year, so he is doing really great at work.

I had a big surprise on Sunday morning. I had been sick for days and was finally feeling a bit better, but my mental health was in horrible shape. At 7:30 that morning John told me to pack a bag and call my dad so that I could go to my brother's for dinner that night with the rest of my family. It was exactly what I needed and I had a great time with my dad, mum, step-dad, brother, sister-in-law, her dad and one of her brothers. I didn't tell my brother and sister-in-law that I was coming, and they loved the surprise. My brother in turn surprised me with my Christmas present from him. We had a tape of Christmas music that we listened to every year when we were younger. Years back my mum passed the tape along to me, but for quite a while now I've no longer had a cassette player, so I've missed getting to hear it. It has my favourite Christmas song on it which was an original song, so I couldn't just hear it on any other album, but you can't even get this album on iTunes. Anyway, for the past 4 years my brother has been searching for this album online. He finally found it and gave me the CD for Christmas. I cried because I was so happy, which pretty much never happens with me. It was one of the most thoughtful gifts I've ever received.

Caleb has been obsessed lately with all things spies. He has made a spy club at school and made up little badges for them all to earn and membership cards for each of them. He is having so much fun with it!

Caleb and Tyrell had their concert at school. Caleb did well. You can tell he enjoys singing and music in general. Ty was hilarious to watch! He is so animated, and I kept trying not to laugh as I was recording their song so that John could see it. There still ended up being a few shaky camera spots when I couldn't hold in a chuckle. He is such a happy guy, which I love having in my life.

                (Tyrell is the one in the vest)

Ty also went up a level in his reading, which is great. He loves school, and is thriving in grade 1.

Brettley has been attempting to play Minecraft lately. He loves the game, but is always digging himself into a deep pit and getting frustrated because he doesn't know how to get out. It's so cute watching him learn all of these things, though. It's helping him find more common ground with his brothers, which is really nice to see, and it makes him so happy to be able to play on the X-Box.

Thankful Tuesday?

Let's be honest, I have no plans to be blogging on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I have far more important things to focus on at that point. Really, even at after 10 pm tonight, I still have 2 of the 3 kids awake. But they're happily watching Disney Junior and I just finished preparing my lesson for this coming Sunday, so I figured I would take care of this now while I'm thinking of it and have the time.

1) I am grateful to have John home for the next 2 weeks. Oh so grateful! I think he's pretty grateful for it as well.

2) I am grateful to have evidence that Caleb's medication really does make a difference for him. I accidentally forgot to give it to him the other night and let me tell you, the next day was QUITE the experience. So it really does work, and I'm grateful for it.

3) I am grateful for a baby boy born hundreds and hundred and hundreds of years ago. For His life, His sacrifice, His death and His resurrection. He is the reason that I am celebrating this week, and the person who gets me through it all in life. I am so grateful for all that the Savior has done for me and for us all.

Thankful Thursday and School Updates

1) I am grateful for the drive I've had to lose over 15 lbs already. I am feeling so much better physically, mentally and emotionally. It's been a wonderful thing so far and I'm so glad that I finally started doing it.

2) I am grateful for the gift of planning that my Heavenly Father has given me. It may drive others up the wall sometimes, but it's helped me be a better wife, mother and daughter of God. It makes my life a lot less chaotic and helps to cut down on stress big time.

3) I am grateful that it's snowing out, because it means we'll have a white Christmas. I realize we almost always do, but I've never forgotten the brown Christmas we had once when I was in juniour high. It was so disappointing to not have snow for Christmas that year and it has made me grateful for the snow at Christmas every year since then.

***

As an update, Caleb has improved in many of his subjects since last year. His teacher is very happy with him and the progress that he has made so far this year. She especially commented on his passion for science. I am so thankful that we found out what was going on with him, that we're dealing with it, and that he has such a wonderful teacher this year.

Ty is right where he needs to be for this point in grade 1. His teacher said that she knew that his teacher last year was really worried about my choice to move him up, but his current teacher isn't worried at all and neither am I. He is thriving in grade 1 and I would have done him a serious injustice had I held him back. I am so thankful for the reminder that I made the right choice for him. The EA in his class commented on how happy and full of life he is. Yup, that's definitely Ty :)

Parenting and What Not

I break this blogging silence to stand on my soapbox once again. Earlier this week I had a friend/family member make an innocent comment on a mutual facebook friend's status. I understood why it was being made and really didn't think much of it. However, apparently another member of the extended family we've both married into did, and was highly rude in her comments to my friend. It made me realized that I have an official opinion for ALL seemingly controversial parenting topics of our generation. And my official opinion is this:
Pray for what is right for your specific child at that particular time. Then do what you are told to do.

Too often we are quick to judge others who make parenting decisions different from our own. However, we seldom know all of the reasons those decisions are made and are certainly not in on discussions between Heavenly Father and the parent about these decisions. I, myself, have received answers that others didn't understand and judged me for because they didn't have all of the facts and didn't have the right to receive revelation for me the way I do for myself. Who are we to think that we have to right to decide what is right for someone else? Ugh, this compulsive need for superiority in this generation just disgusts me. Do your best, get your own answers, follow those answers and allow others to do the same without acting like a condescending jerk. That is all...

***

Now that I've gotten that frustration out, we are about ready for the Christmas holidays here. I am still working on my Personal Progress after a hiatus. I am VERY MUCH looking forward to welcoming in 2014. This year was very hard on me physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. I am looking forward to the feeling of starting fresh and making 2014 a very awesome year. We have plans already for Spring Break and in the summer that we're really looking forward to. Plus, 2014 will bring with it the baptism of our oldest child, who will turn 8 at the end of September and also be starting Cub Scouts. Lots of exciting things to look forward to. But before that, I'm going to take a deep breath and plug through the very busy week and a half I have ahead of me :)

Christmas 2012

Christmas vacation hadn't gone particularly well for me the past 3 years, so I was kind of nervous to see how this one would turn out. For the most part it was great. I am 100% converted to Christmas in our own home. from now on. However, spending part of Christmas night in the ER wasn't on my to-do list. I'd been battling back pain for most of Christmas Day and by night time I couldn't even lay down for longer than 2 minutes before it hurt too bad and I had to sit up or something. I hadn't slept the night before thanks to my insomnia, so I knew I needed to get some sleep. Ibuprofin and a heating pad weren't making a dent in the pain, so we called up my dad and he came and stayed with the kids while we went to the ER. I apparently strained my rhomboid muscle really badly, so they gave me a shot of a stronger anti-inflammatory and sent me home, after telling me that recovery could take weeks and possibly require physiotherapy. So most of our Christmas break was spent with me doing a whole load of nothing other than popping Motrin like it's candy and changing my position every 5-10 minutes. That being said, it was still the best Christmas that I'd had in a few years. I loved being at home and being on our own schedule. The kids really enjoyed time with Daddy. They weren't big on a nice Christmas dinner, though, so I'm going to do something a lot more basic for Christmas 2013.

There's a lot to look ahead to this year such as ward YW camp, Ty starting Kindergarten and whatever else may come our way. For the moment I'm just enjoying the fact that Brettley loves the switch to the toddler bed and the boys are loving the fact that they have a play room right now.

Best Christmas Present EVER!

2 posts within 8 days, *GASP*! My tree went up, YAY! More exciting though, is that I got the best Christmas present ever on Tuesday from my favourite crazy. I gave her the present I'd bought for her back in October, because I wanted her to be able to enjoy it all winter (she'd become used to mild Pacific coast winters). I had bought her a Gryffindor scarf, which matches the one I've had for almost 7 years now. I'd mentioned in passing that night that one day I'd love to have a Weasley sweater or a Ravenclaw scarf. (If you don't know your Harry Potter, I apologize for the confused expression on your face at this point) Anyway, so we went out for a late meal on Tuesday after I was done Young Women and she handed me a wrapped box. Inside was a Ravenclaw scarf that she knit for me herself. It's special because 1) I'm a Ravenclaw at heart, 2) It was knit just for me, 3) It was knit by my bestest friend who is practically my sister, and 4) I know it took her a lot of time to make it and she is NOT someone who has a lot of spare time, which means she has been using a lot of the little amount of it that she has making something just for me. I feel so special and loved! So I just wanted to share that little story and make sure I have it documented for my own sake. Happy Christmas season!

Also, it came with a card which my adorable 2 year old 'niece' insisted on drawing a picture inside of for me because she loves her 'Aunt' Nikki.

I Do Still Exist...

I'll be honest. I'm mostly posting just because I feel like I should, since I've had 2 posts in the past 2 months.

I kind of feel like I've been owned by my calling for the past few months. Between a trip to the Calgary Temple open house, a plethora of weekend meetings, Young Women in Excellence and extra activities beyond the normal Tuesday ones. I was kind of hoping for a break this month after all of that, instead I'm busy getting ready to train my new class presidency and get us all ready for the new youth curriculum starting in January (which I'm beyond excited for, by the way). Oh well, it's okay that I'm busy because I really do love my calling. My former class president turned 14 two weeks ago and finished her Young Womanhood Recognition requirements the night before. It's things like her getting her certificate and medallion that remind me why I love my calling so much. I was so happy for her and impressed with her accomplishment.

My tree still isn't up, which is a huge deal for me. Normally I struggle to wait until December to put it up. In my defense, though, I ended up sick on Monday night and the kids were super cranky and that's why it didn't go up. Tonight, though, before I race off to a presidency meeting (see what I mean about being owned?). I haven't felt as passionate about Christmas this year and it feels so odd. I LOVE Christmas and I'm usually bouncing all over the place this time of the year. I'm not even done my Christmas shopping yet...*gasp* I am, however, really looking forward to having John at home with us for a week and a half and to not having to travel anywhere this year. I'm excited to be able to wake up in my own bed on Christmas morning and to do things on my own schedule.

Bretts is walking quite well now and has actually started conversing a bit, which was HUGE progress for him. I'm a lot less worried about his delay now. Ty is still my crazy man who entertains us all of the time. Caleb loves grade 1 and is doing well with learning to read and to play piano. We were looking at girl clothes the other day at Walmart and he thought a pink onesie and pink leggings would look good together. They didn't, so I said "You don't know anything about fashion, do you?" to which he replied "I don't know about fashion, but I know a lot about women". I have NEVER laughed so loud in a store before, ha ha.

Oh, and about 2 weeks ago I gave up Dr Pepper for the next year or so...First and foremost, because drinking a minimum of 2 bottles of it per day is kind of an issue and I didn't like feeling so dependent on it. Second, because I'm trying to get my body into a healthier state for when it's time for Baby Bly #4. I still miss it, mostly because I miss drinking something with flavour, but I told myself that once I make it to the end of the month without having any that I can get a new pair of jeans, so that's my extra motivation right now.

There are a few other things going on, but I'm sure you don't want ALL of my dirty laundry aired, ha ha. So yeah, I'm still here, and I'm still checking blogs a couple of times a week. I just don't feel like I have a lot to say lately, I guess.

Have a wonderful Christmas season!

Christmases 1 & 2 of 2011

We're now half way through our Christmases. Apparently we can't have just 1, we need to have 4. We had our first with my mum and step-dad on Saturday. The boys loved it. John and I got a Blu-Ray player and a cutting board with a strainer in it (which I've been wanting for quite a while). I also got a new dress and John got a new tie to wear to Church on Christmas. Caleb got an Optimus Prime voice changing helmet, swimming lessons with a towel and goggles, a Batman cave and Easy Bake cake mixes. Ty got a box of Duplo blocks, a Cars art kit, an Oilers jersey, a sock monkey and I think something else that I can't remember. Brettley got a glowing Sea Horse (think aquatic Glow Worm), a twisty bug toy, a tray for his Bumbo and a jacket for next year. The boys also got matching church outfits to wear on Christmas day.

Yesterday evening my dad came over and we opened gifts with him. Caleb got a Mario Kart K'nex set, a Lego Optimus Prime and a Yoda lightsabre. Ty got 2 Ben 10 action figures, an Omnitrix and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs on Blu-Ray. Brettley got his present early, which was the Bumbo. Caleb and Ty got the Angry Birds board game together. They each opened a present from us as well. Caleb got a big box of Transformers, Ty got some jeans and Brettley got a container of bath toys.

Caleb and Brettley had been really sick over the weekend. Caleb had an ear and throat infection. Brettley had the nastiest cough and congested chest. He spent most of Saturday puking up mucous, it was so gross. They are both so much better now. Caleb is back to school after missing most of last week. It was so hard watching Brettley go through that and knowing all I could do for him was to let him ride it out.

On the note of my weight loss, I've now lost 21.3 lbs since October 1st. I had a rough week last week and gained some weight and ate some things I shouldn't have and it set me back a fair bit. After the next 0.1 lb I lose I'll be the lightest that I've been in a very long time. I'm so happy with what I've accomplished and looking forward to having more success in 2012:)

Christmas Questions, Advent and More Weight Loss

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I like wrapping paper for Christmas. Birthdays and everything else can be gift bags, but there's just something about wrapped presents under the tree that I love.

2. Real tree or Artificial? I'd like the smell of real, but not the short life or clean up, so we're all about the pre-lit artificial ones.

3. When do you put up the tree? I try to wait until the first week in December, I usually fail and it goes up shortly after Remembrance Day. I made it to December 1st this year, though.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually on or around January 8th so that it's up for Ukrainian Christmas.

5. Do you like Egg Nog? I love the light stuff, but won't be having much this year as it's very high in calories.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmm, Tinker Toys always seem to stand out to me.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My Dad, every single year.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Caleb, he's always the easiest.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, my mother in law got me 3 parts to the Willow Tree set and I love it.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I usually mail them all, but I only mailed a small amount this year. I love getting them in any form, though.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Nothing is really standing out, except maybe Caleb puking all over the place last year and having a disorder relapse...Wasn't the best gift, ha ha.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Forgotten Carols, all the way.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually October, but have started in September a time or two. I'm usually done by December 1st. I just have John's stocking left to do right now.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Not that I remember

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas and favorite Christmas dessert? Stuffing, stuffing and stuffing. I also greatly miss doing the appetizer dinner at my mum's house on Christmas Eve. My favourite Christmas 'treat' is Almond Roca.

16. Lights on the tree? How can you have a tree without lights? I like the coloured ones while I have kids at home, but will probably switch over to clear many years down the road.

17. Favorite Christmas song? I have several and none are traditional. Christmas Carroll, Christmas Candy...Mary, Did You Know?...Breath Of Heaven...Old City Bar...

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? This will be our last year of travelling. We are very much looking forward to doing Christmas in our own home after this year.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s? Sure can

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We have an angel because that's what I grew up with.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We usually do pajamas on Christmas Eve night and the rest Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Having people dictate the kind of festive greeting that I'm allowed to give. You wish me what you celebrate and I'll wish you a Happy Christmas because that's what I celebrate. How difficult is that?

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I'd love to eventually do teal, red and silver or something like that.

24. Handmade ornaments or store bought? I like both.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I just want my in-laws to like what we're giving them. I put a lot of thought into it and I'm very excited about it. As long as we all enjoy the day and remember our Savior, then I'm good.

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We have done 2 advent days in December so far. On the 1st, we put up and decorated the tree. Yesterday we made 2 different kinds of chocolate covered cookie balls. Today the kids are writing letters to Santa.

I knew the weight I'd gained yesterday was water weight...I have now officially broke my pre-Ty pregnancy weight!!! I have 3 more pounds to lose by the end of December to reach my goal. I'm hoping to do that by the 16th instead, but we'll see how it plays out.

November's Thankful Thursday

I almost forgot about this month's Thankful Thursday. What better day to do it than the day that my favorite American couple is celebrating Thanksgiving?

1) I am SO grateful for how much better I feel since losing 24 lbs since June, 14 of which I've lost since Oct 1st. I feel happier and healthier and I think other people have noticed a difference as well. John sure has. May be TMI, but my monthly week of crankiness was significantly better this month, according to John.

2) I am grateful that Caleb is doing so well in school and that his teachers are so impressed with him. They kept telling me over and over yesterday at his conference just how adorable he is and how well he knows and follows the routine in the classroom. He loves school, for which I'm also grateful.

3) I am grateful that it's Christmas season. It's my favorite time of the year. All of our advent activities are ready to go. I'm trying really hard to get through to Caleb about what this holiday is really about and really waffling on when to tell him who Santa really is. We're having a hard time agreeing on that one. Regardless though, I love Christmas and the spirit this time of year. It's amazing!

Christmas Comments

It's not a well hidden fact that I LOVE Christmas. I listen to my favourite Christmas albums year round and I get super excited for decorating every year. I love the spirit of it. I'd love to start decorating on November 1st every year and have at least 2 full months of decorations. I don't, though. I always wait until November 12th at the earliest. Because I don't want my focus to be decorations on November 11th. I'm Canadian to the core and have no idea what Veteran's Day is like in the States. But up here, I do my best to give Remembrance Day the respect that it deserves. I wear my poppy for 2 weeks before the day. I often read books that remind me of the sacrifices that people made in wars for freedom. I have already started collecting books that will help my kids to become educated about the World Wars. So many lives were lost and so many more were scarred to ensure freedom, that it feels disrespectful to decorate for Christmas before then, at least to me. But you'd better believe that I'll be unpacking my Christmas tote on November 12th!

On another note about Christmas, I keep wondering why everyone is allowed to have rights during the holidays (or year round, for that matter) except for Christians. Seriously, if someone wishes you a Happy Hanukkah or Happy Kwanzaa, no one's going to correct them or chastize them. Happy Holidays is considered perfectly acceptable, politically correct and highly encouraged. However, if you wish someone a Merry Christmas or Happy Christmas then all of a sudden you're discriminating and offending people. HONESTLY?!? Take a step back and realize just how lost and corrupt our society has become so that someone can't even give people a pleasant festive greeting anymore. So whatever people wish me this year, I'll smile, say thank you and wish them a Happy Christmas. Because I don't answer to cranky atheists who want to control the beliefs and morality (or lack thereof) of the world. I answer to Heavenly Father, and it's the birth of His son that I am thankful for this time of the year, and always.

*Takes a step off of the soapbox*

Weight Loss and Halloween Time

John and I did our official 4 week weigh ins on Saturday. He has lost 16 lbs since Oct 1st and has dropped 2 pants sizes. I have lost 9.2 lbs and have dropped 1 pants size. I am pretty impressed that we managed to accomplish that in the same month as Thanksgiving, Caleb's surgery and company staying with us for a weekend. My goal for November is to lose 5.1 lbs, so that I will be under 180. As of Saturday, I only have 10 lbs to go to reach my pre-pregnancy weight from when I got pregnant with Brettley. I am hoping to reach this by the end of 2011, but by Brett's first birthday at the absolute latest.

Weight has been a huge struggle for me the past few years. After having Ty I got back to a healthy weight and looked quite decent for someone who'd been pregnant 3 times. Then we found out I had bipolar when it got super out of control and I got put on meds for it. In the first month alone I gained 25 lbs. I just kind of gave up after that. I tried to go back to calorie counting a few times but just couldn't stick with it, my heart wasn't all there.

Why is this time different? Probably for several reasons. The first being that it's a project for my Personal Progress, which I really want to do. The second reason would be that I am accountable to someone for how I do each day and I don't want to have to tell her that I gave up or wimped out or something (thanks for being there for me). The third is that I just got downright sick of not being able to wear clothes that I actually like because I was too big to fit in any of them. There are more reasons...Health, being a good example for my kids and more. It was all too much and finally it stuck. If I mess up a day here or there I just get back on track the next day.

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On Saturday we went to our ward's Trunk or Treat. It was Caleb's first outing since the surgery. First they had games which resulted in Ty eating at least 3 rice krispie treats and John and I making fools of ourselves racing each other to eat 2 gummie worms and a bowl of whipped cream each faster than the other. I lost and I'm okay with that. Then we went outside and people gave out candy from the trunks of their vehicles. It was VERY cold. Caleb was The Human Torch (Fantastic Four), Ty was Thomas the Tank Engine and Brettley was Yoda. I did take pictures, I just haven't uploaded them yet. Ty will have to be Larry the Cucumber tonight because he got strawberries all over his costume on Saturday afternoon.

That night John and I went to the Olive Garden on a date. It was wonderful, I love their food. After that we picked up Brettley's Christmas present from Grandpa M a couple of months early. He got a bright red Bumbo chair. He loves it and I love having it. It's so useful. He 'sat' during Sacrament Meeting in it yesterday, which freed up both of us to deal with the other 2 boys.