Pretty Hair and Church Playground - February 5, 2012

Sunday - February 5, 2012

On Sunday I tried the weave hairstyle on Alissa. She loved the way it looked and she loved all the attention she got because of it. I styled her hair with the weave again today and on Monday I put a bunch of different size little braids into two bigger braids. She usually just wants to wear her hair down. Tonight she asked me if I would do another cute hairstyle tomorrow. She said that she loves all of the attention she gets when I style her hair.

After church was over, the kids begged me to let them play on the playground. There is a playground at the church and they have not had a chance to play on it yet. So, I gave in. I sat in the car and took pictures while they played for a while.

I told Parker to let me take his picture and he started making funny faces. That's why the weird expression in this picture.

I took some pictures when the kids climbed into the car after they finished playing. I like taking pictures with the tablet.

Hanging Out With The Waite's - February 4, 2012

Saturday - February 4, 2012 - We went ice skating with the Waite family (Roger and Tyson Waite were mission companions). We had a lot of fun. Not so much fun ice skating, but hanging out with the Waites and going to eat pizza afterward. We went to the Ogden ice skating rink. Roger loves skating there. The rental skates were horrible. I had a hard time skating in them, but it didn't matter because Brinley was too afraid to skate without the little walker looking things that help her to not fall. They didn't have any at the Ogden rink. So I spent all of my time with Brinley. We went around 2 times, then we took off our skates and watched everybody skate. Parker also quit skating when Brinley and I did. I think Brinley and Parker had the most fun playing around on the seats while we were watching everybody skate. We had a lot of fun visiting while we ate pizza. It had been three years since we had last seen them, so it was really good to get reacquainted.

Sleeping in the Kitchen - February 3, 2012

Friday - February 3, 2012
We are sleeping in the kitchen tonight!  On the weekends the kids like to sleep in the living room so they can watch TV while they go to sleep.  The living room is small and can only fit two mattresses, so one of the kids has to sleep on the couch.  They don't love that.  The kids wanted to watch 'Wipeout' while they went to sleep tonight.  The only way they could watch 'Wipeout' is if we watch it on our computer.  Since the computer is in the kitchen, we decided to sleep in the kitchen tonight.  The kitchen fits all three of their mattresses!

Here's Brinster.  She is holding her feet up by her face.

 Here's our little 'lissa.

 And our handsome shmandsome Parker.

 And here they all are.  Goofy children having a sleepover in the kitchen.

So I went to the orientation at Steven Henager College.  I expected to hear that their was some kind of a catch.  I didn't really believe that they would be offering classes for free.  But I was wrong!  They really are offering some courses for free!  I had to take a short test, to qualify to be in the class.  I passed the test and my classes start on March 12th.  So, I will be taking the CNA course for free.  They pay for any books or supplies that I will need and they even pay for my certificate from the state at the end.  You don't get to keep the books, you are basically just borrowing them while you take the class.  They said they are offering these free courses as a way to get their name out there.  They want us to tell our friends and family about how great our experience was and what a great school they are.  You are only allowed to take one free course from them.  I'm really excited that I get to take the CNA class for free!  I'm glad I learned about Stevens Henager College before I signed up and paid for the course at Bridgerland.

Parent Teacher Conference - February 2, 2012

Thursday - February 2, 2012
I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.  My friend, Heather, who was having a hard time, called at 3:50am.  She was having a panic attack and didn't know who she could call or what to do.  She came over and we talked for a while.  I don't know if I did any good, but I know it always helps me to have somebody there and someone to talk to.  So, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night.  I spent most of the day trying to get some sleep, but it didn't happen.  I had to get somethings done before I could go back to bed.  Every time, that I had a chance to sleep, something would happen to keep me from sleeping.  Being tired and not being able to sleep gave me a headache.  So, I had a headache when we went to parent teacher conferences.

I was not looking forward to Parent Teacher Conferences.  We did not have very many good experiences at North Park Elementary school.  I always left parent teacher conferences feeling like such a bad parent.  It was so bad that last year, I couldn't bring myself to go to parent teacher conferences at all.  I felt guilty everyday for sending my kids to a place that I refused to go myself.  I don't like confrontation and ugly uncomfortable situations and I avoid them at all cost.  If I went to their school, I would have run in to one or more of the teachers or principal that seemed to enjoy those kind of uncomfortable situations.

The Garland school that the kids are going to now, is completely different.  Parent teacher conference was such a different experience.  I left the school feeling happy and so proud of my smart children.  It is so nice to have a positive experience at the kids' school!  I'm so glad to know that the kids' school experience can be a positive fun experience.  I had been wondering how in the world we were going to survive this whole school experience.  It's really hard as a parent to send your kids out in to the world.  It's even harder when the place you are sending them to is such a miserable place that you can't even stand to go there yourself.  I had started questioning if I was the one making this whole school experience much harder than it had to be.  I had been feeling pretty guilty and frustrated about it.  I didn't know what I could do to make it better and to make it so I felt more comfortable at the school and would be able to help out and be more involved.

Anyway...  I'm just glad to know that it was the school and not me.  Things are so wonderful at this school.  The teachers that I've met and the principal are so wonderful.  Yay!  I can be a good mom and get more involved at the kids' school!  It feels so good to know that this is not a problem anymore.

After parent teacher conferences, Roger had to hurry to work.  He ended up being late.  The kids ran outside to play and I was finally able to take a nap.  I'm looking forward to finding out if the Steven Henager college thing is true.  I really hope that I will be able to take the CNA course for free.

Busy Day - February 1, 2012

Wednesday - February 1, 2012
The kids had their friends over today and they all did a wonderful job of destroying the house.  They usaully spend all of their time outside, but there is so much mud out there that they had to stay in.  They went out for a little bit, but there weren't very many places that they could play without getting in the mud.  This house is pretty small so it takes no time at all to make it a mess.

I guess it wasn't really that busy of a day.  It just feels like it because the end of the day was so hectic.  When you live in the middle of nowhere and your kids invite a friend over, the friend ends up staying at your house much longer than they would if they lived close by, because it is such a long drive to get here, so they have to stay for a long time to make it worth all the driving, I guess.  So, It was about 7:30pm before all the friends had gone home.  Then we had to team work and get the house clean so we could go to bed.

Roger got of off work early this morning.  Instead of getting home around 6:15am  he came home around 1:30 or 2:00am.  That was nice.  Since he came home and went to bed earlier, he was able to wake up earlier.  He woke up at 11:00am.  It was a nice surprise to be able to spend some time with him today.  We usually only get to enjoy eachother's company for 2-3 hours on the days he works.  He usually sleeps until 2:00 or 3:00pm, then leaves to work at 5:00pm.

Alissa had a good day.  One of her friends from her old school, switched schools and is now going to the Garland school also.  Alissa said she was sitting in class and the teacher announced that there was a new student.  She was excited that she wasn't going to be the new kid in class anymore.  Then her friend, chanelle, walked in and Alissa was so excited that she jumped out of her seat and said, "chanelle!"  Then Alissa was felt a little embarrassed and her face went bright red.  The boy sitting next to her said, "Why is your face so red?"  Alissa said, "I don't know, I guess it just does that when I'm excited."  Atleast, that's what Alissa told me they said.  She was so excited and talkative after school today.  It was funny!

Parker was excited that he got to go to computers today.  He said that he got to sit by Gunner, but then the teacher made Gunner move to a different seat.  I asked Parker why and he said, "I just can't stop myself from talking to him."  I thought it was cute.

I had a hard time understanding Brinley when she told me about her day.  She was in such a goofy mood and she was being so funny when she was talking to me, but it made it really hard to understand what she was saying.  She was happy, though, so I know she had a good day.

Today while I folded the laundry, I turned on the TV and there was a comercial for Steven's Henager College and it said that they are offering some of their classes for free.  I've been saving up so I can take a CNA class, but I don't have the money yet.  The CNA class is one of the classes that they were offering for free.  I called to find out if they were offering it at their Logan campus, and they are!  I have a hard time believing that it is really free.  I'm going in for an orientation on Friday.  So, I guess, that's when I'll find out if this is some kind of gimmic or if it is the real deal.  I hope it is.  I'd really like to get my CNA and start working again.  It's been a long time!  Now that all the kids are in school, I have time that I can go to work.  I plan on starting college again in the Fall.  I will be going to Utah State University.  I'm excited!  My plan is to go in to Nursing.

Hand Stand Mats and Their Crazy Bus Driver - January 31, 2012

Tuesday - January 31, 2012
Parker and Brinley were laying out these blankets and putting pillows under them.  I asked them what they were doing and they said they were making hand stand mats.

 After their hand stands, I asked them to pose for the camera.  This is what we got.

  Cute little Alissa was just chillin' at the computer.  She has learned how to play World of War Craft and she can't get enough of it.  I think Roger really enjoys having someone to talk about the game with.  Alissa even likes to sit and watch her dad play the game.  I think that's crazy!

I had a relaxing day today.  I got up, got the kids off to school, read my scriptures, ate some breakfast, started the laundry, washed the dishes, then I had time to sit on my bottom and watch TV.  Usually when I finish my morning routine, Brinley is just getting home from school.  But, today, Brinley rode the bus to a friends house.  So I had the house all to myself!  It was different, but I enjoyed it.  I watched trash TV.  It has been a long time since I've done that, because there are usually kids here with me.  but with no one here, I decided to watch a talk show.  The show that just happened to be on was 'Jerry springer'.  I used to always watch that show.  I thought it was so funny!  The sad thing is, I still think it is funny!  I had a lot of fun watching, "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!"

Alissa and Parker missed the bus today, so I got to go and pick them up.  It takes about 20 minutes to  get to their school, so they had to sit and wait in the office for a while.  I told them that on Wednesday I would pick them up from school.  So Parker was confused.  He thought I was picking them up today.  Alissa got on the bus, but quickly got back off when she realized that Parker wasn't there.

The kids said that on their way to school this morning, the bus driver told them that they needed to sit up straight and keep their hands in front of them, that way if she ever had to stop really quickly, they could stop themselves from banging their heads on the seat in front of them.  she warned them that at some point on the ride to school, she was going to slow down and go 25 miles an hour, then slam on the breaks, so they would know how it feels and be ready if anything ever happened.  But she wasn't going to tell them when this was going to happen, that way they would be ready for the whole bus ride.  The kids said that when she did it, Parker wasn't ready and he slammed his head into the seat in front of him.  Alissa and Brinley both said that they slammed their heads into the back of their hands and it hurt a little.  Crazy stuff!  I'm not fond of having the kids ride the bus.  I really miss living right across the street from the school.  They have a 45 minute bus ride to and home from school.  The kids aren't allowed to do anything while they are on the bus.  Alissa got in trouble when she pulled out her Nintendo DS to play, so the next day I told her to take a book and read it on the way.  She said she got in trouble for that also.  I'm bummed that they have to just sit there,  I'm sure there is a reason behind the crazy rules, but it is frustrating!

A Tale of Three Stinkers! - January 30, 2012

Monday - January 30, 2012
Once upon on time there were three children who were stinkers! There was Alissa, the big sister stinker, Parker, the brother stinker, and Brinley, the little sister stinker.

Alissa had the chickenpox about a week ago. She had a big puppet project due on January 31st. Her mom encouraged her and told her that she should work on it while she is home with the chickenpox. She didn't listen to her mom. She wanted to relax and enjoy her time off of school. Her mother warned her not to procrastinate or she would end up being super busy the night before the project was due and she wouldn't have anytime to play with friends on that night. So the night before the project was due, Alissa came home from school and went straight to work on it. She worked and worked on it. Pretty soon, Alissa realized that the sun was going down and she wasn't going to finish in time to play with friends. She quit what she was doing and started to cry. Her daddy went into the room where Alissa was crying and throwing a fit. He talked to her for a long time about why doing homework is important. Alissa listened to her daddy. She calmed down and got back to work. She finished her project about 10 minutes before bedtime. She was so happy when she finished and she couldn't wait to play something for a little bit before she went to bed. What a cute little stinker!

Parker and Brinley wanted to take a bath together. Now that they are older, Mommy makes them wear their swimming suits if they want to take a bath at the same time. Mom agreed to let them take a bath, so they ran to their room to get their swimsuits and get ready for their bath. Mom wasn't feeling well, so she started the bath then went to lay down for a little bit. Parker climbed into the bath first so he was sitting by the faucet where the water comes into the tub. Brinley climbed in next and said, "Hey Parker! You're sitting in my spot! I always sit there." Parker did not want to give up his spot. The whole time the bath was filling up, Parker and Brinley were arguing. Brinley kept trying to pull Parker out of the spot so she could sit there and Parker kept refusing and telling her to stop. Mom was in her room and wasn't paying attention to the arguing that was going on. When Mom came into the bathroom to remind Parker to stop the water when the tub was full, she walked in just in time to hear Brinley let out a loud, terrified scream. Brinley grabbed a hold of her arm and cried. Mom asked what happened and Brinley yelled, "Parker bit me!" Brinley told how she was just reaching to get something that was on the other side of Parker and he bit her. Parker explained what had really been going on. He said that Brinley wouldn't leave him alone and kept grabbing at him, trying to get him to move, so he bit her. Mom told them that bath time was over and it was bed time. Mom gave Parker a talking too. Brinley, still crying, got out first, went to her room, got dressed and climbed into bed. She was laying in her bed whimpering when Parker got out of the tub. Parker was still pretty angry as he was getting out of the bath, but by the time he reached the bedroom, his temper had calmed down and he wasn't feeling so mad anymore. when he walked into the room and heard Brinley whimpering, he felt bad for what he had done. He apologized to Brinley then he broke down into tears. He cried, "I feel bad that Brinley is sad! I'm sorry Brinley!" Then Brinley burst into tears and said, "I feel bad that Parker is sad! I don't like it when he cries!" They both cried and hugged for a little bit before calming down and going to bed. They are really cute stinkers!

Wisdom Teeth - January 29, 2012

Sunday - January 29, 2012

I was very inspired at church today. The lessons in sacrament meeting and in relief society were about family history. They gave us a lot of ideas of how to get started and they reminded us that we should be writing in our journals regularly. There have been times where I am amazing and I write in my journal everyday, but right now and for the past 6 years, I have not been writing often a all. I will keep working on my goal to write in my journal every night.

Tonight we were watching America's Funniest Home Videos and a girl on there was all drugged up and was in recovery after having her wisdom teeth pulled. The kids were asking why she was like that and what are your wisdom teeth. Alissa said, "Will I have to get that done?" I told her maybe, but it won't happen until she is much older. I told her that maybe she won't ever have to, because I haven't had to, so maybe she'll be lucky like I was. That when I realized Brinley was crying. She came over to me and she was shaking really bad. She said that she was scared to have wisdom teeth. She never wants that to happen to her. I calmed her down by telling her she will be much older when she has to deal with anything like that. Also, now that she doesn't have a loose tooth, she is still scared. If someone says anything about loosing teeth, Brinley starts to cry. Crazy Girl!

Glow in The Dark Party With Cousins - January 28, 2012

Saturday - January 28, 2012

We went to Salt Lake to go to Dinner with Roger's siblings.  Cindi planned a dinner for us to get together and plan a special Anniversary party for Grandma Moser.  It's not until December, but it will cost some money, so she wanted everybody to have time to make all the arrangements and come up with the money.  We planned to have a limo take all of her sons to her house to pick her up and take her out to dinner.  After dinner, we would all go to a play.  It sounds like it will be lots of fun.

While we were at the dinner party, the kids were at Tyler and Melissa's house being babysat by their cousins, Missy and Becca.  Missy and Becca turned on music and the kids had a glow in the dark dance party.  They loved it!  I didn't have a good camera with me, so the pictures that I took with my phone didn't turn out very good.

Roger's Hockey Game - January 27, 2012

Friday - January 27, 2012

Roger played hockey. It was so fun to watch him play. He did a great job! It was also very entertaining. A lot of the players were pretty wobbly on their feet, which made it fun. There were lots of players falling. I was having fun watching it, when it clicked in my brain that I should record it! I got a video of Roger tripping over the goalie. The goalie dives down, then you see Roger flying over the top of him.  It made me laugh! Roger played really well, though. I was impressed. He was more stable and steady on his feet than the other players. Also, Roger scored the first goal of the game, just seconds after the game started! Here are the pictures that I took of the game and the kids watching it.

 Brinley has a candy in her mouth and she insisted that I take her picture.

Alissa's Paper House - January 19, 2012

Thursday - January 19, 2012

Alissa wanted to make some kind of a craft.  I pulled out some of the craft stuff and this is what she came up with.  She made a paper house.  I love it!  She is so creative!  I love how she put furniture in it.

 Here is my goofy little Parker  Brinley and him were more interested in playing with Parker's cars rather than making crafts.

Chicken Pox? - January 18, 2012

Wednesday - January 18, 2012

I think Alissa has the chickenpox again. It's crazy because she was vaccinated for it and she has already had them once before. So it doesn't seem like it would be possible, but it looks exactly like chickenpox and she says they are itchy. She doesn't have a ton of them, but they are sporadic over her body. So I don't think it's a rash. I just don't know.  That's just crazy if it is.

Trying on Roger's Hockey Gear - January 15, 2012

Sunday - January 15, 2012

Roger was looking at his new hockey gear and the kids wanted to try it on.  He let them, since it is new and hasn't had a chance to get all yucky and stinky from Roger using it.  Roger has been wanting to start playing hockey again.  It has been a really long time since he has played.  He is joining a league in Logan.

                                                  Brinley with her newly lost tooth.

 Alissa wanted to see how it felt to have her shins hit while wearing the pads.  Of course, he didn't hit her hard.  The kids had a lot of fun trying all of this stuff on.

Brinley Lost her first Tooth - January 14, 2012

Saturday - January 14, 2012

Brinley lost her first tooth! She was so scared! About a month or two before she got her first loose tooth, she had been talking to me about how she couldn't wait until she lost a tooth so the tooth fairy would bring her money. So when she got her first loose tooth, she was really excited. But as the tooth got looser and looser, Brinley became more and more nervous and scared. One day, I heard her in her room crying. When I went in to her to give her loves and find out what was wrong, she said that she was scared because of her tooth. She was afraid for it to fall out. She was scared that it would hurt really bad. I calmed her down the best I could and did my best to convince her that it wouldn't hurt. She was so nervous about it. She refused to eat anything, for fear that her tooth would come out while she was eating. She knew that Alissa's first tooth had fallen out while she was eating popcron. She made her self so sick with worry and lack of food, that she felt like she couldn't go to school (she also was afraid to lose her tooth at school. She didn't know how her teacher would respond and that made her nervous). Eventually, I convinced Brinley to eat something. She was very careful not to use her loose tooth to chew her food. She was relieved when she realized that she could still eat and she decided that it would be fine for her to go back to school. So Brinley had calmed down and was doing pretty good dealing with her loose tooth. But she was still nervous and she would get real shaky and scared when anybody talked about loosing a tooth. Roger knew that Brinley was scared about loosing her tooth, so I'm not sure what he was thinking when he did this. We were sitting in the living room relaxing and Brinley was playing with her barbie house, minding her own business and having a good time, when Roger starts talking about his friend who lost his tooth while eating and ended up swallowing it. When he finished his story, I looked over at Brinley and she was crying. Roger was so surprised by her reaction and he felt bad for scaring her. We gave her loves and calmed her down again. It was crazy how terrified she was about loosing her tooth. She ended up loosing her tooth when we were in Salt Lake staying at a friend's house. We were at my friend, Janae's house.  We were eating dinner and Brinley comes walking over to me. She had her hand over her mouth and she was shaking. she said, "I lost my tooth." I asked her where it was and she said she didn't know. She said she dropped it on the floor. She was eating and bit down on something hard, so she grabbed it out of her mouth, saw what it was and said, "Eww!", then dropped it on the floor and came to tell me. She was so relieved that it didn't hurt when she lost it, but it still scared her.

New Years Eve

Saturday - December 31, 2011

2011 has been a year full of change.  I'm not sure how I feel about it all.  I'm excited to see what the year 2012 has in store for us.

 All month long I had been planning for us to make gingerbread houses.  I had wanted us to do them before Christmas, but we just never got around to it.  I had bought the stuff for it, so I still really wanted to do it.  Since I knew Missy and Becca would be coming to ring in the new year with us, I thought it would be fun to do it today so they could make gingerbread houses with us.

 Here's my creation.  I didn't get to spend a lot of time working on my own, I'm always busy helping the kids get theirs ready.

 Brinley started out making a house, but it kept falling down, so she decided to just cover her box with graham crackers and candy, that way she would have lots of candy to eat.

Here's Missy's creation.  I love her tree in the yard.

Brinley's masterpiece. 

 Here's what Parker made.  His walk way to his door looks difficult to walk on but super yummy.

 And here's Becca's beautiful house.  I like her tree also.  Note to me: don't forget to add trees in your gingerbread house yard next year.

 This is the house that Alissa built.  I love the cute little designy swirl on the roof and her door. 

 After all our gingerbread house fun, we relaxed in the living room and watched a movie.  I set out all the treats, so we could just hang out and eat all night.  We had a lot of chips and dip.  It was yummy.

A few years ago, while visiting my parents, I found this weird little puzzle toy.  I asked my mom what it was and she said it was supposed to be a train or a truck or something.  My dad had bought it.  He took it apart, but wasn't having any luck at getting it back together.  Mom said he was frustrated with it, so I could take it.  We brought it home and I keep trying every now and again, to make it into a truck or a train, but I have yet to be successful at it....until tonight!  We finally figured it out!  I was afraid to take it apart, for fear that we would never get it together again, so I set it on the piano for everyone to admire and not ruin.

 We all are sleeping in the living room tonight.  Parker is already asleep (of course).

 Missy took the truck apart and was creative and made some other fun vehicles.

 One last picture of me in the year 2011.