Oh the barnyard is busy in a regular tizzy*

*Hey J-Dub, have you seen "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers?" If not, I nominate it for the next movie night!

Is the hill always this green? Or is this a result of last fall's fire?

Whew. Spring is here! I don't feel particularly miserable in the winter, but spring arrives each year like a breath of fresh air to my soul. Every year I ask my kids if it was this colorful last spring. (And every year they roll their eyes at me.)

Spring break, however, has brought a nasty little virus into our home. This is not a big deal; we never leave town for spring break, so no harm done. Except that I've been a little delirious the last 24 hours, and my typical wake of chaos has widened and intensified. (You know, things like forgetting to cancel piano lessons, promising to make phone calls and forgetting 2 seconds later . . . just the usual, but worse.)

I've been home alone enjoying peace and quiet this afternoon. Half an hour ago, I heard footsteps coming up my walk, and someone opened and shut the front door. There was zero response to my timid, "Hello? Hello?" I'll admit I was just a little freaked out, and wondering if I was willing to use my laptop as a weapon (I'm not), and then wondering how hard I could throw a bottle of Ibuprofen at a scary intruder (It's a Costco bottle. I could do some damage).

And then a cute curly blond head peeked around the corner, piano books in hand.

Oops.

Forgot to cancel that one, too. So embarrassing.

Also, BIG thanks to KB2, who came to the rescue when it hit me that I was supposed to be feeding two missionaries tonight. (Mrs. S is laughing at me right now. Why can I never get around to feeding those guys dinner?)

You know what we're REALLY excited about around here? New neighbors! We're counting the days until Yonf and company take up residence around the corner! My 11-year-old figured out yesterday that if she climbs our backyard tree, she can see the bedroom window-to-be of Yonf's 11-year-old. We feel so lucky!

My apologies to those who have already heard me go on and on about this, but I am in looooooove with my new financial software, YNAB (stands for "You Need a Budget"). I've been eyeballing it for a couple of years, after seeing it recommended highly by separate and unrelated sources. I finally bit the bullet last fall and bought it, and it paid for itself within the first month I used it. The biggest difference between YNAB and, say, Quicken, is that in YNAB, you have to decide where your money is going BEFORE you spend it, instead of assigning it to categories AFTER it's been spent. It did take a while to learn the software, but it's been worth every minute. (If you've ever listened to Dave Ramsey, it works on the same Zero-Based Budget idea - give every single dollar a job.) I've been tracking our progress towards our financial goals in a spreadsheet for years now, and the difference since we bought YNAB is indisputable.

Not that I'm excited about it or anything.

Anything you all are excited about?

Good mother.....bad mother.....you decide

So today, being a good mother, I took my 13 year old to get a haircut. She had asked for one yesterday and I was quick to deliver. Good mother.


Let me tell you a bit about my 13 year old. Or at least our newest struggle. She is the oldest child of parents that didn't really have the Internet in their lives until college. So we were never taught about inappropriate material until we were older. We are learning along with her the problems that can occur when a kid decides to look up something simple on the Internet and comes across something completely inappropriate. The newest rule in the house (about 5 months old) is no Internet at friends houses. The rule was adapted after we learned our 11 year old took some quizzes on facebook that I didn't think were appropriate. So that is our rule. Not too bad. Right? So that is me being a good mother.


Last weekend, the 13 year old was at a sleepover and got online while most of the other girls were sleeping. I found out and disciplined her. I explained that the rule was no Internet at friends houses. Again, I was being a good protective mother right?


Bad mother came out today when I realized how I missed the boat on this one big time! While driving to the hair appointment she asked me if I had ever been to a website (she gave me the address) about fundamentalist LDS. She said her and a friend (a member) went to this website at the library to learn more about it. I figured out then and there that she heard me when I said don't go online at friends houses, but she had no idea why I said not to do it! I was shocked she went online at the school library to learn about it when she should have asked us about it. She doesn't understand some of the dangers of going onto websites that could question her faith or she might come across images that once in her mind she could never erase. We had a nice chat about the exact dangers. It goes back to the infamous story quoted at our recent ward conference about the child told not to go to the corner but does go to the corner and after she is talked to by her mother, the child asks, "What's a corner?" We are just entering the teenage years, I just pray at the end I will be looked back on as the good mother.

I did what any good mother would do and what my sister-in-law swears cures all ills, I bought her a drink at sonic. And her hair looks great!

Get Ready New House

Dear New House,
Thank you for being around the corner from Mrs. B. We didn't plan it that way but you are the most perfect house and being around the corner from Mrs. B and her girls was just icing on the cake!

Windows-are you prepared to be touched everyday with messy hands? To have noses pressed up against you by little ones as they wait for siblings to return home from school?

Toilet seats-start getting strong now, there will be a lot of standing on you to reach things on the counters.

Floors-I hope you are ready for some scratches. Lots of wheeled toys will be played with on you.

Walls-are you ready to be the walls that house the girls when they go on their first dates? You will be the walls that welcome the kids home and send them off on their own some day.

Kitchen counters-I could never prepare you for what you are about to experience! The amount of food and meals on you could overwhelm anyone. But you also get to be apart of pine wood derbys, crafts, play dough, and my girls making brownies.

Stairs-I can picture now how many times my littlest boy will go up and down you just for fun!

Doors-I'm sure there will come a day when you are slammed by angry teenagers. And days you are closed from a tired mom who needs a break.

Soaking Bathtub-how I've dreamt of you! I can't wait to try you out for the first time! There is already a waiting list for all the kids who want to give you a try.

Backyard-I've got big plans for you! A 12th birthday party pie throwing party, Easter BBQ, trampoline jumping and playing on the play structure.

I'm sure, house, that you have no idea what you are in for! But I promise you it is all good! So don't miss your old owners too much, because if you love us even a fraction of what we feel for you, we will make a great team!

It is true my friends! We are moving! Nothing like having the kids switch schools and going to a new ward to make me face some fears!