Happiness Is...Volume 4, Part 1

Happiness is...
* Receiving valentines from Salem on my pillow
* Making valentines with Oaklen, and using the stamp
* Oaklen learning how to read and jumping in with two feet, he has no qualms to try to pronounce a word.
* Ezril's leg not being broken (after 3 days of not walking, it's a miracle!)
* Figuring out my family's responsibility chart
* Getting all the tile we need in the laundry room for $1.16!
* Getting an extra fridge/freezer for the basement
* Darrell working hard to clean out the basement
* Teaching preschoolers about how to make bread
* Ezril going to bed willingly around 6:00 pm
* All three of my boys wearing footed pajamas
* The Home Depot kids workshops
* Being able to visit different wards & primaries with my stake calling
* Ezril saying "Albert" (the name of our smiley face, for the responsibility chart.)
* 20 kisses for bedtime
* Darrell putting the canopy back up on our bed
* The check engine light turning off in our car
* Listening to Girl from Beck
* Oaklen secretly talking to Grandma on the phone for over 20 minutes!
* Salem getting his own library card
* Salem emailing me cute love notes
* Oaklen acting out the machines from Mighty Machines
* Oaklen galloping out of preschool
* Darrell liking my Curried Quinoa Pilaf
* Playing UNO with my boys & Darrell
* Having closet doors for the laundry closet
* Making gifts for friends that they appreciate
* The ability to play the piano
* Ezril saying "happy, happy, happy, ..." in the checkout line
* Listening to Darrell speak in church
* Getting our water storage in order
* Doing proxy sealing ordinances in the temple with Darrell on our anniversary
* Salem writing his own talk for primary and speaking well
* Ezril helping me make green smoothies every day
* Oaklen letting me floss his teeth
* Ezril saying good night to everything (good night wall, good night light, good night building blocks, etc.)
* Making others happy :)

Bake Sale - Oct 2 from 12:00 - 1:30

This week I've been making dough to make dough... :) (If you don't get it, then read this definition.)

Our friend Maggie Palmer has cerebral palsy and her family is trying to raise money to help her receive HBOT treatments.  We decided to host a Bake Sale at my house tomorrow, and all proceeds will go the family for her treatment. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by for some delicious homemade bread, cookies and more!

When: Saturday October 2
Time: 12:00 Noon - 1:30 PM
Place: Heather's House, if you don't know where I live then look it up on white pages. :)

To read more about Maggie Palmer and her project, go to her website:

http://maggiesmonth.wordpress.com

Amazon Mom

Attention Parents:
I don't usually announce deal alerts since they're blasted at many different sites, but I wanted to let you know about a great deal from Amazon for moms and other caregivers. Join Amazon Mom and you get free 2-day shipping for 3 months. (Which is a free trial of Amazon Prime.) On top of that, for each $25 you spend from the baby category (like diapers) you get another month extended of the free 2-day shipping, (up to a year extension). That means you'll get free shipping from Amazon through the holiday season!

I bought some diapers from Amazon, and also signed up for the "subscribe and save" option which means I got 30% off and they'll send me a new box of diapers every 2 months (you can choose the time intervals.)

If you have more questions, you can comment, email me, or you can look on pinchingyourpennies.com.

Here is the Amazon Mom sign up: (You can be a dad and sign up too)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/mom/signup/welcome

Here is the thread about Amazon Mom on PYP:
http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157665

Happiness Is...Volume 3, Part 2

Happiness is...
* Getting A's on my assignments
* Adding smiley faces on our family chart
* Getting together with old friends on a short notice
* Ezril's laugh when his brothers do something funny
* My boys' naive humor with a whoopie cushion :)
* Uncle Cabot taking Salem to school
* Getting the railing put back up on the porch (after two long years)
* The fact that it's starting to get dark earlier...easier bedtimes.
* Darrell telling me that the pasta I made was fantastic (first time in our 8 yrs of marriage)
* Getting a turtle sandbox for free
* My boys having a blast with the sprinklers and slip-n-slide this summer
* Salem making fossils with chalk & leaves
* Oaklen's imagination and sound effects
* Salem collecting rocks...just like I used to
* Ezril being old enough to go to nursery
* Being able to talk about my studies with my husband
* Darrell fixing our van and the guys at the shop being impressed with the good job
* Email communication (Have I said this enough?)
* Being able to pay bills online
* Feeling needed by family and friends
* Friends and family asking for advice because I've already "figured it out."
* Ezril understanding how to pray
* Ezril knowing to get the Book of Mormon when it's family scripture time
* Salem getting upset one day because his brother (Oaklen) couldn't play with him. He said "But mom, he's my best friend."
* Oaklen being excited to do laundry and fold napkins
* My boys playing "TV" with a big box
* "Firecracker tomatoes" exploding in your mouth
* Going to the Aerospace Museum at Hill Air Force Base, it's free!
* Being able to clean the Salt Lake Temple one night. I vacuumed all the spiral stairs up to the top of the 8th floor and under the 4 spires.
* The boys taking Costco field trips with Grandma & Grandpa
* Oaklen singing Take Me Out To the Ball Game "Buy me some crackers and cracker jacks..."
* Salem building his Lego pyramid during the first part of the summer then saving it all summer for an activity to do for his birthday party.
* Spending the summer outdoors with my family

Same Difference and Third Time's a Charm

I wanted to quickly update and let you know our new church callings...

Same Difference - On July 4th, Darrell was released as 1st counselor in the bishopric and then called as the 1st counselor in the new bishopric.  He is now the veteran bishopric member and is still enjoying it.

Third Time's a Charm - I told you a few months ago that I was released as Primary President then immediately called to be the Music Director. A few weeks ago I was released and called to be the Relief Society Secretary.  That calling only lasted a few weeks since yesterday I was called and sustained as the Stake Primary 1st Counselor.  So, I guess third time's a charm. :) I expect to be in this calling for a while.

It's an interesting story, the lady that they called to be the president doesn't know many people in the stake. To help, the stake presidency provided her with a list of names to choose as counselors.  She went through the names and prayerfully chose her counselors. After I was sustained in sacrament meeting, we went to be set apart and I met the newly called president. She seems like a nice lady and I'm excited to work with her.  She truly was inspired. :)  PS - If anyone has any advice for primary on a stake level, let me know!

Salem's Seventh

Happy Birthday Salem! We love you so much!

Nerdy couple alert...

This summer has gone super fast and it's hard to realize that Salem will be back in school next week.  We've done many things that I should have blogged about but this picture will explain the typical night for me:

School! Every time I get on the computer it's to do homework with an occasional bill paying and trying to keep up with my email, rss reader and possibly 5 minutes of facebook (since that's the only way I get updates about certain things.) Anyway, Darrell and I are successful at school, getting A's and have even made the President's List. (Well La-de-da, who cares.) We are scheduled to be finished next May or June, so next summer we can breath a little more. Ta ta for now!

Oaklen's 4th Birthday Review

Here is a follow-up to Oaklen's birthday. It was a great day!

It was also Memorial Day so Darrell had the day off for fun filled adventures of playing with trains, nerf guns, and the water slip-n-slide. The weather was a little cold for outdoor wet activities but Oaklen convinced me to let him try it out since he go the slip-n-slide for his birthday. The ultimate was the Geotrax train that he played with for hours. I gave him a "Wendy" doll to go with his "Bob the Builder."


The evening was our annual Memorial Day BBQ with the extended family but first we had Oaklen's birthday party. His cake was actually "Cake Bites" that he helped me make then I spelled out his initials. (Equal parts cake and frosting rolled into balls, frozen, then dipped in chocolate...yum!)

Thank you all for coming and enjoying his day!

Enjoy the pics...

For Oaklen's Four

Happy Birthday Oaklen! His 3 year old days are over now he's 4 years old!

He likes garbage trucks, orange, construction trucks, trains, team geotrax, mickey & the trailer, Hi-Ho song, Jungle Book, Reading books, adding numbers, riding his tricycle, watching Dad mow the lawn, cooking, baking, eating, singing,

Here are some of the many faces of Oaklen, quite the character. You'll notice that in half of these pictures he's wearing orange, and even the same orange sweatshirt and pants. He wears them all the time, I really do wash them, I promise.

Here are some videos of Oaklen. I had a hard time deciding which ones to post, he's such a hilarious kid and a fun age.

This one is of him playing with moon sand. He is singing as he's doing it. Sorry for the runny/stuffy nose...


This one is the second version of the moon sand. He is known for saying "ah, absolutely right!" and he does it at the end of this video:


This clip is one of his performances on our front porch. He is singing Bob the Builder. He did it once without the camera then I asked him to do it again, the first time was better but this is still cute.

Lessons learned from a coconut

I went to the store the other day and Oaklen convinced me to buy a coconut. I have never had one and thought it would be fun to try something new, especially since Oaklen had an interest in it and could be a learning experience. Well, I didn't realize that it would be a learning experience for all of us...

We decided to open and eat it tonight. We looked on youtube to learn how to open it and felt confident that it was easy as pie (er, coconut pie.) I struggled, to get it open. It cracked fairly easily but pulling it apart was the challenge. Oaklen said a prayer that we could get it open and the boys had quite the laugh watching me grunt with all my strength to pry it open.

Finally we called in the big guns (Darrell) and he opened it with his golden touch. To our dismay the opened coconut was moldy! Salem took a drink of the water/juice and Darrell tried a bite of the non-moldy part. It was gross and fermented! We threw the whole thing in the garbage. Did we waste $1.49? I'm not sure, it may have been worth the lessons learned:

* No impulse buying - don't give in to your kid's requests at the store, stick to the list.
* Do your research before you buy - I didn't know how to pick the right one.
* Prayers are answered - we finally got the darn thing open, though we should have "blessed" it and maybe it wouldn't have been moldy. :)
*Strength and perseverance will get you through - My strength was challenged and Darrell's strength got it open.
* You can find fun family moments at unexpected times - Although the outcome was disappointing, the act of learning how to open and opening the coconut was a fun family experience.
* Youtube is informational - It's amazing how much you can learn from how-to clips.
* Have more than one learning resource - Although the youtube clip that we watched was informational, it would have been  better for us to look at a couple different clips and generate their ideas too.
* Looks are deceiving - That coconut looked good but was rotten!
* How-to videos look easy but may not be - Usually how-to videos teach someone how to do something under the best circumstances. That coconut was probably hard to open since it was too old. Sometimes the expert doesn't realize to mention a few points because he's so used to doing it.

Now, there must be an object lesson in this somewhere that I can use for school or church. Any ideas?

Happiness Is...Volume 3, Part 1

Happiness is...
- Salem's Leviti-kiss (Leviticus)
- Ezril's smiles
- Darrell never complaining
- Oaklen putting his hand on his hip
- Oaklen saying "Team Geotrax!" and raising his fist in the air
- Ezril leaning his head into my lips to get a kiss, and again, and again...
- Being able to use my computer in every room in the house
- My boys playing well together
- Flying kites with Uncle Cabot & Aunt Jen
- Watching Salem learn how to ride a bike
- Watching Darrell teach Salem how to ride a bike, he's so patient!
- Oaklen snuggling with me "like red-band bananas"
- Ezril babbling thinking you can understand him.
- Viewing the bum scoot marks in the sand after Ezril scooted around
- My pink clematis vine in full bloom
- Getting my garden in
- Blueberry waffles for dinner
- Darrell knowing how to fix things in our house
- Having a camera that I use to take pictures plus video
- Having an MP3 player that I can use to record voice
- Getting 100% on some of my homework
- Getting help with the kiddies so I am able to study
- Smith's double coupon day
- Having beautiful white flowers (Star of Bethlehem) randomly come up in my yard. They're unwanted "weeds" to some people but I like them. Here's a picture I took:

Who moved my cheese?

Here is the story that goes along with the last blog... I tried to have you guess the story behind the image but most of you were trying to interpret what the drawing was on the window. Good guesses! :)

Last Friday we, as a family, spent many hours outside enjoying the warmer weather. Oaklen liked being outside but kept going in for various reasons and I'd have to go inside and tell him to come back out. Finally it was getting late enough that when he went in the last time, I didn't go get him. He was inside for a matter of 10-15 minutes. (Hmm...now if I was Oaklen, what would I do with 10 minutes to myself?)

I came inside and after a while we went upstairs for our bedtime routine. I walked into the upstairs TV room and there staring at me was this drawing on the window:

Me: (looking at Oaklen) "Did you do that?"
Oaklen: (after looking sheepish and trying to deny it) "Yes."
Me: (stepping closer for a better look, and noticing that it had yellow residue) "Is this chapstick?" (We had just opened a new chapstick container that made your lips yellow.)
Oaklen: "No"
Then it dawned on me...this is Oaklen we're talking about...
Me: "Oaklen, is this cheese?"
Oaklen: (giggling) "Yes"
Me: Ei yei yei! :)

So then I asked him if he ate the whole entire cheese brick and he said yes. Later I asked him again to make sure.
Me: "Oaklen, are you sure you ate the whole thing, or did you hide it somewhere? It either needs to be in your belly or in the fridge because if it's hiding somewhere it's going to get moldy and gross and bugs could come."
Oaklen: "Oh, uh, there's some in the closet."

So, we ventured to the closet by Ezril's room. Oaklen poked around to find it but couldn't. Then I dug around to find a small piece of cheese leftover, unwrapped. He probably ate about 7 oz of sharp cheese!

I'm glad I found the missing cheese, and now I know that cheese is a good window crayon. :)

I love ya Oaklen, even if you're cheesy.

PS - I've never read "Who moved my cheese?" but maybe I should. I just reserved it at the library.

Guess what this could be

I'll give you ten guesses to figure out what this picture is about:

Leave a comment and give me your guesses. I'll post another blog with the answer once I get enough responses. Enjoy! :)

Tribute to Ezril aka Scooter

Scooter - Ezril is a unique kid. He scoots instead of crawls. He's on his own time schedule. Both Salem & Oaklen were walking by 10 months and Ezril is now 14 months and is completely content to just scoot around. I think it's a defense tactic so that his older brothers won't knock him down. :) I've never noticed kids who scoot but now that I have a "scooter", I've had many parents come up to me and say that their kid did that same thing.

Ezril loves to play with anything that has to do with real life such as:
Spoons and other utensils - You'll often find him with a big stirring spoon or spatula scooting around the floor. I now have a spatula in my "church bag" for him so he can play with that while we're at church. It's actually nice since it's a quiet toy.

Milk Jugs - The other day I put an empty milk jug in the recycle can, but he took it out and played with it for a whole day. Each time I tried to put it back in the recycle can, he'd start screaming and then go scoot to get it out again. When I brought home a full milk jug from the store, he wanted to play with it but soon learned that it was a little too heavy for him lug around.

Vacuum - Every Monday he helps me vacuum. He follows me everywhere. He stiffens up his arms and legs when he gets excited and that happens a lot when the vacuum is around. Last week I ran upstairs for a moment to go get something, leaving him downstairs with the vacuum turned off. He used that alone time to climb on top of the vacuum and when I came back downstairs he was happy as can be using it as a ride-on toy.

Here is a video of scooting with the vacuum:


Here is another video of him excited to see the vacuum:


Broom - Ezril loves brooms too. We've been working on our laundry/mud room and have had to use the broom in there more often than the kitchen. He screamed when I took the broom out of the kitchen. I found a small broom for him at the store and bought it. He wouldn't even let go of it for me to put him the car after we bought it and had to hold it all the way home.

Mop - Mopping is fun with Ezril. I usually try to have him stay in his pajamas (terrycloth jammies work best) when we mop since he scoots around next to me and buffs the floor. I have to hide it on the days that I don't mop so that he won't take it out and get it dirty.
Here is a video of him moping:


Dishwasher - Whenever he's unhappy and I need to be in the kitchen to make food or clean up, I just open the dishwasher. (I make sure there are no sharp objects or knives in there.) He'll cruise along the open door and play for quite a while.

Breakfast math

This morning Salem was sitting at the table eating his breakfast and he said, "Mom, when you add two odd numbers together you get an even number."

I thought about it for a minute and realized that he was right! How cool! Then we  discussed further and figured out that when you add the same number together that it's always even too. (7+7, or 8+8, etc.)

Anyway, I just thought I should share that little tidbit of information about what we talked about during breakfast. :)

Here's more info that I googled if you want more fun math facts.

There is sunshine in my soul today

Today marks a new chapter in my life. It's amazing how the Lord works and his timing is impeccable. I was released today from my calling as Primary President. I didn't know that it was coming until this morning, 15 minutes before church started, but I feel that it's the right thing. My new calling is Ward Music Director. I'll be the one to choose the songs in sacrament meeting and arrange any possible musical numbers. This seems very doable! :)

A lady in my ward is a breast cancer survivor and she has a great attitude. As she was enduring this trial a year or two ago, she said "Well, either way I win." Today she walked into the church building, coming out of the cloudy & rainy day, carrying a yellow umbrella and wearing a smile. She always carries a little bit of sunshine around. Even though the day was dreary, she had the sunshine.

Today I left singing "There is sunshine in my soul today." I'm not sure if this is rejoicing from being released from the calling, viewing my friend's yellow umbrella & smile, or a testament that my new calling is meant to be. There will be a song in my heart for quite a while.

The next chapter begins...

Ezril's baby book

I created this baby book for Ezril through picaboo.com. It turned out well, take a look!

PS - I also made baby books for Salem and Oaklen a few years ago, more info here.

Look who's thirty

Today starts a new decade for me, I'm 30!

My 88-yr old friend gave me a birthday card that I'd like to share. It's interesting when you put it this way...

Thirty. When you think about it it's only three decades.
Three decades,
Seven Presidents,
Eight Olympic games
28 Volcanic eruptions,
87 Space missions,
203 Overthrown governments,
1712 Oscar nominations,
420,000 New miles of highway,
51 Million acres of cleared rainforest...
Anyway, Happy 30th!

Geez, I feel old! But I'm okay because I've had a lot of accomplishments along the way and hope to have many more.


"And many more..." (For those of you who get that joke.)

Morning thoughts

This morning Oaklen came into our room and the first thing uttered out of his mouth was "Mom, I dreamed about pasta last night." Then Salem came into the room and the first thing out of his mouth was "Mom, I'm planting the seed of education today."

You can get a glimpse of their personalities just by those sentences. :)


My morning thought: "Today is the last day in my 20's, what am I going to do?"

It's not September but...

"September days are crisp and cool, isn't it nice to be back in school?" (I said this phrase for a school program in 1st grade.)

Wait a second...it's not September, it's April; but I'm back in school! Today is the first day of school for me and Darrell! We are endeavoring to get our MBA's. We are extremely blessed to have this schooling paid for by Darrell's employer. (Our prayer from a couple of years ago has been answered, and then some.)

It's an online program so I won't have to leave to go to class but I'm going to be quite busy with homework. This is one of the reasons that Darrell gave me the laptop early.  I have been waiting to post a blog about school for a while but didn't want to count my chickens before they were hatched. Now, it's really true that I'm going to school and it's really exciting! :)

Student discount here we come!