Oak Glen Bites the Dust...

Okay for the second year in a row we have taken the trek out to Oak Glen with the Child's for Apple picking and for the SECOND time in a row we have missed the "picking season"! Last year we had a lovely picnic but hung out so long that the orchard's closed. This year we decided to forgo the picnic and head right to the orchard. However, the traffic out there was so bad that we didn't get to the orchard until closing time. But in the end that didn't end up mattering because this year the picking season ended earlier due to a small crop!

Ugh! So with the kids going crazy from being in the car for two hours we headed to the little village that we went to last year to walk around the shops and get some dinner. To our horror all the shops closed down promptly at five! And you guessed it....we got there at five! We let the children run around for a little bit chasing pea cots, each other and discovering a dying rat (probably from poison).

We hoped to have a great dinner so that the trip would not be a total bust. The little diner that was in the village seemed promising. I love old diner's. They have the best comfort food. Boy did we strike out on this one! My food and Aaron's food was good but poor Bryan and Cheri got jipped big time! Cheri couldn't' even eat her meal, (it was that bad) so she quickly threw some in the trash so that the waitress wouldn't feel bad. Bryan grinned and bared it as he ate almost every last bite (there you go Bry, you made it into the blog! Now no more crying !J/K)

After dinner , Cheri needed heartburn meds and I needed a Valium from chasing the girls around. They never stop!!! Honestly I should be a lot skinnier than I am!

So will the Child's and Hoke's try Oak Glen next year....well just have to see... maybe we can find someone with a local apple tree and then go out for apple pie at Polly's pies!!!

Kristen

Halloween is in full swing!

It's been a great day( even though I'm fighting ANOTHER "FLU" BUG). The other night Tyler decided that he didn't want to go as a transformer (we bought the costumes earlier in the year for dress up) and that he wanted to be "Mario". So with only a few day's left and absolutely little to none sewing skills I headed this morning to the fabric store. I bought enough blue fabric to make overalls, we have a red shirt and I'm not sure what to do about the hat...but I'll worry about tomorrow. I'm actually excited to see how this turns out. I'll keep everyone posted.

While at the fabric store I wandered over to the craft section and found some paper pumpkins that the girls could paint. Once I had the necessary tools we headed home. I set everything up outside and helped the girls paint the pumpkins a glittery orange. They loved it. The painting even extended to paper. In the end they were a mess but for twenty-whole minutes they were doing a project together and all was well.

Then it was time to put the paint away....All H*ll broke loose, but nothing that a little "sponge bob square pants couldn't' solve :)

Now on to baking treats for handout tonight. YUM! I love Autumn.
P.S The heat comes back tomorrow :(

Kristen

Church Book Store in Orange going out of business!!

I can't believe that Deseret Book's is going out of business! Yes the books are expensive and to tell you the truth lately I've been finding the same books on Amazon for cheaper....but...sometimes i love just going in the store and browsing! That's not going to happen now. The next closest store is twenty-mins away. There are some good deals right now though. Everything is 75% off.

I was desperate to get there so against my better judgement I took the girls with me. I was able to get six books and two DVD for only 13$! That's right, I said $13 dollars!!! I am planning on heading back tomorrow once the girls are in school.

The line to check out was forever long. In fact, after about a 1/2 the girls had "had" it. Lucky for me, I had a cousin who was in the process of checking out and she offered to pay for my stuff so I could get out of there! She was an answer to silent prayers for sure. I handed her a twenty and said " keep the change" as I dragged my goods and both screaming girls out to the car.

Deseret I will really miss you!

kristen

Party In the Mouth Day!!

What a day I had. My friend Cheri invited me to a book signing for the chef of "Every Day Italian". We arrived two hours early and enjoyed some apple cider, pumpkin muffins with pumpkin butter frosting, tomato soup( that was TOO DIE for) and a bunch of magazines! Included with our tickets was a book that was signed by the host herself. It was fun! Afterwards we went to lunch at Nordstrom's Cafe and ended our lunch with the most mouth watering cremebrulee! (how do you spell that?) Hence the "party in the mouth".

It was a wonderful day! Thanks Cheri.

Question: How do I stop whining!!!!!!

Kristen

Lift my Burdens...

I've had a very overwhelming week with the girls. I think we have officially hit the terrible two's!! I've been treading "emotional water" all week. Today I felt like I was about to go under. I've just felt like sitting down and crying. Marie broke some more Halloween decor (she's been doing that all month) McKenzie woke up in a terrible mood and started the morning off by having a crying fit! I tried to make it to Tyler's football game but was only there for ten minutes because I had no strength to deal with the girls. In fact, I told Aaron I was going home because i truly felt like I might just pass out .

My stomach hurts and I feel my soul feeling the full wait of mothering twins! I love them so much, but i don't know how I'm going to survive the next few years. I don't want to be a "mean' mom but I find myself having to raise my voice a lot more just to get their attention. Not to mention I can't even count how many times i count to "three" in a day or chase them from the car into the house, or drag them upstairs for a nap.....Ugh, there I go again, I complain too much!

I really wouldn't have it any other way. I wanted more children for so long....i know this is just a stage and I have to find a way to stay sane and in control.

I came home and immediately got on Neinies dialogues. ( I don't' think the name is spelled right) but she is the burn victim that lives in Utah. She had an inspirational post link to Mormon.org and i watched a video on the atonement. It brought tears to my eyes as i realized that though I don't have the burden of grieves sins right now, I do have the "burden" of mothering twins. I sobbed as the feeling of just wanting Christ to hold me in his arms and tell me that he would help me, and strengthen me to do the job that I know i must do.

Though I still feel overwhelmed at the moment....I know that as soon as I hit my knees and ask for strength it will be given to me.

Kristen

Bonnie Hunt Show & Picture Day!

Yesterday I missed posting because I was at ....wait for it... The BONNIE HUNT SHOW! Okay, I know a lot of you are thinking right about now "Who the heck is Bonnie Hunt?" Think cheaper by the Dozen mom...and lots of other movies I can't think of right now...oh wait..Jerry McGuire (totally spelling that wrong but I can't remember how to spell it) She 's the sister.

Anyways, I took two of my best friends who are my sister Michelle and my friend Cheri. It was a loooong taping and half the time we didn't even know who the guest were but it was fun! We got to sit front row! (ya know that's where they put all the cute girls!!) J/K. The show fed us the best hot dogs ever and Mug root beer! Plus, there was a cooking segment with the "pioneer woman". She has a blog that i just love now. So we got chocolate cake and also a FREE cookbook! In all it was an awesome 8+ hours (between driving there, show, dinner and back)

Dinner was another story. We saw a cute Italian restaurant and decided that we would try it even though one of the locals told us to go to another restaurant. Ugh! We should have listened to him. The service was terrible. We were seated ten mins before anyone came by. We never really knew who our waiter was because random people would take our order, fill our drinks etc. Plus the food was nothing special. Chili's would have been a better dinner! Needless to say My sister Michelle was not impressed. A server herself, she decided to leave a "nice" little note and a VERY, VERY small tip. Cheri ran out of the restaurant as fast as she could not wanting to have to angry man chase her down I guess. But we had a good laugh on the way back to the car. Girls we will have to do it again soon.

Picture Day:
I hate picture day. The kids NEVER look right! I try not to stress but with girls it's just so different than getting a boy ready. I had to comb and curl their hair just right, make sure their cute bows matched their dresses and so on. Once i finally had them all ready, we rushed out the door (running late like always) and as I started to get the car seats ready I turn around to find that BOTH , not just one, girls somehow fell into the MUD! I have no idea how they did this but their legs and hands were covered. I just had to start laughing. It was so ridiculous! I wiped them down with a wipe the best I could and took them to school. However, I did give the teacher a disclaimer that, "no my kids were not dirty because I didn't' bath them....they just happened to decided today was mud day!" We will see in a few weeks how the pics turned out!

Kristen

Temple Day= Full Spirit

Now that the girls are in school I have been trying to make it to the Temple at least once every other week. When I went two weeks ago, it was sooo busy that I had to wait for a half hour to do some work. Today however, I was in and out in a 1/2 hour.

It feels good to go somewhere where I can feel such calm and peace. Something that my daily life is lacking. I was able to sit for about fifteen minutes while I was there and read the scriptures in peace. Usually one of the girls find me during morning scripture reading and I barely get a chapter in for the day. I loved being able to really ponder on my thoughts. To really think about somethings that I wanted guidance on.

Oh how i love being part of this gospel!! No where else could I find answers to the questions i have, no where else good I gain such strength. It is so comforting to know that my Heavenly Father is truly watching out for me. And heaven knows that i need his watchful eye more than ever.

As I left the temple and drove home my spirit was full and I felt great. Uh....then I picked up the girls from school and immediately the calm "flew" away. I had to chase both girls down in the parking lot because they decided they didn't want to go in the car. I also had to wrestle each of them into the car seat. There was most defiantly some pinching involved! As the crying continued all the way home I wondered how things could change so abruptly!

LOVE, LOVE, my girls but....I think I'll LOVE them even more when their....about five???

Kristen

Are Family Secrets Really Secrets At All??

I have a wonderful family. It is a joke in our family that everybody knows what's going on with everyone else but it's all on the "down low". No one knows that the other one knows anything!! I've got so much good stuff floating around in my head that it's a wonder I can think straight!! I was thinking today, "is it good for a family to know each other business or is it the cause of "drama"?

I don't' know the answer... I know some families that don't discuss deep issues and though there isn't friction there also isn't a certain closeness I guess. As a parent you must decide what is okay to share and what is totally off limits. I think there is a good balance somewhere. I hope that by the time my children are older I've learned the trick to keeping things balanced. As a family we may be "all up in each other's biZness...but thats how we support each other....it's how we know what is happening good or bad in the lives of the other.

I love my family. Crazy and drama filled we are sometimes...but I wouldn't have it any other way!! (at least that's how i feel today:) )

Kristen

Love those Sunday lesson!!

It's been a while since I've had a Sunday school lesson that made a huge impression on me, but this past Sunday I had an "aaha moment". I didn't realize it had made such an impression until by the end of the day when Aaron said" Wow, you got a lot out of that lesson". I guess I had been talking about it the whole afternoon! I'm so thankful for those who take the time to give 100 percent to their callings.

I'm having another "Bla" day but it's because i am fighting off a cold. I hope I win this battle....wasn't I just sick??? Girls are doing well today but my patience is very thin because of feeling yucky. After an hour of trying to get them to take their afternoon nap I finally gave up and popped in a Movie. I'll try again after I pick up Coby.

I have a good friend that just got called into the nursery and after church yesterday she had this to say about my girls, " I'm getting to know your girls better....I never realized how full your hands are with them"! It made me feel good and "depressed" at the same time. Good because it was someone validating how hard the twins are, bad...well because it was just another reminder of....well...HOW HARD THE TWINS ARE!

We are headed to the pumpkin Patch for family home evening tonight! I can't wait!


Kristen

Thank heavens for 30 day money back guarantee

Remember when I said that I LOVED my body??? Well I do....but I've decided that I will REALLY love it if I'm ten pounds lighter :) . I know , I know, I've succumbed to the "world's view" of an attractive body! I can't help it! I don't want to be a size zero but I do want to get rid of that stinking stomach pooch!

Anyways, on my quest for a quick way to lose the pounds...I ordered nutrisystem. We've all seen the commericals! I've even checked it out on the Internet over five times, but in the end always decide against it because of the program being so costly.

Well, this time I gave in and ordered the food. As I waited for the package to arrive my excitement over the possible lost pounds grew. Then on afternoon the package landed on my doorstep. I hurriedly dragged it into the house and ripped open the box with a knife. There was a ton of food! I excitedly looked over everything but by the time i was done I had some concerns.
First of all the portions are extremely small! I know you have to add your own fruits and veggies to the side, so I wasn't too worried.

For that days lunch I picked out a pasta. It was only about a cup of food but i was determined to make it work. I boiled the water and poured it over the dry noodles and waiting for them to soften. Once the pasta was ready I took a big bite! All I can say is "YUCK"! It was so tasteless! sipping chicken broth would have tasted better! As disappointment rushed over me, I decided to try one of the snacks. The "cheese Puff's weren't that bad, but I knew there was no way I was going to make it on this diet with the tasteless food.

I feared that I had just wasted a good amount of money. So this morning I hopped on the Internet and was so relieved to find that Nurti-system has a money back guarantee!!! Yeah!! Needless to say the package is going back tomorrow and um....well I'm just going to have to exercises more and watch what I eat!!! :) If it only was really that simple!!

Kristen

Target is still the best!!!

With the colder weather I've realized that my children have out grown all of their warm clothing!! It wasn't in my budget this month to buy any new clothes but when I had to send my girls to school in shirts and pants that were too small because they only fit into summer clothes I decided a few items needed to be purchased.

I made my way to the new Kohl's that had just opened in my area. I've been to a Kohl's only one other time to buy some clothing for the kids and got some really good deals. As I browsed the aisle I found a lot of outfits that I liked. I didn't' pay too much attention to the pricing as everything was on" sale". However, once i checked out I got a big shock! My total was WAY more than I wanted to spend, but feeling foolish I grabbed my fulls bags and left. I should have said right then and there to the cashier " NO thanks!" But really who am I kidding...I would be sooo embarrassed to do that.

As I drove in the car to my other destination, which was target. I decided that majority of the clothes were going to have to go back. There was no way I was going to be able to justify spending that amount of money when it wasn't budgeted for. While I target i picked up my usual snack items and other necessities. Before i checked out I decided to see if I could find any of the same types of outfits I had bought the kids for less. Of course I DID! I got pretty much the same things for 1/2 of the cost for each of the outfits at Kohl's.

Needless to say, I know Kohl's still has great deals, but Target is just the best one stop , shop place. I can get my groceries, bedding, toys, makeup, clothing, just about anything I could want there!

Target thank you for saving me a LOAD of money this morning.

Kristen

P.S I drove to another Kohl's to return all the other items purchased earlier :)

Ford...Fix Or Repair Daily....

I never believed this statement until today! I have had my ford expedition for only 3 years and yesterday the transmission failed!! We need a whole new transmission! This is crazy for a car that only has 56,0000 miles on it! If this car wasn't paid off I'd say let's fix it and sell it...but not having a car payment is too good to give up. However, the next time I get a car...it will NOT be a ford! GMC I don't know why I ever left you???

The girls have been wonderful today. Since my car is out of commission we have just hung out at home. I was able to get some much needed cleaning in and they played nicely the whole time. Okay, there was a few spats here and there but as a whole it was a very calm morning! I needed a whine free morning!

Here's to hoping that our afternoon goes as well. :)

Kristen

Duggars make me want more.....

I am LOVING this cold weather!!! My heart soared when I overheard someone saying it was supposed to rain today!! Yeah! I hope so. Nothing puts me in a good mood like a cold fall day. :)

As I watched a morning program on the Duggars, who are having their 19th child, that small little thought of having more children crept into my mind. I gave a visiting teaching message today on the topic of children as well and how these spirits have waited so long to come at this important time in human history. The Duggars spoke about how each child is such a blessing and it just melted my heart. I love my children so much! If I could be a mother of a large family I would....but honestly I don't think I can! I"m struggling with my three (as my readers know). Maybe in three more years I'll be ready but then am I really going to want to start the process all over again????

Ugh!! Those "Dang" Duggars make me feel weak!! How is that mom not "crazy"??? Come to think of it...maybe she is??

Kristen
P.S. I want to give a shout out to all teachers! As I worked in my son's classroom today and listened to his teacher teach, I was so thankful for those of you who have chosen this "thankless" profession. Teachers are awesome!

Lost my mind...among other things....

Both Maire and McKenzie are in "great moods" today!! I knew it was going to be a rough day when McKenzie started crying within ten minutes of being up this morning. Thankfully, It was a school day so I glad'y got them ready for school and dropped them off as early as I could!

Mommytime was spent by picking up the house, forty minutes of exercise and then a much needed trip to Target. My mood was great when it was time to get the girls. However, within moments it came crashing down! Here's how the last hour went.

I picked up girls from school. They were all smiles and waving goodbye to the staff. On our way out of the front we passed the "library". McKenzie saw a book she wanted. She grabbed it and was insisting that we take it home. I "kindly' told her that the book had to stay. She preceded to plop herself down and the ground and not move. I can't do much with another kid in my arms so I took Maire to the car and went back for McKenzie. Once i took the book away the real crying began. As I try to hold a wiggly two year old who is almost 40 pound!! I realized my shirt was half way down exposing my bra and garments. However, there was not much I could do so I just waved to the staff that was now staring at my struggle and dragged my little "princess" to the car. Once in the car she was upset about the movie that was playing! Meanwhile little Maire sat quietly and smiled the whole way home :)

As we walked into our home things seemed to have calmed down. I put on a cartoon for them to watch for a few minutes before nap time. While removing both of their shoes McKenzie again lost it. She wanted only her shoes off NOT her socks as well.

By now I have had it! She is two years old!! She can't get specific like that. Until she can dress and undress herself she needs to "deal' with it.
As her crying only grew louder I gave three warning about how the crying had to stop. Finally I couldn't handle it anymore and ran up to her and squeezed her cheeks together and told her to STOP!

Feeling out of control myself i decided it was nap time! It has been ten minutes since I "threw" her in her crib and I can still hear her having a fit. But I don't care....I'm in the guest bedroom writing and taking DEEP breaths!! Mom must keep herself sane at all times! If i really lose it....well then we are all done for!!!

kristen

Some ideas are NOT that great!!

Frequently I suffer from migraines. Not fun at all. Acupuncture actually really helps it but I don't have a half hour to lay down at the dr. office. So usually I take some prescription Meds. Last night I took one pill and it didn't work...so after an hour I took half of another pill....still not working. So I took the other half. In all I ended up taking 2 Norco pills and my head was still pounding! I have a massage that i use for my neck that helped relax some of the muscles but by the time bed time came around my head was still throbbing. However, the meds kept making me have weird dreams and sweating like a pig! Needless to say I didn't fall asleep until 3 am this morning!

After i dragged myself out of bed at 6:30 am i half consciously got Tyler ready for school, told him he was buying lunch because there was no way I was going to fix a lunch! Got the girls their breakfast and then crashed in the downstairs bedroom until 10 am. Of course that is with the girls coming in every ten minutes to jump on me! I still have the migraine but it's not as bad. When I finally got up for the day I felt bad about the girls just watching t.V so after picking up the house I decided we should go for a walk. I had to drop something off at my friends house and she just lives a few streets up. I thought it was a perfect idea. Get the girls out, let them use some energy and get their wiggles out.

The walk did not go as planned. Maire ran a head of me, while McKenzie walked so slow I nearly had to drag her along. Then the girls felt the need to walk up to every house and try and knock on the door! It's very difficult to chase two, two year old around! By the time the walk was over, I wondered what at ever possessed me to take a walk without the stroller????

Now I'm just gearing up for my work out on the stair master....though I would really rather go to sleep!!!

Kristen

Moments of Clarity....

I was in a funk yesterday and had nothing to say!! I know...weird! Today I am trying to get in the swing of Halloween, though half of my stuff is upstairs in the attic and I have been asking my dear husband to get things down for three days now. I tried to do myself but "it's scary" up there in the dark with all the spiders and who knows what other creepy crawly things!

So like I mentioned earlier, yesterday found me in a bit of a funk. To tell you the truth i've been like that off and on for a few days now. It happens after a trip out of town. I'm always so excited to get home but then the mundane things of everyday life set in. Sometimes I find that I forget how blessed I am! I think that change is the answer and then I get that stuck in my head until it drives me crazy! Yesterday I ended up watching an episode of Oprah and she had a family dealing with a child who had severe mental illness. Those of you who saw the show, know exactly what I am talking about.

Anyhow by the time the hour was over I felt terrible for being a "brat" and thinking that I needed something else then other than what I have. Sure my life is never perfect but I am healthy, my kids are healthy, Aaron is healthy (beside a bad back) and my extended family is well. Really there isn't more I can ask for. I'm grateful for those little moments that throw me back into the reality of how blessed I truly am.

I'm thankful that I have a Heavenly Father who is willing to put up with my moments of ungratefulness and welcome me back with open arms every time!

Kristen

P.S anyone having a hard time with their kids Math?? I've found the Internet to be very helpful. Tyler and I are learning second grade math together!!!! :)

Utah, Conference, Home crazy home!!

It's great to be home but I am missing Utah and my siblings. We had a relaxing weekend full of laughter!! I think my new sister-in-law Ali must think we are all nuts!!! (nutz haha) Thank you for putting up with us!

We saw the movie Fame ( i was against it but got out numbered) Let me save you all some hard earned money and tell you to skip it all together! I don't know if I would even rent it. Fame was LAME!!

Sunday morning conference was awesome. Great food and great spiritual talks is the best. Thanks to my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Greg for letting me crash on the floor! They had a bed but somehow I always end up on the floor. (miss you "RockMan". :)

One cute story was that Saturday morning I decided to get my hair colored. My roots were so bad that my own brother thought I had colored the top of my head dark on purpose!!! So a trip to the salon was a must. I was there for two hours and not one other person came in. I was so surprised that it was that slow on a Saturday! I mentioned this to my hairdresser Ashly and she laughed . " It's because it's conference weekend! This only happens in Utah!"

Boy did I feel dumb! But hey, isn't that whats TiVo is for????

Girls were in a "ripe" mood this morning! I was ready to put them to bed by 8 am! It was a good thing they had school. Though when I went to pick them up Marie was in trouble for biting another kid! Great....lets hope this isn't the start to a trend with her.

Kristen

PS. totally off topic but the copy machine at my sons school is SOOOO complicated that it took me an half an hour just to make 20 copies of something. I swear I needed an owners manual!

How many HIghway Patrol men Does it take to change a tire??

Um... the to be exact is 6! I am on another road trip to beautiful but cold Utah! A road trip with just my always talking Mother! That woman can talk about anything! Really but it's good at least I don't get tired!!! The ride up here was not very eventful until we hit St. George and blew a tire! This is how it went:

ME driving and thinking to myself: Um...that was a loud pop, I wonder what that was?

My Mom: Did you hear that noise?

ME : Yeah, a rock must have hit us!

We keep on driving for a few minutes.

ME: Mom, is it windy outside because the car is moving weird?

Mom: I don't know but it's always windy in this area!

ME : I don't see any tree's moving....(car starts to move to the side of the road out of control)

Me: I THINK WE HAVE A FLAT! I scream as we pull over to the side of the road.

Within a few seconds of pulling over I get on the phone with triple A and then a highway Patrol man pulls up behind us and offers to change the tire. A few minutes after that more highway patrol come. In all we ended up having six highway officers standing around and watching the one officer change the tire. By the time the last officer pulled up he thought we were a drug bust because there was so many people on the side of the freeway!!!

Needless to say, we are so thankful to the Utah highway patrol!!! Pictures to follow!

Kristen

It's my body and I'll cry if I want too.....

Lately I have been thinking about those last ten pounds that i have been trying to lose since....well lets face it, ever since my first pregnancy. But let me tell you those twins did a number on my stomach!!! If you ever want to feel better about yourself, ask to see my sagging midriff! Anyways everyday i wake up wonder how i am going to lose the weight. I try and eat good, in fact I think I eat pretty well, but I do know I have a few snacks here and there.

about a week ago, I thought I would control my portions. Which actually works but then an hour after a meal I was hungry! Okay, so then I tried to not eat past 6 pm. This actually had me dropping some weight as well. However, going to bed starving is not my idea of living. I tried the no carbs thing and years ago that worked for me, but i ate so many eggs that it takes a lot for me to eat them now. (I think I over did it)

Exercise has always been key and I've ALWAYS exercised. But i do struggle going beyond forty mins. For a few weeks last year I was running for at least an hour every other day. I dropped five pounds and felt wonderful. however, I can't keep that up. I get soooo bored and just the though of having to exercise for an hour does mind tricks to me. So I've settled on forty- mins. I also do weights twice a week , but i think I'm going to up that to three. I need to make sure I have more muscle. Muscle burns fat right???

Anyways, Today I decided that enough was enough. I'm going to embrace those ten extra pounds! I'm so sick of worrying about them. So my stomach is a little Rollie....um my husband still can't get enough of me!!! (really I'm serious!) Plus, nothing can be done about the extra skin until I'm done having kids and have it removed. (Oh , you know I'm doing that!!)

So today I say " Body I love you! I love that you gave birth to 3 beautiful children, that you can show "love' to your husband, I love that you have carried me through this life with ease, I love that you are healthy and let me accomplish my dreams!!

Lest I forget this mantra, I think I'm going to write it on my bathroom mirror.

Kristen

P.S Just remember when we see some skinny, bubble butt twenty something's walk by....One day she'll look as good as we do!!! :)