Dear Reader,
Today I started thinking about how watching different shows can affect how i think of my life. For example, yesterday I came across the show "keeping Up With the Kardashins" ( spelling?). After watching the show i noticed that i had this urge to "spend money", like getting my nails done, new clothes, etc. I didn't like the feeling. Then this morning as i lay in bed, (sick) i came upon a show called "Downsized". It's about a family who used to have a great income and was living the so called "American" dream. However, two years ago the husband lost his construction company and they were struggling to support seven kids. His wife was trying to start a new cleaning business. She spoke about how embarrassing it was to go from having a house cleaner two times a week to cleaning her friends homes.
The family showed how they were trying to cut all the extras things like, eating out, cable, sports clubs for kids, etc. They spoke about how this really helped them see the important things in life. How their kids were learning how to budget and how to work hard to earn money. The kids were also giving money to the parents to help out with things.
After watching this show, I had a much different feeling than after the first. This time, i felt so blessed that my husbands income is pretty steady, that we are able to afford sport clubs for our kids, that even though i coupon for groceries I do it for fun...for the challenge, not because i have too. It made me want to budget even more! To look for more ways to save! Aaron and I always talk about how we don't know what the future will bring...we are very aware that at any moment life could turn upside down.
I walked away from the show with so much gratitude! It was weird to realize how media affected me so much. It has taught me a very important lesson.. First no more freaking Kardashins...and be careful what i watch because the very thing on T.V can change how i feel about myself and my life.
How does Media affect you?
Kristen
Monday, August 1, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Family gathering....
Dear Readers,
Summer brings many family gatherings, which I love and at times feel overwhelmed by. My husband comes from a family of 15 siblings...half's, step, and so on! It's so great to get everyone together but wow...we can make a real scene. Tonight the family went out to dinner and thankfully we had most of an out door patio, but i could still see people watching our crazy bunch. Kids running around, people eating and talking with loud voices...it was a great time.
Such gatherings make me thankful for the people i have in my life. With so much family come a lot of drama...but also the security of knowing that there is lots of support. It is wonderful for my own children to have so many cousins to play with and get to know.
Summer time family gatherings are even better than the holiday's because they are stress free! The late setting sun make the gatherings last long into the evening and we all go to bed totally exhausted! I'm loving summer time :)
Summer brings many family gatherings, which I love and at times feel overwhelmed by. My husband comes from a family of 15 siblings...half's, step, and so on! It's so great to get everyone together but wow...we can make a real scene. Tonight the family went out to dinner and thankfully we had most of an out door patio, but i could still see people watching our crazy bunch. Kids running around, people eating and talking with loud voices...it was a great time.
Such gatherings make me thankful for the people i have in my life. With so much family come a lot of drama...but also the security of knowing that there is lots of support. It is wonderful for my own children to have so many cousins to play with and get to know.
Summer time family gatherings are even better than the holiday's because they are stress free! The late setting sun make the gatherings last long into the evening and we all go to bed totally exhausted! I'm loving summer time :)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Mama will you play with me???
dear Reader, I hear this statement from my daughter Sydney at least a hundred times a day! I struggle with my answer. Do i play or do I do the many things that need to get down to run a successful household? Each time she ask my answer differs depending on what im doing that moment. Sometimes I can drop what I'm doing and spend time with her and others....well dinner will not cook itself!!! I am not a mom who plays with Barbies really well, I mean its not great conversation with a 3 1/2 year old...now doing a puzzle or a board game, I'm all over but alas...this girl loves to play with barbies or stuffed animals. My sisters love to see my "try" and play with those toys....like i said, I'm not very good with it. NOW my sister Michelle is a great "play with me mommy"...when she's not pregnant!!! ha ha During the summer it is she who is in the pool with her kids and mine while I lay out reading a book!!! We all have our strengths right! I think that if all my sisters and I were one person we would be perfect, Erica is the smart one, Michelle the playful, gorgeous one and I"m....crazy!!! So what will my answer by today when my daughter ask "Mama will you play with me?"...Well its Sunday so "Yes" baby....I will stretch my imagination and play with you!!!! But can we do a board game? Kristen
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
do your kids annoy you or is it just me?
dear reader,
It has been one of those days...the one where i found myself crying a lot and wishing I was on some far away island. Lately i've been feeling guility about the fact that my kids annoy me!! Now the 9 year old is actually fine. It's the 3 1/2 old twins that drive me up the wall. Picture this: right now i have two very unhappy girls screaming in my face as I type because Daddy just told them it is time for bed. However, after he caused this ruckus he has now disappeared leaving me with kids screaming in my ear!
I love my kids I do! But i struggle with getting past how annoying it can be to be their mother!!! The whining, fighting, screaming, making unimaingale messes etc. are really getting to me. I'm hoping this is just a phase for me. I find myself wishing this time away and hoping for them to be five...i remember five was pretty cool with my son. But who knows...they are two drama filled girls.
The dilemma is that at the same time they are annoying me, i can still look at them and love them so stinking much. A simple hug, kiss or I love you from them just melts my heart.
i know children are a blessing....Uh...Lord...lets pour out some more JOY in Hoke house please +:)
It has been one of those days...the one where i found myself crying a lot and wishing I was on some far away island. Lately i've been feeling guility about the fact that my kids annoy me!! Now the 9 year old is actually fine. It's the 3 1/2 old twins that drive me up the wall. Picture this: right now i have two very unhappy girls screaming in my face as I type because Daddy just told them it is time for bed. However, after he caused this ruckus he has now disappeared leaving me with kids screaming in my ear!
I love my kids I do! But i struggle with getting past how annoying it can be to be their mother!!! The whining, fighting, screaming, making unimaingale messes etc. are really getting to me. I'm hoping this is just a phase for me. I find myself wishing this time away and hoping for them to be five...i remember five was pretty cool with my son. But who knows...they are two drama filled girls.
The dilemma is that at the same time they are annoying me, i can still look at them and love them so stinking much. A simple hug, kiss or I love you from them just melts my heart.
i know children are a blessing....Uh...Lord...lets pour out some more JOY in Hoke house please +:)
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Rainy Days...
Dear Reader,
Life has gone on and this blog...well...hasn't. I haven't quite felt myself for the past few months. Things got very crazy, not like they weren't before with the twins..but I've been a bit off. With it now being my favorite time of the year, I"m starting to feel my old self come creeping back. I've haven't even done any creative writing for almost two months now and that's a very long time for me. I've basically been very burned out with life. I never understood how much being a mother was going to require of me! Plus, I never realized until now how much alone time I required!!! I guess that's why I'm a mom of three and not six!!!
Updates with twins, They are now both potty trained!!! I can't tell you how happy that makes me! They are busy with school and soccer, but i think soccer is on its way out because they don't play unless i"m on the field with them. and that is quickly getting old!!!! Okay I don't know what I pushed but can't get rid of the UNDERLINE!!!
I'm still on the all might quest to move my family to Utah! Too bad my eternal companion is not on the same page, which is okay, because i am very lucky to live where I do!! (but still love utah the best!
My book "multiply and replenish has finally been sent in for review with a publisher! It takes a few months to get a response so we will see.
I'm loving the rain we've had all week. For some this weather makes them depressed for me it makes my soul light! Nothing better in this world then writing and listening to the pouring rain outside!
kristen
Life has gone on and this blog...well...hasn't. I haven't quite felt myself for the past few months. Things got very crazy, not like they weren't before with the twins..but I've been a bit off. With it now being my favorite time of the year, I"m starting to feel my old self come creeping back. I've haven't even done any creative writing for almost two months now and that's a very long time for me. I've basically been very burned out with life. I never understood how much being a mother was going to require of me! Plus, I never realized until now how much alone time I required!!! I guess that's why I'm a mom of three and not six!!!
Updates with twins, They are now both potty trained!!! I can't tell you how happy that makes me! They are busy with school and soccer, but i think soccer is on its way out because they don't play unless i"m on the field with them. and that is quickly getting old!!!! Okay I don't know what I pushed but can't get rid of the UNDERLINE!!!
I'm still on the all might quest to move my family to Utah! Too bad my eternal companion is not on the same page, which is okay, because i am very lucky to live where I do!! (but still love utah the best!
My book "multiply and replenish has finally been sent in for review with a publisher! It takes a few months to get a response so we will see.
I'm loving the rain we've had all week. For some this weather makes them depressed for me it makes my soul light! Nothing better in this world then writing and listening to the pouring rain outside!
kristen
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
potty training is for the BIRDS!!!
Dear Readers,
So the thing about twins is that even though they were born at the same time, they learn to do things at different times. For awhile it was Syd who did things first. She held her head up first, crawled first and walked first. Paige just seemed to be content with letting her "older sister" do things first. However, now things has switched gears as Paige has been potty trained for months now and Syd could careless about sitting in a pile of poop!!! I've tried talking to her, reasoning with her, though that's a hard thing to do with a three year old. When I tell her how yucky it is to sit in poop she just laughs at me!
I'm not at all worried that she isn't going to get it, i"m just so sick of diapers!!! I wish she would hurry it up, but i also am careful not to push her as I now that could be a disaster! But oh i wish she would just get a little spark of competition and want to be like her sister. :)
Kristen
So the thing about twins is that even though they were born at the same time, they learn to do things at different times. For awhile it was Syd who did things first. She held her head up first, crawled first and walked first. Paige just seemed to be content with letting her "older sister" do things first. However, now things has switched gears as Paige has been potty trained for months now and Syd could careless about sitting in a pile of poop!!! I've tried talking to her, reasoning with her, though that's a hard thing to do with a three year old. When I tell her how yucky it is to sit in poop she just laughs at me!
I'm not at all worried that she isn't going to get it, i"m just so sick of diapers!!! I wish she would hurry it up, but i also am careful not to push her as I now that could be a disaster! But oh i wish she would just get a little spark of competition and want to be like her sister. :)
Kristen
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
What was I smoking last weekend???
Dear Readers,
For the Memorial Day weekend Aaron took Tyler up to a BYU sports camp. Since I was going to be home alone with the girls for four days, I decided I needed to go somewhere. I rounded up my sisters , their kids and mine and we headed to Palm springs. It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation in the sun. I should have known better...
Things got off to a great start when we were packed and ready to go only 2o minutes behind schedule. Really no big deal. We grabbed the kids some treats and hopped on the freeway by 12:20 pm. The freeway was free and clear and I felt a little smug about how smart we were being for leaving early on a Friday so that we didn't hit any of the weekend traffic. Then suddenly the freeway stopped and I hear my sister Michelle say. " Oh, yeah they mentioned something on the radio about the freeway being backed up." okay" I think, no problem. We'll have a little traffic and then be on our merry way. Fifteen minutes later it was clear that we were in some serious trouble. I checked the mirrors and decided to break away from the pack and cross over the yellow cones into the fast track lane. I was desperate! I had a car full of kids!! Again I thought we might be in the clear. The fast track was moving...well...FAST. But to my horror I saw brake lights ahead. It didn't take me long to realize they had shut the whole freeway down and we were being diverted off the highway!
Once we made it off the highway, McKenzie AND my sister both needed potty breaks. It had now been forty five minutes since we had left and we were still only a few miles from my home. I pulled into a gas station, hopped out and dragged McKenzie with me. it seemed that everyone else who was caught in the traffic had decided to have a "potty break" too. I tell Michelle, "she is just going to have to go on the side of the road! I'm not waiting in this, we need to get going!"
However, after much talking , Michelle convinced me it was better to wait for the bathroom to open up.
With everyone 'empty", we drove off in the direction of the freeway on side streets hoping to pass whatever obstacle was on the freeway. Needless to say after 20 minutes of driving around in circles we realized that none of the side streets went through. We completely turned around and decided to get back on the freeway going the opposite direction and make a big loop to get back to where we needed to be. Again, everyone else had the same idea!!! By the time we had been in the car for two hours, my sister called it quits. "Lets just get off, go back to the house and leave later tonight." At first I didn't want too. I was already here and i wanted to keep going but the kids were starting to go out of control so I consented.
The kids spent the rest of the late afternoon swimming in the pool while the moms pouted over the fact we should have been laying out by a pool at a beautiful hotel. To break up the time, we took the kids out to dinner. Must give props to our waiter who was awesome and didn't even flinch when I grabbed his butt! (by mistake of course!) After dinner we received a call that the freeway had just opened and we needed to get on the immediately to beat the rush. I pushed the pedal to the metal and we took off. There was still some traffic which took up about another 1/2 but once we passed the crash site (overturned tanker) we were one our way.
The mood in the car became upbeat and we couldn't wait to get to our hotel room. Things went smooth for a while until McKenzie had to go to the bathroom AGAIN! I was in no way going to stop at a gas station so I pulled over to the side of the road. Which made my sister scream about how crazy I was to pull over on the 91 freeway to have my three year old pee!" Realizing i was being a little crazy I drove to a gas station.
Finally all was well and we were ready to have some fun! Once we pulled off the main highway towards Palm springs the excitement in the car grew, then McKenzie threw up all over Michelle!
Now my sister can not handle throw up. She gags like crazy! Me? I'm okay with it, it's better than poop and heaven knows I have had my share of both! So with Michelle dry heaving and McKenzie crying and covered in throw up, we finally pulled up to our hotel! To which Michelle exclaimed that there was NO WAY she was walking through the lobby, smelling like throw up and looking like h*ll at such a nice hotel.
It took a few minutes to clean everyone up and gather our stuff. As we filed into the lobby to check in I heard a woman say. "Wow, they have a lot of kids."
I felt like saying " Yes lady, we do! would you like to keep one for the weekend??
In the end it was a fun but very exhausting trip and I would do it all over again.... but next time ladies either we leave the kids at home or we hire some help!!!
Kristen
For the Memorial Day weekend Aaron took Tyler up to a BYU sports camp. Since I was going to be home alone with the girls for four days, I decided I needed to go somewhere. I rounded up my sisters , their kids and mine and we headed to Palm springs. It was supposed to be a relaxing vacation in the sun. I should have known better...
Things got off to a great start when we were packed and ready to go only 2o minutes behind schedule. Really no big deal. We grabbed the kids some treats and hopped on the freeway by 12:20 pm. The freeway was free and clear and I felt a little smug about how smart we were being for leaving early on a Friday so that we didn't hit any of the weekend traffic. Then suddenly the freeway stopped and I hear my sister Michelle say. " Oh, yeah they mentioned something on the radio about the freeway being backed up." okay" I think, no problem. We'll have a little traffic and then be on our merry way. Fifteen minutes later it was clear that we were in some serious trouble. I checked the mirrors and decided to break away from the pack and cross over the yellow cones into the fast track lane. I was desperate! I had a car full of kids!! Again I thought we might be in the clear. The fast track was moving...well...FAST. But to my horror I saw brake lights ahead. It didn't take me long to realize they had shut the whole freeway down and we were being diverted off the highway!
Once we made it off the highway, McKenzie AND my sister both needed potty breaks. It had now been forty five minutes since we had left and we were still only a few miles from my home. I pulled into a gas station, hopped out and dragged McKenzie with me. it seemed that everyone else who was caught in the traffic had decided to have a "potty break" too. I tell Michelle, "she is just going to have to go on the side of the road! I'm not waiting in this, we need to get going!"
However, after much talking , Michelle convinced me it was better to wait for the bathroom to open up.
With everyone 'empty", we drove off in the direction of the freeway on side streets hoping to pass whatever obstacle was on the freeway. Needless to say after 20 minutes of driving around in circles we realized that none of the side streets went through. We completely turned around and decided to get back on the freeway going the opposite direction and make a big loop to get back to where we needed to be. Again, everyone else had the same idea!!! By the time we had been in the car for two hours, my sister called it quits. "Lets just get off, go back to the house and leave later tonight." At first I didn't want too. I was already here and i wanted to keep going but the kids were starting to go out of control so I consented.
The kids spent the rest of the late afternoon swimming in the pool while the moms pouted over the fact we should have been laying out by a pool at a beautiful hotel. To break up the time, we took the kids out to dinner. Must give props to our waiter who was awesome and didn't even flinch when I grabbed his butt! (by mistake of course!) After dinner we received a call that the freeway had just opened and we needed to get on the immediately to beat the rush. I pushed the pedal to the metal and we took off. There was still some traffic which took up about another 1/2 but once we passed the crash site (overturned tanker) we were one our way.
The mood in the car became upbeat and we couldn't wait to get to our hotel room. Things went smooth for a while until McKenzie had to go to the bathroom AGAIN! I was in no way going to stop at a gas station so I pulled over to the side of the road. Which made my sister scream about how crazy I was to pull over on the 91 freeway to have my three year old pee!" Realizing i was being a little crazy I drove to a gas station.
Finally all was well and we were ready to have some fun! Once we pulled off the main highway towards Palm springs the excitement in the car grew, then McKenzie threw up all over Michelle!
Now my sister can not handle throw up. She gags like crazy! Me? I'm okay with it, it's better than poop and heaven knows I have had my share of both! So with Michelle dry heaving and McKenzie crying and covered in throw up, we finally pulled up to our hotel! To which Michelle exclaimed that there was NO WAY she was walking through the lobby, smelling like throw up and looking like h*ll at such a nice hotel.
It took a few minutes to clean everyone up and gather our stuff. As we filed into the lobby to check in I heard a woman say. "Wow, they have a lot of kids."
I felt like saying " Yes lady, we do! would you like to keep one for the weekend??
In the end it was a fun but very exhausting trip and I would do it all over again.... but next time ladies either we leave the kids at home or we hire some help!!!
Kristen
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