Happiness

MD House Update: Our new realtor- the one who sold our home to us- was shocked at the state of our home. There had been a break in the week before (the first after 2 years of standing empty) and I was told that the bank had repaired the back sliding glass doors. They had repaired it- with plywood and had left broken glass all over the carpet and the patio. Ugh. The upstairs toilet was full of mold. The eves were chock full of leaves. And this home was on the market at a very high price. Set by the bank. Double Ugh. There was no way we get an offer at all. A few days after accepting our case, our new realtor walked away. It was too much  for her to handle. Us being far away contributed to the fact. And we were okay with that. We had already decided that we would most likely do a Deed-in-Lieu. A Deed-in-Lieu is inbetween a short sale and a foreclosure. After getting both of our banks to agree and talk to each other, we will turn in the needed paperwork- same as a short ...

A Fifth Grade Paper Written By: Elizabeth Elizabeth Supportive, intelligent, and caring Lover of reading, mostly Harry Potter books, adorable Beanie boos, and gorgeous light blue. Who is able to draw adorable little spirals, do good in school and dance very well. Who feels nervous when going to piano lessons,      gets tired often, and I get happy when my friends call me. Who wonders if I'll be married to, and if I will live in a beach house. Who fears clowns, dark creepy figures, and zombies. Who would like to have a sister, be able to do the splits      and feel what it's like to be popular for 1 day. Who dreams to compete in the Olympics in swimming,      to help people around the world, and be a famous dancer.

   Ethan growing grass seed in an egg as a craft. This past Sunday, on a lazy, cool afternoon, I was checking my blog and the kids meandered over to see what I was doing. I showed Asher an old post about him and he loved it! He wanted to search all the posts that mentioned his name (8 pages of them!). Then the other kids found a post of My Funny Kids' Sayings and we read them together and just laughed and laughed. Often it was something that Asher just misunderstood. Hopefully he didn't feel bad about that. I hadn't written any for awhile so here are a few I had written down on some post it notes when they happened: Asher : "I think I'm allergic to cold. Whenever I get cold I get these bumps." Mom: "You mean goosebumps?" Asher: "No. Bumps." ------------------------------------------- Asher (about his rash): "You have red bumps like me but they are pimples." *Thanks, Asher!* ---------------------------------------...

Friday We're in Love  a blog on dating (your husband!) If you know me, you know that I love reading blogs. When they first became popular in 2006- or at least when I discovered them- I loved them! I loved finding one, reading about that person's life, views and history. I felt like I had a connection with them on a person basis. More often than not, the blogs that  I follow are Mormon Mommy bloggers like NieNie , CJane , NattheFatRat , 71toes . But, I also like cooking and crafting ones like Elise Blaha: Enjoy it, Oh Happy Day !, six sisters , pioneerwoman , etc. I've noticed that everyone has a different taste in bloggers. It's a personal thing. Often, if someone is dealing with infertility or going through a very strong trial, I connected with them a lot more. I have had hard trials in my life and when I realized that someone else out there has had them too- and worse- it gave me comfort. It gave me strength to know that if they could make it through, I could to...

It's been several months since the boys turned 9, but we finally had a pack meeting (everyone is often gone in the summer) and Ethan and Jonah got their Wolves Cub Scout Patches along with a belt loop. So proud of them!

Golfland- using our Summer Reading Program Prizes! I've switched back to my older banner and format. The banner is too wide- have to figure that out. Also, the pictures are too big. I'm okay with that though. I've also updated my sidebar a little- check it out. A little Bahama Bucks (shaved iced)- one of our favorite places to keep cool! Latest: -The kids are doing super well in school. We're back to our routine- Dad at work, Mom at home and all the kiddos at school. The students at ASU start back tomorrow, so Josh has been super busy with new law student orientations, questions from new students and meetings. It's amazing how much he does! He is doing a great job! Having "The Superman"- half blue, half red perfect for Ethan and Jonah -I'm still working on taking a class at ASU. I didn't make the cut off for this semester to apply for free tuition thru Josh (I didn't know there was an application process!). I also need to g...

I used to collect these little " Love Is... " comics when I was younger. They would come in the newspaper and I would cut them out and place them in a now yellowed 80's photo album. I loved them! I still do! It's been translated into 22 languages- even Armenian! Love Is... - Love is getting up in the middle of the night and going to the store in your jammies to buy me some allergy medicine when I can't sleep because of allergies. -Love is sending us a very giant care package- a triple stroller on our doorstep- after we find out we are having twins. -Love is making a sweet photo collage of us twins together of when we were little as a Christmas Present. -Love is buying me a used clarinet and still having it almost 25 years later. -Love is buying me the CTR ring I have my heart set on. -Love is coming to my rescue when I am about that have my 4th baby and am in complete need of rescuing.  -Love is sending sweet handmade cards in th...

  While going through my list of blogs that I read, I stopped by a blog and happened upon an article from the Huffington Post entitled- The Day I Stopped Saying 'Hurry Up' I was actually busy at the time- changing Pandora stations, finishing up a post on Instagram (Follow Me! @ meganroseabbott), pinning on something on Pinterest from another blog post that I just found and loved, and hurrying so that I could check facebook and finish watching that show from the other day. I know, right?! My life between the hours of 12-3pm is pretty simple. You, see I give myself that shift off. I read from somewhere that it's not healthy to work all 4 shifts as a Mother. There is the morning rush hour shift, the morning get things done shift, the after lunch shift, the hectic after school shift and the after dinner shift. I try to be fully present in all of the 3 shifts where my kids need me the most- helping get their lunches ready, finding clean clothes, volunteering at t...

AAAHH! Jonah trying on Asher's birthday glasses I went back to subbing today. 6th grade. Half day. Student teacher included. Broke things in slow, ya know. This is my third year subbing with Gilbert (Public Schools. Gilbert is the subline). Mostly I work at Carol Rae- my kids' school. Last year I was able to sub in almost all of the classrooms there. I love it. I love the teachers. I love the Aides. I love the Staff. I love the Principal. The schedule is wonderful- 2 to 3 days a week. The pay is decent. I love the amount of work, the variety, the change up, the kids. I love walking by Asher's classroom and see him paying attention to his teacher- SO cute!  I love seeing my fourth grader boy blush  and turn away in fear that I might gush all over him. And I would too, if I wasn't in charge of a class just then. I'm excited. I have had two offers this week to be a long term sub for this semester. Standing alone- they made my day. Along with a discussion with...

Here are a few pics of when my Parents came to visit. Above- my Mom and me. Below- my Dad playing a game that he found at Savers that we used to play when we were little! I didn't even know they still made that game! (Wait, they don't! It was made in 1979). I haven't been blogging as much as we have been busy getting back into the school routine. This morning I met with the Principal to discuss switching Asher's teacher (she is a very good teacher, but most of the time is strict and stern and I would rather have a happier atmosphere for Asher), went to the Dr., did the weekly grocery shopping, washed and folded and put away (most) of all the laundry so we should be set. Funny story- while I was at the Drs. the lab technician saw a scorpion on the carpet and bravely stomped on it. I offered to clean it up with a paper towel (even though I was a little freaked out). She promptly said no- we have a vacuum for that and sucked it up right away. I'm not sure ...

Asher, Jonah, Ethan and Elizabeth The Kids are off to School! Yay!! It's always a bittersweet experience. Sad to see them go and grow up so fast. Glad that they are growing and learning and I can have some time to myself. Here are the pics from this morning! It went pretty smoothly, except Asher wanted a black pencil box instead of the clear one I had gotten him and Ethan seemed to need a desk organizer right away! Elizabeth has Mrs. Hall, who was her top pick, Ethan has a new teacher, Jonah has Mrs. Bretzke- who we love from last year and Asher has Mrs. Rissi (who had to get a sub half day today and tomorrow to attend her Gma's funeral). I asked each one of them what they were excited about going back to school. Elizabeth: "The Talent Show" Ethan: "The Fields Trips! Do we go on one this month?"  Jonah: "I don't know!"  Asher: "I don't know" They are excited to get a start on the new year! Yay for ...

Today is our 12th Anniversary!! Happy Anniversary, Babe! My Parents came into town last weekend and we decided to take the advantage of their offer to watch the kids (counting down to when Elizabeth is 11- in 6 weeks- when  we will no longer need any more babysitters!) We decided to go to a restaurant at a new mall that we had never been to and then browse the stores afterwards. We decided on Benihana and were excited to have a nice, romantic date. When we got there, the wait was 30 minutes long, so we put our names down and did a small preview of the Mall. The Chandler Mall is huge and we were thrilled to see a Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids and a Sees! When we returned, we still had a wait so we browsed the menu. The prices seemed way higher than I wanted to pay (even though I knew it was pricey), so we decided to leave and go to the nearby Chilis. We were seated right away and soon had a hot appetizer on our plates. Right after we had finished our appetizer, the lights i...

Via birthwithoutfearblog.com - check it out! A Labor and Delivery Nurse, in fact. This is all so new to me and it's coming at a time that is busy- the kids are going back to school and we're lined up for a foster baby soon. But, I will work on it slowly- one class at a time for a while. If you know me, you know that I love babies. I love holding them, touching them, being with them. Babies are my JOY. It's the reason why I had 4 babies under the age of 4. It's the reason we are fostering an infant. And it has now become the reason why I have decided to go back to school and get my RN degree. I'm nervous. I'm excited. I'm hopeful. I haven't been back to school for 12 years now. And it's going to be a long haul:            -10 prerequisites just to apply to the program (human anatomy, chemistry, physiology, etc).            - A 2 year program that will probably take me longer than that. Tuition is free for m...