Vacation?

I wish! {sigh} A girl can dream.

I am cold. I need sun. I need warmth. That groundhog better have some good news tomorrow!

Pneumonia Pnate (for lack of a better title)

Poor Nate! He woke up Saturday morning and first thing he said was, "I need to go to the doctor." If he's even contemplating the doctor, he NEEDS to go. Then he tried to talk himself out of it, but come on.... who's the boss around here?!! Do you think I'd just let him shrug it off? He went. Turns out he has pneumonia and I've hardly talked to him since that morning. He sleeps most of the time, watches a little TV then he's off sawing logs again. This morning he said it didn't hurt so bad anymore to breath so I take that as a good sign the meds are doing their job. He didn't appreciate me taking his picture, but you're probably better off not seeing him anyway. He looks rather homeless with his beard AND he looks all sickly and tired.... we're a perfect match!

My sweet sister, Debbie brought us homemade chicken noodle soup, fresh baked bread and yummy cookies last night. Thank you, Deb! It made my day. It's amazing the love I felt from my Heavenly Father (and her) when she left. We aren't going through any major crisis right now and I could've made dinner (it would have been from a box!), but to know Heavenly Father cares and is mindful of me and my family strengthened my faith. I need to be better at serving those around me and being mindful of their needs. Whether they need a meal or just a simple note to let them know I care. I wasn't planning on making any new year's resolutions... I never keep them, but I think I've just made one!

No More Excuses

Not that my kids had excuses. They actually are pretty good at remembering to wash their hands, but now they have a reminder every time they use the bathroom. And at our house, there's no question that Mom's the boss! {Most of the time, anyway.}

Not Recommended

I was in the basement and decided I had better go check on Tye. I couldn't hear him and didn't know what he was up to. When I got to the kitchen I could hear him crying in the bathroom. I opened the door and this is how I found him. Poor kid couldn't get it off! Being the mean mom that I am, I made him wait a second longer so I could grab my camera. I just HAD to get a picture!

The Bishop Scourge

What have we been up to you ask? (What's that? You didn't ask. Oh, well too bad, I'm going to tell you anyway...) We've been sick. It all started with Kaden last Thursday. He came down with a nasty fever and cough and it took him until Monday to feel better. Tye followed him a day and a half later and is finally back to his stubborn self today. Nate came down with it Sunday and is finally feeling a little better today as well. Rachel came down with it Monday and has missed all of school this week. She scared us with a very high fever, but we were able to get it under control without any problems. Thank goodness! Haley also came down with it Monday, but hasn't let it slow her down much. I started to feel it coming on yesterday and today feel pretty miserable. I managed to only get a fever, sore throat and head ache while everyone else is hacking up a lung or two.

My countertop has turned into an over-the-counter pharmacy. (This isn't even all of it.) I even have to write down when and what medications I've given to whom. 2 teaspoons, 3/4 teaspoon, 1 teaspoon.... every 4 hours, every 6 hours, every 8 hours....

What a week! So, ask me how I am now and I'll let you know that I am tired, I don't feel good and that's why I look like crap. Yay! I finally have a good reason.

How Are You?

"How are you?" It's a question we all get asked daily. The usual answers we give-- fine, good, ok, and sometimes even great! So when someone asks you how you are and you say good, why would they think saying this is ok? . . . . "Are you sure? I've noticed you just look like you don't feel well or you're tired or something. Are you sure you're ok?" All I'm thinking is, did she just tell me I look like crap? My reply, "Um, um... Yes. I'm fine. I feel good!" I feel completely awkward now. I feel this unbelievable urge to run and look in the mirror to see how sorry looking I am. Then I start thinking of last night and how my kids didn't sleep well so maybe I am tired, but I don't feel tired. Ugh! Now I just want her out of my house. Hurry. Shoo, shoo.

I've come to the conculsion that I need to go around with a fake smile on my face to ensure no one else mistakenly thinks I'm ill. It's really not the first time something like this has happened. I have the "Swensen scowl". I know she meant well, but it bugged me... obviously! Oh and those of you who are thinking, Ooh, maybe she's pregnant and not telling... Nope... sorry. There are no good reasons for my sickly, tired looks!

Indexing...

So I did my first batch of indexing today. {Thank you. Thank you very much!} Our stake goals for 2009 include indexing and I kept forgetting to get signed up. So tonight while Nate was playing volleyball I got a batch done and it feels good! I only have one wish... that cursive didn't exist!! Come on people... PRINT on important documents! Too bad I can't go back to 1920. Oh and here's an interesting find from my work.... Husband age 52, wife age 26, oldest child age 12. Hmmmmm... a bit creepy, but of course, I don't know their whole story.

Go ahead. Get started. It's fun (in an I have nothing better to do kind of way)!

Potty Time

Look at that smile... it just screams PRIDE. If you were to see my smile (which would require looking at my face), well... you'd just scream. No really, my smile is BIG right now, but we're all glad I'm posting pictures of Tye instead of me, aren't we?
So the story goes like this--- Nate, after changing 3 disgusting poopy diapers last Saturday, decides enough is enough. Tye is 3 1/2 and not getting any younger! We've "tried" (I use that term very loosely) a few times to potty train, but he just wasn't having it so I never pushed the issue. I am paranoid of traumatizing him and causing him to refuse to use the toilet until he's 10. It's a legitimate concern... my 5 year old has laziness issues when it comes to using the toilet and I'm convinced it's because of something I have done. Anyway, Monday morning (ok, fine- so it was more like noon) when I got him dressed we put big boy underwear on him and haven't looked back. He's had a few accidents, but each day gets better and better. It has been the most painless process (besides two clogged toilets and one overflowing...).

Getting his pants back on has been a process as well. Better luck next time, bubba!

Dumb Dog or Dumb Owners?

I knew the garbage was left in the garage. I knew the dog was spending the night in the garage. I knew something like this would happen because both Nate and I were too lazy to take the trash to the garbage can. So why was I still a little bit surprised when I saw this the next morning??? UGH! {Thanks, Nate, for cleaning it up :)}