Life in a nutshell

Well summer has only just begin and is almost over all at once.  Kids have all grown up tons.  Ashlyn and I have started knitting thanks to grandma.  Baby projects have kept me busy and so has Natalie.  In my spare time I've been teaching myself to sew from what I can remember of my dear old mom's sewing lessons.  We have lots of family coming to town at the end of this month, sadly Karlie won't be here to see them.  Obviously she's disappointed, but there isn't anything we can do.  The rest of us are all looking forward to seeing our out of town family.  If you count the months by dividing the weeks then I'm 8 months pregnant now (gets confusing since there are 40 weeks but only 9 months).  This is my most active baby so far.  He's been kicking early and kicking tons!  It's nice to know he's doing OK in there so I don't mind.  I have a big court battle coming up with the ex....other than that, nothing else is new. 

Puppy?!?!

iTouch vs. Zune

At first glance the Zune looked like a great product because it was nearly the same as the iTouch but you can get the radio and it's much cheaper.  Keith bought one so he could listen to the radio at work.  Within about a week and a half his brand new Zune kicked the bucket.  He got online and figured out the warranty process so I drove it to the UPS store to be shipped back to Microsoft.  A few weeks later we got back a refurbished Zune.  Kind of BS since we paid full price now for a refurbished product.  Zune number 2 didn't last a day, so we sent it back and got yet another one.  Guess what, Zune number 3 also didn't work and we're still waiting for Zune number 4.  Now that we've had a Zune since April and so far never had one that works AND have a year warranty that somehow expires in February I'd say we're a bit disappointed.  To top it off, the warranty is only good to the original owner, so we can't sell it and have the person who buys it covered under the warranty and according to different forums it's impossible to have Microsoft refund your money. 

In the meantime, Keith broke down and bought an iTouch.  It's awesome and so is it's warranty!  It has a ton more accessories as well as apps.  As for the Zune, maybe we can sell it on ebay (if it even works) and recoup some of our lost money.

Oh BOY!

I went to the Dr. last Weds. and the baby is doing great.  We found out we're having a boy.  We're so excited!!!  We're going to name him Ryan.  We let the parents know today that it's a boy by making them a picture frame with all our kids in it and an ultra sound picture of little Ryan that said "Grandson."  It turned out really cute.  We have some cute kids, which helps.  =) 

Everyone here is doing good.  Natalie has learned how to climb on the chairs and can't get down.  She's still a little tyrant!  She's also learned to bite.  Speaking of the devil, I need to go get her off my bathroom sink now.  Guess I'll never have time to really blog! 

Over the Rainbow

I've been waiting to blog after things settle down around here.  The last several days a depression hit me that I couldn't seem to break out of.  Usually I can break out of these moods but this last one has been a hard one.  I was crying several times a day for Karlie and her non existent friends around here.  That situation has hopefully ended well because there is a girl several houses down that IS allowed to play with her and this little girl seems more Karlie's style anyway.  This girl comes from a family with six kids that moved here from out of state so they're a little nicer than your typical local families. 

Just as things were seeming crappy, I ran into a relative that I could have lived without seeing again when Keith and I took Natalie to Walmart yesterday.  He's a cousin of mine from my dad's side of the family.  When I got divorced from my ex husband he chose my ex over me.  He took me by surprise when he came up to say hi.  At first I was sort of more friendly than I would have liked to have been just because I was so off guard.  He asked me if I still had my old job.  I let him know the brief story about how my mom and sister got me fired and how I had a felony charge over the whole thing.  Later when I thought about everything I really wished that I had thrown in more things about how crappy my family is.  Oh well, missed opportunity.  Then I told him that it's OK, I'm used to family screwing me over....kind of like how he did when he chose my ex over me when I got my divorce.  The whole thing went down hill from there and I ended up telling him to not stop me next time because I don't know who he is and I walked off with my family.  It was a pretty moment in the middle of Walmart with everyone walking by looking at us while I was crying the whole time.  Ahhh life!  Thank you for these moments.  The good news about this is that I wanted to tell him for a long time how rotten I thought he was for standing by such a jerk when everyone stood by that jerk and left me alone but I'm his family and he should have stood by me.  It's finally been said and now that chapter of my life is closed.

And to top off all the bad, I haven't slept in forever.  It's like as soon as I lay down anxiety hits me.  My mind is racing everywhere and I can't stop.  This morning I was done with kids.  They've been home on spring break and I've done all the work myself while they've sat around or ran off and played.  Luckily for everyone in the house I got a nap today when Natalie did and woke up much happier than I've been all week.  I think I'm finally back to an upswing again in life.  Man I hate it when life kicks your butt!

So there it is.  My life has sucked lately but things aren't as bad as they did seem and it's getting better by the moment.  Now I'm going to go to bed and hope I can sleep.  If not I guess I'll be reading Sense And Sensibility because for some reason I'm hooked on the classics right now.

Good Night!

Well, it's been a while!

Not much has changed in the last forever.  Keith is still in school, I'm still out of work and home with the kids, kids are still growing, baby is still growing, life is still going on.  Keith and I are nearly done with our Catholic classes but still no closer to being baptized.  I think our priest is waiting until after Easter to go over our paperwork with us.  The miracle of having a million divorces is that you can't just join the Catholic church until they are annulled.  Most of the others in our class will be baptized on Easter.

I'm 16 weeks pregnant as of yesterday.  Our baby is about the length of a tube of mascara.  I think that on our next visit we would be able to know the sex of the baby except that this time I want a surprise.  It's going to be a girl anyway though, the heart beat is fast like a girl.  I told Keith that he could have them show us the sex as long as they don't say so we can guess.  Unless the picture REALLY gives it away then I'm going to stick with girl.  Ashlyn is really hoping boy on this one.  Boy will she be disappointed!  Luckily kids get over that disappointment really fast when they hold their cute little sibling for the first time.

Natalie has learned how to open doors.  Luckily we got the egg shaped door knobs so we can't buy the door handles that make it so they can't get in the door because they wont fit our handles.  We knew this when we chose them though so I'm hoping that I can teach her where and when she can go in certain doors quickly.  I took her to the Dr.'s today.  She's in the top 90's percentile on everything!  She is 33.5 inches tall (93%), 29 lbs. 15 oz. (97%) and her head circumference is 19 inches (90%).  She pretty much hated most of the visit except the cuddling when we were waiting for the Dr. and the sucker at the end.  They have these smartie suckers that are great!  No mess, lots of happiness...I'm going to buy some next time I'm at Costco!

Ashlyn is doing good.  She's found some friends around here and seems like she's doing really good.  She enjoys school and is planning on taking some classes next year that will give her college credits.  I'm really proud of her!

Karlie is having a hard time around here, although she doesn't show it too much.  Ever since I got mad at the neighbor next door for letting her dog come dump in our yard, now not only is the girl her age at that house not allowed to play with Karlie, the mom over there has made it so all the girls in the neighborhood avoid Karlie.  There are three little girls and Karlie likes all of them but too bad.  As soon as they start playing with Karlie the kids are called in and not allowed out later.  It really makes me mad.  I'm having a hard time understanding how such supposedly good people are so awful.  I'm also having a hard time in trying to love my enemies.  I guess it's a work in progress.

Keith has been busy at work.  Since getting this new job he's had a lot of changes.  He's feeling how it feels to have a "normal office job" and also experiencing what it is to be respected and valued.  I'm really glad that he works in a better area now!

And me...well I'm tired so goodnight!  =)

Happy Anniversary!

Last year before we got married Keith and I wrote e-mails to each other and sent them through futureme.org so we would get them on our first anniversary.  When I read mine this morning it made my day!

Dear Rachel,

I remember seeing you for the very first time 4 years ago at Marks house.  You had a gorgeous smile and a body to die for.  I hoped that I would be able to get you to notice me.  I had not planned on meeting anyone that night, and never expected to be meeting anyone like you.  I knew as soon as you were getting into my car that we had a little chemistry between us.  Then at the club, I tried every thing I could to get you to notice me, and finally you did. I wasnt planning on staying out late because I worked at 6am the next morning.  I couldnt get enough of you and ended up spending the rest of the night with you and leaving to go to work strait from where we were at.  From that day on we have spent almost all of our free time together. Over the next few years we have had our battles, however we have been able to weather all the storms so far.

Then a year ago we got married, it was a quick little ceremony and then we were off to Mexico for the honey moon.  I hope you had a wonderful time and we made great memories to last a life time (especially since who knows when we will ever get a chance to go back).  Which leads us to today, our first anniversary.  I hope the past year has been a great time for both of us and that we havent had any major issues come up.  I just wanted to know that I do love you and you are still the best thing that has ever happened to me.  As the song goes " You are my sunshine, my only sun shine...You make me happy when skies are gray,  You'll never no dear how much I love you...So please don't take my sunshine away"    You do make me happy, and even when we argue, I would still rather be with you then anyone else in the world.  I hope I have been able to make you happy during the past year and I hope we have many more happy years to come.
I love you and I look forward to seeing you tonight.

I love you Keith!  Happy anniversary!  

"Some love lasts a life time; true love lasts forever!" -Just some quote I found somewhere that made me think of Keith.  =)

Cathederal of the Madeleine

This weekend we're taking the kids to the Cathedral of the Madeleine.  I'm so excited!  I love that place!   We took an online virtual tour of it today in preparation and I hope that the kids enjoy our trip as much as I know I will!  I remember being a teenager and seeing the Cathedral for the first time.  This is when I knew that one day I would become Catholic.  Every time I go there it makes me happy but this time we get a tour, I really can't wait!!!  Needless to say, I am the most excited person in the whole family!  =)

 

The dust has settled

Well, things are getting a little more amicable here at the Awesome household.  We're agreeing to disagree and moving on.  Ashlyn has been getting into debate in school, I'm happy to see her involved!  Karlie had a friend from Centerville move across the street last week, YAY!!!  Natalie wears me out daily, what a tyrant!  She can be so sweet sometimes and then just start screaming and acting really spoiled at other times.  I can't wait for her to outgrow this spoiled phase.  I follow her up and down the stairs every day, yesterday she climbed to the top and sat down and started checking out her feet.  She looked like such a cute little monkey! 

Yes, I am a dog killer

I've heard it said that millions of people would keep their family dog after it bit one of their children.  Not only am I not one of these people, I think that idea is wrong.  I believe that the parents should protect the children and not the dogs, and that the safety of the kids should always come first.  I also believe that it is selfish to choose to have the dog remain in the house while the child is not free to roam any longer.

This was the case in our house.  I made a decision to make sure that my children, all of them, are protected above the dogs in our household.  I took the dogs to the pound to be put down when I finally had the realization that I had put Keith's desire to keep the dogs above the safety of the kids.  In doing this I know that quite a few people will feel that I'm mean and callous when they find out that I took the dogs despite Keith's feelings.  This has caused quite a rift in our marriage, however I'll spare the details in this aspect.

What I would like everyone to know, despite how wonderful the dogs are, Precious has tried to nip at and has growled at Natalie several times.  You may not know this but not only has she bit several adults, she's also bit a kid before.  It was one of Keith's friends kids.  As everyone already knows, Jersey has bit one of the neighbor girls on the hand and Karlie twice on the leg hard enough to leave bruises.  The dogs have been locked up for the most part since the bite happened, however he has still been allowed out around Karlie and the other kids off leash since.  What you may not know is that since the dog bite he has tried on several occasions to bite Karlie again threw the kennel bars.  We didn't see who tore up the role of paper towels in the bathroom, but Karlie was jumping up and down being happy and hyper and Jersey got mad, freaked out and acted like he wanted to tear her apart and then we found a roll of paper towels shredded in the bathroom immediately after.  He too has tried to nip Natalie.  He's also pinned Precious down and bit her uncontrollably.  And he has bit Keith since the incident.  Karlie was not allowed to come downstairs to the main level of the house without making sure she was safe from the dogs first.  She was also the one to get in trouble for acting like a happy, silly, eight year old because that is the action that made Jersey want to eat her face off.  I'd also like to remind everyone that when he did bite her, she had done absolutely nothing, not even acting hyper, to entice him to bite her.  She simply leaned over Natalie while Natalie was in her walker.

I regret that I didn't take action against the dogs sooner.  I should have been a better mother before.  Some of you may still be mad at me, I know Keith is.  I'm disappointed that my husband wasn't able to put us first.  He knows everything I've already mentioned because he lives with it but is too blinded for the love of his "children" to see that anything I've stated has any bearing on the dogs being put down.  In his view I simply did it out of spite.  Maybe all of you believe this too.  Fine.  Believe what you will, my kids are now safe.

A Poem by Karlie

I Just Can't
By Karlie

I just can't be plain
I just can't be sane
Why try to be as pretty as a cat
When you drive a hat
And you sat on a mat
With scat



I asked her and yes, she does know what scat is.  What's the matter with kids these days?!? 

Happy Birthday Liz!!!

For Liz's birthday I bought myself a minivan!  Happy Birthday Liz!!

The Awesome Family

All is well at the Awesome home.  Kids are getting bigger and the family is doing well.  Ashlyn is in debate and loves it, Karlie is still crazy, and Natalie gets into just about everything these days.  Keith has been switching to his new fish tank, it's looking good!  We took the kids up to the Great Salt Lake a few weeks ago to get some sand for his tank.  It was a fun trip.  We couldn't find where we were supposed to be so we drove past the place twice.  Once we got there we let the kids out and Natalie played in the snow, which was fun for not even five minutes before she realized it's cold!  The rest of the trip Keith was digging for sand on his own while I was trying to get Nato warm.  Well, that really meant I only helped him with about three shovel full's of dirt.  =P 

Keith started his new job today, I think he would have enjoyed the extra hour of sleeping in had he not spent most of the night awake listening to me taking care of Natalie who spent the entire night being needy!  I had to cuddle her for about three or so hours last night.  Always a joy!  Don't worry though, she's still up bright and early this morning! 

Hey! We moved in!

We've lived here for over a year now and yesterday marks the first day we ever put a screw and nails in the walls.  Keith loved having no pictures up and I've always wanted them up but not known where to hang things.  As we were accomplishing our to-do list yesterday I added a few more things on.  I wanted the walls to not be bare anymore!  It feels like we're finally moved in!

Been busy...

Well, I've been pretty busy making myself a new coat out of the dogs.  I think it turned out pretty good other than I couldn't get all the dirt out since they haven't been bathed since 2008.  I've been wearing it and it kind of makes me a little itchy.  I'm thinking of selling it on eBay.  If anyone is interested in it please let me know before it goes on auction.

Happy Decade!!!

Today is not only the start of a new year but also the start of a new decade.  Unfortunately the start of this decade is as up in the air as the last one was.  We aren't sure if we're coming or going in our house still.  We're really hoping we can work things out to stay but it all depends on money.  If we move we'll be moving up to Tremonton where houses are cheaper and it's closer to Keith's new job.  In a way I would like to move up there anyway just to be farther away from the messes that we deal with here but in another way I really don't want to go.  We like it here and the kids are settled into their school and like their friends.  I know they'll make new friends but it sucks to make them move so much in life. 

That stuff aside, I think we're off to a great start this decade!  We're all healthy and happy and life is mostly good despite the wrenches that life throws. 

Happy decade all those who read this!!!  I hope this one will be great for each of you!