This week I

Ate too much sugary stuff
Probably gained 5 pounds because of it and sitting on my behind all week
Bought a darling sweater from Old Navy
Had my kitchen floor mopped by my hunny
Had a unexpected, much needed, visit with my mom and dad
Went to visiting teaching interviews
Got a new necklace in the mail
Stressed out about my upcoming practical exam
Studied my guts out
Drank lots of water, but apparently it wasn't enough- my cuticles are so dry!
Washed Ian's eye out after he got air freshener in it
Walked/ran on the treadmill 3 times
Had extended family pictures taken at the Garden Park Ward grounds-so lovely!
Enjoyed the sunshine
Cursed at the snow
Tripped up the stairs and hit my tibial tuberosity on the tile floor- ouch!
Felt like a taxi cab driver
Welcomed home my favorite missionary
Got sweet words of encouragement from someone whom I look up to very much
Dropped off visiting teaching treats to my ladies- I KNOW it's the last week of the month

What a week!

Ugggg

This is tough stuff. I had no idea. And it is probably a good thing I didn't know exactly what I was getting myself into before I signed up for it.

Am I talking about marriage?

Motherhood?

Life in general?

No....I'm talking about something MUCH, MUCH harder. Something that makes you want to scream, makes you feel like your head is going to burst. I'm talking about this blasted anatomy course I am taking.

As you know, I didn't do so well on my first exam. That hasn't helped me feel any better about things. Next Wednesday I take my practical exam in my lab class and at this moment, it is a constant source of stress in my life.

This exam goes something like this....walk into the room, drop all belongings in the corner of the room, take a clipboard with test attached and a pencil, move to whatever station (1 of 60) that I am assigned to with my clipboard to my chest, look at the bone or tissue sample or muscle and identify. We may be asked to give the action or origin or insertion point of any given muscle as well. There is no taking, no multiple choice, no mercy if you can't remember how to spell the word, or in my case if you just suck at spelling. It's all or nothing. 60 items that you just have to pull out of your overloaded brain- that is full of hundreds of terms.

It has been amazing to me to see how much I have learned though. I remember the first day looking through my lab book and seeing all of the things that we were going to be learning about. So foreign. Such strange language. But now, I can look through the manual and for the most part, I understand exactly what is being discussed. Amazing.

I just hope and pray (and feel free to add your prayers to mine....starting at 5:30 p.m. next Wednesday) that I am able to recall everything that has been and will be crammed into my little brain on test day. If I bomb another test, well, maybe I'll have to rethink my future profession.

Vegetable Beef Soup

I just finished putting together a pot of Vegetable Beef Soup for my family for dinner. It is something that I have made over and over again for the past 17 years. It's one of those recipes that everyone in the family loves. It's golden.

After chopping and dicing and browning the ingredients, I mixed everything together and put it in a big silver pot, put the lid on and turned up the heat. As it began boiling, and that familiar smell began escaping in the form of steam, I looked over at the recipe card and had one of those moments that takes you back- way back.

I was a young, blonde haired, scrawny, nine year old girl. I was sitting in the comfortable kitchen in my home in South Salt Lake. With it's dark wood cupboards and linoleum covered floor, it was a place where I loved to be. It was where you could almost always find my mother baking or canning or scrubbing this or that.

At the table with me were my good friends, Shelly, Karen, Sarah, and perhaps one or two other girls from the neighborhood. it was my favorite day of the week. The day that we would all convene in our kitchen for another exciting class on becoming domestic goddesses- otherwise known as 4-H.

It was here that I was first introduced to Vegetable Beef Soup. It was one of those recipes that mother had us learn. It was simple, yet involved a lot of the techniques that she was trying to teach us. Dicing, chopping, peeling, browning, measuring both liquids and dry ingredients.

After cleaning up my mess from making dinner tonight, I realized that much of what I know today- was first introduced to me in my mother's kitchen. As one of the 5 or 6 eager little girls who watched my mother's skilled hand each week, I often dreamed of the day when I would have my own kitchen and would make wonderful dinners for my family.

The recipe card that holds the instructions on how to make this soup, is written in my 9 year old hand. I remember mother telling us to write legibly enough so that when we made it for ourselves, years from that day, that she wouldn't be getting phone calls from us frustrated girls who couldn't read what was written.

I am so glad that I had a mother who loved being a homemaker and wanted to share her love of it with her daughters and their friends. I am quite certain that my early years of cooking for my new family would not have gone as smoothly as they did had it not been for her and her desire to pass on her love of cooking. Even though I don't do it as often as I would like to- I do enjoy baking and cooking treats and meals for my family- if someone would only do the menu planning and grocery shopping for me!

Something to make you smile on a Friday afternoon...

I have days like this too...

The knee bone's connected to the thigh bone....

My head is full too of anatomy terms to think much of anything else.  I am even dreaming about anatomy.  I fall to sleep quizzing myself on the different muscles and bones of the skeleton.  

You would think that because I eat, sleep and drink this stuff that I would have aced my first test.  So not true.  I was so disappointed in my score.  I really thought I had done better than that.  

I obviously need to spend more time studying and this doesn't excite me or my family.  

But before I get back to it, I wanted to give an update on life here at our house.

The boys returned from their trip a little bit down.  It was harder to say goodbye than they would have liked.  They had a wonderful time and would have liked to stay longer. I guess coming home is not always an easy thing to do.  I'm glad they have such good friends that they enjoy spending time with.

I am finally feeling better but Ian now has the croup.  I love winter.  The bright side of this is that Ian takes 3 naps a day.  In fact, he sleeps more than he is awake which is good for this studying momma.  

Nicole is busy perfecting her dance for the school talent show (she amazes me!) and learning a song to be sung in sacrament meeting this Sunday- which happens to be ward conference.  So our house is full of music of one kind or another when she is around.

The boys go back on track on Monday and although it will be nice to have the routine of school again, I must admit it has been nice not having to worry about homework and getting kids to and from school.

Ok, that's enough lally-gagging around.  Time to get back to the books.  Thanks for checking in.

Day 3- a quick update

It's day 3 of single parenthood and I am so happy to say that our home is not under the influence of the flu anymore!  And let me tell you that Ian and I are so ready to be out of bed!  What a not-so-fun way to start our long weekend together.

We still have a few days left until the boys return so we are going to have to get out and do something fun!

You know you are loved when...

your teenage daughter makes you a handmade Valentine in Seminary class at school.

you get surprised by a dozen red roses from your husband who is clear across the United States from where you are on Valentine's Day.

you get a text late at night from your husband saying, "I need 2 kiss u.  My lips r chapped bad."  (Now tell me, what lady's hear wouldn't skip a beat over that one?  :))

your little boy, who is just as sick as you are, runs to the bathroom to get a kleenex for you after you sneeze.

your parents stop by to see how you are doing, leave a can of chicken noodle soup on the counter, and call up the stairs to get better soon!  (they didn't want to get close enough to catch any sickie bugs)

your daughter offers to make heart shaped grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for Valentine's dinner.

All these things done by all of these wonderful people in my life, show me that I am loved.

I love you all!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Visiting with my boy

After spending two days sick in bed with my boy by my side, I decided to make good use of that time and have a little conversation with him.  I thought it would be fun to interview him, much like I did his dad the other day.  :)  Here are a few of the things we discussed...

What is love?  When you kiss.

What is Valentines Day?  When you give cards.

What is your favorite song?  The Spiderman song.

What do you like to eat?  Chicken noodle soup.

What do you like to do with your friends?  Jump on the trampoline.

Why does mommy go to school?  She learns tests.

Where are daddy and Isaac right now?  At Mania. (they are in Pennsylvania)

What are they doing right now?  I don't know, maybe brushing their teeth.

What is your favorite book?  The Cat in the Hat.

What is your favorite thing to do with mommy?  Color

What is your favorite thing to do with daddy?  I like to play toys with him.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  Big Ian.  I'm going to be Ian still.

What do you want to do for a job when you are big?  I want to be a firefighter.  I want to spray the fire.

What do you like about going to church?  I like to go to class and learn about something.

Where is your favorite place to go on vacation?  To the water and find shells.

If you could be a superhero who would you be?  Ironman, he's cool.

He's a cute boy and has been quite entertaining the past two days.  I have been amazed that he hasn't left my side.  He only gets out of bed when I do- and that's not very often.  I'm a lucky momma.

 

Day 2- My Bed Mates

The only thing worse than being sick, is having a sick child to take care of at the same time.  

Ian has been by my side since I went down yesterday morning.  Literally.  Remember how I said that my patience would be tried?  This little boy has ants in his pants on a good day, but when he has been cooped up in bed all day- let's just say that it felt like I was sleeping on a bed in the back of a truck going down a dirt road- ALL DAY!

And it's not just the fact that he can't be still, but he is always making a noise of some sort.  He moans, he groans, he farts, he tells me constantly that he is going to throw up, that he is sick, that I made him sick because I touched him, that he is going to die.  All things you want to hear when you are lying in bed feeling like you are going to die yourself.

And don't even get me started on the remote control.  He has taken that over as well.  I am pretty sure that we have watched every episode of Ben 10, Phibbius and Ferb, and Zach and Cody's Suite Life.  Oh look, now Pokemon is on.  How wonderful.

It was a long night, and I am sure it will be a long day once again.  At least the fever has broken.  I am so grateful for that!

Let's hope day 3 will put this all behind me!

Day 1

I'm going downhill fast.   It hasn't been much more than two hours since I became a single parent for the weekend, and I feel like I am going to die.

 I woke up this morning with a heavy, burning feeling in my lungs.  Erik thinks it's from the chemicals they use to preserve the cadavers that I was working with in my lab last night.  It was extremely powerful smelling, but I don't think I can blame how I am feeling today on that.

I think it's the gosh darned flu. And wouldn't you know it but my man (who recently had the flu- thanks babe.) just left for a trip back East.  And it's snowing today- enough that it is going to need to be shoveled.  

As we were pulling out of the driveway on our way to drop him and Isaac off at the airport this morning, Erik began explaining how I go about putting the plow on the front of the four-wheeler.  "Lay the blade on the ground, lower the hook, click it into the only obvious place, drive forward, snap the other thing onto the end, bla, bla, bla."   As he was talking, I was saying to myself, "Nope.  That is never going to happen.  Not me.  Can't do it.  Don't even know what he is talking about.", all while looking very interested and shaking my head in understanding.  

It's going to be a long weekend.  My mothering skills will be tried, my patience, my compassion, my motivation.  I do have a little man still at home with me to take care of.   The only bright spot in all of this is that I also have a very responsible daughter who will be home from school in only 5 hours.  

I can do this.

I am going to bed now.

Day 1 is not going well.

How do I love thee?

Need help getting in the Valentine's Day mood?  I found some cute little quotes that will make you say 'awwww sweeeet' and will get you right where you need to be to make this year's day of love the best ever- too bad my hunny will be out of town.  Sad for me.

********************************************

"Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle."

                           -Amy Bloom

"Home is any four walls that enclose the right person."

  -Helen Rowland

"True love stories never have endings"

  -Richard Bach

"Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired."

  -Robert Frost

Hope your Valentine's Day is LOVE-ly!

Interview with a Norwegian

It's the month of love, and since we just celebrated our anniversary, I decided that it was high time to spend some quality time with my hunny and what better way than to do an interview for my blog...some of these questions come from a quiz in my favorite magazine, Real Simple, called 'how well do you know your valentine?'.  Enjoy!

Me:  Hi hunny, are you ready for this?  

Erik:  As long as you are ready for the answers.

Me:  Ok, question numero uno.  What reality television show would you consider auditioning for?

Erik:  Survivor.  That's the only one- because I am married.

Me:  What website do you spend the most time on?

E:  Ebay- because I am always trying to sell my Jazz tickets.

M:  What is your earliest childhood memory?

E:  Tying my shoes when I was 4 years old.

M:  What did you think of me the first time we met?

E:  You were in high school.  You were young and cute.

M:  So what made you want to get to know me more?

E:  Because you were young and cute!

M:  What was the last book that you read?

E:  Blood Diamonds, which I am still reading...I've been trying to read it for a really long time now.

M:  What is the one place on the planet that you are dying to visit?

E:  I don't know.  There is really no place that I am dying to visit.  But if I had to pick one I would say Norway.

M:  What are you most proud of?

E:  My family.

M:  What is something that most people don't know about you?

E:  I'm an open book.  Everyone knows everything about me.

M:  Come on- give me something here.

E:  That I can't smell?  Don't most people already know that about me?

M:  And now for the final question.  Would you rather be a little smarter or a little sexier?

E:  Smarter- I'm sexy enough!

There you go.  Apparently that was painful for him.  I will make a note of that.  Maybe I should not have done the interview when he was sick in bed.  I just thought I would do it while he was stuck here- with nowhere to run.  He, he, he.

It's the little things that mean so much...

This semester is KILLING me....I feel like I am failing in all areas of my life just trying to keep up with my school work.  I guess that is why I am noticing the little things and appreciating them so much more.  Here are some of the latest..

Finding that the dishwasher has been emptied or loaded.

Coming home from school in the morning and finding my bed already made.

Friends that ask how school is going....and who listen to me whine.

A kitty who wants to sit on my lap while I study all day.

Children who understand what it means when mom has to study for a test.

A husband who will take the boys to work with him (when they are off track- which I SWEAR they always are off!) so that I can have quiet in the house.

A test that gets put off my an instructor for a day or two for whatever reason- I'll take it!

A message on Face Book from one of the kids in my Sunday School class telling me how much they appreciate the time I put into my lessons.

And speaking of that, having late church.  That is seriously saving my behind- it gives me just that much more time to 'polish' up my lessons that have been seriously put off until the last minute.

A daughter who volunteers to make dinner.

A husband who offers to make a milk run so that I don't have to.

A text or a phone call from friends who have been there.  Just checking in to see if I'm still alive.

I could go on and on!  What I am trying to say is that I am so blessed to have such a patient and understanding family who are really dealing with me being in school so much better than I am- and that I truly have some of the greatest friends out there!

Love is in the Air!

Today is our 17th wedding anniversary.  What a ride it has been!   

9 moves, 3 houses, 13 vehicles, 3 children, 2 adoptions, 2 wedding rings (for me), 7 job changes, 3 college degrees with one more on the way, and the list goes on.  But through it all, there is no one I would rather have by my side than my hunny.

Happy Anniversary Erik!