where has the time gone

so i was looking back and saw that it has been 3 1/2 years...YEARS...since i last blogged

well, i guess time flies when you are having fun

the kids have all grown up

they are all involved in many different activities

i post a lot on facebook and instagram, but i should put it here

somethings i want to rant about i don't want to put on facebook

i just want to say my peace and not have any judgements

i know we are busy

i know we choose to be busy

my kids could do fewer things

but this is our life

we like our life

i know everyone is busy

i'm not trying to get a pat on the back or sympathy

sometimes i just want to say we had a busy day

that's it

nothing to read into it

we just had a busy day

for example this week we had a couple of busy days

and it's only wednesday

monday our day started out like this...7.30 get up, get ready 8.30 take alexis to gymnastics practice 9.00 come home and start laundry 10.20 random kid wanting me to buy some crap or magazine or something shows up at my door so i can help get him through college (not planned for the day - i sent him on his way) 10.30 pest control guy comes and sprays 10.45 the rest of us are all out the door to take brawn to his hitting lesson 11.00 hitting lesson 12.00 pick up alexis from practice and go pick up lunch 1.00 physical therapy appointment for alexis 2.00 head home 3.30 have abby and ethan get ready to take them to gymnastics practice 4.00 leave for practice 4.15 abby starts practice 5.00 i tell alexis to make sure at 5.30 ethan goes to practice in the gym next door from abby's practice and i head home to take brawn to baseball practice 5.25 pick up brawn and take him to practice 5.30 drop off brawn and go back to the gym and pick up the other kids 6.30 pick up ethan, abby, and alexis and go to the bank to get $ for all star shirts 7.00 get home and have dinner with valerie 7.25 leave to go pick up brawn from practice 8.30 get home after practice, brawn eats dinner, i water the garden and everyone is sent to bed

wednesday was like this...7.30 get up, get ready 8.30 take alexis to gymnastics practice 9.00 come home, get the other kids ready 11.20 order subway and go pick it up 11.45 drop brawn off at catching lesson and go pick up alexis 12.00 pick up alexis and head back to pick up brawn 12.15 have the kids eat lunch at america's pastime and wait for brawn to finish 12.40 leave and head to unm lobo baseball field for hitting practice with brawn's all star team 2.20 leave the batting cages and head home 2.45 get home and rest and cool down 3.30 have abby get ready for gymnastics practice 4.00 leave for practice 4.15 wait for 2 hours for her to finish practice (in the mean time valerie takes brawn to baseball practice at 5.30 thank you so much!!!!!) 6.15 leave practice and head home to pick up alexis 6.30 water garden and get ready to leave 6.45 pick up alexis and take her to activity days, they are swimming 7.00 drop off alexis and go pick up brawn to take him to scouts 7.15 pick brawn up early from practice and take him to tingley beach for scouts 7.45 drop brawn off and head back to pick up alexis 8.00 pick up alexis from swimming and go pick up dinner 8.20 pick up brawn from the church and head home to eat dinner 8.30 eat dinner and get ready for bed 9.15 send the kids to bed and sit down to write this blog

yes we are busy

yes we love it

we don't know how to not be busy

life is good

Abby's Birthday

Three years ago, we were enjoying this bundle of joy in our home!

On January 6, 2009 - our little Abigail was born

Only three years later and she is so grown up

She talks all the time and is so smart with a huge vocabulary

She like to play with her brothers and sister

She loves her "night-night"

She love to tell us what is "not as -ceptable"

She is a joy in our lives

She keeps us on our toes

She loves anything princess!

She is "not two anymore, she is three!"

Happy Birthday to Abby!

Birthday happiness!!!!

The kids all have birthdays right around Christmas

this makes it a little tricky when trying to figure out what to get them

it makes it even trickier for my parents who live in Hawaii

my mom never knows what to get them and what they might already have

I never know what to tell her they would LOVE!!!

so, this year my parents gave all the kids some $$$$

they  liked  LOVED it!

today we went to the store and they each got to pick out something they wanted

that was a really hard decision for some of them

right away Brawn wanted to check out the Nerf gun aisle

Ethan found what he wanted right away and picked this...

he LOVED it right away

then he convinced his brother to find something like it and Brawn found this 

pretty cool huh?!?  yeah , it shoots 26 darts! He LOVES it!

Next we were off to find something for the girls...no nerf guns for them...however, they do like playing with them once we get home!

first we went down the Princess aisle and Abby wanted a "star stick!" (otherwise known as a wand!) she looked a little more and decided she wanted the princess play hair kit!  

She LOVES it!!!

Alexis had a really hard time deciding what she wanted.  It was so hard to choose between all the really fun and cool toys!  At first she wanted a "Tangled"doll, then she wanted a baby, but she has both of those.  Then she thought maybe one of those food toys, like a Blizzard or Dippin Dots maker....none of those things would do.  She finally settled on this....

I was kind of surprised at her choice, but like the others....she LOVES it!

Week 2 of the New Year

It hasn't exactly been a great week for me.


I serve as the president of the parent board at my son's preschool
this week....drama.
I hate drama.
I hate this drama so much that I am considering stepping down.  
I don't know if we will be returning.
This has kind of consumed my life this week.
I hate that.


As I have tried to keep my mind occupied with other things, I was able to work on my kitchen organization a little more.
I have been able to clean out and organized my cabinets and drawers.
I cleaned out my junk/tool drawer.
The counter tops have stayed clean.


Next week, the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer!
and hopefully, less drama.

2012 Home Organization Challenge

I have been in desperate need to organize my home.


I mean, it seriously needs some de-junking.


Have you ever watched one of those "hoarding"shows?  I have.


I do not want my house to ever be like that.


So, I have to get started now...


But, my problem is where to start?


This is where the home organization challenge comes in!


Actually, I'm trying to do two things.  I found a calendar that picks one thing to organize in you home each day.  It breaks it down to one shelf, or one bookcase.  Simplified.  That's what I need.
The other thing is a weekly challenge.  It targets a larger area, but still broken down.


Take week one for example: Kitchen organization: countertops and sink.
I can do that.


The calendar for this week listed these things to do: set up a donation station, declutter the top of cabinets and dust, declutter top shelf of one cabinet, organize spices and throw out expired ones, put all your cans together on one shelf, and clean out freezer and throw away old food.
I can do this!


This is exactly the plan I need.  Break everything down.  and if it is not an area I have, I can catch up on something I didn't have time to finish.


Ultimately, I love the advice...don't beat yourself up for not finishing in one day, just start again the next day!


I can and will get my home organized this year! Even if it takes me all year to do it!  It has to get easier once you get going, right?