Everything's amazing, nobody's happy

I received this in an email forward a few days ago, and the more I listen to this guy, the more he cracks me up, and I realise just how blessed we are to be living during this time. After watching this I am going to "try" not to complain about having to "fly" half way across the world with kids again.

Grandma and Papa Van have come to visit us on the "big plane"

We are LOVIN' having them here!

The life of a stay-at-home-mum

I have so many phone calls and things that I need to do with moving half way across the world. Deldon often asks these days did you get a chance to do abcd...........?

This article explained to me why I often feel so drained of energy and can't ever seem to find the time to get the phone calls or research done. I'm always too scared to start phoning people to ask for quotes etc because at any second the kids may need my immediate attention, and by the time you've sat on hold for 10 minutes just waiting to get the info you can guarantee they'll have needed me for something. At least sitting here writing this blog I can walk away at any second with out the need to explain myself, or have to start from scratch again when the kids demand my undivided attention - like right now, Samantha is recording me with her camera, shouting louder and louder "What are you doing" until I answer her :)

Ice Skating

Samantha has been watching "Dancing on Ice" so decided she really needed to try it out. We took the girls on Saturday, it was interesting to say the least. Sophie just wanted to be held the whole time, but Samantha really enjoyed being dragged around the ice by her mum and dad. She did not believe in actually putting any weight on her skates, so it was quiet the workout for us. I think next time well leave Sophie with Bryce at Granny's, then the 2 of us can share her deadweight as we drag her around.

2 months old and sleeping through the night....Way to go Bryce!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Just love these kiddies

Ouch!

After trying to reassure Samantha that her 2 pre-school boosters would only be little ouchies, would be gone the next day,and would stop her getting the "big sick" ..........this is what we woke up to this morning, along with nausea and a temperature, GREAT! Yesterday it was just the inner circle and really red, but it's gone to a whole new level. After a trip to the doctors we're back home with a anithistimine for the swelling and antibiotics as a precaution.

Relocating to Utah

Deldon and I moved here in the spring of 04. Four months later in the Autumn of 04 as we were driving from San Francisco to Sacramento to visit for Deldon's Dad's birthday we decided to be on a " five year plan". I guess we meant it literally. We figured we would make the decision as to where to settle before Samantha started full-time school and that would be this coming September. We started seriously thinking of moving about 18 months ago and have talked and talked and talked about it. The time has come and it's basically now or never. We have tried to sell our home, but that hasn't happened with the horrible market crash here. We're looking at it as a long term investment at this stage and hope to rent it out by the time we leave. Deldon has really disliked his job choice for a while now, so with that he has decided to go back to school to do a construction management degree, construction is his passion, not financial services. He'll attend UVU as that is the easiest, quickest route to graduation and will only have to do 2 yrs if he goes full time. We want to be there a year before spring semester dates in 2010 to be able to get residency. Having said that, we may yet just decide to have him start in the Fall and pay the crazy out-of-state tuition just get on with the schooling instead of putting it off. He luckily has a job to go out to working for his Uncle's construction firm based in Provo.
How do I feel about it? Absolutely devastated to be honest. I have been bottling up and hiding my feelings even from Deldon. But now it is getting closer it has started to feel really real and I need to start dealing and facing my feelings more openly. I love the United States, and know long term this will be best for our family. I know I can be happy there, whereas Deldon has never been 100% happy living here (darn that Irish weather lol.) It's just going to be the initial leaving my tight family / friend /Church support network, oh and the 50% income reduction that we'll be experiencing that is panicking me. I wonder how we'll even feed our mouths at this stage lol and more seriously, if and when we'll ever have the money for me to set eyes on this green Isle again. I haven't mentioned it on this blog before now because we haven't talked about it much outside the family circle, we figured we'd wait until after the baby was born, and I didn't want to drag the whole moving thing out. In the past I have talked about moving and my sister has told me I have offended people. My way to deal with it has been to focus on the positives of the USA and the negatives of here. Stressful days lie ahead. I just hope I can get through them in one piece emotionally and mentally....maybe I should be reconsidering removing chocolate from my diet, I might be needing it.

I'd give up chocolate but I'm no quitter

When my sister saw this magnet a few weeks ago, she thought of me so bought it, with some chocolate to go with it of course. I am struggling so bad with giving up the massive volumes of chocolate I have been consuming since becoming pregnant. I know once I cut it out I'll get over the cravings, but it's just having the self control to get through the withdrawal that is killing me. I was six weeks postpartum at the beginning of this week and had great intentions to start Power 90 again as my exercise to lose the extra prego pounds, but it's Thursday and I still haven't started. I prefer to get up early and exercise, but it's just not going to happen when I've been up feeding Bryce in the wee hours. I am resigned to the fact that it has to happen in the evenings, but I'm so wrecked by the time the kids go to bed, I clear up, and keep Bryce happy, that's it's going to be tough to actually follow through. Example: I had decided today that was it, I was exercising tonight, but here I am at 8:15 typing this post and I sent Deldon out to the corner shop 1/2 an hour ago to get me, yes you've guessed it, more chocolate accompanied by not just one set, but 2 sets of tray bakes (the 2nd set was not my idea lol). I am also a creature of habit and I thrive on routine, so it's all or nothing. If don't exercise every day then I just give up, I'm not one of these people that can just do it now and again. If I missed a night for some reason in the early stages before it's truly become routine, chances are I'd just give up completely - I'm weird I know, but that's just how I'm wired. So now I'm procrastinating again, telling myself I'll start on Monday, when I have my exercise mat, my weights, and DVD all pulled out of their hiding places in the closet. Wish me Luck!

What happens when you sit down to write a facebook tag of 25 random things about you

First we have chocolate pudding all over our face, I clean that up and continue on at the computer

This is the "I got caught" face

Some of the damage up close

What I find when I enter the kitchen

Samantha sees me taking pictures of Sophie's hands, so logically thinks this is a cool thing and proceeds to copy her...aaahhhh!!!!

Meanwhile Deldon and Bryce sleep through it all

The worse of it was they had just had the bath that afternoon, and as I am typing this post, Sophie has again come in to me with ink on her hands, do I ever learn?

Here's the tag I was writing last night whilst Sophie was having a field day with the pens. I tag anyone that wants to do it either on their blog or on facebook.

At age 6 I was awarded a bronze medal in Latin American dancing.
I am great at procrastinating. I saw a flier for a procrastination class whilst attending BYU. I picked it up with the intention to attend, but guess what I didn’t. Any true procrastinator wouldn’t!
I want skiing to be our family hobby, hopefully that can happen when we move to Utah and kids get up a bit.
I shop for my groceries online, and have them delivered to my door every Monday morning.
I must have my house in perfect order, all or nothing i.e. it has to be sitting perfect or it ends up a complete disaster zone.
I announce to my husband at least twice a week just how grateful I am for a dishwasher, I worship it.
I am a resident Alien of the USA and plan on taking out citizenship once I’ve been back in the country for the required 3 years.
Whilst on the subject of America, I love their patriotic songs, including ones about their military service like “American solider” and “Hey Mr. President”…..I know how weird am I? I’m not even an American.
I am a fan of Power 90 and really need to start it again now I’m 6 weeks post-partum.
I have 2 veneers on my front teeth.
I love the feel of anything satin on my lips or on my nails.
I always feel the need to explain or justify why the heck I have 3 kids under the age of 4 and why I am a stay-at-home mum.
When not in Ireland my asthma symptoms disappear, but when living here I have take a steroid inhaler every day.
When the kids are driving me crazy I walk into the kitchen, open the cupboard, eat something, then return to deal with the problem ( I’m not a comfort eater right?)
I have a really a low pain threshold and would have made a really bad pioneer as I don’t do well with physical discomfort. I’m much stronger mentally.
I enjoy cooking, and love to have the missionaries over for dinner.
I am a number cruncher and get a real kick out of filling in my monthly budget.
I love getting mail through the letterbox, even if it’s bills.
I am not a fan of planes and become very obessive wanting to know all the details if a commercial airplane crashes.
Sadly I’m never 100% content with the here and now. I always say to myself “I'll be happy when……”
I am married to one of the most patient, loving, charitable guys you could ever hope to meet.
At one stage (before I had kids) I thought I might have up to 6 kids. We hope to have least one more, but I think to go beyond 4 at this stage God would have to bat me over the head to make me go there.
I wish I could stay in my mid 20’s forever. I loved being that age.
For those of you reading this that are Mormon, I think I could well be considered a “Nazi” Mormon. I probably am a bit too intense of the letter of the law (no coke, 24 hr fast, no r rated movies etc.)
Can’t wait to have grandkids so I can dote on them, but not have any of the hard work that comes with looking after kids 24/7.

Snow has finally arrived!

You have no idea how long Samantha has been waiting for snow. Winter is supposed to bring snow according to all her books and television, yet we haven't had any. She came bouncing in to our room all too early to let us know it was here. You'll probably laugh at our wee skiff of a snowfall, but hey we'll take what we can get, it's such a novelty here. This was Sophie's first time out in snow, she was still crawling this time last year.

My Dad

Dad celebrated his 70th Birthday last week by having a lovely lunch with some of his closest friends, then joined us later in the afternoon to have dinner and cake. We bought him a digital photo frame and put loads of family pictures on it for him. Now I just need to help him get their mission photos on their too and he'll be all set! To finish of his birthday, my dad went out home teaching and last Sunday the wife of one of his families got up to bear her testimony and talked of the struggles she had faced through the week and how the visit of her home teachers (to cut a long story short) was basically an answer to her prayers. I looked at Dad sitting in the row in church with us and was so thankful for such an example of selflessness that he would take time on his special day to serve and show love to others.
Dad has received another special calling that will be of great worth to him and to those whom he will bless. He was sustained tonight at as the Patriarch of our Stake. For those of you not of my faith reading this, Patriarchal blessings are given to worthy members of the Church by ordained patriarchs. Patriarchal blessings include a declaration of a person's lineage in the house of Israel and contain personal counsel from the Lord. As a person studies his or her Patriarchal blessing and follows the counsel it contains, it will provide guidance, comfort, and protection.
Rachael and I have felt for years that Dad would be the next Patriarch and were always teasing him about it, so when we heard we weren't too surprised at his new calling. The Lord has blessed my Dad over the years with the ability to be very close to the things of the spirit with his gentle way, and I know from personal experience of being the recipient of blessings and hearing others be blessed through him, that he will be able to be a mouthpiece for the Lord to give those who will come to him seeking a Patriarchal blessing from Heavenly Father. Well it's also no surprise that Dad is feeling the enormous weight of the calling. My Mum was saying to me this morning "There is no hiding behind this calling." She is right, ones life must always be in order and close to the spirit in order to fulfill such a calling. But as I said to my Mum, that's why the Lord has chosen Dad, he leads his life in such a way that he'll always be ready to act in the office as Patriarch. It's my hope he lives long enough so that at least some, if not all of our children will receive their Patriarchal blessings through him.

Looks like we're coming (moving) to America in April 2009

More details to follow.........