We're still here

I haven't blogged in over a week! And I haven't taken a single picture worth posting in two, maybe three weeks. I'd love to write that I have been so busy planning our spring vacation and losing weight and reorganizing my house that I just haven't had any time to blog. But that would be a lie. We probably won't be going on any vacations this spring because we are aiming to be completely debt free by Spring. But little surprises always seem to pop up so we'll see if that actually happens...
I have slowed down a little on the weight loss front. And I decided to take down the 17 Day Diet post because I don't want this blog to be about those kinds of things. This blog is about our family and what we are up to. Not my ever changing eating habits and my workout routines. I loved all your comments and support though, so thank you!
And while I did  manage to clean out both my pantries, our bedroom junk drawer and the hall closet, the rest of the house will just have to wait for Spring. It's been a cold, lazy, sickness infested winter. We've had lots of colds in our house this winter. I'm not sure if that's because we currently aren't drinking green smoothies or if it's because I now have a baby, a 3 year old and 3 school age children in my house...probably a mixture of both. Whatever the reason, each sniffle and cough just about gives me an anxiety attack. I hate not having health insurance right now!
I haven't been taking tons of pictures because it seems there hasn't been many photo ops lately. We are all just happily going about our daily routines and dreaming of Summer. But here is just a taste of our exciting lives:

• My friend, Debbie gave me a black armoir style desk and I am going to take out the desk part of it and rearrange the shelves in it so that it will be our new quilt cupboard. I have so many nice quilts and I hate seeing them all piled up in my laundry room when they should be stored away nicely and displayed. I want to paint it Gun Metal grey or a deep shade of red. Depends on where I decide to put it....

• Kendrick's Uncle Jess and Aunt Linda are coming to see us from Florida in a few weeks!

• Kendrick finally started his job on Tuesday!! I wanted to take a picture of him with his work bag and nice clothes on and do a "back to work" post, kind of like a cutesy "back to school" post, but I didn't have the motivation to find batteries for my camera. So I'll let you just imagine how cute it would have been...

• My back hurts like a mother! I've figured out that most back bending (cobra pose, table top, reverse plank) Yoga positions, "flying" with the kids, and my recliner are all things that aggravate my back. I think I may have a herniated disc. And this cold weather doesn't help. I wake up stiff every single day. My back pain is giving me greater compassion for Kendrick's back pain though and has encouraged some pretty high spirited debates between the two of us as to who tolerates pain better. I still think I do. 

• Taylor got to go on a field trip to the Opera this week. She was so excited! Again, I should have taken a picture since she was all dressed up for it...

• The twins took their Kindergarten assessments last week and kicked butt! Those boys are so smart. I love that my kids love to learn. 

• I decided I would like to go back to school in the fall and take some online classes. I want to study nutrition and human development. 

• Oh, and speaking of school! I got roped into teaching a Junior Achievement course for Taylor's class. And it's not the fluff stuff like: deciphering fairy tales, learning the color wheel or 'why are we special'? But the grown up stuff like: city planning, reading a menu, balancing a checkbook and reading blueprints!! I am still in shock that I agreed to do it! Wish me luck on that one.

• I ripped off my nails. The last lady that did them wasn't the normal lady that does them and I hated them. I've been living with them since before Christmas but finally I just couldn't take their ugliness anymore so I ripped them off. I don't currently have the funds to get them redone. My hair takes precedence over my nails any day, so now I have stubby boy hands again until we start rollin' in the dough. However, I am typing faster than ever right now...

• Kendrick's new job is in Bountiful for the first few months. If something changes and he ends up still needing to work in Bountiful when our lease is up here (July) then you'd better believe that Bountiful is where we will be house hunting. I don't like that he has to commute that far. Especially on these icy roads.

• We've only gotten two of the three W2's we need so far to do our taxes.  Have you all gotten yours yet? This is the longest we've ever had to wait for ours. It's weird to think that Kendrick was working for 3 different companies last year. I sincerely hope we never have to do that again. Kendrick's old company won't be mailing out W2's until next Thursday! I could just kick someone there in the pants! I want our tax return as soon as possible, dang it!

•  It's colder than a frozen farm crap here. This is the coldest January I have ever experienced in Utah. And our air quality is HORRIBLE. Most days we can't even see the mountains, and I live by the mountains! I heard on the radio this morning that this air can be harmful to women who are pregnant and that prolonged exposure to it can contribute to miscarriages! I don't know if that is a bunch of baloney, but I do know that every time I get home from taking and picking up the kids from school I feel like I need to suck on a pipe of fresh air to clean out my throat and lungs. Anyone know where I can get a pipe of fresh air?;)

• I am on a mission to find some cute knee highs to wear with my boots and some leggings. But the only place online that I have been able to find some is Amazon, and I wasn't in love with what I found there. Also, it's almost too cold for leggings. I wore some to church on Sunday and my butt shivered so badly the whole day that by Monday I felt like I had done 10,000 squats-I was sore! But on the other side of that, yay for getting in a rear end workout at church of all places, right? So where do you ladies out there find cute, thick knee highs?

• Oh! And I am going to hop back on the gratitude wagon for as long and as often as I can. I miss it. And certain little things lately have reminded me that having an attitude of gratitude makes every trial more bearable. 

Now, because this post is already as boring as last season's The Bachelor, here are some recent phone pics and videos to liven things up...

The dog caught stealing some popcorn

The Dexican caught stealing a sip of soy milk

 

 

 

 

 We are going to start calling him Easton Van Halen. It's the first 10 seconds that make this video. I love his rocker face and that he is finally getting what it means to lip sync. Maybe he'll become good enough at that that he can lip sync for the President someday, eh?