There is Not a Single Pair of Socks in our Entire Household

...ONLY SINGLETONS

Aaaaugh!

Two hours of helping the girls clean their disaster area bedroom, and this is what we end up with!

The "Buddy System" is not working around here!

(Although, more often than not, I don't think the dryer is the culprit.....my kids have this crazy idea that they're suppose to take their socks off in the back yard, in the car, in the garage, while going up the stairs, at the dinner table, while reading on the couch, instead of right by the dirty clothes hamper where they could deposit them promptly into it...but they only take one sock off in the first location, then take the other one off at a later time/different location to make the whole sock situation EVEN MORE "adventurous!")

Our Glover Lane Home

After we first moved to our new home [almost] two years ago, I used drive in & out of our neighborhood via the route that would take me by my old home - our "Glover Lane Home" as we call it.

But, not so much anymore.

Because I kinda get sad about what's become of it.

It was purchased by a couple who had no intention of ever making it "their home."  They were only interested in buying an "investment."  Although, they did live in it for a short time to justify the type of loan they got on it, it's mostly been inhabited by renters.

I find myself being protective of our "Glover Lane Home" and I notice the details of things that are "wrecking" it - like they sprayed some yellow foam stuff in all the driveway cracks, and it's oozing out and looks.....SO not good!  But, hey! that same driveway is full of snazzy, new cars; a red truck, a Cadillac, & black sports/luxury cars.  (I'm afraid that's where their regard [& money] goes.)  I cringe when I see all the things that the various renters are letting slide.  Overgrown plants, weeds, dead grass - not that we are champion gardeners by any means - SCREAM out to me, We don't love this house.  And that's sad to me because we did (in fact,  I love it! are the exact words I exclaimed the moment our Realtor let us in to look at it all those years ago) - and I want it to continue to be loved!  Sure, we ultimately outgrew it, and there were things [functionally] that were a nuisance, it didn't meet our needs anymore, that's why we built & moved, but I'm talking more about the HOME we loved.  The HOME which holds our history, memories, & hearts.  How could it not?  We lived there for 11 1/2 years!

My friend & I sometimes walk by it on our morning walks, which we did this week, and like always, I check it out - any signs of love, attention, concern?  I wonder if she notices that she kinda "loses" me in our conversation at that moment we pass it?  It's weird....I KNOW, in my brain, it's my old home, but it's almost like it doesn't even seem like it.  It's changed.  It doesn't look as bright to me anymore.  It's more somber & drab.  (Although, to others not emotionally attached, it may still look the same?)  Our kids have wondered aloud, if we ever drive by, what it looks like on the inside, now.  Kyle, especially, wants to devise a way that he could walk through it again.  The curious part of me also wonders and wants to take a look, but the other part of me doesn't - I might want to keep everything in my mind just the way I remember it!

 {last photo as we drove away in 2012}

The day we moved all our stuff out, we were racing against a deadline and we didn't have a ton of time to get all sentimental and pay tribute to every room & such...AND we were sweating so much, I don't think there was any liquid left in my body to cry.

BUT, I still thought:

How could I let that thing go?  

How can I let go of where all my daughters learned to walk?

They each learned to grab hold of the cabinet knobs & drawer pulls and "play" (read: empty everything out of) with the measuring cups, pots, water bottles, Tupperware containers that were inside.

How could I walk away from that kitchen where I prepared ten thousand meals, my children at my side (read: under my feet)?

My children built a gazillion forts and we had hundreds of Family Home Evenings in our living room.

There was the "time out" corner over on the staircase landing, that fit our time out bench perfectly, we used A LOT! 

There were the stairs where a the children slid down laughing gleefully in sleeping bags or pillow cases.....and where brothers would chase/run from each other making the loudest pounding noise as they barreled down - which then, unfortunately, sometimes ended in a crashing sound as frames were knocked off the wall at the bottom.

We finished the basement, painted every room, remodeled one big bathroom into two separate bathrooms, and replaced all the flooring except for one room in that house while we were there!

There were big dormer window seats where the kids liked to sit upon & hang out.  Kyle split his head open on one of the windowsills.  The boys learned to shoot a basketball pretty darn well in that hoop we once had attached to the house (before the incident), then was replaced with a driveway basketball hoop.

We had 11 Christmases there.  59 Birthdays.  Brought home 3 new babies.  3 Baptisms.  4 Priesthood Ordinations.

    {Miss B's 1st Birthday - May 2009}

That home is where we built our family.

Back in Layton & North Salt Lake & Brigham City where we lived for six years before we moved here is where we were seedlings.  We had just the two boys.  We rented from apartment to apartment, and lived in a "starter home" too far north in Davis County for our liking.  We weren't ready to settle.

But when we got to the "Glover Lane" one, we put down our roots.

And it's filled to the very brim with memories that have made our lives rich and beautiful. 

There will always be a special spot in our hearts for that great home of ours we grew together in.

It's where we became "US."

There's a lot to say about a home and how it molds a family.

I'm so grateful that one that took care of us for so long.

{And, yes!  we love our new home with all our hearts, too.  (In case you were starting to doubt.)  The memories have already started heaping up in this thing.  Our next chapter is going to be amazing, as well.}

So, that's why I feel melancholy when I see the house these days - it appears they don't appreciate it the way I do.  I feel like the renters will just keep moving in & out, then eventually move on and forget about it.  I hope that someday it will be sold to a family who will be able to own it and live in it and love it again.
It just dawned on me that my feelings for our "Glover Lane" home might stem from one of my favorite childhood books, The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton.

This house went through a period of being loved, then neglected, then loved again.  The ending always made me so happy when the great-great-granddaughter of the man who built the house found it and bought it.  Once again it was lived in and well taken care of.

Maybe that can happen to our "Glover Lane Home" too!  :)

3 Gatsu!

YES!!!  It's March!

{finally}

Which means the worst months (January & February) are over!

Even though our weather has been mild the last couple of weeks, and today's weather hasn't change - it's actually the same - I'm just so RELIEVED we're moving onto March!

Winter has always been my least liked season, but I think, as I get older, my feelings about it are getting worse!  It's hard for me to be upbeat.  I'm not really a fan of winter sports/hobbies, so I'm not excited for snow ever.  EVEN THOUGH Utah has been known to have strange weather - snow as late as May - I feel like we're on the way out of the woods.

So, hopefully, most of the snow/cold/inversion days are over - both where I live AND where the airline I work for flies, so that we don't have to be so crazy, busy with tons of problems at work!

Hopefully, I can start to see my peeps again!  (We quit walking our kids to school when it gets into the 30's.)  It seems like we all stay inside our houses during the winter, and I don't get to see/talk to anyone.  Seriously, one day in January, I took a walk through and down every single road in my ward (church congregation geographical boundaries) and I did not see a SINGLE PERSON out.  What?!?  Do we have an anti-social ward?!?  Or people don't like to be outside in single digits when the air quality is harmful to your respiratory system?!?  ;)

So.....now that it's March, I've got several things to look forward to:

1. Having a lunch with my [long time, no see] friends
2. Going out on our semi-annual lunch with my aunts, girl cousins, & sisters on my mom's side of the family.
3. Attending a 3-day event, Romance & Royalty, with Matt up in Midway at The Zermatt Resort  (We won it!  Valued at $950)
4. Annual dinner at Ruth's Chris with a business partner (and on his dime!)
5. Spring Break with my family in Las Vegas
6. Going with TWO of my daughters to the FIRST General Women's Meeting that includes all girls age 8 & up.
7. And maybe this scene:
   

 {OK, so maybe not in Utah}

Welcome March!

Work Woes

It hasn't exactly been a breeze at work for Matt & I lately.

MATT:
It all started on Christmas Eve.....

When THIS GUY walked into Matt's work (a Credit Union).

And THEN he proceeded to ROB one of their tellers!  He just verbally told him, "This is a robbery.  Give me all your money."  The teller looked at him like he was kidding, to which the robber clarified, "This is FOR REAL."  So, the teller complied.

(And got away before law enforcement arrived - within minutes!)

The president was out that day, so Matt spent a lot of time searching the security camera footage and prepare it for the cops and going through all the other procedural steps for robberies.  Never pleasant.

In the News:  This same guy went on to rob two other financial institutions over the course of the same week!!  Story HERE.

THEN, on Monday, just 13 days after the 1st robbery, they got robbed AGAIN.  (Different robber, same teller!!!)  We couldn't believe it!

He imitated he had a weapon, but one was never seen.

AGAIN, the president of the credit union was still out, so Matt went through the whole "recovery process" that day, as well - LIKE HE DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE HE NEEDS TO DO!  HA!
This time the FBI was there with their masks on, collecting fibers, and the whole nine yards!
Understandably, some of his employees were VERY distraught and shook up.  They kept the outside door locked the rest of the afternoon.

Why do these thugs think they can just commit such crimes...which involve REAL PEOPLE????  (It's an epidemic - like 24 bank robberies in the last two months in our state!)  And cause all kinds of [mental & financial] damage along the way.  

ME:
My hopes to start the New Year off "low-key" at work were completely dashed THANKS TO THIS:

The first winter storm of the year has arrived bringing with it significant snowfall, strong winds and extremely frigid temperatures to the Northeast. Going into it we knew this was going to be a challenge, but boy, were we unpleasantly surprised for how big it actually got.

It caused us to deal with THIS:

Which resulted in a TON of THIS:

Which meant a "Code Red" was issued on NEW YEAR'S DAY.  A "code red" is when it is mandatory for everyone to work a certain number of overtime hours that day.  (In addition to your regularly scheduled work shifts.)
The CODE RED was still in effect for January 2.
And then another CODE RED was issued for January 3.
And another on January 4.
And on January 5.
And January 6.
And even on January 7.

But, to look on the bright side....{cue ABBA's song, "Money, Money, Money"}  I'll probably make more money in this one week time period, than I did in the last 2 months!

Finally, for the 8th, overtime will no longer be mandatory, but it is still being asked of us, on a volunteer basis, because there are still so many [sometimes irate] customers calling trying to either get a better/earlier/different flight, or get their money refunded/adjusted.  Or to just complain, cancel, compliment, cross-examine, cuss at, or confuse us!

But, we tried to MAKE THE MOST OF IT:

Good thing my friends gave me a case of this:

And this:

;)

To cope, Matt also took me away, out on a date Friday night to a steakhouse we have been wanting to try for years, and then another day I got together with The Girls for a sort of "bridge club."

Friday will be my first day off work in 11 days!  I am looking forward to it!

A Silver Lining

My Mission President first taught me about "Silver Linings." As in, "Every cloud has a silver lining."
He taught that in the midst of difficulty - and there was PLENTY on the mission (our message was rejected, cancelled baptism dates, unable to receive permission from parents/husbands/friends who were opposed to and would not grant permission to their loved ones being Baptized, investigators dropping us, foreign languages to learn, WEIRD food, "No Shows" for appointments & church, The cold/wet/humid/scorching weather...on a bike, companion relationships, etc. - sometimes ALL in the SAME day! Aauuugh!)

But, then, he said, there was ALWAYS something GOOD that could come out of it.  Blessings were all around - even if we did not discover them until a WHILE after the desperate/unhappy/gloomy situations.


Soooo, in the middle of our Post- Ruptured Patellar Tendon life - and I say, "OUR" because it has totally affected our whole family...."Single parent" with one more "child" to care for, but only the same amount of [limited] time - and only ONE driver....

I found a SILVER LINING!

{compliments of our Orthopedic Dr.....I made the request, and a trip to the DMV, and voila!}

And what's better than having a handicapped parking pass?

Having TWO passes!  (One for each car.)

Being a whole foot shorter than Matt, with much shorter legs, I've always had to move along, it seems, with a slow gallop to keep up with him.  NOW.....I'm walking very S.L.O.W.L.Y. and I'm still in front of him.  So, the shorter distance he has to "walk" (what do you call it when one move on crutches?) the better!

BUT!  I will not abuse it.  I have been in the car all by myself, and I pass the front, handicap parking stalls and find one further away, even though.....legally, technically, I could get away with it.

I've noticed others do park in those "reserved" spots EVEN WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE A HANDICAP PASS.  And THEN WE have no where semi-close to park.  I'm totally bugged by that.  Don't do it!  There ARE people who really need it!!!

And it's good for 3 MONTHS!  SCORE.  (Hope & Comfort among the challenges.)  It makes my "Gratitude List."

--------------
On the same subject of "Silver Linings" - did you think I was going to write about the movie?  I'm upset that Silver Linings Playbook is rated R.  It sounds like a great idea for a movie.....that I won't be seeing.  Hey!  You movie making people!  Why do you have to ruin all these movies with crap that brings them down to a disgusting & inappropriate rated R level?  Don't do it!

(I guess it's "Opposite NIKE Day")

What Could've Been (or A Pity Party on a Friday Night)

Tonight we were SUPPOSE TO be getting on a plane to fly out to Cancun.

This was our "replacement vacation" for our failed Cruise attempt back in February.

Matt & I (no kids) had a week long reservation at an ADULTS ONLY All Inclusive Resort on the beach in Cancun, The Golden Parnassus.

We had a room booked with breathtaking views of Nichupte Lagoon and the Caribbean beyond.

 

We were going to eat to our heart's (tummy's?) content at any or all of the six restaurants at OUR resort and/or the ten restaurants at it's sister resort down the road.

We wanted to take advantage of the Spa part of the Resort, too.

BUT THEN THIS HAPPENED!!!

Which pretty much creates all kids of problems for a vacation like this.

 Matt can't even walk on his own, so....

I present to you Problem #1:

He can't bend his leg either.

Problem #2:

And he can't even get his knee wet.....

Problem #3:

{"They" say the Ocean's crashing waves against ruptured knees is also BAD = Problem #4}

And if he can't even drive a car, how is he going to manage any of these?

{Problem #5}

That "SUPPOSE TO" phrase I opened this post with, was the key word.  NEEDLESS TO SAY, we had to cancel our vacation.

{Boo hoo hoo.  Bwaaaahhhhhh!}

And, tonight, instead of flying to Paradise, I stayed home - on a Friday night - being crafty:

 

(Which would you rather be doing?) ;)

Imagine that:  TWO failed vacation attempts so far in 2013.

Don't you wish you had my "LUCK?"

Give That Coach a Valium

Ryan has been umpiring baseball at our city league again this Spring/Summer. He LOVES it!
It involves SPORTS! And his genuine LOVE OF THE GAME.
It involves MONEY!
It involves being outside in [hopefully] pleasant weather, hearing the *crack* of the bat as it hits the ball, and the aroma of hot dogs coming from the Snack Shack!

But when tournament time comes at the end of the regular season, the intensity at the ball field turns up a notch - or ten!  The players are playing their hearts out, the crowd is cheering with greater enthusiasm, and the official scorekeeper is bombarded with, "What's the score?" inquiries left and right when earlier in the season, practically no one talked to her.  It's like this every year.....the championship is on the line, after all!

BUT THAT IS NOT AN EXCUSE FOR COACHES' NON-STOP COMPLAINING when Ryan was calling the game and especially when he called the 3rd out to end the ball game - AND THEN CHASING HIM DOWN AFTER THE GAME TO VERBALLY ASSAULT HIM SOME MORE, ACCUSING HIM OF "LOSING THE GAME" FOR THEM, AND THEN THROWING IN SOME OBSCENE NAME CALLING AS WELL!!!

Yep, these are "grown men" we're talking about here.  "Grown men" who are coaching Little League Baseball - moreover it was the SHETLAND league....which is just one step above TEE-BALL.....which consists of 4, 5, and 6 YEAR OLDS!!!!

Can you say, Unfulfilled Sports Dreams in their Own Childhood?!?  Psychological Problems over Personal Sports Failures?

*********

I happened to be in California at the time, so I did not witness it personally, but it was reported from other eyewitnesses that these "grown men" also refused to shake hands/high five the winning coach after the game.  And some other Moms in attendance (leave it to us "Momma Bears") began yelling at those coaches, "LEAVE HIM ALONE!  GET OVER IT!  BACK OFF!  WAY TO ACT IN FRONT OF THE KIDS!  GROW UP!"
While another Mom gave a shout out to Ryan, "WAY TO STAND YOUR GROUND, UMP!  GOOD CALL, GOOD CALL!"

Thank you my fellow Mamma Bears!  :)

Is There Something I Don't Know?

According to the contents of my mailbox today....

The Pampers company is telling me I have a 9 - 11 month old infant.

(notice the upper right hand corner of pamphlet)

Son or Daughter? I don't know.

But, THIS I do know....if they are RIGHT - I've lost that baby! I have no idea where she/he is.

AND, I don't RECOLLECT at all EVER giving birth to him/her. Or even being pregnant.

Let me jog my memory....
9 - 11 months ago, THIS is what was happening in my life...

OK - all the children I KNOW about are accounted for in this photo. Or could the baby just have been left sleeping in the car seat in the warm van?

OK - here's proof....Great-Grandma Darley is holding my baby - the only one I know about - the one who's now 32 1/2 months old. Surely if I had another [babier] one, she'd be holding that one, right?

OK - here's a family photo....no baby in it. Whew! That solves it. But, apparently I'm also missing one of the children I KNOW I have, so this photo can't be considered reliable, afterall.

I have divulged the unfortunate phenomenon of me LOSING MY MIND before.....

BUT despite the fact that I missed my daughter's Dr. appointment, failed to remember to pick my son up from school, set my alarm for the wrong time, found my dinner in the microwave 2 hours after I'd heated it up [and only then did I recall I'd never eaten], and forgotten I left the shopping cart right by my car until I heard the most unnerving scraping/crashing noise while backing out of my parking spot at the grocery store -- ALL in the last few days -- I'm pretty SURE that Pampers must be the one who is losin' it this time. NOT ME!

Please tell me I'm correct.

PLEEEAASE.

OK - Just flat out LIE to me about it!!!

Thank You.

Oh, well...at least there were some diaper coupons in their pamphlet - that I STILL need! (sigh.)

*****

But, WHY do a lot of the diaper coupons make you buy the diapers AND the wipes to get the savings? One more of my gripes. I just don't need 59,412 wipes, people!!!

Science Fair Projects = Ticket to [a parent's] Mental Derangement

A Poll.

What do you think of School Science Fair Projects?

a) They SUCK rocks

b) They make me want to throw up

c) They are a form of torture

d) I'd rather poke needles in my eyes

e) It's a guaranteed trigger for a Panic Attack

f) I can't stop crying for a week about it

g) I HATE them

h) All of the above

Can you tell it's "that time of year again" - the end of January?

I have never been a fan of Science. Period.

In High School, I registered for a [required] Science class, which class' description stated, "Science for the non-oriented Science student" so I wouldn't have to be bothered with all that "deep" Science stuff.

But, that's not the complete reason I abhor the Science Fair Project part of my children's school career.
Rather, it's the leaving-it-until-the-last minute. It's the changing-your-mind-a-million-times-on-what-to-do-for-the-dang-project. It's your (my)-child-acting-like-it's-now-my-emergency/responsibility-due-to-their-lack-of-planning. It's the mediocre/bordering-on-lame-end-results-that-comes-from-their-above-listed-choices. And it's definitely the other-students'-professionally-designed-display-boards-that-have-MY-PARENT-DID-THIS-FOR-ME-written-all-over-it.

Note: I do not do my child's school assignments. I always tell them, "I already passed Kindergarten/3rd/6th/9th grade, I don't need to do that work again."
But, still.....when it comes to Science Fair Projects....I can't stand it. Just thinking about it leaves me full of dread. It drives me bonkers!

Last year, at Back-to-School night, our 5th Grade teacher announced that a Science Fair Project would not be required that year. Cheers literally erupted in the room. I was amongst the most joyful (READ: loudest).

So far, we've had experiments involving eggs, salt water, bananas, paper bags, thermometers, windows, cereal, magnets, noses, and starburst....
(At least, the little sisters were very willing and able to assist with the Starburst-tasting part of the experiment.) :)

And we're still only 40% of the way through with Science Fair Projects in this family.

Oooooohhhhhhhh, Bwaaaaawwwhhhh, huuuh, huhhhhh. BOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO!