Seattle day

Today we had to shuttle the kids in to Seattle to visit their new orthodontist.
He is amazing, patient, kind, yaddi yadda.......the kids (N and M) need braces.
Brennan (the cause for the trip) well.....it's going to be a long road. Because his tooth was knocked out, they cannot just put braces on him. Now we have to see two specialists and he may even need surgery to correct his ginormous over bite. Poor guy. I just want him to have a smile that reflects the rest of him.
Moving on...afterwards, we headed to UW Hospital to check if my moms memorial plaque and quilt were still hanging. They aren't....(another story). SO...then to Dick's for burgers and shakes and on to the EMP. We went ahead and bought a membership due to the largeness of our family.
As soon as the boys were on their way, I took Mae (and Myron) and headed over to the Childrens Museum.
As it turned out.....KCTS was there filming something and Mae and Myron were filmed.
The little boy that they were filming happened to be the same little boy that stood next to Pres. Obama as he signed the new healthcare reform. Ps- He was obnoxious, pushy, ADD, and snotnosed. Bet they dont put that in their segment.
That's it for now.
The above photos were taken at the EMP dress like a rock store area that I enjoyed more than all of it put together. Just not my thing.

EMPSFM.org-Taking Aim-1269989793112 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

EMPSFM.org-Taking Aim-1269989793112 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Want a good cry?

Yeah....you know you do. Click HERE.

Now tell me what you thought of that?!

OH and for afterwards to mop up those tears....head over to my new favorite
website....www.foodzie.com.
Mmmm

Happy Birthday Myron

Well...Myron is now a teenager. So far, he has been a pleasure and I hope/pray that this will continue through the few years we have left together. He stayed home from school and we headed to Big Star Diner for lunch. For his birthday presents, I said NO to electronics.
SO....this didn't leave much. He/we decided that a shopping spree would be just what a teenage boy would want, so we headed to Silverdale.
He was so excited to get new shoes, jeans, shirts, boxers, SOCKS, and cologne. Then I did the unthinkable. I bought him a cell phone. Why you ask? Well....even though Nathan hasn't been the best example of phone use (texting when he should be sleeping, going through girlfriends like socks) it isn't fair to Myron. So, we'll see how all this goes. So far, in the month that Nathan has had HIS cell phone, it has been taken away about 6 times. Fingers are crossed.

Myron with all his Target loot. Oh how I wish they would build a Target in our area instead of icky Walmart. Around 1pm, the power in my shop went out and it started going out all over the Island. Being the wimp I am, we decided it was a great excuse to go to the awesome hotel just across the bridge from our house.
The following will be photos from this trip...enjoy!

Princess Mae ~ Catch up post ( 1 of 4)

Before Mae was sick.....as in last Sunday, I was able to take some long over due "pretty" shots.
Enjoy

Rylan.......OH my those FRECKLES!

Yes....they still sleep in my bed with me. NO I am not looking for advice on how to get them out.

Baseball season !

Well.......it's that time of year again and it's about time!! Brennan is on the CUBS majors team. The same team his older brothers played on, with the same coach. Shane is assistant coach and head coach for Rylans tball team again. We'll see how that all works out.
Brennan is really excited to be playing on the CUBS. He has been their "mascot" since he was 8 years old. I can't WAIT to watch Brennan play. He is amazing and out of all the sports he plays, Baseball is where he really shines.
Watch out Bainbridge

Poor Baby

My poor little sweet girl has been sick. Luckily daddy took all of last week off to give the kids a sense of "normalcy" again. She has a horrible cough that makes her sound like a smoker and a runny nose that keeps her from breathing properly. SO....today I stayed home with her from church much to her objection. It was so nice to sleep in, read stories, make dinner and "hang". My poor little miserable sweet pea. She's still adorable, even while "dripping".

NORMALCY.....it's not just an 8 letter word.

If I would have blogged last night, which I really wanted/needed to, I would have blogged about my anxiety as a new store owner. I was feeling (as I am most nights lately) very out of whack and panicky about this new life of mine. The benefits very much outweigh the bad, but still......the new schedule, or lack of is really rocking my world. Mentally, physically.....emotionally.....all around.
I want to retreat into "normalcy". I have to remember the normalcy means me staying up way too late at night, sleeping in way to late in the morning and being awnry and physically tired all day.
Oh, and the guilt. BUT BUT BUT.......it was my normal. I had some great things in there too.
Late nights with my husband, cuddling with the little ones in the morning. Great one and one talks with the boys in my bed. Ah my bed. And while I am nostalgic for those times (notice that I am not mentioning any of my household chores here), I have to remember to focus on the good, things about what I am doing now.
I am in bed before 9 most nights. NEVER ever ever up past 11. I am up at 7 in the morning, wide awake and feeling good all day. Today we even read scriptures as a family! Yes....ME, in the MORNING before 9 am even!
I am reading again. (okay I am now sick to my stomach right now because I finished this blog and it was deleted until this point and now I have to rewrite it all)
I am not watching television or watching movies. YES......ME! I can't even remember the last time I did!
I am medicine free. For those that may not know, I have battled with panic attacks for years and after Mae was born, I was put on anti depressants that worked like magic. I weaned myself off them a couple of months ago and it is so nice to be able to know that my emotions are all mine.
So, when I get anxious about how busy life is now and unfamiliar and uncertain and uncomfortable......all the "uns", I want to be able to focus on those positives and these goals to make things feel normal when I get home finally after being gone from 8:30 to 5 or 6pm.
-Make dinner, no matter what. Every night.....cook dinner.
-Do homework with the boys, even though they are smarter than me......sit there and act smart in front of them.
-Do a load of laundry...(luckily, Shane is a neat freak and he and the boys have taken over most of the household chores)
-Give Mae and Rylan a bath, get teeth brushed, stories read and in bed.
-Drink sleepytime tea, pray as a family.....read......go to bed.

If I just stick to these things...I think I'll stay sane.....OH......and maybe.....JUST maybe
I may someday be able afford an employee. Pray for me!

Here are some of my happy times from today.

First photo of Mae way UP there is being stubborn and wont move way down here.
-So....my first happy for today was Mae playing dress up with me at the store. We made earrings for her out of curling ribbon.

-Second HAPPY was cooking dinner tonight. Fresh Sockeye salmon filet, rice pilaf and chinese long beans with garlic, lemon and olive oil. Yum. It felt really good to cook again.


Third happy.....clean kids fresh from the tub playing sweetly on the couch with their new stuffed animals. I know it's simple, but if you have kids, you know how precious and fleeting these moments are.
4th and final happiness.....fresh beautiful material from the fabric store. I have to admit that a bit of my anxiousness has been about not "creating". It's hard to be surrounded by so much beauty and not be able to work on a bit of my own. I am bringing my sewing machine tomorrow and will sew when it is slow. I am excited to make more party flags as they will be featured in the May/June issue of "Seattle Homes & Lifestyles" magazine! I just realized that I might not have even blogged about that! Anyhow.....the writer for this paper found our shop and photographed some pieces from the shop including my party flags that she didn't even know were mine. They will be featured in an "Island Life" article in the magazine. Yippeee!

Anyhow....phew.......long post. I think I got it ALL out!

Grandma and Grandpa come for a visit

Shanes mom and dad are here for a visit from sunny LA. We haven't seen them in over 2 years so it has been nice to reconnect. With them living so far away, it has been a struggle to get down there (haven't been down in over 12 years) and for them to come up here (we kept telling them we'd come down instead). Finally, they said, "that's it! we are coming".

Mae took to grandma and pa immediately. She just adored them.
Look at the similarity between grandpa and Myron!

Love the group shots!

After a great church meeting in which Nathan not only gave a talk, but was ordained a teacher in the aaronic priesthood, we went to Tophams for dinner. We had a great time and of course,.....the subject went to boxing. Matt has been telling us about a youth boxing club that the Bainbridge Police are trying to form and Shanes dad was a boxer, so you know where that went.

I have been so hesitant about the whole wrestling thing, so now boxing? Um.....yeah..... Nuff said.

Cute little girlies above eating at their own private table and eating off each others plates as if they were a married couple, each picking out which they like.

Below.....very messy (still in church clothes) Butler boys after playing outside with Topham boys and their very messy, jumpy dog, Duke.

Sweet little girlies again below with as many baby dolls as they could find/carry?

AGAIN.....can't stop photographing these two. Sweet little girlies deciding that they were having a sleepover together and had many reasons why this should happen. xo

To top off such a wonderful day, we had the most magnificent full moon in such a beautiful shade of orange, that I had to stop, get out and take a photo.

xo to all!