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I guess I have slacked on keeping this up. Actually, it isn't so much that I have slacked, it is more like there isn't much to chat about. You would think having kids would give me endless material to discuss but nope. We are boring or something. It's usually the same old thing but just a different day. We are still struggling with Trent and school. The kid is smart but just lazy. I really don't know what to do with him. We have tried everything. Yesterday, which was only Monday, was a good homework day for him. He came home and got everything done I asked him or he needed to get done. When I told him to write 5 sentences, he did it. When I told him to go and write 5 more, he did it without whining about it. He even unloaded the dishwasher without whining about it. He put everything away with no questions asked and no excuses. Hmm..it was a nice change. One that I can for sure get used to...quickly. I think this may partly be because 1) I've been very blunt with him about his attitude. Lately, there has been no sugar coating of things. I told Dalan I will fully blame myself if he ends up having to see a psychiatrist in the future. But for now I am going with whatever works and it is working. And 2) I took the Wii, his DS and his I-Pod away. Take that! Mess with me and you will have nothing. He seems to think I am the weak parent I think. I don't know why. Well, yes I do. I sometimes say no and if they bug me and bug me I give in. I mean, come on. What parent hasn't. It's so annoying! Well, now I have to deal with it all the time and now I'm saying, "When I say no I mean it. I am not going to change my mind!" Yet, they still bug me and I sit here and cringe BUT I do not give in.

Then there is Kaela who is the perfect daughter. Okay, maybe not perfect because the girl can and will drive me crazy sometimes. It is a relief she isn't like her brother because I would not be able to deal. I've said it before and I will always say it but she just has a great personality. Sometimes she can come off as being a brat, but she has a goofiness about her or playfulness. There are certain people she is like this with and sometimes she will be the same with other people when she shouldn't be. She is also too shy. Right now is Girl Scout cookie time and we are out going door to door as much as we can trying to sell the things. She is the "cute factor" while I'm the one giving the pitch and actually doing the selling. I cannot break her of this. I totally understand though because I was never one who liked going door to door. I still don't. Girl Scout cookies are a good seller and it's rare to get a no. Other than the fact that she is only 8, I don't get why she won't at least try. Some people she will warm up to quickly and kinda start pointing out which cookie is which and which one she likes and others she is hesitant. Maybe it's just she doesn't know whether they are nice people or bad. I don't know.

Anyway, that is about it for now. Nothing else to really tell. I haven't been up to much lately. Just cleaning and being a stay at home mom. Dalan just got home yesterday from CA. He was gone for 2 weeks. I feel for you single moms out there. Sometimes I think Dalan doesn't really do that much. One thing that is different is Trent's attitude when Dalan is home and that alone is worth having Dalan here.

What a week!

Wow! This past week has been so crazy. I'd go into detail but I am choosing not to because well, some things don't need to be posted for the whole cyber world to see. If you live in the town I do or are related to someone from here, you most likely have heard by now anyway, so I don't have to tell you. Gotta love small towns...I guess. This past week has been stressful and crazy and unexpected and random and silent and frustrating and....I just can't think of anymore adjectives to describe it. Even though it hasn't been the best week and not to great of a start to 2009, it actually ended okay. The Steelers played the Chargers and WON! I am so excited! They are one step closer to the Superbowl and I couldn't be happier. I was totally expecting a loss but they did it. Whoo-hoo!!! Now I wait for next Sunday when they play the Ravens and hopefully pull out another win. They play at home, so it can totally happen.

Let's see....nothing else has really been going on which is why I have not been posting. I'm still trying to take Christmas decor down. Pathetic, I know. With the week we've had, I just had no motivation to do anything...at all. Quite depressing, I know. I will go full steam ahead this week and play catch up. I hate playing catch up but it has to done. So, if anything exciting happens that I can share with you, I will do so. So, until then, have a great week.

The Greatest Time Of Year

Ahhh...I love Christmas. It's so nice that everyone is in the giving mood this time of year. I love it! I say every year, "Throughout the year I'm doing something special and donating it somewhere for Christmas." Then I never get around to it. Who knows, 2009 just might be the year I get around to it. We'll see.

Back to Christmas. We had a great Christmas. Trent woke us up at 3:30 AM and again at 4:00 AM. We crawled out of bed and unwrapped gifts as Santa was lifting off of our house. It was that early. Both kids were fairly warned that if I got up that early they better be on their best behavior ALL DAY because I couldn't promise I would be all that cheery. You see, I couldn't sleep that night. I was just too excited. I may have gotten an hour and a half of sleep. That's it. So, for Christmas Trent got a new gun, a few books, a couple Steelers figurines for his room and these Funkeys which are technically supposed to be shared with Kaela. Kaela got a purple Ipod, a Littlest Pet Shop playset, a necklace and earrings with her birthstone in them, a movie and a picture Trent drew of her. I got a Victorias Secret gift card (YAY) and a new Ipod (that I really didn't need) but I took it anyway. Dalan got a Utes blanket I tied for him. Nothing great but everything he wants I won't buy because I know nothing about it. So, we got dressed after all this craziness and headed to Dalan's parents house at about 6:45 AM and THEY WERE UP and already had their Christmas. They just had Kelli and Drex and Darin. So, we opened a couple gifts there and then headed to my parents where we opened more gifts. My mom and I made Prime Rib, which turned out awesome! It was the best Prime Rib I had ever had. After that, we headed back to Dalan's parents because Kristy had come down. Basically, our Christmas was spent running from house to house. Not too much fun for the kids. I know this because I heard nothing but whining to go home so they could play the new Wii. Yes, we finally got a Wii and I LOVE it! We also bought Guitar Hero, my favorite game. I love that game.

So, now we are getting ready to celebrate a new year. 2008 has been pretty good to me. I really can't complain. I really don't see 2009 being much better. How can it be? I'm really hoping that it comes close to being the best. Besides, life is what you make it, right? I'm just amazed at how time is flying by so quickly. I can't believe Trent will be in middle school next year. Kaela is going to be 8 in February. It's so sad but I have loved every second I have had with them. They are good kids for the most part and I'm probably pretty lucky to have them. One of these days I will look back and think, "Where in the world did the time go?" as Dalan is walking our baby girl down the aisle.

The Wonderful Smells Of Delta

On a day such as today when the wind is blowing in just the right direction we get the wonderful yet pleasing aroma of cow something or other. Lets just call is crap! In case you couldn't tell, I was being a bit sarcastic in the previous sentence. I don't do well with bad smells. Natural or not, I can't handle it. So, the smell today was not unlike any other bad smell. I'm trying to bring in groceries and I'm dry heaving at the same time. My eyes are watering and I'm trying not to throw up. Dalan finds this to be hilarious especially when the dry heaving is done due to something he has done. Whenever it smells badly outside he says, "That's the smell of money." Well, if that's the smell of money, I don't want any of it. In fact, I have previously wished for a million dollars. I don't want it if that's what it is going smell like. The stinky dairy smell and I don't mesh together. I don't know how people can stand it. I guess you get used to it. Me, never. I've said it before and I will say it again, I'm a city girl. I can deal with the country but I'm more of a city girl than anything.

On Saturday we went to Heber to ride the Polar Express. The train ride is typically an hour and a half. Our train ride was 2 hours! The lights kept turning off inside our car and possibly other cars so they stopped to check things out. Anyway, surprisingly, Trent was really excited about the whole train ride. Odd. He is 10 years old and I just thought he would be over it. He's not. I think he was the most excited. He could barely stay in his seat. At one point I thought about duck taping him to it. I've thought about duck taping him to several things throughout his life now that I think about it. A nice size storm had come through that day. I was hoping for a little snow on the ground when we went on this. I got my wish...well, hope. We had hot chocolate, a really chocolatey cookie, sang songs and we got bells from Santa's sleigh. The elves walked by to tell us which reindeer each bell came off of. They didn't tell me where my bell came from so I rang the bell and figured it out myself. Santa and Mrs. Claus of course made an appearance. The hostess I will call her who was dressed in pj's, a robe and carring a teddy bear read the story Polar Express. They allowed the kids to go up to the front and do their best "Ho, Ho, Ho" and asked if anyone knew any G rated jokes. Up runs Trent to the microphone. I made sure to ask if it was a real joke and worried the rest of the time about what he was going to say. Luckily it went like this, "Why couldn't the pirate go to the movie? Because it was rated Rrrrr" Something like that. Also, something else I found funny that I can't help but to brag about is that two people, one of them being Santa, thought I was the big sister. I'm supposed to be sucking up to Santa, not him sucking up to me. I love it and it cracks me up everytime. Anyway, it wasn't the "best (insert bad word here) train ride" my brother-in-law was hoping for but the kids seemed to have a good time. That made it totally worth the $75 we spent to go.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'm just getting ready for Christmas. Ten more days people! The kids last day of school will be the 23rd. That's both a blessing and bummer.

I can hardly believe it......

I may actually finish a book from front to back. This is a first for me. I really am proud of myself. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm really into it and dead set on finishing it. I bought it on Thursday and will most likely finish it tonight. What book you ask? sTORI TELLING by Tori Spelling. I have heard people say what a great book it is so I decided to finally read it. I've been wanting to but because I can't ever finish a book, I've actually put it off. I can barely put this one down but have to because of other priorities, ya know kids. She did such a good job with it. In a way, I really do feel bad for her even though ya kinda don't want to. I mean, come on, she grew up rich and famous. What is there to feel sorry about? Well, the way she tells it, her life wasn't so charmed I guess you could say. And frankly, her mom sounds like a pain in the ass. That is, if the way she tells it is true. It makes me happy I had the life I did. I would've never traded my life for hers if it really was how she says. I like her and think she seems to be somewhat down to Earth. I really liked watching her and Dean's reality show. I think I may have found the type of book I can get through. Something that is about real people. I don't know if I could get into the whole Twilight thing. I hear people rave about it all the time. I just don't know if it's my thing though. I wouldn't mind starting to read a bit more. I don't ever watch t.v. anymore, so I need to fill that emptiness with something. I'm sure reading is better for my mind. Especially since I feel like I am losing it lately.

New Idea

Well, it isn't exactly a new idea because I am sure there are plenty of people who have a blog that do this on a daily basis. I guess I should tell you what my new idea is. I thought that I would start posting the recipes I try and we all like. I have had a few people ask for recipes because they are sick of the same thing all the time. I am one who is always looking for something new. Sometimes what I make ends up in the garbage disposal, sometimes it actually gets eaten. So, when I come up with a good one, I will try to post it along with a picture. The first one unfortunately won't have a picture because I forgot to take one. So, here ya go. Go try this one. It's simple and quick. That's just what I needed tonight.

Honey Baked Chicken

4 Chicken Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1/3 Cup Margarine, Melted
1/3 Cup Honey
2 Tbsp Mustard
1 Tsp Salt

Arrange chicken in baking dish. Combine the rest of the ingredients and wisk. Pour over the chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes (until chicken is tender and done). Serve with or over rice.

We thought it was pretty tasty for something that was so simple. ENJOY!

Trying to find something to say.....

So, I haven't been on here in awhile and figured I should post something. The thing is nothing is really going on. Trent has been wrestling, Kaela doing the brownie and dance thing and that's it. I guess I could talk about Trent's wrestling but there's not much to say other than he's lost every match he has wrestled. He is trying and is doing better this year. He just needs to be more aggressive. It's really not too much to ask. I personally don't care for the sport. I don't like watching it at all. I can watch just about any other sport but this one. I remember watching Dalan wrestle in high school and it was horrible. Now I'm watching my son lie there on the floor, on his back and unable to move. What mother wouldn't want to run down there on the mat and throw the kid who has their son in a tight headlock across the room? The thought has crossed my mind a couple times then I remember it's a sport. A weird, crazy sport. Why anyone would voluntarily do this is beyond me. Trent seems to like it though, so I guess I'll have to sit on the edge of my seat at all his matches because after all, that's what good mothers do.