eight years

How time flies. My grand plans for a special post on this day have fizzled to a few poorly scanned pictures! However, I just couldn't let the day go by without taking a minute to remember.

i should be committed

Somehow I have managed to commit to A LOT of big things lately. All are good things, some are things I wouldn't even want to say "no" to, but almost all of the them require significant advance preparation. I spent my morning completing this.

As part of our local music teachers association, I was responsible for designing an advertising poster for an upcoming duet recital that we will be having in October. I've put it off since the beginning of August. I'm only entering 3 of my students in the recital, but that means I need to get them prepared. Plus, as a teacher I need to learn 4 duets that the upper levels will be playing (in case I need to fill in) as well as the teacher encore.

While we're on the subject of music, my mom was running over stuff for my new calling as Stake Music Specialist with me last night. I now have 1 song to learn for Stake Conference and 2 to prepare for Christmas. Our stake displays nativity sets and presents a musical program during the beginning of December. Over the years it has become a pretty big deal and involves a lot of people in the community. A couple of days ago I agreed to be responsible for decorating one of the rooms in the church where the nativities will be displayed.

I am Room Parent for Derrick's class during the 1st Quarter, so I have a Halloween Party to plan as well as helping to distribute the products sold by his class from the fundraiser that we just did.

Last night my mom and I started making plans to have Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year, AND my bishop called and asked Jon and I to speak next Sunday when he is home. I think I need at least one more thing. ;-)

on my own again.....just can't wait to be on my own again

OK, so that's not the truth. Jon left again this morning after several days home from Denver. It was so nice to have him here, although I think he was a little dismayed at the state of chaos in our home when he arrived. I tried to be pulled together but it just wasn't happening. Hopefully he'll be back again in another two weeks. I'm hoping to be more efficient by that point. Speaking of efficient, my mother gave me a little nudge towards weaning Gracie yesterday when she pointed out that I don't seem to function as productively when I am nursing or pregnant (which has been a good portion of our married life!), so I had better get Grace weaned so I could be more efficient. Jon thought it was hillarious. So, today is the day to buckle down and just do it. My child is going to be starving until she relents and drinks from a bottle or sippy cup. I've got my Advil ready for when the pain kicks in later, which will probably be at the PAC (Parent Action Council) meeting tonight. I sure know how to time things, don't I!

so proud

Apparently I need to revisit some basic rules with Abbie. For instance, only in rare emergencies do you ever go to the bathroom anywhere but the toilet. I'll spare you the details. We'll just say it involved looking out the back window to find my 5 year old daughter with her church dress up and her underwear down. It was one of those moments where you are mortified and have trouble containing your laughter at the same time.

On a side note, it sure is nice to know that my Heavenly Father knows me. For the last few days I have been having numbness and tingling in my arms and hands. It feels like they are on the verge of falling asleep all the time. I've been a little worried, after all I teach piano and I need my hands in working order, not to mention just being able to function normally! I'm not sure what is going on, my suspicion is that a change in medication I had last week may be the cause. I plan to call my doctor tomorrow. However, this afternoon I was being set apart for my new calling as Stake Music Specialist, and in the middle of the blessing the high counselor actually blessed my hands, that they would work well and I would be able to continue teaching and playing the piano. He of course had no idea that I was having problems. Amazing. I feel better now.

new calling X 2

I had my meeting and I now have two new callings in two days. I will be a Stake Music Specialist. Totally fine with me and it shouldn't interfere with my other new calling. Plus, my mother has this exact calling as well, so it should be easy to get it done. I will basically help assist the Stake Music Chairman with any needs that she has. It will probably get a little crazy around Stake Conference and Christmas, but otherwise should be pretty low key. My only reservation is that the Stake Music Chairman scares the pants off me! Well, as a pianist, anyways. She kind of expects you to read her mind and be ready to go even though she hasn't told you where she is at in the music. Maybe this is another way to force me to learn how to play the organ...they are so sneaky! ; )

new calling

We've been in our new ward now for almost two months and today I finally got a calling. I'm excited because it's a new one for me. I'm going to be the Mia Maid advisor. I haven't been in Young Womens since I was one. It has been about 10 years of Primary with a little Relief Society mixed in here and there. Jon is excited because it means that I still get to attend Sunday School with him, that is after he comes back home! I'm waiting to hear from the YW President now, I'm assuming that I will start teaching next Sunday. I can't wait, unless of course my inaugural lesson winds up being on chastity, which is always a fun way to get to know the girls! On a related note, I also get to meet with a member of the high council tomorrow evening. He called Jon in Denver to talk about it before making the appointment with me, so Jon already knows what is going on. Don't you hate not knowing why you are meeting with someone? I always spend so much time trying to guess what it could be. All that deductive reasoning I used in school has come in handy a time or two as I have correctly guessed some callings, but I've got no clue on this high counselor one. I'll keep you posted.

birthday girl

Today my Abbie turns 5 years old! Has it really been that long? I honor of my beautiful girl here are 5 things that I love about her.

1. She has spunk. Sometimes this spunky child can become a sassy pants, and sometimes this spunk makes her hard to argue with, but it also makes her the girl we love.
2. She loves to sing and dance. Hannah Montana is a favorite.
3. She has the most beautiful blue eyes. I still don't know how that happened.
4. She loves fashion and shopping. I ALWAYS know when she loves my outfits...and when she doesn't.
5. She loves her brother and sister. I hope they are always good friends.

Happy 5th birthday, Abs. I love you.

Looking fancy in my new outfit from Grandparents M.

heartbreaker

To answer your question, Em, yes my kids did fall asleep, and no I didn't fall asleep at the computer. I have been struggling with the fact that I am about to break some hearts. We brought home our new dog last Monday, August 27th. The kids were in love. Everything was great until we noticed a lingering smell. Not just a normal doggy smell, mind you. It was more offensive. We figured he needed a bath. He got one quickly. It didn't last long, and I'm talking hours. So, I began to research and ask questions. Turns out...scent hounds in general have an odor that emits from the oils in their coats. And, it turns out, there is not much you can do about it but learn to live with it. Unfortunately, I'm not really capable of doing that. To top it off, Jon's new job required him to go to Denver for 8 weeks of training. He left on Monday, September 3rd. Not only do I have a stinky dog who has to be inside because our backyard is not fenced, but I'm functioning as a single mom for who knows how long before I see him again. Not wanting to admit defeat too quickly, I'm also unwilling to "stick it out" in hopes that it will get better, only to end up doing what I knew I would do all along. What I'm saying is that I'm getting rid of our new dog. Calling the breeder tomorrow to see if she has anyone interested or wants to take him back to sell on consignment for us. I approached the subject with Derrick last night, and there have been tears in his eyes ever since. I'm afraid that his heart is actually broken. And it's my fault. The extra hugs somehow seem less sweet when they are comforting a sadness of my creating. I'm not sure when he'll get over it. I hope he forgives me.

On a happier note, things are going well with Jon's new job. I hope this one is a keeper. It's hard to be without him, though. We'll be glad to know what his schedule is going to be, because the next 2 months are kind of up in the air right now. I don't think I'll get around to sending out the more detailed email that I promised to a couple of you, so in case you're still wondering, Jon is going to work for Target again. They are building one here in town, and one thing led to another. Before we knew it, he was offered a position as the Executive Team Lead responsible for Asset Protection and Loss Prevention. He is excited because is it completely different than what he has been doing up to this point. It's nice because he doesn't actually report to anyone in this store, it is more of a district position. The salary offer was also 20% higher than what he was making. He gets to write his schedule, too, which a huge plus. It opens a lot of doors for him to branch in to the company beyond the retail side of things. I'm crossing my fingers that we've found a good match this time.

Time to run. Tropical Storm Clutter turned into Hurricane My House is a Disaster earlier today. I've got to pull it together. Then again, I have just enough grapefruit scented bubble bath left to calm my nerves before I officially break my son's heart tomorrow. Hmm...what to do.

crazy busy

Our life has been crazy busy for the last couple of weeks. I have so many things to post about, but don't want to do it all in one post. Here's a list to help me remember.

vacation diary, volume 2
first day of school
new family member
wedding adventures
new job

Many pictures will surely be included. I hope to start tackling some of these tonight after the kids are asleep.