The meenest mom on the planit

Here are some random pages from Madison's journal. Hopefully you can see them. I couldn't figure out how to work my scanner.


"Mom is so mean, the meanest in the whole planet."


This one is my favorite. "I have the meanest mom in the entire world" then you see me in my hat and I'm laughing "ha ha ha" while the kids are crying on the floor. I probably told her she couldn't play on the computer or something silly. As soon as I make her mad I can see her going for a piece of paper so she can draw about me. What a stinker.



Wow, i'm actually being nice for once. Smiles and everything


"I like dad because he is strong and the cutest of all." Apparently I'm the meanest mom in the world and Judd is the strongest man in the universe and the cutest...hmmmm. Sounds to me like someone was paid off.

Here is another problem I've been having. I have this child that refuses to walk, and finds the most inconvenient places to make messes. Every time I turn around he's pulled everything off of a shelf or out of a drawer. The messiest child in the world.

Nolan still hangs around this cave somewhere. He's doing really well in school. He's learning how to spell. Today he asked me if I could tell him how to spell "ass". This is my life people.

Dear Diary

This is Madison's new diarrhea, or diary if you prefer to call it that. All day long she has been talking about it. "I'm going to write about Coulson in my diarrhea. " or "Look how pretty my new diarrhea is. I got it at school." What's funny about this "diary" is that Madison has had a problem coming home with things that she supposedly "borrows". A small toy, a braclet, a hair bow. I know that she is not borrowing these things. She thinks I was born yesterday or something. So, I've tried many tactics to deal with this situation. Finally it came down to "Never, ever bring home toys, I don't care if someone gives them to you, just say no thanks!" So.... a couple of weeks ago she comes home with this little toy cat. She's trying to tell me that she won it at school, but it looked worn and played with so I took it away and told her that I was going to ask her teacher if she really won it. Making a long story short, I forgot to call the teacher, but Madison never forgets anything!! That child will be the end of me if Coulson doesn't do it first. So... she comes home with this "diarreah" yesterday and it has a note on it from her teacher "Madison won this at school today"

Well then.

I guess I was wrong and now I feel all terrible mother-ish. I should have trusted her. How was I supposed to know she was really winning those things. Just a word from someone who is learning the hard way. Everything you say to your child, or your spouse, or yourself for that matter, your child will repeat at the most imbarrasing time imaginable. I think school teachers must laugh all day long.

little voices

As I am sitting here right now I just have to write this so I don't ever forget. Every morning my kids play together. They sit at the kitchen table and bring out their toys. They don't bother me for about an hour and a half. they don' t fight. They just sit there and sweetly play. Of course Madison is "in charge" of what the playing consists of. This morning Nolan is playing with a toy puppy and Madison is doing her typical narrating. She is trying to teach the puppy some manners. Just sitting here hearing their voices makes me so happy. It also makes me wonder how much longer I am going to hear these creative imaginations. I've tried to sit and play with them when they are doing this but I just can't seem to imagine the types of things they can. I remember I used to be able to do that. I remember certain toys and shows and how I used to be able to play for hours building things. What happens that makes us forget? I feel like Robin Williams when he was Peter Pan. I don't want to take stuff so seriously all the time. They are getting older so fast but yet they are so small. They are still shielded from the world. They have an innocence that makes me almost scared for them. I am scared to send them out into the world. This world that makes you lose sight of how great life is. This world that takes away your imagination and replaces it with greediness. I know one day instead of this sweet playing, there will be silence. They will grow up. They will face challenges that I've never even dreamed of facing. These sweet children that want nothing more than to laugh will have so many trials and hardships in their lives. I'm scared for my babies. This is why I need to be strong right now. I need to be my best so they can learn before its too late. This is why all the "basics" are most important. Family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening every week. This is what will prepare my sweet kids to go into this world. I am doing what I need to for them. That gives me comfort, so for now, I'm just going to sit back and listen to these little voices before they start fighting.

Things of late....

Days are just flying by. Every morning I wake up and I think, "holy cow, another day already!" Does anyone else do this?? Well, I wish my mind was in a creative place right now so that way I could have something interesting to blog about. I have come to find out that I hate Facebook. It is the stupidest most addictive thing ever! It has caused everyone to not keep up on their blogs, myself included. Or, as Judd puts it..."a complete waste of time, why would you want to keep in touch with everyone you've ever known anyway?" Judd's just kind of anti-social. What is it with men not having friends? Why do I have to plant the seed of idea that maybe he should go and hang with the guys once in a while? Women just automatically do it. I make it a goal to get out and away from the house once in a while for some girl time. It keeps me sane. While I'm on the subject.... anyone want to go hang out this weekend? ;)

Well, I had my first Sharing time experience in primary this past weekend. I hand made some puppets and had a puppet show. I was pretty nervous. I still don't know how to deal with this whole "keep 80 kids in order" business. Well, it got mixed reviews. Some of the kids said they wanted to do it every week and some of the kids booed at me. I will get the hang of this soon. At the least I have learned that I have no shame... or pride.

Have I mentioned that I have a baby who is almost 16 months old? Have I mentioned that this baby does not ever intend to walk?

He is however, very fascinated by Madison's boom box

And he loves to climb up and sit on everything. I caught him sitting on top of my keyboard the other day. Wish I would have had a camera for that one but I was too busy freaking out that he was going to crack his head open.



Madison has continued her tradition of wearing the strangest outfits to school. She has, however, been brushing her hair. A sign of her growing up, I'm sure. This morning she said to me "a girl in my class always wears fancy clothes and always looks pretty." This was a teaching opportunity in the making.... my response was "well, you are so pretty that you don't have to wear pretty clothes. Sometimes people feel like they always have to wear pretty clothes because they don't believe they are pretty and it makes them feel better. Be very thankful that you know how beautiful you are, and your friends will like you for who you are and not your clothes."

See, I just might survive the teenage years.

Nolan is a pretty sweet kid. I know that I've said many things on this blog that may contradict that statement. He's always so good and quiet for his teachers, he helps me unload the dishwasher every day. Lately he's been saying sweet things like "i will eat what ever you make for me" or "you are so pretty". I went in to check on him while he was sleeping the other night to find him missing from his bed. I looked around the room and noticed that he had climbed up on the top bunk with Madi and was sleeping with her. I guess this has been going on for a while and I never knew it. He says he gets scared and he sleeps better up there. Poor Madi. That kid is a wild sleeper. He's always taking up the whole bed, kicking her off of her pillow and she just sleeps through it. What a good big sister. I had to get a picture, so I would never forget....

Break Time

I know its been forever since I've posted. I haven't really had much to post about I guess. Days in the summer seem to run together and I was way to busy! Well, summer is over!!!! Hallelujah!! I don't know what I'm going to do with myself. Actually, that's not true. I'm still going to be super busy! I've been doing so good though. I posted a while back how I was narrowing down my wasted time (thanks to some wonderful Ensign articles) by not being on the computer as often. The past few weeks have AMAZED me! I didn't realize that I was on the computer that much... really it was only like an hour a day, but it was taking away from so much other stuff. So, that being said, I'm probably going to be posting on here every other week for a while until I get this new calling in order. I feel a bit overwhelmed right now, (for those not in my ward, I'm the new primary pres.) a little freaked out, but I've had some good prayer sessions that have given me some peace.
Oh, don't worry, funny stuff is still going on around here. I plan on laying down the scoop. For instance....

If you get grossed out easily, PLEASE don't read this...

You all know that I have a lot of ladies in and out of my home for hair purposes. All of those who come over have to use the same bathroom that the kids use. So the other day I was swamped. People in and out all day. After a long day of hard work I stumble around the house to get dinner ready and the table cleaned off. for some reason my kids insist on bringing all of their toys out every day and playing with them on the counter or the kitchen table, just to give me something more to complain about I'm sure. Anyway, I go to where Nolan has his whole lot of army men and notice that there is something startling on the table. A tampon applicator. He is using it as a gun for his army man. I freeze and stare for a while, hoping that maybe I'd seen wrong, but no. It was in fact an applicator that he had admitted to finding in the trash can in his bathroom. He proceeds to tell me that it is a trumpet and I pray to high heavens that he didn't put it in his mouth. Thank goodness he hadn't. I then sanitized just about every surface and child in my home. no longer having an appetite for dinner, I think I served the kids apple jacks and told Judd to fend for himself. don't get me wrong. I was laughing my tail off, but I'm not sure if it was because it was funny or i was in shock. There you have it. Adventures in the Rich Household. Come over anytime and you are guaranteed to be entertained.

just thought i'd share

New bumper stickers....Does anyone know where I can order these?? ;)

Trip to the Mountains...or hills

The day after I got back from girls camp, we headed back in the same direction. I ate in Payson on Thursday, came home and then ate there again on Friday. I should have just stayed there. Oh my, that was a lot of driving (especially when I have a teething child)!!! We headed up to Snowflake for Pioneer Days. I've never been to Pioneer Days. One of the biggest things I noticed is that there are a ton of Mo Mo's and millions of Wranglers. We stayed with our good friends, The Hall's. Thanks Tansey!!

My kids were in heaven from the first second they got there. There were horses all around and some weird African bull. There was this little kitty that would run around, and for anyone who knows me, cats really creep me out, but this one was really cute. They were able to go down to the "crik" as Judd puts it. I call it a creek, but I guess I'm a city girl. I swear my kids didn't go to bed until like 11 every night. They were just having a ball and wandering around. It seriously made me want to move somewhere open. Kids just can't do that kinda stuff around here.

Saturday morning we went out to the parade. Somehow Coulson slept through the whole thing. That was a miracle in its own. The kids stocked up on candy and were pretty wired. After that we took them to the craft fair. They weren't too interested in that though. They kept whining for food, drinks, bathroom, bounce houses (this is the story of my life while on vacation, can't you tell?) Anyhoo, I thought we were going up there to beat the heat but it ended up being close to 100, so we decided to go hang out at the house. Then Madison got lost for like 2o minutes, someone always does. Its to the point where I don't freak out when I lose a kid. Judd's not used to it so he's kinda panicking. I'm just plain annoyed.

After some serious 3 hour naps we went out to dinner. I must say the funniest thing about a small town is. Everyone knows where EVERYTHING is. We were in 1 of the 3 restaurants in town and there was a business card for a salon. It did not have an address or cross street on the card. All it said was "next to Subway". This really cracks me up. But I'm sure anyone from Snowflake who reads this will know right where it is.

We then went on to the rodeo. This is where I decided I am a fan of wranglers on certain people. There were real cowboys there. The ones that are all dirty and have gloves hanging out of their back pockets. Woooeeeee. It was an eye candy fest for sure. The best part of the trip if you ask me ;) (hopefully Judd doesn't read this.... when we first got married he owned a bunch of wranglers and I made him get rid of them. I can't handle a boy in wranglers unless he is A. Riding a horse or bull. B working on a farm. Or C. Wrestling steers. Point being, you can't just wear them for recreational purposes.)

(notice my big smile ;)

The kids sure loved watching all the cowboys ride those bulls as much as I did. We watched fireworks at the end, which is good because we didn't go out for the 4th.

The next day we shot guns for a little bit. Poor Nolan. somehow the gun he was shooting scared him and it kicked back and the scope hit him in the head. Now he has a big bruise on his forehead. I told him he looks tough and to just tell everyone how he got it and no one would mess with him ;)

That's our Snowflake story. Next year hopefully lazy Coulson (who is 14 1/2 months old and still not even wanting to walk) will be walking and it will be easier. All I can say is that I am done vacationing for the summer. It always sounds like a good idea and then I get up there and remember how much work it is. Its bitter sweet for sure!!!

I survived yet another year of Girl's Camp!!

I made it back yesterday!! It was my best G camp experience yet! I was so excited to go with the 4th years again, and for those of you who don't know anything about girl's camp, the 4th years do all the cool adventure stuff, so I had 4, 15 year olds who had never mountain biked and the plan was to do a day long adventure race where the majority of it was mountain biking. We raced from 7:30 to 4. The girl's were such good sports. We biked, did GPS, archery, knife throwing, shot guns, blow darts, air rifles, canoe, team building exercises and tons of other activities, with a big obstacle course at the end. My ladies didn't complain one time!! The next day we did some repelling and swam in freezing cold swimming holes. Finally, by day 3 we were able to take showers!!!!! I was a stinky mess if you can imagine. What an awesome experience it was. We were away from phones and radio and TV and did lots of good spiritual stuff. Those kind of experiences change your outlook on your life so much! I just feel like a different person when I get home!
Judd made it through with me gone. The house didn't burn down and no one died. The kids were all sick though. I guess Madison threw up all over herself. Judd has a hard time dealing with stuff like that so he cut her shirt off of her and threw it away. My house was a wreck when I got home, but it was still good to make it back. Now we are off for a stay in Snowflake. Hopefully I will remember to take some pictures to share!!!!

random stuff that I think is funny

Funny Thing 1: Judd took the door off of the kids' bedroom because they kept slamming it. Now when they are playing in there babyzilla and dogzilla can come and go as they please leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. A request was made to put up a baby gate, so I did. Now all day I hear "I want to go out (or in)" Thank goodness a plan was devised to get in and out of their room. I feel like we are living in a cage. Funny Thing 2:

why is it, no matter what you're doing, a kid has to come and sabotage? Whether it be folding laundry, cleaning cupboards or mopping, they always have to be right in the way. Its like the law or something. Here we are trying to play shutes and ladders on the floor as a family. Not happening tonight.

This is the face of a baby plotting a way to steal my camera

Funny thing #3

Night time scripture study. Judd decided that he would teach the kids of the creation.

(I didn't feel like looking up the scripture to post it, so here's what I remember of it)

Judd: "The Lord created a companion for Adam from one of his ribs, and says to call her woman. The Lord then says that man shall leave his parents and cleave unto his wife. They shall be naked and not be ashamed and shall be of one flesh"

Madison "Dad, why are you smiling like that?"

Me "Because Daddy is really immature"

Funny thing #4

The other day I was in a hurry. I always seem to be in a hurry, come to think of it. This is something I will need to work on. Anyway, the kids are all dressed and ready to go, and then I noticed that I really needed to shave my legs. Crap. I hurry and turn the bath tub on and get to business. The next thing I know, Coulson has come along and is trying to splash in the water. "no worries," I think. at least he is entertained. Then somehow he flips into the bathtub. Clothes and diaper totally soaked. that kid.

Funny thing #5

Coulson always finds Judd's books and steals the book marks. If Judd were a woman he would remember to leave his book up high where kids can't reach it. But that's just one more reason why women need men around. For something to laugh at.

are you ready for this?... family vacay

Well, much has gone on in the past week. So I shall start from the beginning so I don't leave anything out. As you all know, we had our family vacation to cali.

Here's how my week was...

Friday... Had to get all the crap ready for week-long camping and beach trip to San Diego, and it was a lot of crap, mind you.

Dropped my van off at the mechanic to make sure everything was good to go.

Saturday...

in the morning, still haven't heard from the mechanic. Started to get worried, so made phone call to mechanic.

mechanic says transmission is bad and advised us not to drive to California. Crap.

decided I needed to clear my head so went and played 9 holes of golf. Always does the trick.

While golfing worked my self up about trip to cali with bad van was a bad idea even though judd says is just fine. Started scheeming a plan.

Got home from golf, tried to convince judd that driving a bad van is a bad idea.

plan worked...

wa-lah

spent all night at car dealership getting van. YAY. I've never owned a new car before. I must say that I've now turned into anal car lady and won't let the kids even get in it without wiping their feet off.

Sunday.....still getting ready

Monday.

off we go. Everyone did really good on the way there. I have good car riding children.

The camp ground was really nice. We went swimming and froze our butts off. I love arizona. You can swim and not freeze when the wind blows.
we went to lego land and the sea life aquarium. i must say that i've heard mixed reviews about it, but I loved it!

We went to the aquarium first and the kids thought it was the coolest place ever.

the kids loved every second and they even did roller coasters. They were brave. There was one roller coaster that was pretty scary and after that one they decided that they were done with rides. here's some lego land pics

Here's where the fun really started...

I love the beach. I think its the funnest, most relaxing, best free thing to do, ever. We borrowed some boogie board and I was excited. We went to Coronado Island which was so cool. We had a mother load of stuff to carry down there and it was quite a walk from our car. Judd had coulson on his back, coolers, chairs, beach toys, boards, towels etc.... it was a long walk.

this was all I saw of coulson the whole time. He kept trying to go into the water I showed the kids to boogie board. They had so much fun for about 3 minutes. Then nolan tipped over and got wet, then the wind started blowing, then they were hungry, then they were freezing, then they were throwing fits, the umbrella flew away. Our beach trip lasted about 25 minutes. After all of that prep time, i was pretty p.o.'d if you can imagine. We packed up the mother load and had to go give the kids showers and the water was cold. Everyone was in fits. I now hate the beach and will never go back. ;) I was very mean that day. We went back to the camp and all took naps.

before and afters of Nolan That afternoon we went to seaport village, which I love. We had yummy pizza and looked at all the cool stuff.

Thursday we went to balboa park and did some geo cacheing. That was okay. I hate doing that crap with the baby in a stroller, but judd loves it, so i try to be a good sport. the park was beautiful though.looking for caches she was a poser that dayMe and Madi waiting for the boys.Madi posing for the camera.
teaching madi how to climb a tree

after that we went and did the midway tour which was my most favorite part ever!! its one of the navy fleet ships that was used during desert storm. they don't use it anymore so we were able to check out the whole thing. It was awesome!

This is the jail. I need one of these at home ;)
this is an F-14 tom cat. Judd's step brother Blake is in the Navy and this is the plane that he will be flying. What a brave kid! Just looking at that thing makes me nervous.That ship was so huge. I loved that part!

I went up top with the kids to see the control tower. we had to climb 5 flights of really steep ladders. We get up to the first deck and they start whining because they are cold. We had to go back down. I was p.o.'d yet again. In fact, I spent pretty much the whole time being p.o.'d. I really don't like being away from home.
That night after the kids were asleep we decided that we wanted to leave friday instead of saturday. we were all spent and wanted to get everything taken care of on sat instead of sunday. So there was my vacation in a nut shell. Glad its over. We did lots of fun stuff, but there is nothing better than coming home after 5 days of sleeping in a tent. I loved my house and I also have a new-found appreciation for wal-marts in gilbert arizona. California walmarts are the most insane places ever. a mix between old casinos and swap meets, only with way more people.

I think the funniest part of the trip is that Judd brought a fanny pack. He tried to convince me that this was a good idea and you have all of your money and chap sick easily accessable. What a dork. thank goodness that I hid it and he forgot about it. otherwise he would have actually worn it and would've been walking around looking like an old lady.

ahhhhh, I love being home. Now 2 weeks until I'm back in a tent for girl's camp. I will not take my bed for granted ever again.

Getting Real on getting over myself

Why didn't anyone with school aged kids warn me that summer time is a horrible time?! I feel like I've been running around in circles. I've been working too much, over scheduling myself and just plain stressing out. With all of the kids making messes and fighting and whining and wanting to eat all day long, I've just about lost my marbles. Don't get me wrong, I love my life. I have so many blessings that I give thanks for daily, but...I'm seriously stressed.

The story of late....

I have a husband that requires a lot of attention. Sometimes I like to say that he's the wife. He wants to snuggle and talk and wants me to focus and remember everything he says.


Now there's me. I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum. I've been very detached lately. Pretty sure its from having wild banshees running around my house all day. I've tuned out emotion just so I can make it through the day with out packing my bags and going to a hotel so I can just be ALL ALONE. Even just for an hour! I know I'm not the only mom who feels like this either. I give all day and work to keep a house of order, which mostly is in chaos, just to have husband come home and want more attention and love. I don't feel like there is anymore of myself to give. Poor guy.

There is something you must understand about me. I'm controlling. I think most women are or have to be to some degree in order to run a home. You do have to be a manager type to make it work. I think sometimes I go overboard. I just don't know how to relax and have fun if my house is a mess or if there are things to be done. I think this is always a struggle I will have. Not that I am a freaky clean person, just that disorder really bugs the crap out of me.

Okay, now is some serious venting.

I am confused!! We are told to have house of cleanliness and order. To have FHE and make sure that you have a fun lesson planned, Prayer, scripture study, family scripture study, serve, bake, have hobbies, learn new skills, get an education, raise children of all ages to be sweet angels, be patient, loving, supportive, organized, have food storage, learn to cook from it, be prepared for emergencies, responsibilities in the church, make time for yourself. The list goes on and on.

My thoughts... we are only human. I know these things are important, but they are driving women mad! (unless you are a robot, and I think I've met a few) Trying to get a grip on all of these things reminds me of a time when I went on a hike in the superstition mountains. I ended up getting the trail mixed up and started climbing up this wash. The rocks were all loose and every time you took a step some of the rocks would start moving and falling down the hill. A trail that should have taken 5 minutes was ending up taking 45.

If we try to do all of these things at the same time, we can have no foundation. We always feel overwhelmed and like we are trying so hard to make it up this mountain and it just seems impossible.

I have been so stressed and overwhelmed lately. I new somthing needed to be done. I took the weekend to figure out my life. So here is what I've learned over the last few days through some serious soul searching and prayer.

1. I need to simplify. This is always something that I have to remind myself of every year or so, as I seem to get carried away. Stop planning so much crap to do. when I'm in a hurry simple little things can feel like a catastrophe. I need to slow down. and sometimes Its okay to just stay at home and relax.

2. I need to prioritize. All of those things being taught to us are important, but almost impossible to try and conquer at once. The most important being FHE and family prayer. As long as those are our foundations we can work in the others gradually

3. I need to have fervent morning prayer. I need to start my day that way in order to function properly. I feel like I haven't gotten the chance to the past few years because I'm always getting catapulted out of bed with whines of "I'm hungry" and then my day is off and running.

4. I need to stop being so selfish. I signed up for this job. I decided to have these kids and now I need to get over myself and deal with my responsibilities. I need to love them and nurture them and take care of them even if I feel its cutting in what I want to be doing.

5. I need to get over my hormonal constipation and love my husband. He works every day for our family and has provided this home and a car for me to drive and my new Nano ;) Even if I feel like I give all day long, he still deserves love and attention. We made promises to love and honor each other. I need to work harder at fighting whatever chemical imbalance that is going on in my brain and just love him.

6. I need to stop comparing myself to what everyone else does or has. Honestly, I will probably never live in that beautiful $500,000 house or drive fancy cars. All wanting that stuff has done is make me ungrateful for what I do have. My van is ugly, but it takes me where I need to go. My house may be small but it provides shelter and is a place where we share memories. It is not for showing off it is for living in and I need to be more grateful. One thing that has helped me is to stop reading fashion magazines or watching those dumb celebrity news shows. I don't know those people, I never will, I don't care what they are doing or wearing or who they are dating. It has no bearing on my life what so ever. That pointless wasted time only makes me feel inadequate, when I am actually the one who is better off.

Through these last few days I've come to realize that I love my life for what it is. I love my house even though its cramped, I love my body even though its not what "society" says it should be, I love my kids even though they can be really naughty. If they were quiet and good all the time it wouldn't be as fun. I love my husband. Sometimes I wish he could be buff like Hugh Jackman ;) but I love him for who he is. He was everything I thought I needed when I decided to marry him and to this day he still is.
I have trials in my life. They may be not as hard or different from other people's. But what I do know is that everything that has been thrown my way, good or bad, has changed me as a person. I am who I am because of those times.

In getting over myself the last few days, I've gotten to know myself. My life isn't all about me. its about how I impact those around me. Its how I spend my time building my family up. Its preparing my children for their lives as adults. I've learned that life is worthless unless you share it, and that's what I plan to do.