Burned out....updated

I love being a Mom...it is all I ever wanted to be "when I grew up". I played with dolls till I was 12. Most days I feel like I am living my dream....

However I am burned out. My baby has been sick for over a week...I mean really sick. High fever, not sleeping, totally miserable, cannot console him sick. Double ear infections (viral apparently since the antibiotic isn't doing a darn thing for them), sore throat and a head to toe itchy rash will do it to you I suppose. Now we are quarantined until the rash is gone because they have no idea what it is....a "non-specific" viral rash (is code for we don't know what the heck is wrong with your baby).

I have great sympathy for this darling boy and feel so bad for him.... but I want my happy, busy, charming, baby back (who happens to sleep well when he isn't sick). He just started taking his 1st steps the day or two before he got sick. Since his illness...not a step taken.

I am tired and burned out. And my other kids get out of school this week and are expecting me to entertain them....wonderful.

Okay...I will be back to my normal self who loves being a Mommy soon enough, but for now I just needed a bit of a pity party. Thanks for coming....

Pity Party over....soon you realize that someone else always has a heavier burden than you do. Someone very angelic who is carrying a hard burden brought me some sweet treats tonight just to brighten my day...thank you....you know who you are!

Summertime Fun

I have been reading many blogs with fun ideas for the summer....here are a bunch of links of great ideas!

Saren Loosli's blog

The Girls at eighteen25 this is a really fun blog with easy craft ideas...if I can do them they must be easy!

Families online magazine ideas for teens

Family Fun magazine online one of the few magazines I subscribe to. Such fun and simple ideas!

150 ideas for summer fun

Fun attic.com

From my sis-in-law Heather:

-Make puppets (sock, paper bag, etc) and learn/rehearse a play. Pick their favorite story or something classic like Goldie Locks and the Three Bears. Then perform the play for Dave when he gets home from work.

-If you have a digital camera that the kids can use, send them on a picture scavenger hunt throughout the house. Have a list of things that they need to find and take a picture of that item. For the younger ones the list can be something like this: find something red, something yellow, something long, something tall, something yummy, etc. And for the older kids the list can be more challenging like: find something that reminds you of winter, something yellow & purple, something that stacks, something that moves fast.
Then look at everyone's pictures on the computer together.

-Have a read-a-thon. Make forts, wear pj's, bring out the blankets, pillows and treats.

I have a friend who has some activity planned every day of the week such as:

Monday=stay home and clean

Tuesday=library day

Wednesday=swim day

Thursday=service

Friday=friend play dates

I think we will also do regular field trip days.

Another way to do it is to have a calendar and write something down every day on the calendar from a list generated by the kids/parents

I plan on teaching my kids some new skills this summer such as cooking, laundry and sewing

Here are a few other ideas we came up with:

Make homemade ice cream and have an ice cream party with friends

Snow cone and/or lemonade stand (I plan on buying one of those at home snow cone makers)

Discovery children's museum

Craft Day

Summer Book Club for kids(my friend Cherlynn gave this idea)

Summer reading goal (my older kids is to read 1000 pages this summer....big reward at the end if they reach it)

Bowling

Free movies

Service projects

Make photo albums together

Springs Preserve

Mt Charleston hike

Natural History museum

Railroad museum

Lake Mead

Sew new blankets/pillowcases for them

Visit an old folks home and sing or bring them treats

Any other great ideas?? I am open to them!

Looking for a cure for those summertime blues...

So....my kids have had year round school for the past 5 years and so our longest break has been about 5 weeks. But this year our district switched to 9 month school and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

Don't get me wrong, I love having my kids home (mostly), but it is BLAZING hot here for June/July/August and trying to keep them busy and off the screeens is going to be challenging. When it is 105+ nobody wants to be playing outside unless it is in a pool. We will have regular swim days, but the other days is what I am worried about.

Here is what I was thinking....email me your ideas (or comment) that keep your kids busy and entertained during the summer months and I will put a blog post together listing all of them to give a bunch of ideas for all of us to use!

If you want to participate email me by the end of this week at vegasmom77 at gmail.com

How to help your wife turn 40 (gulp)

Okay here we go again (1st post somehow got deleted). Most of what my husband did, didn't cost much $$. It was really the thought that counted this time....here are a few things that he did:

• He said when you turn 40 you get "Birthday Week" and he did little things for me all week such as:
• Putting kids to bed so I didn't have to
• giving me 40 hershey's kisses and hugs
• writing 40 love notes that told me what he loved about me and hiding them around the house for me to find (my favorite thing he did all week....I am still finding them)

• He had all of my siblings and all of his, plus both sets of parents write me a letter. They were so fun to read...they were filled with fun memories, uplifting thoughts and great advice.
• He LISTENED to what I wanted...I didn't want a surprise party or black balloons, headstones etc. I wanted a small get together with close friends.
• He was supportive and made me laugh...this was a hard birthday for me and he was sweet and helped me laugh my way through it.
• He did give me new scriptures on my birthday which I have been wanting. My main gift was my weekend away the end of April.
  
• He gave me TIME...he stayed home from work and made me breakfast (he is usually gone by 6 a.m.), he also came home early from work on my bday (much to my surprise). He also took 2 days off work so I could have a fun getaway with my sisters and mom.
  

I have such a wonderful, thoughtful husband and I realize more and more how blessed I am!

Payday....

Yesterday my son was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood. It was a Mommy "payday". Sometimes we have what feels like a thankless job...same things day in and day out. Cleaning up messes, fixing meals, cleaning up messes, driving carpools, cleaning up messes, being the disciplinarian..did I mention cleaning up messes?

But as I looked up at my son after his ordination and saw tears in his eyes and our eyes connected and I knew that he knew that he had just received an amazing gift and responsibility....it is ALL worth it. Every minute of that colicky infant who didn't sleep through the night till he was 18 months old, every minute of every ear infection we went through, every Family Home Evening where I was sure no one was paying attention, every night we read scriptures and kids were bouncing off the walls and I wanted to quit and bag it because it wasn't doing 'any good!", every minute of taking him to the eye doctor and having him scream his little lungs out when they would dilate his eyes to see if it was time to do surgery yet, watching him go back to the O.R. for eye surgery at 3 years old screaming for Mommy and breaking my heart....EVERY MINUTE worth that one moment!

But I didn't get just one moment yesterday, Heavenly Father blessed me with a few bonuses....I also got to watch him along with his Dad pass the sacrament to the congregation. I watched his Dad look at his boy with such pride and love as they "tag team" passed to the different rows. I caught his eye as he passed and winked at him and he got a huge smile on his face. He is a special boy and one that feels the spirit deeply.

Another bonus was when my 3 year old said, "My brother pass the sacrament to us...with his FRIENDS and with my DADDY! He is a big boy!" My 5 year old said, "I want to be 12 and be like my big brother."

Yesterday was a day filled with love and gratitude and humility.

Yesterday makes today's messes easier to clean up, it makes screaming children easier to deal with, it makes my mountains of laundry seem less daunting....those paydays are incredible and worth every second!

More Women's Conference notes

Not only did I get to spend Women's Conference with my sisters by blood...I also got to spend time with two of my sisters by choice...these two are my lifelong best friends..both amazing women!

I went to a class on studying and using scriptures to help us in our daily lives and through our trials. It was taught by two amazing women, but not anyone that you would have heard of before. They are "ordinary" women (although after their class I don't believe they are ordinary) that have found the best way for them to use the scriptures.

A couple of key points I loved...The principal of "Read until" which is that you read in the scriptures UNTIL you get the message that God wants you to have that day. Those messages are there if we will pray beforehand and have our hearts open to God's revelation. This personal message to us may come from the words of the scriptures, or it may come as a thought or piece of inspiration. This means we must ponder and listen as well. These personal messages show forth God's love for us and reveal to us His will for us that day. For me to be able to do this I have to wake up before my kids...which means 5:30 or 6, because there is NO quiet time once they are up!

Another principal I loved is:

"No scriptures, no answers."

"Know scriptures, know answers."

I admit that scriptures study is something I have not been very consistent at in the past. (more on consistency tomorrow when I write about Elder Bednar's talk). Last year with my difficult pregnancy and baby being in the NICU I NEEDED the scriptures and it changed my life and I have been very consistent since then. I honestly know what it feels like to hunger and thirst after them. When I don't read and ponder I feel it in my life. I am less patient with my kids, I don't get as much done and I am not happy! I also keep a small journal with my scriptures and write down promptings. When we change our focus from God hearing us to us hearing Him...our lives will change.

One of these women has not missed a day of reading her scriptures in 27 years, since she was 14 years old! She and her family have been going through a very challenging trial the past couple of years. She says in the midst of the deepest part of the trial she has felt immense peace...and you could see it in her, she had sucha bright countenance (and she has NINE children!). She knows that is from her preparation from the time she was 14 in reading scriptures and getting answers. That was incredible to me, this class was a life changing one for me!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day 1 year ago...kids could see their baby brother through a window but hadn't seen him in person yet.

On this "Mother's Day Eve" as one of my kids called it tonight...I wanted to share some thoughts from Women's Conference:

From Sister Beck, who is amazing..one of my favorite speakers ever!

She spoke very directly to Mother and the women of the church:

Don't confuse holding the priesthood and priesthood duties to the Power of the priesthood...

We as women can call on the power of the priesthood in our homes

God's power should be in our lives EVERY MINUTE!

Priesthood duty of women is the create life and nurture and teach

Some are shirking responsibility

Having children and how many to have is a GOSPEL decision

not financial, not convenience oriented and not driven by the world's opinion.

Creating, nurturing, teaching and influencing are non-negotiable responsibilities

Homemaking and motherhood duties can be works of beauty and importance if we have the right perspective.

Am I aligned with the Lord's vision of me and what he gave me in the pre-existence

or am I trying to escape my responsibilities?

Antidote for entitlement...that someone owes me something:

Think of the Savior and his sacrifice and remember who owes who what!

Go to the temple and pay attention!

Prepare yourself to receive God's message for YOU!

Do the things in your life that prepare your heart and mind to hear God's voice that is specific to you.