Happy Thanksgiving from Joe

Background vocals provided by Kathrynn Bossy Pants. :)

Recap: Joe's First Day of School

Joe started Kindergarten this year and was SO excited - he was counting the days for months.

Showing off his super-cool Toy Story shoes. By the way, that is his 'too cool for school' face.. he was talking all morning about how all of the girls were going to fall in love with him. :)



With Kathrynn. Don't you just love how she looks like a little mommy? :)



With Mommy.

Heading out the door.

I have to say, I did very well for sending my oldest child off on his first day of school - didn't cry at all when I dropped him off. I got it all out of my system the night before. :) I felt much better when I saw other parents - even dads - getting choked up in the classroom. Joseph has LOVED school and is doing VERY well. And though not all of the girls in class want to marry him, he does have is very first crush on a very cute girl. :)

Recap: Favorite Picture of the Year

I'm obviously behind on blogging, but rather than going over EVERYTHING that has happened over the last year, I'm going to share a few gems.

This is my favorite picture of the last year. It was taken on a family fishing trip. Such a fun day!

33

I recently celebrated my 33rd birthday. Though I love birthdays, this one was not the most joyous occasion. It was spent in bed, with 103 degree temperature and involved getting a shot in my bum which the nurse described as "pushing peanut butter through a syringe." Oh, and I felt like I had razor blades in my throat. Ah, the joys of strep throat. But that's not the point of this post.

32 was a big year for me. Nothing truly notable happened, but I think I learned more this last year than any year of my life.

When I turned 32 I had a goal to be at a healthy weight before my 33rd birthday and I met that goal somewhere in the middle of the summer. Getting there was pure, well, you know. Would I have done it again? Yes, but in a different way. I successful lost 32 lbs in three months on a very restrictive, very very low calorie diet. Then I got a little sick and realized that what I was doing to my body was not healthy and changed my ways a bit. I gained some of it back but am healthier than I've been since I've been a mom. This leads to lesson #1 that I learned this year:

Our bodies are a gift and we need to respect them.

I look at what I put into my body and how I treat my body so differently that I ever have. We are literally what we eat. If we eat well, we are healthy and strong. If we don't eat enough we don't have enough to give those around us. If we eat junk, well...
It's important to keep our bodies strong - there is so much they are capable of - we need to respect that.

Lesson #2..

Time is a gift.

I don't have a lot of free time these days. I run a daycare in my home, I have 2 active little kids, one who is in school now, and a husband whose schedule could put some of the busiest people to shame.
I do my best not to waste a lot of time these days. Every moment is precious and important. We only have one life. It's best not to waste it away doing meaningless things.

Lesson #3
No Excuses

I learned this year that the easiest and happiest way to live life is to take full accountability. Your difficulties are very rarely another person's fault. Once I was able to embrace this fact, I became a much happier person.

Lesson #4
Love Yourself

When I was in high school I was so in tune with who I was - I knew it and was sure of it and loved the person I was. Adulthood has a way of instilling self-doubt and self-loathing. Through a lot of prayer, scripture study, and just time exploring who I am I've really been able to reacquaint with myself and develop that self-love again. And, let me tell you, once you love who you are, all of your other relationships become AMAZING. You're able to see just how much others love you and return that love a hundred fold.

Lesson #5
Cherish all of the Little Moments

We're busy people. We don't have time for big moments around here. But, I have learned that there is so much joy to be found in those little itty bitty moments. Hugs are wonderful. Little "I love you" moments. Cuddles, snuggles, the list goes on. I used to think that big monumental things were what made life special.. they're not. It's those little tender moments that make my world go 'round.

Lesson #6
Be Grateful

I found myself counting down. Counting down until Steve's done with school. Counting down until we move to Logan. Counting down until... This was big during the summer. I was counting down until the summer was over - I don't like hot weather and there were other things that were just kind of driving me crazy. Then I realized - I am counting down the last days I have Joseph at home before I lose him to school and responsibility forever. That's when I stopped counting down and started counting my blessings. I would write in my journal everyday 3 things I was grateful for, whether it be a hug, a cool morning, or a call from a close friend - I recognized my blessings was grateful for each and every one and stopped waiting for life to be the way I wanted it - I decided to want the life I have right now and cherish every second. Joseph will never be 5 again. Kathrynn may possibly be less obsessively a mommy's girl one day (though that's hard to imagine). These days are precious even if they're not perfect, and I'm grateful for each and every one of them.

Here's to another great year!

So Beautiful.

This amazing woman has been an absolute inspiration to me. I've read her blog for about a year now and she has been able to make a very real change in my heart by sharing her experiences and love for the Savior so freely. Please take the time to watch this video. It's wonderful.

To visit her blog, go to http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/.

Update. Update.

I just got the kids to bed and was on the way back upstairs to do a little bit of clean up and some working out when I realized how much I've missed my blog. So, I'm going to squeeze in a little somethin' here so you can all know that we are all still alive and well.

What we've been up to (again)...

Steve

• Hardest worker in the universe.
• Still working full time and going to school nearly full time and taking on a part time job on top of all of that.
• Has been forcing me to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation during the times when he is home.
• Is the sweetest, most thoughtful, extremely patient man imaginable - I'm so lucky to have him - we'll be celebrating 7 years next week!
• Surprised me with a copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Julie

• Has been conditioned to fall asleep during Star Trek, no matter what time of day it's on.
  
• Day Care is up and running - I have 4 kids in my care - all under the age of two.
• Will go gray within the next two years, I'm sure.
• Is exhausted.
• Has tinkered with the above mentioned cookbook a bit and LOVES it!
• Pinched her dang sciatic again a couple of weeks ago and recovery has been frustrating, to say the least.
• Is juggling everything remarkably - I'm not sure how, but everything's getting done.
• Really looking forward to our upcoming anniversary - need that date night!

Drew

• Busy being a4th grader and super cute.

Gandalf

• Absolute lazy bum.
• Is making the dog's life a little more endurable.
• But, still enjoys cornering him and listening to him whine until one of us comes to the rescue.

Joe

• Biggest sweetheart in the universe!
• Just found out he got into The Ogden Preparatory Academy for next year and will be there with a bunch of his little friends.
• Wrote and illustrated a book today. Very cute and pretty creative.
• Runs laps inside the house everyday - I think he's as ready for spring as I am.

Kathrynn

• Growing more and more beautiful each day.
• Is still a professional two year old - she's living it to the fullest.
• Has officially entered the 'best friend' phase.
• Says words like "actually," "extremely," and "absolutely."

Chu Chu

• Is being a good dog, finally.
• We love him.
• Looks good in dog sweaters.
• Quite often doubles as a vacuum cleaner.
  

Until I Have Time for a Real Post...

I've noticed that my comment section for the my last post has been taken over by spammers, and I'm assuming that that's because it's been SO long since I've posted, so I'm filling the space to scare off those dang spammers because they are so not welcome here.
Don't worry, a real post will come soon. I've been impossibly busy. Between the day care which is up and running, and Steve never being home because he works 2 jobs and goes to school, I have very little time for this kind of stuff, but I have lots of good posts brewing in this head of mine and some miraculous day I will actually post some of it. :)

Oooohhhh!!!

So, I have this dream. I want to find a cabin somewhere and lock myself in for an entire weekend and do nothing but make stuff. I have so many ambitions - so many new things I want to try, cute little things I want to make for my kids, quilts to sew, cutesy little kitchen towels to make... the list goes on and on. BUT I have a house that I need to keep clean, 2 kids who starve for my attention even though they are far from being attention-starved by any shape of the imagination, a needy dog, a spoiled cat, and a husband who works harder than any living being should... oh, and that whole daycare thing I'm trying to get up and running.. more on that later. (Need an awesome daycare?! I know of one!!!)
OK, maybe I need to lock myself up for a week.. or a month.. oh, but what would happen to my house? Or I could just stop sleeping. I've actually considered that.
Anyway. I saw these tonight and almost DIED.

CUTEST CLIPPIES EVER!!!!!
Let me just say that having a little girl has forever shifted my ambition to make cute little crafty things. I REALLY want to make these!!! They are SO CUTE!! I got it at this website - Little Birdie Secrets. Awesome awesome awesome blog that walks you through - or at least points you to someone who will - darling projects.
Insomnia for the purpose of making cutesy little things, here I come! :)

My New Food Blog

I love to cook and I really enjoy trying out new recipes regularly, so I decided to start up a new food blog. It can be found here --> www.paulsonpantry.blogspot.com.

Enjoy!

Princess Spunk and Other Stuff

It's another Steve-free night :( - he's out helping a family remodel their bathroom - so I'm taking some time out to blog about what's been going on, post some DARLING pictures, and watch So You Think You Can Dance - so glad that's on this season!!!

So, in the next two weeks, the house will get a fire inspection and a health inspection and after that we're DONE getting ready for the daycare and I'll hopefully have that license in my hand.

There are SO many things I need to blog about.. like the fact that we have a dog. Or our INSANE garden. I think I've picked like a thousand cucumbers and have more peppers than I know what to do with. And, I was totally amazed this year by how many tomatoes a single plant can yield. And, don't get me started on the spaghetti squash. Or my infatuation with fall and how I'm counting the days.. but tonight it's all about Kathrynn, my spunky little princess (don't worry, Joe will get his own post, too). She's been so cute and so sweet lately and has been a total HAM for the camera, so I've got some good stuff to post. Plus, she just had a really bad night tonight. She was sad and uncomfortable and went to bed early.

Anyway, less talk, more action...



Here she says she's a baby. :) This is one of my favorite facial expressions!

Having so much fun!!!

Reading "Go Dog Go," her favorite book - I have to read it EVERY night and several times during the day.


I just love this little girl - she has so much light and is full of love - and she's fun and spunky and just hilarious. Tonight, she was pointing out my eyes and nose and cheeks and chin and then looked up at my hair and said, "Mommy, you're a chocolate head." (She had just asked for chocolate because she was trying to go potty.) She is an absolute mommy's girl and I just love that. She brings so much joy into my life. :)