I love Chocolate!

I went to the library the other night and checked out some books on gardening, fruit trees and some cookbooks. This Mrs. Fields cookbook had Kalli drooling over the recipes. She has been begging me to make Mother Lode brownies. I told her maybe if I can find the time! I love to cook with Kalli--we made the bread a few weeks ago after all. I guess I need to just make time. I just finished reading a book called The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright. I highly recommend it.

Mealtime at the Wendts

Ammon is growing so fast! He is eating solids a lot better now so I'm not so stressed about him eating. last night he woke up at 1:30 a.m. and screamed for an entire hour. My other kids when they were babies would cry for a little while and get the hint and go to sleep but Ammon is persistant! I know things will get better I just need to hang in there but at night it is hard. I did get some cleaning done yesterday so I was really proud of myself. Scott came home from work and noticed that the house was a lot cleaner! It is amazing how good it feels to get it clean even if it is just for a little while (naturally it is messy today). You just keep trying, right?! The picture above is last night just before dinner. We had cheezy, ham rotini casserole (see my recipe blog for recipe). Aaron was so hungry, he was the first one to the table. I fed him before everyone joined us. It seems like just before dinner time, everything is chaotic. I call it the "witching hour." Kids are hungry, dad is almost home from work and it is just noisy! Anyway, yesterday's "witching hour" wasn't too bad but I just decided to feed Aaron before the crying and whining started. He loved the pasta. He gobbled it right down. Then I got everyone together and we started eating and then Scott got home from work. There is nothing like a family meal together.

Clean vs. Messy: Who will win?

Why do kids love to make messes and live in a mess? This is a really a stupid question I know. Today I don't care that they like living in a mess. Today I will prevail. I will get my house clean today. It just takes a few minutes right? I am in a wierd mood today and I feel like I would just for once like to live in a clean house. Is that too much to ask? So Aaron is now napping (1 p.m.) and the kids will be home from school soon (to add to the mess again) so I better get working!!!! I will write an update soon to let you know if this ever worked.

Aidan's ears

Boy it has been a long day but all in the life of a mother, right? Ammon woke me up to eat at 5 a.m. and I didn't get to go back to sleep this time because I had to take Aidan to the hospital at 6:30 to get his ear tubes. He was such a trooper. He didn't complain about going without breakfast--he knew it was necessary and I didn't hear a word about it. We checked in and he got some blood drawn (he didn't like that!) That he got to change into the cool hospital pajamas and the nurse gave him a coloring book, crayons and a superhero hat to help him be brave. Later he put it on baby Ammon and that is pictured above. Anyway, he had the myringotomy done and adenoids removed and it really didn't take that long. They took him in at 7:45 a.m. and he was back in the room with me by 8:30 a.m. When they wheeled back in, he was so groggy but he was so good. I was so impressed. The pamphlet they gave me telling what to expect said that most kids were upset for about 20-30 minutes afterward so I expected the worst. He mostly was quiet and slept. When they took out his I.V., I thought he would freak but he didn't really notice it. I took him home and he slept for two hours. It was so nice. It would have been even nicer if it would've been Aaron's naptime too but of course he was running around a million miles a minute! I kept telling him to be quiet so Aidan could sleep! I gave Aidan soup for lunch and he has been pampered by grandma's with Jell-o, popsicles and ice cream. Our neighbor (who I really love) even brought us dinner tonight for which I am extremely grateful. I am exhausted and ready for a 12-hour nap thank you. I'm glad that everything went okay and now I just have to remember to give Aidan all his antibiotics and medications for the next few days. He is running around now like normal and full of life and energy!

Ammon, Baby Extraordinair

Ammon is getting so big! He is finally eating some solids and actually liking them. He is getting his bottom tooth in which is kind of exciting! And he is also sleeping a little bit longer at night. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! We all love him so much and are so glad that he is in our family!

Money Management

I went to an Enrichment meeting last night and the speaker talked about Money management. He was so good. I heard so many things that I needed to hear. He told us the reason that economy is such a mess right now is because of all the borrowing. As a people we have not made it very important to live within our means. I have known all my life that this is important but I am one of those people that needs to work on this. The General Authorities of the church have been saying for years to avoid debt, discipline yourselves in spending, and save your money! One of the things the speaker said that really helped me was when he taught us how to make a budget. Say you make $5000 a year (his example). This would be your gross income so your gross salary would be $60,000/year. After taxes take home pay would be $3800 and then you figure out your fixed expenses which would be those bills that you have to pay each month (mortgage, utilities, tithing, etc). What you have left is discretionary income which in his example was $1800. This is how much you make and control and this is what you budget. If you spend more than this, you go into debt and you need to figure out how to cut back. If you spend less than this, you can save money, build your food storage, etc. The main point is: Once your discretionary money is gone for the month IT IS GONE. You don't spend anymore! Wow what a concept. I wish that I could write everything that he said because it was so good. Tonight I am planning on going to a gardening class. This summer I am determined to growa really good garden. In years past I haven't done bad. In the summers that I have had babies, I haven't done so well but maybe this year I can concentrate better. I do pretty good on the growing part, it is the preserving part that is challenging to keep up on. Hopefully, I will do better this summer. It is hard to imagine spring and growing things with all this snow though!

Fun days with Aaron and Aidan

Here is a movie I shot about a month ago. I am really going to miss these noisy days when the boys grow older. I have said it before and I will say it now, childhood is fleeting and time goes too fast! It sometimes feels like I will be in this stage of life forever though and I need to keep perspective!

A Wonderful Wednesday

So I thought I would try the video blogger today. I don't even know what the movie is that I put here. Hope it works and is a good one! Anyway, today is been a pretty good day. My two sisters and I went to the Fitness Center this morning and walked a mere three miles. It felt really good. You know for the past month, I have been trying really hard to do better reading my scriptures, spending less money, yelling less, etc. and I feel like I have been doing a pretty good job. The interesting thing that I have noticed is it seems like life has become more difficult. How do I explain? For example, I think that we are going to be ahead in the budget because I have done so well with my grocery budget and then wham! We are hit with a huge dentist bill we weren't expecting and Aidan's surgery next week and Kael's contacts and the list goes on. I just sigh and say was it really worth it?! The answer is yes because I am learning to be more disciplined with our money and that is always a good thing. Anyway, different things like that. I have made a goal to read the Bible all the way through which has been really difficult to stick to but I have been doing it. Also our Relief Society has challenged us to read the Book of Mormon in six months and I am on track with that. It seems like when you work on good goals like that, you will always run into opposition. I am proud of myself that I have stuck to it and am plugging along still. I have good days and bad days but mostly good for which I am most grateful.

update on Aidan's ears

Well, I am relieved to be doing something for Aidan. I took him to the otolaryngologist (hope I spelled that right) and his ears are inflamed! The doctor said, "If this was our ears, we would be screaming in pain but he is too busy doing other things to notice!" Anyway, next week he is having tubes put in and adenoids removed and hopefully that will solve some problems. Thank you Shelly for your comments on the previous blog!

"monday, monday..so good to me..."

Well I haven't blogged for awhile so I thought I better write something. Seriously though, I feel like nothing has really happened this past week. Just same old, same old. Today I am taking Aidan to an Ear/Nose/Throat doctor that we have been seeing for months and months. For about 1 1/2 years since Aidan started preschool, we have been seeing different doctors to see what is up with his ears. He didn't pass his hearing test in preschool at the school so we went to the District Audiologist. After some test with him, we went to see this doctor that we are seeing today. Incidentally, Aidan failed his hearing test this year too at school and I got a call from the school but I told them we were already seeing a doctor. Bottom line, I wish we could find out what's going on! I'm sick of these doctor trips! Maybe we will find out something today! Well these pictures above are from yesterday. Ammon is wearing an outfit that Kael wore when he was a baby. It has just gone too fast. Childhood really is fleeting. It was just yesterday, Kael was a sweet baby and now he is a teenager!

Saturday I got a lot of chores done which felt good. I love having a clean house. I had a craving for peanut butter fingers and made a pan and have had trouble staying away from them. They taste so good! Last week, Emma and walked the track Wednesday and Thursday three miles both times! That felt good! Today I won't be able to go to the fitness center because of Aidan's appointment, but hopefully the rest of the week I will be able to walk every day. I feel so much better when I exercise.

Draper Temple Open House

Yesterday we took all the kids to the Draper Temple Open House. I was a little worried how Ammon and Aaron would behave but they did really well. We started our tour at an LDS meetinghouse where the showed a movie on why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has temples. We could really feel a warm feeling as we watched the movie. Aaron was quiet and watched for awhile and then he got a little restless. Luckily there were other families there with little ones too so we didn't stick out. We then got onto a tour bus that took us to the temple which was five minutes away. They asked us to whisper and be reverent when we were in the temple so you could really feel the Spirit and it was so peaceful. The kids enjoyed being there. At the end of the tour, we were in a sealing room where families are sealed for Time and All Eternity. Ammon was fussing loudly and I didn't want to disturb anyone so I took him out of the room. A volunteer there working at the temple tour offered to hold him so I could go back in and listen so I gave her Ammon. I went back in and enjoyed listening to the presentation. When I went back out to get Ammon, the lady holding him said, "Only in the temple!" meaning that I had let a complete stranger take my baby and I didn't even give it a second thought. I knew he would be safe and he was! He didn't even fuss with her. He just wanted to walk around. Anyway, afterwards we went to a chapel adjacent to the temple and had some cookies and enjoyed an exhibit they had set up that explained all about our temples. It was great to be there and the kids will never forget it!