Another way I'm turning into my mother.

I just have to laugh at myself when I realize all the ways I'm becoming like more and more like my mom all the time. Not only do I frequently burst into song when talking with my kids, and I often wake them up singing the dreaded "Wake up, wake up ya sleepy head" (Cheyenne and Natalie dread it, but Billy actually requested it the other day), I realize I'm starting to have her same tastes in decorating and clothes and value her opinion over just about any one elses. Good thing my mom is such a classy lady! So, the newest way I'm becoming my mom - I'm now part of a group of "old ladies" exercising at the church. From the time I was little up until I think I was in high school maybe, my mom met up with a bunch of other ladies to exercise every M W F. She was religious about it and I don't think she hardly ever missed a day. I tried to go with her a few times, but I never kept with it very long. It was just too early for me and I cherished my sleep more. See the biggest difference between "us" and "them", those ladies were made of much sterner stuff. Not only did they go three days a week, we only go twice a week, but they would meet at 5:30 a.m.! I just can't handle that early in the morning. We meet at 8:30, after the kids all leave for school. My little kids have a great time playing with their friends in the nursery and I get in a great workout. It's all good! Oh, and the other difference, no fancy leotards and leg warmers and no Jane Fonda. :)

Love you, Mom! Thanks for being such a wonderful example to me. I'm proud to say "I'm turning into my mother."

Thanks Grandma!

Chloe and Maddie in new Christmas dresses from Grandma and Grandpa. They love their "puppy" dresses, especially because they can twirl in them.

I DID IT!!

Yup, I played Little Red Hen on Saturday. I ground my own wheat, and made beautiful (if I do say so myself), delicious (according to my whole family who couldn't get enough of the stuff), whole wheat bread! I even remembered to be a good mom and tell my kids the story of the little red hen and show them the wheat grinding and how it turns into flour and everything. So this was Saturday night that I took the picture, and as of Monday morning we're down to 2 loaves left because I put those ones in the freezer. Yeah, I'm actually making progress on my goal!

Ahh, a new year and a clean slate!

There's something refreshing in getting a new clean start each year. The holiday decorations are all put away, the house is back to normal, the endless goodies and treats are gone, we're back to our regular routines. I give a sigh of relief. Oh, I love the holidays, don't get me wrong, but I love, crave routines and normalness. Call me weird. Then comes the fresh start part. Time for those New Year's Resolutions. Those promises of making this the best year yet! So here are some of goals for the new year:

1. SIMPLIFY! Yup, that's my biggest goal this year, although it includes an awful lot. I want to simplify in the way we eat, more homemade - I will master rolls this year!!! Simplify in what we do as a family or my expectations and ideals of what we should be doing. Simplify in the amount of "stuff" we have or that sits around our house - I already have a huge bag for DI, and I thought I'd cleaned everything out already. Simplify in my YW calling. Simplify my scrapbook pages. I loved Elder Perry's talk this past conference called "Let Him Do It With Simplicity". I even have it downloaded on my mp3 right now. I'm also reading Carolyn J. Rasmus's book "Simplify" that I bought a few months ago and never managed to get to yet. It's an awesome book and when I finish it I'll have to write a review for it, maybe. My sister even gave me the word "simplify" to put in my house for Christmas. So that's it, I'm just going to simplify - we'll see how simple it really is.

2. Of course there's that stupid 15 lbs. I've been trying, but not trying very hard, to lose. They're gone this year!

3. I'm going to actually study the scriptures, not just read through them.

4. Spend more time scrapbooking and/or doing crafty things. I really miss this as I haven't spent much time in this area for a long time. This also means I have to keep what's supposed to be my craft area cleaned off. Unfortunatley, it turns in to the junk table catch all place and I always have to unclutter it before I can do anything fun. It's my one weak spot of junkiness in our house, but NO MORE!!

Okay, that's it. That's what I'm striving for for this month, one month at a time.