Kansas City Temple

Here is a recent picture of the Kansas City temple...this temple is 4 miles from my house!!

And yes...I am VERY sad to leave when it is so close to being done! Plus, they are building a brand new Stake Center right next to the temple! I was so looking forward to being in that building, and being able to look out and see the temple right next door. Luckily, they are building another temple in Gilbert, Arizona, just 15-20 minutes from our house, so I will still be close to one. It's all good... :)

Noah's Tank

This was a present from Grandpa Harrington when he came at the beginning of this month. It has just taken me forever to download pictures and get caught up on blogging.

Ah, and yes...I haven't been blogging everyday like I said I would. Are you surprised? I'm not. Life is too busy. And so the daily blogging will have to take a back seat until things calm down. Plus, my life really isn't that interesting, so there's not much to say if I blogged everyday.

Anyways, Noah has an obsession with the military...one that I am hoping he will grow out of! Not a fan...sorry. I know that there are a lot of great men out there that are proud to serve their country, but I just don't like the idea of my 9 year old being obsessed with guns, and killing people. Sorry.

Here's the tank...it's remote controlled and shoots BB pellets. Yup, just what we need.

(I have no idea what is up with Ashlyn posing with devil eyes, apparently I should've retaken that picture!)

Saturday

My uneventful day...

I left work at 7:30a, drove home, slept, watched 2 hours of TV, loaded the dishwasher, showered, and now I am headed back to work.

Yup, uneventful. :)

Friday

Today two of my friends came over with their kids to hang out and let the kids play. Then Ashlyn and I took a nap together...HEAVENLY! I love naps.

The kids dad came to get them right after school for the weekend, so I then got to go and run errands with no kids. Once again...HEAVENLY!

I ran to T-Mobile to pay my bill, have my phone fixed (it has been droppping calls like crazy!), and to lower my plan. Then I went to get my nails done...yeah, I know, it's not a necessity, but Brandon and I are having our engagement pictures done next weekend while I am in Indiana (he's meeting me there for Easter), and I can't have professional pictures taken with short, stubby nails!! Then I ran to Target...my obsession!

All I really got was face wash, foundation...you know...the stupid stuff that you hate to spend money on, and then some food and Easter items to put in the kids Easter baskets next weekend. I figured, I might as well get the items now while I have no kids with me.

So, now it's time to get ready to go to work.

But first, here is a quick story...

Yesterday, I dropped off an umbrella at our Bishop's house that we had borrowed last week. Noah wanted to run it up to the door, so I could stay in the car. The bishop opened the door, shook Noah's hand, and waved at me. Then Noah came running back to the car. The bishop was in dressy church clothes when he answered the door, and so this is what Noah had to say about that...

Noah: Why is the Bishop always dressed up?
Me: Because he has a lot of meetings as the bishop, and he needs to be dressed up to show respect for our Heavenly Father.
Noah: I want to be a bishop when I grow up.
Me: Noah, that is the cutest thing I have ever heard. You are so sweet.
Noah: Well, if I want to be the Prophet someday, I need to be a bishop first.
Me: You're right. That's a great goal to have buddy...

The conversation went on from there, but I just thought I should share how cute it was that Noah wants to be a Prophet when he grows up.

I just LOVE that kid!!

That's about all, off to work!

Thursday

Today I babysat cousins again, ran an errand, brought the kids to the park, played outside for hours, then as a family we headed to Lily's school to see her preform in her First Grade School Program.

I love those mommy moments! The ones where your child is dressed nicely, perfectly behaved, and following directions the first time! Lily sang every song with tons of enthusiasm, and after each song, she would give me (and her dad) a thumbs up and blow us a kiss!

Right now, I already have all three kids in bed, and I have three haircuts coming over. Then hopefully I am headed to bed early, because it's my weekend to work, so I need to get some sleep in while I can.

Oh, my pet peev today....ice cream trucks!! I HATE them! Let's just send the message to kids that is is okay to run up to a car, and talk to a stranger, and ask for food from him! Are you kidding me?? No thank you!!

Day #3

Look, I am day #3 of my goal to journal daily, and I haven't messed up yet. It's a miracle!

So, today I watched our little cousin Elyssa for the day...she is always so easy to have! Her and Ashlyn play so incredibly good together! The girls and I went to 'Home Depot' to buy some moving boxes, and tape. Yes, I bought moving boxes...they are super cheap, and I like how they are clean and that they will all stack neatly on top of each other in the moving truck. Oh, and this is the first time I have ever been to Home Depot, and I did NOT like it! I will never go back! I think I will stick to Lowe's...it is way nicer and has a much better selection of items.

After 'Home Depot,' me and the girls headed to 'Target' where I just got the items that were on sale combined with my coupons. Well, the grand total ended up being $56, but I saved $41. Not bad!

When we got home we did lunch, then I had the girls have "quiet time" upstairs while I gave myself a pedicure and catched up on my new favorite show, "Extreme couponing," watch it, you'll be hooked!

After quiet time we picked up Elyssa's sister, Lauryn from school, and on the way back we were getting ready to pass 'Sonic' and I thought I should stop and get the kids a slushie. It was still happy hour, and so I got one massive diet coke for me, and got 5 small slushies for all the kids for $3.84!

5 minutes later we were home, and I had five happy kiddos drinking away at their slushies wile they played outside.

I got dinner in the oven while the kids played outside, and it actually came out of the oven as cousin Matt was pulling up in the driveway. He came to up to the house to get the kids, and after chatting with him for a few moments, I handed him his 9 x 13 pan of dinner for his family, a salad(I'm trying to use up our food storage so I don't have to move it!), and he was headed home.

After a quick bite to eat, I dropped just the girls off with their cousins, whom they had just seen 30 minutes before, and Noah and I headed to the church. He had scouts, and I had a cub scout committee meeting, and a presidency meeting.

Afterwards Noah and I picked the girls back up, headed home, I tucked them all in bed, and then I talked to my sweetie for 2 hours!

It was a busy day, but it was absolutely perfect! The weather was beautiful (81 and sunny), the kids behaved perfectly, and to top it all off...Brandon and I booked our honeymoon to Hawaii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALOHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life is so good!

It's 12:36a, and I am headed to BED!!!! Goodnight all!

Day Two

So I am on day #2 of trying to post daily and I am already falling behind...are we surprised?

It is 11:25p, and I am BEAT!! Literally, I am a walking zombie!

I have had 4 1/2 hours of sleep since Monday when I woke up (so out of the last 40 hours!). I just finished a foil hi-lite, and so I am finally headed to bed.

Here is a quick recap of my day...I will fill in more later.

Worked last night...got home at 8am this morning
Sucked up a giant wasp that was in my house with the vacuum cleaner
Got a speeding ticket
Slept for 4 1/2 hours
Went grocery shopping
Did a hi-lite on a friend
Scheduled our engagement pictures

okay, goodnight!

Trying to Do Better

My old blog...the one I had before the divorce...the one that I am still morning over losing...had a post from me nearly everyday! I was so good about posting. It was mostly about the kids, but there were also quite a few ramblings from me..my thoughts, my opinions...you get the picture.

Well, over the last several months I have been working nights (which is when I used to spend the majority of my time blogging), catching up on sleep, starting a new relationship, and doing the whole single mom thing...these things combined have left little to no time to blog...it has/had become low on the priority list.

Well, enough is enough! It's time I get back to journaling...yes, this is my journal, public as it may be! I feel like I have missed saying so much!

So, in effort to write more frequently, I am going to try to post daily. Yeah, I know. We'll see how long this last!

But nevertheless, here it goes!

So, today's post...

Brutally honest as it may be...

I am scared to death to get married!!! Well, not really to get married, more just scared to have someone see me naked again! AHHH! I am literally consumed with thinking about this!!

When I got married the first time, I was 143lbs, and I had hardly no stretch marks, my boobs were perky, I had long blond hair, and my thighs didn't touch when I walked! Yeah, I had a rockin' body! Too bad I didn't appreciate it, or realize it till lately! Although I was 17, so who doesn't look good at 17??

Now, here I am, 29 years old, three kids later, a 156lbs and a size 10. My boobs can practically be tucked into my pants when I put them on, and my stretch marks...well they go from the back of my knees all the way to my neck...literally. I will spare you the proof.

Well, what kind of a present am I for poor Brandon?? He will see me naked and think 'this is what I have been looking forward to for 33 years!!'

Poor guy! Well, at least I can't be compared to anyone. The upside of being Mormon and waiting until marriage.

So, now I am a little over two months away from getting married. I am frantically dieting.....in a healthy fashion, and I am growing my hair out, tanning, getting my nails done. And all for what? So that I can be fake, and a month after the wedding when the tan has worn off, and the stretch marks are starting to show, have him say, "what the heck?? This isn't what I married!?"

URG! I know every girl goes through this...but still!! I never thought I would have to go through this...again...kind of...long story.

Anyways, wish me luck, I have 70 some odd days to get toned, tan, and get my boobs perky...okay the last one might be impossible! But a girl can dream, right? :)

If all else fails...I can dim the lights...nothing like some dim lights to keep him in the mood! haha :)

The past two weeks have flown by!! I can't believe it is already mid April!!!

Brandon came for three days.

Then my good friend Katie and her four kids came for three days.

Then my parents came for 5 days over conference weekend.

And all our visitors came consecutively!

Plus, I worked 5 out of the 7 days last week. I have never worked so much at this job before, but since my parents were here I took advantage of them, and pulled a few extra shifts...the extra money will be heavenly!!

And finally, once I got caught up on sleep, me and kids were able to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. We have been outside playing, running, and getting our winter energy out...or at least some of us. Lily had a fever for 4 days this week, and of course she got her fever the day my parents left! Big bummer! Luckily, it was just a fever, and she was back to normal yesterday.

What else??

Oh, I got to see two good friends of mine that used to be in my ward here. They both moved away last summer, and what's sad is that both girls (who are unrelated), said that they miss this ward and this area deeply! They both said that things just aren't the same where they are at. It's made me think...in 8 weeks I will be moving from here...moving to be with a man that I love more than anything!! But nevertheless still moving. It will be really hard for me! The hardest move that I have ever made. I LOVE it here! I have such amazing friends, and such an amazing ward!

When Brandon was here two Sundays ago, he came into the Primary room to get me after church and carry my big Sunday bag for me. The Primary president wrapped her arms around me, and with tears in her eyes, told Brandon that I was irreplaceable and that she would miss me dearly! How touching! I had no idea I had much an impact!

I have developed life-long friendships here. And my cousin (which really isn't my cousin, she is my x-husbands cousins wife) here is more like a sister to me than a cousin. I have great neighbors. Great church leaders. The kids are in an amazing school system. The temple is 4 miles away. I love my calling in the primary...seriously, I do. It's just all so perfect here.

But no matter how happy I am here, and how much in love I am with this area. It is nothing compared to the amount of love that I have for my future husband. I have never been treated so good in all my life. He is amazing. And I feel so truly blessed to be with him!

So, although I am leaving this place here in two short months, I am gaining so much more! A wonderful husband, and a loving eternal family! What can top that?

So, in preparations for all the change, I have started to spend my evenings (the ones that I am not working), on little wedding craft projects, and de-cluttering the house to start packing!!

SO MUCH TO DO!! And all in 8 weeks!

But, still...I feel nothing but gratitude for where I am at, and where I am going in life. I am so truly blessed! Life is still so good, and it's only going to get better!

Flower Girl Dresses

Today I bought Lily and Ashlyn their flower girl dresses.

We are not having bridemaids & groomsmen, but I DID want the girls to have beautiful dresses, and Noah to get a tuxedo so that they would match Brandon and I, and look fancy for the pictures and for our first family pictures! Here's what I bought...

The only thing I will change, is I think I will get rid of the black flower, and instead add a big lime green one with a rhinestone in the middle. But cute huh???

I got these beautiful dresses on ebay for $14.99!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, you read that right! $14.99!! My mom was going to make the dresses, but for that price, it was cheaper just to buy them already made! 

The pieces are all starting to fall together!

COUNTING DOWN...81 DAYS!!!