Holy Crap!!!!

I read through my whole blog tonight.... I think I am in shock with how much I have changed in the last little while. Wow. I... just wow. It's amazing what a little confidence does for you.
~My weight.... Loosing a little bit of weight has definitely lead me to embrace my voluptuousness. I eat fairly healthy, stay active and enjoy chocolate when I want it. I don't feel like I have to comfort myself with food. People love me for me. I definitely feel sexier now, more so than ever before. And I think my assurance in knowing who I am, what I will tolerate and what I need in my life are more grounded and secure. Just wearing my sexy ;)
~My spiritual views are different and a little more stable. I feel piece and Zen with in me. Understand the difference between what I know to be true and what I was told is true. Those are two very different things. I no longer consider myself a Christian, and I am ok with saying that out loud. I still struggle with if I believe in a higher power and what it means if I don't. I've just kind of embraced that whole free spirited hippy chick inside me. Whatever makes you happy.
~Being a Wife...I don't feel like I need Todd like I used to. That probably comes with maturity... While I love him and I feel like we are a great parenting team, I don't feel like I have to have him with me at all times to feel complete. His Xbox is the other 'woman' in his life, my computer is mine. He does his thing, I do mine. I have learned to accept it.
~Being a Mommy...I have relaxed with my kids. I try to support their individual needs, talents and quirks. I don't yell as much as I used to (although I still have my days) and I enjoy them more than ever.
~Politics..... Oooo... Hot topic button for sure and I am sure I will step on someone's toes here. There are several things I feel like I need to say. I am a massive President Obama supporter, as most of you know... However, he has definitely not been as efficient as I had hoped, but I know he had a whole lot on his plate going into office. Here are a few things that are bugging me...The BP oil spill has not been handled with urgency. I don't understand why not. The impact that this will have on our environment is tremendous. And it's freakin' pissing me off. I also think he should be pushing for the repeal of 'Don't ask, don't tell' to be going through congress a little faster. This is bullshit and a ridiculous law in my opinion. I understand why it was put in place, but I think we have evolved and one's sexual orientation never needs to be a question going into the our military. I think he, like every other freakin' President, has coddled Wall Street......In saying this, I know he is not perfect. I never expected him to be. I truly think he is trying to do what he feels is best for the country. I am soooooo tired of the haters that are arrogant enough to call me a sheep when I defend him, but fight a ridiculous fight of 'What I think is right, is right... Your opinion is wrong' and never even try to see another side. I feel like the conservative talking heads, Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and freakin' (OMG, I just can't type the real words I am thinking when I say his name) Rush Limbaugh fuel hate and misinformation. I know that the liberal talking heads can be just as bad. I refuse to watch either side of them on TV. And Facebook sucks ass on political days. There is 'copy and paste' bullshit, and seriously little to no research behind it. I am constantly posting snopes links for the accurate information. Good Lord. I am so sick of it all. In ending my lovely ranting and raving here, I think that there is never a right or wrong political belief, it's all a matter of opinion and finding what fits with what you personally believe to be important. Maybe a little more compromise. I don't know. I feel like there is always this never ending battle. I don't ever give up, but there is a time to realize that you will (almost) never change someone's mind when they are politically passionate.
~Whatever makes you happy.

Daddy and Sara....

 

 

 

 

Sisters :)

 Soooo.... My baby girls love their make up. Lily is all about her lips, while Sara is all about her eyes :)

SLC Dance Competition

Miss Divalicious Lily at a Dance Competition. She and all the girls she dances with were phenomenal. Love to watch my baby girl perform. She is a natural and she is stinkin' adorable.
 
 
 

Presidential Award for Excellence in Academics

 My little smarty pants Spencer, received a big award recently. He, along with other 5th graders, 8th graders and seniors, were honored for having above and 3.5 GPA and getting an Advanced score in either math or language on their PAWS testing. He is a math wiz. Todd and I aren't sure where this came from, but he completely rocks with his mad math skills. Along with the fact that he is an extremely studious child and loves to learn. His teacher this year has been remarkable for him.
 Not really sure why my genius of a son pulls this face when his picture is being taken, but he does.... and look how hot his Daddy is :)
 In honoring the kids, our school district also hosted a dinner for the recipients and their families. We decided to leave the girls at home and just take the boys. What a calm dinner it was :) Adam cracked me up through out the night. Poor bugger has no focusing skills, he is just happy, and lets his mind take him where ever it might lead him. He looked at me at one point that the night and said 'Mom, what color are Unicorns when they fly over the rainbow?' To which I reply 'Well Adam, that is a good question, however, we are listening to the speaker right now.' With a smile Adam says..'Oh yeah:)'... I Love how different my kids are and how I can feel so much happiness and joy for each of them at the same moment. Sweet boys of mine.
 Here are all the 5th graders who were honored. Great Job guys!!!! There were lots of proud parents that night.

A New Me

Well, I guess it's not a new me, but an 'I am realizing who I am' me ;) I realize that I am not just a Mom and a wife, but I am soooo much more. I have so much to offer to people. Anyway, here we go ;)
There are a whole lotta things I have realized about myself the last few months. One of the biggest things is that I have struggled for years to understand the difference between what I 'know' to be true and what I have been 'told' is true. (Thanks for putting that into words Whitney). These are two very different truths. After a lot of thought (I'm talking 15 years or more) I asked that my kids and I be taken off of the Mormon Church records.(I was baptised, my kids were not). This was not entered into lightly... I have been told my whole life that if you don't believe in the plan of salvation, you aren't going to inherit the rich blessings of the after life.... Well, that got me pondering, what do I REALLY believe about the after life? Hum... Well, I have always struggled with many aspects of any Christianity. I don't know if I believe that living a 'good' life will lead me heaven... If I believe in heaven... If there is a higher power... What I want ingrained into my kids' heads about this aspect of religion...There we go... What did I REALLY want to be teaching my kids about Jesus and the Mormon Church and any other form of religion for that matter. Well, to be honest... Nothing. I don't want any kind of religion or religious beliefs to be stuck in my kids' heads so badly that when they discover whatever truth is right for them, they will not have a hard time letting go of MY beliefs. I hope that makes sense. Sooooo... With all that rambling, the end result is, is that the process has begun for the 'free spirit' in me to emerge...I kind of have always been that free spirit. I am just owning it now ;)
You might already know this about me my fellow readers, but I am just now accepting it. I have a 'Please talk to me, I'll listen' sign on my head. I've always felt like people gravitated to my when there is trouble in their life, but until recently, I didn't realize that isn't just people I know. It's a whole lotta people. My best friend says I attract the crazies ;) But I look at it as a friendly face with positive energy that genuinely cares about what others are in need of. ;) Just embracing that part of me ;)
Also, my new adventure of my job has given life to a whole hidden side of me... I am a pretty sensual, not just a sexual person.... And now I feel like I am 'wearing' my sexy. I've lost weight, I feel like getting dressed from head to toe and looking nice all the time. Not just because I am 'going out' but because I want to feel good about me. I feel like it's given me a whole new perspective on the yumminess within me. I am also learning that confidence and being comfortable in your own skin are the sexiest thing any woman can possibly wear ;)
So, I guess, embracing who I really am is a fabulous thing because I have never felt this happy in my entire life. I feel like I have balance and perspective. Love and harmony. And a free, sexy Spirit within me.... Life is GOOD ;)

Princess Lil' and her many Hair Do's :)

 My beautiful baby girl!!! We are growing her bangs out and are constantly looking for things to do to pull her hair up and out of her face. Today was a topsy tail thingy with a messy bun in back. She looked adorable :) I have noticed lately how much she is checking her hair to make sure it looks 'ok' when she gets out of the Suburban to go into preschool. Is she supposed to be doing that already? Anyway, she is an adorable little girl. I ♥ my Lil' :)

Band Practice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Showing off our Muscles

 
 

Sweet Little Helpy Helpterton

 
Sweet Sara Rose was 'helping' with laundry a few days ago and took the filter thingy out. I didn't realize the filter thingy was out and started the dryer. A sock was immediately sucked into the blower thingy and the dryer made the loudest sound ever!!! It took Daddy quite a while to recover that sock. The dryer is a pain in the ass to take apart. But they sock was recovered and the dryer works again :) Daddy needed some hugs :)

Sassy Diva Playdate

 One of Lily's besties is Kynlie. She is one of my besties little girl. She is a firecracker like Lily. She is beautiful, curious and a stinkin' dolly. I love her. She and Lily had quite a playdate playing dollies, barbies and dress up. A Sassy diva play date is so much fun!

My Beautiful Babies

 

 

 

 

Schooling the Boys

 Princess Lily is schooling the boys on the proper way to kick a bad guy :)

'DAAAADDD'

 
This is a classic picture of what our family is about. First off Todd is ALWAYS singing something. I mean always. He sings whatever song pops in his mind that is relevant to whatever situation is happening at that moment. It's been prominent enough that I had to implement a 'no dumb songs before bedtime' rule because they would get stuck in my head. The other thing I love about the picture is that Adam is in the middle of a 'DDAAAADDD' face and giggling. I was cracking up.

'Broken Veins'

 My little Adam is a studmiffin Rockstar!!! He and our neighbor girls decided to start a band. They are called 'Broken Veins'. The original name was 'Vampire', but it just wasn't cool enough, so the kids changed it to 'Broken Veins'. Anyway, our neighbor girl brought the band poster over last night. As soon as Adam showed it to me it brought up a flood of emotions. I started crying. Not a sad cry, but a 'look at my baby' cry. (He looks so badass in this picture.) I feel like music might be a future career for him. He loves music and enjoys everything from Johnny Cash to Slipknot. Last night, it just hit me that someday I think he could be playing in a band that is not only worthy of a poster, but also selling out arenas. Man he is cute :)

Daddy and Lily Makin' Pizza

 Look at how sweet this picture is. Lily is quite the little chef lately. Anything that we are cooking, she wants to be involved. Today, pizza was on the menu for lunch and Lily was in charge
 of helping her Daddy with the lunchtime preparations. She was the cheese spreader. Look at the concentration on that beautiful little face. She is turning out to be quite the little pizza maker :)

Monday Happenings.......

 I have to say, I was happy today came. Not that I don't adore my family, but I function better when we are sticking to a pretty strict schedule. The last 2 weeks were filled with a whole lotta nothing. Including a schedule. My kids were almost always in bed by 8:30 but would stay up listening to their iPods or playing a video game. And I just let them. So last night, we when back to no iPods or video games and all the kids were in bed by 8:00 and asleep by 8:30. Todd and I were even in bed really early. It was so nice. This morning, the kids and I saw Val off to school. She is in her 3rd semester at BYU Idaho and doing well. We miss her terribly when she is gone, but I know she is going to do amazing things after she graduates :) We are so proud of you honey :)

 And while we were getting back to our normal routine, Sara was also keeping busy. While I was cleaning my bathroom this morning, Sara thought she should paint herself with peanut butter. And might I say, she did a great job! It was all up and down her legs and pants. There was also some on her shirt, face and a glob on the floor. When I came out and saw what she had done, I said "Sara Rose, what are you doing?" She just smiled sweetly and said " Want pu-bu, Mommy!" That is peanut butter in Sara speak.
 Now, I am getting a little concerned because she has inherited a lovely Bates' trait. An addiction to peanut butter. As you can see, there are Drama Mama meltdowns when the request for peanut butter has been denied. Last night, I only allowed her 1 'peanut butter spoon'. O' My goodness. I swear to you, she was so mad at one point, I thought she was going to pass out from holding her breath during her crying fit. Good heavens! What a little stinker my Princess Peanut Butter is, good thing she's cute :)