Of Good Report

Tonight after our nightly exercise regimen, Sarah told me that I look like I am pregnant. She has been mentioning this quite often lately. She is not being rude, just making an observation, maybe even hoping. I usually just tell her that I'm not and we move on. I have been a little touchy today, not necessarily about looking like I'm pregnant when I'm not,  and was a little bothered by her comment this time. So tonight when I reminded her that I am not, I also added that I was sorry. She looked at me and sincerely said, "why are you sorry?" I honestly didn't know what to say. I just looked at her. I was thinking that I was sorry that I have been exercising regularly, honestly trying to watch what I eat and hoping to lose a few pounds, but my body wants to hold onto all of them for some reason. She does not need to know that.  Mostly I don't care. I spent a lot of years being skinny and now I'm not, but my body works. It has grown five babies, it can ...

It turns out that mothers of children with diabetes can experience the sensations of fight and flight. At the same time. Those primal responses embedded so deeply within each of us that, when triggered, take over any rational part of our brains in order to protect oneself, or ones offspring I might add. I've been told that that response was needed when human beings needed to say, run away from a saber toothed tiger. I am here to testify that they serve a purpose in our modern day as well. Picture yourself in that eerie place located somewhere between sleep and complete wakefulness. That time where you have laid you have laid your head on your pillow, run through the events of the day as well as the ones you expect to happen the next day and when you slowly let your mind and body relax and you are about to surrender yourself completely into dreamland when you hear through the intercom, "Mom, I feel low."   Those are never welcome words. Never. But they ar...

I will start off with a disclaimer lest I come across as a hypocrite. If you look through the cabinets of my home you will find Tupperware, Pampered Chef items, Mary Kay, doTerra and at one time I had a Sentsy candle warmer, but my children are too enthralled with melted wax that I got rid of it. I am even slightly embarrassed to admit that I am probably on a dusty list of dormant Tupperware and doTerra distributors. All of these companies have great products at way too expensive prices. In my opinion, the reason for the expense is due to the MLM type of marketing that each of these companies use. Let me just get this out there, I am not a fan of this distributing style. As I said before, I have owned and still use products that were marketed this way and I am sure that I will purchase some of them again. If they have something I can't live without and/or can't get any other way, or if I am supporting a friend or family member, I will buy. I was recently invited to check out ...

Purchasing clothing for five children is not usually something I look forward to. If money grew on trees, it may or may not  be different. Plus, some of them are really picky, not just about how the clothes look, but how they feel. Shoes are especially challenging for some of my little sweeties. However, this year, in spite of the fact that money does not grow on trees, it was rather enjoyable. Emma needed a pair of shoes to take to Clear Creek Camp mid July, so I decided to make good use of our time out and get her school shopping done as well. We had fun together. She always surprises me a little bit when we shop because she acts like she is a no frills kind of a girl and in many ways she is, but she really likes feminine looking clothes. She is growing up too. 6th graders are the top dogs in school. (She even got selected to be on the student council. Something I did not know at the time of shopping, but since I am behind the times in writing, I know this now. S...

It has been a big year for my big boy. He has grown and matured into quite a delightful human being. He has experienced a great many firsts. Checking account, debit card, learner's permit, girl/boy party, requesting a date, job, high school, blessing the Sacrament,.... One big influence and change in his life is his group of friends. In ninth grade he took a musical theater class as well as earning a part in the school play. Because of these experiences he was introduced to a new group of friends. Brevin Harrison has been nearly a life-long friend, they were five when the began playing together. He encouraged Spencer to take the class and to audition for the play. Because of these two things he has developed several friendships. They are a stellar group of kids. It has been wonderful watching him settle into his own groove. As difficult as he has been, he likewise fills my heart with joy as I have seen him become a caring, spiritual, smart, fun human being. He has natural leade...

When my kiddos were little we started a tradition of "Friday pizza and movie night." We would rent a DVD from the local Hollywood Video to select a family film and maybe one for mom and dad too. We would enjoy our pizza, get into our pj's and turn on the show. It became a little more challenging selecting a video that would please everyone when we had bigish boys and little girls. Sometimes we would watch a girlie one first then put the girlies to bed and watch another one with just the boys. Sometimes we would take turns choosing. Things evolve. Next came the occasional "late night." We, like many other families, decided that we would not participate in sleepovers and the late night became the substitute activity. During some late nights we would have our friends over and occasionally my kids would go elsewhere. As time went on Friday nights became more about friends than family until now where it is exclusively about friends. I have been told, more than ...