Thinking out loud =)

Not much is going on lately. John's Aunt Edres and his uncle (Farmer Barney) are in town from Pima for the weekend. It is great to see them! They are so fun =)

The kids are enjoying school. The first 6 weeks is over, so we get report cards on Wednesday. The school has all their information online, so I already know they are both doing well, but it will be nice to see it on paper.

Caitlyn and Caleigh are fun to have at home. We have playgroup on Wednesdays. It's an adjustment only having one class, but I'm trying to enjoy it and live in the moment.

John is almost done, and I'm getting antsy. I'm filling out applications for him all over the place (otherwise known as DFW Metroplex and Arizona). I'm pretty sure we'll move closer to the metroplex for a year or two. Life's pretty much one big question mark right now. I've applied for a couple of positions in AZ. I have John's applications in for several positions in Arizona as well. I have applications in at several districts in the Metroplex and John also has applications in with several companies in the Metroplex. I guess the ideal situation would be him finding something else SOON and me going back to work next year. Caitlyn starts Pre-K next year, so we will only have one child in full time daycare. We will not be rich any time soon, and we have a TON of credit card debt, but I think we will be able to get out of credit card/ vehicle debt in 2 years and have a nice down payment for a house saved in another year or two after that. I keep crunching the numbers using a debt repayment calculator. It's fun to plan and set goals about paying off our debt =) Ideally we would have finished school, purchased a house and THEN had 4 kids, but I've always been one to do things my own way. I guess it has worked out ok because we did not get caught up in the subprime/exotic mortgage mess and the housing bubble in AZ will have long since burst by the time we are ready to purchase our own home.

On a lighter note, I love Tina Fey's Sarah Palin character!! Check her out here and here! Also, if you are Mormon or grew up around Mormons you have to check out TAMN. She's a satirical character and the author totally hits the nail on the head with her. Everyone knows a goody two shoes Mormon girl like TAMN.

I didn't get around to posting about my children the other day, but I am still going to try! We are all doing well- we have a 3 day weekend, so I am really excited about that. I have really missed hanging out with my boys during the day. We are going to be LIVING at the park this weekend!

They officially announced where the new Gila Valley Temple will be built. The rumors were right! They will build it at the Central Ballfields. Yeah! I guess home prices won't be going back down for a while... oh well! I'm excited for the new temple! (and I'm secretly *thrilled* it's not going in either Pima or Thatcher...lol..if you're from the valley, you totally understand, right?)

I am thinking we will move back in about another year and a half or two. We both want to finish our master's degrees before we return, so we'll just stay where we are at for a while longer, finish grad school and hopefully find something out that way when the time is right. Maybe by that time Temple mania and the exponential increase in home prices that accompanies it will have died down a bit, and we will actually afford to get into decent housing! Here's to hoping!

Have a fantabulous Friday!!

Mean Mommy

Today is picture day at school. I was trying to figure out how to pay for the boys' pictures (we don't do checks- so 20th century!), and sent Collin into the bathroom to do his hair. He is usually pretty good about doing his hair, so I didn't think twice about leaving him to do it himself. Well, today he decided he needed to make it "special" because it is picture day. I didn't really pay attention until we got into the car and realized that his hair was DRENCHED in gel! He must have used about half the tub!! I tried to salvage it with a brush, but it was at that "kindof starting to dry, but still really gooey" stage, so my efforts poved futile. I took him inside and dunked his head under the bathroom sink and scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed. Finally it all came out and I was able to comb his hair. Needless to say, he did NOT like how I did his hair, so when we went back outside, he sat in the back of the van and messed his hair back up on the way to school. I griped at him for messing his hair up again; he whined at me for making him look like such a dork, and we were both less than pleasant to each other. Ugh...if elementary school is this fun, I just can't wait for the teen years...

5 year plan

Well, John is almost done with school, so it is time to make a new five year plan. (For the record, our previous one only took about 2 extra years, and has only experienced "slight" revisions).

After Collin was born, I decided I wanted to go back to school, earn a bachelor's degree in Biology, and go to Dental School. Well, I did earn my degree, but my undergraduate GPA is in the "questionable" range (O-Chem + 3 kids 3 and under = GPA suicide), and I am not confident in my chances of gaining admission. For now, dental school is shelved. I am reviewing for the DAT, but am also persuing plans B and C. Plan B is my masters program in Biology and Plan C is teaching high school Biology. My revised goal is finishing my alternative certification and teaching high school Biology for 5 years (Why, you ask? 5 year Loan Forgiveness programs, that's why!!) as well as finish my masters in Biology. A masters degree will enable me to teach at a junior college (older students + no research committment = Happy ME!). If I make it through my masters program with a 4.0- so far, so good!- I will revisit the dental school option. But for now, I'm thinking I'll teach.

I love

Here are 10 things that I love- in no particular order =)

1. Fresh laundry smell
2. A clean house (absence makes the heart grow fonder I always say!)
3. Decluttering
4. Lazy summer evenings spent at the pool and followed by a yummy snow cone for everyone.
5. The smell of fresh cut grass
6. Seeing my children do well in school
7. Baby smell, especially their milk breath and the top of their head
8. Watching my husband achieve his goals
9. Holding a sleeping baby.
10. Fresh baked bread!

What are yours?

My Kids

are so fun =)

They are playing outside together right now, and it's so fun to hear them talk to each other and interact with each other. Caitlyn tries her hardest to keep up with the boys, and they are pretty good about allowing her to tag along.

Caitlyn misses her brothers while they are at school and LOVES the weekends because her brothers are home and they let her play with them.

Collin is really good with Caleigh. He likes to hold her and snuggle her. He is so loving and kind with his baby sister!