On the Road Again.....Soon

My family made some decisions this week, and hopefully we will be back on the West Coast before the end of June. I think the finality of the decision has lifted my spirits, so....here is my song for today!!! (Forgive me if I forgot some of the words, this is a tribute to my friend Ramona back in Boise!!!)

I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas

"I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
I don't want a doll, no dinky tinker toys
I want a hippopotamus to play with and enjoy

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
I don't think Santa Claus will mind, do you?
He won't have to use a dirty chimney flue
Just bring him through the front door
That's the easy thing to do

I can see me now on Christmas morning
Creeping down the stairs
Oh what joy, what surprise
When I open up my eyes
To see a hippo hero standing there

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinosauruses
I only likes hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me, too

Mom says a hippo would eat me up, but then
Teacher says a hippo is a vegetarian
There's lots of room for him in our two-car garage
I'd feed him there and wash him there and give him his massage."

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas
Only a hippopotamus will do
No crocodiles, no rhinosauruses
I only likes hippopotamuses
And hippopotamuses like me, too

Happy December

Wow, I suck at this blogging thing - no posts since July. The Love Dare thing went really well, and I feel much closer to both my husband and also my children.

Am kind of feeling grinchy this Christmas though. 2nd year away from my family and I miss them terribly. Skipp is getting to stay home with the kids this year, and I have to work, so I just have not gotten into anything. I don't even have a tree up yet.

I did go over to my friend's house last weekend and make Christmas Candy,
that was a lot of fun, but since I can't really eat any of it, well, you know.

I have made it my goal to look up a happy Christmas song every day for the rest of the month, hopefully that will help me to get into the spirit. Let's see how it goes.

Day 1
Randolph the bow-legged cowboy...oh wait...

Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer
had a very shiny nose.
And if you ever saw him,
you would even say it glows.

All of the other reindeer
used to laugh and call him names.
They never let poor Rudolf
play in any reindeer games.

Then one foggy Christmas eve
Santa came to say:
"Rudolf with your nose so bright,
won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Then all the reindeer loved him
as they shouted out with glee:
"Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer,
you'll go down in history!"

Plan - make Rudolph cookies with the girls tonight when I get home.

Fireproof

My family watched Fireproof this week, and I really liked it. I have found the book "The Love Dare" and Skipp and I are going to do it..we are starting on Monday, hopefully I will be able to post some of our "Dare's"

New Job

So, Jessica tells me I don't blog often enough, so here is my brief blog!! I started a new job on June 8, and I haven't run out screaming yet, so it looks like all is well!! LOL

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Wow, what a great week I have had. My birthday was on Thursday, and I did not have to work, so I had plans to have some ladies from church who live in or around Lyons (and don't work) come over for lunch...well, it did not go as planned, but we still had a great time, and we accomplished some service while we were at it. One of my friends daughter ended up in the hospital, so the other friend, who was planning on bringing blueberry muffins, brought the muffins and we went together to visit the friend in the Hospital. We were there for probably an hour, just visiting. It was really nice, and I am happy to say that when I went back last night, the daughter is looking TONS better than she did before!!!

Then last night, my lovely husband took me to the Star Trek movie!! AWESOME!!!!!!! It was great...definately on my "own on DVD" list. Of course, if you know Skipp, you know that he talked all the way through the darn movie, I really felt sorry for the couple who sat behind us. LOL

Today I went to the city wide yard sale in Sterling and found 4 kitchen chairs for $3, so when the Missionaries come over, they won't have to sit on folding chairs anymore. LOL (Not that they complained, but still) Plus I found an ORIGINAL copy of the game Clue! For 50 cents!!! YAY ME!!!

Aaron is at a Young Men's funtion today, even though he is not technically a Young Man for 9 more days.....I guess that is close enough. LOL

March 18, 2009

So today I went to work, I do in home care for the elderly. Anyway, he didn't need any housekeeping, or anything like that so we spent an hour and a half playing checkers. I feel creepy getting payed to play games.

A lady from church and I have come up with a fun swap. I am giving her daughter lessons in playing the clarinet, of which I am pretty good at, I played in school from 6-2 grade, plus in 11-12 I was in the All-State honors band. Then I played for 3 years in college, concert band and marching band. Plus I played in the Gem County community band for 2 years. So 11 years of experience. Anyway, she is teaching ME how to quilt. So last thursday she showed me this wonderful thing called a rotary cutter. I need one, it is on my wish list for my birthday now. I have cut out a whole bunch of squares. Tomorrow she will show me how to sew them together. It would be nice if I had my sewing machine, but I will just have to go use hers until I get mine back from Idaho. Hopefully this summer.

What else, oh yeah. The same friend from church went to a stampin up party with me on Sunday. The people get together every month at a different person's house and whoever is hosting gets the hostess benefits, maybe I can get that paper cutter I have been wanting. The only problem is that they do it on Sunday, but it is so much fun that we both decided to put our names on the list. We are meeting at my house next month. The third sunday in April. I am not sure of the date. sigh, I know I wrote it down somewhere.

Well, hopefully this recap catches me up for the week. Next time I won't wait 11 days to post.

Letter from ADHD son

I found this online today, and I think it says a lot about the way my son behaves and acts. I am posting it here today so I will be able to come back and read it when he is really driving me crazy.


Dear Mom and Dad:
I have Attention Deficit Disorder. It's something to do with the executive functioning in the brain's frontal lobes. I'm like a factory without a CEO. It feels that way sometimes - like no one's in charge and I'm out of control.
When I was little, I was so hyper you called me "the mother killer." I'm sorry I gave you a hard time, but it wasn't my fault. You took a lot of grief for having a brat, but my ADHD was behind it. I didn't mean to run away, smack other kids, jump in the pool with my clothes on and do all the other stuff I did. Stuff that made you unhappy.
That's why I am writing this. I want you to understand how ADHD feels and why I can't control myself.
My ADHD means that I am easily distracted by things. I can sit in a movie like everyone else, but the man crunching popcorn next to me will bother me the entire picture. When I'm in class, I can't concentrate on the teacher because I'm too aware of the kid who's sharpening a pencil or the construction workers outside my class window. I'm no good at concentrating. Everything pulls my attention toward it - even if it's just for a few seconds. It takes a sonic boom to distract you. But EVERY LITTLE THING distracts me.
My ADHD means I'm impulsive. The popcorn man is ruining the movie for me so I may suddenly smack him. I may tell the boy who's sharpening his pencil to stop making so much noise. Then I'm in trouble for hitting the popcorn guy and yelling out loud in class. I'm always in trouble and making you look bad.
My ADHD means my sense of time is no good. Tomorrow may as well be twenty years from now. I don't think long-term. When my teacher says that this homework is due on Friday and Friday's five days away, I don't care. Five days is forever. Then when Friday comes, I'm dead where I stand because I haven't even started doing the work. When someone tells me that drinking will fry your liver twenty years from now, I don't care. I only care about how good that drink tastes in the moment and that it makes me feel less hyper and depressed. I know it's hard for you to understand, because you have day-timers and appointment books and Blackberries. Try to understand that I can't plan ahead - not even two hours from now. I can't even learn to plan ahead unless you teach me how to.
My ADHD means my sense of judgment is not only off, it's missing. Again, no executive function. I've heard of ADHD kids who die in extreme sports or one ADHD kid who jumped in a lake on a dare and ended up in a wheelchair because the water was only two feet deep. You need to know that I'd probably do the same thing. I'll take any dare offered. I don't see the risks involved because I live in the moment. I just think how cool it would be to jump in that lake and have everyone admire me.
I was lost in school by second grade. For one thing, school was always incredibly boring to me. I know my sister loves it, but I don't. For one thing, half the time they give us tasks I don't understand - like "write a term paper." I don't get how to go to the library, look up stuff, and take notes. If they would break it into small steps, I could do it, but they don't. They just say, "Write a term paper." Everyone else understands how to write a term paper or make a pie chart or whatever. I'm not stupid, but I just can't organize things. That's why I really started flunking out in middle school. I can't organize the work from one teacher, much less five teachers.
I wish they would not keep reminding me how high my IQ is and how I'm not applying myself. Most boys with ADHD have language-based learning disorders. We are not slow learners or dumb - -it's just that the words on the page jump around and we have trouble focusing our eyes on that stupid little print. I can't read very fast and I hate writing. I fail because school is all about reading. I know that there are computer programs and high-tech stuff to help ADHD kids, but they don't have them at my school.
I know you hate the kids I go around with, but they are the only ones who like me. The cool smart kids don't like me because I have a wicked mouth and don't know when to shut up. Also I don't get good grades. They're all worried about college and careers and stuff, but I can't think that far ahead. I don't have any goals and I wouldn't know how to set them.
I spend a lot of time playing video games. Like drinking, they calm me down. I get in the zone when I play X-Box because there's so much going on: shooting, characters, colors, quick reactions. The games work as fast as my brain, but when I stop, I get even more irritable. I know I act worse after I've been at them at day. It would be better if I would only be allowed to play them a few hours a day, but I guess you get welcome relief when I'm in that zone.
My favorite shirt says "NO BOUNDARIES." I can be really hostile to any limits you set. But I've heard that kids like me do better with regular hours for stuff. Like you wake up at a certain time, eat breakfast, and know exactly what's happening every hour. I know that would calm me down. That would take away a lot of anxiety I have inside me that everything is out of control. I also know I feel less jumpy when I get more exercise, but I usually don't bother. I just drift from one thing to another.
Sometimes I think no one likes me and that even you guys are sick of me. I know you wish I was more like my sister, Little Miss Perfect. If I give her a hard time, it's because I'm jealous. If you add up all the times she got yelled at since she was born, it would be less than five minutes. For me, I've been yelled at for whole years and lifetimes. I hate the way you yell so much and I really love you guys even if I don't show it. I wish I didn't have ADHD and I'm sorry I give you a hard time. I am trying hard all the time but it feels like I never get any pay-off no matter how hard I try. Trying really hard only moves me toward normal, it does not make me normal.
Well, this is my letter anyway. Maybe you understand ADHD a little better now. I love you.
Your Son

Feeling kind of productive

So today I decided to try to make my own bread crumbs. I know, it sounds kind of silly, but I usually buy bread crumbs at the grocery store, and they cost almost $5. So I took the ends of the bread, the ones no one eats. I had about 8 of them in a bag, I was saving them because I knew I would think of something to do with them.

So then I buttered the bread and sprinkled them with garlic powder and parmesan cheese. I probably could have used real garlic, but I wanted to be able to store them, so I used powder.

Then I broiled that side until it was well toasted, turned off the broiler and turned the toast over, then left it in the oven while I went about my business.

After lunch, I broke the pieces up small enough to fit into my salad shooter, then I "shootered" them into a bowl. I ended up getting about 3 cups worth of bread crumbs.

Trying to rearrange the schedule

Well, most of you know that Skipp was laid off a few weeks ago, and, once again, just as the savings were running out, he got another job. I am pretty sure that it happens that way because he is so sure he can find a job that he doesn't ask Heavenly Father for assistance until I tell him that we can live for about one more week on what we have left in the bank, and then he panics and prays, and then something comes along.

So anyway, Skipp started on Monday. I am trying to work out a schedule that gets Skipp off to work every morning, lets Aaron get his homeschooling done in the morning, so I can work from 1-3, (yes, I have a part time job, but I only work 2 hours at a time, so my almost 12 year old watches his sisters while I am gone (with strict rules) and gets paid for his efforts.) and then come home and make dinner so it is ready when Skipp gets home at 5:30, eat, bathe the kids, get teeth brushed and kids in bed by 8 so Skipp and I can have a couple of hours together before bed...breathe...and somewhere in there I still have to do dishes, laundry, vacuuming, etc.

The kids don't like changes to their routine, especially my boy with ADHD, so this week has been a challenge. I know that eventually it will all work itself into a routine, but I may have to pull all of my hair out first.

In the meantime, I am kind of letting the kids slide in the chore and schoolwork department.


Oh, by the way, Chianna's face is almost completely healed of her scabs, and I don't think it will even scar. YAY!

Horrible Mother!

I feel like such a Horrible Mother!! Chianna, my 2 year old, fell out of the van on Sunday. She ended up having a concussion, so I had to wake her up every two hours all night Sunday night, so she was grumpy on Monday. Then, on top of the runny nose she already had, her nose is all scraped up (along with the rest of her face) so she doesn't want us to blow her nose anymore, because it hurts. I can't get her to take any Benedryl so her nose WON'T run (Skipp hid some in her juice this morning and she took it, he's sneaky like that). Plus she doesn't want top eat anything, SIGH.

All she wants to do is lay down or be held. Daddy held her most of the day yesterday while I was at work, and this morning, I got called in to work again for a couple of hours, now that I am home, she doesn't want anything to do with me.

My Food Storage Talk 2-21-09

Brothers and Sisters, I thank you for coming this morning. Several weeks ago, I was called to be the Food Storage Specialist. I have to admit, my first thought was “Have you seen my pantry? I don’t have any food storage.” Over the past few weeks, I have been studying and researching, and beginning my own food storage plan, and I welcome the opportunity to stand here today and talk about this subject. The church has a pamphlet called “All is safely gathered in.” The introduction in this pamphlet says “ We ask that you be wise as you store food and water and build your savings. Do not go into debt to establish your food storage al lat once. With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve.” This is signed by the First Presidency, February 2007.

Even with everything the church has taught, statistics done by the church show that no matter what the church does, no more than 15% of families have adequate storage.

Roger K. Young said, "I can't tell you how many times I have talked with people who are wonderful, faithful members of the Church, some even who are ward and stake leaders, who don't have enough food storage to last more than a week or so. (Even when they have been well blessed in material possessions and income.) In our discussions about how the counsel for food storage has been repeated by every prophet for over 60 years they commonly respond that with all of the other issues they are dealing with, food storage just isn't very high on the priority list.

President Ezra Taft Benson said "Too often we bask in our comfortable complacency and rationalize that the ravages of war, economic disaster, famine, and earthquake cannot happen here. Those who believe this are either not acquainted with the revelations of the Lord, or they do not believe them. Those who smugly think these calamities will not happen, that they somehow will be set aside because of the righteousness of the Saints, are deceived and will rue the day they harbored such a delusion.

It is in our human nature to think that terrible things will never happen to us. However things do happen. In December 2007 Kansas was hit with an Ice storm, which knocked out power for a few hours, to a few days depending on where you were. Some of you were affected by that storm.

President Benson also said, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.”

How do we become obedient to the Lord where food storage is concerned?

Doctrine and Covenant chapter 78, verses 13 and 14 tell us that the church and its members are commanded by the Lord to be self-reliant and Independent.

President Hinckley counseled us to “We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with a one week’s food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months. I am speaking now of food to cover basic needs. As all of you recognize, this counsel is not new. But I fear that so many feel that a long-term food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all. Begin in a small way, my brethren, and gradually build toward a reasonable objective.”

While researching this subject, I found a wonderful article online written by a lady named Melanie Cooper. She wrote, “Years ago I began storing food for our family truly believing I would someday be done. I have since learned that food storage is like laundry. You may catch up from time to time but the task is never truly finished. If left undone for too long the task becomes seemingly insurmountable.”

Now I am not going to sit up here and tell you what you should or should not store. What and how much to store depends on what you will eat and how many are in your family. For instance, most of the food calculators say to store a certain amount for kids up to age 12, but my 11 year old eats more than I do, so obviously I need to store adult sized portions for him.

When planning your food storage, you also need to think of who is in your family. If you have a baby, are you storing baby food? Or a way to make baby food out of what you have? How about pets? Most cats could survive on mice, but a spoiled house pet like Brother Hudson’s dog would not survive. Do you have pet food in your storage?

The most successful families who keep up with food storage are the ones who eat what they store.

If you have no storage at all, like me up until a month ago, it really is easy to get started. Take a look at what you eat now. How many of your recipes have ingredients that can be stored?

For instance, I make a chicken pie that uses a can of chicken, a can of cream of chicken soup and a can of peas and carrots. If I have each of those items, I can make a chicken pie, and create a nutritious meal for my family.

If I have 52 cans of each of those, I have one meal per week for a year. Now I do the same with 6 other meals, and I have a year’s supply of food. I will need basic staples to go with it, like flour (or wheat) and water. Now every time I make one of my storage meals, I use my food storage and replace it.

Obviously, I am not going to go out and purchase 52 cans of chicken all at once. However, if every time I plan to make that meal, I purchase enough to make it two or three times, I will gradually build up my food storage.

Some people use the excuse that they don’t have food storage, but they have money in savings to purchase food in an emergency. Did you know that most grocery stores carry only a two to three day supply of food on their shelves which is replenished by a delivery truck? What happens if the trucks can’t get through? How quickly are the stores going to run out of food if everyone is rushing to the store for supplies?

Being prepared is only as hard as you make it. Start out simple, buy extras of things you will actually use, and do a little bit at a time. Doctrine and Covenants 38:30 tells us that “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.” When the ice storm, or the tornado, or the hurricane hits, it is already too late. Today is the time to prepare.

Food storage is an important part of our lives. It should be high on our priority lists. We cannot become complacent. Terrible things can, have, and will happen. If we are obedient, self-reliant, and independent, we will be able to weather the storm.

Start small, store what you eat. Be prepared so you don’t have to fear.

I want to close with an anecdote I found online. The Author is listed as unknown, but the topic is prudent to this talk.

The Parable of Gomer

These are the generations of Gomer, son of Homer, son of Omer. And in the days of Gomer, Noah, the Prophet, went unto the people saying, “Prepare ye for the flood which is to come, yea, build yourselves a boat, that ye may not perish.”

Now, Gomer was a member of the Church, and taught Sunday School and played, yea, even on the ward softball team. And Gomer’s wife said unto him, “Come, let us build unto ourselves a boat as the Prophet commandeth, that we may not perish in the flood.” But behold, Gomer saith unto his wife, “Worry not, dear wife, for if the flood comes the government will provide boats for us.”

And Gomer did not build a boat. And Gomer’s wife went unto Noah and she returned saying, “Behold, Honey, the Prophet saith unto us, “Build a boat, that we may preserve ourselves, for the government pays men not to grow trees, wherefore the government hath not the lumber to build for you a boat.”

And Gomer answered saying, “Fear not, oh wife, for am I not the star pitcher on the ward softball team?Wherefore, the Church will provide for us a boat, that we will perish not.”

And Gomer’s wife went again unto Noah, and she returned unto Gomer, saying, “Behold, mine husband, the Prophet saith that the Church hath not enough lumber to build a boat for everyone, wherefore, mine husband, build for us a boat that we might not perish in the flood.” And Gomer answered her saying, “Behold, if we build a boat, when the flood cometh, will not our neighbors overpower us and take from us our boat; wherefore, what doth it profit a man to build a boat?”

And Gomer’s wife went again unto Noah and she returned, saying, “Behold, the Prophet saith, build unto yourselves a boat, and have faith, for if ye do the Lord’s bidding, He will preserve your boat for you.” But Gomer answered his wife, saying, “Behold, with this inflation, the price of wood has gone sky high, and if we wait awhile, perhaps the price will go down again. And then I will build for us a boat.”

And Gomer’s wife went again unto Noah, and she returned saying, “Thus saith the Prophet, build for yourselves a boat RIGHT NOW, for the price of wood will not go down, but will continue to go up. Wherefore, oh husband, build for ourselves a boat, that we may perish not.” But Gomer answered his wife, saying, “Behold, for 120 years Noah hath told us to build a boat, to preserve us from the flood, but hath the flood come? Yea, I say, nay. Wherefore, perhaps the flood will not come for another hundred and twenty years.

And Gomer’s wife went again unto Noah and returned saying, “The Prophet saith, he knows it has been 120 years, but nevertheless, the flood will come, wherefore, build unto yourselves a boat.”

And Gomer answered her saying, “Wherewith shall we get the money to build ourselves a boat, for are we not now making monthly payments on our snazzy new four horsepower chariot? Wherefore, when our payments end, perhaps we shall build ourselves a boat.”

And Gomer’s wife went again unto Noah and returned saying, “Behold, the Prophet saith that we should cut down on our recreation, and our vacations, and even give each other lumber for Christmas, that we might thereby get enough lumber to build a boat.”

But Gomer saith unto her, “What a drag! Are we to cease enjoying life, just because we must build a boat?”

Wherefore, Gomer built not a boat. But behold, one afternoon Gomer heard thunder in the sky, and he feared exceedingly and he ran, yea, even to the lumber yard to buy lumber. But behold, the lumber store was crowded with great multitudes, all seeking to buy lumber, and there was not enough lumber to be found for the multitudes.

And on the same day were all the fountains of the deep opened, and the windows of heaven were broken up, and the floods came — and behold, Gomer had no boat. And as the water rose above Gomer’s waist, his wife saith unto him, “Behold, Honey, I told thee so!”

Author Unknown

Underground Salt Mine

We went today to the underground Salt Mine in Hutchinson, Kansas. Thanks to Daniel for the tickets... ;-)

First, we got on an elevator that took us 650 feet underground at 6 miles per hour, in total darkness. My four year old though it was great, I didn't.

The mine itself is really cool, with the different layers of silt, and the types of things they used to dig it out, plus the fact that the salt field goes from Nebraska to New Mexico.

I think the best part was the stuff they store down there. The salt mine is 68 degrees and 40% humidity, constantly, so they have miles of stuff in storage, but they only had a few things on display. The had the sunglasses worn by Tommy Lee Jones and the "National Enquirer" that showed him coming out of a coma in the movie Men in Black. They had one of the Dorothy machines from Twister, and they had the costumes worn by George Clooney as batman, Arnold Schwartzenegger as Mr Freeze and Dean Kane as Superman.

All in all, it was a great trip, and I reccomend it to anyone looking for a great two hours. No kids under 4 and no food or drink down in the tunnel, though.

Oh, I almost forgot...I will post the photos as soon as I find the camera cord soI can download them. LOL

My Lot

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Sounding Off

Well, everyone says I am too opinionated anyway, so I might as well go public and annoy as many people as possible as publicly as possible. After all, misery loves company.

I hope this will be easier than trying to remember to write in my journal all of the time.

I am Ellen. I have a husband whom I love, even if he tends to be rather childish most of the time. We have three children whom I also love, although the oldest one tends to make me want to pull my hair out...I guess it's a boy thing.

I live in central Kansas...in fact I live not toofar from the sign that says we are smack dag in the middle of the continental US. Before we moved here, I lived in Idaho.

I am LDS, which means I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I joined the church 2 1/2 years ago, and I am so glad I did. My current calling is Food Storage Specialist, which I am still trying to figure out...

I have lots of friends in Idaho that I miss dearly, but I have made tons of friends in Kansas as well.

Well, thanks for visiting my blog. Please leave me a comment and let me know who you are, and what you think.