Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad, Week

This week has been rough. It all started when the hubby left for the Philippines. Yep you read that right, the Philippines. I hate it when he goes out of town on business for an extended period of time but just knowing how extremely far away he is from us make it worse. Oh, and lucky me, I get to look forward to him being gone one week out of EVERY month this next year. Can you tell I am not excited. I am a big baby when my husband isn't around. I can't sleep at night so I am tired all the time which doesn't help me in the mothering department. My poor kids suffer with a sleep deprived, patience level of a tantrum throwing 3 yr old, wish her husband was home right now of a mom who has no motivation and makes peanut butter and honey sandwiches for dinner two nights in a row.  And the next night goes with fish sticks from the freezer. Sigh. I really need to cook something wholesome tonight.

Saturday night my neighbor from across the street came over to make me aware that his car had been broken into the previous night, and he was going to be putting up a camera to look out into the cul de sac. Later that afternoon, out of curiosity I went to check our vehicles. When I opened the van I found the glove box open and all the little compartments on the dash board had also been opened. The little punk had hit us too! I'll also let you know that just a few day before this, 3 of our neighbors had had their Christmas lights cut. I was feeling pretty violated at this point and this did not help with my sleeping problem at night.

So picture me on my own with three kids ages 6, 4, and 1 1/2. Its Sunday morning and I'm getting everyone ready for church. I am really looking forward to going this week to get my spiritual cup filled again after a draining couple of days and the tragic news happening everywhere. This is my day I get to sing with the primary children.

We all get dressed, eat and head out the door. We even arrive early! The kids choose to sit in the third row from the front instead of our usual 6th or 7th, which I have no problem with. We mingle a little with the members of our ward as them come in and say hello etc etc. Its now time for the opening prayer. A couple sentences into it I hear whimpering and crying noises coming from my 6 yr old daughter. I peek over to see a horribly disgusted look on her face and puke all over her black shoes and tights. Then I look over at little Emma who happens to be standing at her sisters lap with the evidence dripping down her chin. "Oh no!," I think to myself. I put my had on Kiera's lap and think to myself, "just make it through the prayer, just make it through the opening prayer." As the prayer ends I turn to the primary president who has watched this whole thing unveil and say,"I think I'm going home now." We exchange understanding glances and I rush to the restroom for some paper towels.

After all that is said and done we get back into our van and head home. Emma seems just fine and is not showing any signs of feeling sick. But then just as we make the turn into our subdivision we hear that horrible noise. You all know the noise I'm talking about....the car seat is a mess, Emma is a mess and the two other kids are now screaming in disgust making it even worse since Emma has no idea why this is happening to her.

We pull up to house and I tell the other two to head inside while I get Emma out. Emma is crying now but the mess doesn't look as bad as it sounded. In fact I don't see a whole lot of it. It must just be in the seat of her chair. So I pick her up and set her on the grass so I can get everything else out of the car. I turn to grab my purse and freeze! I now know where the mess had gone. Why oh why didn't I zip up my purse!? I don't need this right now!

Emma threw up one more time when we got in the house but I'll spare you the rest of the nasty details. I got her all cleaned up and changed and she went down for a nap while I spent the next half hour washing coins, emptying pockets, and changing out purses. YUCK! That night the car seat was taken apart and the cover was thrown in the wash. That was not a fun day.

Monday morning came, we all slept in a little bit too long due missing daddy and being up with lil Emma who woke herself up with a cough now. No big deal that she'd miss the bus, I'd just drive her to school and then take Ethan to preschool a little late. Well, as I turned into the school parking lot I hit the curb and all of a sudden the van felt funny. !!!!!! I had blown out my front passenger tire! I didn't even hit the curb that hard. So I was stuck in the school parking lot with a flat. Great! ...
This is where we enter the scene with me at the wheel in tears. I did not need this today. I can't take much more! I tried calling everyone I could think of and no one answered. I finally got a hold of a friend (Elise Mullins) who said she'd be on her way in a little bit. I'm so grateful that she was able to drop what she was doing and come help her blubbering friend out of a jam. She helped me keep my cool and helped ease my situation.

We got the spare tire on and I headed to Costco for a new tire. I was able to get a hold of another friend (Kara May) and she was so sweet. She came and met me there and walked around the store with the kids and I (Ethan ended up having to miss preschool) while I got the tire taken care of.

All I can think of is that this whole thing has been a blessing in disguise. When I took the car to get a new tire I asked if they could check for any slow leaks in another one of the tires since my tire pressure light had been coming on. Turns out we had a nail in one of the other tires. How would it have been on our upcoming trip to Portland to have a tire blow out at 70+ mph in the middle of nowhere? This situation got me to go in and have everything taken care of whereas I probably would have ignored my dash light and gone on the trip since I had just had the tires pumped up and the light had gone off and come back on just a couple days later. I thought nothing of it. Its just a light right? 

Heavenly Father looks over us. Sometimes things we go through aren't much fun and they sure test my patience and emotional stability in this case) But we are never given anything that we can't handle. I am so grateful for the friends who have helped me while Dan has been away and continue to be there for me. Things are getting better and I am looking forward to our trip to Portland soon. I am so glad Dan's dad decided to ride the train up here so he could drive back with me. I didn't want to have to make the drive by myself. Dan will be meeting us there a few days later once he gets back from the Philippines. So glad he gets to be home for Christmas. Don't think I would have handled that very well.

2012 Glenn Family Newsletter

d c m  Glenn Family Christmas Alphabet o k s

Adventures-this year has been all about adventures and taking life one stride at a time. It has been about cherishing the moments we are given and enjoying each season of life as it comes.

Backpacking-Dan and Brittany went on a backpacking trip without the kids! However, what they hoped would be a relaxing getaway turned into a hard, cold, foggy, and painful trip. Brittany twisted her foot about ¼ mile from the lake and where they ended up setting up camp. In the morning she had to hike 3.5 miles back up and down the mountain with a badly sprained foot. 

Canning- this year was a big year for canning. Brittany canned applesauce, apple pie filling, green beans, salsa, grape juice, pears, peaches, jam, and chicken. Whew! It was a lot of work but boy it feels good seeing all those filled jars.

Dentist Appointments-Emma saw the dentist for the first time this year. It wasn’t an official visit but she got to sit in the dentist chair and let the hygienist look in her mouth and feel around. She is getting to be a big girl these days. 

Exploring-Emma has grown so much this year. She is now running around and does pretty well keeping up with Kiera and Ethan. She is finding her voice these days and is our little monkey. She climbs on everything and does all she can to keep mom and dad on their toes. 

First Grade-Kiera is now a big first grader! She is doing well with her letters and is getting good at reading and sounding out all sorts of words. Her teacher says she is a joy in class and is a big helper. We’re so proud of her! She has also gone through a huge growth spurt. She went from being a size 6 to a size 8 within the first couple months of school. Wow!

Goodbyes-We had to say goodbye to some very dear friends of ours. Brittany is taking it pretty hard. Our good friends the O’Neil’s moved to Germany for 4 years. Don’t know if they’ll be coming back to Arlington but we sure hope so! We wish them the best and they can be sure we’ll be keeping in touch.

Halloween- this year our family went as the Muppets. It was a lot of fun. Brittany was Animal, Dan was Cookie Monster, Kiera was Kermit the Frog, Ethan went as Big Bird and Emma was the cutest Elmo you ever saw.

Involved-Just one year ago this October Brittany started fundraising efforts for her friend Lauren who was diagnosed with breast cancer. This October was the one year end mark! Lauren is cancer free and is doing fabulous. It was a busy busy year. But, being involved in so many events and efforts on other’s behalf has reaped its own rewards. We are truly blessed!

Jealousy-it is a challenge at times to balance fairness with reality around the Glenn home. If one child gets something whether it is food, and outing with mom, or a simple piece of candy the rest of the troops immediately demand their “fair share” We are trying to learn the lesson that sometimes we don’t always get what we want and that it is ok for someone else to be rewarded without you reaping their rewards as well.  

Kisses-Emma has gotten the hang of blowing kisses to everyone at bedtime. She is the sweetest little girl and is always trying to please. She is our snuggle bug. 

Lying-we are working on lying these days. The kids have come a long way and are getting better at telling us the truth when they’ve done something they probably shouldn’t. We are trying to teach them that even if you make a mistake, when you tell the truth it will all be ok. Mom may even forgo a punishment as long as you told the truth! It is amazing what a little hot sauce can do.

Manager- Dan made a big jump in work this year. He moved to a new facility in Everett and was promoted to Quality Manager. He works very hard and is very dedicated. He is also very good at pointing out the strengths of those who work for him. His leadership skills shine through and his co-workers never have anything negative to say about him. This next year Dan will have the opportunity to travel to the Philippines to help the facility they have over there. Brittany isn’t looking forward to that so much but she is excited about the frequent flyer miles he’ll be racking up. We are so proud of him and the hard work he does to support our family.

Nephews-Brittany’s younger brother recently had a little boy named Paxton. It is nice to have nieces and nephews on both sides of the family and we look forward to all the future nieces and nephews in the works or who will be in the near future.

Origami-for the past 4 months or Dan has helped the kids make it through sacrament meeting by making origami fortune telling boxes. It has become an expected use for the ward bulletin each week. Mom’s job now is to try and keep daddy from folding paper airplanes.

Preschool-Ethan is attending his second and final year of preschool before he heads to Kindergarten next fall. He loves it and is learning so much. He impresses us with how well he already knows his letters and numbers. He is quite the creative little man and has the biggest imagination. He has also grown so much. He is now in a size 6X!

Quiet-what quiet? It is never quiet around here anymore. There is always something going on and the kids are constantly running around with the neighbors. I do love living in the fun house most of the time.

Reality-Mom is trying to come to terms that her house will never be the immaculate one like she sees in magazines, the kids will not always be well kempt during morning errands, and dinner will consist of cold cereal and toast on occasion. It is life and it is reality. But the reality too is, because things aren’t perfect the family is happier and has more time to spend on what’s really important.

Stain-during the summer we were able to tackle the back deck and fence. We had everything stained and re-graded so this winter the rain and snow can fall AWAY from the house. It looks awesome and it is a nice feeling knowing it is done.

Two Wheels-Both Kiera and Ethan learned how to ride their bikes without the training wheels this year! They both now take off and fly around our cul-de-sac. Good thing we don’t have to fight them on wearing helmets.

Umbrella-we’re still in the shower state. We’ve gotten used to the rain and don’t let a little drizzle ruin our fun anymore. We’ve been to the zoo, pumpkin patch, the park etc all in the rain. 

Voice-Emma has found her voice. She likes to mimic the alphabet song and tries to imitate mommy and daddy. It is fun to hear her pick up a few words here and there. She definitely has the word “no” down.

Wicked- For Brittany’s birthday this year Dan’s parents got us tickets to see the play Wicked. We traveled down to Portland and the kids stayed at Grandma and Grandpas while we stayed in a hotel down town. It was nice to get away.

Xylophones-We took a trip down to Boise this year at the end of June to visit Brittany’s family. One of the kid’s favorite parts of the trip was going to the splash park with fountains galore and even xylophones to bang on and make music. Now we just need to get Emma used to getting wet and loving it. Still working on that one.

Yardwork-this summer was full of improvements to our yard. We laid bricks around the garden boxes, and built a berm in the front yard. We also made improvements to the playground by adding on a fire pole and building a bigger platform with a roof. It even has a steering wheel! The kids love it and our yard had become the neighborhood playground. 

Zumba- Brittany does a lot of dancing these days. She has been teaching Zumba 4 times a week and attends two classes on top of that to keep her choreography up. She loves it and has lost a lot of weight this year. She even got to her pre-Kiera weight!

Now we’ve said our ABC’s

Have a Very Merry Chirstmas!

Love,

The Glenn’s

Dan, Brittany, Kiera, Ethan and Emma

m

December is HERE!

Wow! An entire month went by without a single blog post! I have some serious catching up to do! Right now I am in the middle of finishing up Christmas gifts and staying busy with all the festivities. In fact today the kids and I participated in our local Christmas parade. The kids and I dressed up as shepherds and handed out flyers for our upcoming Nativity Festival. It was FREEZING and raining but the kids had fun.

November is HERE! The leaves are falling down!

November is here! I can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving already! Time flies and at this time of year so do the leaves. Today I decided to go out and rake up the leaves in the yard but my purpose wasn't to get the yard cleaned up. No, no, this was a photo opportunity. Nothing beats raking up leaves only to have them thrown around again for the sole purpose of a photo shoot! We had fun!

Trunk-or-Treating and Pumpkin Carving

Today is Halloween! The two older kids went off this morning in their costumes for their school Halloween parties. I am sure I'll have an ear full when they get home. They both were very excited! But before we go out tonight for trick or treating I wanted to share what we did last night at our ward Trunk-or-Treat/Chili Cookoff.

I was in charge of making the prize for the best overall chili and so I made a Halloween apron. It was very cute. Wish I had taken a picture of it. But I guess I got too caught up in the project and didn't think about it when I finished. Oh well.

I also took a crock pot of chili that I had tested out at our "couples only" Halloween party last week. Here's a picture of Dan and I at the party. Animal, and Cookie Monster. Aren't we cute?

The chili was a HIT! and the funny thing was that I won! But instead of them giving me the best overall prize (since I was the one who made it in the first place) we gave it to someone else. They just didn't know. Shhhhh! Just knowing I won is good enough for me.

One of the primary presidency members set up a photo backdrop and took pictures of everyone throughout the night. I was so antsy to have ours taken since I never got the chance to get a group shot on our own. But I had a problem! Dan still hadn't shown up from getting off work! I was pretty upset! His working late every night is wearing on me.

So I tried my best and juggled bringing in chili, cookies, the prize apron, loading up 3 kids in costume, feeding 3 kids once we got there and found seats, AND I had to take them around on my own for the trunk-or-treating portion. I was so grateful for the sisters who held Emma for me when I needed an extra pair of hands. When that was all done THEN Dan showed up. Can you sense my steamage? I know it wasn't all his fault and he did indeed have meetings til 6:00 but boy I wish sometimes he'd have the guts to say, "sorry I need to leave early for a family event we've had planned for the past month." Just sayin'. Ok enough venting.

I did get to have our picture taken after all. The photographer is one of my good friends and she kept the backdrop up until the last minute just for me. I had brought Dan's costume along for that purpose alone. And yes I made him put the WHOLE thing on even when he asked if he could just up the top half on. He owed me that much.

When we got home we decided that it was now or never so we broke out our pumpkins and carved away.

 

The kids had fun scooping out the pumkin guts and dug out the seeds for some roasted pumpkin seeds that I will probably make up today. Then they were off to bed while Dan and I finished the pumpkins. Emma stayed up with us for a little while and got to pose with her very first jack-o-lantern. It was the tiniest pumpkin I have ever carved and Emma seemed pleased.

And here they are all lined up. I love the look on Emma's face too. It was the best I could get. It was hard to get her to sit still enough to get a smile without the picture ending up blurry.

 

Dan told me that he'll be getting off early enough to take the kids trick-or-treating tonight so I'm happy about that! Maybe I can come up with something as an excuse for him to come home early on Thursday and Friday too. But that's probably pushing it.

Happy Halloween Everyone and be safe tonight!

Zumba Party in Pink!

Last Week I think it was I had the opportunity to participate in a Zumba Party in Pink Breast Cancer Fundraiser. It was so much fun! Everyone got dressed in pink and had a blast. And it was all for a good cause.

I even won one of the prizes while I was there. I got a spa package with some Matrix hair care products, some bath scrubbies, A 1 HOUR MASSAGE! gift certificate (can't wait to use that one), some Zumba toning sticks, and a Sonicare Toothbrush worth over $200.00 by itself! Can you say saaaweeet! But even more fun was the fact I got to share it with some of my dear friends who got me started in this Zumba thing in the first place.

This shot was taken by the beautiful Kellianna Wirth. She is a very talented woman and takes some amazing pictures. Check out her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KelliannaWirthImages.

The night was full of music, fun, sweat, and amazing women including some of our very own breast cancer survivors. I was so glad to be a part of it all. Here are a couple other shots I took while I was there.

Me and a couple of my YMCA Zumba buddies

Me and the lovely Janette

Our very own Stacy Nice who won her battle with Breast Cancer!

The lovely Chris, who we are looking forward to her being back on her feet again and joining us on the dance floor.

3 of the Zmammas in charge of the event.  Left to Right: Janette, Shannon, Suzanne

More survivors!

Zumba and cupcakes don't usually mix well but in this case we'll let it pass.

It was a fun event and it is amazing what a difference a few women with a purpose can pull off! Great job ladies!

Girls Night With My Girl

Last night I taught Zumba with a fellow instructor at our Halloween Dance Party. It was a lot of fun and we had a GREAT turn out! But what I think I loved most was sharing it with my little girl! We both went in costume and had a great time. Kiera even won a prize from the drawing. She chose a singing/dancing dog that sings about going trick or treating. I don't know how many times I've heard the song this morning but we finally put him on the shelf for a break. All the shot on this post are not my own. They were taken by the other instructor's husband Chad Shurtz. He does a great job and has taken our family portraits in the past. This is his website http://www.shurtzphotography.com/.

In fact here's a shot of Kiera from our photo session back in 2010. They grow up so fast!

Kiera is my buddy. And I love spending time with my girly girl.

Photo Contest! Help me and Win too!

Hey bloggy friends! I need your help. I am in a photo contest to win a free professional photo-shoot. I love taking shots of my family and kids but it is hard to get shots of myself. Winning this would be awesome! All I need is you to vote for me by "liking" my photo on Adelia Photography. Also if you're my FB friend and you "like" Adelia Photography it'll count as a vote for me as well.

Here's the photo of me you'll be looking for:

Please comment telling me you like Adelia Photography and I'll do my own special little contest and draw one of your names for a prize. Just make sure you leave your e-mail address so I can contact the winner!

Thanks so much!

Saturday At The Pumpkin Patch

Saturday afternoon we took a trip as a family to our favorite pumpkin patch at our local Plant Farm. It is the perfect place to go with the little ones. The pumpkins are all strewn out in a grassy field so you don't really have to worry about muddy boots which I love in this wet climate. They have a cute little train ride, hayrides, farm animals, and wooden cutouts to stick your head in for picture taking, and its all free! You just have to pay for your pumpkin. And concessions if you want. It's really reasonable too. For the kids their pumpkin costs about $3-$4 a piece. The large ones are $7. So not bad at all.

We got their just in time too. It started to rain when we were leaving and it was COLD! It started to hail when we got home. Brrrrr. But it was worth it. The kids loved it and it gave us a chance to get a nice family picture. Although I wish I had asked the girl on the hayride to retake it since Emma's granola bar wrapper ended up in front of Ethan's face. Oh well...

 

I tried to get a good shot of the kids with the pumpkins in the background but every shot I took Emma was fixated on the animals she saw. And Kiera wasn't cooperating. This was the best one I got. You can tell Kiera was really excited to have her picture taken huh?

And here are a couple more pictures of the kids on the tractor at the entrance to the patch and another  one of Emma and Daddy looking at the animals.

Now we have 5 pumpkins on the front porch bench all lined up from biggest to smallest. I love Fall!

October Projects Update and Taking Time to Reflect on What Matters Most

Life has been busy busy around here lately. I haven't had much time to think let alone sit down and write a blog post but I have a few minutes before Emma wakes up and we head out to the pumpkin patch.

The purpose of this post is for me to catch up with what's been going on around here and to reflect more on the simple yet more important things in my life. I get caught up in the rush of things, or what one of my friends from For The Love of Naps likes to call them "the trenches of life" that I forget to be grateful where we are and to treasure what stage or "season" we are in with our little ones.

I have so much to be grateful for and one thing I have been enjoying lately is my mornings with my baby girl. Her and I have been spending Monday Tuesday and Wednesday mornings just the two of us while Ethan is at preschool and Kiera is at school. She is the funniest little girl and is the biggest tease. She is finding her voice these days and every once in awhile you are able to get a coherent word out of her but right now I am loving the mumbles and the grunts and the singing during our morning errands and to and fros.

When Thursday rolls around Ethan and Emma spend a lot of time together. Ever since Kiera started school these two have become best buddies. I hear a lot of giggling in the back when I'm driving the van. Ethan knows exactly what makes Emma laugh and does everything he can to get his sister to smile. And I can't believe how much these two look alike.

This is my most recent project. My neighbor asked me if I would be willing to make a cake for her co-worker's daughter who is turning 1. I of course said yes and am so glad I did. This cake turned out to be adorable! She also ordered 24 matching cupcakes. It is a yellow cake with pink buttercream frosting with a hint of creme de menthe flavoring. MMMmm! Everytime I open the fridge the scent is glorious! The outside of the cake is covered in marshmallow fondant and piped buttercream. It was so much fun to make I can't wait to make another.

 I think the cupcakes are my favorite though. I love those bows and mouse ears. I used white pearl sprinkles for the polka dot theme too. I was almost sad to see those cupcakes leave the house. (probably not a bad thing though)

Another project I did this month was around General Conference weekend. At the beginning of the month our church gets to listen to the apostles, prophet, and other leaders of the church. I love this time of year. I love listening to them speak and the spiritual uplift that it is.

In our church we have a women's organization called the Relief Society. We are assigned certain sisters in the congregation that we are stewards over and we are called their Visiting Teachers. It is a way for us as sisters to come together and to look after and serve one another.

I decided since General Conference was coming up I wanted to make a little something for the sisters I visit teach. I made them each their own "Conference Survival Kit" I got the idea somewhere on Pinterest and thought it was so cute. In my kits I had a notebook and pen to jot down notes or spiritual inspiration they recieved during the conference, some boxes of candy and put it all in a basket tied up with a ribbon and note from myself. I got everything from my local Dollar Tree. Each basket cost about $6.

I told my husband what I was doing and he asked if I could make some extras for him to take to his Home Teaching families. It was easy, fun and I think they turned out pretty cute.

This month I have been crazy busy with projects, canning, appointments,  teaching Zumba classes 4 times a week, and being mom to 3 busy kiddos. Sometimes I just need to take a break. Ethan no longer takes naps but he does have quiet time when Emma goes down for a nap. That is my chance to throw in a load or two of laundry, wash some dishes and make my attempt and a tidy house.

On one of these occasions Ethan spent his quiet time building a masterpiece. He inherited daddy's old Lincoln logs and is now starting to really enjoy them. While I was out teaching one of my Zumba classes Dan went up to check on Ethan to find this:

 Ethan was so proud and Dan was so thoughtful in taking a picture of it for me so I could see it when I got home. And I think too, that Dan is pretty proud of his little boy taking after him. These Lincoln logs were one of Dan's favorite toys growing up.

 

Well its now time for Emma to wake up. Dan should be home soon for us to go hunt for that perfect pumpkin, enjoy some hayrides, and make some memories. Going to go enjoy some of that crisp fall air but more importantly my little family.