Life in the Fast Lane...

At what point in one's life do things slow down?
I'm anxiously waiting for that moment, so while I wait, I'll sit a moment to recap my exhausting day.

*At school dealing with broken copiers for the PTA Newsletter from 9-12:30.
*Ran to store for last minute supplies for RS tonight and ingredients for Chicken Noodle Soup,
*Home at 1:30 to quickly assemble soup in crock pot before picking up Miranda at 2.
*Home at 2:30 to finish putting supplies together for RS.
*Pick up Parker at 3:30 and go straight to Miranda's choir rehearsal at 4:00 (Performance is Sat.)
*Home for an hour to load car, go to bathroom (hadn't gone all day), and freshen up.
*Arrive at Church for RS Super Thursday from 5:30 to 10pm
CRASH!!!!

Whatever happened to journaling the fun, meaningful moments of one's day?
Sorry. I know no one wants to hear how crazy my day was, but well, that's my life at the moment.

Relief Society went well. Everyone liked making the tins and didn't think they were too difficult. I even sold 5 more of my extra kits.
I ended up helping 2 sisters...made 2 complete Christmas tins and the insides to 8 of the Family tins.
My Niece Kayla had her baby today (well 12:30 am) He was healthy as can be...just tiny at 5lb10oz. I'm so glad everything went well for her. Now I just need to go get my baby fix and hold him. She named him Zane Dristan. I truly wish her all the best...she's been through a lot physically and mentally getting him here.
Well, it's up and at 'em again tomorrow...We're cleaning and organizing the PTA room to get ready for the Santa Breakfast. Ryan was going to go bird hunting tomorrow morning, but all his buddies bailed on him. I do like for him to go because it keeps his stress levels low. And we both don't need higher stress levels at the same time :)
I'll definitely sleep well tonight!

A+++++

Another short and sweet post today, but I just had to brag a bit on my kids. Report cards came out and both of them received straight A's! They are sooooo amazing! They always do their homework without a fuss, and actually enjoy going to school. Parker also received the Citizenship award and Perfect Attendance (only 3 in his class got the citizenship). Miranda's school doesn't give those awards, but if they did she would have them also. I'm so proud of both of them.
I went to the office today, took Miranda to Broadway and Mutual. I'm finishing up my tin kits tonight so I'm all ready for tomorrow. No Christmas decorating yet...just need a free night/day/minute.

Ta-Da!

Wow...I actually got a lot accomplished today. Amazing what you can do with a little Christmas music and actually staying home. I was able to clean all but 2 rooms today! Still have my scrap room and bedroom (including folding & ironing) left to do. But wow...did I do a lot of cleaning!
Now I feel like I can decorate for Christmas without having other clutter around.
I even had the time to go to St. George tonight. We went for a 40th birthday party for a buddy of Ryan's. Didn't know anyone but the b-day boy and his wife, but it was fun to get out (and shop at Roberts!) It won't be too long before Ryan is 40! Guess I better get planning his big shindig. Well, maybe after Christmas. Short and sweet tonight.... I'm exhausted! Still have my cold lingering around, and Ryan has it now too!

Back in the saddle again.....

Well, after a day of R&R....I'm back at the mom thing today. Went to the school for PTA stuff, to the office for work stuff, went to Target for Christmas gift stuff, and to Michael's for RS stuff. Whew....I didn't accomplish everything I would have liked, but...tomorrow's another day.
No Christmas decorations up yet. I did start putting together the kits for the Mini Tin Albums though. I ended up with 16 sign up for the Family and 7 for the Christmas. I'm making a few extra of each just in case someone comes and sees how darn cute they are and just have to make one ;D
I did fix my sewing machine so I can hopefully get my Christmas Cards made this weekend.

Miranda went to her Broadway class tonight. She is feeling much better after her last audition. She sang "On My Own" from Le Miserable for the instructor tonight. She had lots of praise for Miranda and wants her to take private voice lessons to fine tune a few things. I've got the number of a couple teachers I'm going to look into so she can start soon.

Parker finally let me give him a hair cut (actually did it on Saturday before going to Phantom) He's been trying to grow it out like his friend Luke, but his hair is sooo thick it just doesn't look right when it's longer. I'm just a sucker for a neat boy's haircut!
Here's a before and after shot of him.












I had already wet his hair when I thought to take the before so you really can't get the full effect. Doesn't he look handsome!
Well, I'm off to take more meds so I can breathe through the night. I have LOTS I want to accomplish tomorrow so better get a good night's rest.

Feeling Blah

I mentioned earlier that I was coming down with something....well, it hit full force today. Didn't have the energy to do much of anything. I didn't shower, didn't get dressed, didn't decorate for Christmas, didn't work on my cards, didn't work on my tin kits for RS (well, I did finish typing the instructions). Nothing, Nada, Zip! I just needed one day to regroup and recoup, because I know that tomorrow I'm back at it!
The kids are semi excited about going back to school. They had a fun Thanksgiving break. They are certainly looking forward to Winter break in 4 weeks.
I'm almost ready for Christmas. I've done quite a bit of shopping, just a few more gifts to go. Right now I need to focus on my Christmas Cards. So just a warning, if I don't get them done....I may be sending purchased ones (scary thought..he,he)
Well, I'm just posting a little something before going to bed....early, so I can be up and ready to go tomorrow (I hope).

Oh...What a Night!

What a fabulous night we had. Ryan and I surprised the kids with tickets to see Phantom at the Venetian. Miranda was soooo excited all day. She kept counting down the hours until we left. Parker had told us he didn't want to see Phantom, but we "forced" him to go anyway. (I think he was almost as excited as Miranda). We first went to dinner then on to the show. We arrived about 45 minutes before curtain. So we cruised around the shops and watched the Gondola riders. Miranda was nervous that we would miss the show, so we headed back to find our seats.
Both the kids were mesmerized with the entire production. The effects were spectacular! Such an awesome experience for them. When it was over....Parker was going on and on with questions about how they did all the special effects. Miranda was surprisingly quiet. I kept wondering if she liked it or not. Finally she said..."Mom that was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Can I please start voice lessons asap".
Miranda has always wanted to act and sing on Broadway, and seeing this production set that dream in stone. She has such a wonderful singing talent. I can just see her in a leading role someday if she puts her mind to it.
We ended the evening with Cold Stone. Miranda couldn't wait to get to bed and absorb the Playbill we purchased for her. Parker, of course had to have something too, so he found a pen from the gift shop.
I'm so glad we were able to take our kids to see this wonderful show. We have been trying to plan a trip to New York to see Wicked and Phantom on Broadway. Miranda would be in heaven if we get it worked out.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we got home so late (around midnight) that I didn't post. Ryan took the kids riding on the Rhino and 4 wheeler in the morning. They were gone for quite a while and had a very fun time even though it was in the 50's. I spent the morning making 12 doz. rolls, an apple pie and Miranda made cookie salad. The house smelled soooo good. I could bake everyday just to have that wonderful aroma in the house. Problem is...I'd just eat it all too!

We headed out to Henderson to spend the afternoon at my parents house around 1:00. It was a great meal with all the trimmings. There was over 30 people for dinner. Definitely a full house! All my siblings were there. It was fun to have everyone all together again. I wanted to get a picture with all my sisters, but didn't happen. I did get one with Heather, who came from Washington. I also took a photo of the kids with their Great Grandma Sanders. It's such a rare thing to get a photo with granny. She doesn't like getting her picture taken. I also wanted to get a family photo, but that didn't happen either.
After eating and visiting, we all headed out to the movies to see "Enchanted". I really enjoyed it, and believe it or not.....I didn't cry! We stopped by my Aunt Shelley's house to say hi. Parker ended up staying the night with Wyatt. They've had soooo much fun together the past few weeks.
Today I woke up with a bit of a sinus thing (bummer), but it didn't slow me down. I had told Miranda I would help her straighten her room after it was messed up from closet remodeling. So that's what we did for over 5 hours! We completely de-junked and rearranged it. She LOVES how it's set up now. Ryan finished the trim and shelves for the closets. He just need to hang the new doors and it'll be all done.
Here's a shot of the new organizers I took in Sept. when we first started the project.

We met Stacie at Cozymels for dinner to make the kid swap. And now the kids are settling down to watch "Phantom of the Opera". We surprised them with tickets to the Phantom show tomorrow night. Miranda's been dying to see it for quite a while now. Tomorrow will be more straightening and hopefully start decorating for Christmas. Can't wait to get everything looking festive around here.