5 2010 Goals

#5--Expand my severely lacking meal menu.  Say hello to What's for Dinner Wednesdays.

#4--Make my house into a home.  Meet Home Improvement Ideas (say HII) on the 1st of every month. 

#3--Tighten down the budget.  Financial Tips--what's working, what's not--bi-monthly. 

#2--Strengthen Spirtual Self--Say Shalom, Spiritual Sundays.

And #1...








Has nothing to do with the blog.  But will be revealed tomorrow.

Thanks for hanging with me this year.  It's been a good time.  No need to worry.  I will still write up strange posts like this and this and most definitely like this.  But in between those bizzare every day things that happen, you'll actually see there's some depth to me. 

And of course, even when cooking something new or trying to make my house into a home, there's bound to be something funny that happens right?  Like how Wade asked me if this knob was to the back burner on the stove WE'VE HAD FOR 8 YEARS.  So pictures (and better pictures than the one on the oven showing the front and back burners) galore this next year.  For sure.

Spiritual Sundays, well, that's just so I you don't feel guilty for indulging.

Have a great New Years Eve.  Stay safe and think of me at 11:30 in the blistering cold lining up at Sugarhouse Park to "Beat the New Year" with my brothers.  Because YES they came through.  I have two objectives: Beat Scott--who's run, like, maybe 5 times since October.  And secondly, beat the New Year.  It's going to be veryveryclose on both accounts. 

Food Issues

So, Josh is 4.

And a half.

And he has whiddled his food choices down to maybe 5 or 6 things: bread, cereal, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, spaghetti noodles, and taco meat.

This is not an exaggeration.  This is it. 

Thanksgiving, he ate a roll.  Christmas, nothing. 

How does this even happen?  Because I KNOW I didn't start off feeding him only these things.  He did at one time eat food that was found in nature.  But, then, he turned two and his personality emerged as one of extreme stubborness and before I know it, it's been 2 1/2 years. 

So, as any good mother would do, I scared him.  I took him into the doctor's and plopped him down on the examining table and told the doctor exactly what is going on.  How he can go DAYS without eating.  We have tried not allowing him to eat anything else at night if he doesn't eat his dinner.  We've tried taking away the Wii and computer privileges.  The other night, Josh watched Wade and me play Wii for 2 hours because he didn't eat his dinner.  I eat fudge in front of him.  I give his sister his M & M's.

The kid is a freakin' stone.  Doesn't waver.

And the (child-less) doctor had some good ideas--in theory.  But he did say something that resonated.  He said "looks like your kid is more stubborn than you."

Yes, yes he is.  And there are some who would've thought this was an impossibility.

But then the doctor went on to say how "you need to not let Josh see you eating these foods. And you certainly shouldn't be making them for him every day."

Excuse me?  Do you think I eat mac and cheese and chicken nuggets?  And no, I don't make them for him EVERY DAY, because that would be irresponsible, now wouldn't it?  And while we're at it, he sees me eating plenty of healthy food options--fruits and vegetables and whole grain toast.  So, the issue isn't necessarily MY eating habits, is it?

Up until now, I've been pretty staunch on not fixing Josh his own dinner.  He is given the option of eating what we're eating or not eating at all.  And he usually (read: always) takes the latter option.  On occassion, I will fix him something he *likes*.  It's how my mom brought me up and it's nice for your kids to not regale you as some fascist leader.

Usually.

But now, we're going to have be more fascist-like.  Which does not fit either one of us very well.  But, food issues start getting scary when your kids move into adolescence, and I know some adults with some serious food issues that affect their every day living.  Like one guy won't eat anything but hot dogs, Little Cesears Pizza, and Bologna.

And this is not an exaggeration either.  This is his diet--by-products of animals and cardboard?  When he and his wife got out to eat, he just watches.  Now that they have three kids, the kids are picking up on this, and they too are eating this way.  And now she's starting to because it's just too hard to make that many different meals. 

Can you guess where this is leading?

I know that my four year old is not alone in his aversion to food, but I'd like to stop it from escalating into a serious issue come adolescence and adulthood.  Hence why we went into the doctor today. That, and he's complaining about being tired (which is most likely a vitamin deficiency or anemia--since, you know, he doesn't eat--but wouldn't I feel bad if it was something serious).  And we'll have the requisite blood work done to rule out all those terrible things so we can focus more on mking the kid eat. 

So for those who find themselves in the same boat, here's the suggestion by the doctor:

1.  Take an item of food you want your child to eat.  We're going to start with an apple.  Pretty basic.
2.  Offer this to him BEFORE he can have anything else to eat. 
3.  Tell him that he must try the apple before he can eat ANYTHING else.
4.  When he refuses and runs to his room and slams the door, put the apple away.
5.  When he re-emerges, complaining that "he's so hungry he's going to die" offer him the apple again.  Tell him that he must try this before he can eat anything else.
6.  Repeat this 10 times.  Stretch over days until you arrive at 10 times.
7.  The end.

I didn't have the foresight to ask, then what?  The (reminder: child-less) doctor seemed to be pretty confident that after 10 times Josh would miraculously start eating apples. 

Yeah, I'll let you know if we have any luck.  My hope is that the doctor visit and subsequent trauma that was the blood draw will scare Josh enough into eating.

Looking Good

Hey, did you know that I get up and run at some insane hour like three times a week?

What, I never told you?  Weird...I could've sworn...

Ha ha.

So, the other day on facebook I had put something about getting up early and running and offhandedly asked "are you jealous?" A friend replied that the only thing she was jealous of was "that hot little bod of yours.  I'm NOT jealous of how hard you've worked to get it..."

The compliment about my hot bod was very appreciated, but it was the second part of the comment that really struck me. 

I get compliments here and there about how I'm looking, most recently from him--which was kind of awkward and deserving of it's own post.  And he's like 85. 

But rarely does anyone acknowledge how HARD I've worked.  And I appreciate that someone NOTICED.

Fast forward to this morning, at the Christmas Tree.  Santa left me a present under the tree, that to the uninitiated, may insinuate that perhaps Santa hasn't been as observant as a friend from Facebook that I see once or twice a month in person. 

A Wii Fit.

For those who don't know about the Wii Fit, it's a game for the Wii video console that helps with different aspects of your physical health.  It's all the rage.  But, it tells you that you're fat and overweight and will actually say "ouch" when you step on the pad. 

Not really something I want to hear when I've been busting my butt for the last six months.

So I was a little hesitant to stand on the pad and have my BMI and weight checked by a video game console and I shirked a little when it said "oooh" when I stepped on the pad, like I had just sat down on a little kid in the middle of the schoolyard or something.  But then it preceded to tell me that I was in a healthy range for both my weight and my BMI and my little Mii (my person on the Wii) jumped up and down like they'd won the lottery or something.

And as long as that keeps happening, I'll keep it around.

Santa Wade, however, had a much different experience. 

Ha.

My Christmas Message

I'm not overly zealous religious person.  I pretty much keep my views to myself in a forum such as this, but tonight I want to share something I read earlier. 

For those of us who have children, there are very few experiences in life that can quite match that feeling of bringing into this world a brand new soul.  Many of us endured a lot of sickness and pain to get to that point.  And the majority of us delivered in a nice, serene setting with doctors and nurses and medicine at our whim.

When I reflect on the birth of Jesus, none of these comforts were present.  However, over time, the same feelings are mutual: adoration, hope, and above all, love.  There aren't words to describe those first few moments with your newborn.  You can imagine how overwhelming it must have been to be Mary and Joseph. 

I subscribe to a blog called So, the thing is...and the author, Barbara, put it perfectly.  Read it here:
How's Your Holiday Sprit?
 
Take some time out today to think about the miracle that was Jesus' birth, and the miracle of the birth of your own children.
 
Merry Christmas!!
 

AHHHH!!!

Christmas is in two days!!!

AHHHHH!!!!

Every year I promise I won't leave things to the last minute and every year I fail.

AHHHHH!!!!

Stress overload. 

Next year, I'll be better.  Might even get cards out and neighbor treats made and everything.  Well, maybe.  We'll see. 

Two days?!?! 

I've Been Thinking...

And that's never a really good thing.

But, I have.

So, over here, we've been obsessively kind of following the story of Susan Powell, a West Valley City wife, mom, daughter and friend who has been "missing" since Sunday, December 7. 

Apparently, her husband of 8 years took their two sons, ages 4 and 1, camping at 12:30 at night in single digit temperatures only to return later the next day to find his wife missing.

Uh-huh.

The similarities between Susan and I are a little troubling.  We're both 28.  We've both been married for 8 years, and we both have children that are 4 and 1. 


I, however, didn't marry a dirtbag.


And I know that in the United States, we have this whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing, and I certainly don't want to go on record as saying this guy is 100% guilty. 


I mean, I'll go on record to say that he's a blazing idiot if he thinks that anyone in their right mind believes he took his two young children camping at midnight in December in single digit temperatures and then--in the course of a few hours--forgot what day it was so didn't call into work.  Guilty?  I'll reserve for the higher courts.

But here's the troubling thing:

If I were to have mysteriously vanish (she left behind her purse, car keys, cell phone, and car, so based on the assumption that she left unwillingly) my husband  would be on EVERY news show that would have him.  Dateline, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nancy Grace on CNN, Larry King, in addition to EVERY local channel.  He'd be pleading for my safe return.  He'd send out messages about how much he loved me.  He might even shed a tear or two or hundreds.

I'm not so sure he'd evade police investigations and hire one of the most powerful attorneys in the state. 

I'm just saying.

Heavy Hearted

Two years ago, I posted this.  It was the diagnosis of a good friend with stage 4 colon cancer.  And really, we all thought that she'd be gone by the beginning of 2008.  That's how serious it was.

But she prevailed and endured and all those impossible things that sometimes we're asked to do and not know why.

And tonight, she finally got her reprieve. 

Coincidently, I was talking to my mom about her yesterday.  We were driving around Sugar House Park and I was telling her how it was any day now for M.  Her cancer had spread into her spine and she was in pain 24/7.  And I was telling my mom how I felt because when M. was put in the hospital following her stroke two years ago, I was the ONLY one to go visit her from the neighborhood.  It was awkward--not really my forte--but I bucked up and went.  And we had a connection.  My entire family with the help of my Visiting Teacher partner's family put on her entire Christmas that year for her so they could save that money and use it for medical bills.  I cleaned her house and did her laundry and brought in a few meals here and there.

But then some things happened and people with sticky little tentacles got all involved and I had to cut ties to preserve my own sanity and what not, and I haven't been as faithful to M. as I would've ideally liked. 

And then I was excluded from her big 40th birthday party last month.  While I'm sure I wasn't the only one who wasn't invited, it sure felt like that.  And I played it off like it was no big deal, but deep down, I was a lot hurt. 

But, as I always do, I kept it bottled up and, deep down, I kept thinking I'd stop by and see her, but I never got around to it, or some other lame excuse.  My mom suggested that I go talk to her and let her know that the person that I was painted to be isn't really me and I had to get out of that situation because it was threatening to suffocate my very being. 

And you know, it was too late even then.  Because there were more important things that needed to be said by other people who were more faithful to M. then I was. 

So I hope, tonight, she knows the truth that's in my heavy heart.

I've declared 2010 to be the Year of Zen, because there are obviously some things I need to let go.  Just because someone has sticky tentacles dabbling in my business, I can sever them.  Beat them off with a stick.  Ignore them.

And the Battle Rages On...

Some friends asked Saturday night if things were getting a little better with Josh and church.

"Oh, yeah." I replied.  "We haven't had a lot of trouble with him lately."

Sunday morning arrived and I got Josh dressed reasonably quickly and he sat down to eat breakfast.  Everything was good. 

Wade had gone outside to shovel the driveway and I was getting Aunika in her Sunday clothes.  Mind you, I was slated to substitute for a Sunbeam class and it was nearing 8:55, but I felt like we were going to be reasonably on time.

That was, until Josh came running out of his room in nothing but his underwear. 

I sighed and went in to find his clothes to wrestle him back in.

"Where did you put your clothes?" I asked him.

"I don't know." was his reply.

"WHERE did you put your CLOTHES?" I asked him again.

"I don't know."

"WHEREDIDYOUPUTYOURCLOTHES?" This was not a hard question.  He had them on mere moments before and now where were they?

"I don't know."

Wade chose this moment to walk in.  Which is lucky, because I was choosing that exact moment to walk out.

"I'm not sure how you're going to get your son to church, but it's up to you."  I said.  Or something relatively close to that minus a few choice words.

And then I left.

There is beauty all around.  When there's love at home.

Fast forward 45 minutes, and in walked Wade, Josh and Aunika.  Josh was wearing the same clothes I had put him in earlier.  He ran over and said "Sorry mommy" (cue heart melt) and then grabbed my hand.

"Where'd you find his clothes?" I asked Wade.

"I couldn't find them.  Josh found them."

And then he proceeded to give me a lecture on how I need to work on my temper.  I thought I showed GREAT restraint.  I was actually proud of myself for how cool (relatively) I remained because a few months ago, that stunt would've sent me over the edge.  Well, further over the edge, at a much faster speed.

I think Josh has elevated the game to a new status.  However, (and I didn't want to ask how it happened and under what threats) we can officially call this a win for the parents.

Bring it on Buster!  Give us what you can.  Because as the year is coming to a close, it's still Josh: 0 and parents: 46.

Just a Thought...

I HATE the snow.

HATE it. 

HATE it.

HATE it.

*gritting teeth*
When I was 18 and a new freshman at college and it snowed and it was so miserably cold I could hardly do anything but go to class, come home, and sit in my bed under three blankets, including the heated blanket, I made an elaborate plan of how I was going to go to Hawaii.  I had it all worked out too.  I was going to graduate from CEU a semester early, move back to Salt Lake, take a few classes at SLCC while working full-time and sock everything I could into savings until I could afford the tuition at BYU-Hawaii.  Which, by my calculations, was only about a year and a half thanks to a very rich aunt who died.  Even with paying rent in an apartment. 

Because, even after just a semester away from home, I realized I could NEVER move back in with my parents.  I love them and I'd like to keep it that way.

It was a pipe dream at best, but it kept me fueled for the entire winter.  However, the one drawback was that they didn't offer the program I wanted--Biomedical Engineering--and I was going to settle for a degree in Mathematics if it meant that I didn't have to stay in this hellish winterland any longer.

Ha.

But then I met Wade and Hawaii became just a distant thought.  And my dead rich aunt made it possible for us to put a somewhat sizable down payment on our house, which in hindsight was probably a better investment than a math degree.

And I still got my math degree, and even got the privilege of paying for it myself.  (By which I mean, Wade paid for it.  But what's his is mine, and what's mine is his, right?  Happy math degree, honey!)

Until this morning, when I realized that if I would've gone to Hawaii at 20 like I had meticulously planned, it would've solved a lot of problems.

Like waking up at 5:15 to get ready to run and finding the front door WIDE open.

Again.

And 3 inches of snow on the pavement.  And it looked so beautiful, untouched, that I couldn't bring myself to go out and tramp along in it, (and I'm not a big fan of wet feet.  Or the snow, as I may have mentioned earlier) so we moved our running to tomorrow, where it's going to be a nice 8 degrees at 5 am, but will feel like -1 degrees.  Fun!

Funny, when I mentioned the door being wide open to Wade, he asked if I looked in the basement (presumably for serial killers. Of course, I did wake him up out of a dead sleep, so who knows) to which I replied: "They would've gotten us by now."  and he said "maybe they're waiting for me to go to work."  Then he turned around and went back to sleep.

Because only he would be able to sleep after casually mentioning that a serial killer was lying wait in his basement until Wade left for work before unleashing on me and the kids.

But then only he would suggest I go down and meet the serial killer face to face.

See, if I was in Hawaii, none of this would've taken place.

Score!

• I stopped by the DI the other day to look for a coat for Aunika.  I saw a really cute one at Wal-mart not  too long ago, but I wasn't about to shell out $25 for something she'll wear a handful of times before it's too small.  And, score, I found one for $4 that looks practically new.  
• Bonus score: the Steve Madden shoes I found that were brand new for $6.  Steve Madden retails for anything from $50-$$$.  And used shoes are hard to find when your shoe size hovers  between a ski and a boat.
• I ran my usual run Friday morning at a balmy (if you live in the Arctic Circle) 5 am.  Then I ran a 5k at 6 pm that was a blast.  It followed the Bountiful Light Parade down the street and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who came out to watch the parade and cheer us on.  Score, I finished with a new PR of 27:04, besting my last PR by 3 seconds.  (Hey, 3 seconds is 3 seconds.  Besides I got up caught at the first behind some lady who thought she was going faster than she really was.  So, I KNOW I could've pulled off a sub-27 minute 5k.
• Bonus score: I ran the first mile in 8:11 and the second in 8:34, averaging out to be 8:22, which is faster than a Boston Qualifying pace.  The third mile was uphill the entire way, so I slowed down to 9:14, but still it was a good pace for what it was.
• We went to see the lights at the zoo with my parents and my brother's family.  It was a lot of fun, if not a little cold and the animals were all hiding.  It dawned on me that the majority of the animals at the zoo are not equipped to deal with winter weather.  The best part was the cougar who hissed at my niece in her wheelchair.  My sister-in-law says it happens every time they come to the zoo.  We scored when we went to Training Table afterwards for dinner and my brother told us the funniest story (that, sorry, isn't fit for blog consumption).
• We have an appraiser coming on Monday afternoon for our refinance, and there's nothing like a stranger who is going to look in every room of your house to kick you into cleaning gear and get everything organized.  And score, I'm now back on track to having a Home for the Holidays.  In fact, I'm on my way to having a Home for the Holidays by tomorrow.
  

To Act Like the Rich, Be Frugal

Wade shared this article with me that I'm going to share with you:

http://www.bankrate.com/finance/financial-literacy/to-act-like-the-rich-be-frugal-1.aspx

Have I mentioned that Wade is the smartest person I know?  Because he is.  And not just inherently, (he is just smart, though.  You know, like how some people are just dumb) but because he finds these cool articles to read.

We've always maintained that when we become millionaires our neighbors won't ever know.  And people laugh at us.

"Like you'd stay in your current home if you were a millionaire." they all say.

What's wrong with our house?  It's now 3000 square feet, which is more than the  houses either one of us grew up in, and has a killer theater system, five bedrooms, and three baths.

But, they're probably right.  We'd probably move.  But not to some huge atrocity. I like our house, but it was a tract house.  We didn't have any say in what went in it aside from the actual colors.   But I don't want some huge thing up on the hill, surrounded by other huge things.  Even our dream house (which is now off the market :( ) wouldn't really fit in in some of the pricier areas of Salt Lake and Summit Counties.

We are in the process of refinancing our home to a 15 year mortgage at an incredible rate.  We got this incredible rate because (a) we've been fiscally responsible our ENTIRE lives, not just the life we've spent together. (b) We got into our home at an incredible price and resisted the urge to upgrade when everyone else was. (c) our home is worth almost $100,000 more than when we bought it--just seven short years ago.  Banks pretty much laugh at us when they see our mortgage. 

And I've said it before, we plan on being 100% debt free--cars, house, and basement--in five years.  Which would make me 33 and Wade 36.  We may stay here, because we now have the room (and I'm LOVIN' that basement), or we may move.  But it'd just be a mile away because I don't see me ever going back to the city.

According to the article, Wade and I are well on our ways to being millionaires. By which I mean to say that Wade is well on his way and I'm riding his coattails.

In any case, one day we ARE going to be millionaires, and the neighbors will still be thinking "those Hadlocks really know how to stretch a dollar".