Dallin Boy

Yes, I am mother of the year, I feed my infant son swirly cheetos. He loves them and it makes him happy - which in turn makes me happy. I decided since I hadn't done a Dally post in a while that this would be the one. He is currently pulling himself up on everything. He shakes his head "no" at you - he smiles at the drop of a hat - and he is one of the 5 loves of my life.

Does the noise in my head bother you?

For those of you who have seen ''The God's Must Be Crazy," you know that the subject of this blog is line from that movie. I figured it would be fitting seeing how I am going to post just some of the ramblings that are always going through my head- it starts to drive me nuts that it (my brain) never shuts off, and sometimes I wonder if the onlooker can tell that my mind is going a million miles an hour?

4 years ago Travis and I made a decision that we were going to move back to the Boise area and start up our own business - along with my sister and her husband (they would be business partners). Things randomly began to fall into place, though at the time I didn't realize it. Travis was laid off his job in AZ which allowed him to get a lot of the details of the move / business venture set up before we made the big move. At the time I was so upset. I was in the middle of the worse semester in history (21 credits, 2 kids, and pregnant with the third). I didn't see the blessing of the lay off....later I recognized it as the Lord's hand....Travis needed that time to get everything in order.

We came up to Boise for 1 weekend to find a place to live. That's right, we had one weekend. We found "the place" - it felt good, we liked the area, etc. etc. Everything went through, we were able to sell our home in AZ (while many others were not, the market was already crap) and purchase the one here.

We got up here and started working. Things were really good, super busy, lots of employees, good clientele etc. The Lord was blessing us.

We rolled around to the end of year 3 (of our business) and things were starting to come to a slow halt. Well, more like a screeching halt! We had done work for a few large developers (significant amounts $$$$$$$ of work) and they went under and never paid. This hurt us pretty bad...but we were able to make decisions- many just in the knick of time that we know the Lord helped us with.

Travis talked with his business partner and they decided to expand into more of the landscape, outdoor area as well as fence. So, they began looking for a machine (large air compressor) that could do sprinkler blowouts in the winter. They found one over the phone that the salesman said was available for purchase. Now, you must realize that these machines are rented out at least one year ahead of time for the guy that does sprinkler blowouts out of the back of his truck, so to find one for sale was unheard of. We went to purchase the machine and ended up talking with a different sales guy. The conversation was something like this:
Sales Guy: Why would we sell this machine when we can rent it and it has been rented/reserved for the last year?
Travis: You told us on the phone that it was available for purchase...why are you going back on your word?
Sales Guy: Well, let me see what I can do, but you'll have to come back after I make some phone calls.

Later we got a phone call from him saying that he had talked with bigger bosses than him and they decided that since we were told we could buy it that we still could and they would simply buy another one for their company to rent out.

This was the Lord's hand at work again.

Now we find ourselves one miracle after another with find in equipment that we need, resources that will benefit our company, etc....I know the Lord is watching out for us.

However - even though this is the case and I am very aware that He is very aware of us, I find myself wondering why it's not just easy? Why are things still so tight? It was come down to the fact that I must again return to the workforce until we can get everything to a point where it will sustain us on its own, and it will....but it will when the Lord is ready for it.

So, for now I put aside my little pity party, I know that other kids have survived in day care, I know that this is for my family and that there is some lesson to be learned from it. I know that it will be temporary. I know that if there were any other way Travis wouldn't even have entertained the idea - he's just that kind of sweet man. But alas, the time is now for us to be a two income household for a while, until the next miracle unfolds and I return home.

So, now my head continues to spin.....where to find a job....where to find a job?

A New 2 Wheeler Girl!

Hunter and Gwendalin spent alot of Tuesday at my mom and dad's. You will see in photos below how they arrived (on one bike) - a little disheartening to a mother - glad I didn't know when they were doing it and just found out after. What a bunch of crazies! Anyway, Gwendalin must have been a bit traumatized by the one bike / two people experience because her next feat was to take off her own training wheels and ride her bike without them. So, Grandma and Grandpa (after trying to talk her out of it) helped her take them off and what do you know? SHE TOOK OFF! Such cute kids!

We've had lots of rain and here's the kiddies playing with the umbrella - in summer attire of course after the rain stopped one afternoon.

Big Girls Don't Take Naps.

This is a Gwendalin. She is a big girl and doesn't take naps anymore. Except on her terms. We couldn't find her today and looked all over the place before checking her room (twice before we saw her) and finding her asleep like this. She was wiped...and said when she got up that she was soooo tired she had to take a nap. I'm glad....now we will pay for it tonight when she won't go to bed...but it was worth it...summer crams in too much stuff and these little ones wipe out way too quickly.

I want my guys...

Everyone...this is "My Tyler" - he even calls himself by this name while puting his hand to his chest to indicate who he is referring to as well. He's really quite the character. In the last month he has been on the stand DURING Sacrament Meeting (I just pretended he wasn't my kid and left him there), written with marker all over his face the night before church (pictures below) so that everyone could see his art - (We didn't want to scrub on him and make his face raw, so we left it.), if we leave any door open the kid is hot on the road, any road, he just wants out of the house and we find him around the neighborhood somewhere. It's scary...so we are careful to bolt the doors and leave the garage down.

He's loves to play outside when Hunter and Gwennie are out there and they keep an eye on him. Well, when playtime is over, he is devastated. He comes in crying every time: "I want my guys!" (meaning his friends). When I explain to him that he can't play with "his guys" anymore he is not consoled at all...but he refers to them every time as "his guys." When in fact they are Hunter and Gwennie's friends. While playing he calls them "his guys" as well...the kids is a a total crack up....we love him!

2009 Mule Days

Hunter was able to be in the Star Mule Days parade this year with his karate group. He loved it and carried around a weapon that he hasn't learned about yet. This made him feel very important, plus he was the cutest karate kid around. Tyler and Gwendalin watched the parade and collected as much candy as they could...waving to people from our ward who were in the parade : Thomsens drove their antique car (we got a few pictures), and Wheelocks rode in one of their crane things, the other picture is just a little boy driving a small tractor thing handing out water.

Later in the evening ( it was rainy all day) we went to the dirty carnival. I really don't like these things, but the kids do so we try to go each year for at least an hour. The Star Trooper Ride is one that Hunter decdied to try- half way through the guy operating it stopped to make sure Hunter wasn't going to be sick...he looked awful. But of course he got off and said it was a blast! The kids also loved the swining boat- I road with them on that for one go and it was enough to do me in - I just don't do rides very well anymore. It was a fun day though and Uncle Aric was with us for the carnival which made it even more unique.

Wall Fixin' And Drillin'

A few weeks ago, a little Hunter boy got upset and threw a little fit. He came to me after and said "Mom, I broke the wall, but I fixed it." Being preoccupied I dismissed it and told him thanks. Later that night I went into Gwennie's room and found a mad amount of masking tape on the wall behind her door. He had pushed her door open in a fury and the stop for the door was gone, resulting in the handle putting a hole in the wall. I pulled the tape back and came unglued! He was so upset and said "But mom I told you the truth you can't get so mad." I didn't really care though because there was a giant hole in my house. But, I re-thought and decided he had to help pay for and fix it. So here below are the sequence of happenings to get it fixed...and little bit of fun with the drill when it was done. Thank goodness for Grandpa and his willingness to help us out with his expertise.

that piece of paper

so you know when you go to school because "You need to have something to fall back on?" ahhh, yes, such familiar words...I agree with those words whole heartedly...however, I think wiser words would be: "You need to have something like law, or healthcare, or a pinpointed skill to fall back on, so that regardless of the economic health you will be able to find a good job." I took the original advice in the midst of having one child and being pregnant with my second when I decided to go back to school and finish. So, I did - during the pregnancy, after she was born, and rushed to get finished before we moved to Idaho. I took 21 credits at one point so I could move when Travis moved....it sucked. But you see I got that piece of paper that says I finished college (it's hanging in my office actually) and now when looking for a job (yes I have my eyes looking) there is nothing.

I think I could likely get hired doing entry level positions, but isn't the point of the "piece of paper" to make sure you get a better paying job? So, here's my quandry - if I end up back in the work force (which I still keep my fingers crossed that I won't) there are no jobs and if I did get one it would be like $6.75 (I think that's minimum wage right now) which doesn't even cover child care costs if I had to be working....and another thing I have been doing our accounting (for our 3 companies) for the last 4 years, but I feel like I have just become a mom- I'm not downplaying what moms do...it's hard hard work, but it adds no skill to your resume when entering the job market.

So, now I have that paper, some work experience, but I feel totally un-useful....I feel like most of my brain has evaporated with each birth, I literally have no specific skill to offer any company, and I don't really feel like I have any confidence in myself as a workforce person anyway....how crappy is that? That little piece of paper is going to do me no good in the workforce today....nobody is hiring.

Just some of my recent observations.

A Sweet Couple

Dallin loves to lean in to people he knows and give his love...it's one of my mom's favorite things...I captured a few shots this last week. Very cute couple they are!

Summer.

Here are the things I LOVE about summer:
1. There is no routine.
2. My kids are home


Here are the things I HATE about summer:
1. There is no routine.
2. My kids are home.

A Quad Mishap

Hunter got a little quad when he earned his black belt in karate. He went out to ride it - under Travis' supervision of course, and realized how dangerous they can be. All was fine until the throttle stuck and he couldn't get the bike to stop. Being a quick thinker he took both his hands and squeezed the break to try to get it to stop ( as a result the handle bar was lopsided and turned the bike full circle). Travis got to him to try to help and even with Travis' weight on the bike combined with Hunter's they couldn't get it to a halt. They finally got it to a neighbors and the brakes were smoking and they left it there. It really scared Travis and Hunter both. It's one of those things that I chalk up to the Lord's Hand in our lives. He took care of two of my favorite boys that day!