ramblings of today.....

Day 9 results: Smiling and being genuinely happy to see him makes a huge difference in his day, I can tell he is exhausted and just wants to be appreciated and I think changing the greeting makes him feel so much better after a hard day.
The next few dares are relatively personal so I have chosen not to include them. Sorry guys, I have to keep some of my life "private".
My grandma and her husband came to visit today. It was a nice suprise but my house was trashed! I just had to tell myself not to apologize and just enjoy the company and it seemed to work pretty well for me. (we had a lesson on hospitality at MOPS =)) I learned alot.
I have been trying hard not to spend as much time on the computer. That is really hard for me because that is where i get pretty much ALL my information. But I was seeing it robbing time from my children and I need to be giving it to them.
We let the kids run through the sprinkler today and they thought that it was the greatest thing ever. They hardly got wet but had a blast anyway.
Boston had his last day of preschool on thursday and he was really sad about it. I love that he loves school so much. Luke is really excited about going in the fall and we are really working hard on potty training. ELMO video and everything! Does anyone have any advice?, he is just stubborn!

Day 8 results

I burned the list in the campfire this weekend. It felt good to toss it in there and let it burn. I am an incredibly selfish person. I am definately working on that. Its my greatest downfall and Im not going to let that deter me from having a wonderful marriage/family.

I skipped a few days but am picking up right where i left off.

Day 9: Love makes good impressions
Think of a specific way you'd like to greet your spouse today. Do it with a smile and with enthusiasm. Then Determine to change your greeting to reflect your love for them.

We went to Alta lake with the Boon family this past weekend. I had alot of fun and got a killer tan all except for I got a bit of a burn on my chest. I think that the kids liked roasting marshmallows and swimming the best. Tom and Brian got to do some fishing and Brooke taught me how to knit! Yay! I am officially able to knit! Woo hoo!
The bad news....when we got home I went out to feed my chickens and all of them were gone and there were feathers everywhere. Their coop was broken where a rather large animal had gotten in and got my chickens while they were sleeping. I am really upset about it. Those were MY pets and I loved them. Luke and I went down this morning and bought new chicks. Tom is helping me fix the temp coop and then we will start working on the big one tomorrow and we are building a partially burried run and installing locked doors.

Day 8

Love is not Jealous: Determine to become your spouse's biggest fan and to reject any thoughts of jealousy. To help you set your heart on your spouse and focus on your acheivements, take yesterdays of negative attributes and discretely burn it. Then share with your spouse how glad you are about a success that he recently enjoyed.
We are heading out to go camping this weekend with the Boons. Im taking my list with me to toss in the fire.
Natalie had her ballet recital last night and she was beautiful! Ok, So i cried! I love being the mommy of a little princess. I'll post pictures once i get them developed, I used my old school but awesome camera. So I hope I got some good ones.
Boston had Pajama day at preschool and he really liked that. I was the only parent to dress their kid in footie pajamas but hey, he loves those ones!
My MIL came over to visit. It was the 1st time that she has been here. It went pretty good. She had made my boys matching quilts for their beds and embroidered their names on them. They turned out super cute.

Impossible you say?

I.....Alicia A. Sauvageau in the last 20 min have managed too

1. Kick myself in the face. I have no idea how it happened, it just did!
2. Fall down the stairs while going to get ice to put on said face.
3. Slip on a water puddle in front of the refrigerator while getting said ice

Really? Why me? I really just have to laugh about it. Its just life as God planned it for me and Im just going to have to deal =)

Did I mention that I also found Ticks in my bed today? Gross. I just hope they didnt get on me. BTDT!

The Sauvageaus' Visit the dentist....

I officially hate taking my children to the dentist.
Natalie was first yesterday. She went in, had her x-rays...no problem right? Ummm no. The Dentist sits her down and tells her that she needs some sealants and I'm thinking "No biggie, sealants don't hurt at all." She FLIPPED OUT! She screamed and cried the WHOLE time. I had to help hold her arms down while they did it. Oh...did I mention that I had the boys in the room while this was going on? So after Natalie is done and calm, Its Luke's turn. He started screaming for the X-ray and pretty much didn't stop through the whole process. I'm sure they hate us there now. But oh well. Boston did good, but he didn't have an appointment.
On to better things....
Day 6 results: Its pretty hard to remain in a constant pursuance of non-irritability. Its been a day and I think I'm doing good. =)
Day 7 Dare: Get two sheets of paper, on one write all the positive things about your spouse and on the other all the negative. Place both sheets in a secret place for another day. There is a purpose and plan for each. Pick a positive attribute from your 1st list and thank your spouse for having this characteristic.

My husband is....... (I'm only listing the positive on here, I dont ever want to hurt my husband intentionally where the world can see. )

• Hard Working
• Motivated
• Encouraging
• Thoughtful
• Friendly
• Likable
• Beautiful
• Slow to anger

Day 6...still trucking.

Day 6: Love is not irritable-Choose today to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with Irritation.
I think I can do this. It does take alot of focus on my part, but I really think that this could be a great thing.

Something I noticed. About 2 weeks ago I got to see my mom and my grandmother interact with eachother. It was not a pretty situation. I "almost" felt bad for my mom as my grandmother was going out of her way to make her feel embarassed and/or bad about herself. I say "almost" because my mom does this to me alot. She will say she dosent, but she does. My mother would NEVER admit it if she was wrong. I dont even think that she notices when she does do it. I notice now that it was a learned behavior. I am going to break this horrid cycle of hurt. I will NOT do that to my daughter or my sons. Sometimes I catch myself being sarcastic with them, and that hurts to know that I learned that and now have to re-learn to stop. But I think with some prayer and practice I can do this.

Still going...

day 5 results: The only thing that he told me that really bothers him is when I start projects or ideas and never finish them. It wasnt that hard to take because that is one thing that I dont like about myself either.

I didnt read day 6 until a few minutes ago so I am going to put that one off until tomorrow so that i can have a full day to accomplish/think things through.

We are going camping this weekend. Im not sure where or with who, but I am really looking forward to the family time. S'mores are the best. Our friend Larry made me some metal hotdog roasting sticks I think 2 years ago and I am pretty sure that It was the best birthday gift i ever got. We use them all the time camping and at home!
This has been such a nice sunday. We went to church, had a BBQ there. Came home , Took a nap, and now the kids are playing outside and I am just getting chance to blog. But I think that I am going to go and finish my sunday =) Talk to you all tomorrow!

The ants go marching one by one........

Day 4 results: Tom and I call eachother all day long. I dont think that he really noticed anything different about yesterdays phone calls. I called him twice just to see how he was and ask if he needed anything.

Day 5 Dare: Love is not Rude
Ask your spouse to tell you three things thta cause him to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. You must do so without attacking them or justifying your behavior. This is from their perspective only.
Ouch. I can already tell that I am not going to like this one.

Boston got an ant farm. Yep. I hate ants. Just looking at them makes me itch. He of course LOVES it and is currently trying to convince me that he needs to keep it in his room. I dont even want to think about what could go wrong with that picture.

Beth, I ordered the oils from mountainroseherbs.com. I LOVE them. Its based out of Oregon so they get here FAST, I think it was 2 days max for my order to get here.

Mommy and Natalie Day

day 3 results: I bought him a new golf shirt so he could look nice while he went out golfing with Ralph. He seemed genuinely happy about it.

Day 4 Dare: Call your spouse today with no other agenda in mind other than to say hello and to see if they need anything.

Yesterday was mommy and natalie day. We went to the cashmere museum which she just loved. We were in the pioneer village outside of it and we came to the church building and I was trying to have her guess what kind of building it was. It had crosses on the wall and a big painting of Jesus, pews and a big bible on the table. She guessed "some kind of house". I told her to look at the pictures on the wall and then guess. She Gasped "Mom! This is Jesus' house!" It was cute. I then had to tell her that Jesus didnt grow up in pioneer times near cashmere. But hey! At least I got a bible lesson in!
After the museum we went to old navy. I wanted to stock up on summer clothes for her while they still had cute ones in her size. She thought that trying them on was the greatest thing ever. In the end we walked out with about 5 shirts, 2 shorts, 2 flip flops and matching purses for her and I. =) ( mommy is a sap).
Oh! My mountain rose herbs order came in! I put the oils on a cotton ball and put it in my car and it smells soooo good! I mix citronella oil with vinegar and wipe that on my window screens and they have been bug free for a few days so far which is awesome considering my house backs a forest. =) Woot! Go natural!

This is not as easy for me as i thought it would be.

Day 2 results: I did really great about the negativity today again. Man that is HARD for me! I also watched TV with him for an hour. Which is something that I really dont like to do because I cant seem to sit still. He really seemed to enjoy the quality time which made me feel really good about it.

Day 3 challenge: Love is not Selfish
Buy your spouse something that says " I was thinking about you today".

Ive got 39 more days so be patient =)

Day 1 results: Tom was thrilled that I mowed the lawn! I could see on his face the amount of stress that it took away almost instantly. That made me really happy.



Day 2: In addition to again saying nothing negative to your spouse do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness.

Im not sure about what I am going to do that is out of the ordinary to be "kind" to him. Backrub maybe? I am already off to a great start with the no negativity thing. Its getting easier already.

The Love Dare challenge

Day 1: Love is Patient
Say NOTHING negative to your spouse at all today.

Believe it or not this is not as easy as it sounds for me. I did not realize what a negative person I can be. Especially to Tom! Poor husband of mine. But on the good side it is 1pm and I am off to a great start. I am keeping "the love dare" a secret from him. I just want to see how it works. (no, he dosent read my blog)

a few notes off of a different book too. "the 5 love languages" Tom's love language is Acts of Service. Mine is Words of Affirmation. Today I went out and mowed some of the lawn(its 2 acres,and we dont have a riding mower =)) to show love to my husband. I didnt tell him I was going to do this, I want him to be suprised. I'll let you know how he responds, Im excited about it, I worked hard and broke a serious sweat. I am counting that as my workout for the day. I hate when you get sweat on your eyelids and dirt on your teeth. Both of those things seem to just come with mowing the lawn.
My kids are being really good for me today. They played outside while I mowed and the boys were ok at the grocery store. Im going to try a glorified macaroni and cheese recipe today, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Something for me to look forward to.

I am getting my "real" chicken coop this weekend. Its a 6'X8' building and I will build an outside fenced run for them once we get it all figured out. I know...Kinda lame that I would get excited about something like this but hey, Its me =).
On to something more fun.....

Boston's translations........for those who want to speak Bo.

1. Toiletries = Toilet Treats...as in "Daddy is packing my Toilet Treats for our trip!"
2. Forgot = Got For ....as in "Mom you Got For my coat! "
3. Crowd = Crown....as is Take me out to the ball game, Take me out to the crown!
4. Rocking = F&cking...not my favorite but he just cant do it! "Mom look at me im F&cking out!"
5. Love = Wub...as in "I wub you so much mom."

My gifts

Boston got off the school bus on tuesday and started shredding through his backpack until he got to a little green wrapped present. He ripped all the paper off of it in record time and then with all the disapointment a 4 year old could muster up "Oh, man! This is for you." It was a handprint in clay that he had painted for me for mothers day and obvoiusly the teachers wrapped them, but it was a super cute moment.
I got Natalie's gift to me in the mail. She went to the post office for a field trip and they mailed gifts home. She made me a bookmark and a little booklet that has all the kindergartners answers when they were asked "How do you know your mom loves you?" Natalie's answer was "Every night she reads me a book". I love it. Its all about the quality time with Natalie that makes her feel important and loved.
I placed an order to mountain rose herbs for some essential oils: Pine,Cedar, and Spruce. I bought lavender a few days ago and have used it combined with baking soda to clean and have been sooooo impressed. Luke didnt have itchy eyes after I cleaned which was really nice and it did a great job to boot!