Sunday, July 22, 2012

July 22, 2012: Herding Cat Specialist

Woke up with big plans of cleaning and studying. What did I do instead?!!! Embarrassing admission coming: I played around on a Korean dating website. Aye caramba! Ok so ever since I started loving Korean dramas I thought it would be fun just to see what/whom was out there. I wasn't looking for anything serious. I think it was just an attempt to bring my Kdramas a little closer to reality. Well....I woke to an email from someone on that website and he lives near me! Ahhhhh!!!! That wasn't supposed to happen. Well, one thing led to another and I wasted away time on the site. *sigh* It's not that I feel alone but I guess I do feel lonely at times. That's ok right? No desire at all to date....let's clarify that one right now. Just a little feeling of loneliness....well actually a feeling of missing romance. Yes...that's it. I miss romance.

I did tear myself away to get my kids ready for church. What a scene we are every time we walk into the building. This time Claire and Faith were way ahead, shut the door on the one shoe-d Josh with their frazzled mom coming up the rear. Sacrament was the same as always. With Josh it feels like I am trying to hold a wet cat. I know he knows how to whisper but I really feel like he chooses NOT to do it during sacrament meeting. As the bread was being passed he decided to feel all the pieces to try to choose the biggest piece. At this point I try to take it away, at which point Josh grabs the tray with all his might....screaming in protest. Do I tear it away and have it all fly all over the place or do I let go and risk him throwing it all over the place anyway? Of course it doesn't help that I start laughing. Why do I do that with him? He is being so naughty and all I can do is laugh? Maybe it's because that is all I CAN do. What were the talks about again? I hardly ever get to listen to them. I hope my brain is soaking it in without my knowing. Maybe in the next life I will be able to access those parts of my brain with all the missed sacrament talks.

Then church ends and I get the overwhelming dread, "Is it over already?" Time to rescue the primary teachers from my kids. I wouldn't trade them and I really don't feel like they are monsters in any way. It just really is like herding cats. They are all individuals, wanting to be free and wild. I do have to say I was so touched when during the after church scout meeting, where Josh chose to scream at the top of his lungs, a sweet girl from the ward asked if she could take Josh outside to play. Truly doing the Lord's work right there. I wonder if people know what little acts of service like that really mean to the people receiving them.

By the time I got home, I realized my stuffed nose was not due to allergies but I was starting to feel sick. Great...I have a messy house, kids that are in desperate need of some attention, Korean dramas to watch, a test to study for, raw chicken in the fridge that needs to be put into bags to go into the freezer, and dinner to cook. And all I want to do is go to sleep. I am proud to say I DID get the chicken into the freezer. Another embarrassing admission coming: I constantly will buy bulk meat that I mean to separate so I can freeze it. But, who actually feels like dealing with raw meat right after you go grocery shopping? Not me! But then time...days pass and many pounds of meat have gone bad because I've never gotten them separated into the freezer. Wow....now that I admit that, it sounds pretty pitiful that I have actually done this. There are so many things like that too. So many little things that take just minutes to do but get put off because there are other pressing matters. Before I know it, the little things turn into big problems. Can I blame it on that I am trying to become a herding cat specialist?

Saturday, July 21, 2012

July 21, 2012: A Very Irritable Mom

Oh heavens. Today was not a shining moment as a mom for me. Downright yucky because I was downright cranky. I woke up with a burning desire to start a new blog so I could start telling my life story and journaling current stuff. Mistake #1: making a strong focus of something to get done when you have little ones in the home. Without their mom on the front lines, they fought, they screamed,they made a mess. Since I had something I wanted to get done, it made me so irritated whenever they acted up. I yelled. I screamed. It wasn't pretty. But I got the blog started! lol

Starting a blog is so infuriating with what to name it, how to design it, what to write in it. All in all I am really excited. I really have wanted to be a better journal writer. My kids say and do the silliest things and I have forgotten so much by not writing it down.

I completed the beginning of the blog and had no desire to get the kids ready to go to the ward pioneer picnic. But, it was that or feed them myself. So...off to the picnic we went. Faith got to do her powdered doughnut game, Josh got to run around and get dirty, Claire got to be with friends, and I got some peace and quiet from the chaos of the morning.

On the ride home I was feeling pensive about my wonderful display of angry mommy, that I apologized to the kids. I made a declaration to the kids that I wasn't going to yell for the rest of the day, to which I got "Ya right," and "I'll make sure of that." Little stinkers. Oh well, it was my fault for yelling.

With all that I have to get done: studying, cleaning the house, figuring out bills, organizing....I got done a blog and taking the kids to the park. At least they are now bathed and peacefully watching cartoons before bedtime.

The Beginning

My mom, Sharon Kay and father, Dennis Hugh got married in Vegas. Yup....that's right, Vegas. He was a doctor and my mom was a single mom of 3 children. I was born in Tulare, California. I was told that I got my middle name Faith because the nurse came in and said, "She is gonna need a lot of Faith in this world if she is going to make it." There you have me: Nichole Faith.

My parents divorced before I was born. We moved around a lot. In the early years, this included Visalia and Escondido, California. My earliest memory is of singing Frere Jacques song in an apartment complex. From what I can piece together this was actually when I was 2 and we lived in Arizona. I have no other memory of Arizona though.


The Introduction

I am such a terrible journal writer and have lost many precious memories to this folly. It is now time to rectify this. I will attempt to start at the beginning and record anything I can remember. 37 years of my life have passed and this will be a huge undertaking. My hope is this will becoming a valuable piece of family history, even if it is a little late.

I will start with a current introduction and subsequent posts will either be reconstructing the past or an attempt to not fall further behind by journaling current events.

There are 6 wonderful people in our immediate family: Nichole (self) 37, Sydney 16, Ryan 13, Claire 8, Faith 6, and Joshua 3.

Nichole: A single, stay-at-home mom, and a student looking to become an RN. I'm laid back, passionate, loyal, family-oriented, adventurous, sarcastic, love life and learning. I don't have any typical talents as singing or playing an instrument but I say I have a talent for adventure and being open-minded. (Those count right?) I don't really have favorites because it all depends on my mood. I love creating wonderful moments and memories. Currently I am into Kdramas, trying my hardest in being a better mom and daughter of God, and friend.
Sydney: A typical 16 yr old girl who loves boys and music but not her mom so much.  She isn't typical in that she is outgoing and not afraid to be herself. I love that about her. She loves reading, Dr. Who, Harry Potter, doing whatever she wants, and eating.
Ryan: A typical 2012, media driven 13 year old boy. Loves media games! He is a very in-the-box thinker and incredibly smart. If you are lucky enough you can see an inner heart that doesn't want people to be burdened by him and loves his little siblings. Currently he loves playing Minecraft, playing Xbox games online with friends, Mountain Dew, doesn't eat fast food, and is so incredibly tall!
Claire: She is such an incredibly unique girl I can't wait to see what she will become when she grows up. She so desperately wants people to accept her. Also she so desperately wants to be like her big sister Sydney. She has an amazing way to draw you into her world by her courage and fight. She has always had a way about her in being able to interact with grown-ups. She is currently into Disney and Nickelodeon teen shows such as Wizards of Waverly Place and iCarly. She loves playing with her friends and getting to do anything fun that anyone else is doing. I can't forget to mention what an incredible spiritual testimony she has.
Faith: One word to describe her is sweetheart. She is a snuggler and lover. She hardly ever gets into trouble and smiles all the time, except when her brother Josh is torturing her than she screams like nobody's business. Poor girl. She is currently into My Little Pony and hates her hair brushed so much that she has short hair so it doesn't have to be brushed. She has such a light about her. Oh and she can't stand and will not touch any sort of sauce, gravy, dressing...except for pizza sauce.
Joshua: A 3 year old boy that makes me laugh and pull my hair out at the same time. Has destroyed more things and has done more naughty things, that have made laugh, than I can count. He loves torturing his sister Faith for some reason. Has the cutest smile and makes the cutest faces. I quite often say, "He is lucky he is so cute."

Whew....there you have a very mini introduction to my nuclear family. Now the real work begins. Bring on the history, bring on the memories, and bring on the fun!