Friends

"Make new friends, but keep the old.

One is silver and the other gold."

These are the words to a song that I learned in Brownies (Girl Scouts). And they are really hitting home today. I don't like change and I am really missing my friend Erin. I also have been touched by friends that I have lost contact with that are reconnecting with me because of my blog. And then I have my friends in Blythe. Erin said that the only thing she will really miss about Blythe are her friends. I know that if I leave Blythe I will never find a better group of friends anywhere. I guess since us girls can't shop, we have to do what we do best- talk and connect! Thank you for my friends who let me cry (blubber) on their shoulder (and couch) when I need consoling. They say in times of crisis you find out who your true friends are. I have been very blessed- thank you!

A Busy January

Thank goodness most of us in the family haven't had a lot to cry about. Katie is the exception, who always finds a reason to cry.

But Monday after New Year's came hard. I needed another week off without any holidays. You would think that I would be glad to get the kids back in school. But when the kids are in school my week usually looks like this:

Mon : recover from weekend, groceries, laundry
Tues : drop off Katie, volunteer in 2 classes, quick errand(s) B4 getting Katie
Wed :watch Isaac (payback for Tuesday and friend time for Katie and me)
Thurs : recover from Tues and Wed unless leaving town (which I did)
Fri : prepare for weekend, housework and laundry

Kids get home from school around 3:40 pm, and then it's snack, chores, dinner prep (for me), eat, clean-up, homework, bedtime prep. I'm sure some can do a lot more. For me, I am maxed out!

Monday night I realized I needed a sanity day. I felt bad about not volunteering, but my options were short. So I dropped off Katie and came home to try to get ahead. After relaxing and showering I needed to pick up John's check from the college. Long story short, I spent the rest of the time getting the van's battery jumped twice and then replaced. It has a good ending.

Time with Isaac and Emily is always a good day. For those who don't know (or didn't put it together) Emily and I trade time with Katie and Isaac which gives us free time for... free. The kids get a weekly playdate, and Emily and I have an excuse to visit. Isn't that picture of Isaac priceless?




J.J. had to do a report on shadows. He chose a marshmallow to show how shadows work. This was one of 5 pictures we submitted. It only needed to be two sentences, but 5 sentences later proved that it was a fun learning opportunity for J.J., Anna and Mom!

Thursday we left town and didn't have to worry about battery problems in the middle of the desert. Friday I finally was able to get caught up some, and then Saturday we had a yard sale. Small, but I still made $74. Then John and I cleaned out the garage. We put most of the kids toys in the garage along with the Wii and DVD player. It was a great idea because now the family room is much cleaner and quieter than before.

Which was a bonus when Neil and Pam came to visit with their baby. They are good friends from the singles ward John and I met in. The highlight was a quiet lunch joined by Michelle Richardson who also attended PV ward. Quiet because both babies were napping and the older two were playing in the garage.

Since then we have been doing the daily stuff. We have been sick some, but still manage to plug along. Over the holiday John and I went for a tutorial in Yuma for the camper while Grannie and Papa watched the kids. (Thanks you guys!!!) Everytime I leave the kids for a while I think of that song, "How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away". If you haven't heard of it, the title says it all! I figure that I haven't been away long enough if I don't miss my kids before I come home.



Here are some pictures that I have taken since my last post:

Katie in Anna's slippers

BFF, don't you think? Sisters by chance, friends by choice.

The family playing Mario Kart together. Is this what you pictured Nunu and Peepaw? We have done it a few times to date. Guess who is last? No, really think about it for a minute. Okay, you're right. Of course it's me! I am always in 12th place (out of 12). I remind J.J. that if I play on his team, he is going to loose. He says to me, "Mom, it's just a game."

I was trying to get a shot of J.J. in another one of Nunu's homemade ties, but J.J. grabs my lesson prop and asks if this would make a great picture. Of course it does! This is a pencil drawing by Eden's mom who gave it to us as a wedding gift.

And then Anna wanted to do the same thing. I wanted to show off Anna's Christmas dress from Grannie and Papa, but it will have to wait like J.J.'s tie. Anna has a ribbon tied in her hair around her bun. She said she thinks a lot of Grandma's would look better if they tied a bow in their bun also. Cute!

This is a video of Katie's first time in a chair at the dinner table. (52 seconds)

Thanks for taking the time to read about the Hermansons. We have some exciting events coming up. Aaron, Lyndsey and the cousins are coming over for a few days (yah!), the first annual Blythe something something (a ping pong tournament), and then the Date Festival with camping at the fairgrounds. Please put out lots of good thoughts into the universe that Katie will not keep all of the campers awake all night, including her own family! She's lucky she is so cute.

We Will Miss You Erin!!!

What do I say?

What a loss to Blythe. What a great friend. It has been fun watching your cake decorating get established. I have appreciated all the time you have spent taking care of my kids. But most of all I appreciate your friendship! I'm glad your first plans to move didn't work out. It gave us a chance to spend more time together.

You will be missed by a lot of people, and I wish you and your family the best!

LYLAS, Angie

(If you are wondering what the Wizard of OZ reference is, she loves the play Wicked.)

Did Anyone See Glenn Beck?

Okay, my pathetic life continues. It is a good thing that I blog now because I have something to do in the evening other than watch Glenn Beck. Or maybe that's why I started to blog. I used to go to bed at 8pm because John posts on America's Debate and Debating Christianity. And usually I would watch Glenn Beck taped from earlier in the day. If you don't know who he is, he is a conservative Mormon talk show host who I enjoy watching along with Bill O'Reilly. Anyway, he was on Headline News and without any warning went off the air. When I checked his website, it said he was moving to Fox News in January. I have been waiting patiently for him to come back on the air. I thought he was starting Sunday, but it was today. I have him set to record from now on (he comes on at 2pm where I am) but I am wondering if anyone saw him, what they thought, and if anyone knows what happened? I am going to watch him tomorrow and let you know what I think.

Desperate Housewife

Sorry I haven't updated this week. John needed the computer longer than expected, and it hasn't been enough of a priority. I guess if it was important enough to me, I would have found a way to do it. Well, last night I stayed up to 11:30 p.m. on the computer. I wasn't updating my blog. I had already been on the computer an hour before bedtime. When John went to bed I told him I would only be a minute, but who was I kidding. I have been looking forward to this day, this night for over a month now. At least once a day I have thought about it. When I'm not sure what the date is, I have to run to the computer and check. But it finally came. The event I had been waiting for. Thinking of last year, I was hoping that I would not be disappointed. Would it be as great? Would I feel like I was wasting my time? Oh no, I was NOT disappointed! The time was here. Time to redeem my Gymbucks! So many decisions, so many good deals. The early bird always gets the worm. Would something be taken out of my basket before I could check out? Every time I checked on an item I noticed that the computer was running slower and slower. I wasn't going to be beat out by some other desperate mom who has nothing better to do with her time than to figure out how cheap you can get a Gymboree outfit. In case you don't already know, with Gymbucks, a shirt can be just under $2! Anna only liked one of those, and I ended up deleting it from my order. I got three items each for John and Anna, their favorite 3 items, and a baby gift. For $66, I bought 8 items including tax and delivery. Not as good as last year, but the first thing Anna asked was if I got her jacket she wanted. $22 and 50% off, still more than I would like. But I bought a size 7 so it will fit next year also. I wonder if next year will be as good as this year...?

This morning John wanted to know why I went to bed so late. I fessed up, and he agreed that it's pretty sad that all that energy and excitement was spent on a Gymboree sale. Now he knows where my heart and soul are. VERY DESPERATE- if I do say so myself!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Well, New Years Eve had a slow start. I had a mountain of laundry from the holidays, and spent most of the day washing, drying, folding and putting clothes away.

But it took a 180 when we got a babysitter and went to dinner with the Koivistos. While we were at dinner, John and I learned that we were also celebrating David's birthday. So of course we had the whole restaurant sing "Happy Birthday" to him! We ended the night with a comedy video after the kids went to bed. John and I were asleep before the new year, but we both agree it was our best New Year's Eve in a long time.

The rest of the week has been spent putting away Christmas decorations, cleaning out the garage for a yard sale next Saturday, and hanging out with friends. John would add playing ping pong with David. He loves to play ping pong when he wins, but that doesn't always happen!

Today was monumental for Katie. It was her first day in the church nursery. She did great, only cried a little. She went right in and started to play, and was fine even when she realized John had left. Normally if Katie wants to communicate something she opens and closes her hand (the sign for milk) at the object and then becomes more vocal until she gets what she wants. During snack time, she was surprised that this ritual did not get the animal crackers right away. She had to wait her turn, which is a new concept for her. And so the socialization process begins!

I can't believe Christmas break is over. This is what J.J. looked like on vacation when he wasn't playing outside or with his friends. Okay, sometimes even when he was playing with his friends he looked like this. But he did well on his report card, so I felt like he deserved it.



Like J.J., Anna enjoyed playing outside and playing with friends. But most of her time was spent playing with Katie and drawing. Sometimes she plays with Katie because she has been asked to. But lots of times it's because the two of them are drawn to each other. Anna wants to help Katie, and Katie wants to be doing everything her big sister does.

Often they will draw together. Anna gives Katie paper and pencil and writes on the top of the page "Kate to Mom". Anna usually draws the first thing she thinks of. In the above picture though I asked her to draw her favorite part of Christmas this year. It is a drawing of Christmas dinner.

I think Katie will be sad to see her brother and sister go back to school, because there are some things moms just can't do. Like ride on a big wheel.

But let's focus on the positive. Moms can play peek-a-boo.

Happy New Year and thanks for wanting to keep up on our family!

Matt and Mary's Visit

It has been a busy holiday but I can't imagine cutting anything out of it. We rushed home

from Granny and Papa's on Friday to finish getting ready for Matt, Mary, Shawn and Ethan. A few hours later they came rolling in and we all went to bed. The next day, John took the kids out on the quad for the first time with Matt and Shawn. Mary and I worked on getting me this blog while we watched the two little ones. Later that night the adults and Ethan went to a Mexican restaurant while the rest stayed behind with a babysitter. After dinner we introduced Matt and Mary to a double chocolaty chip frappuccino from Starbucks. No, it doesn't have coffee added but it does have added caffeine. I was wondering why I liked it so much better than strawberries and cream! The next day we all went to church together before Matt and Mary left for Phoenix. They spent the rest of the day with Mary's grandma. Here are some pictures I took of the kids:

John and Anna both had on their Christmas list that they wanted to loose their front teeth. J.J. was hoping to loose his tooth before Christmas, but lost it the day after Christmas.

Anna got her wish before Christmas. It is the first tooth she has ever lost!

I had to throw this in. Another adorable Christmas gift!

Monday we took the kids to Carl's Jr. and the park. Matt got a tour of John's office and lunch at Sizzler.

I was trying to get a good picture of Ethan, but I think this is great of Matt!

Maria came along for the fun. Isabella looks more like her big sister every day!

Ethan's first time in the swing. He is always smiling, always!

This is a video of Shawn pushing Ethan in the swing. I didn't realize that you need to tape with the camera upright, but now I know! The video was so cute I had to include it.

There is so much that can be said about the video.

We had an awesome dinner that night by chef Mary and they left the next morning. It was sad to see them go, but I'm grateful for the time we got to spend with them. We love you, miss you, and look forward to the next time we see you!