Just a quick picture

I learned how to use the macro lens on my digital camera. This is a picture of a tiny yellow flower I saw in the mountains during our family campout.
I was going to go outside this morning and take some pictures of our roses, but the batteries in my digital camera were dead. So, I'll have to wait until they are charged.
I love this time of year. The leaves are changing colors. I love to look at all the leaves when I am running. One of these weekends I hope to go to the mountains to take some pics of the leaves.

I just can't seem to get ahead

My day today hasn't been bad. It is just the end of the day, and I still have so much to do.
I got up, showered, and got the kids breakfast. While the older kids eat, I feed Alex. The little neighbor girl comes over in the morning, because I watch her before school. I usually end up eating breakfast with her.
Then, its time to run around and get everyone ready for school. I managed to get everyone out the door, with lunches packed, on time. Alex and Anna ended up wearing their pajamas for the car ride since I didn't have time to get them dressed.
When we got home, I threw a batch of laundry in the dryer and another batch in the wash. Then I worked hard to get the house clean. I got Anna and Alex dresssed, and played with them while we were doing things.
Then, I dropped the kids off at a neighbor's house. She watched them while I volunteered in Caleb's classroom. My kids are always happy when I help out at their school. In trade, I watch the neighbor's child on Thursday while she takes her special needs child to physical therapy.
After that, it was home again. I got the kids lunch, and they ate it while I cleaned up the living room. The kids had pulled leaves off the plant, and spread piano books, papers, and reading books all over the floor. My visiting teacher from church was coming, so I didn't want it to be a disaster.
After the VT came, Alex was asleep and napping. So, I cooked a frozen meal for lunch. I turned on Caillou for Anna, and ate my lunch while I was working online. I work for a virtual call center doing Quality Assurance. I download the phone calls that have already taken place, and provide feedback. (No, they aren't hiring for this position currently.) I worked for just over and hour, (two episodes of Caillou on demand) and then Alex woke back up.
Then we folded laundry. I folded about 8 batches. Then I played ball with Anna and Alex and read books to them. Then it was time to get Rachel and Caleb from school.
After school, I got the kids cookies and milk. We talked about their day, and they showed me what they had brought home. I read Caleb's reading book, and reading words with him. I found him a book to read.
After that, I taught a piano lesson to a girl named Faith. Caleb did his entire days reading during the lesson, while Anna and Rachel either played or watched TV. Alex gets to sit in the baby saucer next to me while I teach.
After Faith, it was Caleb's turn for piano lessons. I send Rachel to Faith's mom for piano lessons. But I have found Caleb does better with me. It had been a while since Caleb had a lesson, so he was eager.
By this time, it was nearly time for dinner. I made Rachel come in from the corn field (her favorite place on earth) and practice piano while I made dinner.
Dan called to say he wasn't going to be home on time, so we ate dinner without him. I feed Alex while everyone else eats, then I eat.
Then, we were out the door to go to Grandma Challis's house to pick pears. Dan said he would meet me there since he hadn't left work yet.
When we got to Grandma's house, there wasn't much left to pick. So, I called Dan and told him he could just go straight home.
Alex hadn't gotten enough napping in today, and Anna hadn't taken a nap at all. So they were both screaming as we left. It was quite a chorus.
When we got home, I decided that I need to cut and peel some of the peaches that we had gotten since they were almost over-ripe. It was mostly a waste of time and energy. I got two jars of peaches, and it made even more mess in the kitchen. Dan helped some with the peaches. The pears aren't ripe enough, so I can procrastinate doing anything with them for a little while.
After that, it was Family Home Evening. We read scriptures and sang songs. Then it was teeth brushing and bed time. I thought Dan had tucked Rachel and Caleb in. So, then I cleaned the kitchen. I hadn't gotten that done after dinner.
Then, I came down to work. To my surprise, Rachel and Caleb hadn't gone to bed. I yelled at them because they were watching Cartoon Network. Caleb cried and I felt bad and cried too. I guess they were waiting for me to tuck them in, and I didn't know it. I tucked them in and spent extra time with Caleb.
So, here it is, almost ten o'clock. I have more laundry to put in the wash and the dryer. I still have about 6 batches to fold. I still need to study my Gospel Doctrine lesson for Sunday. And I only got one hour of QA work done today. I can't seem to get ahead. I'm tired.
I'm not writing this for pity. I'm mostly writing this to relieve stress. I probably should have done something productive instead. My life is good. I just don't seem to have enough time in my day to get everything done.

Camping with the family

We went to the Heber Valley campground with the Marchant family. Everyone in the entire family came. So that's my parents, 8 grown-up kids, 5 spouses, and 22 grandchildren. That totals up to 37 people in our family. It was fun to get together with everyone. Dan was a bit peeved that it interfered with the BYU football game, but he came anyway.
I just finished reading my sister Leslie's blog about it. So, if you want more details, you can click on her blog link on my blog. Yes, I must be lazy. Or it might be that I am tired. Or possibly that I don't want to spend too much time on the computer since Alex has been puking today.

Funny Thing for the day....

I've got to find amusement in being a mom.....otherwise I might just go nuts.
I found Anna in the bathroom. That's not a big deal since she is potty trained. She put lots of hand soap in the toilet and had splashed a ton to make bubbles in the toilet. At least she had flushed first. When I mentioned it to Dan, all he said was "At least it was antibacterial hand soap". Well, at least it was. But I doubt that makes it very clean.
Now I am off to the doctor with Caleb. He has a few warts that need to get removed. I couldn't find anyone to watch the rest of the kids, so we are all going. Rachel and Caleb are out of school right now. I am reminiscing how much fun Kindergarten shots were. I had to wrap my arms and legs around Caleb to hold him down while the nurses gave him his shots. What fun.....time for more fun now. :)

How Many Times have I called Poison Control since I became a mom?

The answer to that question is, "I don't know". Thankfully none of my kids have ever had to go to the ER.
Today was another day calling poison control. They keep a database. They have caller ID. They already know who I am when I call.
Anna got into the hair clipper oil this morning. I forgot and left it on the counter after I cut the boys' hair last night. She dumped it all over the kitchen. When I asked her if she drank any, she told me no. Then she told me yes. Then she told me no. I looked at the bottle, and it said "Harmful or Fatal if Swallowed". I called poison control, and they asked me all of the questions and told me what to look for. She didn't actually end up drinking any. When I mentioned it to Dan, he said "She wouldn't ever drink any of that. She won't even take a taste of dinner each night."
I got to thinking, what all I've called poison control over the years. Here's what I can remember, though I'm sure there's some that I don't.
Rachel brushed her teeth with Desitin. Not Poisonous.
I once found Rachel sucking on a washrag with Fantastik cleaner on it. Once again, she didn't ingest enough to poison her.
Anna also sucked on a washrag with some sort of cleaner on it. Not enough swallowed.
Caleb ate several children's tylenol. It wasn't enough to poison him. He also chewed up a couple vitamins (not children's chewables), but he spit them everywhere. He learned how to open childproof bottles at a young age.
Caleb ate kitty poop from a litter box when he was about one. Guess what? It's not poisonous. Gross, Gross, Gross. But Not Toxic.
Anna also sprayed Lysol Anywhere cleaner all over herself, from head to toe. She was fine after a good bath.
I know one of my sister's kids drank Visine. She had to go to the ER to get her stomach pumped.

Those of you who have never had a child get into anything, are lucky. But don't count your lucky stars. Chances are, you will be calling poison control someday. I try my best to watch my kids, but they can get into things in just a moment.

Provo River 1/2 Marathon

Today I ran the Provo River 1/2 Marathon. I was a bit nervous, since I haven't been able to train as much as I was hoping. For about the last month, my knee has bothered me a lot. I went to the regular dr, since the Sports Medicine Dr, couldn't get me in until late Aug. Thankfully, my knee didn't hurt. But I was only able to run 3 times in the last 3 weeks. (On a side note, it has been years since I have been injured from running).
Everything started out well. My mom ran it also. My mom is the greatest. It was fun getting up early and hanging out with her till the race started.
I felt pretty good. About mile 5, I got a side stitch. I had to walk for a minute to get it to go away. After that, went away, it was pretty much smooth sailing until mile 11. About mile 11, I felt really crappy and tired. I didn't walk. But I slowed down a lot. Usually at the end of races, I like to be the one to pick off the tired runners one at a time, and see how many people I could pass. Well, today it was the other way around. I finished with a time of about 1:47 (one hour, forty-seven minutes). That's the fastest half-marathon I've run. I haven't run many half-marathons though. I made it to the half-way point of the TOU Marathon a few years ago faster than that though.
Mom finished in about 2:08. I am proud of her. She hates that she is getting older and slower, but I hope I can run as fast as her when I am nearly a senior citizen.
At the end, there were lots of people and kids with "Go Mom" signs. But there was nobody there for me. I didn't expect Dan to come with the kids. It is really hard to take our little clan places, especially alone. But I did wish there was someone there to see me finish. I should have arranged a babysitter for our little ones, so he could have brought our 2 oldest kids to the finish. Oh well, maybe next time.
On the way home, Mom was telling me what she was going to have for breakfast: a hot fudge sundae with nuts on top. I was amused. But that much sugar sounded gross, so I didn't stick around at her house to eat one.
I was glad that I ran it. And I was glad it was only a half-marathon, not a full marathon.