Still life

I started working on a new painting yesterday. I guess I inspired Alyssa because when I came downstairs she had set up a model for her still life and was busy creating! (Notice the mango, clementine and pear in the background.)

She is so lucky because she can come up with things and create on her own.

As for me, I copy.

1. cold medicine for sinus pressure

2. advil for headaches

3. not having to go anywhere today

Forty???

The other night Xander says to me,

"Even though you're getting old you still look good. Kinda like a 27 year old or something."

Seriously my kids have more of an issue with me turning 40 than I do! They bring it up often. I still have 105 days left of being 39 and really there is nothing I can do about it so I shall embrace it.

1. rain rather than snow

2. getting the sand out of my basement and 1/2 of the garage

3. not caring (too much) that I'll be 40

Lettuce wraps

For dinner tonight I wanted to do something out of the ordinary. So I made delicious lettuce wraps with peanut sauce. They were quite yummy! Next time I'll make the sauce a little spicier. The kids tried it, but basically ate noodles with chicken. They have never been fans of peanut sauce, but love peanut butter. Go figure! They did love putting the wraps together. They thought that was great fun!

1. making it to Stake Conference

2. going for a girls rock walk- (Lissy, Lola and me)

3. lettuce wraps and left overs for tomorrow

Rockin' report cards!

The kids both rocked their report cards!

Xander was so excited to show his to me as soon as he saw me at school. He only got 2 B's and the rest A's. What an awesome job! Alyssa waited to show me hers when we got to the car. She got straight A's! Wow- I am so proud of both of them and the improvements they have made.

Xander was so upset and his bubble burst when he heard about her straight A's. I felt bad for him feeling bad. He is so much more competitive than her- especially with her. I told him how proud I am of both of them and their accomplishments and we should be happy for one another too. I know this will come with maturity and it is tough sometimes. That is why I have always wanted them in separate classes since kindergarten- so they can have their own successes and failures without the other one there to witness.

What do you do to encourage your child to be happy about the others success?

Thankfully the anger has passed and now we can focus on fun and celebrating tonight by going out to dinner! Not quite as fancy as the last report card celebration. We are paying for it this time so Chili's here we come!

1. errands with my hubby

2. kids who want to do well

3. no dishes for me tonight!

I am in love!

I am in LOVE with my new bed and mattress! I had the best nights sleep last night that I can remember in I don't know how long!

My back didn't ache.

I didn't feel my age as I got out of bed.

I just felt replenished with a great nights sleep!

Each time I turned over I would sink into the plush pillow top and my body would be cradled in comfort! It is the equivalent of Westin's Heavenly bed and let me tell ya I felt like I was in heaven on cloud 9 last night! Ahhhhh...... comfort!

Lovin' the look of the new bed too. Just what I wanted!

Check that off the long list of things to be accomplished. We are making progress here in the Trueman home. Now if only I had more money so I could make more progress!

1. feeling rested

2. money well spent

3. morning run outside with Lola

I did it!

You see these?

I hung all of these!

ALL BY MYSELF!

Equally spaced and level!

Yes, I did the happy dance when I was done! It took many, many measurements and one nail hole too many, but I DID IT!!! My handy man is out of town and I really wanted to put these up so I DID IT!

1. accomplishments- I did it!

2. homemade soup for dinner

3. voting is done!

Snowy day

Much to the kids dismay school was not delayed this morning or better yet cancelled. I told them to get used to it- we do live in MASSACHUSETTS where it SNOWS all winter long!

When I got back from taking the kids to school, yes in the snow, it was snowing a lot with huge puffy flakes falling rapidly from the sky. It was just too beautiful an opportunity to pass up so Lola and I got ready to go for a walk in the snow. I love it when it is mesmerizing and fresh. It didn't keep up for long by the time we were done it had passed, but I am so glad that we seized the moment

Lola waiting impatiently for me to get my shoes on

1. beautiful snow

2. sledding in it yesterday

3. still embracing winter- we have a LONG way to go

Hi Lisette, what's going on? You must be really busy lately. Isn't it about time to "REPLENISH" your blog?

This is the email I got from my mother in law! She cracks me up!

1. followers

2. being able to be apart of others lives even 3000 miles away

3. snow

My word for 2010

I have this great Friend Laura who writes this wonderful blog- Lewis Family Letters. She makes me laugh, cry, think, inspires and challenges me. A few posts back she asks what is your one word for 2010. I especially liked this because I am never one to make new year's resolutions. So as I pondered what word best describes what I want to accomplish, do or be for 2010 a few came to mind.

Last year I vowed to "embrace" winter since the winter before I felt borderline depressed. So each time I thought in my head, "I hate winter" I would replace it with "I am embracing winter." It helped me redirect my thoughts into a somewhat positive manner. That and adding more vitamin D to my diet really helped me remain positive in the long dreary months. So embrace was out of the picture since I already did it and it was also Laura's word for the year. I knew she wouldn't mind if I used the same word, but I knew this wasn't my word for the year.

I also thought about the word "perspective" as in my own and that of others. Sometimes we get so absorbed in our own way of thinking we fail to see the other's perspective. But, no this wasn't the word for me either. I continued to really think hard about this all night and into the following day.

Today as I was making lunch and thinking about how much I did not want to go to the grocery store the word came into my mind- REPLENISH! That is it!

re·plen·ish

Pronunciation: \ri-ˈple-nish\

Function: verb

transitive verb1 a : to fill with persons or animals : stock b archaic : to supply fully : perfect c : to fill with inspiration or power : nourish
2 a : to fill or build up again ed his glass> b : to make good : replaceintransitive verb: to become full : fill up again I had already started to do this in my life. This week I got back to my regular exercise routine of 5x per week rather than a few times as of lately. I also started reading my scriptures daily which I am sad to say had slipped. These things need to be replenished in my life. Yesterday a friend and I went out to eat delicious Indian food. Over lunch she was telling me how badly she wanted to go to a reunion with her friends from school and she was unsure whether her husband would agree. She has a mother who lives with them who has dementia, an exchange student, 2 beautiful daughters, a niece living with her and life in general. We discussed the fact that when we don't take time for ourselves, to become full or fill up again, there is nothing left to give others. So today I made the decision to replenish myself even further by filling up with inspiration. I chose not to go to the grocery store and instead to sit on the couch with a blanket and Lola curled on my toes as I read the Ensign almost cover to cover (I skipped a few articles here and there). Then I read the Friend to help me magnify my calling as primary president and mother. I finished it off with reading a chapter from the scriptures. It felt so good to build up again the things that have been missing in my life. So my word for 2010 is replenish. How about yours?

Please come in and play

Lola loves to play in the snow, but since she can't bundle up like the kids I make her come in much sooner than they do. Much to her dismay!

Here she is waiting and whining for her kids to come in and play!

It is -11 outside with the wind whipping around like crazy! After a half an hour I made the kids come inside- much to their dismay! They too were whining about coming in and the fact that "it's not so bad outside."

Is that why Alyssa's cheeks are bright red? with strange lumps from the "not so cold?"

After ALL the snow paraphernalia is dumped and

then place in the dryer for next time...

It is time for hot chocolate with oodles of snowman marshmallows and mile high whip cream.

A kids gotta warm up ya know!

Out of the mouth of babes

I found this old scrap of paper that I had written down what the kids said verbatim. We were working on a Father's day project way back in June 2004 when the kids were only 3 1/2. . I asked them what type of superhero their dad is. I love the toddler talk and incorrect grammar. It warms my heart to read this and I wanted to save it forever before it gets destroyed.

Alyssa's words:

A horsey. A circle horsey. Okay I did enough. A blue horsey and a pink horsey. The horsey run away, but he didn't run away. He got lost and the ticks bite him. Jesus pulled the horsey out and He ride him. A doggie helped her. He went in the scary dark and it was trying to snow and Jesus pulled her out of the snow.. A horsey pulled Daddy out of the woods. Daddy would fly out to the woods. I'm gonna name him Superhero. He's gonna be batman and he's gonna be a boy. He change his costume. A horsey costume. He had his horsey mask on, he's all horsey. He went home to dinner and the kids change their ideas. He got a cow costume, pig, sheep, rooster- every costume that he wants to be. He ride a cow, horsey. He wrestles with me and I be a horsey and knock him over. I be a big horsey! I have some "heins" (reins) on and he ride me. My mommy got my carrots. I love him and mom loves me and Thurston love me and Za loves me.

Xander's words:

If Daddy were a superhero he would be Superman! Cause him fly. Me gonna be Superman soon! Hey, me can be a Little Superman. Daddy's like Superman because him's super! My favorite thing to do with Daddy is wrestle. Me like him. Daddy's ketchup man and I'm blue power ranger. Me love him. I like him cause him me's Dad.

It is interesting to see what things scared Alyssa- ticks, woods and the dark and how even back then she knew that Jesus would help. I love how Xander wanted to be just like him's dad and how he still LOVES to do thing with his dad. Just now they are building Lego's together in the other room and Xander said, "I love building with you because you have great ideas!"

1. a snow day to get caught up

2. a clean desk

3. memories not forgotten