All things in moderation

Today has just been one of those days.... The kind of day you don't want to see again for a long time.

I started the day with a vow not to turn on the computer. (I didn't ban myself from my iPhone because, let's face it, I need to be connected and I'm not trying to make myself CRAZY here.) Sometimes when I turn on the computer, I find the time passing, and my will to turn it off dwindling. The other day, I was blogging (of course) and I thought the kids were acting a little grouchy, so I figured it must be lunch time and then time for Molly's nap. When I looked at the clock, it was after 2 pm. I had been on the computer nearly all day! Where does the day go when I'm stuck in cyberspace? I'm not going to lie, once in a while I like it when the day slips away and I'm just tap tap tapping away blissfully. But those are the days when I ignore my housework and my children. Those are very selfish days.

Today wasn't going to be like that! I wanted to get a lot done today, I had big plans for myself. The day started out just fine. Breakfast, clean up breakfast, start a load of laundry, make beds, make a chore chart for Benson, make a chore chart for me, fold a load of laundry, take out the garbages, straighten our bedroom, play "memory" with Benson, pick up all of the memory cards Molly threw on the floor, Pull the sheets off the bed to be washed, take the valances off the windows to be washed, help Benson with his bubbles, pick up the living room, snacks for the kids, switch laundry from washer to dryer, put sheets in the washer, cleaned out all of the clothes that don't fit them anymore from their drawers, picked up their toys, switch laundry.... And after ALL of that, I thought it must be time for lunch, then Molly's nap. When I looked at the clock, it was only 10:30. (Jeesh!) The rest of the day continued on. We blew bubbles in our socks in the freezing cold, had purple waffles for dinner and ended up with poop in the tub, using my bare hands to get it out, and gagging. This was an unselfish day.

Now it's 11:48 pm. Although I feel completely EXHAUSTED, I can't sleep. I'm thinking about my day. I didn't stop. It was go, go, go all day! This was a better day, but I hope I don't have to have a day like today for a long time.

P.S. Molly has stolen my heart. Benson gives the best hugs. Casey is my everything.

Thanks for reading. I know this was a lame post. I can't get my thoughts together!

Corduroy Dreams

Does anyone really read this blog anymore?

Well, as you know, I love to craft and create cute things for our house. I love to share the things I've done, but I don't want to take up our whole family's blog with all of my crafts. So, I've started a new blog where I can share all of those things. Please "follow" me on that blog and feel free to share my link on your blog or with your friends.

Here are some ideas I've share on my blog, Corduroy Dreams:

Crepe Paper Rose Wreath

Ribbon-wrapped candles

Mod-Podged lamp

TV table redo

For your birthday: A walk down memory lane.

Warning! This is pretty mushy stuff!

Today is Casey's 26th birthday. It's hard to believe that the first time I ever hung out with Casey, he was barely 16. 10 years ago tomorrow, Casey and I hung out together for the first time. Please join me as I take a little walk down memory lane.

From my journal that night (Jan. 19, 2001):

"Casey is cute!!! He is hot! But he's also a player, I could be interested, but mmmm-I don't know. He is funny and he does fun stuff, no matter who's there. He can do a very weird thing with his tongue and he has perfect teeth!!! He also plays the piano! WoW! But who knows...."

Isn't it funny what our first impressions are? I had a little "crush" on him right from the get-go, and it never went away. I remember the first time I saw Casey. I remember the first time we hung out. I remember dating other guys and still really liking Casey. He was my best friend all through high school and when I had dating problems or questions, I talked to Casey about it, and he talked to me. We would call each other in the middle of the night, just to talk. We would sit in the parking lot after school with our friends, just talking. And we would hang out every weekend. We had a big party when he left on his mission, and I shook his hand when we said goodbye, then I cried in the car all the way home. We wrote each other on his mission and just got closer and closer. I realized that when I was dating other guys, I wanted to be dating Casey. Writing him on his mission was awesome. He was 2000 miles away, and still made me feel so happy. As we wrote, we grew closer and closer.

From an email Elder Dalpias wrote to me March 16, 2005:

"It is going to be fun when we can actually all hang out together! I am pretty stinkin excited for stuff like that. In fact, I am excited about a lot of things in the future. There isn't anything that could make things better right now. I am where I am supposed to be, trying to grow up a little so that I'm not a goofup in life, and I have the best friend ever back at home supporting me being awesome. I really do love you Natalie. You are the part oft he future that I look forward to the most. Us hanging out, being best friends, calling you at all hours of the night, and maybe one day.... even holding your hand or something like that. We have got some really great things ahead of us! It is going to be awesome! It is awesome! I just love ya, a whole stinkin lot!"

When Casey got home from his mission, we did all of the things we had talked about. We stayed up late talking to each other, we went on some dates, and we even held hands! There is nothing better than falling in love with your best friend. Everything was as wonderful as we thought it would be.

Now we're living real life. Work, kids, and even a minivan.... It's not a dream we're just talking about anymore. We're living the life we wanted. Of course everything isn't perfect all the time, but we are happy together. I'm so glad I met Casey 10 years ago. He is all I could have ever hoped for. I'm so grateful every day that I haven't stopped falling in love with my best friend.

Happy birthday, Casey Michael Dalpias. I love you with all of my heart.

Christmas 2010

We had such an awesome Christmas! This year was a lot of fun because it was Molly's first Christmas, and Benson was old enough this year to know what was going on.

We spent a lot of time with our families, which was wonderful! Being with family is the best part of Christmas. We had a great party at Casey's parents' house on Christmas Eve, and then went to my parents' house and had a very late party. My mom made all of us girls the cutest aprons in the world. And she made some for the kids too. Molly's is TINY. After all of the fun, the kids didn't get to bed until just before midnight.

We dragged the kids out of bed at 7 on Christmas morning. We had to get them up early so we could open our presents before all of the other festivities of the day. We had breakfast at Casey's parents' house, then we spent the evening at my parents' house. The kids were SUPER tired by about 10:00, so it made for a very long and emotional day for everyone. After some naps, everyone was happier, and we had a wonderful day!

Casey got an xbox 360 and a kinect. The kinect is so much fun! We have had a lot of fun playing it. He got me a cricut and all of the things I needed for it. I love it!

Molly got this play kitchen. It's a little big for her, but hopefully it will be a fun thing for her for years to come.

Benson had written a letter to Santa saying he wanted a truck with a trailer and a 4-wheeler, so when he walked in on Christmas morning and saw this sitting on the couch, he said, "He got me just what I wanted!" Benson also got a leapster, which was supposed to be his big gift, but after he saw this truck, nothing else in the world mattered.

We have been really blessed this year. Even though our Christmas wasn't extravagant, it was a good year for us and we are very grateful for all that we have. Christmas is so magical for the kids and having them makes it all a hundred times more fun!