A little taste of FREEDOM!

Side note: (has nothing to do with the actual post).....Warning: DO NOT Google "shackles, clip art." Thought I'd be safe with the whole "clip art" thing. Apparently not. I guess I'm still a little naive when it comes to browsing the web. But I learned my lesson. Won't be trying that again. So...Rob became the model for these "shackles" (his handcuffs from the good ol' SLC correction officer days. Isn't he so adorable. :)

With our tax return this year, Rob and I decided to relieve ourselves of one set of shackles (aka student loan) and pay off all of our undergrad loans.

We felt all fluttery and anxious at first. I, mean, that's a big chunk of change from the IRS (there are benefits to having hordes of children). That, coupled with a bit from savings, and we were good to go. It was scary. We felt the same anxiety each time we paid off one of our car loans.

You know, like....What if we need that money later?....What if a great disaster befalls us tomorrow and that money is the only thing that could have pulled us through?

Silly stuff, ya know?!?

But...we chocked down the bile, bit the bullet, took one for the team....in all seriousness, HAD A LITTLE FAITH and moved ahead anyway. Once we clicked "confirm payment" all the anxiety and stress melted away.

A heavenly chorus began to sing....

FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM!



Doesn't get any better than that!

ONE less monkey on our backs (and believe me...sometimes we have at least four at a time

(AKA...) if you know what I mean)!

IT. FEELS. AWESOME!

What's next?

POST GRAD loans.

UGH!

A little dirt in dessert brought the spirit to F.H.E....

Have you ever had these before?

We have....a few times. Tonight we decided to change the recipe a bit.

I started out by having the boys collect a bucket of dirt for me and leave it outside the back door. Next, I chopped up the Oreos in plain sight. They were very curious and full of questions at this point. (Suspense is a killer!) After dinner, while they were putting on pj's, I gathered all of the ingredients and put them in a brown paper sack, including the small baggie of dirt that I snuck from the bucket while they were in their rooms. We started F.H.E. with a song (Keep the Commandments) and a prayer. Then the fun began. Mwahahahaha! I told them we were going to go backwards tonight...."Dessert first!" They were SO EXCITED! I made a big show of getting the cups, ice cream, and worms out of the big brown bag. Then scooped one scoop of yummy Oreo ice cream into each cup. There were lots of "oh...YUMMY!, Doesn't that look so good", "I can't wait to taste that," etc on my part and the kids did not disappoint with their "Oh's and Ah's" either. I got them all psyched up! I told them we would be talking about commandments and obedience. I had Rob read the 10 commandments from Exodus 20, putting emphasis on some more than others (relating to what we are particularly struggling with in our home), discussing them with age/circumstancial appropriateness. I put a couple of worms in each cup and likened them to each of our spirits by asking them how it made them feel to know that they were going to get to eat these yummy desserts. (They all answered that it made them feel good/happy...and we added "just like our spirits are happy when we chose to do right and be obedient." Do you see where this is headed yet? We hit them with a couple of positive scenarios where the person in the story chose to be obedient and follow the commandments. After each positive action, I put a tablespoon of crushed Oreo's in each cup. Eyes were bugging out, tongues were swiping back and forth, more "Oh's" and "Ah's" were had. I could not have asked for better participation. I then hit them with a story of a little boy who hit his brother because he wanted his toy. "Is that following God's commandments?," I asked. "No", they appropriately answered. I reached into my little bag of tricks and scooped out a 1/4 cup full of dirt and dumped it into each boys cup. They were a little confused. We went on... The next was a scenario of a little boy who was disobedient and disrespectful to his parents. "Is that following the commandments?," I asked. "No", they said. Again, I dumped a scoop of dirt in each cup. By now there were questioning looks and we got a few, "what's that?" 's. After one more story and one more dumping they were thoroughly worried about what it was that I was dumping in their cups. "MOM...WHAT IS THAT?!?" G-McBabe says (by this time I think he was finally catching on). I tipped one down so they could get a closer look. They were floored!

I not only saw the looks of shock, hurt and disappointment on their faces, I could FEEL it! It was AMAZING! I could actually FEEL what they were feeling. It was truly a profound moment for me. Then the shock wore off. Instant pandemonium! Mini Rob (who didn't have a nap today) broke out in SOBS, Little Red whimpered incessantly, G-McBabe stormed out of the room yelling something or the other about "I'm not going to eat it" amidst his tears, and Mr. Golden Locks just kicked his feet happily in the high chair wondering what everyone was in a tizzy for. IT WAS CLASSIC! Rob and I laughed (to which the kids looked even more betrayed), we called G-Mcbabe back in the room and we began our lesson. I asked them to really think about how they were feeling inside. I likened their unhappiness/sorrow to how our Spirits feel when we don't follow the commandments. "See how happy your spirits were (pointing to the worms) when you were making right choices and how sad you are now that you have been disobedient (aka had dirt dumped on your food)?" Amid their sniffles (and Mini Rob's continuted sobs) they all shook their heads. They got it...they REALLY got it! The Spirit was so tangible in our little kitchen. It was awesome! I hope they remember that feeling forever. "But how are we going to eat it? Are you going to pick the dirt out?" Little Red says. Insert lesson on the Atonement (which I hadn't actually planned on). We talked about how Jesus Christ suffered for our sins so that we can be forgiven. We talked about how we can be made whole after we make bad choices. "There are still consequences for our actions (aka. time out for hitting, etc) but then we apologize to Heavenly Father and to the person we made sad and we can be forgiven and made clean. Then our Spirits are happy again." While we discussed how each person in our little scenarios could repent of their actions, I removed each of the soiled desserts from the counter. As I bore my testimony of the Atonement I felt the Spirit confirm the truthfulness of it to me. It was AWESOME! I then dished up our "real" dessert. It was super tasty. Who knew that by torturing my children we would all feel the spirit so strongly? It obviously didn't cause too much permanent damage....

(I actually elaborated on an idea that came from my mother-in-law, who heard it from her daughter, who heard it from her mother-in-law ('s dog's brother's friends, aunts, etc yadda yadda yadda....). Just thought I would give credit where credit was due.

A rare moment.....

A rare moment of tranquility..... All is well, All is well.

Today was gonna' be...

Today was gonna' be a good eating day.

It started out really well with a bowl of oatmeal.

About 260 calories worth (with milk and sugar). NOT BAD!

Then I headed out, by myself (thank you Rob and Presidents Day), to do a bit of couponing at Walgreens and Rite Aid. By MYSELF....that's a big deal.

It really was easy at first (thanks to my new semi-organized system) but let me tell you.... Couponing is not as "blissful" as some people make it out to be.

It can be down right FRUSTRATING at times.

Especially when you spend "much needed sleep time" planning out said shopping trip only to get to the store and have some of the items on your carefully orchestrated list not available. Then you have to scramble and fumble through thousands of items, hundreds of coupons, and one incredible husband who you call on the cell phone and he patiently looks up some things for you on the internet so you can complete your "Buy $100 worth of qualifying items and get $20 back" at Rite Aid before 2/26/2011.

You then get off the phone and wander around the store aimlessly...close to tears...because your mind is so scrambled and there are loose coupons falling on the floor and the only thing that keeps you from running out of the store and driving home so you can regroup and come back tomorrow is the thought that if you do come back tomorrow you will have to bring three kids in tote and STILL not know exactly what you are going to buy to get the said total above.

It was downright stressful. But...I did it. I got my $20 coupon. And it's a darn good thing, too. (They really should make medicine to deal with this kind of stuff. Oh yeah...they do, and I am already taking it....he he).

Anyway....to continue with my original story....

I got home and began putting my purchases away. Halfway through, Rob reminds me that I now have to scan the items (because I joined the National Consumer Panel...wasn't that a great idea....NOT!) and put in the purchase totals....and and and and and....

The crazy morning got the better of me.

I started to eat whatever I could grab.

Long story short......

I ate 3 handfuls of potato chips (which I don't normally buy...for that reason...but were one of the "consolation purchases" to help me reach my $100) and 4 large oatmeal cookies that I made for dessert last night. I did top it off with a glass of milk (calcium at least).

So much for a good eating day.

Things I realized while...

staying up WAY past my bedtime last night:

Mystery books are not good for me. They are not like any other novel that you can just put down and be satisfied until "next time." Until they have been completed the suspense just kills me. I need sleep. My very sanity and the well being of my home, and everyone in it, depends on it. Rob reminded me of that SEVERAL times last night...until he FINALLY fell asleep (thank goodness).


eating dinner last night:
My "little" boy is growing up. He was telling us about a new club he formed at school (for play during second recess). He wouldn't tell us the name...only that the initials were GBG. After a bit of questioning he slipped up and told us that you have to have a "membership" to be part of the "Girls Be Gone" club. We laughed at that. Then, as an afterthought, I asked if they chased girls in his club. He turned red and muttered, "yes" under his breath. We laughed even harder. "Do you kiss them?," Rob said. "DAD!" He he he...

He told me this morning, "Haley said we could chase her." I told him that it was okay as long as the girls were willing participants. Otherwise it was bullying. As he got out of the car I said, "Have fun chasing the girls today" and Cael yells, "Yeah...and kissing them."

I can't believe it. My Gabe is chasing girls. Sigh.....


blogging this morning:
I have posted A LOT of REALLY ugly pictures of myself lately. What gives?


trying to hush Kian up (he was squawking while I was trying to finish my workout):
I am just not the same Melanie I used to be. Anyone who really knows me will most likely be SHOCKED by these photos.

Yep...chucked him a few Goldfish crackers. Right on the extremely dirty kitchen floor! Not that this kind of thing is new as of late. It just struck me this morning just how much I've changed. Funny how kids will do that to you.