My Life

My life is unpredictable.  I find the more I plan, the less it happens.  Most days I wake up curious to see how the day will turn out!

Friday was no exception to the excitement in my life.  I woke up late - 6:45!  I jumped out of bed quickly got dressed and ran down to the treadmill figuring I could at least start my workout.  I ran 1.2 miles when Emma yells over from the piano, "Mom, I have a few questions on piano.  Will you help me."  I tell her of course and jump off the treadmill and over to the Boston to answer her questions.  While I am helping Emma on the piano, Anna stumbles downstairs.  With a hoarse whisper and tears in her eyes she says, "Mom, my throat hurts so bad."  I tell her I will get her Motrin and a smoothie.  I ask Emma if she feels she has a handle on piano.  She assures me that I answered her questions.  I dash upstairs and quickly make Anna a smoothie and give her Motrin and reassure her she will be okay.  She proceeds to pound her fists on the table and shout, "MOM, I AM NOT OKAY!"  At this point Tanner pokes his head in the kitchen.  I look at the clock it is 7:47.  I tell Tanner to quickly get his book so we can start his 30 minutes of reading aloud.  Anna looks over at me and says, "Mom thanks for the smoothie I am feeling so much better."  Lexi wakes up and runs downstairs, "Mom I am so excited to go to the barn today like you promised!" (We were supposed to go Thursday but much to her dismay that didn't work out.)  My phone dings, I check it.  It is a reminder of the book fair take down I signed up to help with at 1:00.  Tanner runs in with his books an we start reading at 7:50.  About ten minutes into our reading Emma and Parker run upstairs to tell me that they need to take a treat to school.  I tell them okay I will think of something.  While I am listening to Tanner read I am racking my brain and trying to come up with something I can make in a few minutes.  (I am out of rice krispies so I can't make rice krispie treats, my usual 'go to' in a bind!)  I decide carmel bars.  I finish listening to Tanner read.  It is 8:20.  I start on the carmel bars.  By this time Emma has finished piano and dashes up wondering what she can do to help - love that girl!  I have her stir the carmel bits on the stove while them melt.  Friday means spelling tests.  I give Tanner a quick test to make sure he has his words down.  He has ten spelling words.  He misses every single one.  I show him his mistakes and have him start writing his words.  I try to give him any last minute tricks and tools and hope like crazy he will remember!  I quickly start throwing four lunches together when Parker runs into the kitchen, "Mom I totally forgot I have a really hard test today and I left my study guide at school!"  It is about 8:38.  I look at him and tell him to run upstairs with me and I will do his hair and he can go to school early to study.  As I am hair spraying his hair he proceeds to tell me he hasn't had breakfast.  I tell him to brush his teeth and I will grab him a toast and a banana.  I run (yes literally run at this point)  downstairs, pop him down a toast, grab him a banana and throw the last few things in his lunch.  I send him on his way.  It is 8:45.  I spread the melted caramels on the crust and throw them back in the oven.  I race upstairs to do Tanner's and Emma's hair.  Tanner is out the door by about 8:52.  Emma is ready by 9:00.  I pull the caramel bars out of the oven but they are too hot to cut.  I tell her to please try and come home at recess to get them and take them for her and Parker.  She is out the door late.  As I shut the door and turn around the kitchen is in utter chaos as you can imagine.  I clean up the kitchen just in time to take Anna to school.  I get back and by this time it is nearly 10:00.  Lexi reminds me about the barn.  I tell her we will go downstairs and finish our workout, shower and go.  We do just that.  We get out of the door a little before noon.  We load up and head out to the barn.  It is packed!  We have a great time.  Lexi especially enjoys riding the pony.  We drive straight to the school - fifteen minutes late for book fair take down.  I finish at the book fair at 3:00.  We head up and catch our breath, but only for a moment….the afternoon rush is about to start - tennis, piano, homework…...

Upon reflection I am so grateful to be a mom.  I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love being their to make treats and smoothies, go on field trips to the barn, volunteer at the school, witness the wonder of learning to read, and listen to little musicians attempting the works of the great composers.  I love and embrace the insanity I call "My Life"

*Epilogue*

Emma's teacher did let her run home and get the carmel bars at recess. She delivered them to Parker in time and all were happy!

Tanner Got 100% on his spelling test!

After a day like that I decided that it was a definitely go out to dinner kind of night!

Swimming Toward the Light

This past month I had the opportunity to go to Click Away, a photography conference that lasted for three days.  I loved it!  I learned so much and left the conference feeling totally inspired, not just in photography but in life.  The last class that I attended was called "Why Black and White" by Cole Thompson.  I added the class to my schedule at the last minute because I haven't shot many black and white pictures and was curious about it and wanted to learn more.  I was so glad I did.  It was one of my favorite classes.  Here are a few tidbits that I learned from teacher Cole Thompson.

We each must have a vision.  You may ask, "what is a vision?"  Cole defined it as a "Sum total of life's experiences".  We each have a unique vision.  Find your vision and share it with others.    

Don't be afraid to be yourself.  Don't copy others.  He gave the example of The Mona Lisa.  If you bought a paint by number kit to try and recreate your own Mona Lisa it would be just a shadow of the original.  The Mona Lisa has already been painted.  "They who walk in another's footsteps never find their own path"

Cole Thompson visited Auschwitz a concentration camp.  He created a very moving portfolio called The Ghosts of Auschwitz ( http://www.colethompsonphotography.com/Ghosts.htm)  He talked a little bit about survivors he has met from Auschwitz.  People who lived were all positive, optimistic and hopeful.  Are we living? 

At the end of each class he teaches he says he always does a drawing to give away three of his prints.  I was shocked when he read my name.  He handed me my picture and I sat down and looked at it trying to decide if I liked it.  The swimmer was sort of fuzzy and the picture seemed dark.  But as soon as I read the title and continued to take in all of his lecture I knew I loved it.  The print is titled "Swimming Toward the Light"  It is a picture of his daughter swimming at their hotel in Hawaii.  As I looked at the picture it again it was like a "lightbulb" moment.

Life often seems dark and fuzzy.  It isn't always easy to tread and sometimes darkness feels all enveloping.  We feel alone.  We struggle and try to make it through and sometimes all we can do is look torward the light and just keep swimming.  And then when you reach the light it feel so good and you just hold on tight and look ahead and know that when you are with HIM you are okay because it isn't dark, it is bright, it is hopeful, and life is beautiful.  

Caramel Bars

Caramel Bars

Mary Peterson

 

1 cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup brown sugar

¾ cup oats

½ cup softened butter

Use your pastry cutter to combine all the above.  Set aside 1 cup.  Press the rest into an 8 x 8 pan lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 for 7 minutes.

On stove, melt together:

1 (11 oz.) package caramel bits

2 tablespoons milk

Once melted, add:

2 tablespoons flour

Pour caramel onto cooked crust.  Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup on top.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

The Boy Whose Name I Forgot

This past week on our long drive home from Scottsdale we were almost to Nephi and the kiddos were losing it.  We were all tired and ready to be home and still had an hour and a half drive.  Something my kids love to hear are stories from when I was a little girl so I decided to tell the kids stories from my life.    An hour and a half and many stories later we made it home.  I was amazed how interested they were and how much the enjoyed hearing about my life - which I never would have thought was so interesting.  I will not share with you the hour and a half long story, for obvious reasons, but I will just share a short memory from my life that my children especially enjoyed hearing.

When I went UVSC, now UVU, I was coming off a very devastating break up.  In attempts to deal with my heart break I was taking maximum class load and trying very hard to move on with my life.  Suffice it to say I wanted nothing to do with boys.  I remember telling Julie if a boy was to ask me out I would turn him down.  I needed time to heal.

I was taking a required class, Ethics and Values, and I found it fascinating.  I was solely focused on my education and was oblivious to almost everything else.  About a month into the class I started to notice that a boy in my class, whose name I had been told and almost immediately forgotten, kept walking out of class the same time I did.  He remembered my name.  I found it a bit awkward that I didn't know his name but I didn't really worry about it because I didn't like boys.  After a few weeks of walking out together I decided it was time to do a test to see if it was truly coincidental.  The next day in class I took notes up to the very last second of class.  I slowly piled my books up and carefully reorganized them in my back.  I put my jacket on and zipped it up before I carefully adjusted my backpack on my back.  As I turned to leave sure enough the boy, whose name I had forgotten, was still there.  

I realized that for some strange reason this boy wanted to walk with me.  I was adjusting to the thought that perhaps this kid, who kept calling me by name, was maybe interested. I was trying to figure out a way to let him know I was very uninterested in boys, nothing personal of course.  We were coming to the place where we parted ways, I said goodbye and turned to go into the library when he called after me, "Mary, me and a bunch of friends are going to a Peter Breinholt concert.  I don't know if you have heard of him but I was just wondering if you wanted to go with me?"  My mind was racing, remembering how I said I would turn any boy down that asked me, I was still heartbroken, I was focusing on school, I didn't want to date... And then to my disbelief I could hear my self saying, "Sure I know Peter Breinholt and I would love to go."  I gave him my home phone number and he promised to call that night and give me the details.

As I walked away I wondered what in the world I had done!  I didn't even know his name!  I didn't like boys!  What had I just gotten myself into?  I raced home and begged Julie to be on phone duty, which was no small task with thirteen people in a household.  Anytime the phone rang she faithfully answered it.  If it was for me she would politely ask, "May I ask who is calling?"  Julie was a saint and answered the phone for six hours until finally at about half past nine the phone rang and it was for me and it was Jeff.

  

Exercise

As a child with severe asthma, I dreamed of running.  I always thought it looked so exhilarating to run and run and run. I have such vivid memories from my childhood laying on the couch and wishing and wanting so desperately to run and play with my siblings.  As silly as it sounds I remember being so excited to go to heaven so that I could run and Dad's back wouldn't hurt.  As a child I never thought thought my dream could be realized in this life.  

With the determination of two amazing parents - who sacrificed so much time and money,  lots of amazing doctors, biweekly allergy shots, inhalers, and lots of prayers I was able to start exercising and running in high school.  

A day has not gone by since that I have not appreciated what my body can do.  I love to exercise.  It is as exhilarating as I dreamed it would be.  I love to exercise - because I finally can.

I want to always be able to run and I realize in order to do that I need to take good care of my body.  I have found that yoga does wonders.  It is hard to pinpoint exactly what it does but I just feel better when I regularly do yoga.  I started yoga with P90X and have since found a Yoga Center that I love to go to for a more meditative setting - as opposed to children running under my legs and jumping over my head.  

So my challenge to you is to try yoga.  As you can see it has many healthy benefits.  Find a DVD (P90X is great), a class, something online or even an app (I love POPSUGAR) and start experiencing the benefits of yoga.  Love your body everyday for what it does for you!

I love organizing!

Each morning this past winter in the flurry to get out the door our basket containing hats, gloves, scarves and so on was constantly dumped on the floor and left for me to clean up.  As frustrating as it was for me it was also extremely frustrating to the children who were trying desperately to just find to gloves that matched and a winter hat that fit on their head so they could run out the door.  Our laundry basket system was a dismal failure and I had no solutions … until I was talking to a friend who started telling me about her system.  She bought shoe organizers from Wal-mart that hang on the door and filled them with the above mentioned.  She also bought shoe organizers for spring/summer and fills them with umbrellas, baseball hats, goggles and other necessities for warmer weather.  She rolls up the off season organizer and stores it in her garage and then just unrolls when Mother Nature changes seasons.  As you can see I have tried this system and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  Everything has a match and a home.  No more dumping!  Give it a try sisters and let me know any other creative organizing ideas - I am in an organizing mood this month!

Macadamia Nut Butter

With Emma's peanut allergy I do not like to eat peanuts or peanut butter.  I always feel guilty and worried about cross contamination.  I have recently found a new nut butter that I LOVE!  It is Raw Macadamia Nut Butter.  It is organic, completely natural and  very delicious.  I enjoy it on a rice cake but it would be delicious on a toast.  It has a rich and sweet flavor and is very filling.  I have found it at Harmon's and Good Earth.  

Angels Among US

We are lucky in the Peterson Family to have many guardian angels watching over us.  We love our angels.  We miss them so much and often contemplate and wonder how life would have been different if they were still with us.  Unfortunately most of our children were very young and have very few, if any memories of their grandparents.  We want our children to know through our memories who their grandparents were.  Each year we still celebrate Grandma and Grandpas and now Tigger's birthday with angel food cake.  We each blow out a candle for them and share a memory we have with them.  It has became a very special tradition that we look forward to each year because we feel when we are talking about them and celebrating their life that they are close and we have angels among us.

Angel Food Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

  

In a small bowl mix and set aside

1 cup of cake flour 

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

In another bowl (I use my Bosch bowl) add the following ingredients

12 egg whites at room temperature 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix together in Bosch until stiff peak form and then slowly add 

1 cup sugar

When the mixture is very fluffy turn mixer down to low and slowly add flour powder sugar mixture.  Continue beating only until combined.  

Pour (actually it is more like scoop)  cake batter into clean pan - meaning not sprayed with anything nonstick.  Bake immediately for about 30 minutes or until cake is beautifully browned.  Take out of oven and turn upside down so the cake stays fluffy. 

Once cake is completely cooled slice and top with strawberries and cream.

Praise

For my birthday I was given the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin - it is a marvelous book and I would highly recommend it.  In it Rubin devotes a year to her Happiness Project and each month focuses on a different aspect in her life and strives to make it happier.  I was intrigued in her "Parenthood" chapter when she mentioned the book How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk was life changing for her.  Rubin said, "As part of my research for the month, I reread, for the fourth time, the collected works of the world's greatest parenting experts, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, and in particular their two masterpieces, Siblings Without Rivalry and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk.  I discovered these books when a friend of mine mentioned that two friends of hers had the best-behaved children she'd ever seen.  So when I met that couple, I asked for their secret - and they swore by How to Talk So Kids Will Listen.  I ordered it that night, and I became and instant follower of Faber and Mazlish."

I was intrigued because she read the book four times!  I figured it had to be good so I too ordered one right away.  I love this book.  It is full of insightful advice not just about raising children but on human interactions.  I wanted to share a bit from my favorite chapter "Praise".  

Praise and Self - Esteem

Instead of Evaluating

("Good"…"Great!"…"Fantastic!")

Describe

1. Describe what you see

"I see a clean floor, a smooth bed, and books neatly lined up on the shelf."

2. Describe what you feel

"It's a pleasure to walk into this room!"

3. Sum up the Child's praiseworthy behavior with a word

"You sorted your Legos, cars, and farm animals, and put them in separate boxes.  That's what I call organization!"

I tried this with my kids this morning.  We have never had such a positive morning.  Usually mornings are a mad dash full of threatenings and bribes to get everyone out the door fed, beds made and prepared for school.  It was a huge difference.  The kids were independent and proud of their efforts and results. I also found that I was giving sincere compliments and praise.  Instead of mumbling "good job" and only half noticing and acknowledging what they did I found I had to take a minute and really see what they did and think for a moment how to make them feel as proud as I felt.  I also felt a shift in my attitude.  Instead of focusing on negative I started searching for all the positive things my children did so that I could praise them effectively.

This is only one of the many little tidbits of helpful suggestions for better interactions.  I am nearly finished and can't wait to start Siblings Without Rivalry.

Holidays

In our family holidays are a huge deal.  It is the way time is gaged.  The years starts with New Years which means fireworks and a party and then is followed by Valentines which means heart cookies and Valentines to all we love.  St. Patrick's Day means a tricky leprechaun usually stops by and drops off Lucky Charms, gold coins and plays a naughty trick.  Easter is a time to reflect on the Savior, find colorful eggs, and typically be relaxing in someplace a little warmer.  Conference Weekend also needs to be mentioned.  It has turned into a weekend of spiritual feasting, conference baskets and lots of exclamations of "Happy St. Conference Day!"  July 4th is celebrated with fireworks, barbecues and swimming and just around the corner the 24th is celebrated much the same way.  Alpine Days has also become a day of celebration, starting with the Fun Run, Fireman Breakfast and "Candy Parade" (Nicknamed because the only sight to be seen is candy being thrown!)  Halloween usually begins at the beginning of October with serious costume reflection.  Halloween magazines are poured over in search of the perfect costume.  A visit to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, Halloween photos and spooks set up around our house all make Halloween a real treat!  Thanksgiving has become a two day celebration.  We cook all week and think about our many blessings while making priceless memories with family and together while preparing a feast of food.  The year wraps up with Christmas which means so many things to us some of which include divinity, Santa Party, gingerbread, little chickens, Grandma and Grandpa's house, Christmas stories under the tree…

To my children I find their little world revolves around these celebrations.  Holidays are something they look forward to and cherish.  I find it is often the little things that they remember the most.

With today being February 1 (I apologize I am a day late posting) I thought this would be a fun tradition to add. I found this idea on Pinterst and thought it would be a perfect way to add a little love to our Valentine Holiday.

Each day until Valentine's Day you put a heart on a significant others door of a reason you love them.  I thought this seemed simple yet special.  Happy Valentine's Celebration to all!

 

New Year Resolutions

I have always been excited to make New Year Resolutions but since I have become a busy mom I have found myself nearly giving up on ever achieving any resolution I set.  For example if I were to set a  goal to get early and read my scriptures in the morning it would be inevitable that I had a never ending night and when morning rolled around I would find myself over slept and failing at my goal by 7:00 am.  Or if I had slept well and woke up early I would open my scriptures, excited to succeed and ready to delve into a quiet and peaceful time of reflection and spiritual growth only to look up to an early riser declaring his starving and thus very needy state. Does this ring true with anyone else?  The past few years especially I have found my self finding new years resolutions as a pointless and frustrating activity that I was only setting myself up for failure.  It seemed each New Year I wrote down my same five or so goals that I knew I would never succeed at.  I found if I didn't have any resolutions set I couldn't fail at them.

Having no goals has bothered me. I believe I should have some goals for growth and direction in my life.  I love the feeling of accomplishing things I set out to do and I missed feeling that growth.  I was thrilled this year when I felt I came up with the perfect solution.  Instead of listing things I want to do I thought I would record my success this year.  Instead of making a list of things that I may not be able to accomplish because I have a young and demanding family that is my priority I thought I would focus on the things that I do.  So I made a simple list of things I want to do this year and each time I do them I will record my success.  Thus at the end of the year I can look at all the things I did instead of all the things I didn't.  I can feel like I have grown by focusing on my success instead of my failure. 

Let's make 2014 a year we can all succeed!

-Mary