I'm a Mom that needs to be reminded that What I am Doing Matters.

And I was reminded of that today. By Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess) on her part-time gig "Good Mom/Bad Mom" on the Houston Chronicle's web site. I am totally bookmarking this video so I can watch it and cry over it any time I wonder if it is all worth it to stay home and be with my kids 24-7 (which, honestly, is pretty damn often these days). What You're Doing Matters Like I said before, Jenny, way to make me cry, way to make me cry (Bitch). (I didn't think I could write that on my comment over at Good Mom/Bad Mom. I am pretty sure the Houston Chronicle would have deleted it.)

I am a domestic engineer that Loves a few things in her home.

This week's You Capture Challenge was to capture something in our home that we love (or wait....Beth's exact words are "Love Around Your Home"). Her explanation was for us to recognize the items around our home that we love. Possibly something we would not have purchased for ourselves, but we still use because it has a special place in our hearts. Or something that makes us think "I love that" every time we pass by.

As soon as I read the challenge, I knew exactly what I was going to capture. As I looked at the photos I'd taken, I realized that I didn't quite get the look I wanted when I shot them, but I'm still sharing them with you, since I didn't have much time to take more photos. Enjoy?

This is a cross stitch my Mom did for my wedding. She had it framed an matted and added the elegant plaque with our wedding date. It matches with the birdcages we had for our centerpieces, and I got to keep one as a memento. (The snowflake ribbon is part of the winter themed decor in my living room right now, not a normal decoration)

I love my family! This is the first family picture taken after my daughter was born. It sits on my entry way table along with a Valentine's Day decoration I got as a gift. I keep the "Love" sign out all year long because it just fits. (Pardon the dust, I do not like dusting, so it's part of the "decor")

Take a look at the other wonderful You Capture challenges over at I Should Be Folding Laundry. And comment on Beth's, her captures are so sweet!

I'm a master chef, sharing a dinner party worthy recipe.

OK, so those of you that read this blog on a regular basis, or those of you that know me at all, know I'm lying about the first part. I am NOT a master chef, I am just a little old (OK so not THAT old) housewife who loves to cook. And try cooking new things. The recipe I am going to share IS, however, worthy of serving at a dinner party. And it's pretty easy. Check out the recipe for Bacon Wrapped Chicken- here. Now that you've read the recipe these are the things I'm going to change the next time I make this for my family: 1) I'm going to pound the chicken a little flatter so the chicken is rolled up a bit more., 2) I think using Chive cream cheese spread will give it a bit more flavor and easier to roll, as well as using a thin spreading of it will make less ooze out while the chicken is cooking. 3) Use two pieces of bacon depending on what size chicken breasts you use. The more bacon, the better! 4) I think I am going to put the chicken under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up at least the top of the bacon...it needed just a bit more crunch. 5) Totally serve this with egg noodles, BUT it would also be great with boiled red potatoes (sauce served on top) or even mashed potatoes. This is a recipe I am going to use again, the whole family ate it willingly, and it was just as good as leftovers a few days later. Sorry there are no pics, I didn't have a chance to take any. Let me know if you try it!

I'm a person that doesn't like winter.

Well at least not winter in Utah. When it snows, I love falling asleep to the large flakes of snow, falling silently, slowly from the slightly illuminated sky. I love waking up to the smooth, pure, undisturbed blanket that covers the trees, grass and sometimes the streets knowing I can hibernate in the house all day, wrapped in PJ's and robes, wearing slippers and carrying around a large cup of hot coffee. That is WHEN and IF it snows. Some years we have tons of snow, and there are more than enough of the above hibernation days to go around. This year however, we have NOT had a lot of snow (yet....fingers crossed) and we end up with a horrible, smoggy, disgusting inversion in the valleys. Which is where I live. We get crunchy grey snow, partially melted, used over and over with footprints that end up icing up making the world look well, gross.

That is what we've had to contend with the last few weeks. I was able to take a few pics of what winter in Utah looks like, as of this week. I am hoping for a good old fashioned storm to blow through here one night and get rid of the horrible air quality. Enjoy what winter is in Utah right now, then head on over to I Should be Folding Laundry and check out other You Capture pics, and what winter looks like with other area's of the nation.

Can you see the inversion line? It goes about half way up the mountain. Everything below it, covered in grime and muck. Everything above it, clear and sunny!

The unused swingset in the backyard...it's too cold to let the kids go out and play.

The footprints that litter my backyard. Kids, animals, and falling debris.

I'm also a blog stalker/hopper/surfer.

I spend way too much time on the computer. Playing games on Facebook. Writing blog posts and not ever posting them. Checking email (not that doing so takes a lot of time). Reading the news, World, National and Local. And reading blogs. Lots of blogs. Too many blogs. Fun blogs. Cooking blogs. Giveaway Blogs. It has been too long since I have shared any of the new blogs I'm reading with you so I thought I do so now! Barefoot Foodie: (taken right from the "About" section of her blog) "I’m a wife, a mother a few times over, a writer, a cusser, an eater, a petter of strange dogs on the street, a drinker, an over-reactor, a music lover, an over-sharer, and a spiller of food down the front of my shirt. Always." Mummy Time: Brenda is a SAHM in Sydney. She has a great way of telling about her life as a Mum of 4. The Big Piece of Cake: Kate is just cute. And anything to do with cake, is a plus in my book. Sleep Talkin' Man: This blog is so funny! Even though it is just a bunch of random things a guy says in his sleep, it is hilarious that he lets his wife publish them. I read it with the slight fear that my husband will start taping my sleep talking episodes, and do the same thing. And last, but certainly NOT least: MamaPop: I know I've blogged about these guys before, but I love them! Every one of them! I will admit I like to catch up on the celebrity gossip, and learn about TV shows I'd like to watch, but can't find the time, and the writers at MamaPop give their own opinions of all those things. I love reading the opinions, and relating to some of them (other's I just laugh and shake my head at). Take some time, if you have any, to check these guys out. I've started reading a few other blogs, but I'm not quite sure if I'm ready to share them with you or not. There is a possibility I'll start sharing new blogs I find once a month.

I'm a Mom choosing her word of the year.

Now that I've said goodbye to 2009, I've got to face, and say hello to 2010. Last year I chose a word that was supposed to keep me on track with my resolutions, a word I could remember/turn to when I wanted to quit, when I felt like giving up. Last year's word was "RELAX". (You can read that post here) I know for a fact I didn't complete all of my goals from last year. I rarely worked out, I'm still on blood pressure medication, so I know my slowing down and Relaxing hasn't helped on that front either. BUT I have spent time reading more to my kids, and reading more than just one book a month for myself, AND I stopped taking on more than I could handle (no more being on the MOMS Club Board, and I cut back on going Over The Top when I came to entertaining, kids school projects, and things like that). A 50% success rate isn't so bad, is it? It has been hard trying to find my word for 2010. It is the beginning of a new year, the beginning of a new decade, and hopefully the beginning of us being able to function like a normal family. So I've chosen a few words, that I hope will help me accomplish my goals for 2010 I still need to RELAX, not only to help my high blood pressure, but I need to RELAX as a parent and not be so rigid about some of the things my kids do (or the way they do them). I will have CONFIDENCE in my parenting skills, CONFIDENCE that I can do all I need to to help my son through this year, and CONFIDENCE that we can all make it. I also need CONFIDENCE in general, but we won't get into that anymore than we already have in previous posts. I will also try to make better use of my TIME. Right now, I spend a lot of my extra time on the computer, instead of making my household work the way it should. So I will take the TIME to plan, clean, grocery shop and do whatever else I need to do to be a better Domestic Engineer! So RELAX, CONFIDENCE, and TIME are my 3 words for the year. Let's see if I can do better than 50% in 2010!

I'm a person saying goodbye to 2009.

Just like everyone else in the world. And yeah, this will be kind of a flashback post along with a bit of goal setting. Just like everyone else has written. 2009 was a tough one for us. We started out the year with having to face the fact that the kid we thought was being fairly well behaved while he was in the care of other adults (IE. school) was starting to have some huge behavioral issues. We knew he was a tough kid. We knew it wasn't easy being his parents. But we thought he was just being himself with us since he was comfortable around us. We didn't realize how much "being himself" came into play during school hours. I don't know if we were in denial, or if we were totally delusional, but reality was pretty much shoved in our faces toward the end of his kindergarten year. He had some issues, OK some pretty big issues. We were forced to face the problems head on.

We took some assessment questionnaires (some very confusing and repetitive assessment questionnaires) and it seems that our son is on the scale for ADHD and Oppositional Defiance Disorder (I had no clue there was a name for him freaking out so much when things don't go his way). With the help of a new awesome pediatrician, a few specialists, and a lot of good friends, we spent the remainder of the year getting through it (OK having him on ADHD meds hasn't hurt either).

Colin has been less defiant, less violent, and less emotional. The key word being "less". Some days are so bad I have to leave the house to keep from going insane. Some days I just want to crawl into a hole and cry for hours. Some days I wonder what I've done as a parent to deserve the hand I've been dealt. Some days run very smoothly and I get an "I love you Mom out of the blue." Or a hug when I ask for one. I am very happy to say goodbye to 2009, and what I hope proves to be the toughest part of learning to help our son be a productive member of society. And a productive member of our family too. It was very draining trying to anticipate how he is going to react to something we know he isn't going to like, and to try and put it in a way he can understand that it isn't a slam against him.

So one of my hopes for 2010 is for us to become closer as a family, and for us to want to spend time together instead of wanting to pull a Homer and Bart choking session each time we are in the same room. I have other hopes for me, on a more personal level, and I'll share them in another post (this one is already too long!)

That is just a small amount of what we've been through in 2009, I guess I shared it with you so you have a better understanding of why I've backed off on my blogging, and why they've been such superficial posts (well, more so than normal). I didn't want to be the "Debbie Downer" of the blogging world, and I didn't want to fake happiness when I wasn't feeling it. Look for another "resolutions" post coming soon!