Oh how I love the Dentist!

No Cavity Club by Stalee

If you read our crazy post about our sisters weekend, well here is an explanation on my dentist troubles.

When I was a kid our dentist had a “no cavity club”. When you were pronounced, by the dentist, cavity free you got your pictures taken and he hung it proudly on his wall. My mom took us to the dentist faithfully every six months and I think I had my picture taken ONE TIME. I had a few sisters ( I won’t name) that had their picture taken almost every time. Let’s just say I was a little jealous. I tried to brush my teeth and floss, but I guess it just was not meant to be.

I now have children and I have to say my record is not getting any better when it comes to cavities. When it was time to take my girls to the dentist I had heard that pediatric dentists were the way to go with little kids so that is what I did. It was such a cute place and I thought I was happy about my choice. Lucy(who was four) went in to get a few cavities filled and came out with seven caps, one pulled tooth and tears rolling down her cheek. It was awful. Next Maggie(who was three) went in for two cavities and came out with four caps. I was shocked but I thought he was the expert, not me, so I trusted him. My bill was HUGE. It took us some time to pay it off. That was about two years ago and the tooth problem has not stopped.

About six months ago Lucy had an abscessed tooth above one of her caps. Our new dentist had no choice but to pull it. I could not believe I paid so much money for a tooth that had to be pulled a year later. It was then that I realized one of her capped molars was loose and about a month later it fell out. I started wondering if all my money was worth the results. Then a couple of night ago one of Maggie’s (who is now four) capped molar teeth fell out. Little girls are not supposed to lose their molar teeth! The girls have been very happy about the lost teeth, but it is freaking me out. What did that dentist do? Though we might not be a family of the “no cavity club” (even though we brush twice a day and floss daily and try hard to do mouth wash for kids) I have learned some lessons about dentists. We as parents are still in charge. Some dentists get a little too ambitious and maybe baby teeth should not be handled this way. I also think maybe a second opinion should have come into play. Lucy my six year old has lost five teeth and three of them have been because of that dentist. Our last visit to our new dentist all three girls had zero cavities.

I don’t know who was in the wrong the dentist or my teeth grooming but I think it was handled very poor. I hope my girls don’t lose all of their teeth because the tooth fairy is working overtime at our house. I will approach the dentist in a whole different manor and if I don’t feel comfortable about something I will change it. I have now found a dentist that suites me and my kids a little better.

Yummy Yummy in my Tummy

Happy Eating!
By Stalee

Easter is in a couple of day and I would just like to comment on the wonderful Easter candy. I know candy is involved in a lot of holidays, but I love Easter candy. A few years ago I had a great idea to cut out sugar in my diet. I made this decision in February and it was going great. Well Easter came along and I decided to take one day off and eat the candy…..but somehow that one day has turned into over 700. I guess that one day off lasted a little longer. If any of you are on a diet don’t stop for Easter or you might find yourself years later not back on your diet.

One of my favorite candies was introduced to me by my lovely husband. It is Cadburys hard shell chocolate eggs. They are kind of hard to find but well worth it. We usually buy them in a bag, not in this package. It is the same candy though! YUM!

Of course you have to love Peeps! Just open the package and wait a few days and they will be perfect. I love a few day old peeps.

The best part is my kids don’t like jelly beans of any kind so I have all the jelly beans I want.


I do not like the big chocolate bunnies. I feel like they are made out of the worst chocolate ever. I really hope the Easter Bunny does not bring us any.
This is making me sick thinking of all the candy that will be consumed this weekend. I have one daughter that has a special liking to candy. She will say, “Mom I am starving” and when I get right down to it the only thing she wants is candy. Maybe this is a good time to get us back on my no sugar diet…..after Easter of course. :)

Close Your Eyes

I Love Thursday's

Stalee

My husband had a meeting in Las Vegas this last weekend and since it is a quick two hour drive my girls and I tagged along. I was excited to do something fun with the girls. The alternative was to stay home all day alone. My husband a worked crazy amount of hours for the last few weeks, so at least we would get to see him on the drive. When we dropped Clint off at his meeting a quick feeling of panic went to my stomach. I was in Vegas with my three girls and my husband was not with us. I decided I needed to let my girls in on the fear that I felt so that they would be very obedient. After I scared my girls to death about wandering off and strangers, we found a place to park behind one of the hotels.

I had some plans like the M&M factory

water show at the Bellagio, Coke store, and walking by the cool hotels.

It has been a few years since I have been to Las Vegas and I forgot the things you see just walking down the strip. When the first magazine boxes came up of course my girls looked right at it. I was so shocked at what was inside. I guess I totally forgot about the pictures. I had warned them about the dangers of strangers and getting lost, but I forgot to warn them about the more pressing issue, pornography. I immediately told them not to look at the bad pictures. I told them to just look forward because I saw all the cards on the ground. It was awful!

As I was trying to figure out where to go, the girls talked and decided they were going to close their eyes when they saw the magazine rack coming up ahead. I didn’t realize they were closing their eyes until Lucy ran right into a lady. At first I was a little upset with Lucy and as I was about to tell her to watch where she was going, but then I remembered she could not watch. The next time we came upon the magazines Kamree ran right into a light pole. Luckily she did not get hurt and I decided I better watch where they were going for them. Every block I would hear Kamree announce to the girls, "Close your eyes here comes a newspaper stand."

One time a lady started to laugh at the girls because they started closing their eyes and covering their eyes with their hands. It was almost like each time we came upon a stand they upped their defenses. First don’t look, second close your eyes, third close your eyes and cover them with your hand. I felt embarrassed at first when they lady laughed and then thought why would I be embarrassed. I do have to admit it probably did look funny, a woman with three girls all holding hands walking down the strip while the girls were covering their eyes.

We ended up having a great day and I was so proud of my girls. Kamree, who is eight, asked me why people take naked pictures. My only answer was I don’t know Kamree, I don’t know. It was a great time to talk about modesty and keeping your body clean. To be honest I have that same thought, “Why do people take naked pictures?” It causes so much pain in the world today. My three girls were such an example to me on how I should live my life. When things come up in my life that I know I should stay away from I don’t want to just look away, I want to look away, close my eyes and then cover them with my hands. I want to live my life with a pure heart just like they do.

Stalee

"Heartbreak Hill"

To be honest I have been in the dumps lately and I am trying hard to come out of it. Chalk it up to being a woman and some weeks are harder than normal or that life has thrown a couple of curve balls at me. I just can’t snap out of it. As I was driving yesterday the sun was shining, the sky was blue and I remembered the following talk given by Elaine S. Dalton in April 2008 General Conference:

“ Several years ago, I had the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon. I had trained hard and felt I was prepared, but at mile 20 there are hills. The locals call the steepest and longest hill Heartbreak Hill. When I reached that point, I was physically spent. The hill was long, and because I was a novice, I allowed myself to do something no seasoned runner ever does—I started to think negatively. This slowed my pace, so I tried to think positively and visualize the finish line. But as I did this, I suddenly realized that I was in a big city, there were thousands of people lining the route, and I had not made any arrangements to locate my husband at the end of the marathon. I felt lost and alone, and I started to cry. I was wearing a big red T-shirt with the word Utah printed on the front in big block letters. As the spectators saw that I was crying, they would yell, “Keep going, Utah.” “Don’t cry, Utah.” “You’re almost finished, Utah.” But I knew I wasn’t, and I was lost. I also knew that even if I stopped running and dropped out of the race, I would still be lost.

Do any of you ever feel like you’re running up Heartbreak Hill and that even though there are people lining the route, you are alone? That’s how I felt. So I did what every one of you would do—I began to pray right there on that marathon route. I told Heavenly Father that I was alone and that I was on a hill. I told Him that I was discouraged and afraid and that I felt lost. I asked for help and strength to be steadfast and to finish the race. As I continued to run, these words came into my mind:

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
(“How Firm a Foundation,” Hymns, no. 85)

That sweet answer to my prayer gave me the strength to continue on until I crossed the finish line."

I heard this talk on a BYU station a few years back and it was truly a blessing to me. It helped me remember that I am not alone and that God will give me aid, just like he always has. I am so thankful for leaders who inspire me to keep going and rely on the Lord when I hit a hill in my life.

Stalee

Inhumane Stalee

I love Thursday's
Sister #4 stalee
In Kindergarten one of the first rules you learn is how to get in line and stay in your place. My Lucy is in Kindergarten right now and I constantly hear the teacher say, “Everyone in a kindergarten line.” The kids follow this command and line up perfectly. Once in a while you see a kid who thinks he doesn’t have to follow the rules, but don’t worry Kindergarten kids usually take care of him. At five years old it is still acceptable to yell out loud, “Hey get back in line, don’t ‘budge’ in line.”

Clint and I went to wonderful Wal-Mart a few days back. We bought our girls boots that were on sale for $3.50. It was a great deal and the girls were so happy. When we got home Lucy was heartbroken to find her boots were brown not black. A few hours later we were back in the car heading to Wal-Mart for the second time that day. When we got to the returns line it was huge. Wal-Mart is known for customer service… right? Well we had been waiting in line for quite some time when finally, it was our turn next. I was so thankful and I told Clint we should have just bought the stupid boots because $3.50 was not worth this wait.

Right before it was our turn I noticed another couple that walked up beside us. My guard went up as I thought, wait they are not in line. Immediately I felt myself digressing into a five year old Kindergartener. I wanted to yell, “Hey teacher they “budged” in line.” As adult I have learned a few social skills and I am pretty sure that is not an appropriate thing to do. Instead I sort of stood in front of them to let them know I was not happy with what was happening. I guess I boxed them out as they say in basketball. Well the Wal-Mart lady said, “Next”, and what do you know these people walked up to the counter the same time as us.

Clint and I were fuming!!!!! The couple proceeds to tell us a story about how they had already waited in line and the cashier told them to just come back up. Do you think I cared? Um, no I did not. I was in line and they were trying to cut in line. My only thought was, don’t give me your story just get in the back of the line……so kind right. Thank goodness I did not say any of that. The cashier helped them and about one minute later another cashier helped us. It made us so mad and it took a while for us to snap out of it.

It made me think about who I am and who I try to be. Normally I try to be a loving, kind, sympathetic person. Normally I try to think of others needs before my own. Normally I try to be polite and kind to strangers. So what happens to me in these moments? I start to feel an inhumane side coming out. When it comes down to it I am being selfish and caring only about myself. This happens in the car, or the grocery store line, and I can’t forget Disneyland to name a few.

A few years ago my sister Judi and I decided we wanted to try and get Pantene pro-V that was on sale. I think it was on sale for 50 cents a bottle. We knew that if we were going to have a chance at it we would have to get there at 6:30 in the morning. We got up early and when we arrived we saw a line outside the store. I remember looking at Judi and I could see the nervous feeling on her face. We were never the kind of family that tried that hard for sales, in fact I had never been to black Friday until after I was married. We got in line and I said to Judi, “What the heck are we doing?” After deciding the sale was worth it we made a plan. I was going to go to the Pantene line and Judi was going for some diapers. They opened the doors and everyone screamed and we started to run. I had to laugh to myself because this was just not me. I have to tell you when I reached the isle I turned into someone else. Maybe I should call it “Inhumane Stalee”. It was the same person that came out in Wal-Mart the other day. I started dumping bottles into my cart. I am tall so I had an advantage over the other girls and that made me feel happy. After a while I realized I had way too much and I came to my senses that this is not how I want to live. I had like double the amount that I needed. Feeling guilty I started handing the rest out to the other women. Judi and I were successful with that sale but I did not get up early for a sale again. I did not like the way it made me feel.

I was taught my whole life to think of others before myself. I think it is dangerous when we are more worried about getting ‘our own’ than about how that makes other people feel. Recently I saw two ladies on Oprah that ran a place called “Love Kitchen.” The Love Kitchen serves food to people who are down on their luck. They told Oprah that one rule they live by is to never take the last piece of bread on the table because there might be someone who needs it more than they do.

Somehow I have got to get rid of the “Inhumane Stalee” and remember what really matters to me in those tense moments. So sorry to that couple at Wal-Mart. Sorry for the box out and the dirty looks. I guess I am a work in progress!

Stalee

Crossing the Finish Line--Together!

Rindi: When Stalee and I were little, we slept in the same bed. I am only 21 months older than Stalee, and we have always been really close. We spent a lot of time through the years participating in the same sports, going to the same schools, and hanging out with the same friends. It seems like that in every big moment in my life, Stalee has been there cheering for me. She has a very no-nonsense attitude about life that keeps me laughing, keeps me calm, and keeps me going. I can remember years ago being in our bed at night next to Stalee. I usually had a hard time falling asleep…but not Stalee! So long after she was asleep, I would reach my little hand over and find the warmth of her fingers. And then interlocking our two hands, I would fall asleep knowing that she was there by my side.

Stalee and I wrote this post together! We crossed the finish line on Saturday...and once again, I’m so glad that Stalee was by my side.

Happy! And ready to run!

Stalee: This last weekend, I had the great opportunity of running a relay with Rindi and a few friends. It is called The Lake to Lake Relay and it was 52 miles. There were five girls on our team, and we each ran two different legs of the race—each about five or six miles. I was so excited for this race. I have done a few other races but I had never done a relay. I was so thankful that I had Rindi running with me because I felt like I had an ally. We had been talking about this for weeks and training together.

On Saturday morning we met at 6:30, and we were both so very nervous. We did not know our paths, we weren’t used to running twice in one day, and we were really hoping that we would not die! Some of the legs were named Navigational Nightmare, Man o’ Warrior, Washington “Dam” Hill, Dirty Climber, and Sand Finale, just to name a few. I was very intimidated. I had never run a race where I had the pressure of knowing people were waiting for me. I felt that if I did not go fast my team would be disappointed and so that kept my anxiety really high. I started thinking back to the first time I ever ran a race. It was at a time when my self-esteem was in the dumps. I did not think I even knew who I was anymore. I had spent so many years giving myself to everyone that I sort of lost sight of who I was and what I liked to do. Sunee sort of pulled me into running since she had run a couple of marathons. So I set a goal to run a half marathon, and I started training. At first I didn’t know if I could even run more than five miles but one day Sunee said, You need to prove to yourself that you can do this. I will never forget that race. I ended it crying…not because I was in pain, which I was, but because I was so proud that I had actually accomplished something. I had done something hard. It gave me the boost that I needed to keep going and I have not stopped since. I love running. I start with so many issues and problems and end feeling like I ran through all my problems. It helps me emotionally, spiritually, physically, and mentally.

My first leg of the race went okay. It was 5.7 miles, and it was not flat. I felt like I was running uphill the whole time. Because of the adrenaline of the race, I started out too fast and burned my legs out, but I did it in pretty good time and I was happy about that.

Run, Stalee, Run!

Rindi: Stalee did so awesome on her first leg! It looked so hard and very uphill, but she came in very strong and fast. I was really proud of her.

Stalee: I do have to brag a little. Not about me, but about Rindi. Rindi is a competitor. She is tough, and she does not give up. I kept begging her not to go too fast because I was so worried she would lose too much energy on her first leg. Well, we barely drove to the end of her leg and sure enough Rindi was running in. When she finished I was so proud of her. Her first leg was 4.7 miles and she ran it in 7 and a half minute miles. That is so so so so so so fast. That is like sprint! Men run faster than that sometimes but most girls do not. She did so well. (Rindi: Okay, it’s not THAT fast, but it was way faster than we had trained!)

Rindi...ready to get started!

Rindi: Early that morning, I decided that I wanted to give this race my very best. By the time I ran my first leg, it was already sunny and warm. I got the handoff and just soared out of there. I could see a bunch of people ahead of me so I just kept catching up and passing the next person. I felt really good and it seemed like I was running fast, but I had no idea how far I had gone so I was unable to judge my speed. (I won’t do a relay without a GPS watch ever again!) I ended it so much faster than I thought I would! I was proud of myself, but I'm sure I used up too much energy. Still, it felt great…the weather was beautiful…and we were running! So fun! On Stalee's second leg of the race, I was so worried about her! It was really hard with a lot of hills and a HUGE dirt hill at the end. I didn't know how she would make it over that, because I knew how tired she was, but she did! She did awesome again.

Stalee: Before my second leg of the race, I was about to puke because I was so worried I would not be able to do it. My legs still felt tired and my stomach did not feel the best. I had no other choice but to do it. Right before I started, I said to Rindi, “I don’t think I can do it.” She was the best; she pumped me up and I felt a lot better after talking to her. So I started my final run, and I actually felt a lot better than I did my first one. I took Rindi’s watch so I could try to gauge my speed, and I had tried to memorize where the mile changes were. I was feeling pretty good. At the very end of my leg there was this huge dirt hill that I had to go up. Rindi told me later that the hill was so steep that the van had a hard time getting up it. When I saw the hill, however, I was relieved because I knew I was almost done. It was hard and steep and dusty, but once I made it to the top I could see everyone at the bottom and I knew I had made it. I was so happy to be done, but I was concerned for Rindi. Her last leg was 6.3 miles long and pretty much uphill the whole way. When she started her leg it was about 2:00 p.m. and it was warm. While running, it felt really hot! She had to run around the entire Sand Hollow Lake. The hard part was that after about one mile the car could not follow her at all, and she was all on her own the whole time. When we left her, she looked hot and tired. I was so worried. It felt like I had left her alone to die.

Don't worry, Stalee. I'm still alive and runnin'!

Rindi: My second leg felt really long. Longer than I thought it would be. I started off at my fast pace again and I was feeling good, but already a little tired. I had to run almost seven miles around Sand Hollow. After about a mile and half, I had a big dirt hill! I wasn't expecting that and it nearly defeated me. But I passed two guys who were walking, so I had courage to go on. For probably the last four miles, I was having a constant battle in my mind about putting each foot in front of the other. I was hot and tired and the ground was so sandy and rocky that each step was difficult. Somehow I just kept running. I kept setting goals for myself like, just run to that turn, and then I would make it there and then I would set another goal. The whole time, I kept thinking of Stalee waiting for me at the end. It kept me going. Finally I started wondering, if I just sat down and died, would Stalee come and find me? My eyes were tearing up out of exhaustion and I just kept running. (The reason this race was extra difficult was because of the extremely competitive nature of it! We were all pushing ourselves much faster than normal. We were never expecting that much pressure and I think it took it out of every runner on the course!) I kept looking at my watch and trying to decide how much farther I had to go. I couldn't see the end, but I was hoping it would be close. Twice I was deceived! I saw a parking lot with cars and set my whole focus upon making it there. When I got close enough to see that it wasn't there, I just stopped running. It was devastating. Based on my time, I thought I should've been close, but I couldn't see the end (it wasn't until I ended that I found out that my leg was really a half mile longer than they originally told us). I somehow willed myself to keep running. I have to say that it was very lonely. I was the only runner around for most of this leg. I could see two runners way up ahead of me, but it was quiet and lonely and hard. Finally, when I was ready to give up, I saw Stalee at the top of a small rise. There was a crowd of people and she was waving her arms at me. I nearly cried, but I didn't have the energy to even do that! So, I just kept running. If Stalee wouldn't have been there when I needed her most, I wouldn't have made it. When I made it close to her, I breathlessly said, "Is this the end?" and she replied, "Just a little bit more." I could see that my team was there to run to the finish line with me. I told Stalee, jokingly, "I CAN'T MAKE IT!" But she grabbed my hand, and I got a good boost from my team, and we sprinted through a parking lot and across the finish line. I was soooo happy to be done! Once it was over, I immediately felt better. I actually ran my last leg in an hour and five minutes--which is still pretty fast for us! It just felt a whole lot longer.

Stalee: When we drove to the finish line I heard someone say that this leg was actually 6.7 miles long. I had a heart attack. I knew Rindi didn’t know that it was almost a half mile longer. I can’t tell you the anxiety that I had at that finish line. I had to wait there for about 45 minutes worrying if she was o.k. When I finally saw her way off in the distance I was so relieved that she was o.k. She was still running but I could tell she was spent. I waved really big so she would know she was almost there and met her and we ran in together. I was so proud of Rindi. She ran so much farther than the rest of us. It turned out to be about 11.5 miles while some girls only did 8.5. (Rindi: I didn’t have the hardest runs! Maybe just the longest!) It was not easy terrain either. We were on dirt roads and huge hills. Between the five of us we ran 52 miles. That is so crazy to me. It was such a wonderful experience.

Our team at the finish line! We did it!

A guy in my ward who ran it with his brothers and dad, (Rindi and I ran it with his wife and sister), bore his testimony about it in church. It touched my heart so much, and I wanted to share it with you. He said that it was such a neat experience running with his brothers and dad. He said when he started his leg of the race, he knew that he had to run fast and give it all he had because he knew that his family was waiting for him at the end. He knew that they were cheering for him and wanting him to do his best so that their whole team would do well. He said he ran faster and harder than he had ever run because he could not let them down. He also knew that they would ask him about it and he wanted to be proud to tell them he had given it his all. He got thinking while he was running that this is how life is. We are all sent here to earth—our race to run. We are expected to give it our all because we know there are people at the end waiting for us and counting on us. We know that we have a Heavenly Father waiting to ask us if we did our best and if we did everything possible in our lives. Look at the bigger picture in life, just as our raced ended, our lives will end too.

There was a point while running that I told myself over and over again, This pain will end and I will be done, so push harder. One day our lives will end and our pain will end so push harder in life. Give life your all. When your legs are tired and you feel out of breath, remember you have people cheering you on so keep going.

I love Rindi. I am so thankful she ran this with me. I had the best time with her. I will always cherish this race. Rindi has always cheered me on in life. She has always told me I could do something when I felt self-doubt. When I am running I feel thin, I feel alive, and I feel happy. So I will keep running until I can’t anymore. I have also always been so proud of Rindi and all of her accomplishments. I am again today as I remember how fast she ran and how far she had to go. Thank you Rindi!

Rindi: I've been thinking a lot today about how it felt to push myself to do something scary and hard. I gave it my all, and when my all didn't seem good enough, Stalee was there on the hill waving her arms at me and encouraging me to come on. I'll never forget that image. I needed her and she was there. I'm so thankful that she knows me enough to know that I was hurting and tired and that I needed help. We did this together! It was so awesome. There were 50 women's teams and our team took 13th place! I am so proud of our accomplishment and so happy to know that we gave it our all. On the drive home, I felt very "alive"! The breeze felt good, the sun was warm, and I was so happy to have accomplished this goal. Sometimes you need to prove to yourself what you CAN do, instead of sitting around telling yourself all of the things you can't do.

Rindi’s final words: Stalee, thank you so much for convincing me to do this. I love you. There are still times in my life when I need to reach over and feel the warmth of your hand in mine and know that you are by my side.

This last month my oldest girl turned eight and was baptized. It was a very special day. She was so excited and so were we. I can’t believe she is that old.

Kamree has been such a special daughter. From the moment that I found out I was pregnant she has been a delight. The night before she was to get baptized my husband asked her some questions about the church. I was so proud of her. She knew so much and was so mature with her answers. His last question was, Who is making you get baptized? Her answer blew me away because I was thinking she would say us or the prophet......nope she said, “ No one is making me get baptized it is my choice.”

There are moments is life where your heart swells with love for someone. My heart was so full that night. I love kamree so much and I am so proud of her. She is such an example to me and her sisters. Since we live in St. George and most of our family and friends did not get to come I wanted to share it today.

Everything I know I learned from TV

Yeah it's Thursday!
Sister #4 Stalee

I live by two of my sisters Rindi and Sunee. We all have a child that will be going into kindergarten next year so we decided to do a preschool together. We switch houses and teach one letter a week. It is perfect and our kids love it. As I was preparing the preschool lesson today, a memory came to my mind….



I was taking my middle girl Lucy to her Kindergarten assessment at the beginning of the year. I was nervous for her because I knew that she was not as prepared as my oldest girl Kamree. My husband had lost his job the year before, so I went to work full time. Teaching preschool at home went out the door and we were in no place to pay for preschool. Clint (my husband) did his best to hold everything together. He was a great stay at home dad, in fact some things he did a lot better than I do. He even learned how to do a pretty decent pony tail.

So we were sitting in the kindergarten room and the teacher starts to ask Lucy some of the questions. I kept hearing things like, good Lucy, that is great, you are so smart. I heard the teacher start to say some nice things about me and how I must read to her a lot. Now in my defense I do read to my girls, almost every day and I try really hard to be a good mom. I heard the teacher ask Lucy a punctuation question and after Lucy answers the teacher replies, “Wow Lucy you are the only child to get that answer correct. I can tell your mom works really hard with you and you are very smart.” I was so proud. I had been feeling really guilty, like I had failed Lucy the last year. Just as I was relaxing I hear Lucy start to say, “No, I learned that from a TV show called Word Girl. I love to watch TV!!!” AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Now I will be the first to admit that there are times that my kids have watched a little too much TV. I have had those moments where a good half hour to an hour break is just what I need. I was so embarrassed and I didn’t know how to recover my reputation as a good mom. In fact I have spent this whole school year trying to prove to her teacher that I am an involved mom and really do care about Lucy’s education.

I guess it was good that I didn’t get credit where credit was not due. I am, although, thankful that there are good shows out there that educate and entertain our little ones. Sometimes life comes in and throws us a blow that you did not expect. My husband got his degree and was working at a very good job. Life was going along swell and I guess I thought it would only get better. Well the day that the bank he worked for was taken over by the FDIC and he came home with no job, my views on life sort of changed. You can prepare all you want and sometimes bad things still happen. Looking back I would not change a thing. We all grew closer and learned to appreciate each other’s roles more. We also learned that we need to trust in the Lord with all our hearts. When you have no control over the situation in your life, the only thing you can do is pray and have faith. After an entire year, he found a good job and I now get to stay home and make sure Maggie, my youngest, learns from me, not the TV.

So whether you are tired, pregnant, have to work, overwhelmed with life, or you just need a break, rest assured that Word Girl has your back. The only suggestion I have is maybe keep that between the two of you.
I’m just sayin Stalee

I love Thursdays
Sister #4 Stalee

I have three daughters who combined have a lot of hair. One thing I love about being a mom of girls is I get to play dress up as an adult. It is so fun for me to get the girls all dolled up. Sometimes they like it and sometimes they don’t. They all have long beautiful hair and I don’t plan on changing that anytime soon.

When Kamree was about two I had my second daughter Lucy. Shortly after Lucy was born I noticed a crazy amount of hair on Kamree’s pillow. As the days went on she started to lose her hair in handfuls. It was very frightening. I started to think the worst so I took her to the doctor. The end result was stress due to our new addition Lucy. I did not believe that at first, but after the exact same thing happened with Lucy when I had Maggie, I guess it was true.

What do you think...does Lucy look stressed? She has almost no more hair and she is crying!

Let me tell you, it made me feel like the worst mom in the world. My girls were so stressed out that they lost their hair…wow, mother of the year??? They both went through a rough stage, but after some time their hair started to grow back. That was a relief!

Daughters with long hair do come with disadvantages however. Every time I wash their hair I end up having back spasms because it takes so long. The amount of conditioner it takes to keep their hair manageable is insane. Then comes the brushing….it sounds like I am killing them. Beauty comes with a price right?

I have been a little bored with my standby hair styles. There is a site that I love to go to whenever I need a few more ideas. It is http://www.cutegirlshairstyles.com/ . So when Valentine's Day came around on Monday I tried to pull out a fun Valentine's hair do. The girls loved it.

If you have girls and need a few more ideas, check out this website. It has been very easy and fun to try new stuff.
I'm just sayin’
Stalee

How Texting "sort of saves" my marriage :)

Thursday has always been my favorite day! So Yeah for Thursday....sister #4 Stalee

For those of you who are face-to-face-communication challenged, take heed to the advice below……

I will take you back to a time ten years ago when I was sitting in my mom’s house during my bridal shower. Just like every bridal shower in the United States, women give the bride advice on how to make her marriage as wonderful as their own. The ladies at my shower threw out ideas like, The less he knows the better (what?? um...not the best advice, but whatever), Don’t go to bed angry, and Never forget to pray together before bed because you can’t pray mad (which I found to be totally untrue; I have done it many times!). I listened to the advice, but thought, Oh, not in my marriage. We will be perfect and handle everything perfectly. We will spend our days being in love!

Well, life catches up to you and soon enough there is a “disagreement”. Suddenly, all the bridal-shower advice comes rushing back. For example: Don’t go to bed mad. Well, if you are like me or anyone in my family, PLEASE, PLEASE, just go to bed. The later it gets, the crazier we act. I can’t count the times my mom has said to us, “Just go to bed! Things will feel better in the morning.” The first few times I tried to “not go to bed mad,” we spent hours and hours going over and over things and getting madder by the moment. Something that started small would turn out to be huge because I was following what was supposed to be some very wise counsel! It has taken me about ten years to figure out and come to grips with the fact that sometimes my husband and I are face-to-face-communication challenged. This is where texting comes into play.

Let me give you a little insight on how I came to this conclusion. One day, Clint was out of town and we were talking on the phone. I told him about a girls’ weekend I wanted to go to. He was not keen on the idea and said a few things I did not agree with. We hung up not too happy with each other. I got off the phone, and with steam coming out of my ears, I texted Clint. I told him my feelings and left it at that. I, of course, started cleaning a million miles an hour. (Why is it that when you are mad you get so much more done?) After some time (like an hour or two) I heard a familiar ding-ding in the back bedroom where my phone was. I realized I just got a text. I picked up my phone and saw that it was from Clint.

Clint: “R U going to stay mad all day?”

Stalee: “Maybe:(” (but of course my heart was softening a little because, oddly enough, that is how Clint apologizes sometimes.)

Clint: “I am sorry. At first I was really mad, but then I started thinking about everything you do for our family, and of course, you should have a life too. So go and have fun on the girls’ weekend.”

Gazing down at the words staring up at me from my phone, I could not believe it was over just like that. I felt my heart soften the rest of the way. Don’t worry! I’ll leave out the “sweet nothings” which I texted back!

But just like that, something that could have been a big deal if we had talked it out face to face, turned quite peaceful thanks to texting. If I had nagged the heck out of Clint over this subject, there is no way he would have come to the conclusion he did. Texting gave him time to think and space to breath, both of which he needs, and both of which, no matter how hard I try, I do not give him face to face. (Plus, it was helpful that he was oblivious to the steam coming out of my ears for that one brief moment!) So now, during a bad moment in on our home, you may hear our cell phones dinging as we work things out.

Five Reasons Texting Has Saved My Marriage
(okay, so maybe not “saved,” but definitely “shortened” some of our disagreements!):
1- A phone does not have facial expressions.
2- There is not a sarcasm font. Everything sounds a lot kinder through a text.
3- It gives you time to cool down, and you don’t have to respond right away.
4- There is no way to interrupt a sentence when you don’t like what is being said.
5- You can delete a text, but you can never delete words said. “Once it leaves your mouth, you can never take it back.”

So the next time you feel your blood pressure rising and you feel yourself about to blow, make everyone’s life easier and try texting it out.
I am just sayin’
:) Stalee

All about Stalee

My name is Stalee, and I am sister number four. I grew up with three older sisters, an older brother, and three younger sisters. I was right in the middle. I loved it! I think growing up in a big family was the best. Even though I’m sure I have some of the classic middle child syndrome, I would not change a thing about my childhood. I met my husband in High School at my parents hamburger place (Burger Bar). He always says our love blossomed over hamburger grease. I attended Weber State University while my husband served a LDS mission. I am the only one in my family that did not go to BYU, because the only thing I could think about was waiting for Clint. A year after he got home from his mission to Australia we were married in the Salt Lake Temple.

We have three wonderful girls. I love being a mom of girls! They have so much personality, and they always keep me on my toes. My girls are Kamree (8), Lucy (6), and Maggie (4). I have not had a baby in four years which feels very weird to me because I spent so many years running after small children. Even though I hope to have another baby, I am enjoying this stage that I am in.

My husband works so hard for our family, and never complains about it. I could not be happier with where my path has taken me. There have been some ups and downs, but I would not be the person I am today without the experiences I have had in life. In between ironing my husband’s shirt every morning, helping the girls with homework, taking care of our dog, cooking, cleaning, jogging, and washing tons and tons of hair, I find myself smiling because life is good.