CHRISTMAS GATHERINGS

This year Christmas snuck up on me!  It was here before I knew it.  I guess I just kept thinking that I had more time... a lot more!  Not so!

I finally put our tree up....Not the same one I usually do.  I had purchased a set of three pine trees many years ago, I always wanted to use them as my tree but it felt awkward, not what I was use to.  My idea in getting these three trees was to symbolize my three children. I wanted my tree to having some sort of personal meaning....I LOVED IT!  I am sure I will do it again!  I was able to put the trees up in my front room usually the tree is downstairs where we have more room, the only problem is we don't usually spend time downstairs...The three trees are not bulky they are more tall and skinny so I was able to put them in front of the main window.

This year has been a year of change, with Landon graduating and Tanner being a Junior in High School the Christmas feeling has changed, they were not bugging me about putting up our tree and they don't care to listen to Christmas music, if it ain't head banging screamo stuff they don't want to hear it! I guess we are even I don't care much to listen to their music!  Oh the JOYS of having teens in the house.  

Also....Tanner went on his bike camp for his Christmas present. and Landon got his new bed....and they both loved their presents but not much to get up for on Christmas morning....

We had a few family gatherings this season as well... The Hatt's got together on the 19th for our anual gift exchange and dinner.  This year we had pizza and salad with some yummy  breadsticks and Fat Boys for dessert!  We always have a good time we all like to see each other and hear stories and laugh!  I am so lucky to have to older bothers! and be able to see their families!  We love to see each other and enjoy each others company!

On Christmas eve we get together with the Hart's This year we had our Nephew  Austin his wife Breena and their son Kael from Idaho come and spend the week with us! We had a great time and feel so blessed that they come to see us.  We loved having them here and it was so fun to have a three year old in the house to liven it up a bit! Christmas spirit really comes when there are little kids around!

On Christmas morning we got up and fixed waffles eggs and sausage...then opened a few more presents Santa brought a couple of gifts for Landon and Tanner, santa gave each of them a movie pass and a refillable mug at the theater.Santa found Kael at our house too! brought him some cars and transformers!
after we went to see my Mom and had some corn chowder and gave her a new camera!  She gave Tanner a new robe and lounging pants he loved them, had to put them on and then advise me that we should start subscribing to the news paper so he could go outside to pick it up in his robe!  He is too much! We all teased him that in his robe he looked like Hue Hefner!  LOL!!!  Landon got a beard trimmer and had to go right in and try out all the nifty gadgets!  Later that night we headed back to Bill's parents for Prime Rib dinner....It was a Wonderful Christmas Day!!

So now that is all said and done.....Here is wishing all my friends and family a FABULOUS New Year!!!

THE BIG DAY ARRIVED

Friday was a day like any other day....except that  it was Landon's 19th Birthday!  Can I just say that I am in total disbelief!  Where has the time gone?  That day took me back to the day he was born...I was scheduled for an induction at LDS hospital had to be there at 7:00 am. by around 6 that night I still had not had him and he was stressing so they decided that it was time for a C-Section so off to the operating room I went with Bill by my side and my Mom and Dad waiting out in the waiting room. By about 7:15 he was here but was rushed off to ICU as he had swallowed some amniotic fluid, there he stayed for 4 more days, I went home without him but was called the next day to say I could pick him up, Talk about a happy mom! the day I picked him up it started to snow it didn't stop for 40 days, I was so happy to have had him home and was able to do nothing but cuddle with him the whole month long!  I think that whenever  I was home I had him in my arms....He was my dream come true!  I was so happy to have a baby in my arms again! He has been my buddy!  We have hung out with each other, had many talks, laughter and tears. Even though he is a man now he will always have a special place in my heart! My first boy, he was one that liked to cuddle and be held until he was almost to BIG for my lap, still as we watch TV he will come sit by me and want me to tickle his back and every night when he is heading to bed he will tell me....I Love You Mom! I will never get tired of hearing that.  We have had our ups and downs but I will always be thankful that he is my son!  He has the BEST smile that can warm me up!  There was once a long time ago that he was so little and I was his world...now he is all grown up and our worlds are separating and soon he will be starting his own life as an adult. I hope I have done a good job in teaching him all he will need to know and that he listened well. I Love You Landon Karl Hart with all my HEART...Happy Birthday!!!

I had the Grandparents over last Sunday for the annual birthday dinner, this year Landon wanted pasta so I made regular spaghetti and shrimp Alfredo, green salad, cranberry fluff, garlic bread and for desert we had pie and ice cream!  and his cute girlfriend came too! It was a nice day. I am so glad we have this tradition!  however I need to get better and take more photos!  I only took one..Look how tall he is compared to the grandmas! 

                                          Grandma Hatt, Landon, Grandma Hart, Grandma Wanda Naylor

It's a Gift that Keeps on Giving!!

Well as I had mentioned in my last post, Bill and Tanner went to Boulder Nevada for a downhill Mountain biking camp.  They left right after we ate Thanksgiving dinner as they had a 8 hour drive to get there.  The trip was problem free and the weather was good so that made me happy! Now at home it's just me and Landon....or really should I say just ME!  Landon is always gone with friends and that's how it's suppose to be and to be honest...I was looking forward to a little time alone!  Don't get me wrong it feels really funny when all the boys are gone and I do MISS them like crazy! But I really enjoy being able to do exactly what a want....when I want! I did however have to work Friday after Thanksgiving and not only that but I was on the night shift...Haha! its what we are calling the extended duty shift. I worked 10:00 to 7:00  it was a slow day, after all everyone is out doing the Black Friday Shopping!  I came home fixed me a quick bite to eat and change into my comfy clothes and head to the couch where I find me a cute Christmas show to watch, where I eventually doze off into a blissful sleep.

Tanner's camp was from Friday to Sunday.  It was a camp to teach techniques for downhill racing, the instructor is a pro biker named Gene Hamilton.  The camp name was "Better Ride"  Tanner has been saying for months that he wanted to go to this camp...Then one day he said he wanted it to be his Christmas present....I was not really up with this idea, after all how boring on Christmas morning!  I hate my boys growing up and having all these changes...I miss the little guys!!!  but Tanner insisted that this gift would be "A Gift That Will Keep Giving" for the rest of his life! This camp was not a cheap camp....I basically had to sell my right arm and leg to pay for it, so hopefully come Christmas morning he will remember how much fun he had and that he remembers all he learned... I will have to ask on Christmas if he would do it again? 

Bill and Tanner did not get home until Monday morning around 1:00am and they went right to bed both had to get up and go to school and work.  When I woke Tanner up that morning he was pretty grumpy nothing was going right, couldn't find the car keys, backpack and the windows on his car was frosted over and he had a test to take before school started....school starts at 7:55 and by 7:45 he had text me saying the test was a piece of cake! but he didn't feel very good..I told him to get to class! the next thing he is calling be back it was 8:10 he said "Mom I can't do this my eyes are killing me and I just don't feel good, please check me out"  Tanner is not usually a bluffer nor does he try to get out of going to school so I check him out and tell him to go home and go to sleep....NO video games, he informs me he couldn't play if he wanted to.  I call and check on him around 10:30...no answer so I wait another hour and call again, I wake him this time and  I ask him how is doing and does he need to go to the doctor?  No he says I will be fine!  at 1;15 I get a text "Need Doctor" Tanner has always been right on when he says this so I call and get him in. they want him there in 10 Min's. I can't get home and to the doctors that fast so I just send Tanner, I had to fax over a  consent to treat letter and when he is in seeing the doctor the doctor calls me to say that Tanner is really sick and he is not sure what is wrong, his eyes look like pink eye but with the other symptoms, nausea, tired, just not feeling good he is not sure that it's just pink eye but he gives him the drops and tells me to bring him back if there is no change in two days. on Wednesday there is NO change and he has now missed 3 days of school. I take him back and the Dr's are sure that it's pink eye but caused by the flu, the only doctor that can give him the correct drops (steroids) is an eye doctor so they call Dr. Turner who gets us right in and was able to give us a sample bottle and we are off!  (really not that quickly, we were at the Dr's 2 hours) and I take Tanner back home and I rush back to work. He was able to go back to school the next day and back on the mend! That kid gets sick every time this time of year!  Glad he is on the Mend.....
Stay tuned Friday is a BIG  Day for a member of the Hart family!

GRATEFUL

This years Thanksgiving was nothing out of the ordinary. But it was a nice day! We all gathered at my Mom's for a cozy yummy dinner.  As the years have gone by many things have changed, our family has grown and the grand kids are now having kids this means that we are not always going to be able to be together. This year Melissa and Jeff and their two new baby girls were not able to join us and Cody kids were with their mom! without them we had 15 of us.  I had Tuesday off so Landon and I ran over to help my mom get the tables brought in and set and when Thursday came around it was nice to already have that done. I went over early to help my mom with the last minute preparations for the family feast. Dinner was set for 1:00 pm as many of us had other obligations in the afternoon.  With all that it takes to get ready for this day it is sad at how fast it is all over with!  with that said....it is also such a fun day to be able to be with family to laugh and catch up on every ones lives!  I am so happy that we all get along and can get together without worrying about anyone feeling like they might be left out!  soon after dinner Bill and Tanner headed out the door, they are heading to a bike camp in Boulder Nevada, this is Tanner's Christmas present. I asked him how he was going to feel on Christmas morning with not much to open and he said "Mom this gift will give back to me my whole life" OK I said you remember that on Christmas morning!  then Landon headed off to his girlfriends house, Ron;s family headed over to Shellie's Moms and Gordan and Sandy went home.  This kind of left me stranded but Mom and I go over to visit with Wanda then she brings me home.  I always hate the end of the day on a holiday when my Mom has to go home to an empty house, these are the days that make me miss my dad the most!  My dad was a home body he loved his home and rarely wanted to leave.  He was very content being there and very much preferred people coming to visit rather than he visiting them.  and he loved the holidays even though he tried to pretend he didn't we all called him the Grinch and his favorite holiday saying was "Bah Hum Bug" he would say it trying to look all mean but a smile always crept through!  He is very much missed!  I feel bad that my boys don't remember him much at all Landon was only 4 and Tanner 2 when my dad passed away, it seems so unreal that it has been 14 years since he has been gone. Things seem to go on no matter the pain, so its best we go on with a smile and a good memory or two! and I have plenty which I am so grateful for!  Our family memories are such good ones we had a good childhood and many happy times as adults with him too!  I am happy there are no regrets! and Most of all I am happy to call him Dad!  Happy Thanksgiving.....Remember to always give THANKS!

SILLY BOYS!

I don't know if I will ever truly understand the big hype over video games! My boys can be possessed by them spending far to many hours sitting in front of a TV yelling and carrying on into all hours of the night or should I say morning....
I found out how much these games really mean to them....The first thing that happened was Tanner went to bed on Monday at 7:00PM.. one might think he was not feeling well this is not the case the real reason stands behind this new game......Why? you ask, well....it's because on Tuesday morning, and when I mean morning I am talking about 12:00am they were already at Game Stop waiting to pick up their new copy of

His whole thinking of going to bed so early is so that once he got the game he would be able to stay up and play it for a few hours before going back to bed so he could a few more hours of shut eye before he would have to run off to school, some might say "Now he is a Thinker"!  Me I just think he is crazy!  He even talked Landon into going with him as he needed someone to go with him that was over 17! I hear them return home around 12:30 and I hear the clomp clomp clomp of him running down the stairs, his going to bed early was working...I ask him in the morning what time he went back to bed and he said 1:30....hmmm some how I don't think that was the real time, but I play along. I now have to go to work to eat "Crow" and say that I ended up agreeing to let him go and get it at the midnight release ( It was something I had stated numerous time I would not allow) the guys at work all cheered !  when they asked how late he stayed up and I said 1:30 they all said BS! so when I come home I ask him what the real time was that he went to bed and he informed me with a big smirk on his face that in fact it was 3:00am with him reminding me that he had already had 5 hours a sleep so he actually got 3 more hours that equalled a full 8 hours of sleep!

Now last night was the night that "Assassin Creed" was to be released at Midnight so the alarm gets set again for 11:30 so that he can get to Game Stop to wait in line for his copy....Sometime after 12:00am Bill wakes me asking why someones alarm clock would be going off?  I advise that there is another game release that they are going to and I roll back over and go to sleep not even checking the time. Now fast forward to this morning when it was time for Tanner to get up for school,he is sleeping like no other when I tell him to get up he is instantly angry and with ME!  What? what did I do?  He is all mad because he thinks that I shut his alarm off so he would not get up to go to Game Stop! I assure him I didn't he will not believe me because he knows he would not have gotten out of bed to shut off the alarm and then go back to sleep!  I tell him I heard it go off and thought that they had gotten up. He is still mad at me when he leaves for school. When Bill gets up he tells me that he heard the alarm go off for another 15 mins after he asked me why it was going off, these means that Tanner slept through 1 hour of a beeping loud alarm going off.....Who can do that?  We inform him of his doings at dinner tonight and all have a GOOD LAUGH!  He is also amazed that he did it!!! The Best part of this story is that "Assassin Creed" doesn't come out until next Monday! Ha Ha Ha! 


Now it is I who is laughing!


                                       Tanner intensely playing MW3 (GAME FACE)

MONEY TO BURN IN MY "FLEX SPENDING" ACCOUNT

Many of you may be in the same boat as me.....It is getting to be the end of the year so I check my balance of my Flex Spending" account and to my surprise I have several hundred dollars left.  My mind starts whirling in many different directions, who needs what? who needs to go to the doctor....I call all of Tanner's doctors relating to his broken shoulder to make sure I am paid in full, to my "surprise" again I am.  I decide I will go get  Mammogram so I set my appointment and ask what my co-pay will be?  That ought to use at least $50.00.....Nope that is preventative so it's paid in full! WOW!  next I call to get the "Yearly exam" ....you guessed it.... paid in full again.... Although I am not using my flex spending I am at least making sure I am healthy! so now what to do, if I don't use it I will loose it! I call and make an appointment for Bill for a physical,..... another preventative. So won't use it there.  I decide to  make Tanner an eye appointment, don't know when he has had one of them.  Go to check in today and I hand them my flex spending card and they to advise this is a preventative NO CO-PAY needed are you KIDDING!!!!  There was an upside Tanner needed an eye drop prescription as he has some allergy,(sad that is an upside) that was $60.00   I am usually not this upset about not paying for a doctor visit, I am running out of options. while at the doctors I remember that Landon is due for a dermatology appointment so I set up his appointment....THAT will use some of my money.  I also remember that Landon needed some dental work that I was putting off until next year. So after all that I think I will use all my money! 

Whew.....who knew spending money could be so hard! 

HOARDERS

Saturday mornings usually start off with a trip to Einsteins Bagels and today was no different, but today Landon was up and went with us. It was a fun change, it is fun to see him as he is changing from a young teenager to a young man. I am amazed at where the time has gone....soon he will be 19 It is so strange to think that I have children that are almost adults! After our breakfast we came home to check the cupboards to see what we need at the grocery store, then we head to Sam's Club....Weird the kids were not interested in coming with us!  So off Bill and I go....Our trip lasted almost 2 hours, and our final tally was almost $300.00 and our basket was not even full!  It is CrAzY how much groceries have gone up. then I stopped and topped off the gas tank then headed home, I hate this part of packing in all the stuff that I have already loaded in the cart to unload to pay for it all then load in the car to come home to unload to the counter to then organize in the cupboard!  Wow that is a lot of touching the same item!  But I am grateful that I can provide for my family!  At Sam's Club they had samples and today's sample included a energy fizz drink the lady that handed them out stated I would have 5 hours of energy if I drank the whole bottle within a 15-20 minutes, I really didn't think that it did anything to me until Bill asked me about 30 minutes ago if it worked, I told him I didn't think it did a thing.....He said really?  What did you do today????  Oh my I went Crazy today I totally cleaned my front room then did some laundry and as I was putting clothes away I started going through my dresser drawers and started cleaning away, I went through my closets....I was throwing things into a pile and before I knew it my bedroom looked like one on the TV show "Hoarders" I was so amazed at how much stuff I have not worn in so long!  I took Bills clothes out to and had him come in and start seeing what he could get rid of?  before I knew Tanner was doing the same thing...by the end we had filled 2 very large big garbage bags full of clothes! I had taken about 3 trips to the garbage can and Tanner and I ran everything to the DI it is a second hand store.  I just cannot imagine living in a house that is so crammed with garbage just having it that way for half a day was enough to make me cringe! 

I totally love the feeling of  De-Cluttering!  It feels so good  to be a little bit organized!

For all our efforts...I took us all to Sizzler for a yummy dinner!