Swensen Sentral

(This is a recent photo taken over Thanksgiving of my whole family) I've neglected you. I'm sorry. Not that I have many followers or readers, but to those of you who do comment or look at my blog now and then, I am sorry. See, the problem is that I have discovered how much easier it is to use facebook. I know, I know, I never thought of myself as a "facebooker". I always saw it as a "single" and "young" thing to do and kind of a waste of time mostly. But my opinion has changed. My main reason for blogging was to keep in touch with my family and friends who I can't be near anymore, and I do that mostly through pictures. Well, you all know how difficult it is to upload pictures to blogger...you have to resize them, then post only 5 at a time, and then rearrange them how you want which is most annoying. I just found that with facebook I can skip all those steps. I can download as many as I want straight from my computer and rearrange the...

...quite a day. The words I repeated most, "no, no, no, no, no..." and "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh..."

Chase told me this morning that he wanted his clothes to look "fashioned" and his hair to be "stylish" and then when I was combing his hair he said "Mom, that's embarrassing." Seriously! Isn't he still 5?

So...I did get a piece of advice I've been putting to good use and it's been helping a lot. "Slow down, take time out for yourself, don't feel guilty about it, give yourself some room to breathe, do something luxurious, in essence stop and smell the roses." I think sometimes I get going too fast and focus solely on "getting things done" that I forget to enjoy life. I took my kids into the woods one day and enjoyed nature. That was therapeutic. I sat outside and watched them play, instead of staying in to do the dishes. That was therapeutic. I went on a bike ride and played with a dog instead of making dinner. I laid down and looked at a magazine instead of making a phone call. I watched a movie with my sisters instead of folding laundry. All these things I needed. I tend to work before the play and I think sometimes forget the play all together. Also, I stopped making myself daily "to do" lists. They stress me out far too much. For s...

Does anyone have a quick fix?

Can't believe my little boy is growing up so fast.

I can't believe it's been 10 yrs! Crazy. I've been busily planning my upcoming high school reunion with the help of some great girls. We want it to be a huge success, and the best way of doing that is to get as many people to come as possible. So if you are a long lost friend from CHS that "happened" upon my blog one day, please check out our class blog for details of the event! It's going to be August 7th! http://centennialclassof2000.blogspot.com Hope to see you there!

Yesterday was quite possibly the most wonderful Mother's Day I've experienced so far. It started Saturday night with Rick getting up and bringing Sawyer to me in the night, so all I had to do was lay there and feed him. Then he got up with him in the morning and let me sleep in, which was delectable! I can't remember the last time I just got to sleep in with no children calling! He even had the house nice and clean when I awoke. The kids greeted me with hugs and kisses and "I love you"s which set the feeling of the day. Then, we attended church with my parents which was a special treat. I think my mom was in heaven just having the kids there on her special day, and I was in heaven not having them crawling on me! After church, we went to my mom's house and she and I lounged on the couch and watched Oprah while the guys fixed dinner. Hev-uuuuuhn! And to top it off, the food was actually delicious! mimied eggs, bacon, and hash browns...Mmmm...nothing...

I haven't posted for a while, mainly because my camera has been broken and it's been in the shop and I'm waiting to get it back. Posting without pictures just isn't quite as exciting to me, but alas, I need to keep up with the goings on of our life for record sake. So....Rick got a summer internship! We are so happy! Nothing was looking good and we were getting worried, and at the last minute the Lord came through for us. Rick got a call from a guy with ConAgra up in Boise offering him a paid position this summer! some of the brands they own are: He's going to be marketing for the Lamb Weston division on a healthy line of French Fries made from none other than Idaho Potatoes. Try them out if you see them at the store (they say ALEXIA at the top). It was an answer to prayer, not only will we get to live close to my family for the summer, but we're going to live in my brother's house while he and his wife are away for the summer. It's just so perfec...

Oh my goodness, this has been such a sick season for our family. I don't know if we're just not good handwashers, or if stress has lowered our immunse systems, or if it's just a bad season, but it seems like we've been sick SO much. It all started back in October with Rick and Amelie and Chase all catching the Swine flu, and then Chase being hospitalized. It's been off and on coughs and runny noses since then and flu symptoms, and this past couple weeks have been really bad. Rick got strep really bad last weekend, and both Amelie and I got it too. Ours wasn't as bad as Rick's so we didn't get on antibiotics right away because we didn't know we had it. I only had a minor sore throat, but I had a terrible stomach ache along with the usual flu achiness and chills. Amelie never complained of a sore throat either, but she's complained of stomach aches and also had some fevers. Who would have known strep couldn't manifest so differently? And poor ...

I'm not into too many shows on TV, but I do love American Idol. I've been watching this season from the beginning and I just have to give my prediction of who's in it to win it. They're down to 16 right now, so I'm shaving off 10! I've done this before and I'm usually pretty right on so here's my bold prediction... Top 3 guys: Lee Dewyze Casey James (best guy) Michael Lynche Top 3 girls: Siobhan Magnus/Lacey Didi Benami Crystal Bowersox (best girl) If I'm right you can give me a pat on the back, if not feel free to rub it in! Happy Watching!

Amelie wasn't feeling well so while she rested on her bed I brought in some music for her to listen to on my ipod. While I was plugging it in she said, "Is that your ipod or daddy's?" "It's mine," I replied. Her response, "Oh, I didn't know girls could have ipods." I bought some Cheetos for the kids as a fun snack, and when Chase saw them he was so excited and said "Nardos! I want some Nardos!" I told him they were called Cheetos (while chuckling inside). Then I gave them each a handful and put the bag back so they wouldn't eat anymore. Then later I see Amelie carrying around the bag. I tell her to put it back and she's says, "Can I have just ONE more? Please?" To which I reply, "Ok, just one more." Then she says, "Ok, I'll just have one more, and then one more, and then one more, ok?" She's a smart little thing. I think she'd make a good lawyer because she's good ...

We woke up to it snowing. Chase and Amelie hadn't noticed yet so I brought them over to the window and said "Look!" Chase looks out and exclaims "Oh! That is SO romantic!" Where did he learn that? We were sitting at the table for lunch and Amelie proceeded to tell us who was a boy and who was a girl. After pointing out all the boys she then said pointing to me "And mama's a girl and I'm a girl!" To which I replied "That's right! Give me five!" And while giving me five she says "Girls Forever!!!" Sawyer was crying on the floor, obviously wanting my attention. I was almost done with what I was doing and ready to go pick him up and Chase says, "Mom? Babies are a lot of work huh." I'm glad he noticed. My days are just full of these little moments, wish I could write them all down but alas, I have other things to do. What makes these moments so funny is that I don't know where they get these saying...

I attended my FIRST PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCE yesterday. Very weird. That seems like an "old" mom thing to do and I still feel like a young mom. Maybe I always will. Anyway, Chase started preschool in January so this was my first chance to see how he's doing and ask questions. The teacher gave him great remarks and said he's doing well, so I was happy. I can't believe my baby is in school. For some reason it didn't seem as big a deal when he attended a home preschool at one of my friend's houses. I knew all the kids (all 5 of them) and their parents and the teacher (one of my best friends). Now he goes to school with kids I don't know and teachers I don't know. Kind of scary, but really cool for him. I think it makes him feel independent, a part of his life that is just his, not mine. It makes me feel...happy, happy that he's growing up and doing ok. I can't really say it makes me feel old yet, because I just don't FEEL old...

Amelie turned 3 today. She is a very special girl, full of spunk and personality. She can always surprise you with something funny to say. We love having her in our family!

I've been trying to get Chase in to preschool, and finally was able to right after Christmas. He loves going to school and was really ready for it. Amelie misses him though. She really wants to go with him, but I keep telling her she'll get her turn next year. It's been nice to be able to spend some one-on-one time with her though while he's gone. She really likes being with just her mom, and I love it too.

This is the theme of today. (And this picture describes perfectly how I feel.) Not only is Sawyer still waking up ever couple hours in the night, but Chase had the stomach flu last night and was throwing up big time. I know I got up with him at least 3 separate times when he had to puke. I know what you're thinking, where is Rick? Well, he hurt his back a few days ago and hasn't been able to get around very well, let alone bend over a puking child, so he wasn't able to help. I seriously felt like I was going between nursing baby and puking child all night long. And then Rick wakes up at 5:30 to get ready for school just after I got the baby to sleep and wakes him up! Ahhh! I didn't know whether to scream or just start crying. So he takes Sawyer upstairs and puts him in the swing (which always puts him out) and then Chase comes and crawls in bed with me and then Amelie wakes up because she can hear movement in the house and is upset that Chase isn't in his be...

I got so busy that I skipped over posting Christmas! What was I thinking? Ok, I wasn't thinking. Here are some photos from a wonderful day. Saw The Princess and the Frog on Christmas Eve. Cute flick. Watch out for Spider-Jedi. Santa thought Amelie was good. Sawyer wondering what all the commotion is about. Dad's gift to Chase. You can see dad is having fun with them. Gingerbread houses at Grandma's. Amelie likes sugar more than building.

Last year, I decided to make 3 New Year's Resolutions. I'm a go-getter so I have a tendency to make way too long "to do" lists that I never finish, and that same tendency falls into making goals for myself and then I end up with so many that I can't focus and do well on any of them so I just stop making them....ok breathe! Keeping it simple with three worked pretty well last year so I'm going to stick with 3 again. It's always been my lucky number anyway. So here are the resolutions that I've come up with this year. 1) read the Sunday School lesson every Sunday beforehand 2) learn to play the hymns 3) build a 3-month supply of food storage There. That should do it. I'll work on the details later, but at least I've got them in writing. That makes them official right? Now wish me luck!

Rick blessed SAWYER JAMES SWENSEN on Sunday. We had a small group of family there to share the experience, and a brunch at our house afterward. It was a nice day and we are so grateful to have Sawyer in our family. Rick blessed Sawyer on Sunday. We had a small group of family there to share the experience, and a brunch at our house afterward. It was a nice day and we are so grateful to have Sawyer in our family.

Rick celebrated his Golden Birthday last week, turning 30 on December 30th. I wanted to make it a day to remember, so I planned a surprise party for him. After seeing Avatar in the afternoon (which we both really liked) we showed up for "dinner for two" at The Pizza Factory, which turned into dinner for 24. It turned out to actually be a surprise (which is hard to do with Rick) so I was very pleased with myself. Thanks to all the friends and family that came. Amongst the commotion I didn't take pictures of everyone, so here are a few friends that came.

Yesterday I was eating the last of the ice cream cake from Rick's birthday. (Don't worry, he gave me permission.) Amelie wanted some too so I gave her the last piece of strawberry, and took the last piece of chocolate for myself. I set them both on the table thinking she wouldn't notice the difference, and first thing she said when she saw it was, "I don't want this kind. I want chocolate. Chocolate's my favorite." "But I want chocolate" I replied. "No I do" she said. So I reluctantly cut mine in half and gave it to her. Happily, we both ate our cake. Later that day she found some chocolate candy on the counter. She popped one in her mouth and then came over to me and asked (with chocolate drooling out) "Mom, can I have a piece of chocolate?" "Ummm, don't you already have some in your mouth?" I said. "Yeah." she replied. "Next time please ask me first okay?" "Ok" Later ...

Tonight I needed a snack. I went upstairs and searched the cupboards. The Nutella caught my eye. I pulled it out and slopped it on two pieces of bread. Then I needed a drink to go with it. Hmmm...milk is good with chocolate...but even better than milk is chocolate milk. So I proceeded to make myself some chocolate milk. Mmmm, yummy snack, chocolate on bread and chocolate milk. I justify it as a "healthy" snack because the bread was whole wheat, and the chocolate milk was Instant Carnation, filled with vitamins and other stuff that's supposed to be good for you. I love chocolate.