Stuff

Other things that have been happening...

The holidays are here....Pretty sure you didn't know that.

Matt is on break from school...Well he has been since December 2. His grades finally got posted and he got (5) A's and (1) A-. We were thrilled. He has always gotten A's since we have been married, but this semester he had 18 credit hours, lots of clinical hours to complete, homework, and still work part-time. I am so proud of him.

3 semesters left (11 months), but who is counting...ME!

We went to a holiday party with some friends...It was an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. Matt won for wearing the ugliest sweater...and he got it out of his mom's closet, SORRY MOM! She was pretty upbeat even after we told her that Matt had won.

Shoulder Surgery...Life after

Life has been a little interesting as of late…back in August I found out that I needed to have shoulder surgery as my ligaments hadn’t grown properly. I would need some extra help as I wouldn’t be able to move my arm for at least 4 weeks. So we decided to wait until Matt was on break from school and have my surgery done in December. We set the date for December 10, and let the countdown begin.
Well during that countdown, I became Young Women’s President and also got another position at work.

Little stressful, but I had thought I had everything covered while I was off work and not able to do much for the young women. Well I hadn’t thought of the everyday details that would drive me to tears.

My top ten things that can bring me to tears on any given day:
10. Picking up my nieces and nephews
9. Wearing cute clothes, still trying to figure this out. Can’t raise my arm at all!
8. Going to work…Trust me… I miss it.
7. Being able to lay on my side…You know…curl up with a good blanket and a book. A little interesting
6. Having to wear a sling ALL the time. It is half of a straight jacket…Do NOT recommend it, at all!
5. Shaving…it is a problem, but getting the hang of it
4. Not being able to hug Matt. (We do side hug though)
3. Not being able to sleep very well
2. Not being able to drive
1. Not being able to do my hair by myself –I love a good ponytail

Well hopefully only 3 more weeks for some of these. I am counting down!!!

Our snowman pictures...Wishing you a merry snowday!

2nd Day Date - Snowman Building

During the second half of our 3 day date, Matt and I went to his parents house and built two snow people, one to represent his mom and the other to represent his dad.

We built two snow people in half an hour and they didn’t have a clue as they were in the basement watching a show.

So we decided to surprise them by ringing the doorbell and hiding. I got a picture of Matt’s dad peeking out the front door looking to see who had been ringing the doorbell.

Well after finally letting them know who had built the snow people we got pictures taken in front of them.

Take a look. It was funny trying to get Matt’s dad to kiss his snowman, he just kept laughing at me and kept saying no. Well as you can see he finally gave in.

Aren't Matt's parents such great sports!!

2nd Day Date cont..

Well I am trying to post a video onto my blog when we went sledding, but it was giving me such a hard time the other day I thought I would try again. Hopefuly it works because it is of me sledding and since this is my blog I am usually the one taking the pictures.

2nd Day of 3 Day Date...Snow Day

The second day of our 3 Day Date was the best...we played in the snow. We first went sledding, okay we attempted to go sledding at golf course, but my sled decided to deflate itself. Last year for Christmas I bought Matt his first sled ever, but we never got to use it last year, so Matt blew up a tube sled for me, we got dressed for the cold (50 degrees), and took one run down the hill and my tube got a huge hole in it.

So we went and finally bought me my own sled, with a place for your feet and everything. We went to Hunter Park and went sledding for about 45 minutes...too hot for sledding. We packed up our gear for the next activity of the day....Snow Person making, but here are our the pictures of our fun sledding event




Matt blowing up my tube, the one I only got to use once.



Matt is dressed for the cold weather. Look at his gorgeous eyes that I fell in love with!



Monson clan together.

Matt fell of his sled and was pretty happy about it too.

3 Day Date

Matt finished school on Wednesday, December 1st, so we decided to celebrate and play all weekend.

Thursday while I was at work Matt cleaned the whole house, gave himself a haircut, and put up Christmas. Very nice surprise as I have been sick of doing all the house work while Matt has been doing homework.

Friday he took me out to dinner and we rented a movie. I had my heart set on Village Inn, so that is where he took me. I also wanted to see Tangled, but they only had it playing in 3D, so we got a red box movie and came home.

Saturday was the best day of all.

Mothers and Kids

Moms come in all shapes, sizes, and colors.
As do the kids that surround them.

Moms wait on them hand and foot from the very first day they come into their lives.

1. Changing diapers
2. Wiping snotty nose
3. Cleaning up puke or throw-up
4. Potty Training
5. Temper Tantrums
6. Crying
7. Getting no sleep
8. Doing laundry
9. Cleaning
10. School Functions
11. Extra Curricular Activities
12. Dealing with Teenagers
13. Watching them Struggle
    
14. The list goes on
15. and on
    
16. and on

But with all the waiting on hand and foot comes the best part of life

1. The laughter
   
2. The giggles
3. The funny songs
4. The never ending love
5. Getting to tuck them in bed
6. Teaching them
   
7. Dancing in the kitchen
   
8. Chasing after them
9. Watching their Triumphs
10. The smiles
11. Them turning to you when their sick
    
12. Being asked for advice
13. Making Memories
14. The list goes on
15. and on
    
16. and on

Never forget that kids need you when their little, think they know everything as they start to get older, and eventually come back asking for help with what to do with their little ones.

Thank you to my mom, my grandmother, my mother in-law, aunts, friends' moms, young women leaders....the list goes on and on, more than one mother has touched my life and are examples of the mother I want to be for my kids one day!

Thanksgivings....Things I am Thankful for

My husband, Mattie -

• He is always there for me, makes me smile by just looking at me, wraps me up in his arms when I come home or when I am having a bad time, he protects me for the dark, makes my peanut butter and jelly sandwich for work everyday, goes to school and does his homework, tells me he loves me at least 10 times a day.....the list goes on and on.

My Family

• We all pull together in the end. Don't know why, all we can say is "Its Family"

Matt's Family

• Warm, inviting, and never feel uneasy to be there even when Matt isn't with me. Best inlaws ever!

My Homes

• I know it is plural as I don't actually see a home as a singular place. A home is a place where I feel at my utmost peace, where the worlds troubles can be washed away with the closing of the front door. I have at least 6 homes I count of today.
  

My Grandma

• She holds a very dear place in my heart that can't be explained except with a night out on the town for dinner and an old western movie back at her house. Its our thing.

My Friends

• My family that doesn't come from blood relations. We choose to be there for each other and I wouldn't choose it any other way.
  

All my other many blessings and trials

• Without hardships, you don't know love! Without love, you can't get through hardships!

Halloween Night - Trick or Treat with our Girls

We went trick or treating with some of our favorite girls on Saturday Night. We took Grace and Kate trick or treating with David on Saturday while Kristin stayed home handing out treats and making dinner.

It was great going with the girls. After each house, Grace would come running down and tell her dad, "I got more dad, I more dad!" Matt carried Kate the whole time we were trick or treating and started complaining that his back hurt. So it was a good thing when it started raining and it was time to go home.

When we came back, we ate grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup from Costco. It tasted great and was fabulous and the perfect meal for a cold Halloween Trick or Treating Night.


Grace was dressed up as "Hood Girl. " That is what she called Little Red Riding Hood.

Kate was dressed up as a Cat. She loves cats and says "Meow" alot.

Mattie and his girls with their pumpkins.

Matt dressed up as the Woodsman to match Grace's outfit.

The boys with the girls.

Grace was so tired, she fell asleep eating a sucker.

Trick or Treating at Work

Every year at my work for Halloween, associates can have their kids come and go trick or treating during the day.

I was able to have my nieces, Kasiah and Arlee, come and go trick or treating. It was a lot of fn going from office to office. Kasiah dressed up as a Fairy Princess and Arlee was dressed up as a BYU Cheerleader per her dad's request.

They had fun trick or treating and I had fun taking them around with Chelsey and my mom.




This is a picture in my new office.

Making Cookies with a 19-Month Old

For Young Women's on Wednesday, October 27th, we were going reversed Trick or Treating (taking cookies to people in ward). So the Young Women's leaders were suppose to make sugar cookies for the Young Women to decorate. Well I called my mom and asked her if I could make the cookies at her house, because my kitchen has no counter space.

So I called my sister, Chelsey, and asked her if she wanted to make them with me. She said yes, but later called and said she had to go to Relief Society, so she asked me if I wanted to watch Arlee.

I said yes and thought it would be fun to make cookies with Arlee. She helped with the stirring and putting the cookies on the cookie sheet, and eating batter.

Arlee was so cute about putting the cookies on the cookie sheet. I would place the cookie dough on her hand and she was really careful until I helped her put it on the sheet. We filled up one sheet and I put the cookies in the oven. I turned around and my mom had put a little piece of cookie dough on Arlee's hand, she looked at me waiting for help to put it on the next cookie sheet. It was absolutely cute.

We took some picture of the process.

Posting Comments

So if you have tried posting comments to my blog in the past and haven't been able to, you can now.

I didn't even know I set it where comments were limited to people logged in. Well my mother-in-law asked why she couldn't post a comment. I told her she would have to ask my sister in-law Amy.

Thanks Amy for finding the problem and thanks, Ma, for asking about it as I didn't know.

So if you want to post comments, you can.

Thanks for everyone that does read my blog and comments it is fun reading what you have to say.

Rent a kid...

I call babysitting...Renting a kid.

I get to babysit alot. I especially love watching kids that are about 18 months. They can walk and kind of talk, but they love to play with you and think the world is such an adventure.

I got a phone call from my sister, Chelsey, today while I was at work to watch my niece, Arlee, who is about 18 months old. I love her to death. She loves to call me "Babbie". She use to say Abbie really well, but since I started chasing her everywhere, she gets really excited and starts saying, "Babbie, Babbie, Babbie" over and over. It is the best.

So today, Chelsey and I traded Arlee at my work, so I could watch her. Well I took her inside my work and showed her off. She did her tricks that she knows and everything. She really loved riding the elevator.

We went over to my in-laws after I showed her off at my work, so I could take care of some mail. I ended up talking with my mother in-law for over an hour and Arlee just played around the front room with my keys and the trying to put them in the front door. It amazes me how captivated she was with the keys.

I got the toys out so she could play with them. Well she found a keychain and thought it was an earring and wanted me to put it on her. So I did. She was so cute and wore it around for about 5 minutes. I had to take some pictures of Arlee and her earring.

Matt and his Pumpkin

I caught Matt taking pictures of his pumpkin.


Don't they look like twins?

I made dinner.....

BUT I had to call the Phone Cookbook!!!

A couple weeks ago, when I was grocery shopping I decided to buy asparagus. I thought Matt and I would have it for dinner the next night. Well four nights later I finally cooked it, but first I had to call the Phone Cookbook. Don't get to excited as I am the only one with her phone number and the only one who she takes pity on. Well her and her husband take pity on Matt. So I called the Phone Cookbook and I asked her how to cook asparagus. Well right off the top of her head, she gave me 3 different ways to cook it.

She then proceeded to ask me what else I was going to make for dinner and I told her rice. "Rice", she asked. "Nothing, else just, rice." I told her yes, just rice. She suggested some different kinds of meat and I said no to all of them as I don't really like meat. So she finally talked me into putting a fried egg on the rice. I asked her if she was sure it tasted okay. She told me she was just introduced to the idea and liked it.

So I got home and told Matt what we were having for dinner and he looked really skeptical, which made me cry. Here I was trying to come up with an idea for dinner and was even going to cook it and he looks at me really skeptical. Well to give him credit, everytime I try cooking something besides breakfast for dinner I screw it up.

So we had asparagus with rice and eggs on top. It was really good. A side note though, Matt had to cook the rice, which was minute rice, as I have never cooked it. He also had to fry the eggs too, as I didn't even know what a fried egg was.


Doesn't it look so professional.

Matt smiling that I attempted to cook dinner. It was a joint adventure!

Annual Friends Pumpkin Carving Party

Every year we get together with some of our friends and carve pumpkins. We usually have 5 families that get together, but this year we were missing 2 of the families.

The boys usually carve the pumpkins while the girls talk and watch the kids. All the kids are under 4 years old, so they aren't quite into carving pumpkins yet. But Gracie asked her dad, David, to carve a "smiling heart" pumpkin. It turned out really cute. Kyle carved a witch. Matt carved venom's face from Spiderman. I hope I got the character right or Matt will be telling me after I have posted this and he has read it.

We went up to David & Kristin's house a little earlier that everyone else, so we could play with Gracie and Kate. Matt took them outside to ride bikes and Grace came in and told Kristin that Matt wasnt' letting her ride Katie's bike. I thought it was quite funny. Well after the bikes, I found Matt and Gracie out in the backyard drawing with chalk. I took a picture when they weren't looking. I don't like carving pumpkins, but Matt sure puts a lot of time planning out his pumpkin and what he is going to draw on it and his is always the last one done, no matter how much prep time he does. Good old, Matt!

Time flies when everything changes....

It has been over a month and how things can change:

1. Being Young Women's President -

• Busy, Busy, Busy. Meetings, Young Women's Activities, trainings, worrying about the girls, trying to figure to do as a President and what the other leaders are suppose to be doing
• It is hard, but very rewarding and special.
  

2. Coaching Young Women's Sports -

• I love to coach and the young women want to learn. We had volleyball for 6 weeks. I think it is the hardest sport to teach. Think about it, you have to teach a person how to hit a ball that is coming in the air with their arms and to hit it at the right time, so it will go in the right place.
  
• Basketball is coming up soon. The Young Women are really excited about this. In January, I had the opportunity to teach the girls about basketball. The basic fundamentals about how to shoot, dribble, and pass. Oh and the rules to the game. We start out absolutely awful, but over the weeks the girls got better and better. I had the best time coaching in a long time. I taught the girls about basketball and in turn I got to learn about you don't have to win to have fun. We never won a single game, but the girls were the best sports I have ever meet. I was privileged to be their coach and now their Young Women's President. I know for a fact that Heavenly Father saved these girls for this time on Earth. It is hard and scary out their with the temptations they have and WOW, they handle it with great faith!

3. New Job

• Interviewed for the Assistant to the Vice President of Store Development and got the job.
  
• Not sure quite what I do as of yet. Brand new position and I am looking forward to learning everything as I don't know a thing about what I am doing.

4. Matt's School

• Hate Matt being in school, but yet love it too! It is a hate/love relationship. He has lots of hours doing homework and clinicals. Trust me, if you ask me what Matt is doing, I most always say, "Homework."Only 14 more months to go!

Happy Birthday to my Mattie!!!!

Yet another birthday with Matt being in school. I usually get to only go to the hospital and have dinner with Matt, because he has clinicals. Well this year was a little different as his birthday was on Sunday. So I went to the hospital on Saturday and had lunch with him as he was doing a 12 hour clinical rotation. We watched a movie when I got home at 9:00pm.

Before going to bed, I put out Matt's birthday present. He found it on the kitchen counter when he got up for breakfast. I gave him the Biggest Bang Theory, season 1. He also got money for scrubs from my mom and the Biggest Bang Theory, season 2 from his mom.

We ate dinner at his parents house with our sister-in-law, Amy, and our niece, Tali, and nephew, Jairus. His mom had a cake for him. We sang Happy Birthdy and I took a couple of pictures.

Happy Birthday, my Mattie, your now 29 years old!




Mattie getting ready to blow out his candles....wonder what he wished for?!?

Tali thought she would make her on little ice cream stick....well ice cream on a fork.

My favorite picture of the day....Matt holding Jairus and making him laugh. I can't wait to take a picture when Matt is a Dad playing with our child.....That is what Matt should have wished for. :-)

Bridal Pictures....Shhhh, its a secret!

Kali asked me to go to her Bridals with her. It was fun. We went to Memory Grove with my mom and the photographer. Well my mom carted the sheet, I carted the rest of the stuff and took pictures of Kali from different angles than the photographer.

Also, I asked Kali if I could post these. She said Shawn doesn't know my blog, so it didn't matter.

She is beautiful and it was fun making her laugh, so that her smile wasn't fake. Just a side note, she had to have her dress extended 7 inches cause she is so tall. She makes me feel short.

Here are some.

Mom and Kali....the last daughter to get married. Just 3 weeks left.






The photographer is on the other side of the building. Wanted to get a different angle. Sure got it with Kali poking her head around the pole.

I was trying to get Kali in the background. Didn't do the best, oh well!

Matt says Kali always pulls the pouty face, so I told her to pull the face here.