Happy Birthday Adree Doll =0)

Adree age 7 Pioneer Park=0)
Adree this summer =0)

Fall 2008 Pioneer park
Adree summer 2007
Adree with her brothers and cousin 2005
Grandma sent this picture, with her doing a head stand, in her birthday card from July 2005
Adree summer 2006
Adree in January 2003
Adree as "Magenta" for Halloween 2001
Adree eating sand at the beach...=0)
Adree sucking her thumb at 6 weeks old=0)

Okay, where on earth did the time go? I can't hardly believe that my little girl is nine today! I thought I'd share some pics of her growing so far and share a few things about Miss Adree.=0)
Adree Elizabeth was born on August 25th in the early afternoon in Page, just like her Mom.=0)
The second of my three, Adree was a go getter from the time she was very young. Just 16 months younger than her brother Drake, I really had two babies at once. Really people wonder how you do such a thing, but they were always such good babies, it really wasn't that difficult! With two that close in age, you don't have to worry about jealousy, and they were always into the same things so, they always had each other as playmates.
I remember taking Drake to the park before Adree was even old enough to walk and Adree was not going to sit in carrier and watch him play. She yelled until Mom picked her up and followed back behind Drake as he played so Adree wouldn't feel left out. Adree would watch Drake as he walked around and you could tell she just couldn't wait until she could move around too!=0)
Adree started talking as soon as she was able to sit up on her own, at about 6/7 months. I remember Adree sitting behind her Dad, who was working on the computer, and saying dadda dadda dadda...until he would turn around to look at her. She would grin ear to ear, "Daddy your little girl is calling you..." I would say and sure enough as soon as he turned around she would grin. Little stinker!
Adree smiled at just over a week old and learned to ride he bike without training wheels at age 4. Adree is the youngest student in her grade (she just started 4th), but you would never know it! She is not happy to just sit and watch time pass her by! Adree joined the church this year and gets herself up and ready to go by herself on Sundays. She also joined the choir at school and is perfectly happy to get herself up and ready to be at practice on Tuesday's at 8am. Even though this meant she didn't have time to open her birthday presents before school today!
Adree never met a stranger, I can't take her anyplace here in town where she doesn't know someone! Active and driven, responsible and sunny, Adree you are the best daughter I could have ever asked for! I couldn't have gotten any luckier to have you if I had had the opportunity to choose you myself. Happy Birthday Adee Doll! Mommy, Lee, Drake, and Seth love you so very much! May your birthday wishes come true! =0)

...and so I've learned=0)

Me today























Me at nineteen


Earlier this week I was training a new employee and one of my regular customers leaned over the counter to tell me, "Now if you want anyone to think you are a day over 19, you'll have to cut your hair again..." This is something I hear frequently well, not about the hair, but something similar to this. I usually have someone asking me if I am still in school or telling me "you are too young, you wouldn't know." I know at some point I will enjoy everyone thinking I'm at least 10 years younger than I really am. For now it's kind of annoying, I've lived a lot of life since 19 and I would just like a little credit for what I've experienced. Here's a few things I've learned in this journey we all call life:

1. If your boyfriend/partner/significant other treats you like crap he is abusive. I unfortunately know this from first hand. Please watch for the warning signs and don't find yourself in this situation. If he treats his family with disrespect, don't be with him. My ex-husband was so mean to his Mom...yelled at her, took advantage of her, never spoke to her with respect. I wish I had known to pay more attention to this before hand. Everything wrong in his life is the fault of someone else. He couldn't hold a job because of the boss, or because of the co-workers, never because he couldn't get it together enough to work it out. If he ever raises a hand to you or is rough with you or calls you names , leave. I've been called every name in the book (none of them nice), I've been thrown, kicked, punched, hair pulled out of my head, made to feel absolutely worthless, I've also survived. The day I realized I deserved to be treated with respect and knew that I didn't need him to live my life, was the day I gained my freedom.

2. Raising kids is so much easier if you don't stress over little things. I have three and have spent the last 4 years as a single Mom. Yes, I have Lee who is every bit as helpful as a man who has never had any kids, but I've learned what is truly important. If your house isn't spotless, who cares!=0) I work, I come home, I help out with homework, make dinner, put kids to bed and wind down to start again tomorrow...taking the kids to school, getting ready for work...sometimes my house is only cleaned on the weekends. Sometimes we pick through piles of laundry through the whole week before it gets put away on my days off. My kids are happy though and well adjusted and every spare minute we have isn't spent trying to catch up on housework. =0) Let your kids be themselves. If that involves wearing a set of chinchilla ears to school sometimes then so be it. If your daughter insists that she needs to wear polka dots and stripes at the same time then let her. Hey, as long as they have the same colors in them, then go for it I say!=0) If your kids won't eat anything except cold cereal, pizza, pb and j, oh well! This is why someone invented the multi-vitamin! Have them try new things, but don't stress if they don't like it or won't eat it.=0)

3. Not everyone is going to like you or what you have to say. You know I'm opinionated, you know I only am if I know what I'm talking about. You are not going to hurt my feelings if you don't like me or what I have to say. This is where having some self confidence is quite useful.=0) As long as I am trying my best to be the best kind of me there is, I no longer let myself beat myself up over stuff that can't be helped or that I messed up on. I'm happy, I have so many good things going for me and I can handle anything that comes my way. (Hopefully)=0)

4. I have the very best parents ever! Always understanding and willing to help me out, I couldn't have asked for better parents, ever! I wished I had listened to them closer when I was younger, I probably could have saved myself a lot of grief if I had taken there advice more often. They support me and are not judgmental. They helped me escape an abusive marriage and regain the custody of my kids and then helped me out with rent and a car until I was able to get on my feet again. Mom and Dad you rock! I love you so much!=0)

Now that 12 years have passed since I was actually nineteen, I know that I've lived so much life since then. Knowing that whatever I've faced has strengthened my character and no matter how much I protest, I'm always going to look much younger than I am. I know better though, even if I don't look any older, people are going to think what they will and so, I've learned...=0)

Adree, Drake, Seth ready for the first day of school!
They were looking forward to getting back...=0)

Hooray for the "most wonderful" day of the year! Of course I'm talking about the first day of school!=0) The wonderful day that Mom is finally rid of her bickering, whining, and inherently lazy brood of ankle biters...and they get to harass their teachers for 6.5 hours instead! Of course this day might have been more glorious if I didn't get called into work right after they left for school, but still the same...it's a start right?=0)
Drake is a 5th grader this year and was smiling before and after school. He also had good things to say about his new teacher who is supposedly pretty easy going and tolerant. I only know that he is tall and skinny and has very long hair, I'm keeping my fingers crossed...=0)
Adree is a 4th grader and is always eager to get back to school and pick back up on her social life! We only got about half way to her classroom before one of her little friends grabbed her hand saying, "Adree you're in my class this year!" and with that grabbed her hand and they ran to class.=0) Adree has Mr. Lee who is the teacher Drake had last year, I imagine Mr. Lee with be relieved to have Adree instead...she's a good student=0)
Seth is a first grader this year, now I know that for most kids this is quite a milestone going to school all day, not really in Seth's case. Dixie Sun Elementary has all day Kindergarten, so he has no problem with eating in the cafeteria, going to school all day, etc. Ms. Bosworth is his teacher this year, Adree had her in 1st grade as well. She is the Spanish speaking teacher (Adree and Seth learn in English and Spanish) so, I imagine Seth will be speaking the language quite well this year!=0)
So, the kids are ready for a new year of learning and Mom is looking forward to a little more freedom=0) By the way I need to share this, I spent only 300 dollars on all three of them. This includes 2 backpacks, 7 pairs of shoes (all together), new socks for all of them. 1 jacket, 1 skirt, 7 shirts, 7 capri pants/ shorts, 3 leggings, and a dress for Adree. 9 shirts, and 4 pairs of shorts for Seth. 9 shirts and 5 pairs of shorts/pants for Drake. Not too bad, I say!=0)

Lamb kids =0)

I payed Drake and Seth a dollar each to get their pictures taken, is that bad?
No, he is not "smiling", but Drake is trying his best which is all I ask=0)
This has got to be one of my most favorite pictures of Adree!=0)
Seth is such a handsome little man!=0)

Okay, so I really don't have much to blog about other than I've been trying to go through things and finish any half finished projects in order to get them packed up. These pics were taken at the kids daycare and normally I don't pay much attention to what they do (they take pictures like 4 times a year), but when I noticed how cute they were dressing up the kids and posing them, I made sure that all of the kids had theirs done. Normally I just get the kids pictures from school and I always take like a thousand others during the year, but last year Drake's pictures turned out to be such a fiasco that I decided I would save myself the trouble of doing it through the school this year.
Drake has High-functioning autism or Asperger's syndrome, he is such a good kid, but last year Drake had a a regular teacher who knew that it was obvious that Drake had a problem. Honestly I feel bad for his teacher because Drake does need special treatment. For instance, Drake went to go have his picture taken at the school..you send money before hand and Drake's teacher decided that the 4Th graders were responsible to take their own money to the photographer! BIG MISTAKE!! This is a child who cannot remember to bring his coat home, backpack, homework, etc. consistently. Big deal right? Okay, most kids forget things right? Drake is incapable of remembering anything at all unless I, his sister, one of the daycare ladies, his teacher, or Lee remind him several times before and after school or where ever he is going that day. Anyway, back to the pictures last year...Drake must have forgotten to take his picture money with him (it was a money order) and it wasn't until Adree and Seth had brought home their pictures that I realized Drake didn't have his. I called his teacher and asked what happened to his pictures...his teacher said he didn't have any. I prodded Drake until I finally figured out that he had forgotten his money and when he realized what he had done, Drake threw away the envelope with the money! Urgh! I was mad, but also at his teacher.
It wasn't until the end of the year after they let Drake fail for quite sometime and us calling the school multiple times to have him tested and had several very long meetings with the school counselor...that we were able to determine through a pediatrician's visit what the source of Drake's problems are. I am glad to know once and for all what it is and what we can do for it, but at the same time I don't want Drake to labeled for the rest of his life. He is a great kid, very smart, happy, never gets in trouble...but he doesn't know how to talk to kids his age (he only likes adults and little kids) he looks like he's scowling all the time, but really it's more he gets overwhelmed easily and overstimulated. He has the emotional capacity of a six or seven year old, in essence he is not a pre-teen at all. His motor skills are poor in several areas such as, writing, using scissors, drawing as well as he has a speech impediment. I had a friend point out to me that he is still the exact same kid as always, which is true...it' s hard for others to understand him if they don't deal with him on a regular basis though.
Adree has friends in the ward that invited us over for dinner and I just took Adree and Seth with me and left Drake with Lee at home. These friends asked why I hadn't brought Drake too and sometimes instead of worrying him with a new situation and listening to him shout (he has no volume control, not sure why on that..) random things at these poor people all the way through dinner, I just let him stay home in his own little world. I work on Sunday mornings while Adree goes to church (she usually takes Seth too) and Drake asked me why I don't have him go too "Well", I confessed to him "I'm not sure what's going to come out of your mouth when I'm not there and so, you can just stay home unless I'm going too." Which is sad...but true! He just shrugged and went back to playing with his Legos.
I really didn't mean to sit here and spill my guts, but I' m sure at least my family has wondered why I haven't shared what is going on with Drake. My friend is right..he hasn't changed and labeling him only explains things, it doesn't define him as an individual. I love you DrakeE. =0)