because what else is there to do in january?

so after being a bit of a tomboyish kid (think every christmas I wanted sports equipment, like a basketball one year, ice skates (not really tomboyish but still sporty, a tennis racket with a ball that I would bounce the ball on endlessly, a remote control car another year...)   I used to play basketball with the old men of my ward after youth on wednesday nights at age 12-13 and I loved it.  I was already my full 5 foot 6 and I felt huge and strong and would shoot 3's as well as a 12 year old girl can.  Adolesence hit and I don't know what it was....I think it might have been related to the fact that I have always been "well endowed" and I got kind of freaked out of running or moving too fast in public.   Besides the normal mockery of junior high and people telling me I ran weird I became less sporty and  through highschool I never really played sports. Then young adulthood  (and by the way....Danny proposed to me by putting my engagement ring in a tennis ball while we were playing) hahah.  and then 3 babies and my version of excercise was pushing a double stroller through the neighborhood.  It is quite a workout.  So in my heart I've always felt like I have something athletic in me  and now drum roll please...................................... I'm learning to run!  And I'm going to run a 5k in the spring!!!!!!!  I know that sounds pathetic to all you athletic running people, but seriously, I've NEVER run.  So I'm starting slow.  I'm on week 4 of the couch to 5k program.    It's pretty awesome because I actually am running and I'm not feeling like I'm going to die or pass out or anything.  the bonus is 5 pounds are history!  Also you only have to run like 3-4 times a week which is good if its hard to find time to excercise.  So now I just have to pick my first race and my goal is just to finish it.  In less than an hour.  A half hour would be awesome.  

and here's a link.  So if you are like me (grab a good sports bra) and start it TODAY

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

virtual vitamin d

 we went to florida in december and it was soooo nice.  I'm totally moving down there every winter as soon as I can.  Snow is good but sunshine and sand beat it any day in my book.  Although we haven't had snow much either in ohio........

we stayed in new smryna beach and it was quiet  but close to everything.

Harveys "butt butt" That's what he calls it. 

I'm trying to figure out my camera.....I just have a oldish sony cybershot.  I blurred the background a little on that one.  That's what I was going for. 

After the initial freak outs about jelly fish...I think we overwarned them not to step on jelly fish.  They thought every piece of plastic on the beach was a jellyfish and they were like screaming non stop the first day or two. salt water reminded everyone of salty popcorn and the salty air made everyone feel healthy.  I think it cleared out my head.   I am so an old person in my heart.

the foot shot.  I have weird toes and they're hairy.  but check out our pool. 

martha stewart is my nemesis

Martha gets on my nerves.  For one WHY DOES her picture have to be on everything she produces?  I keep thinking she is about to retire and then no...she has a new line of simply beautiful home decor at kohls or something like that.  I'm kinda sick of her simply sweetly perfect home decor.  Because if you looked at my house right now...it's not simple.  There is a layer of little people on the carpet, there is clashing stockings hanging on the mantel, I have throw pillows that were made by 8 year old girl scouts,( and it looks like possibly color blind girlscouts) My serving ware is primarily from the goodwill or from the day I was married. It doesn't coordinate.  I don't have a tiered cupcake stand.  There are things that just aren't up to marthas standard.  Oh and today on the view they had Martha showing how to make simply perfect holiday desserts.  She wouldn't give the recipe.  All the ladies on the view were like trying to get the recipe from her, like these chocolate cookies, and one of them said "So how do you make those chocolate cookies?" and Martha said  "It's dough!  You make them from dough!" with this really exasperated look on her face.  Like we all thought you made cookies from concrete or something.  Then in the same day in the dentist office I was reading some magazine and it said "Entertain Martha's way" where it then went   "Entertaining made perfectly simple."  She continued....something like this "When I want a simple christmas gathering I whip up about 20 of my favorite simple dishes, such as soup, and invite all my friends over for a lovely gathering in the kitchen"  20!!!  She seriously said 20 and I am not kidding.  Who besides someone with a hyperthyroid disorder whips up 20 pots of soup for some friends to come and eat in the kitchen?  So I've had enough of her simple holidays.   I'll take some messy, chaotic, disorganized holidays.  And my christmas tree with the top missing lights and all the ornaments from the bottom moved to the top because i have a 1 year old who likes to rearrange glass ornaments.  Or step on them.  Or throw them.  He even bit one.  And it broke and his lips bled. He's okay so don't worry.

getting used to this new blogger layout is INSANITY!!  I couldn't figure out how to publish anything.

The past couple days I've been LOW on energy....I fall asleep at like 9 o clock.   I was staying up till like midnight for like a couple of weeks and now maybe its catching up with me.  Also I feel like maybe my hormones are firing up.  When I nurse a baby I don't have a period and so I feel totally hormonally free for like a year or two.  Then PMS comes back and hits me like a truck.  So that means one thing...time to have baby number 4.  I'd rather be puking for 4 months than having a period.  Also I know that we have another baby boy in our future  I totally just need to pop another 12 pounder out.  AWESOME.  hahhaha.  That makes me so tired just thinking about it.   Maybe in a year or two. 

So in my energetic state I was getting christmas all totally squared away.....which meant I shopped online for like a week straight. 

 wanna hear what the dotson kids are getting?

Harvey is getting a stuffed john deere tractor that makes noise.  He found it at the toy store in Childrens medical center and tried to steal it.  All the ladies who worked there were like giggling with joy.   He's also getting a robotic bird and a pull back car and a wooden hammer with a ball thing that pops through a slide thingy.  

Eva is getting a doll with brown hair and brown eyes.....all their dolls have blue eyes and she is always wanting one with brown eyes.  And a polly pocket car and craft kits and hmmm wooden cookies with frosting and sprinkles...they are so cute!  

Addie is getting a doll wheelchair and crutches and casts.  I know she is going to love it.  Its for her American girl doll and she is constantly wrapping their arms in toilet paper to make it look like they have casts.  Also a rubber ball making kit, polly pocket car and I need to get her something else but I don't know what yet.  hmmm.  Oh yeah, I sewed them both some clothes for their babies.

So now I just have to shop for relatives and I'm done!!!!  Because we are going to FLORIDA for Christmas.  Addie is afraid she is going to get left at home and have to fend off robbers because she's watched home alone too much.   I think it will be fun, we're going with my parents and staying on the beach so it will be a nice break from everything.  

I like to get all the shopping done early because my favorite parts of Christmas are all the things that don't involve gifts like going to see lights, and going to hear the Christmas devotional, and watching my kids perform in the church nativity (Addie is Mary this year) and delivering cookies.  Some years we plan a big service project but I haven't dreamt anything up yet...hmmm.  Maybe something in Florida?  I found out our church owns 1000's of acres in florida!  They produce a ton of food there, have a working cattle ranch, and orange groves, and wheat fields, and corn fields.  They use the food for the church welfare program. The church's welfare program is so awesome!  It would be fun to see if we could go tour it for Christmas.  Anyways, enough ramblings.  Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends!  I'm thankful for all of you!

November baby

Ahhhh I love Fall! Today was so beautiful.....yellow leaves, blue skies, mmmmmmmm. oooooh. Hhahahha. that reminds me of me and Steph...sometimes when we are in weird moods we'll call eachother and not say Hi just start groaning into the phone. A groan is a thousand words really. who needs a conversation when you can moan and groan for a while . We said when we're old we'll just call each other say "UGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH" then hang up.
Last night we went trick or treating with the kiddos. Oh Harvey was so cute...he trucked up to the door like he had been doing it for years. But he wimped out after about 4 houses so then Danny took him home and he fell asleep. Trick or treating in the suburbs just doesn't have the same kick as trick or treating when we lived in Dayton. One reason is NO ONE really trick or treated in Dayton. It must have been some unwritten rule. Sure they would schedule the night....but no one would actually go door to door. Except us. We would wheel little Addie Lou in her stroller door to door and everyone would look down the street, see no one and dump the whole bowl in her bag. We would get some serious candy. Although some people would get way too excited about halloween and put like fake dead bodies everywhere and fake blood and we would try to avoid the scary sex offender houses....with the big obese man leering down from his porch. Yep. Just keep walking. Then I compared it to my many years of trick or treating in P. hill. Tiny town, we all dressed up till we were 18 because we had marching band and had to play in the halloween parade. I really cant remember what I dressed up as but mostly I think it involved trucker men, or just working a mullet and a flannel shirt. Or an afro and a tie died t. shirt.
So I really don't get why every adolescent girl I saw last was wearing fishnets with a bikini top and a tutu. And they had some hormonal hooded sweatshirt wearing boy tagging behind them. UUUUGGGGGHHHHHH.

hey I am writing on here but Harvey is trying to sit on the keyboard so this will be fun. Awesome he just ran to the front door to try to see the dump truck. Men are easily distracted I've found. Especially 1 year old men. Harvey went to nursery for the first time on Sunday . He has slept through church since the first day he went at like 6 weeks. We would strap him in the stroller, take 2-3 laps around the dark gym, and he would be out for the entire 3 hour block. That's how its worked up till yesterday. I was playing the piano for the primary program. I dont' know but that is probably one of the most torturous days of the whole year is practicing for the primary program. It doesn't help that I've been in Primary now for like......9 years I think?
I enjoy kids. That's why I have 3 of my own. So it all works out. anyways, Harvey was awake so Danny took him to nursery and he said he didn't cry and the only thing Danny heard when he walked away was Sister Wade saying 'Harvey don't eat off other peoples plates" which made me laugh imagining Harvey digging into other kids snacks. And thinking of him being big enough to understand english. I've been busy wrestling him to the ground so he doesn't constantly throw things away in the trash. He threw my brand new shoe away I'm sure of it. It went missing and I've found my CELL phone in the trash, Addie's shoe, and my hairbrush, and huge things like a huge toy firetruck sitting on top of the trash can lid.
I've let my piano students earn "piano bucks" all summer and they all got to pick out of my piano store. Which was mostly candy. I couldn't think of anything more exciting. But then Eva raided the piano store and stole almost all the candy and hid it somewhere in her room....all I know is she has a serious stash of candy somewhere and whenever she wants any she just goes to her hiding place and finds it.
time out for women was really awesome! I went with my mommy and my sisters. We had a great time and heard (and met) Mercy River. And I met Brad Wilcox who I've heard speak since I was a teenager going to EFY. He is really hilarious in real life too. I'm definately going to try to go again. Also a shout out too my friend (won't say her name) who I saw there and she told me she is secretly expecting twins.....so it will make 7 kids total! She is my hero!

new post

Yep I'm here. Summer time is bad blogging time for me. Who wants to sit on the computer when I could be outside at the pool or playing with my kids. Also my old computer died so we had about a week transfer of shopping and setting up. Summer was good but incredibly hot. We went to Michigan for a week but spent the rest of it at home. Danny went back to school at the beginning of August. Addie decided to go to school. It was harder for me than her. I cried like a baby the night before she left but she acted very non chalant about it all. She get's herself on the bus every day and does her homework without help and has made some friends she talks about. So today Addie is home sick with a cold and the three kids are watching scooby doo. My friend is having a baby and I'm giving her a baby shower so I'm making food all day. Crescent rolls have CRISCO in them and I'm not talking just one or two spoonfulls like a FULL CUP! Crescent rolls should be called fat rolls...but I need it to make veggie pizza. The vegetables disguise the lard filled crust....HAHHAHAHA. Veggie pizza is a total oxymoron. What if I tried to make the whole world obese by selling them on the veggie pizza diet? That goes along with what danny and I were discussing the other night. Because he's been working out and trying to lose his belly as he says and I was like " if it's the end of the world you might be able to LIVE off the fat in your belly." and he was like "I don't think that's a good food storage plan" and I was like "WHAT IF you just tried to get really fat and then when everyone else in the whole world dies of starvation you are a lean 165 lbs and you can claim everything in the world and make yourself KING of the world???" I don't think it's that bad of a plan personally. I got a big old bag of llama wool I'm learning how to process. It's actually alot of work processing llama wool. First you gotta fluff it, then you gotta card it...which is a rickety machine that i use at this place I've been weaving at. Yes I'm weaving too. I'm going to make the llama wool into a rug. So then you card it...the machine is in the basement of the weaving store and you are surrounded by fibercrafts from years past and it's overloaded with old wool and spinning wheels and it really feels like a psychotic person could be lurking behind a shelf of red died wool or a freaky old woman ghost could show up sitting on a spinning wheel in the corner. So I try to think about other things while I card the wool. But it does take forever so my mind starts to wander. I've had to take a break the past couple of weeks because Addie is getting baptized at the end of the month, so I'm planning that and I'm making birthday presents for my niece and nephew and the baby shower and I'm doing coop preschool with Eva and I'm trying to work out everyday and I'm trying to just be all around awesome. so far I'm succeeding. Yes I am.