My new scrap blog!!!

Thanks so much to Wendy for helping me come up with a name for my new blog. It is up and running and there is a freebie waiting there. Look back often as I will be giving out freebies all of the time!!

http://www.stacysbackdoor.blogspot.com/

CREATING MY OWN SCRAP STUFF!

I have been working hard the past several weeks to learn Photoshop better and learn how to design my own digital scrapbook papers and elements. I have so much to learn, but I am still very proud of myself for what I have accomplished. I want to start another blog - as if I need another one to keep track of - which is devoted just to scrapbooking. I am even going to give away my stuff as freebies.

I need your help on two things. I am not really very creative when it comes to naming things. So I need some ideas:
1. An idea for a new blog and I guess company name to put on my designs.
2. Here is a picture of the kit that I made. I need your help. I want to give it a name, but I am not very good at that sort of thing. Download it by going here: http://www.4shared.com/file/37172971/fe30e1f8/first_kit.html?dirPwdVerified=d6e06388
Look at it and tell me what you think a good name would be. Also, give me any feedback about the quality or look of the design. I want to get better and only can do that if I get a bit of constructive criticism. Thanks!!

Here are some LO that I created using the kit:

credits: font - You are loved

credits: glitter flower - Brittish Designs overlay - Shabby Princess (Vintage Florals)

STANLEY COMES TO VISIT!!

Madi's friend Mylee from Eagle Mountain (although, they live in Lehi now) just read Flat Stanley in school and as an assignment had to send him out to visit people. She asked if he could come to our house and stay for a week. We had fun showing Stanley around and he is going home today. Here are some pictures of Flat Stanley in Sydney, Australia! Thanks Mylee for letting Stanley come visit!

SWIMMING LESSONS

Madi had her first Aussie swimming lesson yesterday. She was so excited. She has been dying to get into the pool since we had to sit and watch Cooper's lesson a few days ago. (Hopefully next term I can get signed up sooner and get their lessons on the same day)

She did well. However, she has a lot to learn. We definatley don't start swimming as early as they do here in Australia. There is another boy in her class and he is so far ahead of her. Oh well! I know she will be a fabulous swimmer by the time we return to the states. She loves it!

They do things a bit differently here. I think I mentioned that when I talked about Cooper swimming. They literally let them learn the hard way. Sometimes that means taking in a gulp of the pool. The instructor will let go of the kids and have them do their best, and step in to help when necessary. I am not sure how I feel about this - I hate swimming after all because a teacher made me jump off the high dive. However, it doesn't seem to phase the kids. They just keep on trying. I guess that is what parents do as well. I am not saying it is a bad idea. I just don't really like the water and have nightmares that my children will drowned. That is why they are taking swimming lessons - so that they can save me if they need to! LOL!!

NEW CALLING

Okay, I have been debating whether to put this on the blog or not, but since it is really my journal of our adventures in Australia I am going to. I got a new calling on Sunday. I should have known I was in trouble when I received an e-mail from Tim (in the bishopric) and he said he would like to meet with us before Church.

[side note: for those of you reading this who are not members of our Church let me tell you what a calling is. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not have paid clergy. Therefore, as members of the Church we are blessed to have opportunities to serve others by helping out. We do unpaid service to those in our ward boundaries and get countless blessings because of it. ]

I knew that they were going to release the Primary President (primary is the classes for the kids 18 months to 12 years) because she is due to have a baby. I kept telling myself that they were just going to release me and that was that. I had a nagging feeling that this wasn't going to be the case, but I kept telling myself that anyway.

So Sunday morning came and we went to Church early - which was harder than I thought it would be considering Church is at 9:00am and we have to drive about 15-20 minutes. I was released from my calling as 2nd counselor in the Primary, but as Tim said reliable people get other callings right away. He then extended the calling of Primary President.

Of course I said yes - you aren't supposed to turn down a calling after all - but I was terrified inside. I told Tim that I would be able to find a way to fulfill this calling and of course Kev supports me 100% which is awesome!! Since we have a week off for Stake Conference I have two weeks to think of counselors. Therefore, I thought that they would also hold off calling me for a few weeks. Nope, not how it is done here. They released the old presidency and called me - so as of right now I am a one woman show.

So how do I feel about this? I am a bit humbled, terrified, and excited.
1. I am humbled because I don't believe that I am that good with kids. Yes, I have three of my own, but that doesn't make me good with kids.
2. Terrified because I am not sure what I am doing. It has helped that I have had the same calling for about three years now - 2nd counselor in Primary. I thought it was funny when they called me to the same calling I had back in Utah - I guess I was just being prepared. I am not scared of doing Sharing Time - this was my biggest fear when I first got put into Primary. I am not scared of interacting with the kids - I think they are the easiest group of people to teach because you teach the basics of the Gospel. I am scared of being the one in charge. I know that I felt this way when I was called to be the Young Women's President so many years ago.
3. However, with all these other feelings I am excited. I am excited to stretch myself and to learn and grown.

Hopefully I don't mess up too badly and I can bring a little of that Northern Hemisphere "charm" to the Normanhurst Ward Primary.

FIRSTS FOR COOPER....

This week has been a week of FIRSTS for Cooper.

1. Yesterday he had his first swimming lesson. I was a bit nervous that we would have a repeat of the one and only time he has ever taken swimming lessons back in Utah a year and a half ago. The lessons ran every day for two weeks and he cried for all but two days I think. He did stay in the pool, but you could hear him crying and I wouldn't get him out. Yesterday was so much better. He had been so excited all day to go to swimming lessons. When it was time to go he happily got his suit on and we headed out in the rain. The pool is outdoors, but has a covering over it, so lessons are held in the rain unless there is lightening associated with the storm. He did so well. He listened, mostly, to his instructor and kicked really well. Here they seem to let go more often and see if they can do it themselves. The teacher let go several times to see if Cooper could make it to the side. He couldn't and went under every time, but the teacher quickly got him above the water and Cooper came up with a smile on his face (after the look of fright went away). He is excited to go back everyweek!!

2. Today was his first day at preschool!!! I have also been wondering how this day would go. Our shy little boy has grown out of that a bit, but it is still present every once in a while. We took Madi to school and then had about 15 minutes to spare (they were staggering the children at the preschool) so we went to the park to take a few "first day of school" pictures. He wasn't too excited about getting his picture taken - nothing new here - but was excited when I told him we could go to school. We got to the school and he remembered where his locker was and put his stuff away. He is excited that he gets to have morning tea and lunch at school. His teacher was very nice and introduced him to another little boy, and he sat down to sculpt with Play-doh. I said good bye and that was that. No tears nothing. I was happy about this, but sad at the same time. My little boy, who used to need me all the time doesn't anymore. He is getting so grown up and wanted to do things on his own. Usually he does things that Madi does or he can't do things because he isn't big enough. Now he is off to meet his own friends and do things that his sisters aren't doing. I am so proud of him!!

Another first worth mentioning has to do with Rylee. She finally has her first tooth. She takes after Madi and is getting them all a bit late - although Madi's all came after she was one and then two and three at a time. I looked yesterday and there was one little bottom tooth sticking out!

Julie Tagged Me...

Rules:
A. The rules are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people by posting their names; then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged.

What were you doing 10 years ago?
Um, let's see. 10 years ago I had just crushed Kev's heart by telling him that I loved him as a friend but nothing else. However, around this time I had changed my mind and didn't know exactly what to do about that. I was attending BYU and playing lots with the friends I had in my ward. I was the student trainer for the BYU Women's Tennis team and had to travel lots with the team to exotic places like Madison, Wisconsin and Las Vegas, Nevada. It was good times!!

Snacks I enjoy:
Baby Ruth (can't get that here)
Swedish Fish (dito)
Almonds
Fruit - I love fruit!!
Chocolate anything

Five things on my to-do list today:
clean the house - didn't really get done
start the laundry - didn't get done either
go to the shops for groceries
get the kids registered for swimming
start reading the book club book for Feb.

Things I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:
well first I would have to pay my tithing
buy a house
travel the world to exotic places
travel home whenever I want
update my wardrobe

Three of my bad habits:
I get anxious and frustrated when things don't go the way I think that they should
I grind my teeth when I sleep
I also talk in my sleep sometimes - very interesting conversations I have had in the past.

5 places I have lived:
Idaho Falls, Idaho as a kid (don't remember this though)
Rexburg, Idaho
Provo, Utah
Salt Lake Valley - several cities there
Sydney, Australia

Jobs I have had:
I worked at two different pizza places in high school - I used to be able to throw pizza dough in the air and everything!
An aide at a physical therapy clinic
The front desk lady at a doctor's office
At home medical transcriptionist
Stay at home mother of three children - the hardest of any job I have ever had

Things people don't know about me:
I am a sucker for reality TV
I don't swim very well and am actually a bit scared in the water. I had to dive off the high dive in swimming lessons as a kid and have never been the same since. Now I don't really like heights or the water.
I get motion sick really easily and can't read in the car - not good if your job is to be the navigator in the car.
I am extremely ticklish - but really hate being tickled and have been known to use fists in order to get someone to stop.

I tag...
Amy B
Amy G
LaNae
Carli
Mari
Lisha
Rickie

"...Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."

Yesterday had to be the worst day on record for me - okay at least for a really long day. I should have known it was going to be a bad day when Cooper woke me up at about 2:00am to sleep by me because he had a bad dream, and then proceeded to kick me, hit me, and roll into me hundreds of times for the next hour before Kev took him back to his room.


It was a hard morning to get the kids out of bed, but we got off to school in time with a few minute to spare!!! Until I got the van parked, Rylee unbuckled, the kids out of the van, and then realized that Madi didn't grab her backpack (which has her lunch and morning tea) or her hat (can't go out to recess and play without that in Australia). Needless to say we had to drive all the way back home and Madi was late for school.


I then went straight from school to the shops to do a few things. Mostly to get my mobile phone (cell phone) working. I have to back up for this story. When we went on our trip to South Australia last month some of my stuff fell out of the diaper bag upon arriving at the Sydney airport. I thought I got it all off of the ground, but apparently didn't because when we got on the airplane and I went to turn off my phone it was nowhere to be found. Therefore, upon our arrival home I bought a new one. Kev had stopped my minutes on my old phone (we do pre-paid here because it is cheaper for us) and they said that it could be transfered to another phone when it was purchased. So we went to the store and bought the phone and everything seemed fine until a couple of days later when I went to use it and I couldn't call out. Kev said he had tried to call me and nothing happened either. So we had to call the customer service line and spent three days getting the run around with no one finding a solution to the problem. Finally, we were told the the SIM card wasn't working and I just needed to go to any Optus store and they would replace it for free.



So on Friday morning I went to the Optus store and told them this. The guy was not happy and had me sit in a chair and call customer service again. I was on hold for at least 30 minutes trying to entertain Cooper and Rylee, yet make them sit quietly in the store. Finally the lady comes on the line and starts asking me all the questions I have already been asked for three days before. I was so frustrated that when she asked what my mobile number was and I drew a blank. By this time Cooper is climbing all over me and asking me questions and Rylee is fussy and starting to whimper. Basically, the lady could do nothing for me because I couldn't remember my number. The other problem being that when we bought the phones in the first place they put both of them in Kevin's name so I can't do much anyway because I have a different name, and they can't seem to fix that either. After hanging up the phone and the frustration level reaching it's max. The guy at the store, who is on the phone setting up someone's account, looks at me as if to say "what do I need to do for you." I had had it and I yelled at him and said that she could do nothing for me and that the customer service of the company was terrible. I told him that because I did what someone told me to do he should honor that, to which he said a bit condenscending "I am sorry, but you were given bad information." So I said, "basically you are telling me that there is nothing you can do!" He told me no and I just left the store.

Upon arriving home I called Kev, at work, who then called Optus and told them he wanted to speak to a manager. The manager took 20 minutes to figure out the problem and fix it over the phone. Why couldn't someone have done that in the first place? He was very nice and called me later to make sure the phone was working and gave me a $30 credit because of the bad service I had received. He was very kind and made me feel much better about the company.

The customer service in Australia is just not up to par with the States. I can't believe how rude they are sometimes and how nothing gets done. I don't think I will take the "customer is always right" slogan for granted anymore. Even Wal-mart is spectacular compared to some of the customer service I have seen here. Anyway, that is another subject for another day.

So there was a little bit of a sun shining moment there in my bleak day - the manager fixing the problem and doing a great job at apologizing. However, then Madi came home from school a few hours later and had the worst attitude ever. She was ornery (whingy) and complaining about not getting a sucker (lollie) that Cooper had gotten when we went to the shops. Finally I yelled at her and told her to go to her room. Apparently this was my day for yelling (I am not usually this bad I promise).

Due to this little exchange we were late to get on the train to meet Kev in the city. This isn't too bad because the next train was only 15 minutes behind so we made that one. However, when we got to the train station the elevator wasn't working. I had to haul the stroller up the stairs - luckily for me a nice lady offered her assistance!!

When we got to the city I went out a different gate than I normally do (I am usually with Kev who knows all) and couldn't figure out how to get out of the train station. Finally upon finding my way around to the Woolworths (which has the only elevator to street level and is where we used to shop when we lived in the city), and remembering how small the store was and how many people were there (anxiety levels went up here a bit). I went to take the elevator, and this one was out of order too. Talk about everything happening in one day. We just went up the escalator - stroller and all.


The day then did get much, much brighter after that (despite the gray and bleak sky). We met Kev in the city to have dinner and walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens and see the Opera House again. We haven't walked through the Gardens since our first day in Sydney and I wanted to go back and see them again. We also had to take Flat Stanley to see places in Sydney - more on him later this week.

Madi, Rylee, and I stayed in Hyde Park while Kevin and Cooper headed to Macca's (McDonalds) to get dinner. We had to relive the old dinner routine while we were living in the city. While waiting the missionaries came by and started talking to me. I let them sweat it out a bit and try to give me their spill before telling them that I was a member of the Church.


This is where I forgot all the bad things and had a great time with my family. I love the Gardens the green open space is so nice, and I can never get enough of seeing the Opera House. Here are a few pics that we took. I wish that it would have been a nice day with blue sky.

We had to find the bats again of course. The first picture is of them sleeping in the tops of the trees. The second picture was the best part of the night for me. We were there long enough that they woke up and began to fly around. It was a little eerie and spooky to have huge bats flying overhead, but it was cool at the same time.

We also had to find the drinking fountain that Cooper had such a fun time playing in the first time we visited the Gardens. He was so excited to see it again and went running to spray the water. The first picture is from the first visit and the second was from last night.

And of course the Opera House!!! From a distance.....

...and up close!!

After walking on the steps of the Opera House we told the kids we would see if the icecream shop was opened (Baskin Robbins here we come!!!) and started our way through Circular Quay. While walking we ran into the Rowberry's again - they were leaving for Utah the next day (today actually). What are the odds - in a city so big! It was fun to say goodbye to them again!

At least the last part of the day was a good one, and to think I almost called Kev and said forget it we will do it another time. Actually, now that I type it all up it doesn't seem so bad. However, in the moment it was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.