Product Review

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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CNOUZE2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00 

I got this Fogless mirror for free to test it out, and it does exactly what it says it does, it was completely fogless, I was concerned that they material on the back seemed like it might absorb the water, but no such problems. It's been holding up very well in my shower even after being attacked by my little ones.

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Um, Christmas Letter?

I've gotten really bad at updating this thing, I guess my New Years Resolution will be to do better, in short, here is the yearly update

Tyson is still working for Red Wing shoes, and it's the most stable I think we've been since we had the boys, they really like him and we hope there is some room for growth there. He's doing a little sports writing on the side for the Sugarhouse City Journal, and is a Sunday School teacher at church, this seems to be his most common calling, it happens a lot! He also enjoys singing in the ward choir.

I'm staying at home with the kids, for all but 5 hours a week, when I help my parents out with paperwork at the shop. I had baby number 4 on Feb 1 and the insane woman that I am thought, hey I should have a Superbowl party in my recovery room (I have C-sections).It was a lot of fun, with tons of food and a good game, that I mostly slept through. In June we went up to Oregon for my birthday and visited with a lot of friends in Portland and Coquille, and I got to go crab fishing, it was awesome! In fall I started taking a pottery class and being a room mom at the boys elementary school. After that it was surviving the holidays.

Jackson and Jameson finished up preschool at Windsor Elementary and started Kindergarten and Timpanogos Academy this fall. They love school. Jameson is very smart, but he's not so fond of the work, he had repeatedly tried to talk his teacher out of homework, and has "forgotten" to bring his homework home a few times, lucky him, he's a twin and his brother has one I can copy! They both did T-ball in June and July and loved having their grandparents come and watch them. We took them to Disneyland in October and they gave me the pleasure of these phrases, "You destroyed my life by taking me to Disneyland!" "Do we have to go again tomorrow?" and when asked to make a wish by a castmember, "I wish to go home!" and as we were leaving, "my wish came true!" Most of these from Jameson, if you can't tell this one's got spunk! Jackson wasn't happy about it either, but seems a little more go with the flow in just about everything but sports which he loves like mad. He got to go to a few BYU football games this year and he was in heaven.

Charlotte is my little princess, well mostly, she does love all things princess. She's got enough spunk to fill an olympic size swimming pool, especially if you add in all the water she's used attempting to flood our house a few times. She's so smart and has been talking up a storm for well over a year now. She was potty trained before we went to Disneyland, but has decided that's not really important to her anymore, well at least I was down to 1 in diapers for a few months. She's incredibly sweet though and knows when mommy needs a hug and loves to cuddle. She loves attention and is capable of doing whatever is necessary to get it. She misses "her boys" when they are at school and can't wait to pick them up every day.

Last February we added kid #4, Margaret Julia Barbara Peterson, better known as Maggie. We got to go to Arizona in April for her baby blessing, we combined it with my nephew Mikey and invaded my brothers house with about 30 people for several days. Maggie is tiny (11 months and around 13 lbs, her 3-6 months pants are still pretty big on her), but that doesn't stop her from anything, she's crawling all over the place and just the happiest baby. She loves mom and dad, but if we are gone and she can't see us she's fairly content with most people. All her siblings just adore her, usually a little too much for her comfort. She's a wonderful if not completely bald addition to our family.

It's been a busy, crazy year for us and I'm looking foward to seeing what 2016 has in store for us.

Merry Belated Christmas and New Year, we hope 2016 has plenty of good in store for you as well.

Tyson, Sherri, Jameson, Jackson, Charlotte, Maggie

Bullet Points

- Tyson started a new job with Red Wing Shoes in June and our family life has greatly improved, if not our bank account
- I'm now almost 13 weeks pregnant with our 4th child and I'm due in February
- Charlotte started walking at 14 months and now at almost 17 she's become quite the handful, she gets into far more trouble than my boys ever did
- The boys just turned 4, we are praying they get into the Windsor preschool right by our house, and so are they, they want to go to school so badly and there is no way we can afford to pay for it
- Tyson's car finally bit the dust this week, not sure what we are going to do there, when this baby comes we will need to replace mind too, I'm praying the Lord has some plan in the works
- We have enjoyed many vacations this summer, probably more than we've ever done before, Memorial day we went to Vegas, what a story that is, June was St. George for my birthday, July brought Flaming Gorge and then Canada, which was so much fun and I'm so glad my kids and my husband got to meet my grandma and other family member's they've never met.
- We will celebrate our 5th anniversary in 2 weeks, I can't believe all that has happened in 5 years, we definitely aren't where I thought we'd be, but we have been very blessed in many aspects of our lives, though I wouldn't turn down a little more income :)

Well, we've survived

We survived the holidays, pretty much everyone was sick, but not so much we couldn't enjoy our visit to my brother's house. We had a fun vacation, the 49er's won and my food tour was so much fun! For the first time I actually really enjoyed Thai food, I also discovered balsamic vinegar, at least the ones we were eating, goes great with vanilla ice cream. The biggest surprise and plus was that despite our lack of income we were still able to pay for almost all of it with cash and we are still going to make it past this month, after that we'll have a tax refund and I'll feel a little better, though there are so many places I could/need to put that.

Tyson is applying for every job on the planet (or at least in Utah and a few outside of it) we'll see how that goes, I just keep praying we'll find "the job" but as has been our luck it's usually just a job to get us by, but at this point I'll happily take that as well. He has a publisher who wants to publish his book under subsidy, so we are trying to figure out how to do that.

Charlotte is getting bigger and learning more everyday, she's such a happy baby and I'm so lucky to be her mother. She loves to be held, unfortunately she prefers I'm standing while doing so and my back isn't a big fan of that. She has 2 full teeth and has 4 actively coming in right now.

Jackson and Jameson both had surgery last week to correct hernia's and hydrocele's. Jameson's hernia was on the left and Jackson's was on the right. They are recovering really well, I wish I recovered as easily as they do. They are still having a few sleeping issues from our lovely ordeal in November, but for the most part are doing well. They loved our trip to Arizona and spending time with their cousins, they keep asking me, almost daily, when we are going back to Arizona. I wish I knew the answer to that one.

I'm keeping busy with the kids, I learned how to quilt this last fall and made blankets for Charlotte and Tyson for Christmas and finally put together a family cookbook. I joined a book club, so at least I'm getting some reading in again that is fun for me. I'm greatly looking forward to life slowing down a bit after the holiday's and being able to have people over for dinner again, that is one of my favorite things to do.

Really, seriously, I mean come on!

First some unknown person tries to get into my house last week, which led to mass trauma for me and my children, then the same night someone calls the cops on my dog, then we get told Tyson won't be getting the raise he was promised, and today he got his hours cut from 20 a week to "as necessary, and nothing more" at least till after the holiday's and who the heck knows when after that, and that was supposed to be the secure job! That's pretty much losing 800 bucks a month out of the 1600-1800 or so we average. Can I just quit? Really, this same type of thing has happened every holiday season for the last 3 years. We barely make it as it is, most of the holiday hiring has already been done, and now we are screwed. We have very little savings (hard to build up a savings account when you are living on next to nothing) and I was so proud of how little debt we gained this year and pretty sure that just went right out the window. I mean seriously what is the freaking point? When will my husband ever catch a break. Seriously the guy apologizes to me weekly if not more often for his horrible luck, and I don't know what to tell him. My older brother is on an all expenses paid trip basically to Singapore with his wife for her birthday and I haven't a clue how I'm even going to make my house payment next month. I'm getting so freaking sick of this! I don't know what to do.

Having a baby does not mean you have to stay locked up for months!

To preface, I'm in a twin mom group and I swear I do things different than about 90% or more of them and I swear my life is easier and less frustrating for it, that or my kids are unlike any other children, anywhere, ever!

Now, I like church, more than that I NEED church. I thoroughly believe that I would be insane without it and so many of these women seem to believe that having a baby (or 2 babies) means they don't need church for anywhere from 3 months to a year! I call bs! The thing is so many of these women that believe they are, and I quote, "Having the hardest time of my life!" To which I think to myself, gee, maybe it's because you need the support of the Lord! I believe that he makes things easier and if I'm not doing my part by being there, doing as he asks, and renewing my covenants he is no longer obligated to do his part, making my burden light, etc.

Today I was told I was extremely lucky that my kids haven't gotten sick when I've taken them to church as infants, I 100% disagree, I think I've been blessed for being where I'm supposed to be and also for not being a complete idiot. It's very possible to take your kids to church and keep them covered or not allow other people to touch them. I also nurse and that has proven benefits to help with immunity. I know there are guidelines such as not taking them out in a crowd, this I also think is ridiculous request, tell me where you can go that there isn't a crowd please. I still have to go to the store, if my kids are in school, well I've made the baby just as susceptible if I've allowed a sibling to go to school where there is illness. I mean really unless you are going to lock yourself and your entire family up for a year (husband included, he could get sick at work) or however long you deem necessary, you have no excuse to not be at church! Women have been having babies forever, and very few of them ever had the ability to lock themselves up for a year, and yet we are still here.

Addendum: I have a husband who works at least every other Sunday, I have taken 2 or 3 (ages 3 and under) kids, since birth, by myself more often than not, to church, I don't see the lack of help as an excuse for me to skip church (unless sickness is running rampant in my household, which fyi, happens very rarely, I immunize, and I don't have a great fear of germs, I want my kids to build up immunity), so to borrow a phrase that's pissing women off lately, what's your excuse? If you have 8 or more kids you are exempt from explaining yourself, that's a lot to do on your own, and if you do, more power to you!

Addendum 2: If you refuse to immunize your children please keep them away from mine, I will not knowing allow my children to be around yours. This goes along with me not being an idiot.

AHHH I'm a SAHM

Ok, in reality I've been one off and on for 3 years, but this is the first year I've really started to feel about it the way I wanted to. I finally canned my own peaches this year, first time since we've lived her, my mil did them every other year, first year we were in the midst of getting married, then the next year we had brand new baby twins, the next year our house was under major construction, last year I had to go back to work part time and it just didn't happen, this year I did it! I canned all my own peaches and made a bunch of jam, raspberry peach and strawberry peach, it's fabulous. I've even made fresh bread a few times. This week I've done grape juice and I'm dehydrating plums as we speak.

I'm also learning how to quilt, I took a sewing class in 8th grade and I've been capable of some small projects. This year I'm pushing it and making blankets for Christmas for my kids and I'm learning to quilt in the process, for Charlotte's at least, I've always wanted to do it and it's finally happening, I'm so excited.

I'm doing a homeschool preschool for my boys, nothing all that fancy, it's based on a letter of the week, we are having fun and the boys look forward to it. We've made animal letters and projects that have to do with the letter, and usually have some sort of snack with the letter of the week, today's was Eclairs, (that's what happens when mommy's a chef).

Lastly I've recently learned how to index names for newfamilysearch.org. I'm averaging 100 names a day and I've already done over 1000, it's kind of addicting and I figure it's a better use of my time than being on facebook all day.

Now if Tyson could get a full time, good job we'd be fabulous, but I'm good now and I really am loving getting to spend my days with my kids.