BETTER THAN HOUSEWORK

Eye Eye Eye!

2012-01-23T20:54:00.000-08:00

CO goes to the opthamologist a lot. Her first visit was when she was five days old. She was born with a polar interior cataract the size of a pin prick in her left eye. Even though the cataract doesn't affect her vision, we figured it was a matter of time before we found out she needed glasses because of her genetics and her frequent visits to the eye doctor. Sure enough, CO got glasses few weeks after her fourth birthday.

We went to see the eye doctor again this winter and discovered something we hadn't seen coming: Her left eye was developing amblioplia, or lazy eye. This means her brain ignores the images sent from her left eye and is starting to rely solely on her right eye. Without intervention, her brain could cause vision failure in her left eye. To which we say; "Silly brain, CO wants to use both eyes!"

Now every morning for two hours CO wears a patch over her "good" eye. This reteaches her brain to rely on her left eye. She goes back to the eye doctor in March and has been very accomodating considering it's tough to see things "all blurry." We are counting our blessings because her cataract (and the resulting frequent visits to the eye doctor) helped us catch the pre-amblioplia before it got any worse. The other blessing is that her eye doctor says there's no reason she shouldn't eventually have 20/20 vision! Such a good girl. She has been so good about wearing her patch every morning.

A Formal Apology to My Kitchen

2012-01-18T15:35:00.000-08:00

I was rude to my kitchen a few posts ago. So I would like to take this opportunity to extend my deepest and most sincere apology to my kitchen. Ahem.

Kitchen? I'm sorry.

There, I said it. I had no reason to be so rude. I didn't know that underneath all that linoleum, formica, and general lameness was the potential for such awesomeness.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

This is pretty much what our kitchen looks like! Under-cabinet lighting is not pictured. But it's there! The cabinets are natural hickory. You can see we chose to have the sink in the corner instead of under the window. I'm happy with that decision--the whole triangle of happiness is also happy. We still have some work to do: Countertops will be concrete. We'll have a new faucet after countertop is installed. The old light fixture above the micro/range is gone. We haven't made any back splash decisions yet. And the raised peninsula on the right side of the kitchen (designed by me, built by Josh from TBC) will be painted with chalkboard paint. I'll have to post more pictures when it's done, done, but getting this far has been a major undertaking and I choose to pause and take it in!

P.S. By way of announcement, except for a car built by a kid's grandpa, JO's pinewood derby car was undefeated last night. It was a tie for first place with a run-off to decide first and second place. Throughout the derby, Grandpa beat JO a total of three times, and JO beat grandpa's car twice. I didn't upload a photo of his car. But I did upload this impressive shot of Mr. Almost-Undefeated. (Yes, he IS that handsome in real life. But, sorry girls, he's only ten.)

Creative use of cinnamon-flavored gummy Santas, my boy. Well done!

Things I've Learned. . .

2011-12-08T09:06:00.001-08:00

. . . About Bedtime. My kids are much grumpier than usual on Wednesdays. (So am I.)

I've been a mom for going on twelve years and if there's one thing I've figured out, it's that kids (and grown-ups) need a good night's sleep or they're grumpy. We try for an 8:30pm bedtime, which means lights are out and most are quietly sleeping by 9:15pm. Our boys go to scouts every Tuesday from 7:00pm - 8:30pm. Scouts pushes our Tuesday bedtime to 10 o'clock at the earliest. I am trying to be a mom who enjoys scouts, honest! RO and JO have some wonderful leaders who are working hard to make things go well. RO almost has his Tenderfoot (I'll just pretend like I know what that means!) and I just found out that Blazer Scouts is the same thing as Eleven Year-Old Scouts. I'm coming along. Minding my own business. Liking scouts. And then I remember the pinewood derby is next week. All JO has to show for it is a rectangular block of pine wood.

Before I sign off, I wish you a very Happy New Year! Those of you hoping for a glimpse of my kitchen and bath will have to wait. It's Wednesday.

First Day of School for My Baby Girl

2011-09-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

This big girl had a big day today!

She's been looking forward to going to school all summer.

For 2 1/2 hours a day, four days a week, my children are ALL in school.

And I didn't get all weepy until I got home and walked into our messy kitchen. I said I'd clean it today.

And I will.

After I hit "publish post."

The weather's been just lovely today.

The boys rode their bikes to school.

Our primary program is in 6 days.

Ben's far away living in a hotel five days a week for the next six weeks.

I bribed CO to stop sucking her thumb and it worked.

I'm stalling?

Hmmm.

The kitchen sink I ordered from amazon arrived ten minutes ago while I was looking at pictures.

I'm forcing myself to clean the kitchen before I open the new-sink-filled package.

The kitchen's not getting any cleaner.

Here goes.

Kitchens are so stupid and I hate them and they're dumb and they never stay clean for more than a couple of minutes at a time and they're good for nothing and I hate the dishes that are still on the table because they're dirty and kitchens are stupid times infinity. (My kids would have gotten a time out for a rant like that--good thing I'm the grown-up, even though I'm not acting like it!)

What?

Nothing!

Fine. . .

Bye.

:)

2011-09-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

Housework and Homeschooling

2011-08-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

Because last week was sleepover week, I have designated this week as cleaning week. My sons make no secret about their dislike of assigned jobs that start with "Clean up the. . ." and end with ". . . kitchen." or ". . . living room." or ". . . guinea pig cage." But today I discovered something truly wonderful. My boys can organize stuff. I'm pretty sure they didn't learn it from me. This morning RO organized the spices, kitchen utensils, and cake decorating items that were living temporarily on the window sill while JO organized ALL the board games downstairs. And they enjoyed themselves immensely. I have so many nooks and crannies that need the attention of a happy organizer or two. I am writing a very different job list for the rest of the week. The closets, the books, the office supplies, the garage toys. . . this is going to be such fun!

In other news, I applied for a full-time teaching position as a homeschooling teacher for our school district. I will be monitoring homeschoolers from my home computer. The job would start in September and the posting closes tomorrow. I am hoping for an interview and keeping my fingers crossed!

Not Another Downtown Freeway Fix

2011-08-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

During the summer months, my husband hangs out on freeways, off-ramps, and busy city streets. He oversees construction and repairs of state roads. It's gritty and ugly work sometimes. His jobsites are often filled with smells of exhaust and hot asphalt. That's all about to change. He still has the same job for now, but he will be in quite a different environment. Some engineers have all the luck! Ben went north an hour and a half today to see his late August/early September jobsite. Aside from the fact that he'll be on a bridge and way too far removed from solid ground for my liking, I'm a little envious!

The kids and I will be visiting Daddy and his breathtaking jobsite OFTEN during this bridge repair! Can you blame us?

Summer 2011 Yellowstone Family Reunion

2011-07-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

YELLOWSTONE SMITH FAMILY REUNION 2011
(RO took this picture, nice rainbow!)

The kids didn't mind the long drive. It might have had something to do with the new portable DVD player. They are SO accomodating.

We had family photos, this is SO with my mom!
Aren't they cute?

When three of the cousins are toddlers/babies, the "How about a quick shot of Grandma and Papa with the grandkids" idea ends up looking something like this:

(my four are on the left, Mom is holding Dave's, Dad's got Jamie's and Steve's, and Andrew's four are behind and on the right of Mom and Dad)

What JO was thinking about during family pictures
(He paid $75 for it at a yard sale):

Jamie's cute little man!

You'll have to tilt your head to the left for this
picture of Dave's baby, but it's worth it!

Silliness with cousins.
Andrew's son is on the left, and my RO is on the right.

Tilt it again, sam! CO sporting her new glasses, swinging and smiling on this hose-swing:

Uncle Andrew wondered why SO was planking. Luckily, she's not "cool enough" to know what planking is. I think she was just tired of taking family pictures!

Wearing a green t-shirt under your nice shirt makes for a hot photo shoot, but it's worth it to JO, who was wearing "comfortable clothes" within seconds of the last picture.

Dang it, tilt one more time, okay?

Auntie Kiki was in her community's musical: "Cinderella" and the girls loved it.

CO even got to dance with Prince Charming after the show. After the final scene, CO whispered to me; "I'm nervous to dance with the prince, I only know how to pirouette." (if you read the last sentence and replace all the "r" sounds with "ow" sounds, that's how she said it. And when a four year-old says a big word like "piwowowette" it is exactly as cute as you think it is.)
She's lucky to be alive, I want to just eat her up she's so delicious!

This is what Steve, Jamie, and I (and Dave for 45 minutes) spent our days doing at my parents' new home:

Uncle Buckethead strikes a pose. Steve is quite an amazing guy. He has worked so hard on my parents' house this summer. And I love to hang out with him (I also love the wood detail over the entrance, don't you?):

Leftover wood flooring makes for some great puzzle pieces!

Bumper boat "after" picture. Because all flooring and no play, makes the kids wonder why it's called a "vacation." Actually I didn't make them hang out at the construction site, my mom did a wonderful job entertaining my kids and feeding them ice cream and/or Shave Ice daily. They went to the museum, the movie "Rio," and played and played and played!

RO takes after his uncle and namesake. He rocked the rock wall!

I hope your summer vacation is going well. Excuse me while I dream about going on a vacation to recover from my vacation. As I type, my kids are entertaining the neighbors in the back yard. JO is playing "Pink Panther" outside on the keyboard, CO is squealing, and I'm almost afraid to account for the rest of them, but I know digging for treasure is involved.

It's good to be home.

Guest Post from the Birthday Boy

2011-07-26T05:15:00.000-07:00

RO brought home his 5th grade journal at the end of the school year. His teacher gave the students writing prompts every day and they wrote at least 13 lines a day. Some of the prompts were "I wish I had a million dollars. . ." and "I get nervous at school when. . . "

I had to smile when I read what he wrote for the prompt: "If children were in charge of the world. . ." because I would have written something entirely different.

"If children were in charge of the world I would help in the kids' army. I would help do world domination and I would fight to be president and I would fight to be in charge of my own continent and I would buy all the stuff I wanted and I would have my own farm and I would help anybody that needs help and I would have a big ranch so that I can have a lot of animals and stuff."

What I would have written is something like the need for 3 square candy meals a day, rollercoasters in every back yard, recess all day, and parents who do all the work. Never though of the need to lead a kids' army intent on world domination. Should I be worried about RO? Happy 11th, my sweet, ambitious, army man. Perhaps you'll be riding a moose at your ranch?

Want to see a picture of the school-aged kids from May on "Crazy Hair Day?" I thought so.

(Yes, that's sliver goo on her eyebrows. And do you like the color of our new cabinetry in the kitchen? It's Natural Hickory.)

Now for a picture of a rocky "sandy" world to practice ruling:

The X Factor

2011-06-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

Thirteen years ago my husband and I were working and living in Brazil. We stayed a short 181 days, but I learned a lot. A blog I read titled Uganda makes me want to leave the United States again. Every U.S. citizen should live in another country for a while. Yeah, I said it. Being an expatriate puts life in perspective. I am glad I don't know what it's like to live in a country where violence is something "you'll get used to." I am also glad the Uganda blogger is such a good writer! I found myself reading and agreeing and loving his insights. I also found myself wondering if eloquence is something you can learn.

Well, I don't know if we'd be allowed to take my four children as far as Uganda or Brazil (or the Philippines--RO is half Filipino, after all). But if it's for a few short months, maybe our parents will forgive us. Maybe? It would be quite a shock to my system to have expats for kids. I would love to see how being expats would change their views of the world, of consumerism, and other ideas. If the boys' desire to play computer games and be entertained were to vanish, I'd start packing right now.

And if I could avoid all future encounters with the boy scout program? BONUS. No, it's not about the Pinewood Derby this time. My oldest child is on his first scout campout tonight.

and

We aren't there.

and

It's no fair.

and

I miss him.

A cell phone pic of my boy who better come back alive and intact, ya hear me, scout leaders?

Breaking the Law is Fun to Do

2011-06-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Is it really breaking the law if you are volunteering? I hope not, because I broke the law like 200 times.

As if renovating the kitchen, loads of job hunting, packing for a vacation, teaching Father's Day songs, juggling a household with opposite schedules (Ben's back to working nights again) and being a mother just isn't enough, Friday mornings I volunteer with the school district. I teach a 4th grade math group, then a 5th grade writing group. Then I drive over to the Community Connections Center (CCC) to help there for an hour. So one day, a CCC teacher hands me the Teacher's Edition of a pre-algebra book and asked me to make a booklet of teachers' answers for the practice pages. I don't know if you've seen TEs, but they'll often have microscopic answers for the worksheets in the margins. This was the case with this book.

I enlarged the margins and xeroxed my way through each section of each chapter of the whole entire book. The teacher who handed me the book and led me to my xerox machine accomplice did justify the whole thing by saying "A solutions manual is available for purchase, but there's no money in the budget to order it."

Ohhh!

Well!

In that case. . .

Bring on the criminal activity!

I believe I'm more excited this is the last week of school than my kids are. Any suggestions for legal summer activities are greatly appreciated.

Staying At Home

2011-05-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

I'm typing this in my bedroom while my fourth child, a lovely almost four year-old girl, is marching on the bed making up lyrics to a song she's ~~shouting~~ singing. "If you wanna have it you want to have it stay. If you lost it you are really sad." Apparently she lost. . . hold on, I'll ask her. . . she lost her stick. Okay. A song-worthy ballad. And there she goes. She's heading to the bathroom to show she's mastered the task of potty training. But she'll be back to ask me about the faces in 100+ photos she distributed in a two foot radius around me.

This is actually the quiet part of my day because three individuals who love humanity more than money are in the middle of the noisy part of their days. They are educating my two ten year-olds and my seven year-old at our beloved public elementary school.

I volunteer at my kids' public school twice a week. I've taught math and writing to groups of six. I've helped with after school activities. I've tutored a fourth grader. I've created spreadsheets for posters and administered geography quizzes. It's fun and rewarding to pop in and teach. But I'm ready to teach again full time.

I used to be a teacher. I have an elementary education degree. I worked as an elementary school librarian and reading teacher for two years. I didn't make the kind of money folks in other professions make. But I loved my job. I loved the book fairs, I loved teaching vocabulary in my reading groups, I loved recess duty, I loved May Day, I loved finding books for the kids who thump, thumped up the stairs into my aqua blue library. And I loved the acronyms, the curriculum realignment committees, and teacher's meetings. Wait. I need to stop laughing. I could have existed just fine without acronyms, curriculum rewrites and those ~humid~ Wednesday meetings in Tulani's room!

In June 2000, a month before my oldest son was born, I "put in my 40 hours" for the last time. Before the 2000-2001 school year was over, I had two new employers:

How I love them! And I love the two additional employers who joined our company in 2004 and 2007. There's no arguing my job description is more stressful than my old full-time career. I do more cleaning and scolding than I ever did teaching. Elementary school children also don't require diaper changes, thank goodness. And I'm not as well-rested, come to think of it.

I put in more than double my 40 hours a week, but I have loyal employers. This summer marks my 11th year with their company. The perks are fabulous. I listen to their jokes, join in their adventures, and end each night with their hugs and kisses. I was even showered with gifts, jewelry, and hand-written commendations just last week Sunday!

An acquaintance suggested my being home for the past 11 years makes me an undesirable employee and teacher. And while my most financially rewarding gigs in the last 11 years have been as babysitter and secret shopper (remind me to write a secret shopping post!), I think being a mother has prepared me to be an ideal employee and teacher. Parenthood stretches the mind and challenges the intellect. Parenthood changes who you are. If you're reading this blog post, Dr. Chun, my "Teaching P.E." professor, listen to this: I took what little athletic prowess you saw in me and voluntarily coached my child's soccer team--and they won two games (a "soccer coach" post is in the works!). Parenthood exposes us to previously unattainable levels of selflessness. Who doesn't want an employee like that?

Now, would you like my employer's letter of recommendation in crayon or playdoh?

A dragon-wearing babysitting charge with my lovely fourth child.

Blogging From My iPod

2011-05-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Know how water and wood don't mix? Well CO has unequivocally established that bubbles and laptops don't mix. She forgot she was holding a wedding favor-sized bottle of bubbles and she pointed at a picture on the screen. Less than a tablespoon of soapy liquid dripped into the speaker holes. I did everything in my capabilities, including wiping the inside down with rubbing alcohol, but unfortunately I was unable to resuscitate our laptop.

It can be expensive to have a three year-old!

It's Back!

2011-04-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Spring weather isn't quite here yet, but soccer season is back. I am coaching SO's team. With 6 and 7 year olds the game is more "mob ball chase" than actual soccer at this point, but SO seems to like it. She scored her first goal ever this Saturday (our second game of the new season). We played my friend Tiffani's daughter's team and she e-mailed these pictures to me!

Here's our intense star player with her daddy, the referee. JO and RO are in the background watching the action.
Cool family shot, Tiff!

RO will be watching the action all season as his arm heals, but JO scored twice in the first half of his game before the coach put him back in defense. Taking shots up front is a little new to him, but you can't argue with two goals. Maybe our Goalie slash defender will be a forward this season.

Thanks for the Wiggle Room, Easter Bunny!

2011-04-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

With three spring birthdays around here, I give Easter as little attention as possible. We do the bare minimum: one hunt for candy-and-coin-filled plastic eggs. The end. No baskets and no decorations. I can't remember the last time we boiled and dyed eggs! With a late Easter this year, we're having a bit of fun. I saw a crafty idea for making a tea party set out of plastic eggs (link). Yesterday CO and I made a set of teacups and cupcakes to give to her friend at a birthday party on Saturday. The teacups are made with buttons and half an egg. The other half of the egg is the frosting part of the cupcakes. I used felt for the cupcake bottoms instead of playdoh containers.

And after we hunt for our plastic eggs on Easter? We're making more! Even the boys are excited because I used an exacto knife to cut buttons in half for cup handles. SO joined CO's tea party this morning before school, both girls sipping and pretending to nibble away on these little cupcakes. (Side note: as much as joining in any hip fad like cupcake mania makes me want to vomit, THIS was easy and fun.)

And I had everything on hand, so it didn't involve a trip to Michael's or Hobby Lobby--I love "free" crafts!

It was a crafty week. After a spring break tending Mr. Gimpy Arm Boy, I got out my beading bin and made pomegranate pendants inspired by Sue Monk Kidd's memior Traveling with Pomegranates. She co-wrote this book about mothers and daughters with her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor. I liked Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees but did not like The Mermaid Chair, so I was very happy to find that I enjoyed this one.

Two Tens

2011-04-06T06:39:00.000-07:00

Ben took these pictures on Friday before RO got his big break. (Too soon?)

Sweet jump!

We love our TWO 10 year-old boys!

;-s Birthday to Me

2011-04-03T16:03:00.000-07:00

I promise not to post pictures, but thought I'd mention that I'm spending my birthday in the hospital. RO fell off a swing and broke his arm between sessions. Not a happy birthday. :(

Guest post by JO

2011-03-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

The Ginormus Injury

I was walking down to the river thinking about how fun it would be. We were at the end of the steep hill and by the bridge to the bank. Immediately I saw a big stone thinking that I should go a different way. As I was looking at the rocks, pebbles, and pine needles wondering if it might be my last day on earth and what a lame day it would be to die while I said, "Don't follow me. It could be dangerous" to my cousin and RO.

I was walking down a steep slope that came off the big stone. I was luckily still alive. It led me down to a pond of water. My only way out was to climb over a big rock. I climbed to the top of the big rock and saw that it was hard to cross.

There was a huge pile of sticks, but then I thought, "cool, a fallen over tree across another pond." The tree led to where my brother, my cousins, and my cousins parents were. I was walking across the pile of sticks with a bottle cap in my hand and one of the sticks snapped! I fell and there was stick pointing up. I fell on to the pointing up stick and it went up my shirt and gave me a huge wound. I kept thinking over and over, "I have blood. No dought [sic] about it." as I walked back up the rock and realized I had lost my bottle cap. I didn't bother to get the bottle cap or look at my scratch.

I went across the bridge the usual way and I found where they were. The first thing I did was show them my wound. After that I looked for more bottle caps to make up for the one I lost on my fall. I didn't even find any. While I was looking I heard a big splash by the place I was when I got my scratch. It was my brother trying (say sarcasticly [sic]) to cross the fallen over tree. My Aunt and Uncle figured we had to leave and go back home. I measured my scratch and it was 5 inches long. I bet my skin is still on that stick. I know, isn't it gross? One of the [our last name] kids was wounded and one was soaked, but all the [cousins' last name] kids were all right.

JO wrote "The Ginormous Injury" this weekend after he came home from the river. He is a fourth grader who likes World Cup soccer, jumping on the bed, roller coaster rides, and counting the money he's saved for trips to the amusement park. He does not like doing dishes or getting along with his 7 year-old sister. His teacher told me yesterday that JO is the best writer she has seen in years. He turns 10 next week.

My Sunbeam

2011-03-28T08:22:00.000-07:00

My daughter loves her primary teacher. When I went to pick her up from class after church yesterday, there was a Noah's Ark play set in the middle of the room and a chalkboard drawing of an ark on the water. And this morning after the big kids left for school she was telling me all about how animals give us stuff. "The animals give food to us. The sheeps give us socks and shirts. Isn't that weird?!? That's what sheeps give us! And cows give us milk. And mouses give cheese to us. And horses give us. . . hay? Jaguars give us. . . I don't know what jaguars give us! Do you know what jaguars give us?"

I have NO idea.

But right now she wants to pretend we're animals who eat stuff. "Real stuff."

Show & Tell

2011-03-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Guess what we've been working on!

The actual car isn't nearly as enchanting as she is (yes, our girls get to make cars too--I'm all about gender equity derby construction). By the way, that last thing she says isn't about the car, it's about the video she's just starred in: "I wanna watchit. Click!"

When I asked her why she wanted to watch it she said;

"Mmm, because I'm cute."

Dentist's Office

2011-03-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

I really love our dentist's office. The waiting room has tubes like a McDonald's playplace, there are eight video game stations, a 10 foot tall chalkboard wall, and a toddler building blocks zone complete with TV screen. And after their checkups, the kids get game tokens for toy-filled arcade games (like at Toy Story's Pizza Planet). As fun as that waiting room is there's no getting around the fact that a needle full of anesthesia and mouth pain after a filling is NOT fun. Our CO had dental work--some tricky in-betweener cavities that showed up on her x-rays. Sure, CO got a mountain of toys, including a kitty cat Beanie Baby she's named "Cinderella," but she also got a numb mouth and tender gums! One of my least favorite parts of parenting is having to buoy up my kids when they encounter pain. I hate it when I have to congratulate them for being "Such a trooper!" Because that's just grown-up-speak for "That hurt like hades, didn't it? Now suck it up and put on a happy face." Grown-ups are seriously so mean sometimes!

"Cake Wrecks" or "What Happens When I Help My Cub Scouts"

2011-02-19T18:41:00.000-08:00

My lovely sons are cub scouts and they like it. They learn stuff and feel good about accomplishing stuff and get patches and stuff. And stuff. But this time of year, ready or not, I have to grit my teeth, roll up my sleeves, and be a mom to two cub scouts.

I don't like February's Blue and Gold Banquet. Or March's Pinewood Derby. They are labor-intensive. Our ward has a cake baking/decorating activity to go along with Blue and Gold Banquets. I thought I was being smart this year when I picked a dozen cake options online and had each boy pick what kind of cake they wanted to decorate. JO picked well. He made a paper template, and did a Ninja design with powdered sugar and red sugar granules "for the blood."

JO's is the cake on the left on the blue tablecloth.

With two boys, I have double the opportunity to ruin a cake. This year I almost ruined RO's. Apparently I've watched too many episodes of Cake Boss. I didn't realize how hard it would be to make a 3D pirate ship. I also don't apply my basic knowledge of physics to every day life.

RO baked two cakes and we froze them. Then Tuesday morning I made three layers of awesomeness, carved into the exact shape of a pirate ship. This was going to be good. I was going to dirty ice the cake for RO (Cake Boss nod) so he could decorate with chocolate wafers for the railing, Pirouettes (like cereal straws) for cannons and the mast, Cocoa Krispies for cannonballs, a peanut butter cup for the steering wheel (all boat-savvy people call them steering wheels, right?) and coconut dyed blue for the ocean waves. But the icing was too heavy. After a can and a half of frosting RO's cake fell apart-- I shouldn't have tapered the sides. Stress!

If only he'd wanted to decorate the Titanic, then we would've been in business. The wrecked cake was on the table when the kids got home, and JO wasn't impressed with RO's cake. He thought it was horrible. RO said "Woah! What happened?" Another cake was in the oven almost ready to go. RO ended up making a cool cake, just on a smaller scale, using some of the collapsed cake, and adding some legos. The cub master teased him about legos not being edible, but at that point I didn't care. The end result was almost much, much worse!

Notice the shark eating the pirate who just walked the plank? A nice touch, I think.

So. . .

Mom, can we please start working on our Pinewood Derby cars now?

I'm in Love!

2011-02-14T11:15:00.000-08:00

(with our new vacuum cleaner)

We Got Jimmered!

2011-02-10T11:49:00.000-08:00

(clap, clap, cla, cla, clap)

RO and I traveled (via actual airplane!) to the land of Jimmer where we were simultaneously surrounded by loved ones and enjoyed a little one-on-one time. I miss out on so much living far away, so this was so nice to be able to have some time in the middle of winter to spend time with my family.

On Saturday my oldest brother, Andrew, bought RO a BYU basketball t-shirt and we were treated to seats at the BYU v. UNLV basketball game with all three of my brothers. Then we went to Los Hermanos with my parents, my three brothers, Andrew, Steve, and Dave, my two sisters-in-law, Crystal and Logan, and two of my nieces. Los Hermanos is a favorite family hangout where we enojy huge helpings of chile verde, chile relleno, nachos, smothered burritos and fried ice cream. Nuff said. Steve had to go back to work because the person who he'd arranged to cover his Saturday/Sunday shift went home. Some people are so

classy.

On Sunday my baby brother's amazing and tiny and cute and not-mine-so-it's-okay-if-she-only-sleeps-one-hour-at-a-time-at-night baby got blessed.

(see how tired she is?)

Sunday afternoon and evening we were at Dave's in-law's home for dinner, the game, and so much food including, but not limited to way too many chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies.

Monday, after RO watched Jurassic Park, we took my parents and Andrew to our family's favorite spot, the Dinosaur Museum.

After touring BYU's Legacy sports memorabilia building (my dad and Andrew saw Robbie Bosco in the elevator) and a lunch there, we had frozen yogurt, mine was strawberry with mochi topping. RO's was topped with practically everything chocolate he could think of, plus lots of bubble gum. Funny kid!

After Mom got home from dropping my brother off at the airport, it was off to Trafalga with Grandma and Uncle Buckethead's family for mini golf, Dippin Dots, and game tokens. (Did we have fun and is JO ugly? Check the 8 ball RO got with all his tickets!)

We had dinner: chicken and cabbage with sautéed sweet onions, tomatoes and invisible black beans (because we completely forgot about them). And dessert was root beer floats. If you're counting, yes, that's three kinds of frozen desserts in one day.

Tuesday morning RO and his grandma went to the museum while I did some thrift store shopping. Not that I didn't want to walk through a museum, just that thrifting is way cooler than that. Love you, Mom! We packed our bags full of clothes and future birthday presents and headed north to Dave's house. While there, we checked in on drywallers who never showed up because sometimes you just need to wait for drywallers to not show up. (It's how you take a break from all the fun and excitement during a vacation.) While RO was relaxing there, in front of a TV, I went with my mom and Steve to some open houses in the area. We stayed at Steve and Crystal's house Tuesday night. RO watched Kung Fu Panda and I did a Kitchenaid homemade bread tutorial and was tutored in both the proper way to roll rolls AND how to knife pictures onto an egg-washed bread loaf. Dinner was pizza. And root beer floats.

Wednesday morning RO watched Toy Story 2 and we turned our fresh-baked bread into french toast with homemade Magleby's syrup and fresh whipped cream. Steve threw pottery, I watched in awe. My brother made a beautiful bowl in 10 minutes. Then we went to RO's Great Grandmother's house to visit, eat takeout, reinstall a voice-to-text phone, and have cookies and ice cream before heading to the airport. RO and I had a blizzard shake at the airport and were surprised to find that Ben, JO, SO, and CO brought milkshakes to share with us at the baggage claim area.

We had a fun vacation and were spoiled rotten the perfect amount. And this weekend, thanks to Andrew, who gave me a DVD copy of the animated Gulliver's Travels movie I recently blogged about, I will get to hang out with my own family, but I'm not offering them seven kinds of frozen desserts. Ben seems to have survived being a single dad and only lost one child. But he found her again so, he remains a pretty awesome guy.

Well, wouldn't you know it? Blogging doesn't get the vacation laundry washed and folded. Hmmm. I had better take my dad's advice and wrap it up. Love you, Dad!

Meetings

2011-01-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

I like to simplify. I like eliminating the fluff. I like to focus on what really matters. But sometimes I don't like to choose.

I attended a fun social last night that was simply called a "Relief Society meeting." The sisters gathered in our Church building to meet and get to know each other a little better. We were asked to put three things that we liked into a paper bag and share our things with the group. I brought three things, but I wanted to bring a bazillion. I jotted down a few things I wanted to bring and narrowed it down. My original list looked something like this:

primary chorister stuff (I love digging through magazines and blogs to find new, creative ways to teach songs to the kids in primary and although I lack an effective way to organize it all, I have a lot of fun stuff from tambourines and stars to stickers and PowerPoint prints in sheet protectors)

thrift store treasures (Ditto what I said about digging around for great primary chorister stuff. My mom taught me to never pay retail, tee hee!)

chocolate (Does this even need an explanation? My favorite is dark chocolate, but milk chocolate works too!)

books (I inhale them like. . . chocolate.)

my kitchen plans (a dear friend who is now retired from the cabinetry business came over a few years ago to measure and sketch up what we need. I cannot wait to renovate our pathetic kitchen, but I don't look forward to not having a kitchen to cook in while we get it done. I'm hoping to get started this summer.)

Sam Choy's Polynesian Kitchen cook book (I found this a few months ago and have been enjoying some great recipes from back in the day.)

mini drill (I have two of these. And maybe it's the lack of upper body strength talking, but it's just so handy to be able to have a palm-sized power tool, especially when I'm doing electrical wiring.)

pottery from Steve and Jamie (Oh how I love pottery! in my dream kitchen there is a corner shelf unit just for displaying pottery. I love the smooth pieces and the blackened raku pieces equally.)

piano (its so relaxing to sit and play. I'm teaching the three oldest kids to play, even though they don't want me to. I've never heard a pianist say "I wish my parents hadn't taught me to play the piano." But I have heard the opposite: "I wish I'd stuck with the piano lessons." I am not as good as I want to be, I'm working at it.)

playdoh (Playing with playdoh is one of my favorite things to do with my kids.)

sewing (I can sit down to sew and the hours just fly by. It's just so fun, unless I mess up and have to unpick stitches.)

And the three I shared last night: yellowstone postcard (I loved our Yellowstone adventure last summer. The Firehole river was great, but the Sapphire Pools are my favorite. God's creations are amazing and there are so many wonders in Yellowstone. I can't wait to go again this summer and bring Ben along this time, too.)

my T.V.aholics anonymous membership (I have a love-hate relationship with the television. I can be a total zombie sometimes. It's been three months since we unplugged. And while I still watch The Office, etc. on Hulu, it's been great to go back to living life T.V. free. It's not easy to fend off the "Can I watch Dora now?" questions from CO, but I strongly believe that minimal exposure to media is important for my kids, and especially important for their mother's well-being.)

a handmade bead necklace (I admired a necklace at my mother-in-law's house, it was something her sister brought back from Africa where she was a Church missionary. She surprised me with it for Christmas two years ago. Doncha love re-gifting?!? I shared this necklace along with my love of beads and bending wire.)

Its just that simple.

Pet Peeve

2011-01-14T07:21:00.000-08:00

We have three guinea pigs now. A friend of a friend needed a home for her guinea pig while they focus on health issues in the family. We are happy to help, but I do admit to wanting a break from pet ownership. The guinea pigs' habitat of cedar shavings is messy. And the dog is annoying. He chased after a door-to-door meat salesmen the other day. (Not that I would have bought anything. I am not a fan of solicitors. Send me a coupon in the mail. Buy add space in a newspaper. Make a commercial. Don't knock on my door or call me. Thanks!)

Anyway, I read about a pet co-op where four families shared their pets. I think there was a hamster, rabbit, turtle, and small bowl of fish. They didn't share cats or dogs because adjusting to a different home would be difficult. The families would rotate "ownership" every three months. After a few months of taking care of a pet, you hand them off to someone else for a while. The variety kept the kids interested, especially kids who LOVE going to the pet store to look at new animals (I married one of those kids).

We took care of this furry brown rabbit for one of Ben's co-workers for one day. Look how attentive my kids are to their a borrowed pet! A one day pet is a commitment even I can handle making!

Isn't a pet co-op a great idea?
Anyone want to borrow some guinea pigs?

Jesus Had a Famous Cousin?

2011-01-10T13:20:00.000-08:00

This year our family is reading the New Testament. We are on chapter 4 of St. Matthew. (It's not a race, is it?) The kids loved learning about how the Wisemen fooled Herod by returning home another way. And they had NO IDEA Jesus had a famous cousin. The older ones knew all about John the Baptist, and even started an impromptu singing of the song; "Jesus came to John the Baptist in Judea long ago." But they didn't know Mary and Elisabeth were cousins and Jesus and John were second cousins.

Our kids have 14 cousins. They don't live near half of them, but they love their cousins all the same. They can identify them all in photos and even CO knows the two cousins they haven't met yet. Cousins are a good thing. We are glad that even Jesus had cousins.

Two Very Cute Cousins!

The first weekend in February, I'm taking RO to visit grandma and papa and two of his cousins, (one is pictured here sleeping in a Christmas stocking, and here is a baby picture of the other one)!

Nothing Like a Break:

2011-01-03T11:42:00.001-08:00

The Christmas break angels were looking down on us. Okay, so it was Ben's co-worker who likes to buy DVDs then loan them out. The kids and their friends who came over had access to a bunch of DVDs. They worked very hard at being unproductive children. She loaned us:

Air Bud

An American Tail

An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island

Aristocrats

Babe

Babe: Pig in the City

Beauty and the Beast

Bridge to Terabithia

Brother Bear

Brother Bear 2

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Curious George

Doctor Dolittle

Donkey’s Christmas Shrektaculer

Dumbo

Finding Nemo

Finding Neverland

Golden Compass

Goonies

Gremlins

Happy Feet

Horton Hears a Who

Ice Age

Ice Age the Meltdown

Lilo and Stitch

Madagascar

Merry Madagascar

Monkey Business

Narnia: The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe

Narnia: Prince Caspian

Neverending Story

Night at the Museum

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Oliver and Company

Over the Hedge

Party Penguins

Pinocchio

Pixar Short Films

Princess and the Frog

Ratatouille

Santa Buddies

Shrek Forever After

Sleeping Beauty

Snow Buddies

Snow White

Surf’s Up

Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue

Wall-E

Wild

Whew! I found two movies I liked: Finding Neverland and Shrek Forever After (I helped with being unproductive during a few movies--loved being broken-footed for Christmas, ha ha!)

And to make me feel slightly productive, Facebook has a "my year in status" tool that turned my 2010 profile updates into a thing of beauty. I like it!

Resolution

2011-01-03T00:18:00.000-08:00

41 Days ago, my daughter dropped an eight pound hand weight on my foot, breaking a bone. My foot is still in a walking boot. I haven't seen much of an "up side" to breaking my foot, however, one good thing about it is that I don't feel pressured to make a fitness-related New Year's resolution. I just think it's a bad idea to mix a walking boot with a treadmill.

So my resolutions this year are to stretch my abilities in different ways. In Sunday School we are focusing on the New Testament. My first resolution is to study then teach my family a simplified version of the New Testament lesson every Monday for Family Home Evening. I haven't attended Sunday School since 2007 because I have been working with the children in primary, so deciding to study the lessons and scriptures without the benefit of a teacher is probably something I should have done several years ago.

My other resolution is to move past the planning stages and actually build furniture like the projects at this cool website: http://ana-white.com/2011/ I want to make so many things, but I just need to start somewhere someday.

Wore it Out

2011-01-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

Ben and I went on a date to see "Gulliver's Travels" starring Jack Black. He cracks me up, especially when he dances. What a fun family movie, (although I would have preferred more clothes on the top half of the Queen of Liliput).

Growing up, we had a video movie of Gulliver's Travels. It was animated and we loved it. We would watch it all the time. In fact, we watched it until the video broke. We wore it out. I wish I had a copy of that movie. My kids would have loved it!

(There's a giant on the beach!)

For now, I'll take the next best thing:

Happy New Year!

I Got a Niece for Christmas! Merry Christmas!! Now Go Have Some Cold Milk!

2010-12-30T09:45:00.001-08:00

My youngest brother, Dave, and his wife, Logan, got new titles for Christmas. They are daddy and mommy to this beautiful baby girl! YAY FOR BABIES!

Feliz Navidad, indeed!

Ben's dad took this in November when we were visiting.

Our dog, Petey, and Ben's parents' house are in the background.

There is no green grass today.

It looks like the last few days of 2010 will be covered with a foot of snow. Brrr!

I suppose I can't spend my entire winter pining away for the beach and 80 degree weather, so I'll say this: when it's cold outside, I can buy all the milk I need and it stays cold. Yay!

I usually buy milk four gallons at a time, but last week I brought home six gallons of milk from Costco (not a fan of their new gallon containers, by the way). I knew we'd need it with the kids home from school. Our fridge was already full of Christmas feast ingredients like 15 pounds of pork, 2 pounds of spinach leaves, you know, the usual. *!* So I decided to put the milk into the empty storage closet on the deck. And I may never store milk in the fridge (in the winter) again.

Mmmm, mmmm, good. We've enjoyed wonderfully ice-cold milk this week!

I won't be getting back to my blog before Saturday, so have a Happy New Year!

2011 is coming, ready or not.

Not.

He was a WHAT?

2010-11-19T13:53:00.000-08:00

A Port-a-Potty. Specifically a Honey Bucket.

(notice the flies and TP roll? A nice touch, I think.)

And this guy was an assassin.

(Yes, I can appreciate a cheap costume if used with enthusiasm.)

A clock

(10 bonus points for originality, am I right? She was looking around the house, saw a clock and said "I want to be a clock for Halloween." That's how the Halloween magic happens. Eyeliner numbers, the hands are game spinners we stuck on with goop, and we stole the pendulum from the clock that inspired it all. )

and

A Purple Toothfairy

(bought the fabric, sewed the dress, made the tutu)

(watched turn-a-headband-into-a-tiara tutorial on YouTube and made one)

(threaded the "teeth and pliers" necklace and added googlie eyes to a felt tooth)

(and JO added the bag of cash, also a nice touch.)

Costumes are fun. Hope your Halloween was Happy!

Caught the Bug

2010-10-07T08:33:00.001-07:00

I've heard it can be addictive, and it's true. Once you've done it once you want another one. Yesterday ended with a few more google searches. He's done two and is looking for more.

Our triathlete, Ben.

Pre-race pic. Cheese?

(time for a race day diversion!)

(another diversion?!?)

It's kid-athlon time. Go, sis!

A Tisket a Tasket. . .

2010-10-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

. . . a "baby" in a basket

CO was so pleased when she saw these pictures.

"Awww, that's me! Why I'm sweeping in that basket?"

I have no idea why, but I'm glad someone took her picture while she slept!

Silly Sisters

2010-08-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

Dag Blast It All!

2010-08-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

I remember often hearing my mother's words; "FOR THE LOVE OF PETE!"

I have a vivid memory of running around the basement laughing hysterically with my brother, Andrew, as we I chimed back; "Pete has love. But he's dead." We thought we were so clever.

It turns out I have my own goofy (yet motherly) saying:"DAG BLAST IT ALL!" Proof that I'm just like my mother.

Today my almost six year-old, laughed hysterically and said; "Dag Blasketball is fun to say." Proof that she's just like her mother.

Guess Who Else is Allergic to Weeds, Grass, and Trees?

2010-07-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

(It itches. A lot.)

He Could Easily Be an Only Child

2010-07-19T13:31:00.000-07:00

My second oldest child spent the morning as happy as a clam playing soccer alone. It was JO versus the invisible team. At half time, I overheard this bit of commentary; ". . . score 3 to 5, the invisible team's winning." I didn't have a lot of time to worry about the self esteem issues of a child who was losing to an invisible team because he ended up winning 14 to 12. Whew, what a game!

JUNE??

2010-06-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

How did the end of June get here so fast? All in favor of year-round summer, say aye!

JUNE!!

2010-06-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Six days away from a weekend of GRANDPARENTS!

In anticipation, we are busy getting this-and-that done around the house. (We got the hinges flipped around on the laundry room door, Ben put shelves up in the bathroom, and my two Bear Scouts helped install a working light fixture.) I know the grandparents care more about seeing their grandchildren, but I think the basement will get its share of "oohs" and "aahs."

So next week is also a big week because it's my last week of employment. I've spent the past six months tending some adorable twins. I will miss having babies around, but I am ready to be done. It has been hard to get anything done while I'm on the clock. This week I uploaded photos for the first time in six months! I'm burning a CD of photos to give the twins' mom.

Like this one? Poor quality but, hey, I have sleeping babies on my lap:

sleeping babies are the BEST kinds of babies

My own babies have two weeks to go before before summer vacation but they're ready. They have been perfecting their Otter Pops-eating skills. CO prefers the pronunciation "Ottow Pops" She says; "I like Otter Pops. They're pretty cold. We drink them. We bite them. SO likes Otter Pops. And I like Otter Pops. And JO and RO? They like Otter Pops. I love Otter Pops days."

Otter Pops AND chalk-covered sidewalks. Yup, we're ready!

Soccer

2010-06-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

My blurry boys won't stand still on the field!

RO is a forward and the youngest person on his team. He scored six of seven goals on Saturday.

JO has spent most of his time as a defender and goalie. The coach changed things up in the second half and put JO in as a forward. He scored a goal, his first in three seasons.

Five K Friday

2010-05-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

My two nine year-olds ran a 1.5 mile race at school today. Their school allows 3rd - 5th graders to run, so this year was JO's first run. He was very proud that he ran the whole way. He even passed up a classmate about ten feet from the finish line. And it looks like RO will get the bronze medal for his grade again. Impressive!

To better appreciate their efforts, I decided to run a 5K on the treadmill this morning.

I've decided that every Friday will be a "5K Friday." Who's with me?

When You "Can Burp at the Table"

2010-04-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

As parents we make up rules and consequences we never thought we'd have to establish. Our latest rule is: You owe us 50 cents if you burp at the dinner table.

Last night, our first night of the 50 cent rule enforcement, JO lost a dollar. Since he was the child the rule was primarily targeting, I was pleased to have a zero loss dinner tonight. But what I wasn't expecting was CO, our not-quite three year-old, who announced tonight:

"I don't have money. So I burp."

We're in trouble with that one!

An Uploaded Picture For Your Viewing Pleasure

2010-04-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken very many pictures lately. And I clearly haven't been uploading or taking proper care of my blog. Arah, who is a photography maven, emailed Halloween 2009 pictures she'd taken. I'm aware that it's April, but I stand firmly behind the old adage: "BETTER LATE THAN NEVER."

Themed Halloweens are my favorite kinds. 2009 was The Year of the Critter. I made a big list of creeping things I had patterns for and we each picked a bug or creeping thing from the list:

CO was a SNAIL

(Old Navy jammies, a rolled up beach towel, and thrift store eyeballs)

SO was a BUTTERFLY PRINCESS

(one of her princess dresses, pipe cleaner antennae, and Auntie Kiki's wings--thanks, Steve!)

JO was a ROACH

(butcher paper-covered cardboard shell, hands and feet sewn from brown fabric)

RO was a SPIDER

(googley eyes glued to a winter cap and, you can't his costume very well, it but his black sweater was edged with stuffed black socks on fishing line that moved whenever his arms moved)

I was a FIREFLY

(sequins glued to painted foam ball for the eyes, wings borrowed from SO's fairy dress-up dress, and a flashlight attached to the bottom of the wings)

BEN was a PRAYING MANTIS

(foam egg painted and glued to mask with both mask and claws sewn from felt pieces)

and

the dog was a BUMBLEBEE. . . for about two and a half seconds.

(not pictured)

A Post for March

2010-03-02T08:31:00.000-08:00

Blogging isn't holding my interest lately, so I'm not promising more than this for March. But thank you for your love and concern for JO. He is feeling much better. In a few hours he can say that he's been home from the hospital for exactly one week. JO took his last dose of antibiotics this morning and tossed the empty bottle into the garbage with a "YES!" before heading out the door to school.

Well, I knew it would happen eventually, but I thought it would happen in middle school. Is fourth grade the new middle school? RO spends a lot of time combing his hair and looking in the mirror. Up until a few weeks ago he never wanted to get a hair cut, but now he has a faux-hawk (but not for church). ~I interrupt this paragraph about faux-hawks to bring you some cuteness. CO is dancing around the house singing "Mah moo moo moo mee, let's call the whole thing off, laaaaah dee dee dee da dah."~ Okay, where was I? When RO was a baby his hair grew in as a perfect mohawk. His baby mohawk was in full swing when Mrs. Kammerer told the Kahuku football team "If you beat St. Louis, you can shave my head into a mohawk." And Ben's students asked us if RO's mohawk was part of the celebration. This is where digitizing my old photos would have come in handy. He was a chubby one, that RO. Too bad babies grow out of super-adorable stage while their parents are too sleep deprived to properly enjoy it.

Band Nerds Unite

2010-01-22T11:39:00.000-08:00

My son, the cello player, told his dad that he was going to switch to the saxophone. I think he said it more because the sax is what daddy plays (er, played). His dad told him to stick to the cello for a few years. He seemed satisfied with this advice until this morning's conversation over breakfast about good and bad bus behavior. I told the boys that Uncle Andrew got to open the back emergency door of the bus ALL THE TIME to fetch his tuba before football games. I saw a glimmer in RO's eye. Now he either wants to switch to the tuba or be a bus driver when he grows up.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, no. They didn't approve of my answer when they asked if I ever opened the back door to get my instrument. Flutes are small. Sorry, kids. Hindsight is twenty twenty. On the first day of beginning band, I should have made sure I would earn open-the-emergency-door-on-the-bus privileges with my instrument selection.

Would I switch instruments, given the chance? I don't know if I'm as easily swayed as my fourth grader. Is my instrument too tied to my identity in high school? I never wanted to switch to tuba, especially during marching season. I have no upper body strength (Carrying a baby in a car seat is too big a struggle for me). The largest instrument I ever wanted to switch to would be the trombone. Hey kids, trombones are wiggly AND spit-filled! When you put it like that, they're waaaaaay better than flutes.

But still not a tuba.

Like, No Like, Lah Dat

2009-12-31T11:08:00.001-08:00

The kids (and I) have two weeks off from school (and childcare).

I like it because:

I can sleep in until 8:00am instead of waking up at 6:15am.
No one needs to scurry around gathering their school stuff before heading out the door.
RO, JO, and SO generate much less laundry. When they aren't in school I don't follow standard societal protocol which suggests new outfits must be worn daily. (CO generates plenty of laundry on her own though because she is in the midst of potty training. And she strips down every time she needs to tinkle.)
The kids have loads of time to learn new responsibilities. I have this program I follow that breaks down into age groups all the practical things a child needs to learn before they hit 18. They have one-on-one training sessions with me before the task lands on their growing arsenal of mastered jobs that I can then make them do whenever the mood strikes.
The kids got some new games for Christmas that we've been playing and playing. Perfection and Hungry Hungry Hippos are my favorites, Yahtzee is stressful, and Wheel of Fortune is nifty, but loud. See #3 below.

I don't like it because:

CO won't take naps. And she still needs a daily nap. Now instead of noticing that she's "sweepie," sucking her thumb, and falling asleep, she routinely screams and throws a fit at 11:00am.
Toys are everywhere. If it wasn't for RO and JO's love for turning on their beloved Roomba (which belongs to the kids, we'reevilgeniuses!) nobody would ever pick anything up.
It's loud downstairs. There's a lot of playing and running around. They do go outside to play, but I don't make anyone go outside. It's cold out there.
RO is always telling me he's hungry.
I'm feeling lots of guilt because my grant deadline is only two weeks away. I'm writing a 35K federal grant for the high school (cuz I'm nice lah dat) which will help fund a farm to school program. It'll be cool because K-12 will learn about agri-science, 9-12 will maintain a garden in the now-empty space between the high school and the middle school, and eventually, hopefully they'll all eat lots of home-grown food in their school lunches. They also have plans to both sell produce to community members (in lieu of door-to-door fundraisers) and donate excess produce to charity. Cool program, long grant-writing process. I keep telling myself it's not nearly as bad as the successful 50K grant that my friend, Eva, and I wrote in '99. Maybe it's not as bad because now I know what I'm doing. . . I hope! ;)

Babies!

2009-12-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

I'm blogging less these days because of these guys:

I'm providing childcare for Ben's co-worker's twins. It's a sweet gig. Along with the four month-old twins, I've been enjoying the adorable new babies in our ward. And this morning I got to see a photo shoot slideshow of my brand new niece (Steve's) who is a tiny miracle. I never did a professional photo shoot of my newborns, no, Sears does NOT count ;), but this makes me wish I had: http://amylynnsmith.com/photocart/slide_show.php?viewGallery=1035 (this link also takes you to my sister in-law's cool photography website). Yay for babies!

Talk About It

2009-12-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

When I was student teaching sixth graders, my cooperating teacher told me to be very careful not to say negative things about a student during parent-teacher conferences because she had an experience where a child came to school with bruises the day after parent-teacher conferences. She felt sorrowful knowing that her words prompted someone to harm a child.

"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea" ~St. Matthew 18:6

Growing up, remember listening to my peers talk to each other about getting "lickings" from their parents. I know parenting is hard. I know children can be exasperating. I think we all spent some time being exasperating as a children. Physically and/or verbally harming children is wrong. Have you been witness to child abuse? Have you said something that caused a parent to angrily react toward their child and even hurt him or her? As a mom and as a Christian, I feel like staying silent when I know a child is being hurt is wrong. I do empathize with my cooperating teacher's experience. But what can I do or say that may help someone's child in this situation?

Knapsack on My Back

2009-11-19T12:18:00.000-08:00

I am reading a story about a child who ran away from home. She packed her pillowcase full of clothes and food then took off down the street.

Growing up, I never ran away. I never thought about trying to run away. My husband did. I have heard his story and his mother's version as well. (Too cute!) I have never had a child of mine run away or even tell me he/she wanted to run away. What makes a child want to run away? What makes that child turn that inkling into action--make the decision to pack up, then set out to officially run away? What is my role as a mom when my child runs away from home?

Where Have You Been All My Life?

2009-11-12T22:02:00.000-08:00

I exchanged babysitting with a friend so we could each grocery shop alone. I dropped off my girls and on my way out the door, she told me about this amazing kitchen gadget she'd seen at her friend's house. She then excitedly described a gadget that cores and cuts apples into slices--in one quick, easy step. When she asked if I'd ever heard of such a thing, I had to laugh because I am indeed familiar with this amazing gadget. I told her I'd used an apple slicer for all the apples I'd sliced growing up and all the apples I slice for my kiddos. I couldn't believe she'd lived without one, and she couldn't believe I had one! What a highbrow life I've lived. It's interesting how you can go without something for so long and not know how desperately you need it. The past few weeks of having four bedrooms and two bathrooms is kind of like that. How did our family live for so long with just two bedrooms and one bathroom? Thank you to many friends and family for bringing us to where we are today--living the good life!

Oh, and at the grocery store, I couldn't help myself--I bought my friend an apple slicer. Did you know it cores and slices in one quick, easy step?!?

Once Upon a Time

2009-10-31T22:08:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Another Home Improvement Post

2009-10-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken many picture of the basement yet because the trim work isn't up so it's not 100% "finished" but here's the boys' room. This is the carpet we put in the whole basement. That and paint really make a huge difference.

If you're annoyed by my basement-finishing blog posts, be of good cheer. Today's post isn't just about the basement. It's about the upstairs bedrooms, too! We're switching rooms upstairs and getting new carpet in the upstairs bedrooms so I painted over the wall art in the kids' old room. I was sad to see it go, so I took some pictures. They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. This next one speaks volumes about why projects take so long to to finish around here. Isn't potty training joyful?

(When she's a teenager, won't my baby will be glad I don't have her actual name connected with my blog?)

This isn't the girls' room, just a picture of a bed I love. I found plans for making it online. It's our next project, after the upstairs bedroom painting/carpeting. SO is eager for the real bed and keeps asking if it's "coming soon." She can't wait.

Oh, and Halloween is about to crush us like bugs. Bring it on!

Celebrate

2009-10-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad is seventy-seven this week. I haven't joined in on the celebration yet. But that ends now.This is a picture I love of Dad and my Co. taken this April when we were visiting. My dad is a retired professor. He worked in the School of Business at BYUH in marketing then hotel and restaurant management. I was able to take a class from him when I went there and he is a dynamic teacher who encouraged his class to read, and not just the required text for the class. Love that! I have several memories from my childhood that make me smile and remind me of how lucky I am to have a good dad. Whenever I see an insect with a pin in it or a giant fish stuck to a wall I think of my dad. No, my dad didn't work at a museum, but we used to go on campus to visit him and have adventures all the time. The Monte Bean museum is a big part of my childhood memories from BYU Provo.

We'd visit my dad after Saturday matinees. We'd eat at the cafeteria at the wilky Wilkinson center blowing milk bubbles with our straws. But we also met Dad at his office at BYUH where we seemed to always be licking an ice cream cone from the Seasider/Snack Bar. My brothers perfected the "suicide" fountain drink at family dinners there, too.

I remember the kids taking turns riding around with Dad on his moped. I loved when he'd "pedal" the moped. Like it was a bike. Amazing skills.

I also remember that catchy tune, "My Dad," from childhood. I always thought the lyrics were written especially for my dad. The part that goes ". . . he always has money for bubble gum, I haven't figured how he does it yet, but, my dad's the smartest guy. . ." For years Dad always had a Big Red PLENTPAK and we would get a half stick whenever we asked.

My childhood was filled to overflowing with vacations and activities that I took for granted. I wish I were a better writer, so I could adequately explain how lucky my siblings and I are to have such a kind-hearted provider. These days my dad wears the "retired" hat well. He loves watching TV, is a voracious reader, has served several MTC missions with my mom, and even works out at the gym! I love you, Dad. Happy 77th birthday.

Love This!

2009-10-13T09:27:00.000-07:00

Sesame Street is turning forty!

(Stay down, doot doot Dora.)

I grew up watching and loving that show. My all-time favorite Sesame Street song is this one:

Six Soccer Socks is also a favorite of mine. And I have to say that Grover and Oscar the Grouch are definitely my favorite monsters and Maria is my favorite human.

Ooh, I just found Six Soccer Socks:

Happy 40th, Sesame Street. And Happy 42nd, Uncle Ryan!

Almost Camping

2009-10-06T19:04:00.000-07:00

We almost stayed at another Fire Lookout, this time with Daddy in North Idaho near the Canadian border. Once we got to the park, we drove for about 16 miles up a mountain on Friday along switchbacks for about an hour. We were amused at first by the snowflakes we were seeing and glad that we had some new warm sleeping bags. But the snow got deep fast the higher we went. We decided to turn around the second time the van got stuck. A park ranger in a Rhino reported 6 to 8 inches at the summit.

We ended up staying at a hotel with indoor water park and although I got a great deal at $129.00 for the room and family water park pass, it was the first summer we did not get to have a family camping trip.

Here are a few pictures of the cold kids playing in the snow before we surrendered and headed back down the mountain. JO was making us laugh as he hurried to squeeze as much snow-related fun into the few minutes we were stuck. He made a snow angel, had a snowball fight with RO, ate a big snowball, and wrote in snow with, um, yellow "ink."

Summer School

2009-09-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

This mama got schooled.

No, wait. I meant to say:

This summer has been filled with terrific learning opportunities for me.

If I were in fourth grade, this post would be my response to "What did you do this summer?"

I learned that it didn't do much good to complain about Ben's work schedule, or pine away for the good ole teaching career of summers off. A bad attitude (mine) didn't shorten our summer days without Ben.

I learned that I sometimes saw a little Miss Hannigan (Do I hear. . . happiness!?!) in my parenting (Stop having such loud fun. . . Dad's sleeping!). But many days I succeeded at not having kids who were "bored." This doesn't mean they ignored the siren calls of Spongebob and Patrick. But we had fun at home swinging on the back yard swing (*bragging edit* homemade swing) and hammock, making tents in the bedroom, taking dips in our 12' pool, and injesting two Costco-sized boxes of Otter Pops.

I learned that always shopping surrounded by four kids is tedius. Before this summer I'd taken all four children shopping with me, but having to do it this summer anytime I needed to buy anything was somehow way more stressful.

I learned that in an effort to compensate for the long working hours, I shouldn't have spoiled the kids rotten by letting them each buy a pound of candy at WINCO. Especially since the sugary indulgence happened to fall on the exact same day that their daddy brought home candy for his little neglect-a-reenos. (Flanders nod.)

I learned that free summer movies and summer school are awesome ways to NOT spend money spoiling your kids.

Wait, did I just say something about not spending money or spoiling my kids? Oops. I took the kids to the local pizza place about 10 times. The first time we went I talked with the owner about her expensive renovation process after arsons burned it down last year. I learned that when my money goes to a "good cause" my kids eat pizza and play A LOT. Oh, and the kids were always so exhausted after playing there--making it so worth every penny!

I stand by my decision to not take four children to any major amusement parks or water slides. I'd go bonkers doing head counts and chasing CO.

I learned that there's only one thing worse than mowing the grass hopped up allergy meds. Weedwhacking the grass along a chain-link fence! Hate that tiring combination of allergen exposure, drugs in my system, and ricocheting powertools. Hate. Thanks, K2, for stepping in to mow the yard. I should have given you a call in June, not September.

I learned that I am not capable of keeping a 12' swimming pool properly chlorinated for a whole summer.

I learned that having Costco muffins for dinner won't kill anybody. (I did this only once, I swear!)

Ditto that for Saimin, a.k.a. Top Ramen for dinner. (I did this lots, I swear!)

RO learned to make Saimin.
When cleaning along the bay window one day, I successfully identified a weird brown spot as a Saimin powder packet spilled on the carpet. I did not successfully identify the culprit. I learned that nobody did it.

I am struggling to learn that it's important to get a good night's sleep when you're the only parent your kids interact with all day long.

I learned that two year-old CO is not funny when she wakes up one hour after going to bed at night; hands on hips, nodding, and declaring "Is is morning now, Mom."

I learned that watching someone paint a room on HGTV is more entertaining than painting a whole basement. . . 18 gallons and counting (bathroom still needs paint).

I learned that my boys are awesome. They've decided to play indoor soccer in the spring. A little wiggle-room in their fall schedules will be almost as much fun as their first day of school was. And they still have scouts, piano, and RO is learning cello at school.

I learned that potty-training my fourth child is a much smoother process than when I first starting potty-training years ago. The accidents are no big deal and the gummy bear rewards are still as sweet.

I learned that showing up late to sacrament meeting (3x this summer!) isn't as inconspicuous as it was before we had kids.

Way too many well-intentioned folks at church asked me about Ben with a look of deep "concern" on their faces. Ben suggested I start a few rumors by answering with a sniffle, twirling my wedding ring aimlessly, or turning on the waterworks. If I was a better actor/liar, I'd have totally tried it! I learned that I'm okay with people wanting to know where my hubby is, but I'm not okay with people who kept on asking over and over. And over. Okay, it was one person. No two people. No. One person asking over and over and one person wanting to know how Ben was enjoying his tropical holiday. ehh, heh, hah, ha, hmm

I learned that this summer was a big trial in my life. I can live through life's trials and even grow. I know God loves me and my summertime-dysfunctional family and He has blessed my life in so many ways, even this summer.
I learned that my four babies were so sweet to run to hug and kiss Daddy. They missed him so much. Not as much as I missed my sweetie WELCOME BACK TO FORTY-HOUR WEEKS AND THE DAY SHIFT, BEN. IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU HOME.

This is my sister, Sh-M-A-R-E-N

2009-09-08T15:13:00.000-07:00

It's weird to know somebody for their whole life and not know their name. My sister was visiting us this past weekend and I think I know her name now. It's Maren. It always has been. But growing up she went by "Shelley." I love her dearly, but she's gone back to using her given name. It was weird introducing her to people as "my sister [pause] Maren." Folks were probably wondering why I didn't know my sister's name. She did a great job taking pictures of her nieces and nephews and blogs at www.hawaiianshells.net/ take a look at her blog for more photos of my babies.

Keep coming back to visit, Maren. And I'll keep remembering your name.

We Watch It

2009-08-28T00:42:00.001-07:00

The Huffington Post called Ted Kennedy's dying "his final act of public service. " Kennedy's death has turned attention away from Michael Jackson.

FINALLY!

I'm indifferent about Kennedy and his legacy but I'm happy to get rid of Michael Jackson news. Why are so many actual current events brushed aside when something newsworthy/gossip-worthy happens to celebrities? People seem so eager to drink in the details of Michael Jackson's life and death (or gossip about Jon and Kate Plus Eight). Maybe it's just me being grumpy, but when I see ads for E! or Extra I think I can't believe they're still talking about Michael Jackson. If people didn't watch it, the press coverage would stop, right? I wonder why we watch.

I'm Not the Only One

2009-08-20T15:05:00.000-07:00

I came across a blog post I thought was very brave. It featured a real home. Here's the link:

Earlier this year RO took some cute pictures of CO.

Costco groceries on the table, so she helped herself to

a peanut butter chair.

CO saw the uploaded pictures and cooed;

"I sit down on it!"

I thought "Too bad the table and floor are a mess. . ."

As a salute to real homes, I think I'll look past the mess.

Twenty-four

2009-08-15T18:03:00.000-07:00

There are days in my life I know I’ll always remember. Thursday August 13, 2009 turned out to be one of those days. I began my day in the emergency room and ended it perched on a mountain top. What a memorable 24 hours for me and my family!

My mother-in-law, Kathy, and I have been planning a family hike to the Quartz Mountain Fire Lookout. I had made an overnight reservation with the parks department for August 13th. Ben wouldn’t be able to come because of his work schedule, and CO was too young for an overnight hike, but the rest of us were looking forward to a unique and much-needed summer diversion. On Wednesday we were packing hiking backpacks for ourselves and RO, JO and SO. We made a list of last-minute supplies we’d need. I went shopping about an hour before Ben woke up for work, and Kathy made dinner.

A few minutes before Ben left for work he heard SO choking in her room. She was sucking on a heart-shaped plastic piece from an earring and accidentally swallowed it. I got home and found my girls crying on their daddy’s lap. (CO had fallen off a chair, but was soon fine.) SO was looking very sad, pointing to her neck. I could tell she was in a lot of pain. I called the pediatrician to talk to a nurse and gave her some ibuprofen to keep her scratched throat from swelling. As I was talking to the nurse, we decided to try feeding SO a bite of pasta noodles coated in olive-oil (the theory was “coat her throat with oil and it might slip down"). She promptly threw up. But then she looked a little better and the nurse guessed this meant she had indeed swallowed the plastic heart and her throat was now feeling the effects of being scratched. We were all eager to agree with this theory, especially SO. Ben left for work. The rest of us sat down to watch a movie after dinner. SO napped on the couch.

At bedtime I decided SO could recover next to me in my bedroom. By about 10:00pm she had thrown up two more times. We slept for a few hours, but SO woke up moaning at about 2:30am. I was troubled by the fact that she had thrown up two more times. I knew that this amazing family hike was on the calendar for that day, but I couldn’t take a girl who wasn’t keeping any food or water down. I called Ben at work and he encouraged me to make sure there was nothing in her throat. I left a note for those soundly sleeping and took SO to the ER, just in case!

In an effort to make a long story slightly shorter there were two x-rays taken, a chest x-ray and a soft-tissue x-ray. Plastic is hard to see in an x-ray, there was one dark area that registered a “maybe,” but because she was vomiting the doctor made the decision to schedule a scope with an Ear Nose and Throat surgeon that morning. SO threw up once more in the ER before she was admitted. Ben got off work at 7:00am and came to the hospital so I could go home to the kids and Kathy when they woke up. At 8:00am SO went into surgery. They found the heart-shaped plastic stuck in her esophagus and promptly fished it out. Ben called home with the good news. I went back to the hospital so Ben could head to bed. The girl I saw in the hospital room was 100% different from the one I had left only two hours before. She was smiling, talking to EVERYBODY, and eating an orange Popsicle. What a relief! I brought her a few little flowers, some playing cards (to keep me awake), and a purple pen. I was reminded of Andrew and Amy's ER experience when the nurses soon gave her a big activity book. SO turned to me and said "Mom, aren't you sad you didn't swallow anything?" The nurse who discharged her at 1:00pm also gave her a stuffed animal. She came home to find little notes and chocolate chips from her brothers and hugs and kisses from Kathy and CO.

An hour and a half later, the van was packed with our hiking gear. We dropped off CO and her overnight Dora the Explorer backpack (thanks, Lindsay!) and headed north to the Quartz Mountain Fire Lookout. We started our hike in a bit later than planned but took a leisurely pace. We did a dance of joy when we found the lookout and marveled at the 360 degree view (of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Canada). I also marveled as I saw my spunky 5 year-old collect rocks and flowers to show me and Kathy. It was so hard to believe she was in the hospital earlier that day. We played cards and enjoyed a Mountain Lodge freeze-dried dinner and dessert before turning in for the night. I slept soundly after my long day 5,129 feet above sea level.

Kathy will send me the pictures she took, but are photos of the lookout we stayed in and the view.

[I apologize if you disagree with the following, and by all means, feel free to look the other way in utter disgust and horror if you must, but the following 24 points are fitting considering the 24 hours I recently experienced. Health care affects everyone and shouldn't be ignored. Our out-of pocket plastic heart fishing expedition costs are $200.00 so far and will increase with each bill we'll soon get from the ER, ER physician, radiology, inpatient care, surgery center, and surgeon. Whether or not you agree with every detail of the “fix” all sides acknowledging that a “fix” is long overdue is child's play.]

8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage:
1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick. http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/

8 common myths about health insurance reform:
1. Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.
2. We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.
3. Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.
4. Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.
5. Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.
6. Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
7. You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.
8. No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make. http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck

8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now:
1. Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/denied_coverage/index.html
2. Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hiddencosts/index.html
3. Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women’s reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/women/index.html
4. Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes
5. Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. Much of this decline stems from small business. The percentage of small businesses offering coverage dropped from 68% to 59%, while large firms held stable at 99%. About a third of such workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees obtain insurance through a spouse. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/helpbottomline
6. The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction
7. Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people - one in every three Americans under the age of 65 - were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/diminishing/index.html
8. The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance - projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform. Learn more: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/assets/documents/CEA_Health_Care_Report.pdf

Somebody Call Hollywood, Quick!

2009-08-05T02:00:00.001-07:00

SO is the primary spotlight this week. This means she gets to bring pictures to church as well as items that represent her talents and interests. And she gets to talk about herself during Primary sharing time. More exciting news could not have come into the life of our little girl. Every day this week while the boys have been away at Cub Scout Day Camp, SO has been working tirelessly to find photos of herself, make "projects" to show off, and decide which of her favorite toys she'll bring. She's even talked to me about "princess dresses" and what it means to "break a leg." Spotlight Diva! Whoever is in charge of sharing time this week, don't worry about preparing anything, you won't have any time left.

2000 miles. Exactly.

2009-07-29T22:53:00.000-07:00

Yay:

Drove 2000 miles with four children and a laptop for playing DVDs.
We went to the Titanic exhibit at the Museum of Idaho.
Saw Steve and Crystal’s gorgeous house. I did catch the subtle irony that I envy their green paint color (and pretty much everything else too).
L&L's.
Did family togetherness excursions like a temple open house, Jump On It, BYU’s legacy hall and Hogi Yogi.
JO was the youngest to make it to the top of the climb at The City of Rocks AND (thank you, Scott!) was brought back down safely.
Jamie and Andy and Scott helped me with my spare and the Les Schwab dude fixed my flat tire for free.
Got to see my parents, all five of my siblings, and 42 other relatives.
Went home via Leavenworth to meet up with Ben and see 23 more relatives.
Collected compliments on the kids’ behavior from relatives, friends, and strangers.

Yuck:

Ben couldn’t come with us and, like JO said, we all missed him "the same amount!"
JO and RO got stung by wasps at their Unkie Dave's condo.
I didn't see relatives on my mom’s side--except for my Grandma Palmer.
JO ate so many malasadas he threw up.
Monte Bean museum was closed.
"I'm blooding!" (CO) drama, not life threatening, but a remarkable amount of blood.
Got a flat tire in the middle the reunion in the middle of nowhere.
The windy mountain road travel at the reunion made SO hurl. In the van.
RO’s nosebleeds came back (quite a bloody vacation when you think about it).
RO also spent over 7 hours of his 9th birthday traveling.
I got snookered at a WA speed trap.
There were two family reunions on the same weekend and this year we missed Ben’s family reunion.
The van smelled like death by the time we hit mile #1723. Seriously stenchy. I found the culprit but can't bring myself to blog about it.
Drove 2000 miles.

You are hereby invited to vote. Do the "yuck" things outweigh the "yay"s on this vacation? I can't decide.

And while you’re voting, help me categorize this one: “Missed the Barn Dance at Ben’s family reunion.” Tee hee!

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

2009-07-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

Ben called to tell me he's got a boyfriend. Ben and a (happily-married male) co-worker were talking on the phone at work tonight when, at the end of their conversation, his co-worker said "Love you, bye!" and hung up. Funny! I'm pretty sure his co-worker was embarrassed when he realized what just escaped his mouth.

My sister once told me about a radio deejay in Utah who ended her traffic report with "in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." The hilarious Brian Regan also has a joke about getting out of a cab at the airport and telling the cab driver "You too!" when the cabbie said "Have a good flight!" Don't you hate that feeling of desperately wanting to take back something you've said?

Our Photographer

2009-07-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

RO took the first two photos. CO is in nursery with her messy curly hair.

Two tired fellas.

This bin of legos are the only toys left in the house. We completely cleaned out the kids room before our friends came to visit on the 3rd and 4th of July. The kids had fun with legos, swimming, playing baseball at the park, camping in the yard (older ones), and having a princess party (four younger girls). The grown-ups had fun catching up and laughing.

Can't wait! Getting closer to a finished basement. Drywall's all done! Need to paint, carpet, and trim. (Then their toys will come in from the garage.) This is the boys' closet with a secret passageway under-stairs toy room that opens into the family room.

Don't have any photos, but the three older kids are taking art classes this summer through our district. They've been making coil pots, paper mache masks, and mosaic tiles. And RO and JO are saving up all of their money to buy model airplanes. We were in the audience for their new hero John Carter's 4th of July flight and crash. I think seeing the model plane crash was a big part of what got them interested!

All Because Two Faculty Brats Fell In Love

2009-06-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Today is the 14th anniversary of our quazi-arranged marriage. Almost 16 years ago, in college, which is an amazing adventure--if you leave home--two faculty brats met in an Honors Humanities class. My next-door neighbor slash academic advisor convinced me taking this class was a good idea(that's how it works when you're a faculty brat--your advisors and professors are your neighbors). And Ben enrolled in the same class because his mom directed the Honors Program. The storybook beginning was that we first held hands on the way home from a Friday evening class trip to the Honolulu Academy of the Arts. When he asked me out on our first real date, he laughed when I told him my address. His family lived in our house years before our family did. We'd been dating for all of two weeks when we started hearing variations on this theme: "You? With you? Cute! It's not often that faculty brats marry each other, ya know. Your parents must be proud." I loved talking to him, loved his smile, and was blown away by his genius. (I remember quizzing him before tests and he'd repeat full paragraphs word-for-word from the textbook.) He owned a pick-up and willingly offered to help people in his ward.

We dated for a year and were engaged for eight months. We were married in the Hawaii LDS Temple. Life these days is as near bliss as it can be when you're raising four young children. Ben patiently endures my inability to consistently rid the kitchen sink of dirty dishes. I look past his construction zone perfectionism. We honestly like each other. We work, play, and pray together.

This summer Ben has little free time with 13 hours on plus 8 hours (his goal) of sleep. He has three hours a day of discretionary time, much of which is spent eating, getting ready, and commuting to work. With that schedule in mind, I was truly surprised to wake up to breakfast in bed of grilled steak and eggs. What a sweetheart! And he showed up this morning with chocolates. I retaliated with Oreos when he woke up today. We're celebrating our anniversary this weekend--a babysitter is lined up and Ben got the whole night off (for a while is boss was only going to let him take a few hours off!) and we're going to dinner and to see comedian Brian Regan perform live. (Google him or look him up on youtube if you haven't heard of him.)

Spoiled

2009-06-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

Look how quiet my girls are being! And baby just fell asleep. And she slept for 12 hours last night. AND I'm so spoiled rotten.

Remember?

2009-06-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

When I was a young whipper snapper we added "--n't" to words. And it was funny! So if someone said; "That's cool!" you would reply; "Cool---n't!" meaning that you didn't agree. I wonder if such cleverness can be attributed to the same people who came up with "You stink!"

It seems like the end of the school year prompts a lot of "Remember when. . ." conversations. R. is finishing up third grade next week. At the end of third grade I thought I was pretty old. That was the summer we moved to Hawaii. I have a son that old!?!

S. "graduated" from preschool tonight (seriously, there was an evening program where S. and another girl were masters of ceremony, and the school's principal even handed out diplomas in her cap and gown). One of the songs the children sang I remember R. sang when he was in preschool. Having a preschooler is such amazing fun. I remember when my boys were in preschool and how adorable they were.

I think I do a decent job holding onto these memories. Until J. asks me a "remember when. . ?" question. Oh, sure, I remember---n't!

That kid remembers everything. C. turned two today and J. told us details about everyone's second birthdays, listing presents, locations, and cake toppers. Cake toppers are pretty much my favorite part of birthdays--I love, love, love putting toys and candy decorations on their cakes. I'd love to just sit J. down and pick his brain. Once information goes in, it sticks. Quick story: a few years ago, he woke up and told me that President Hinckley turned 97 years old that day. Somewhere I guess he'd learned President Hinckley's birthdate and was just keeping track. (He does the same with his grandparents, good friends, and Andrew Jackson--but that's a long story.) I do remember stuff, honest. But since I'm not J., today was a good reminder to write things down so I'll remember. My one-time adorable preschooler is almost a fourth grader. And my baby is two years old.

People tell me "children grow up so fast!"

Could it be true?

My Love/Hate Relationship

2009-06-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

I hate my DVR--it stopped recording Wipeout when Didi Wong was within 10 seconds of beating the deadbeat daughter's time. Who won? Don't ask me. I feel bad hating DVR like that, especially because I love it. Ben's been working nights for two and a half weeks, which means no forward progress on the drywall. Now instead of being productive or getting enough sleep, I've become a DVR zombie. I DVR yoga, huge chunks of HGTV, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien a.k.a. "You-twit-face", Law and Order, and even the *yawn-fest* Brian Williams' White House special. Love Obama but "We're buying hamburgers!" Really? And you know it's bad when I DVR for the whole family: movies for Ben, Dora for the baby, America's Funniest Home Videos and Spongebob for my preschooler, and my boys DVR everything from Titanic exploration documentaries to World Cup qualifiers (soccer). Admitting I have a problem is the first step, right? I don't think I could quit cold turkey, but I need to seriously cut back. I've already stopped watching Jon & Kate Plus Eight (Kate's brother and sister-in-law have asked viewers to boycott: http://www.nationalpost.c/ ). An interesting take on reality television and children.

Time to "publish post" and go to sleep (or get back to my DVR).

Ten for Tuesday

2009-05-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

1. Basement photos!

2. Missing something? "Yup, my front tooth." Finally! (He wiggled that one forever.)

3. When S. went on a field trip to a plant nursery and grocery store her bus drove past new(ish) Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. It's only seven minutes from our house. She doesn't know I've purposely been avoiding car trips to that part of town for months.

4. I'm loving the warm weather, but our yard doesn't exactly get the attention it needs from me and Ben. I really should teach the boys lawn-mowing skills. I put on a construction mask and mowed some of the lawn the other day with a minimal reaction (I wasn't trying to amuse the neighbors, just very allergic to grass and dandelions). And poor Ben's got no time to mow with his night shift work schedule--on good days he has almost enough time to sleep and eat, though.

5. R. ran in a 3-5th grade race at school and came in 10th! He could have been faster, he says, but someone punched him in the stomach right before the race. I don't know about that, but he enjoyed himself and the whole family was there to cheer him on. Daddy got off in time to watch, then he went home to sleep.

7. I posted about thumb-sucking earlier, but C. has started incorporating a new element: Belly Buttons! She sucks her thumb and puts her finger in her belly button. If I see her walking around like this, I know she's tired.

8. We got a new table. (yard sale $40). Now to update our chairs. . .

9. Ben won his Biggest Loser Finale at work and used some of the money he won to buy an outdoor basketball hoop/stand for their work parking lot.

10. We moved the saw horses out of the basement and the kids turned them into goals. We have become the most popular house on the block. Every kid on the block has been over to play, several of them come every day after school. They play, among other things, "Baby Soccer" a crawling game they made up. I'll have to remember this for the next time my kids beg for an expensive toy.

Excuuuuuuse Me

2009-05-18T18:03:00.000-07:00

So I've just been reprimanded by a member of the blogging community because it's May 18th and my only post in May is three words long.

The thing is, I promised basement pictures. But I haven't taken any. You see, the camera is upstairs. The basement is downstairs. And I'm tired.

We aren't putting up much drywall these days anyway.

Ben started his night shift today. He'll work five days a week from 6:00pm to 7:00am. And in an effort to make his weekends family friendly, we decided to tweak our family's bedtime. The plan was to have long daily afternoon siestas and then a midnight bedtime. The plan didn't work for two of us. The baby can't stay asleep longer than an hour in the middle of the day. And J. ended up being late for school. (R. and S. were awake at 7:00am, but I didn't have the heart to wake up poor J.) Come to think of it, the tweaked bedtime didn't work for three of us. When babies wake up, their lucky moms get to wake up too.

So basically, I'm too tired to take pictures of the basement. Not just the basement though. I thought about taking pictures of C. under what she's nicknamed "The Bugga Bugga Tree" (a blossom-covered apple tree humming with "Bugga Bugga" bees). Gorgeous white blossoms, darling, awe-struck baby, but again, no pictures. Probably because we were outside and the camera is inside. Does your picture-taking go in bursts? I'm good about taking lots of pictures sometimes and other times I go weeks without taking any!

2009-05-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

I hate drywall.

Today's Etsy Pick

2009-04-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Esty seller GootchieGoo makes these black and white prints. I love it. So now I'm trying to decide which would look better: a print of the word "Family" in, say, a black and white guest bedroom or the boys' names for their bedroom. What other word could I do? Amy--you could do something cool like this with your photography skills!

Working It

2009-04-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

My neighbor and I are both certified teachers, but she babysits. I don't have a job right now, but will babysit twins this fall. We love our children, but staying home does nothing for our slender pocketbooks. We were talking about the quandary of getting a teaching job when you have little kids. Sure, we like kids, but I have a feeling that dealing with kids all day as a profession would be a little. . . redundant. Did I say redundant? I meant noisy. I really should have majored in something that'd get me a job working at a tranquil spa or at a monastery.

Then I came across this on Facebook. Cheesy, but funny. It seems I'm not the only one searching for employment:

My first job was working in an orange juice factory, but I got canned because I couldn't concentrate.
Then I worked in the woods as a lumberjack, but I just couldn't hack it, so they gave me the axe.
After that I tried to be a tailor, but I just wasn't suited for it. Mainly because it was a so-so job.
Next I tried working in a muffler factory but that was exhausting.
I wanted to be a barber, but I just couldn't cut it.
Then I tried to be a chef--figured it would add a little spice to my life but I just didn't have the thyme.
Finally, I attempted to be a deli worker, but any way I sliced it, I couldn't cut the mustard.
My best job was being a musician, but eventually I found I wasn't noteworthy.
I studied a long time to become a doctor, but I didn't have any patients.
Next was a job in a shoe factory; I tried but I just didn't fit in.
I became a professional fisherman, but discovered that I couldn't live on my net income.
Thought about becoming a witch, so I tried that for a spell.
I managed to get a good job working for a pool maintenance company, but the work was just too draining.
I got a job at a zoo feeding giraffes but I was fired because I wasn't up to it.
So then I got a job in a gymnasium (work-out-center), but they said I wasn't fit for the job.
Next, I found being an electrician interesting, but the work was shocking.
After many years of trying to find steady work I finally got a job as a historian until I realized there was no future in it.
My last job was working at Starbucks, but I had to quit because it was always the same old grind.
You have any ideas for a job? Maybe you have something that Works, because I don't.

Simple Joys

2009-04-23T14:29:00.003-07:00

The conversation with our five-year-old that ended ". . . you mean I can even flush the potty and wash my hands?!?" actually began yesterday when Ben got home from work. We decided to spend a few minutes before dinner putting up plastic sheeting over our newly-insulated laundry room ceiling. As Ben picked up the long box, the roll of sheeting fell out. On its way to the ground it hit the nozzle at the bottom of the water heater, cracking it off. Let me try to put a positive spin on this next part: our laundry room got a pampering most laundry rooms only dream of--a drenching, actually, in 50 plus gallons of hot water and the pore-refining steam that comes with it. If only laundry rooms had pores! We shut off water and started researching on-demand/tankless water heaters. Then we headed to Lowes and Sears where we found none in stock. After talking with a Home Depot guy for a while we decided trying to fix the nozzle on our water heater was the way to go if we wanted any hot water in the next 21 days (the timeline for a special order and installation).

The next several hours played out like a game of Mouse Trap as we fixed the water heater. The nozzle didn't crack off neatly so we bought a gizmo to insert into the plastic broken threading. The gizmo didn't work, so we got out our dremel to grind out the plastic threading (because apparently dremels aren't just for shaping pinewood derby cars!). That went well, but the replacement nozzle we got wasn't quite long enough to fit into the water heater, so it was back to the store to get some extension pieces. While, there we got some more copper piping and a shut-off valve cold water line above the water heater so we could have running water even if we couldn't get the replacement nozzle part figured out (and because the Home Depot guy tells us it's a smart idea to be able to shut off water to your water heater). Then we came to the conclusion that now is as good a time as any to move the water heater since it was empty and relatively lightweight. So we built a wooden 20" x 20" platform (out of treated lumber) for the water heater to sit on. Then we skootched it up tight next to the drywall so our half wall next to the dryer can run the full length of the wall. I finished the cold water supply about the same time Ben finished putting in the new drain nozzle. What's gonna work? Team work! It was at this point that we prematurely declared ourselves victorious and turned on the water. We found one leak, turned off the water, tightened up a loose fitting, and turned the water back on. Could have been worse, right? We came upstairs to proclaim true victory over our 16-year-old water heater that will probably last another year or two. And that's why S. was so excited about being able to flush and wash her hands! Sometimes it takes 50 plus gallons of hot water on your laundry room floor to really appreciate the simple joys in life. Indoor plumbing is truly lovely. And I'm declaring it right here in this very post: whoever invented being able to flush your business away--TOTAL GENIUS! Did I forget to intertwine into my plumbing play-by-play dinner, taking the boys to scouts, bedtime, Ben calling in late, getting the kids off to school, and S. coming home from preschool? Nobody claimed we work faster than plumbers, just cheaper!

Now where were we? Oh yeah, putting up plastic sheeting. . . maybe that can wait until tomorrow, I need a nap, wait, no, I need a hot shower. My pores could use some refining.

A cute story: On the way out of Sears, Baby C. was walking toward the road. I decided rather than scoop her up I'd teach her to stop at the curb and look both ways. She is 22 months old, after all. So as she approached the curb I called out "Stop!" Without missing a beat she picks up her knees, sticks out her elbows, and with the boogie-woogie rhythm of a toddler, proceeds to "Stomp!" out into the road. Look both ways before you stomp across the street!

May's Book Club

2009-04-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

I'm now heading up our ward's R.S. Book Club. The blogging world is cordially invited to read with us. For beautiful blogging friends in our ward, please consider this your invitation to join us on Thursday, May 14th at 7:00pm, location posted in the bulletin.

We're reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

It's a great Spring read. When Kingsolver and her family move from suburban Arizona to rural Appalachia, they take on a new challenge: to spend a year on a locally produced diet. "Our highest shopping goal was to get our food from so close to home, we'd know the person who grew it. Often that turned out to be ourselves as we learned to produce what we needed, starting with dirt, seeds, and enough knowledge to muddle through. Or starting with baby animals, and enough sense to refrain from naming them."

What an interesting, well-written book! Imagine sustaining oneself the way our ancestors did--without Doritos. Happy Reading! This book inspired my inner gardener and made me hungry for good, healthy food from my local Farmers' Market. Happy Reading.

Post a comment if you've read it and write your own review!

2009-04-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

2009-04-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

2009-04-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

Spring has Sprung

2009-04-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

It's a rainy day today, but not too cold. Our daffodils and tiny blue flowers are gorgeous and I don't want to hear the words "It's snowing" for at least 6 months. (Is that asking too much?!?)

I took this picture of my girls with Sister Clifford on Easter Sunday. Last month Sister Clifford said "Hope you don't mind my asking, but can I please sew Easter dresses for your girls?" I said "Sure!!!" Aren't they adorable? She did such a great job and S. loves that it spins just like a princess dress.

And let me just put it out there so everyone is clear on this: Please feel free to sew things for my girls anytime!

Not to be outdone, our eight-year-olds got new church shoes. I'll post a picture of their old ones too so you'll believe me when I tell you that they REALLY needed new church shoes.
Ben continues to be quite the loser. He's lost 20 pounds in seven weeks! As of last week every co-worker weighs less than they did seven weeks ago--their office total is 61 pounds lost! That's not to say there haven't been a few questionable methods involved. Two weeks ago, one of Ben's co-worker drank tons of water before the weigh-in because he figured he wouldn't win that week anyway. It improved his chances the for following week's weigh-in. Sneaky, eh? This is the same guy who brings a whole cake into the office every Friday in case people are hungry! Ben has admitted to wearing light-weight clothes and taking off his shoes and belt for the weigh-ins but at least he hasn't been employing his old wrestling tactics. In high school Ben had to lose weight before every wrestling match. One of his favorite tricks was to fast and then wrap himself in plastic wrap and go running before weighing in. (My favorite is that after making weight he'd scarf down a sleeve of Ritz crackers with cheese and drink a Coke.) Don't ask me why his coach couldn't just be sensible enough to put him in a bigger weight class. Ben wonders if wrestling in the wrong weight class through high school stunted his growth. If nothing else, he knows how to lose weight when he wants to! He says the trick is not stuffing himself at meals, not eating donuts and running. Good advice--not to brag, but I already knew about the not eating donuts part. (Not only is Ben skinnier than he's been in years, but his wife is hecka hilarious!)

This Biggest Loser thing is all in fun, but I wonder if all this dwelling on weight-loss is doing permanent damage to the kids. The three oldest kids, but the boys especially, must have weighed themselves a hundred times at Grandma and Papa's house (we do not own a scale). They would randomly run to the bathroom to weigh themselves, eat something, run back to weigh themselves, jog in the basement, run back to weigh themselves, drink something, then weigh themselves some more. Possibly more running around than Papa bargained for, it kept them occupied and out of the snowy cold weather. And it made me and Grandma laugh a lot!

Yes, R. is wearing fuzzy pink socks. They're mine. I was sitting on the couch sporting my fuzzy socks and he walks up to me and yoinks them! Sweet kid. . .

So I haven't been to Provo since August of '07, but with a DVD player in the van and overnight pit stops it was a bearable journey. We stopped at a hotel in Montana on the way and ran into our neighbors, the Ericksons, in the lobby! Too funny.

The two highlights of our Spring Break were watching General Conference and J.'s baptism. Grandma took me and the boys to the train "Trax" in Sandy early Saturday morning. The girls stayed in Provo. We rode to Temple Square then waited in the rain in a pretty long line with our tickets (thanks, President Pitcher!). It was so interesting to see the behind-the-scenes side of conference. I think the boys and I will be looking back on our Conference session as we watch for years to come. We studied the T.V. cameras, big screens, and sign language section with fascination. And when President Monson arrived, everything got quiet and we could each feel the Spirit telling us he is a prophet of God.

We won't do it again for the girls, but we (actually J.) decided that since R. was baptised in the Icicle River that J. could be baptized at his other grandparents' in their stake's baptismal font. Ben and his mom drove down to join us for the baptism. It was worth the headaches to have his uncles, aunties, some cousins be there and participate in the program. And if it's possible, I think J. has matured a lot since his birthday. If anyone has better pictures than these, let me know. This shot has a thumb in it! I almost don't want to post it, but I can't help myself I guess.

Several fun activities helped round out a very busy, fun-filled trip:

We couldn't call it a true trip to Provo without a visit to The Museum of Paleontology at BYU a.k.a. "The Dinosaur Museum" in the Southeast corner of the LaVell Edwards Stadium parking lot. The kids always have such a good time there and we always have the whole "museum" to ourselves.

For FHE we went to the farm part of Thanksgiving Point where the kids saw a bunch of animals, got a pony ride, and colored a butterfly. We rebounded nicely from the butterfly coloring activity with dinner and ice cream.

Grandma, Papa, and Uncle Buckethead took us to the 3D movie of Monsters v. Aliens. Loved that the President of the United States communicates with the aliens via rockin' keyboard riff! Loved the cheap popcorn and soda too (every city should be a college town--such good deals in Provo!)

We took full advantage of this college town with a trip to the Monte Bean Museum. The insects and ocean creatures were our favorites. (I remember the hammerhead shark and swordfish from my childhood.)
On my birthday we bounced around at Jump On It and then wasted no time replenishing any lost calories at Dad's favorite restaurant Los Hermanos. We wanted to hike the Y but it was snowing and we couldn't really see the Y. So instead we strolled/hiked up Rock Canyon. And collected rocks. We can't seem to hike without bring home a rock or two. Or ten.

We stayed with friends from our Moscow days on the way home and even though the trip was great it was so nice to get home. Even if it means cutting wall board and spending too much money on boring stuff like dry wall screws and two-by-fours.

We had a fun spring break and are grateful that my kids got to connect with their grandparents, and my awesome baby brothers and their awesomer (yesitsaword!) wives. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for putting us up, putting up with us, and spoiling us all rotten!

More Photos

2009-03-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Sharing mini cupcakes with her preschool classmates last week.

The My Little Pony birthday cake! I discovered years ago that kids think you are an amazing cake decorator if there's a toy or two stuck in the frosting.

This week is parent teacher conferences so the preschoolers don't go to school. We've been enjoying girl time around here. Oh and getting tires and a new windshield for the van. And hanging drywall in the basement hallway. And folding laundry. And reinventing old stand-by meals to make them more nutritious (Last night the spaghetti and Costco meatballs meal turned into chicken parmesan--pasta, chicken tenders simmered in red sauce, and a sprinkle of parmesan). And packing for our spring break trip. And sending out birthday thank-yous. And uploading photos and blogging?!? I'm a weird-o when it comes to time management sometimes. . .

. . . I'm busting out the sepia, too?

And just to prove that not everyone in the family had crazy hair yesterday, I took this picture. Not really. S. just wanted to see if she liked the back of her hair. She did!

Time to hit "PUBLISH POST" and get on with my day. Hope yours is a fun one.

Photos

2009-03-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

She's discovered her pockets. C. walks around the house with her hands in her pockets or into the front of her overalls (I've got to get a picture of that). Too cute.

The cub scouts went to a pet store. This is a bearded dragon. They're one of the only friendly reptiles out there. Most reptiles don't seem to care whether they are somebody's pet. Bearded dragons interact with humans, hang out on random shoulders, and these scouts are pretty sure this bearded dragons smiled at them. And no worries, grandma, they sanitized their hands after touching all the reptiles (they got to hold snakes and turtles too).

The kids want me to find out if anyone in the blogging world wants to trade their bearded dragon for our tarantula . Let me know!

Guest Post

2009-03-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

Our birthday girl wanted to "Blog about me."

She says: "I like doing my life. I like school. I like playing computer games. I like my first day of school. I remember it. I hope I get My Little Ponies, about eighteen of them. I'm glad that I'm going to have people at my birthday. I'm good at my handwriting. I know that my friends and family love me. My favorite colors are orange, peach--light color orange, and purple. My second favorite and third favorite are pink, yellow, green. . . red is my tie of pink. Blue is my fifth favorite color. My favorite dessert is chocolate chip cookies. I wish I wasn't coughing. I want to be a mom when I grow up. I want a hen. But not for my birthday. When I grow up. I'm going to buy it with my own money. I like hens. And I'm going to buy a cute little kitty. The chicken's going to stay inside. The food and the water that it drinks are going to be inside. It's going to sleep inside. The cat's going to sleep outside 'stead of in. My sixth favorite color is white. I can't wait to play with my playdoh thing that has an apple tree and an apple fell down. I hope my mom lets me play with it today or tomorrow. I have a lot of money. I have about ten of everything. [singing] I like God's plan, I like God's plan. I like it when he listens to us. When God tells me to do something I will always listen. For my own people sing. Amen. [talking again] I like watching T.V. My whole blog is done."

This is what S. looks like today. She says; "I smiled and looked at the dots on the top of the computer. Then the picture taked a picture of me. I mean the computer took a picture of me."

Don't worry if this didn't make sense. She had fun. These ramblings remind me of how Tina Fey put her daughter's expression "I want to go to there!" into a 30 Rock script. (The original referred to pictures of Disneyland.) A cute kid. Too bad she keeps getting older and older. Happy Birthday, S. You're our five year-old "power-packed princess" and we love you.

It's This New Thing

2009-03-17T07:34:00.001-07:00

R. made me laugh this morning. He was awake and wearing green before I got up. When I saw J.'s black t-shirt and jeans I reminded him to find something green to wear.

R. (in his best big brother voice) tells him, "Yeah, it's this new thing some kids in my class are doing. If you don't wear green on St. Patrick's Day. . . they're going to PINCH you."

Yup, you may not have heard about it, but kids these days will pinch you if you don't wear green!

Growing up, I was taught strict observance of the St. Patrick's Day pinching principle. I remember wearing green pajamas to bed on March 16th in order to avoid being awakened with a pinch. No, I'm not the type to just pin a bit of green to my shirt. I'm the type to go shopping (yuck) for a green shirt the day before St. Patrick's Day when I can't find anything green to wear.

Did your parents, like mine, offer a generous helping of green food coloring at the breakfast table--green scrambled eggs and green pancakes? Or green milk in your cereal bowl? Join us and injest some green today for St. Patrick's Day!

Who Thinks Thumbs are Than-Tastic?

2009-03-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

"Where's your thumb, baby?" will soothe owies, cheer her temperament (when I say "no"), and help her drift off to sleep. Most of the time I can't see the downside! My mom, who turned out okay, was a thumb sucker. I remember her telling about how she'd lick the sour anti-thumb goo off every time grandma would apply it. And Ben, who also turned out okay, sucked his fingers until the third grade. I've heard the biggest drawback is orthodontics, but she's got crooked teeth in her genes and will most assuredly need braces anyway! At what point do I try to take this girl's thumb away from her? I think it's a big part of why she's been my best baby. Any thoughts?

Some good news: Ben lost 3.2% of himself this week. He won $29.70, which is a better deal than those Jenny Craig places. Yay Ben!

Been There, Done That, Bought the T-Shirt

2009-03-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

Something to add to your blog tags (leave me a comment if you do one, so I can peek at your list). I tag YOU.

"X" marks the things I have done during my lifetime:
(X) Been to Canada
(0) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida
(X) Been to Hawaii
(X) Gone on a blind date
(X) Skipped school
(0) Watched someone die
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost
(O) Been an extra in a film
(X) Been to a TV show taping (Full House, so stay down)
(x) Visited Washington, DC
(0) Traveled by San Francisco trolley
(O) Traveled to Europe
(X) Traveled to Asia
(0) Went to the top of the World Trade Center
(O) Been to Notre Dame (Cathedral)
(0) Been to Jamaica
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers
(X) Recently colored with crayons
(X) Skipped a final exam (not on purpose)
(X) Sang Karaoke
(X) Watched the birth of a child
(O) Paid for a meal with coins only
(O) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't (eat one more brownie today)
(X) Made prank phone calls
(O) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Gone ice-skating
(0) Gone to the movies in 2009
(O) Been deep sea fishing
(O) Driven across the United States
(O) Been in a hot air balloon
(0) Been sky diving
(O) Gone snowmobiling
(X) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
(X) Seen the Old Faithful Geyser
(O) Seen the Statue of Liberty
(O) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
(0) Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
(X) Traveled by motorcycle
(X) Been horse back riding
(X) Been to Disneyland, Disney World, and Japan's Disneyland
(X) Been pulled over by a police officer
(O) Gotten a ticket
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
(O) Been in a rain forest
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
(0) Been to Niagara Falls
(X) Ridden on an elephant
(0) Swam with dolphins
(O) Been to the Olympics
(O) Sat on a jury
(X) Learned to juggle
(0) Walked on the Great Wall of China
(0) Saw a glacier
(0) Been spinnaker flying
(O) Been water-skiing (nope, tubing once)
(X) Been snow-skiing
(0) Been to Westminster Abbey
(O) Been to the Louvre
(0) Swam in the Mediterranean
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(0) Been to a National Football League game
(0) Been to a Professional Soccer game

No Way!

2009-03-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

This little guy will be eight years old in less than a month. I keep trying to squeeze him so he'll shrink back down to be a baby, but it seems he is growing up whether mommy likes it or not. J. was the Star of the Week in his class. He brought in photos and wrote about his favorites.

We had such fun this week looking at old pictures!

Here's what J. said: "My favorite toys are my American-Indian Army Guys from Scouts and Bakugan. My favorite story is The Thief and the Beanstalk. My favorite movie is Planet Earth. My favorite TV show is Sponge Bob. My favorite foods are hot dogs and Doritos. I have a special collection of rocks. My favorite dessert is root beer float with Oreos on top."

The Wonderful Wizard of. . . ER

2009-03-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it. I am an ER fan. I haven't seen every episode, through the years but I have picked it up again in the last two years. And when the dust settles three shows from now, I will miss my wannabe soap opera.

The past few episodes have been the final curtain call for former cast members. Last night we found Doug Ross and Carol Hathaway (How did NO ONE on the show catch her mispronunciation of Spokane?) working it in Seattle with twins who can spell. And Doctor Benton munching on a peanut butter energy bar, telling us Reese is 13 (how time flies!), and totally saving Doctor Carter's new kidney, thank you very much.

Poor swollen Pardimir/Neela hiding her pregnancy gets to leave the show next week as we bid her and the dead cast members farewell. Let's see, County General has buried Doctors Green, Romano, and Pratt. Oh and that intern Lucy Knight who got stabbed. Oh, and the Iraq war killed Doctor Gallant. My favorite death by far was the helicopter crushing Doctor One-Arm Romano.

It looks like the ER writers are heading down the yellow brick road as they neatly wrap up every storyline. (It wasn't the tin man but Neela did implant a new heart.) So I expect that the abandoned newborn baby will find a home with the Banfields and Doctor Gates (rock-a-hula-baby) and Sam Taggert will get back together.

And Neela better head straight into the arms of Ray Barnett if she knows what's good for her. A girl needs closure.

Pictures

2009-03-07T15:45:00.000-08:00

Packed with personality.

From the 2nd 3rd grade concert.

From Akito and the Dragon

Biggest Loser, Engineer Style

2009-03-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

Ben paid thirty cents to his coworker who lost 3.5 percent of her weight last week. Ben lost 3.2 percent. Why? Motivation. That and his WSDOT office is on week two of a biggest loser challenge. And maybe it's just me, but I thought that the set-up screamed math nerd. Judge for youselves:

Day one: Weigh in. Report weight to spreadsheet supervisor.
Day seven: Weigh in. Calculate weight loss percentage to the nearest tenth of a percent (with the following formula: original weight minus current weight divided by original weight). Report percent change to spreadsheet supervisor/creator. Pay 10 cents per tenth of one percent difference between your percent change and the winner's percent change. Repeat weigh-in and calculations every week.

So simple! (I say with zero tenths of a percent of sincerity.)

You're so simple! (My sweet spouse responds.)

Your cut downs are so simple! (I say a couple days later--George Costanza style.)

In Like a Lion

2009-03-01T09:35:00.000-08:00

Our laptop is back. And we've all learned some very important lessons about laptops. First, the baby isn't allowed anywhere near it. She yanked the "enter" key off a while ago and a rinky dinky plastic piece broke off. The second lesson we've learned is that it's good to get the Best Buy warranty for a computer even though we almost talked ourselves out of it because in-store warranties generally are a giant waste of money. If you have kids, get the warranty. The final lesson we learned is to really listen to the Geek Squad boy who says "The laptop will be back in four to five days, but it never takes that long." Funny joke (ha, ha, ha, ahem) because thanks to poor listening skills and/or poor pronunciation skills we learned that the estimated wait time was actually forty-five days. One rinky dinky broken plastic piece meant a vacation to a laptop factory. Our laptop joined all the rich people in our town who wander off to exciting, balmy, places in the winter months.

How sad is it that I'm jealous of my jet-setting computer? Wouldn't a tropical vacation be ono right about now? I'm not picky. Anywhere green works for me. Oh, green AND warmer than 50-60 degrees. When we decided to leave Hawaii I don't think we fully comprehended the "joy" that is winter on the mainland.

Yes, I know that March does that lion turned lamb transformation deal. I know the daffodils are starting to come up. I'm just impatient!

Kadoosh.

Sorry for not posting any pictures. Our camera is loaded, nay, as stuffed as a holiday turkey, with photos and video clips. But it won't download with a dead battery. So I'm publishing this text-only post while the battery is charging. And the NEXT post, promise, cross my heart, hope t' die, will be chuck full of photos.

Winter Break

2009-02-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

Are we really more than halfway through February so soon?

We've been keeping busy here. In fact "here" is grandma and grandpa's house. We're simultaneously visiting all kinds of relatives and doing absolutely nothing. The do-it-all vacation where you are so exhausted by the end of the vacation isn't really our style. We prefer to take it easy and relish the change of pace.

Before our vacation began we enjoyed a 2nd and 3rd grade musical titled "Akito and the Dragon." R. was Akito with several "lines" and even had a few solo lines in a song. J. was part of the choir. We got to go to the Thursday evening performance and it was fun seeing R. ham it up on stage. He really is a character when surrounded by his friends. I was still sore and swollen from my wisdom teeth removal but did a fine job (and I DO say so myself) playing the role of proud mama taking lots of photos and video clips. I'll post a few shots soon, I hope. My jaw and teeth are almost back to normal nine days later, but I was surprised by how long it took me to bounce back from oral surgery!

No new news to post about the basement. We have a small list of "to finish" projects before we can say we're ready to hang, mud and tape drywall. I don't know why I'm surprised that the reality of this home improvement project is more complicated than the original plans.

C. wants me to stop blogging and pay attention to her as cradles Grammy's snowman princess doll and sings "now-nan, now-nan, toh, toh, toh."

Problematic Pathetically Puny Packaging

2009-01-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

I just got home from Costco and feel the need to vent, sorry! Some days that's what blogging's for. Is anybody else annoyed that you don't get as much food in packages as you used to? I bought graham crackers today and I KNOW they used to have four packages of crackers in each box. I used to scarf down a pack of graham crackers as a kid (dipped in milk--mmm, mmm, good). The graham crackers I just bought? Three packages to a box. But it gets worse. [Cue spooky soundtrack] Now there are only nine crackers in each package. There used to be ten! And I'm pretty sure the actual crackers are smaller. Didn't the graham crackers used to look like two squares when you broke them in half? They appear to be smaller and more rectangular than I remember.

Another thing I know well is saimin. Packages of Saimin, also known as Top Ramen noodles, are smaller these days too! Shrinking food. I am not a fan.

Would you rather pay more money and get the same amount of product or pay the same amount and get a smaller product?

Kids Teach Kids to Say the Darndest Things

2009-01-28T09:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the baby was sitting down in the living room playing with her wooden ABC blocks. She started throwing them so I said "Don't throw blocks or you'll get a time out." I didn't mean it or anything, she's only 19 months old. But a few seconds later she picked up a block, stood up, threw it, mumbled under her breath, and walked into the bedroom to sit on her sister's bed. The grumbling part was too cute! She did learn her lesson quite fast and stayed in her self-inflicted time out for only three seconds.

She's also started enjoying bedtime. I love that she now tells us when her day is done by requesting "A pillow, a blankie, a nie night!"

C. is really embracing her ability to talk. She says "hi" and "bye" to everyone she sees. And everyone she sees thinks she's adorable. They're right. Talking babies are delicious.

There's nothing quite like like a talking baby. And when that talking baby will parrot ANYTHING you say? It's even better. Right kids? It's crazy. C. is their new toy. I often hear "Listen to this, guys!" My favorite ditty is thanks to J. (who receives generous support from big brother and little sister). C. responds to hearing *certain sounds* by saying "Oh, cheese!" as she wags her chubby hand in front of her nose.

However sleep-deprived that poor mama of octuplets is, she can rejoice in the knowledge that at least one child won't teach the other one to smack herself on the bottom while singing "We will, we will, rock you."

I'm (Slowly) Learning

2009-01-25T21:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks to our Relief Society blog, I got some spiritual instruction today! The TFOT today was Elder Robert D. Hales' conference talk, Christian Courage: The Price of Discipleship. From the blog:

A few key concepts were discussed.

1. True disciples of Christ see opportunity in the midst of opposition.

2. True disciples seek guidance from the Spirit, they receive inspiration tailored to each encounter.

3. True disciples respond in ways that invite the Spirit of the Lord.

4. As true disciples, our primary concern must be others' welfare, not personal vindication.

5. True disciples avoid being unduly judgmental of others' views.

6. Sometimes true disciples must show Christian courage by saying nothing at all.

To all who seek to know how we should respond to our accusers, he replied, we love them. Whatever their race, creed, religion, or political persuasion, if we follow Christ and show forth His courage, we must love them. . . . we desire with our love to show them a better way - the way of Jesus Christ.

I'm glad the blog is still up and running. Love not feeling isolated in the land of babysitting, er, teaching tiny children!

Because Some Days the Bread Falls Flat

2009-01-18T19:21:00.000-08:00

My sweet husband is just about the greatest guy ever. (I'm not dissing *your* hubby, just complimenting mine.)

You see, I spent the last few days literally trying to breathe because every so often my lungs don't work the way they should. It happened in Brazil where a doctor misdiagnosed me with dengue fever. It happened in Moscow (Idaho, not Russia!) when the boys were babies. And it happened this week. My lungs burn and I inhale albuterol and warm steam like nobody's business.

But this post is not about breathing.

It's about baking bread.

So after scrubbing a bazillion pots and pans and doing all the dishes Saturday, Ben decided to bake bread. He has baked bread supervised (by me) before. But yesterday was his first solo flight. He asked a few questions during the mixing process and then brought me the dough-filled Kitchenaid bowl to inspect before tucking it in to rise.

A few hours later we were eating quazi-yummy bread. The loaves rose, but then fell during the big bake. Ben was sad. Something wasn't right. Ben questioned the whole process. Was the butter/sugar/salt/milk combination wrong? Did the pans get bumped? Was the yeast water not warm enough? Was it too warm?

Amid this bread-eating question-asking was his daughter's voice; "Daddy? When can you teach me to bake bread?" (S. is a total daddy's girl, so I was only a little bit shocked that she didn't ask me. Oh, and I was bundled up on the couch barely breathing.)

Sunday morning between meetings Ben baked bread with his daughter. They worked together so well. The questioning questions were still there. I was consulted again before the first rise. (Although not from the couch this time, because I was on the mend.) It looked good. Ready to rise. Ready to bake!

Sunday's bread looked very much like loaves of leavened bread should! Daddy and daughter shared a loaf with the neighbors. They made me smile. They gave me a delicious buttered slice.

Some days the bread falls flat. And some days the bread is so good you forget all about the flat-bread days.

Today's Etsy Pick

2009-01-12T13:42:00.001-08:00

I'm glad one of my resolutions this year is to be more organized because look at this beauty I found on etsy:

link
I love this!

My new year's resolutions are boring this year. I came up with organizing paperwork and eating more vegetables. My sweet hubby likes to start New Year's Eve conversations with "I'm not really big on resolutions, but this year I'm going to. . ." He comes up with useful, great resolves. Maybe instead of coveting the talents of etsy sellers, I should make this completely unrealistic resolution: I want to learn how to make a shelf like that. Carpentry is one of two things I really, really, re-he-he-ally want to learn how to do someday. Pottery making is the other thing. Shapely shelves laden with pottery. Yummy!

Our New Year's Eve Cup-Themed Party

2009-01-07T18:50:00.000-08:00

We got this idea from the book "Steven Caney's Ultimate Building Book" (Ben's Christmas gift from Amy and Andrew!)

I Have Time to Make Three Collages? Cool!

2009-01-04T09:35:00.000-08:00

Church doesn't start until 11:00am this year. And except for a pair of boys' pants that are getting ironed, er, I mean fluffing in the dryer, we are completely ready to go! So I sent an e-mail to my folks and played around with Picasa 3.

I could get used to Sunday mornings like these. Even Ben slept in! His slew of morning meetings didn't start until 8:00am, a lazy morning for a guy who thinks getting to work by 7:00am is a late start. I'm making waffles for breakfast next week!

Playing with Playdoh

Learning to Use a Hair Brush

Campfire with the Cousins

Have a Quirky New Year

2009-01-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

A while ago Logan, my sis-in-law, blogged about her quirks. It was a fun post to read. I've been slow to do the same. Here are my (top) six quirks, in no particular order.

QUIRK #1: I shop at thrift stores. I like buying second-hand items. First off, I feel like I'm contributing positively to the planet by reusing things. I can always find kids' clothes in pretty decent condition for super cheap. Especially girls' clothes. And second, I hate spending my money on something like a new shirt only to find it looks horrible after one wash. If it's already been washed I know what I'm getting and can avoid things that are too wrinkled or skeewumpus (that word takes me back!).

QUIRK #2: I wash my hands a lot. Yes, I'm borderline obsessive about it. I just can't stand having dirty hands. I can get my hands dirty when there's a project to work on, but in day-to-day living, I keep my hands clean. One of the things I liked about having a newborn was that I could insist that others wash their hands too!

QUIRK #3: I hate drinking my calories. In a restaurant, if I have a choice between a delicious fruit-flavored juice and an inferior diet cola I pick cola pretty much every time. At home I drink water, milk or Crystal Light--try their new flavors: orange-pineapple and white grape. I don't like the idea of wasting my daily caloric intake on beverages. And It's not like I count calories fanatically, I guess I'd rather ingest a hunk of chocolate.

QUIRK #4: Be it ever so humble my home is usually messy. I love blaming it on the kids, but the truth is, I kept a messy home before they came along. It's probably for some deep psychological reason, but an untidy house doesn't move me to action like it should. It does bother me sometimes and I am getting better at cleaning, but (here it comes) when I do get to cleaning, the kids seem to mess stuff up again pretty quickly. This very minute the living room floor, which was clean last night, has about a dozen things on it. Told you I love blaming the kids!

QUIRK #5: I go on reading binges. I have a hard time reading a book one chapter at a time (though I am better with non-fiction). Once I start a book I have to finish it. I'll sacrifice sleep and pretty much put everything on hold to finish it. My friend Mollie tells me she reads 50 pages at a time and then forces herself to clean or fold laundry. I just can't do it. I get all obsessive about it.
M-U-S-T---F-I-N-I-S-H---B-O-O-K! If you want me to disappear for a while, just throw a book at me.

QUIRK #6: I can hold a grudge. About 15 or 20 years ago my siblings and I were watching TV and we happened upon the most horrible Pidgin English rendition of "How Great Thou Art." It was bad. My sis, Jamie, and I would relentlessly mock that song: "I hea 'da roh-ling tun-dah!" Only recently have I given the hymn a chance. It's actually got a nice message, Jamie. Who knew?!? But I still find myself rolling my eyes and chuckling every time I have to sing it.

Have a great 2009. Enjoy life. Make some resolutions to improve. Blog about your quirks. Or do it all and blog about your resolve to improve upon your enjoyable quirks.