Bits & Pieces

Things NOT to do in front of potential landlord...

2010-08-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

After walking several people through our next door apartment, I've discovered a few mistakes that people make. First, do NOT tell the landlord that the lower level is perfect for letting kids make messes because you can just close the door. As the landlord in this situation, I say, "No. Actually, it's a better idea to clean up those messes." *Smile* Next, do NOT fight with each other. Landlords sharing a wall with renters will NOT enjoy hearing arguments through the wall. Last, do NOT tell landlord that you send your child to a private school, but need help paying for rent. ?? Okay, that one was the worst.

The good news is that we had quite a few people walk through that were excellent candidates! It was rough to decide which family was the best. In the end, we picked the couple that could commit to a year and seemed to be very respectful and responsible. They accepted and we're trying to get the place ready for next week. :D

Avatar: The Last Airbender

2010-08-09T15:19:00.000-07:00

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a cartoon series about a world where select people can bend elements. Water, Earth, Fire and Air. They live within these nations (i.e. Fire Nation) and have done so in peace because of the abilities of the Avatar. The Avatar is the only person who can bend all elements, but, perhaps more importantly, is the bridge from the mortal world to the spiritual world. He can speak and receive guidance from the spirits when necessary. He acts as the mediator during times of trial and helps keep peace and order throughout all the nations. This series depicts the events that happen after the Avatar (in hiding for one hundred years) returns to an overzealous Fire Nation who is trying to take over the world and capture the Avatar.

It is so addicting! The story is complex enough to captivate an adult crowd (hence, Dustin and I are hooked, as are some very close friends of ours), but light enough for children to follow along. We watch it every evening and can't get enough!

So, we recently went to see the Hollywood take on this series. It was OK. I was bummed that they didn't follow the story line as well as I hoped and that it was mega-serious, but they did get the main points and expanded on the complexity of the story for a more mature crowd. They also had some fabulously accurate sets. All in all, it was worth watching and I'm excited for the next one.

Anthropology and Home Life

2010-07-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

**WARNING** THIS POST IS RIDICULOUSLY LONG AND BORING!!

This block, I signed up for my general social issues requirement. All of the classes sounded super hard except for the anthropology one, so I took it! I'm finishing up week #3 and am actually enjoying myself. For the most part, the material is quite interesting. I wouldn't recommend the teacher to anyone with a brain... or even a pulse, but I do enjoy talking about different cultures, people, traditions, etc. It's all very fascinating! This brings me to the point of my blog -- diversity and tolerance. Since it is the Summer of Diversity, it is only fitting that I'm learning about the study of people. I find that I have a lot to talk to the kids about and, hopefully, we can learn and recognize our own quirks and traditions.

This week, we're realizing how different we are from our friends and family. This may be embarrassing and I hope I don't regret blogging about it... Oh, who am I kidding, I'll just privatize the thing. Anyway, in our family, we have some definite traditions. We were thinking of them over the last few days and listing them off. They started out quite ordinary and predictable, but progressively got weirder and weirder.

Here's what we have so far:
1. We value the time we spend with one another and create many opportunities to participate in family activities together.
2. We make the most of the extended family we have in the area, and consciously work on maintaining lasting relationships with them.
3. Trust is something that is earned, but also practiced.
4. Respect is never expected, but is given liberally.
5. Punishments are determined by child and parent on a case-by-case basis.
6. Apologies (given by child and parent) are sincere -- not, "I'm sorry you took it that way."
7. We have rules set up for equality among each other. (If you knew me as a child, you knew this one was coming...)
A. Birthdays and other special events are celebration for everyone -- presents are given to each child and appreciation is given to both parents (not Santa or the Easter Bunny!).
B. If one person is working on chores, everyone joins or suffers consequences.
C. Fights are two-sided and, therefore, no one will receive a harsher punishment for continuing the dispute.
8. We tend to sleep in the same bed -- okay, now we're weird.
9. The driver (usually Mom) is the last one to buckle up in the car. (Reasoning = if someone's going to die, the driver should die with them. Creepy? I know, this one's all me.)

I am mostly proud of the things we've accomplished with the kids. We have continued (even through incredibly busy moments) to work on our relationships/bonds with them and each other. I can see that we have a lot of work to do when it comes to hypocrisy from our parenting, but I think everyone is prone to being a hypocrite. All we can do is apologize and continue to do our best.

Now, I feel like I need to address the shared-sleeping arrangements. When both kids were born, I was too emotional to fight with them (Ferberize) about sleeping in their own room. I felt like they were attached to me for nine months and I couldn't listen to them scream when they were ripped away and shut up in a big, dark, cold room. Too dramatic? Sorry... I'm sensitive when it comes to my kids. So, instead, we set up a bassinet next to my side of the bed and tried to get them to sleep there. Mostly, it didn't work, but we kept trying. Ultimately, the kids would get to where they could start the night off in bed and then wound up in our bed half-way through. I could live with it because they were little. WELL! Now, that they're 7 and 5 and still doing it, it's rough. We've tried everything to keep them in their own beds, but we can't follow through with anything. For example, we've talked about it... Telling them to stay in their beds is easy, but they don't want to, so it's a waste of time. We have threatened them, but I honestly think they'd rather sleep with me then play video games any day ... and I'm actually happy about that. We've tried locking our door (can't lock theirs because they may need to use the bathroom). This was the best bet, but with summer weather and being in the hottest room in the house, closing our door is OUT OF THE QUESTION anymore. So, we're back to square one. They are very good kids and losing a little sleep so that they can feel connected to us shouldn't be a bad thing.

I am grateful for their presence in my life and the relationship that we have. I think the Summer of Diversity is good for the kids, but very beneficial for our family life. I hope that they can look back on their journals and appreciate what we are doing.

PS -- Thought I'd show you what my freakshow of a professor looks like. Her hair seriously looks like this every day! Only in real life it's like orangey-yellow and flatter on the sides.

Summer of ...

2010-06-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

Some of you know about my crazy themed summers, but I thought I'd do a blog today about what we're doing this summer. The reason is because the kids and I made "Summer Journals" for them to write in every day. I probably won't join them every day because Sean still needs a lot of help, but I'm doing it today.

Two summers ago, it was the "Summer of Swimming." We go swimming weekly during the summer anyway, but that summer the kids spent a lot of time at the pool. They got so tan, and I got jealous. :D It was loads of fun. Last summer was the "Summer of Reading." We joined the Summer Reading Program at the Orem Public Library, and the kids read (with some help from me) a TON! Bad news, we got so many late fees I cannot even tell you. We went every week, but because they were so excited to show off their reading skills, we misplaced several books. We'll probably do it this summer, too, but we've started reading chapter books; and, thanks to Nina, we've got tons to read. :D

So, back to this summer. I decided that we would do the "Summer of Diversity." Recently, the kids have had a few opportunities to learn about other people and what they believe, so it seemed fitting. Last week, we got to go to our neighbor's First Communion. It was a great time to talk to Reilly about how there are other churches that believe differently than us. We talked about the similarities and differences during and after the service and she got to know her friend a little better. Then, on Saturday, our youth at church got the opportunity to volunteer at the Special Olympics at BYU. They said all friends and family were welcome to come, so I decided to bring the kids. Sean, however, had other plans, so he missed out and got to go to the stinky dump instead. (That story would be a blog all by itself...) Reilly and I enjoyed cheering for the soccer teams. While everyone else cheered for every player, we decided it'd be more fun if we rooted for opposing teams. Reilly and her friend would pick one team and her mom and I would take the other one. It was fun to trash-talk with one another while getting excited about our teams. The experience was great. They played so well! I was amazed at the abilities they had. Even for "regular" players, they had impressive skill and determination. The goalie of one team has some AWESOME saves! I went in thinking that we were going to watch a slow paced game and got exactly the opposite. It was great for Reilly, too. After the last game, we went to congratulate one of the teams and they all shook Reilly's hand. She had fun and walked away with a little more tolerance for different people.

Today, we're writing in our journals and will do it every day throughout the summer. Hopefully, we'll get more opportunities to become a more diverse, tolerant family. We plan on hitting several of the festivals in our area. We're not stretching much for the Scottish Festival, but the Icelandic and India Festivals should be very diversifying!

Hopefully, I'll keep you posted as the kids journal.

Three months? Really?!

2010-05-26T01:46:00.000-07:00

I check my blog periodically, but I can't believe how long it's been since I gave it a post. Sad. Sad. Sad. I started it so that friends and family could keep in touch and informed with our happenings. Since the last real post we've had numerous field trips, recorded events, and milestones met. I, however, have also had a huge load of school and church and lessons and family and house duties (... I said duties - haha!). Before the end of the summer, I have the intention of updating this thing so I hope you'll all come back to me.

Right now, I'm pulling an all-nighter because my planner and I are on the outs and I keep forgetting about things. Today, I was supposed to go to the junior high for observation, but stupidly planned on having an hour and a half of lessons, plus I volunteered to babysit the neighbor's kindergartner. What the crap! Get with it! I haven't been this unorganized with my time in years. I keep having a reoccurring panic attack that revolves around my lack of organization. I look around my house and think, "How are we supposed to live in this? How long is this going to take to clean up? How did it get so bad?" I'm running on no sleep with anxiety, all the while trying to juggle kids, husband, work and school.

I'm determined to be positive through it all, but I'm bound to have a bad day once in a while, right? Well, today is that day. Breathe. Breathe.

I'm Baaaack!

2010-02-10T20:16:00.001-08:00

But not for long.

PS - stupid banner!

2009-10-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

Next to the new pictures I've taken of the kids, my banner looks all out of focus and dark. We need new ones already. Guess it's a good thing I don't have to pay every time I feel like getting new pics, huh?! Expect them sooner rather than later.

Halloween, here we come!

2009-10-26T14:21:00.001-07:00

Last night (this morning?) at about 1:30am, Dustin and I stitched and pressed the last of costumes for this year. It was so much better this year than last because we picked costumes that were easier. I knew that Sean's would be easier than Reilly's because his pattern said "1 HOUR" all over it. It only took about 4.5 hours. If we did it first, it would've made Reilly's easier, though. I am baffled at how many different ways there are to achieve the same shirt/pants/jumpsuit. His had significantly less stitching to it, but looks quite good! I think it's the best one we've made yet!

Sad, sad story.

2009-10-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

Last week, I got a call from a neighbor who was at the emergency room. She informed me that my dog had bit her daughter and they rushed there to treat and report the bite. As a result, Maya was put in quarantine for 10 days for observation. I'm not sure what they were observing, or why they had to retain her for so long, but we followed the law - literally - to the doggy impound. Today was the end of the quarantine, so Sean and I went to the Animal Shelter to pick her up. I paid the fee and followed the girl back to identify my dog. This is a necessity because they do a 'procedure' for release and they needed to do it on the right dog. Well, let me tell you, it was APPALLING! The circumstances that Maya was in for those 10 days are nothing short of abuse! She was wallowing in her own excrement and understandably upset over the whole thing. I went up to the front of the kennel to let Maya smell my hand so she knew it was me, but just as the girl was telling me I couldn't touch her, Maya growled and slowly coward to the back of the kennel. She wouldn't come to the front for anything. I mentioned to the girl that the kennel was incredibly messy and I was concerned that Maya had been in it for the whole 10 days. Dogs are naturally clean animals and don't like to hang out where the pee/poo, so if they cleaned it, they did NOT do a very good job. After the release procedure (and bath) was complete, we met the girl out back for discharge. Maya was excited to get outside, but was unsure about me and Sean. We put her in the car and drove home, but it wasn't until we got in our yard that she seemed to be relaxing into the Maya we knew before her horrific jail time.

Since this morning, she's been very lethargic and her nose is all dry. I'm worried that she may have contracted a bout of kennel cough from the low conditions she was kept in. But it made me and Dustin think. If we had put her under the same conditions as they had - small confines for an extended period, with minimal cleanup - we could be prosecuted for animal abuse. I hope that she doesn't have any sickness that needs to be treated. Firstly, because I would hate to see her suffer anymore for this. And secondly, because I had to pay nearly $200 for her quarantine, I can not afford to spend anything else.

Please, fast and pray for us.

Reilly's Costume = DONE!!!

2009-10-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

We worked a lot over the weekend to finish Reilly's costume. It wasn't hard, just time consuming. I am always worried about the kids staying warm while still being able to show off their costumes while they trick-or-treat, and this year was considerably easier than last year. Reilly wanted to be a 'blue' princess this time, however since we couldn't get the pattern she liked, she had to come up with a different plan. I don't know where the idea came from, but we settled on her being a hippie instead. I bought the fabric for 50% off, the pattern for $1 and between me and Dustin, it was done in a manner of hours (stretched across three days). So, we made her a tank-top and fleece sweatshirt, flared out her old jeans, added a patch and finished off with a handkerchief for her hair. I think it turned out great as-is, but Reilly's bent on adding peace signs to everything. I'm just going to push it off and then paint one on her face. Hopefully, that will work.

PS - I know the sweatshirt's forever big on her, but she'll be able to wear it more than for Halloween....

Stuff, and some stuff... and some more stuff...

2009-10-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

Other possible header? Which one's better??

Reilly has started and quit at everything she's ever tried... I'm getting worried about the kid. I put her in gymnastics, soccer and dance and she's hated all three. I need to know - when is it okay to push and when is it okay to let her give up? There's a fine line between pushing and encouraging and I don't think you find out which one you've done until the child turns 20 and resents the heck out of you.

So, recently she's taken to roller skating. I love it because I can do it with her. The roller skating rink here is pretty expensive ($6 per person plus a rental if you need it), but on Thursdays, it's only a dollar. I'm resolving to make my schedule accommodate that next semester so that we can make it a weekly thing. Cheapest sport - EVER!!! Well, if she decides to quit that one, it's swimming. That's the only other thing I can think of. She hated soccer because it was a team sport; she hated dance because she wasn't flexible enough; and she hated gymnastics because she had to be coordinated enough to stand on her hands for a split second. The kid sure is picky! ... Rollerskating it is!

Sean, on the other hand, has taken to many things lately - video games, staying up late, whining... wait, he was already a whiz at that one... Seriously, though. I don't know what to do with that one either. He's become impossible when meal times come around. Reilly's tastes have broaden through the years and she's started becoming very experimental with her taste. Sean is quite the opposite. He's become more and more picky. I'm not really sure how to reverse it, but forcing him to eat has CLEARLY not been working. I started a rule recently where he has to try everything I cook. If he's still hungry once he's done with that, he can have an apple, or a sandwich. It's not working... he's still horrible. :(

Okay, on the up side, both kids are doing GREAT in school!!! Reilly's ahead of her class in reading by two levels and she's right on track with math. We've neglected that at home, so her counting by 2's isn't the best. On our way to Great Grandma's house yesterday, she realized that counting by 2's is just skipping every other number. She'll figure it out soon. We had parent teacher conferences last week and her teacher kept saying how much she loves having Reilly in her class. She's a great example to her friends on behaving and getting her work done. She's a peacemaker among the kids in her desk group. She's also very willing to help her teacher with extra things in the classroom. I think her teacher just loves that she'll do whatever she's asked and doesn't talk much. I was SHOCKED to hear all that from her teacher because last year went so poorly. She hasn't fought with my ONCE to go to school and she has earlier and longer days this year. I'm so proud of the little monkey! :D :D :D

Sean started reading this year because he did so well learning all of his letters and sounds over the summer. He now knows some sight words that he rewrites on notes to give to me when he's mad at me. For example, last night, he didn't want to go to bed, so he turned on the light in his room (while Reilly slept) and wrote me a hate letter. I know you're not supposed to laugh at them when they're being serious, but you wouldn't believe how hard it was just to keep from busting out. Smiling the whole time, he told me why he wrote the letter (something like, "I didn't want to go to sleep because I already knew I would have a bad dream. And you are mean because you said, 'good-night' before I wanted to go to sleep.") and then he read it out loud. It said, "See Sean. I am Sean. I am me." It had a very scary picture of a blob with spikes coming out of it, too. I'm impressed that he's so into reading, but even more impressed that he's trying to write out his feelings. :D :D :D His teacher says he's doing very well in school and, while he doesn't socialize as much as I want him to, he's doing very well with a couple of the boys. We had a field trip last week and he actually sang the songs. His Halloween program is this week and I'm so excited to get it on video! I think it'll be the first program that he's really looking forward to. :D

Oh, and we did some family pics... they didn't turn out very well, but that's - okay.

Go! Fight! Winnnnnn!

2009-09-05T22:23:00.000-07:00

Reilly participated in a Mini Cheer Clinic at Timpanogos High this week. Reilly had a blast with her friends learning some cheers to perform at the football game on Friday. We've really been struggling lately with what to do with her. She wants to do something, but has hated everything we've tried. Soccer was disastrous - by far the worst program for her! But she's been bored with ballet lately, too. She used to love it. It's super hard trying to get her there every week. :( So, we took a break from that to try cheering. She loved it, but it was only three days, so who knows if that would last either.

In the picture are two of the young women in my ward, Britney and Alicia (I teach Alicia piano/violin). Also, Rachel (Brit's sis), Brooklyn (also a student of mine) and Elleah (our neighbor).

Here's a video I put together of her pics and videos from the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az8K6U-z1G0

Two months already?!?

2009-08-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

I know it's been forever, but I've had a lot on my plate. After four classes and numerous papers, I have finished out my summer semester with ALL A's!! Hoorah! Things suffered - like the state of my house. It's never been as messy as it has been and that's saying a lot. I kept on top of dishes and trash, so it wasn't disgusting, but laundry and the basement got away from me. I don't think that this semester will be different, but we'll be on a better routine because everyone's in school. I hope that makes a difference. ... we shall soon see because SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW!!!

It's crazy that the summer's already over. I'm excited that we won't have kids around all the time, though. It's quite wearing to have kids screaming, laughing and crying ALL DAY. So, my neighbors both go to this school (North Ridge) that's supposed to be the best school in the district. Plus, it has an orchestra... but they suck! I mentioned that school is tomorrow, right? Well, we tried to transfer Reilly to that school so that she could participate in the orchestra and I could carpool with the other moms next door, but they won't let her in! They have pushed me off all summer and yesterday told me that I should call back on Thursday (the first day of school) to see if they had a spot for her. Well, screw that! I need to know ahead of time where she's going. I hate them.

Okay, one last thing - the backyard is DONE! We have grass and landscaping and a patio and FREEDOM FROM TRAFFIC! Finally! Here are the pics from before and after.

OXYMORON!!!

2009-06-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

I do have some pictures and stories to blog about, but I haven't been prioritizing it lately. We moved a family into the duplex next door and she had next to NOTHING! It made me jealous because her house looks so polished, so I decided to tackle decluttering my house a little at a time. It's a lot harder than I anticipated it, though. So, it's taking a while to get through the junk. So far, I've done the hall closets, kid's room, basement and living room. I need to finish getting rid of crap in the basement (toys, shoes and camping stuff), but am having a hard time deciding what to keep and what to chuck... ANYHOO! While I'm up to my ears in homework, kids and chores, I still want something else to do in my down time... maybe something to help me fall asleep at night... I need a book! Preferably one that I can purchase on a CD or audiobook file, but I want it to be GOOD! So, if you have suggestions, please let me know soon. Thanx!

More Family Pics!

2009-05-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

In March, our Young Women took a trip to the Draper Temple tour and while we were traveling, I noticed a bridge that was so cute! I thought it'd be a great place to take pictures; and, since we go up to Riverton (just west of Draper) every other week, it'd be an easy stop along the way. So, yesterday, we had planned to do it, but when we got out for church, it was raining. It rained all morning and into the early afternoon. I just about gave up when I noticed some blue peeking through the gray clouds. We got all dressed up, grabbed the camera and some allergy medicine, and left for Great Grandma's house. It was GREAT weather up there. Utah's crazy for weather changes! Not quite like Michigan-crazy, but just going up over a mountain, or through a canyon and you've got totally different weather. Just over the point of the mountain going into Salt Lake County, it was beautiful! We took some pictures in front of the bridge, but it wasn't as pretty up close. I thought it was brick, but it was stucco... yuck! We took a few pictures around it and then followed the path up and over the bridge to find an old railroad track. It was perfect! I didn't bring the tripod (I didn't plan on taking posed pictures of the whole family), so the ones of all of us aren't the best, but the pics of the kids wandering on the tracks were GREAT!!

Bad weather pool party

2009-05-19T13:38:00.001-07:00

Last week Sean's preschool class was supposed to celebrate the end of the school year by having an outdoor water day, but the weather was bad, so it was postponed for today. The weather was better, but still not ideal. It was 75, overcast and windy! His teacher said he spent most of the time wrapped in his towel, but he did make out once or twice for a picture. :) He will be attending his first preschool graduation this week (Thursday).

Reilly's class has cramed in three month's worth of activities into the last two weeks of school. Today, she was supposed to bring a board/card game that could help the students work on math skills. Mrs. C. called it a Math-A-Thon. Reilly wanted to bring Monopoly, but I said no because it has too many pieces. After the longest and most pointless freak-out of her life, she agreed to bring Connect Four instead. I volunteer on Tuesdays so I got to see how it turned out. She plopped her game on the table and suddenly became the most popular kid in the class. All the other kids wanted to play her game. She turned bipolar and went from raging mad to deliriously happy in less than 10 seconds! She said it was so fun to play with all the kids she didn't know very well and was glad she brought that game afterall. Smart girl!

It's DONE!!!

2009-05-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

Last night we finished working on the duplex - FINALLY! We went into the project thinking that it'd take a month to do it, but between school, work and kids, it took three times that! We have someone moving in in two weeks and I'm so relieved it's over. :) Check out all of our hard work.

Okay, so the kitchen one doesn't look like anything's changed, but I did spend two days cleaning, so it counts! :)

Newest Pictures

2009-05-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

When I got the camera back, I decided to try to get some pics of the kids. They're so cute! And doesn't Sean look like a little man with hands in pockets? Actually, I swore he was going to catch up to Reilly by now and she's still a good head taller than him. Hmmm...

Sean's field-trips

2009-05-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

Last month we went to the firehouse for Sean's preschool field-trip. He was very reluctant to participate in the fireman's intro to fire safety... well, at first. Then, we got to see the fire truck with the lights on and sirens going and he was all kinds of excited! He even got a hat that he swore was going to protect him from the fires! What a boy!

A few months ago, we went to the dinosaur museum. We only stayed for part of the time because Reilly got sick on the way and Sean was working on getting sick. Actually, this was the sickness that I blogged about! It was horrific trying to drive home safe/fast enough to beat the puke! :) Hahahaha, it's funny now, but was totally NOT at the time.

PS - I did get pics of my kids, but this one was pretty cool. They're looking at a diarama of a bunch of dinosaurs. Sean's in there somewhere... I can just barely make out the back of his head.

Seems as though I'm puking out blogs lately, huh?!

2009-05-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

On Easter, we went up to Dustin's grandparents house for lunch/dinner and an egg-hunt. I took the camera so that I could take pictures of the kids and forgot to bring it home. Shortly after that, Phil and Judy came into town and visited them. They sent the camera with them, but it never made it out of the RV. Instead, it took a detour through Michigan. :) So, now that I have it back, I'm going to puke out a few more blogs. Hahhahah! I'm cracking me up!

So, this year was the first year that Sean didn't need help looking for eggs. We walked around behind him while he ran everywhere looking frantically like he had competition. Reilly did really well finding all the possible eggs, but I am afraid that she's not going to like it for very much longer... unless we get more challenging with hiding places.

I cannot become that woman!

2009-04-28T18:54:00.000-07:00

While Dustin and I were out this evening, I noticed a woman who didn't seem to be concerned how she looked. Is that a good way to put it? I'm not obsessed with my appearance, however, I am vain enough to care how others will perceive me. We caught her just as she was leaving the store. She may have been tired from shopping, but she breathed out of her mouth and I could hear her from a good 10 yards away. She wore a moo-moo, flip flops and a very messy pony-tail. Needless to say, she wasn't a very attractive woman. I always notice these women because, secretly, I fear that I will become on of those women that everyone points and laughs at. So, I turned to Dustin and said, "If I ever get that lazy, would you please shoot me in the face..." Without hesitating, he answered, "Yes." But I wasn't done. I continued, "If I don't die, then at least I'll have an excuse." Is that not the funniest thing I've ever said? Please say 'yes' because Dustin didn't even try to laugh to make me feel good. :-\ I'm still laughing at it!!!

Okay, last one...

2009-04-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of visitors this year! Rebekah came (and brought the taxi), Mom came (and brought the red-race-car) and Phil and Judy are expected in any minute! We love seeing family; I just hope Sean doesn't get too used to getting toy cars at every trip! :) They are all his favorites, though. Thanks, guys!

PS - the other toy is a bus that Beth brought back from Malta for Sean. Anything with wheels - and he's a happy camper!

Sean's Easter Program

2009-04-17T13:59:00.000-07:00

Sean's a pro at his preschool programs now! He participated the WHOLE time and didn't whine AT ALL!! :) I also have pictures of his trip to the Fire Station... he didn't do as well there...

Easter Sunday

2009-04-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Mom bought the kid's Easter outfits this year and they're wayyy cute! I love Sean in orange now! I have better pictures of them, but I left my camera at Great-Grandmas house. I'll upload those later. Cuties!

Teacher Appreciation Project

2009-04-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

Next blog - Teacher Appreciation Week! Reilly's class has a few moms that are not very motivated to help out in the classroom, but I'm so excited when I meet another mom like me! This mom has kids that are Reilly and Sean's same age and her oldest and Reilly are both of our firsts. (Maybe that's why were so involved??) She signed up to help with this project and the other moms bailed on the last minute, so she was looking for help. I didn't even know it was going on when she approached me about it. Our ideas for the door-decoration were off the wall, out of control! Neither of us had ever done it before... so we got some help and this is what we came up with. You can't tell from the pictures, but we had all the students come up with something they're thankful for and the 'speak'-bubbles have what everyone turned in. Our kids even helped with the clouds. I was very happy with how it turned out.

Catch-up Blogs

2009-04-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

The next few blogs are short, but I just transferred all my pictures from my camera and found some events that were documented (shaky, but documented nontheless) that are very blog-worthy.

First one - Reilly's family birthday dinner!

We had it at Great-Grandparents house. We had pizza and cupcakes. I totally forgot about the cake for her friend party, so I'm glad I found this picture. Plus, she's still toothless in it! :)

Fun with corn starch!

2009-04-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

I remember learning about cornstarch and water when I was in elementary school. I used to do it at home... and got in trouble for using up all the cornstarch. :\ So, I taught the kids about it last week and we played for over an hour. Sean was especially into making his hands sink into the bowl, so he got considerably messier than Reilly.

Last time I checked...

2009-04-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

Winter's over! Good grief... the snow is never ending. This is what I saw when I took Maya outside this morning. It's really pretty, but also very wet and cold!

Revisiting Radiohead

2009-04-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

I heard a very cool song recently and couldn't tap my toe to it without noticing that it's not in the typical time signatures. I had to search it to hear it again and found that it was Radiohead. I always liked them, but I guess I forgot that they exsisted... and that they were very inventive with their music. The song 15 Steps from the In Rainbows album is awesome! It's got a great driving beat, but it's in 5! I'm a sucker for individuals in a sea of poser-faces. Love it! Go listen for yourselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WedRDYmtvX4

What a performance!!

2009-04-05T13:46:00.001-07:00

We are a family of performers! This past week/month (sorry for the delay), we've had a number of grand performances by the children. From Reilly's desperations for dropping out of school, to Sean's emense hunger that would soon take his life, I think we should be up for Emmy's! Okay, but seriously, I performed twice at the string masterclass. The first was pretty good, but nothing special. I had only been playing Vitali's Chaconne for just over a month and hadn't mastered much of it. I only played half the piece and none of that was from memory. The second time I played it, with accompaniment and without music, it was significantly better. For the most part, I think my biggest weakness for live performances is that the audience can tell where my 'trouble spots' are. Just by watching my facial expressions, I give it all away. So, this time, my teacher encouraged me to focus on the song, style and movement of the piece instead of section, after section, after section... it's a long piece with a lot to listen to. I tried my best, and successfully (for the most part) managed to pull the wool over the eyes of my fellow string players. I focused on how I wanted the sections to be expressed and didn't give myself time to get nervous. I struggled - that didn't change - but I managed to do something with the song. Hooray! My best performance ever! I guess the kids have helped me with that!

Quick 'Nothing' Blog

2009-03-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a month! A whole month! Sorry...

No pictures this time. I'm working on it. I've been busy with school, teaching and other such nonsense, and haven't had time ... well, I have had time... but don't wanna! *whines*

I went to visit the Draper Temple and got to see all the magnificant art work throughout. It was amazing! I've never been on a temple tour, so that was pretty fun for me. I went with the young women and got to know a couple of them better, too. Good times. Plus, I'm secretly 17! Hahah! School's fine except I think UVU highers bone-head professors... I think I'll do well this semester.

Reilly's still done with school. She keeps asking me if she's going to start first grade yet. One morning she went to the calendar and counted the days left in March thinking that April would mark the beginning of her first grade year. Funny! Well, actually it's not that funny... imagine fighting with a six-year-old every morning to go to school?! Now that HAS to stop!

Sean's got a girl in his class named Ella that's helping him learn his "L" sound. He loves her because she treats him like he's a baby, and who wouldn't love to be waited on everywhere he went?! He always wants to tell me what he's done in school (most of which includes Ella), but struggles to say her name. He's getting better every time he tries! :)

Dustin's doing really well in school. He and a girl from his study group continue to get the highest scores on tests and I think they have a little rivalry going on. It's great to finally see him excited about his future! Onlllly, I don't really like when he started siting medical terms for things that have layman terms that I can pronounce ... not to mention, KNOW!

There, HAPPY!?

At six and four, we're still having firsts...

2009-02-23T16:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today have marked the first time my kids were sick at the same time. I've always been lucky enough to suffer through sickness one kid at a time, but this weekend, we had no such luck... Especially today! All the whinning and crying... needs and clinging... TIMES TWO! I do NOT know how Mom did it! How can you handle more than that?

Reilly's sixth birthday!

2009-02-23T15:51:00.000-08:00

I don't do parties! It's another Rolling Apple thing... Mom hated them, and so do I! Well, I caved and let Reilly have one. She invited 9 friends and 8 came. YIKES! Actually, it wasn't that bad. They just wanted to watch a movie the whole time. We played a few games, had pizza and opened presents. The end! It was good 'n' short. :)

The Beck and I go skiing!

2009-02-23T14:49:00.000-08:00

Rebekah and I 'hit the slopes' while she was here and we ... literally... hit... the slopes. I'm not sure about her, but I had fun even though we spent more time in the snow than on it. :)

Most insightful Valentine's Day - ever!

2009-02-14T20:57:00.001-08:00

While I was growing up, I thought it would be grand to be an adult! How glamorous! Everyone seemed so mature and intellegent! But, the problem is that people don't change. There is the same stigma as when I was in highschool. Politics and connections are EVERYWHERE! People are no more willing to go outside of their comfort-zone to meet new people. They're no more mature than a 16 year old. Why would I have dramatized getting older? It is true that young people long to be older (and 'free'), and vice versa. I guess I'm not wishing I was younger. Just that I wish that I knew it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. This bring me to the point! Find joy in each stage of life. It's a simple concept, but without happiness, you cannot have joy. I tend to think the 'as soon as...' way.

As soon as we finish school, all will be well in the Brown home. As soon as Reilly and Sean are going to school full-time, all will be well. As soon as we establish ourselves, all will be well. BUT! Here's the thing! All is well - now!

We have each other, our health, support from families who love us, etc. The list goes on. Find joy where you're at today. Here's my joy today. We spend the later afternoon into the night together. Watched a movie on my bed, tickled kids, ate fatty snacks, and cuddled! What could possibly be better? This happens every weekend and we rarely miss an opportunity to cuddle and watch a movie (good or bad - as was the case this evening).

Dueling Faces: The Ugly-Off

2009-02-14T20:03:00.002-08:00

Rebekah came to visit and she and I have a similar bad habit... The two combined could only result in the following video! It was inevitable!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o40jrqoXUs

Home Alone!

2009-02-09T13:18:00.000-08:00

I don't usually pick Reilly up from school on Mondays. The girl I carpool with does... therefore, I always forget that she gets out early on Mondays. So, since Rebekah is here visiting, I decided to skip my orchestra class today to hang out. The plan was to pick up Reilly from school, have lunch and do something fun. When we got to school, though, Reilly was gone. I called the girl that I carpool with and she had dropped Reilly off at the house. She was there ALONE for between 15 and 20 minutes. We rushed over to make sure she was okay, but when I got in the house, this is what I saw.

We made cookies yesterday to give out as Valentines for her class and she had started frosting them. She said, 'There wasn't anyone here, so I am finishing the cookies.' I'm so glad she doesn't freak out easily!

Sean goes to the Bean Museum!

2009-01-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

Sean's getting better and better with this preschool thing! They had another field trip and went to a museum that consists of stuffed animals. It's creeeeepy...

Sean learned a lot of sign language to show us while they were at the museum, but I couldn't get him to do it on camera. He'd do it with the class ... my camera wouldn't take the picture... and he'd refuse to do it just for me. So, I got creative!

Cat and the Fiddle

2009-01-30T11:45:00.000-08:00

Today in Kindergarten, Reilly's class had Nursery-Rhyme Dress-up for Fun Friday. We found tons of options (loads of Marys, Miss Moffat, Bo Peep), but eventually decided that the cat and the fiddle from "Hey, Diddle, Diddle" was the easiest. This morning, I converted her headband into cat ears and she wore almost all black. We practiced what she'd play... just incase her teacher wanted her to... but she didn't wind up playing what we practiced. Oh, well. It still turned out cute! :)

Random Memory

2009-01-29T16:13:00.001-08:00

While teaching Reilly to tie her shoes, it reminded me of some assessment tesing I had in Kindergarten or 1st grade. We were supposed to show that we could tie shoes. I didn't wear tie shoes, so my teacher said that I could tie her shoes... only, she had those loafers with the tiny laces! When I couldn't do it, all she said was, "Nice try." I remember thinking, 'how am I supposed to tie these???'

Kids say the darndest things!

2009-01-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

Recently, I've been noticing all the -isms that we (Dustin and I) have created in our family. We both come from dramatically different upbringings, so we both have stuff to bring to the table. Along the way, though, we've made it our own. For example, we both had 'play clothes' and 'school' or 'church clothes.' Our children have 'Saturday,' 'school' and 'church' clothes. We say 'Saturday' because our kids didn't understand that playing at school is different than playing at home. So, if either of them try to put on 'Saturday' clothes during the week, we say, "You can't wear your Saturday-pants to school!" They almost always respond with, "But my teacher said we can wear our Saturday-clothes to school..."

BTW, I'm sick to DEATH of hearing, "My teacher doesn't like when we ..." or "My teacher said I have to ..." I have a new thing. Teacher sayings/advice stays at school! When they're at home, Mom and/or Dad are the teacher!

Dustin brought 'butt-kickings' ... which actually mean frantic tickling... not literally kicking butts.. ????? I brought 'bad-one' that Sean has embraced like you wouldn't believe. Everyone is a bad-one! It's too cute!

PS- Reilly took both of the above pictures. Talented, no?

Reilly's Funny!

2009-01-26T22:44:00.001-08:00

Reilly came home from school today with some random trivia. She said that Walt Disney was afriad of mice. I thought it was cute, so we made a video of more fun facts. Check it out on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwEuraEEtFA

Just blogging to myself... again...

2009-01-20T21:45:00.000-08:00

I frequently talk to myself in the car while driving (holding my cell phone up to my ear to avoid gawking looks ... yes, I have received many...) in order to keep a focused thought. Do you do it? If you haven't ever done it, do try it. It's very good conversation ... yiiiikes... that sentence scared me a bit, too.

As many of you know, I volunteer in Reilly's class room twice a week for an hour or so each time. It is far above, beyond and around the corner from the expectation of 15-20 minutes a week, but I enjoy it so much that I don't mind in the least. This is where my talking to myself begins. Oh, before that, though.

**DISCLAIMER**

This is a blog of my beliefs and opinions. It is NOT intended to sound condescending or strive to convert you, the reader. I am just sharing.

This blog will be broken down to two sections, with two... sections in each ... section... Let's say two categories with two subcategories in each. Better? Sorry...

Today, I realized I have two major reasons for helping out in the classroom.

1. I feel that the success or fail rate of the public school system is a direct result of parental involvement. The more a parent is involved with the child at home, the more the public school teacher can do in the classroom. I think we are put together in families with the same genetic makeup is to have to really deal with one another. I know that Reilly needs repetition because her dad learns best with repetition. I know that Sean has a horrible temper and is extremely picky because I have a horrible temper and am extremely picky. Without dealing with our similarities this way, how can I expect a teacher to guess how to best get through to my children? By knowing this ahead of time, I can help to fill in gaps that will undoubtedly form over the course of a year.

2. I also feel that the more support public school teachers get in the classroom, the more learning can be accomplished. In a perfect world, our public systems would have enough money to employ several teachers to a room, but we are far from that world.

Now, for part two of my conversation... with myself. I have to think that we, as a society, have the control to change the schools to accommodate our needs! I HAVE to! See, I cannot send my child day after day to something that is failing and has no hope! I don't exactly know what to do, but this blog... but I'm trying.

I thought of two problems with our society when it comes to schooling.

1. Lower taxes does not help in correcting the problems. When a politician says 'lower taxes' they don't mean that the taxes will be lowered anyway! They mean that the tax increase that was scheduled to happen... won't. So, why put your vote toward something that is shady to begin with? Lowering taxes hurts schooling way too much. It is my opinion that the jobs that are the most important pay the least. For example, law enforcement and fire fighters receive minimal wages for, essentially, saving lives. ?? Teachers, the leaders of our youth, are barely compensated for helping to shape them into well-rounded and successful adults (too much credit? well, you get the idea...). Wishful thinking, I guess. Maybe if there was more money given to schools, they would be able to be pickier about who they placed in such esteem positions. (I'm cracking myself up... I hope you're not taking this toooo seriously!)

2. Our society is too caught up in having advanced technology, big houses, bigger cars, the biggest hair! Not enough emphasis is put on continued education. Parents who continue their learning and/or show enthusiasm for their own education will produce offspring with the same passion for learning. So, turn off the computer and pick up a book? ... whatever...

Okay... I'm done!

Retail seasons

2009-01-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

I was at Target in early November and noticed something very odd. Right next to the sweaters and heavy coats were ... bikinis?? I had a picture, but I think it got deleted off my phone. It was the craziest thing! I notice it every year, but this year it seemed to change to summer a bit earlier than usual. Before Thanksgiving, in fact. Anyway, weird, wild stuff. :\

Remember College?

2009-01-10T21:44:00.001-08:00

It's been a few years, but I find that few things have changed since attending WMU. The school of music is the same. It's a collection of students with the same major complaining about the same stuff and acting out the same way... Man! Music majors are WEIRD! :) Love it! Anyway, but the real thing that I keep thinking about is, 'Where do these people come from?!' Not like, where did they grow up, graduate highschool, etc. More like, why don't I see the same people? I remember walking to school from my dorm every day and seeing different people every time. I left at the same time, I went the same way to class and arrived at about the same time, but never saw the same person twice! So, I've only attended one class twice, but it happened. Both times, same thing.

I've always been really interested in other people... of course, from afar. I used to sit at the Dalton Center and people watch. It's fun to see how people deal with everyday things... like, two people walking toward each other. How will they correct it? Who will be the chicken? I'm lame. Well, it just got me thinking.

Another thing is - why do professors feel the need to tell you their life history on the first day of class? I really don't care! They should say, 'I'm the teacher, you're the student. Let's get down to business.' My first professor talked about himself for almost half the class and then said, "Oh, that's probably more than you cared to know, huh?!" I wanted to shout, "I don't care to know any more than your name, office hours and syllabus for the class!!!" Well, today, he was out done! I'm stupid and have to take a lame-o math class and the professor in that is younger than me. She didn't talk boastfully like the other professors have, but she mentioned that she has a three-week old son named Jayson (why do I know how to spell his name, you ask? ... well, don't ask) probably fifty times in the first hour!

So, Nina... they really do stay the same, huh?!

Toothless Wonder

2009-01-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

Reilly had quite a week this week! She lost two teeth in two days. The whole ordeal probably wasn't that fun either. She started off the week banging her front teeth (that were already loose) on a dresser. The hit made one tooth incredibly loose and painful when she ate or talked. So, Dustin pulled it out. That part wasn't bad, but she was nervous for it. Then, the very next day, she banged her other tooth (the one that was being pushed out funny) on Sean's head. We always joke that his head is a weapon, but this time, it caused some damage. Reilly's tooth didn't fall out on it's own, though. Dustin had to pull that one as well. This time, it wasn't so easy. Reilly was nervous, but the tooth was pushed back toward her tongue. It was hard for her to do much without causing pain. She said she couldn't even close her mouth. She kept putting a 'bubble' in her mouth. It's what they do in kindergarten to keep their mouths shut. That was the only way she was comfortable. Dustin tied floss around the tooth and tugged it, but the floss broke. She cried and bled! It was tramatic for me, too. I can't stand when they're in that much pain. Plus, the whole losing teeth thing grosses me out, too. :\ Anyway, she had to prepare for the final pull, but was very brave and let him. That pull didn't hurt and her gums didn't bleed again once the tooth was out, so it's over... for now...

Late Christmas Pics

2009-01-06T22:01:00.000-08:00

This Christmas was quite different from others. We stayed on a tight buget because we've blown it in years past and regreted it. We made it under budget and wound up spending a bit after Christmas during sales. We got some fun presents for everyone. I got a new camera (Canon Rebel) that will be coming in the mail shortly. Dustin got a very nice watch, a new jacket (thanks, Nina!) and a new wireless router... haha... just kidding. :) The kids got new clothes and some little things. Reilly decided that she wanted a Peek-a-Boo and Sean got a new airplane. We also got some great presents from family for the kids. Annie and Dharma got Sean Hot Wheels and he decided that they are his favorite Aunt and cousin! He is so funny about those cars! He thinks he can read because he knows when a car is a Hot Wheel! :) They also got Reilly a Pet Shop set. It had three pets and some small sports themed thingers... I don't understand why everything has to be SOOOOO small! She'll undoubtedly loose all the pieces, but has named the pets and will sleep with them for the next month. Thanks, Annie!

Sean didn't ask for anything this year. I had a hard time shopping for him because I don't want to house the stuff that he'd like. I don't have any more room for toys, so I got him a game for his Leapster. He was stoked! Anything Cars, right!?

Reilly just wanted to ask Santa for something. This was the only present she asked for... she's an easy kid! :)

I think they had more fun climbing on the couch than retrieving the cheap chocolate I gave them...

The most important thing for me this year was to teach the kids that Christmas isn't about getting presents and that even the presents they do get are from someone who cares a great deal for them. Their focus couldn't have been better! They were very appreciative for what they got and I was happy to see them so easily satisfied.

PS: The books were GREAT! Especially the Biscuit books. Reilly's so addicted to reading lately.

All she wants for Christmas...

2009-01-06T21:43:00.001-08:00

Reilly's front two teeth have been teetering by a thread of skin that she is as emotionally attached to as she is physically attached! Today, she finally let Dustin yank (really, it was bumped) it out. It barely bled and she didn't notice that it was out until Dustin showed her the tooth... Now, because her other tooth is slowly being pushed forward, she looks, to me, like an ogre! Hahaha! We tried all night to try to get it out, but she wasn't having it. She's not ready to let it go, I guess.

Stupid Comcast, computers, etc!

2009-01-05T23:03:00.000-08:00

I've been at this stupid computer since 9:30pm! Tonight! Of all nights! I was planning on going to bed early so that I could finally get some sleep! Well, forget that... I stayed up worrying about computer crashes and dealing with LAME-O internet companies who hire MORONS to hang up on customers... and other such nonsensical things! Is that enough exlamation points? I THINK NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eyebrow Raising...

2009-01-05T21:12:00.000-08:00

I tried to teach Sean what to do if he saw a pretty girl... raise his eyebrows up and down fast in their general direction. Well, it was HILARIOUS what happened! He couldn't do it. Reilly was barely better, but the whole thing made up a very funny video. Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLBAiXwAmyk

Remembering You

2009-01-03T18:01:00.000-08:00

Few people can be summed up in one picture and, Dad, this one's you!

Beth got a new camera for Christmas and snapped some pictures of the fam. I thought they were all fabulous, but this one made me think, "This is how I'll remember Dad." Not to sound morbid or anything... It's just that this is an image I already come up with of when thinking of Dad. Sitting on the couch with a 'huh?' look on his face while he plays with his part.

This is not the sum of Mom, but it is a great picture!

Mom's culinary skills do come to mind when thinking of her, but this photo doesn't capture her quite like Dads did. I'm totally jealous of that kitchen every time I see it, though.

Gimp!

2009-01-03T13:05:00.000-08:00

There are two items of 'gimpness' to discuss today. First, Reilly's having some issues with her front tooth lately. Her permanent tooth is pushing out her baby tooth before the root is dissolved. This is creating pressure and giving her a headache. The last few nights haven't gone too well and I wind up sleeping with one eye open or in her bed. Well! Her bed is HORRIBLE! I slept there the first night she had problems and must've been on a spring all night because I woke up with THE worst pain in my hip! It hasn't gone away either! It hurts when I do pretty much anything but lay down. I'm having issues!! Yesterday, Dustin, the kids and I went to UVU to get student IDs (Dustin needed a new one for the nursing program) and visit with the music school advisor. I registered for classes and checked on financial aid while we were there, too. Can you guess how much walking around I did!?!?!? OWWWWWWIE!

Okay, then second gimp thing, I was planning on scheduling the surgery on my other foot for January, but since I'm taking classes, I don't think that's going to happen... hmmm... I guess I can have odd feet for a few more months. It's not like they're getting worse.

Nursing School - HERE HE COMES!!!

2008-12-30T17:10:00.000-08:00

I know you've all been worried about Dustin (though not as much as I), but you can relax now! He got a call today from the UVU ... advisor ... admissions ... lady? And, she said that they had a place for the SIXTH ALTERNATE for this coming semester!!! Horray!! That means that he's doing it! Dustin's going to be a MALE NURSE (just like his dad)!! :) :) :) :)

Back to school, anyone?

2008-12-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

At Reilly's kindergarten assembly, her school featured a new orchestra. They started it as a trial to see what the interest would be. They expected about 15 - 20 students to sign up and had 50. While they were playing, I had a disgusted look on my face and my friend thought that I was disgusted at how the violins played, but that wasn't the case. I thought that all those students for one teacher was a bit extreme! Some of the students had really bad posture because their teacher didn't have time to correct that problem. That's where a teacher aid or private teacher comes in handy. So, after talking to the teacher, and her thinking that I had a degree, I thought it might not be such a bad idea to finish my degree and teach in a classroom like that. I'd only have 2 years to go (if I kill myself) and she said that there will be a huge need for another teacher at their school in a year or two. It's perfect! She's going to contact me after the first of the year about volunteering in the class to help with posture and one-on-one needs.

So, I just finished my application to Utah Valley University. They are open enrollment right now because they're trying to beef up the student body since becoming a university. Hopefully there won't be any problems getting in. I'll know in 48 hours if I've been accepted and then I can enroll for the semester starting in January. Cross your fingers for me!!!

Reilly and Sean's Christmas Programs

2008-12-23T12:13:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday we had a busy day of Christmas programs. Reilly's was early in the morning at 9:30am. We all went over to the school to watch her sing. The bad news (besides that they started 15 minutes late) was that Reilly was behind the tallest kid in kindergarten! Well, maybe not the tallest, but too tall to be in front of my girl. All I could see was her nose and eyes. Oh, well, still cute.

Here's the link for Reilly's performance:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BpUanC5a0U&feature=channel

Then, at noon, we had Sean's performance. It's his third program in front of parents and he FINALLY got it! They did a few songs and said what they were thankful for ... like Christmas cookies, stars, Jesus, etc. He even did that part of the program! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nS-_rFq5_Q) He did a great job with all the songs and signed along with Away in a Manger.

Here's the link for Sean's performance:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyIjBCTGnXM&feature=channel_page

We had a great time watching them!

Buyers Remorse - No More!!

2008-12-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking lately about how little money I will soon have and take time out to really analyze a purchase. I have had buyers-remorse several times and it seriously hurts my feelings to see those items on a day-to-day basis. For example, I told Dustin that I wanted a toaster oven so that I could easily heat up frozen foods, or make hot sandwiches more conveniently. He bought one for my birthday and I was excited for like a week... You see, it takes forever for it to heat up (much like it's uncle the ... um... regular oven) and the food cooks in the same amount of time, but it's harder to keep clean. I feel bad throwing it away or giving it away because it was a present, but that means I have to look at it everyday! While it takes up precious real-estate on my counter... collecting mail, recipes, straws, etc. Anyway, that is the bad part about purchasing things, but there is another story. I have a few items that I treasure every day!

The first one is my water dispenser. I used to buy Brita filters for my Brita purifier, but was really bad about refilling it. We would have to drink straight from the tap and I hate that! Some of it is because of the taste, but most of it is because I like my beverages so cold that they hurt my teeth to drink. So, on one trip to the store, I was looking at the dispensers. This particular one cost $60.00 for the unit and a few dollars for the water bottle. I did the math and concluded that is would be cheaper than spending $30.00 on filters every three months for my purifier; five gallon water refills are $3 and we can refill 10 times for the same price... we don't drink anywhere near that.

The next one is my camera. I've only ever had Canon Powershot cameras, so it's all I know. But they're so easy to use and have great features. I don't think I'd ever get another brand. Incidentally, I just bought a digital camcorder that is also a Canon and am quite pleased. I've only had it for two weeks, so it doesn't qualify to be on the list yet.

The last item for my list are the two white shelves I bought for my Christmas decorations. I had some little trinkets that I didn't want to put on a table where my kids could easily get them (when they were younger - obviously now they can reach the shelves), so I thought it'd be great to have them on the wall. Well, not only have they worked for Christmas decor, but they've stayed up all year round to put pictures of the kids on. It just gives a different look than hanging them. I like it!

So, the point of the blog - I'm watching what I spend and trying to make this list the ONLY list!!

Family Pictures

2008-12-20T23:19:00.000-08:00

We finally did some family pictures today. I've been waiting for some snow and this week was the first time it's stuck! Last year, one day it snowed all morning and it got warm in the late afternoon so a lot of the snow started to melt. That night everything froze and in the morning, it was so sparkly! All the snow that started to melt had froze into icicles all over houses and trees and everything had an icy blanket. It was so pretty that I thought it'd be a great background for some pictures. We didn't do it because I'm lame, and it never happened again. So, this year, I'm determined to get some great outdoor, snowy pictures. This was take one. We had GREAT fun taking them, but it's not quite what I wanted. We'll be sending some cards out (late, of course), so you can all see what we did. This picture cracks me up!

Reilly plays the piano...

2008-12-20T22:59:00.000-08:00

On Thursday this week, I had my Christmas recital and Reilly finally got to participate! I was teaching another beginner how to play Jolly Old St. Nick and Reilly was standing next to her. They are friends, so I figured Reilly was just waiting for her lesson to be over, but after she left, Reilly sat down and played the whole song! So, I put her in the recital and she did great! The only problem was that each time she played a note, her head bobbed forward. It was hard to get a picture of her without the head-bob. :)

**UPDATE**

Here's the link for Reilly on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqArXCcD12w

Christmas Craft

2008-12-12T15:54:00.000-08:00

I just got a call yesterday about Reilly's kindergarten Christmas party. I guess I signed up to do the Christmas craft... Must've done it in a whole nother life (hahahaha, still not a word!) ... Anyway, as I was looking up ideas, I kept thinking back to their Halloween party. The craft was a popcorn hand with candy-corn nails. It was MESSSSSY and didn't take very long. So, I kept that in mind while I searched the net. I found this!

So, just to make sure that a 5/6 year-old could do it easily and use up between 10-15 minutes, I had Reilly and her friend from her class, Jacey, do it together. They had fun and it worked out perfectly! I'm doing it!

The Rolling Apple - Part 2 "No Easter Bunny?!"

2008-12-12T13:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, so no one got my reference in the title "The Rolling Apple," so I'm just going to explain myself really quickly... The apple doesn't fall from the tree, but this one's trying to get away! Not to knock Mom and Dad, because I copy them all the time! People don't want to be like their parents, but it's bound to happen.

Enough about that! This one's for Mom. While we're stressing about Christmas crap like, 'do we have what they want?,' 'are we following all the traditions?,' etc... one thing keeps coming up, "Mom, is Santa real?" I don't want to burst Reilly's bubble so soon and with Sean only being 4, it doesn't seem right to ruin Christmas fun just yet. So, I've been thinking about my childhood and how long I believed in Santa. I don't think I'm any more out of the ordinary than anyone else, but I remember when Mom told me there was no Santa. I asked her and I think she asked me back, "do you really want to know the truth?" I said 'yes' and she broke the news. It didn't ruin my Christmas, but if I was old enough to remember the conversation, I must've believed long enough... Mom did an amazing job teaching us that Christmas is about the birth of the Savior (I was featured in the newspaper as a result - Mom, do a blog about that so I can show my kids) and all the other fluff was just ... fluff. She let us believe if we wanted to, but didn't push us to buy into the commercialized-Christmas. I have huge boots to fill when it comes to that, but I'm doing my best. I always respond to Reilly with, "Do you think he's real?" and then let her answer it. We have traditions that include reading children's books about Christ's birth and placing the baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve. I hope it's making it more about that then presents and Santa, but only time will tell. Anyway, I was thinking about other fictional holiday characters and one stood out from the others.

The Easter Bunny! I do NOT let my kids believe in that crap! I've told them from the first Easter that we celebrated (and that they could talk/understand me) it that is NOT what Easter is about. If they want to have an egg hunt, we'll do it. If they want to get baskets with candy in it, we'll do it. But the purpose for the holiday is to celebrate the Savior ! It is NOT a gift-giving holiday! THE END!

Sean "Sings" Jingle Bells...

2008-12-12T12:58:00.001-08:00

Sean's preschool class went to visit Santa yesterday. He didn't know what he wanted to ask for so Santa helped him think of something. He offered, 'football stuff' ???? He's kinda old... Anyway, so we did pictures of the kids, but they're nothing special, so I'm not adding them. We'll be getting famiy pictures taken on Tuesday, so check back for those! :) The kids sang to Santa, though, and it was Sean's best program so far! Remember Halloween he freaked out and pouted the whole time, then, Thanksgiving he wouldn't even go stand with his class... Well, this time he mouthed some words, but he did all the motions! He's doing much better!

**UPDATE**

Here it is on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPKrNMaeBGU

Speaking of Reilly...

2008-12-12T12:11:00.000-08:00

I've been trying out different hairstyles on her lately, hoping to come up with something for our family pictures before Tuesday... crossed fingers. I'd like to curl her hair, but nothing seems to hold. So, let me tell you the story, we start with gel through damp hair. Then, after her hair dries, and when I start curling it (I've tried a curling iron and hot rollers), I use hairspray as I'm rolling the hair, while it's rolled and after I take it out. Then, while I'm tossing her hair, to break up curls, I spray loads of hairspray... There's no happy ending to this story, though, because her hair won't stay curly for longer than an hour! And, it sounds like her hair should be super crunchy, right... because of all the product, but it's not! It's totally soft! I don't get it! I'm going to try curlers that she has to sleep in next. She'll hate it, but I think it's the only way.

Oh, BTW, remember how much I love Reilly's hair in a short-bob? Well, she always used to fight with me about cutting it that short. She has a friend with super, SUPER long hair and always wanted hair that long, but just when her hair is getting to a long length, she decides that it might not be such a bad idea to cut it again! Ahhh! Now I love it long and am having fun styling it!!! I'm going to keep pushing it off. I say, "After family pictures.." or "When school's out..." I hope she doesn't catch on.

Daddy and Reilly Go To School!

2008-12-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

Reilly's class had a fun-Friday today! They invited their grandparents (or someone special) to come and did some fun activities. Reilly's great-grandparents are too old and slow for that, so she wanted her dad to come (not me!)... Really, I wasn't offended. I get to school with her twice a week. It was so great to see them go together and they had a fun time, too.

Dustin got to see what Reilly does every day. They welcomed their guests to school with the Kindergarten Welcome song. Then, they counted all the days they've been going to school and added a sticker to their books. Then, they did centers. There were three centers.

1. gingerbread houses

2. Santa beards

3. family trees

Reilly and Dustin did a great job... apparently, some of the kids and parents didn't have very attractive houses... Their's was awesome!

Funniest Sleeping Picture

2008-12-07T19:09:00.000-08:00

Last night we rented a Christmas movie and watched it in my bed. Reilly's lastest thing is needing to watch movies in the dark, but in the middle of the movie, we noticed that they were both asleep. (Good news!) The funniest thing happened when we started moving them to their beds, though. Check out what Sean had in his mouth! I didn't even notice that he was eating crackers before he fell asleep! Hah!

PS - He is TOTALLY the cutest boy ... EVER!!!

Talk much!?

2008-12-04T10:41:00.000-08:00

A few things baffle me about our English slang. One of which is the use of the phrase, 'a whole nother.' I know I can't be the only one that is annoyed by this, but it is used more than I care to hear it. I've even seen it written out. I know what you're thinking. "Lauren, we've heard it all before... " or "Lauren, it's not a big deal..." But here's the thing, 'nother' is NOT a word. Sticking 'whole' in the middle of 'another' creates a word that doesn't exist.

I have a solution, though! Here's a grammatically correct phrase with the same idea:

'a whole OTHER!' Huh? What do you think? Good, eh?!

BTW, I did a spellcheck because I don't like to blog with awful spelling and 'nother' came up yellow!!!

December 4th... still no snow.

2008-12-04T09:31:00.001-08:00

I've been documenting the snow as is moves down the mountain, however, I was noticing today that they all look about the same ... so much for blogging about how the weather comes to get me, huh?! It's been fall for a really long time and, though I hate the snow being all wet and cold, I am afraid that when it comes, it won't stop.

I'm such a worrier... We had the longest winter last year, so I'm sensitive!

No, you're a potato head!

2008-11-29T14:24:00.000-08:00

Sean has a new book meant to get him ready for writing letters and numbers. It has mazes and activities that make him control the pencil/pen. He was really funny doing it! He had to write his name on every page (he's getting so good at it) and he kept it open by doing a funny shuffle-kneely thing... I can't explain it, so watch it. Also, Reilly was having a really bad day and told me about it while I tried desperately not to laugh.

** UPDATE **

Stupid Blogger sucks really bad! I can't seem to upload videos anymore! So, here's a link to the video on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ6F1vQDrGc

Before and After Dresser

2008-11-29T13:53:00.000-08:00

When Dustin and I got married, we took John's old drawers so that we each had one. I used Dustin's old one and he used John's. He never really had all the room he needed, but made it work. So, recently, when I was filling Reilly and Sean's dresser (they shared) with their winter clothes, they really didn't fit. On Saturday, Dustin decided to re-do John's dresser so that Sean could use it. I was TOTALLY against it because the drawers are messed up and it's just a piece of crap, but he persisted. BTW, it looks like it's 10pm outside in the pic where he's sanding it, but it's actually 6:30pm. Anyway, so after he sanded, primed and painted it, I was convinced. It looks great! Sean got to pick the colors - green for the dresser and drawers and blue for the handles - and he could hardly wait until it was done to start using it!

It's done now and he has so much space. Reilly was bummed at first that she couldn't paint hers (I told her we could do rub-on-transfers instead), but the more she helped with his, the more excited she got for having her own drawers.

This week random events...

2008-11-29T13:48:00.000-08:00

This week, Sean and Reilly did their Thanksgiving parties at school. I got to go to both because Reilly had school when Sean's party was going on and Sean was at school when Reilly had hers. So, in Reilly's class (sorry, no pics) she made a drum, necklace, Indian vest and head-dress. They had a pow-wow and we learned that Reilly can't do a rhythm dance. They did step-hop-step-hop-hop. She had the hardest time, but certainly wasn't the only one. Sean did really well during the school portion of his party, but when they came out to do the program for the parents, he froze again. He wouldn't participate again. I sure hope he grows out of that!

Sean's Birthday

2008-11-29T13:42:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Sean's birthday the Saturday after it and had cake and ice cream with Ian, Dianne and fam. Sean got a motorcycle, some new cars and a Leapster. For Christmas, we aren't spending much, so we got them both a Leapster and a game and called it good. They love it!

My Blueberry Nights

2008-11-28T21:47:00.000-08:00

Overall, the movie was good. Very artistic, but not in an annoying, 'am I still watching this,' kind of way. I just have a couple of problems with it.

First, recently, I saw an interview with Norah Jones (lead female) and she said that the three years that she spent touring with Come Away With Me and Feels Like Home, were the worst years of her life... BTW I saw her on that tour and she did great. She also said that she had her cake and ate it, so she didn't need to be famous anymore. The problem is, acting as a lead-role in a movie that did the independent circuit puts you out there to be famous... no?

The second problem might be nothing, but one of the songs from the movie that plays sporadically during the movie seems to be a knock-off of a Sarah McLachlan song. Last Dance is the last song on her Surfacing CD and follows the knock-off song note-for-note. Seems highly suspicious... Hopefully that didn't plagiarize.

I really liked the movie and was very impressed with Norah Jones. For never acting (EVER), she worked it.

Filthy Rich CEOs

2008-11-24T08:31:00.000-08:00

After all of the media's revelations about how the CEOs of floundering companies are running business, it got me to thinking. Why is Washington so quick to do a handout? Why haven't they done any auditing? It's because the CEOs are paying off high-seated policital leaders so that they don't have to give up their lavish lifestyles.

Here's the deal: Even among the car manufacturers, CEOs and other execs have maintained their salaries and bonuses, along with company perks (such as living across the country and reporting for work each Monday on a private jet), while their companies have made dramatic cuts to avoid from going bankrupt... for example, laying off over 50,000 employees. That's the average American right there.

It seems to me that by keeping the money at the top, they are sealing the fate of the company. If you break down the spending, it does the company NO good to continually beef up execs pocket because they're not the ones making the company money, nor are they the ones who keep money circulating to other businesses. The average-American is. Let's call him Joe.

Joe, works a 50+ hour week as an engineer at a medical device company, we'll call it Meditronics. Meditronics is a small business that declares a market value of $4 million. Joe makes just about $79,000 a year with no perks. He doesn't recieve a company car to travel the 45 miles to work, nor does he receive compensation for gas or time. He buys his own life-insurance policy so that his family is taken care of if he should die. He also spends his own money on a PDA-cell phone so that he can keep in touch with co-workers off-the-clock. Joe is constantly being railed at work about making the devices better; lighter, easier to use, and, above all, cheaper to manufature. He works tirelessly with other members of the team to produce the best possible product. Joe works a little with their CEO, we'll call him Todd.

Todd is the only CEO at Meditronics, but he's also the mayor of a small town just south of Meditronics. He makes just over $400,000 with plenty of perks. He has a company car so that he can travel as much as he needs to. He also has a company cellphone and bonuses that are 10% of his salary. Todd comes to the office three or four times a week, but because he is also a mayor, his time is limited. He checks in with his officers and other execs to make sure business is running smoothly and on time; then, he's out to work elsewhere.

Back to Joe. Joe just bought a house and is penny pinching so that he and his family can buy new furniture in the near future. They could use some home upgrades, but can't afford them yet. They could also use a second car, but couldn't budget a car payment on his salary. They are the average spenders for our economy, but can't spend money they don't have. Todd on the other hand, drives a company car, gets a life-insurance policy through the company, has a lavish home and declares his vacations as company business. He is not the average spender for our economy, yet he makes the money.

Todd, Joe and Meditronics are small-potatos compared to car manufacturers and banks, but the story is the same as far as the aveage Joes in their companies. Joe makes the company more money and is being laid-off. After he gets laid-off, he has even less money to spend. So, all that construction that was going on, stopped. All those new cars at the showrooms, still there. Joe can't make the economy go anywhere if he doesn't have money and Todd isn't spending his own money on those things anyway. He's using the company dime to live, but taking a salary while he's at it.

Does this make sense to anyone? I think the best form of action would be the following:

1. Audit Todd's company.
2. Get Todd a list of unneccessary spending to change.
3. Check back with Todd about how company is shaping up after much needed changes.
4. Bail Todd out with a loan if he continues to have problems.

Stop overlooking the problems! Deal with them! CEOs should NOT being showing up to beg for money in a private jet!

**Note: Joe, Todd and Meditronics are a fabricated scenario researched through Forbes.com.**

The Rolling Apple - Part 1 "Silence!"

2008-11-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

I'm sure there are many ways in which I have implemented my parent's techniques, so as I'm aware of them, I'll add blogs about them.

*No saying, "Shut up!"*

When I was first married, a four- or five-year-old told me to 'shut up' at church. It was seriously APPAULING! I couldn't get over it. I know it's a commonly used thing to say, but hearing it from such small and innocent lips was just too much. It was then that I stopped saying it. Well, I mean, pretty much. It still pops out occasionally, but I try SOOOOO hard to say anything but. Other words/phrases have the same effect, but aren't 'mean.' My favorite alternative is, "Stop talking!" It's really great if you drag it out in a monotone... 'sttooopp taaallking!'

Blogged out?

2008-11-19T23:08:00.000-08:00

I have had every intention of blogging for the past week, but haven't been feeling up to dealing with my STUPID internet! See, the thing is that it can't stay connected for long enough to upload any pictures anymore! I've talked to Comcast (don't get internet through them) several times and have had them out twice in the last two months. I don't know anything about it, but if I did, they would certainly hear a few words from me! Right now, this is what a typical conversation will be like:

Me: My internet doesn't stay connected while I'm uploading anything.
Them: Have you tried restarting everything?
Me: Yeah.
Them: Have you tried unplugging everything, waiting five minutes and then rebooting everything?
Me: Yeah... (but thinking, 'Why the crap does the five minutes matter? If you cut off power for 30 seconds, isn't that the same??')
Them: We can send a tech-guy out to check it out if you'd like.
Me: Are you going to charge me for it?
Them: No. Unless the problem is something on your side of it.
Me: What does that mean?
Them: If you've striped any wires or threading... or if you've damaged any of the connection boxes then you'd have to pay to have them repaired...
Me: Do people damage their own property often? This crap was expensive!
Them: .... No... Not often.
Me: Then, why do you even say that?
Them: I don't know...
Me: Yeah, then, send them out.
Them: How is Monday between 8am and 9pm? (just kidding, that's a dramatization... but is the real thing any less obnoxious??)
Me: Yeah... well, I think I'll be home all day?! I'll make it happen.
Them: Okay, you're tech-guy's name is 'blah-blah' (like I care what they WT guy's name is!) and he'll call you when he's about there.
Me: Thanks??
Them: Is there anything else I can help you out with today?
Me: No? (but thinking, 'Did you help me yet?')
Them: Okay, have a great day!
Me: Thanks?? Bye!

Was that too long? It would've been better if it were a video, huh?!

Best day EVER!

2008-11-10T08:32:00.001-08:00

Usually Sundays are the busiest days for us. We wake up early, everyone bathes and dresses for church. Then we have church for three hours and head off to Nuns park to visit with Dustin's grandparents. We have dinner with them and then hang out for an hour or two. We usually would get back home just in time to get the kids to bed. Well! Let me tell you, they are back at their house (so we don't visit everyweek) and aren't going back down to the park to host anymore. Yesterday was the first day we didn't go to visit them and MAN was it great! Not that visiting them isn't fun, but just imagine hearing the same two or three stories every week and/or Grandma brag about her daughters that are sooooooooo white trash. :/ It gets old very quickly.

We had the normal rush to get to church, mostly because the Primary program was happening and Reilly and I had to get their early. She gave a talk and I played the violin with one of my students during a couple songs. Reilly's talk was great! But the funniest part of the whole program was her and her friend, Miki, entertaining themselves with their name cards. The presidency put up cards so that each kid would know where to sit. Reilly and Miki took off the cards and fanned themselves, stuck them to their shirts, and, best of all, covered their faces during songs. I had so many different comments about it. Reilly's preschool teacher said that their whole family was laughing hysterically the whole time. Miki's parents joked that Reilly and Miki would have to be seperated for next year's program (they did a similar thing last year - lifting their dresses). I had other people ask me if I was embarrassed... or how stressful it is when you can't control your kids and they don't know how to read your facial expressions... I was like, Reilly could see me. I was across the stand from her and she kept looking at me. I could've told her to stop and she would have, but it was funny! I was laughing, too. She won't like doing those things if they're not fun. Can you imagine, being five and having to sit still for a whole hour in front of a crowd? No way! It was good times.

So, anyway, after church was over, we had no where to go and nothing to do. We hung out in my room the rest of the day. We rented a movie on Saturday, but didn't watch it until yesterday... BTW Kung Fu Panda was as bad as I remembered. After the movie, we harassed Dustin for a while. The kids took off his socks and tried to take off his pants... when they couldn't, they resorted to giving him a wedgie. Then, I changed the sheets and the kids found that our king-sized pillow sheets were big enough to be 'sleeping bags.' So, while they weren't paying attention, I closed Sean into his and hoisted it over my shoulder like a sack and walked around the house saying, 'Ho! Ho! Ho!' They took turns being the sack and laughing uncontrollably! We must have been really busy because while I was walking around, I noticed how much warmer it was in my room... even with the fan on and the window open! :)

After a few hours of sure craziness, they were ready for bed. The end! Great day!

Presidential Election 2008

2008-11-03T10:38:00.001-08:00

I was Sarah Palin for Halloween (pics to come later), but the things that I learned from being the VP candidate for a day was SICKENING. I went to my ward activity, the store, around the neighborhood and a karaoke cafe dressed as Palin and was SHOCKED by how many people didn't know who I was even after I said her name. :( Not good. Not good!

I have been unimpressed with the potential leaders of our country, and have resolved that voting really doesn't do us much good in the long run... the members of the electoral college will ultimately vote how they want (or have been paid to). However, this is NO excuse for not staying informed! Be active about getting to know who will be running our country because we will pay the price!

Please! The vote is tomorrow, don't go into the ballot and vote blindly. There's still time to find out about the candidates. Figure it out and KNOW who you're voting for before you vote.

Happy Halloween ... from Sean!

2008-10-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

Sean almost didn't go to his preschool party, and ... maybe it didn't really matter if he wasn't there. Just kidding! He's usually great at school, but I think all the unfamiliar parents got the best of him! Poor boy's just too shy for a crowd.

I tried to upload the stupid 18 second video of Sean at the party to Blogger and YouTube, but couldn't get it to do it at either site... I'll try again later, so you can check out how Sean looked for his party. Come back.

Okay, here it is!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8GFoJdg0_Q

Close Call

2008-10-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

See how cute Sean's costume turned out? Well, it almost happened again!! He woke up this morning super excited to dress up and go to his Preschool Halloween Party! We got him dressed and I asked him if he wanted to wear his vampire teeth, or if he wanted me to draw them on his chin. He said to draw them on and then insisted on seeing them in the mirror. I should NOT have let him because he freaked himself out and then threw a fit! I told him to put the rest of the costume on and then see how he felt. It didn't work. So, then I took off his cape and belt, got my shoes on, and said that I was going to go trick-or-treating at his party while he stayed in bed. He quickly stopped crying and bargained.

He came over to me and grabbed my leg. Then, with his cute, sad face said, "I don't want these teeth, but I really want to wear my cape." Whew! I thought he was going to go another year with no costume.

As if that wasn't enough...

2008-10-28T12:39:00.001-07:00

My friend Kathy and I were hanging out one afternoon and she was showing me some of the knitting she had been working on. She had a beautiful sweater for her 2 year old daughter, Alice, and a GREAT idea for a present for her sister. Fingerless gloves! It just so happened that Bittersweet was playing an outdoor gig the next day and I would've benefited greatly from those gloves! So, I ordered the yarn and Kathy was gracious enough to help me thus far.

Look how cute!!! :) Hooray! I did all of that! Now, I just have to find the time to finish them.

I heart Dustin!

2008-10-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

We started the kids' costumes a few weeks ago so that we'd have ample time to finish, and we made it! They're all done! We've been putting the kids to bed and then staying up late trying to get as much done as possible. Reilly's was the hardest because we had a cape and a dress complete with fur lining on the bottom of the cape, dress and sleaves.

Doing her's first also helped us do Sean's cape. We started at 7:30pm and were done by 10:00pm. I know it seems long, but it was amazingly fast. With me cutting the fabric, pinning and telling Dustin what to do, and him sewing everything, it went by very quickly. :)

So, anyway, doing all of this got me to thinking. Of all the husbands that I know, I have a hard time believing that many of them would kill their backs sewing late into the night to help their wives. We may argue about school, work, money, parenting (sounds like we're on the brink of marrital melt-down, eh?!), but, in the end, he's got my back and would do whatever to help me out. He's a great guy!

B - I - N - G - O

2008-10-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

Dustin rented some movies on Saturday, but we didn't get a chance to watch them until last night. He got a movie named Bingo (1991 and it shows) for the kids and some dramatic thriller for him... er, uh... I mean us? Well, in the middle of our movie, Reilly comes running down the stairs in tears! My initial thought was, 'What are you two fighting about this time?!' I was wrong! It was the movie. Apparently, it's about a dog that gets treated very badly by all of its owners. From the time he's a puppy, he gets abused from owner to owner (one is a ring-leader in a carnival). Anyway, she was crying because it was too sad for her! How sweet is she? It was adorable that she cares so much that this very poor movie got her to tears over the main character!

So I watched the end of the movie with her and really had a hard time seeing how she was so emotional about it. I think it may have something to do with Fiona moving. On Saturday, the reason we didn't watch the movies was because we helped Ian and Dianne move more stuff to their house. They moved all the crutial things: beds, kitchen, clothes, washer/dryer, etc. They are officially living there now, but will come back during the week and on Saturday to clean up and move the storage things. It didn't hit Reilly right away, but at about 3:30am on Sunday, she had a break down. She woke up and couldn't stop crying. Dustin went in to console her and talked to her a bit. Turns out that she's really distraught about Fiona not living right next door. She's never known anything but having Fiona there and I think this'll be a hard transition for the poor girl. :( She's going up on Friday to have a sleep over with Fiona, so I hope that'll help her out.

Moving day...

2008-10-25T17:28:00.001-07:00

Last week Dustin started helping Ian and Dianne move into their new house. We took up a load of furniture and the piano and got a tour of their new pad. After a couple of week imagining that it looked totally different, it was great to put a place to the idea. It's a new home that seems just the perfect size for them. The kids were the funniest (although Ian's flamboyant hand gestures were laugh-out-loud funny) when they showed their rooms.

Good luck, guys!!

Reilly's Witchy Costume!

2008-10-16T00:46:00.001-07:00

It's almost done! I've been working 'round the clock (as you can tell) trying to finish Reilly's costume and last night it all came together. I just have to add a hook/eye to the dress and the fur on the bottom of the cape and the sleeves of the dress... THEN... IT'S DONE! Reilly was so excited to see it and try it on last night.

The time on the post is correct. Reilly was trying really hard to stay up all night last night. I don't know why, but she's been bugging me to stay up for weeks. Since she didn't have school today, and we were working on her costume, I said it was okay. She didn't make it very long, but late enough!

Makeup or Kids?

2008-10-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

Dustin and I were watching E! this evening and caught part of a show called "Stars Without Makeup" and were digusted! They were ripping on celebrities that got 'caught' living without primping and painting for hours. They're still human and they look normal. So, every picture they would say what each celebrity needed for a makeover... um, when they're on screen they look fine (sometimes over-done, but fine), so what's the big deal?! Goldie Hawn and Diana Ross are old... GET OVER IT! Now, some of the pics were horrific, like Eva Longoria walking all around town with frizzy, crazy hair... I wouldn't go out looking like that, but that's just me. Anyway, besides a few pics, they just looked normal!

P.S. Have any of you guys ever thought that Annie looks like Julia Roberts? Minus the huge teethy grin, it's pretty close, no?

Halloween Costumes

2008-10-13T17:51:00.001-07:00

I'm working on Reilly and Sean's costumes for Halloween and delegating some to Dusin... while I type his paper, he's cutting and sewing Reilly's cape. We went looking for ideas when the patterns went on sale for $1 each. I didn't expect to buy that day, but it was a great deal. While we were choosing Reilly's Sean was feeling left out and said he wanted to be a vampire, so that's why he's anything this year. Every other year we've fought with him to wear anything. His first Halloween, he was a lion - only because he couldn't fight then. The next one, he was supposed to be a lion again - different costume - but I couldn't get it on him. Then last year he was 'green' because he wouldn't wear a costume. He had a green sweat-suit, so that's seriously what he was - green. I'm excited to get him dressed finally!!

We're going to have a blast this year... we're even dressing Maya up like a witch. Fun, fun, fun!!

By. <---- Reilly typed this!

Like This and Like That

2008-10-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

This is a bit of Sean talking. He's getting TONS better, but he's got a few letters (and combinations of letters) that he struggles with. After this was taken, we hit "th" hard and he's doing better. He's sooo cute!

School Pictures!

2008-10-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

Here they are!!! Soooo cute!

New Floor

2008-10-07T11:58:00.001-07:00

Dustin and Sean re-did the floor in the basement. The carpet was painfully stained, so Dustin had a great idea. There's a type of flooring that he's just recently started installing. It's sort of rubbery, sticky and he's going to make fun of me forever if he reads this. :) HAH! Anyway, it looks like wood floors, so I was in. I think it looks great, but Sean's the happiest because I let him keep out his road mat now. When we had the carpet, it looked cluttered if it stayed out, but now it doubles as a rug around the computer desk. :)

Crazy-Lauren Dream!

2008-10-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

I always remember the stupid dreams - relate much? (Refer to the HIV/AIDS blog.) My latest one was last week. It was reoccurring, too, so I got a lot of stuff from it. The first night I dreamed that we moved to a sort of compound. It was a huge house on a 30 acre lot. Complete with security gates and forest-mote surrounding the house. It was right next to my friends the Fishers (who live right around the corner from me in real life)... which is nuts because there's no way 30 acre lots would exist in Utah. Anyway, so that dream was all about how we moved and had to transition with the kids. We put up two GI-NORMOUS play sets with those slides used on aircrafts in case of emergencies. We were in a no-fly zone... who knows why or how... There were statues all around the house that we were deciding what to do with, etc. It gets better. The next night (or something) I dreamed that we were watching aircrafts fly overhead. We, as in me and Angela, didn't know why or if it was US planes, so we waited it out for a while. Eventually, we could see that these were terror attacks and quickly moved the families to the bomb shelter. (I know - like they even exist anymore!) Then we had to get to fightin' those 'hell-bent terrorists!' (That Sarah Palin! Hah!) We went to one of the play sets where, under one of the tower-floors, we had a stash of EVERY kind of gun you could think of. Angela and I took on the terrorists! I'm not sure that we won or not, but it sure does top my list of weird, crazy dreams!

So, how 'bout that stock market?

2008-10-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

I just thought I'd do a quick blurby-blog about what's going on here. Firstly, Reilly did it again! She was getting sick of me being too busy to make her a sandwich (30 mins before dinner time) that she did it herself. While she was at it, she made Sean a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (no mess), but I have no pics to prove it. She's growing up so much lately... oh, and she's losing one of her top front teeth. We're going to sing 'All I want for Christmas...' Just kidding, that would be lame. Sean is starting to change his words on his own. I'll post a video of it soon, but he used to say 'this,' that,' and 'there' really funny, but he's been working on making them right. Okay, so besides that, (shout out to John A.) HOW 'BOUT THAT STOCK MARKET, eh?!

I'll just do it myself!

2008-10-01T13:12:00.001-07:00

Yesterday... well, truthfully it's been for a few weeks... Reilly really wanted to make cookies. I've been pushing her off because I've been really busy, but yesterday, it came to a crutial time! I told Reilly I needed to clean out the sink so that the kitchen was prepared for cookie-making. There weren't that many dishes, but I just didn't have the time. Monday and Tuesday are really bad for lessons. Monday I teach from 12:30 - 5:30pm and Tuesday I teach from 2:30 - 7:30pm. I don't have breaks, either. It's solid lessons. She kept asking me to do the dishes between lessons, but it never worked out. Dustin came home to get ready for class and she bothered him, but he didn't do his homework for that class until then, so he couldn't help her out either. So, after she got sick of waiting for us, she did it herself.

She emptied the clean dishes...

Put the dirty dishes in and ran it!

We made the cookies today! :) What a girl!!

BTW, we posed the first picture because I didn't catch her doing it yesterday and the second picture is the actual way she loaded those dishes. It quite amazing that she didn't overcrowd dishes or cover up the dishwasher components. :)

Am I stupid? Cause I really don't think I am!

2008-09-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

Last night, Bush made some statements about the $700 billion bailout. In reference to the 'jittery U.S. taxpayers,' he said that they will benefit from a number of safeguards that lawmakers wrote into the pending legislation, including ... assurances that taxpayers would ultimately be reimbursed by the companies that go under. Okay, so this is where I get stupid... if the bailout is supposed to help them from going bankrupt, because they can't pay on loans that already exsist... HOW WILL THEY PAY OFF THE TAXPAYERS?? Where will that money come from?

Seriously, am I stupid!?!?!!?

Oh, and as far as the picture goes, doesn't it look like they're getting down to business... sipping their coffee and all?

First Feild Trip

2008-09-26T20:52:00.001-07:00

Today, Reilly had her first field trip to Nuns Park. It was the best time she's ever had a Nuns. Her great-grandparents host the park, so we go there frequently, but this time was different. She got to ride on the bus, for the first time; and she went with her friends from school. Our group was Spencer, Josh, Kamille and Reilly. They were great and had fun on the hike and with the art projects and leaf games. I was glad that I could go, too. :)

Halloween Preview

2008-09-26T20:46:00.001-07:00

I have dressed up for Halloween in the past, but have been unsuccessful as far as picking a costume that people would recognize. I always wound up explaining who I was the entire evening. Well, this year, everyone'll know what I am... and it's not that far of a stretch from the truth, so it'll be easy to pull off!

P.S. This year will mark the first year... probably EVER... that Dustin will dress up. He's going to be just like me. We'll be Attack of the Nerds together!

Have I ever told you about the time I cured HIV/AIDS??

2008-09-22T23:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a dream about it and, turns out, the cure for HIV/AIDS is ... ready? Orange juice and apple juice mixed together! SOLVED!! Now, on to the next chronic condition!!

P.S. I'm laughing so hard I'm crying as I write this!!!

Young Women Lesson 38: Good Health Habits

2008-09-21T23:23:00.000-07:00

My lesson today was about having good healthy habits. It was fun. I started the lesson by having the girls pick from a variety of snacks - both healthy and unhealthy. I disguised them because most of hem were hidden with 'low-fat' or 'reduced calorie' or '100% multi-grain.' We talked about why they're good and why they're bad; how important it was to portion control; and how it's not about what you eat so much as what portions you eat. I also talked about negative body image because that seems to be a common concern here in vain-Utah. Too many people are concerned about how they look outwardly that they don't think about how they're sacrificing their health for it.

How cool is it, by the way, that the Word of Wisdom was revealed in the 19th century and we're only just barely now finding out that it was right?! The more we refine something, the less we get out of it - D&C 89. I love when man discovers that God's revelations were correct!! We talked about this for a while because there is a Japanese man that just celebrated his 113th birthday, making him the oldest man in the world. He credited it all to not drinking alchohol! We also talked about the blessings of living the WoW - like longevity.

At the end of the lesson I gave the girls a pamphlet to keep track of their food/drink intake for a week. I encouraged them to think about what was going into their bodies and also to keep better tabs on their sleep and physical activity.

I made yogurt parfaits for the girls to enjoy. Non-fat yogurt, homemade granola and fresh apples from my apple tree. Really, it was a great lesson and the girls did a great job helping out with it. :)

The depression sets in yet again.

2008-09-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of good things about living where I am (i.e. location to stores), but there is one verrry bad thing. I can see the bad weather coming to get me! These pictures were taken on September 1st. It's starting and there's nothing I can do about it. It's coming to ruin my life for a few months and I can't run and hide.

:( :( :( Oh, the depression...

The long and short of it.

2008-09-19T14:18:00.001-07:00

The new 'plan' for bailing out the market crisis is CRAP!!! Holy cow, I can't believe our government! It told me that if you don't have a billion dollars, you don't exist. So, these stupid big businesses pad the pockets of their executives, default all over the place and risk filing for bankruptcy. Then, the stupid government 'rescues' them while screwing the rest of the country! The government will own these companies (AIG for example) and take on their debt... but where does the money come from to cover the debt? YOU AND ME, my friend! You and me! How screwed up is that!? If I go into debt and my business was floundering the government is the first hand demanding to be paid, but when the big business stands at the edge ready to fall in, the government offers to salvage the company and give the executives hefty severance packages! AAAHHHHHH!!!

Oh, it just makes me want to never pay taxes again!!

As soon as you can ...

2008-09-18T19:38:00.000-07:00

I've been saying it since Reilly was born. As soon as you can ... 1. feed yourself; 2. dress yourself; 3. use the potty by yourself ... etc, etc, etc. Well, what I've realized is that the 'as soon as ...' NEVER end. Every day I come up with new ones. Today it was, as soon as you can stop whinning about EVERYTHING!

On the up side, I also find cool things to get excited about. Sean just learned how to write his name. It took him a lot of practice, but he did it all today. Sometimes I just want to run away and never look back (shout out to Mom), but other days I can see that they're getting more mature and intelligent. Those days are worth sticking around for.

... wow, that sounds really morbid... like I'm on the verge of walking out. Sooooo NOT the case.

Poopy!

2008-09-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

It's Sean's new potty mouth! I can't get over it. He's such a boy to think of such things to shout at the top of his lungs... during a movie... at the slow, quiet part... WHEN IT WAS PACKED!!! Anyway, it was funny; after the embarrassment went away, of course.