Hello All,
Well, Naomi AND Ben are gone. I'm the lone adult in the house! Ben is only gone for today and tomorrow to a conference in Chicago, so not a big deal. But I will miss Naomi so much! It was fabulous to have her here, and it just seems like she fits in to our household perfectly. She knows just what to do without me saying anything, and the boys love her and she was the laundry QUEEN! I barely touched the laundry, she's been doing it all herself. And it's been a REALLY heavy week for laundry for some reason. Well, I was backed up for 2 weeks for one thing, and then it just seemed like ALL the blankets got peed on by various boys so I was changing sheets and blankets practically every day. Anyway, I'm sure Naomi is probably worn out and glad to get back to her apartment with NO LITTLE BOYS. Naomi, thank you so, so, so, so much a million times for coming here. I loved it. You helped me so much, I can't even say.
Yesterday I got my garage organized which I'm so happy about. It has been stressing me out a lot. While Naomi and I were unloading some boxes of tools, she spied this ENORMOUS wolf spider in the bottom of the box. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! Anyone who knows me well knows I hate, hate, hate, hate spiders. Especially enormous scary looking spiders at the bottom of a box that I had been reaching into! This thing was minimum 2.5 inches in diameter (I'm NOT exagerrating, Naomi can vouch for that). Naomi and I were incredibly brave, though (well, actually just Naomi), and she pulled the box really fast out to the other side of the driveway where we tipped it over, and got the rest of the stuff out using a rake (the spider was STILL in the box). When Ben came home, we went out there, and the spider was still in the box! So Joseph got to see it, but it scurried away into the leaves JUST before Brigham got to see it. He was crying about it this morning-- that Joseph got to see the spider and he didn't. Anyway, I googled Wolf Spiders, and they are called that because they run and hunt down their prey, just like a wolf. They are also pretty venomous and bites can be very dangerous to little kids. CREEPY. I hope I don't see another of those any time soon.
Naomi took the boys to the park yesterday afternoon while I finished garage stuff at home, and then when Ben got back we went to Rudy's for a goodbye dinner. Rudy's is this strange Texas restaurant that is actually a part of a gas station. Hard to explain. But it is famous in Texas and it has really good brisket. So we enjoyed a "relaxing" dinner with 5 squirrelly kids (we were babysitting Rose and Mae), had to change tables when Brigham spilled his water all over the place (we rescued most of the food), but it was still fun. After dinner we drove up to Lake Travis so Naomi could see it before she left, then drove out to Bee Caves and then back home, trying to get kids asleep. We got Joseph and Mosey asleep, but not Brigham. Brigham develops these plans all day at school of different projects he wants to do, and he was NOT going to fall asleep until he got home to do this project. The project involved getting the keys and locks he has collected, and two chains he acquired from the hammock we set up (did I tell you I bought a hammock and stand for the back deck? It is huge, but fun. Not exactly relaxing, though, because whenever I get on it, 3 little boys also get on it and want to crawl around on it like spiders on a spider web and I feel suspiciously like a trapped fly), and then chain and lock his treasure box so no one could get into it. Funny little boy. So he was up really late and was subsequently quite grouchy this morning. I think I'll do a really early bedtime tonight.
All right, I better fix lunch for Mosey. He's been playing with blocks and cars and talking to himself all morning. He has really funny conversations with himself. "You are a bad boy. No I'm not, I am a good boy!" He also is really into making up words-- he'll describe something as "squivelly," or "bobbling" and it's really funny. But today he has made up a word that pretty much sounds like "b*st*rd" (I'll let you fill in the blanks), which is a word I am SURE he doesn't know for real, and he keeps saying it!! But I'm just going to ignore it in the hopes he'll forget about it and move on to some other made up word.
Ok, loves to everyone!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
March 28, 2007
Hello Everyone,
I feel like I've dwelt on myself and my problems for far too long in these email updates, so today I'm only going to talk about my boys. I haven't been telling enough stories about them, and it is the stories about my boys I will be wanting to read about many years from now, not the boring details of my life!
So, here's an update on my three little guys from the past few weeks.
Joseph's two bottom teeth are coming in very nicely. It is very interesting for him to inspect the little bumps and ridges that those brand-new grownup teeth have. No more loose teeth for now, and I'm glad for that since poor Brigham still hasn't lost any teeth, nor are any of his loose! Last week was sort of hard for Joseph, I'm sure it was the disruption of Spring Break and me being in the hospital, and him getting off his normal schedule, and all that stuff. Joseph really *needs* routine. So we had a few days of him resisting just about everything and having meltdowns and generally feeling miserable. But he is doing amazing now-- we just had probably the best school morning ever! He woke up happy (he's just like me-- NOT a morning person and tends to wake up pretty irritable), got dressed quickly, ate breakfast, put away his PJ's happily, and was buckled up in his carseat by 7:25, which has to be some sort of record. And once to school he jumped out, told me there was someone he wanted to catch up with, grabbed his backpack and was off running across the grass. A good start to the day. Last week-- I think Tuesday or Wednesday, Naomi and I took the boys to the mall to play at the kids place for a while. It was a rainy afternoon and I really needed to get out of the house. Anyway, Joseph was NOT having a good day and was being pretty ornery. He took his shoes off at the kids area, and then when we were ready to go, he didn't want to put them back on. I told him his shoes were his responsibility, and he needed to get them on himself. Well, he didn't want to, so we went into Claire's (Brigham's favorite store in the mall-- full of treasure!) where he had a mini-meltdown about me buying him a $5.50 package of 4 markers-- uh, I don't think so! Anyway, we were ready to leave the mall, and he still hadn't gone to get his shoes. So I told him we would be walking slowly toward the escalator and if he wanted his shoes he needed to get them, otherwise he wouldn't have any shoes for school because I wouldn't be getting him new ones. Well, we got all the way up the escalator and he hadn't gotten his shoes yet. So I started walking slowly down the hall, and I guess he realized I was serious, and he went down the escalator (crying), ran and got his shoes, and then came back up the escalator. I'm sure everyone was looking at this poor little boy-- barefoot and crying, and wondering where in the heck his evil mother was! I was watching him the whole time from upstairs. Anyway, he brings them up and I told him to come to the bench to get them on. Well, when he got to the bench impulse overcame him and he couldn't resist but to throw his shoes over the railing and downstairs again. Thankfully not hitting anyone on the way down. Sigh... So I told him I was sorry he made that choice, but we were still going to be going home, so if he wanted his shoes, he better hurry up! We started on our way down the hall again and once again Joseph, crying harder, raced down the escalator, found his shoes, and came back up. Lots more people looking at him this time. He caught up with us (we were going reeeaaaally slow), and continued to whine and insist that I put on his shoes. I told him I would be happy to help him if he sat down, but I wouldn't put them on him myself. Well, he didn't want to do that, so he pretty much cried the whole way out of the mall. But he didn't throw his shoes at anyone else! So that was probably our low point with Joseph. He has improved every day since and I'm really proud of him. I've been reading these two books about raising "strong-willed" children. I do not believe that Joseph really qualifies as a "strong-willed child," although he has some of those tendencies. Reading these books, I think *I* was certainly a strong-willed child (Mama and Daddy are chuckling to themselves at this point-- in only took me 30 years to figure *that* one out?), but Joseph not really. Anyway, they are both really good, not only for strong-willed children, but for good discipline techniques in general. My favorite one, for those interested is called "The Everything Parent's Guide to the Strong-Willed Child," by Carl E. Pickhardt. I think it is part of a series called "The Everything Parent's Guide to..." which is a little cheesy, but it is full of great stuff!
All right, on to Brigham! Last Saturday afternoon, he was making one of his art projects, cutting some paper, and he was using my super-sharp sewing scissors (bad mommy-- why didn't I put those away?!), and he just snipped right through the corner of the tip of his left index finger. It sliced off the corner tip, through his fingernail. I was at the grocery store, so he ran immediately to Naomi and had her put bandaids on it, but it was bleeding profusely and bled totally through the bandaids by the time I got home. I looked at it and I was pretty horrified. I was on the verge of taking him to urgent care, but I realized there was very little they could do except clean it and bandage it, which I could do well enough at home. So we cleaned it and bandaged it again-- it just wouldn't stop bleeding, so I had to bandage it pretty tight to keep pressure on it. When Ben came home (he was at Fry's with Joseph), he gave him a blessing for it to heal and not cause him pain, and I gave him Tylenol before bed. He still woke up several times during the night, but was able to settle down and sleep again. Naomi slept in his room that night to keep track of him. So I've been rebandaging it every day, and yesterday night it looked much, much better. The day before I was thinking I really needed to take him to the doctor-- maybe they'd have to do some sort of skin graft or something! Probably silly of me, but I just couldn't see how the skin would grow back. It seemed like it had been cut off deeper than the skin layer. But yesterday it looked so much better and I think it will be fine. So that was Brigham's drama for the weekend. It really bothered me, and I had a hard time settling down myself and sleeping Saturday night. I kept thinking how dumb I was to not put those scissors away, and then I realized that we missed a birthday party for Brigham's friend at school at Pump it up, and if I hadn't forgotten, he would have been there and wouldn't have cut himself. And I felt guilty because poor Brigham STILL hasn't been to Pump it up-- what is WRONG with me?? But I think he'll be ok, and he didn't realize about the party which is just as well. His art projects were pretty cool-- on Saturday morning we went to the Texas State Museum and of course had to go to the gift shop. Brigham was looking at these small models of the state capitol, so when he got home he drew his own version of the capitol-- very detailed!, and cut it out. He was also working on a necklace and a ring-- also made of paper which he cut out very precisely and then strung on yarn for the necklace, and then taped in a circle for the ring. He is always busy doing things like that! He finally filled his old treasure box and just couldn't part with any of his treasures, but had no more room for more treasures, so a couple weeks ago we went to Hobby Lobby and got him a new, bigger treasure box. Hobby Lobby had a whole aisle full of really amazing "treasure chests" from small to really big! Brigham would have loved one of those full-sized $100+ treasure chests, but we compromised on a smaller one, and in two weeks, it is already filled up! They discovered this big boulder in our front yard had chunks of crystals that they could break off-- pretty cool, actually! So Brigham has a bunch of those in his treasure box, and then on Sunday Ben took the boys down to the lake where they found a desposit of old bleached out cow bones, which somehow also qualified as "treasure," so a large pile of those were brought home and filled up the rest of Brigham's treasure box! Ah, my funny little boy!
Mosey, Mosey, Mosey. What can I say about him except that he is three!! Full of cuteness and aggravation. He is getting better about bedtime, and I'm very happy about that! I can now read to him and then tuck him into my bed, and leave the room! We haven't had success getting him to go to sleep in the boys' room, he just can't stop talking to and annoying his brothers! But he'll lay in my bed and talk and sing to himself for like an hour or more sometimes, but eventually will fall asleep. It is really funny to listen to him talk to himself. Mosey is such a talker now. Last week my visiting teachers came, one of whom is in the nursery, and she was shocked when Mosey just started talking and talking (like he normally does at home). I guess he's still not talking at nursery, so it came as a surprise to her that he does talk, and quite well! Mosey is also at the age where he can be teased very easily by anything Brigham or Joseph do. To which he will generally yell at them, saying, "You are a BAD BOY Brigham!" Or whoever it is (usually Brigham, though-- Brigham does have his little snickerdoodle side to him and it is hard for him to resist teasing especially when Mosey is so easily provoked). Last week the boys were very interested in the Texas bluebonnets which have been springing up everywhere. So as we drive around town, Brigham and Joseph will point out all the bluebonnets that they see. Well, they thought it was quite funny to start calling each other "bluebonnet" which REALLY bothered Mosey. So one time as we were driving, Brigham was doing something to annoy Mosey and Mosey yells out, "You are a BLUEBONNET Brigham!!!" As if it were the worst insult in the world. Ben and I just cracked up over that one. Mosey has been doing this thing which I'm sure is totally normal for his age, but I just don't understand it. He'll ask me the same thing over and over and over and over again. I'll answer him, but it is as if he doesn't here me, or doesn't accep the answer or something, and he'll just keep asking me. Sometimes it is, "What did you say mom?" And I'll repeat myself, but he'll just keep asking and asking! Finally I just stop answering, but he'll keep on for quite some time. It really bugs Brigham and Joseph when he does this to them, and has been the start of quite a few fights. Couples should have to take courses on being a referree before they can become parents! Mosey can also still be very, very particular about certain things. Often he'll decide that I have to do something for him, and NO ONE else can do it. Whether it is taking him to the bathroom, or pouring him orange juice, it MUST be mom and NO ONE else! Last night Naomi had the audacity to pour him orange juice since I was busy reading scriptures, and Mosey had a fit on the floor for about 5 minutes. He did eventually drink the orange juice, though, so I guess Mosey doesn't quite qualify as a "strong-willed" child either. Thank goodness! Mosey is getting into art work, too, but he just cannot keep the lids on the markers, and just cannot remember that drawing is only for PAPER. Last week when Naomi got here, Mosey was colored quite completely in orange and red marker. So yesterday at Target I got a box of those Color Wonder markers that only show up on the Color Wonder paper. More expensive, but at least marker won't get everywhwere! Of course by last night 2 of the lids and one of the markers is missing, so maybe that idea wasn't such a great one. He just can't keep the lids on the markers! Naomi also observed that Mosey has only one volume level. Loud. No matter what it is he has to say, or how close he is to you, his volume is the same. This is not good at church. I've tried hard to get him to use a whisper voice in church, but he hasn't figured out what that is yet. I think it is a three-year-old law to be loud, though, so it's probably not entirely his fault. He is a good boy, though, and it is a joy to be with him during the day. He always keeps me smiling. He went with me to Target yesterday and we just had a great time talking about everything that he saw.
Ok, that's it for today. Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
I feel like I've dwelt on myself and my problems for far too long in these email updates, so today I'm only going to talk about my boys. I haven't been telling enough stories about them, and it is the stories about my boys I will be wanting to read about many years from now, not the boring details of my life!
So, here's an update on my three little guys from the past few weeks.
Joseph's two bottom teeth are coming in very nicely. It is very interesting for him to inspect the little bumps and ridges that those brand-new grownup teeth have. No more loose teeth for now, and I'm glad for that since poor Brigham still hasn't lost any teeth, nor are any of his loose! Last week was sort of hard for Joseph, I'm sure it was the disruption of Spring Break and me being in the hospital, and him getting off his normal schedule, and all that stuff. Joseph really *needs* routine. So we had a few days of him resisting just about everything and having meltdowns and generally feeling miserable. But he is doing amazing now-- we just had probably the best school morning ever! He woke up happy (he's just like me-- NOT a morning person and tends to wake up pretty irritable), got dressed quickly, ate breakfast, put away his PJ's happily, and was buckled up in his carseat by 7:25, which has to be some sort of record. And once to school he jumped out, told me there was someone he wanted to catch up with, grabbed his backpack and was off running across the grass. A good start to the day. Last week-- I think Tuesday or Wednesday, Naomi and I took the boys to the mall to play at the kids place for a while. It was a rainy afternoon and I really needed to get out of the house. Anyway, Joseph was NOT having a good day and was being pretty ornery. He took his shoes off at the kids area, and then when we were ready to go, he didn't want to put them back on. I told him his shoes were his responsibility, and he needed to get them on himself. Well, he didn't want to, so we went into Claire's (Brigham's favorite store in the mall-- full of treasure!) where he had a mini-meltdown about me buying him a $5.50 package of 4 markers-- uh, I don't think so! Anyway, we were ready to leave the mall, and he still hadn't gone to get his shoes. So I told him we would be walking slowly toward the escalator and if he wanted his shoes he needed to get them, otherwise he wouldn't have any shoes for school because I wouldn't be getting him new ones. Well, we got all the way up the escalator and he hadn't gotten his shoes yet. So I started walking slowly down the hall, and I guess he realized I was serious, and he went down the escalator (crying), ran and got his shoes, and then came back up the escalator. I'm sure everyone was looking at this poor little boy-- barefoot and crying, and wondering where in the heck his evil mother was! I was watching him the whole time from upstairs. Anyway, he brings them up and I told him to come to the bench to get them on. Well, when he got to the bench impulse overcame him and he couldn't resist but to throw his shoes over the railing and downstairs again. Thankfully not hitting anyone on the way down. Sigh... So I told him I was sorry he made that choice, but we were still going to be going home, so if he wanted his shoes, he better hurry up! We started on our way down the hall again and once again Joseph, crying harder, raced down the escalator, found his shoes, and came back up. Lots more people looking at him this time. He caught up with us (we were going reeeaaaally slow), and continued to whine and insist that I put on his shoes. I told him I would be happy to help him if he sat down, but I wouldn't put them on him myself. Well, he didn't want to do that, so he pretty much cried the whole way out of the mall. But he didn't throw his shoes at anyone else! So that was probably our low point with Joseph. He has improved every day since and I'm really proud of him. I've been reading these two books about raising "strong-willed" children. I do not believe that Joseph really qualifies as a "strong-willed child," although he has some of those tendencies. Reading these books, I think *I* was certainly a strong-willed child (Mama and Daddy are chuckling to themselves at this point-- in only took me 30 years to figure *that* one out?), but Joseph not really. Anyway, they are both really good, not only for strong-willed children, but for good discipline techniques in general. My favorite one, for those interested is called "The Everything Parent's Guide to the Strong-Willed Child," by Carl E. Pickhardt. I think it is part of a series called "The Everything Parent's Guide to..." which is a little cheesy, but it is full of great stuff!
All right, on to Brigham! Last Saturday afternoon, he was making one of his art projects, cutting some paper, and he was using my super-sharp sewing scissors (bad mommy-- why didn't I put those away?!), and he just snipped right through the corner of the tip of his left index finger. It sliced off the corner tip, through his fingernail. I was at the grocery store, so he ran immediately to Naomi and had her put bandaids on it, but it was bleeding profusely and bled totally through the bandaids by the time I got home. I looked at it and I was pretty horrified. I was on the verge of taking him to urgent care, but I realized there was very little they could do except clean it and bandage it, which I could do well enough at home. So we cleaned it and bandaged it again-- it just wouldn't stop bleeding, so I had to bandage it pretty tight to keep pressure on it. When Ben came home (he was at Fry's with Joseph), he gave him a blessing for it to heal and not cause him pain, and I gave him Tylenol before bed. He still woke up several times during the night, but was able to settle down and sleep again. Naomi slept in his room that night to keep track of him. So I've been rebandaging it every day, and yesterday night it looked much, much better. The day before I was thinking I really needed to take him to the doctor-- maybe they'd have to do some sort of skin graft or something! Probably silly of me, but I just couldn't see how the skin would grow back. It seemed like it had been cut off deeper than the skin layer. But yesterday it looked so much better and I think it will be fine. So that was Brigham's drama for the weekend. It really bothered me, and I had a hard time settling down myself and sleeping Saturday night. I kept thinking how dumb I was to not put those scissors away, and then I realized that we missed a birthday party for Brigham's friend at school at Pump it up, and if I hadn't forgotten, he would have been there and wouldn't have cut himself. And I felt guilty because poor Brigham STILL hasn't been to Pump it up-- what is WRONG with me?? But I think he'll be ok, and he didn't realize about the party which is just as well. His art projects were pretty cool-- on Saturday morning we went to the Texas State Museum and of course had to go to the gift shop. Brigham was looking at these small models of the state capitol, so when he got home he drew his own version of the capitol-- very detailed!, and cut it out. He was also working on a necklace and a ring-- also made of paper which he cut out very precisely and then strung on yarn for the necklace, and then taped in a circle for the ring. He is always busy doing things like that! He finally filled his old treasure box and just couldn't part with any of his treasures, but had no more room for more treasures, so a couple weeks ago we went to Hobby Lobby and got him a new, bigger treasure box. Hobby Lobby had a whole aisle full of really amazing "treasure chests" from small to really big! Brigham would have loved one of those full-sized $100+ treasure chests, but we compromised on a smaller one, and in two weeks, it is already filled up! They discovered this big boulder in our front yard had chunks of crystals that they could break off-- pretty cool, actually! So Brigham has a bunch of those in his treasure box, and then on Sunday Ben took the boys down to the lake where they found a desposit of old bleached out cow bones, which somehow also qualified as "treasure," so a large pile of those were brought home and filled up the rest of Brigham's treasure box! Ah, my funny little boy!
Mosey, Mosey, Mosey. What can I say about him except that he is three!! Full of cuteness and aggravation. He is getting better about bedtime, and I'm very happy about that! I can now read to him and then tuck him into my bed, and leave the room! We haven't had success getting him to go to sleep in the boys' room, he just can't stop talking to and annoying his brothers! But he'll lay in my bed and talk and sing to himself for like an hour or more sometimes, but eventually will fall asleep. It is really funny to listen to him talk to himself. Mosey is such a talker now. Last week my visiting teachers came, one of whom is in the nursery, and she was shocked when Mosey just started talking and talking (like he normally does at home). I guess he's still not talking at nursery, so it came as a surprise to her that he does talk, and quite well! Mosey is also at the age where he can be teased very easily by anything Brigham or Joseph do. To which he will generally yell at them, saying, "You are a BAD BOY Brigham!" Or whoever it is (usually Brigham, though-- Brigham does have his little snickerdoodle side to him and it is hard for him to resist teasing especially when Mosey is so easily provoked). Last week the boys were very interested in the Texas bluebonnets which have been springing up everywhere. So as we drive around town, Brigham and Joseph will point out all the bluebonnets that they see. Well, they thought it was quite funny to start calling each other "bluebonnet" which REALLY bothered Mosey. So one time as we were driving, Brigham was doing something to annoy Mosey and Mosey yells out, "You are a BLUEBONNET Brigham!!!" As if it were the worst insult in the world. Ben and I just cracked up over that one. Mosey has been doing this thing which I'm sure is totally normal for his age, but I just don't understand it. He'll ask me the same thing over and over and over and over again. I'll answer him, but it is as if he doesn't here me, or doesn't accep the answer or something, and he'll just keep asking me. Sometimes it is, "What did you say mom?" And I'll repeat myself, but he'll just keep asking and asking! Finally I just stop answering, but he'll keep on for quite some time. It really bugs Brigham and Joseph when he does this to them, and has been the start of quite a few fights. Couples should have to take courses on being a referree before they can become parents! Mosey can also still be very, very particular about certain things. Often he'll decide that I have to do something for him, and NO ONE else can do it. Whether it is taking him to the bathroom, or pouring him orange juice, it MUST be mom and NO ONE else! Last night Naomi had the audacity to pour him orange juice since I was busy reading scriptures, and Mosey had a fit on the floor for about 5 minutes. He did eventually drink the orange juice, though, so I guess Mosey doesn't quite qualify as a "strong-willed" child either. Thank goodness! Mosey is getting into art work, too, but he just cannot keep the lids on the markers, and just cannot remember that drawing is only for PAPER. Last week when Naomi got here, Mosey was colored quite completely in orange and red marker. So yesterday at Target I got a box of those Color Wonder markers that only show up on the Color Wonder paper. More expensive, but at least marker won't get everywhwere! Of course by last night 2 of the lids and one of the markers is missing, so maybe that idea wasn't such a great one. He just can't keep the lids on the markers! Naomi also observed that Mosey has only one volume level. Loud. No matter what it is he has to say, or how close he is to you, his volume is the same. This is not good at church. I've tried hard to get him to use a whisper voice in church, but he hasn't figured out what that is yet. I think it is a three-year-old law to be loud, though, so it's probably not entirely his fault. He is a good boy, though, and it is a joy to be with him during the day. He always keeps me smiling. He went with me to Target yesterday and we just had a great time talking about everything that he saw.
Ok, that's it for today. Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!
March 26, 2007
Hello Everyone,
First I want to thank each and every one of you who thought about me, prayed for me, and fasted for me this past couple of weeks. I am extremely grateful for all of your effort. I'll quickly just go over what happened for those who don't know, and then tell you how I'm doing! I just have to say that I feel quite uncomfortable being in the center of attention, and I hope that soon someone else can take the spotlight for a while!!
My M.S. had seemed to be fairly stable since around August. Not symptom-free, but stable. Then in late November I started getting some fogginess in my left eye which was new for me, and then in mid-december I noticed stiffness in my legs I hadn't had before. In late-December I was in that car-wreck with Naomi which I think may have triggered the stuff that happened after. After we moved to Austin I started getting additional symptoms one after another. My legs became significantly more numb and stiff. My feet got extremely numb-- in fact most of my toes were "dead" to the touch. My left arm started getting weakness and numbness in the fingers. Then two weeks ago, I was trying to sweep and mop my kitchen floor. Not exactly a strenuous job, but by the end I was having a really hard time even staying on my legs, they were so weak. I lay down to rest for an hour and then attempted to clean one of my bathrooms, but found I could not walk or remain standing, so I cleaned it while sitting on the ground! I just sat on the recliner for the rest of the day and on Tuesday I thought I felt a bit better. I was starting to get sick, though-- a cough and fever that my boys had been passing around. As the day went on my left leg got weaker and weaker until I could not actually lift it off the ground and I was dragging it around like some kind of psycho-killer. I had made an appointment the day before with my neurologist for Wednesday, so I knew I would be seeing the doctor the next day.
On Wednesday I woke up and hadn't improved at all. It took me several minutes to get *into* the tub and then honestly about 15 minutes to get *out*. I just couldn't bear weight on my legs at all. I somehow managed to drive down to Ben's work so he could watch the boys during my appointment, but it was scary. I had Ben drive when I got to his office. He decided to come with me to my doctor's appointment and had his friend Eddie come along to watch the boys.
Ben helped me get into the hospital, there is no way I could have walked on my own. When I saw the doctor he thought I should be admitted for IV-steroids. Ben asked him lots of questions and I sort of sat there in shock. The big question was whether he thought I might have primary-progressive MS rather than recurring-remitting. PP MS is less frequent, and often occurs in individuals diagnosed at an older age than I was, but the pattern of symptoms are more similar to what I've experienced-- very very short periods of time between the appearance of new symptoms (for me the longest has been 6 weeks), and then sort of gradual appearance of symptoms instead of sudden and really obvious. Also the clustering of MS in my family is more characteristic of PP MS than RR MS. Although in my family I don't have siblings with MS but instead cousins and aunts and second-cousins.
Anyway, the doctor said that most patients with RR or PP MS will respond to IV steroid treatment, but with PP MS, the symptoms will gradually return over several weeks whereas with RR MS, the flareup will end and the symptoms will not return. So the next several weeks will be interesting, to say the least.
After I was admitted I was sent down for 2 hours of MRI's. The MRI machine actually seems to kind of send me into a trance which made it seem like less than 2 hours which was good. The next day the doctor told me that the MRI scans showed very few lesions in my brain (good), but a lot more on my spinal cord (bad). I'm glad because I dont' want my brain affected-- I like my brain! But that pattern is also more characteristic of PP MS, so that's not good.
I had 5 courses (1 a day) of the IV steroids which I tolerated just fine. My blood sugars did get pretty high (up to like 250 which is REALLY HIGH I thought), but I guess not dangerously high, and pretty normal for steroids. I also was able to work with an occupational and physical therapist who were able to help me figure out how to walk around with a high-stylin' four-pronged cane and how to do things around my house easier. Ben came each day with the boys and wheeled me down to the cafeteria to eat lunch. I had several visitors from the ward, and friends who came to see me, so I was not lonely. By the last day I was much steadier on my feet and feeling a lot stronger. I was discharged on Sunday, and the good news is that if I need this treatment again, I should not have to be hospitalized. I will be able to just go in on an out-patient basis which will be much easier!
I hope I will not need this treatment again, though, because for me the really bad part is after the treatment is over. I've experienced this the other times I was on steroids (the oral kind), but it was much worse this time. I think the sudden withdrawal of the steroids just makes my brain kind of go crazy and I found myself in a really bad depression. Like, worse than the post-partum hormone craziness. I was feeling really, really horrible from Monday-Wednesday, and then felt somewhat better on Thursday, even better on Friday, and then back to my "normal" self on Saturday. So it didn't last too long, but for me that whole experience is really frightening. I was so glad that Naomi came on Tuesday. Not only was she able to help me quite a bit with the boys and the house, but it was really good for me to have her there to help me out mentally and emotionally.
Anyway, the steroids DID help me tremendously physically, the mental stuff notwithstanding, and I've noticed quite a few improvements. I feel stronger in my legs than I have in several weeks. I've gotten some feeling back in my feet-- although my 2nd and 3rd toes are still "dead." One of the nice improvements is that my feet no longer feel freezing all the time. That was one thing that has been really bugging me for a few weeks-- my feet felt cold ALWAYS, even in shoes and socks, even in a hot bath! So not having freezing cold feet has been very nice. I haven't had the spasticity in my legs that has made getting up from laying down or sitting down very dangerous! Whenever I would get up, my legs would lock up for several seconds, preventing me from walking until they loosened up. This has been the cause of a number of falls recently, so that has also been a great improvement.
On Saturday we went down to Barton Springs, and I was able to go on quite a long walk and enjoy the sunshine-- the only day of sun we've had for 2 weeks! Yesterday it was back to clouds and rain. I had bought a single-point cane last week (I'm just not ready for the 4-pronged cane yet! And I don't think I need it), and that helped me a lot, too.
So anyway, I'm very pleased with how things are going, and I'm feeling much, much more optimistic than I was before. I know that my symptoms might still come back, and the PP MS diagnosis is still possible, but I'm just not feeling like that is going to happen. I really do feel like I am going to continue to improve, and maybe I won't ever be 100% again, but I think I'm going to get back enough function that I can take care of my kids and my house and be active and do most of the things I want to do with my kids, and that will be a huge blessing.
So, that is the news from Austin, TX.
No stories about my boys right now, but in my next letter I'll give you some. I just wanted to update everyone on my health situation.
Again, thank you all sooooo much for your prayers and fasting. I know that that and the priesthood blessing Ben was able to give me has made a big difference.
First I want to thank each and every one of you who thought about me, prayed for me, and fasted for me this past couple of weeks. I am extremely grateful for all of your effort. I'll quickly just go over what happened for those who don't know, and then tell you how I'm doing! I just have to say that I feel quite uncomfortable being in the center of attention, and I hope that soon someone else can take the spotlight for a while!!
My M.S. had seemed to be fairly stable since around August. Not symptom-free, but stable. Then in late November I started getting some fogginess in my left eye which was new for me, and then in mid-december I noticed stiffness in my legs I hadn't had before. In late-December I was in that car-wreck with Naomi which I think may have triggered the stuff that happened after. After we moved to Austin I started getting additional symptoms one after another. My legs became significantly more numb and stiff. My feet got extremely numb-- in fact most of my toes were "dead" to the touch. My left arm started getting weakness and numbness in the fingers. Then two weeks ago, I was trying to sweep and mop my kitchen floor. Not exactly a strenuous job, but by the end I was having a really hard time even staying on my legs, they were so weak. I lay down to rest for an hour and then attempted to clean one of my bathrooms, but found I could not walk or remain standing, so I cleaned it while sitting on the ground! I just sat on the recliner for the rest of the day and on Tuesday I thought I felt a bit better. I was starting to get sick, though-- a cough and fever that my boys had been passing around. As the day went on my left leg got weaker and weaker until I could not actually lift it off the ground and I was dragging it around like some kind of psycho-killer. I had made an appointment the day before with my neurologist for Wednesday, so I knew I would be seeing the doctor the next day.
On Wednesday I woke up and hadn't improved at all. It took me several minutes to get *into* the tub and then honestly about 15 minutes to get *out*. I just couldn't bear weight on my legs at all. I somehow managed to drive down to Ben's work so he could watch the boys during my appointment, but it was scary. I had Ben drive when I got to his office. He decided to come with me to my doctor's appointment and had his friend Eddie come along to watch the boys.
Ben helped me get into the hospital, there is no way I could have walked on my own. When I saw the doctor he thought I should be admitted for IV-steroids. Ben asked him lots of questions and I sort of sat there in shock. The big question was whether he thought I might have primary-progressive MS rather than recurring-remitting. PP MS is less frequent, and often occurs in individuals diagnosed at an older age than I was, but the pattern of symptoms are more similar to what I've experienced-- very very short periods of time between the appearance of new symptoms (for me the longest has been 6 weeks), and then sort of gradual appearance of symptoms instead of sudden and really obvious. Also the clustering of MS in my family is more characteristic of PP MS than RR MS. Although in my family I don't have siblings with MS but instead cousins and aunts and second-cousins.
Anyway, the doctor said that most patients with RR or PP MS will respond to IV steroid treatment, but with PP MS, the symptoms will gradually return over several weeks whereas with RR MS, the flareup will end and the symptoms will not return. So the next several weeks will be interesting, to say the least.
After I was admitted I was sent down for 2 hours of MRI's. The MRI machine actually seems to kind of send me into a trance which made it seem like less than 2 hours which was good. The next day the doctor told me that the MRI scans showed very few lesions in my brain (good), but a lot more on my spinal cord (bad). I'm glad because I dont' want my brain affected-- I like my brain! But that pattern is also more characteristic of PP MS, so that's not good.
I had 5 courses (1 a day) of the IV steroids which I tolerated just fine. My blood sugars did get pretty high (up to like 250 which is REALLY HIGH I thought), but I guess not dangerously high, and pretty normal for steroids. I also was able to work with an occupational and physical therapist who were able to help me figure out how to walk around with a high-stylin' four-pronged cane and how to do things around my house easier. Ben came each day with the boys and wheeled me down to the cafeteria to eat lunch. I had several visitors from the ward, and friends who came to see me, so I was not lonely. By the last day I was much steadier on my feet and feeling a lot stronger. I was discharged on Sunday, and the good news is that if I need this treatment again, I should not have to be hospitalized. I will be able to just go in on an out-patient basis which will be much easier!
I hope I will not need this treatment again, though, because for me the really bad part is after the treatment is over. I've experienced this the other times I was on steroids (the oral kind), but it was much worse this time. I think the sudden withdrawal of the steroids just makes my brain kind of go crazy and I found myself in a really bad depression. Like, worse than the post-partum hormone craziness. I was feeling really, really horrible from Monday-Wednesday, and then felt somewhat better on Thursday, even better on Friday, and then back to my "normal" self on Saturday. So it didn't last too long, but for me that whole experience is really frightening. I was so glad that Naomi came on Tuesday. Not only was she able to help me quite a bit with the boys and the house, but it was really good for me to have her there to help me out mentally and emotionally.
Anyway, the steroids DID help me tremendously physically, the mental stuff notwithstanding, and I've noticed quite a few improvements. I feel stronger in my legs than I have in several weeks. I've gotten some feeling back in my feet-- although my 2nd and 3rd toes are still "dead." One of the nice improvements is that my feet no longer feel freezing all the time. That was one thing that has been really bugging me for a few weeks-- my feet felt cold ALWAYS, even in shoes and socks, even in a hot bath! So not having freezing cold feet has been very nice. I haven't had the spasticity in my legs that has made getting up from laying down or sitting down very dangerous! Whenever I would get up, my legs would lock up for several seconds, preventing me from walking until they loosened up. This has been the cause of a number of falls recently, so that has also been a great improvement.
On Saturday we went down to Barton Springs, and I was able to go on quite a long walk and enjoy the sunshine-- the only day of sun we've had for 2 weeks! Yesterday it was back to clouds and rain. I had bought a single-point cane last week (I'm just not ready for the 4-pronged cane yet! And I don't think I need it), and that helped me a lot, too.
So anyway, I'm very pleased with how things are going, and I'm feeling much, much more optimistic than I was before. I know that my symptoms might still come back, and the PP MS diagnosis is still possible, but I'm just not feeling like that is going to happen. I really do feel like I am going to continue to improve, and maybe I won't ever be 100% again, but I think I'm going to get back enough function that I can take care of my kids and my house and be active and do most of the things I want to do with my kids, and that will be a huge blessing.
So, that is the news from Austin, TX.
No stories about my boys right now, but in my next letter I'll give you some. I just wanted to update everyone on my health situation.
Again, thank you all sooooo much for your prayers and fasting. I know that that and the priesthood blessing Ben was able to give me has made a big difference.
March 11, 2007
Dear Everyone,
A quick note for a thunderstorming Sunday evening. Did your alarm clock feel extra-early this morning? It sure did to us. We were a little late for church as a result, but made it in time for Sacrament, so that was good. Joseph is sick today. Actually it started yesterday with a fever and a cough-- I'm sure the same thing Brigham had a week and a half ago. He probably should have stayed home from church, but Ben and I both had to teach, so he just came in his PJ's and brought his pillow and blanket and just stayed with me the whole time.
I decided to play the piano for Young Women opening exercises today, which was pathetic, really. I'm supposed to call girls each week to play the opening song, so I figured I would do it myself to show them that I'm not above doing it myself, and also I knew how bad I'd be so I figured it would make them feel better. I actually practiced a lot last night, and chose the easiest song I could find (Keep the Commandments), and got it down ok. The introduction was fine, but when the girls started singing, if I missed a note I couldnt' correct it, I had to keep on going and it was really hard! I ended up pretty confused and only playing the left hand for a measure, then the right hand, and the last chord was totally wrong. Ack! To my defense, it was my first time EVER accompanying. Ben was pretty shocked I'd never accompanied before, but I told him that Rosalynde was always much better than I was, so at home she was the one accompanying, and at church Missy Thatcher was way better at accompanying, so she was the one who did it there. But my sneaky scheme worked and when I passed around my piano-playing sign-up sheet, it got filled all the way through May. I told them if I could do it, anyone could, and that whoever accompanied would get a Symphony bar as a reward for her service.
I also substituted for the MiaMaid advisor and taught a lesson on being a peacemaker in the home. Joseph was with me during all of this and on the way home when I asked him how I did on the piano, he said, "Bad," and then when I asked how I did on my lesson, he said, "Good," so it must have gone over pretty well. I think of all the age levels, I feel the most comfortable and satisfied teaching the Young Women.
This afternoon we just had a quiet day inside. It started to rain and Joseph was sick and I was tired, so we watched a movie (Saints and Soldiers), and then I took a nap. It was nice. Well, the movie wasn't exactly "nice," it was fairly violent and sad, but it also was really really good and I enjoyed it a lot.
Tonight Ben took Brigham to a missionary fairwell open house and Mosey and Joseph and I stayed home and watched Extreme Home Makeover. And now Mosey is asleep, Joseph's passed out on the couch, and Ben is finishing getting Brigham in bed, so all is well. I have 30 minutes to waste on the computer and then I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is the start of the boys' spring break, so we'll have to come up with something fun to do, if Joseph is feeling any better
A quick note for a thunderstorming Sunday evening. Did your alarm clock feel extra-early this morning? It sure did to us. We were a little late for church as a result, but made it in time for Sacrament, so that was good. Joseph is sick today. Actually it started yesterday with a fever and a cough-- I'm sure the same thing Brigham had a week and a half ago. He probably should have stayed home from church, but Ben and I both had to teach, so he just came in his PJ's and brought his pillow and blanket and just stayed with me the whole time.
I decided to play the piano for Young Women opening exercises today, which was pathetic, really. I'm supposed to call girls each week to play the opening song, so I figured I would do it myself to show them that I'm not above doing it myself, and also I knew how bad I'd be so I figured it would make them feel better. I actually practiced a lot last night, and chose the easiest song I could find (Keep the Commandments), and got it down ok. The introduction was fine, but when the girls started singing, if I missed a note I couldnt' correct it, I had to keep on going and it was really hard! I ended up pretty confused and only playing the left hand for a measure, then the right hand, and the last chord was totally wrong. Ack! To my defense, it was my first time EVER accompanying. Ben was pretty shocked I'd never accompanied before, but I told him that Rosalynde was always much better than I was, so at home she was the one accompanying, and at church Missy Thatcher was way better at accompanying, so she was the one who did it there. But my sneaky scheme worked and when I passed around my piano-playing sign-up sheet, it got filled all the way through May. I told them if I could do it, anyone could, and that whoever accompanied would get a Symphony bar as a reward for her service.
I also substituted for the MiaMaid advisor and taught a lesson on being a peacemaker in the home. Joseph was with me during all of this and on the way home when I asked him how I did on the piano, he said, "Bad," and then when I asked how I did on my lesson, he said, "Good," so it must have gone over pretty well. I think of all the age levels, I feel the most comfortable and satisfied teaching the Young Women.
This afternoon we just had a quiet day inside. It started to rain and Joseph was sick and I was tired, so we watched a movie (Saints and Soldiers), and then I took a nap. It was nice. Well, the movie wasn't exactly "nice," it was fairly violent and sad, but it also was really really good and I enjoyed it a lot.
Tonight Ben took Brigham to a missionary fairwell open house and Mosey and Joseph and I stayed home and watched Extreme Home Makeover. And now Mosey is asleep, Joseph's passed out on the couch, and Ben is finishing getting Brigham in bed, so all is well. I have 30 minutes to waste on the computer and then I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is the start of the boys' spring break, so we'll have to come up with something fun to do, if Joseph is feeling any better
March 11, 2007
I got to watch Rose and Mae last week for a couple of hours and got to practice taking pictures of little girls!! What a novelty. Aren't they just so pretty?
Rose on our front porch.
And here's little sister Mae-- she's 10 months old and thinking about walking. Not yet, though!
Fun with blankie.
Beautiful window light.
Love this one in color.
On a chair. 2 seconds after this shot she about toppled off, so that was the only one I got. Good one though!
Rose on our front porch.
And here's little sister Mae-- she's 10 months old and thinking about walking. Not yet, though!
Fun with blankie.
Beautiful window light.
Love this one in color.
On a chair. 2 seconds after this shot she about toppled off, so that was the only one I got. Good one though!
March 10, 2007
Hey Everyone,
I've been so bad at emails. I don't know why. Just tired, I guess.
First the all-important weather report. Spring is definitely here and the weather has been warm and really nice. The only bad thing is that apparently spring is when all the live oaks lose their leaves around here! So our yard is a mess, as are all the yards around here. Ben worked with the boys for hours and hours today raking up leaves. First he tried to burn them, but soon our house was filled with smoke from the fire in the fire pit out back, and from the fire in the fireplace. So then I went to Lowes and bought 25 of those 30 gallon leaf bags, and 16 of them are filled! And we're not really even very close to finishing the leaves already in our yard, and there are still lots of leaves in the trees. I hope the shedding and leaf-regrowing will be over by the time my family comes out for their Spring break.
So, let's see what else there is to report. I went to a card-making activity on Tuesday night (one of the Relief Society small groups). I found out that the lady who hosts this activity, Kelly, is the cousin to the lead singer of Green Day. Isn't that funny? No, the singer is not LDS, nor has he every been. Kelly's mom (Green Day singer's maternal aunt) joined the church, and her children are LDS, but not the rest of the family. Although apparently he did hire an LDS nanny for his kids. So that is my brush with celebrity.
The boys had a dance and music performance at school on Friday. The kindergartners were divided in two groups, and one group did their dance first and the other did the singing first, and then they switched. Naturally my boys were in different groups, so I couldn't see both of them do both performances. I decided to watch their dance, and forego the singing, since I'd heard them talking more about the dancing, so I figured that was more important to them. The whole event was a Texas theme, so the dancing was 5 square dances. They were so cute!!! Totally cute. At this age the kids are not self conscious at all about dancing, or about dancing with the opposite sex, so all the boys were paired with girls, and it was adorable. I have to say Joseph was probably the better dancer, a slightly better sense of rhythm, and he was also paying more attention. But Brigham was so cute because every time he came around the circle he looked at me with this funny smile. After the performance, the parents were invited to stay for lunch, so I paid $2.50 for each of the boys and me to get an overdone hamburger, chocolate milk, and an ice cream cup, and we ate at the park adjacent to the school. It was fun. Right after I dropped them off at school I went over to Walmart and bought them both wrangler western shirts to wear. They had brought cowboy hats for themselves and a few of their friends (extras from our Florida goodbye party). Now they just need some cowboy boots and they'll be true Texans.
Ok, I'm going to really try and do better at emails more often because my mind is totally blank on anything else interesting to report. On Tuesday after school I took the boys to Inflatable Wonderland at the mall for their reward for getting good reports at school and church. That is a great place! I just sat there and read a book and the boys went nuts and had a great time. It is full of a bunch of different inflatable bounce houses, slides, and other stuff. There are attendants there to watch the kids and interact with them-- mostly teenage girls, and they did a good job. And on Tuesdays it is 1/2 off, so only $5 per child for as long as they want to stay. We probably stayed for about 3 hours. We came home to discover our dog had escaped and camped outside of one of our neighbors houses and barked at their 3 dogs all afternoon. Argh! We have discoverd that Mister can OPEN the lever-doorknobs in our house. So if I forget to deadbolt one of the doors (or one of the boys opens the door and forgets to re-lock it), he can escape. For a dumb dog, Mister is amazingly good at figuring out escape routes. He clearly needs walks more often, and I need to figure out how he can get them. The big boys are big enough to take him on walks, but then Mosey wants to go, and he's not old enough to be walking outside alone, and I really cannot do walks anymore. At least not as long or as fast as what Mister needs. We need to train him to run on the treadmill maybe!
Ok, I'll close and leave you with a couple of pictures of the spring blossoms and the boys' dance.
"Bow to your partner!"
"And do-si-do!"
Brigham do-si-do-ing with his partner.
Oh, so serious during the Promenade!
There's a smile!
I've been so bad at emails. I don't know why. Just tired, I guess.
First the all-important weather report. Spring is definitely here and the weather has been warm and really nice. The only bad thing is that apparently spring is when all the live oaks lose their leaves around here! So our yard is a mess, as are all the yards around here. Ben worked with the boys for hours and hours today raking up leaves. First he tried to burn them, but soon our house was filled with smoke from the fire in the fire pit out back, and from the fire in the fireplace. So then I went to Lowes and bought 25 of those 30 gallon leaf bags, and 16 of them are filled! And we're not really even very close to finishing the leaves already in our yard, and there are still lots of leaves in the trees. I hope the shedding and leaf-regrowing will be over by the time my family comes out for their Spring break.
So, let's see what else there is to report. I went to a card-making activity on Tuesday night (one of the Relief Society small groups). I found out that the lady who hosts this activity, Kelly, is the cousin to the lead singer of Green Day. Isn't that funny? No, the singer is not LDS, nor has he every been. Kelly's mom (Green Day singer's maternal aunt) joined the church, and her children are LDS, but not the rest of the family. Although apparently he did hire an LDS nanny for his kids. So that is my brush with celebrity.
The boys had a dance and music performance at school on Friday. The kindergartners were divided in two groups, and one group did their dance first and the other did the singing first, and then they switched. Naturally my boys were in different groups, so I couldn't see both of them do both performances. I decided to watch their dance, and forego the singing, since I'd heard them talking more about the dancing, so I figured that was more important to them. The whole event was a Texas theme, so the dancing was 5 square dances. They were so cute!!! Totally cute. At this age the kids are not self conscious at all about dancing, or about dancing with the opposite sex, so all the boys were paired with girls, and it was adorable. I have to say Joseph was probably the better dancer, a slightly better sense of rhythm, and he was also paying more attention. But Brigham was so cute because every time he came around the circle he looked at me with this funny smile. After the performance, the parents were invited to stay for lunch, so I paid $2.50 for each of the boys and me to get an overdone hamburger, chocolate milk, and an ice cream cup, and we ate at the park adjacent to the school. It was fun. Right after I dropped them off at school I went over to Walmart and bought them both wrangler western shirts to wear. They had brought cowboy hats for themselves and a few of their friends (extras from our Florida goodbye party). Now they just need some cowboy boots and they'll be true Texans.
Ok, I'm going to really try and do better at emails more often because my mind is totally blank on anything else interesting to report. On Tuesday after school I took the boys to Inflatable Wonderland at the mall for their reward for getting good reports at school and church. That is a great place! I just sat there and read a book and the boys went nuts and had a great time. It is full of a bunch of different inflatable bounce houses, slides, and other stuff. There are attendants there to watch the kids and interact with them-- mostly teenage girls, and they did a good job. And on Tuesdays it is 1/2 off, so only $5 per child for as long as they want to stay. We probably stayed for about 3 hours. We came home to discover our dog had escaped and camped outside of one of our neighbors houses and barked at their 3 dogs all afternoon. Argh! We have discoverd that Mister can OPEN the lever-doorknobs in our house. So if I forget to deadbolt one of the doors (or one of the boys opens the door and forgets to re-lock it), he can escape. For a dumb dog, Mister is amazingly good at figuring out escape routes. He clearly needs walks more often, and I need to figure out how he can get them. The big boys are big enough to take him on walks, but then Mosey wants to go, and he's not old enough to be walking outside alone, and I really cannot do walks anymore. At least not as long or as fast as what Mister needs. We need to train him to run on the treadmill maybe!
Ok, I'll close and leave you with a couple of pictures of the spring blossoms and the boys' dance.
Joseph waiting for the dance to begin. Yes, I know the sombrero isn't exactly a Texas cowboy hat, but the cowboy hat *did* evolve from the sombrero, and Texas *did* belong to Mexico once, so it's still ok, right?
"Bow to your partner!"
"And do-si-do!"
"Head couples come together!"
Brigham do-si-do-ing with his partner.
Oh, so serious during the Promenade!
There's a smile!
Sneaking a look at mom.
March 8, 2007
Hey Everyone,
I owe a longer update, which I'll do probably later today, but I thought I'd send some pictures I took in Dallas last week.
The first is a mural painted on the side of the parking garage for the Music Center. The text reads:
"The Artist must be
Sacrificed to the Art.
Like the Bees, they must
Put their lives into
The sting they give."
The 2nd and third are just some cool buildings, and the rest are from the Dallas World Aquarium.
In this pic and the next, you can't really tell but these are HUGE fish in a floor-to-ceiling freshwater aquarium. This one is probably 5-6 feet long.
One of 2 cool aquarium "tunnels"
My favorite little fish, but he was FAST and hard to snap a good picture of. His colors IRL were incredibly vibrant.
For a while this guy was backed up against the coral and he was almost impossible to see until he swam out a little-- great camoflage.
I think this is the same kind of fish as in Finding Nemo-- the old guy in the Dentist's tank, and the only one also from the ocean. Know the one I mean?
Lion fish. These are awesome.
Hammerhead shark. I tried and tried to get a better shot where you could see the "hammer" part of his head better, but this was about the best I could do. These are strange looking sharks! And not as big as I thought-- there were 2 in this tank, and probably only 5 feet long.
2 huge manatees in the fresh-water tank.
Manta-ray shark-- I believe the same type that killed Steve Irwin. We're still sad about that around here, and the boys continue to pray for his family in *every* single prayer.
Rabbit that hopped over to take a look at us.
And of course the highlight of the trip-- the Great White Shark. Scary!
I owe a longer update, which I'll do probably later today, but I thought I'd send some pictures I took in Dallas last week.
The first is a mural painted on the side of the parking garage for the Music Center. The text reads:
"The Artist must be
Sacrificed to the Art.
Like the Bees, they must
Put their lives into
The sting they give."
The 2nd and third are just some cool buildings, and the rest are from the Dallas World Aquarium.
In this pic and the next, you can't really tell but these are HUGE fish in a floor-to-ceiling freshwater aquarium. This one is probably 5-6 feet long.
One of 2 cool aquarium "tunnels"
My favorite little fish, but he was FAST and hard to snap a good picture of. His colors IRL were incredibly vibrant.
My favorite guy again
For a while this guy was backed up against the coral and he was almost impossible to see until he swam out a little-- great camoflage.
I think this is the same kind of fish as in Finding Nemo-- the old guy in the Dentist's tank, and the only one also from the ocean. Know the one I mean?
Lion fish. These are awesome.
Hammerhead shark. I tried and tried to get a better shot where you could see the "hammer" part of his head better, but this was about the best I could do. These are strange looking sharks! And not as big as I thought-- there were 2 in this tank, and probably only 5 feet long.
Awesome jellyfish.
2 huge manatees in the fresh-water tank.
Manta-ray shark-- I believe the same type that killed Steve Irwin. We're still sad about that around here, and the boys continue to pray for his family in *every* single prayer.
Rabbit that hopped over to take a look at us.
Seahorse. One of the things I like best about these is that the females lay the eggs, and then the males take over, protecting the eggs and the young until they're old enough to fend for themselves. Cool, huh?
And of course the highlight of the trip-- the Great White Shark. Scary!
February 28, 2007
Hello Everyone,
Spring has finally arrived in Central Texas. Last week and this week have been beautiful. I have the windows open in my front room right now and it is lovely.
I'm not sure when I wrote last, but I think it has been a shamefully long time. So I will briefly go over what's been going on here!
Last week Rosalynde came out to visit us. It was so great! She flew into Dallas (about half the price of flying in and out of Austin at short notice), so last Wednesday morning Mosey and I woke up before dawn and drove up to Dallas. I was up just in time to catch the Dallas morning rush-hour, so Rosalynde had to wait quite a while for us. Plus I got lost in the airport. Dallas airport is the MOST confusing airport I've ever navigated. But I think I now have a good handle on Terminal A. :-) Mosey was perfect on the way up and down. It is about a 3 hour drive, barring traffic and accidents, both of which we encountered on our trips, but it doesn't really matter when you have a sister to talk to the whole time. On the way up Mosey and I listened to the first part of an Audio book called "The Starcatchers" (I think), narrated by the same guy who narrates the Harry Potter book.
So I tried to show Rosalynde a little bit of Austin while she was here. We went down to the State Capitol building, mostly because Brigham lost his crystals he bought last time at school, and he earned money to buy more, and then drove the scenic route through some of the old Austin hill country to a Barbecue place on Lake Austin. We went to the park on afternoon, and then to Lake Travis on another, drizzly, afternoon. Rosalynde helped me out SO much, doing chores, cooking dinner for us one night (Ratatoullie-- I'm sure I spelled that entirely wrong, but it was entirely delicious), getting the kids in and out of the car (funny how doing little things like that is SUCH a pain with my bum legs), taking Mosey out on a long walk to the grocery store so I could have some uninterrupted time to pay bills and clean off my desk. On Saturday morning we drove back up to Dallas, hoping to be able to catch a Temple session before Rosalynde's flight left that evening. But we got a late start (had to figure out what to do with our dog), and then got caught in quite a fierce wind storm whipping across the open plains north of Austin. When we finally arrived in Dallas the cloudless sky was a dark brown/grey with dust. It was very strange. We walked around the Temple for a short while, but we didn't have time for a session before Rosalynde's flight, and the weather was no good for the kids to hang out at a park. So we went to our Hotel, and I drove Rosalynde to the airport. I should have realized there would be problems with all the wind, plus I should have noticed the lack of any planes taking off or landing, but we were blissfully ignorant until Rosalynde got into the airport and discovered that all flights were grounded. She was in line for a VERY long time, I think 3 hours. American Airlines was so overburdened, their phone system was just hanging up on everyone. But she managed to get her flight changed to the next day, which I'm sure was more than a little distressing since she was expecting to be seeing her little ones in just a couple of hours. We met some friends from Florida who moved up to Dallas last summer at the Galleria mall downtown and ate pizza and watched the kids play in the play area for a while before going back to the hotel.
On Sunday Rosalynde got up with the boys and took them on a walk through the hotel, and got some hot chocolate from the lobby. Then we got up and ready for Church, and I took Rosalynde to the airport. It was a beautiful, clear day, and the airport was open and running smoothly. She had been upgraded to first class, so she got right through the check-in line and security and was finally on her way home.
We then went to church, only to find out it was stake conference-- actually a large regional/area conference-- Oklahome, New Mexico, and Texas. We only made the last hour, since we thought it was regular church that started at 11:00. But we were able to hear Elder Haight and President Hinkley, so it was well worth it. After church we drove through the downtown, up through the Highland area north of Downtown (beautiful old mansions, gorgeous parks along the river-- we walked along the river for a bit and let the boys play on these enormous sculptures of, of all things, teddy bears), and then up through Plano. Plano is where we would have relocated if Ben had stayed with American Southwest. We then drove down through Rowlett (where we might have moved if Ben had accepted another job he was looking at last year), and to Forney where our friends from Florida live. They are out in the country, and it is very beautiful farmland, but VERY different from South Florida. It has been an adjustment for them! We ate dinner and then back to the hotel by which time all 3 boys had fallen asleep. Phew!
Monday I drove Ben to where he was working for the day (he had to meet with the underwriters in the Dallas office), and the boys and I went to the Dallas World Aquarium. It was amazing. You should all go if you go to Dallas. Joseph saw 2 displays of bats, flying around and hanging upside down. There was a great shark tank with a large plexiglass tunnel going right underneath it, so we could see the sharks swimming around and above us. There was a huge freshwater aquarium with a viewing area from floor to ceiling with enormous fresh water fish and 2 rescued mannatees. After that we ate a late lunch at Wendy's, drove over to Ben's office, and fed the ducks in the neighboring lake until Ben was done. Then we left just in time to get caught in a terrible traffic jam due to an accident, and THEN just in time to get stuck in the Ft. Worth rush hour. Oh well, we made it home in time to watch 24, which was the important thing anyway. :-)
Yesterday Brigham was not feeling well (actually he wasn't feeling so hot the whole weekend), and I was exhausted and Joseph was whining that HE was sick too (he wasn't) and couldn't go to school, and I just couldn't get the energy to get Joseph up and ready, so I had both boys stay home. It was a long day. Mosey has gotten accustomed to my undivided attention (or at least his undivided right to play with any/all the toys he wants), and was acting up all day long and earned several time outs. He dumped out the cat's litter box and scattered it pretty much all over the bedroom floor during one of these time outs. Ben was a hero and cleaned up the whole house when he got home. It was a mess. When Ben got home he said, "It looks like a 3 year old went on a rampage around here," which was pretty much what happened! LOL
Today was back to business as usual. Brigham and Joseph went to school without a problem, and Mosey and I did chores and errands. We were planning on going to the park this afternoon, but when I picked up the boys from school, Brigham was clearly not feeling well again. So he is napping and Mosey and Joseph are watching "Carebears" and building lincoln log creations.
Mosey and I went to Hancock Fabrics to get some flannel for the newborn blankets we're making for enrichment tomorrow night (to be sent to Africa in newborn kits), and the ladies cutting the fabric were thoroughly impressed with him. He was discussing what they were doing-- "Mom, what is she doinog?" "She's measuring the material." "How is she measuring the material?" "With the ruler over on her side of the table." "Oh, like this ruler here?" "Yes, just like that one." "Is she going to cut the material?" "Yes, when she's done measuring it." "Where are her scissors?" "In her pocket." "Oh, now she's cutting the yellow material!" "Now she's folding the material into a square!" Etc., etc. He is really cute how he talks with his very high pitched voice and sweet little inflections, and one of the ladies said I need to for sure record his voice. I think Mosey had both of the ladies wrapped around his finger by the time we left. So now I have 18 yards of flannel that I just washed and dried, but still need to iron and cut before Enrichment tomorrow night.
Ok, I'm leaving you with some pictures I took of the boys at the park last Monday-- the first warm day in FOREVER. Also some of Mosey in the tub with his crazy hair before I gave him a long-needed haircut. All of my boys were pretty shaggy that day. I finally cut Brigham and Joseph's hair last night and they don't look like little ragamuffins anymore!
Silly boys making faces at each other
Yeah, 30mm is too wide angle a lens for an extreme closeup, but I still love this one.
But I love this one more!! Backlighting is tricky, though.
Crazy Mosey hair!!!
That's a rock in his hand. He wouldn't give it up but I was happy to get this shot anyway.
I love how "little boy" Mosey looks here.
Spring has finally arrived in Central Texas. Last week and this week have been beautiful. I have the windows open in my front room right now and it is lovely.
I'm not sure when I wrote last, but I think it has been a shamefully long time. So I will briefly go over what's been going on here!
Last week Rosalynde came out to visit us. It was so great! She flew into Dallas (about half the price of flying in and out of Austin at short notice), so last Wednesday morning Mosey and I woke up before dawn and drove up to Dallas. I was up just in time to catch the Dallas morning rush-hour, so Rosalynde had to wait quite a while for us. Plus I got lost in the airport. Dallas airport is the MOST confusing airport I've ever navigated. But I think I now have a good handle on Terminal A. :-) Mosey was perfect on the way up and down. It is about a 3 hour drive, barring traffic and accidents, both of which we encountered on our trips, but it doesn't really matter when you have a sister to talk to the whole time. On the way up Mosey and I listened to the first part of an Audio book called "The Starcatchers" (I think), narrated by the same guy who narrates the Harry Potter book.
So I tried to show Rosalynde a little bit of Austin while she was here. We went down to the State Capitol building, mostly because Brigham lost his crystals he bought last time at school, and he earned money to buy more, and then drove the scenic route through some of the old Austin hill country to a Barbecue place on Lake Austin. We went to the park on afternoon, and then to Lake Travis on another, drizzly, afternoon. Rosalynde helped me out SO much, doing chores, cooking dinner for us one night (Ratatoullie-- I'm sure I spelled that entirely wrong, but it was entirely delicious), getting the kids in and out of the car (funny how doing little things like that is SUCH a pain with my bum legs), taking Mosey out on a long walk to the grocery store so I could have some uninterrupted time to pay bills and clean off my desk. On Saturday morning we drove back up to Dallas, hoping to be able to catch a Temple session before Rosalynde's flight left that evening. But we got a late start (had to figure out what to do with our dog), and then got caught in quite a fierce wind storm whipping across the open plains north of Austin. When we finally arrived in Dallas the cloudless sky was a dark brown/grey with dust. It was very strange. We walked around the Temple for a short while, but we didn't have time for a session before Rosalynde's flight, and the weather was no good for the kids to hang out at a park. So we went to our Hotel, and I drove Rosalynde to the airport. I should have realized there would be problems with all the wind, plus I should have noticed the lack of any planes taking off or landing, but we were blissfully ignorant until Rosalynde got into the airport and discovered that all flights were grounded. She was in line for a VERY long time, I think 3 hours. American Airlines was so overburdened, their phone system was just hanging up on everyone. But she managed to get her flight changed to the next day, which I'm sure was more than a little distressing since she was expecting to be seeing her little ones in just a couple of hours. We met some friends from Florida who moved up to Dallas last summer at the Galleria mall downtown and ate pizza and watched the kids play in the play area for a while before going back to the hotel.
On Sunday Rosalynde got up with the boys and took them on a walk through the hotel, and got some hot chocolate from the lobby. Then we got up and ready for Church, and I took Rosalynde to the airport. It was a beautiful, clear day, and the airport was open and running smoothly. She had been upgraded to first class, so she got right through the check-in line and security and was finally on her way home.
We then went to church, only to find out it was stake conference-- actually a large regional/area conference-- Oklahome, New Mexico, and Texas. We only made the last hour, since we thought it was regular church that started at 11:00. But we were able to hear Elder Haight and President Hinkley, so it was well worth it. After church we drove through the downtown, up through the Highland area north of Downtown (beautiful old mansions, gorgeous parks along the river-- we walked along the river for a bit and let the boys play on these enormous sculptures of, of all things, teddy bears), and then up through Plano. Plano is where we would have relocated if Ben had stayed with American Southwest. We then drove down through Rowlett (where we might have moved if Ben had accepted another job he was looking at last year), and to Forney where our friends from Florida live. They are out in the country, and it is very beautiful farmland, but VERY different from South Florida. It has been an adjustment for them! We ate dinner and then back to the hotel by which time all 3 boys had fallen asleep. Phew!
Monday I drove Ben to where he was working for the day (he had to meet with the underwriters in the Dallas office), and the boys and I went to the Dallas World Aquarium. It was amazing. You should all go if you go to Dallas. Joseph saw 2 displays of bats, flying around and hanging upside down. There was a great shark tank with a large plexiglass tunnel going right underneath it, so we could see the sharks swimming around and above us. There was a huge freshwater aquarium with a viewing area from floor to ceiling with enormous fresh water fish and 2 rescued mannatees. After that we ate a late lunch at Wendy's, drove over to Ben's office, and fed the ducks in the neighboring lake until Ben was done. Then we left just in time to get caught in a terrible traffic jam due to an accident, and THEN just in time to get stuck in the Ft. Worth rush hour. Oh well, we made it home in time to watch 24, which was the important thing anyway. :-)
Yesterday Brigham was not feeling well (actually he wasn't feeling so hot the whole weekend), and I was exhausted and Joseph was whining that HE was sick too (he wasn't) and couldn't go to school, and I just couldn't get the energy to get Joseph up and ready, so I had both boys stay home. It was a long day. Mosey has gotten accustomed to my undivided attention (or at least his undivided right to play with any/all the toys he wants), and was acting up all day long and earned several time outs. He dumped out the cat's litter box and scattered it pretty much all over the bedroom floor during one of these time outs. Ben was a hero and cleaned up the whole house when he got home. It was a mess. When Ben got home he said, "It looks like a 3 year old went on a rampage around here," which was pretty much what happened! LOL
Today was back to business as usual. Brigham and Joseph went to school without a problem, and Mosey and I did chores and errands. We were planning on going to the park this afternoon, but when I picked up the boys from school, Brigham was clearly not feeling well again. So he is napping and Mosey and Joseph are watching "Carebears" and building lincoln log creations.
Mosey and I went to Hancock Fabrics to get some flannel for the newborn blankets we're making for enrichment tomorrow night (to be sent to Africa in newborn kits), and the ladies cutting the fabric were thoroughly impressed with him. He was discussing what they were doing-- "Mom, what is she doinog?" "She's measuring the material." "How is she measuring the material?" "With the ruler over on her side of the table." "Oh, like this ruler here?" "Yes, just like that one." "Is she going to cut the material?" "Yes, when she's done measuring it." "Where are her scissors?" "In her pocket." "Oh, now she's cutting the yellow material!" "Now she's folding the material into a square!" Etc., etc. He is really cute how he talks with his very high pitched voice and sweet little inflections, and one of the ladies said I need to for sure record his voice. I think Mosey had both of the ladies wrapped around his finger by the time we left. So now I have 18 yards of flannel that I just washed and dried, but still need to iron and cut before Enrichment tomorrow night.
Ok, I'm leaving you with some pictures I took of the boys at the park last Monday-- the first warm day in FOREVER. Also some of Mosey in the tub with his crazy hair before I gave him a long-needed haircut. All of my boys were pretty shaggy that day. I finally cut Brigham and Joseph's hair last night and they don't look like little ragamuffins anymore!
Silly boys making faces at each other
*Love* this one of Brigham
Yeah, 30mm is too wide angle a lens for an extreme closeup, but I still love this one.
But I love this one more!! Backlighting is tricky, though.
Crazy Mosey hair!!!
That's a rock in his hand. He wouldn't give it up but I was happy to get this shot anyway.
I love how "little boy" Mosey looks here.
February 15, 2007
Hey everyone,
Yesterday we had a GREAT Valentine's Day. The boys each had Valentine parties in their classrooms and brought home a whole loot of stuff. I just let them have at it in the afternoon, and most of it is gone which is good. I went to Brigham's class to help out a bit and it was good to see Brigham in his element. I like his teacher a lot. Mosey and I went to the ward playgroup earlier in the morning-- it was supposed to be at the park, but since it was in the 30's yesterday (and today-- ugh!), we switched it to the mall. It was fun-- the kids played in the play area for a while and then we went upstairs to the food court to do some little activities-- decorating cookies, decorating a valentines bag, and then exchanging valentines. Mosey had a good time. I hope I can make good friends in this ward.
Last night Ben's friend Eddie came over to babysit the boys as well as his daughter Rose, and Ben and I went out to eat at Jonny Carino's. It was so NICE to have a quiet meal just the two of us. We pretty much ate until we couldn't eat another mouthful! We had stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer, cherry italian cream sodas, snow crab stuffed raviolies with a lemon basil cream sauce, and then an apple skilletini a la mode for dessert (we brought most of that home since we both could only manage a couple of bites). It was a very nice evening. When we got back, Eddie told us that before dinner (they ordered pizza), the boys told him that they had to say a blessing on the food. Eddie's eaten with us many times, so he sorta knows the drill. So he said a prayer on the food, after which Brigham informed him that they are supposed to say thank you for more things during the prayer (this was the subject of our FHE on Monday night), so Eddie invited Brigham to add his contribution to the prayer. After Brigham was done, Joseph told him that he forgot to ask a blessing for Grandpa Kent, so then Joseph added HIS blessing to the bunch. It was a well-blessed pizza! And THEN, as they were digging into the pizza, the boys told Eddie that they have to read from the Book of Mormon during dinner. Eddie is not LDS, just so you all know. So they showed him where the Book of Mormon was, and he obligingly turned to where I had marked, and read them the story of Nephi and the broken bow. I am VERY proud of my boys, let me tell you! That was probably the best Valentine's gift of the day for me.
The boys were up fairly late last night, needless to say, so I was worried how'd they be today. They woke up just fine and had a good morning and presumably good days at school. Then after school we drove down to the Capitol building for the free tour they give, and after I let the boys pick something from the gift shop to spend their chore money. On the way back the tiredness began showing. I asked them how they liked the Capitol and Brigham said, "I loved everything about it!" And Joseph said, "I didn't like it. Everything was boring!" And then ensued a lovely argument about whether or not the Capitol was great or boring. Ugh. Finally Joseph was in tears and I had to tell everyone to stop talking for the rest of the way home. Oh well. Brigham fell asleep just as we were getting home, but he hadn't eaten dinner yet and woke up as Ben was getting him from the car. So he was pretty crazy tonight trying to get to sleep, because as any mother knows, even 5 seconds of sleep will COMPLETELY disrupt their normal sleep/wake cycles. Oh well, tomorrow they are definitely going to bed early. Brigham picked out 3 natural crystal rocks from the gift shop-- a piece of Halcite, Gypsum, and Calcite. Somehow amidst Ben getting him from the car in the garage and bringing him inside the house, the gypsum was misplaced. I totally cleaned out the car looking for it, pulled it out of the garage to look for it in there, with no luck. Brigham's not going to be happy in the morning because I promised him I would find it. Oh, the drama with Brigham and his treasures!! Joseph picked out a Texas wallet and a chocolate gold coin. Mosey (and me) picked out a Texas-shaped cookie cutter and a couple more chocolate coins. I have big plans for making Texas-shaped sugar cookies to send to the boys' old school classes in Florida.
On Sunday (I guess it's been a while since I've written...) I had to give the Gospel Doctrine lesson. The regular teacher was out of town and asked me to substitute. And I didn't even have Ben there for moral support since he had to be with his primary class! It was nerve wracking and extremely intimidating, but I think it went well. I covered all of the chapters, but certainly didn't present all the material I had prepared, which I think is pretty much par for the course when teaching Church lessons. We'll see if I ever get asked to substitute again!
Did I tell you we got Church callings? Ben is the primary teacher for the 7-8 year olds, which are a challening bunch I guess. There is one ADHD little girl who is usually fine, but when she's not fine, OH boy, is she ever not fine!! I think Ben will be EXCELLENT in that calling since he is really creative with kids and I think they'll respond to him really well. But he is a little bummed because being in the primary (for a guy) will make it very hard for him to get to know people in the ward. So we'll have to make a big effort to go to all the activities, etc. We'll have to see if there is a ward Basketball team or anything like that. I was called to be the Young Women's music coordinator, a calling that I have a sneaking suspicion was invented just to give me a calling! I'm still not entirely clear what this calling involves, but I guess I'm supposed to help the girls prepare musical numbers to sing in Sacrament meeting, come periodically and teach the girls how to lead music, and coordinate the girls taking turns as accompanist for the mutual activities. Yeah, I think this calling is going to be keeping me super-busy! Anyone have any bright ideas as to how I can "magnify" this calling?
I will close with a few pictures from the past few days. I've been feeling like I'm in a total slump with my photography (probably due to not having any clients!), so I've forced myself to bring it out and try a few new things with my camera settings and focus mode and stuff, trying to improve. I don't have anything stellar to show for it, but I'll share anyway.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Mosey's eyes are so interesting-- they change so much depending on the light. Check out the difference between this pic outside with the light sky reflecting, and the next indoors in dark, contrasty lighting.
Havin' fun in the tub
Goofy Joseph out by the trampoline
Yesterday we had a GREAT Valentine's Day. The boys each had Valentine parties in their classrooms and brought home a whole loot of stuff. I just let them have at it in the afternoon, and most of it is gone which is good. I went to Brigham's class to help out a bit and it was good to see Brigham in his element. I like his teacher a lot. Mosey and I went to the ward playgroup earlier in the morning-- it was supposed to be at the park, but since it was in the 30's yesterday (and today-- ugh!), we switched it to the mall. It was fun-- the kids played in the play area for a while and then we went upstairs to the food court to do some little activities-- decorating cookies, decorating a valentines bag, and then exchanging valentines. Mosey had a good time. I hope I can make good friends in this ward.
Last night Ben's friend Eddie came over to babysit the boys as well as his daughter Rose, and Ben and I went out to eat at Jonny Carino's. It was so NICE to have a quiet meal just the two of us. We pretty much ate until we couldn't eat another mouthful! We had stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer, cherry italian cream sodas, snow crab stuffed raviolies with a lemon basil cream sauce, and then an apple skilletini a la mode for dessert (we brought most of that home since we both could only manage a couple of bites). It was a very nice evening. When we got back, Eddie told us that before dinner (they ordered pizza), the boys told him that they had to say a blessing on the food. Eddie's eaten with us many times, so he sorta knows the drill. So he said a prayer on the food, after which Brigham informed him that they are supposed to say thank you for more things during the prayer (this was the subject of our FHE on Monday night), so Eddie invited Brigham to add his contribution to the prayer. After Brigham was done, Joseph told him that he forgot to ask a blessing for Grandpa Kent, so then Joseph added HIS blessing to the bunch. It was a well-blessed pizza! And THEN, as they were digging into the pizza, the boys told Eddie that they have to read from the Book of Mormon during dinner. Eddie is not LDS, just so you all know. So they showed him where the Book of Mormon was, and he obligingly turned to where I had marked, and read them the story of Nephi and the broken bow. I am VERY proud of my boys, let me tell you! That was probably the best Valentine's gift of the day for me.
The boys were up fairly late last night, needless to say, so I was worried how'd they be today. They woke up just fine and had a good morning and presumably good days at school. Then after school we drove down to the Capitol building for the free tour they give, and after I let the boys pick something from the gift shop to spend their chore money. On the way back the tiredness began showing. I asked them how they liked the Capitol and Brigham said, "I loved everything about it!" And Joseph said, "I didn't like it. Everything was boring!" And then ensued a lovely argument about whether or not the Capitol was great or boring. Ugh. Finally Joseph was in tears and I had to tell everyone to stop talking for the rest of the way home. Oh well. Brigham fell asleep just as we were getting home, but he hadn't eaten dinner yet and woke up as Ben was getting him from the car. So he was pretty crazy tonight trying to get to sleep, because as any mother knows, even 5 seconds of sleep will COMPLETELY disrupt their normal sleep/wake cycles. Oh well, tomorrow they are definitely going to bed early. Brigham picked out 3 natural crystal rocks from the gift shop-- a piece of Halcite, Gypsum, and Calcite. Somehow amidst Ben getting him from the car in the garage and bringing him inside the house, the gypsum was misplaced. I totally cleaned out the car looking for it, pulled it out of the garage to look for it in there, with no luck. Brigham's not going to be happy in the morning because I promised him I would find it. Oh, the drama with Brigham and his treasures!! Joseph picked out a Texas wallet and a chocolate gold coin. Mosey (and me) picked out a Texas-shaped cookie cutter and a couple more chocolate coins. I have big plans for making Texas-shaped sugar cookies to send to the boys' old school classes in Florida.
On Sunday (I guess it's been a while since I've written...) I had to give the Gospel Doctrine lesson. The regular teacher was out of town and asked me to substitute. And I didn't even have Ben there for moral support since he had to be with his primary class! It was nerve wracking and extremely intimidating, but I think it went well. I covered all of the chapters, but certainly didn't present all the material I had prepared, which I think is pretty much par for the course when teaching Church lessons. We'll see if I ever get asked to substitute again!
Did I tell you we got Church callings? Ben is the primary teacher for the 7-8 year olds, which are a challening bunch I guess. There is one ADHD little girl who is usually fine, but when she's not fine, OH boy, is she ever not fine!! I think Ben will be EXCELLENT in that calling since he is really creative with kids and I think they'll respond to him really well. But he is a little bummed because being in the primary (for a guy) will make it very hard for him to get to know people in the ward. So we'll have to make a big effort to go to all the activities, etc. We'll have to see if there is a ward Basketball team or anything like that. I was called to be the Young Women's music coordinator, a calling that I have a sneaking suspicion was invented just to give me a calling! I'm still not entirely clear what this calling involves, but I guess I'm supposed to help the girls prepare musical numbers to sing in Sacrament meeting, come periodically and teach the girls how to lead music, and coordinate the girls taking turns as accompanist for the mutual activities. Yeah, I think this calling is going to be keeping me super-busy! Anyone have any bright ideas as to how I can "magnify" this calling?
I will close with a few pictures from the past few days. I've been feeling like I'm in a total slump with my photography (probably due to not having any clients!), so I've forced myself to bring it out and try a few new things with my camera settings and focus mode and stuff, trying to improve. I don't have anything stellar to show for it, but I'll share anyway.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Mosey's eyes are so interesting-- they change so much depending on the light. Check out the difference between this pic outside with the light sky reflecting, and the next indoors in dark, contrasty lighting.
Brigham giving me about 1/2 a second of eye contact. Hey, I'll take what I can get!
Havin' fun in the tub
Goofy Joseph out by the trampoline
February 7, 2007
Hey Everyone,
I'm feeling neglectful of my letter-writing, so I thought I'd remedy that tonight.
The boys have got this idea that whenever you learn something your brain gets a new wrinkle. So they were discussing together about what happens when you learn a WHOLE LOT and your brain can't get any more wrinkles. Joseph's thought was that your brain gets so wrinkled that then it disappears. Hmmm, could be. Brigham said, "When your brain gets too many wrinkles they overflow to your skin and that's why your skin gets wrinkles." Pretty clever, eh?
We've enjoyed a few days of lovely weather, thank goodness. It got up to the 70's today!! We went to the park to soak in the sun.
Last weekend we went to the Inner Space Caves, this pretty cool series of caverns that were discovered when I-35 was being built about 30 years ago or so. Joseph saw his first real bats in the wild!! He was very excited. They were hibernating, so it wasn't too exciting really, but he was pretty thrilled. I took some pictures, but they are the smallest species of bat in America and I had my 30mm lens on, so it's pretty hard to see!
The boys have been behaving pretty well, no troubles at school or church, thank goodness. Hopefully we're over the hump in that area.
Brigham has taken upon himself the job of cleaning up dog poop from the backyard, primarily because he gets financially compensated pretty well for that dirty job. Yesterday we got home from school, I was on the phone in the back bedroom, and from the kitchen Brigham asked me if he could go out and pick up dog poop. I didn't hear him for a while until he was nearly crying, screaming out "I WANNA PICK UP DOG POOP!!!" Sometimes you just notice how ludicrous life can be sometimes!
Last Friday I went to Joseph's class to do a presentation on being a photographer for their social studies unit on "community helpers." Not nearly as exciting as the detective who came in, or the doctor, but it was still fun. I took pictures of the class, and then photoshopped their hair to be rainbow colored (per the kids' request), and sent in the pictures on Monday. I'm going to get prints made for all the kids to take home tomorrow.
Mosey is being a good little guy, we're working on having Ben put him to bed, which was pretty painful for a few nights, but he seems resigned to it now and is doing well. Today he helped me clean the house, using about 10 cleaning wipes to wash the bathroom floor. What a good helper!
I have to say I really like our smaller house. So much easier to clean and keep organized! So any of you who are coveting big houses-- they're not all they're cracked up to be...
Ok, off to bed now. I'll attach the rainbow-hair picture of Joseph's class as well as a couple of cave photos.
Such interesting textures in a cave!
The largest cavern in the cave
Cool reflections in the water pools
I'm feeling neglectful of my letter-writing, so I thought I'd remedy that tonight.
The boys have got this idea that whenever you learn something your brain gets a new wrinkle. So they were discussing together about what happens when you learn a WHOLE LOT and your brain can't get any more wrinkles. Joseph's thought was that your brain gets so wrinkled that then it disappears. Hmmm, could be. Brigham said, "When your brain gets too many wrinkles they overflow to your skin and that's why your skin gets wrinkles." Pretty clever, eh?
We've enjoyed a few days of lovely weather, thank goodness. It got up to the 70's today!! We went to the park to soak in the sun.
Last weekend we went to the Inner Space Caves, this pretty cool series of caverns that were discovered when I-35 was being built about 30 years ago or so. Joseph saw his first real bats in the wild!! He was very excited. They were hibernating, so it wasn't too exciting really, but he was pretty thrilled. I took some pictures, but they are the smallest species of bat in America and I had my 30mm lens on, so it's pretty hard to see!
The boys have been behaving pretty well, no troubles at school or church, thank goodness. Hopefully we're over the hump in that area.
Brigham has taken upon himself the job of cleaning up dog poop from the backyard, primarily because he gets financially compensated pretty well for that dirty job. Yesterday we got home from school, I was on the phone in the back bedroom, and from the kitchen Brigham asked me if he could go out and pick up dog poop. I didn't hear him for a while until he was nearly crying, screaming out "I WANNA PICK UP DOG POOP!!!" Sometimes you just notice how ludicrous life can be sometimes!
Last Friday I went to Joseph's class to do a presentation on being a photographer for their social studies unit on "community helpers." Not nearly as exciting as the detective who came in, or the doctor, but it was still fun. I took pictures of the class, and then photoshopped their hair to be rainbow colored (per the kids' request), and sent in the pictures on Monday. I'm going to get prints made for all the kids to take home tomorrow.
Mosey is being a good little guy, we're working on having Ben put him to bed, which was pretty painful for a few nights, but he seems resigned to it now and is doing well. Today he helped me clean the house, using about 10 cleaning wipes to wash the bathroom floor. What a good helper!
I have to say I really like our smaller house. So much easier to clean and keep organized! So any of you who are coveting big houses-- they're not all they're cracked up to be...
Ok, off to bed now. I'll attach the rainbow-hair picture of Joseph's class as well as a couple of cave photos.
Such interesting textures in a cave!
"Soda straws" growing from the ceiling
The largest cavern in the cave
Cool reflections in the water pools
Joseph finally gets to see a real live bat in the wild!!
Joseph's Kindergarten class, with rainbow-photoshopped hair!
February 11, 2007
Yesterday I was listening in on the boys' playing in the kitchen and I really got a kick out of it. They were doing "experiments," one of their favorite activities, which usually involves mixing lots of different things in cups or other containers which then usually get accidentally spilled on the floor... I have banished most "experiments" to the outside, but I was having so much fun listening to them that I let them continue. So they were discussing what to mix in next-- they had water, some torn of pieces of paper, some orange pop, some oatmeal, and various other substances. And then Joseph says, "But wait-- first we need to have a hypothesis!" Brigham says, "What's a hypothesis?" Joseph says, "It's a question. Before you do an experiment you have to have a hypothesis." I gtuess they must be discussing the scientific method at school. Who knew they got into such sophisticated stuff in kindergarten?! I don't think Joseph and Brigham actually ended up with any kind of coherent hypothesis, but they did have fun doing "experiments" all morning, and only one got spilled.
I also wanted to tell another story that happened on Thursday. On Wednesday we drove back up to the Inner Space Cave so that Brigham could use his chore money to buy a Shark tooth (genuine shark tooth only $1.25!). Of course on Thursday he had to bring it to school for show and tell. He's only supposed to bring one show- and-tell item per day, and you can only bring that one item in once. He had previously brought in this pirate medallion he got at Claire's the week before. But he loves that medallion, so before walking into the school he put it in the side pocket of his cargo pants and closed the velcro. I told him he better leave it in his pocket or it would get lost at school. So when I went to pick them up that afternoon, Joseph runs up to me and tells me that a girl in Brigham's class buried his his medallion in the sand at the playground. Both boys apparently searched for it all during recess with no luck-- the girl told them about where it was buried but didn't know exactly where it was. So we walked back to the playground and I was feeling pretty sick about it. It is quite a large playground and the whole thing is sand. And there are several different recesses throughout the day for the various grades, so what were the chances that it wouldn't have been taken by another student, and/or that we could actually find it buried in some unknown part of the playground. As we walked, Joseph told me, "I said a prayer that we would find Brigham's medallion, so I know that we'll find it." So at that moment, I said my own private prayer that we would find it so that my little boy's faith would not be eroded. We looked for a while, both boys digging around in the area where they said the girl said she buried it. I was not feeling too optimistic when I turned around, and somehow managed to catch sight of the chain of his medallion in the sand about 6 feet away! We were all very glad, and I had the boys kneel right there in the playground and say a prayer of thanks for helping them find the medallion. Good lesson on faith for my boys AND for me. Later in the day, Brigham dropped his shark tooth in the gravel at another park. Luckily he found it, but then as we were walking back to the van sometime later, he realized he again didn't have it in his hand. Aaarrgghh!! I went back and looked futilely in the gravel for the while, and was about to give up when somehow, miraculously, I caught sight of the elusive shark tooth in the gravel under the tire swing. I HOPE Brigham learned a lesson about keeping track of his treasures and maybe not taking them out to the playground (after he lost the tooth the first time I told him to give it to me to hold, but he promised he would keep track of it...). I have a feeling there will be at least a couple of lost treasures before he really learns that lesson. But Heavenly Father is at least giving him a couple of chances!
It turned cold again after our beautiful 75 degree Wednesday last week, but Ben has been practicing the "as-if" theory in our backyard. If he acts "as-if" it is spring, working on fixing the water fountain on the patio, cleaning the grill for a barbecue, and planting some flowers, then it really *will* be spring, right?? It's not working so far, but at least the boys had fun playing in the backyard and getting soaking wet in the 45 degree weather... :-)
All right, I can't think of any more interesting stories so I will close now. Hope you all are having a fabulous February!
I also wanted to tell another story that happened on Thursday. On Wednesday we drove back up to the Inner Space Cave so that Brigham could use his chore money to buy a Shark tooth (genuine shark tooth only $1.25!). Of course on Thursday he had to bring it to school for show and tell. He's only supposed to bring one show- and-tell item per day, and you can only bring that one item in once. He had previously brought in this pirate medallion he got at Claire's the week before. But he loves that medallion, so before walking into the school he put it in the side pocket of his cargo pants and closed the velcro. I told him he better leave it in his pocket or it would get lost at school. So when I went to pick them up that afternoon, Joseph runs up to me and tells me that a girl in Brigham's class buried his his medallion in the sand at the playground. Both boys apparently searched for it all during recess with no luck-- the girl told them about where it was buried but didn't know exactly where it was. So we walked back to the playground and I was feeling pretty sick about it. It is quite a large playground and the whole thing is sand. And there are several different recesses throughout the day for the various grades, so what were the chances that it wouldn't have been taken by another student, and/or that we could actually find it buried in some unknown part of the playground. As we walked, Joseph told me, "I said a prayer that we would find Brigham's medallion, so I know that we'll find it." So at that moment, I said my own private prayer that we would find it so that my little boy's faith would not be eroded. We looked for a while, both boys digging around in the area where they said the girl said she buried it. I was not feeling too optimistic when I turned around, and somehow managed to catch sight of the chain of his medallion in the sand about 6 feet away! We were all very glad, and I had the boys kneel right there in the playground and say a prayer of thanks for helping them find the medallion. Good lesson on faith for my boys AND for me. Later in the day, Brigham dropped his shark tooth in the gravel at another park. Luckily he found it, but then as we were walking back to the van sometime later, he realized he again didn't have it in his hand. Aaarrgghh!! I went back and looked futilely in the gravel for the while, and was about to give up when somehow, miraculously, I caught sight of the elusive shark tooth in the gravel under the tire swing. I HOPE Brigham learned a lesson about keeping track of his treasures and maybe not taking them out to the playground (after he lost the tooth the first time I told him to give it to me to hold, but he promised he would keep track of it...). I have a feeling there will be at least a couple of lost treasures before he really learns that lesson. But Heavenly Father is at least giving him a couple of chances!
It turned cold again after our beautiful 75 degree Wednesday last week, but Ben has been practicing the "as-if" theory in our backyard. If he acts "as-if" it is spring, working on fixing the water fountain on the patio, cleaning the grill for a barbecue, and planting some flowers, then it really *will* be spring, right?? It's not working so far, but at least the boys had fun playing in the backyard and getting soaking wet in the 45 degree weather... :-)
All right, I can't think of any more interesting stories so I will close now. Hope you all are having a fabulous February!
February 2, 2007
Hello Everyone,
I think I must be about twice as slow as everyone else at doing pretty much everything, because it is amazing to me how little I can get done in a day, when it feels like I'm working all day! Anyone else ever feel like that?
Well, I owe a long update, but this can't be long because I have to get to bed. I found a new neurologist out here and I had an appointment yesterday afternoon. I really like him a lot. He sat and talked with me for almost an hour!!!! Which is just about 60 times longer than any one conversation I've had with my previous neurologists. I got my copaxone prescription refilled and he also prescribed me Provigil, which is actually a narcolepsy drug, but which is also commonly prescribed to MS patients for fatigue. I took one today and I think it actually helped. He did a bunch of physical evaluations, said he didn't see any permanent nerve damage to my left eye which is very good, discovered I no longer have any sensation of cold in either of my feet (which is weird because my feet actually feel like they are freezing all the time), and my left leg is extremely hyperreflexive. He's worried that my left achilles tendon might be starting to shorten due to the spasticity in that leg, so I'm to do stretching exercises every day. I'm also not supposed to carry my kids around anywhere because of my falling down and stuff, which I already knew, but which is nearly impossible when you have a stubborn 3 year old who refuses to get out of the car or into the car or whatever... So I'll have to do my best until my personal assistant arrives I guess!! I've had a few annoying MS episodes recently. Fell down flat on my face when I got up from my computer chair the other day. No idea why, just was up one second, down the next. Got a nasty bruise on my right thigh where I hit the train table on the way down. A few days ago I was at the grocery store, actually coming out of the grocery store with a full cart. Mosey was walking beside the cart. We got to the car, I had parked next to the sidewalk, and I was carefully (I promise!) navigating the cart down the curb, when I somehow just lost control of the cart. It started to tip and I just couldn't make my arms work to stop it, and the darn thing tipped over pinning Mosey against the side of the van, giving him a scrape next to his eye, and scaring the living daylights out of him. I felt really bad about that one. But the worst one was Sunday night, I think. I was taking a bath and I guess I had the water too hot, because when I got up to get out, I discovered that my left leg would not move at all. I mean, not at all. It was the weirdest thing. I couldn't lift it to get out of hte tub and I couldn't put weight on it to use my other leg to get out of the tub. Luckily Ben was right in the bedroom so I called for him and he literally had to lift me out of the tub and carry me to the bed. It scared me a lot since that hasn't happened before, but Ben calmed me down and after probably 30 minutes I could move my leg again. I knew that heat exacerbates symptoms, but this really did confirm to me that we can never move to Phoenix!! So, that's that. My new doctor doesn't treat with oral steroids, which I'm very glad about because I HATE them, and he says that there is no real evidence that they shorten the duration of the flareup or reduce long-term damage. So he will only treat with IV steroids during really extreme episodes. I'm glad to hear this becuase honestly I thought the steroids I took last spring were worse than the symptoms I was having, but I was afraid not to take them because I worried I would be causing permanent damage if I did not. The only thing the doctor said which upset me was that he thought all the issues I'm having now are due to residual nerve damage, and not due to an active flareup. Which of course means that it probably will not go away. But only time will tell, and I'll adjust either way.
I bought a recumbant exercise bike off of Craigslist today. I really want to start exercising again and unless my legs significantly improve, I'm afraid my running days are over. This bike should allow me to exercise with no fear of falling, etc. I don't love exercise bikes, but beggars can't be choosers and maybe I'll learn to like it a lot.
The boys are doing pretty good. Joseph has been doing really well at school, although he had a couple mornings this week when it was really a chore to get him to go into the school. Once in his classroom, he apparently was perfeclty fine, but getting him to go was not fine. But overall, I think I'm seeing some improvement. Mosey discovered the train chest yesterday afternoon, and so for a couple of hours today he and I put together the tracks and had a good time. I made a pretty cool track design in which I used every single track piece except one. We had to get the boys from school finally, so Mosey put the trains into a bag and carried them around until we got back home. At least he didn't insist on carrying the tracks around too!
I found this cool old chair on the side of the road (it was trash, I promise). It has great lines although it is stained and torn in the back and is missing the seat cushion. But I just knew it would photograph well, so I got Ben to go and pick it up for me the other night. I attempted to take Mosey's 3 year old pictures on it, but he was being a crazy man to say the least. I'll attach the results of that photoshoot below. I was a little frustrated until I realized that this is exactly how he is at this age, and a photograph should reflect how someone actually is, so maybe they're not so bad. And I took some pictures of Joseph today too, checking out the light in a couple different areas around the house and yard. I did some of Brigham, too, but the light was too dim by that time and they all turned out too blurry. I'll try again tomorrow when it is brighter out.
Ok, that's it folks. Hope you all have a great Friday.
Squirrelly boy!
I think I must be about twice as slow as everyone else at doing pretty much everything, because it is amazing to me how little I can get done in a day, when it feels like I'm working all day! Anyone else ever feel like that?
Well, I owe a long update, but this can't be long because I have to get to bed. I found a new neurologist out here and I had an appointment yesterday afternoon. I really like him a lot. He sat and talked with me for almost an hour!!!! Which is just about 60 times longer than any one conversation I've had with my previous neurologists. I got my copaxone prescription refilled and he also prescribed me Provigil, which is actually a narcolepsy drug, but which is also commonly prescribed to MS patients for fatigue. I took one today and I think it actually helped. He did a bunch of physical evaluations, said he didn't see any permanent nerve damage to my left eye which is very good, discovered I no longer have any sensation of cold in either of my feet (which is weird because my feet actually feel like they are freezing all the time), and my left leg is extremely hyperreflexive. He's worried that my left achilles tendon might be starting to shorten due to the spasticity in that leg, so I'm to do stretching exercises every day. I'm also not supposed to carry my kids around anywhere because of my falling down and stuff, which I already knew, but which is nearly impossible when you have a stubborn 3 year old who refuses to get out of the car or into the car or whatever... So I'll have to do my best until my personal assistant arrives I guess!! I've had a few annoying MS episodes recently. Fell down flat on my face when I got up from my computer chair the other day. No idea why, just was up one second, down the next. Got a nasty bruise on my right thigh where I hit the train table on the way down. A few days ago I was at the grocery store, actually coming out of the grocery store with a full cart. Mosey was walking beside the cart. We got to the car, I had parked next to the sidewalk, and I was carefully (I promise!) navigating the cart down the curb, when I somehow just lost control of the cart. It started to tip and I just couldn't make my arms work to stop it, and the darn thing tipped over pinning Mosey against the side of the van, giving him a scrape next to his eye, and scaring the living daylights out of him. I felt really bad about that one. But the worst one was Sunday night, I think. I was taking a bath and I guess I had the water too hot, because when I got up to get out, I discovered that my left leg would not move at all. I mean, not at all. It was the weirdest thing. I couldn't lift it to get out of hte tub and I couldn't put weight on it to use my other leg to get out of the tub. Luckily Ben was right in the bedroom so I called for him and he literally had to lift me out of the tub and carry me to the bed. It scared me a lot since that hasn't happened before, but Ben calmed me down and after probably 30 minutes I could move my leg again. I knew that heat exacerbates symptoms, but this really did confirm to me that we can never move to Phoenix!! So, that's that. My new doctor doesn't treat with oral steroids, which I'm very glad about because I HATE them, and he says that there is no real evidence that they shorten the duration of the flareup or reduce long-term damage. So he will only treat with IV steroids during really extreme episodes. I'm glad to hear this becuase honestly I thought the steroids I took last spring were worse than the symptoms I was having, but I was afraid not to take them because I worried I would be causing permanent damage if I did not. The only thing the doctor said which upset me was that he thought all the issues I'm having now are due to residual nerve damage, and not due to an active flareup. Which of course means that it probably will not go away. But only time will tell, and I'll adjust either way.
I bought a recumbant exercise bike off of Craigslist today. I really want to start exercising again and unless my legs significantly improve, I'm afraid my running days are over. This bike should allow me to exercise with no fear of falling, etc. I don't love exercise bikes, but beggars can't be choosers and maybe I'll learn to like it a lot.
The boys are doing pretty good. Joseph has been doing really well at school, although he had a couple mornings this week when it was really a chore to get him to go into the school. Once in his classroom, he apparently was perfeclty fine, but getting him to go was not fine. But overall, I think I'm seeing some improvement. Mosey discovered the train chest yesterday afternoon, and so for a couple of hours today he and I put together the tracks and had a good time. I made a pretty cool track design in which I used every single track piece except one. We had to get the boys from school finally, so Mosey put the trains into a bag and carried them around until we got back home. At least he didn't insist on carrying the tracks around too!
I found this cool old chair on the side of the road (it was trash, I promise). It has great lines although it is stained and torn in the back and is missing the seat cushion. But I just knew it would photograph well, so I got Ben to go and pick it up for me the other night. I attempted to take Mosey's 3 year old pictures on it, but he was being a crazy man to say the least. I'll attach the results of that photoshoot below. I was a little frustrated until I realized that this is exactly how he is at this age, and a photograph should reflect how someone actually is, so maybe they're not so bad. And I took some pictures of Joseph today too, checking out the light in a couple different areas around the house and yard. I did some of Brigham, too, but the light was too dim by that time and they all turned out too blurry. I'll try again tomorrow when it is brighter out.
Ok, that's it folks. Hope you all have a great Friday.
Squirrelly boy!
I like this pensive look on Joseph. He was nice and let me practice a new focusing method on him.
And just to show that he really wasn't sad...
Under the stairs of our deck.
And my dog, Mister, just for fun. He's looking out the window planning his next escape.
January 25, 2007
Hey everyone,
I'm trying out my new wireless keyboard. It is cool! Actually it is Ben's old one from work, so not really new, but new to me. I am using a laptop now, and it has been killing my shoulders to have my arms reaching way up on my desk to type. This is way better.
Today it is sunny!! Yay!! After school we are going to a park and staying there all afternoon. Soak up some of those rays.
Yesterday we had a great day as well. I decided it was going to be a good day and it really was. Mosey and I did errands during the day, after school we went up to the mall and played at the kids area, window shopped at a couple of stores, and had a good time together. It was good for me to get out of the house.
Anyway, I don't have much more to say today except that I'm feeling better (for those who were worried).
I'm trying out my new wireless keyboard. It is cool! Actually it is Ben's old one from work, so not really new, but new to me. I am using a laptop now, and it has been killing my shoulders to have my arms reaching way up on my desk to type. This is way better.
Today it is sunny!! Yay!! After school we are going to a park and staying there all afternoon. Soak up some of those rays.
Yesterday we had a great day as well. I decided it was going to be a good day and it really was. Mosey and I did errands during the day, after school we went up to the mall and played at the kids area, window shopped at a couple of stores, and had a good time together. It was good for me to get out of the house.
Anyway, I don't have much more to say today except that I'm feeling better (for those who were worried).
January 20, 2007
Hello everyone,
Well I, for one, am ready for a break in this cold, grey, drizzly weather! I think things will clear up tomorrow, but today has been a very gloomy day. This morning we went to downtown Austin to pick up a couple of lamps I bought off Craigslist, and then we drove around the capitol building trying to figure out how to get in to take a tour. I guess there is a way, but we couldn't find the visitor parking and all the entrances were blocked by police cars. We thought maybe it was closed to the public because the state representatives are in session right now. Later we found they are still open, but we weren't smart enough to figure out where to go. Oh well! Instead we went to the Texas history museum which was very interesting, since we don't know much about state history here. I think the boys found it far less interesting than Ben and me, but they were still well behaved (after a small incident at the beginning-- Joseph was mad because we missed the Imax movie we wanted to watch, and so he decided to act up by climbing INTO some of the exhibits. Ben took him out and later on he thought better of his actions and came back and was an angel the rest of the time). We wanted to see the Imax movie about Texas, but they only play it at 10:00. Happy Feet was playing several times during the day but i refuse to take my kids to see it, much to their dismay. After the museum we at lunch at the museum cafe and then took a scenic tour home. West Austin is extremely beautiful. No one would ever guess it is Texas!
Last night I was reading Mosey stories before bed, and I got out the "Baby's first Bible" book with very simple bible stories. He was totally thrilled with the story of baby Moses, it was so cute. He is also pretty sure his first name is Mosey and his middle name is Moses. He won't believe me that his middle name is Benjamin. Later when we got to the story of baby Jesus and I pointed out Mary and Joseph, he said, "No, mom, that's not Joseph, that's Brigham!" I got another chuckle out of that. I guess that's what you get when you name your kids bible names.
We have decided to try to burn all our used up cardboard boxes. We originally got them from the back of the grocery store and dollar store, and after this move they really aren't fit for further use. I don't think they do bulk trash days around here, and we don't really feel like figuring out where to haul them. Our house has a wood-burning fireplace so today we burned several of the boxes in the fireplace. The boys thought it was fascinating. I hope we're not breeding some pyromaniacs. We asserted several times the number one rule about fires is that you should NEVER play with matches or try to start a fire without mom or dad there to supervise. Joseph enjoyed running outside a few times to watch the smoke come out of the chimney. Having a fireplace and chimney is pretty cool for these boys!
Ok, here is another picture from Christmas, this time Mama and Daddy with all the grandkids. For now anyway. Brigham and Christine, any signs of Lucy arriving soon? I'm thinking of you daily!
Well I, for one, am ready for a break in this cold, grey, drizzly weather! I think things will clear up tomorrow, but today has been a very gloomy day. This morning we went to downtown Austin to pick up a couple of lamps I bought off Craigslist, and then we drove around the capitol building trying to figure out how to get in to take a tour. I guess there is a way, but we couldn't find the visitor parking and all the entrances were blocked by police cars. We thought maybe it was closed to the public because the state representatives are in session right now. Later we found they are still open, but we weren't smart enough to figure out where to go. Oh well! Instead we went to the Texas history museum which was very interesting, since we don't know much about state history here. I think the boys found it far less interesting than Ben and me, but they were still well behaved (after a small incident at the beginning-- Joseph was mad because we missed the Imax movie we wanted to watch, and so he decided to act up by climbing INTO some of the exhibits. Ben took him out and later on he thought better of his actions and came back and was an angel the rest of the time). We wanted to see the Imax movie about Texas, but they only play it at 10:00. Happy Feet was playing several times during the day but i refuse to take my kids to see it, much to their dismay. After the museum we at lunch at the museum cafe and then took a scenic tour home. West Austin is extremely beautiful. No one would ever guess it is Texas!
Last night I was reading Mosey stories before bed, and I got out the "Baby's first Bible" book with very simple bible stories. He was totally thrilled with the story of baby Moses, it was so cute. He is also pretty sure his first name is Mosey and his middle name is Moses. He won't believe me that his middle name is Benjamin. Later when we got to the story of baby Jesus and I pointed out Mary and Joseph, he said, "No, mom, that's not Joseph, that's Brigham!" I got another chuckle out of that. I guess that's what you get when you name your kids bible names.
We have decided to try to burn all our used up cardboard boxes. We originally got them from the back of the grocery store and dollar store, and after this move they really aren't fit for further use. I don't think they do bulk trash days around here, and we don't really feel like figuring out where to haul them. Our house has a wood-burning fireplace so today we burned several of the boxes in the fireplace. The boys thought it was fascinating. I hope we're not breeding some pyromaniacs. We asserted several times the number one rule about fires is that you should NEVER play with matches or try to start a fire without mom or dad there to supervise. Joseph enjoyed running outside a few times to watch the smoke come out of the chimney. Having a fireplace and chimney is pretty cool for these boys!
Ok, here is another picture from Christmas, this time Mama and Daddy with all the grandkids. For now anyway. Brigham and Christine, any signs of Lucy arriving soon? I'm thinking of you daily!
January 23, 2007
Ok guys, it is a sign. I just wrote a VERY long and whiney email about my really hard couple of days, and then I pressed some sort of button and lost the whole thing!!!! So it must be fate telling me not to complain.
Here's the outline version:
I got strep throat over the weekend.
It's been cold and drizzly (barely into the 40's).
Joseph got called into the principal's office after a conflict with the P.E. teacher.
I've been depressed and consequently eating way too much sugar.
Ben's had to work late every night practically since we got here (like, till nearly 7:00 every night-- last night it was almost 7:30).
Had a very hard night tonight with Brigham and Joseph BOTH throwing major fits requiring several time outs and a spanking.
Got a call from our realtor-- a couple of people have really liked the house but they don't like the power lines behind the house.
Basically just questioning my parenting skills and my overall worth as a human being tonight.
But, to appease the fates and to prevent them from deleting my email again, here is a good list:
The antibiotics are working and the strep seems much better today.
We did have one sunny nice day on Sunday, and SOMEDAY I'm sure I'll see the sun again.
Joseph had a very good day at school today and we have had lots of good talks about behavior and consequences.
I realize that I am depressed, and I'm aware it is because of the weather and non-stop parenting-- I should get a break from both of those things someday!
Ben says his work should be tapering off soon and his goal is to come home most nights at 5:30.
Brigham and Joseph both eventually calmed down from their fits and after reading our chapter of the Book of Mormon, both boys were so into it that they asked me not to stop, and to read the next chapter.
Although we haven't sold our FL house yet, I am enjoying living in this house. It is much smaller and SO much easier to clean! (not that it is particularly clean now).
Although we haven't sold our FL house yet, I am enjoying living in this house. It is much smaller and SO much easier to clean! (not that it is particularly clean now).
If I keep trying my hardest, the Lord will make up for my shortcomings as a parent and human being, right??
Ok, that's it for tonight. I'm going to take a bubble bath and go to bed on time so that I can have a better day tomorrow.
Here's the outline version:
I got strep throat over the weekend.
It's been cold and drizzly (barely into the 40's).
Joseph got called into the principal's office after a conflict with the P.E. teacher.
I've been depressed and consequently eating way too much sugar.
Ben's had to work late every night practically since we got here (like, till nearly 7:00 every night-- last night it was almost 7:30).
Had a very hard night tonight with Brigham and Joseph BOTH throwing major fits requiring several time outs and a spanking.
Got a call from our realtor-- a couple of people have really liked the house but they don't like the power lines behind the house.
Basically just questioning my parenting skills and my overall worth as a human being tonight.
But, to appease the fates and to prevent them from deleting my email again, here is a good list:
The antibiotics are working and the strep seems much better today.
We did have one sunny nice day on Sunday, and SOMEDAY I'm sure I'll see the sun again.
Joseph had a very good day at school today and we have had lots of good talks about behavior and consequences.
I realize that I am depressed, and I'm aware it is because of the weather and non-stop parenting-- I should get a break from both of those things someday!
Ben says his work should be tapering off soon and his goal is to come home most nights at 5:30.
Brigham and Joseph both eventually calmed down from their fits and after reading our chapter of the Book of Mormon, both boys were so into it that they asked me not to stop, and to read the next chapter.
Although we haven't sold our FL house yet, I am enjoying living in this house. It is much smaller and SO much easier to clean! (not that it is particularly clean now).
Although we haven't sold our FL house yet, I am enjoying living in this house. It is much smaller and SO much easier to clean! (not that it is particularly clean now).
If I keep trying my hardest, the Lord will make up for my shortcomings as a parent and human being, right??
Ok, that's it for tonight. I'm going to take a bubble bath and go to bed on time so that I can have a better day tomorrow.
January 18, 2007
Over Christmas we went down to Newport Beach for an afternoon to meet up with our Frandsen cousins (my dad's brother and his family). It was fun, although cold. I forgot how cold the Pacific ocean is, after getting spoiled at year-round-warm Florida beaches. We had a good time and I was able to snap a few pictures which always makes me happy.
Here's Abe (my brother) and Mosey
Frandsen clan on a lifeguard house (I had to do quite a bit of cloning work on this one to "erase" the ugly warning sign smack-dab on the back of it)
Difficult back-lighting on the shore, but it turned out pretty
Here's Abe (my brother) and Mosey
Gorgeous sunset over Catalina Island
My wonderful mama and daddy
Frandsen clan on a lifeguard house (I had to do quite a bit of cloning work on this one to "erase" the ugly warning sign smack-dab on the back of it)
Difficult back-lighting on the shore, but it turned out pretty
My personal favorite-- aren't they all beautiful?
January 19, 2007
Hey all,
The boys are back in school as of 10:00 AM yesterday, when it finally got above freezing!! Thank goodness. I now know why most houses in cold states have basements-- some place to send the kids when it is too cold to go outside! We were all sort of at each other's throats by the end there. Too icy and cold to go outside, and the boys are just not used to spending so much time inside. But it got up to about 39 yesterday, and in the 40's today, and hopefully by next week back up to the 60's. I'm such a wimp in cold weather, I just HATE it! But I really hate super hot weather too, so I guess I'm just never satisfied. All day long yesterday ice was falling from the trees, powerlines, houses, etc. Walking out to the car was a little scary because just about our whole front yard is overhung with huge live oak trees, and pieces of ice were constantly falling, some of them pretty big! But today almost all the ice is melted, so that is good.
Yesterday was not such a good day for me. I totally lost it with Joseph twice-- once before school once after school, and both times I was provoked, yes, but my response was uncalled for. I'm not much of a spanker, but I did yell at him and it wasn't fair of me. So last night I determined that we need the spirit in our house a bit more than we already have. So I instituted dinner-time scripture reading (we've mostly just been doing scripture stories at bedtime), and family prayer morning and night. This morning was MUCH better and I read up online about how to deal with some of the issues I've been having with Joseph and I feel much better equipped now. I'm making a new responsibility chart this afternoon which will probably help things as well.
Mosey remembered about his Blues Clues videos this morning, so he's been watching Blues Clues while I worked on editing the family picture we took over Christmas. It is SO hard to get everyone IN the same picture, let alone looking good in the same picture! I did several head swaps (and a whole body swap for me-- I am so vain), inserted Abraham who was not there at the time, and other bits of cloning cleaning up work. I think it looks pretty good! I'll attach it at the bottom here.
The boys have been playing a lot with the Magnetix they got for Christmas. I ended up buying more at Walmart yesterday because there really weren't enough for 3 boys to play with them. THey are pretty cool, but I've been stepping on those little metal balls all day! Brigham and Joseph are both pretty good at making cool little designs! Mosey mostly just likes to stick a whole bunch of them together and then walk around the house with them, making the bigger boys mad (since he's not really *playing* with them, and they'd like to!). But Mosey HAS been playing a lot with his assortment of animals-- both his puppy and kitty cat from his birthday, and the plastic animals he got for Christmas. He made a very interesting coral type thing with legos and his animals. Then he stuffed all the legos and animals into a big bag and carried those around the house for a while... :-)
Yesterday Mosey and I went to a "lunch bunch" get-together for Relief Society. It is one of my ward's RS small groups, and it was fun! I guess once a month they get together at different area restaurants. So we braved the ice and drove down past the Travis Lake Dam (has a name, can't remember it) and had lunch at the Hill Country Pasta House. It's always intimidating for me to go and introduce myself to new people, but there's no other way to do it other than just to dive in. I haven't met any kindred spirits yet, but it was a good start I suppose.
Ok, I'm going to get lunch for Mosey and me now. Have a fun weekend everyone!
The boys are back in school as of 10:00 AM yesterday, when it finally got above freezing!! Thank goodness. I now know why most houses in cold states have basements-- some place to send the kids when it is too cold to go outside! We were all sort of at each other's throats by the end there. Too icy and cold to go outside, and the boys are just not used to spending so much time inside. But it got up to about 39 yesterday, and in the 40's today, and hopefully by next week back up to the 60's. I'm such a wimp in cold weather, I just HATE it! But I really hate super hot weather too, so I guess I'm just never satisfied. All day long yesterday ice was falling from the trees, powerlines, houses, etc. Walking out to the car was a little scary because just about our whole front yard is overhung with huge live oak trees, and pieces of ice were constantly falling, some of them pretty big! But today almost all the ice is melted, so that is good.
Yesterday was not such a good day for me. I totally lost it with Joseph twice-- once before school once after school, and both times I was provoked, yes, but my response was uncalled for. I'm not much of a spanker, but I did yell at him and it wasn't fair of me. So last night I determined that we need the spirit in our house a bit more than we already have. So I instituted dinner-time scripture reading (we've mostly just been doing scripture stories at bedtime), and family prayer morning and night. This morning was MUCH better and I read up online about how to deal with some of the issues I've been having with Joseph and I feel much better equipped now. I'm making a new responsibility chart this afternoon which will probably help things as well.
Mosey remembered about his Blues Clues videos this morning, so he's been watching Blues Clues while I worked on editing the family picture we took over Christmas. It is SO hard to get everyone IN the same picture, let alone looking good in the same picture! I did several head swaps (and a whole body swap for me-- I am so vain), inserted Abraham who was not there at the time, and other bits of cloning cleaning up work. I think it looks pretty good! I'll attach it at the bottom here.
The boys have been playing a lot with the Magnetix they got for Christmas. I ended up buying more at Walmart yesterday because there really weren't enough for 3 boys to play with them. THey are pretty cool, but I've been stepping on those little metal balls all day! Brigham and Joseph are both pretty good at making cool little designs! Mosey mostly just likes to stick a whole bunch of them together and then walk around the house with them, making the bigger boys mad (since he's not really *playing* with them, and they'd like to!). But Mosey HAS been playing a lot with his assortment of animals-- both his puppy and kitty cat from his birthday, and the plastic animals he got for Christmas. He made a very interesting coral type thing with legos and his animals. Then he stuffed all the legos and animals into a big bag and carried those around the house for a while... :-)
Yesterday Mosey and I went to a "lunch bunch" get-together for Relief Society. It is one of my ward's RS small groups, and it was fun! I guess once a month they get together at different area restaurants. So we braved the ice and drove down past the Travis Lake Dam (has a name, can't remember it) and had lunch at the Hill Country Pasta House. It's always intimidating for me to go and introduce myself to new people, but there's no other way to do it other than just to dive in. I haven't met any kindred spirits yet, but it was a good start I suppose.
Ok, I'm going to get lunch for Mosey and me now. Have a fun weekend everyone!
January 17, 2007
Hey all,
The last two days have been cold and rainy! An arctic front blew in and pushed the temps down below freezing. Brrrrrr!!!
The unpacking is coming along, slowly but surely. I'm trying to unpack everything in a very organized way, so that also takes extra time.
The boys are doing well, enjoying school thank goodness. Brigham has already been invited to TWO birthday parties! He went to the first a couple days ago at a gymnastics place, but the other we couldn't go to because it was on Sunday. So, I guess that partially makes up for the 3 parties Joseph was invited to, and the 0 Brigham was invited to at our old school.
Ben bought Mosey 2 "Fur-real friends" for his birthday-- a puppy and a kitten. Mosey LOVES them. He has been carrying them around with him everywhere, sleeping with them, eating with them, taking them with him to hte bathroom, etc. He has named them "Puppy" and "Kitty-cat." LOL. He tells me when they are hungry and thirsty ("Mom, kitty cat is hungry for peanut butter." "Mom, puppy is thirsty for milk.") He is so cute.
The sleeping is still not going that great, but hopefully that will improve. They are having trouble settling down at night, and consequently keeping each other up. I've had to get after them to the point where they are all pretty upset before they will settle down, which bothers me. The last two nights I've had to lay down by Mosey just to keep him in his bed and quiet. Ugh. I know it's all just an adjustment, but I wish they were adjusted already!
Not too much more to report as of now. I'm trying to keep the stress of my disorganized house at bay, realizing that slowly things will all get put away, but it is hard at times. It's hard to clean when there are boxes everywhere, and the messiness of the house is starting to get to me. This afternoon I'm going to try to at least sweep around boxes and things.
Right now the boys are looking at their old scrapbooks and having a great time, which is inspiring me to also get back to work updating their scrapbooks. I am shamefully behind.
Today is actually our second "snow day" in a row. Actually it did snow briefly yesterday, but mostly it's been freezing rain. Apparently this is a very rare cold snap-- like once in 10 years or so. Average this time of year is 60. But it's been below freezing for 3 days in a row and I HATE it!! This is why I don't live in winter states! I haven't left the house since church on Sunday and I'm getting major cabin fever. But the van is completely encased in ice and even if I could de-ice it, I'm not brave enough to drive under these conditions. Plus the trees in the front of our house are all iced over and the branches are pretty much blocking any exit from our driveway!
I've pretty much finished unpacking the house. I need to figure out what to do with Ben's boxes of old work stuff (throw it away?), but pretty much it is done which is very nice.
The boys have been pretty good considering they have been house-bound for so long. But I got a call yesterday from Joseph's and Brigham's primary teacher telling me about an "incident" on Sunday. It really has me feeling sick. Joseph apparently got angry during opening exercises and ended up throwing his chair down, and then running away. Her husband (who co-teaches with her) went after him, but Joseph wouldn't cooperate for 25 minutes until another teacher came and talked him into coming back to class.
I'm so sad because Joseph has always done really well in primary. I talked to him a little bit yesterday and he was mad becuase he says the teachers "lied," because last week they said they'd bring treats, but then this week they didn't. I talked to Joseph about the difference between lying and making a mistake or just forgetting, or changing plans, and then told him that more importantly, that kind of behavior is unacceptable. I will talk to him more about it, for sure. I just wish he had a natural built-in healthy fear of adults and authority figures! Any suggestions anyone? I plan to tell him that the thing I am most proud of him and Brigham is their good behavior in school and church. That I am also proud that he is a smart and talented boy, but mostly I am proud of him when he is a good boy and does what Jesus would want him to do. That it makes me sad and disappointed when he doesn't choose the right. But talk is cheap, and I probably need to add in some positive reinforcement. Maybe special lunches with mom or dad when they have a whole month of good behavior at school and church? I'm not sure.
Anyway, I went out and took some pictures of the ice this morning. I took a couple yesterday of the boys but haven't edited those yet, so just nature for today.
Love,
Gabrielle and the snow-boys
ice-coated back lawn
The live-oaks looking decidedly less lively!
Pretty, isn't it?
line of icicles downt he back of our house
The last two days have been cold and rainy! An arctic front blew in and pushed the temps down below freezing. Brrrrrr!!!
The unpacking is coming along, slowly but surely. I'm trying to unpack everything in a very organized way, so that also takes extra time.
The boys are doing well, enjoying school thank goodness. Brigham has already been invited to TWO birthday parties! He went to the first a couple days ago at a gymnastics place, but the other we couldn't go to because it was on Sunday. So, I guess that partially makes up for the 3 parties Joseph was invited to, and the 0 Brigham was invited to at our old school.
Ben bought Mosey 2 "Fur-real friends" for his birthday-- a puppy and a kitten. Mosey LOVES them. He has been carrying them around with him everywhere, sleeping with them, eating with them, taking them with him to hte bathroom, etc. He has named them "Puppy" and "Kitty-cat." LOL. He tells me when they are hungry and thirsty ("Mom, kitty cat is hungry for peanut butter." "Mom, puppy is thirsty for milk.") He is so cute.
The sleeping is still not going that great, but hopefully that will improve. They are having trouble settling down at night, and consequently keeping each other up. I've had to get after them to the point where they are all pretty upset before they will settle down, which bothers me. The last two nights I've had to lay down by Mosey just to keep him in his bed and quiet. Ugh. I know it's all just an adjustment, but I wish they were adjusted already!
Not too much more to report as of now. I'm trying to keep the stress of my disorganized house at bay, realizing that slowly things will all get put away, but it is hard at times. It's hard to clean when there are boxes everywhere, and the messiness of the house is starting to get to me. This afternoon I'm going to try to at least sweep around boxes and things.
Right now the boys are looking at their old scrapbooks and having a great time, which is inspiring me to also get back to work updating their scrapbooks. I am shamefully behind.
Today is actually our second "snow day" in a row. Actually it did snow briefly yesterday, but mostly it's been freezing rain. Apparently this is a very rare cold snap-- like once in 10 years or so. Average this time of year is 60. But it's been below freezing for 3 days in a row and I HATE it!! This is why I don't live in winter states! I haven't left the house since church on Sunday and I'm getting major cabin fever. But the van is completely encased in ice and even if I could de-ice it, I'm not brave enough to drive under these conditions. Plus the trees in the front of our house are all iced over and the branches are pretty much blocking any exit from our driveway!
I've pretty much finished unpacking the house. I need to figure out what to do with Ben's boxes of old work stuff (throw it away?), but pretty much it is done which is very nice.
The boys have been pretty good considering they have been house-bound for so long. But I got a call yesterday from Joseph's and Brigham's primary teacher telling me about an "incident" on Sunday. It really has me feeling sick. Joseph apparently got angry during opening exercises and ended up throwing his chair down, and then running away. Her husband (who co-teaches with her) went after him, but Joseph wouldn't cooperate for 25 minutes until another teacher came and talked him into coming back to class.
I'm so sad because Joseph has always done really well in primary. I talked to him a little bit yesterday and he was mad becuase he says the teachers "lied," because last week they said they'd bring treats, but then this week they didn't. I talked to Joseph about the difference between lying and making a mistake or just forgetting, or changing plans, and then told him that more importantly, that kind of behavior is unacceptable. I will talk to him more about it, for sure. I just wish he had a natural built-in healthy fear of adults and authority figures! Any suggestions anyone? I plan to tell him that the thing I am most proud of him and Brigham is their good behavior in school and church. That I am also proud that he is a smart and talented boy, but mostly I am proud of him when he is a good boy and does what Jesus would want him to do. That it makes me sad and disappointed when he doesn't choose the right. But talk is cheap, and I probably need to add in some positive reinforcement. Maybe special lunches with mom or dad when they have a whole month of good behavior at school and church? I'm not sure.
Anyway, I went out and took some pictures of the ice this morning. I took a couple yesterday of the boys but haven't edited those yet, so just nature for today.
Love,
Gabrielle and the snow-boys
ice-coated back lawn
ice-coated branches
The live-oaks looking decidedly less lively!
Pretty, isn't it?
line of icicles downt he back of our house
ivy leaves coated with ice. Weird cuz they're still so green!
More ice on the live oak trees. The ice has weighed the boughs down so much they actually block both entrances of our circular driveway. Not that we could get in our van, as it is also coated with a quarter inch of ice!
January 10, 2007
Hafta be fast tonight since it is late.
It was Mosey's 3rd birthday today!! I don't think he totally got the birthday thing yet, but he enjoyed the presents and blowing out candles! We didn't do much too special today-- I put together the boys' bunkbed for most of the day, and then after the boys got home from school we made birthday cake, and that's really about it. This morning was a hard morning because everyone was up WAYYYYYY too late last night. We have to be up by about 6:40 if we are going to be ready to be out the door by 7:25, which is really the latest we can be leaving and still be on time. It's taking a few days to work this out, but hopefully we'll be on a good schedule soon. It's hard for the boys to settle down at night in a new house, new room, new beds, etc. And then last night we were at the Bradford's house, which was a special occasion and so the boys ended up being up a couple of hours (well, probably about 3) past their bedtime. Joseph didn't want to get up this morning, didn't want to get dressed, didn't want to go to school, didn't want to walk in the school doors-- in that order. A lady at school had to basically walk him inside to make him go. And then this afternoon Brigham was falling apart over EVERYTHING. It is funny, when the boys don't get enough sleep, Joseph really suffers the next morning and Brigham suffers the next afternoon. Mosey seemed ok, but he is definitely the most resilient of the 3 boys in terms of lack of sleep.
Mosey picked out the decorations on his birthday cake, and ate the snail candy off his piece, but wasn't interested in eating any of the rest of the cake. Oh well, it's his birthday, he can pass on the cake if he wants to! I wanted to make him a Blues Clues cake, but not enough time or energy today, so maybe next year if he is still into Blues Clues.
The boys' bunk bed is nice. I did end up putting one piece on the wrong bed (2 almost identical twin beds that stack on top of each other), which is very frustrating to me. I'm tempted to dissassmble the whole thing but I probably won't. I'll just have to drill 2 additional holes for the final screws. The instructions had no writing on it at all, only pictures. So it wasn't obvious to me at the beginning that the bottom long horizontal supports were not all identical. Oh well.
So anyway, here is a picture of Mosey's cake and one of him blowing out the candles. Also one of Rachel's graduation pics. I think Rachel still looks 18, don't you?
It was Mosey's 3rd birthday today!! I don't think he totally got the birthday thing yet, but he enjoyed the presents and blowing out candles! We didn't do much too special today-- I put together the boys' bunkbed for most of the day, and then after the boys got home from school we made birthday cake, and that's really about it. This morning was a hard morning because everyone was up WAYYYYYY too late last night. We have to be up by about 6:40 if we are going to be ready to be out the door by 7:25, which is really the latest we can be leaving and still be on time. It's taking a few days to work this out, but hopefully we'll be on a good schedule soon. It's hard for the boys to settle down at night in a new house, new room, new beds, etc. And then last night we were at the Bradford's house, which was a special occasion and so the boys ended up being up a couple of hours (well, probably about 3) past their bedtime. Joseph didn't want to get up this morning, didn't want to get dressed, didn't want to go to school, didn't want to walk in the school doors-- in that order. A lady at school had to basically walk him inside to make him go. And then this afternoon Brigham was falling apart over EVERYTHING. It is funny, when the boys don't get enough sleep, Joseph really suffers the next morning and Brigham suffers the next afternoon. Mosey seemed ok, but he is definitely the most resilient of the 3 boys in terms of lack of sleep.
Mosey picked out the decorations on his birthday cake, and ate the snail candy off his piece, but wasn't interested in eating any of the rest of the cake. Oh well, it's his birthday, he can pass on the cake if he wants to! I wanted to make him a Blues Clues cake, but not enough time or energy today, so maybe next year if he is still into Blues Clues.
The boys' bunk bed is nice. I did end up putting one piece on the wrong bed (2 almost identical twin beds that stack on top of each other), which is very frustrating to me. I'm tempted to dissassmble the whole thing but I probably won't. I'll just have to drill 2 additional holes for the final screws. The instructions had no writing on it at all, only pictures. So it wasn't obvious to me at the beginning that the bottom long horizontal supports were not all identical. Oh well.
So anyway, here is a picture of Mosey's cake and one of him blowing out the candles. Also one of Rachel's graduation pics. I think Rachel still looks 18, don't you?
January 8, 2007
Hey All,
I thought I'd write a quick note right now since I think today will be a long and busy day and I'll most likely be pretty tired tonight.
First day at church was yesterday, which went fine. Mosey is now the oldest in the nursery, but he still loves it. There are LOTS of little kids in the nursery. The boys actually have 2 girls in their class! What a novelty. I enjoyed the meetings, especially Sunday School. The teacher looks just like our friend Glenn Curtis from Florida, they could be brothers! Everyone was friendly, one woman (turns out she works at the boys' school) showed me to Relief Society, sat by me and introduced me. Really nice! So it all seems good so far.
After church we drove to Lake Travis (the humongous lake west of the city), which was a big hit. It is closer than we thought-- probably less than a 10 minute drive to a wonderful park (free, even better!) with a trail that leads up a river with great places to climb and throw rocks in the river, etc. I'm sure we'll be going there a lot.
I spent a few hours last night searching for a locating all the paperwork I needed to get the boys registered at school. I don't like paperwork! But I got it done and they are in school this morning. THey almost couldn't start, because the one thing I couldn't find-- immunization records, were one thing they HAD to have before the boys could go to their classrooms. But their old school faxed over the records and the boys were able to start class just a few minutes late. They were excited and will do just fine. I'm the one who is so emotional about this stuff. I about started crying when I thought maybe they wouldn't get to start today. I don't know why, I guess it is just tough as a mom to pack up your kids' stuff and send them off to a totally strange place. So I get all emotionally ready to do this, and then when it seems maybe they won't be going and we'll have to do the first- day-of-school thing all over again tomorrow, it was just a little much. But it worked out. It is a nice school, the office ladies are really nice and their teachers seem nice. Joseph's teacher is very very young which I hope will be a good thing. I was just so impressed with their teachers at Embassy Creek, it seems impossible that we'll get such great teachers here, but that's probably just my anxiety speaking. Their teachers at Embassy Creek were a little older-- probably later 30's?, and they were just so good with the kids. Patient and mature and obviously experienced. But anyway, I have to keep reminding myself it is just Kindergarten and they will be fine.
Mosey has decided he is a kitty-cat. He spends much of the day meowing instead of talking. He will crawl on his hands and knees until I tell him he needs to walk on his two kitty-cat feet. When he needs something he will tell me, "Mom, I think this kitty cat needs to go pee." Or, "This kitty cat is hungry for peanut butter sandwhiches." It's pretty cute! Brigham tries to talk Mosey out of being a kitty cat, telling him he is really just a boy, but Mosey will not be dissuaded. "No! Mosey is a kitty cat!" He doesn't always refer to himself in the 3rd person, but I guess that's just part of his kitty-cat alter-ego.
Brigham is starting to notice the distinct Texas culture. Yesterday on the way home from church he asked us, "Why do people in Texas think everything is big?" I'm not sure exactly where he got this from, but it made us laugh-- everything IS bigger in Texas!
The boys are enjoying the rolling hills around here. They like to yell out "wheeee!" when we go down a hill. Mosey says, "They are not hills, mom, they are slides!"
I haven't done much unpacking yet. Some kitchen stuff so I could cook dinner last night. Today I hope to get some unpacking done. I do still need to get out to Lowes which I'll probably do in a few minutes, and then try to get some good work done before it's time to pick up the boys from school. The boys are happy to be car-riders. Too far to ride bikes, too many steep hills, and WAY to cold! We could see our breath this morning which is very rare in Florida! It's been nice, though. Cold, but sunny and beautiful.
Ok, nothing more interesting to report for now. I miss everyone!
I thought I'd write a quick note right now since I think today will be a long and busy day and I'll most likely be pretty tired tonight.
First day at church was yesterday, which went fine. Mosey is now the oldest in the nursery, but he still loves it. There are LOTS of little kids in the nursery. The boys actually have 2 girls in their class! What a novelty. I enjoyed the meetings, especially Sunday School. The teacher looks just like our friend Glenn Curtis from Florida, they could be brothers! Everyone was friendly, one woman (turns out she works at the boys' school) showed me to Relief Society, sat by me and introduced me. Really nice! So it all seems good so far.
After church we drove to Lake Travis (the humongous lake west of the city), which was a big hit. It is closer than we thought-- probably less than a 10 minute drive to a wonderful park (free, even better!) with a trail that leads up a river with great places to climb and throw rocks in the river, etc. I'm sure we'll be going there a lot.
I spent a few hours last night searching for a locating all the paperwork I needed to get the boys registered at school. I don't like paperwork! But I got it done and they are in school this morning. THey almost couldn't start, because the one thing I couldn't find-- immunization records, were one thing they HAD to have before the boys could go to their classrooms. But their old school faxed over the records and the boys were able to start class just a few minutes late. They were excited and will do just fine. I'm the one who is so emotional about this stuff. I about started crying when I thought maybe they wouldn't get to start today. I don't know why, I guess it is just tough as a mom to pack up your kids' stuff and send them off to a totally strange place. So I get all emotionally ready to do this, and then when it seems maybe they won't be going and we'll have to do the first- day-of-school thing all over again tomorrow, it was just a little much. But it worked out. It is a nice school, the office ladies are really nice and their teachers seem nice. Joseph's teacher is very very young which I hope will be a good thing. I was just so impressed with their teachers at Embassy Creek, it seems impossible that we'll get such great teachers here, but that's probably just my anxiety speaking. Their teachers at Embassy Creek were a little older-- probably later 30's?, and they were just so good with the kids. Patient and mature and obviously experienced. But anyway, I have to keep reminding myself it is just Kindergarten and they will be fine.
Mosey has decided he is a kitty-cat. He spends much of the day meowing instead of talking. He will crawl on his hands and knees until I tell him he needs to walk on his two kitty-cat feet. When he needs something he will tell me, "Mom, I think this kitty cat needs to go pee." Or, "This kitty cat is hungry for peanut butter sandwhiches." It's pretty cute! Brigham tries to talk Mosey out of being a kitty cat, telling him he is really just a boy, but Mosey will not be dissuaded. "No! Mosey is a kitty cat!" He doesn't always refer to himself in the 3rd person, but I guess that's just part of his kitty-cat alter-ego.
Brigham is starting to notice the distinct Texas culture. Yesterday on the way home from church he asked us, "Why do people in Texas think everything is big?" I'm not sure exactly where he got this from, but it made us laugh-- everything IS bigger in Texas!
The boys are enjoying the rolling hills around here. They like to yell out "wheeee!" when we go down a hill. Mosey says, "They are not hills, mom, they are slides!"
I haven't done much unpacking yet. Some kitchen stuff so I could cook dinner last night. Today I hope to get some unpacking done. I do still need to get out to Lowes which I'll probably do in a few minutes, and then try to get some good work done before it's time to pick up the boys from school. The boys are happy to be car-riders. Too far to ride bikes, too many steep hills, and WAY to cold! We could see our breath this morning which is very rare in Florida! It's been nice, though. Cold, but sunny and beautiful.
Ok, nothing more interesting to report for now. I miss everyone!
January 7, 2007
Hey Everyone,
Just to let you all know we are now in Austin. We made the move! We got here late Wednesday night (actually Thurs morning I guess), and our stuff in the big container boxes came the next morning. We unloaded the boxes on Friday and they are all in the appropriate rooms. Haven't started unloading them yet, though! It was sunny and warm the first 2 days we were here, but today it was cold and drizzly. That's ok though, it gave the boys an opportunity to try out some of the warmer clothes I got them at Walmart on Thursday. No more shorts and t-shirts winters for us. But I can't complain, it is only perhaps a little bit colder than Southern California.
We are renting a house in Austin-- on the East side of the city in the hills. Maybe we'll buy a house after our house in Florida sells, if Ben still likes his job! So far he does. The house we are in is a lot smaller than our old house, but it is on just one story which is nice for me, with my leg being like it is right now. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, living room, kitchen, dining room, and a weird entry room that is pretty big but seems pretty useless. Kind of smallish backyard, but probably about as big as our last backyard? Maybe a bit bigger. There is a deck along hte back of the house so it's kind of hard to tell. Very nice neighborhood-- the neighbors on either side of us already introduced themselves and were really nice. The boys will start school on Monday at Spicewood Springs Elementary school. Joseph is sooooooooo excited. He really wanted to go on Friday but I didn't have all the paperwork together yet. I guess he's sick of me! LOL.
The boys are having fun in our new house, exploring and pretending there are ghosts in the garage (I think they seriously scared Mosey about that this morning), and going on lots of errands with me (2 trips to Walmart, 1 trip each to Lowes, Home Depot, Ikea, and Radio Shack). I'm trying to get a washer and dryer and a bunkbed for the boys. Didn't manage to actually make the purchases today (was just price-comparison shopping) but at least now I know which models I'm getting and where. On Monday I'll make those purchases I guess. While the boys are at school which will make it a bit easier.
I got my first manicure when I was in California for Christmas-- a Christmas present from my parents, and it lasted quite well until our boxes arrived on Friday. Manicures are not meant for girls who actually do manual labor. But it was fun while it lasted. My toes still look pretty good!
Tomorrow will be our first day at our new ward and I'm very interested to see what it is like. I'll return and report tomorrow night. Probably no dental wife club here, which will probably make the ward far less interesting! LOL.
I hope 2007 is treating y'all well so far (hey, now I can legitimately use the word "y'all" since I'm finally back in Texas! Yay!).
Just to let you all know we are now in Austin. We made the move! We got here late Wednesday night (actually Thurs morning I guess), and our stuff in the big container boxes came the next morning. We unloaded the boxes on Friday and they are all in the appropriate rooms. Haven't started unloading them yet, though! It was sunny and warm the first 2 days we were here, but today it was cold and drizzly. That's ok though, it gave the boys an opportunity to try out some of the warmer clothes I got them at Walmart on Thursday. No more shorts and t-shirts winters for us. But I can't complain, it is only perhaps a little bit colder than Southern California.
We are renting a house in Austin-- on the East side of the city in the hills. Maybe we'll buy a house after our house in Florida sells, if Ben still likes his job! So far he does. The house we are in is a lot smaller than our old house, but it is on just one story which is nice for me, with my leg being like it is right now. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, living room, kitchen, dining room, and a weird entry room that is pretty big but seems pretty useless. Kind of smallish backyard, but probably about as big as our last backyard? Maybe a bit bigger. There is a deck along hte back of the house so it's kind of hard to tell. Very nice neighborhood-- the neighbors on either side of us already introduced themselves and were really nice. The boys will start school on Monday at Spicewood Springs Elementary school. Joseph is sooooooooo excited. He really wanted to go on Friday but I didn't have all the paperwork together yet. I guess he's sick of me! LOL.
The boys are having fun in our new house, exploring and pretending there are ghosts in the garage (I think they seriously scared Mosey about that this morning), and going on lots of errands with me (2 trips to Walmart, 1 trip each to Lowes, Home Depot, Ikea, and Radio Shack). I'm trying to get a washer and dryer and a bunkbed for the boys. Didn't manage to actually make the purchases today (was just price-comparison shopping) but at least now I know which models I'm getting and where. On Monday I'll make those purchases I guess. While the boys are at school which will make it a bit easier.
I got my first manicure when I was in California for Christmas-- a Christmas present from my parents, and it lasted quite well until our boxes arrived on Friday. Manicures are not meant for girls who actually do manual labor. But it was fun while it lasted. My toes still look pretty good!
Tomorrow will be our first day at our new ward and I'm very interested to see what it is like. I'll return and report tomorrow night. Probably no dental wife club here, which will probably make the ward far less interesting! LOL.
I hope 2007 is treating y'all well so far (hey, now I can legitimately use the word "y'all" since I'm finally back in Texas! Yay!).
December 17, 2006
Quick update for you all. The tile is finally done. It looks great, I wish I could actually get to enjoy it for a while! The Curtises helped me get the toilets in, but of course the tank bolts in one of them are all rusted out and need to be replaced to stop leaking, and the water hose to the other doesn't reach, so I have to make another trip to Home Depot before the bathrooms are fully functional.
Yesterday I had a goodbye party for the boys at our house, which went great. I had the kids all make quilt squares and I'll put together a "remember Florida" quilt for them. Blake Santaniello and Pierce Hill from their Pre-K class were there, as well as Luke Johnston, Cassidy and Liberty Curtis (and Aerin and Madison), Aidan Pratt (and his sisters), and Emma Allred from church, and Jonathan Piaggio and Shane Reese (and his brother) from Kindergarten all came plus an assortment of parents, so we had a full house and the kids had a good time. Shane brought a plug-n-play Disney video game for the boys which has been very popular, and Jonathan brought an 8x10 enlargement of a picture of him and Brigham which made me cry. I bought cowboy hats from Oriental Trading to give to all the kids who came, and we had cake and sandwiches and chips and cookies and drinks and other good stuff. We will sure miss our friends here.
Last week I had the boys go to friends houses each day after school and that really helped me to get stuff done. Mosey "helped" me during the day, and was mostly very good except for Friday morning when he poured out my new can of paint into a water bucket. I had just waited in line for 35 minutes at Home Depot to get the paint and so I had to go straight back that afternoont o replace it! But thankfully he emptied it into a bucket and not onto the floor. Guess it could have been much worse.
Today was our last day at Church which was very sad. After church we went up to Deerfield beach to enjoy the sand and the water one last time. No, we didn't get in the water, it being the Sabbath and all. Plus a whole bunch of Portuguese Man-o-wars had washed up and so getting in the water probably wouldnt' have been smart anyway. After it got dark we got in the car and drove down A1A for a while, found a parking place, and then walked over to the Intercoastal Waterway, right by a drawbridge, to watch the Pompano Beach Holiday Boat Parade. That was pretty fun. I think the boys really got into it. I got lucky on the parking today. I only had 60 cents in change for the parking meters, so I chanced it at Deerfield Beach, and didn't get a ticket even though we stayed probably almost an hour past the meter time. And then when we parked for the parade, I went to a Hotel nextdoor to see if I could get change, and the Valet guys saw me with the 3 boys and told me just to park in the Hotel parking lot, so that was nice. And 2 out of 3 boys fell asleep on the way home, so that was a bonus too!
Naomi comes tomorrow and we are so excited. SHe will be such a big help and the boys can't wait to see her.
I've told you all how my boys don't believe in Santa (so sad!!), but they are still pretty intrigued by the idea. Last night Joseph said to me, "I know a way that we can find out if Santa is real, mom." "Oh really? What is that?" "Just get on Dad's computer and go to the map where you can see houses and then go to the north pole and look all around to see if you can find a house up there." He is talking about Google Earth, which totally fascinates the boys. I thought that was pretty smart!!
Two small gripes about Christmas grinches. Friday afternoon I was running errands with the boys, and stopped at Home Depot (to replace the can of paint I mentioned above). I was unloading the boys, and Joseph had already climbed out of the van. As 5 year old boys are want to do, he unthinkingly sort of leaned up against the driver's side door of the old beat-up Toyota next to us. A woman was sitting in the passenger seat, apparently waiting for whoever was in Home Depot. The drivers side window was halfway down. ANyway, she totally yells in this mean voice, "Hey!" and poor Joseph jumps a mile and then scurries over to bury his face in my shirt. Can you believe that? What a mean lady. That got Joseph feeling bad, and then when we went into Home Depot I had to take Mosey to the bathroom. I had one of those low-to-the-ground push carts, and Joseph was sitting on it waiting for us to get out of the restroom. An overly-zealous employee comes over and is waiting for me when I come out of the restroom with Brigham and Mosey. "Ma'am, I'm sorry but your son can't be on the cart. He'll fall off and get hurt." Umm, my 5 year old son is going to fall 4 inches off a cart that isn't even moving and get hurt?? Ok... Well, Joseph was in a funny mood from the lady in the car incident and didn't want to get off the cart. The guy kept standing there telling Joseph he had to get off, until finally I just told him, "I understand he has to get off and I'll make sure he does, ok?" Finally he walks off and I'm able to convince Joseph to get down without making a scene. Ugh. It's not a huge deal but sometimes it just feels like people are soooooo uptight when it comes to OTHER PEOPLE'S KIDS. Has it always been like this or is this a more recent phenomenon? Aren't people supposed to be nicer and friendlier this time of year? Oh well...
Ok, Joseph is still awake upstairs so I better get up there and get him to sleep.
I hope everyone is doing well!
Yesterday I had a goodbye party for the boys at our house, which went great. I had the kids all make quilt squares and I'll put together a "remember Florida" quilt for them. Blake Santaniello and Pierce Hill from their Pre-K class were there, as well as Luke Johnston, Cassidy and Liberty Curtis (and Aerin and Madison), Aidan Pratt (and his sisters), and Emma Allred from church, and Jonathan Piaggio and Shane Reese (and his brother) from Kindergarten all came plus an assortment of parents, so we had a full house and the kids had a good time. Shane brought a plug-n-play Disney video game for the boys which has been very popular, and Jonathan brought an 8x10 enlargement of a picture of him and Brigham which made me cry. I bought cowboy hats from Oriental Trading to give to all the kids who came, and we had cake and sandwiches and chips and cookies and drinks and other good stuff. We will sure miss our friends here.
Last week I had the boys go to friends houses each day after school and that really helped me to get stuff done. Mosey "helped" me during the day, and was mostly very good except for Friday morning when he poured out my new can of paint into a water bucket. I had just waited in line for 35 minutes at Home Depot to get the paint and so I had to go straight back that afternoont o replace it! But thankfully he emptied it into a bucket and not onto the floor. Guess it could have been much worse.
Today was our last day at Church which was very sad. After church we went up to Deerfield beach to enjoy the sand and the water one last time. No, we didn't get in the water, it being the Sabbath and all. Plus a whole bunch of Portuguese Man-o-wars had washed up and so getting in the water probably wouldnt' have been smart anyway. After it got dark we got in the car and drove down A1A for a while, found a parking place, and then walked over to the Intercoastal Waterway, right by a drawbridge, to watch the Pompano Beach Holiday Boat Parade. That was pretty fun. I think the boys really got into it. I got lucky on the parking today. I only had 60 cents in change for the parking meters, so I chanced it at Deerfield Beach, and didn't get a ticket even though we stayed probably almost an hour past the meter time. And then when we parked for the parade, I went to a Hotel nextdoor to see if I could get change, and the Valet guys saw me with the 3 boys and told me just to park in the Hotel parking lot, so that was nice. And 2 out of 3 boys fell asleep on the way home, so that was a bonus too!
Naomi comes tomorrow and we are so excited. SHe will be such a big help and the boys can't wait to see her.
I've told you all how my boys don't believe in Santa (so sad!!), but they are still pretty intrigued by the idea. Last night Joseph said to me, "I know a way that we can find out if Santa is real, mom." "Oh really? What is that?" "Just get on Dad's computer and go to the map where you can see houses and then go to the north pole and look all around to see if you can find a house up there." He is talking about Google Earth, which totally fascinates the boys. I thought that was pretty smart!!
Two small gripes about Christmas grinches. Friday afternoon I was running errands with the boys, and stopped at Home Depot (to replace the can of paint I mentioned above). I was unloading the boys, and Joseph had already climbed out of the van. As 5 year old boys are want to do, he unthinkingly sort of leaned up against the driver's side door of the old beat-up Toyota next to us. A woman was sitting in the passenger seat, apparently waiting for whoever was in Home Depot. The drivers side window was halfway down. ANyway, she totally yells in this mean voice, "Hey!" and poor Joseph jumps a mile and then scurries over to bury his face in my shirt. Can you believe that? What a mean lady. That got Joseph feeling bad, and then when we went into Home Depot I had to take Mosey to the bathroom. I had one of those low-to-the-ground push carts, and Joseph was sitting on it waiting for us to get out of the restroom. An overly-zealous employee comes over and is waiting for me when I come out of the restroom with Brigham and Mosey. "Ma'am, I'm sorry but your son can't be on the cart. He'll fall off and get hurt." Umm, my 5 year old son is going to fall 4 inches off a cart that isn't even moving and get hurt?? Ok... Well, Joseph was in a funny mood from the lady in the car incident and didn't want to get off the cart. The guy kept standing there telling Joseph he had to get off, until finally I just told him, "I understand he has to get off and I'll make sure he does, ok?" Finally he walks off and I'm able to convince Joseph to get down without making a scene. Ugh. It's not a huge deal but sometimes it just feels like people are soooooo uptight when it comes to OTHER PEOPLE'S KIDS. Has it always been like this or is this a more recent phenomenon? Aren't people supposed to be nicer and friendlier this time of year? Oh well...
Ok, Joseph is still awake upstairs so I better get up there and get him to sleep.
I hope everyone is doing well!
December 11, 2006
Hey all,
I've been absent a long time, sorry.
I've been insanely busy, plus my hard drive crashed on my old computer. Ben bought me a new laptop for an early Christmas present, so I'm back online which is nice.
I'm in full-speed-ahead mode in this moving business. A week from Thursday is when we leave. I am all packed up and all our stuff has already been shipped out. We basically just have clothes and furniture here. We're leaving most of our furniture in the house during the showing/selling process, but all our other stuff is packed up and gone. It's pretty boring for the boys!
I'm in the middle of some big projects, the most pressing of which is putting down new tile in 2 bathrooms (downstairs guest bathroom and upstairs master bathroom). I've got most of the tile laid, I still have about half a day's work to finish up the master bathroom, but then I still have all the grouting and caulking to do. Plus have to trim down 2 doors from the master bath, and then reassemble the whole pocket-door/trim assembly that I had to take apart to get that door out to be trimmed. I'm pretty exhausted, but I'm fairly optimistic everything will get done in time.
Ben is gone already-- he started his new job a week ago. So far I think it is going well for him, although he says it is cold and he's having some trouble finding a rental in the area of town we want to live in. He's staying with our friends in Austin until he can find a place-- hopefully before the boys and I show up!
The boys are doing just fine. They miss Ben and there have been some minor behavior issues probably due to the fact that they have no books or toys here and they are bored and also probably a bit anxious about everything that is going on. But all in all they are being good boys.
Brigham and Joseph were both chosen to be star students in their classes this week, which was really nice, but also a bit complicated for me since I was supposed to come up with a bunch of pictures and stuff for the star student bulletin board-- and all my stuff is already packed up and gone and my hard drive is dead, so I had no access to anything! But i managed to scrounge around and found what I needed. Just took a lot longer than I anticipated. Joseph also was selected as a "Kid of Character" for the school for the month (one child in each grade) which he was very proud about. I am proud of him too. I had to reassure Brigham that he and Joseph are still "even" since Joseph has had to move his Bear once and Brigham has never had to move his Monkey. Ahh, the complications of twin rivalry.
Mosey is getting more grown up every day. Last night as I was trying to get him to go to sleep he was "singing" to himself. So cute to hear the things he was singing about "and I love my moooommmmyyy and my daaaaddyyyy, and miiiissssterrrr and aaangeellll." Today he heard a "Chia pet" commercial on the radio and so he's been singing "cha-cha-cha-chia!" to me all day long. He's been a big "helper" for me, pouring the water when I'm mixing up mortar for the tile, following me up and down the stairs to get more tile or to cut tiles, and he's always good for a hug and a kiss.
I'm really looking forward to having this move behind us. It is so grueling in every way imaginable. Every day I wake up and basically have to work as hard as I can until bedtime. I'm glad my body has held up this far, I just need a few more days! I have actually lost some sight in my right eye which is worrying, but so far seems stable. That's a fairly common MS symptom and should be only temporary, but I need it not to get worse as I have to drive from Florida to Texas in about 10 days from now! So even though I've been working myself pretty hard during the day, I've been trying to be reasonable about bedtime for myself. Which also explains why I haven't been emailing even though I've had this computer for about a week. I'm also not sure I really want to document this time because I just hate moving so much. Why remind myself of it later on?!
All right, that's it for tonight. I hope everyone else is having more fun than I am this Christmas season!!
I've been absent a long time, sorry.
I've been insanely busy, plus my hard drive crashed on my old computer. Ben bought me a new laptop for an early Christmas present, so I'm back online which is nice.
I'm in full-speed-ahead mode in this moving business. A week from Thursday is when we leave. I am all packed up and all our stuff has already been shipped out. We basically just have clothes and furniture here. We're leaving most of our furniture in the house during the showing/selling process, but all our other stuff is packed up and gone. It's pretty boring for the boys!
I'm in the middle of some big projects, the most pressing of which is putting down new tile in 2 bathrooms (downstairs guest bathroom and upstairs master bathroom). I've got most of the tile laid, I still have about half a day's work to finish up the master bathroom, but then I still have all the grouting and caulking to do. Plus have to trim down 2 doors from the master bath, and then reassemble the whole pocket-door/trim assembly that I had to take apart to get that door out to be trimmed. I'm pretty exhausted, but I'm fairly optimistic everything will get done in time.
Ben is gone already-- he started his new job a week ago. So far I think it is going well for him, although he says it is cold and he's having some trouble finding a rental in the area of town we want to live in. He's staying with our friends in Austin until he can find a place-- hopefully before the boys and I show up!
The boys are doing just fine. They miss Ben and there have been some minor behavior issues probably due to the fact that they have no books or toys here and they are bored and also probably a bit anxious about everything that is going on. But all in all they are being good boys.
Brigham and Joseph were both chosen to be star students in their classes this week, which was really nice, but also a bit complicated for me since I was supposed to come up with a bunch of pictures and stuff for the star student bulletin board-- and all my stuff is already packed up and gone and my hard drive is dead, so I had no access to anything! But i managed to scrounge around and found what I needed. Just took a lot longer than I anticipated. Joseph also was selected as a "Kid of Character" for the school for the month (one child in each grade) which he was very proud about. I am proud of him too. I had to reassure Brigham that he and Joseph are still "even" since Joseph has had to move his Bear once and Brigham has never had to move his Monkey. Ahh, the complications of twin rivalry.
Mosey is getting more grown up every day. Last night as I was trying to get him to go to sleep he was "singing" to himself. So cute to hear the things he was singing about "and I love my moooommmmyyy and my daaaaddyyyy, and miiiissssterrrr and aaangeellll." Today he heard a "Chia pet" commercial on the radio and so he's been singing "cha-cha-cha-chia!" to me all day long. He's been a big "helper" for me, pouring the water when I'm mixing up mortar for the tile, following me up and down the stairs to get more tile or to cut tiles, and he's always good for a hug and a kiss.
I'm really looking forward to having this move behind us. It is so grueling in every way imaginable. Every day I wake up and basically have to work as hard as I can until bedtime. I'm glad my body has held up this far, I just need a few more days! I have actually lost some sight in my right eye which is worrying, but so far seems stable. That's a fairly common MS symptom and should be only temporary, but I need it not to get worse as I have to drive from Florida to Texas in about 10 days from now! So even though I've been working myself pretty hard during the day, I've been trying to be reasonable about bedtime for myself. Which also explains why I haven't been emailing even though I've had this computer for about a week. I'm also not sure I really want to document this time because I just hate moving so much. Why remind myself of it later on?!
All right, that's it for tonight. I hope everyone else is having more fun than I am this Christmas season!!
November 15, 2006
Hey All,
Quick check-in. I got the sink done! Yay! And it doesn't leak, either.
And I replaced all the yucky cheap light fixtures in the house (6 of them-- I'm leaving the yucky closet lights alone, though). So things are progressing. And I only fell off the ladder once, so yay me. Yes, a little sarcasm there. I hate M.S.
Mosey's leg is getting better, slowly. Still a bunch of blisters, but seems less painful for him today than yesterday.
Just one picture to share today. This is something I found just inside the van sliding door. It is distinctly Joseph's handwriting. I'm so glad he is thinking about Choose the Right, but perhaps that wasn't the best way to practice it??
Quick check-in. I got the sink done! Yay! And it doesn't leak, either.
And I replaced all the yucky cheap light fixtures in the house (6 of them-- I'm leaving the yucky closet lights alone, though). So things are progressing. And I only fell off the ladder once, so yay me. Yes, a little sarcasm there. I hate M.S.
Mosey's leg is getting better, slowly. Still a bunch of blisters, but seems less painful for him today than yesterday.
Just one picture to share today. This is something I found just inside the van sliding door. It is distinctly Joseph's handwriting. I'm so glad he is thinking about Choose the Right, but perhaps that wasn't the best way to practice it??
November 13, 2006
Hey Everyone,
Ben is in Dallas for a couple of days without a phone (we couldn't find it last night-- it is turned off so no way to call it either!), so if you read this, Ben, I hope everything is going well and I'll see you tomorrow night.
The weekend was a pretty busy one, as usual! On Friday there was no school and so we went to the zoo (I think I mentioned that?). It may well be our last visit to that zoo, so we walked through the WHOLE thing. It was a long day, but the boys were extremely good sports and didn't get too cranky or anything, although Joseph and Mosey were both asleep before we got back on the Turnpike on the way home. We went with the Curtises as well, and it was fun. Crowded, though! It's finally cool enough and not so humid so that going to the zoo was pretty comfortable, and I guess with the day off of school everyone else was thinking the same thing. We were there for most of the afternoon, and actually got to see some of the more exciting animals in action. The lions were out and about-- they're usually sleeping on this big stone thing in the middle of the enclosure. The elephants were walking around and eating and standing very close to the front of their enclosure so we could see them well. I will miss this zoo a lot. The nearest zoo to Austin is in San Antonio, so we probably won't be going as often.
On Saturday I went to Rena's baby shower which was really nice. I had worked hard all last week getting her pictures edited so I could order them on time to be shipped here by Friday. Then Friday night and Saturday morning I worked on getting them all matted and in a couple of photo albums for her baby shower present. During the shower, a lot of the husbands went to Rena's house to help them move to their new house. They had been living in a teeny tiny condo with 2 bedrooms, and when they found out they were having twins, they put it up on the market, sold it, and finally were able to move into a 3 bedroom rental with way more space last weekend. Crazy to be moving with 2 week old twins, but luckily Russell (Rena's husband) has been able to take a few weeks off of work to help out. Rena seems to be doing really well with the twins so far.
On Sunday Ben and I had to give talks (topic was Christlike love) in church, so Saturday night and Sunday morning we were busy preparing. I had also been asked to play the violin, so I was frantically trying to pull something together. Thankfully at church they announced there would be an intermediate hymn, so I got off the hook for playing my piece. I wasn't really ready with the piece I had chosen, so it was just as well. I think our talks went well, although both of us were somewhat distracted with the boys during each other's talks. Joseph and Mosey in particular were pretty irreverent. Both of them had stayed up till VERY late 2 nights in a row and it was catching up with them.
At home again I attempted to get the house cleaned up a bit. With all the stuff going on with the kitchen and then a busy weekend, the house was pretty messy. I had folded massive amounts of laundry on Wednesday which I STILL hadn't put away, and so the living room was pretty much unnavigable. I dont' think that's a word, but oh well. So I did get that put away and then a few other things straightened up after the boys went to sleep.
This morning we were ON TIME to school (a big deal since we were late EVERY morning last week, which was very bad, but also the first time we had ever been late). Mosey ate candy (still working our way through the Halloween stash) while I paid bills and attempted to purchase plane tickets for Christmas. It was very complicated. I was trying to buy several different tickets-- a 3 way ticket for Naomi from D.C. to Ft. Lauderdale, and then from L.A. back to D.C., and then another 1 way ticket from Miami to LAX which she will take in escorting my kids to LA. For the boys I had to get a multi-city ticket from Miami to LAX and then from L.A. to Austin. I had to get a round-trip ticket from Austin to LA and back. But I had to make sure I was on the same flight as the boys on the flight from LA to Austin, and I had to make sure Naomi was on the same flight as the boys from Miami to LA, and I was also trying to minimize costs because the cheapest multi-city flight for the boys did not correspond to the cheapest one-way ticket for Naomi or the cheapest round trip ticket for me, so I had to figure out which combination of flights would give me the cheapest overall amount. It took me more than 2 hours to figure all this out, and it was complicated that partway through Orbitz did a price shift on all their flights, so I had to basically start over. And then a hold was placed on my debit card so I had to call and wait on hold for MORE THAN 40 MINUTES to talk to someone at Bank of America and prove I am who I say I am so they would take the hold off. And then of course when that was done and I went back to Orbitz where I had been in the middle of purchasing my final tickets, I had been idle too long and the website logged me off and so I had to start ALL OVER AGAIN. AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Everything is just so complicated right now.
But I did get the tickets purchased. I'm still not convinced I got the absolute best price, but oh well.
After I got the boys from school we did errands-- I went to a tile store and ordered tile for our kitchen backsplash and for the floors in 2 of our bathrooms. We went to Home Depot and I got a cord kit so I can wire up and plug in our new oven. I went to Walmart to get a step-ladder and another p-trap kit. Took the boys to BK for dinner and FHE. They played with a couple other kids there and had a great time. Then went home, gave Mosey a bath, put the boys to bed, wired up the oven, worked on the sink, gave up on the sink, and here I am!
The story on the sink is that my original p-trap actually stopped leaking, so that was good. But in looking at it I realized I still had it wrong. There are actually 2 separate drains for the 2 sides of the sink. I had hooked up both sides to one drain, which would have been fine, except that it is at a higher elevation than the drain pipe into the garbage disposal, which means that water would always be backing up into the garbage disposal which would be yucky. So I disconnected it all and started on getting it re-plumbed, only to realize that I am missing 2 key parts, 1 for each side of the sink. So now neither of the drains are connected, and it's too late to go to Home depot and besides the boys are asleep, so I guess I work on it more tomorrow morning.
Doing home projects like these makes me appreciate living close to Home depot. I am running there 2 times a day it seems.
A few tidbits about the boys.
Joseph: Had to move his monkey for the first time last Thursday... He has a little friend named Sumid (the cutest little kid-- he is a Seik and wears a turban and doesn't eat meat and Joseph thinks all of that is very cool), and I think they get into trouble together. Both of them ended up emptying the playground sand from their shoes into a pile on the carpet where all the kids sit for story time and stuff. So both had to move their monkeys... They have little paper monkeys with their names on them, all hanging from branches on the class tree on one of the walls. When they misbehave they have to move their monkey to a lower branch. Joseph had been so proud that he hadn't had to move his monkey, but that's ok. I told him that was all right and I'm sure he learned to not dump out his shoes at school anymore! Today Joseph told me that he *almost* had to move his monkey. I asked him what happened and he said that Sumid wanted Joseph to try and pick him up to see how strong he was, so he started to pick up Sumid but he saw that Mrs. Vitale had a mad look on her face so he stopped. I told him he was very smart to pay attention to the look on his teacher's face. But you know, I'm happy he is getting into trouble over stuff like that rather than stuff like being mean or rude or disobedient or something, you know?
Brigham: On the way to school he said to me, "I wonder why yesterday isn't in the days of the week song?" I asked him what he meant and he said, "The days of the week song has Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but no yesterday!" HA HA HA HA!!! I love how 5 year olds think.
Mosey: Sunday morning when Ben and I were both working on our talks, the boys were out riding bikes and playing in the greenway. Mosey got into a fire ant pile and got all bit up. I noticed the redness and swelling at church, and by last night it was pretty bad. By this morning all the bites had begun to blister up, and by this afternoon some were bursting and weeping and poor little Mosey was in a lot of pain. He wouldn't let me put any cortizone cream on the bites, but he did take a very long soak in the tub and fell asleep ok. The boys were talking about how there wouldn't be any fire ants in Texas, and they were disappointed when I told them that no, in fact, there are lots of fire ants in Texas!!
I took some pictures of his poor little leg, the one that's the worst bit. He got sporadic bites all the way up his leg and even some on his belly and back. Ben says he didn't hear him cry out there (he was outside, I was inside), and I believe that. Mosey is one incredibly tough kid. Fire ant bites hurt like the dickens, though, and stay hurting for several days. Nasty little things.
I also took some pictures today of some funny faces Brigham and Joseph were making. Joseph was showing me his "bat face" (the one with his eyes open real big), and then a Christmas face. Brigham showed me his "Thankgiving face" (I guess thinking about lots of yummy food), a Christmas face (anticipation of presents), and a Halloween face (the scary one). You'll see those pictures in that order below.
Ok, off to bed for me. Lots to try to get done tomorrow.
Ben is in Dallas for a couple of days without a phone (we couldn't find it last night-- it is turned off so no way to call it either!), so if you read this, Ben, I hope everything is going well and I'll see you tomorrow night.
The weekend was a pretty busy one, as usual! On Friday there was no school and so we went to the zoo (I think I mentioned that?). It may well be our last visit to that zoo, so we walked through the WHOLE thing. It was a long day, but the boys were extremely good sports and didn't get too cranky or anything, although Joseph and Mosey were both asleep before we got back on the Turnpike on the way home. We went with the Curtises as well, and it was fun. Crowded, though! It's finally cool enough and not so humid so that going to the zoo was pretty comfortable, and I guess with the day off of school everyone else was thinking the same thing. We were there for most of the afternoon, and actually got to see some of the more exciting animals in action. The lions were out and about-- they're usually sleeping on this big stone thing in the middle of the enclosure. The elephants were walking around and eating and standing very close to the front of their enclosure so we could see them well. I will miss this zoo a lot. The nearest zoo to Austin is in San Antonio, so we probably won't be going as often.
On Saturday I went to Rena's baby shower which was really nice. I had worked hard all last week getting her pictures edited so I could order them on time to be shipped here by Friday. Then Friday night and Saturday morning I worked on getting them all matted and in a couple of photo albums for her baby shower present. During the shower, a lot of the husbands went to Rena's house to help them move to their new house. They had been living in a teeny tiny condo with 2 bedrooms, and when they found out they were having twins, they put it up on the market, sold it, and finally were able to move into a 3 bedroom rental with way more space last weekend. Crazy to be moving with 2 week old twins, but luckily Russell (Rena's husband) has been able to take a few weeks off of work to help out. Rena seems to be doing really well with the twins so far.
On Sunday Ben and I had to give talks (topic was Christlike love) in church, so Saturday night and Sunday morning we were busy preparing. I had also been asked to play the violin, so I was frantically trying to pull something together. Thankfully at church they announced there would be an intermediate hymn, so I got off the hook for playing my piece. I wasn't really ready with the piece I had chosen, so it was just as well. I think our talks went well, although both of us were somewhat distracted with the boys during each other's talks. Joseph and Mosey in particular were pretty irreverent. Both of them had stayed up till VERY late 2 nights in a row and it was catching up with them.
At home again I attempted to get the house cleaned up a bit. With all the stuff going on with the kitchen and then a busy weekend, the house was pretty messy. I had folded massive amounts of laundry on Wednesday which I STILL hadn't put away, and so the living room was pretty much unnavigable. I dont' think that's a word, but oh well. So I did get that put away and then a few other things straightened up after the boys went to sleep.
This morning we were ON TIME to school (a big deal since we were late EVERY morning last week, which was very bad, but also the first time we had ever been late). Mosey ate candy (still working our way through the Halloween stash) while I paid bills and attempted to purchase plane tickets for Christmas. It was very complicated. I was trying to buy several different tickets-- a 3 way ticket for Naomi from D.C. to Ft. Lauderdale, and then from L.A. back to D.C., and then another 1 way ticket from Miami to LAX which she will take in escorting my kids to LA. For the boys I had to get a multi-city ticket from Miami to LAX and then from L.A. to Austin. I had to get a round-trip ticket from Austin to LA and back. But I had to make sure I was on the same flight as the boys on the flight from LA to Austin, and I had to make sure Naomi was on the same flight as the boys from Miami to LA, and I was also trying to minimize costs because the cheapest multi-city flight for the boys did not correspond to the cheapest one-way ticket for Naomi or the cheapest round trip ticket for me, so I had to figure out which combination of flights would give me the cheapest overall amount. It took me more than 2 hours to figure all this out, and it was complicated that partway through Orbitz did a price shift on all their flights, so I had to basically start over. And then a hold was placed on my debit card so I had to call and wait on hold for MORE THAN 40 MINUTES to talk to someone at Bank of America and prove I am who I say I am so they would take the hold off. And then of course when that was done and I went back to Orbitz where I had been in the middle of purchasing my final tickets, I had been idle too long and the website logged me off and so I had to start ALL OVER AGAIN. AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Everything is just so complicated right now.
But I did get the tickets purchased. I'm still not convinced I got the absolute best price, but oh well.
After I got the boys from school we did errands-- I went to a tile store and ordered tile for our kitchen backsplash and for the floors in 2 of our bathrooms. We went to Home Depot and I got a cord kit so I can wire up and plug in our new oven. I went to Walmart to get a step-ladder and another p-trap kit. Took the boys to BK for dinner and FHE. They played with a couple other kids there and had a great time. Then went home, gave Mosey a bath, put the boys to bed, wired up the oven, worked on the sink, gave up on the sink, and here I am!
The story on the sink is that my original p-trap actually stopped leaking, so that was good. But in looking at it I realized I still had it wrong. There are actually 2 separate drains for the 2 sides of the sink. I had hooked up both sides to one drain, which would have been fine, except that it is at a higher elevation than the drain pipe into the garbage disposal, which means that water would always be backing up into the garbage disposal which would be yucky. So I disconnected it all and started on getting it re-plumbed, only to realize that I am missing 2 key parts, 1 for each side of the sink. So now neither of the drains are connected, and it's too late to go to Home depot and besides the boys are asleep, so I guess I work on it more tomorrow morning.
Doing home projects like these makes me appreciate living close to Home depot. I am running there 2 times a day it seems.
A few tidbits about the boys.
Joseph: Had to move his monkey for the first time last Thursday... He has a little friend named Sumid (the cutest little kid-- he is a Seik and wears a turban and doesn't eat meat and Joseph thinks all of that is very cool), and I think they get into trouble together. Both of them ended up emptying the playground sand from their shoes into a pile on the carpet where all the kids sit for story time and stuff. So both had to move their monkeys... They have little paper monkeys with their names on them, all hanging from branches on the class tree on one of the walls. When they misbehave they have to move their monkey to a lower branch. Joseph had been so proud that he hadn't had to move his monkey, but that's ok. I told him that was all right and I'm sure he learned to not dump out his shoes at school anymore! Today Joseph told me that he *almost* had to move his monkey. I asked him what happened and he said that Sumid wanted Joseph to try and pick him up to see how strong he was, so he started to pick up Sumid but he saw that Mrs. Vitale had a mad look on her face so he stopped. I told him he was very smart to pay attention to the look on his teacher's face. But you know, I'm happy he is getting into trouble over stuff like that rather than stuff like being mean or rude or disobedient or something, you know?
Brigham: On the way to school he said to me, "I wonder why yesterday isn't in the days of the week song?" I asked him what he meant and he said, "The days of the week song has Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, but no yesterday!" HA HA HA HA!!! I love how 5 year olds think.
Mosey: Sunday morning when Ben and I were both working on our talks, the boys were out riding bikes and playing in the greenway. Mosey got into a fire ant pile and got all bit up. I noticed the redness and swelling at church, and by last night it was pretty bad. By this morning all the bites had begun to blister up, and by this afternoon some were bursting and weeping and poor little Mosey was in a lot of pain. He wouldn't let me put any cortizone cream on the bites, but he did take a very long soak in the tub and fell asleep ok. The boys were talking about how there wouldn't be any fire ants in Texas, and they were disappointed when I told them that no, in fact, there are lots of fire ants in Texas!!
I took some pictures of his poor little leg, the one that's the worst bit. He got sporadic bites all the way up his leg and even some on his belly and back. Ben says he didn't hear him cry out there (he was outside, I was inside), and I believe that. Mosey is one incredibly tough kid. Fire ant bites hurt like the dickens, though, and stay hurting for several days. Nasty little things.
I also took some pictures today of some funny faces Brigham and Joseph were making. Joseph was showing me his "bat face" (the one with his eyes open real big), and then a Christmas face. Brigham showed me his "Thankgiving face" (I guess thinking about lots of yummy food), a Christmas face (anticipation of presents), and a Halloween face (the scary one). You'll see those pictures in that order below.
Ok, off to bed for me. Lots to try to get done tomorrow.
Mosey's owie fireant bites. Ouch!!!
Joseph's "Bat face"
Joseph's "Thanksgiving face"
Brigham's "Thanksgiving face"
Brigham's "Christmas face"
Brigham's "Halloween face"
November 13, 2006
Oh, and I couldn't resist throwing in some pictures of Mosey and his beloved Blues Clues hat. THis thing is almost impossible to get off his head for long. He won't even take it off at church... He is very, very, very, very hard to get a good picture of these days. He thinks it is fun to run from the camera, look away, or do pretty much whatever else he can to thwart my efforts. But here are a few of him with his hat (taken at the zoo last Friday).
November 10, 2006
Hey Everyone,
Busy day today. Managed to replace broken valve under sink, install new faucet, garbage disposal, and P-trap. I thought I had it all perfect, but there is a small leak in the p-trap (of course). So I'll work more on that tomorrow.
Politics is depressing me more than I can say, so I have decided to on a talk-radio diet for a while. Just keeping busy and listening to music!!
I took bathtime pictures of the boys this afternoon. My master bath here has the more gorgeous light EVER and I will miss that so much. So I have to take advantage while I can!
Tomorrow there's no school so I'm taking the boys plus Emma (big sister to the newborn twins) to the zoo. Should be fun.
Ok, here are the pictures. Have a great holiday everyone, and don't forget what the holiday is ABOUT. Our country has some great heroes in its veterans.
Busy day today. Managed to replace broken valve under sink, install new faucet, garbage disposal, and P-trap. I thought I had it all perfect, but there is a small leak in the p-trap (of course). So I'll work more on that tomorrow.
Politics is depressing me more than I can say, so I have decided to on a talk-radio diet for a while. Just keeping busy and listening to music!!
I took bathtime pictures of the boys this afternoon. My master bath here has the more gorgeous light EVER and I will miss that so much. So I have to take advantage while I can!
Tomorrow there's no school so I'm taking the boys plus Emma (big sister to the newborn twins) to the zoo. Should be fun.
Ok, here are the pictures. Have a great holiday everyone, and don't forget what the holiday is ABOUT. Our country has some great heroes in its veterans.
November 7, 2006
Hello Everyone,
My friend Rena had her twins a week ago Saturday. She was 38 weeks so the doctor induced her, and she had 2 healthy babies! The boy was 7 lbs 4 oz and the girl 7 lbs even! Amazing to have two seven plus pound babies! Anyway, for her baby-shower gift (she is waiting to have the shower until this weekend), I took newborn photos of the babies last Saturday, when they were a week old. It was the perfect age for pictures, they were sleepy and not too squirmy, but they were old enough to be eating well so with full bellies, they were easy to move around and it was really perfect! I spent about 3 hours there taking family pictures, baby pictures, babies with parents, etc. Joseph went with me to be my "photographer's assistant." He seems to enjoy photography too, I let him take pictures with one of my old digital point and shoots. So anyway, I was excited to go home and see how they turned out on the computer. But when I uploaded the pictures, I found that the lighting was horrible. They get almost no natural light in their house. I did the family pictures outside when the sun was behind some clouds, but then the sun came out so I had to move inside. They had tungsten lights on tracks in the living room, and I used those, tilting them to get more indirect light. It looked fine, but the problem was that I can't find my grey card to do the proper white-balance, and the color temperature of tungsten lights is really really orange. So the color was way, way, way off. I adjusted the color in photoshop, but then that introduced a lot of grain and so I was just really unhappy with the photos. I spent that night literally with a knot in my stomach about it. I hate it when things don't turn out right! I was also attempting to repair the ceiling in the family room where we've had so much leaking and water damage. We have a popcorn-style acoustical treatment on the ceilings, and so I got this spray stuff from Lowes to try and fix it, after I scraped off the water-damaged stuff and primed the sheetrock again. Anyway, that stuff is HORRIBLE, and it got everywhere, literally everywhere. All over the floor, the walls, the couch. I had even covered stuff with plastic, but it still got everywhere. So I then spent 3 hours cleaning this awful goopy popcorn stuff. So Saturday was not a good night.
Sunday was no better since I announced in Sacrament meeting that we are moving, and I totally started crying and then couldn't really stop for the rest of church. Just about any time anyone looked me in the eye I started crying again. Ugh. The horrible thing about moving is that you don't know any of the good that probably awaits you, you only know all the good you are leaving behind. I hate moving! So what a discouraging, blah weekend.
The good thing was that today was much better. I felt happier and more emotionally stable. I had Rena come over with her babies so I could get some individual shots with them (she wanted some with some props I hadn't brought to her house). So I was able to redo a few of the together shots as well. It was amazing what just a day and a half made, though. Today the babies were wiggly and alert and HAD to have their binkies. Saturday really was the magical day for taking pictures. Another good thing was that I spent about 5 hours tonight working with the original photos I took on Saturday, and I figured out a bunch of things with Photoshop and I am able to rescue just about all the shots that I thought were just going to be garbage. So overall I'm much happier. If I had gotten the lighting right in the first place, I could probably save myself about 10 hours of work, but I suppose this has also been a really good Photoshop learning experience.
I'm sorry, I know all this photography talk is totally boring to most of you, but since this letter serves as my journal, you will just have to deal with it!
Another great thing about today was that we got an awesome deal on a new washing machine. We are replacing all the appliances in our house in preparation for our move, and the washer was the last thing we needed to get. The old washer worked fine, so I was kind of reluctant to get a new one. But sometime last week (warning, really GROSS story will follow, so skip to next paragraph if you don't want to read a gross story regarding a mouse), a mouse got into the washer. It got down in between the drum and the outside "box" of the washer. Does that make sense? I was doing a load, and it scurried up and poked its head through the gap between the top of the washer and the rim of the drum. I almost screamed, and then just dropped the lid. Anyway, I opened up the lid again to try to see if it would come out on its own, but it didn't and sometime last week it died. So our laundry room started stinking to high heaven over the weekend and my laundry started to pile up. Last night Ben was my knight in shining armor and braved the stench of decaying mouse and hauled the old washer out to the side of the house and cleaned up under the washer where indeed there was ample evidence of a mouse habitation. So today I was in dire straights in terms of the state of laundry in the house, so Ben and I went to Home Depot to pick up a new washer. The first store we went to didn't have the model we wanted in stock, but the salesman called around and found one that did have it in stock, so we drove out to Miramar, only to discover that the one and only model they had in stock had been dented. So we got 50% off the sticker price just because the side panel was dented-- the side that would be flush up against the wall in our laundry room. So we got a brand-new Maytag washer for $179. I was very happy. And it works great and I'm slowly catching up with laundry.
The boys are doing A-OK.. They all got much-needed haircuts last night. I ended up buzzing Mosey's hair because it was pure torture for him and that was the fastest way I could get it over with for him. He looks cute with it, though. They played great with each other all afternoon. Mosey and Joseph had fun dissecting our rotting Jack-o-lantern on the front porch with a butter knife. Brigham drew a picture of a skeleton that is just amazing! He has all the bones just perfect and everything.
Joseph is getting to be such a good reader. He is starting to sound out words on signs as we drive around. He sounded out "Bank Atlantic" the other day as we were driving past fairly quickly. He is catching on to various rules of spelling, and is able to apply those rules correctly to other words (for instance, double consonants make the preceding vowel sound the short rather than long vowel sound). Last Friday we went ot Walmart and I got the boys each a compass. Joseph loves directions, but has a disagreement with his teacher about which way is North, so I got him the compass to take to class so he can test it out. He caught on very quickly how to use the compass and on the way home whenever I asked him what direction we were driving, he was able to correctly identify it.
Brigham asked me on the way to that same Walmart trip why girls don't like to play with boys. I dug a little trying to figure out where that question came from, and he said there are some girls in his class that he wants to play with, but when he asks if he can play, they say "no." :-( Poor guy. Actually, it turns out that they are nice little girls, and like to draw with him at the art table, but when they go over to the other centers-- housekeeping for example, they only like to play with other little girls. So we had an interesting conversation about how girls like to play different things than boys, and how boys and girls each usually feel more comfortable with kids like them. The boys did mention how the boys in their class like to run around and wrestle, and the girls don't like doing that. :-) Brigham also has got a reputation in his class for being the best artist, from what I gather. Brigham brings home these creations every day that he makes during centers time, and he tells me how the other kids all want to see what he makes. They are pretty cool, if I do say so myself. He makes these folding type creations with various drawings portraying a story that literally "unfolds" as he unfolds the paper. Now if only I can figure out what to do with the enormous stacks of papers that constitute Brigham's body of work so far.
Mosey is being a very good boy recently. He's been sleeping on his own much better. Not too many tantrums. Talking all the time! At Home Depot today I was reminded of a story I don't think I shared at the time. A few weeks ago we went to Brandsmart to get a new dishwasher and refrigerator. As we were walking through the rows and rows of appliances, poor Mosey got totally freaked out. He was terrified that all the washers and dryers and dishwashers and microwaves were going to turn on at any second. Mosey doesn't like unidentified sounds as it is (he must ask me 100 times a day, "What's that sound mom?"), and the potential of dozens of loud appliances turning on at once was really frightening I guess. He clung to me like superglue and kept saying something that I couldn't quite understand. Finally I understood what he was saying: "They're going to kill me, mom!" He was afraid all those appliances were going to kill him! I had to reassure him pretty much continuously while we were in the store that no, they were not plugged in, and were not going to kill him! Poor guy-- I think he must have at some point had a really bad nightmare involving murderous large appliances...
One more Mosey story-- when Rena brought over her babies today, Mosey was totally mesmerized. He's been around small babies a few times before, but I guess he's reached an age where they are now interesting to him. But it made me a little wistful to see how ignorant he is of all things baby. He was asking me what the babies' bottles were, what the binky was, he was very interested in the little umbilical cords, and wanted to hold the babies. He was very gentle with them, and sweet, so that made me smile.
Ok, enough of this long letter. It is ridiculously late. Good thing there's no school tomorrow. Maybe the boys will let me nap a bit in the morning.
Don't forget to vote everyone!
My friend Rena had her twins a week ago Saturday. She was 38 weeks so the doctor induced her, and she had 2 healthy babies! The boy was 7 lbs 4 oz and the girl 7 lbs even! Amazing to have two seven plus pound babies! Anyway, for her baby-shower gift (she is waiting to have the shower until this weekend), I took newborn photos of the babies last Saturday, when they were a week old. It was the perfect age for pictures, they were sleepy and not too squirmy, but they were old enough to be eating well so with full bellies, they were easy to move around and it was really perfect! I spent about 3 hours there taking family pictures, baby pictures, babies with parents, etc. Joseph went with me to be my "photographer's assistant." He seems to enjoy photography too, I let him take pictures with one of my old digital point and shoots. So anyway, I was excited to go home and see how they turned out on the computer. But when I uploaded the pictures, I found that the lighting was horrible. They get almost no natural light in their house. I did the family pictures outside when the sun was behind some clouds, but then the sun came out so I had to move inside. They had tungsten lights on tracks in the living room, and I used those, tilting them to get more indirect light. It looked fine, but the problem was that I can't find my grey card to do the proper white-balance, and the color temperature of tungsten lights is really really orange. So the color was way, way, way off. I adjusted the color in photoshop, but then that introduced a lot of grain and so I was just really unhappy with the photos. I spent that night literally with a knot in my stomach about it. I hate it when things don't turn out right! I was also attempting to repair the ceiling in the family room where we've had so much leaking and water damage. We have a popcorn-style acoustical treatment on the ceilings, and so I got this spray stuff from Lowes to try and fix it, after I scraped off the water-damaged stuff and primed the sheetrock again. Anyway, that stuff is HORRIBLE, and it got everywhere, literally everywhere. All over the floor, the walls, the couch. I had even covered stuff with plastic, but it still got everywhere. So I then spent 3 hours cleaning this awful goopy popcorn stuff. So Saturday was not a good night.
Sunday was no better since I announced in Sacrament meeting that we are moving, and I totally started crying and then couldn't really stop for the rest of church. Just about any time anyone looked me in the eye I started crying again. Ugh. The horrible thing about moving is that you don't know any of the good that probably awaits you, you only know all the good you are leaving behind. I hate moving! So what a discouraging, blah weekend.
The good thing was that today was much better. I felt happier and more emotionally stable. I had Rena come over with her babies so I could get some individual shots with them (she wanted some with some props I hadn't brought to her house). So I was able to redo a few of the together shots as well. It was amazing what just a day and a half made, though. Today the babies were wiggly and alert and HAD to have their binkies. Saturday really was the magical day for taking pictures. Another good thing was that I spent about 5 hours tonight working with the original photos I took on Saturday, and I figured out a bunch of things with Photoshop and I am able to rescue just about all the shots that I thought were just going to be garbage. So overall I'm much happier. If I had gotten the lighting right in the first place, I could probably save myself about 10 hours of work, but I suppose this has also been a really good Photoshop learning experience.
I'm sorry, I know all this photography talk is totally boring to most of you, but since this letter serves as my journal, you will just have to deal with it!
Another great thing about today was that we got an awesome deal on a new washing machine. We are replacing all the appliances in our house in preparation for our move, and the washer was the last thing we needed to get. The old washer worked fine, so I was kind of reluctant to get a new one. But sometime last week (warning, really GROSS story will follow, so skip to next paragraph if you don't want to read a gross story regarding a mouse), a mouse got into the washer. It got down in between the drum and the outside "box" of the washer. Does that make sense? I was doing a load, and it scurried up and poked its head through the gap between the top of the washer and the rim of the drum. I almost screamed, and then just dropped the lid. Anyway, I opened up the lid again to try to see if it would come out on its own, but it didn't and sometime last week it died. So our laundry room started stinking to high heaven over the weekend and my laundry started to pile up. Last night Ben was my knight in shining armor and braved the stench of decaying mouse and hauled the old washer out to the side of the house and cleaned up under the washer where indeed there was ample evidence of a mouse habitation. So today I was in dire straights in terms of the state of laundry in the house, so Ben and I went to Home Depot to pick up a new washer. The first store we went to didn't have the model we wanted in stock, but the salesman called around and found one that did have it in stock, so we drove out to Miramar, only to discover that the one and only model they had in stock had been dented. So we got 50% off the sticker price just because the side panel was dented-- the side that would be flush up against the wall in our laundry room. So we got a brand-new Maytag washer for $179. I was very happy. And it works great and I'm slowly catching up with laundry.
The boys are doing A-OK.. They all got much-needed haircuts last night. I ended up buzzing Mosey's hair because it was pure torture for him and that was the fastest way I could get it over with for him. He looks cute with it, though. They played great with each other all afternoon. Mosey and Joseph had fun dissecting our rotting Jack-o-lantern on the front porch with a butter knife. Brigham drew a picture of a skeleton that is just amazing! He has all the bones just perfect and everything.
Joseph is getting to be such a good reader. He is starting to sound out words on signs as we drive around. He sounded out "Bank Atlantic" the other day as we were driving past fairly quickly. He is catching on to various rules of spelling, and is able to apply those rules correctly to other words (for instance, double consonants make the preceding vowel sound the short rather than long vowel sound). Last Friday we went ot Walmart and I got the boys each a compass. Joseph loves directions, but has a disagreement with his teacher about which way is North, so I got him the compass to take to class so he can test it out. He caught on very quickly how to use the compass and on the way home whenever I asked him what direction we were driving, he was able to correctly identify it.
Brigham asked me on the way to that same Walmart trip why girls don't like to play with boys. I dug a little trying to figure out where that question came from, and he said there are some girls in his class that he wants to play with, but when he asks if he can play, they say "no." :-( Poor guy. Actually, it turns out that they are nice little girls, and like to draw with him at the art table, but when they go over to the other centers-- housekeeping for example, they only like to play with other little girls. So we had an interesting conversation about how girls like to play different things than boys, and how boys and girls each usually feel more comfortable with kids like them. The boys did mention how the boys in their class like to run around and wrestle, and the girls don't like doing that. :-) Brigham also has got a reputation in his class for being the best artist, from what I gather. Brigham brings home these creations every day that he makes during centers time, and he tells me how the other kids all want to see what he makes. They are pretty cool, if I do say so myself. He makes these folding type creations with various drawings portraying a story that literally "unfolds" as he unfolds the paper. Now if only I can figure out what to do with the enormous stacks of papers that constitute Brigham's body of work so far.
Mosey is being a very good boy recently. He's been sleeping on his own much better. Not too many tantrums. Talking all the time! At Home Depot today I was reminded of a story I don't think I shared at the time. A few weeks ago we went to Brandsmart to get a new dishwasher and refrigerator. As we were walking through the rows and rows of appliances, poor Mosey got totally freaked out. He was terrified that all the washers and dryers and dishwashers and microwaves were going to turn on at any second. Mosey doesn't like unidentified sounds as it is (he must ask me 100 times a day, "What's that sound mom?"), and the potential of dozens of loud appliances turning on at once was really frightening I guess. He clung to me like superglue and kept saying something that I couldn't quite understand. Finally I understood what he was saying: "They're going to kill me, mom!" He was afraid all those appliances were going to kill him! I had to reassure him pretty much continuously while we were in the store that no, they were not plugged in, and were not going to kill him! Poor guy-- I think he must have at some point had a really bad nightmare involving murderous large appliances...
One more Mosey story-- when Rena brought over her babies today, Mosey was totally mesmerized. He's been around small babies a few times before, but I guess he's reached an age where they are now interesting to him. But it made me a little wistful to see how ignorant he is of all things baby. He was asking me what the babies' bottles were, what the binky was, he was very interested in the little umbilical cords, and wanted to hold the babies. He was very gentle with them, and sweet, so that made me smile.
Ok, enough of this long letter. It is ridiculously late. Good thing there's no school tomorrow. Maybe the boys will let me nap a bit in the morning.
Don't forget to vote everyone!
November 6, 2007
Hello Everyone,
We had a fun weekend! Busy, but fun. Saturday morning, Ben took Joseph to his birthday party at Pump-it-up, and I got Brigham and Mosey dressed in their costumes to go trick or treating at the Countryside shops (a strip-mall shopping center nearby). Millions of kids teeming around, and it was hot and sticky and raining off and on, but the kids liked it. When we got home, I got the boys out of their costumes and Ben went to pick up Joseph. Brigham and Joseph had another birthday party at the ice rink at 1:00, so I took them there and Ben stayed home with Mosey. That birthday party was pretty fun, but again, the place was teeming with kids (popular place for birthday parties-- they have these "boxes" along one side of the rink, separate enclosed rooms specifically for parties). Brigham and Joseph can't really skate by themselves yet so I took them out one at a time to "skate" around the rink (really me holding them up and trying not to fall). They enjoyed it, though, and by the end Joseph could get around (very slowly) while holding to the wall. It was so loud, though, with all the people and the music they played, by the time I left my voice was about gone. And it wasn't great to begin with because I'd been fighting a cold since Thursday. Anyway, it made me a little sad since that will probably be the last time they see their preschool friends (it was a party for a little boy they met last year in Pre-K). After that we went to the Dollar Store hoping to get some cheap decorations for our van for the ward Trunk or Treat. But they were all sold out, so I just decided to forget it. Then it was back home to get the kids back into their costumes and get our things together for the Trunk or Treat. That was fun, too. I tried to get the boys to eat the hotdogs they had there before diving into the candy, but it was sort of a losing battle. Besides the candy in each car, there were a few little games and a cakewalk (cupcake walk), for which I brought a tray of homemade cupcakes. I was proud of them, if I do say so myself. I made them with "ghosts" of white frosting piped to make a ghost shape, and then mini chocolate chips for eyes and a regular chocolate chip for mouths (pointy side in). And then some I made with skulls on top-- a round blob of white icing topped with a "hat" made of a chocolate wafer-type cookie for the brim and the bottom half of a chocolte mini-cupcake for the top. Eye holes were brown m&ms, nose hole was a piece of black licorice cut very small, and the teeth were mini marshmallows I cut in half. Hard to describe, but they were cute. And they all got eaten up (not all the cupcakes were), so I take that as a good sign.
So we ended up, Saturday night, a full 2 days before Halloween, with an obscene amount of candy.
Sunday was church and of course the boys came home with a little treat bag full of more sugar.
Monday the boys really started to show the consequences of the sugar overdose and they were all really very bad. And I dont' use that word lightly. After school, Brigham was literally beating me with his fists because I refused to comply with his demands and move me, Joseph, and Mosey from the living room couch to the family room couch to read stories. Yes, he got a long timeout. But Brigham so rarely gets timeouts, it is even more rare that it is for something like punching his mother. By the time Ben got home from work and we had eaten dinner, I had just about HAD IT with the whining and fighting from all 3 boys that I just threw in the towel for FHE and told Ben I was going for a walk. So he did FHE with the boys and got them to bed and I calmed down by walking around Embassy Lake.
One side note. I have this weird limp now, because my left leg isn't working quite right. It's not that noticeable, but last week I had to throw away a pair of flip-flops because I actually wore a HOLE through the heel of the left shoe. I guess because of the different way I'm walking on that foot. No such similar wear on the right shoe. Mosey thought it was really funny that I threw my shoes in the garbage.
Tuesday was the big day. We were up early (not too hard since the boys haven't adjusted to the time change yet), with the plan to eat breakfast, get school stuff together, drop Mosey off at Melissa's, and then get to school in time for me to get to Brigham's classroom by 7:30 so I could help with the Halloween party. Well, Joseph wasn't feeling too cooperative that morning and informed me that he couldn't get dressed. It was too hard. So I told him if it was too hard to get dressed, then he probably shouldn't go to school because all the learning they would do at school would be too hard for him. So then the argument turned into the fact that he was too tired. So then I suggested that I drop him off at Melissa's along with Mosey so he could take a nap if he was so tired. So then he threw a fit for about 30 minutes while I got lunches made, Mosey dressed, Brigham and Mosey breakfasted, and kids loaded into the car. I put Joseph in the car in only his undies and told him if he could get himself dressed before I got back from getting my purse and keys, then he could go to school. Miracle of miracles, he was dressed by the time I got back out. So the day was saved, although I was a little late getting to school.
Brigham's class had a fun party. 6 different stations each manned by a couple of parents. I was at the "ghost flying contest" where the kids had to throw lollipop ghosts into a bucket. There was a "goblin goo" station (that weird stuff made with glue and borax), a monster cookie decorating station, a candy corn bingo station, a picture frame making station (the teacher took pictures of each child dressed in his or her costume), and a bat bracelet station. It was fun to see all the kids in Brigham's class and to see him interacting with his friends. I was struck by how young Brigham is, not by his behavior (he was very well behaved), but because he is pretty small. Not the smallest, but one of the smallest. There are some big kids in his class! Even some of the girls, I couldn't believe they were only 5 years old! After the party the class performed a little dance for us, a hokey-pokey style dance involving thumbs up, elbows back, legs apart, knees together, bottoms up, tongues out, eyes closed, and turn around. It was very, very cute. Then off through the rain to pick up Mosey.
It rained quite a bit that morning but cleared up nicely for the evening. During the afternoon the boys and I designed and carved their pumpkins (2 pretty standard jack-o-lanterns and one batman signal). Ben got home a bit early to join in the festivities. Then it was time to don the costumes once again, dig out flashlights, find candles for the pumpkins, and head out. The boys were invited to a little pre-trick-or-treating party at a neighbor's house-- there was pizza and a few crafts for the kids who were mostly too excited to trick-or-treat to be bothered by such things. Then as soon as it got dark all the kids were out trick or treating. The idea was to go as a big group, but some of those kids were so enthusiastic they literally were off at a dead run. So we ended up getting a few houses behind and mostly just being by ourselves which was just fine with me. We pretty much only went down our little street before Brigham got really tired, so I took him home and Ben finished taking Mosey and Joseph around the block. They ended up with plenty of candy. We had a pretty good number of trick-or-treaters ourselves and made it to just about the end of the candy I purchased which was very nice. We now have probably 15 lbs of candy in our house from the various celebrations, and we didn't need leftovers from what I had purchased to add to it.
Did I say what the boys were dressed as? Brigham and Joseph were skeletons and Mosey was a bumble bee. A couple years ago I bought a few costumes on clearance right after halloween, and that was the one he chose. It is basically a winter coat type thing with curly fur in yellow and black stripes, a hood with antennae, and a stinger on the back. He was adorable and went around saying, "Buzz buzz!" to everyone who would listen. The problem is that the end of October in South Florida is still very, very warm. The lows are still only in the upper 70's, and it is still very humid. We had ONE day of nice weather last week (the very first break in the weather, actually), but it is back to hot and humid around here. Last night it was probably 80-83, and very humid. By the time I took Mosey's costume off, he was literally dripping in sweat and the lining of the costume was just soaked. But he didn't seem to mind. The boys were all rather cooperative about going to bed last night, and by 8:30 PM, all was quiet in the Turner household. One benefit of living behind a gate is that the only trick or treaters are local kids and you don't get the roving gangs of teenagers still hoping for candy at 10:00 PM. I don't think we had another trick or treater after 8:00 PM.
Mosey is still very much in the Halloween spirit today. The first thing he did this morning was find his trick or treat bucket, and he pretty much didn't let it go all day. He had to have his costume on for most of the day, too, heat notwithstanding. He got a lot of chuckles as I rode my bike to and from the school this morning and afternoon, Mosey in the child seat in the back, clutching his jack-o-lantern trick or treat bucket in his hand the whole way. The crossing guards were especially amused to see me this afternoon, with Mosey in the back, bucket still in hand.
Ok, so that is the long and exhaustive Halloween report. I did take pictures, of course, which I will attach at the bottom.
The only other news is that we are now for sure moving to Austin, TX. Ben's first day of work out there will be December 4. I'll be staying in Florida until probably December 22, when I'll fly to L.A. for Christmas, and then back to Austin after the holidays. We won't be listing our house to sell until we actually leave. I've had to show houses with small children at home twice before, and I am just absolutely not doing that again. Even if it means we have to pay the mortgage an extra month or two becuase we're not listing it right away.
So the next few weeks will be pretty crazy. I'm praying it all goes smoothly.
Have a wonderful Thursday everyone. Those who haven't done so, please send pictures of your kids in their costumes!!
We had a fun weekend! Busy, but fun. Saturday morning, Ben took Joseph to his birthday party at Pump-it-up, and I got Brigham and Mosey dressed in their costumes to go trick or treating at the Countryside shops (a strip-mall shopping center nearby). Millions of kids teeming around, and it was hot and sticky and raining off and on, but the kids liked it. When we got home, I got the boys out of their costumes and Ben went to pick up Joseph. Brigham and Joseph had another birthday party at the ice rink at 1:00, so I took them there and Ben stayed home with Mosey. That birthday party was pretty fun, but again, the place was teeming with kids (popular place for birthday parties-- they have these "boxes" along one side of the rink, separate enclosed rooms specifically for parties). Brigham and Joseph can't really skate by themselves yet so I took them out one at a time to "skate" around the rink (really me holding them up and trying not to fall). They enjoyed it, though, and by the end Joseph could get around (very slowly) while holding to the wall. It was so loud, though, with all the people and the music they played, by the time I left my voice was about gone. And it wasn't great to begin with because I'd been fighting a cold since Thursday. Anyway, it made me a little sad since that will probably be the last time they see their preschool friends (it was a party for a little boy they met last year in Pre-K). After that we went to the Dollar Store hoping to get some cheap decorations for our van for the ward Trunk or Treat. But they were all sold out, so I just decided to forget it. Then it was back home to get the kids back into their costumes and get our things together for the Trunk or Treat. That was fun, too. I tried to get the boys to eat the hotdogs they had there before diving into the candy, but it was sort of a losing battle. Besides the candy in each car, there were a few little games and a cakewalk (cupcake walk), for which I brought a tray of homemade cupcakes. I was proud of them, if I do say so myself. I made them with "ghosts" of white frosting piped to make a ghost shape, and then mini chocolate chips for eyes and a regular chocolate chip for mouths (pointy side in). And then some I made with skulls on top-- a round blob of white icing topped with a "hat" made of a chocolate wafer-type cookie for the brim and the bottom half of a chocolte mini-cupcake for the top. Eye holes were brown m&ms, nose hole was a piece of black licorice cut very small, and the teeth were mini marshmallows I cut in half. Hard to describe, but they were cute. And they all got eaten up (not all the cupcakes were), so I take that as a good sign.
So we ended up, Saturday night, a full 2 days before Halloween, with an obscene amount of candy.
Sunday was church and of course the boys came home with a little treat bag full of more sugar.
Monday the boys really started to show the consequences of the sugar overdose and they were all really very bad. And I dont' use that word lightly. After school, Brigham was literally beating me with his fists because I refused to comply with his demands and move me, Joseph, and Mosey from the living room couch to the family room couch to read stories. Yes, he got a long timeout. But Brigham so rarely gets timeouts, it is even more rare that it is for something like punching his mother. By the time Ben got home from work and we had eaten dinner, I had just about HAD IT with the whining and fighting from all 3 boys that I just threw in the towel for FHE and told Ben I was going for a walk. So he did FHE with the boys and got them to bed and I calmed down by walking around Embassy Lake.
One side note. I have this weird limp now, because my left leg isn't working quite right. It's not that noticeable, but last week I had to throw away a pair of flip-flops because I actually wore a HOLE through the heel of the left shoe. I guess because of the different way I'm walking on that foot. No such similar wear on the right shoe. Mosey thought it was really funny that I threw my shoes in the garbage.
Tuesday was the big day. We were up early (not too hard since the boys haven't adjusted to the time change yet), with the plan to eat breakfast, get school stuff together, drop Mosey off at Melissa's, and then get to school in time for me to get to Brigham's classroom by 7:30 so I could help with the Halloween party. Well, Joseph wasn't feeling too cooperative that morning and informed me that he couldn't get dressed. It was too hard. So I told him if it was too hard to get dressed, then he probably shouldn't go to school because all the learning they would do at school would be too hard for him. So then the argument turned into the fact that he was too tired. So then I suggested that I drop him off at Melissa's along with Mosey so he could take a nap if he was so tired. So then he threw a fit for about 30 minutes while I got lunches made, Mosey dressed, Brigham and Mosey breakfasted, and kids loaded into the car. I put Joseph in the car in only his undies and told him if he could get himself dressed before I got back from getting my purse and keys, then he could go to school. Miracle of miracles, he was dressed by the time I got back out. So the day was saved, although I was a little late getting to school.
Brigham's class had a fun party. 6 different stations each manned by a couple of parents. I was at the "ghost flying contest" where the kids had to throw lollipop ghosts into a bucket. There was a "goblin goo" station (that weird stuff made with glue and borax), a monster cookie decorating station, a candy corn bingo station, a picture frame making station (the teacher took pictures of each child dressed in his or her costume), and a bat bracelet station. It was fun to see all the kids in Brigham's class and to see him interacting with his friends. I was struck by how young Brigham is, not by his behavior (he was very well behaved), but because he is pretty small. Not the smallest, but one of the smallest. There are some big kids in his class! Even some of the girls, I couldn't believe they were only 5 years old! After the party the class performed a little dance for us, a hokey-pokey style dance involving thumbs up, elbows back, legs apart, knees together, bottoms up, tongues out, eyes closed, and turn around. It was very, very cute. Then off through the rain to pick up Mosey.
It rained quite a bit that morning but cleared up nicely for the evening. During the afternoon the boys and I designed and carved their pumpkins (2 pretty standard jack-o-lanterns and one batman signal). Ben got home a bit early to join in the festivities. Then it was time to don the costumes once again, dig out flashlights, find candles for the pumpkins, and head out. The boys were invited to a little pre-trick-or-treating party at a neighbor's house-- there was pizza and a few crafts for the kids who were mostly too excited to trick-or-treat to be bothered by such things. Then as soon as it got dark all the kids were out trick or treating. The idea was to go as a big group, but some of those kids were so enthusiastic they literally were off at a dead run. So we ended up getting a few houses behind and mostly just being by ourselves which was just fine with me. We pretty much only went down our little street before Brigham got really tired, so I took him home and Ben finished taking Mosey and Joseph around the block. They ended up with plenty of candy. We had a pretty good number of trick-or-treaters ourselves and made it to just about the end of the candy I purchased which was very nice. We now have probably 15 lbs of candy in our house from the various celebrations, and we didn't need leftovers from what I had purchased to add to it.
Did I say what the boys were dressed as? Brigham and Joseph were skeletons and Mosey was a bumble bee. A couple years ago I bought a few costumes on clearance right after halloween, and that was the one he chose. It is basically a winter coat type thing with curly fur in yellow and black stripes, a hood with antennae, and a stinger on the back. He was adorable and went around saying, "Buzz buzz!" to everyone who would listen. The problem is that the end of October in South Florida is still very, very warm. The lows are still only in the upper 70's, and it is still very humid. We had ONE day of nice weather last week (the very first break in the weather, actually), but it is back to hot and humid around here. Last night it was probably 80-83, and very humid. By the time I took Mosey's costume off, he was literally dripping in sweat and the lining of the costume was just soaked. But he didn't seem to mind. The boys were all rather cooperative about going to bed last night, and by 8:30 PM, all was quiet in the Turner household. One benefit of living behind a gate is that the only trick or treaters are local kids and you don't get the roving gangs of teenagers still hoping for candy at 10:00 PM. I don't think we had another trick or treater after 8:00 PM.
Mosey is still very much in the Halloween spirit today. The first thing he did this morning was find his trick or treat bucket, and he pretty much didn't let it go all day. He had to have his costume on for most of the day, too, heat notwithstanding. He got a lot of chuckles as I rode my bike to and from the school this morning and afternoon, Mosey in the child seat in the back, clutching his jack-o-lantern trick or treat bucket in his hand the whole way. The crossing guards were especially amused to see me this afternoon, with Mosey in the back, bucket still in hand.
Ok, so that is the long and exhaustive Halloween report. I did take pictures, of course, which I will attach at the bottom.
The only other news is that we are now for sure moving to Austin, TX. Ben's first day of work out there will be December 4. I'll be staying in Florida until probably December 22, when I'll fly to L.A. for Christmas, and then back to Austin after the holidays. We won't be listing our house to sell until we actually leave. I've had to show houses with small children at home twice before, and I am just absolutely not doing that again. Even if it means we have to pay the mortgage an extra month or two becuase we're not listing it right away.
So the next few weeks will be pretty crazy. I'm praying it all goes smoothly.
Have a wonderful Thursday everyone. Those who haven't done so, please send pictures of your kids in their costumes!!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
October 23, 2006
Hello Everyone,
Things have been pretty crazy around here.
Ben got back from his business trip late last Wednesday night, and we decided we needed to go to Austin over the weekend, so Thursday was frantically spent trying to get babysitters, plane tickets, laundry done, house cleaned, etc.
The reason we needed to go to Austin is that Ben is probably going to be accepting a new job there, meaning a relocation in the next several weeks.
Initially his current boss counteroffered with the potential opportunity to open an office in California, which was extremely tempting, but now it looks like that offer may not be extended after all, so Texas here we come!
It provides a nice bit of symmetry, really. Since we've been married, we have lived in Denver (where neither of us had lived), Utah, where Ben grew up, California, where I grew up, Florida, where Ben spent two years, and now probably Texas, where I spent two years.
Moving will be a huge pain, of course, and pulling up roots and moving again won't be any easier. But at least when we drove around Austin it looked like a beautiful city and a good place to raise a family. So we'll see. I'll keep you all updated.
The boys did very well while we were gone. We sort of had a tag-team of babysitters, but it worked out well and everything was in good order when I came back, save for a few additional marker decorations here and there.
Ben and I had a great time in Austin. We drove around several areas of town where we could potentially live. We ate at a few different Austin classics, went to Lake Travis, and had a good visit with our friends Eddie and Nikki who live there.
On our last night, by sheer providence, Ben went to check his email, and decided to check his itinerary for the business trip to Bermuda scheduled for this week. He discovered that instead of a Monday morning flight that he thought he had, he actually had a Sunday morning flight. Which he obviously couldn't make since it was already 8:00 PM Saturday night, and no more flights to Florida at all that night. He went into a bit of a panic, but thank goodness it all worked out. He changed his flight in the morning to the earliest possible, so he arrived in Miami at 1:00 PM (had to change airlines and airports, too, $$, but oh well). Our good friends the Curtises had gone to our house and packed some clothes, shoes, and his laptop, and then met him at the Miami airport to give him those things, and then he hopped on a 4 PM flight to Bermuda and made it there by 8:00 that night. What a long day for him.
But now he is enjoying Bermuda (as much as you can when you are stuck all day in negotiations with reinsurers) and is scheduled to come home tomorrow night. It has been a week and a half now since the boys have seen more than a few minutes of their dad, and I know everyone involved is anxious for him to get home.
One big benefit of the Austin job is no more business trips.
I got a new lens in the mail today, yay! I really *needed* it, you know, and I felt a bit less guilty for buying it when Ben had his little flight scheduling mishap... :-) So this afternoon I played around with it and I am very happy. I can shoot in full shade at ISO 100 with a more than decent shutter speed, since the aperture opens up all the way to 1.4. Tricky focusing at that wide an aperture, but a lot of the shots I made were sharp, so I'm happy. I have another newborn shoot on Wednesday and I'm excited to use this lens.
Mosey appears to be sick. Joseph had a croupy cough last week, and had one bad night, but otherwise wasn't too sick. But now Mosey is stuffed up and a little feverish, and will only sleep on my lap (again making computer work just a little tricky, but at least he isn't kicking the keyboard). I hope he gets better soon and that it ends with him!
The boys also got their school pictures back, and let me tell you, looking at them makes me glad I'm a photographer! I actually love them because they both have just the weirdest expressions! Brigham is a funny one and it's a little tricky to get him to look natural or happy in photos, but Joseph was just a little ornery during the picture taking. He told me the lady told him to say "bananas," but he doesn't like bananas, so he wouldn't say it. Then she told him to say "boo," but he didn't want to say that either so he just didn't say anything. And his expression looks just exactly as you might expect, given the circumstances. So anyway, it was satisfying to get some nice pictures of both of them this afternoon. I need to work on Mosey a bit, though, he really likes saying "cheese" for the camera, and that's not really the look I'm normally going for! Silly boy.
Ok, off to bed for me. I have a feeling it might be a long night with a sick boy, and it's already too late for me. Here are some of the pictures I took. Do you like color or black and white?
Have a great Tuesday everyone.
Things have been pretty crazy around here.
Ben got back from his business trip late last Wednesday night, and we decided we needed to go to Austin over the weekend, so Thursday was frantically spent trying to get babysitters, plane tickets, laundry done, house cleaned, etc.
The reason we needed to go to Austin is that Ben is probably going to be accepting a new job there, meaning a relocation in the next several weeks.
Initially his current boss counteroffered with the potential opportunity to open an office in California, which was extremely tempting, but now it looks like that offer may not be extended after all, so Texas here we come!
It provides a nice bit of symmetry, really. Since we've been married, we have lived in Denver (where neither of us had lived), Utah, where Ben grew up, California, where I grew up, Florida, where Ben spent two years, and now probably Texas, where I spent two years.
Moving will be a huge pain, of course, and pulling up roots and moving again won't be any easier. But at least when we drove around Austin it looked like a beautiful city and a good place to raise a family. So we'll see. I'll keep you all updated.
The boys did very well while we were gone. We sort of had a tag-team of babysitters, but it worked out well and everything was in good order when I came back, save for a few additional marker decorations here and there.
Ben and I had a great time in Austin. We drove around several areas of town where we could potentially live. We ate at a few different Austin classics, went to Lake Travis, and had a good visit with our friends Eddie and Nikki who live there.
On our last night, by sheer providence, Ben went to check his email, and decided to check his itinerary for the business trip to Bermuda scheduled for this week. He discovered that instead of a Monday morning flight that he thought he had, he actually had a Sunday morning flight. Which he obviously couldn't make since it was already 8:00 PM Saturday night, and no more flights to Florida at all that night. He went into a bit of a panic, but thank goodness it all worked out. He changed his flight in the morning to the earliest possible, so he arrived in Miami at 1:00 PM (had to change airlines and airports, too, $$, but oh well). Our good friends the Curtises had gone to our house and packed some clothes, shoes, and his laptop, and then met him at the Miami airport to give him those things, and then he hopped on a 4 PM flight to Bermuda and made it there by 8:00 that night. What a long day for him.
But now he is enjoying Bermuda (as much as you can when you are stuck all day in negotiations with reinsurers) and is scheduled to come home tomorrow night. It has been a week and a half now since the boys have seen more than a few minutes of their dad, and I know everyone involved is anxious for him to get home.
One big benefit of the Austin job is no more business trips.
I got a new lens in the mail today, yay! I really *needed* it, you know, and I felt a bit less guilty for buying it when Ben had his little flight scheduling mishap... :-) So this afternoon I played around with it and I am very happy. I can shoot in full shade at ISO 100 with a more than decent shutter speed, since the aperture opens up all the way to 1.4. Tricky focusing at that wide an aperture, but a lot of the shots I made were sharp, so I'm happy. I have another newborn shoot on Wednesday and I'm excited to use this lens.
Mosey appears to be sick. Joseph had a croupy cough last week, and had one bad night, but otherwise wasn't too sick. But now Mosey is stuffed up and a little feverish, and will only sleep on my lap (again making computer work just a little tricky, but at least he isn't kicking the keyboard). I hope he gets better soon and that it ends with him!
The boys also got their school pictures back, and let me tell you, looking at them makes me glad I'm a photographer! I actually love them because they both have just the weirdest expressions! Brigham is a funny one and it's a little tricky to get him to look natural or happy in photos, but Joseph was just a little ornery during the picture taking. He told me the lady told him to say "bananas," but he doesn't like bananas, so he wouldn't say it. Then she told him to say "boo," but he didn't want to say that either so he just didn't say anything. And his expression looks just exactly as you might expect, given the circumstances. So anyway, it was satisfying to get some nice pictures of both of them this afternoon. I need to work on Mosey a bit, though, he really likes saying "cheese" for the camera, and that's not really the look I'm normally going for! Silly boy.
Ok, off to bed for me. I have a feeling it might be a long night with a sick boy, and it's already too late for me. Here are some of the pictures I took. Do you like color or black and white?
Have a great Tuesday everyone.
October 27, 2006
Hello All,
I'm cleaning up the house and found a paper with the following written on it:
"WFFaME
gohogoohPWCh
WFFaME
gohogohoPWiCh"
Think it is just gobblygook? Nope. I deciphered it:
You actually have to start on the bottom line, and then assume where he wrote g, he actually meant y.
"Yo ho, yo ho, pirate's
(go up to top line) life for me
Yo ho yo ho, pirate's
Life for me."
Can you see that??
I'm cleaning up the house and found a paper with the following written on it:
"WFFaME
gohogoohPWCh
WFFaME
gohogohoPWiCh"
Think it is just gobblygook? Nope. I deciphered it:
You actually have to start on the bottom line, and then assume where he wrote g, he actually meant y.
"Yo ho, yo ho, pirate's
(go up to top line) life for me
Yo ho yo ho, pirate's
Life for me."
Can you see that??
October 26, 2006
Hello Everyone,
Just a short whine here at the beginning. I am getting sick, I woke up with a sore throat and headache. And I was just ambushed by fatigue. After getting the boys up and to school, I crashed in the boys' room while Mosey played for about 3 hours. Then after getting the boys from school and getting homework done, I crashed for another 2.5 hours on the couch while they watched a Batman DVD they got at the library yesterday. Bad mommy. It is hard to describe the fatigue I feel. It is just overwhelming and I can't fight it. It feels just like taking a sleeping pill or something. I have no physical energy whatsoever, and it just pulls me under. I hate it, but don't know what to do. I've been getting pretty ok sleep recently. Could be better I guess, but 7-8 hours is nothing to sneeze at. Anyway, it is very frustrating.
We still don't know for sure about moving. Now Ben's current company is saying they won't have a final counteroffer until next Tuesday. Meanwhile the Austin people have been waiting more than 3 weeks and I'm sure they are getting pretty anxious to hear a definite yes or no. We are operating under the assumption that we are going to Austin, but still I would like to have some finality about it.
The boys seem to be perfectly ok about moving. But a few things they have said have pulled at my heart strings a little. Today Joseph was looking at his treasured batman watch and he said, "Maybe I'll give this to Bryson so he doesn't forget me." What a sweet thing to say, but boy that stung me! They are just now starting to really make friends and my mother-instincts are really protesting about ripping from this home of theirs, where most of their memories are now centered. I think they have some vague memories of California still, but they were only 2.5 when we left and I know those memories are fading. But they are only 5 and logically I know that moving at this point will not cause any scarring and really very little distress at all.
I wish I could get my scanner to work. Brigham is really coming along in his artwork. It is the first thing he wants to do in the morning, the first thing he does after school, and several times before bed he has just *had* to draw one more thing. When Joseph is watching Animal Planet, Brigham is working on his artwork. I really need to help Joseph find something that draws him as much as drawing does for Brigham (excuse the pun!). The other day he drew a picture of a house on fire at the top of the paper, and then down at the bottom he drew a fire truck. Between the two, he drew an array of various shapes. When I asked him about it, he pointed to a bunch of letters he wrote at the very bottom and translated for me, "Follow the triangles," meaning you're supposed to draw a line from the fire truck, connecting the triangles, until you get to the burning house. Not only were the pictures really good, but I just laughed at his writing. In the boys' kindergarten class, they are teaching them to write phonetically, spelling what they hear. This can be interesting just because English spelling constantly breaks phonetic rules, but is made more interesting by the fact that Brigham still has some leftover mispronunciations from learning to talk. So what I actually saw on the paper was this: "Fowoduchigls." He has trouble separating the words when he writes, so I suppose it should be "Fowo du chigls." Or in Brigham talk "Fah-wo duh chi-gulls," or "Follow the triangles." It was cool though, because often on his drawings I'll see an array of letters like that and I just figure he is practicing his writing. Now I realize he is actually probably trying to write actual words! I'll have to go back through them and try and decipher what he is saying.
Yesterday I had a newborn photo shoot and it was so fun! The last couple of photo shoots I've had, I've ended up very frustrated with myself for some dumb mistake I shouldn't have made. So I was nervous this time to see how I did. I tried to pay attention during the shoot, but you never really know until you upload the pictures and take a look. So I didn't upload them right away yesterday, sometimes it helps me to have a little space before immediately starting to beat myself up. But I uploaded them and I am so happy! No glaring obvious mistakes! Obviously some dud shots, but mostly due to exposure error which I caught and then corrected in the next frame, or else strange expressions and just a few focusing problems, which I attribute to the pretty accurate but not infallible auto-focus of my camera and lens. So I took 239 shots, which is way too many I know, but last time I was just so dismayed by some of the dumb mistakes I made, I wanted to make sure I ended up with enough to work from. I try to aim for 50-60 working proofs. But now I have about 125 shots that I love and I don't know how to narrow them down! I might just have to proof them all. Happily, since I didn't make any huge mistakes, my processing time ought to be cut way down. The other problem is that I have such a hard time deciding on color or black and white, that I end up processing most shots twice-- one for color and the other for black and white. But if I do that, I'll be presenting 250 proofs and that is just crazy. Too overwhelming for clients to go through that many proofs, and opposite of what you might expect, there is a point where the more proofs you present, the less your final order is. So I'm going to sleep on it tonight and then go through them again tomorrow and try to be ruthless and narrow down the pictures to maybe 75 max.
I'll attach just a couple from the first 8 that I proofed tonight.
Ok, off to bed now. We have such a busy weekend with 2 birthday parties and the ward Trunk-or-Treat, that I really must get my housework done tomorrow since I'll have no time on Saturday.
Just a short whine here at the beginning. I am getting sick, I woke up with a sore throat and headache. And I was just ambushed by fatigue. After getting the boys up and to school, I crashed in the boys' room while Mosey played for about 3 hours. Then after getting the boys from school and getting homework done, I crashed for another 2.5 hours on the couch while they watched a Batman DVD they got at the library yesterday. Bad mommy. It is hard to describe the fatigue I feel. It is just overwhelming and I can't fight it. It feels just like taking a sleeping pill or something. I have no physical energy whatsoever, and it just pulls me under. I hate it, but don't know what to do. I've been getting pretty ok sleep recently. Could be better I guess, but 7-8 hours is nothing to sneeze at. Anyway, it is very frustrating.
We still don't know for sure about moving. Now Ben's current company is saying they won't have a final counteroffer until next Tuesday. Meanwhile the Austin people have been waiting more than 3 weeks and I'm sure they are getting pretty anxious to hear a definite yes or no. We are operating under the assumption that we are going to Austin, but still I would like to have some finality about it.
The boys seem to be perfectly ok about moving. But a few things they have said have pulled at my heart strings a little. Today Joseph was looking at his treasured batman watch and he said, "Maybe I'll give this to Bryson so he doesn't forget me." What a sweet thing to say, but boy that stung me! They are just now starting to really make friends and my mother-instincts are really protesting about ripping from this home of theirs, where most of their memories are now centered. I think they have some vague memories of California still, but they were only 2.5 when we left and I know those memories are fading. But they are only 5 and logically I know that moving at this point will not cause any scarring and really very little distress at all.
I wish I could get my scanner to work. Brigham is really coming along in his artwork. It is the first thing he wants to do in the morning, the first thing he does after school, and several times before bed he has just *had* to draw one more thing. When Joseph is watching Animal Planet, Brigham is working on his artwork. I really need to help Joseph find something that draws him as much as drawing does for Brigham (excuse the pun!). The other day he drew a picture of a house on fire at the top of the paper, and then down at the bottom he drew a fire truck. Between the two, he drew an array of various shapes. When I asked him about it, he pointed to a bunch of letters he wrote at the very bottom and translated for me, "Follow the triangles," meaning you're supposed to draw a line from the fire truck, connecting the triangles, until you get to the burning house. Not only were the pictures really good, but I just laughed at his writing. In the boys' kindergarten class, they are teaching them to write phonetically, spelling what they hear. This can be interesting just because English spelling constantly breaks phonetic rules, but is made more interesting by the fact that Brigham still has some leftover mispronunciations from learning to talk. So what I actually saw on the paper was this: "Fowoduchigls." He has trouble separating the words when he writes, so I suppose it should be "Fowo du chigls." Or in Brigham talk "Fah-wo duh chi-gulls," or "Follow the triangles." It was cool though, because often on his drawings I'll see an array of letters like that and I just figure he is practicing his writing. Now I realize he is actually probably trying to write actual words! I'll have to go back through them and try and decipher what he is saying.
Yesterday I had a newborn photo shoot and it was so fun! The last couple of photo shoots I've had, I've ended up very frustrated with myself for some dumb mistake I shouldn't have made. So I was nervous this time to see how I did. I tried to pay attention during the shoot, but you never really know until you upload the pictures and take a look. So I didn't upload them right away yesterday, sometimes it helps me to have a little space before immediately starting to beat myself up. But I uploaded them and I am so happy! No glaring obvious mistakes! Obviously some dud shots, but mostly due to exposure error which I caught and then corrected in the next frame, or else strange expressions and just a few focusing problems, which I attribute to the pretty accurate but not infallible auto-focus of my camera and lens. So I took 239 shots, which is way too many I know, but last time I was just so dismayed by some of the dumb mistakes I made, I wanted to make sure I ended up with enough to work from. I try to aim for 50-60 working proofs. But now I have about 125 shots that I love and I don't know how to narrow them down! I might just have to proof them all. Happily, since I didn't make any huge mistakes, my processing time ought to be cut way down. The other problem is that I have such a hard time deciding on color or black and white, that I end up processing most shots twice-- one for color and the other for black and white. But if I do that, I'll be presenting 250 proofs and that is just crazy. Too overwhelming for clients to go through that many proofs, and opposite of what you might expect, there is a point where the more proofs you present, the less your final order is. So I'm going to sleep on it tonight and then go through them again tomorrow and try to be ruthless and narrow down the pictures to maybe 75 max.
I'll attach just a couple from the first 8 that I proofed tonight.
Ok, off to bed now. We have such a busy weekend with 2 birthday parties and the ward Trunk-or-Treat, that I really must get my housework done tomorrow since I'll have no time on Saturday.
October 17, 2006
Hello Everyone,
Ben left yesterday morning on a business trip to Texas. He'll be back Thursday, so not too long of a trip.
But it has meant I have had no time off from kids at ALL since yesterday morning. Mosey just refuses, REFUSES to go to sleep by himself. Last night I took the boys on a nighttime drive to get Mosey to sleep, which he did, and I even got him to bed asleep, but later on after I got the big boys ready for bed, Joseph went into my room to get a drink of water from my tub (against my EXPLICIT instructions), and woke him up. He would not go back to sleep, so I just gave up and went to bed with him, dirty dishes, etc. downstairs notwithstanding.
Tonight was not much better. We had a bunch of errands to do in the afternoon, and the last was going to Sam's Club. It is about a 15 minute drive away, and Mosey fell asleep RIGHT before we got there. The thing with my boys is that if they fall asleep in the afternoon, even for a SECOND, they won't go to sleep at night. So I was pretty frustrated by that. And sure enough, Mosey will not go to sleep. He was up in my room for 45 minutes just screeching until I let him come down. So now he is up way too late which means he probably will fall asleep in the afternoon again tomorrow and we'll just be in a terrible sleep pattern again. AAAAAAHHHHHHH!
It hasn't been the easiest couple of days with my boys. I know they miss Ben when he is gone, so I'm trying to attribute some of their behavior to that, but really today I was just pretty mad at all of them. We had to do a bunch of errands which I know is not fun for them, but normally they are very well behaved when we are out. But it started out badly when I went to pick up the boys from school. Joseph saw me and started running down the sidewalk, and sort of stumbled on the concrete. The teacher out there directing the walkers/bike riders called out to him, "Slow it down," and Joseph did not react well. He just sped up even faster toward me, and when I called to him to stop running, he ran over to the fence and wouldn't look at me at all. As I've said before, Joseph just hates being told what to do by people he perceives as not having authority. So anyway, I immediately go to him and tell him that the teacher is the boss of the sidewalk, and he has to do what she says. Joseph gets this really grumpy face and voice and says, "NO, she's NOT!" So anyway, this began about a 20 minute ordeal we had there on the school sidewalk with Joseph being grumpy and me lecturing him about respecting teachers and obeying, etc. This element of Joseph really worries me. We've got to get it under control while he is still young. I'm not sure that me lecturing is really going to do it. As I've said before, he's totally fine as long as HE decides whoever it is has authority. But the trouble is, HE isn't the one who gets to decide!! And he'll save himself a LOT of trouble and grief if he is respectful of everyone, regardless of whether or not they actually have authority over him.
So anyway we finally got in the car to do errands. I had to drop off books at the library, pick up a couple of things at Home Depot (we're getting new countertops, so I had to pick up a new sink and faucet as well), go to Lowes (the check we wrote for the aforementioned new countertops was returned so I had to clear that up), go to our auto insurance agency to make a payment, and then go to Sam's Club. With each stop we made, the boys got more and more antsy and ill-behaved. By the time we got to the insurance agency, they were downright bad, knocking down chairs, wrestling, trying to break into the gumball machines, and just being very BAD. We *were* going to go to Blockbuster after that to let them pick out a movie, but after warning them a few times, we finally left the building and I told them they lost the privilege of going to Blockbuster. Joseph went into a frenzy and RAN down the sidewalk (right next to a very busy street), and wouldn't come back until I got into the van and was about to drive away. I was so mad!!!!!!!! It was dangerous and he is too old to act like that. So anyway, I endured lots of screams and cries, but stuck to my guns. They were (to their credit) much better boys at Sam's Club. Except for I already knew my evening was ruined because Mosey fell asleep.
I was generally in a bad mood anyway, though, because I think customer service is just HORRIBLE down here in South Florida. Maybe it's bad everywhere, but I've noticed it especially here. At Home Depot, none of the regular checkout stands were open, just the self-service stands, which I HATE. Something always goes wrong. Most of the time I have something oversized or something that has to be measured so I can't use those checkouts anyway, and the times I do, one of the boys touches where you put the merchandise and messes up the scale, or it doesn't sense what I DID put in, and inevitably I have to sit there and WAIT for the cashier to come and fix it anyway. I HATE THOSE THINGS. So today, as usual, none of the regular checkouts were open, and again as usual, my self-service checkout thing messed up, and when the cashier finally comes over to me, I told her as nicely as I can (and I am exceptionally polite in public, really I am), that it would be nice if there were at least one regular checkout open for people like me with large items and small children that really can't use the self-service checkouts. Well, she just gets this attitude and says, "Ma'am," (by the way, I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE being called ma'am-- I think this originally started out as a term of respect but these days you ONLY ever here it when someone is going to talk down to you), "we can only have as many checkout stands open as we have cashiers." Ok, now that I write that down, it doesn't sound so bad, but believe me, the tone of voice and expression on her face was everything. I said to her, "I realize that, but for me at least it would be a lot better if the one cashier were manning a regular checkout stand instead of this self-service one." But before I could even finish my sentence, she was interrupting me saying the same thing. UGH. Ok, this drives me crazy on several levels. First, it is HOME DEPOT for heaven's sake, not some corner hardware shop. THERE SHOULD BE MORE THAN ONE CASHIER!! Second, it's not like any of the other employees of this particular Home Depot were doing anything useful (I can never find anyone to help me when I need help), CALL ANOTHER EMPLOYEE TO BE A CASHIER. Third, please, can you PLEASE just be sympathetic and polite once in a while?? How about saying, "I'm so sorry this isn't working for you, I can see how frustrating it is with your children right there and your large items. I wish I could open another checkout stand, but the rules are if there is only one cashier, she has to man the self-service checkouts. I will call and see if we can get another cashier over here right away. So sorry for the trouble." Ok, so even if this was completely MADE UP, it would have appeased me and made me feel much better. Even if she didn't call another cashier, and those WEREN'T the rules, she could have had me leaving the store with a smile on my face instead of me just churning with frustration and wishing I could just chew somebody out. Seriously, how can you be so stupid as to not realize that just being kind and sympathetic will deflect 99% of rude or angry customers??
Ok, rant over. Well, almost over.
At Lowe's, there I am again standing WAITING for a customer service person to help me. One is there, on the phone, another is there too, but apparently not helping actual customers. Finally the one on the phone looks up and says, "Can I help you?" As if I want to launch into my whole explanation of what happened and what I need when she's on the phone. I said, "Well, I can see you're on the phone, I'll just wait till you're done." She gives me a weird look and then tells the other guy back there (not helping anyone apparently) to help me, so I tell him what's going on, and he says, before I barely even finish telling him the situation, "Oh, you need to talk to the salesman who sold you the countertops." So I stand there (the boys going nuts and wrestling and sliding all over the filthy Lowe's floors) and wait until they page the salesman and he comes over. I tell him what's going on and he gives me a weird look and says, "Well, I have nothing to do with that, you need to talk to a manager." At that moment, some manager (I guess) breezes past and the saleman says to me, "We need you over here!" but he's off somewhere else I guess and the salesman says, "He'll be right back to help you," and he leaves. Hmm. Are you sure he's on his way back?? So I wait a while longer, but he doesn't come back. Finally I get the attention of the same guy, who's still apparently not helping customers, and tell him I need to talk to a manager. So he pages someone and again I stand there and wait (while my boys are going even more nuts, now pulling out books from the "how to" book shelves and I'm fighting the urge to spank all of them and order them to sit on the floor and not even blink). Finally some kid comes by (a manager? Are you sure?) and I explain AGAIN (3rd time now) what is going on, and he says, "Oh, sorry I can't help you, you need an administrative manager for that," so he pages that guy, and I'm STILL WAITING THERE AND MY KIDS ARE STILL GOING CRAZY! Finally THAT guy comes over and I explain AGAIN what is going on (4th time), and he seems to at least be the one with the authority to actually help me. So he starts searching for the order. Can't find it with my drivers license, or Ben's name, or our phone number. Finally I find the carbon copy check and he eventually finds the order with that. But the returned check apparently hasn't shown up on their system yet, so he spends another several minutes trying to puzzle out what to do, and finally pages and calls over ANOTHER manager and they consult for a while and FINALLY they set up some sort of temporary account where I make a repayment and supposedly when the returned check clears on their system, the credit on this account will automatically roll over and pay the balance. We shall see.
So anyway, I left that store pretty frustrated and my boys even more bored and frustrated, and I'm not at all convinced the matter is fully taken care of. We shall see.
So I guess it is no wonder that the boys were so bad at our next stop.
But I'm going to try hard to make tomorrow a better day. No errands, and I'm going to just be as nice as I can be.
And Mosey has finally fallen asleep on the floor next to me, so that is good too. I don't really mind him being up with me (except that it messes up his sleep schedule), but for the fact that he insists on sitting on my lap, and then thinks it is really funny to slam the keyboard drawer shut with his feet as I'm trying to type or do other work. Not funny. So I tell him he can sit on a chair next to me, but can't sit on my lap, which works for about 30 seconds before he is climbing on my lap again. And then I'm frustrated because I can't get anything done, and I'm also feeling pretty crappy for kicking my own little son off his mommy's lap. Bad mommy.
So basically I just want Ben to come home so I can maybe get a FEW short minutes of time to myself each day, even if it is only to write a too-long email about how hard my day was.
Waahh, waahh, waahh. Whine fest over, and now it is time to go to sleep!!
Love,
Gabrielle
P.S. here is a picture from a newborn session I did a couple weeks ago. I'm trying to teach myself to do more artsy type blend pieces. I'm not sure this one is entirely working, but it's sort of interesting I guess.
Ben left yesterday morning on a business trip to Texas. He'll be back Thursday, so not too long of a trip.
But it has meant I have had no time off from kids at ALL since yesterday morning. Mosey just refuses, REFUSES to go to sleep by himself. Last night I took the boys on a nighttime drive to get Mosey to sleep, which he did, and I even got him to bed asleep, but later on after I got the big boys ready for bed, Joseph went into my room to get a drink of water from my tub (against my EXPLICIT instructions), and woke him up. He would not go back to sleep, so I just gave up and went to bed with him, dirty dishes, etc. downstairs notwithstanding.
Tonight was not much better. We had a bunch of errands to do in the afternoon, and the last was going to Sam's Club. It is about a 15 minute drive away, and Mosey fell asleep RIGHT before we got there. The thing with my boys is that if they fall asleep in the afternoon, even for a SECOND, they won't go to sleep at night. So I was pretty frustrated by that. And sure enough, Mosey will not go to sleep. He was up in my room for 45 minutes just screeching until I let him come down. So now he is up way too late which means he probably will fall asleep in the afternoon again tomorrow and we'll just be in a terrible sleep pattern again. AAAAAAHHHHHHH!
It hasn't been the easiest couple of days with my boys. I know they miss Ben when he is gone, so I'm trying to attribute some of their behavior to that, but really today I was just pretty mad at all of them. We had to do a bunch of errands which I know is not fun for them, but normally they are very well behaved when we are out. But it started out badly when I went to pick up the boys from school. Joseph saw me and started running down the sidewalk, and sort of stumbled on the concrete. The teacher out there directing the walkers/bike riders called out to him, "Slow it down," and Joseph did not react well. He just sped up even faster toward me, and when I called to him to stop running, he ran over to the fence and wouldn't look at me at all. As I've said before, Joseph just hates being told what to do by people he perceives as not having authority. So anyway, I immediately go to him and tell him that the teacher is the boss of the sidewalk, and he has to do what she says. Joseph gets this really grumpy face and voice and says, "NO, she's NOT!" So anyway, this began about a 20 minute ordeal we had there on the school sidewalk with Joseph being grumpy and me lecturing him about respecting teachers and obeying, etc. This element of Joseph really worries me. We've got to get it under control while he is still young. I'm not sure that me lecturing is really going to do it. As I've said before, he's totally fine as long as HE decides whoever it is has authority. But the trouble is, HE isn't the one who gets to decide!! And he'll save himself a LOT of trouble and grief if he is respectful of everyone, regardless of whether or not they actually have authority over him.
So anyway we finally got in the car to do errands. I had to drop off books at the library, pick up a couple of things at Home Depot (we're getting new countertops, so I had to pick up a new sink and faucet as well), go to Lowes (the check we wrote for the aforementioned new countertops was returned so I had to clear that up), go to our auto insurance agency to make a payment, and then go to Sam's Club. With each stop we made, the boys got more and more antsy and ill-behaved. By the time we got to the insurance agency, they were downright bad, knocking down chairs, wrestling, trying to break into the gumball machines, and just being very BAD. We *were* going to go to Blockbuster after that to let them pick out a movie, but after warning them a few times, we finally left the building and I told them they lost the privilege of going to Blockbuster. Joseph went into a frenzy and RAN down the sidewalk (right next to a very busy street), and wouldn't come back until I got into the van and was about to drive away. I was so mad!!!!!!!! It was dangerous and he is too old to act like that. So anyway, I endured lots of screams and cries, but stuck to my guns. They were (to their credit) much better boys at Sam's Club. Except for I already knew my evening was ruined because Mosey fell asleep.
I was generally in a bad mood anyway, though, because I think customer service is just HORRIBLE down here in South Florida. Maybe it's bad everywhere, but I've noticed it especially here. At Home Depot, none of the regular checkout stands were open, just the self-service stands, which I HATE. Something always goes wrong. Most of the time I have something oversized or something that has to be measured so I can't use those checkouts anyway, and the times I do, one of the boys touches where you put the merchandise and messes up the scale, or it doesn't sense what I DID put in, and inevitably I have to sit there and WAIT for the cashier to come and fix it anyway. I HATE THOSE THINGS. So today, as usual, none of the regular checkouts were open, and again as usual, my self-service checkout thing messed up, and when the cashier finally comes over to me, I told her as nicely as I can (and I am exceptionally polite in public, really I am), that it would be nice if there were at least one regular checkout open for people like me with large items and small children that really can't use the self-service checkouts. Well, she just gets this attitude and says, "Ma'am," (by the way, I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE being called ma'am-- I think this originally started out as a term of respect but these days you ONLY ever here it when someone is going to talk down to you), "we can only have as many checkout stands open as we have cashiers." Ok, now that I write that down, it doesn't sound so bad, but believe me, the tone of voice and expression on her face was everything. I said to her, "I realize that, but for me at least it would be a lot better if the one cashier were manning a regular checkout stand instead of this self-service one." But before I could even finish my sentence, she was interrupting me saying the same thing. UGH. Ok, this drives me crazy on several levels. First, it is HOME DEPOT for heaven's sake, not some corner hardware shop. THERE SHOULD BE MORE THAN ONE CASHIER!! Second, it's not like any of the other employees of this particular Home Depot were doing anything useful (I can never find anyone to help me when I need help), CALL ANOTHER EMPLOYEE TO BE A CASHIER. Third, please, can you PLEASE just be sympathetic and polite once in a while?? How about saying, "I'm so sorry this isn't working for you, I can see how frustrating it is with your children right there and your large items. I wish I could open another checkout stand, but the rules are if there is only one cashier, she has to man the self-service checkouts. I will call and see if we can get another cashier over here right away. So sorry for the trouble." Ok, so even if this was completely MADE UP, it would have appeased me and made me feel much better. Even if she didn't call another cashier, and those WEREN'T the rules, she could have had me leaving the store with a smile on my face instead of me just churning with frustration and wishing I could just chew somebody out. Seriously, how can you be so stupid as to not realize that just being kind and sympathetic will deflect 99% of rude or angry customers??
Ok, rant over. Well, almost over.
At Lowe's, there I am again standing WAITING for a customer service person to help me. One is there, on the phone, another is there too, but apparently not helping actual customers. Finally the one on the phone looks up and says, "Can I help you?" As if I want to launch into my whole explanation of what happened and what I need when she's on the phone. I said, "Well, I can see you're on the phone, I'll just wait till you're done." She gives me a weird look and then tells the other guy back there (not helping anyone apparently) to help me, so I tell him what's going on, and he says, before I barely even finish telling him the situation, "Oh, you need to talk to the salesman who sold you the countertops." So I stand there (the boys going nuts and wrestling and sliding all over the filthy Lowe's floors) and wait until they page the salesman and he comes over. I tell him what's going on and he gives me a weird look and says, "Well, I have nothing to do with that, you need to talk to a manager." At that moment, some manager (I guess) breezes past and the saleman says to me, "We need you over here!" but he's off somewhere else I guess and the salesman says, "He'll be right back to help you," and he leaves. Hmm. Are you sure he's on his way back?? So I wait a while longer, but he doesn't come back. Finally I get the attention of the same guy, who's still apparently not helping customers, and tell him I need to talk to a manager. So he pages someone and again I stand there and wait (while my boys are going even more nuts, now pulling out books from the "how to" book shelves and I'm fighting the urge to spank all of them and order them to sit on the floor and not even blink). Finally some kid comes by (a manager? Are you sure?) and I explain AGAIN (3rd time now) what is going on, and he says, "Oh, sorry I can't help you, you need an administrative manager for that," so he pages that guy, and I'm STILL WAITING THERE AND MY KIDS ARE STILL GOING CRAZY! Finally THAT guy comes over and I explain AGAIN what is going on (4th time), and he seems to at least be the one with the authority to actually help me. So he starts searching for the order. Can't find it with my drivers license, or Ben's name, or our phone number. Finally I find the carbon copy check and he eventually finds the order with that. But the returned check apparently hasn't shown up on their system yet, so he spends another several minutes trying to puzzle out what to do, and finally pages and calls over ANOTHER manager and they consult for a while and FINALLY they set up some sort of temporary account where I make a repayment and supposedly when the returned check clears on their system, the credit on this account will automatically roll over and pay the balance. We shall see.
So anyway, I left that store pretty frustrated and my boys even more bored and frustrated, and I'm not at all convinced the matter is fully taken care of. We shall see.
So I guess it is no wonder that the boys were so bad at our next stop.
But I'm going to try hard to make tomorrow a better day. No errands, and I'm going to just be as nice as I can be.
And Mosey has finally fallen asleep on the floor next to me, so that is good too. I don't really mind him being up with me (except that it messes up his sleep schedule), but for the fact that he insists on sitting on my lap, and then thinks it is really funny to slam the keyboard drawer shut with his feet as I'm trying to type or do other work. Not funny. So I tell him he can sit on a chair next to me, but can't sit on my lap, which works for about 30 seconds before he is climbing on my lap again. And then I'm frustrated because I can't get anything done, and I'm also feeling pretty crappy for kicking my own little son off his mommy's lap. Bad mommy.
So basically I just want Ben to come home so I can maybe get a FEW short minutes of time to myself each day, even if it is only to write a too-long email about how hard my day was.
Waahh, waahh, waahh. Whine fest over, and now it is time to go to sleep!!
Love,
Gabrielle
P.S. here is a picture from a newborn session I did a couple weeks ago. I'm trying to teach myself to do more artsy type blend pieces. I'm not sure this one is entirely working, but it's sort of interesting I guess.
October 15, 2006
Hey everyone,
Thanks for those who replied about finding that violin piece. I did end up finding an arrangement which, with a bit of rearranging on my part, turned out to be really nice.
The funeral was really hard, not surprisingly. It was beautiful and horrible at the same time. It was so hard to see Margie and her family, they (and especially she) looked absolutely shell-shocked. You can tell that her life has completely and fundamentally changed, she even looks different. I can't begin to imagine what she is going through. At the end of the service, they played a slideshow set to music, of a whole bunch of pictures of Ramel, from the time he was an infant, and all growing up (he was 30, only 2 months older than me). His dad was killed when he was just a baby, so it was him and Margie for more than 10 years before she remarried, and then 5 more years before she had her second son. So he was her only child for 15 years. It was just impossible not to see my own sons' faces in those pictures, especially the ones when he was little, and that was when I really just fell apart. Thank goodness I had already played my piece. They chose really nice hymns, but of course I couldn't sing any of those either, my throat just closed up with tears. The first was "I am a Child of God," which under those circumstances was pretty wrenching anyway, and then of course I'm just remembering when that song was sung at Jacob's funeral. The second was "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee," and the closing hymn was "God Be With You Till We Meet Again," which I can't even think about now without choking up.
Anyway, afterwards I went out to eat with the Curtises who were there as well, to try to get our minds off of everything. I was really just emotionally wrung out, though. I came home, went to Lowes to pick up some things, and then just came back and went to bed.
Today was the Primary program at church, and Brigham and Joseph have been practicing their parts for a few weeks now. Joseph was given 3 different parts, one quite lengthy, quoting the famous "If any of you lack wisdom" scripture. Brigham had 2 parts of his own, and they both did just great! They had the parts memorized, but just in case, I sent them up with their little "cheat sheets" (wrote down their parts and then drew some little pictures to help them with some of the harder words). I don't think they needed them, though, they said all their parts clearly and perfectly! I could tell they were both really proud of themselves. They were the only ones in their class with their parts totally memorized, and even some of the kids in the class older than them needed help, so I think it did them good to see that they really could do it!
We spent the rest of our Sunday afternoon making and eating dinner, playing our word "game cube" (the cubes I made with their sight words), and then picking up the house a little bit. I had cleaned the house thoroughly last Thursday and Friday, but still in basically 1 day, it got quite messy again! Oh well, at least they are getting better at picking up.
I am resolving to start getting in shape again. I'm having such a hard time jogging with my left leg being the way it is, so my jogging at night has been sporadic at best. But I am either going to have to just figure it out, or start riding my bike. I don't really want to ride my bike at night, I'm not sure how safe it is, and in general riding bikes around here isn't the most efficient cardiovascular workout, because it is so flat. But at least I won't be tripping or tipping over. In any case, my iPod is malfunctioning again, so I think I'll probably stick with the treadmill in front of the TV for a while. My iPod I am afraid is on it's last legs. Every 2 weeks or so it freaks out and it won't reset or restore or anything until it's completely run out of batteries. Then I have to restore it, effectively formatting the harddrive in it, and then reload it with everything. Big pain. But iPod has pretty lousy customer service ($40 just to TALK with someone on the phone!! and more than $300 to send it in to be serviced!! Can you believe that??), so I think I'll just have to keep doing this until it finally dies. I'm pretty dependent on my iPod when it comes to cleaning the house or exercising, so if I want to keep up with either of these two activities, I really need a functioning iPod. I love the one I have now, but it is one of the more expensive models (40 GB of storage), and replacing it is not exactly in our budget. So eventually I may go out and get one of the smaller ones. We'll see.
And I'm also getting control of my eating again. Starting today actually, I have started keeping track and writing things down. It is so easy to put weight on again, isn't that depressing? I know it is primarily due to my not exercising as regularly, but if I'm not able to do that, then I just have to be even more careful with what I eat. My clothes are getting too tight and I refuse, just REFUSE to go out and buy bigger sizes. So my goal is to get back down to my goal weight by Christmas, and this is my public declaration of that goal. I will be accountable to all of you.
Well I have no good stories to tell in this boring email. Sorry about that. I'll try to come up with some for tomorrow.
Have a great Monday!
Thanks for those who replied about finding that violin piece. I did end up finding an arrangement which, with a bit of rearranging on my part, turned out to be really nice.
The funeral was really hard, not surprisingly. It was beautiful and horrible at the same time. It was so hard to see Margie and her family, they (and especially she) looked absolutely shell-shocked. You can tell that her life has completely and fundamentally changed, she even looks different. I can't begin to imagine what she is going through. At the end of the service, they played a slideshow set to music, of a whole bunch of pictures of Ramel, from the time he was an infant, and all growing up (he was 30, only 2 months older than me). His dad was killed when he was just a baby, so it was him and Margie for more than 10 years before she remarried, and then 5 more years before she had her second son. So he was her only child for 15 years. It was just impossible not to see my own sons' faces in those pictures, especially the ones when he was little, and that was when I really just fell apart. Thank goodness I had already played my piece. They chose really nice hymns, but of course I couldn't sing any of those either, my throat just closed up with tears. The first was "I am a Child of God," which under those circumstances was pretty wrenching anyway, and then of course I'm just remembering when that song was sung at Jacob's funeral. The second was "Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee," and the closing hymn was "God Be With You Till We Meet Again," which I can't even think about now without choking up.
Anyway, afterwards I went out to eat with the Curtises who were there as well, to try to get our minds off of everything. I was really just emotionally wrung out, though. I came home, went to Lowes to pick up some things, and then just came back and went to bed.
Today was the Primary program at church, and Brigham and Joseph have been practicing their parts for a few weeks now. Joseph was given 3 different parts, one quite lengthy, quoting the famous "If any of you lack wisdom" scripture. Brigham had 2 parts of his own, and they both did just great! They had the parts memorized, but just in case, I sent them up with their little "cheat sheets" (wrote down their parts and then drew some little pictures to help them with some of the harder words). I don't think they needed them, though, they said all their parts clearly and perfectly! I could tell they were both really proud of themselves. They were the only ones in their class with their parts totally memorized, and even some of the kids in the class older than them needed help, so I think it did them good to see that they really could do it!
We spent the rest of our Sunday afternoon making and eating dinner, playing our word "game cube" (the cubes I made with their sight words), and then picking up the house a little bit. I had cleaned the house thoroughly last Thursday and Friday, but still in basically 1 day, it got quite messy again! Oh well, at least they are getting better at picking up.
I am resolving to start getting in shape again. I'm having such a hard time jogging with my left leg being the way it is, so my jogging at night has been sporadic at best. But I am either going to have to just figure it out, or start riding my bike. I don't really want to ride my bike at night, I'm not sure how safe it is, and in general riding bikes around here isn't the most efficient cardiovascular workout, because it is so flat. But at least I won't be tripping or tipping over. In any case, my iPod is malfunctioning again, so I think I'll probably stick with the treadmill in front of the TV for a while. My iPod I am afraid is on it's last legs. Every 2 weeks or so it freaks out and it won't reset or restore or anything until it's completely run out of batteries. Then I have to restore it, effectively formatting the harddrive in it, and then reload it with everything. Big pain. But iPod has pretty lousy customer service ($40 just to TALK with someone on the phone!! and more than $300 to send it in to be serviced!! Can you believe that??), so I think I'll just have to keep doing this until it finally dies. I'm pretty dependent on my iPod when it comes to cleaning the house or exercising, so if I want to keep up with either of these two activities, I really need a functioning iPod. I love the one I have now, but it is one of the more expensive models (40 GB of storage), and replacing it is not exactly in our budget. So eventually I may go out and get one of the smaller ones. We'll see.
And I'm also getting control of my eating again. Starting today actually, I have started keeping track and writing things down. It is so easy to put weight on again, isn't that depressing? I know it is primarily due to my not exercising as regularly, but if I'm not able to do that, then I just have to be even more careful with what I eat. My clothes are getting too tight and I refuse, just REFUSE to go out and buy bigger sizes. So my goal is to get back down to my goal weight by Christmas, and this is my public declaration of that goal. I will be accountable to all of you.
Well I have no good stories to tell in this boring email. Sorry about that. I'll try to come up with some for tomorrow.
Have a great Monday!
October 10, 2006
Hey Everyone,
We took the boys to the dollar store tonight because they earned enough stars doing their responsibilities. It is so funny to see the things they choose. Joseph chose a bat kite, and Brigham chose a combination lock. Yes, a combination lock. Ben spent about 15 minutes once we got back home trying to teach him to open it, but it is kind of tricky for those little fingers. I'm not sure exactly what Brigham wants to lock up, but I'm sure I will find out eventually.
Yesterday the boys and I put up Halloween decorations. I remember last year we just barely got them up, and a couple days later we had to take all the outside ones down because of Hurricane Wilma. Amazing it's already been a year. So we are pretty much ready for Halloween around here. Brigham has been drawing pictures of jack-o-lanterns and vampires and ghosts, so I'll have to find a place for him to hang those up. Probably on the sliding glass door. I remember so well as a child drawing pictures of witches and jack-o-lanterns and other halloween images and taping them up to the sliding glass door in the living room. It is startling sometimes to see how much your child resembles you in ways that seem completely non-genetically founded!
Here is a way in which Joseph is just like me. All of last week he had a substitute teacher in his class. Last Friday he brought home a drawing he had made at school. I guess the assignment was for them to complete this sentence: "I take a ____ to town," and then draw a picture illustrating this in crayon. Joseph filled in his blank with bike, (spelled phonetically as biec which I thought was pretty good!), and then drew a very good picture of him on a bike, riding on a road around a bunch of buildings. However, he drew the picture in pencil. The sub had written in red ink (hey, I thought red ink was banned in public schools these days!), "Did not follow instructions. Picture was supposed to be in crayon." Joseph had actually torn off the part of the picture where this note was written, but I found it at the bottom of his backpack. So anyway, it seemed clear that he was upset by this, and I thought he was embarassed that his teacher had corrected him and so he tore off the note so I wouldn't see it. So anyway, Monday morning as we were riding bikes to school I tried to talk to him about it, telling him that it's ok if sometimes he forgets the directions and the teacher corrects him. It doesn't mean the teacher is mad, and I'm certainly not mad either. This is why he's going to school, to practice listening and following directions. Well, as I'm talking Joseph starts pedalling faster and faster, apparently not very interested in continuing the discussion. I just couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this story. Anyway, right about when we reached the school, Joseph said in this gruff, mad little voice, "Miss Vitale lets us draw with pencils or pens!!" Ah HA!! The window opened in my mind and I figured out what had happened. I had forgotten there was a sub in the class. So what happened was that the sub told the children to draw the picture in crayon, but since Mrs. Vitale always lets them choose crayons, pens, or pencils, Joseph wanted to choose a pencil. I'm sure the sub probably approached Joseph and told him to use crayons, and Joseph probably refused, hence she wrote the note on the drawing. I doubt she would have written the note unless she had already talked to Joseph and he continued to use the pencil anyway.
Poor little Joseph. He gets attached to whoever is the authority figure in whatever situation he is in, and is VERY loyal to that person, and has a REALLY hard time accepting the authority of someone he probably perceives as a usurper-- someone like the poor unsuspecting substitute. I've seen this element of his personality in other circumstances, and it is one I remember in myself as a child. Grandma tells me stories of when she would come stay with us when Mama was having a baby, and I would get so upset when she would do things differently than mama. To the point of refusing cookies in my lunch because it's not what Mama would have put in it!
So I guess Joseph gets it from me. After school I did have a talk with him about the importance of obeying whoever is in charge, even if they change the rules from what they usually are. I think 5 year olds in general are not known for their flexibiilty, and definitely not *this* particular 5 year old. So it's something we will have to continue to work on, I suppose.
So Joseph has been invited to another birthday party in his class, this time a "Pump-it-up" party. I'm just getting familiar with all these cool party things kids have these days. I guess this is kind of like a kids gym place where they can play on all sorts of fun equipment. So poor Brigham will be left out again. I'm sure he will be totally fine about it, that's just his nature, and I'll definitely plan something special for him that day, but I'm hoping he'll get invited to a birthday party soon!
I worry about Brigham a little. He has wet his pants a few times at school-- I think maybe 3 or 4 times. This is certainly not typical of him, in that he never, EVER wets his pants at home. But also somewhat typical of him because he definitely does wait until the LAST second before running to the bathroom. He gets so involved in whatever he is doing, he just can't take the time to go to the bathroom. And so at school when he finds himself somewhere where he doesn't know exactly where the bathroom is, he is in a pickle. After the 1st time, I wrote a note to his teacher and asked her to remind him to go during centers (sort of like free play), and I think she did for a while, but I don't think she has been doing that recently. And so yesterday I walked with him around the school a little bit, showing him exactly where some of the restrooms are. I also told him to look around for a grownup if he ever is not sure where the bathroom is, and to make sure when he raises his hand to go to the bathroom, to tell the teacher "it's an emergency," so I hope it doesn't happen again. Brigham doesn't seem to care, honestly he's totally oblivious to what other people think, and hopefully the situations in which this has happened have been discreet, because I would be so sad for Brigham to get the reputation at school as the boy who wets his pants, you know? Ugh. Sometimes I just wish I could be there with them all the time to help them through these tough social situations.
Ok, I'll close with a quick question for those doctor's spouses on my email list. Maybe you can ask your husbands about this for me. About a week and a half ago I banged my lower leg really hard. Actually I was on my bike trying to ride and carry Brigham's bike at the same time. I just couldn't do it, and the bike started to tip over. Moses was in the back of the bike, so I was trying to stop the bike from crashing to the ground, and unfortunately my lower leg, a few inches above my inner ankle bone bore the brunt of the fall. It immediately swelled up quite a bit, and was very sore. But it never really bruised. Anyway, there continues to be a very tender knot-- a visible swelling, right on the bone there, and just yesterday I noticed that there must have been some internal bruising because I can see black and blue extending all the way around to the back of my calf, and also down to the arch of my foot. But it must have been internal because I never did get a surface bruise.
So anyway, is this anything to worry about? I think I probably bruised the bone? Can you bruise the bone? Am I going to develop a blood clot and die? Is it normal for it to be still very sore (even when I just walk on it) this many days after? I think it's been like 11 or 12 days. I hate being a hypochondriac and so I don't want to go to the doctor because it's probably nothing. But I also dont' want to get a blood clot and die!
Anyway, I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.
We took the boys to the dollar store tonight because they earned enough stars doing their responsibilities. It is so funny to see the things they choose. Joseph chose a bat kite, and Brigham chose a combination lock. Yes, a combination lock. Ben spent about 15 minutes once we got back home trying to teach him to open it, but it is kind of tricky for those little fingers. I'm not sure exactly what Brigham wants to lock up, but I'm sure I will find out eventually.
Yesterday the boys and I put up Halloween decorations. I remember last year we just barely got them up, and a couple days later we had to take all the outside ones down because of Hurricane Wilma. Amazing it's already been a year. So we are pretty much ready for Halloween around here. Brigham has been drawing pictures of jack-o-lanterns and vampires and ghosts, so I'll have to find a place for him to hang those up. Probably on the sliding glass door. I remember so well as a child drawing pictures of witches and jack-o-lanterns and other halloween images and taping them up to the sliding glass door in the living room. It is startling sometimes to see how much your child resembles you in ways that seem completely non-genetically founded!
Here is a way in which Joseph is just like me. All of last week he had a substitute teacher in his class. Last Friday he brought home a drawing he had made at school. I guess the assignment was for them to complete this sentence: "I take a ____ to town," and then draw a picture illustrating this in crayon. Joseph filled in his blank with bike, (spelled phonetically as biec which I thought was pretty good!), and then drew a very good picture of him on a bike, riding on a road around a bunch of buildings. However, he drew the picture in pencil. The sub had written in red ink (hey, I thought red ink was banned in public schools these days!), "Did not follow instructions. Picture was supposed to be in crayon." Joseph had actually torn off the part of the picture where this note was written, but I found it at the bottom of his backpack. So anyway, it seemed clear that he was upset by this, and I thought he was embarassed that his teacher had corrected him and so he tore off the note so I wouldn't see it. So anyway, Monday morning as we were riding bikes to school I tried to talk to him about it, telling him that it's ok if sometimes he forgets the directions and the teacher corrects him. It doesn't mean the teacher is mad, and I'm certainly not mad either. This is why he's going to school, to practice listening and following directions. Well, as I'm talking Joseph starts pedalling faster and faster, apparently not very interested in continuing the discussion. I just couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to this story. Anyway, right about when we reached the school, Joseph said in this gruff, mad little voice, "Miss Vitale lets us draw with pencils or pens!!" Ah HA!! The window opened in my mind and I figured out what had happened. I had forgotten there was a sub in the class. So what happened was that the sub told the children to draw the picture in crayon, but since Mrs. Vitale always lets them choose crayons, pens, or pencils, Joseph wanted to choose a pencil. I'm sure the sub probably approached Joseph and told him to use crayons, and Joseph probably refused, hence she wrote the note on the drawing. I doubt she would have written the note unless she had already talked to Joseph and he continued to use the pencil anyway.
Poor little Joseph. He gets attached to whoever is the authority figure in whatever situation he is in, and is VERY loyal to that person, and has a REALLY hard time accepting the authority of someone he probably perceives as a usurper-- someone like the poor unsuspecting substitute. I've seen this element of his personality in other circumstances, and it is one I remember in myself as a child. Grandma tells me stories of when she would come stay with us when Mama was having a baby, and I would get so upset when she would do things differently than mama. To the point of refusing cookies in my lunch because it's not what Mama would have put in it!
So I guess Joseph gets it from me. After school I did have a talk with him about the importance of obeying whoever is in charge, even if they change the rules from what they usually are. I think 5 year olds in general are not known for their flexibiilty, and definitely not *this* particular 5 year old. So it's something we will have to continue to work on, I suppose.
So Joseph has been invited to another birthday party in his class, this time a "Pump-it-up" party. I'm just getting familiar with all these cool party things kids have these days. I guess this is kind of like a kids gym place where they can play on all sorts of fun equipment. So poor Brigham will be left out again. I'm sure he will be totally fine about it, that's just his nature, and I'll definitely plan something special for him that day, but I'm hoping he'll get invited to a birthday party soon!
I worry about Brigham a little. He has wet his pants a few times at school-- I think maybe 3 or 4 times. This is certainly not typical of him, in that he never, EVER wets his pants at home. But also somewhat typical of him because he definitely does wait until the LAST second before running to the bathroom. He gets so involved in whatever he is doing, he just can't take the time to go to the bathroom. And so at school when he finds himself somewhere where he doesn't know exactly where the bathroom is, he is in a pickle. After the 1st time, I wrote a note to his teacher and asked her to remind him to go during centers (sort of like free play), and I think she did for a while, but I don't think she has been doing that recently. And so yesterday I walked with him around the school a little bit, showing him exactly where some of the restrooms are. I also told him to look around for a grownup if he ever is not sure where the bathroom is, and to make sure when he raises his hand to go to the bathroom, to tell the teacher "it's an emergency," so I hope it doesn't happen again. Brigham doesn't seem to care, honestly he's totally oblivious to what other people think, and hopefully the situations in which this has happened have been discreet, because I would be so sad for Brigham to get the reputation at school as the boy who wets his pants, you know? Ugh. Sometimes I just wish I could be there with them all the time to help them through these tough social situations.
Ok, I'll close with a quick question for those doctor's spouses on my email list. Maybe you can ask your husbands about this for me. About a week and a half ago I banged my lower leg really hard. Actually I was on my bike trying to ride and carry Brigham's bike at the same time. I just couldn't do it, and the bike started to tip over. Moses was in the back of the bike, so I was trying to stop the bike from crashing to the ground, and unfortunately my lower leg, a few inches above my inner ankle bone bore the brunt of the fall. It immediately swelled up quite a bit, and was very sore. But it never really bruised. Anyway, there continues to be a very tender knot-- a visible swelling, right on the bone there, and just yesterday I noticed that there must have been some internal bruising because I can see black and blue extending all the way around to the back of my calf, and also down to the arch of my foot. But it must have been internal because I never did get a surface bruise.
So anyway, is this anything to worry about? I think I probably bruised the bone? Can you bruise the bone? Am I going to develop a blood clot and die? Is it normal for it to be still very sore (even when I just walk on it) this many days after? I think it's been like 11 or 12 days. I hate being a hypochondriac and so I don't want to go to the doctor because it's probably nothing. But I also dont' want to get a blood clot and die!
Anyway, I hope everyone has a great Wednesday.
October 6, 2006
Hello All,
In the interest in keeping up with my correspondence, I will write a letter tonight, although I can't really think of anything that significant. Unfortunately this morning was not the greatest. It all started 2 days ago when the boys had a very late bedtime. So yesterday morning was consequently pretty terrible. Brigham and Joseph just cannot cope with anything very well when they are tired. So Joseph was in tears 3 times before leaving the back door for school (mostly involving things like refusing to turn around and sit properly on the couch so I could put his socks on), and Brigham was in tears before we hit the sidewalk to go to school (his was crying because I told him to walk up to the sidewalk on the road instead of the path in the greenway before getting on his bike-- it is longer to go to the path, but that's where we usually go and he can't deal with change of routine when he's tired). Last night's bedtime was better, but they are still sleep deprived and this morning was no better than yesterday. Joseph was actually ok, but Brigham again threw a fit about not getting to go to the path. Here's the deal. Normally, I have the boys walk across the greenway grass to the path that goes up to the road. But the path doesn't actually connect to the road, so there is this little hill of grass where they have to get off their bikes, drag their bikes up over this little hill, then get back on their bikes on the sidewalk. When we're in a hurry, it is much faster for them to just walk a little longer across the grass and go straight to the road, instead of cutting across to the path. Make sense? Anyway, Brigham doesn't like walking longer across the grass, he wants to get on his bike as soon as he can, which is why he was throwing the fit about having to walk up to the road. So anyway, he was already crying, and then he got even more upset when Joseph got ahead of him once they were on their bikes. So he starts pedaling like crazy, and rams really hard into the back of Joseph's bike. Joseph almost falls over, and in retaliation, he rams into Brigham's bike, and *does* knock him over. So I was *really* mad at both of them, I had to get Joseph off his bike and dragged him over to the grass because there was another bike rider coming down the sidewalk, then help Brigham get up off the ground and back on his bike, and then we missed the light, making us yet another couple minutes late. I was really mad at both of them, and then felt really bad as they are walking up to their class after just getting yelled at by their mom. Ugh. Mornings are tough. Next week we MUST do better about getting to bed on time. We have a pretty good bedtime routine, but when things get messed up (like me leaving to go to a relief society thing, and then dad putting them to bed-- they think they can get away with much more with dad and the truth is they can), then the bedtime really suffers.
Anyway, they were all in much better spirits after school, as was I.
I let them watch some TV when they got home (one episode of Diego), since it is the weekend-- this is our new rule-- TV only on weekends), and I was really proud of them when I came back in the living room and they had voluntarily turned off the TV and were all involved in other things. Playdough and drawing and legos.
Brigham drew a self-portrait that was really, really good! I need to scan it. He had eyes complete with irises and pupils, a nose actually shaped sort of like a nose, including nostrils, and 2 lips instead of the usual curved line. And all the features were roughly in the anotomically correct position on the head. I've tried hard not to coach him on drawing, I want him to do things his own way, so this makes me happy to see him actually drawing what he sees instead of the symbols with which small children typically draw (lollipop trees, etc.). Now I do draw with them sometimes, and I have a couple of times drawn pictures of their faces, so maybe he still is just imitating what I do, but that's ok too.
Mosey has been trying to learn his letters. Well, he's been trying to get candy so I make him identify letters. Today I was on the computer and he saw the cursor blinking on the screen and he said, "That's the letter I, mom!" And he was right! That cursor does look just like a capital I. What a smart boy.
Tomorrow we're putting up Halloween decorations, and the boys are soooo excited. So far Joseph wants to be a Power Ranger and Brigham wants to be a skeleton. Gone are the days when I get to decide for my boys what they will be, to come up with cute coordinating costumes. Oh well, it's worth it to see them get so excited.
In the interest in keeping up with my correspondence, I will write a letter tonight, although I can't really think of anything that significant. Unfortunately this morning was not the greatest. It all started 2 days ago when the boys had a very late bedtime. So yesterday morning was consequently pretty terrible. Brigham and Joseph just cannot cope with anything very well when they are tired. So Joseph was in tears 3 times before leaving the back door for school (mostly involving things like refusing to turn around and sit properly on the couch so I could put his socks on), and Brigham was in tears before we hit the sidewalk to go to school (his was crying because I told him to walk up to the sidewalk on the road instead of the path in the greenway before getting on his bike-- it is longer to go to the path, but that's where we usually go and he can't deal with change of routine when he's tired). Last night's bedtime was better, but they are still sleep deprived and this morning was no better than yesterday. Joseph was actually ok, but Brigham again threw a fit about not getting to go to the path. Here's the deal. Normally, I have the boys walk across the greenway grass to the path that goes up to the road. But the path doesn't actually connect to the road, so there is this little hill of grass where they have to get off their bikes, drag their bikes up over this little hill, then get back on their bikes on the sidewalk. When we're in a hurry, it is much faster for them to just walk a little longer across the grass and go straight to the road, instead of cutting across to the path. Make sense? Anyway, Brigham doesn't like walking longer across the grass, he wants to get on his bike as soon as he can, which is why he was throwing the fit about having to walk up to the road. So anyway, he was already crying, and then he got even more upset when Joseph got ahead of him once they were on their bikes. So he starts pedaling like crazy, and rams really hard into the back of Joseph's bike. Joseph almost falls over, and in retaliation, he rams into Brigham's bike, and *does* knock him over. So I was *really* mad at both of them, I had to get Joseph off his bike and dragged him over to the grass because there was another bike rider coming down the sidewalk, then help Brigham get up off the ground and back on his bike, and then we missed the light, making us yet another couple minutes late. I was really mad at both of them, and then felt really bad as they are walking up to their class after just getting yelled at by their mom. Ugh. Mornings are tough. Next week we MUST do better about getting to bed on time. We have a pretty good bedtime routine, but when things get messed up (like me leaving to go to a relief society thing, and then dad putting them to bed-- they think they can get away with much more with dad and the truth is they can), then the bedtime really suffers.
Anyway, they were all in much better spirits after school, as was I.
I let them watch some TV when they got home (one episode of Diego), since it is the weekend-- this is our new rule-- TV only on weekends), and I was really proud of them when I came back in the living room and they had voluntarily turned off the TV and were all involved in other things. Playdough and drawing and legos.
Brigham drew a self-portrait that was really, really good! I need to scan it. He had eyes complete with irises and pupils, a nose actually shaped sort of like a nose, including nostrils, and 2 lips instead of the usual curved line. And all the features were roughly in the anotomically correct position on the head. I've tried hard not to coach him on drawing, I want him to do things his own way, so this makes me happy to see him actually drawing what he sees instead of the symbols with which small children typically draw (lollipop trees, etc.). Now I do draw with them sometimes, and I have a couple of times drawn pictures of their faces, so maybe he still is just imitating what I do, but that's ok too.
Mosey has been trying to learn his letters. Well, he's been trying to get candy so I make him identify letters. Today I was on the computer and he saw the cursor blinking on the screen and he said, "That's the letter I, mom!" And he was right! That cursor does look just like a capital I. What a smart boy.
Tomorrow we're putting up Halloween decorations, and the boys are soooo excited. So far Joseph wants to be a Power Ranger and Brigham wants to be a skeleton. Gone are the days when I get to decide for my boys what they will be, to come up with cute coordinating costumes. Oh well, it's worth it to see them get so excited.
October 3, 2006
Hello Everyone,
Yesterday was a holiday from school for the boys (Yom Kippur I think?), so we went to the zoo and had a great time, as usual. We were there most of the afternoon and so we stopped at McDonalds for dinner on the way home, and then all 3 boys fell asleep in the car! It was too good to last, though, as Brigham and Joseph woke up when we got home and I had to do the story-reading routine anyway, and then once they were in bed, Mosey woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep until I went to bed. I tried to get him to sleep and then sneak back downstairs to the computer, but he is too smart and woke right up and demanded I come back upstairs. Oh well! While we were at the zoo, we went inside a building where there were some conservation displays, and this area with large steps on two walls, made for people to sit down and watch a conservation video. We were resting our legs a bit, and then Brigham and Joseph started running around back and forth, up and down these large stairs. As they were running around me, they said, "I bet you can't tell which boy is which, mom, because we're running all mixed up around you!" Reminded me of that story of Sambo (? I think?) and the tigers who ran around and around him until they melted into butter. Earlier in the day we were on the monorail going from one area of the zoo to another, and the family sitting on the other side of the car from us (2 sisters with 6 kids between them), asked if Brigham and Joseph were twins. I said they were, and the little boy, probably the same age as Brigham and Joseph said, "Yeah, they're twins 'cuz they're wearing the same shirt!" I love hearing how little kids get cause and effect mixed up like that.
Today was back to school for the boys, and I had my newborn photoshoot. Can you believe the maternity pictures I posted yesterday were taken 6 days before she gave birth?? She was tiny. Her baby was 6 lbs 11 oz, so pretty small, but not teeny tiny. I thought the photo shoot went well, the baby was pretty coopertive, only peeing on one of my fur throws once, and then peeing on dad once and pooping on him twice!! I think they'll be happy with the pictures.
I'm telling you, though, having a perfectionist personality can be tough sometimes. I am a huge perfectionist, as anyone who knows me can attest, and I think I have been that way since I was little. Anyway, with each photo shoot that I do, I try to glean some "take home lesson," since I'm still very much starting out. I want to make sure I learn from each experience as much as I can. I so want to have a photo shoot that goes perfectly and I can't really think of some major thing I would do differently, but I haven't had that yet and it is discouraging. I don't repeat mistakes too much, but I keep making new ones! My huge mistake today was combining natural light with some of my studio lighting. Now I KNOW you are not supposed to use different temperature light sources, I've read that in multiple places. But I thought if I did a custom white balance (a take home lesson from a photoshoot I did back in May), then I could get around this problem. Other times when I've done shoots in people's homes, I have trouble getting good lighting. This house had pretty good natural light, but I brought one of my small chinese lanterns to use as my key light. So anyway, the upshot is that I'm having major problems with color balance. My studio lights have a much, much warmer color temperature than natural light, so the main-light side of the baby is nice and warm (color wise), and the back (fill light) side is really, really cool. I am so annoyed that I didn't realize this would happen. It would have been easy to avoid, too. Oh well. I'll attach a picture from the ones I've proofed so far, and you'll have to tell me if it is obvious. I'm thinking most people won't even notice, but to me it is pretty glaring and just gives me a knot in my stomach.
Oh well!!!!! Eventually maybe I'll be perfect, right??
Mosey went to the Curtises house while I was taking pictures, and he had a really good time. I really need to get him out to play with other kids while the big boys are in school. He was so excited to go, it made me feel bad that I'm so boring!
Well, I had a big thing I was going to say about the Amish shooting, but I'm too emotionally tired now to think about it. It just makes me so sad that there is such badness in the world. And so disgusted that the major societal response seems to be to call for a congressional sumit on school security. So now 1 room Amish school houses need guards? Whatever. How about having real dialogue about good and evil, the importance of parents teaching their children right from wrong and to have empathy for others? Not that the lack of these things is necessarily the cause of this particular incident, but it seems to me that each of us thinking about these issues and really evaluating how we are doing with our own children would be a far more effective and rational response than a congressional summit on school security. Oh well. I've just recently been getting pretty jaded about our society right now and I've been thinking that maybe the Amish have got it right, and then this happens. Not even the Amish can be spared this stuff.
Ok, well on that pleasant note, off to bed I go. Have a great Wednesday everyone!
Yesterday was a holiday from school for the boys (Yom Kippur I think?), so we went to the zoo and had a great time, as usual. We were there most of the afternoon and so we stopped at McDonalds for dinner on the way home, and then all 3 boys fell asleep in the car! It was too good to last, though, as Brigham and Joseph woke up when we got home and I had to do the story-reading routine anyway, and then once they were in bed, Mosey woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep until I went to bed. I tried to get him to sleep and then sneak back downstairs to the computer, but he is too smart and woke right up and demanded I come back upstairs. Oh well! While we were at the zoo, we went inside a building where there were some conservation displays, and this area with large steps on two walls, made for people to sit down and watch a conservation video. We were resting our legs a bit, and then Brigham and Joseph started running around back and forth, up and down these large stairs. As they were running around me, they said, "I bet you can't tell which boy is which, mom, because we're running all mixed up around you!" Reminded me of that story of Sambo (? I think?) and the tigers who ran around and around him until they melted into butter. Earlier in the day we were on the monorail going from one area of the zoo to another, and the family sitting on the other side of the car from us (2 sisters with 6 kids between them), asked if Brigham and Joseph were twins. I said they were, and the little boy, probably the same age as Brigham and Joseph said, "Yeah, they're twins 'cuz they're wearing the same shirt!" I love hearing how little kids get cause and effect mixed up like that.
Today was back to school for the boys, and I had my newborn photoshoot. Can you believe the maternity pictures I posted yesterday were taken 6 days before she gave birth?? She was tiny. Her baby was 6 lbs 11 oz, so pretty small, but not teeny tiny. I thought the photo shoot went well, the baby was pretty coopertive, only peeing on one of my fur throws once, and then peeing on dad once and pooping on him twice!! I think they'll be happy with the pictures.
I'm telling you, though, having a perfectionist personality can be tough sometimes. I am a huge perfectionist, as anyone who knows me can attest, and I think I have been that way since I was little. Anyway, with each photo shoot that I do, I try to glean some "take home lesson," since I'm still very much starting out. I want to make sure I learn from each experience as much as I can. I so want to have a photo shoot that goes perfectly and I can't really think of some major thing I would do differently, but I haven't had that yet and it is discouraging. I don't repeat mistakes too much, but I keep making new ones! My huge mistake today was combining natural light with some of my studio lighting. Now I KNOW you are not supposed to use different temperature light sources, I've read that in multiple places. But I thought if I did a custom white balance (a take home lesson from a photoshoot I did back in May), then I could get around this problem. Other times when I've done shoots in people's homes, I have trouble getting good lighting. This house had pretty good natural light, but I brought one of my small chinese lanterns to use as my key light. So anyway, the upshot is that I'm having major problems with color balance. My studio lights have a much, much warmer color temperature than natural light, so the main-light side of the baby is nice and warm (color wise), and the back (fill light) side is really, really cool. I am so annoyed that I didn't realize this would happen. It would have been easy to avoid, too. Oh well. I'll attach a picture from the ones I've proofed so far, and you'll have to tell me if it is obvious. I'm thinking most people won't even notice, but to me it is pretty glaring and just gives me a knot in my stomach.
Oh well!!!!! Eventually maybe I'll be perfect, right??
Mosey went to the Curtises house while I was taking pictures, and he had a really good time. I really need to get him out to play with other kids while the big boys are in school. He was so excited to go, it made me feel bad that I'm so boring!
Well, I had a big thing I was going to say about the Amish shooting, but I'm too emotionally tired now to think about it. It just makes me so sad that there is such badness in the world. And so disgusted that the major societal response seems to be to call for a congressional sumit on school security. So now 1 room Amish school houses need guards? Whatever. How about having real dialogue about good and evil, the importance of parents teaching their children right from wrong and to have empathy for others? Not that the lack of these things is necessarily the cause of this particular incident, but it seems to me that each of us thinking about these issues and really evaluating how we are doing with our own children would be a far more effective and rational response than a congressional summit on school security. Oh well. I've just recently been getting pretty jaded about our society right now and I've been thinking that maybe the Amish have got it right, and then this happens. Not even the Amish can be spared this stuff.
Ok, well on that pleasant note, off to bed I go. Have a great Wednesday everyone!
October 4, 2006
Hey everyone,
I've really got to get back to writing my updates. I'm sure y'all have been surviving without them, but I want them for myself! :-)
My excuse for not being around much recently is that I've been so busy and so tired! I'm dealing with MS fatigue big time these days, and it is really annoying me. I'm pretty much wiped out by the time the boys go to bed, so I haven't been on the computer much after that, and hence no emails.
I've been busy with the boys, the house, and photography, so it's all a good kind of busy. I just don't seem to have any free time. Welcome to the adult world I guess.
We've started a new "system" here to teach the boys responsibility and also to get them to help clean up their own messes. It's working pretty good too. Before, we were paying them quarters for doing their chores, but it wasn't really working because I never had enough quarters on hand, so I'd be trying to keep track in my head and that didn't work really at all. So I made a nice sticker chart, and they can earn star stickers for a variety of tasks. Getting themselves dressed in the morning and pj's on at night. Putting dirty clothes in the laundry basket. Putting meal dishes in the sink. Cleaning up papers and toys. Each sticker is worth 5 cents, and they can earn up to 3 stickers per day for cleaning up. Then at the end of the week we count up the stickers and if they have enough they can go to the dollar store. Oh yeah, they have to pay tithing too.
So this has been working just great for my boys. The deal is that they don't have to do any of that stuff. But if they want to earn stars, those are the tasks they can do. I also have a category for extra jobs, so if they can think of an extra job they want to do for extra stars, they can do that. I actually have them arguing a bit over who gets to do a job! That's different!
We've also been trying to work with the boys on reading, especially Brigham. Brigham is an extremely visual, hands-on learner. They have "sight words" they have to learn each week (just one or two), which are words they are supposed to recognize by sight and not have to sound out. Joseph can memorize them really fast, but Brigham just struggled with it. I was using flash cards, and he just couldn't do it! So instead I made some cubes out of cardstock, and wrote one word on each side of the cubes (they have 11 words so far), and they get to "toss" a cube, and if they get the word on the first try, they get one piece of candy (gummy bears or skittles). Brigham actually *asks* to play this game and he's getting much, much better.
Joseph is just motoring along with his reading. I have a set of flashcards I made for the alphabet (mama, the ones you sent back to me), on one side is the letter and then a picture of something starting with that letter-- Apple for A, Zebra for Z, etc. On the back of the card, I have written down whatever the picture is on the other side. So yesterday Joseph went through all 26 alphabet cards, and 8 number cards, and sounded out every single word. Even sort of hard words like hippopotomus, ice cream cone, three thumbs, seven swords, etc. I was very proud of him, and he got 10 skittles for that! :-)
Mosey kind of gets into these games, too, and he knows two of the sight words already-- "I" and "me." I'm working with him on his letters and then he'll get to have pieces of candy for letters he can identify and make the sounds for.
Ben let the boys play on his computer for a while yesterday while we were listening to General Conference, and they were playing a "Diego" game (from the Nick Jr. tv show "Diego," I guess). It was so cute to see all 3 boys leaning over the computer together and each telling Brigham (he was maneuvering the mouse) where to click and what to do. And of course those shows are all interactive, so they have to say certain things at the same time, and they were all participating together too. So cute.
Yesterday Joseph went to a Build-A-Bear birthday party and he had a great time! It was cute going with him to pick out a birthday present, because the party was for a little girl in his class. He told me he thought it would be hard to pick out a present for her because "she's a girl." We ended up getting a CareBear umbrella and raincoat, which was perfect because Joseph loves CareBears too. When we got home, Joseph said to me, "What if you had another baby and it was a girl?" I said back to him, "I don't know, what if I did?" And he said, "How would you know what to do with a girl, you only have practice with boys!" Ha ha ha! Very true...
Tonight after dinner we drove out to the everglades for a short walk before bed, and we saw 2 alligators. Alligators are nothing unusual, but they were right up next to the boat ramp, which I guess is a little unusual-- for them to be so close to humans. Pretty cool, though. Made Brigham a little nervous, and Joseph not quite nervous enough. He thought it was funny to tease his daddy by running out in front of him, and a litle too close to the water for comfort.
Ok, well I'm off to bed now. I have tons of stuff from the past couple of weeks I should probably catch you up on, but I'll probably just let that be water under the bridge and continue on more regularly from here.
I'll attach a couple of pictures from recent photo shoots, if you're interested. I have a newborn photoshoot this week that I'm so excited for!
I've really got to get back to writing my updates. I'm sure y'all have been surviving without them, but I want them for myself! :-)
My excuse for not being around much recently is that I've been so busy and so tired! I'm dealing with MS fatigue big time these days, and it is really annoying me. I'm pretty much wiped out by the time the boys go to bed, so I haven't been on the computer much after that, and hence no emails.
I've been busy with the boys, the house, and photography, so it's all a good kind of busy. I just don't seem to have any free time. Welcome to the adult world I guess.
We've started a new "system" here to teach the boys responsibility and also to get them to help clean up their own messes. It's working pretty good too. Before, we were paying them quarters for doing their chores, but it wasn't really working because I never had enough quarters on hand, so I'd be trying to keep track in my head and that didn't work really at all. So I made a nice sticker chart, and they can earn star stickers for a variety of tasks. Getting themselves dressed in the morning and pj's on at night. Putting dirty clothes in the laundry basket. Putting meal dishes in the sink. Cleaning up papers and toys. Each sticker is worth 5 cents, and they can earn up to 3 stickers per day for cleaning up. Then at the end of the week we count up the stickers and if they have enough they can go to the dollar store. Oh yeah, they have to pay tithing too.
So this has been working just great for my boys. The deal is that they don't have to do any of that stuff. But if they want to earn stars, those are the tasks they can do. I also have a category for extra jobs, so if they can think of an extra job they want to do for extra stars, they can do that. I actually have them arguing a bit over who gets to do a job! That's different!
We've also been trying to work with the boys on reading, especially Brigham. Brigham is an extremely visual, hands-on learner. They have "sight words" they have to learn each week (just one or two), which are words they are supposed to recognize by sight and not have to sound out. Joseph can memorize them really fast, but Brigham just struggled with it. I was using flash cards, and he just couldn't do it! So instead I made some cubes out of cardstock, and wrote one word on each side of the cubes (they have 11 words so far), and they get to "toss" a cube, and if they get the word on the first try, they get one piece of candy (gummy bears or skittles). Brigham actually *asks* to play this game and he's getting much, much better.
Joseph is just motoring along with his reading. I have a set of flashcards I made for the alphabet (mama, the ones you sent back to me), on one side is the letter and then a picture of something starting with that letter-- Apple for A, Zebra for Z, etc. On the back of the card, I have written down whatever the picture is on the other side. So yesterday Joseph went through all 26 alphabet cards, and 8 number cards, and sounded out every single word. Even sort of hard words like hippopotomus, ice cream cone, three thumbs, seven swords, etc. I was very proud of him, and he got 10 skittles for that! :-)
Mosey kind of gets into these games, too, and he knows two of the sight words already-- "I" and "me." I'm working with him on his letters and then he'll get to have pieces of candy for letters he can identify and make the sounds for.
Ben let the boys play on his computer for a while yesterday while we were listening to General Conference, and they were playing a "Diego" game (from the Nick Jr. tv show "Diego," I guess). It was so cute to see all 3 boys leaning over the computer together and each telling Brigham (he was maneuvering the mouse) where to click and what to do. And of course those shows are all interactive, so they have to say certain things at the same time, and they were all participating together too. So cute.
Yesterday Joseph went to a Build-A-Bear birthday party and he had a great time! It was cute going with him to pick out a birthday present, because the party was for a little girl in his class. He told me he thought it would be hard to pick out a present for her because "she's a girl." We ended up getting a CareBear umbrella and raincoat, which was perfect because Joseph loves CareBears too. When we got home, Joseph said to me, "What if you had another baby and it was a girl?" I said back to him, "I don't know, what if I did?" And he said, "How would you know what to do with a girl, you only have practice with boys!" Ha ha ha! Very true...
Tonight after dinner we drove out to the everglades for a short walk before bed, and we saw 2 alligators. Alligators are nothing unusual, but they were right up next to the boat ramp, which I guess is a little unusual-- for them to be so close to humans. Pretty cool, though. Made Brigham a little nervous, and Joseph not quite nervous enough. He thought it was funny to tease his daddy by running out in front of him, and a litle too close to the water for comfort.
Ok, well I'm off to bed now. I have tons of stuff from the past couple of weeks I should probably catch you up on, but I'll probably just let that be water under the bridge and continue on more regularly from here.
I'll attach a couple of pictures from recent photo shoots, if you're interested. I have a newborn photoshoot this week that I'm so excited for!
October 1, 2006
Ok, one more quick picture. Christine's apple picking pictures reminded me of these I took of Mosey a couple of weeks ago, practicing with window backlighting. Mosey LOVES fruit. He LOVES apples and oranges and bananas and grapes and all fruit. He eats more fruit by himself than the rest of the household combined, and I'm not kidding.
Anyway, we have no gorgeous fall apple orchards to go to around here, so instead of apple picking pictures, I have some apple eating pictures.
Anyway, we have no gorgeous fall apple orchards to go to around here, so instead of apple picking pictures, I have some apple eating pictures.
September 14, 2006
Hey all,
Quick check-in. I'm so tired tonight. I had parent-teacher conferences with the boys' teachers today, which was interesting. Both boys are doing just fine. Joseph's teacher was so sweet and kept telling me what a "perfect" boy he is-- just what a mother wants to hear! He is doing well with his letters and numbers-- ahead of most of the kids in the class. He is respectful and kind to the other kids and listens well to directions. Only thing she mentioned was that Joseph can be sensitive at times (which I knew!). One time they were lining up after going to the library and the library lady told Joseph to go to the end of the line (he was trying to get in line somewhere in the middle, he doesn't like being the "caboose"), and for some reason that upset him, and Mrs. Vitale said she could tell he was trying to fight back the tears, but by the time he got back to the classroom he was fine. So I'm relieved that he's not having any of his temper issues that he sometimes has at home.
Brigham is doing fine as well, Mrs. Mendoza praised his drawing and writing (surprise, surprise), and said he is totally fine socially and maturity-wise. She said if she didn't know, she wouldn't guess he's the youngest in the class. He's sometimes not aware when activities are changing, he gets very very focused on what he is doing, again I'm not surprised at all about that! So she'll have to say his name to get him to hear her and then he quickly catches up to what he's supposed to be doing. He's hasn't quite mastered the letters and numbers the way Joseph has (they have a sheet they go over with each child, they have to identify each letter by name-- lower case letters, and then be able to say the sound when the teacher points to the letter). Joseph got something like 49/52, and they have to be like 50/52 at the end of kindergarten. Brigham was at 37/52, so I need to work on him more with that. I need to figure out a more hands-on way to work with him, since that is how he learns. Joseph likes to sit down with flash cards or with our reading workbook, but Brigham does not. He needs to be *doing* something for it to sink in. Any suggestions?
But my main concern, at 5 years old, is their maturity level and behavior, and they are both a-ok with those issues.
Today and yesterday I feel like all I accomplished was errands. Ugh, boring. Yesterday I went to K-Mart (for a tire and tube for Ben's bike), Toys R Us (trying to find "moon sand," but discovered you can only buy it in the big kit which I dont' need), Home Depot (lightbulb for kitchen light fixture, it's a special kind I've only found at Home Depot), Insurance office to get our Hyundai on our Mercury policy, and then Target to find batman/spiderman umbrellas for the boys. The day before we went to Walmart and while we were there tried to find umbrellas, but they only had girl umbrellas and sponge bob umbrellas, so that was a wash. Actually, Joseph wanted a CareBear umbrella (pink carebear handle, pink and turquoise umbrella), but I was worried he'd get made fun of at school for having a "girl umbrella." I told him he could get it, but if I found a Batman umbrella at another store, he could give the Carebear umbrella to Mosey, and he was cool with that. I have NO PROBLEM with my boys liking carebear merchandise, and honestly it annoys me that they are geared toward girls. Why didn't they have a yellow, green, or blue carebear umbrella? Why are carebears more intrinsically "girl," than "boy?" But I also really dno't want my boys getting made fun of, particularly Joseph since he is so sensitive. Anyway, problem solved when I found batman and spiderman umbrellas at Target.
Today Mosey and I did MORE errands, going to the bank to deposit some checks, the DMV to register the Hyundai, Cooper City city offices to pay our utility bill, the dry cleaners to drop off Ben's work shirts, the UPS store to mail off a drawing I did for someone, and back to the insurance office to drop off a copy of the Hyundai's registration. And then to the grocery store for milk after I picked up the boys from school. Whew!
Why did I think I'd have all this extra time after the boys went to school?! :-)
Oh yeah, I also went through ALL the bills and junk mail from the past 6 weeks to make sure we are up to date with bills and all that fun stuff.
Tomorrow I have seriously got to get some major cleaning done on the house. It's picked up pretty well, but the heavy duty cleaning really needs to get done.
Ok, what a boring email this is, but I have to get to bed now.
Quick check-in. I'm so tired tonight. I had parent-teacher conferences with the boys' teachers today, which was interesting. Both boys are doing just fine. Joseph's teacher was so sweet and kept telling me what a "perfect" boy he is-- just what a mother wants to hear! He is doing well with his letters and numbers-- ahead of most of the kids in the class. He is respectful and kind to the other kids and listens well to directions. Only thing she mentioned was that Joseph can be sensitive at times (which I knew!). One time they were lining up after going to the library and the library lady told Joseph to go to the end of the line (he was trying to get in line somewhere in the middle, he doesn't like being the "caboose"), and for some reason that upset him, and Mrs. Vitale said she could tell he was trying to fight back the tears, but by the time he got back to the classroom he was fine. So I'm relieved that he's not having any of his temper issues that he sometimes has at home.
Brigham is doing fine as well, Mrs. Mendoza praised his drawing and writing (surprise, surprise), and said he is totally fine socially and maturity-wise. She said if she didn't know, she wouldn't guess he's the youngest in the class. He's sometimes not aware when activities are changing, he gets very very focused on what he is doing, again I'm not surprised at all about that! So she'll have to say his name to get him to hear her and then he quickly catches up to what he's supposed to be doing. He's hasn't quite mastered the letters and numbers the way Joseph has (they have a sheet they go over with each child, they have to identify each letter by name-- lower case letters, and then be able to say the sound when the teacher points to the letter). Joseph got something like 49/52, and they have to be like 50/52 at the end of kindergarten. Brigham was at 37/52, so I need to work on him more with that. I need to figure out a more hands-on way to work with him, since that is how he learns. Joseph likes to sit down with flash cards or with our reading workbook, but Brigham does not. He needs to be *doing* something for it to sink in. Any suggestions?
But my main concern, at 5 years old, is their maturity level and behavior, and they are both a-ok with those issues.
Today and yesterday I feel like all I accomplished was errands. Ugh, boring. Yesterday I went to K-Mart (for a tire and tube for Ben's bike), Toys R Us (trying to find "moon sand," but discovered you can only buy it in the big kit which I dont' need), Home Depot (lightbulb for kitchen light fixture, it's a special kind I've only found at Home Depot), Insurance office to get our Hyundai on our Mercury policy, and then Target to find batman/spiderman umbrellas for the boys. The day before we went to Walmart and while we were there tried to find umbrellas, but they only had girl umbrellas and sponge bob umbrellas, so that was a wash. Actually, Joseph wanted a CareBear umbrella (pink carebear handle, pink and turquoise umbrella), but I was worried he'd get made fun of at school for having a "girl umbrella." I told him he could get it, but if I found a Batman umbrella at another store, he could give the Carebear umbrella to Mosey, and he was cool with that. I have NO PROBLEM with my boys liking carebear merchandise, and honestly it annoys me that they are geared toward girls. Why didn't they have a yellow, green, or blue carebear umbrella? Why are carebears more intrinsically "girl," than "boy?" But I also really dno't want my boys getting made fun of, particularly Joseph since he is so sensitive. Anyway, problem solved when I found batman and spiderman umbrellas at Target.
Today Mosey and I did MORE errands, going to the bank to deposit some checks, the DMV to register the Hyundai, Cooper City city offices to pay our utility bill, the dry cleaners to drop off Ben's work shirts, the UPS store to mail off a drawing I did for someone, and back to the insurance office to drop off a copy of the Hyundai's registration. And then to the grocery store for milk after I picked up the boys from school. Whew!
Why did I think I'd have all this extra time after the boys went to school?! :-)
Oh yeah, I also went through ALL the bills and junk mail from the past 6 weeks to make sure we are up to date with bills and all that fun stuff.
Tomorrow I have seriously got to get some major cleaning done on the house. It's picked up pretty well, but the heavy duty cleaning really needs to get done.
Ok, what a boring email this is, but I have to get to bed now.
September 12, 2006
Hey All,
Late Tuesday night and I'm hoping to get this letter done before Rachel gets to her internet cafe in France.
Ben got back late Saturday night (technically Sunday morning), and we're all very glad to be back together. We went to church on Sunday, and the weirdest thing happened! The church apparently has a new security/alarm system, and just as the deacons were lining up to take the water back up to the front, it goes off very loudly. A woman's voice saying, "Attention, there has been a report of an emergency," over and over again. Very loudly. Immediately a few people (1st counsellor, building coordinator, etc.) leave to see what was going on. Apparently no real emergency, just a glitch in the system. There was a pretty bad thunderstorm going on outside so maybe there was a power surge or something that set it off. Anyway, we waited a few minutes to see if it could be switched off, but no luck. Ben went out there too in case there was some computer interface that needed to be messed with. The bishop tried to keep the meeting going, but it was just too loud, so he dismissed us to classes. Unfortunately several of the larger classrooms have the alarm speakers inside, so we couldn't really go on with class. Finally at around 1:15 (church started at 12:30), the bishop just dismissed us to go home. Weird, huh? I've never been dismissed early from church before, I don't think.
So we just hung out the rest of the day, watching part of the Steve Erwin marathon on Animal Planet, and then a batman DVD Joseph checked out from the library, and me working on some studio backdrops. I took some pictures of the boys (Joseph and Mosey anyway, Brigham was too busy doing Brigham things) with some idea in my head of some storyboards I wanted to make. I'll attach them below.
Yesterday was spent mostly with laundry and picking up the house. I had the house very clean when Ben came home, but in one day with all the boys home most of the day, and me occupied with things other than picking up, it got very messy again. I took Mosey to Target and hit the school supplies clearance aisles. Got several boxes of markers for 35 cents and a new Blues Clues DVD for Mosey. The boy is seriously obsessed. And he REALLY likes Joe (more than Steve, I guess), and none of the Blues CLues videos we have (given to us by neighbors) have Joe, and none of the comcast on demand blues episodes have Joe, and so really it was quite essential to get some Joe episodes to add to our collection. Mosey spent most of the rest of the day watching Blues Clues, I am ashamed to say. I did better today limiting him. He is getting very strong-willed, though, and I'm pretty much guaranteed a battle when I turn off Blues Clues.
I got soaked riding over to pick up Brigham and Joseph from school. WHY does it have to downpour every day right at 2:00?? Once I got to the school, we waited under the covered patio in front of the school until it slowed down a bit.
Late Tuesday night and I'm hoping to get this letter done before Rachel gets to her internet cafe in France.
Ben got back late Saturday night (technically Sunday morning), and we're all very glad to be back together. We went to church on Sunday, and the weirdest thing happened! The church apparently has a new security/alarm system, and just as the deacons were lining up to take the water back up to the front, it goes off very loudly. A woman's voice saying, "Attention, there has been a report of an emergency," over and over again. Very loudly. Immediately a few people (1st counsellor, building coordinator, etc.) leave to see what was going on. Apparently no real emergency, just a glitch in the system. There was a pretty bad thunderstorm going on outside so maybe there was a power surge or something that set it off. Anyway, we waited a few minutes to see if it could be switched off, but no luck. Ben went out there too in case there was some computer interface that needed to be messed with. The bishop tried to keep the meeting going, but it was just too loud, so he dismissed us to classes. Unfortunately several of the larger classrooms have the alarm speakers inside, so we couldn't really go on with class. Finally at around 1:15 (church started at 12:30), the bishop just dismissed us to go home. Weird, huh? I've never been dismissed early from church before, I don't think.
So we just hung out the rest of the day, watching part of the Steve Erwin marathon on Animal Planet, and then a batman DVD Joseph checked out from the library, and me working on some studio backdrops. I took some pictures of the boys (Joseph and Mosey anyway, Brigham was too busy doing Brigham things) with some idea in my head of some storyboards I wanted to make. I'll attach them below.
Yesterday was spent mostly with laundry and picking up the house. I had the house very clean when Ben came home, but in one day with all the boys home most of the day, and me occupied with things other than picking up, it got very messy again. I took Mosey to Target and hit the school supplies clearance aisles. Got several boxes of markers for 35 cents and a new Blues Clues DVD for Mosey. The boy is seriously obsessed. And he REALLY likes Joe (more than Steve, I guess), and none of the Blues CLues videos we have (given to us by neighbors) have Joe, and none of the comcast on demand blues episodes have Joe, and so really it was quite essential to get some Joe episodes to add to our collection. Mosey spent most of the rest of the day watching Blues Clues, I am ashamed to say. I did better today limiting him. He is getting very strong-willed, though, and I'm pretty much guaranteed a battle when I turn off Blues Clues.
I got soaked riding over to pick up Brigham and Joseph from school. WHY does it have to downpour every day right at 2:00?? Once I got to the school, we waited under the covered patio in front of the school until it slowed down a bit.
It is so funny to watch Brigham and Joseph ride on those big wheels. They are getting very fast. They like to get going really fast and then bump into each other with their back wheels. If they get the right angle, they can actually overturn the other boys onto the grass beside the sidewalk. Reminds me of the chariot races where they put spikes on the wheels and try to knock the others out of the race. And Brigham does this totally cute thing, especially when it is raining. He leans his head way back, so his face is looking straight up. He'll ride like that for a while, sometimes with his mouth wide open to catch the raindrops. Joseph does this sometimes too, and weaves around on the sidewalk, just for fun.
Yesterday we were a little late for school, so when we got to the corner where they have to get off and walk their bikes, I told them to just run up to the school and I'd put their bikes in the bike rack. I told them to hurry up and get to the cafeteria before their classes left. As they were walking up the sidewalk ahead of me, Joseph said to Brigham, "Can I hold your hand?" And there they went, the two of them, hand in hand.
Today Mosey and I went to the gym right after taking the boys to school. Mosey was not happy about this as he wanted to go straight home and watch Blue. The whole ride there he was telling me, "Turn around mom, this is not the way mom!" And when we finally got to the gym, he was REALLY not happy and threw a fit there on the ground for a few minutes before I convinced him to go inside and throw his fit inside for a few minutes. Finally he calmed down enough for me to put him in the kids' room and I got a little bit of a workout in. Later after we got home (and Mosey watched an episode of Blues Clues) we went to my friend Rena's house to get my hair cut. And colored! Yay, no more grays. It is pretty much the same color as it was before, maybe a tad darker with a touch of red. I like it. The boys and Ben all didn't notice, so I think it is very subtle, which is what I wanted. I told Rena I was likely not to get any touch ups for months on end, so it would need to match my regular color pretty close! I seriously missed out on the usual girly hair-fixing gene, I just can't stand it. I dno't like my hair to look like a mess (as it usually does), but I just can't make myself take the time to fix it nice. It is so BORING to sit there blow drying my hair, curling it, putting whatever mousse or hairspray or gel or whatever in it. I'm a disgrace to femininity, I guess. But I also hate having grey hairs, so those just had to go.
While we were there, I was talking to Rena quite a bit about her twin pregnancy. She is 32 weeks, so getting pretty close. She is doing well, hasn't been put on bedrest or anything. Her bad morning sickness was a lot better for her by the time she was 16 or 17 weeks, and since then things have been pretty routine for her, except of course for the normal discomforts of having 2 babies growing inside you. But it made me a little sad I guess to hear her talk, because at this point she is pretty much sick of being pregnant and just wants it over. She says as soon as she hits 35 weeks she is going to insist on being induced. She says she just can't wait to feel like her body is her own again. She says she feels like she's been pregnant forever and it has been the hardest year of her life. She says she doesn't like to picture her babies too much because it kind of "creeps her out" to think about 2 babies living inside her body. She doesn't want a 3-D ultrasound because she thinks it would be creepy to see them. She hates going in for ultrasounds because it takes so long. She just wants the babies to be born so she can have her body to herself again.
Now, obviously the big difference between her twin pregnancy and mine is that hers was unplanned and she NEVER wanted twins, whereas mine was very much wanted and I'd dreamed of having twins since I was 8 years old. So I guess it just goes to show you how much your outlook truly affects your actual experience. I've made her out to be really negative, and she is right now, although I totally know her negativity is due to her physical discomfort. She is a really good mom and she really is excited to have these two babies. She's just not at all excited to be pregnant with them.
But I couldn't help but compare her words to my own feelings when I was 32 weeks with my twins. I surely wasn't comfortable! I remember clearly going to Jill's wedding and trying to sit there all through the sealing, and it really was hard. Staying still in any position for long is tough, with babies wedged all in your ribcage and squishing every organ inside your body. I remember constant pain under my ribs where Brigham's big head was stuck. I remember heartburn and never being able to eat more than a couple of bites before my squished stomach couldn't hold any more.. I remember still about once a week having a whole day where I would just throw up and not be able to keep anything down. I remember having to use my legs to get enough momentum swing my body over in bed, my belly was just so huge. I remember stretch marks all the way up past my belly button, sometimes burning so bad I would check to see if they were bleeding. I remember never being able to catch my breath, not being able to fit behind the steering wheel of the car and still be able to reach the gas pedals. I remember both babies getting hiccup fits at the same time at 3:00 in the morning, waking me up and then not being able to get back to sleep. I remember all of this and more. But I also remember having not a little bit of regret when the time finally came to deliver the babies. There is something so special about carrying life within you, I felt it was such an amazing privilege. I remember crying and crying a few days after they were born (ok, yeah, I'm sure it was due to the hormonal craziness of post-partum) because I would never feel them kick inside of me again, that I didn't have anyone to share my body with anymore. I do remember counting down the days to 28 weeks, then to 30, then 32, then 34, then 36, but not because I couldnt' wait not to be pregnant anymore, but because with each milestone I knew my babies would have a better and better chance if they were born prematurely.
And even now, I think I could do it again. And I didn't have an easy pregnancy either! Not the most difficult by any means, but no walk in the park either. Losing 30 lbs in 4 months due to extreme morning sickness is not easy. And bedrest and terbutaline at 27 weeks isn't that easy either. But I would still do it again if I had the choice.
So I don't quite know how to respond to my friend who is just so desperate to get those babies out of her. On one level I completely empathize with her physical complaints. But I don't relate to her negativity at all. I'm certainly not going to be telling her she needs to appreciate the miracle of pregnancy and birth, and that she should be grateful she's still pregnant and not visiting tiny sick babies in the NICU. So I don't really know what to say to her except to tell her she's doing a great job and it will all be worth it. I guess I just have this really judgmental attitude that it's not fair for people who don't really want to be pregnant with twins, or who resent the sacrifices that must be made, to then get to have the amazing blessing of having twins! There, I said it. My dark secret. I just know too many people who would give anything, and I mean ANYTHING to be in her shoes, and it seems so profoundly ungrateful for her to be complaining all the time.
But then again, I'm not in her shoes, and she didn't ask to be in this position, so who knows. I am so glad, however, that I am able to look back on my twin pregnancy (and Mosey's too) with fondness, and with immeasurable gratitude that I was able to experience it.
Ok, I've blathered on way too long.
Here are the storyboards I made today. Aren't my boys cute? Now I've got to make one of Brigham. He's my boy that is the least camera friendly (has a congenital inability to actually LOOK at the camera for longer than a milisecond), so it could be a challenge.
So I don't quite know how to respond to my friend who is just so desperate to get those babies out of her. On one level I completely empathize with her physical complaints. But I don't relate to her negativity at all. I'm certainly not going to be telling her she needs to appreciate the miracle of pregnancy and birth, and that she should be grateful she's still pregnant and not visiting tiny sick babies in the NICU. So I don't really know what to say to her except to tell her she's doing a great job and it will all be worth it. I guess I just have this really judgmental attitude that it's not fair for people who don't really want to be pregnant with twins, or who resent the sacrifices that must be made, to then get to have the amazing blessing of having twins! There, I said it. My dark secret. I just know too many people who would give anything, and I mean ANYTHING to be in her shoes, and it seems so profoundly ungrateful for her to be complaining all the time.
But then again, I'm not in her shoes, and she didn't ask to be in this position, so who knows. I am so glad, however, that I am able to look back on my twin pregnancy (and Mosey's too) with fondness, and with immeasurable gratitude that I was able to experience it.
Ok, I've blathered on way too long.
Here are the storyboards I made today. Aren't my boys cute? Now I've got to make one of Brigham. He's my boy that is the least camera friendly (has a congenital inability to actually LOOK at the camera for longer than a milisecond), so it could be a challenge.
September 8, 2006
Hey Everyone,
Quick note before I have to get chores started. Last night I took the boys to our quarterly enrichment meeting ("Understanding Depression," it was very good), and on the way home Brigham said the sweetest thing ever! He said (and this is word for word), "I hate it, uh, I don't like it when Joseph get's in a time out." (We've had discussions on when it is appropriate to use the word "hate," apparently he's thinking about it!). I said, "Why not Brigham?" "Because I really like Joseph and I always want to be with him." Aaawwww... Isn't that sweet?
We're hanging in here without Ben. He gets back late late tomorrow night, so just a couple more days. I've actually been able to be somewhat productive while he's been gone, so I hope he's impressed!
My boys are still somewhat bummed about Steve Erwin. Me too, frankly. I was talking to my friend about it yesterday and I got to thinking about all the other celebrities I would have rather seen meet this particular fate. Not that I wish *death* on anyone, but you know what I mean. There are SO few public figures that I can actually point to as a role model for my children, and he was one of them. I'm trying to think of ANY other public figures outside of him and Jeff Corwin that I wouldn't mind my boys looking up to. Certainly no athletes or actors or musicians at this point. Or politicians. Church leaders, certainly, but somehow they don't have the magnetic appeal that a man who wrestles crocodiles has.
Steve Erwin was really a remarkable guy. An obviously proud family man (his wife has been part of his show since the beginning I believe), committed and passionate about an honorable work and cause (conservation and protecting wildlife), and just an unbelievable charismatic and fun guy to watch!! His death is a real loss to children and families everywhere. How many other shows can you think of that are appropriate and enjoyable for an entire family to watch together? His and Jeff Corwin's are the only ones I can think of. Any other shows are either not appropriate for little children or else are torturous for adults to sit through. As I've said before, Animal Planet is now the only channel I let my kids watch. Disney just has too many shows with messages, subtle or blatant, that I do not want to teach my children. And other kids channels have too many shows that are just plain crude and rude and the MOST obnoxious commercials that basically brainwash children into being greedy little materialistic monsters. No thanks. Animal Planet is a wonderful channel and there is no show or commercial that I cringe at. And now the guy who pretty much made Animal Planet the success it is, has died, and it is such a loss.
Sigh... That's the way life goes, I know. But it still sucks.
Ok, off to get this day started. Laundry today!!!
Quick note before I have to get chores started. Last night I took the boys to our quarterly enrichment meeting ("Understanding Depression," it was very good), and on the way home Brigham said the sweetest thing ever! He said (and this is word for word), "I hate it, uh, I don't like it when Joseph get's in a time out." (We've had discussions on when it is appropriate to use the word "hate," apparently he's thinking about it!). I said, "Why not Brigham?" "Because I really like Joseph and I always want to be with him." Aaawwww... Isn't that sweet?
We're hanging in here without Ben. He gets back late late tomorrow night, so just a couple more days. I've actually been able to be somewhat productive while he's been gone, so I hope he's impressed!
My boys are still somewhat bummed about Steve Erwin. Me too, frankly. I was talking to my friend about it yesterday and I got to thinking about all the other celebrities I would have rather seen meet this particular fate. Not that I wish *death* on anyone, but you know what I mean. There are SO few public figures that I can actually point to as a role model for my children, and he was one of them. I'm trying to think of ANY other public figures outside of him and Jeff Corwin that I wouldn't mind my boys looking up to. Certainly no athletes or actors or musicians at this point. Or politicians. Church leaders, certainly, but somehow they don't have the magnetic appeal that a man who wrestles crocodiles has.
Steve Erwin was really a remarkable guy. An obviously proud family man (his wife has been part of his show since the beginning I believe), committed and passionate about an honorable work and cause (conservation and protecting wildlife), and just an unbelievable charismatic and fun guy to watch!! His death is a real loss to children and families everywhere. How many other shows can you think of that are appropriate and enjoyable for an entire family to watch together? His and Jeff Corwin's are the only ones I can think of. Any other shows are either not appropriate for little children or else are torturous for adults to sit through. As I've said before, Animal Planet is now the only channel I let my kids watch. Disney just has too many shows with messages, subtle or blatant, that I do not want to teach my children. And other kids channels have too many shows that are just plain crude and rude and the MOST obnoxious commercials that basically brainwash children into being greedy little materialistic monsters. No thanks. Animal Planet is a wonderful channel and there is no show or commercial that I cringe at. And now the guy who pretty much made Animal Planet the success it is, has died, and it is such a loss.
Sigh... That's the way life goes, I know. But it still sucks.
Ok, off to get this day started. Laundry today!!!
September 4, 2006
Hey Everyone,
This week I am a single mom, as Ben left town Saturday afternoon and won't get back until next Saturday evening. So far things are going fine, but I do miss our "divide and conquer" bedtime routine, with one of us taking the big boys and one taking Mosey. I can get Brigham and Joseph settled, but then tonight it took me an HOUR to get Mosey sleeping. The last two nights I just went to sleep with him, but tonight I need to get some things done.
Today was a very sad day for my boys. Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" was killed earlier in the day, while snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. A freak accident, apparently. A sting ray's barb punctured his chest and perforated his heart, and he died immediately. Sting Ray attacks are extremely rare, and are never fatal, except of course in a freak accident like this. If he had been stung anywhere else, he would have easily survived. It is really sad, actually. He leaves behind a wife and 2 little kids, plus millions of kids and adults worldwide who loved his show. I seriously started crying about it when I told the boys. They were pretty philosophical about it, telling me that they like Jeff Corwin better than Steve Irwin anyway. Still, they included Steve Irwin's family in their prayers.
So, I guess I'll start with a birthday report. I survived my 30th birthday, and I guess I'm not too traumatized by it. A couple of my friends took me out to lunch at the Olive Garden (Mosey came too and all he wanted was the salad. He ate about 4 plates of salad.) Then in the evening Ben had the boys bring out some gifts they had bought for me at the dollar store. Joseph got me a pair of sunglasses (which he very specifically picked out just for me), Brigham got me a painted bird figurine with wings mounted on springs so they sort of "flap" when you move it, and Mosey got me a tiny book light, the type you clip onto your book to read so as to not disturb your partner. I guess Ben probably helped him pick that out-- maybe a subtle message that he doesn't want me turning on the bedside lamp to read scriptures after he's gone to sleep? My friend Melissa gave me a jar of chocolates, which with the help of my 3 boys were almost completely gone by the end of the day. Rena and Janette got me a cute outfit which I wore to the Relief Society visiting teaching celebration that night. And Ben got dessert cups, strawberries, and two kinds of ice cream for dessert. Rosalynde had sent me a gorgeous beaded necklace a week ago, and so with everything I felt extremely special.
Friday night Ben and I were going to go out, but it was raining cats and dogs (almost literally) when he came home and he wasn't feeling too good, so we decided to postpone for another time.
Saturday was another RAINY day. It rained so hard for so long that our street flooded for a couple of hours. We saw several fish swimming around the street and lawns, fish that had apparently swum from the lake up the storm drains, and then onto the road. Weird! The boys really wanted to go out and play, so I went out with them and got a few pictures. The rain paused a little as we drove Ben to the airport to go to Utah.
On the way home, Brigham said a funny thing. We were driving down a section of Pines that is under construction, and there were several of those concrete barriers blocking off the lane under construction. A lady was standing by the barriers, I guess waiting for a break in the traffic to cross. Anyway, Brigham pointed out the "wall in the road," and then said, "Look at that human over there standing by the wall!" It struck me as really funny that he would use the term "human" instead of "person," or "lady," or some other word. I guess it shows that the only TV they really watch is Animal Planet!
On Sunday we went to church and I substituted in Brigham and Joseph's class. I was a little worried, remembering back to the last time I substituted in their class. The boys were SO bad (all of them, not just mine), they were literally throwing chairs around the classroom. I had to take them outside, and then I was sitting on that stage thing and the boys were jumping on that and it collapsed and I broke my tailbone! Anyway, I was extremely gratified to see how much those boys have grown up. They were very reverent during sharing time, raised their hands to answer questions (Joseph knew every answer, I was so proud of him), and walked so quietly with their arms folded to their classroom, and to and from the restroom. They were good in class too, the only distraction being Cruz who really wanted to draw pictures on the chalkboard. At least he was quiet about it!
After church we stayed for a baptism. The big boys were good, but Mosey was not so good. He is just so LOUD! He has not learned to whisper, and since he is still in the "must vocalize everything that goes through my head" stage, everyone in the room was thereby privy to everything going through his head! I had to take him out once towards the beginning, and then went back in just before the actual baptism. The bishop invited the children up to sit closer to see the baptism, which Mosey was happy to do. Afterwards, he marched back up to where we were sitting and said in a VERY loud voice, "That was a good one, mom!" That gave the whole room a good laugh. Then a little later during the Relief Society president's welcome to the ward, Mosey started poking Joseph and saying, "I'm bugging Joseph, mom." I tried to quietly whisper to him, "Yes, you're bugging Joseph, Moses, but please stop." I still must acknowledge everything he says, you see. But he wasn't happy with that response, I guess and kept saying in increasingly distressed tones, "I'm bugging Joseph, mom!" I stood up and carried him out again with him literally crying, "I'm bugging Joseph, mom!!!" Aarrgh. Thank goodness we belong to a church so understanding of little children!
Oh, and during Sacrament meeting (fast and testimony Sunday), Brigham asked me how come he couldn't go up and talk. I was a little surprised by that question and told him that he certainly could go up and bear his testimony of Jesus if he wanted to. So maybe next month he'll be interested in doing that.
Today was a day off from school, as I said, but we didn't do anything too exciting. Cleaning up the house in the morning and then baking muffins to take to some families in our ward, then a trip to Home Depot and Sam's Club. School again tomorrow which will be nice.
Ok, I'll leave you with some pictures from our rainy, rainy weekend. I hope all of you had a good Labor Day.
This week I am a single mom, as Ben left town Saturday afternoon and won't get back until next Saturday evening. So far things are going fine, but I do miss our "divide and conquer" bedtime routine, with one of us taking the big boys and one taking Mosey. I can get Brigham and Joseph settled, but then tonight it took me an HOUR to get Mosey sleeping. The last two nights I just went to sleep with him, but tonight I need to get some things done.
Today was a very sad day for my boys. Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" was killed earlier in the day, while snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef. A freak accident, apparently. A sting ray's barb punctured his chest and perforated his heart, and he died immediately. Sting Ray attacks are extremely rare, and are never fatal, except of course in a freak accident like this. If he had been stung anywhere else, he would have easily survived. It is really sad, actually. He leaves behind a wife and 2 little kids, plus millions of kids and adults worldwide who loved his show. I seriously started crying about it when I told the boys. They were pretty philosophical about it, telling me that they like Jeff Corwin better than Steve Irwin anyway. Still, they included Steve Irwin's family in their prayers.
So, I guess I'll start with a birthday report. I survived my 30th birthday, and I guess I'm not too traumatized by it. A couple of my friends took me out to lunch at the Olive Garden (Mosey came too and all he wanted was the salad. He ate about 4 plates of salad.) Then in the evening Ben had the boys bring out some gifts they had bought for me at the dollar store. Joseph got me a pair of sunglasses (which he very specifically picked out just for me), Brigham got me a painted bird figurine with wings mounted on springs so they sort of "flap" when you move it, and Mosey got me a tiny book light, the type you clip onto your book to read so as to not disturb your partner. I guess Ben probably helped him pick that out-- maybe a subtle message that he doesn't want me turning on the bedside lamp to read scriptures after he's gone to sleep? My friend Melissa gave me a jar of chocolates, which with the help of my 3 boys were almost completely gone by the end of the day. Rena and Janette got me a cute outfit which I wore to the Relief Society visiting teaching celebration that night. And Ben got dessert cups, strawberries, and two kinds of ice cream for dessert. Rosalynde had sent me a gorgeous beaded necklace a week ago, and so with everything I felt extremely special.
Friday night Ben and I were going to go out, but it was raining cats and dogs (almost literally) when he came home and he wasn't feeling too good, so we decided to postpone for another time.
Saturday was another RAINY day. It rained so hard for so long that our street flooded for a couple of hours. We saw several fish swimming around the street and lawns, fish that had apparently swum from the lake up the storm drains, and then onto the road. Weird! The boys really wanted to go out and play, so I went out with them and got a few pictures. The rain paused a little as we drove Ben to the airport to go to Utah.
On the way home, Brigham said a funny thing. We were driving down a section of Pines that is under construction, and there were several of those concrete barriers blocking off the lane under construction. A lady was standing by the barriers, I guess waiting for a break in the traffic to cross. Anyway, Brigham pointed out the "wall in the road," and then said, "Look at that human over there standing by the wall!" It struck me as really funny that he would use the term "human" instead of "person," or "lady," or some other word. I guess it shows that the only TV they really watch is Animal Planet!
On Sunday we went to church and I substituted in Brigham and Joseph's class. I was a little worried, remembering back to the last time I substituted in their class. The boys were SO bad (all of them, not just mine), they were literally throwing chairs around the classroom. I had to take them outside, and then I was sitting on that stage thing and the boys were jumping on that and it collapsed and I broke my tailbone! Anyway, I was extremely gratified to see how much those boys have grown up. They were very reverent during sharing time, raised their hands to answer questions (Joseph knew every answer, I was so proud of him), and walked so quietly with their arms folded to their classroom, and to and from the restroom. They were good in class too, the only distraction being Cruz who really wanted to draw pictures on the chalkboard. At least he was quiet about it!
After church we stayed for a baptism. The big boys were good, but Mosey was not so good. He is just so LOUD! He has not learned to whisper, and since he is still in the "must vocalize everything that goes through my head" stage, everyone in the room was thereby privy to everything going through his head! I had to take him out once towards the beginning, and then went back in just before the actual baptism. The bishop invited the children up to sit closer to see the baptism, which Mosey was happy to do. Afterwards, he marched back up to where we were sitting and said in a VERY loud voice, "That was a good one, mom!" That gave the whole room a good laugh. Then a little later during the Relief Society president's welcome to the ward, Mosey started poking Joseph and saying, "I'm bugging Joseph, mom." I tried to quietly whisper to him, "Yes, you're bugging Joseph, Moses, but please stop." I still must acknowledge everything he says, you see. But he wasn't happy with that response, I guess and kept saying in increasingly distressed tones, "I'm bugging Joseph, mom!" I stood up and carried him out again with him literally crying, "I'm bugging Joseph, mom!!!" Aarrgh. Thank goodness we belong to a church so understanding of little children!
Oh, and during Sacrament meeting (fast and testimony Sunday), Brigham asked me how come he couldn't go up and talk. I was a little surprised by that question and told him that he certainly could go up and bear his testimony of Jesus if he wanted to. So maybe next month he'll be interested in doing that.
Today was a day off from school, as I said, but we didn't do anything too exciting. Cleaning up the house in the morning and then baking muffins to take to some families in our ward, then a trip to Home Depot and Sam's Club. School again tomorrow which will be nice.
Ok, I'll leave you with some pictures from our rainy, rainy weekend. I hope all of you had a good Labor Day.
August 30, 2006
Hello everyone,
Well Tropical Storm Ernesto has come and gone. It wasn't much, really, just a little rain and wind, but nothing out of the ordinary!! I'm very glad of course, but can't help but snicker a little at all the media coverage and hysteria over something that ended up to be nothing. I had a feeling (must be my psychic meteorologist abilities) that this storm would be nothing, and we did literally nothing to prepare. I left all the boys' toys and stuff out in the backyard, didn't even bother fully charging my phone. Of course if the day had progressed and things continued to look bad, I would have done a few things, but I wasn't going to do anything until I HAD to.
We didn't even lose power, and that's saying something because often in our every day summer storms around here we'll lose power for an hour or two. To be fair, some areas of the county did lose power for a while, but we didn't.
So, that's that.
Today was my last day of being in my 20's. Sigh... I'm not too happy about that, but what can I do? Not much, unless I will myself to remain 29 for the rest of my life like Grandma Frandsen! :-) She really is 29, you know. Age is all a state of mind, right?
So tomorrow I embark upon the wonderful adventure of my 30's. There's some optimism for you, right? I'm ok with being 30, really I am. It's just that being 20 really doesn't seem that long ago, and time just keeps accelerating. So that means my 30's will fly by even faster than my 20's and then I'll be 40!! Eeeek!!! And I'll have teenagers!! (I think that's the REALLY scary part-- much scarier than being 40). It is all very strange. I don't think I ever really grasped the reality that *I*, would someday be in my 30's, and now here I am.
I've decided that for my 30th birthday I am going to get my hair colored. I've never done that before, but I'm getting so many grays now, it is very depressing. I definitely got Daddy's gray hair genes (thanks a lot, daddy!!), and I've decided *not* to age gracefully after all. My friend Rena does hair, and I'll have her color mine probably over the weekend. I'm not going to go blonde, though. I'll take a picture of the end result.
Tomorrow the boys go back to school which will be very good. They don't like being confined indoors for 2 days. Actually, they're probably ok with it, but I don't like them confined indoors for 2 days! Too many messes made. I think Mosey enjoyed it, though.
Here's a new game Brigham and Joseph made up. Brigham drew a picture of a pirate ship, 2 pirates (Brigham and Joseph actually), and an island. They glued it to the floor (yes, GLUE, on my tile-- thank goodness just the children's glue stick, water soluble), and then jumped onto it to jump into "pirate world." Then they would play in pirate world for a while, and when they were done, they'd jump onto the picture again and jump "out" of pirate world into the real world. I thought that was a pretty clever game.
Brigham and Joseph have very distinct personalities, as you all know, but I'm beginning to think Mosey sort of sees them as a unit. I've noticed when he talks about them, he refers to them as "BrighamJoseph," all one world. "Mom, where are BrighamJoseph?" "Time to get BrighamJoseph from school!" Etc. Now that he is talking, it is so interesting to get a glimpse of how his brain works.
Ok, I'm off to bed now. Morning comes early and I've been so tired lately. My left foot's giving me trouble again, too, and I'm afraid another MS attack is on the horizon. So I'm trying to get lots of sleep and take good care of myself to hopefully nip this in the bud.
Well Tropical Storm Ernesto has come and gone. It wasn't much, really, just a little rain and wind, but nothing out of the ordinary!! I'm very glad of course, but can't help but snicker a little at all the media coverage and hysteria over something that ended up to be nothing. I had a feeling (must be my psychic meteorologist abilities) that this storm would be nothing, and we did literally nothing to prepare. I left all the boys' toys and stuff out in the backyard, didn't even bother fully charging my phone. Of course if the day had progressed and things continued to look bad, I would have done a few things, but I wasn't going to do anything until I HAD to.
We didn't even lose power, and that's saying something because often in our every day summer storms around here we'll lose power for an hour or two. To be fair, some areas of the county did lose power for a while, but we didn't.
So, that's that.
Today was my last day of being in my 20's. Sigh... I'm not too happy about that, but what can I do? Not much, unless I will myself to remain 29 for the rest of my life like Grandma Frandsen! :-) She really is 29, you know. Age is all a state of mind, right?
So tomorrow I embark upon the wonderful adventure of my 30's. There's some optimism for you, right? I'm ok with being 30, really I am. It's just that being 20 really doesn't seem that long ago, and time just keeps accelerating. So that means my 30's will fly by even faster than my 20's and then I'll be 40!! Eeeek!!! And I'll have teenagers!! (I think that's the REALLY scary part-- much scarier than being 40). It is all very strange. I don't think I ever really grasped the reality that *I*, would someday be in my 30's, and now here I am.
I've decided that for my 30th birthday I am going to get my hair colored. I've never done that before, but I'm getting so many grays now, it is very depressing. I definitely got Daddy's gray hair genes (thanks a lot, daddy!!), and I've decided *not* to age gracefully after all. My friend Rena does hair, and I'll have her color mine probably over the weekend. I'm not going to go blonde, though. I'll take a picture of the end result.
Tomorrow the boys go back to school which will be very good. They don't like being confined indoors for 2 days. Actually, they're probably ok with it, but I don't like them confined indoors for 2 days! Too many messes made. I think Mosey enjoyed it, though.
Here's a new game Brigham and Joseph made up. Brigham drew a picture of a pirate ship, 2 pirates (Brigham and Joseph actually), and an island. They glued it to the floor (yes, GLUE, on my tile-- thank goodness just the children's glue stick, water soluble), and then jumped onto it to jump into "pirate world." Then they would play in pirate world for a while, and when they were done, they'd jump onto the picture again and jump "out" of pirate world into the real world. I thought that was a pretty clever game.
Brigham and Joseph have very distinct personalities, as you all know, but I'm beginning to think Mosey sort of sees them as a unit. I've noticed when he talks about them, he refers to them as "BrighamJoseph," all one world. "Mom, where are BrighamJoseph?" "Time to get BrighamJoseph from school!" Etc. Now that he is talking, it is so interesting to get a glimpse of how his brain works.
Ok, I'm off to bed now. Morning comes early and I've been so tired lately. My left foot's giving me trouble again, too, and I'm afraid another MS attack is on the horizon. So I'm trying to get lots of sleep and take good care of myself to hopefully nip this in the bud.
August 28, 2006
Hey y'all,
I've been sooo busy, sorry for the long time with no letter!
We are in a hurricane watch, so no school tomorrow and probably Wednesday. I'm not worried at this point, I don't think it is going to be any big deal. If it even becomes a hurricane, it will probably be only a Cat 1, and I doubt we'll lose power for long, if at all. But still, ugh.
Saturday was the boys' birthday party. It was really fun! We had 8 kids come, and we had it at the beach. The weather was perfect and the water was just gorgeous. Apparently it rained cats and dogs at home all during the party, so I guess the beach was a good choice! South Florida weather is so weird. Pouring down rain and 10 miles away blue skies.
I'll attach some pictures, but just to describe it, it was a pirate themed party. I made a treasure chest cake with rolo "gold pieces" overflowing out of it. For lunch I got lunchables for the kids and sandwich stuff for adults. We had a toucan pinata, and I had a "loot bag" for each child with a pirate hat, eye patch, earring, necklaces, rings, tatoos, and some candy. Mostly the kids and adults just played in the water and the sand, though, so it was a pretty low-stress party. The boys got some great presents which they were excited about. I was worried about how they would react to the presents because over the last few months leading up to their birthday they'd gotten a bit greedy about what they wanted, and so I've been talking with them about being grateful and I told them if I heard ONE word about not liking a present, or not getting what they wanted, I would give their presents to charity. Thankfully they either took my words to heart, or else were just genuinely excited by what they got, and they were very polite. :-) Even though Joseph didn't get the new Batman costume he wanted.
My hand is healing ok, I guess. Very slowly. I took the stitches out last week, but as I was doing so I realized one of the stitches had pulled through-- probably the first day or two after I got the stitches! So there is still a part of the cut that is sort of gaping open. But each day it seems to be closing a little, so I guess I just have to be patient. Still, it is obnoxious to not have full use of one of my hands for like 2 and a half weeks now!
Mosey is doing pretty well without his big brothers during the day. I try to keep him busy. I got him a Blues Clues cap at the store the other day when I was shopping for the boys' party, and it has hardly left his head ever since. Yes, he even had it on during church. We couldnt' get him to take it off and I thought Heavenly Father would probably not be too offended by a 2 year old wearing a hat in church. He must really love Blues Clues because normally he will not wear a hat for more than about 2 seconds.
Joseph and Brigham got a 2-person dome tent for one of their birthday presents, and it is set up right now in the family room, and they are sleeping in it tonight. They begged to sleep in it last night but I told them not on a school night. So when they got out of school this afternoon the first thing Joseph said was "We have no school tomorrow so can we sleep in the tent tonight?" They had to be shushed only a couple of times and they are now sleeping very nicely.
Did I write last week about the boys' actual birthday? Can't remember. Anyway, I made them pancakes in the morning (with candles), and brought donuts and cinnamon rolls to their class at lunch time. After Ben came home we went to Walmart and they picked out a present-- radio controlled planes which they flew around a bit in the backyard after eating their special Burger King dinner. For dessert they had donuts and ice cream, with candles again. Mosey really liked the candles and needed some in his donut too. I think I lit and relit those candles 4 or 5 times so they could all have a chance at blowing them out several times. Then they opened presents from Grandma Jackee (a new outfit, animal book, and superman toy for each) which caused probably too much excitement for just before bed, and then got to talk to Grandpa Kent on the phone!
Kent is progressing fairly well. He is stable enough to not need hospitalization, but is not healed well enough to start rehab, so he is in a nursing home for a few weeks until he can start rehab. This is understandably really hard on him and Jackee and everyone, but since Jackee had to go back to work and Kent needs care throughout the day, it was the only good option. I'm praying that he can move on to the rehab place soon.
Ben will be leaving this weekend to spend a week with his family and I hope that will help to cheer Kent up a bit.
Ok, I'll leave you with some pictures and give you a storm update after Ernesto passes us by
I've been sooo busy, sorry for the long time with no letter!
We are in a hurricane watch, so no school tomorrow and probably Wednesday. I'm not worried at this point, I don't think it is going to be any big deal. If it even becomes a hurricane, it will probably be only a Cat 1, and I doubt we'll lose power for long, if at all. But still, ugh.
Saturday was the boys' birthday party. It was really fun! We had 8 kids come, and we had it at the beach. The weather was perfect and the water was just gorgeous. Apparently it rained cats and dogs at home all during the party, so I guess the beach was a good choice! South Florida weather is so weird. Pouring down rain and 10 miles away blue skies.
I'll attach some pictures, but just to describe it, it was a pirate themed party. I made a treasure chest cake with rolo "gold pieces" overflowing out of it. For lunch I got lunchables for the kids and sandwich stuff for adults. We had a toucan pinata, and I had a "loot bag" for each child with a pirate hat, eye patch, earring, necklaces, rings, tatoos, and some candy. Mostly the kids and adults just played in the water and the sand, though, so it was a pretty low-stress party. The boys got some great presents which they were excited about. I was worried about how they would react to the presents because over the last few months leading up to their birthday they'd gotten a bit greedy about what they wanted, and so I've been talking with them about being grateful and I told them if I heard ONE word about not liking a present, or not getting what they wanted, I would give their presents to charity. Thankfully they either took my words to heart, or else were just genuinely excited by what they got, and they were very polite. :-) Even though Joseph didn't get the new Batman costume he wanted.
My hand is healing ok, I guess. Very slowly. I took the stitches out last week, but as I was doing so I realized one of the stitches had pulled through-- probably the first day or two after I got the stitches! So there is still a part of the cut that is sort of gaping open. But each day it seems to be closing a little, so I guess I just have to be patient. Still, it is obnoxious to not have full use of one of my hands for like 2 and a half weeks now!
Mosey is doing pretty well without his big brothers during the day. I try to keep him busy. I got him a Blues Clues cap at the store the other day when I was shopping for the boys' party, and it has hardly left his head ever since. Yes, he even had it on during church. We couldnt' get him to take it off and I thought Heavenly Father would probably not be too offended by a 2 year old wearing a hat in church. He must really love Blues Clues because normally he will not wear a hat for more than about 2 seconds.
Joseph and Brigham got a 2-person dome tent for one of their birthday presents, and it is set up right now in the family room, and they are sleeping in it tonight. They begged to sleep in it last night but I told them not on a school night. So when they got out of school this afternoon the first thing Joseph said was "We have no school tomorrow so can we sleep in the tent tonight?" They had to be shushed only a couple of times and they are now sleeping very nicely.
Did I write last week about the boys' actual birthday? Can't remember. Anyway, I made them pancakes in the morning (with candles), and brought donuts and cinnamon rolls to their class at lunch time. After Ben came home we went to Walmart and they picked out a present-- radio controlled planes which they flew around a bit in the backyard after eating their special Burger King dinner. For dessert they had donuts and ice cream, with candles again. Mosey really liked the candles and needed some in his donut too. I think I lit and relit those candles 4 or 5 times so they could all have a chance at blowing them out several times. Then they opened presents from Grandma Jackee (a new outfit, animal book, and superman toy for each) which caused probably too much excitement for just before bed, and then got to talk to Grandpa Kent on the phone!
Kent is progressing fairly well. He is stable enough to not need hospitalization, but is not healed well enough to start rehab, so he is in a nursing home for a few weeks until he can start rehab. This is understandably really hard on him and Jackee and everyone, but since Jackee had to go back to work and Kent needs care throughout the day, it was the only good option. I'm praying that he can move on to the rehab place soon.
Ben will be leaving this weekend to spend a week with his family and I hope that will help to cheer Kent up a bit.
Ok, I'll leave you with some pictures and give you a storm update after Ernesto passes us by
August 17, 2006
Hello Everyone,
August 17 means it is mama's birthday! Happy Birthday! I hope you have a good day, either relaxing or invigoratingly busy, whichever you prefer.
We have had a very rainy day, today, and our roof is leaking again which is very depressing. Ben has been up there countless hours trying to find the point of entry of the water to seal it up, plus we have 2 tarps up there held in place by concrete blocks and sandbags, and still lots of leakage. I foresee us finally giving in pretty soon and hiring a roofer. The ceiling is going to need some repair as well and I'm thinking we may just get the popcorn acoustic coating removed while we're at it. Ugh. The joys of home ownership.
The boys had a good 3rd day of school. They meet me over by the west bike rack, which means they are not going out with the rest of their class to wait over on the east side where the car pick-up is. The school is very strict about security-- who is allowed in and out of the school and who's allowed to pick up the kids. So they have older "safety patrol" students who escort the little ones out to the west entrance of the school to wait for whomever is picking them up. It was so cute to see Brigham and Joseph each being held by the hand by an older student to be passed on to me. I'm pretty impressed with that aspect of the school so far. I did have to deal with my first taste of east coast liberalism permeating the elementary school when a notice was sent home about the unit on sexuality and family relationships which is mandated by the Broward County school district for Kindergartners. To their credit they did have a form the parents could fill out to request their child not be included in this unit, although to me it sort of seems like a form should be sent to *permit* the child to be in the unit, the default being that Kindergarteners not be exposed to this sort of material. My boys are still 4 years old for heaven's sake! (At least for a few more days). Anyway needless to say my boys will not be attending those lessons.
This afternoon the boys were pretty worn out from school and a little-bit-too-late bedtime last night, and we dealt with some fighting mainly between Brigham and Joseph. And to my dismay they have picked up the "I hate you" phrase. I'm not saying it was from school, because I dont' know that and in any case I'm sure they would come up with it one way or another. But it made me sad hearing them shout that at each other, and we had a long talk about not saying "I hate you." "You're making me mad," "I don't like it when you...," "Don't talk to me right now," are all ok when you are angry, but not "I hate you." That is what Satan wants them to say so they should not say it! I think they understood that, but we'll see what happens when tempers flare. I sure remember Mama and Daddy telling us not to say that to each other, but I had no idea how it tears at a parent's heart to hear that phrase being flung between your dear sweet children.
Another unfortunate phrase that I'm regrettably hearing is from my little Mosey! The big boys have a way of saying in a sort of taunting (annoying) way, "Ha, ha, I got your toy," or whatever they're trying to gloat about, the key part of the phrase being the "Ha ha" which they say in the MOST teasing way possible. Well, Mosey has picked this up, but instead of using it to tease his brothers, he's starting to use it to tease me!! "Ha ha, I run away from you mom!" "Ha ha, I got your phone mom!" I guess I should expect that, since he is the youngest and smallest. He probably knows he's asking for trouble by taunting his big brothers like that, but what is his mom going to do to him?
Oh, before I close for the night, I added *one* more column of pictures on my website
August 17 means it is mama's birthday! Happy Birthday! I hope you have a good day, either relaxing or invigoratingly busy, whichever you prefer.
We have had a very rainy day, today, and our roof is leaking again which is very depressing. Ben has been up there countless hours trying to find the point of entry of the water to seal it up, plus we have 2 tarps up there held in place by concrete blocks and sandbags, and still lots of leakage. I foresee us finally giving in pretty soon and hiring a roofer. The ceiling is going to need some repair as well and I'm thinking we may just get the popcorn acoustic coating removed while we're at it. Ugh. The joys of home ownership.
The boys had a good 3rd day of school. They meet me over by the west bike rack, which means they are not going out with the rest of their class to wait over on the east side where the car pick-up is. The school is very strict about security-- who is allowed in and out of the school and who's allowed to pick up the kids. So they have older "safety patrol" students who escort the little ones out to the west entrance of the school to wait for whomever is picking them up. It was so cute to see Brigham and Joseph each being held by the hand by an older student to be passed on to me. I'm pretty impressed with that aspect of the school so far. I did have to deal with my first taste of east coast liberalism permeating the elementary school when a notice was sent home about the unit on sexuality and family relationships which is mandated by the Broward County school district for Kindergartners. To their credit they did have a form the parents could fill out to request their child not be included in this unit, although to me it sort of seems like a form should be sent to *permit* the child to be in the unit, the default being that Kindergarteners not be exposed to this sort of material. My boys are still 4 years old for heaven's sake! (At least for a few more days). Anyway needless to say my boys will not be attending those lessons.
This afternoon the boys were pretty worn out from school and a little-bit-too-late bedtime last night, and we dealt with some fighting mainly between Brigham and Joseph. And to my dismay they have picked up the "I hate you" phrase. I'm not saying it was from school, because I dont' know that and in any case I'm sure they would come up with it one way or another. But it made me sad hearing them shout that at each other, and we had a long talk about not saying "I hate you." "You're making me mad," "I don't like it when you...," "Don't talk to me right now," are all ok when you are angry, but not "I hate you." That is what Satan wants them to say so they should not say it! I think they understood that, but we'll see what happens when tempers flare. I sure remember Mama and Daddy telling us not to say that to each other, but I had no idea how it tears at a parent's heart to hear that phrase being flung between your dear sweet children.
Another unfortunate phrase that I'm regrettably hearing is from my little Mosey! The big boys have a way of saying in a sort of taunting (annoying) way, "Ha, ha, I got your toy," or whatever they're trying to gloat about, the key part of the phrase being the "Ha ha" which they say in the MOST teasing way possible. Well, Mosey has picked this up, but instead of using it to tease his brothers, he's starting to use it to tease me!! "Ha ha, I run away from you mom!" "Ha ha, I got your phone mom!" I guess I should expect that, since he is the youngest and smallest. He probably knows he's asking for trouble by taunting his big brothers like that, but what is his mom going to do to him?
Oh, before I close for the night, I added *one* more column of pictures on my website
August 16, 2006
Hey all,
My hand is healing a bit, but typing is still a little hard.
The boys are loving school, and I've gotten a lot done during the day which is doubly nice.
We've been riding our bikes to school and back (the boys on their bigwheels), which is pretty fun and everyone seems to think it is hilarious to see my little guys trekking along on their bigwheels. Yesterday (the first day of school), I rode over to get them, and RIGHT at 2:00 (school ends at 2), the skies opened up with an enormous thunderstorm and we were as soaked as soaked could be on the ride home. We could not have been any wetter had we jumped into a pool, backpacks, bikes, and all. But the boys thought it was pretty fun, even Mosey on the back of my bike.
I've been pretty busy with photography stuff, and tonight I updated my website. I really really need some older kids to photograph, though, because all those pictures are from a year ago, and are obviously of the same two kids. Oh well. If you are interested the site is http://www.heartscenesphotography.com/.
Ok, off to bed. Up too late tonight. I'll give a more in-depth report on life in general tomorrow.
My hand is healing a bit, but typing is still a little hard.
The boys are loving school, and I've gotten a lot done during the day which is doubly nice.
We've been riding our bikes to school and back (the boys on their bigwheels), which is pretty fun and everyone seems to think it is hilarious to see my little guys trekking along on their bigwheels. Yesterday (the first day of school), I rode over to get them, and RIGHT at 2:00 (school ends at 2), the skies opened up with an enormous thunderstorm and we were as soaked as soaked could be on the ride home. We could not have been any wetter had we jumped into a pool, backpacks, bikes, and all. But the boys thought it was pretty fun, even Mosey on the back of my bike.
I've been pretty busy with photography stuff, and tonight I updated my website. I really really need some older kids to photograph, though, because all those pictures are from a year ago, and are obviously of the same two kids. Oh well. If you are interested the site is http://www.heartscenesphotography.com/.
Ok, off to bed. Up too late tonight. I'll give a more in-depth report on life in general tomorrow.
Here's some pictures of the boys' first day of school.
Joseph looks so much taller than Brigham here. He's only an inch taller, but I think he looks taller because he's standing in front of Brigham and I'm using such a wide angle lens, it exaggerates the difference.
Showing off their Spiderman and Batman backpacks!
Yes! School is starting!!
Brigham's too busy thinking about his first day of Kindergarten to look at me!
Riding down the sidewalk on the way to school.
Speeding down the sidewalk like gangbusters!
Ready to go into Mrs. Mendoza's classroom.
Joseph ready to go into Mrs. Vitale's classroom! And Mosey in his bike helmet (he rides in a child seat on the back of my bike), ready for a fun day with JUST mom!
August 12, 2006
Hey everyone,
I'm typing with one hand and one finger tonight because of a stupid accident. I was in the garage doing a maternity photoshoot for my friend pregnant with twins and I was moving my light stand when I accidentally knocked into a large mirror I sometimes use, which was leaning against my stage. The mirror does not have finished edges, it is just square cut glass. Anyway, I reflexively reached down to catch it before it hit the ground, and cut myself real deep right where my little finger joins my palm. I instantly knew it was not good. But I ran inside and wrapped it up real tight in a hand towel and taped it tight, and then finished the photoshoot. I'm no hero, I just knew there was no point in going to the ER with 3 kids in tow, and I would be waiting till Ben got home anyway. So anyway when Ben got home he looked up all the nearby urgent care centers (I hadn't even thought of that, duh...), called them all and found the one with the shortest wait time. What a guy, huh? It was actually really great. After signing in and filling out the paperwork, I waited probably 5 minutes before I was called back. I hoped maybe I could get away with dermabond, but no such luck. It was too deep, ragged (how? the mirror was very straight. guess my hand must have been partly curled when I grabbed it), and right at the joint, all of which were disqualifying factors for dermabond. But 5 stitches later, a tetnus shot and an antibiotic prescription, I'm almost good as new. Also there was no tendon damage, and I'll get the stitches out in 10 days. And it was my left hand, so that's good too. And yet another time when I am glad I saved my leftover darvocet from my c-section!!
But anyway, if I'm scarce via email the next few days, that's why. It has taken me a while just to type this much, so I'll probably not write much more until I get some dexterity in my hand back.
But life is good, the boys are excited for school to start, and I'll be sure to tell you all about their first day (plus pictures!) sometime next week.
I'm typing with one hand and one finger tonight because of a stupid accident. I was in the garage doing a maternity photoshoot for my friend pregnant with twins and I was moving my light stand when I accidentally knocked into a large mirror I sometimes use, which was leaning against my stage. The mirror does not have finished edges, it is just square cut glass. Anyway, I reflexively reached down to catch it before it hit the ground, and cut myself real deep right where my little finger joins my palm. I instantly knew it was not good. But I ran inside and wrapped it up real tight in a hand towel and taped it tight, and then finished the photoshoot. I'm no hero, I just knew there was no point in going to the ER with 3 kids in tow, and I would be waiting till Ben got home anyway. So anyway when Ben got home he looked up all the nearby urgent care centers (I hadn't even thought of that, duh...), called them all and found the one with the shortest wait time. What a guy, huh? It was actually really great. After signing in and filling out the paperwork, I waited probably 5 minutes before I was called back. I hoped maybe I could get away with dermabond, but no such luck. It was too deep, ragged (how? the mirror was very straight. guess my hand must have been partly curled when I grabbed it), and right at the joint, all of which were disqualifying factors for dermabond. But 5 stitches later, a tetnus shot and an antibiotic prescription, I'm almost good as new. Also there was no tendon damage, and I'll get the stitches out in 10 days. And it was my left hand, so that's good too. And yet another time when I am glad I saved my leftover darvocet from my c-section!!
But anyway, if I'm scarce via email the next few days, that's why. It has taken me a while just to type this much, so I'll probably not write much more until I get some dexterity in my hand back.
But life is good, the boys are excited for school to start, and I'll be sure to tell you all about their first day (plus pictures!) sometime next week.
I'll leave you with some pictures of the maternity session that caused so much hassle! Isn't she beautiful carrying those precious twins??
August 9, 2006
Hey y'all,
Tonight was the boys' Kindergarten open house where we met their teachers and had a general overview of how to navigate the school year. There are 5 (!) kindergarten classes in Embassy Creek Elementary, and in general I think I am pretty pleased with the 2 teachers the boys got. One of the others seemed a bit grouchy to me (but then again she is a native New Yorker, so it is hard to tell), and one of them, who has a PhD in early child development, insists on being called "Doctor Remaly" (even by her students) which I find utterly PRETENTIOUS!! It is KINDERGARTEN for heaven's sake. Oh well. The other teacher seemed fine, as do the two my boys have. Hopefully it will all go well. This week the boys and I have biked to the school in the mornings to sort of get used to how things will be running in the mornings. The boys will ride their big wheels, and they've done just fine on them. Well, the first morning of our "school practice" was a little rough, and Joseph was in tears twice before we got to school, but the next morning was much, much better. I'm taking Mosey in the back of my bike, which is fine except for that he's getting tall and his legs are too long for the little foot rests in the child carrier, so every time my foot rises on the pedal, my ankles bump into the bottoms of his shoes. This weekend I need to go and get helmets for Brigham and Joseph. I have a child's helmet for Moses, but only adult sized ones for Brigham and Joseph and they really don't fit right, even with their big heads.
I am finding myself a bit busier than I want to be. I am trying to finish a drawing for someone, and I wanted it done by this weekend, but no way will that happen. I also have 2 photo shoots this weekend and I'm also trying to create the boys' birthday party invitations (took the pictures for those today, but haven't started at all making the invitation). I know I should just go to the dollar store and buy some cheapo invites, but that's just not me I guess... They will be really cute and I'll be sure to attach a copy when I get them finished. To add to this, Ben's work laptop broke down so he had to use my computer all day today, and even if he hadn't had to use it, the boys have been quite demanding so I probably wouldnt' have had any time to work on stuff anyway. I think all the kids and I are ready for school to start. We're all frankly a little sick of each other. At one point today all 3 boys had a timeout at the same time. And I also heard for the first time (although I'm sure not the last), "You're a BAD mom!! You're going to jail!!" I actually laughed when I heard that, although the offender got a swat on the bum for it.
Sometimes motherhood can be exhausting in the strangest ways. Physically, of course, when you're going all day with rarely a moment to sit down. But also, sometimes I just get a little tired being at the beck and call of everyone all the time. Or just tired of the fact that I'm *expected* to be at their beck and call. It is frustrating because the things I'm talking about are not bad, and not really all that unreasonable, so I feel really bad putting them off or saying no, but on the other hand, I just get really tired. For example, right after lunch today Brigham wanted me to drill a hole in this plastic pipe so he could connect it to some sculpture he's making. Joseph brought a piece of wood over to me and wanted me to screw it into this other wood thing he's making. Both boys want me to move the fort from the exercise room to the family room. Mosey has to go potty every 20 minutes it seems (he's been so good about telling me when he needs to go, but he's not tall enough to stand up to the toilet yet, so I've been sitting him backwards on it and consequently he needs me to get him up and down), and all I really want to do is have a moment to fold the 3 loads of laundry waiting for me. I love all the projects my boys do, they are creative and a good use of *their* time, but it also just seems to take up all of *my* time and it is frustrating. And then I feel totally guilty because after all I am a mother, so why do I even have a concept or expectation of "my time" anyway?
All this was compounded by the fact that my dear friend Melissa is in the hospital with some weird and scary complications of persistent migraines, so I'm trying to cook dinner for her children and have all of that done and delivered, plus my kids fed, cleaned up and changed, all by 6 PM so we can make it to Kindergarten orientation. Too many things in one day. Well, I would have even had time for all of that except for that major meltdown of the children which resulted in 3 timeouts and me getting fed up enough to put them all in the van and go for a drive and then a trip to the park, which ate up almost 2 hours of my afternoon. And now it is 10:30 and I haven't accomplished a single thing on my to do list for the night (except the dishes), and I'm just a bit irked. I'm afraid Ben sort of bore the brunt of that when he was called at the last minute (8 PM right when any good husband SHOULD be helping his wife get the kids to bed, RIGHT??) to do a bunch of stuff for our ward's hurricane calling tree thing, and so he was out of commission for more than 2 hours while I wrangled with kids getting them ready for bed, reading stories, brushing teeth, etc. Yeah, I got really mad and sort of yelled at Ben to call back Brother Hathaway and tell him he just can't do it tonight and can he please reschedule for next week. But Ben, the dutiful priesthood holder didn't do that and so I ended up doing the night routine on my own. I really don't mind getting the kids in bed by myself, but it gets complicated with Mosey. We read books on Brigham's bed (a double bed) and when all 3 boys try to crowd into the bed to read the book, it inevitably ends up with the boys fighting over who is in who's spot, and who can see and who can't, and Mosey really is not able to pay attention long enough for the boys' books and ends up asking me every 2 seconds (literally), "What's that mom?" and pointing to something on the page, or else saying, "Look at that letter mom!" (which requires my response, "Yes, that's a letter, Mosey"), making it nearly impossible to actually read the story with any intelligible continuity!! Whew!! When I finally got Brigham and Joseph down, I put Mosey in our room where Ben was working on ward hurricane stuff, but of course he can't really successfully keep Mosey in there when Mosey knows I'm downstairs, and sure enough 30 seconds later I hear the door squeak open upstairs and down he comes putting an end to any hopes of me actually accomplishing anything until Ben finished, which wasn't until like 10:15 PM.
Anyway. Sorry for that majorly long whine session. Just needed to get that out of my system I guess.
Oh, I am also working on a "day in the life" project of my own. Yesterday from the time we woke up until bedtime, I took a bunch of pictures of just the every day moments of life in the Turner household at this stage of our lives. It was really fun, but now I have 150 pictures to edit and sort through and combine into a little book like thing that I'm envisioning. I really want to do this every year or maybe a couple of times a year to document every day life at various stages of my kids' lives. I figured I better do it quick to capture the life of my 3 little rascals while they are still in the complete freedom and irresponsibility of pre-school children. So anyway, I have that project on the back of my mind as well and I don't like to put off these sorts of projects too long because then projects start piling up and I get really stressed out.
So yeah, I am pretty aware that most of the stuff making me busy is self-imposed, but it still seems like to me that I should have to right to pursue some of these things, EVEN THOUGH I am primarily a wife and mother. Am I totally irrational and unrealistic to think that? Probably.
Ok, enough whining for tonight.
Tonight was the boys' Kindergarten open house where we met their teachers and had a general overview of how to navigate the school year. There are 5 (!) kindergarten classes in Embassy Creek Elementary, and in general I think I am pretty pleased with the 2 teachers the boys got. One of the others seemed a bit grouchy to me (but then again she is a native New Yorker, so it is hard to tell), and one of them, who has a PhD in early child development, insists on being called "Doctor Remaly" (even by her students) which I find utterly PRETENTIOUS!! It is KINDERGARTEN for heaven's sake. Oh well. The other teacher seemed fine, as do the two my boys have. Hopefully it will all go well. This week the boys and I have biked to the school in the mornings to sort of get used to how things will be running in the mornings. The boys will ride their big wheels, and they've done just fine on them. Well, the first morning of our "school practice" was a little rough, and Joseph was in tears twice before we got to school, but the next morning was much, much better. I'm taking Mosey in the back of my bike, which is fine except for that he's getting tall and his legs are too long for the little foot rests in the child carrier, so every time my foot rises on the pedal, my ankles bump into the bottoms of his shoes. This weekend I need to go and get helmets for Brigham and Joseph. I have a child's helmet for Moses, but only adult sized ones for Brigham and Joseph and they really don't fit right, even with their big heads.
I am finding myself a bit busier than I want to be. I am trying to finish a drawing for someone, and I wanted it done by this weekend, but no way will that happen. I also have 2 photo shoots this weekend and I'm also trying to create the boys' birthday party invitations (took the pictures for those today, but haven't started at all making the invitation). I know I should just go to the dollar store and buy some cheapo invites, but that's just not me I guess... They will be really cute and I'll be sure to attach a copy when I get them finished. To add to this, Ben's work laptop broke down so he had to use my computer all day today, and even if he hadn't had to use it, the boys have been quite demanding so I probably wouldnt' have had any time to work on stuff anyway. I think all the kids and I are ready for school to start. We're all frankly a little sick of each other. At one point today all 3 boys had a timeout at the same time. And I also heard for the first time (although I'm sure not the last), "You're a BAD mom!! You're going to jail!!" I actually laughed when I heard that, although the offender got a swat on the bum for it.
Sometimes motherhood can be exhausting in the strangest ways. Physically, of course, when you're going all day with rarely a moment to sit down. But also, sometimes I just get a little tired being at the beck and call of everyone all the time. Or just tired of the fact that I'm *expected* to be at their beck and call. It is frustrating because the things I'm talking about are not bad, and not really all that unreasonable, so I feel really bad putting them off or saying no, but on the other hand, I just get really tired. For example, right after lunch today Brigham wanted me to drill a hole in this plastic pipe so he could connect it to some sculpture he's making. Joseph brought a piece of wood over to me and wanted me to screw it into this other wood thing he's making. Both boys want me to move the fort from the exercise room to the family room. Mosey has to go potty every 20 minutes it seems (he's been so good about telling me when he needs to go, but he's not tall enough to stand up to the toilet yet, so I've been sitting him backwards on it and consequently he needs me to get him up and down), and all I really want to do is have a moment to fold the 3 loads of laundry waiting for me. I love all the projects my boys do, they are creative and a good use of *their* time, but it also just seems to take up all of *my* time and it is frustrating. And then I feel totally guilty because after all I am a mother, so why do I even have a concept or expectation of "my time" anyway?
All this was compounded by the fact that my dear friend Melissa is in the hospital with some weird and scary complications of persistent migraines, so I'm trying to cook dinner for her children and have all of that done and delivered, plus my kids fed, cleaned up and changed, all by 6 PM so we can make it to Kindergarten orientation. Too many things in one day. Well, I would have even had time for all of that except for that major meltdown of the children which resulted in 3 timeouts and me getting fed up enough to put them all in the van and go for a drive and then a trip to the park, which ate up almost 2 hours of my afternoon. And now it is 10:30 and I haven't accomplished a single thing on my to do list for the night (except the dishes), and I'm just a bit irked. I'm afraid Ben sort of bore the brunt of that when he was called at the last minute (8 PM right when any good husband SHOULD be helping his wife get the kids to bed, RIGHT??) to do a bunch of stuff for our ward's hurricane calling tree thing, and so he was out of commission for more than 2 hours while I wrangled with kids getting them ready for bed, reading stories, brushing teeth, etc. Yeah, I got really mad and sort of yelled at Ben to call back Brother Hathaway and tell him he just can't do it tonight and can he please reschedule for next week. But Ben, the dutiful priesthood holder didn't do that and so I ended up doing the night routine on my own. I really don't mind getting the kids in bed by myself, but it gets complicated with Mosey. We read books on Brigham's bed (a double bed) and when all 3 boys try to crowd into the bed to read the book, it inevitably ends up with the boys fighting over who is in who's spot, and who can see and who can't, and Mosey really is not able to pay attention long enough for the boys' books and ends up asking me every 2 seconds (literally), "What's that mom?" and pointing to something on the page, or else saying, "Look at that letter mom!" (which requires my response, "Yes, that's a letter, Mosey"), making it nearly impossible to actually read the story with any intelligible continuity!! Whew!! When I finally got Brigham and Joseph down, I put Mosey in our room where Ben was working on ward hurricane stuff, but of course he can't really successfully keep Mosey in there when Mosey knows I'm downstairs, and sure enough 30 seconds later I hear the door squeak open upstairs and down he comes putting an end to any hopes of me actually accomplishing anything until Ben finished, which wasn't until like 10:15 PM.
Anyway. Sorry for that majorly long whine session. Just needed to get that out of my system I guess.
Oh, I am also working on a "day in the life" project of my own. Yesterday from the time we woke up until bedtime, I took a bunch of pictures of just the every day moments of life in the Turner household at this stage of our lives. It was really fun, but now I have 150 pictures to edit and sort through and combine into a little book like thing that I'm envisioning. I really want to do this every year or maybe a couple of times a year to document every day life at various stages of my kids' lives. I figured I better do it quick to capture the life of my 3 little rascals while they are still in the complete freedom and irresponsibility of pre-school children. So anyway, I have that project on the back of my mind as well and I don't like to put off these sorts of projects too long because then projects start piling up and I get really stressed out.
So yeah, I am pretty aware that most of the stuff making me busy is self-imposed, but it still seems like to me that I should have to right to pursue some of these things, EVEN THOUGH I am primarily a wife and mother. Am I totally irrational and unrealistic to think that? Probably.
Ok, enough whining for tonight.
August 4, 2006
Dear Everyone,
Happy Friday, the weekend is almost here! Yay. Just this weekend and next, and then school starts. Wow, the summer went by fast.
First some happy stuff. I am SO HAPPY that Chris is falling apart. The storm named Chris, for those who are confused. Looked like a hurricane possibility, but now is likely only to be a tropical depression with a bit of rain over the weekend. My prediction before this hurricane season was that it was going to be WAY less active than what all the "experts" predicted, and that we, here in Cooper City, will not have to put up our hurricane shutters this year. I hope I'm right. So far, so good!
Second, and I hope Joseph doesn't kill me when he is older and possibly reading through all my old correspondence, but I have to share this anyway because it is a big deal, Joseph is now finally 100% toilet trained!! He has been toilet/pullup trained for like 2 years now, but the poop on the potty thing has been really hard. He was scared and had a big psychological hang up about it. In fact just last week I decided I was simply not going to stress about it or say anything about it to him again, and I went out and bought a case of pullups at Sam's Club. But over the weekend, he just decided he was going to do it. And he did, and he has ever since! I figured it would happen that way anyway, and that my coaching him or pressuring him in any way probably wouldn't help him at all. He is very proud of himself, as he should be, and now my house is officially diaper/pullup free!! Amazing. Now if we can just help Joseph overcome his fear of the noise public bathroom toilets make. It is a loud and scary noise and he hates it. Whenever we have to use a public bathroom, he tells me not to flush it until he has run out of the bathroom. Which is fine and everything, but he's not going to have anyone to flush it for him at school. And lots of places have those automatic flushing toilets now, and he absolutely hates those. He will avoid those at all costs. When he tells me he needs to go to the potty and it's at a place with an automatic toilet, I know it's truly an emergency. He did actually use one at the museum yesterday, and I did manage to make it not flush by holding my hand over the motion detector thingy that triggers the flush, so that was good.
Speaking of the museum, it was really fun. We just renewed our membership and so we got some free Imax tickets. I forgot to use ours last year, so I decided we should use them right away so I wouldn't forget. We saw "Deep Sea 3D" and it was just spectacular. Just up Brigham and Joseph's alley, of course, being about animals, and the 3D made it just incredible. It was the first time the boys have seen a 3D movie, and it was really a kick to watch them react. They were reaching out in front of them to try and touch things, and were basically mesmerized the whole time. Mosey did pretty well with the 3D glasses, too, but did take them off about halfway through. He was sitting on my lap and it was pretty funny to feel him flinch and jerk when it seemed like a shark was going to come right at us or something.
Mosey is just talking so much now! Even much more than when many of you saw him just a few weeks ago. I remember when I went to visit Rosalynde after Mara was born, how well Jack was talking at the time and I was kind of despairing thinking that Mosey would no way be talking as well as Jack in another 5 months. But sure enough, his language has really exploded and I think he is just as verbal as Jack was. No match for Elena at that age, but hey, we can't all be prodigies, right? :-) It's funny, though, because whomever he is talking to, he will conclude every line with their name. So when he's talking to me (which is most of the time), he ends everything with "mom," which he says in a really funny way, kind of like a cross between "mom" and "mam."
Ok, I need your opinion on this. I really want to videotape Brigham saying a prayer sometime. He says the cutest, most thoughtful prayers ever, but I don't know if it is irreverent or inappropriate to videotape a prayer. What do you think? He spends most of the prayer saying thankyou for things, and they are always just so thoughtful and amazing (to me, at least!). And he always asks Heavenly Father to "bless the earth," which goodness knows is really needed right now.
Another positive update on Kent-- he has been moved out of the ICU and into some sort of step-down room. Not a regular hospital room yet, but not the full ICU either. No real timeline on when he will be released from the hospital to the rehab place yet, but he continues to improve. He has signed consent forms to sell his practice which I'm sure is a very hard thing to do, and yet clearly necessary.
Oh, and Ben got a call-back to fly out to Austin to interview for the chief actuary position for Texas Mutual. No, this isn't the other Texas company he interviewed with, but it is the company that his best friend works for (Eddie, the guy who also worked at Farmers when Ben was there). We don't know what Ben's chances are, since Texas Mutual is a workers comp insurance company which Ben has no experience in, and we also know they are flying out 3 other candidates, so we'll just have to wait and see. I'm absolutely not going to start thinking about and worrying about and stressing about the possibility of moving yet. I'll cross that bridge if we ever even come to it.
Have a great Friday everyone.
Happy Friday, the weekend is almost here! Yay. Just this weekend and next, and then school starts. Wow, the summer went by fast.
First some happy stuff. I am SO HAPPY that Chris is falling apart. The storm named Chris, for those who are confused. Looked like a hurricane possibility, but now is likely only to be a tropical depression with a bit of rain over the weekend. My prediction before this hurricane season was that it was going to be WAY less active than what all the "experts" predicted, and that we, here in Cooper City, will not have to put up our hurricane shutters this year. I hope I'm right. So far, so good!
Second, and I hope Joseph doesn't kill me when he is older and possibly reading through all my old correspondence, but I have to share this anyway because it is a big deal, Joseph is now finally 100% toilet trained!! He has been toilet/pullup trained for like 2 years now, but the poop on the potty thing has been really hard. He was scared and had a big psychological hang up about it. In fact just last week I decided I was simply not going to stress about it or say anything about it to him again, and I went out and bought a case of pullups at Sam's Club. But over the weekend, he just decided he was going to do it. And he did, and he has ever since! I figured it would happen that way anyway, and that my coaching him or pressuring him in any way probably wouldn't help him at all. He is very proud of himself, as he should be, and now my house is officially diaper/pullup free!! Amazing. Now if we can just help Joseph overcome his fear of the noise public bathroom toilets make. It is a loud and scary noise and he hates it. Whenever we have to use a public bathroom, he tells me not to flush it until he has run out of the bathroom. Which is fine and everything, but he's not going to have anyone to flush it for him at school. And lots of places have those automatic flushing toilets now, and he absolutely hates those. He will avoid those at all costs. When he tells me he needs to go to the potty and it's at a place with an automatic toilet, I know it's truly an emergency. He did actually use one at the museum yesterday, and I did manage to make it not flush by holding my hand over the motion detector thingy that triggers the flush, so that was good.
Speaking of the museum, it was really fun. We just renewed our membership and so we got some free Imax tickets. I forgot to use ours last year, so I decided we should use them right away so I wouldn't forget. We saw "Deep Sea 3D" and it was just spectacular. Just up Brigham and Joseph's alley, of course, being about animals, and the 3D made it just incredible. It was the first time the boys have seen a 3D movie, and it was really a kick to watch them react. They were reaching out in front of them to try and touch things, and were basically mesmerized the whole time. Mosey did pretty well with the 3D glasses, too, but did take them off about halfway through. He was sitting on my lap and it was pretty funny to feel him flinch and jerk when it seemed like a shark was going to come right at us or something.
Mosey is just talking so much now! Even much more than when many of you saw him just a few weeks ago. I remember when I went to visit Rosalynde after Mara was born, how well Jack was talking at the time and I was kind of despairing thinking that Mosey would no way be talking as well as Jack in another 5 months. But sure enough, his language has really exploded and I think he is just as verbal as Jack was. No match for Elena at that age, but hey, we can't all be prodigies, right? :-) It's funny, though, because whomever he is talking to, he will conclude every line with their name. So when he's talking to me (which is most of the time), he ends everything with "mom," which he says in a really funny way, kind of like a cross between "mom" and "mam."
Ok, I need your opinion on this. I really want to videotape Brigham saying a prayer sometime. He says the cutest, most thoughtful prayers ever, but I don't know if it is irreverent or inappropriate to videotape a prayer. What do you think? He spends most of the prayer saying thankyou for things, and they are always just so thoughtful and amazing (to me, at least!). And he always asks Heavenly Father to "bless the earth," which goodness knows is really needed right now.
Another positive update on Kent-- he has been moved out of the ICU and into some sort of step-down room. Not a regular hospital room yet, but not the full ICU either. No real timeline on when he will be released from the hospital to the rehab place yet, but he continues to improve. He has signed consent forms to sell his practice which I'm sure is a very hard thing to do, and yet clearly necessary.
Oh, and Ben got a call-back to fly out to Austin to interview for the chief actuary position for Texas Mutual. No, this isn't the other Texas company he interviewed with, but it is the company that his best friend works for (Eddie, the guy who also worked at Farmers when Ben was there). We don't know what Ben's chances are, since Texas Mutual is a workers comp insurance company which Ben has no experience in, and we also know they are flying out 3 other candidates, so we'll just have to wait and see. I'm absolutely not going to start thinking about and worrying about and stressing about the possibility of moving yet. I'll cross that bridge if we ever even come to it.
Have a great Friday everyone.
July 31, 2006
Hey Everyone,
Quick letter tonight. Lots to write about, but it is too late, really. This last weekend I hosted a baby shower for my friend due with her baby girl next month. It was lots of fun and turned out great, but as usual lots of work. I was up till 4 AM the morning of trying to get things finished. At the last minute I decided this shower was a good reason to finally recover the horrid cornices above my living room windows (the ones that were purple velour), and I like the new fabric much more. It took a long time, though, and now I am motivated to get that room painted. It is the last vestiges of peach in the house, and I'm itching to eradicate it. I also got 2 area rugs at Walmart to hide the stained ugly carpet in there, and it made a big difference. The rugs I got are a deep red color, which is nice, but it reflects red onto the already peach walls, making the room look totally pink! Ack! Oh well, it still looks better than it did.
It was sort of a sad weekend, though, because our friends the Winstons moved away. Lauren's daughter Alyssa is 2 weeks older than Moses (her due date was Mosey's actual birthday), and they played pretty good together! Lauren is scared because she is Brazilian and isn't too likely to find many other Brazilians in Dallas. I hope their new ward will be nice to them.
The latest on Ben's dad is that he is conscious, but still on the ventilator. He's also developed pneumonia, which is not uncommon for people on ventilators for extended lengths of time, but it can be very scary. Ben's been really worried, but apparently Kent is fairly stable despite the pneumonia. He's still in the ICU. Ben also found out that he broke 5 ribs in addition to all his other injuries. The boys have been working on pictures to send to Grandpa in the hospital.
Brigham, as many of you know, has a deep interest in "treasures," and has recently started to dress up in his pirate costume most of the time. He got a pirate eye patch at some point, and made himself earrings out of construction paper that he tapes onto his ears, and a gold medallian (also out of construction paper) that he wears on a black yarn "chain" around his neck. And of course his "treasure box" goes everywhere he does. Ahoy there, mateys!!
Last week Joseph wrote his first note all by himself. He likes to write and will often ask me how to spell things, but this time he had done something to Mosey (can't remember what) and earned himself a time out. When he came out, he had written a note for Mosey reading "Im sore," which phonetically spells "I'm sorry." I thought it was very sweet, and have saved it for his scrapbook.
Mosey has been doing very well sleeping in his own room. He just needs a few songs (he LOVES "how much is that doggy in the window" and will chime in on the "woof woof!" parts between each line), and a whole array of stuffed animals (the list grows each day), and he is good to go. His obsession with Blues Clues continues, and it is generally the first thing he asks for when he wakes up, even before breakfast. "Can I watch Blues Clues mom?" On Sunday morning all the boys got involved in a Blues Clues pretend game, and they taped paw prints that they drew on the walls in various parts of the house, and "skidoo'd" in and out of them. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you must not be a parent of a preschooler...
Ok, that's it for tonight. I'm annoyed at myself because I meant to go jogging (have on my jogging clothes and everything), but spent too long on the computer and now it's too late. Oh well. I will go to the gym in the morning for SURE.
Quick letter tonight. Lots to write about, but it is too late, really. This last weekend I hosted a baby shower for my friend due with her baby girl next month. It was lots of fun and turned out great, but as usual lots of work. I was up till 4 AM the morning of trying to get things finished. At the last minute I decided this shower was a good reason to finally recover the horrid cornices above my living room windows (the ones that were purple velour), and I like the new fabric much more. It took a long time, though, and now I am motivated to get that room painted. It is the last vestiges of peach in the house, and I'm itching to eradicate it. I also got 2 area rugs at Walmart to hide the stained ugly carpet in there, and it made a big difference. The rugs I got are a deep red color, which is nice, but it reflects red onto the already peach walls, making the room look totally pink! Ack! Oh well, it still looks better than it did.
It was sort of a sad weekend, though, because our friends the Winstons moved away. Lauren's daughter Alyssa is 2 weeks older than Moses (her due date was Mosey's actual birthday), and they played pretty good together! Lauren is scared because she is Brazilian and isn't too likely to find many other Brazilians in Dallas. I hope their new ward will be nice to them.
The latest on Ben's dad is that he is conscious, but still on the ventilator. He's also developed pneumonia, which is not uncommon for people on ventilators for extended lengths of time, but it can be very scary. Ben's been really worried, but apparently Kent is fairly stable despite the pneumonia. He's still in the ICU. Ben also found out that he broke 5 ribs in addition to all his other injuries. The boys have been working on pictures to send to Grandpa in the hospital.
Brigham, as many of you know, has a deep interest in "treasures," and has recently started to dress up in his pirate costume most of the time. He got a pirate eye patch at some point, and made himself earrings out of construction paper that he tapes onto his ears, and a gold medallian (also out of construction paper) that he wears on a black yarn "chain" around his neck. And of course his "treasure box" goes everywhere he does. Ahoy there, mateys!!
Last week Joseph wrote his first note all by himself. He likes to write and will often ask me how to spell things, but this time he had done something to Mosey (can't remember what) and earned himself a time out. When he came out, he had written a note for Mosey reading "Im sore," which phonetically spells "I'm sorry." I thought it was very sweet, and have saved it for his scrapbook.
Mosey has been doing very well sleeping in his own room. He just needs a few songs (he LOVES "how much is that doggy in the window" and will chime in on the "woof woof!" parts between each line), and a whole array of stuffed animals (the list grows each day), and he is good to go. His obsession with Blues Clues continues, and it is generally the first thing he asks for when he wakes up, even before breakfast. "Can I watch Blues Clues mom?" On Sunday morning all the boys got involved in a Blues Clues pretend game, and they taped paw prints that they drew on the walls in various parts of the house, and "skidoo'd" in and out of them. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you must not be a parent of a preschooler...
Ok, that's it for tonight. I'm annoyed at myself because I meant to go jogging (have on my jogging clothes and everything), but spent too long on the computer and now it's too late. Oh well. I will go to the gym in the morning for SURE.
July 26, 2006
First of all,
Happy Birthday Naomi!!! For the next 36 days, we are only 1 year apart... :-) I hope you are having a good day and doing something fun, and I hope those around you recognize your special day!
This week is tax-free week for school supplies, clothes, shoes, etc., so on Monday I took the boys to Walmart to stock up. I thought I'd go on Monday to avoid the crowds and to get our things before everything was picked over. Well, apparently half of Cooper City also had my idea, and the place was packed. At least, the school supplies section was. We had actually gotten everything we needed, except for dry-erase marker erasers, and I was searching high and low for those when I turned around and Mosey was gone. He is definitely my lag-behind boy and I constantly have to encourage him to keep up with me, and besides that he was very interested in all the school supplies. I figured he was in the area somewhere and I looked all around for him. No luck. Then I figured he must have just gone up another aisle nearby, so I looked up and down all the aisles around us. Then I thought, maybe he figured out where the toy section was, so I walked quickly over there, but no luck. I started to get quite worried at that point, and found a Walmart employee and told him my 2 year old was missing, and described him and what he was wearing. He was on the ball, and immediately went over to an employee phone and announced on the intercom that he was missing. At first he got it wrong and said he was SIX years old, though, so I had to correct him and he announced it again. The ward primary president happened to be there with her four kids, and she immediately went on the search for him too. I kept looking up and down all the aisles, sure that I must have just missed seeing him somewhere. Finally the employee I had talked to before found me and told me that Moses was over by the fitting rooms. Which are clear across on the other side of the store!! And Walmarts are not small. I was very relieved and ran over there where he was very happy in the arms of one of the girls working the fitting rooms. He didn't seem to be at all disturbed by the event, but I was, and didn't let him out of my arms till we got to the car. The whole thing was less than 10 minutes, I'm sure, but plenty long for me. Of course the lady that had him felt it necessary to lecture me about not letting him out of my site because there are lots of weirdos out there. Which was good advice but a little overkill at that point, for me anyway. My own internal panic was enough chastisement.
But anyway, we did get our school supplies (minus the erasers), each boy got a new pair of shoes, and Brigham and Joseph got 3 new pairs of shorts and 3 new shirts. All ready for school in 3 weeks.
Ben decided not to take the Bar exam this week after all, so that made last weekend and the last couple of days a lot less stressful for everyone. He can take it next February for an additional $75 fee, and he just was not feeling good about taking it this week. He's not entirely sure why, his studying was going well, but he just felt really uneasy about it so decided to go with that instinct and wait.
Ok, I'm off to continue my morning chores. Hope everyone is doing well. No new news on Kent, which is good and bad I guess. Good because it means nothing bad has happened, but bad too, because it means the doctors have still not been able to wake him out of his coma yet...
Happy Birthday Naomi!!! For the next 36 days, we are only 1 year apart... :-) I hope you are having a good day and doing something fun, and I hope those around you recognize your special day!
This week is tax-free week for school supplies, clothes, shoes, etc., so on Monday I took the boys to Walmart to stock up. I thought I'd go on Monday to avoid the crowds and to get our things before everything was picked over. Well, apparently half of Cooper City also had my idea, and the place was packed. At least, the school supplies section was. We had actually gotten everything we needed, except for dry-erase marker erasers, and I was searching high and low for those when I turned around and Mosey was gone. He is definitely my lag-behind boy and I constantly have to encourage him to keep up with me, and besides that he was very interested in all the school supplies. I figured he was in the area somewhere and I looked all around for him. No luck. Then I figured he must have just gone up another aisle nearby, so I looked up and down all the aisles around us. Then I thought, maybe he figured out where the toy section was, so I walked quickly over there, but no luck. I started to get quite worried at that point, and found a Walmart employee and told him my 2 year old was missing, and described him and what he was wearing. He was on the ball, and immediately went over to an employee phone and announced on the intercom that he was missing. At first he got it wrong and said he was SIX years old, though, so I had to correct him and he announced it again. The ward primary president happened to be there with her four kids, and she immediately went on the search for him too. I kept looking up and down all the aisles, sure that I must have just missed seeing him somewhere. Finally the employee I had talked to before found me and told me that Moses was over by the fitting rooms. Which are clear across on the other side of the store!! And Walmarts are not small. I was very relieved and ran over there where he was very happy in the arms of one of the girls working the fitting rooms. He didn't seem to be at all disturbed by the event, but I was, and didn't let him out of my arms till we got to the car. The whole thing was less than 10 minutes, I'm sure, but plenty long for me. Of course the lady that had him felt it necessary to lecture me about not letting him out of my site because there are lots of weirdos out there. Which was good advice but a little overkill at that point, for me anyway. My own internal panic was enough chastisement.
But anyway, we did get our school supplies (minus the erasers), each boy got a new pair of shoes, and Brigham and Joseph got 3 new pairs of shorts and 3 new shirts. All ready for school in 3 weeks.
Ben decided not to take the Bar exam this week after all, so that made last weekend and the last couple of days a lot less stressful for everyone. He can take it next February for an additional $75 fee, and he just was not feeling good about taking it this week. He's not entirely sure why, his studying was going well, but he just felt really uneasy about it so decided to go with that instinct and wait.
Ok, I'm off to continue my morning chores. Hope everyone is doing well. No new news on Kent, which is good and bad I guess. Good because it means nothing bad has happened, but bad too, because it means the doctors have still not been able to wake him out of his coma yet...
July 23, 2006
Hello All,
Quick letter tonight as I don't have much to say.
If any of you are looking for a cute euphemism for passing gas, Mosey has a good one for you. He came up to me today and said, "I poofed, mom!" I thought he said that he pooped, but he still had his pants on so I thought maybe he just meant that he needed to go to the potty. I quickly ran him into the bathroom and sat him on the toilet when, again, he "poofed." He looked up at me, grinning, and said very proudly, "I poofed again, mom!"
Finally he did succeed in more than "poofing" on the potty, and he was so proud of himself he had to show Ben before he flushed it down. I love to see his newly developing sense of accomplishment, even when it does pretty much revolve around bathroom activities.
All right, here's hoping for some more elevating writing topics tomorrow night!
Quick letter tonight as I don't have much to say.
If any of you are looking for a cute euphemism for passing gas, Mosey has a good one for you. He came up to me today and said, "I poofed, mom!" I thought he said that he pooped, but he still had his pants on so I thought maybe he just meant that he needed to go to the potty. I quickly ran him into the bathroom and sat him on the toilet when, again, he "poofed." He looked up at me, grinning, and said very proudly, "I poofed again, mom!"
Finally he did succeed in more than "poofing" on the potty, and he was so proud of himself he had to show Ben before he flushed it down. I love to see his newly developing sense of accomplishment, even when it does pretty much revolve around bathroom activities.
All right, here's hoping for some more elevating writing topics tomorrow night!
July 22, 2006
Hello Everyone,
I am resolving to get better about writing letters more regularly.
I do have a good excuse, though, I was gone for 3 weeks visiting family, and then basically as soon as we got back home, Joseph got a really bad stomach bug (today was his first day well again), and our internet connection has been spotty.
But, we are back, and I am resuming my (semi) regular updates.
Our trip was fabulous. We spent 2 weeks at the Frandsens' house in La Canada, CA, and then a week at the Turners' house in Salem, UT. We did a ton of really fun things. We went to Travel Town (a train park), Kidspace (a really fun kids park/museum), hiking up at Switzers Falls (twice), camping in Chilao, kayakking at Santa Fe Dam, and lots and lots of swimming while in California. On the way up to Utah we stopped in Joshua Tree National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Grandma Frandsen's house in Centerfield (where my boys got their first taste of her famous chocolate chip cookies). In Utah the boys enjoyed playing in the water and sand at Salem pond, we went horseback riding at Thanksgiving Point, went horseback riding again at a ranch in Genola, hiking up to Timpanogos cave (the twins hiked by themselves and did GREAT, and I carried Mosey in the backpack-- my shoulders ached way more than my legs by the time we got back down), jumping on Grandma Jackee's trampoline, playing with their cousins from Utah and Arizona, and going to their first dentist visit (not scary at all since the dentist was their grandpa-- also, no cavities!), and visited with their triplet second-cousins in Pleasant Grove.
Truly the only down point of the trip was the terrible car accident Grandpa Kent was in the day before we left to go back home. For those who want an update, he is progressing about as well as can be expected, but is still in very serious condition. He has had surgeries on both his legs and on his arm, and will undergo surgery on his crushed heel sometime next week. He has been kept in an induced coma to control pain as well as to prevent further injury to his spleen and liver, both of which so far have not required surgery. Such extended time unconscious and on a respirator is certainly not ideal, but seems to be the safest for him right now. We are praying for good recovery, and particularly for no blood clots (apparently somewhat common in femur-breaks) or infection.
For those who don't know, my father-in-law got in a wreck when entering I-15 in an incredibly dangerous construction zone. There have been 19 accidents in less than 2 weeks on this 2-3 mile stretch of freeway, all of them involving cars merging across 3 blocked lanes into the SINGLE open lane on the freeway. The main problem is that the onramps enter the freeway at a level much higher than the street (the freeway goes over the streets), which prevents good visibility from the on-ramp, so you cannot see if the traffic is backed up until it is pretty much too late. So cars entering the on-ramp at normal rates of speed, don't have time to slow down enough to merge into traffic that has pretty much come to a stand-still. I believe most if not all of the accidents have been due to this problem. This is what happened to Kent, and he rammed into the back of a large dump truck. We are thanking God that his airbag deployed.
Anyway, it is very scary and we are all praying so hard that Kent will be strong and pull through and recover as fully as he possibly can. He is expected to be in the ICU for several more days, and then will probably be spending a few months in a rehab center before he can go home. It certainly put a damper on our home-coming, I can tell you that. I didn't know if I should cancel my flight and stay in Utah to try to help in any way I could, but I figured there probably wasn't a lot I could really do, and it would be best if I just took my little boys home and let Jackee deal with the situation without also worrying about little grandchildren underfoot.
Our flights to California and then back here from Utah were great. I was amazed at how well my boys did. I did have to take MANY trips to the lavatory in the back of the plane, since all 3 boys are now diaper-free (yay!). I know the passengers were laughing at me a little when at one point I took all three boys back there, literally each 2 minutes apart. WHY can't they realize they need to go until they REALLY NEED TO GO! And why can't they all really need to go at the same time?! On the flights home, Brigham and Joseph decided to wear their Spiderman and Batman costumes. I know that all the passengers were reassured to be protected by such outstanding superheroes on their flights. If you ever want to get attention, just dress your twin boys in superhero costumes and take them around the airport. It was really very sweet the number of nice comments and smiles we got from strangers.
Ok, 3 quick stories about my boys and then I'll close. Mosey has learned the phrase, "See you later alligator!" He's also learned "After a while crocodile," but he tends to get the two confused. So mostly he just says, "See you later crocodile," which just makes me smile. He is also my little stripper-boy. It is getting really hard to keep him clothed. I'm tempted to dress him in overalls and other hard-to-remove clothing, except for the whole potty-issue. His clothes need to be easy to remove. The problem is that he is taking too much advantage of it. Is it ok for my 2 year old to be jumping on the trampoline in our backyard in his birthday suit? I wouldnt' question it except that thanks to all the hurricanes out here, our entire backyard is pretty much completely visible to anyone walking out in the greenway. Oh well, he'll grow out of that, right?We took the boys to Pizza Hut last night, mostly to celebrate Joseph going 6 hours without throwing up (he didn't actually eat pizza, but it was good for him to get out of the house). On the way out, Brigham was in a very silly mood and put one of his shoes on his hand. He then proceeded to sort of hop/leap out of the restaurant on one shoe-clad foot and one shoe-clad hand, with the other arm and leg stuck out at various angles into the air. It was really funny to watch. Of course then Mosey wanted to try it too, and he did a pretty good imitation, I must say!
Mister was happy to see us when we got home, but especially Joseph (he is the true animal lover in this house, I think). We were all pretty tired by the time we got home, and we weren't home for long before I found Joseph upstairs laying on my bed, with Mister and Angel both curled up on either side of him. They had a pretty good thing going, with Joseph using one hand to pet Mister and one hand to pet Angel. So long from stormy South Florida.
I am resolving to get better about writing letters more regularly.
I do have a good excuse, though, I was gone for 3 weeks visiting family, and then basically as soon as we got back home, Joseph got a really bad stomach bug (today was his first day well again), and our internet connection has been spotty.
But, we are back, and I am resuming my (semi) regular updates.
Our trip was fabulous. We spent 2 weeks at the Frandsens' house in La Canada, CA, and then a week at the Turners' house in Salem, UT. We did a ton of really fun things. We went to Travel Town (a train park), Kidspace (a really fun kids park/museum), hiking up at Switzers Falls (twice), camping in Chilao, kayakking at Santa Fe Dam, and lots and lots of swimming while in California. On the way up to Utah we stopped in Joshua Tree National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Grandma Frandsen's house in Centerfield (where my boys got their first taste of her famous chocolate chip cookies). In Utah the boys enjoyed playing in the water and sand at Salem pond, we went horseback riding at Thanksgiving Point, went horseback riding again at a ranch in Genola, hiking up to Timpanogos cave (the twins hiked by themselves and did GREAT, and I carried Mosey in the backpack-- my shoulders ached way more than my legs by the time we got back down), jumping on Grandma Jackee's trampoline, playing with their cousins from Utah and Arizona, and going to their first dentist visit (not scary at all since the dentist was their grandpa-- also, no cavities!), and visited with their triplet second-cousins in Pleasant Grove.
Truly the only down point of the trip was the terrible car accident Grandpa Kent was in the day before we left to go back home. For those who want an update, he is progressing about as well as can be expected, but is still in very serious condition. He has had surgeries on both his legs and on his arm, and will undergo surgery on his crushed heel sometime next week. He has been kept in an induced coma to control pain as well as to prevent further injury to his spleen and liver, both of which so far have not required surgery. Such extended time unconscious and on a respirator is certainly not ideal, but seems to be the safest for him right now. We are praying for good recovery, and particularly for no blood clots (apparently somewhat common in femur-breaks) or infection.
For those who don't know, my father-in-law got in a wreck when entering I-15 in an incredibly dangerous construction zone. There have been 19 accidents in less than 2 weeks on this 2-3 mile stretch of freeway, all of them involving cars merging across 3 blocked lanes into the SINGLE open lane on the freeway. The main problem is that the onramps enter the freeway at a level much higher than the street (the freeway goes over the streets), which prevents good visibility from the on-ramp, so you cannot see if the traffic is backed up until it is pretty much too late. So cars entering the on-ramp at normal rates of speed, don't have time to slow down enough to merge into traffic that has pretty much come to a stand-still. I believe most if not all of the accidents have been due to this problem. This is what happened to Kent, and he rammed into the back of a large dump truck. We are thanking God that his airbag deployed.
Anyway, it is very scary and we are all praying so hard that Kent will be strong and pull through and recover as fully as he possibly can. He is expected to be in the ICU for several more days, and then will probably be spending a few months in a rehab center before he can go home. It certainly put a damper on our home-coming, I can tell you that. I didn't know if I should cancel my flight and stay in Utah to try to help in any way I could, but I figured there probably wasn't a lot I could really do, and it would be best if I just took my little boys home and let Jackee deal with the situation without also worrying about little grandchildren underfoot.
Our flights to California and then back here from Utah were great. I was amazed at how well my boys did. I did have to take MANY trips to the lavatory in the back of the plane, since all 3 boys are now diaper-free (yay!). I know the passengers were laughing at me a little when at one point I took all three boys back there, literally each 2 minutes apart. WHY can't they realize they need to go until they REALLY NEED TO GO! And why can't they all really need to go at the same time?! On the flights home, Brigham and Joseph decided to wear their Spiderman and Batman costumes. I know that all the passengers were reassured to be protected by such outstanding superheroes on their flights. If you ever want to get attention, just dress your twin boys in superhero costumes and take them around the airport. It was really very sweet the number of nice comments and smiles we got from strangers.
Ok, 3 quick stories about my boys and then I'll close. Mosey has learned the phrase, "See you later alligator!" He's also learned "After a while crocodile," but he tends to get the two confused. So mostly he just says, "See you later crocodile," which just makes me smile. He is also my little stripper-boy. It is getting really hard to keep him clothed. I'm tempted to dress him in overalls and other hard-to-remove clothing, except for the whole potty-issue. His clothes need to be easy to remove. The problem is that he is taking too much advantage of it. Is it ok for my 2 year old to be jumping on the trampoline in our backyard in his birthday suit? I wouldnt' question it except that thanks to all the hurricanes out here, our entire backyard is pretty much completely visible to anyone walking out in the greenway. Oh well, he'll grow out of that, right?We took the boys to Pizza Hut last night, mostly to celebrate Joseph going 6 hours without throwing up (he didn't actually eat pizza, but it was good for him to get out of the house). On the way out, Brigham was in a very silly mood and put one of his shoes on his hand. He then proceeded to sort of hop/leap out of the restaurant on one shoe-clad foot and one shoe-clad hand, with the other arm and leg stuck out at various angles into the air. It was really funny to watch. Of course then Mosey wanted to try it too, and he did a pretty good imitation, I must say!
Mister was happy to see us when we got home, but especially Joseph (he is the true animal lover in this house, I think). We were all pretty tired by the time we got home, and we weren't home for long before I found Joseph upstairs laying on my bed, with Mister and Angel both curled up on either side of him. They had a pretty good thing going, with Joseph using one hand to pet Mister and one hand to pet Angel. So long from stormy South Florida.
July 17, 2006
The good news is that we all got home safely and are happy to be able to sleep in our own beds tonight. And I for one am looking forward to sleeping in a bed NOT with 3 other little boys.
The bad news is that my father-in-law Kent got in a terrible car accident yesterday afternoon. There is construction on I-15 down in the southern part of Utah Valley, and the freeway is restricted to only 1 lane from Benjamin to Springville. Kent was entering I-15 on the on-ramp and couldn't see the traffic backup until he was already up on the freeway, where the right lane is closed off and you're forced to merge into the left lane. Anyway, he couldn't slow down in time and he crashed into the back of a large dump truck. He was not wearing his seatbelt. I've never ever seen him wear a seat-belt, although every time we ride with him we ask him to wear one if only for the sake of his grandkids. Anyway thank goodness the airbags deployed because that saved his life. As it is he broke both femurs and both tibias/fibulas, crushed his right heel, crushed his right wrist, and lacerated his liver and spleen. He never lost consciousness and there doesn't appear to be any head trauma (again, thanks to the airbag), but he is not in good shape. No one has yet been able to have a coherent conversation with him. He was taken to Payson hospital where they called Jackee, and as soon as she got there they transported him to Utah Valley Hospital ICU. He had surgery today to attempt to repair his legs, he will have another surgery tomorrow for his wrist. He will be in the hospital for a minimum of a month. His dental career is over and my brother-in-law Tyler who is a lawyer is getting started on negotiating the sale of his practice. The doctors are having a bad time controlling his pain so they are going to induce a coma until some healing can take place.
Jackee is beyond devastated, as you can imagine. She is supposed to go back to school (she is a school teacher) in 3 weeks, and is going to have to figure out what to do.
Anyway, there's nothing anyone can do, of course, except remember Kent and Jackee in your prayers.
The bad news is that my father-in-law Kent got in a terrible car accident yesterday afternoon. There is construction on I-15 down in the southern part of Utah Valley, and the freeway is restricted to only 1 lane from Benjamin to Springville. Kent was entering I-15 on the on-ramp and couldn't see the traffic backup until he was already up on the freeway, where the right lane is closed off and you're forced to merge into the left lane. Anyway, he couldn't slow down in time and he crashed into the back of a large dump truck. He was not wearing his seatbelt. I've never ever seen him wear a seat-belt, although every time we ride with him we ask him to wear one if only for the sake of his grandkids. Anyway thank goodness the airbags deployed because that saved his life. As it is he broke both femurs and both tibias/fibulas, crushed his right heel, crushed his right wrist, and lacerated his liver and spleen. He never lost consciousness and there doesn't appear to be any head trauma (again, thanks to the airbag), but he is not in good shape. No one has yet been able to have a coherent conversation with him. He was taken to Payson hospital where they called Jackee, and as soon as she got there they transported him to Utah Valley Hospital ICU. He had surgery today to attempt to repair his legs, he will have another surgery tomorrow for his wrist. He will be in the hospital for a minimum of a month. His dental career is over and my brother-in-law Tyler who is a lawyer is getting started on negotiating the sale of his practice. The doctors are having a bad time controlling his pain so they are going to induce a coma until some healing can take place.
Jackee is beyond devastated, as you can imagine. She is supposed to go back to school (she is a school teacher) in 3 weeks, and is going to have to figure out what to do.
Anyway, there's nothing anyone can do, of course, except remember Kent and Jackee in your prayers.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
July 2, 2006
Here are my cute little second-cousins. I think they are my second cousins, anyway! They are my cousin Paul's twin girls Abby and Bekah, at 4 1/2 months old. They are so adorable, and bring back so many memories of when my twins were this age.
My nice camera is in the shop, so these pictures are taken with my old point-and-shoot, so excuse the noise.
Abby is in the stripes and Bekah is in the polkadots.
Here are my cute little second-cousins. I think they are my second cousins, anyway! They are my cousin Paul's twin girls Abby and Bekah, at 4 1/2 months old. They are so adorable, and bring back so many memories of when my twins were this age.
My nice camera is in the shop, so these pictures are taken with my old point-and-shoot, so excuse the noise.
Abby is in the stripes and Bekah is in the polkadots.
June 24, 2006
Hey y'all,
Been rrreeeaaalllyyy busy around here, hence not so many emails... I'm looking FORWARD to my vacation next week!!
Things have been good, though, just busy.
The biggest thing was having Naomi here for a few days. It was so fun! Gosh, I wish she lived close by. The boys absolutely fell in love with her, and I'm quite sure they wish she was their mom. She got up with them every morning and let me sleep in, she read books to them, took them on walks, took them to the park, told them stories, made them snacks, brought them presents, and basically proved herself as their favorite aunt. We did some fun things while she was here, including going to Butterfly World, South Beach, and the pool. She got stranded at the pool with all 3 boys for about 6 hours on Tuesday, though, which probably wasn't so fun for her. Here is the story of that adventure:
I went to Kylie Clark's house to take pictures of her 4 day old baby (I did her maternity portraits), and it was supposed to be a 2-2.5 hour thing tops. So Naomi said she would take the boys to the pool while I went to her house. I dropped them off at the Embassy Lakes pool, and then headed up to the Clark's apartment. On the way, I remembered that I had also volunteered to bring dinner (oops!), so I stopped by real quick at Publix to get some food. I ran in and picked up a roasted chicken, potato salad, fruit, green salad, and a strawberry shortcake. I brought the groceries back to the van, climbed in, started the van, and it ran for about 30 seconds while I got my seatbelt on, turned on the A/C, etc., and then it just died. And just clicked when I tried to start it up again. Ugh. I figured it was the battery, so I called Lance Clark (Kylie's husband) and told him I needed a jump, and he nicely drove down to help me up. He jumped the van and it started up just fine, but when I got back out of the car to disconnect the cables, it died again. We figured out I had to keep revving the gas in order for it not to die, so after I got jumped again, I revved the engine and Lance disconnected the cables and closed the hood. Anyway, I managed to make it to their apartment, putting the car in park and revving the engine at red lights and stop signs. The pictures went really well. 4 days old seems to be just perfect for newborn pictures. She was tiny and sleepy and I could put her down and move her in different positions, and she would settle right down with her binky, and then allow us to take the binky out for the pictures. Anyway, the pictures themselves took about
2.5 hours including setting up, break for nursing, cleaning up. They have an east-facing balcony on the 6th floor, so the light was very nice. I had to get jumped again to leave, but I made it all the way back to Embassy Lakes without a hitch, until I got to the security gate. You have to stop and show ID to the security guard, and you have to be on someone's guest list. So I was sitting there revving my engine in park while she checked me out, and just as I put the van into drive, it died. Ugh!! And I couldnt' find my phone!!! (turns out I had dropped it in the parking lot at Kylie's house, and I found it a couple days later). Anyway, the security guard called my friend Janette who lives in Embassy Lakes, and thank goodness she was there because she was on her way out. So she drove over in her van (meanwhile the cars were piling up behind me and I had to keep explaining that my car was dead and they'd have to go around me) and got out her brand-new jumper cables that she got with her brand-new battery just the week before. We connected the vans and I tried to start the van, but this time NOTHING. Not even a click. I got out again and noticed smoking from my battery. Uh oh. I grabbed the positive cable and pulled it off, only to discover it was BURNING HOT. I burned a nice blister on my thumb. The cable had actually melted right down to the wires. The negative cable was just as hot and I had to hit it with my closed fist to get it disconnected. We had no idea what happened, and it was really scary. I was about to give up to call a tow truck (of course Ben was not available either, he was at a work dinner) when this guy drove up in his car, acting like he knew what he was doing. He thought maybe the cables weren't the correct guage, and got his cables out. He started hooking them up, and just as he was about to hook the negative cable to Janette's battery, I noticed that what we thought was the positive terminal, was actually marked negative!! Can you believe that the negative terminal on this brand-new battery was actually painted RED????? The plastic covers on both terminals were black, and the metal part of the terminal was red. Thankfully I saw the TINY engraved "-" sign just as the guy was about to connect Janette's negative terminal to my positive terminal, which was exactly what we had done. Very scary. Anyway, we connected it right, but the van turned over just once, and wouldnt' start. Finally we gave up and the guy and his son pushed my van over to a small parking area next to the security gate. Janette drove me over to the pool, and Naomi and the boys all crammed into the van (10 of us in a 7 passenger van), and she drove us home. I felt so bad because while I was stranded at the security gate, I couldn't call Naomi because my phone was back at Kylie's!! Poor Naomi.
So, that was that adventure. The next day Ben was working from home, so we took his truck to Sam's and got a new battery and now the van runs great except I think we blew a fuse or two with the battery fiasco because none of the things on the dash work (speedometer, gear indicator lights, radio, etc.). Hopefully I can figure out how to replace those myself.
Now for some stories of the boys:
Mosey is in this fixation stage where he gets fixated on different things for a few days and then moves on to something else. For instance right now he is obsessed with Blues Clues. We have 3 Blues Clues video tapes and that is ALL he wants to watch. If you try to put on anything else, he will throw a fit yelling "I wanna watch Blues Clues!!" It is very cute listening to him while he is watching it, though, because he gets very into the show, shouting out, "A clue! A clue!!" and laughing hysterically at all of Steve's antics (yes, the tapes have the original Blues Clues Steve). He is also obsessed with various items that he must carry around at all times. On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday these items included a bear backpack, an alligator packpack, a stuffed lion, a stuffed horse, and a comb. Yes, a comb. He HAD to carry all these things around with him EVERYWHERE. When we went to Butterfly World, I let him carry only the 2 backpacks, and he threw a very long fit and then pouted for quite a while before getting interested in the butterflies. Then the past couple of days it has been the Lincoln Log accessories-- the horse, cow, bull, gate, roof, chimney, etc. These are a little cumbersome for him to carry around all at once, but he does his very best.
Potty training is going ok with him. Yesterday was a particularly bad day for accidents-- I sort of think he was doing it on purpose-- but today was much better. I'm having second thoughts that I started this too early with him, but we've come this far and I really don't want to go back to putting diapers on him.
Ok, now for the big boys. They are up to their usual tricks, playing a lot, fighting sometimes, wearing me out all the time. Brigham is just the master at building things. He just has to be building something all the time. If it isn't a "rocketship) made from an overturned chair, a tupperware storage box (toys dumped out of it of course), 4 bricks brought in from outside, a step-stool, a wooden rocking horse, a length of PVC pipe, and a piece of foamboard for the door (I'm looking at it right now next to my computer desk), then it is a car race track made from about 10 bowls and cups he fished out of the dishwasher and stacked on top of each other in various arrangements, and then leaning rulers from one level to the next for his hotwheels car to "race" down. Oh, this particular construction also required 3 long nails, which he instructed me to get for him from the garage. Not sure what the nails were for, but apparently they were quite vital to his race track.
Joseph loved the things Naomi made for him to eat, and has been requesting apple wheels and stars and peanut butter and raisin sandwiches for every meal. He was also totally thrilled to discover a book on "Colorful Chameleons" among a bag of books a friend gave to us after she reorganized her son's room. He can now tell you just about everything about chameleons, and I had to conduct intense negotiations between him and Brigham on the way home from the airport yesterday, over who got to hold and look at the chameleon book. He also asked me an interesting question while we were at Kmart yesterday getting a new set of jumper cables for Janette. We were walking toward the checkout aisle and he said, "Mom, what's a testimony?" I love it when they ask questions like this and I can teach them something I feel is meaningful. I told him that your testimony is everything that you know to be true about Jesus, the plan of salvation, and the church. I told him that when we think about the things we really believe, and tell those things to others, it helps them to believe those things too, and it also builds our own faith. I'm not sure what the other Kmart shoppers thought about this conversation.
Ben has been interviewing with this other company I mentioned last week, and they are very interested in him (surprise, surprise...), but he seems to be getting increasingly less interested. I'm not sure how this will turn out, but I'm trying not to get anxious over it. I'm sure he'll make the right decision.
Ok, a couple things about myself-- I'm still feeling good, I'm so happy! But I'm still hanging on to these 5 pounds, which is probably more than 5 lbs since I haven't been working out and I can tell I've lost muscle mass, and since muscle weighs more than fat, I'm pretty sure I've gained more than 5 lbs of fat. I've been trying to watch my eating recently, but I think it's really going to take getting back to working out. And as soon as I have these few projects that have been pililng up on me, I am going to make that a priority!!
I will leave you with a few examples of what has been keeping me so busy.
Hey y'all,
Been rrreeeaaalllyyy busy around here, hence not so many emails... I'm looking FORWARD to my vacation next week!!
Things have been good, though, just busy.
The biggest thing was having Naomi here for a few days. It was so fun! Gosh, I wish she lived close by. The boys absolutely fell in love with her, and I'm quite sure they wish she was their mom. She got up with them every morning and let me sleep in, she read books to them, took them on walks, took them to the park, told them stories, made them snacks, brought them presents, and basically proved herself as their favorite aunt. We did some fun things while she was here, including going to Butterfly World, South Beach, and the pool. She got stranded at the pool with all 3 boys for about 6 hours on Tuesday, though, which probably wasn't so fun for her. Here is the story of that adventure:
I went to Kylie Clark's house to take pictures of her 4 day old baby (I did her maternity portraits), and it was supposed to be a 2-2.5 hour thing tops. So Naomi said she would take the boys to the pool while I went to her house. I dropped them off at the Embassy Lakes pool, and then headed up to the Clark's apartment. On the way, I remembered that I had also volunteered to bring dinner (oops!), so I stopped by real quick at Publix to get some food. I ran in and picked up a roasted chicken, potato salad, fruit, green salad, and a strawberry shortcake. I brought the groceries back to the van, climbed in, started the van, and it ran for about 30 seconds while I got my seatbelt on, turned on the A/C, etc., and then it just died. And just clicked when I tried to start it up again. Ugh. I figured it was the battery, so I called Lance Clark (Kylie's husband) and told him I needed a jump, and he nicely drove down to help me up. He jumped the van and it started up just fine, but when I got back out of the car to disconnect the cables, it died again. We figured out I had to keep revving the gas in order for it not to die, so after I got jumped again, I revved the engine and Lance disconnected the cables and closed the hood. Anyway, I managed to make it to their apartment, putting the car in park and revving the engine at red lights and stop signs. The pictures went really well. 4 days old seems to be just perfect for newborn pictures. She was tiny and sleepy and I could put her down and move her in different positions, and she would settle right down with her binky, and then allow us to take the binky out for the pictures. Anyway, the pictures themselves took about
2.5 hours including setting up, break for nursing, cleaning up. They have an east-facing balcony on the 6th floor, so the light was very nice. I had to get jumped again to leave, but I made it all the way back to Embassy Lakes without a hitch, until I got to the security gate. You have to stop and show ID to the security guard, and you have to be on someone's guest list. So I was sitting there revving my engine in park while she checked me out, and just as I put the van into drive, it died. Ugh!! And I couldnt' find my phone!!! (turns out I had dropped it in the parking lot at Kylie's house, and I found it a couple days later). Anyway, the security guard called my friend Janette who lives in Embassy Lakes, and thank goodness she was there because she was on her way out. So she drove over in her van (meanwhile the cars were piling up behind me and I had to keep explaining that my car was dead and they'd have to go around me) and got out her brand-new jumper cables that she got with her brand-new battery just the week before. We connected the vans and I tried to start the van, but this time NOTHING. Not even a click. I got out again and noticed smoking from my battery. Uh oh. I grabbed the positive cable and pulled it off, only to discover it was BURNING HOT. I burned a nice blister on my thumb. The cable had actually melted right down to the wires. The negative cable was just as hot and I had to hit it with my closed fist to get it disconnected. We had no idea what happened, and it was really scary. I was about to give up to call a tow truck (of course Ben was not available either, he was at a work dinner) when this guy drove up in his car, acting like he knew what he was doing. He thought maybe the cables weren't the correct guage, and got his cables out. He started hooking them up, and just as he was about to hook the negative cable to Janette's battery, I noticed that what we thought was the positive terminal, was actually marked negative!! Can you believe that the negative terminal on this brand-new battery was actually painted RED????? The plastic covers on both terminals were black, and the metal part of the terminal was red. Thankfully I saw the TINY engraved "-" sign just as the guy was about to connect Janette's negative terminal to my positive terminal, which was exactly what we had done. Very scary. Anyway, we connected it right, but the van turned over just once, and wouldnt' start. Finally we gave up and the guy and his son pushed my van over to a small parking area next to the security gate. Janette drove me over to the pool, and Naomi and the boys all crammed into the van (10 of us in a 7 passenger van), and she drove us home. I felt so bad because while I was stranded at the security gate, I couldn't call Naomi because my phone was back at Kylie's!! Poor Naomi.
So, that was that adventure. The next day Ben was working from home, so we took his truck to Sam's and got a new battery and now the van runs great except I think we blew a fuse or two with the battery fiasco because none of the things on the dash work (speedometer, gear indicator lights, radio, etc.). Hopefully I can figure out how to replace those myself.
Now for some stories of the boys:
Mosey is in this fixation stage where he gets fixated on different things for a few days and then moves on to something else. For instance right now he is obsessed with Blues Clues. We have 3 Blues Clues video tapes and that is ALL he wants to watch. If you try to put on anything else, he will throw a fit yelling "I wanna watch Blues Clues!!" It is very cute listening to him while he is watching it, though, because he gets very into the show, shouting out, "A clue! A clue!!" and laughing hysterically at all of Steve's antics (yes, the tapes have the original Blues Clues Steve). He is also obsessed with various items that he must carry around at all times. On Sunday, Monday and Tuesday these items included a bear backpack, an alligator packpack, a stuffed lion, a stuffed horse, and a comb. Yes, a comb. He HAD to carry all these things around with him EVERYWHERE. When we went to Butterfly World, I let him carry only the 2 backpacks, and he threw a very long fit and then pouted for quite a while before getting interested in the butterflies. Then the past couple of days it has been the Lincoln Log accessories-- the horse, cow, bull, gate, roof, chimney, etc. These are a little cumbersome for him to carry around all at once, but he does his very best.
Potty training is going ok with him. Yesterday was a particularly bad day for accidents-- I sort of think he was doing it on purpose-- but today was much better. I'm having second thoughts that I started this too early with him, but we've come this far and I really don't want to go back to putting diapers on him.
Ok, now for the big boys. They are up to their usual tricks, playing a lot, fighting sometimes, wearing me out all the time. Brigham is just the master at building things. He just has to be building something all the time. If it isn't a "rocketship) made from an overturned chair, a tupperware storage box (toys dumped out of it of course), 4 bricks brought in from outside, a step-stool, a wooden rocking horse, a length of PVC pipe, and a piece of foamboard for the door (I'm looking at it right now next to my computer desk), then it is a car race track made from about 10 bowls and cups he fished out of the dishwasher and stacked on top of each other in various arrangements, and then leaning rulers from one level to the next for his hotwheels car to "race" down. Oh, this particular construction also required 3 long nails, which he instructed me to get for him from the garage. Not sure what the nails were for, but apparently they were quite vital to his race track.
Joseph loved the things Naomi made for him to eat, and has been requesting apple wheels and stars and peanut butter and raisin sandwiches for every meal. He was also totally thrilled to discover a book on "Colorful Chameleons" among a bag of books a friend gave to us after she reorganized her son's room. He can now tell you just about everything about chameleons, and I had to conduct intense negotiations between him and Brigham on the way home from the airport yesterday, over who got to hold and look at the chameleon book. He also asked me an interesting question while we were at Kmart yesterday getting a new set of jumper cables for Janette. We were walking toward the checkout aisle and he said, "Mom, what's a testimony?" I love it when they ask questions like this and I can teach them something I feel is meaningful. I told him that your testimony is everything that you know to be true about Jesus, the plan of salvation, and the church. I told him that when we think about the things we really believe, and tell those things to others, it helps them to believe those things too, and it also builds our own faith. I'm not sure what the other Kmart shoppers thought about this conversation.
Ben has been interviewing with this other company I mentioned last week, and they are very interested in him (surprise, surprise...), but he seems to be getting increasingly less interested. I'm not sure how this will turn out, but I'm trying not to get anxious over it. I'm sure he'll make the right decision.
Ok, a couple things about myself-- I'm still feeling good, I'm so happy! But I'm still hanging on to these 5 pounds, which is probably more than 5 lbs since I haven't been working out and I can tell I've lost muscle mass, and since muscle weighs more than fat, I'm pretty sure I've gained more than 5 lbs of fat. I've been trying to watch my eating recently, but I think it's really going to take getting back to working out. And as soon as I have these few projects that have been pililng up on me, I am going to make that a priority!!
I will leave you with a few examples of what has been keeping me so busy.
June 15, 2006
Hey everyone,
I'm here, still alive. I've been super, super busy with a few different things, hence my silence. I've been working on several photo sessions and another drawing for someone, so all fun stuff, but still very busy! Trying to sleep in between times, when I can.
I have some pictures I want to share, but no time to upload them now.
Some of the highlights of the week were:
--Catching a Southern Ring-neck snake and keeping it for a day. The boys loved it and wanted to hold it/play with it all the time. It is non-venomous (checked before I let the boys touch it), and fairly non-aggressive, although it did bite Joseph. It's teeth are too small to break the skin, and at first Joseph was just interested, but he got a little scared when it wouldn't let go. I had to pry it's jaws off his finger. Brigham got this curly straw we have and picked it up with that and it wound itself around the curves in the straw. A pretty tricky way to avoid getting bit!
--Mosey has been learning to tell me when he needs to go potty-- he's about 50% on that for now. BUT, our major victory was yesterday when he came up to me and said, "Mom, I hafta go poop!" and I took him into the bathroom, sat him down, and sure enough! He delivered on his assertion. Very exciting.
--Joseph said the prayer in primary on Sunday. He did a very good job, and was so cute.
--I overheard a very funny (but a little disturbing) exchange between Brigham and Joseph. They were needling each other, as they sometimes do, and Joseph was trying to provoke Brigham (as he often does). He told Brigham when they were grown up that he was going to push him off a cliff (I know, it sounds terrible, but honestly he's just trying to get a rise out of Brigham, and yes, I do get after him for saying stuff like that). Brigham kneeled down next to the couch, where they were playing, and I heard him say this: "Dear Heavenly Father, please don't let Joseph push me off a cliff, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen." Then he looked up triumphantly at Joseph and said, "See Joseph? Heavenly Father won't let you push me off a cliff!"
--Ben interviewed with another company last night-- they are trying to recruit him, Ben didn't seek them out. They have 2 offices, one here and one in Dallas, much like his current company. Ben liked the guy he talked with, but doesn't know if he is really interested or not. He will meet with their CEO at some point and we'll see if it goes anywhere.
Ok, time for bed. Actually it was time about 5 hours ago, but what can you do...
Hey everyone,
I'm here, still alive. I've been super, super busy with a few different things, hence my silence. I've been working on several photo sessions and another drawing for someone, so all fun stuff, but still very busy! Trying to sleep in between times, when I can.
I have some pictures I want to share, but no time to upload them now.
Some of the highlights of the week were:
--Catching a Southern Ring-neck snake and keeping it for a day. The boys loved it and wanted to hold it/play with it all the time. It is non-venomous (checked before I let the boys touch it), and fairly non-aggressive, although it did bite Joseph. It's teeth are too small to break the skin, and at first Joseph was just interested, but he got a little scared when it wouldn't let go. I had to pry it's jaws off his finger. Brigham got this curly straw we have and picked it up with that and it wound itself around the curves in the straw. A pretty tricky way to avoid getting bit!
--Mosey has been learning to tell me when he needs to go potty-- he's about 50% on that for now. BUT, our major victory was yesterday when he came up to me and said, "Mom, I hafta go poop!" and I took him into the bathroom, sat him down, and sure enough! He delivered on his assertion. Very exciting.
--Joseph said the prayer in primary on Sunday. He did a very good job, and was so cute.
--I overheard a very funny (but a little disturbing) exchange between Brigham and Joseph. They were needling each other, as they sometimes do, and Joseph was trying to provoke Brigham (as he often does). He told Brigham when they were grown up that he was going to push him off a cliff (I know, it sounds terrible, but honestly he's just trying to get a rise out of Brigham, and yes, I do get after him for saying stuff like that). Brigham kneeled down next to the couch, where they were playing, and I heard him say this: "Dear Heavenly Father, please don't let Joseph push me off a cliff, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen." Then he looked up triumphantly at Joseph and said, "See Joseph? Heavenly Father won't let you push me off a cliff!"
--Ben interviewed with another company last night-- they are trying to recruit him, Ben didn't seek them out. They have 2 offices, one here and one in Dallas, much like his current company. Ben liked the guy he talked with, but doesn't know if he is really interested or not. He will meet with their CEO at some point and we'll see if it goes anywhere.
Ok, time for bed. Actually it was time about 5 hours ago, but what can you do...
Here's Joseph at Dallin Douberly's first birthday party at CB Smith Park.
And here's Brigham. It was a stormy, muggy day. Summer is here again!
June 9, 2006
Hello Everyone,
Why is it that small children have a compulsion to smear around anything that spills? Have you noticed that? Before the age of about 4, and even sometimes after that, if a little kid spills juice on the table, he or she MUST smear it around to make as big a mess as possible. Or if something spills or drops on the ground, the child must step on it!!
I had this experience a few times today with Mosey. He was eating a popsicle (I'm NOT buying any more, he just makes way too much of a mess), and every time a drip spilled on the table, he HAD to smear it around. And then when he was just about done with it, the last chunk fell of the stick and onto the floor, and he stepped on it before I could get him to stop. Oh well...
It wasn't a stellar potty day for him either, but it wasn't really his fault. I don't think he yet recognizes when he has to go until he REALLY HAS TO GO RIGHT THIS SECOND. So he had one accident at Butterfly World (I meant to take him to the bathroom right when we got there but I forgot), and then later on at home, he came up to me saying, "Pee, pee!" in a sort of desperate way, with pee already dripping down his leg. I rushed him to the bathroom, and I think he did manage to hold most of it in. I need to set some sort of alarm or something to I remember to take him on a regular basis.
Today we went to the Allred's pool in the morning, and then home to eat lunch, and then went to Butterfly World. Got home around 4:30, and that was our day. I'm working on another drawing for someone else who wants it for Father's Day, so I really need to have most of it done over the weekend. I've been working on that pretty much since I got home, with breaks for making and eating dinner and getting the kids in bed. I hope I can find time to get it done this weekend. The boys have 2 birthday parties, though, so it will be busy.
Brigham and Joseph and I had an interesting conversation on the way home from Butterfly World. A couple of weeks ago we read about the War in Heaven from our Scripture Stories book, and we talked about Satan and what his plan was, and how he wants us to choose the wrong now. I told them that whenever they got thoughts of doing bad things, that was probably Satan tempting them. Well, I guess this has been worrying Brigham because today on the way home he said to me, "Sometimes I think about doing bad things, but I don't think it is Satan telling me to." I told him that it's probably not Satan if it is just a passing thought, but if you start thinking a lot about doing bad things and you really want to do bad things, then it probably is Satan. He then said, "Well everyone makes mistakes, right?" So then I had to explain about the difference between making a mistake and consciously choosing wrong. Then Joseph asked if Jesus ever tempts you. Wow what a question! I told him that Jesus only helps us to do GOOD things, he would never tempt us to choose wrong. I told them that Satan even tried to tempt Jesus, but Jesus didn't listen to him. Brigham repeated what I had told them a few weeks ago, "If Satan is trying to tempt me I will just tell him to GO AWAY!" And Joseph said, "Also you should try to think about something good."
Anyway, it was an interesting theological discussion to have with a couple of 4 year olds. I'm a little uncertain because at 4 years old they are clearly not yet fully responsible for their actions. They haven't mastered impulse control (heck, even I haven't), and certainly aren't mature enough to be fully aware of the difference between right and wrong in any given situation. So I don't want them to necessarily think that if they do something bad at 4 or 5 or 6 years old even, that they are following Satan and are turning into bad guys. But I do want them to work towards knowing right from wrong and to practice making good choices, and have it be important to them to be good. Anyway, I think I'll have to talk with them about this more because I dont' want them to get overactive guilt complexes at such a young age!!
That's it for tonight. Have a good Friday everyone.
Hello Everyone,
Why is it that small children have a compulsion to smear around anything that spills? Have you noticed that? Before the age of about 4, and even sometimes after that, if a little kid spills juice on the table, he or she MUST smear it around to make as big a mess as possible. Or if something spills or drops on the ground, the child must step on it!!
I had this experience a few times today with Mosey. He was eating a popsicle (I'm NOT buying any more, he just makes way too much of a mess), and every time a drip spilled on the table, he HAD to smear it around. And then when he was just about done with it, the last chunk fell of the stick and onto the floor, and he stepped on it before I could get him to stop. Oh well...
It wasn't a stellar potty day for him either, but it wasn't really his fault. I don't think he yet recognizes when he has to go until he REALLY HAS TO GO RIGHT THIS SECOND. So he had one accident at Butterfly World (I meant to take him to the bathroom right when we got there but I forgot), and then later on at home, he came up to me saying, "Pee, pee!" in a sort of desperate way, with pee already dripping down his leg. I rushed him to the bathroom, and I think he did manage to hold most of it in. I need to set some sort of alarm or something to I remember to take him on a regular basis.
Today we went to the Allred's pool in the morning, and then home to eat lunch, and then went to Butterfly World. Got home around 4:30, and that was our day. I'm working on another drawing for someone else who wants it for Father's Day, so I really need to have most of it done over the weekend. I've been working on that pretty much since I got home, with breaks for making and eating dinner and getting the kids in bed. I hope I can find time to get it done this weekend. The boys have 2 birthday parties, though, so it will be busy.
Brigham and Joseph and I had an interesting conversation on the way home from Butterfly World. A couple of weeks ago we read about the War in Heaven from our Scripture Stories book, and we talked about Satan and what his plan was, and how he wants us to choose the wrong now. I told them that whenever they got thoughts of doing bad things, that was probably Satan tempting them. Well, I guess this has been worrying Brigham because today on the way home he said to me, "Sometimes I think about doing bad things, but I don't think it is Satan telling me to." I told him that it's probably not Satan if it is just a passing thought, but if you start thinking a lot about doing bad things and you really want to do bad things, then it probably is Satan. He then said, "Well everyone makes mistakes, right?" So then I had to explain about the difference between making a mistake and consciously choosing wrong. Then Joseph asked if Jesus ever tempts you. Wow what a question! I told him that Jesus only helps us to do GOOD things, he would never tempt us to choose wrong. I told them that Satan even tried to tempt Jesus, but Jesus didn't listen to him. Brigham repeated what I had told them a few weeks ago, "If Satan is trying to tempt me I will just tell him to GO AWAY!" And Joseph said, "Also you should try to think about something good."
Anyway, it was an interesting theological discussion to have with a couple of 4 year olds. I'm a little uncertain because at 4 years old they are clearly not yet fully responsible for their actions. They haven't mastered impulse control (heck, even I haven't), and certainly aren't mature enough to be fully aware of the difference between right and wrong in any given situation. So I don't want them to necessarily think that if they do something bad at 4 or 5 or 6 years old even, that they are following Satan and are turning into bad guys. But I do want them to work towards knowing right from wrong and to practice making good choices, and have it be important to them to be good. Anyway, I think I'll have to talk with them about this more because I dont' want them to get overactive guilt complexes at such a young age!!
That's it for tonight. Have a good Friday everyone.
June 7, 2006
Hello Everyone,
I'm attaching a couple of pictures of the iguana we had for a couple of days. It was a cute little thing except for the fact that it would bite whenever I picked it up! It was just a baby, probably 6 months old or so, and its teeth were little so it didn't hurt much, but still made the boys a bit anxious. Whenever it got nervous it would open its mouth real wide, I guess trying to scare us away with its ferocious 1/2 mm teeth. :-)
Today was a great success for Mosey on the potty-- no accidents. AND, I believe he is sleeping in Brigham's room, and i think he even fell asleep there by himself! (I'm not entirely sure since I've been downstairs since he went to bed, but Ben may have gotten him earlier). However, he did have a couple of 2-year-old moments, namely when he got a jar of peanut butter, climbed onto the drawers in the computer room, and then finger-painted with peanut butter on my canvas curtain that separates the computer room and living room. I'm not sure how I can get that off without taking down the entire curtain and washing it in the washing machine. I may end up having to do that which would be a big pain.
Brigham and Joseph are just delving into the world of jokes. It is pretty hilarious to listen to them telling jokes. Mostly because their jokes are distinctly NOT hilarious. Here are how a couple of them go:
"Mom, why did the chicken cross the road?""I'm not sure, honey, why?"
"Because it didn't think it would get run over!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!"
and another:
"Knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Banana""Banana who?"
"Orange""Orange who?"
"Apple""Apple who?"
etc., etc., etc. as they name all the fruits they can think of, laughing hysterically after each one.
And one more:
Ben taught them a knock knock joke that goes like this: "Knock knock," "who's there?" "Boo" "Boo who?" "Ohhh, why are you crying?"
But the boys didn't really get that and so this is their rendition of this joke:
"Knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Banana" (they like to include bananas in knock knock jokes I guess)
"Banana who?"
"Oh mom, why are you crying?" (followed by hysterical laughter).
It's just really funny because they know jokes are supposed to be funny, so they laugh really hard whenever they tell a joke, but they really don't understand the humor of jokes yet, so their laughter makes no sense, which actually makes it much funnier to me.
Ok, that's it. Here are some pictures of the iguana
Hello Everyone,
I'm attaching a couple of pictures of the iguana we had for a couple of days. It was a cute little thing except for the fact that it would bite whenever I picked it up! It was just a baby, probably 6 months old or so, and its teeth were little so it didn't hurt much, but still made the boys a bit anxious. Whenever it got nervous it would open its mouth real wide, I guess trying to scare us away with its ferocious 1/2 mm teeth. :-)
Today was a great success for Mosey on the potty-- no accidents. AND, I believe he is sleeping in Brigham's room, and i think he even fell asleep there by himself! (I'm not entirely sure since I've been downstairs since he went to bed, but Ben may have gotten him earlier). However, he did have a couple of 2-year-old moments, namely when he got a jar of peanut butter, climbed onto the drawers in the computer room, and then finger-painted with peanut butter on my canvas curtain that separates the computer room and living room. I'm not sure how I can get that off without taking down the entire curtain and washing it in the washing machine. I may end up having to do that which would be a big pain.
Brigham and Joseph are just delving into the world of jokes. It is pretty hilarious to listen to them telling jokes. Mostly because their jokes are distinctly NOT hilarious. Here are how a couple of them go:
"Mom, why did the chicken cross the road?""I'm not sure, honey, why?"
"Because it didn't think it would get run over!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!"
and another:
"Knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Banana""Banana who?"
"Orange""Orange who?"
"Apple""Apple who?"
etc., etc., etc. as they name all the fruits they can think of, laughing hysterically after each one.
And one more:
Ben taught them a knock knock joke that goes like this: "Knock knock," "who's there?" "Boo" "Boo who?" "Ohhh, why are you crying?"
But the boys didn't really get that and so this is their rendition of this joke:
"Knock knock"
"Who's there?"
"Banana" (they like to include bananas in knock knock jokes I guess)
"Banana who?"
"Oh mom, why are you crying?" (followed by hysterical laughter).
It's just really funny because they know jokes are supposed to be funny, so they laugh really hard whenever they tell a joke, but they really don't understand the humor of jokes yet, so their laughter makes no sense, which actually makes it much funnier to me.
Ok, that's it. Here are some pictures of the iguana
June 6, 2006
Hello Everyone,
Happy 6-6-6!! The world did not end. Well, I guess I have another 54 minutes to go, but so far so good. Maybe somewhere the anti-Christ has just been born. Just kidding. Actually for me, 6-6-06 has been great!
I'm so excited right now. I could stay up another 4 hours, but I won't. I'm afraid of jinxing something by saying this, but I'll run that risk I guess. I think I am out of my flareup!!!!!!!! This past week has been a major turn-around for me. I've felt soooooooo much better, I can't even tell you. AND, tonight I went running for the first time in 2 1/2 months. AND it felt good (ok, a little tougher than usual but that's just because I'm out of shape now). I didn't get ANY tingling or anything the whole time! And barely any l'hermitte's stuff, even right after my run when it is usually the worst.
I'm SO glad!! I've been hoping so bad that this would go away before summer hits full force here, because the heat makes everything worse, and it looks like I'm getting my wish! I can tell my mental functioning is much better, too. I'm so relieved, I was very worried that was going to be my new reality.
So, onward and upward! Now I need to get rid of these 5 lbs I've accumulated the past 11 weeks of no exercise.
I don't have much more to say tonight, just wanted to share my happiness.
Oh, Joseph is doing so well at reading. He totally gets the sounding-it-out, and is easily reading simple words and sentences. Brigham isn't getting it quite as fast as Joseph, but he's doing pretty well too. His problem is that he stops his voice between sounds, and has a hard time "hearing" it all together. But I'm sure he'll get it too. I think it is good for Joseph to see that he is getting something faster and easier than Brigham anyway.
Mosey had a bit of an off day with the potty training, 2 accidents, but I suppose it is 2 steps forward and 1 step back, right? He is also getting TOUGH to shop with. He finds things that he wants and threatens to throw a tantrum until I manage to distract him or trade him with something else. At least this time I only have ONE child doing this instead of two! One thing he is starting to do which makes up for all of this, though, is say "I love you." I like to grab him and give him a big hug and kiss and say, "I LOVE you!!" Now he is starting to do the same thing, come and hug me and say, "I love YOU!" (he always puts the emphasis on the YOU).
\nI'll leave you with one picture, a picture of a drawing I did for a woman I met on an internet bulletin board. A few months ago she delivered triplets at 23 weeks, and they all died within a few days. So, so, so sad. She asked me to do a drawing of her babies, since she never got a picture of them all together. She sent me photos of her little babies and I put this drawing together, it is 11x14 in real life. I think it turned out nicely, I sure hope she likes it. She asked for the selective coloring, which I'm a little ambivalent about, but anyway...
I hope you all have a great Wednesday.
Hello Everyone,
Happy 6-6-6!! The world did not end. Well, I guess I have another 54 minutes to go, but so far so good. Maybe somewhere the anti-Christ has just been born. Just kidding. Actually for me, 6-6-06 has been great!
I'm so excited right now. I could stay up another 4 hours, but I won't. I'm afraid of jinxing something by saying this, but I'll run that risk I guess. I think I am out of my flareup!!!!!!!! This past week has been a major turn-around for me. I've felt soooooooo much better, I can't even tell you. AND, tonight I went running for the first time in 2 1/2 months. AND it felt good (ok, a little tougher than usual but that's just because I'm out of shape now). I didn't get ANY tingling or anything the whole time! And barely any l'hermitte's stuff, even right after my run when it is usually the worst.
I'm SO glad!! I've been hoping so bad that this would go away before summer hits full force here, because the heat makes everything worse, and it looks like I'm getting my wish! I can tell my mental functioning is much better, too. I'm so relieved, I was very worried that was going to be my new reality.
So, onward and upward! Now I need to get rid of these 5 lbs I've accumulated the past 11 weeks of no exercise.
I don't have much more to say tonight, just wanted to share my happiness.
Oh, Joseph is doing so well at reading. He totally gets the sounding-it-out, and is easily reading simple words and sentences. Brigham isn't getting it quite as fast as Joseph, but he's doing pretty well too. His problem is that he stops his voice between sounds, and has a hard time "hearing" it all together. But I'm sure he'll get it too. I think it is good for Joseph to see that he is getting something faster and easier than Brigham anyway.
Mosey had a bit of an off day with the potty training, 2 accidents, but I suppose it is 2 steps forward and 1 step back, right? He is also getting TOUGH to shop with. He finds things that he wants and threatens to throw a tantrum until I manage to distract him or trade him with something else. At least this time I only have ONE child doing this instead of two! One thing he is starting to do which makes up for all of this, though, is say "I love you." I like to grab him and give him a big hug and kiss and say, "I LOVE you!!" Now he is starting to do the same thing, come and hug me and say, "I love YOU!" (he always puts the emphasis on the YOU).
\nI'll leave you with one picture, a picture of a drawing I did for a woman I met on an internet bulletin board. A few months ago she delivered triplets at 23 weeks, and they all died within a few days. So, so, so sad. She asked me to do a drawing of her babies, since she never got a picture of them all together. She sent me photos of her little babies and I put this drawing together, it is 11x14 in real life. I think it turned out nicely, I sure hope she likes it. She asked for the selective coloring, which I'm a little ambivalent about, but anyway...
I hope you all have a great Wednesday.
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