1. Our practicing schedule worked this morning! All practicing was done by 10:58 AM. And 2 of the 3 boys were all done with their schoolwork by 3:30 PM. Another boy took until 4:30, and is still not quite caught up... but we're working on that. This boy has a tendency to daydream and to wander into the playroom to play with blocks when he probably ought to be doing his lessons. :-)
2. Mosey has poison ivy. We can't figure out how he got it! It just cropped up today, so he must have been exposed sometime in the last week or so. No one else has it, and I can't think of where he's been recently where he could have been climbing trees or walking through undergrowth. It's all over his legs and arms and neck and belly. Poor boy. He soaked in an oatmeal bath for 45 minutes before dinner, but he was scratching again before bedtime. We may end up going to the doctor for steroid ointment.
3. We went to the library this afternoon. We have a slippery library book. It was lost, we got charged for it, then we found it, but then it got lost again before we had a chance to return it. :-( This is one reason I don't go to the library terribly often. I always end up paying fines. I don't like to think about the number of books I could have bought with the fines we've paid for lost DVD's, lost books, late fees, etc. I'm not a responsible library card holder, I guess. :-)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
01/30/12
1. Brigham has perfect pitch! I was practicing the piano with Mosey, and Brigham called out from the living room, "Play a note, mom, and let me see if I can guess what it is."
He guessed every single note right. Even sharps and flats. Even high up or low down on the keyboard. At first I thought he must be seeing the reflection of the piano in a mirror or something, but he wasn't. What a neat trick!
After getting a D# right, I asked him how he did it. "I don't know, it just sounded like a D#!" :-) I'm not sure what advantage this gives to a musician, but it sure is cool. I'm hoping that Joseph and Mosey won't feel bad that they can't do this. Ben and I definitely can't!
2. To jump start the 1st day of our 2nd school semester, I introduced a new practicing schedule. The boys will rotate weekly who does piano 1st, 2nd, 3rd. When Joseph is practicing piano, Brigham has to practice violin, and vice versa. I practice with each of them on one instrument per day-- so we'll have a piano day and a flute/violin day. I will still practice with Mosey every day on piano and cello. If we can do this successfully, we can be done with practicing in 2 1/2 hours, instead of the 4+ hours it often takes. As an incentive I've told them that each day they are done with practicing by 11:00 AM, they get one point. When 20 points are accumulated, we'll do something fun like go to Dave and Busters or stay the night in a hotel somewhere. If we can just get through practicing quickly and without resistance, my quality of life will vastly increase. :-)
3. Mosey had his first day back in speech therapy for the semester. Monday afternoons are going to be a bit complicated. We'll drive down to UT to drop Mosey off by 4:00, then drive up to Joseph's flute lesson to drop him off by 4:15. Then back to UT to pick up Mosey at 4:50, and then back to flute to pick up Joseph at 5:00. Then home in lovely rush-hour traffic. Mosey wasn't too thrilled about speech, and I'm wondering if it is worth it. If he doesn't want to go, will he be getting any benefit? I guess we'll see how it goes the next couple of weeks.
He guessed every single note right. Even sharps and flats. Even high up or low down on the keyboard. At first I thought he must be seeing the reflection of the piano in a mirror or something, but he wasn't. What a neat trick!
After getting a D# right, I asked him how he did it. "I don't know, it just sounded like a D#!" :-) I'm not sure what advantage this gives to a musician, but it sure is cool. I'm hoping that Joseph and Mosey won't feel bad that they can't do this. Ben and I definitely can't!
2. To jump start the 1st day of our 2nd school semester, I introduced a new practicing schedule. The boys will rotate weekly who does piano 1st, 2nd, 3rd. When Joseph is practicing piano, Brigham has to practice violin, and vice versa. I practice with each of them on one instrument per day-- so we'll have a piano day and a flute/violin day. I will still practice with Mosey every day on piano and cello. If we can do this successfully, we can be done with practicing in 2 1/2 hours, instead of the 4+ hours it often takes. As an incentive I've told them that each day they are done with practicing by 11:00 AM, they get one point. When 20 points are accumulated, we'll do something fun like go to Dave and Busters or stay the night in a hotel somewhere. If we can just get through practicing quickly and without resistance, my quality of life will vastly increase. :-)
3. Mosey had his first day back in speech therapy for the semester. Monday afternoons are going to be a bit complicated. We'll drive down to UT to drop Mosey off by 4:00, then drive up to Joseph's flute lesson to drop him off by 4:15. Then back to UT to pick up Mosey at 4:50, and then back to flute to pick up Joseph at 5:00. Then home in lovely rush-hour traffic. Mosey wasn't too thrilled about speech, and I'm wondering if it is worth it. If he doesn't want to go, will he be getting any benefit? I guess we'll see how it goes the next couple of weeks.
Weekly letter for January 29
First of all, congratulations Brigham and Christine on your new baby girl! I love the name Jane. It goes really well with Lucy, I think. It sounded like a wonderful labor and delivery and I'm so happy for all of you!
This week was dominated by the Pinewood Derby. This is the last year we have to make 3 cars. THANK GOODNESS. Mosey wasn't in scouts before this year, but last year he still *needed* to make one. :-) Anyway, 3 derby cars is a lot. They turned out really great, though. The boys did most of the body work themselves. I helped with some of the painting finishing touches, and then did the wheel prep. This is the biggest, hardest part of the process. I had the boys help me a little bit, but it's definitely not something they can do on their own at their ages. This is what bugs me about the pinewood derby. If it were just making a fun car and then racing them, that would be fine. But pinewood derby racing is its own industry now, and there are about 1000 websites dedicated to how to make a winning car. So now everyone reads those websites and wants their child's car to be competitive, so now everyone has to do it or else come in last. I don't care that much about the racing, but my boys care, and they definitely would care if they came in last. So I felt like we had to jump in whole-hog with the wheel prep thing.
For those of you not in the know about modern pinewood car racing (and I know you are all dying to know), wheel prep is a difficult, time-consuming, multi-step prices. The first step is filing off the little metal ridge where the nail head meets the shaft (the car's axles are little nails). These ridges are very small and you can only really see them with a magnifying glass (which now comes standard in wheel prep kits). You mount the nail, point side down, into a drill (where the bit normally goes), and then turn it on high while pressing a tiny metal file underneath the head of the nail. Take out the nail, inspect with the magnifying glass, and then repeat until the metal is perfectly smooth. Times 9 nails (only 3 per car since we use a 3-wheel design where only 3 of the wheels actually make contact with the track, reducing friction; the 4th wheel is just for looks).
Next, you sand down the shaft of the nails with progressively finer-grade sand paper. Again, you put the nail in the drill, and then set it on high and apply the sand paper to the nail as it spins. But it's more complicated than it sounds. First, there are 7 grades of sand paper. Yes, seven. You have to cut the sand paper in quarter-inch strips, then each strip has to soak in water for 5 minutes, then you have to mix up this pumice past and put some of that on the sand paper before sanding the nail. You sand with each grade of sand paper for 1 minute each. So each nail takes about 15-20 minutes when you add in the time it takes to get each new piece of sand-paper ready. Times by 9. This is one big benefit of the 3 wheel arrangement, or else that would be times 12. :-)
Then you have to prep the wheels themselves. First you mount the wheel onto the drill using a special attachment, and sand the bottom of the wheels, using 3 grades of sand paper. This, at least, is faster than the axle sanding. 20 seconds per paper, and no soaking or pumice. Then you take the wheel off and cut these little pieces of pipe-cleaner-type-things, apply pumice paste, insert the pipe-cleaner thing into the drill, and then drill out the inside of the wheel, where the axle goes. Again, times all of this by 9.
And THEN you have to actually mount the wheels, which is a PAIN. First you coat each nail with graphite powder. Then you put the wheels on the nail and carefully pound the nails into these tiny little grooves on the underside of the car. They have to go in perfectly straight, and perfectly level. And you can't mess up, because if you do and have to take the nails out of the grooves, the groove itself has been widened, so it won't hold the axle very tightly after that, and also you can damage the nail you so meticulously sanded. Getting the first wheel in is OK, but then it gets trickier because you can't simply lay the car down on its side and pound in the nails. Once you have on wheel in, you don't want to put any pressure or impact on that wheel, so you have to mount it on wooden blocks and very carefully pound the nails in. And then you test it out, hoping and praying that the alignment is good, because if it's not, oh well, too bad. All of this times 9.
Then you mount the fake 4th wheel by drilling a small hole above the axle groove so the fourth wheel sits at a higher level than the others.
And THEN you have to get the car weighted properly. Each car must be no more than 5 ounces (and this is exact-- 5.01 will disqualify the car). But you want it to be as close to 5 oz. as possible, because the heavier the car, the more momentum and the faster it goes. Some people drill out holes in the under side of the car, and fill them with lead weights. This is supposedly best, but too much work for me. So we use these little weights that come in strips that you can break apart into smaller segments to get exactly the right weight, using our electronic kitchen food scale. I have no idea how you are supposed to do this if you don't have an electronic food scale. :-) The weights have to be glued (don't forget about the weight of the glue!) onto the underside of the car. But you have to place the weights exactkt right-- you want the center of gravity of the car to be toward the back. There is controversy online over exactly how far back to put the weights. It's all very complex.
FINALLY, you have to get your boy to spin the wheels a whole bunch (different websites recommend an hour or more of spinning-- we didn't come close to that). But don't roll the car on the ground or actually have any fun with it before the race! You might pick up little pieces of grit that will introduce friction into the system! If you've done a good job, each wheel should spin on it's own for 20-30 seconds. We never got ours spinning more than 15 seconds, so we could never begin to be competitive in bigger races. :-)
And THAT is how you make the derby car.
If you have precision tools, it's even more involved-- drilling out new axle gooves at precisely 90 degrees and at exactly even depths. Correcting alignment issues to the tiniest fraction of inches. It's all ridiculous. 8-10 year old boys CANNOT do it. It take muscle, dexterity, hand-eye-coordination, and a huge amount of patience. So the contest becomes over which parent had the most time to prep the wheels for their kid's car. Which I think is pretty contrary to the original spirit of the pinewood derby, and a pretty ridiculous contest.
Anyway, next year we only have to make ONE CAR!!! YAY!!
The race was Thursday night. We took the entire day off school to get the cars finished (ridiculous). When we got to the church and did test runs down the track, I discovered that I had mounted the fake 4th wheel too high on two of the cars. It has to be low enough to keep the car on the track (the cars all run straddling a raised wooden track to keep it in its lane), but not so low that it comes in contact with the track. But I had put the wheels in too high on Brigham's and Mosey's. Luckily someone brought a drill and drill bits so I was able to perform quick surgery before the race. Otherwise all those hours of wheel prep would have been for nothing, and I would have been very frustrated!! As it turned out, the boys did well in the race. Brigham came in 2nd and Joseph and Mosey tied for 3rd. And there were no tears and everyone was happy, so I count that a huge success. The little boy who came in first hadn't brought any graphite (which you are supposed to apply to the wheel hubs and axles between each race using this graphite injector thingamajig-- another thing the boys can't do by themselves), so he brought his to me to be graphited between each race. I could have probably sabotaged the race for him and faked putting graphite on his wheels. And I'm sure there are some parents (not in our pack) who probably would have done that. But I didn't. :-)
So that is the very long saga of the pinewood derby and why I am so glad it is done for another year, and that next year I only have to do one!
What else happened this week?
Have a great week everybody!
Love,
Gabrielle
This week was dominated by the Pinewood Derby. This is the last year we have to make 3 cars. THANK GOODNESS. Mosey wasn't in scouts before this year, but last year he still *needed* to make one. :-) Anyway, 3 derby cars is a lot. They turned out really great, though. The boys did most of the body work themselves. I helped with some of the painting finishing touches, and then did the wheel prep. This is the biggest, hardest part of the process. I had the boys help me a little bit, but it's definitely not something they can do on their own at their ages. This is what bugs me about the pinewood derby. If it were just making a fun car and then racing them, that would be fine. But pinewood derby racing is its own industry now, and there are about 1000 websites dedicated to how to make a winning car. So now everyone reads those websites and wants their child's car to be competitive, so now everyone has to do it or else come in last. I don't care that much about the racing, but my boys care, and they definitely would care if they came in last. So I felt like we had to jump in whole-hog with the wheel prep thing.
For those of you not in the know about modern pinewood car racing (and I know you are all dying to know), wheel prep is a difficult, time-consuming, multi-step prices. The first step is filing off the little metal ridge where the nail head meets the shaft (the car's axles are little nails). These ridges are very small and you can only really see them with a magnifying glass (which now comes standard in wheel prep kits). You mount the nail, point side down, into a drill (where the bit normally goes), and then turn it on high while pressing a tiny metal file underneath the head of the nail. Take out the nail, inspect with the magnifying glass, and then repeat until the metal is perfectly smooth. Times 9 nails (only 3 per car since we use a 3-wheel design where only 3 of the wheels actually make contact with the track, reducing friction; the 4th wheel is just for looks).
Next, you sand down the shaft of the nails with progressively finer-grade sand paper. Again, you put the nail in the drill, and then set it on high and apply the sand paper to the nail as it spins. But it's more complicated than it sounds. First, there are 7 grades of sand paper. Yes, seven. You have to cut the sand paper in quarter-inch strips, then each strip has to soak in water for 5 minutes, then you have to mix up this pumice past and put some of that on the sand paper before sanding the nail. You sand with each grade of sand paper for 1 minute each. So each nail takes about 15-20 minutes when you add in the time it takes to get each new piece of sand-paper ready. Times by 9. This is one big benefit of the 3 wheel arrangement, or else that would be times 12. :-)
Then you have to prep the wheels themselves. First you mount the wheel onto the drill using a special attachment, and sand the bottom of the wheels, using 3 grades of sand paper. This, at least, is faster than the axle sanding. 20 seconds per paper, and no soaking or pumice. Then you take the wheel off and cut these little pieces of pipe-cleaner-type-things, apply pumice paste, insert the pipe-cleaner thing into the drill, and then drill out the inside of the wheel, where the axle goes. Again, times all of this by 9.
And THEN you have to actually mount the wheels, which is a PAIN. First you coat each nail with graphite powder. Then you put the wheels on the nail and carefully pound the nails into these tiny little grooves on the underside of the car. They have to go in perfectly straight, and perfectly level. And you can't mess up, because if you do and have to take the nails out of the grooves, the groove itself has been widened, so it won't hold the axle very tightly after that, and also you can damage the nail you so meticulously sanded. Getting the first wheel in is OK, but then it gets trickier because you can't simply lay the car down on its side and pound in the nails. Once you have on wheel in, you don't want to put any pressure or impact on that wheel, so you have to mount it on wooden blocks and very carefully pound the nails in. And then you test it out, hoping and praying that the alignment is good, because if it's not, oh well, too bad. All of this times 9.
Then you mount the fake 4th wheel by drilling a small hole above the axle groove so the fourth wheel sits at a higher level than the others.
And THEN you have to get the car weighted properly. Each car must be no more than 5 ounces (and this is exact-- 5.01 will disqualify the car). But you want it to be as close to 5 oz. as possible, because the heavier the car, the more momentum and the faster it goes. Some people drill out holes in the under side of the car, and fill them with lead weights. This is supposedly best, but too much work for me. So we use these little weights that come in strips that you can break apart into smaller segments to get exactly the right weight, using our electronic kitchen food scale. I have no idea how you are supposed to do this if you don't have an electronic food scale. :-) The weights have to be glued (don't forget about the weight of the glue!) onto the underside of the car. But you have to place the weights exactkt right-- you want the center of gravity of the car to be toward the back. There is controversy online over exactly how far back to put the weights. It's all very complex.
FINALLY, you have to get your boy to spin the wheels a whole bunch (different websites recommend an hour or more of spinning-- we didn't come close to that). But don't roll the car on the ground or actually have any fun with it before the race! You might pick up little pieces of grit that will introduce friction into the system! If you've done a good job, each wheel should spin on it's own for 20-30 seconds. We never got ours spinning more than 15 seconds, so we could never begin to be competitive in bigger races. :-)
And THAT is how you make the derby car.
If you have precision tools, it's even more involved-- drilling out new axle gooves at precisely 90 degrees and at exactly even depths. Correcting alignment issues to the tiniest fraction of inches. It's all ridiculous. 8-10 year old boys CANNOT do it. It take muscle, dexterity, hand-eye-coordination, and a huge amount of patience. So the contest becomes over which parent had the most time to prep the wheels for their kid's car. Which I think is pretty contrary to the original spirit of the pinewood derby, and a pretty ridiculous contest.
Anyway, next year we only have to make ONE CAR!!! YAY!!
The race was Thursday night. We took the entire day off school to get the cars finished (ridiculous). When we got to the church and did test runs down the track, I discovered that I had mounted the fake 4th wheel too high on two of the cars. It has to be low enough to keep the car on the track (the cars all run straddling a raised wooden track to keep it in its lane), but not so low that it comes in contact with the track. But I had put the wheels in too high on Brigham's and Mosey's. Luckily someone brought a drill and drill bits so I was able to perform quick surgery before the race. Otherwise all those hours of wheel prep would have been for nothing, and I would have been very frustrated!! As it turned out, the boys did well in the race. Brigham came in 2nd and Joseph and Mosey tied for 3rd. And there were no tears and everyone was happy, so I count that a huge success. The little boy who came in first hadn't brought any graphite (which you are supposed to apply to the wheel hubs and axles between each race using this graphite injector thingamajig-- another thing the boys can't do by themselves), so he brought his to me to be graphited between each race. I could have probably sabotaged the race for him and faked putting graphite on his wheels. And I'm sure there are some parents (not in our pack) who probably would have done that. But I didn't. :-)
So that is the very long saga of the pinewood derby and why I am so glad it is done for another year, and that next year I only have to do one!
What else happened this week?
- We went to the orthodontist where we got the plan for Joseph and Brigham. Braces and headgear for the both of them (they inherited Ben's narrower lower jaw), but not for a while yet.
- I had what might be my lowest of the low cooking weeks. Monday was refried beans and cheese on stale tortillas. Tuesday was Kraft macaroni and cheese. Wednesday was fish sticks from a bag. Thursday was taco bell on the way home from the pinewood derby, at 9:00 at night. Friday night was frozen pizza. And last night was peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Tonight I tried to make it up to them by making a chicken noodle casserole which they said was good.
- Finished a GREAT book called "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton. Highly recommended.
- Joseph went to his first archery lesson on Saturday morning. He loved it and did really well! I think he's found his new thing. He wants to buy a bow and practice in our backyard, but I'm not so sure that's a great idea. :-)
- I finally got a smart phone-- the Droid Razr. Mosey loves it. He's spent about 10 times more time on it than I have over the past 2 days. My feelings remained mixed for that exact reason. Something else I have to police my boys over.
- I got a new church calling. I'm now a den leader for the wolves and bears. This will be fun-- it's the den Mosey is in. I will be working with another lady who is in our homeschool art group and has energy for about 10 people. But I am really sad about not getting to teach my primary class anymore. I think I'm really good at teaching that age group. They are fun and challenging, and I feel like I can really teach them. I asked Brother Chase if I could do both callings, but no dice. :-( So, back to Relief Society where I will now have to be stressed over if anyone will sit next to me. My life is hard. :-)
Have a great week everybody!
Love,
Gabrielle
Sunday's three things
1. Is sweeping and mopping the floor at 1:00 AM on a Sunday morning breaking the Sabbath? I suspect it might be. I have some repenting to do. The problem is that I cannot be peaceful and relaxed when the house is a mess. And I was working ALL DAY yesterday at one thing or another (laundry, errands, finally getting to some mending), and didn't get back from the grocery store until 11:30 PM (at least I wasn't grocery shopping on the Sabbath). By the time I got the groceries put away and the living room picked up, it was almost 1:00 AM.
2. My boys are getting into the X-files. A year and a half ago or so I bought a season of X-files on Amazon (using their instant player so I didn't have to actually download all of them). They were really too scary for the boys at that point, but this weekend they started watching a couple of them and now I think they're hooked. Watching X-files on Sunday night used to be almost a ritual of mine. :-)
3. I made a good dinner for the boys and Ben tonight-- a chicken pasta casserole. I'm not sure it completely absolves me of the criminal lineup of dinners last week (after the fish sticks on Wednesday, I couldn't break my streak, and finished the week out with Taco Bell on Thursday night, frozen pizza on Friday night, and peanut butter sandwiches on Saturday night), but at least now I have leftovers for next week which ensures me at least ONE good dinner for the coming week. I'm so lucky to have un-picky, undemanding children and husband.
4. At 8:30 PM I informed the boys that it was time to start getting ready for bed. A minute later I looked over to see Joseph sitting at the table, tears falling down his cheeks. Those kind of silent tears of sadness are like a fist clenching around my heart. I finally figured out that he was sad because we hadn't really done anything fun as a family that afternoon (X-file episode notwithstanding). Ben had Elders Quorum duties, and I took a nap (see item number 1 for the reason why), then I made dinner, my visiting teachers came, and then it was time for bed. Well, I'm not having a child of mine go to bed crying because we didn't do anything fun as a family! So he and I played a rousing game of Qwirkle-- this is a fun game! I think we've found a winner for our family. The boys stayed up an hour past their bedtime, but it was worth it.
2. My boys are getting into the X-files. A year and a half ago or so I bought a season of X-files on Amazon (using their instant player so I didn't have to actually download all of them). They were really too scary for the boys at that point, but this weekend they started watching a couple of them and now I think they're hooked. Watching X-files on Sunday night used to be almost a ritual of mine. :-)
3. I made a good dinner for the boys and Ben tonight-- a chicken pasta casserole. I'm not sure it completely absolves me of the criminal lineup of dinners last week (after the fish sticks on Wednesday, I couldn't break my streak, and finished the week out with Taco Bell on Thursday night, frozen pizza on Friday night, and peanut butter sandwiches on Saturday night), but at least now I have leftovers for next week which ensures me at least ONE good dinner for the coming week. I'm so lucky to have un-picky, undemanding children and husband.
4. At 8:30 PM I informed the boys that it was time to start getting ready for bed. A minute later I looked over to see Joseph sitting at the table, tears falling down his cheeks. Those kind of silent tears of sadness are like a fist clenching around my heart. I finally figured out that he was sad because we hadn't really done anything fun as a family that afternoon (X-file episode notwithstanding). Ben had Elders Quorum duties, and I took a nap (see item number 1 for the reason why), then I made dinner, my visiting teachers came, and then it was time for bed. Well, I'm not having a child of mine go to bed crying because we didn't do anything fun as a family! So he and I played a rousing game of Qwirkle-- this is a fun game! I think we've found a winner for our family. The boys stayed up an hour past their bedtime, but it was worth it.
Three things from Saturday
1. Joseph went to his first archery lesson Saturday morning. He really liked it and did very well for his first lesson. It starts at 8:00 AM, and you need to get there by 7:45 AM, so with morning church, that means I won't get a single day to sleep in all week. :-)
2. I got my new phone activated Saturday morning. Mosey has since figured out the whole thing and has played about 4 hours of games on it. Strict rules will be enforced starting Monday. :-)
3. I did laundry. Lots of laundry. Why do my boys not bring their laundry down until they each have at least 2 loads full?? Ah well, what else was I going to do with my day? :-)
2. I got my new phone activated Saturday morning. Mosey has since figured out the whole thing and has played about 4 hours of games on it. Strict rules will be enforced starting Monday. :-)
3. I did laundry. Lots of laundry. Why do my boys not bring their laundry down until they each have at least 2 loads full?? Ah well, what else was I going to do with my day? :-)
Saturday, January 28, 2012
1. Watched Sherlock Holmes (from '09 I think?) with the family tonight. Our projector projects it huge onto the wall in our living room (now I'm glad I left it white). Sitting back on the couch in my pj's with my feet up is the way to watch a movie. :-) Good movie and a great soundtrack. Hans Zimmer is amazing.
2. Spent an hour and a half wandering around Target this afternoon. Only bought one thing not on my list-- pretty good for me! Target is therapy for me. :-)
3. We are now officially half-way through the school year. Finished week 18 of our 36 week school year. I think we've done pretty well, although this week lessons have been a bit lack-luster. Next week will be a good time to re-energize and maybe change the way we are doing a few things. This weekend I gotta work a few things out along those lines.
2. Spent an hour and a half wandering around Target this afternoon. Only bought one thing not on my list-- pretty good for me! Target is therapy for me. :-)
3. We are now officially half-way through the school year. Finished week 18 of our 36 week school year. I think we've done pretty well, although this week lessons have been a bit lack-luster. Next week will be a good time to re-energize and maybe change the way we are doing a few things. This weekend I gotta work a few things out along those lines.
Friday, January 27, 2012
A few from the last set
My baby sister is now 18! She is now older than I was when she was born. Yes, that makes me feel very old. :-)
Here are a few more last pictures of my beautiful sister.
Here are a few more last pictures of my beautiful sister.
Thursday's three things
1. I let the boys have the day off school today. We spent a ridiculous amount of time getting the wheels finished and mounted for their pinewood derby cars, the house was a DISASTER after 2 days of me ignoring it, and I had to prepare my lesson for art this afternoon. So, no school and not a minute of practicing happened. And it felt great!
2. Results of the pinewood derby: Brigham and Mosey tied for 2nd, and Joseph came in 3rd. On the way there, Ben and I gave the boys a pep-talk about sportsmanship and the importance of pinewood derby results in the eternal scheme of things, etc., etc., etc. Maybe because of this, or maybe because they're growing up, there was NO crying this year, and everyone had a good time and was a very good sport. Of course the pretty good race results probably didn't hurt. :-) (Although last year a 3rd place result did not inhibit the tears.) Brigham was so cute-- he did NOT want any of the Turner boys to come in 1st because he wanted to "spread the winning around." As it was, he still felt bad that the three of them bunched up in the 2nd and 3rd spots. I liked the way the race was run this year. There were about a million heats, and in the end the results were tallied for final placement-- no quarter finals, semi finals, etc. And no mention was made of the results during the awards ceremony (every boy got a blue ribbon prize for the best something or other car). So boys who cared could look at their results, and kids who didn't just had fun racing. And the million heats made it so by the time the races were over, the boys were pretty tired and I think were more interested in the ice cream sundaes waiting for them in the kitchen than in the race results.
Its not that I'm against competition. Not at all! But the truth is that the boys most likely have little to do with how fast their cars are since it all comes down to axle polishing, wheel prep, and wheel placement, most of which has to be done by a parent. Unless there are some extremely dexterous and patient 8-year-olds out there. There aren't any 8 or 10 year olds in our house like that. I wish there would be a pinewood derby in which the competition is for design, and not speed. After all, regardless of age or manual dexterity, almost all of the boys have the ability to design the car all by themselves, and probably build most of it themselves, too. And that is far and away the most fun part of making a derby car. Polishing axles is really, really boring (I am SO glad this is the last year I have to prep wheels and axles for 3 cars! Too much work!). Sawing and sanding and painting and gluing are way more fun. After the design competition, there could be a race just for fun for boys who really like to race. As it was, the awesome firetruck car that came in last place in the races didn't get much attention. But it should have because it was a really creative and well-executed design. Anyway, the point is that the competition should revolve around the aspects of the derby car that the boys themselves are most involved in, and not depend on which kid's mom or dad was willing to spend the most time getting those wheels and axles *just right.*
(My prolific and detailed thoughts on pinewood derby racing are a direct consequence of my trying as hard as I can to avoid thinking about politics. Can someone please just wake me up next November when the whole thing is over?)
3. There were ice cream sundaes for refreshments after the races. Lot of ice cream, and bowls and bowls of candy toppings. Mosey's topping of choice: skittles. Actually pretty good with vanilla ice cream! The ice cream ends up tasting a little like creamsicle popsicles. (Did I write about Mosey's sundae he concocted on Sunday night? At his "It's Great to be Eight" fireside sundaes were also served for dessert. Mosey dished up vanilla ice cream, caramel topping, gummy bears, skittles, mini m&ms, and reeces pieces. He told me, "You have to write this down mom, because this is the BEST sundae in the world!") Joseph ended up with a great big bowl of candy, with a little bit of ice cream buried under it somewhere. Oh, my sugar-fiend boys. We bought girl scout cookies a few days ago, and have already eaten 3 1/2 boxes of them. So much for my New Year's commitments to cut back on sugar. :-)
4. OK, one more. Did anyone else see the Cheshire Cat moon tonight? The crescent moon was oriented so it's illuminated curve was sitting like a smiley face in the sky. The Cheshire Cat followed us all the way home.
2. Results of the pinewood derby: Brigham and Mosey tied for 2nd, and Joseph came in 3rd. On the way there, Ben and I gave the boys a pep-talk about sportsmanship and the importance of pinewood derby results in the eternal scheme of things, etc., etc., etc. Maybe because of this, or maybe because they're growing up, there was NO crying this year, and everyone had a good time and was a very good sport. Of course the pretty good race results probably didn't hurt. :-) (Although last year a 3rd place result did not inhibit the tears.) Brigham was so cute-- he did NOT want any of the Turner boys to come in 1st because he wanted to "spread the winning around." As it was, he still felt bad that the three of them bunched up in the 2nd and 3rd spots. I liked the way the race was run this year. There were about a million heats, and in the end the results were tallied for final placement-- no quarter finals, semi finals, etc. And no mention was made of the results during the awards ceremony (every boy got a blue ribbon prize for the best something or other car). So boys who cared could look at their results, and kids who didn't just had fun racing. And the million heats made it so by the time the races were over, the boys were pretty tired and I think were more interested in the ice cream sundaes waiting for them in the kitchen than in the race results.
Its not that I'm against competition. Not at all! But the truth is that the boys most likely have little to do with how fast their cars are since it all comes down to axle polishing, wheel prep, and wheel placement, most of which has to be done by a parent. Unless there are some extremely dexterous and patient 8-year-olds out there. There aren't any 8 or 10 year olds in our house like that. I wish there would be a pinewood derby in which the competition is for design, and not speed. After all, regardless of age or manual dexterity, almost all of the boys have the ability to design the car all by themselves, and probably build most of it themselves, too. And that is far and away the most fun part of making a derby car. Polishing axles is really, really boring (I am SO glad this is the last year I have to prep wheels and axles for 3 cars! Too much work!). Sawing and sanding and painting and gluing are way more fun. After the design competition, there could be a race just for fun for boys who really like to race. As it was, the awesome firetruck car that came in last place in the races didn't get much attention. But it should have because it was a really creative and well-executed design. Anyway, the point is that the competition should revolve around the aspects of the derby car that the boys themselves are most involved in, and not depend on which kid's mom or dad was willing to spend the most time getting those wheels and axles *just right.*
(My prolific and detailed thoughts on pinewood derby racing are a direct consequence of my trying as hard as I can to avoid thinking about politics. Can someone please just wake me up next November when the whole thing is over?)
3. There were ice cream sundaes for refreshments after the races. Lot of ice cream, and bowls and bowls of candy toppings. Mosey's topping of choice: skittles. Actually pretty good with vanilla ice cream! The ice cream ends up tasting a little like creamsicle popsicles. (Did I write about Mosey's sundae he concocted on Sunday night? At his "It's Great to be Eight" fireside sundaes were also served for dessert. Mosey dished up vanilla ice cream, caramel topping, gummy bears, skittles, mini m&ms, and reeces pieces. He told me, "You have to write this down mom, because this is the BEST sundae in the world!") Joseph ended up with a great big bowl of candy, with a little bit of ice cream buried under it somewhere. Oh, my sugar-fiend boys. We bought girl scout cookies a few days ago, and have already eaten 3 1/2 boxes of them. So much for my New Year's commitments to cut back on sugar. :-)
4. OK, one more. Did anyone else see the Cheshire Cat moon tonight? The crescent moon was oriented so it's illuminated curve was sitting like a smiley face in the sky. The Cheshire Cat followed us all the way home.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
three things
1. My new phone came today. Mosey was so excited, he opened it right off. The boys have been begging me all day to get it set up, but I haven't had a moment. Their excitement is one reason I'm still really dubious about having a phone like this. They're obviously expecting to use it a lot and I'm afraid they will be sorely disappointed. Or that it's going to become just one more thing I have to police the kids about.
2. My van's battery died yesterday. Ben jumped it this morning, but I didn't let it run long enough and when we all piled in the car to go to piano lesson this afternoon, it wouldn't start again. So, no piano lessons for the boys today. They were sooooo disappointed. :-)
3. This has been a pathetic week for cooking. I've just had no time, and didn't plan a menu for this week, and have about run dry of grocery staples. Monday night was refried beans and cheese on mostly-stale tortillas. Last night was mac and cheese from a package. Tonight was fish sticks. And I have no idea what we'll eat tomorrow because I'm not going to have a single second to spare the entire day, until after the pinewood derby tomorrow night. I think it might be a taco bell night.
2. My van's battery died yesterday. Ben jumped it this morning, but I didn't let it run long enough and when we all piled in the car to go to piano lesson this afternoon, it wouldn't start again. So, no piano lessons for the boys today. They were sooooo disappointed. :-)
3. This has been a pathetic week for cooking. I've just had no time, and didn't plan a menu for this week, and have about run dry of grocery staples. Monday night was refried beans and cheese on mostly-stale tortillas. Last night was mac and cheese from a package. Tonight was fish sticks. And I have no idea what we'll eat tomorrow because I'm not going to have a single second to spare the entire day, until after the pinewood derby tomorrow night. I think it might be a taco bell night.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Three things for Tuesday
1. Ben and I and the boys went to the orthodontist office this afternoon for a follow-up consult after the special x-rays the boys had done over Christmas vacation. Moral of the story is that both boys (Brigham and Joseph) have almost exactly the same problems with their mouths. Joseph got a spacer put in his lower teeth a couple of years ago, and were it not for that, the doctor said, their mouths are twins. Funny, since the boys those mouths belong to are also twins! :-) They'll have about 2 1/2 years of braces, including a year of head-gear. Ooh, lucky boys! But they should have perfect teeth by the time they're high school age, which is not too bad.
2. Painting camouflage is kind of hard. Brigham and Joseph are both making army tanks for their pinewood derby cars and recruited my help in painting them camo green. We didn't get to the axle preparation tonight, which means tomorrow night the boys and I will be really busy.
3. On the way to and from the dentist office, the boys were having an insult contest. I really need to video these things more often. I can remember some of them, but tomorrow I'll ask the boys to tell me their favorites and I'll write them down. These kids are such... boys!!
4. OK, here's a fourth. My little sister is so pretty. I am trying to get all her pictures finished by her birthday on Thursday. I can't choose a favorite. I love this girl so much.
That's it for the day. Now off to put the laundry in the dryer, feed the lizards and go to bed. I'm ignoring the utter disaster that is our homeschool table tonight.
2. Painting camouflage is kind of hard. Brigham and Joseph are both making army tanks for their pinewood derby cars and recruited my help in painting them camo green. We didn't get to the axle preparation tonight, which means tomorrow night the boys and I will be really busy.
3. On the way to and from the dentist office, the boys were having an insult contest. I really need to video these things more often. I can remember some of them, but tomorrow I'll ask the boys to tell me their favorites and I'll write them down. These kids are such... boys!!
4. OK, here's a fourth. My little sister is so pretty. I am trying to get all her pictures finished by her birthday on Thursday. I can't choose a favorite. I love this girl so much.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Three things
This school year I've asked the boys to keep a journal as part of our lineup of lessons. It's been a struggle for them at times. I've come across many an entry that reads, "I got up, ate breakfast, did my lessons, ate dinner, and hit the hay." This may be an OK exercise in handwriting, but it's not good for much else. :-) So we came up with the "three things" idea. Each day in their journals they need to write about three things that made the day before good, bad, interesting, or unique. Can I follow my own advice? Well, I'll give it a try.
Three things for Monday, January 23.
1. I over-slept until 7:45!! That put us back about an hour and a half behind schedule. Which meant we were scrambling all day to finish lessons promptly (well, I was scrambling trying to get the boys to finish lessons promptly), and were frantically finishing practicing while Ben made dinner so we could have some semblance of FHE. I don't like rushed days like today. Should I have just blown off some of our lessons? I don't know. This is a classic case of my uncertainty regarding the proper balance of pushing the boys to finish their work, teaching them the value of working quickly, being committed to fulfilling their academic responsibilities, even though no one is "keeping track" of us, and the need sometimes to be flexible and to let things go for the sake of keeping our day happy and relaxed and the learning environment of my house upbeat and positive. My instinct is always for the former, but at the end of the day I sometimes look back and feel like I ought to have leaned toward the latter. Ugh.
2. I saved us $95 by finding the lost remote control for the Acer projector Ben got for Christmas. It turns out you need the remote control to switch between various modes (that is a big pet peeve of mine-- when a remote control is necessary for some vital function). Ben needs the projector for a church activity Wednesday night (video games at the church!), and it wouldn't work without the remote control. He though he must have left it in the box and then thrown it away. This is not an unprecedented event, and it would have cost us $95 to replace the remote control-- a significant percentage of the total cost of the projector, and the same amount that it would have cost us to upgrade to a nicer projector that can project Blue Ray. Annoying to say the least. Anyway, I found it this morning!! It was still in a plastic bag along with the warranty cards and instruction DVD, tucked inside the projector's carrying case which was folded up and stuffed on top of a row of books in a little-used bookshelf. Finding something you've looked high and low for, and thought you've lost forever is a very good feeling.
3. The boys worked on their pinewood derby cars for FHE tonight. The race is on Thursday, so we're cutting it close. Mosey's is going to be a speeding bullet, and Joseph and Brigham are both making different versions of an army tank. The homeschool table is full of sand paper and paint and drill bits and scraps of cut wood and wheels and axles and who knows what else. The pinewood derby is fun for the boys, but I admit I'm looking forward to having it done for another year.
Three things for Monday, January 23.
1. I over-slept until 7:45!! That put us back about an hour and a half behind schedule. Which meant we were scrambling all day to finish lessons promptly (well, I was scrambling trying to get the boys to finish lessons promptly), and were frantically finishing practicing while Ben made dinner so we could have some semblance of FHE. I don't like rushed days like today. Should I have just blown off some of our lessons? I don't know. This is a classic case of my uncertainty regarding the proper balance of pushing the boys to finish their work, teaching them the value of working quickly, being committed to fulfilling their academic responsibilities, even though no one is "keeping track" of us, and the need sometimes to be flexible and to let things go for the sake of keeping our day happy and relaxed and the learning environment of my house upbeat and positive. My instinct is always for the former, but at the end of the day I sometimes look back and feel like I ought to have leaned toward the latter. Ugh.
2. I saved us $95 by finding the lost remote control for the Acer projector Ben got for Christmas. It turns out you need the remote control to switch between various modes (that is a big pet peeve of mine-- when a remote control is necessary for some vital function). Ben needs the projector for a church activity Wednesday night (video games at the church!), and it wouldn't work without the remote control. He though he must have left it in the box and then thrown it away. This is not an unprecedented event, and it would have cost us $95 to replace the remote control-- a significant percentage of the total cost of the projector, and the same amount that it would have cost us to upgrade to a nicer projector that can project Blue Ray. Annoying to say the least. Anyway, I found it this morning!! It was still in a plastic bag along with the warranty cards and instruction DVD, tucked inside the projector's carrying case which was folded up and stuffed on top of a row of books in a little-used bookshelf. Finding something you've looked high and low for, and thought you've lost forever is a very good feeling.
3. The boys worked on their pinewood derby cars for FHE tonight. The race is on Thursday, so we're cutting it close. Mosey's is going to be a speeding bullet, and Joseph and Brigham are both making different versions of an army tank. The homeschool table is full of sand paper and paint and drill bits and scraps of cut wood and wheels and axles and who knows what else. The pinewood derby is fun for the boys, but I admit I'm looking forward to having it done for another year.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The last 2 weeks
I've been wanting to write a blog post for the past few days, but I didn't want to put anything up until I wrote about Mosey's baptism, which I haven't had time to do until now. So, now for a re-cap of the past two weeks!
The highlight of the last 2 weeks was of course Mosey's baptism and my mom and dad and sister coming. My mom got me all caught up on laundry! Bless her!
We picked them up from the airport Friday afternoon, drove home, just missing rush hour, and spent a quiet evening at home, eating soup I made in the crock pot (have to show my mom I'm at least trying to be a good domestic!) and watching "Master and Commander" on the projector.
Saturday morning dawned early. I had to make 2 batches of cookies before heading up to the church for Mosey's baptism. Snickerdoodles and oatmeal raisin. Mosey loves snickerdoodles!
The baptism was wonderful, of course.
Afterward we drove to Carinos to celebrate with lunch while all of us were still dressed up. I ate too much and drank too many cherry Italian sodas. :-)
In the afternoon, Eva and I went to Burlington Coat Factory for the shopping spree I promised her for Christmas. Shopping with your sister has got to be one of life's greatest pleasures. :-)
In the evening we ate leftovers and watched "Captain America" (surprisingly good!) on the projector, after failing to procure "Sherlock Holmes" at Blockbuster.
Sunday morning was church. I love going to church with my mom, especially, because afterward everyone comments on how wonderful and beautiful she is, and I have to agree!
After church and lunch, we went to Mayfield Park to take senior portraits for Eva. She is so beautiful! I think she's the most beautiful of all the Frandsen sisters. I've only gotten through some of the pictures, but here are some I like so far. I actually love all of them and can't pick a favorite. I think you'll see why. :-)
We got to ogle at a bunch of girls all decked out for a fancy fashion shoot (I'll never understand fashion, I think, especially when it involves clothes, hair, and makeup that NO ONE would ever actually wear outside of a Halloween party. Or fashion photo shoot. :-)). The peacocks were out and gave us a great display of tail feathers.
In the evening after dinner the boys gave a music recital. Joseph played some flute duets with my mom-- so great! My mom and sister and I watched "Jane Eyre" after the boys went to bed. Girl movies with my mom and sister-- another great joy in life!
Monday, MLK Day, was the last day of my parents' visit and we tried to make the most of it. We went to the Bob Bullock History Museum and watched a 3D IMAX movie on tornadoes. Scary! After touring the museum for a bit, we left to meet Ben for lunch. And I got pulled over for driving the wrong way on a one way street. D'oh!! (In my defense, there was NO one on the road, it wasn't well marked, and I actually drove probably only 50 feet, if that, before turning again.) It was just my luck that a cop was sitting RIGHT THERE on the corner, watching me. Oops. He ended up just giving me a warning. I think he saw it was an honest mistake and saw how dumb I felt about it. We picked up a gourmet lunch at Sonic (I'm not counting the calories I consumed over the weekend) and then it was time to load up and take my family back to the airport. I love family coming to visit. I hate family having to go back home. I dropped Joseph off at flute on the way to the airport, and made it back with 20 minutes to spare before his lesson was over. His teacher was a bit distressed at my leaving Joseph there on his doorstep 15 minutes early, but I think the fact that Joseph had his best lesson ever, thanks to the diligent practicing with grandma, made up for it. :-)
The rest of the week was pretty typical. Lessons, practicing, etc. A bit busier as we had to make up Monday's work over the rest of the week.
Mosey had his first Scout meeting on Tuesday afternoon. He was so excited and looked so cute dressed up in his Cub Scout uniform.
We had art at our house this week. I filled in as substitute and taught a lesson on Classical music and the lives of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. What great music. I was up way too late the night before trying to decide on what pieces of music to play for the kids. I ended up showing a clip from "Amadeus" about Mozart. I watched through much of the movie on Youtube trying to find the scene I was looking for. I can't believe that movie was rated PG in 1984, or whenever it came out. PG! It's a wonderful movie, but there's no way I'd let my boys watch the whole thing.
On Thursday night Mosey had his 2nd cello lesson with his new teacher. I never wrote about that, I don't think. I finally had to give up on his old teacher, after never hearing back from him again. I feel bad and truly hope and wish the best for him. Mosey's new teacher is at the same studio where Brigham is taking violin. I dragged myself up to the 2nd floor of the building where the studio is located so I could meet her and sit in on his first lesson. She'll be a wonderful teacher for him. I let him go up to his lesson this week by himself while I waited downstairs in the parking lot, and he came down happy and excited. "I'm never going to quit cello, unless there are no more cellos left in the whole world!" I imagine I'll have to remind him of that a time or two. :-)
This weekend has been busy, but good. The boys got their pinewood derby cars designed and cut. I took 2 trips to Hobby Lobby and one trip to Michaels to find supplies. Mosey's already painted his a bright shiny silver. And gotten bright shiny silver paint on my table that will never ever come off. Sigh... Oh well. :-)
Brigham had horseback riding-- his first lesson back after a couple of weekends off due to Mosey events (birthday party, baptism), and did great. He got to go fast at the end-- loping I think? Is that what comes after trotting? It was fun for him in any case. I got to sit on the couch by the ring and watch Brigham ride while reading a book and petting the farm cat that staked a place and fell asleep on my lap. Later in the afternoon Joseph went with me to the Verizon store where I ordered my first smart phone-- the Droid Razr which was on deep discount. I won't have it for a few days, and have more than a few misgivings about it, but we'll see how it goes. I'll have 14 days to decide if I really want it.
Church was today. I like my primary class. They are good kids and 7-8 years old is a great age. They are smart and can really learn, but are young enough to think my jokes are funny. :-) I played some music from My Turn on Earth (a favorite of mine) and we made paper airplanes at the end of class. What's not to love?
We had dinner with friends and I went with Mosey to his "It's Great to be Eight" fireside at the Hoopes house, then went home, sent the boys to bed, and here I am, finishing this letter up and it's not even 11:00 yet! I'm so proud of myself. :-)
The highlight of the last 2 weeks was of course Mosey's baptism and my mom and dad and sister coming. My mom got me all caught up on laundry! Bless her!
We picked them up from the airport Friday afternoon, drove home, just missing rush hour, and spent a quiet evening at home, eating soup I made in the crock pot (have to show my mom I'm at least trying to be a good domestic!) and watching "Master and Commander" on the projector.
Saturday morning dawned early. I had to make 2 batches of cookies before heading up to the church for Mosey's baptism. Snickerdoodles and oatmeal raisin. Mosey loves snickerdoodles!
The baptism was wonderful, of course.
Afterward we drove to Carinos to celebrate with lunch while all of us were still dressed up. I ate too much and drank too many cherry Italian sodas. :-)
In the afternoon, Eva and I went to Burlington Coat Factory for the shopping spree I promised her for Christmas. Shopping with your sister has got to be one of life's greatest pleasures. :-)
In the evening we ate leftovers and watched "Captain America" (surprisingly good!) on the projector, after failing to procure "Sherlock Holmes" at Blockbuster.
Sunday morning was church. I love going to church with my mom, especially, because afterward everyone comments on how wonderful and beautiful she is, and I have to agree!
After church and lunch, we went to Mayfield Park to take senior portraits for Eva. She is so beautiful! I think she's the most beautiful of all the Frandsen sisters. I've only gotten through some of the pictures, but here are some I like so far. I actually love all of them and can't pick a favorite. I think you'll see why. :-)
We got to ogle at a bunch of girls all decked out for a fancy fashion shoot (I'll never understand fashion, I think, especially when it involves clothes, hair, and makeup that NO ONE would ever actually wear outside of a Halloween party. Or fashion photo shoot. :-)). The peacocks were out and gave us a great display of tail feathers.
In the evening after dinner the boys gave a music recital. Joseph played some flute duets with my mom-- so great! My mom and sister and I watched "Jane Eyre" after the boys went to bed. Girl movies with my mom and sister-- another great joy in life!
Monday, MLK Day, was the last day of my parents' visit and we tried to make the most of it. We went to the Bob Bullock History Museum and watched a 3D IMAX movie on tornadoes. Scary! After touring the museum for a bit, we left to meet Ben for lunch. And I got pulled over for driving the wrong way on a one way street. D'oh!! (In my defense, there was NO one on the road, it wasn't well marked, and I actually drove probably only 50 feet, if that, before turning again.) It was just my luck that a cop was sitting RIGHT THERE on the corner, watching me. Oops. He ended up just giving me a warning. I think he saw it was an honest mistake and saw how dumb I felt about it. We picked up a gourmet lunch at Sonic (I'm not counting the calories I consumed over the weekend) and then it was time to load up and take my family back to the airport. I love family coming to visit. I hate family having to go back home. I dropped Joseph off at flute on the way to the airport, and made it back with 20 minutes to spare before his lesson was over. His teacher was a bit distressed at my leaving Joseph there on his doorstep 15 minutes early, but I think the fact that Joseph had his best lesson ever, thanks to the diligent practicing with grandma, made up for it. :-)
The rest of the week was pretty typical. Lessons, practicing, etc. A bit busier as we had to make up Monday's work over the rest of the week.
Mosey had his first Scout meeting on Tuesday afternoon. He was so excited and looked so cute dressed up in his Cub Scout uniform.
We had art at our house this week. I filled in as substitute and taught a lesson on Classical music and the lives of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. What great music. I was up way too late the night before trying to decide on what pieces of music to play for the kids. I ended up showing a clip from "Amadeus" about Mozart. I watched through much of the movie on Youtube trying to find the scene I was looking for. I can't believe that movie was rated PG in 1984, or whenever it came out. PG! It's a wonderful movie, but there's no way I'd let my boys watch the whole thing.
On Thursday night Mosey had his 2nd cello lesson with his new teacher. I never wrote about that, I don't think. I finally had to give up on his old teacher, after never hearing back from him again. I feel bad and truly hope and wish the best for him. Mosey's new teacher is at the same studio where Brigham is taking violin. I dragged myself up to the 2nd floor of the building where the studio is located so I could meet her and sit in on his first lesson. She'll be a wonderful teacher for him. I let him go up to his lesson this week by himself while I waited downstairs in the parking lot, and he came down happy and excited. "I'm never going to quit cello, unless there are no more cellos left in the whole world!" I imagine I'll have to remind him of that a time or two. :-)
This weekend has been busy, but good. The boys got their pinewood derby cars designed and cut. I took 2 trips to Hobby Lobby and one trip to Michaels to find supplies. Mosey's already painted his a bright shiny silver. And gotten bright shiny silver paint on my table that will never ever come off. Sigh... Oh well. :-)
Brigham had horseback riding-- his first lesson back after a couple of weekends off due to Mosey events (birthday party, baptism), and did great. He got to go fast at the end-- loping I think? Is that what comes after trotting? It was fun for him in any case. I got to sit on the couch by the ring and watch Brigham ride while reading a book and petting the farm cat that staked a place and fell asleep on my lap. Later in the afternoon Joseph went with me to the Verizon store where I ordered my first smart phone-- the Droid Razr which was on deep discount. I won't have it for a few days, and have more than a few misgivings about it, but we'll see how it goes. I'll have 14 days to decide if I really want it.
Church was today. I like my primary class. They are good kids and 7-8 years old is a great age. They are smart and can really learn, but are young enough to think my jokes are funny. :-) I played some music from My Turn on Earth (a favorite of mine) and we made paper airplanes at the end of class. What's not to love?
We had dinner with friends and I went with Mosey to his "It's Great to be Eight" fireside at the Hoopes house, then went home, sent the boys to bed, and here I am, finishing this letter up and it's not even 11:00 yet! I'm so proud of myself. :-)
Mosey's baptism
Mosey was baptized on January 14. On Friday (the 13th!) my mom and dad and sister Eva flew out from California for his big weekend. It was such a nice baptism!
We got to the church around 10:15 or so, and Ben and Mosey went to change into their baptism clothes. Mosey was a little nervous, and took a long time getting changed. I think being the center of attention was getting to be a little much. Finally he came out and I took some pictures out in the foyer before the service started.
He was excited and full of adrenalin and ran completely around the church hallway before coming into the Relief Society room to sit next to Ben and me.
Brigham was playing prelude music as the pianist hadn't come yet-- thank you Brigham! Mosey's Aunt Eva conducted the music (thank you Eva!). We sang "The Church of Jesus Christ" (Mosey's favorite primary song), and Ben gave the opening prayer. Mosey's grandpa (my dad) gave a talk about baptism-- specifically about Jesus and John the Baptist. He talked about what childhood must have been like for Jesus, and for John preparing the way for Christ's mission. He talked about how Mosey was about to be baptized in the same way and by the same authority by which Christ himself was baptized.
It was a lovely talk and set the mood for Mosey's baptism which came next.
Everyone who came (a lot of people! The Relief Society room was well filled) moved into the cultural hall and gathered in front of the font. When Mosey came out and stepped into the water, he let out a little gasp. The water was cold! It turned out that the hot water tap had accidentally not been turned on, so the nice warm comforting water that I had reminisced about from my own baptism was not to be for my boy. That's OK, I bet the water was cold for Jesus, too!
The baptism itself was short and sweet. Mosey did perfectly as Ben said the prayer and lowered him under the water, bringing him up again dripping and cold, but with a big smile on his face. He was soon warm again after wrapping up in the new white towel my mom gave to him-- with his name and baptismal date embroidered in silver thread.
We went back into the Relief Society room and after Mosey and Ben got dry and dressed again, my mom gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. She brought with her several gifts for Mosey, all symbols of the Holy Ghost. She started off giving him a bar of soap (a nice fancy soap!). As baptism washes us clean from sin, the Holy Ghost can help us to stay clean, and prompt us to repent when necessary. She gave him a flashlight-- one with a built in radio and alarm The Holy Ghost shows the way, keeps us in tune with God, and warns us of danger ahead. She gave him a compass. The Holy Ghost helps to keep us heading in the right direction. She gave him a book-- a neat travel book. The Holy Ghost testifies of truth, no matter where it is found. She gave him a soft white blanket. The Holy Ghost is the comforter-- offering comfort and peace when we need it. She gave him a leather-bound journal with Matthew 7:7 (Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.) engraved on the front. And finally she gave him a beautiful Carl Bloch print of Jesus with a young boy-- a boy that looks remarkably like Mosey.
Thank you for such a wonderful talk, mama. Mosey is so blessed to have the grandparents he has.
Then it was time for Mosey's confirmation. Ben, my dad, and the bishopric representative (Brother Chase) stood in the circle while Ben pronounced the blessing. It was a beautiful blessing of encouragement and instruction and one I hope he always remembers.
After warm welcoming by Brother Chase and Sister Reed (primary president), it was time to close with a song-- "How Firm a Foundation" (Mosey's favorite hymn, and mine), and a prayer, given by me.
Then it was time to celebrate! Cookies in the hall, congratulations and hugs from more people than Mosey will be able to remember, and the obligatory family pictures in front of the church.
Beautiful Aunt Eva took a lot of the pictures, so we had to make sure she was in one herself.
(Why didn't I insist on all three boys wearing their suits? That would have been such a cute picture. And so funny that Brigham was the one not wearing a suit-- this is the first time he's come to church not dressed in a suit in a long, long time.)
What a good day! I love you Mosey!
We got to the church around 10:15 or so, and Ben and Mosey went to change into their baptism clothes. Mosey was a little nervous, and took a long time getting changed. I think being the center of attention was getting to be a little much. Finally he came out and I took some pictures out in the foyer before the service started.
He was excited and full of adrenalin and ran completely around the church hallway before coming into the Relief Society room to sit next to Ben and me.
Brigham was playing prelude music as the pianist hadn't come yet-- thank you Brigham! Mosey's Aunt Eva conducted the music (thank you Eva!). We sang "The Church of Jesus Christ" (Mosey's favorite primary song), and Ben gave the opening prayer. Mosey's grandpa (my dad) gave a talk about baptism-- specifically about Jesus and John the Baptist. He talked about what childhood must have been like for Jesus, and for John preparing the way for Christ's mission. He talked about how Mosey was about to be baptized in the same way and by the same authority by which Christ himself was baptized.
It was a lovely talk and set the mood for Mosey's baptism which came next.
Everyone who came (a lot of people! The Relief Society room was well filled) moved into the cultural hall and gathered in front of the font. When Mosey came out and stepped into the water, he let out a little gasp. The water was cold! It turned out that the hot water tap had accidentally not been turned on, so the nice warm comforting water that I had reminisced about from my own baptism was not to be for my boy. That's OK, I bet the water was cold for Jesus, too!
The baptism itself was short and sweet. Mosey did perfectly as Ben said the prayer and lowered him under the water, bringing him up again dripping and cold, but with a big smile on his face. He was soon warm again after wrapping up in the new white towel my mom gave to him-- with his name and baptismal date embroidered in silver thread.
We went back into the Relief Society room and after Mosey and Ben got dry and dressed again, my mom gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. She brought with her several gifts for Mosey, all symbols of the Holy Ghost. She started off giving him a bar of soap (a nice fancy soap!). As baptism washes us clean from sin, the Holy Ghost can help us to stay clean, and prompt us to repent when necessary. She gave him a flashlight-- one with a built in radio and alarm The Holy Ghost shows the way, keeps us in tune with God, and warns us of danger ahead. She gave him a compass. The Holy Ghost helps to keep us heading in the right direction. She gave him a book-- a neat travel book. The Holy Ghost testifies of truth, no matter where it is found. She gave him a soft white blanket. The Holy Ghost is the comforter-- offering comfort and peace when we need it. She gave him a leather-bound journal with Matthew 7:7 (Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.) engraved on the front. And finally she gave him a beautiful Carl Bloch print of Jesus with a young boy-- a boy that looks remarkably like Mosey.
Then it was time for Mosey's confirmation. Ben, my dad, and the bishopric representative (Brother Chase) stood in the circle while Ben pronounced the blessing. It was a beautiful blessing of encouragement and instruction and one I hope he always remembers.
After warm welcoming by Brother Chase and Sister Reed (primary president), it was time to close with a song-- "How Firm a Foundation" (Mosey's favorite hymn, and mine), and a prayer, given by me.
Then it was time to celebrate! Cookies in the hall, congratulations and hugs from more people than Mosey will be able to remember, and the obligatory family pictures in front of the church.
What a good day! I love you Mosey!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Birthday boy!
I think Mosey had a good day!
I tried to wake him with a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday," and then "Your Happy Birthday," (you know, the one that goes "Zip-a-dee-ay and heigh-dee-ho, there's something we can do..."), and then "Happy, Happy Birthday Mosey Dear!" before finally giving up and instead playing "Imperial March" on Rhapsody. :-)
He had Lucky Charms for his special birthday breakfast, which he generously shared with his brothers.
Joseph and Brigham did his morning chore for him, and I was pretty easy on him as far as schoolwork went. Joseph helped him put together his worm farm that he got from a friend at his birthday party, filling it with dirt from the backyard, and the night crawler worms we got at Walmart yesterday. We went to Burger King for lunch on our way downtown to drop off Brigham's bow to get re-haired at a violin shop. Then it was home, math homework, and then he was free for the afternoon! He chose breakfast for dinner, so when Ben got home we had french toast (with blueberry pie filling as a topping) and bacon.
After dinner, it was time for presents! He got 3 new webkinz (2 from his family, one from Grandma Jackee), a stuffed animal lion (also from Grandma Jackee), a game (Quirkle), a fun little toy called a Perplexus (a large round transparent ball with a bunch of little plastic tracks that you have to navigate a little metal ball around), and a Hexbug Hive. The Webkinz and Hexbug Hive were the big hits, and he immediately got out all his Hexbugs and spread everything out on the living room floor to put the hive together. Unfortunately Sandy is pretty sure all Hexbugs are vermin that she must protect her masters from, so she had to go outside while Mosey was putting it together. :-)
Ben had to do Elders Quorum visits tonight, and we waited as long as we could, but finally it was getting late, so we went ahead and did pie and candles without him. Instead of a birthday cake, Mosey had asked for apple pie. His wish was my command. I do make a killer apple pie. :-)
Then more playing and finally his mean mom made him put the toys away and go to bed. My baby is EIGHT!!!
I tried to wake him with a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday," and then "Your Happy Birthday," (you know, the one that goes "Zip-a-dee-ay and heigh-dee-ho, there's something we can do..."), and then "Happy, Happy Birthday Mosey Dear!" before finally giving up and instead playing "Imperial March" on Rhapsody. :-)
He had Lucky Charms for his special birthday breakfast, which he generously shared with his brothers.
Joseph and Brigham did his morning chore for him, and I was pretty easy on him as far as schoolwork went. Joseph helped him put together his worm farm that he got from a friend at his birthday party, filling it with dirt from the backyard, and the night crawler worms we got at Walmart yesterday. We went to Burger King for lunch on our way downtown to drop off Brigham's bow to get re-haired at a violin shop. Then it was home, math homework, and then he was free for the afternoon! He chose breakfast for dinner, so when Ben got home we had french toast (with blueberry pie filling as a topping) and bacon.
After dinner, it was time for presents! He got 3 new webkinz (2 from his family, one from Grandma Jackee), a stuffed animal lion (also from Grandma Jackee), a game (Quirkle), a fun little toy called a Perplexus (a large round transparent ball with a bunch of little plastic tracks that you have to navigate a little metal ball around), and a Hexbug Hive. The Webkinz and Hexbug Hive were the big hits, and he immediately got out all his Hexbugs and spread everything out on the living room floor to put the hive together. Unfortunately Sandy is pretty sure all Hexbugs are vermin that she must protect her masters from, so she had to go outside while Mosey was putting it together. :-)
Ben had to do Elders Quorum visits tonight, and we waited as long as we could, but finally it was getting late, so we went ahead and did pie and candles without him. Instead of a birthday cake, Mosey had asked for apple pie. His wish was my command. I do make a killer apple pie. :-)
Joseph lit the 8 candles on Mosey's pie.
Then more playing and finally his mean mom made him put the toys away and go to bed. My baby is EIGHT!!!
Monday, January 09, 2012
Goodbye seven, hello eight!
Tomorrow is my Mosey's birthday. Eight years old! He is lobbying hard for half-lessons on his birthday, but I'm a mean old mom and I'm making him do school anyway. I'll try to make it fun, though. :-)
So today was his last day of being seven years old! This last year for Moses saw the loss of a multitude of teeth, and the growing in of a multitude of teeth. He became expert in riding his two-wheeler and playing Tanki Online (much to my chagrin). I've loved seeing how sweet he's become with little kids, especially babies. He is imaginative and a boy who LOVES to play. His favorite things are legos, hexbugs, webkinz, computers, and any electronic gizmo he can find. He loves reading, too, and often stays up really late (like his mom) reading. If you ask him, he'll retell in exquisite detail the plots of his current reads. He's a smartypants and smart alec (at times). He loves to read Highlights Magazine and The Friend. He's also mastered the art of door-slamming, and shoe-losing. :-) He is still my giggler, and loves to lay on my lap and be a "drum" while I pound on his back in different rhythms. He loves to get cherry icees at Burger King for a treat after speech therapy, or really any time at all. Maybe that is why he is so sweet.
I love you Mosey!
Birthday party!
Mosey had a birthday party this last weekend! It was a super last-minute affair. I hadn't planned on a party because Mosey's getting baptized next weekend and his grandparents will be in town. But when Mosey asked if he could have a party last Wednesday, I thought, why not? So I sent out some evites, made some mini cheesecakes (these are easier than cupcakes!), bought fruit and chips and capri sun drinks, and picked up pizza on the way to the park. I planned exactly zero activities or games or crafts. This was a purely "play at the park party" and it was awesome. I got to spend 2 hours talking to adults, and when it was over, Mosey said, "That was the best party I ever had!" Winner!
He got some nice presents, even though I said, "No presents necessary!!" People are nice.
Eight IS great! Every birthday is distressing to me as my baby gets older, but I have a feeling he's going to love being eight.
Wheee!
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
good dog
The boys are loving their new dog. So am I, actually. She is a very good dog. And she hardly sheds! I know it's winter, and come summer and shedding season, I may be eating my words, but at least for now, the hair is totally manageable. Yay for that!
One of her favorite things to do (at least, according to her enthusiasm level) is to jump on the trampoline with the boys. It's quite a sight.
This is what the boys do during "recess" at our house. Awesome!
Today was a pretty decent day.
First of all, I am loving this weather. Yes, I know we could use about 2 months of solid rain, but still, I can handle this 70 degree thing we've got going on. After being trapped inside or in my air-conditioned van all summer long, it's like paradise.
The boys were exceptionally cooperative in their schoolwork today. Starting this new year I'm getting them up half an hour earlier (6:30) so we can get one round of practicing done before breakfast. Otherwise I'm finishing practicing with them up until bedtime. As it was, I just finished doing flute with Joseph because he spent 6:30-7:00 on the couch trying to wake up. :-) But it's better than trying to finish off 2 or 3 practice sessions right before bed.
I'm still plugging along in my lifetime quest of getting my life more organized. I'm not there yet, but I guess I keep trying. I'm also trying really hard this year to get 7 hours of sleep. So far I've gotten closer than I usually do (6 hours and 6.5 hours respectively), so I guess that's progress? If I only had 2 more hours in the day, I would be totally on top of everything! :-)
It's 9:17, the boys are finally in bed, I've got the dinner table to clear off, dishes to do, 3 loads of laundry to fold, and 3 lizards to feed before I need to be in bed by 11:00. Think I can do it? Well, I better get to it!
One of her favorite things to do (at least, according to her enthusiasm level) is to jump on the trampoline with the boys. It's quite a sight.
Sandy has soft fun-to-play-with ears. And she's very patient. :-)
Today was a pretty decent day.
First of all, I am loving this weather. Yes, I know we could use about 2 months of solid rain, but still, I can handle this 70 degree thing we've got going on. After being trapped inside or in my air-conditioned van all summer long, it's like paradise.
The boys were exceptionally cooperative in their schoolwork today. Starting this new year I'm getting them up half an hour earlier (6:30) so we can get one round of practicing done before breakfast. Otherwise I'm finishing practicing with them up until bedtime. As it was, I just finished doing flute with Joseph because he spent 6:30-7:00 on the couch trying to wake up. :-) But it's better than trying to finish off 2 or 3 practice sessions right before bed.
I'm still plugging along in my lifetime quest of getting my life more organized. I'm not there yet, but I guess I keep trying. I'm also trying really hard this year to get 7 hours of sleep. So far I've gotten closer than I usually do (6 hours and 6.5 hours respectively), so I guess that's progress? If I only had 2 more hours in the day, I would be totally on top of everything! :-)
It's 9:17, the boys are finally in bed, I've got the dinner table to clear off, dishes to do, 3 loads of laundry to fold, and 3 lizards to feed before I need to be in bed by 11:00. Think I can do it? Well, I better get to it!
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Happy 37th, Ben!!
Wow, can he really be 37?! Seems like it was just last year that he was turning 27. The twins were only 4 months old. I remember we spent Christmas in California that year. Maybe we were driving back to Utah on his birthday? It's funny to think about all the changes in our lives over the past 10 years.
What's weirder is to think that in 10 more years he'll be turning 47, and we'll be about 8 months away from being empty-nesters. OK, I'm going to banish that thought immediately. Because my kids are never going to grow up and leave me. Right?
I'm afraid it wasn't much of a birthday for Ben. He worked late, then went straight to an Elders Quorum meeting, and then back home for a late dinner. He wasn't feeling very well, so I'm not sure he enjoyed it too much. The boys and I had come home late from the library than I had anticipated, and so the peach cobbler I made for his birthday was also late and had JUST come out of the oven and was too hot to eat by the time it really was time for us to light candles, sing, and send boys to bed. So we pulled out the leftover cheesecake that one of his employees gave him at lunch, stuck some assorted half-burned candles (am I really so cheap that I save half-burned candles? Yes, I am), sang a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday," and snapped the obligatory birthday picture.
It's also Ben's twin sister's birthday! (Imagine that!) Maybe she had a bit more celebrating going on at her house. Happy Birthday, Angee!
Anyway, I am so lucky to have Ben in my life. He is smart and funny and good and honest and such a good daddy, and he takes such good care of me. I'm not the easiest person in the world to live with (I should know, I have to live with me, too), but he seems to like me anyway. Weird. :-)
I love you Ben!
Monday, January 02, 2012
Back to the grindstone
It was school time again as of 7:00 AM this morning. It sure is hard to get back into the swing of things after Christmas vacation!
Brigham is a good little scholar and jumped right back into his schoolwork, and was consequently the first one done. By a long shot.
Mosey, on the other hand, was more interested in hugging smelly doggy feet under the kitchen table.
Sandy didn't mind the return to school. She quite likes school. She's a smart dog, you know.
New Year's Eve Gingerbread Demolition
And it's time again for the annual Turner boy Gingerbread House Demolition!
Here come the barbarians. Look how sweet and... *intact* our little house is! Not for much longer.
The implements of destruction have been made ready!
On the other side of the table, it's Brigham the Brute! He may look gentle, but look at the rubble in front of him!
They left no candy untouched, no wall unbroken. What Mosey could not destroy, he ate!
The implements of destruction have been made ready!
Behold the meat tenderizer!
The ice cream scoop! The slotted spoon!
The gravy spoon! The rolling pin!
And most feared of all-- the garlic press!
In the hands of these dastardly dudes, no gingerbread house is safe.
Beware of Joseph the Jerk!
He's hard at work wreaking havoc on the house.
"There will be nothing but DUST by the time I'm done with this house!"
And finally, Mosey the Marauder!
Not even the candy cane door posts are safe from him.
He's plotting his next evil move.
They left no candy untouched, no wall unbroken. What Mosey could not destroy, he ate!
If you know what's good for you, you will keep your Gingerbread house far, far away from the likes of these villains.
In the end, the barbarians brought in the rest of the axis powers for the final humiliating defeat of the Gingerbread house.
Sadly, here lies the only evidence of what used to be our Gingerbread house.
Farewell, poor little Gingerbread House.
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