Frank helped me out yesterday by doing the dishes. Today I was unloading the dishes from the dishwasher,and I see a film on some of the dishes. I thought it was caused by overloading, but one after another were still dirty. A light went off in my head and I ask, "Did you put soap in the washer?" "No, why would I do that? I didn't start it." (I did after he closed the door and walked away) I was totally frustrated at having to redo those dishes, and he couldn't stop laughing. He assumed I had added the soap since I pushed the start button, and I assumed he had done it before closing the door. Another case of Mars and Venus logic...

I'll take it

Anyone (or most everyone, I hope) with small kids has experienced the looks of annoyance, words of unsolicited advice, smiles, and the occasional word of encouragement--all from strangers. For example, there's the time when Larissa was two and having a major tantrum in a craft store. Due to circumstances, I didn't have the luxury of leaving and coming back later. As I hurried through the store looking for the needed item, I heard old biddies saying, "what an awful mom!" "Pick up that child" "That child needs a good spanking." "Stop that screaming." The two nice old ladies said "maybe she needs a nap" or "is she hungry? I have some crackers." It was an awful experience. Fast forward a couple months and I am walking out of target with a new born in one arm and a kicking, screaming toddler held football style in the other arm. As people make way, they are saying things like "God bless you" "keep up the good work" "you can do it" "let me help you". What a contrast!

Recently, I have had a couple verbal pats on the back. I prefer to remember those opposed to the angry glares, and sighs of annoyance. While I was searching for a particular item in the baby aisle at the grocery store, Larissa kept herself busy looking at books. When it was time to move on Larissa informed me, "I don't have this one at home mommy. Let's buy it." I responded with, "Guess what? When we get home you still won't have it, because we aren't going to buy it today." She looked at the book, shrugged, put it back and said, "I want it for my birthday." "Ok, we'll put it on your list and see what you get." This is a normal exchange between us-the list part. I say "not today", she says to put it on the list, drama averted. No need to say no.
But I digress. Back to the pat on the back. As we were leaving the aisle, a man who had been stocking a shelf said, "Excuse me mam."(am I that old?) He then went on to say that when I said no to the book, he was just waiting for the crying and screaming to start and was pleasantly surprised that it hadn't. "Most kids do, but yours didn't. She's a good kid." Well, she is definitely easy to shop with (now), but she gives me plenty of drama in other ways. He didn't need to know that though, and I glowed in my child's moment of goodness.

Then, last week, I was out with Kaleb. We found ourselves in a line of one (me) while we waited for the cashier to finish a return on dog food. I wasn't aware you could return a half used bag of food. The customer asked for the cashier to suggest a different type of food to try. She did and the customer asked "why." An explanation was given, and the customer asked... you get the idea. It felt like the exchange lasted forever, but it was really only a few minutes, 5 tops. Standing still with a toddler that long is asking for trouble, but I managed to keep Kaleb busy, barely. As we walked up to the cashier she apologized for the wait and said, "You have the best baby ever! I've never seen a baby in this store so well behaved." To which I said thank you and added, "I guess you didn't hear him scream when I forced him away from the birds and fish." But she'd already said it, my baby is the best, and the words had already made my ok morning great.

Date Night

For our first date in I don't know how long, Frank took me to see Airborne Toxic Event--Frank's new favorite band. We brought Frank's co-worker (Helene) with us, so you might not consider it much of a date, but we did have dinner alone beforehand.

I was relieved when the band finally started playing at 10:30pm. It was about time! I knew I would have to be up early with the kids and that my crabby mommy persona would most likely make an appearance - and it did, poor kids.

The one girl in the band was definitely feeling the music. Whether it was genuine or drug induced I couldn't decide. Frank assured me, that's just how she is. I was feeling the music too...literally. My clothes were vibrating and I could swear that my hair occasionally blew in the blast of the music. I wished the music was not quite so loud and felt like an old fuddy duddy thinking such a thing. Then Helene, who is an avid concert goer, complained that it was the loudest concert she's been to in her life (we're talking hundreds of concerts). So I felt a little better.

Although, it isn't apparent, I DID enjoy the music. During the last part of the concert we headed to the main floor to stand in front of the stage. There was definitely more energy and enthusiasm next to the stage. We ended up next to this guy whose dancing reminded me of David H. from my YSA days. He was really into the music, dancing all over the place, and his friend was busy keeping him from slamming into other people. It cracked me up! We should have headed downstairs sooner.

When the band was done and came back onstage for the encore, the girl in the band was barefoot and happy. Maybe the high-heeled shoes were part of the reason for the intense look on her face.

If you haven't heard of TATE, this is probably their most popular song:

Sometime Around Midnight

As we were leaving, it was announced, "Don't forget to stop by our bar for a drink on your way out." "Great..." I thought. "They're advertising drinking and driving."

Trip to Staters

I Went to Stater Bro.s today, and spent $32.35, but that cost will drop to $22.35 when I get my rebate back. Here's what I got (minus three pkgs. of idahoan potatoes-wonder where those are?):

All that sugar makes me cringe, but when I figure that I spent .59 per item (with all the apples counting as 1 item), I feel much better.

A New Pet

This morning the girls found a worm out back and decided they wanted to keep it for a pet. I gave them a plastic container then forgot all about it. Next thing I know, I'm hearing little squeals coming from outside...no one wanted to pick up the worm to put it into its new habitat (cracked me up). Brenna ran into, then out of the house. She must have grabbed something to pick up the worm with, because she came back into the house a minute later, proudly showing off their pet worm. It was a short lived excitement, though--the poor worm's celebrity lasted less than 5 minutes before he was dumped back into the "wild".

Girls Day Out

Last week I looked at the calendar and saw that my daughter had written "Disneyland" in Friday's square. With a question mark in my head, I went about my business. Then I saw it on the table-the school calendar, and it clicked. I had told Kaitlyn and Brenna that when summer was over, and they had a minimum day, I would take them to Disneyland. Kaitlyn had done her own research and scheduled the event for us. She was helping me keep my word.

So, it started out as a Disneyland trip with Kaitlyn, Brenna and myself. Then I remembered I don't have parking on my pass, so I invited Rose, my mil, to come. Tori took half a day off work to come too, and with that many adults there was no reason Larissa couldn't come . So our girls day out was born.

My girls were great -no complaining, and the lines were short. That, combined, made for a fun day. Here are a few pics:

It was Brenna and Kaitlyn's first trip to Toon Town. They had a blast!

Checking out Mickey's House.

When the fish started going up, her face had a look of pleasant surprise, and she let out an "ohhh!"

We ended the day with dinner and a carousel ride at California Adventure. I would have been better off without that ride, but the girls enjoyed it.
More fun memories made.

School Days

I sent my kids off to their first day of school with a sense of giddy delight. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, and love spending time with them, but the thought of running errands with only two kiddos was heavenly. And, oh, it has been so much quieter with the two at school. It's amazing how the volume multiplies with each person present.

Kaitlyn was excited for school to start too. She had gone to summer school (that was great for her confidence), and within a couple days of it ending, wished it was time for the regular school year to start. "I love school," she said. As do I.

Post cards with the kids assigned teachers, arrived the week before school started. Kaitlyn checked the mail daily, and when they finally came, she ran into the house waving them in the air. She read the post cards herself, and when she saw who her teacher is exclaimed, "Yea! Ms. Norwood!" "So you like Ms. Norwood," I stated. "No." she said matter of factly, "I don't know who she is." She had complete faith that whoever Ms. Norwood is, she would be awesome.

Here they are, holding up their fingers to signify which grade they starting.



When I picked the girls up after school, they were all chatter about school. They both informed me that their teachers are old. I laughed silently to myself. "Old" has a wide range of years to kids, and I couldn't wait until open house to see how "old" they really are. As it turns out, they were right. Ms. Norwood has been teaching 47 years and Mrs. Allen looks like she's been teaching about as long.

See that bag hanging from Brenna's backpack? For the first time, they had to bring their own supplies to school. It was a heavy load for a little girl. There was so much stuff, it wouldn't all fit in her bag.

Kaitlyn's bag is huge, so she was able to fit everything inside. She has informed me that she has the best teacher ever. "She lets us take off our shoes!"

Card Club

I've been bringing home some mighty cute cards from card club lately. Take a look at my collection from August's get together:

Summer made this really cute fancy fold card. Loving the soft filter look it has? That's courtesy of little fingerprints on the lens.

Chere made this sweet spinner card. The folded flower rolls along that oval cut out, revealing "happy birthday" underneath.

Jen made this buckle card. That striped paper at the bottom is "buckled" into the oval cutout. You pull the paper out to open the card. Clever.

This was my card. It's a spinner too. Looking at the picture now, I realize I didn't get the zoom tag in straight. I added it after the fact, and was having difficulty getting enough adhesive up to fit the tag in. I think it turned out cute. I'm thinking of making more for Cards for Heros, an organization that sends letters to soldiers as well as homemade cards for the soldiers to send home.

Brenna's frogilicious birthday

Brenna had a great birthday. Like her sisters, she went to Disneyland with her aunt Tori. The next week we had birthday cake at grandma and grandpa's house. She received,among other things, all kinds of frog presents, and she had an adorable Tinkerbell cake.

Here are her answers to her interview questions:

What instrument do you want to learn to play? The recorder and the trumpet
What do you want to be when you grow up? a pool monitor or a musician
How many kids do you want to have? None, because I'd have to clean up after them (maybe Frank and I need to share our joy in parenthood more)
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? Idaho, because they make french fries there. Or Florida, because that's where Disney world is. Or Washington, because they grow yummy apples. Is it obvious she's learning about the US right now? She finally settled on Florida though...Disneyland beat out apples and french fries.
What's your Favorite...
Food? Spaghetti
Color? Green (lime green)
Thing to do? Swimming
TV show? Imagination Movers
Animal? Frog

"If you won't feed me, I'll feed myself"

Kaleb is a take charge kind of boy. If he wants something, he'll find a way to get it. Look at some of his recent finds...

Shouldn't have left my dessert lying around. See that look of pure delight? I feel the same way when I eat a piece of good chocolate.


uh-oh. Someone's been caught!
Kaleb's learned how to climb. Now almost everything is accessible to him. Look how much damage he did before I found him. That cake was supposedly made with the same recipe Loma Linda market uses for their chocolate prune cake. Don't think so! Ended up more like a heavy (really heavy) brownie than a moist fluffy cake. Frosting was good though.


Kids aren't supposed to have peanut butter until they are what? two or three? Guess he can't wait

He's so happy about the food he finds and messes he makes. It's hard to be upset...although the peanut butter thing happened twice in a row, and it got old fast. Mommy's a slow learner sometimes.

Adventures in Couponing

I've been browsing on couponing blogs lately. Some people seem horribly fanatical, and all of you who know me, know that's not me. BUT, I can definitely appreciate a good deal and I decided it was time to get my feet wet in the world of couponing.

My MIL gave me her Sunday papers (Thank you Rose!) and I went to work. Today was my test run. I decided to head to CVS and Albertson's since they are in the same shopping center. I left at 9:30am, giving me enough time to get the shopping done before Kaleb's nap time. Unfortunately, I didn't consider Kaleb's extra early waking time this morning, and shortly after we got to the first store he started getting cranky. We also ended up with a few runs to the bathroom for Larissa. Maybe I should have ended my trip then and there, but I had set out to do something, and I wasn't leaving without getting it done--and I did, eventually.

With all of it behind me now, I consider my first adventure in couponing a success. I bought items we normally use or would use if it weren't so expensive. The retail value of the items was $112.78. I paid $75.89 out of pocket--NOT a big savings, right? But with the mail in rebate and store "cash" coupons, my total came out to $36.90 or a two-thirds savings. If not for the distraction of a cranky boy, I might have remembered the other $10 in coupons in my wallet and I would have ended up with a 75% savings.

I'll definitely try this again. And, I've been assured, that as my stock pile of coupons accumulates, I'll save even more.

Arghh! A pirates life for Larissa!

Larissa had a great birthday last month. It was all about Spiderman, Batman, and Pirates...mostly pirates. Months ago she asked for spiderman cake and batman plates, and she never changed her mind. For her birthday, Grandma Rose and Aunt Tori took Larissa to D-land for the morning. Her favorite ride was the Pirates of the Carribean. Later in the day, there was a family BBQ celebrating her birthday and Kaitlyn's baptism. Larissa received presents galore, spiderman toys, batman toys, pirate's booty, and more. Her favorite presents, though, were the treasure chest and "pirate boots" from Grandma Sharla. Grandma tried to actually find boots, but didn't have any luck -- it being summer. So she bought black Shaq tennis shoes and called them boots. Larissa's fine with that. She wears her "pirate boots" every day. Here's one of the few pics I took that day. Guess I was busy with the food...



Here are the birthday interview questions I asked Larissa--
Who is your hero? Spiderman
What instrument do you want to learn to play? Guitar
What do you want to be when you grow up? Fire Fighter
If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be? The movies
What's your favorite--
Food? Spaghetti (I think it's cantaloupe)
Color? Green
Thing to do? Build Treasure Chests (just did that Sat)
TV show? Phineas and ferb
Temple? Redlands
Animal? Crocodile
Anything else you want to say about yourself?
"Brenna doesn't like me." I tried to assure her Brenna does like her, but Brenna was standing next to me and said, "No I don't" Hopefully it doesn't last.

Ahhh...Larissa's signature hair style. She won't let me put anything in her hair and 5 minutes after I comb it, it's a tangled mess. Good thing she has that cute face to make up for the bad hair days.

A couple weeks ago, she decided to roast her hot dog in front of the fire. What a crack up!

Happy Birthday!

Eight is Great!

Kaitlyn turned eight in June. She had a family party at John's Incredible Pizza, went to Disneyland, and was baptized.
Grandma Rose and Aunt Tori took her to Disneyland. Kaitlyn's favorite part her trip to D-land was meeting Tinker Bell and Sierra Mist.

A week after her birthday, Kaitlyn was baptized. I was asked if I was emotional about my little girl being baptized. No, or at least, not at first. The emotion hit me as we walked to the font. She is a sweet girl and will be a wonderful example to her sisters. Kaitlyn makes sure we never forget to pray at night, and has a simple sweet faith in Jesus Christ.

I like to ask my kids some questions each year. Here's what I asked Kaitlyn this year:
What instrument do you want to learn to play? Flute
What do you want to be when you grow up? An Artist
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? India
What is your favorite-
Food? Strawberries
Color? All the rainbow colors
Subject in school? Art
Temple? Salt Lake
Animal? Husky
Movie? Princess Protection Program

Mojo Monday...FINALLY decided to join in the fun

I've been following Mojo Monday for quite awhile. It's fun to see the different cards that come from one sketch. Finally, I decided to play along. Here's how it turned out...


Indecision is definitely one of my weaknesses. I started out with a paper I wanted to use, then saw another one I thought would make a cute card. As I was looking for a stamp to use for the card, I came across this cute tree and some red crystals...that changed things completely. Eventually, this is the card that evolved.

Dad's 70!

Dad may be older, but he's still on the move--a little stiffer and slower, but still going. For his birthday, we had all the available local family over for a party on Friday night. The grandkids played charades with dad by acting out memorable moments from his life and having him guess what they were. Then he would tell us the story behind the charade. There was the time, as a child, when a piece of candy(a rare treat) was thrown out the bus window instead of the wrapper. And the time, as a teenager, when the cops "invited" him down to the station to discuss a couple kids throwing snowballs in the buildings and at people, all around town. He was guilty, but the cops couldn't prove it.


On Saturday, the adults went to the Candlelight Pavilion for the matinee showing of Huckleberry Finn. Aunt Pam and Uncle Greg were in town to celebrate with us. And while we were at it, we celebrated Pam's birthday too.



I guess two days of celebrating wasn't enough, because now they are off on a week long cruise to Canada. Happy Birthday Dad!

Brenna Thinks...

Yesterday, I was driving down Citrus Ave (between Dearborn & Judson)in Redlands. It was blissfully quiet for a change -- I guess the kids were enchanted by the scenery, or maybe worn out from Kalebs screams at the doctors office. Suddenly Brenna says, "Mom I wish we lived here." When I asked why, she responded, "Because the houses are so colorful. There's blue....and yellow...and green. I like the blue one." She continues to stare out the window then suddenly, "ohhh! A green garage door! Mom we can't paint our garage door green. We definitely have to move here!" Some people love the color coordination that comes from living in an association. Brenna obviouly isn't one of them. She likes to live in color.

Happy Birthday Kaleb!

Well, my baby is one, and I'm kind of sad. I love the baby phase. Knowing it's the last baby phase I'll experience with my own kids makes it sadder yet. It's fun, though, to see his personality emerge. And I'll be glad not to carry the lug, once he starts walking.


I would say that "busy" and "curious" are the best two words to describe my little boy. He likes to unload the dishwasher (onto the floor), empty drawers to see whats in them, and push buttons to see what they'll do. But here are a few other things that makes Kaleb, Kaleb:


He loves his bed! I was once asked how I taught my children to sleep anywhere. I figured it happened because I just do what needs to be done, and when nap time comes, I put them down wherever we are. Well, that doesn't fly with Kaleb. He will sleep in your arms (maybe), in the car seat, or in his crib.


He loves music. While pregnant, I would feel thumping during upbeat music. As an infant, he would kick his legs in unison to music. Now, he does squats. I wonder how that will translate into dance moves as he gets older?


He loves dirt. We just put in a huge amount of concrete in the backyard, and what does he do? Head straight for the dirt--as fast as he can. When I'm sweeping, he chases me, trying to play in the dust pile that is forming. Needless to say, I try to sweep when he's not in the room.


For the most part Kaleb's an easy going kid, but he doesn't like to be roughed up. Last week, Brenna was hugging him with great enthusiasm. He complained and pushed at her, but she wouldn't let go. So, he leaned forward casually and bit her on the shoulder...hard. I found myself holding Kaleb in one arm and Brenna in the other. As Brenna cried I explained he didn't mean to hurt her, and didn't know it was wrong. But when I looked at Kaleb, I saw knowledge in those little eyes. He knew what he had done and he was happy about it.

Easter

Our Easter began Saturday afternoon with a church picnic. The kids missed out on the egg hunt, but they go to see the Easter Bunny, and we all ate a good meal. Larissa was so adorable following the bunny EVERYWHERE. She even tried following the bunny into the restroom, but had to content herself with waiting outside. The bunny DID push her on the swing though. What a nice bunny!

On Sunday, as we were getting ready for church, I asked the girls, "Why do we celebrate Easter?" I wanted to make sure they knew it wasn't all about the easter bunny. Brenna excitedly answered, "I know! I know! We are celebrating the beginning of spring!" At least she didn't say the Easter Bunny. We had a mini discussion on the true meaning of Easter and headed off to church.

As soon as church was over, I took the kids up to Grandma Sharla and Grandpa Johns house for lunch and an egg hunt. We ate yummy leg of lamb, potatoes and all kinds of fixings. Then we brought the kids home, where Tori was hosting the McCormick Easter gathering. There was more food, chatting, and of course, another easter egg hunt. It was a busy day that ended with a sweet chat with Kaitlyn about Jesus. I'm glad she realizes the meaning of the holiday.

Summer Plans

Last week Kaitlyn brought home a note informing me that she has been recommended for summer school. My reaction was mixed feelings of sadness and relief. I was sad that, with as hard as she works, she still needs extra help, but I also felt relief that she is far enough behind to get help. It wasn't that way last year.

Kaitlyn went through a battery of tests last year with the schools speech therapist. As the therapist was reviewing the results with me, she kept saying, "Kaitlyn scored a 12 (or a 20, 17, etc). That's great!" I found myself becoming more and more irritated, and finally stated my own opinion. "That's not great. The average score for this test is in the 60's." "Well," she explained, "in order to qualify for help, she would have to score a 10 or less." So frustrating! She was literally missing out on help by a few points, when there was such a huge difference between where she was, and where she should be.

So, if there's room, she's off to summer school. She excited to go, and I'm thrilled that she likes school.

A Blogger's Life for Me

I make no secret about spying on other people's blogs--especially crafty blogs. I find myself clicking on a link here, a link there, and I find some really fun things. Today I saw a necklace I liked on etsy. I went to the ladies blog, and guess what? There's a contest. You can check it out at The Pretty Peacock, and Feels Like Home.

Road Trip

Oh what do you do on a road trip
to make the miles fly?
Do you count the road kill
as you're driving by
or watch the temperature change?
Is that what you do?
So do I.

As we were driving home from our latest trip, I was amazed at what could keep our interest. For hours we tracked the temperature/weather changes with elevation, and somewhere north of Tremonton, UT, there was a stretch of road labeled as a "deer migration area". It really must have been, because we passed, and found ourselves counting, many deer who had met a sad fate. Other than that, I'm sure we did the usual -- sleeping, reading, listening to music, etc.

As we began our trip, I didn't have high hopes for good attitudes during our pending 30 (trip total) hours of driving. About 30 minutes into our drive, as we entered Victorville, Kaitlyn asked, "Are we almost there?" Frank and I laughed and explained how long we'd be in the car. I was sure that was just the beginning of questions, complaints and whining. BUT, I was wrong. The kids behaved amazingly well, and were surprisingly interested in the scenery and weather, on occasion. It wasn't until we'd been in the car for well over 10 hours that Larissa started crying, and asking to go home. Kaleb began crying about the same time. Luckily, everyone fell asleep before long, and we were able to arrive in Boise, ID in peace.

We hung out with Laura's brother, Steve and his family for several days, playing games, shopping (good prices), and being entertained by their dogs. Kaitlyn was afraid of the dogs and, at first, refused to eat if they were in the house. Eventually, hunger or something else proved more compelling than fear. The kids loved going to Cabella's (the sporting goods store), and seeing the, um... "frozen" animals. Kaitlyn and Brenna got coon skin caps as their souveniers of our visit to Idaho.

scarey, eh?

On Thursday, we stopped to see Shoshone Falls, on our way to Salt Lake City. Brenna, who adamantly refused her jacket, found herself freezing (to be expected in snowy weather).


In SLC, we toured the local sites. Brenna insisted on wearing her coon skin cap. I was surprised by the number of comments we heard, and inquiries we received about where to buy one.

Of course we had to take a picture in front of the temple. How could we not? The platform built for photo ops was screaming at me "This is the place."

While Camila and I attended the Saturday afternoon session of conference, Frank and the kids visited with Ed(a friend) and his family. Camila and I were walking across the temple grounds when suddenly she says, "I know her." It was a neighbor from Brazil. I had to laugh. Camila finds people she knows or at least portugese speaking people, everywhere we go. In Idaho, she had visited with a friend from Brazil, and when we went to a Relief Society activity at my sister-in-laws church, she found a lady to speak portugese with.

Afterward, Laura met up with her friend, Stephanie, for a short visit, before the family headed for home.

Not wanting to stay at a hotel for one more night, we drove straight home. We arrived shortly after 2am. Since the kids had been asleep since early evening, they were wide awake, and enthusiastic about their surprise.

While we've been vacationing the last couple weeks, workers have been in our backyard, putting up a retaining wall, patio, and concrete path (for biking). It was all done by the time we got home and the girls were thrilled to see it. Since we've been home, the girls have spents many hours out back. I love it! I don't have to be out front watching them ride the sidewalks. I can be inside and easily see them from our kitchen or office windows.