boards

Kevin takes his boards today. He's been studying for this for 2 years (literally, a friend of his told him to study for his classes like he was studying for the boards because essentially that's what he was doing). Anyway after that we're taking off.

Holy beegeebers II

So I mentioned the cracking right out outside. It was super loud and stuff. Well in talking to my neighbor this morning (they live right above us) she mentioned her sister got in really late from NY last night and didn't have her key. She also couldn't wake up her sister who was sleeping... She busted in the door and it is CRACKED all down the door frame. Now I'm wondering if it was the storm or our neighbor we heard. Hee hee

HOLY BEEGEBERS!

I can honestly say I've never been scared of thunder or lightning. That is until last night. I've lived through hurricanes, tornados and such but last night was the queen of all thunderstorms. We are not talking about a measly little hour or two with really loud thunder and lightning. We are talking about simultaneous lightning and thunder with loud cracks and booms RIGHT OUT OUR WINDOW. I'm going to go check my garden. I'm sure the tomato grates were the lightning rods for that lightning. Not only was the lightning the loudest I've EVER heard but it was continuous for a long time.... in the middle of the night. Kevin and I just laid in bed and were like "crap that was close". All I can say is thank goodness brick houses were invented and that we have one. Which brings me to my other experience... crap. So we decided we were going to cut down on the usage of certain words in the house. We had pizza the other night and Megan wasn't eating it and we asked if she was sick. She said "No I'm ok I just don't want any of this crap pizza". Hee hee. made me giggle. hee hee

inner 7 year old

So I am proud to say I am still in touch with my inner 6 year old. One of our dear friends had her 7th birthday yesterday. In attempting to buy her present I went throughout the store thinking to myself what in the world would a 7 year old want? Then I thought to myself you know I'd get what I would want. So I went around picking out several little things and luckily passed a little girl and her mother who looked about the same age as my friend. So I stopped and asked the little girl. "Ok, I need help. I'm buying a present for a little girl who's turning 7. Is this stuff good for a little girl that age?" The little girl's eyes were huge like saucers as she nodded a yes. Her mother asked her to clarify. "Would Barbie Rapunzel movie be good?" The little girls was in awe "Yeah, that's a good present". As we went our seperate ways I over heard the little girl saying to her mom "Mom, those were really cool presents." Her mom said "Good honey, and you helped her. Yep that's me 7 year old present picker outer extroidenarie. Speller... not so good. Just in case you needed to know for a future 7 year old in your life. Barbie Rapunzel Movie, lip smackers lip gloss, a really cutsie note book, cute pens and nail stickers. Yep good present picker outer that's me. :-D

yikes!

So I was re-reading my last post and I realized that I sound terrible! Seriously this is not all that bad. I am also one that definitely doesn't just wait for the upcoming vacation. I think once you start down that road of "ugh, I just can't wait until our vacation" you stop enjoying what you are doing in the present. It's the road of progression not the ending point that's nice. I wrote the last post after an accident (urination) by E and it always puts me in a foul mood.

exhaustion and vacation

So I've decided that our vacation in indeed timely. I think I've reached the burn out point in my career as a nanny. At least I really really need a vacation. I think the kids do too. We've been trying to do too much... not that it's a lot but with 4 kids and sometimes 5 it's too much. I think it all culminated with potty training. I had the 2 boys potty trained. We were good to go and then E's parents had a "busy weekend". Pull-ups are made to make some of the water stay close to the child so that when they feel wet they know it's not a feeling they should have. Unfortunately if you are using them as a diaper the wetness on the skin is a bad thing and the child (if you're not picking up on my pc... E in particular) ends up with a REALLY bad diaper rash and after 2 weeks of doing great we are back to square one. At least he'll learn that here at my house we use the toilet.... I think anyway. So back to the point at hand. Kevin takes his boards (don don don... ) on Saturday and we will leave strait from there and drive down to Williamsburg where we will be vacationing for the next week. I am soooo excited. We've found these passes that the city puts out where you can visit everything (Bush Gardens, Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, watercountry usa and other stuff) for a cheaper price. We plan on doing portions of it next week so I'm really excited about it. I'm excited to just spend time with the kids on our own. Did you know we've never been on our own vacation as a family? This will be our first and we are stoked about it. I've been going out run/walking with the double jogger trying to build up my endurance for the week (ok just kidding, I have been going out but we are not going to be crazy next week). So far here's the plan. Sunday relax and recuperate from the week. Monday, Water country usa, wimbeldon, crackerbarrell :-) Tuesday. Wimbledon, colonial williamsburn, crackerbarrell. Wednesday. Wimbledon, tennis, jamestown, crackerbarrell (ok just kidding we'll do outback today) Thursday. Wimbledon, yorktown, Friday, beach Saturday bush gardens? Each main even will take a 2-4 hours with 2 toddlers so we'll crash the rest of the days and watch tennis and world cup (yep our hotel has cable. :-)

It has arrived

My jogging stroller arrived today. Needless to say I really like it. So do the kids. You can tell whose mother takes them jogging. Little baby S saw what it was coming out of the box and immediately climbed into it and sat down before I could get the wheels up and running. Pretty funny stuff. My kids loved it. I can now take them jogging with me. I tried without a jogging stroller, um yeah pretty much impossible. Now it is much better. :-)

The borderline

We all reach it. We all reach that point where we are ready to break. I reached that point yesterday. EVERYTHING wore at me. I was so close to breaking that I seriously just cried. Here I am trying to teach these kids that yes there are rules, yes we do have to follow them and no they will NEVER change. You will NEVER be allowed to hit, push, kick, rub your snot on, scream like you are mortally wounded while just because someone is in your "designated" place nor will you be allowed to poop for the fun of it in any place but the toilet. My patience was just not there yesterday. It seemed that I was on my very last nerve the whole day. Those are the days where you wonder is it worth it to actually have those rules set in place. Couldn't I just let them run amuck and go into the back bedroom and hide. I mean seriously sometimes the other kids did deserve a good kick, do I have to actually enforce the no kicking rule. That's when a good husband steps in, plays with your hair while you're eating lunch, takes a break from studying for the hugest test of his life and gives you a huge hug and just lets you cry. It didn't solve anything but it made everything just that much better. It pulled me away from the edge. Then today I read this. The Great Challenges of Parenting"In my opinion, the teaching, rearing, and training of childrenrequires more intelligence, intuitive understanding, humility, strength,wisdom, spirituality, perseverance, and hard work than any other challengewe might have in life. This is especially so when moral foundations ofhonor and decency are eroding around us. For us to have successful homes,values must be taught, and there must be rules, there must be standards,there must be absolutes."( President James E. Faust, "A Thousand Threads of Love," Ensign, Oct. 2005, 3) Darn it I do have to enforce the no hitting, punching, kicking, pooping, pushing rule. Ah well, they'll be better kids for it. I have to remember all the people I come in contact with at church and other places that think I am "so blessed" to have wonderful children that are so well behaved. I am blessed with wonderful, strongheaded, stubborn, mischevious, sometimes malicious, but yes, sweet children. The well behaved part is a ton of work. All the time work. Relentless work. Brutal work. Work well worth it.

Coke

I love coke. There's no way about it. I love it. Actually, I prefer diet coke or coke zero (less calories and it's got a subtler flavor). Anyway after reading a comment on a blog about all the negative things about coke I went to see what was true and what wasn't. Some of the comments seems true and yet others just preposterous. So I went to several sites including Coke.com (although I think they're pretty biased), wikipedia, and breakthechain.com. Have fun reading. After reading (or heck while reading), grab a coke sit back and enjoy. NOTE: No one is saying that drinking coke in great abundance is good for you. But everything taken in moderation is ok. Goodness, if the only thing you ate was chocolate would that be good for you? Nope.

Green eyes

Today I went into the living room to find a very serious little girl. "Megan, What's wrong?" "I don't want green eyes." "Why not? You have very pretty green eyes." "No, only dinosaurs have green eyes, I don't want green eyes." "Sweetie, pretty little girls have green eyes too." "No, only dinosaurs" "Meggie, Kimi has green eyes too" (no you are not a dinosaur Kim.. :-) ) "She does?" (she straighten up at this) "Yup, so does Yaya" "Ok mommy, I can have green eyes... Mommy I have green eyes like a dinosaur. Mommy, look! this dinosaur has blue eyes just like Spencer and baby s and E!"

Fly!

OK picture this. We have a tiny little community library, about 825 square feet. It is totally cute and they completely pander to the clinetel of our little neighborhood. When I go in they know us and have books ready for us to try out. I LOVE IT. Anyway, as part of this library right by the checkout are a set of stairs. These stairs lead to the parking. Well I usually let the kids play on the stairs while I'm checking out. So on Saturday we were there checking out our new books and I look up from checking out our books to check on the kids. Why? you ask? Because I heard the word "fly!" being shouted across this tiny, and for the first time packed library. I look up to see a perfectly pink and done up little girls leaping off the stairs with her arms spread like wings lauching herself in a perfect little pose. Everyone, yes everyone in the library was tittering away at my little one as she ran up the stairs to do it again while mommy tried very quietly to shhhsh her and tell her we needed to be quiet in the library. "Fly!" occured once more with all the adults in the library gentle laughing at the poor mother standing at the check out counter. Yep, if it wasn't so stinking funny I would have been embarrassed. However our little neighborhood is the coolest and noone was bother so, neither was I. I just have a great mental picture of my little 3 year old daughter launching herself off the stairs. hehehehehe

The Spooky Old Tree

If any of you don't have "The Spooky Old Tree" by Stan and Jan Berenstain for your toddlers get it. Seriously this is my kids FAVORITE book. They love when I read it fast. They are sooo cute because they all have it memorized and they all read it when I break it out. It's fun because they like reading it to eachother too (these are 2 and 3 year olds). I love it because they absolutely love the book. We've already worn out the library's copy. Melissa and Jon gave Spencer a copy for his birthday and it's allready getting pretty worn. Just in case you've forgotten (yes you will all remember this book, it was one that Kevin and I remembered reading and loving when we were little). Three little bears One with a light, one with a stick, one with a rope. A spooky old tree. Do they dare go into that spooky old tree? Yes they dare. Three little bears One with a light, one with a stick, one with a rope. A twisty old stair. Do they dare go up that twisty old stair? Yes they dare! Three little bears One with a light, one with a stick, and one with the shivers! A giant key, a moving wall Will the three little bears go through that wall? Do they dare go into that spooky old hall? Yes they dare! Three little bears One with a light and two with the shivers! Great Sleeping bear! Do they dare go over Great Sleeping Bear? Well, they came into the treee, the climbed the stair, they went into the wall, and through the hall, so of course they went over Great Sleeping Bear! Three little bears, without a light, without a stick, without a rope and all with the shivers. Oh, NO! How will they get out of there? Up a ladder ,through the floor, down a slide and out a door! Run, Run, running fast, Home again safe at last.

keeper of the flame

So Kevin got his father's day gift early. I was a little hesitant getting this because well I was being selfish. I've been saving about $20 dollars a week attempting to save for a double jogging stroller. I babysit one of my friends little girls a couple of hours a week and this is my weekly take home pay. Well as I said I've been saving for a bit to buy this jogger. I had finally made it and I was actually going to purchase one this week on the internet, that or go to rei or babiesr us. Well then I realized father's day was coming up. So I went shopping for his gift, deciding to really splurge on this wonderful man who has been so kind and thoughtful to all of us (he gave me a great foot rub last night after I went walking). Anyway the thought was get something pratical that he will need for his rotations that start in July (yeah that's going to sting the wallet a bit) but I decided he need just a gift, one that wasn't for work or school but for sheer pleasure. He got a grill. Not a puny girly grill but a man's grill (I didn't have enough for a weber but that doesn't matter). Here is his grill. I expect grilled loveliness from now on on the weekends. :-) Note: Lest you think I'm the most wonderful lady to give up my splurge money I've been saving for FOREVER, dont'. My friend needs to bring her little girl over a bit more this month so I should have my double stroller by the end of the month. :-)

sad

Today I read several blogs of people who I've had contact with in the past. I normally don't read their blogs because they have fallen to the extreames of the church or away from the church or are just down right depressing. I don't like how they make it a point to criticize the church so I don't read them. However, I made an exception today because I wanted to see (although I had a pretty good idea) their reaction to the Marriage Protection Act. The 2 blogs I read were indeed inflamatory against the church but instead of getting insenced by what they said it just made me sad. Sad, that these poor souls have lost their way. Sad that they don't see what is right anymore, and sad that I don't think I could have done much more to help them keep their testimonies. It's almost like I feel sorrow that I can't just give them the knowledge that I have. The knowledge that we are led by a prophet today who teaches truth. The knowledge that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a true church, one that teaches true doctrine. The knowledge that if you put your life in accordance with the will of God you will be happy. It's interesting though, I know that the majority of the people that fight against this amendment are good people they just don't believe what I believe. That I feel that a marriage is between a man and a woman and should never change. But I understand that many people don't believe that. I am grateful that we live in this country where we have the right to express what we believe and fight for what we believe is right. In all of this I believe this ammendment to be right, I suppose I have to remember that the people who oppose this act also believe themselves to be right. I think many of us as members of the church forget that many of the people who have very differing views from us are not bad people, just people who don' t know the Truth. Elder M. Russell Ballard said "As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we understand that we are perceived by some to be “a peculiar people” (1 Pet. 2:9). Our doctrines and beliefs are important to us. We embrace them and cherish them. I am not suggesting for a moment that we shouldn’t. On the contrary, our peculiarity and the uniqueness of the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ are indispensable elements in offering the people of the world a clear choice. Neither am I suggesting that we should associate in any relationship that would place us or our families at spiritual risk. We must understand, however, that not everyone is going to accept our doctrine of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the most part, our neighbors not of our faith are good, honorable people—every bit as good and honorable as we strive to be. They care about their families, just like we do. They want to make the world a better place, just like we do. They are kind and loving and generous and faithful, just like we seek to be. Nearly 25 years ago, the First Presidency declared: “Our message … is one of special love and concern for the eternal welfare of all men and women, regardless of religious belief, race, or nationality, knowing that we are truly brothers and sisters because we are sons and daughters of the same Eternal Father” (First Presidency statement, 15 Feb. 1978). I think because of other's lack of truth we as members of the church need to try harder to be not only bears of truth but examples of love and understanding as well.

The spirit of Relief Society

So most men will not understand the spirit of Relief Society. The feeling of sisterhood that occurs when women get together. For those that don't know I'm the Primary Secretary. But on Sunday I was able to go up to RS for the last 15 mintues for the testimony meeting. It was really cool to hear the testimonies of several of the sisters. One of the ladies in our ward is Sis Bennett, wife to Senetor Bennett. She told us about her experience last week. I thought it was so cool that I'm adding the article from the Salt Lake Tribune to this post that commented on her experience. Relief Society intrigues Iraqi women By Peggy Fletcher Stack The Salt Lake TribuneSalt Lake Tribune Amid the chaos and destruction that overwhelm daily life in Baghdad, many Iraqi women have been searching for a way to build a network that could harness their collective strength. But how? Joan Betros, who was working in Baghdad two years ago as the director of women's and children family television programming for Iraqi Media Network, believed she knew just such a vehicle for women - the LDS Relief Society. Launched in 1842 to serve the sick and poor, the LDS Relief Society is now one of the oldest and largest women's organization in the world. It has more than 5.2 million members in 170 countries, with a chapter in every LDS congregation that meets Sundays to hear lessons on theology, family issues and social relations. The society also has "visiting teachers," or pairs of women assigned to visit every woman in the nearly 13 million-member Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at least every three months. The teams bring a spiritual message to those they visit, as well as assessing the women's physical, emotional or spiritual needs. They then report the needs back to a supervisor who tries to find ways to help. When Betros described this system to an Iraqi woman who worked on the Baghdad Advisory Board, the woman responded enthusiastically, saying, "We have to have this model in our country to heal the family and unite women." So Betros spent the next months and years trying to figure out how to share the Relief Society's strength and structure without its religious content and without using the church's name. She knew that proselytizing among Muslims is strictly forbidden and that the LDS Church would never breach such prohibitions. The answer was a nonprofit, nonreligious organization called FUTURE, Families United Toward Universal Respect, which could foster discussion about families with women from a variety of backgrounds. Earlier this month, Betros' efforts paid off. On May 7, a delegation of Iraqi women, led by Azhar Abdul Karem Al-Shakly, the minister of state for women affairs, arrived in the U.S. to spend a week studying the Relief Society, its programs, materials and humanitarian efforts. The model is available to anyone outside the faith. In addition to Azhar, the delegation included a law professor, a sociologist, an English teacher, the coordinator for the Iraq Handicapped Society and the president of the Nintu Society for Humanitarian Assistance. Each delegate was paired with a Mormon volunteer to learn how such pairs work. One of the buddies was Joyce Bennett, wife of Sen. Bob Bennett. " "They were impressed by their buddies' willingness to give their time for one year to set this up," Betros said. "They could see that through volunteerism, there is no corruption." The group started in Virginia, where members spent two days at Southern Virginia University, a small school run by LDS businessmen. Organizers provided a flow chart based on "visiting teaching" and showed them how it might work in Iraq, Betros said Wednesday. They presented lectures on hygiene, depression, literacy, child-rearing, home management, keeping a budget, decorating and genealogy. The women received a generic "Family Home Evening" manual with examples of lessons and activities for a weekly activity. "We learned so much about how to make families stronger," Azhar said. "I wish I could do this visiting teachers in my country. I wish to . . .tell how families are strong in this country, how families take care of each other." Three days later, the delegation flew to Utah, where they toured LDS Welfare Square and Humanitarian Center in downtown Salt Lake City, heard a concert by the International Children's Choir, (including three songs in Arabic), discussed the situation in Iraq with Brigham Young University professors, dined with General Relief Society President Bonnie Parkin, shopped and attended a taping of "Music and the Spoken Word" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. On Mother's Day, the delegation flew to Denver, where they met with government officials who taught them how to structure city councils. The trip was funded by private donations and the Denver Regional Council of Governments. Denver is a sister city to Baghdad. "It was a whole menu of wonderful new experiences for them," Betros said. "It's strictly up to them how they want to implement these ideas." Nuha N.S. Ahmad Al-Algha, president of the Nintu Society, particularly liked the Humanitarian Center but was also drawn to the church's vast genealogical holdings. "If you know your roots, you know your life. We are starting to lose family ties in Iraq. Everyone is running for himself." Programs such as FUTURE, Nuha said, are "the way to build a new Iraq."

Interesting article

Here's an article that was posted to our listserve. Thought it was interesting so I'm passing it on.

Pink Marker

So diciphering a 2 year old's language is sometime a shot in the dark and sometime hopeless. Sometimes however you get lucky. My 2 year old, whose language is usually really advances (he talks like a 3 1/2 year old) took his shoes off and kept saying "Pink marker, pinky marker". Thinking he wanted to color or perhaps paint his toe nails I kept trying to prod him for more details. Again, all I got was "Pink Marker, pinky marker". Then it dawned on me that he had in fact taken off his shoes and was wiggling his toes. "This little piggie went to the market...." then ensued.

Marraige Protection Amendment

'Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.'. `No court created by Act of Congress shall have any jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate jurisdiction, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, section 1738C of this section.'. The following list is from the Proctors, editors of Meridian Magazine. This is what they said "Second of all, we really need to rally tremendous support from the following states (don’t letthe list overwhelm you—it’s quite approachable): Colorado (Senator Ken Salazar); Florida(Senator Bill Nelson); Montana (Senator Max Baucus); Virginia (Senator John Warner—he alsowields great influence in the Senate); Indiana (Senator Evan Bayh); Louisiana (Senator MaryLandrieu); Nebraska (Senator Chuck Hagel); Maine (both Senators Susan Collins and OlympiaSnowe); Arkansas (both Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor); New Hampshire (Senator JohnSununu); North Dakota (Both Senators Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan) and South Dakota (Senator TimJohnson). These are the swing votes." I know several of you are from these states. Thought I'd pass it along. I already know John Warner from our state is being inundated by our ward (all politically active individuals, hence DC).

Euripides

So I've been reading Euripides' plays. So far I've read through a few of the collection that I have. I love them so far due to the fact that, at least to me, they are funny. Euripides has a tendency to try to take what he see around him and satire it. It turns out pretty humerous in the long run. It's almost as if he writes this fantastic play, tragic even, and then because of the popular mentality of the time of wanting (ok at this point my mind switched to spanish. weird how sometimes I can't think of the word in English but it come easily in Spanish... help me resolver... hee hee ok got it once I typed it out) the stories resolved so in a few sort paragraphs Euripides sums up the entire play and puts a happy ending on it. It's pretty abupt, but funny.

potty training II

So I still hold that boys are sooooo much easier than girls. E came on Monday pretty much trained all ready (yeah E's mommy!). This week he's been pretty good. He's really only had one awake time accident all over all week long (this is not including time spent in pull ups) and one nap time incident. This has been great as far as potty training goes. FAR less diapers yep.