Oh, what do you do . . .

My baby went to first grade last August.

It was a dream come true.  I was kid-free for 7 hours a day.  I planned and finished projects I had dreamed of doing for years.  I dove into to family history work and indexing.  I started playing the piano more and organizing my day.

It was nightmare. I'd jump from errand to project, filling my days but there was no sound in the house, no child calling me to come. I hit rock bottom after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. I can't even comprehend what the parents are going through still but my own personal fears had me hugging my 1st grader tighter each night and thanking God that he was in my life each day.

My middle son was unhappy. My husband and I couldn't ever pinpoint if it was just school being boring or a situation with friends or both.  He took it out on his family.

After 10 years, thinking we had it figured out, my husband and I gratefully and eagerly took a parenting class offered by our pediatrician's office.  Our home life drastically improved.

I stare at each day, my mind whirling with all the possible things to accomplish and do, and wish that any of my 3 children could be with me. It's only for a moment.  I wouldn't rob them of the opportunity to grow and experience but my heart aches just a little for more time and more voices clamoring around me. 

The mad rush of after school with homework, practice, friends, dinner and all its noise tests my new parenting skills but brings a smile to my face as I fall into bed.

Summer is coming. A whole lot less will get done and my new parenting skills will be put to the ultimate test as I attempt to teach my children to navigate the day without tearing each other down.  After growing up with 4 brothers, I know in my heart the only true teacher of curbing sibling rivalry is age and maturity. But I won't give up requiring nicer words and tones. I'll remind them that it won't be long and they could be calling their sibling long distance and seeing them once a year.

And now I ask myself, what am I going to do today?

Flaming Gorge, revisited

I loved camping as a kid.  That's what we did for vacations.  There were 6 kids. We went relatively close, remember there was 6 kids and an old Dodge van. You didn't really want to go too far. We'd blast Roger Miller tapes. Wish the air conditioner worked better. Annoy each other.  Had lots of fun.

Favorite camping spot--Mustang Ridge at Flaming Gorge.  You can walk to the swimming hollow from the campground.  They have flushing toilets and showers only near the entrance but every day or two it's nice to escape the closer outhouses for something a little more fancy. My parent's spent their honeymoon there.  My dad had been going there since he was kid.

Fast forward so many years (I'm not telling you exactly how many).  I'm the adult.  I have 3 kids. Our first real family vacation, I sort of drag my husband there but with my parents in tow.  It was a blast. My husband adored it.  Next year, my husband takes us again but we take his parents to show them how awesome it is.

Fast forward a few more years.  My sister is going to be in town during the summer. She wants to relive those fun camping memories.  So, we plan a trip.  We are going back together. Everyone is invited. Initially, all 6 of my siblings and parents are in.  However, as time gets closer, my sister and I end up sans husbands.  My 2 married brothers are sans wives and small babies.  My college brother can't get away from work. So, with regret, we headed out still planning on fun.  Me driving a truck and hauling a trailer for the first time.

A few tips you more experienced moms will know.  Grandpa/Dad is awesome with kids but not your husband.  Uncles/Brothers are awesome with kids but not your husband.  You can have a great time and love the memories but your husband will still not be there.

I went to see the smiles on my kids faces with their cousins that live far away.  I went to hang out with my sister. We spent 16 1/2 years together, couldn't escape each other, and now we can only see each other around once a year. I went to give my kids memories that I had growing up--visiting Dinosaur National Monument, rafting down the Green River, seeing the Milky Way in the sky around the campfire, swimming in the lake, taking the Dam tour with all its accompanied phrases.

So, while I wouldn't trade this

Dinosaur Monument

or this

Girls having fun

or this

Ultimate pioneer, pulling handcart with baby in arms

or this

He loved his cousin being so gentle and attentive, this photo really highlights the family resemblance

for anything.

I'm not ever going camping without this again. 

My husband outdoors with son

Not ever.

 It took me 2 weeks to recover from my "vacation", physically and emotionally. Extended family is awesome, I never would have survived that vacation without them. But, I now know that without my personal hero/husband, no experience will capture the full joy of family vacations as I knew them from childhood.  So I can't wait for the next time to visit Flaming Gorge, with my husband driving the trailer, creating memories for my kids and recapturing the magic of family camping trips because my whole family will be present.

Reviewing 2012

So, it's been awhile.

And now that the new year is started and I'm getting back into a schedule, I plan on posting a little more often. My next couple should be simple as I review some of my favorite 2012 moments.

From August 2012, comes my favorite quote.  It was shouted at me during a family vacation at Flaming Gorge with extended family.  We were at Mustang Ridge (Shepherd Family favorite campground right near the swimming hollow).  Breakfast was finishing and we were planning the day.  I informed my daughter I needed a brush and hair things to get her ready for the day.

"MOM!  WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE ME LOOK SO FREAKING NICE!"


Same day, with her looking so "freaking nice"

It was classic.  Aunts, uncles, grandparents all snickered.  I had to try to hide mine from her.  I did, however, pull out my phone and type this quote in a memo preserving it for posterity.

So, one day soon, when I'm telling her teenage self that she needs to get out of the bathroom, I can remind her that it wasn't so long ago that she didn't care how "freaking nice" she looked.

Catching

You know those annoying habits your kids pick up that you are constantly trying to get them to stop. You know--nose picking, biting nails, chewing on their shirt and throwing everything in the air and catching it.  As a mom, I can see the long term consequences that completely escape their notice. You pick your nose, it can bleed and the skin gets red and irritated. You chew your nails, the nails get weak and tear.  You chew your shirt, the shirt collar will stretch and look funny.  I thought I knew the consequence for throwing and catching--you'll break something.  I now have a new one. You'll get a staple in your finger.




It never even dawned on me to tell my son to not throw a stapler when I asked him to get it for me.  It didn't dawn on me that my sports-inclined, agile son who likes to test his skills at all time would even toss it, watch it spin in the air and then catch it.  I was busy. It was time to leave for soccer practice, left-overs needed to be in the fridge because right after soccer was pack meeting.

I heard a brief shout.  No crying or screaming.  Just the loud, "MOOOOOMMMMM." 

Exasperated, my response was short as I shoved left-over pizza in the fridge.  "What."

He did a high pitched whine again, coming into the kitchen.  "MOOOOOMMMM. Look."

And there you have it, the long term consequence for throwing an ordinary household object in the air.  He said it didn't hurt. It just felt like a pinch and he only noticed it when he came to the kitchen.  It had gone into the pointer finger on his right hand.  I'd been reamed out by a nurse when he was 2 for pulling a nail out of his palm.  You're supposed to let a medical professional assess the foreign object to see if it hit bone or other important areas.  Still, I probably would have just pulled it out and put on a bandaid except that I could see the staple on the other side of his finger just under the nail.  That freaked me out. If it wasn't going to come easily, the medical professional could do it.

I called my blessedly close mother-in-law and left the other two children with her. I called the doctor's office while on the road and my husband met us there.  A lot of paper jokes, a quick yank, some tears and a prescription for augmentin and we were out of the doctor's office and ready to move on.  Even though his finger hurt for a couple of days, he did get a kick out of showing people the picture. And he got to add the doctor's collection of things he's pulled out of kids.  My son was most surprised by the rather large crayon that came out of a nose and 3 earring backs from girls putting them on too tight and it slips under the skin on the back.  That one surprised me too.

So, the next time you are trying to stop your boys from throwing and catching things in the house, you can always tell them that they could end up with a staple in a finger.

So a whole summer flew by and my children are well into the next school year.  I'm busy trying to catch up.  I heard about this phenomenon but thought it was but a myth when your mired in toddler years. It goes fast. When you can sleep through the night and never buy diapers, time suddenly leaps by. There is not one thing you can do to stop it.

 

Take this handsome boy for instance.  I can't stop the fact that his birthday came. He's 1 year older. He's taller, although he's not managed to edge his sister out in height yet but it's a close race. I can't stop the fact that he looks like a photo model and every photo session the photographers love how easy he is to pose and how quickly they get a great shot.

He loves all things outdoors, willing to try any sport and right now into cross country.  He LOVES his new bike and roller blades. As soon as the homework is done, he's out of the house.

He's extremely independent and careful about his appearance. Girls out there, I do have big stick and I'm not afraid to use it, especially those 3rd grade girls at Oquirrh Elementary who seem intent on chasing him right now. I know he's awesome but you're not allowed near him until 16 and even then you'll have to get by me to be part of his group dates.

For just a couple of more blinks, he's still my little boy. I love him just the way he is.

In Recognition

Happy Birthday!

The school year ends with recognition and awards.  For the 4th year running, my daughter has gone above and beyond. She has received the Mountain Man Award that requires extra goals and shows outstanding academics and citizenship.  She received the National Award for the physical fitness program.  She just missed Presidential level by being less than a minute over the time allowed for girls when running the mile.

After the schoolwide recognitions, I joined her class for a special recorder recital. I'm sure you all remember that lovely instrument from your own 4th grade experience.  She received additional awards for the girl who read the most minutes this year, 5,822 minutes that were recorded. She actually reads more than that (which is why she received her heart's desire of a kindle for her birthday).  She also received an award for the stretchiest girl. For the fitness testing, they have to pass a sit and reach. You sit and reach as far past your toes as you can go.  She can reach 39 centimeters.



And as she spends her very last hours as a 4th grader, she celebrates her birthday.  Today, we all recognize that she is 10 years old. As her body starts to curve, her dad has declared that mumu's are a lovely fashion choice. And while her dad and I batton down the hatches to weather the drama storm, we marvel at how kind she can be, how thoughtful of others (as long as they are not her brothers) and how brillant she is.

 We recognize how lovely, how creative, how smart, how kind,

 how perfectionist, how fashionista and how wonderful she really is.

Late 10

My family has recently discovered the kids bowl free summer program. I'd seen the flyer last year but never paid it much mind. This year with impending summer looming and activities required to keep kid #1 and kid #2 from constant fighting, I thought why not.  Hey, I can even use that semester of bowling I took in college for my generals physical education credit.

My youngest loves bowling. Go ahead, ask me how often he has played the Wii since May 15th when the program started.  He gets up, he does his chores, he reads and ask, "Can we go bowling now?"  He knows we have to bowl in the morning before Kindergarten because there is too much going on after school. It's like Christmas every morning, waking with eager anticipation.

Now we are becoming bowling aficionados. We are far from any level of expert but we're picking up the basics and a little more.  I have finally found the right weight ball works for me.  Yes, I have even purchased bowling shoes.  They're are pretty styling if I do say so myself.

My little bowler is all about the game.  The smallest ball weighs 6 lbs and initially that seemed too heavy.  Now that he has the hang of it, he's convinced that the 8 lbs gives him more strikes.  That's right he gets strikes as of last week.  After a month of playing, rolling, sometimes dropping the ball, he gets the late 10.  The ball rolls down and starts a chain reaction and that last pin or 2 will wobble and with more frequency now, fall all the way down.

Here is a sample of my morning fun.

Bowling Video

His high the first week was 90. Then his next high score was 95. Then 98.  Then he got his first strike. Now he can get at least 1 strike a game.  His real triumph--114.  He had the front counter print that game for his records.

So instead of virtual bowling on the Wii, we're doing the real thing.  It should be very interesting when kid #1 and kid #2 are finally out of school on Friday and we can all be bowling nerds together. We can be the late 10 club because that is the only way we are getting strikes, tilting our heads the side as we watch the last pin wobble and fall.

I respect my parents

Is there a price tag for respect?  Yes and no. As a parent my husband and I have struggled with how to really teach respect.  My kids are reaching the age of talking back, negative attitude, sarcasm, etc.  We are making an extra effort to exemplify respect to our children (yes, I have worked on my road ranting at other cars so my children see that even if a really dumb driver does something dangerous and almost hits us, I still do not lose my cool).  It's a daily struggle to remind my children that no matter how tired, disappointed or upset they are, it is not okay to take it out on me.

My one son particularly struggles--the most independent of course. The more he can do, the less he seems willing to understand that mom and dad still have say, and yes, you do have to talk nicely to us. The school introduced a Tae Kwon Do PE program and my daughter participated. At her graduation, my husband and I looked at each other and paid for a 7 week course for my independent son.

Each morning before he leaves for school, he recites a special creed:

I RESPECT MY PARENTS,
I RESPECT MY TEACHERS,
I RESPECT MY FRIENDS,
I RESPECT MYSELF,
Ma'am/SIR.

This whole month, while he learns to defend himself with special kicks and moves (which he absolutely loves), he is also learning about immediately answering his elders, bowing respectfully and working on the character trait of kindness. Every time I catch him being kind, I praise him and write it down. Every 7 instances earn him a stripe and every three stripes earn him a star on his uniform. His Master inquires at his improvement and asks what he can do to help.

The price tag is a little steep considering we have vehicles and medical bills that we are trying to pay off but I'm doing everything in my power to keep him in the program. How can I not when I see him succeed physically in Tae, emotionally improve, and have wonderful evenings where he asks what he can do to help?  We all need our outlets and for something so important as gaining more self-control and respect, I'm willing to pull out the checkbook to give my son a few more positive role models in his life.

I can do hard things

There is a new mantra in our home:  "I CAN DO HARD THINGS!"

My oldest tends to be skittish about failing. Yes, the OCD perfectionist gene has passed to the next generation.  What does this mean for an upcoming 10 year old?  There is a lot to be nervous about. There is a lot that has never been tried and therefore cannot be guaranteed to succeed in the first try.

For my daughter specifically, it means total meltdown at home when the prospect of a challenge looms. She's ranted about challenging homework for over 30 minutes. She's cried at the prospect of swimming lessons. She bites her nails at new situations.

I was therefore surprised that when my father asked if she wanted to run a mile race that she said yes.  Her younger brother eagerly wanted in and that may be why.  If there is anything to spur her on, it's the prospect of her barely younger brother-who will pass her by in height one day-doing what she cannot.

I was excited. We decided on a route to train with. I would bike with my youngest: 1. to teach him how to ride a bike 2. to keep up with my kids (because I'm an overweight, out-of-shape mom).

And so the meltdowns began.  There was every excuse on the books and she walked almost every practice.  Finally, in frustration, I put on running shoes and said if she couldn't keep up with fat, out-of-shape mommy, she should be ashamed.

My husband would squelch every meltdown with a brief reminder of her past successes and then loudly proclaim, "I CAN DO HARD THINGS!" and make her repeat it.

Race day came.  My husband and I had tried to be encouraging and the mantra was repeated frequently. What finally gave my daughter the incentive she needed?  Grandpa stopped by and offered $100 reward for being 1st in their age division before we could warn him that her brother had a very real chance of achieving it.  Her eyes lit up.

So, my oldest who never made a better time than 14 minutes in training came in at 10 minutes and 48 seconds; 4th in her age division. My husband missed her at the finish line because he hadn't expected her so soon. I'm framing the photo of her crossing the finish line as an additional, daily reminder that she can do hard things.

As Nelson Mandela has said, "It's only impossible until it's done."

P.S. Her brother managed 3rd in his age division
and 13th place in overall rankings at 8 minutes and 8 seconds; 1 minute and 3 seconds under the top boy in the race and 26 seconds away from having Grandpa pay out.

Love and Marriage

As Valentine's has just passed and my Wedding Anniversary draws near, my husband and I are all lovey-dovey. You know the kind, the one that makes your kids groan and say "eeeewwwww!" So, when my church was holding a marriage seminar for the women a week before Valentine's, it was not high on my priority list. There are so many other things to do with my time and I was curious as to who would be the "expert" on marriage. My husband and I are not perfect but he's my best friend and we put each other first. We are doing good.

He made me go.

Not because he thought we needed it but because the men in our church were strongly encouraged to support their wives going and my husband was trying to set a good example for others. So, I dragged my mother-in-law who lives down the street with me because if I was going she could go to. She had my same concern on "expert." We might be experts on our own marriage and have some tips but the only people who can be an expert on any marriage are the people married to each other.

It was good. They had 2 speakers and both talked about the little things we do that make a big difference. They talked a lot about the love languages and truly accepting and understanding what each other needs. They gave us fancier paper and said to write a love note.

Talking about writing a love note with my husband, we ended up disagreeing. He had kept a note I had forgotten I had written from 2008. It wasn't a love note. I still can't remember the circumstances. It brought up unhappy feelings for him and we rehashed old family differences. So the night before Valentine's day, we didn't go to bed exactly happy. After we finished our "discussion," he went downstairs and shredded the note. After he fell asleep, I wrote him a proper love note.

We had one the best Valentine's Days ever. He loved the new note, even more after he found out I wrote it post-"discussion." I made a candlelit dinner for five; my children's eyes initially widened when they saw the table. You are never too young to learn how to set the table for really special occasions. We even had dancing-Dance Party 3 Wii game was my gift to the family. My youngest and I rock at "This is Halloween" song.

Love is letting go of past wrongs, going the extra mile for small things and big things alike and celebrating whenever you can.

And being lovey-dovey every day to make your kids groan with horror but really having them know that mom and dad love each other.

Drama

While those who know me well might think that the title refers to my oldest girl and the never-ending battle with clothes and "tude" (defined as attitude with sarcasm and coincidentally enough sounds exactly like the her new word "dude" which she calls everyone right now), they would be wrong on this occasion.

I recently had drama that kept me up on Facebook past midnight.

What might keep a mother of three, very reasonable, very responsible up half the night while her husband and children peacefully sleep? Two words--music competition.

Parachute is touring and wanted to have local bands open for them. Salt Lake City is a stop. My very talented, musical, youngest brother wanted to be that band. His band Stereo Breakdown pooled their meager funds together (brother currently works part-time in a coffee shop while going to college) and bought an open box camcorder to film the music videos required by the contest. He had video editing software on his computer. They had a few songs recorded at studio downtown that they wrote for the competition.

No drama at this point. I, as a dutiful sister, went each day of the competition and voted for him and laughed/sometimes enjoyed the other bands. I only laughed in the privacy of my own home office.

On the 2nd to last round of the competition, the drama started. I had forgotten to vote in the morning. So, my husband and I used the Itouch in bed at 10:34 to vote. We noticed that the votes were very close. 1 vote apart. I called my brother and asked when voting ends. He said midnight and did we know anyone else who could vote.

As an established family with children in elementary school, my friends pool doesn't tend to stay up late into the evening. I apologized to him that I couldn't be more help. He mentioned that someone was bashing their band on the competition site and we said goodnight.

Leaving my husband in bed, I padded down in slippers to my office to see what was up. Yes, someone was bashing my brother's band. If the music wasn't his style, that is fine with me. However, he began to accuse them of spoiled pampering by parents giving thousands to give them a leg up on his favorite singer who was recording live from her own home (her own recording studio with a grand piano and professional equipment-the poor dear).

Needless to say, it rankled the members of my family. My father and brother retorted back before cooler heads could reign. The same guy (Rcast38) continued his bash fest against them from the anonymity of his user name and all the venom he could spew. I said something positive on the site and proceeded to Facebook to make a plea to all who might be online at 11:04 pm to help my brother with votes.

Thanks to reasonable people and wonderful late night support, my brother's band made it past that round of competition. The most soothing to my family and my brother was that Parachute voted for his band that round.

So, in some very small part, Rcast38 must take credit for inspiring the outpouring of support from the friends and family of Stereo Breakdown who might have slept through the last hour of competition instead of thinking of anyone else they could contact to vote. He continued his spew the next night of competition and even though my brother didn't win that final round, the rest of us are still proud him.

So that's my drama, family drama, the good kind. The kind where you do anything to help each other even if it's past bedtime because my family is awesome. If you type otherwise, we'll rally.

p.s. there is a wonderful Hunger Games theatrical trailer to view if you find yourself tapping the keys anxiously and waiting for midnight to come one night in the future.

The Force

My littlest one is obsessed with all things Star Wars. Each year for their birthdays, I ask my children what type of cake do they want. I've made many types over the years: 3D girl cake, 3D Teddy Bear cake, trains, Candyland cakes, Butterflies cake, fairy cakes, etc. My older boy is not a fan of cake and, a boy after my own heart, has requested cheesecake and other such wonderful desserts. My older daughter is more into strawberry type desserts now. My youngest still likes the more fun shaped cakes. He challenged my creativity when he asked for a Death Star cake.

I thought about cutting a circle out of 13X9 cake. But what fun would that be? He's only 6 once. I used a 50% coupon for Michael's and bought a sports ball cake pan. Years of cake-making taught me to use pound cake for 3D shapes. Thanks to the Internet, I learned of setting the 3D ball on a cake base so it didn't crumble apart. While he initially asked for the unfinished Death Star in the 6th movie, I sadly informed him there would be no way to keep the Death Star intact for long if I hacked into it early. He was thrilled when I told him I would use candy to decorate it. Everyone wanted a piece of the Death Star, especially the Junior Mint deflector array.


Most importantly, my little Jedi lit up and the Force was with him for his entire birthday from the Glow in the dark new Star Wars shirt, the Lightsaber guide book, Yoda marshmallow sucker, Luke Skywalker puzzle, Lego Star Wars Character Cards, R2D2 Operation, FX Anakin Lightsaber, and Lego Star Wars sets that have been played with almost non-stop.

Did I mention he liked Star Wars?

Family Film

For a church activity, we had a Fall Film Festival. Everyone was encouraged to make their own family film, about 5 minutes long. I love playing with the video format. I took a year long class in high school on video editing. What took up a whole room at the school of video editing equipment now fits nicely in a compact computer program. My favorite program is Pinnacle, even though it eats up memory and is a massive RAM hog. However, on a borrowed computer with lower memory and RAM, I haven't even bothered to install Pinnacle. I know its' limits. So, I gave Windows Movie Maker a whirl. It was easy to use but the video formats are way limited.

Without further ado, here's our submission to the festival. The vocals aren't ours, we give full credit to InsideOut Acapella with their song titled "In the Sun They Melted (Snowman II)." Yes, it may take a while to load up, I think it's worth it.

My Piano

I started lessons when I was 12. That is the year my mother managed to get a piano. My brothers all started lessons when they were 8. There is a big difference. While I can "play a little", my brothers have mastered multiple instruments and play beautifully.

So while my husband thought someday, I was thinking now. I want my children to have my brothers' musical skill, not mine. I saved all the birthday money I was generously given by family and scoured KSL classifieds.

Here is what I found for $75, a 1920's piano in need of some love:


I took my accomplished musician brother with me. He played the piano, said the action was better than my mom's, all the keys played and piano keys weren't chipped. However, you can see from the picture that it had better days. Most of the pieces that remove for tuning had been damaged and didn't fit properly. The knee board was cracked at the bottom and no longer sit properly and besides the dings and gouges, someone had CUT the piano legs, removed them and then glued them back in without wiping out the excess glue (I'm still at a loss as to why).

Did this faze me? Are you kidding! I have a gifted carpenter as a husband. While he didn't own a lathe for turning new legs (we bought them turned), he cut new wedges and fashioned all the pieces back to their original state. He then spent a week with wood putty and myself as the sander to take care of dings and gouges. With the exterior components all fashioned properly, I then set about painting.

It was far too damaged and repaired to stain it or retain the wood color. So I enlisted my mother and we painted and antiqued. I scrubbed hardware for 4 hours. Now I have the results.

My husband's next project is to fashion me an old fashioned piano stool. I found the hardware to make it adjusting for $25. This January my kids start lessons and no it isn't optional.

Baby Shower

My sister-in-law is due January 2nd with my 1st nephew to live in the state and easy distance to spoil and love. Sorry dear Sister, nephew and future nephew (due Dec. 21st) and 2 nieces in Wisconsin. You make sure your medical school dad tries really, really hard to get residency much closer.

My daughter and I eagerly set out to provide an awesome baby shower. Grandma set the theme with lambs. Yes, that's right, we adore lambs. Being Shepherd's (with the correct spelling) has always been a source of pride and we wanted to help welcome the new lamb to the fold in style.

I made a diaper cake (unfortunately, no picture). We played candy games like how many butter mints are in the big plastic bottle and name that candy shout out with breastfeeding matching Milky Way and the night of conception matching Skor candy bar. It was a lot of fun.

My favorite addition to the party came from my 9 year old and her love of getting cookbooks from the library. Her latest checkout was Cupcakes Galore. She was flipping through it 2 days before the shower and found sheep cupcakes. So we jetted to the store. Friday she made cupcakes and Saturday she decorate them.

Aren't they cute? Just need frosting, Junior Mints and marshmallows. Not only did we have a themed treat but my daughter loved making them and showing them off.

Halloween

Halloween Night--my WONDERFUL brother not only dressed up but took my 3 eager children trick-0r-treating for hours! They came home loaded up with candy, said he was the best uncle ever and knew which houses gave the best candy. So, one of the real stars of Halloween was my brother who left me to lounge around passing out candy instead of booking it with my kids for candy.

She, of course, was brilliant. However, I didn't concoct her brilliance. Every year my kids love their costumes and look amazing. The other real star of Halloween is Grandma. My husband took one look at my daughter's vampiress dress and asked if we took the sleeves off could she wear it to church. It's that fancy. It is made out of left over bridesmaid dress fabric and notions. It cost me all of $1 for a pattern and I don't count the boots because she needed another pair shoes.

He was scary. He wanted to be. He is my most easy going when it comes to costumes. Somehow, he always chooses something we have stuff for. I spent $6 buying a Dracula make-up kit with fangs and the medallion. Grandma had the cape and she made him a special cummerbund to finish off the effect. He always shines on Halloween in my eyes. If he notices a discrepancy in candy levels, he never fails to share or help other kids feel good about what they have. It's a trait I love about him.

The force is strong with this one. Grandma of course made all the pieces for his Jedi costume. I made the lightsaber out of a pool noodle and duct tape. I learned long ago that little Jedi's need soft lightsabers for their duels. Grandma knew how much my littlest one loves Star Wars and made the costume purposely bigger so he can enjoy it for the coming year and maybe even next year. Thanks to my family, my children had a wonderful Halloween.

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Yes, that is what happens when your 3 children go off track right before Halloween. There were play dates, parties, Halloween costumes to get in order, church activities and responsibilities, baby showers to plan and execute, a piano to refinish and paint coffee table to match living room decor and 3 kids to keep from killing each other.

But, today, my children are back in school.

Did I enjoy sleeping in? Of course. But what I do not currently hear? I don't hearing fighting or teasing. I read the paper this morning, finished all my daily cleaning chores, read Star Wars books with my kindergartner and I'm now sitting down to enjoy computer time which would be non-existent with my children clamoring around me. It's a little bit of heaven.

I was very creative the past 3 weeks with my children and now I hope to share with all of you my triumphs and best moments. My husband always says wow but as a female I want a little more gushing from those who know how much work it really takes.

Annual Fun Run

To me, the words don't go together. I run/jog/power walk/walk to lose weight. My children's school has made this an annual tradition that my kids love. They have balloons leading up to the finish line. Teachers challenge their kids to stay with them on the course. They hand out water bottles.

This year both Emma and Teddy ran the 2 miles instead of 1 mile.

Wyatt, my little kindergarten hero, jogged in the school field. Unfortunately, he couldn't do 2 laps, only 1. However, the little man had croup the night before and was just recovering so I'm giving him kudos for doing 1 lap.


Next year, I hope to keep up with Emma. I think it might take 2 years to get me in shape for Teddy's pace. He's fast and wants to be. I know I can keep up with Wyatt. So here's to Fun for my kids and hopefully weight loss and a more in shape woman for me.

Summer Lesson #6

The end.

I love the end--the end of the story, the wrap-up, the completion of one thing to go on to something new.


I love the end of summer. The last minute hikes in the canyons to see everything before the colors start changing. It finally begins to drop in temperature. My kids fidget in anticipation, excited to wear new clothes bought at the last possible moment--a little big-- in hopes that they will last the school year. My kids and I get a routine back, myself a slave to school bells just as much as when I was in school.

Now, there are NEW stories to read. Science projects to explore. Exciting things to tell each day around the dinner table. Friends seen each day and new ones made. Most importantly, a chance to learn new things and grow.

A chance to read, practice math and spend a couple hours with
other kids learning, instead of all by himself with just mom for company.


A chance to be a great friend, find out about experiments that will drive Mom
crazy as each day something new can be tried, to become more responsible
and crazy smart.


A chance to hone the steel trap of his memory, absorb new facts,
test his physical strength and continue to excel in anything
he desires.

The beginning of new school year is filled with possibilities.

Summer Lesson #5

I love to create or remake.

We had the opportunity to get a locking cabinet. It had been my Great Grandpa's gun cabinet. It had been in my parent's room for over 20 years. My mother was remodeling and since my father only had one shotgun left, they weren't keeping the cabinet.

My husband wanted it. We have few more guns and he was more than happy to keep my father's shotgun safe. However, the front panel was clear glass and the size of the cabinet made it tricky to place in the house. There was only one room it would fit in--my living room.

Despite my husband's desire to be NRA and proud of his guns, I do not decorate my living room to Guns and Ammo taste. So, it was time to be inventive.

For years, my mother had wanted to give the cabinet the stained glass effect. You can paint the glass with lead lines and special paint and TADAAA! You have a beautiful decorated cabinet that women would be willing to display. So, we moved the cabinet to the garage and went to work.

A couple of hours were spent searching and drawing the design. It cost me about $30 in Gallery Glass paint. My mother and I spent 3 days painting.
















The result was perfect. My husband likes it so much, he is willing to go the extra mile and install cabinet lighting to glow from the inside and highlight the glass.

I love looking at and knowing that I helped create it's final look. It gave me the confidence to tackle my next project. I found a functioning piano for $75. The piano cabinet is very sad. Someone cut the piano legs to clear a corner and then tried to glue them back in. It's dented and dinged and pieces were not fitting nicely. So, with my husband's extraordinary carpentry skills, I'm restoring a 1920's piano. I'll share my new project when I've completed it.