My Dream Date: Trespassing.

Okay, so actually there wasn't any sign, so we weren't technically trespassing.  

No sign, is a good sign right? 

It was a great opportunity to try out our new camera.

Don't worry, we didn't go in.  

I may be a trespasser, but I'm not stupid.

So eerie and creepy.  It really makes me wonder what happened here.  It was probably something mundane and stupid, like bankruptcy and vandals, but I could easily imagine something tragic and perhaps a little mysterious and supernatural.  

 I knew you were all just dying to see inside.

 It was a bit anticlimactic and disappointing, and yet, proved mysterious after all.

And definitely creepy.

Mystery of the foul smell: solved.

Luckily I had my husband there to protect me.  Isn't he such a hottie?

Church Mice

Once upon a time, there was an old lady whose job it was to clean the whole church. One day, as she was working, she  came to one room that was particularly messy.

"Oh my!" she said. "This room is so messy, and I'm already so tired, I just don't think I can face this one right now. Perhaps I'll come back later," and she closed the door to go work on other things.
Meanwhile, some little mice who had been hiding in the closet said to each other, "That nice old lady is always cleaning and working so hard to make this place look nice. We should do something special for her.  Hey, I know! Let's surprise her by cleaning this room for her.  That will make her so happy! She'll be so surprised!" With that, the mice began cleaning as fast as they could.


Soon after that, the little old lady came back.  She opened the door slowly with a few jiggles of the handle (because the church was getting so old and the handle didn't always work properly) and when the mice heard her, they ran back into the closet and hid.
"Hmm, maybe this room isn't as messy as I remember," she said, "but it's still too messy to face right now."  She looked around listing all the things that needed to be done, but it was still too overwhelming. "Oh dear, I still don't think I can face it yet. Maybe I'll save it for last," and with that she left the room and closed the door behind her.


Once the coast was clear, the mice came out, and began cleaning again, paying special attention to all the things they had heard the lady mention.  They worked quickly and quietly.
A little while later, the old lady came back --once again struggling with the door, and the mice had just enough time to hide again before she came in.  This time the lady definitely noticed a difference in the room.

"My goodness!" she exclaimed. "Something strange is going on.  I'm sure it was dirtier than this when I was in here before. Maybe I'm going crazy, but I wonder what will happen if I leave it just a little bit longer..."  She noted out loud the few things that still needed to be done, and tried to remember them just to make sure she wasn't imagining things, and then she slowly backed out of the room and closed the door.


The mice warily came out of hiding.  They giggled to themselves to think that the lady didn't know it was them. They finished tidying up, until the room was spotless with nothing on the floor and everything in its place.  There were a few things that didn't belong in the room, but belonged elsewhere in the church, and the mice quietly opened the door and set those things in the hallway. However, when they went to close that stubborn old door, "BAM!" it slammed shut and made a terribly loud noise.  The mice squeaked in fright and hid in the closet again.


The old lady who had heard the noise came to investigate.
"What on earth was that noise?" She said to herself as she opened the door.  "Oh!" she exclaimed, dropping her dust rag in surprise.  "What's going on? Who has been cleaning in here?" She looked around in disbelief.  "Perhaps it's magic?  No... there's something here, in the dust... mice footprints!  It was mice who cleaned this room for me.  How kind!  I will do something to let them know how grateful I am."  And she quickly left the room.

The mice crept out of hiding, and found the dust rag lying there.  They decided to use it, for good measure, and just as they finished up they noticed that the old lady hadn't closed the door behind her, but in fact she was peeking in at them with a kind smile on her face.  They squeaked and quickly ran and hid, but she didn't chase them.  She quietly walked into the room and gently set something down saying softly, "Thank you little church mice!"  Then she turned and left, closing the door behind her.
When the mice finally dared to come out, they found a plate full of wonderful treats, perfectly fit for some helpful little mice.

THE END

This is a game we played as children with my mother or older sister playing the part of the old lady, and we got to be the mice. Why a church, and why mice? I have no idea. I'm not sure where the story came from, it may or may not be original, but I've definitely taken liberties with it as I've written it down here.  After all, it was a little different every time we played (i.e. sometimes the lady left a vacuum instead of a dust rag, or both).  Anyway, I have fond memories of this game. I recently introduced it to my own children and it's been a hit!  I told them the story, and then the first time I had their dad do it with them as a mouse to show them how it's done (they are 4 and 2 after all), but since then they've shown themselves capable of cleaning their own room all by themselves!

Of course, as with all cleaning tricks and games, the novelty will soon wear off; but if it works for even a little while it's worth it right?  I'll take whatever I can get.

I'll post other ideas to make chores fun as we try them.

Do you have any other fun cleaning ideas?

Progress

Not bad for a phone camera eh? Still, a new one is on its way. Yay!

Do you ever have those times when your life feels like you're walking up a 'down' escalator?  Or that for every two steps you take, you slide backwards one?

We went to the sand dunes for a small family outing.  It was fun, but man those last three yards to the top were about the end of me.  It was super steep, and with every step there was a mini avalanche that would bury my feet and shoes and I'd find myself standing just about where I started.  If I hadn't had the baby strapped to my front, I probably would have tried crawling on all fours.

Luckily, my wonderful husband (after already pretty much carrying the two boys to the top) was there to hold my hand and support me as we struggled together to the top. He didn't just cheer from above, or even just reach down and pull me up to join him.  He was right there next to me helping me, as he struggled to keep his footing as well, and together we made it.

Since our third child has joined us and I've been dealing with health issues, as well as possible post-baby emotional issues, life has felt like an uphill struggle.  Whether it's housework, or callings, or lifestyle changes, or keeping up with three kids ages four and under... my life often appears as an impossibly steep mountain that threatens to bury me with each step.
Luckily, I don't have to do it all by myself.
I've been so blessed to have a wonderful husband who isn't above helping me with what some may see as "my job."

He could come home from work and say, "Well, I've done my job, time to relax!" and scorn me for not doing my job very well because the house is messy or dinner's not ready right when he comes home.  Or he could see me floundering and piously think, "If we could only trade jobs for a day, I'd show her how it's done..." and maybe blitz the house for good measure to make it look clean (getting angry when it doesn't stay that way for very long) all the while acting like a martyr.

No, I am proud to say my husband is truly amazing. He is right there in the trenches with me.  He cleans, does laundry, gets up with the children and feeds them breakfast so I can sleep in, watches them so I can go grocery shopping alone, and he even reads them scriptures and puts them down at night.  (Sheesh, this is making me feel a little inadequate.  Just to be fair, I am usually feeding the baby at those times, and I'm the one getting up in the night with the kids).  He has even come to grips with his original misconceptions that once something is cleaned it will stay that way forever, and learned that 'my job' is an unending one.

I would feel really inadequate if I thought he did all those things better than I do, but he's so thoughtful and considerate of my feelings that he occasionally makes mistakes, like breaking dishes and setting stains and putting the kids in mismatched (if not each other's) clothes, just to make me feel better.  :)

Someday, I'll get back on top of things, and be able to help him be the amazing English professor that he dreams of being.  However, I'm so glad that he chooses to put his family first.  --and to all those students waiting for their unit one papers...  just be patient, he's a lot more lenient when he feels like he's neglected you, so no more whining.

Hey you.  Happy 6th anniversary.

What I would do if I had 5 hours to myself, ...and the house was already clean:

... oh yeah, and I had gotten a full night's sleep. (Is that too much to ask?)

(stipulations include things like, no use of technological devices except maybe  for "how to"s and recipes (--aka no social stuff or blog browsing), this is all stuff I could do without having to leave the house (except for the DI run) --we're just assuming that I already have all the ingredients/materials on hand, and finally that I am not allowed to feel any guilt about neglecting my family.

What I should do:

-Cook freezer meals for the next two weeks.
-File the important documents into a easy to carry folder to be put near our 72 hour kits.
-Assemble 72 hour kits.
-Sort the kid's 'too-small' clothes into boxes for storage (and actually put them in storage, not a heaping pile of boxes in my room).
-Make homemade laundry detergent and homemade baby wipes.
-Organize the closets/garage/drawers and make a DI run.
-Make a quiet-activity bag to keep my kids happy at church/on Sundays/during quiet time.
-Make more lists and plans.

What I would like to do:

-Play the piano, perhaps make another CD for my parents.
-Write in my journal.
-Read a book from beginning to end.
-Soak in a hot bath, give myself a facial, cucumbers and all, and top it off with a pedicure and perhaps a manicure as well.
-Try something new, like painting with watercolors, or making jewelry or something.
-Get crafty, and try a bunch of things I've seen on pinterest.

What I would do if I ever followed through with my good intentions:

-Write thank you notes to people.
-Email each of my siblings separately -not a form letter.
-Print out pictures of my family and frame them to hang on the wall (and to give copies to the grandparents).
-Make birthday cards for all my extended family for the rest of the year (and actually mail them)


Okay, so if I thought about it long enough, I could probably come up with more amazing things, but I can't, so there you have it.

Gosh I'm boring.

By the way, we lost our camera, so no picture today (we won't mention the fact that I could use an old photo from my computer... I'm feeling lazy).    Luckily our tax return will furnish us with a new one, and I am super excited. More about that later.

Music

My taste in music is hard to explain.  It usually depends on what mood I'm in actually.  I've got pretty eclectic tastes, but not when you compare it to my husband's.  I can speak in generalities, such as, I don't like rap (if you can even consider that music), heavy metal makes me feel sick, hard rock isn't really my thing, and I'm not really into the twangy kind of country music that uses that one instrument that's like a  slidey horizontal guitar (I know, so technical).  I guess I'm not as eclectic as I thought.  I like classical music (actually I'm more of a Romantic period type), and I'm afraid to admit that I like a lot of oldies, including 80's music, and even new age (like Enya) --but only when I'm really in the mood for it, and while we're confessing things ...I have a disney heroin / broadway favorites sing-along mix I made for when I feel like belting it out in the car ...on my own ...with the windows up.

I'm sure you wanted to know that, but don't you agree that different music is good for different things?  Like U2 is good for car trips through the desert in the Summer, and Enya is good for ...soaking in the tub on a rainy day (okay, so I just made that up), and Jack Johnson is great for home video montages.  But I digress.

Still, most of my listening habits consist of acoustic stuff, folk, indie rock, blue grass, etc... and I'm pretty non-committal when it comes to naming groups because it's not very often that I like all their music.  I'm also bad at paying attention to and remembering what is what.  There are so many great songs and groups I couldn't possibly mention them all here (the more I think about it, the more I realize this would be a very long post if I did), and still there's plenty that I haven't even discovered yet!

Okay, so basically, if you want to know what kind of music I like, you'd have to let me listen to something and ask me if I like it.  Of course, it might all depend on what mood I'm in.  Picky?  Yes.  However, if you don't ask me, I probably won't notice or care anyway, and that's a good thing.  Very rarely do I ask my husband to turn off something, so if I don't say something, generally speaking, I like it.  Confused yet?  Never mind.

So why am I rambling on about this?  Well it's really all because I wanted to share a new group I just discovered with you. I am always mesmerized by their videos, in fact, I think that's their thing --a new medium called VideoSongs, and I highly recommend them. They make me smile. The only problem with this group is that their songs get stuck in your head really easily.

Favorites are:

Little Things,
Makin' Out,
Another Day,
Mr. Sandman,
Bust Your Kneecaps,
If You Think You Need Some Lovin',





I also realize that I'm not usually a big fan of female vocals, but this girl is an exception.

The Poor Man's Bumbo

Feelin' Crafty: 'Tale of Two Toys' cloth book

So, this is one of those posts to make me feel better about myself, even if it was a long time ago that I did this, I thought I'd share it here.

One (kind of) finished product, and two un-bound pages.

My husband and I like to give handmade gifts for Christmas, and two years ago we were giving gifts to his brother's family who has two boys close to the same age as our own, and so I thought I'd double up on the project.

I had the idea of making cloth books when I came across this printable (and washable) fabric.  So many awesome ideas ran through my head.  The one that stuck with me was to take pictures of the toys that I was giving as gifts to the boys and put them together in an adventure story. Then the kids could read it together with their toys and perhaps it would excite their imaginations.  I also wanted to personalize it, so I gave the end a twist to include the boys.

Here's the story: (I had the text on the pictures, but I guess I didn't save that version, so you just get the raw stuff.)

Once upon a time there were two toys who ran away from the store to explore the world outside.

They went to the park to play on the swings,

and the slides.

Sometimes they went to the zoo,

to see the animals.

They often climbed trees,

and watched the beautiful sunsets.

They also made friends

with different animals.

Soon, all the leaves fell off the trees, so the toys made a big pile to play in.

One day it snowed.  The toys decided they needed a home.

Then they had a great idea! They got in special boxes and send themselves to two little boys they had heard of who would take care of them and love them. That way, they could always be together.

THE END

I had a lot of fun taking the pictures for these, and I'm sure we got a lot of weird looks, and you have no idea how much lunch meat I fed to the neighbors cat to get him to sit still close to the toys!   We actually lost one of the toys to a dog in the park who decided it was a play thing, and had to go back to the store to replace it.  We were lucky to get an early snowfall so I could finish the book in time, however, when I did the layout I found that I was short one picture.  I'm sure you can figure out which one was photoshopped -horribly I might add- but the kids don't seem to mind.

I wanted to take pictures of things the boys could relate to --things that they did often, and could even bring their toys along to do as well.  The last picture I did differently for each family, and I'm afraid I didn't have the pictures of my own kids to personalize it for them, but it turned out really cute for their cousins, and apparently they really liked seeing themselves in a book.

All I had to do was print the pictures out on my regular ink jet color printer (the instructions are on the fabric), iron them to set the ink, and sew it all together.

The hardest thing for me was actually the sewing it together--since I really don't sew, and luckily two of my wonderfully talented sister-in-laws helped me with that part.  Still, my design for the cover could have been better.  Maybe next time I'll figure it out.

Over all, it was an easy yet somewhat time consuming project --since it spanned over at least a few months, but it didn't really have to.
And did the kids really appreciate it?  Kind of, but it hasn't been until recently (two years later) that they've really taken much interest.  Maybe they were just too young before, but now they've been asking me to read it to them more often. If nothing else, it's fun for me to read because it serves as a reminder of good times and I have fond memories associated with it.

Favorite pictures: The awesome sunset we were lucky to catch, and the giraffes at the zoo.

New Year's Resolution: Getting Things In Line

I saw these clouds all lined up while driving through Idaho and had to take a picture.  Cool huh? 

I generally hate the word Goal. I actually don't believe in goals, because my experience with them has been such that in my mind the word has become synonymous with failure.  Goals are just something to eventually give up on.

Sounds really motivating huh?

I'm sorry, but I guess I'm easily discouraged, and so when I make a goal and things don't go as planned, it might as well have been a distant wish, and once the merest hint of failure creeps in, the goal inevitably and magnificently falls by the wayside.

So generally, the New Year holds no special meaning for me.  I'd rather not set myself up for such disappointment, so I generally don't set goals.  However,  this year I'm trying to look at it in a different way.

I don't know if I mentioned this, but last month I turned 30.  Yes, the big 3-0.  Actually I don't care that I'm getting older, the number is meaningless,  I am only a little saddened by the fact that I've felt 30 since I had my first child.  With that first pregnancy, I gained a lot of weight, and afterwards it didn't come off.  After my son was about 9 months old, and sleeping through the night --even sleeping in until 9 a.m., I was still so tired I found that it was all I could do to get up with him and lie on the floor next to him while he played.  I didn't think that was normal, but attributed it all to the weight, which I blamed completely on myself for having a lack of self control or something, and basically I was miserable and depressed. Isn't that so typical?
Anyway, shortly after that, I went to a doctor for a recurring cold, and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.  Yada yada long story short, after two more kids and periods of almost feeling good enough to almost try and exercise, (and yes, I am being redundant on purpose) I've decided that the time has come for me to try something new.  Yes, I went to a new doctor, and yes I changed my meds, and perhaps he'll have one or two more things to have me change or take or do differently, but this is more than that.

Now this isn't your typical new year's resolution to lose weight, nor is it even a goal to stay off sugar for a year or something ridiculous like that.  This is a desperate, hit-rock-bottom-can't-go-on-like-this mid-course correction.

It involves not just focusing on my physical health, but getting my mental health and spiritual health in line as well.

You see, I am a pretty good mom (if I do say so myself).
I am an okay wife I think.  I take care of my husband pretty well.
However, I am a horrible self. I do not take care of me.  When I do, I feel selfish.  (The only thing that I do for myself is steal sleep, because when I'm sleeping, I generally don't feel the guilt... I guess. Oh, and blog occasionally, but I do feel guilty about that.)  My husband has so graciously given me a "day off" every other week or so, which consists of a few hours without the kids to get out and do whatever I want to do.  My last "day off" I spent getting the oil changed in our van. Does that tell you something about me?
Half the time I don't even realize that I'm doing it --shoving my wants and needs and interests aside not taking the time for things that would help me be happy, or feel good about myself, or to become better; and even if I do realize it, frankly, I just don't believe I have time for it (I have to admit I have never wanted to walk out of a relief society meeting more than when I went to a workshop about time management).  Of course, what results is me rushing around frantically, trying to get everything done, trying to be everything to everybody, and all-the-while resenting it, feeling picked on, or rather, like a martyr, hoping that someone will appreciate the sacrifice I'm making... and ultimately failing.  Oh yeah, and I try to make myself feel better by sneaking chocolate, among other things.
It's an unhappy existence to say the least, not to mention counterproductive.

I believe that if I could turn this around, I could be an awesome mom, and an amazing wife -- but I'm not going to strive for awesomeness; that's what I've been doing.  I'm not going to aspire to be amazing; I always fail.

This year, I'm going to focus on me.

I may feel like I'm a horrible mom, I may feel like I'm not taking care of my husband, (but I suspect that it will be good for them in some ways, and honestly, they will be taken care of. I'm not heading off on a year long vacation or anything).
But I'm not going to feel guilty about spending time on myself --whether it means saying no to sharing the shower with rambunctious toddlers just to save time, or perhaps splurging on some real running shoes so exercise doesn't have to be any more painful than it already is, and maybe I'll even get my hair cut more than once per year --and actually take the time to do it instead of twisting it up in a soggy mass with a clippy, hoping that it will somehow dry on its own and thinking that it doesn't look too bad.

Okay, it will take some time, but I will find better examples of how to take time for myself.

Not all of the "focus on me" kinds of things will be indulgent of course.  Some will be less comfortable.  For example, I will be making some minor changes in my eating and exercising habits, but ones that fit me, and feel natural.  Yes, I plan to make a habit of counting calories sparkpeople style, but I am also making it a personal goal to eat sugar every day (now that's my kind of measurable and attainable goal, ha!).  Ultimately, its not about being skinny, or looking better; it's about being healthy, and having energy, and enjoying life for once!

As far as the spiritual side of my plan goes, it can't just be a "goal" in the measurable and attainable sense of the word.  That is too finite --meaning with a beginning and an end; however, there is no end to spiritual growth, and spirituality is not measurable.  So like my "To Do"  v.s. "To Be," I am not making a goal, I am making a decision, a commitment; to be more concerned about spiritual things, to be a better disciple, to be more Christlike in my communications, be more faithful, patient, charitable, loving and kind... and if I want to be less vague, rather than list all the things I would have "to do" to achieve this, all I need is to think at any given moment, "Who am I?" the answer being things such as, "A person who... reads their scriptures, or ...does their visiting teaching, or ...is patient, or ...shows gratitude to heavenly father for their talents by practicing and blessing other people's lives with them...  etc." and making sure my actions are lining up with who I want to be, and who God wants me to be.

Over all, I'm going to work on being the best me I can be, and I think all the other things will fall in line.

Wish me luck.

S.A.N.T.A.

So, does anyone else have a problem lying to their children about the whole Santa thing?

I mean, I love the innocence of youth that allows for kids to believe in something magical, and obviously I believed in Santa as a kid and turned out okay...I think.  Actually by the time I was told the truth, I wasn't too surprised, although I could imagine some kids being heartbroken and feeling completely betrayed...

Seriously though, why do we do it anyway? Does it really convince kids to be good, or change their behavior to tell them that if they're naughty they're not getting anything for Christmas?  Um, yeah right.


Gee, all those poor kids sure must've been naughty... 


Now, I'm not saying that anyone who teaches their kids about Santa is wrong, but I am having a personal dilemma with it.  I have to admit that not only am I a horrible liar --no pokerface whatsoever -- but I feel super guilty and weird telling my kids about a strange bearded man in a fuzzy red jumpsuit who somehow comes down the chimney to give them toys...for whatever reason (obviously not for being complete angels though).  Honestly, the first time I tried telling them I think they were more alarmed than anything.  At least we have a chimney this time so I don't have to field those kind of questions.  I couldn't bring myself to even approach the whole reindeer thing though.

I suppose there's something to be said for tradition, and it just being a part of childhood, but still... I don't need one more thing to undermine my credibility with my kids.

Remember how Mom lied to us about that whole Santa/Easter Bunny/Tooth Fairy thing?  Maybe she was lying about the whole God thing (or drugs/alcohol thing) too...


Yikes!!

Okay, so maybe I'm blowing it our of proportion, and honestly, I'll most likely keep on telling my kids about Santa et al.  However, I'm still going to try to be careful not to get too into it, or try super hard to convince them of anything.  And when they do figure it out, I'll make sure to let them know not to go blabbing it to all their friends and ruin the "fun" (since lying is fun you know).

So far, I've only told them that Santa is a really nice guy who gives presents to everybody because that is what Jesus would do if He were here.  They already know that Christmas is Jesus's Birthday, and since we can't give presents to Him we give them to other people, because when we do things to other people it's like doing things to Him.

Oh yeah, and when we go to Grandma's house for the holidays, we will be sure to tell Santa that we're going to be there so he can find us --the kids were worried.

I'm such a liar.

I think I'll end with a few of my silly attempts at an acronym for Santa. Pick your favorite.

S.A.N.T.A. 

Sweets
And
Nice
Toys for
All

Singlehanded

Act of

Nationwide

Toy

Allocation

Sublime
And
Nostalgic,
Truth is
Ambivalent

Standard
Anecdote;
Negotiable
Truths
Abound

Subterfugitive    

Anomaly

Notorious in 

Traditional

Allegories

Shortage

There's been a shortage of cuteness here on my blog.  So here you go.

6th percentile for height.  4 mos.  

Get it?  Short + Age!  ha ha.  

ok so that was pretty lame.

Actually, he was just being stubborn about stretching out to be measured (he's a strong baby!), but I think we finally got it up to 25% on our 2nd try.  

FYI, 70th percentile for weight and 89th for head circumference! 

Yeah, we make 'em big around here (especially their heads... check out this melon --97th percentile!), 

2 2/3 yrs

but they're still so darn cute! (If I do say so myself) ...and funny, and smart...

4 1/2 yrs

Not to mention extremely talented.

Now we've just got to work on photogenics.  The older two are into the phase where they give me goofy smiles any time I get the camera out.  And yes, bed head is apparently all the rage around here. I even sport it on occasion (but no, you don't get a picture of that... that would counteract all the cuteness.)