Holiday Confusion

I know its Halloween, but I have Christmas on the brain.
What will produce the most glees on Christmas morning, with the least amount of cash.
What do I want?
What am I going to buy, for everyone?  My brain is a buzz.
What will my husband choose?

Body Temp

I was recently reminded that my daughter always felt hot as an infant even though her temperature was normal.  We were constantly stripping her down, because she would be overly warm, red and fussy.  Once she was down to a onesie she would calm down.
What reminded me of this you may ask?
The fact that she does not like fleece jammies, she wants just lightweight pjs (long sleeves and pants are required).  She is happier when her heating vent is closed.  She does not like sleeping with a blanket, she only wants her sheet on.  She would rather carry her coat then wear it.  She runs hot, and has no desire to be dressed warmly just because it is the conventional norm. She constantly complaining its too hot mommy, in the car or with a coat on.  Yet, she can't stand using the bathroom since the season changed.  "No, cold potty mommy."

Snow Day

School was delayed this morning, which means AM kindergarten was canceled. When my wee one woke up I showed her the snow, she said, "Oh Hoshy want to make a snowman."  She was right, unfortunately the snow was about as dry as anything.  

But look I went outside and played with them! Which was good because Pinky up there, lost her boot, and somehow slipped outside without socks.  Photo-documentation I was outside in the snow.  Unfortunately if I'm outside, there is no one to take our picture. 

Look isn't my child gorgeous?  Maybe that isn't a very masculine adjective, but that's just because most men aren't gorgeous, my son on the other hand....  Seriously made bank when he was born, because he is also a super genius.  

 P.S. He was amazed to find his dad's all out hat in the hat box this morning, he thought it was awesome.  The hat not so awesome, but my son looked awesome in it.

Sick Child

My daughter vomited on Monday.  It was awesome, right after three girls showed up for Joyschool.  My children love vomiting on me, so luckily its easy to clean up.  Thankfully she stopped by 5 pm.  Which meant, life could go on by Tuesday evening. But look how cute she was. She looked like a really big baby, although I guess just a long baby, since she is only like 22 lbs, and I know babies that are that big.

Its now late Wednesday and no one else is sick.  Yippy!

Butterfly, scratch that, Robot Butterfly?

Here is my butterfly.  She decided she wanted to be a butterfly for Halloween, when her brother and I first started talking about it.  I couldn't think of a better costume for her this year.  She has stuck with it.  Once when she first saw my Trick or Treat pillow, she wanted to be a princess, but I told her she was a butterfly princess and she was cool with that.  Last week was her Halloween Party at joyschool.  It was changed days and I missed it! because of the Kindergarten field trip.  I was so sad I cried, then I made my husband go, with the four other moms. (HA!)  Two days ago she declared she wanted to be a pink robot butterfly.  What does that mean?  How could I not appease this cute girl? So assuming I don't started vomiting, which is very likely considering how many times she vomited on me today, I'm try to figure out how to transform a butterfly to a robot butterfly.

Any ideas?

Great thing about this costume, FREE! Grammy bought the butterfly dress up, last year for her, not for halloween.  Then I spent a buck or so on the headband, but the antennaes I made with pipe cleaners we already had, and material that we already had. Oh, wait! not so free, I spent $10 on the sweatshirt.  :( sad day.
But back to pink butterfly robot.  IDEAS, now! Go!

Cowboys

Everyone under 4 feet tall has cowboy boots in the house, so I can't figure out why they didn't want to go as a cowboy and cowgirl?  We would get a different shirt apparel.  We could even go with a jean skirt.

 Although I think those are great pink cowgirl jeans. (Sure she lost her diaper butt filling up the pants, but still.) K, so Halloween only comes once a year, can't waste it on ideas that aren't yours, but why doesn't anyone want to play cowboys and Indians? 

 Its like Woody found out, its all about space, and robots.

There is always next year... even though she has been wearing those boots for a year, she still has at least another year before they fit.

A Great Work

I've been studying Teaching, No Great Call:  A Resource Guide for Gospel Teaching, in an attempt to endure the sunbeams.
My favorite thing in the manual so far was a quote from Elder Faust,

The Lord has a great work for each of us to do. You may wonder

how this can be.  You may feel that there is nothing special

or superior about you or your ability….

The Lord can do remarkable miracles with a person of ordinary

ability who is humble, faithful, and diligent in serving the Lord

and seeks to improve himself.  This is because God is the

ultimate source of power.

It gives me courage with my sunbeams.  I know at different months I have loved my job of teaching three year olds, but now I think it might be the end of me.  It wears me like nothing else in life has.  Every week I wonder if I can ever return.  At this point I think maybe I can endure until the end of the year.  Yesterday in a full on panic attack, I decided to count weeks, I only have 8 more lessons.  I can survive. Hopefully... You may wonder what happened in the last few months?  Two families moved in with three year old girls. Between those two girls, a deaf child, and five other three years old, I am becoming like an old crusty rubber band, ready to crack and break at any second.
(Actually I think all of them have turned four by now.)
But I guess the Lord has a great work for me to do, even though I have no great ability and I have no training as a behavioral specialist. The other thing I try to remember, is the great work might not be apparent to my mortal eyes.

Also in attempt for some deep spiritual mediation to prep myself for today..  I read Jean A Stevens talk from April 2011 Conference, titled Become as a Little Child.
This quote spoke to me.

“… we cannot see our Heavenly Father, but we can listen for His

 voice to give us the strength we need to endure the challenges of life. 

See if I listen for his voice, I can endure the next 8 weeks, especially if that is the plan the Lord has for me.

Wall-E Part-E

Its never too early to plan your birthday party right?
Four months in advance and we are discussing how awesome, our Wall-E Part-E is going to be.
Its never too early to plan your 6th birthday party, you only turn 6 once, don't ya know?!
Of course now that he is 5, he wants a Pinata.  Which is hard to find a Wall-E Pinata.
http://www.thetoyhunt.com/ag1paa2435.html
As the mom I'm thinking about cake alternatives, because they could be so fun, and he doesn't like cake much, it would be nice to have dessert left overs he likes.  In come, Oreo Pops
http://hiphiphoorayblog.com/2011/05/diy-pops/
http://gracessweetlife.com/2010/04/visit-to-the-chocolatier-oreo-chocolate-cookie-pops/
maybe with this in the center of the oreo pops
http://www.birthdaydirect.com/wall-centerpiece-p-15529.html
Because I do love a good presentation.  I'll try to be simple, chocolate with yellow sprinkles it is wall-e's colors.
Quote from the boy, "Chocolate is my favorite sugar."  At least we are making progress and he didn't say chocolate is my favorite cavity.  Although I guess he is being realistic.
Then he wanted to know what games we could play. So of course we googled it, (sorry, Swag bucks, you are lame).
So here our game ideas so far
"Give the party goers some boxes, and aluminum foil, and let them build a bot." http://kidsfunreviewed.com/plan-an-inner-galactic-wall-e-space-party/
That site led us to wall-e coloring pages.  My kid has never liked coloring, until his kindergarten teacher told him he had to. http://www.wall-e-coloring-pages.blogspot.com/
We liked the Wall-E trash toss and spaghetti marshmallow building, on this site: http://sunshineandroses.wordpress.com/2009/01/18/our-wall-e-birthday-party/
This girl made wall-e bingo http://lindseyandtheboys.blogspot.com/2008/11/wall-e-birthday-party.html
Which some how in the middle of her paragraphs J said, wall-e bingo I want wall-e bingo.
Why plan more that, that would wear me out, maybe watch the burn-e short in the extras of wall-e dvd.
I love watching a movie for the last 15 minutes of the party.

Nevermind the birthday two months before him.  I already bought butterfly wings at the dollar store for all the little girls we'll invite to that one.  I just couldn't pass up the ability to have a butterfly party for my butterfly princess.  She wanted hello kitty, but she seems to have forgotten, I'm sure ask the following year or so.

Emerging Literacy

My sister has a PhD in educational psychology, so now I know fancy phrases like emerging literacy that I would never know otherwise.
I'm so proud of my daughter's latest emerging literacy step. She is "reading" her favorite books.  Well she has been "reading" since she was a baby.  But now she will retell the story to me in her own words, trying to use the phrases of the author.  This morning she "read" me The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Tonight she read Monkey and Me along side me.

I re-found Monkey and Me in the bookcase today, and knew it would be perfect for her, she loves to play with her sock puppet.  Moral of the story (I mean the blog post) I'm really am proud of her latest step of "reading" the authors' words.

Les

For years whenever my sister gives me a card with out a stamp or address on the front she writes "Les is More"  instead of my name. By the way she usually just calls me Les or L. Les is More, has been floating around in my head lately, ALL THE TIME actually.  Its the new motto for my house, I'm like in serious de-junking mode.  We have only owned this house for 6 months we should NOT have so much stuff!  At the same time, throwing things away is hardly easy for me. Where is Teresa when I need her.  Plus I use amazing amount of things. So I'm not at the point, I'm getting rid of things I use because we have so much stuff. I haven't actually yet, I just want to.  I want my husband's help, its so easy to throw things away with his encouragement.
I'm feeling guilty though, my son has caught me a few times lately throwing his papers away.  BUT GOODNESS SAKES he has a lot of papers! I wish I was one of those people who always had clean fridge doors and clean junk drawers, and key drops.  But what do you other moms do with all the fliers from school?!  We have so many events all the time, and if I don't keep the papers on the fridge I forget.  Unfortunately our clean steel fridge is magnetic, I'm lost with a magnetic fridge, if I only had a fridge that didn't hold magnets.
My husband can't wait for the day we don't have sippy cups anymore, especially the lids.  (We are no where near we plan on having more kids.)  While I just can't wait for the day people clean up jam the spill on the counter.  I'm pretty sure my husband's dream day is coming sooner.

Support Group

I need a "I don't coupon" support group.  Ever few months I let someone convince me I should be couponing, then I end up spending more money at the grocery store.  Anyone want to join my support group?

Dental Update

I appreciate all your loving concern, and you're wiliness to commiserate with me. So here is the rest of the story.
I switched to an electronic tooth brush, just the cheap kind.  The dentist said even a $5 spiderman electric tooth brush would be better.  So I bought an $8 adult sized electric toothbrush.
I also switched floss.  I floss everyday, but for the past few years some hygienists don't seem to believe me.  Well this time, instead of looking at me like I was lying, (which I know some people do lie to their dental works, I worked at an orthodontic before, but I'm not!) she asked what type of floss I use. I told her glide. She said oh that is terrible at picking up plaque its too slippery.  She said she gave me a sample of the the gray boxed glide and told me to switch to that instead, its better.  I said, well I don't care about using glide, its my husband with the tight teeth.  I use to use unwaxed before I got too lazy to buy two different types. She said great, unwaxed is the best because it actually grips the plaque instead of sliding off.  She recommended Reach, with fluoride gum care. So I got some of that too, I opened the box and realized hey this is what I used as a teenager before I switched to unwaxed.  Anyway, its thick but it doesn't bother me.
Lastly my husband and I bought need to buy mouth-guards.  We have decided to try to the $20 ones at the store, before having the dentist make them.  What do we have to lose?  $20 instead of $200.  We have a stellar Healthsavings account, where our money rolls over each year, so we never pay out of pocket for medical bills, and never lose money but we try to keep medical bills to a minimum, because our insurance leaves a big bill after we have a baby, and so we are hoping to be able to pay the $4,000 out of the healthsavings account instead of checking. (No I'm not pregnant, but one day.)  So yes, we do pay out of pocket, because the healthsavings is our money, but its at least not out of the monthly budget. We switched jobs while I was pregnant with number two, with the HMO, we were expected a few hundred dollars, when we switched to our new companies insurance, it cost over $4000, that was a shock!  We definitely didn't have that money ready for a baby.
But back to my dental work, the hygienist said, you are so young, your problems are in the beginning so they are easily fixed before they cause irreversible damage with a few changes in your oral hygiene.  So I'm all over that.  If twice as much money on a toothbrush, and different floss, and a mouthguard fixes it.  I'm so there, plus I don't have to feel all unsexy, like Date Night, because my husband will be sporting his mouthguard too.  Plus I get jaw pain from grinding and clenching, and the dentist said, with a mouth-guard the jaw pain should go a way and it would probably prevent some of my headaches.  I'm so there!

Oh one last thing. Before my dentist looked at my teeth, by the way first time there.  He said, looks like you have some dots on your face, are you monitoring them?  I said what?  All confused. I was totally lost at first.  Then I said, you mean my moles, yes, they have looked the very same since they appeared when I was a teenager.  Is this normal for my dentist to give me skin care advice?  Why did he call them dots?  I was so confused.  Is that normal Dermatologist speak?  I never seen one, I follow all the advice on watching skin spots/moles but none of my break the rules.  But seriously dots?  My face is covered in freckles, I have four small moles, and I broke on Sunday because I was mad at my husband for going hunting, I had no idea what my dentist was talking it about.  Too much information?  Probably, who else would I ask about this other than the whole internet community?

Soundtrack of the Summer

At least here, One Republic's Good Life song was on the radio a lot this summer.  It became the lead song on soundtrack of my life this summer.  I seemed like a good song about moving to a different state.
Plus it could have been a really hard summer with my husband not here for half of it, with me not knowing anyone! But instead when things are right they are right, and moving here and buying this house was right so everything worked well while he was gone.  I was filled with optimism the whole time he was gone, "this really could be a good life"  The melody easily mirrored my feelings of the mountains to the west, the trees and the plains to the east.  I love it here, I love that I have wide open spaces one direction and super tall mountains right out my door.

Not to mention he sings, "Paris to China to Colorado".  Yes, it was meant to be.
In August we went back to Utah, and I wondered why we moved, my husband could work either place, his family is there, my grandparents, plenty of free kids' activities everywhere. (Everything is expensive here.)  Why did pay our own way to move again?  Both places have mountains, and I actually know where trails are there.  Then we came back, and I had to run to the store to get food for us to eat.  I drove out of my development, and I saw the amazing vista I get to see all day long.  I remembered why I moved, because I absolutely love it here.  I spent 7 years in Utah, and pretended to try to belong all 7 years, always feeling like a fish out of water.  I feel like I've always belong here, and this has gotta be the good life, its a feeling I can't fight.

One a side note, I'm not sure vests are ever a good idea.  Notice how the come in fashion just as quick as they leave fashion.  I think its because its always a bad idea.

Old

I feel so old.  All of sudden Brent and I have dental problems, old people dental problems.  We both grind, so we will be a matching pair in our mouth guards.  Brent goes in on monday to get two permanent crowns.  Apparently I brush too hard and I'm causing my gums to recede.  When did I get old enough to have dental problems other than orthodontic work?

Conference Squares

You know what is super lame? Having family home evening without a husband.
 You know what we are so use to in this house it doesn't even make us sad anymore?
Having family home evening without a dad.  After many semesters of Monday night classes we are use to only three at family home evening.  So even though its no longer the norm, we hardly forget its not when he isn't here.  The point of this rambling is sometimes you need something low key.
Tonight was that night, but I still want a emphasize the recent conference, so I went to lds.org hoping for conference highlights for primary kids.  No such luck I guess I have to wait for the November Friend.  Instead I printed off Conference Squares, something we skipped during conference, and played Bingo, one of my children's favorite game.  Before my son could put on his m&m on the square he had to explain why each square was on the board, and what it had to do with church.  Sure I filled in some blanks that he left out.  Anyway, turned out to be a really great low key, fun, learning family home evening.  The perfect kind, although we still wish dad would have been in the fourth chair.  Nan she didn't get a bingo, because she ate the m&ms too fast, but everytime I said Family Home evening, she said then ice cream! I guess she is learning.

Weather Update

Just for an update for all y'all, our snow is long gone, its been beautiful sunny weather, since Saturday afternoon, yes the day it snowed 6 inches in our backyard.  Tomorrow, it should be back in the 70s.  I love the sunny state I live in, you know we get more sunny days of weather a year than California?  Yeah, we are just that awesome.

SNOW

We had the first snow of the season!  When Nan woke up I told her to look out the window.  She exclaimed "Mom it snowing!" She wasn't talking last winter so I had never heard her say that before.  It was very exciting. She got dress and ran out with daddy.

 They made a snowman together, then J woke up and I got him dress fast.  He got the picture by the snowman even though he didn't help make it.

He had a snow ball fight with his daddy, then after his dad went inside, he shoved our grass and fence.  At one point I looked outside, and fell over, then rolled over to make a snow angel.  I think snow might be more exciting when its your own yard.  Although pretty soon it won't be exciting, to have to shovel our own sidewalk, etc.

Have no fear its suppose to be warm in 60 degrees by monday.

Halloween Books

I love finding great Halloween Books at the library in the fall.  Here are two of our favorites this year:
The Halloween Kid
I love the underlining messages about political correct Halloween.
Halloween Kid saves us so we can all enjoy a good ol' fashion Halloween.
Not to mention it has great pictures, and I always love a book about a cowboys, that could be read with a Texan twang.

We are also loving, 

Three Little ghosties

Just because any book where everything rhymes with ghosties is super fun.  Not to mention J got us all obsessed with ghosts from last year.

In case that isn't enough fun for you, here are our favorites from last year.
I need a $100 amazon gift card.

Mansfield Park

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really did not enjoy the beginning of this book.  I only read it for the love of Jane, but slowly and unsurely  I continued.  It turns out once the play was over I really started to love the plot.  I waited with baited breath to figure out what Fanny would do, and watched excitedly as her relationship with her family members grew.  Although many will probably disagree with me, I'm not sure if I liked the ending though, part of me wished that the book was an example that people really can change.  But I guess the book was an example of parenting gone awry. I enjoyed this book and shocked to find myself really liking Fanny Price, even if she is a very different main character than Austen's more famous novel heroines.


View all my reviews

A birthday

I had a birthday earlier in the week.  I'm always glad to celebrate a birthday, because I have a 5 year old, no one wants to be 21 anymore when they have a 5 year old. Not to mention I'm not scared to get old, almost everyone (who is not a child) I know is older than me and they seem fine.  I love being married to Brent, and slowly but surely we make it farther along in our education, his career, and in affluency.

 It was a great birthday because my youngest was old enough to be jealous it wasn't hers.  I love when kids hit that magic age.  The other fun thing is my oldest is old enough to plan what he wants to buy me for a present, he was planning all month.

We bought cupcakes at Sam's.  I had planned on it for a month, but then I wondered?  Cheesecake? Or should I just make something and save my 10 bucks.  I bought cupcakes, partly because it was the plan and I hate to screw up my plans, and partly because the cheesecake was $15, and partly because I like shinny pumpkins.  It was a really good decision because Brent had to work (at home) that night (and every night for two weeks) and I ended up making orange chicken for my birthday because he told me would make it but I was hungry, and my kids up past bedtime would be no birthday present. The point being a mom knows what time dinner has to happened for bed to happen on time, and it was getting late, and I was hungry, and orange chicken comes from a box anyway.
I think I was going to tell you something else about my birthday but I can't remember?
This wasn't it, but I always feel young, because I am!  But the other day I found out a friend of mine is comparatively younger, she isn't actually younger, because she has a second grader, but when that second grader was a kindergarten she was younger.  I told her awesome and then she laughed at me.
Oh I remembered, I am super excited.  With my birthday money, I bought new black boots, because the last time I bought black boots I was a junior in high school. I also bought a purse, and I bought new lamps for my bedroom.  I love lighting, absolutely LOVE, like I can't go to a hardware store without going through the lighting aisles.  I have been searching for bedroom lamps for a month or so, and I found them the week before my birthday, then bought them the day after.  Its so awesome, I got two new lamps, so we now have one on either side of the bed.  And now the other lamp that was serving the place next to my side of the bed, is next to my husband's computer desk.  I honestly wish we had these lamps three weeks ago, because my husband has been working from home somewhere between 6:30-7 am most mornings for the last two weeks, and he didn't have a lamp to turn on, and he is great and didn't turn on the overhead light, so he had to work in the dark (while staring at a computer screen).  Poor man, but not anymore!  Although I think his working from home days should be over again.  He was filling in for someone.  Anyway, we need three lamps in our bedroom, its a big bedroom. I love it.  Oh, seriously I'm smitten with my lamps. Now to paint the room, I completely decorated my kids rooms and completely ignored mine.  But over the next few months its my turn, and I'm super excited. I have great plans in my head, and great cheap (frugal) plans.  Ahh, lamps... they are like a miracle.
I know they are, because one of the things I remember the most that an apostle of the Lord said, was when Elder Nelson said, "I pay tribute to Sister Nelson, who never murmured because she had to make do with very little. I recall an experience one night in downtown Boston. We were walking along Boylston Street. There we passed a furniture store. Sister Nelson pressed her nose against the windowpane and asked, Do you think we will ever be able to afford a lamp?" That has been a guiding principle in my 20s.  I often think about something I want for our house, but realize it doesn't matter in life, and think about poor Sister Nelson, before the world was completely globalized, before huge box stores everywhere, you buy a lamp for $15. I think of that principle almost every day, when I try to clean my stupid tiled counter top. And since I hate it so much, I think I should remind myself of this, "Seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you (JST, Matthew 6:38)"
But my husband is super awesome, our dryer has been squeaking like a banshee since before we moved, and today he fixed it. Ahh, bliss.  He also made homemade bread. Yeah, I knew I was doing 7 years ago.