The Six of Us: Stories from the Shields Family

Mitt Romney's New Ward

2012-02-01T14:12:00.002-07:00

Hilarious post from Mormonistic... had to share!

Mitt Romney’s New Ward

If Mitt Romney becomes President of the US (aka POTUS), his family will be assigned to the Washington DC 3rd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

So if you are the Bishop for the 3rd Ward, ya gotta be wondering:

1. Will you allow an inaugural ball to be held in the cultural hall? Do you mount security cameras on top of each basketball rim and have a secret service detail stationed on the stage?

2. Can you call Mitt and Ann as the Nursery leaders… even if you really feel inspired?

3. Who is going to home teach them?

4. If Harry Reid and Mitt Romney are in the same High Priest group, will they behave responsibly, or do you need to be there to keep order?

5. Exactly how will tithing settlement work? Will the Secretary of the Treasury come, too? Or would the Fed Chairman be a better choice?

6. Will you be inviting the new Romney family to speak in Sacrament Meeting… and if they go a little over, at what point do you ask them to sit down?

7. Will the Secret Service do a sweep of the building before each meeting?

8. Can you call the Secret Service agents to help out in Primary?

9. If you give Mitt a calling and the pair of token Democrats in the ward raise their hand AGAINST sustaining him - then what?!!

10. If you can’t give them a calling, and they don’t attend very often, will that mean they’re ‘inactive?’ If they’re not active, can you give them a Temple Recommend? And if you do, can they go? How will the Secret Service screen the temple?

If you’re assigned to be the Romneys’ Home or Visiting Teacher:

1. Can you just drop by when you are in the neighborhood, without an appointment?

2. Can you even call them for an appointment, or do you have to go through the Chief of Staff?

3. Can you bring by Christmas sweets and cookies? Will they be screened by the Secret Service first? If so, is this a missionary opportunity to share the gospel?

4. If you don’t come teach the Romneys regularly, can the IRS do an audit on you?

5. Will they want to do a national security background check?

6. Do you have to have a permanent teaching companion assigned who has been vetted? Can you just grab any teacher or priest to come with you? What if they are Democrats?

7. Do you have to help him move in and out of the White House?

8. If Ann Romney gets sick, are you allowed to bring in meals or at least tell the Relief Society President about it?

9. What can you share with the Bishop about the Romneys?

10. Do you have to ask them about their year’s supply?

11. If you get a late night call for a blessing, will reporters follow you around wanting to know what was wrong and what you said? And if the reporters offer remuneration in exchange for your time, does it all have to be donated or just the standard 10-percent tithe?

Weird Rumors about Mormons

2012-02-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

My boss, Elly, comes in occasionally with weird rumors she’s heard about Mormons and asks me to explain. Today’s came from a co-worker of her husband (Tom). The co-worker told Tom that Mormons believe that after you die you go through a hole in the moon to a special planet that is hidden behind the moon (that’s why astronomers don’t know it’s there). All the faithful Mormons will live together on that hidden planet. This explanation came complete with pictures of the moon used to show Tom precisely where the hole in the moon could be found. (Tom thought that it looked like just another moon crater, but didn’t like to offend his co-worker by saying so.)

I told Elly that this gentleman had obviously been attending different Sunday School classes than I had! Am I way off base here and I’ve forgotten an important element of doctrine? Or is this guy a bit of a whack-job out there giving Mormons a bad name? Yikes.

Another Quick Funny from Brekken

2012-01-23T08:20:00.002-07:00

While sitting in church yesterday, Brekken leaned over and whispered: "Mommy, when I was sitting there being all quiet, did you hear me?"

Quick Funny from Brekken

2012-01-22T09:49:00.002-07:00

Haley loves to sing the "Do-Re-Mi" song from the Sound of Music. Brekken was singing along with her this morning and insists that the lyrics are: "Re... a drop of golden thumb."

Another exciting installment in the life of the Shields family...

2012-01-20T08:56:00.002-07:00

It has been quite a week here. On Sunday morning I got up to throw something in the crockpot before church and when I pulled my bag of frozen onions out of the freezer, I noticed that they were not actually frozen. In fact, they were pretty soft. Still cold, but not at all what they should be when coming out of the freezer. We crossed our fingers that someone had left the freezer door ajar overnight, closed it up tightly in the hopes that it would all freeze up again, and headed for church. When we got home, the freezer had not miraculously recovered. So we started pulling everything out to salvage what we could. Thank goodness we have a second freezer in the laundry room! Once we'd cleaned out the freezer, we started evaluating the fridge and realized it was not so cold anymore either. So we rescued all that we could, stuffing most of it in the freezer and running some down the street to a friend's refrigerator.

Of course, now we were without a fridge, so we had to go looking for a new one. (I know it was Sunday and we're not supposed to shop, but it felt like extenuating circumstances.) We tried an appliance outlet store first, on the theory that outlet = cheaper. Not so much. The refrigerators at the outlet store were very nice and all, but the cheapest one they had was $700+. The floor salesman did eventually help us out and showed us a 3/4 size fridge (tiny) with a lot of scratch and dent damage for only $450. I had looked at Home Depot's website earlier and I was just sure we could find a better deal than that, so we told the salesman we'd be back and headed for the closest Home Depot. Sure enough, there we were able to find a full-size fridge (though without ice and water in the door - I will miss that) without scratches and dents for $450. Plus the delivery and haul-away of the old appliance were free (extra charge for that at the outlet store). We had to use the $$ we'd been saving for a trip to Utah to buy the fridge, but we felt pretty good overall. We hadn't gone into debt to buy the fridge, so we were glad we'd had the trip fund available, even if that wasn't how we'd planned to use it. The new fridge couldn't be delivered until Friday, but we just had to make it that long and then things would be back to normal. A friend from the ward loaned us a dorm-room fridge, so we could at least have milk and applesauce around for the kids. Everything was okay after all.

Then came Monday night. About 11:00, Aaron and I were watching House Hunters (as usual - we're addicted to that show) when we both heard something strange. We went to investigate and found water just pouring from water heater. It's a 60 gallon heater, so there was a LOT of water available to drain out. I frantically tried damming it up with towels as Aaron tried to shut off the water. We looked everywhere for a shut-off valve, but the owner's manual didn't show one. He called his dad for advice, but they were still unable to figure out where it was located. (WHY is the water shut off not a huge red switch?!? When it was eventually located (far too late) it was a tiny lever at the bottom of the tank - which had been hidden under the rushing water when we looked for it.) Eventually, Aaron had to shut it off at the street in order to stop the flow of water from the heater. Then he got to join me in the oh-so-fun clean up. By far the worst was the laundry room, where the water had run so deep and fast that it swirled up and into and then back out of the cats' litter boxes. I can't express how lovely it was to be trying to clean up the water (more than ankle deep at this point) with the contents of the cat boxes floating all around me. I swept and swept the water out of the back door - and feel lucky that there was at least an outside door there to send the water through. We used almost every towel in the house in the clean-up... and after the grossness of the clean-up in the laundry room, I don't know if they can ever be clean enough for regular use again. It's going to take copious amounts of hot water and bleach, I can tell you that. I don't care if they are colored towels.

The kitchen was also awash in water, as was part of the hallway. And then we discovered that the water had seeped under the wall into the kids' room... and of course, it was the wall where we had all the toys and toyboxes stacked. And the lightbulb had burned out in that room and we hadn't changed it yet. So at 3:00 in the morning, Aaron and I are in there in the dark trying to move everything away from that wall and soak up the water. We are just hurling things across to the other side of the room to get it away from that wall and hoping like anything that the water will stop before it gets to that other side of the room. (Luckily, only Brekken was in the room - the others were asleep in our room - so we just picked him up and moved him to our room and he never woke up.) We had to empty the closet where all the outgrown and to-be-grown-into clothes are stored, but luckily I keep most of them stored in plastic bags, so the water didn't get to the clothes.

It was 4:30 a.m. by the time we stumbled in to bed. And of course, Rylen then woke up and thought it would be a great time to play! But I'm glad he slept through all the excitement until then. It would have been much more difficult if we'd had to deal with kids while trying to clean up.

The insurance compancy has been great. By 9:00 the next morning, they had a team out there working on drying up all the water and mitigating the water damage. We have 5 or 6 enormous fans and a couple of huge dehumidifiers set up around the house. The heat put off by all that equipment is holding the house at a toasty 85 degrees. I'm just glad it's not any warmer outside, or the heat inside would probably be unbearable! They had to rip out our kitchen and laundry room floors to get to all the water under the flooring. They had to rip out a bunch of insulation underneath the house because it was saturated with water. But they promise they're going to fix all of that and in only 4 or 5 weeks we'll have the house back to normal.

I didn't get any shots while the house was flooded (what was I thinking? I should have pulled out the camera.) but here's what it looks like now, with my floors missing.

So at that point, we're all living in the master bedroom, because we can't have the kids out there with ripped up floors and all that equipment. We've got no running water, so we're using bottled water to drink and flush toilets, but there's no water for bathing/showering - which is really lovely after all that time wading around in the disgusting water. We're eating all take-out, because I don't really have the things I need to cook (some are now frozen, other ingredients are in Michelle's fridge, but they're not available to me) and we can't risk cooking too much and having leftovers, because leftovers won't fit in the tiny fridge.

It was Wednesday before we got a plumber out there to shut off the water to the water heater and turn it back on to the rest of the house. In retrospect, I think we got ripped off and paid too much for that... but we were just so desperate to have running water again! He also gave us a quote for a new water heater and installation... which was more than $3,000! Now Aaron and I had gone out the day before and priced water heaters and we thought we were probably looking at something like $1000. So to hear this quote? I cried. I literally sat there and cried because I just couldn't take it anymore and had no idea what we were going to do.

We sent the plumber away and then went back to Home Depot to get a comparison quote. Turns out we had not been looking at the right type of water heater, so the cost overall was more than the $1000 we'd estimated, but the Home Depot quote for installation was less than $1500. Quite a difference from the plumber's quote! (In other news, I am now encouraging all my children to be plumbers when they grow up - I think they'll make a nice living that way.) Needless to say, we went with Home Depot. Aaron's parents came to the rescue with a loan until we get our tax return (Here's hoping it's a good one, since we still need to have the van repaired, too!). Home Depot came yesterday (Thursday) and installed the water heater. I don't know if a shower has ever felt as good as the one I took yesterday afternoon!

So now we have running cold AND hot water. We'll have a regular fridge again this afternoon. All (or at least most) of the drying equipment should be picked up today, too. Other than the ripped up floors and all the contents of the laundry room and kids' room piled around the rest of the house, life may be almost back to normal soon. And hey, other than that strange arthritis in my knee, I think I'm finally over the flu!

Cake Pops

2012-01-11T06:17:00.000-07:00

My kids have seen the info-mercials for cake pops for the last year or so and have been obsessed with them. They begged me to call and order the baking pans so we could make our own, but I didn't give in.

Then one day a friend told me about this:

It's just a little appliance like a waffle maker. You spoon in some cake mix and a few minutes later, you have little cake balls. So easy. So cheap (less than $20 at Target for the cooker). And something to make the kids happy. I'm in!

They cook up nice and round.

You can make a bunch in a short time. (And if you have extras, they keep well in the freezer for a treat later.)

I made up a little plate for each kid with everything they needed to decorate some cake pops.

Eating them was even more popular than decorating!

Brekken is mad at me because I made him stop eating long enough to take a picture.

And Rylen didn't decorate any, but he sure enjoyed eating them!

More Semi than Sandra

2012-01-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

Have you ever watched Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Cooking show? The premise of it is great... she's going to show you how to combine store-bought ingredients to make it seem like a homemade meal. I love that idea... that's how I tend to cook. But to me her show just doesn't quite deliver. I mean, I don't deny that she makes some delicious-looking food. I'd love to try it! But when you're making your own sauces from scratch (those come in bottles you know) and your cooking instructions include the use of instruments such as duck snippers (I have no idea what those might be), it's missing the mark for me.

My own definition of semi-homemade is to take something from a box or a can and doctor it up until it tastes homemade.

Like my arancini... based on Rice-a-Roni instead of risotto.

And my homemade mac and cheese... which starts with boxed Kraft mac and cheese. (Prepare two boxes of mac and cheese as usual, add a can of cream of mushroom soup, a splash of milk, and a cup of shredded cheese - even better if you have a couple of varieties of cheese - put in a casserole dish and top with breadcrumbs and some shredded Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. You'd never believe it started as a box mix.)

My award winning white chicken chili (okay, so it was just a work pot-luck, but it was an award nonetheless) - canned beans, canned chicken broth, canned peppers... thrown together in a crockpot for a few hours.

The homemade pot pies my kids love... which are really just a bunch of storebought ingredients thrown together because the kids were begging for pot pies and I didn't want to go to the store and buy any. (Half a piece of refrigerated biscuit dough in the bottom of a cupcake tin, topped with a spoonful of cream of chicken soup and a scoop of frozen veggies, topped with the other half of the biscuit dough.)

I'm so much more semi-homemade than Sandra. Now if I can just convince Food Network to give me my own show...

Haunted?

2012-01-09T06:40:00.000-07:00

My mom has complained a couple of times when she's come to stay with us that our house seems to be just a little bit haunted. It's nothing too alarming, but frequently one of the many electronic toys around our house will start talking or making noises for no reason that you can see. No one is around, no cats bumped it to trigger it, it just starts on its own. It can be a little unnerving when you're alone in a quiet house and this keeps happening.

And I have to admit, it flat out gave me the creeps the other night when I wandered out to the kitchen at 3 in the morning to get a drink... in the silent house where everyone was sleeping (even the cats) I suddenly heard a toy exclaim: "Peek-a-boo! I see you!"

I may or may not have yelped and scurried back to the bedroom to cuddle up to Aaron...

Happy Birthday to Haley

2012-01-08T06:17:00.000-07:00

Haley's birthday is December 27 and we always make sure to make it a very separate celebration from Christmas. This year I took some vacation time and stayed home with her to celebrate. Preston was home, too, since the daycare Haley and Preston attend was charging holiday rates. We sent the little boys to their daycare as usual so I could take Haley and Preston out for the day.

We started off with a trip to Sweet and Sassy, where I had a Groupon for a glam makeover package for Haley. It was her own little spa day, where they gave her a manicure, fixed her hair (lots of glittery sparkle spray), did her makeup (barely there, but enough to make her very happy), and even gave her a special birthday girl tiara to wear for the day. She loved it!

From there, it was off to lunch where, thanks to her birthday tiara, they gave her a birthday sopapilla and sang happy birthday to her. She enjoyed being the center of attention.

Preston just enjoyed being along for the ride.

After lunch we went to Ceramics in the City, where the kids each picked a project to paint. They had a great time personlizing their projects and keep asking when they can go back again. (It was a lot of fun - I would love to go back again too!)

We headed home to let mom rest for a couple of hours, then it was time for birthday dinner. Haley had specifically requested Cinzetti's (yummy Italian buffet restaurant) and since it was a kids eat free night, we agreed. The lesson we learned was that you should NEVER go to Cinzettis on a kids eat free night during a school holiday week. I have never seen so many people crammed into a waiting area. We managed to squeeze inside and find a place for everyone to stand (standing room only doesn't come close to describing how crowded it was in there - and it's a really big waiting area) and I wormed my way to the front to check in for our 6:45 reservation. Parties of two (usually the fastest to get seated) were being quoted a wait time of 75 minutes. I guess it shows how good the food is that people accepted that and sat down to wait.

We waited 45 minutes past our reservation time and FINALLY got a table. Then began the dance of you sit here while I help these two fill a plate... now I'll sit while you go fill a plate for that one and that one... oh wait, now this one needs to go to the bathroom... now this one needs to go... I'll wait here while you get a plate... but now this one needs to find the bathroom... I'm going to get a plate - I guess I'll take these two with me to get their refills... What do you MEAN you're full - Daddy and I haven't even eaten anything yet!

Whew! It was exhausting! It reminded me why we don't take the children to buffet restaurants... it's just too much work. But Haley thoroughly enjoyed her birthday dinner. She opened her presents at the restaurant and was thrilled to get more pillow pets, a beautiful new Sunday dress, and the Nintendo DS she's been asking for for two years. (She didn't care in the least that it's used and several years old!) And of course, with her birthday tiara, she got a fancy birthday cake and a birthday song. (She didn't actually care for the cake that much, but I thought it was delicious!)

And next time, Aaron and I are going to Cinzettis without the kids. :)

Christmas!

2012-01-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

I thought I wouldn't like having early church (9 a.m.) on Christmas morning. But it was really very nice. We got up early enough that the kids could see what Santa brought and play with it a little, then had some breakfast and got everyone ready for church. We enjoyed a really nice Christmas program and then headed home for lunch and presents. It was nice the way that it spread things out a little... usually the kids are pushing to open presents immediately after checking out the gifts from Santa and it seems like Christmas is all over with almost as soon as it began. This year the Christmas excitement lasted a little longer and it was lovely.

Rylen looked so cute in his Sunday best.

Rylen enjoyed hanging out with Daddy on Christmas

Santa brought Preston a Transformer

Brekken got a Transformer, too.

Rylen got a new car.

Haley got a new fashion doll.

Preston and Brekken got Paper Jamz guitars and they were rocking out!

Preston and Brekken both got new airplanes that they like very much.

Haley got her very own real guitar. She is working on learning to play it and looking forward to some lessons from Grandpa Schurz!

Grandma thriftily used an old box to wrap up a present for Brekken. When he took off the wrapping paper he was so excited: "A heater! My very own heater!" Who knew he'd been wanting a heater? LOL He was happy with the present that was ACTUALLY inside as well and not too disappointed not to have his own heater.

We also added to our family of pillow pets this Christmas... bedtime now requires that we locate about a dozen much-beloved pillow pets to tuck everyone in. Not sure how I managed to not get pictures of any of those!

Christmas Train

2012-01-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

It's long delayed, but I'm finally getting around to posting pictures of our outing on the Christmas Train. I bought a Groupon for the Christmas Train in November and it was good for 3 weekends in December. Of course, I was deathly ill for the first two weekends, so the last weekend was my last chance. I didn't want to waste the Groupon and the kids really wanted to go, so in spite of the fact that Aaron had to work, I decided to take the kids to the Christmas Train.

My first clue that maybe this was a little bigger event than I realized was when we were directed to event parking before reaching the train museum. We parked in the big lot and then had to catch a bus to the museum. The kids were thrilled! A bus! A HUGE BUS! They couldn't believe how lucky they were to be able to ride the bus. I was a little less thrilled, because it meant that my plans to transport Rylen in the stroller got scratched. Plan B, pop Rylen in the Snugli carrier and off we went.

The kids got to play on various pieces of train equipment.

I could barely drag the boys away... though they were very disappointed that it was chained in place on the tracks and I could not push them around (in this enormous, heavy piece of equipment) as they requested.

They wanted a picture with all the trains to show how big they (the trains) were.

We waited in line by this train for a VERY, VERY long time before we actually boarded the Christmas train.

And finally, the highlight of the day was a trip around the tracks on the old steam train. The kids loved it... though I couldn't get a great picture of them because I had a bad angle. But they are smiling and having fun. :)

After all the exploration of the trains and the train ride, we also saw Santa. Unfortunately I was stumbling with exhaustion by then (a day long excursion with four small children is not a smart idea when you are recovering from the flu) and completely forgot to get any Santa pictures. Next year...

I've been MIA...

2012-01-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

That flu really knocked me for a loop. I was really down and out for about 2 weeks, then dragging for another week. And four weeks later I'm FINALLY almost over it. Still too easily exhausted. Still with the stuffy, snotty head, annoying cough and a voice that comes and goes. But it's better than it was.

I've gone from this handful of meds (4 times a day):

To just this:

I've also learned a nifty new phrase: Reactive Arthritis. Apparently this is where your body decides it's not bad enough to have the flu. Not enough to get strange rashes all over as a result of either the flu or the meds you're taking to combat the flu. No, let's add in a strange condition where for some reason the flu virus triggers your body to start attacking your own joints, resulting in a sudden-onset case of arthritis. In my case, most of my joints are a little sore, but my right knee for some reason is the major target. It's all swollen and sore and doesn't want to work for minor tasks like walking. Thus the ibuprofen, which does help somewhat. But hey, the good news is that it should only last 3-12 months... *sigh*

Believe me, I will NOT be late to get my flu shot next year!

Trichotillomania: The Secret to Web Traffic

2011-12-23T08:17:00.002-07:00

Apparently there are a lot of people out there who are interested in trichotillomania. A while back I wrote a post about how I think I have trichotillomania because I pull out my hair and eyebrows when I get stressed... or bored... or while watching TV or reading... or when I stop reminding myself not to do it.

Nothing groundbreaking, just kind of a quirky little habit of mine. But apparently trichotillomania is a highly searched term on Google. Ang Google is sending people to my blog post. Rarely does a day go by without my web traffic meter showing me that someone has been reading my post on trichotillomania. I posted it in March and I'm coming up on a thousand page views of that post alone. I guess that tells me I'm not the only one pulling my hair out!

It also tells me, if someone is trying to pull web traffic to their site, they need to post something about trichotillomania. :)

Quick Funny from Brekken

2011-12-23T08:03:00.001-07:00

"Mom! There's something in my boot!... Oh wait... it's my toes."

Tara and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week (and a half... or more)

2011-12-14T14:29:00.001-07:00

It's been a long couple of weeks. Two weeks ago I had a good Saturday with the kids. We did a little Christmas decorating, made some cake pops, it was fun. I felt fine. On Sunday - I still felt fine. We got up and went to church where I (as usual) ended up in nursery with Brekken and Rylen. I read the nursery kids a story, helped with snacks and felt fine. And then suddenly, I felt really, really cold. Cold enough that I found a couple of blankets in the toy closet and wrapped up in them even while others in the room were taking off their jackets and sweaters. Within 15 minutes, the other ladies in the room were volunteering to go pull my husband and kids out of class so I could go home - the flu hit just that fast.

We went home and I was so out of it that I just stumbled to the bedroom to lay down. Never noticing a thing as I walked right past our poor cat, Grace, who had died while we were at church. Poor Aaron. Grace was his cat. She loved him more than anyone, and she was definitely his favorite cat. They've been pretty inseparable since he picked her out and brought her home. She was a sweet cat and I miss her, but I know it's been much harder for Aaron. I was so sick and out of it that I was of very little help as he wrapped her up and carefully buried her and made a marker for her.

I was still so sick on Monday and Tuesday that I could barely function. I was trying to work from home and I was responding to emails as needed, but did receive a comment or two indicating that my emails were a little less coherent than they could have been. When I saw the doc on Tuesday, he confirmed that it was indeed the flu (type b to be specific) along with a small ear infection and a slight case of bronchitis. He gave me some Tamiflu, told me to stay home for a couple of days - all week if possible - and I should be okay by the weekend. I took the Tamiflu. I stayed home. (Though still working - I have no sick time and too many projects to not be working.) On Wednesday I moderated a couple of webinars from home and too much talking resulted in the lovely experience of coughing so hard that I threw up several times in the middle of a coast-to-coast call with around 20 nurses. Thank goodness I managed to hit the mute button before that little episode!

By Monday I thought I was doing well enough to go back to the office. Aaron disagreed and tried to convince me to stay home, but I had a bunch of people coming into Denver for an education session and felt like I needed to be there. I got there at 7 a.m., and by 8 a.m. my boss was sending me home again. Something about pale, sweaty, too sick to be here... Apparently it had been a bit too much, because when I got home I fell into bed and stayed there for about 6 hours before managing to get up and do a bit of work.

On Tuesday I was the recipient of a lecture about how influenza is a serious illness and it kills healthy people every year and I need to take it seriously and get more rest - blah, blah, blah... it really sunk in since here I am back in the office again on Wednesday. Where they repeatedly tried to send me home until they realized that there was no one who could fill in for me on some things that HAVE to be done today. We'll try again with the work at home tomorrow and shoot for the office on Friday. I'm sincerely hoping this no good, very bad week will come to an end soon!

Fun with Facepaints

2011-11-28T10:13:00.001-07:00

A month or so ago, we went to a fair and there was a facepainting booth. Haley LOVES to have her face painted, so she begged to go to the booth. However, when we went to check it out, there was a wait of at least 30 minutes, and the booth was charging $5 and up for the painting. Um... no. Not doing that. Especially when I looked at what she was doing and thought: "I could totally do that myself at home. I'm not paying for that!"

So we talked Haley out of the facepainting and went home, where we pretty much forgot about it. Then I saw a set of facepaints on sale and thought: "Ah-ha! A way to keep the children entertained!" I Googled a few techniques and ideas for facepainting and went for it. Not perfect by any means, but pretty decent. And more importantly, the kids (and I) had a lot of fun with it. No waiting, and lots of faces painted (and more to come, I'm sure) for less than the cost of having each kid get a cheek painted at the fair booth. Good deal!

Look Who's One!!

2011-11-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hard as it is to believe, our sweet baby Rylen turned 1 year old on November 21. I had taken the week off (since the kids were out of school all week) and Aaron took that day off, too. So we spent the whole day having fun as a family. It was wonderful!

We started the day with homemade smoothies for breakfast.


Rylen thoroughly enjoyed his!

Next came presents... which Rylen enjoyed very much as well!

We followed lunch with a trip to Up Up Jump - where they have a big bunch of inflatable jump houses, some video games, and other fun stuff for the kids. Everyone had a really good time. (Though I don't think I would pay full price to go again.)

They really liked the big slides!

Of course, Preston found a little girlfriend while we were there. It seems wherever we go, Preston finds a girlfriend. He's quite the little ladies man!

We topped off the day with a trip to Cinzettis (awesome Italian buffet restaurant). Aaron and I had been before, but it was a first for the kids. They all loved it and want to go again. In fact, Haley has already asked to go there for her birthday next month! Rylen had a chocolate souffle for his first birthday cake and LOVED it!

It was a wonderful family day... everyone together, mostly getting along, having fun. Great memories!

(Since I didn't want to make this post enormous, I only posted a few of the many photos we took. If you want to see the big bunch - I'm probably just talking to the grandparents here - you can go to the dropshots account to see the lot. www.dropshots.com/taradon)

Quick Funny from Preston

2011-11-26T18:07:00.001-07:00

"I don't want to get married when I'm really young. I think I'll wait until I'm 11."

Christmas Confession

2011-11-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

I love Christmas music. I have (not exaggerating) more than 20 Christmas CDs in the drawer of my desk right now so that I can listen to Christmas music all the time at work. I started listening to my Christmas music before Halloween. I'll keep listening until well into January. Or maybe February. Sometimes I'll pull it out in the middle of July and listen to it.

But none of that is what I'm confessing. No, my shameful secret is that there is a beloved Christmas carol that I just don't like. It feels a bit sacrilegious and dishonorable to say it, but I don't enjoy "Silent Night."

I know! It just seems so wrong to admit, but it's true. I know it's a wonderful message. I know there's a great story behind it. I know it's a beloved hymn that so many people find uplifting and spiritual. And I just don't like it.

It's not like I cringe and grind my teeth and lunge to change the song whenever it comes on (I reserve that reaction for "Little Drummer Boy"). Instead, each time I hear it, I listen for a bit. I feel like I should give it a chance. "Well this is the Josh Groban/Mormon Tabernacle Choir/Donnie Osmond/Lady Gaga version. (Because EVERYONE seems to have recorded a version of "Silent Night.") It should be pretty good." And I'm sure that it is pretty good, but I don't like it. So after listening for a minute, I skip the song.

I don't know if the meter is too slow or the tune too repetitive or what it is, but I don't like to hear it, I don't like to play it, I don't like to sing it. I just don't like it.

Anyone else have a Christmas Confession?

Quick Funny from Rylen

2011-11-23T14:58:00.001-07:00

Rylen has a new trick that makes me laugh every time. When he wants to nurse he will find the Boppy pillow and drag it over to me. It's like he's telling me, pay attention Mom! It's time!

Free at last...

2011-11-18T14:04:00.040-07:00

I commented in my last post that I feel like I have been pregnant or breastfeeding for the last 8 years. And for all that time, I've been a working mom. Which means that along with breastfeeding comes pumping.

I hate pumping. I hate hooking myself up to the pump like a cow in a milking station. I hate how much time it takes. I hate having to schedule my day around it. I hate that I have to paper over my office window to have privacy while I pump because it makes my office feel closed off and claustrophobic. I hate that even with all the time, effort, and money (I have tried a LOT of different pumps over the years - and they are pricey!), I still can't pump enough to avoid supplementing with formula. (Mind you, I'm not one who thinks that formula is inherently bad. I'm fine with formula on a philosophical level. But it's really expensive!)

But because I'm trying to do my best as a working mom, I keep pumping. I set a date for myself: "If I can just keep pumping until he's one, I'll be successful." And then I would give myself permission to quit. And guess who will turn one on Monday? That's right, hard as it is to believe, it's already been a year since our little sweetheart was born. And it's a bittersweet thought. My baby... my last baby... and he's turning one already.

So while I'll keep nursing him morning and night as long as he's interested (well, within reason... I'm not going to be one of those moms nursing a 5-year-old), I have officially just finished my last pumping session. I am free from the tyranny of the pumping schedule! I no longer have to attach myself to the milking machine! (Though it is a really nice pump - anyone looking to buy a double-electric Medela Pump In Style?) I don't have to cart home little baggies of milk each night - always hoping that I remember to put them away in the fridge when I get home. (Because there's nothing worse than going to the effort to pump, and then wasting the milk.) I am free!!

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go tear the paper off my office window.

The Miracle of the Nasonex

2011-11-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

I remember when my allergies got so bad. I mean, I've always had allergies, but it was mostly just a bit of a drippy nose during hayfever season. But the summer I was pregnant with Haley, my allergies suddenly went berserk. I couldn't go more than a few minutes without sneezing, having to wipe a drippy nose, dealing with red, itchy eyes... it was miserable. It was worst at work and I had an awesome boss who tried to help. She got the cleaning people to switch to a non-citrus cleaner for our area (since I'm known to be allergic to citrus) and bought an air purifier for my cubicle. Nothing seemed to help. And of course, since I was pregnant, there wasn't much the doctors could do for me, either. This was before Claritin and Zyrtec were approved during pregnancy. Only Benedryl was allowed - which puts me straight to sleep.

So I coped with it and hoped that it was something pregnancy-related and it would disappear after the baby was born. But it didn't my new and improved allergies stayed with me. I handled them with various over-the-counter medications which were usually less than successful, but at least better than nothing. I kept telling myself I would go to the doctor and ask for something really strong. But as you know, we have 4 young kids fairly close together. It seems like I have been pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding for pretty much the last 8 1/2 years. Since all of those conditions preclude strong medication, I just never got anything better. I was thrilled when at least Zyrtec and Claritin were approved for pregnancy and breastfeeding, because I could at least have that much help. But mostly I have sniffled and sneezed my way through life since 2003.

This last summer was the WORST allergy season I can remember. I know it was bad for a lot of people, because we commiserated together on Facebook. I was a perpetual mess. I couldn't see through my itchy, swollen eyes. I could stand-in for Rudolph because my nose was so red from the constant wiping. I interrupted every meeting and conference call with multiple sneezing fits. I kept thinking, "As soon as we have the first good freeze or snowstorm, that should take care of the pollen and my allergies will settle down."

Only they didn't. I was so miserable. This time I was really motivated to see the doctor and get that better medicine. "As soon as Rylen is done nursing," I told myself, "I'm getting the good stuff!" And while I would not want to rush weaning him, I was really looking forward to finally doing something about the allergies.

About a month ago, I had a doctor's appointment to have a mole removed and I was having a major allergy attack that day. At the end of our appointment, the doctor commented that I seemed to have a pretty bad cold. When I told her that it was actually allergies, she empathized because she has bad allergies, too. She asked if I had tried Nasonex, because it had worked wonders for her. I asked if it was okay to use during breastfeeding and she assured me it was and gave me a sample.

It took a few days to really kick in, but since then - it is miraculous! I can go an entire day without sneezing sometimes! I no longer go through a box of tissues in less than a week! My nose is not stuffy. I can actually wear makeup without immediately wiping it off again from blowing my nose! THIS STUFF IS AMAZING.

I only kick myself for always assuming that anything that worked would not be allowed during pregnancy or breastfeeding. I probably could have had this years ago. But no point in dwelling on that... instead, I am just overjoyed at the miracle of the Nasonex.

Arancini

2011-11-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

We went to Cinzetti's (a local Italian buffet) a few weeks ago for my birthday dinner and it was great. I've been wanting to back ever since. One thing I particularly loved were the arancini. These are risotto balls that are breaded and fried and they are SO good.

While I still had these on my mind, I was flipping past the food channel and saw Michael Chiarello making arancini. I stopped to watch and realized that while his method was kind of complicated (beginning as it did with making risotto from scratch), I thought I could probably simplify things for myself.

I started by making Rice-a-Roni for the kids' dinner on Saturday night. I realize that Rice-a-Roni is not risotto. However, it's a whole lot quicker and easier to make! When I'm doing the cooking, I'm all about quick and easy. So I made the Rice-a-Roni. (I used 4-Cheese because that's what I had in the pantry. But any kind should work.) I deliberately made more than I needed for the kids so I could put the rest in the fridge overnight. Letting the rice cool overnight makes it more glutinous and easier to form into rice balls.

The next day, I got my ingredients together.

leftover "risotto"
mozzarella cheese, diced into small cubes
a couple of beaten eggs in a small dish
a dish of panko breadcrumbs

I just took a scoop of rice (maybe 3 tablespoons? A good size handful, anyway.) and formed it into a ball. Then poked a hole in the center and inserted some mozzarella cheese and smoothed the rice back over the hole. I dipped the rice ball into the egg to coat it, then rolled it in the panko bread crumbs.

At this point, you can either deep fry, pan fry or oven fry. Traditionally these should be deep fried or at least fried in 2-3 inches of oil in a deep frying pan. But I hate to fry in large quantities of oil. I'm always afraid I'll set the house on fire. Plus what do you do with all that leftover oil when you're done? So instead, I decided I could just do it in the oven.

I sprayed a cookie sheet with a bit of cooking spray and added my arancini. I drizzled the tops with just a bit of olive oil to help them brown up. I cooked them for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then turned them over and cooked for another 15 minutes.

I let them cool and firm up for about 5 minutes, then served them with marinara sauce for dipping. They were incredible! Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and with a melty mozzarella center. I still have some rice left, and I'm seriously contemplating making them for dinner again tonight!

Dreaming of Sleep

2011-11-13T08:10:00.000-07:00

I fantasize about sleep like some people fantasize about sex. As I sleepily sit up with Rylen (who doesn't seem to believe in sleeping at night) or doze fitfully on the bus, I create elaborate and detailed pictures in my head... Sometimes it's a big comfortable bed with lots of pillows and a puffy comforter in a quiet hotel room all to myself. Sometimes it's the comfy couch in the dark, silent Quiet Room at my office. Sometimes it's even my own bed... covers cozily rumpled and inviting me back into the bed after all my family has left the house for the day.

I make up scenarios that could result in any of these fantasies coming true. Maybe work sends me on a business trip. Maybe I manage to actually find time to take a lunch break and use it to nap in the Quiet Room. Maybe I call in sick to work and then send all the kids to daycare.

*sigh* I need a nap.

Quick Funny from Brekken

2011-11-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

"Look, Mommy, a big whore!"

"Yes, it's a big horse, honey."

"A whore! A whore! You say it wrong."

Quick Funny from Brekken

2011-11-11T07:38:00.003-07:00

At the ATM last night: "Mommy, is this your big piggy bank?"

Quick Funny from Preston

2011-11-03T19:28:00.004-06:00

Preston informed me that he didn't need to go to church on Sunday because: "I already know quite a bit about Jesus."

Trick or Treat

2011-11-01T13:04:00.000-06:00

In spite of stomach flu that hit various family members over the last week and weekend, the kids thoroughly enjoyed Halloween. They had a Trunk or Treat at the church on Friday night and then parties at school and daycare on Monday followed by trick or treating last night.

Haley was a princess - of course! She is very much the girly-girl. Her whole thinking for a costume was based on what she could be that would allow her to wear "grown-up makeup."

Preston actually had three different costumes this year. He was a pirate for trunk or treat, but that costume was a little too lightweight and he froze while going from car to car. Plus the school wouldn't allow him to take the sword, which he considered the best part of his costume. So for school he opted to dress as Scooby Doo. Finally, for Halloween trick or treating, he opted for the fuzzy plush fireman's costume so he could be nice and warm without a jacket.


Brekken was a bunny - but not just any bunny. No, he wanted to be a vampire bunny! Notice him showing off his sharp vampire bunny teeth.

Finally, we have Rylen dressed as a devil. No particular reason there, just because it's so darn cute!

I'm alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic!

2011-10-28T08:06:00.000-06:00

Actually, none of that is true. Barely awake, definitely not alert or enthusiastic. And in the spirit of Halloween, I think I officially passed over into undead zombie territory around 4:30 this morning.

10:30- It all started around 10:30 last night. All the older children were finally in bed and asleep. Rylen was snoozing on my lap and I thought about putting him in bed so I could go to bed. Then Rylen started stirring and I decided I'd better wait a little longer.
11:30- Finally decided I could put Rylen into bed. He immediately woke up.
11:45- Rylen asleep again and managed to put him in bed without waking him. Laid out clothes for all the children for tomorrow. Climbed into bed by midnight.
12:30- Rylen awake again. Another 30 minutes to settle him back into bed.
1:00- Brekken has a coughing fit that wakes me up. I lay listening, hoping he'll stop coughing and go back to sleep. Hear him say: "I gonna throw up." Which is a lovely habit of his when he coughs too much. Leap out of bed and get him water to calm the coughing before it leads to throwing up. Go to get cough medicine. By the time I return, he's sound asleep again. Go back and pour cough medicine back into the bottle.
1:30- Rylen awake again. 30 minutes and 3 tries to get him back into bed.
4:00- Preston climbs into our bed. Kicking and squirming as he wiggles into place between us ensues.
4:30- Rylen is awake yet again. My alarm is going off now because I forgot that I'm driving today and could actually sleep another 40 minutes. Reset the alarm. Nurse Rylen back to sleep. Give up on trying to put him back in his bed. I'll just nap sitting up for another 30 minutes.
4:45- Rylen awake again. Soothe him back to sleep. Cry. Try to ignore screaming baby. Fail. Nurse baby back to sleep again.
5:30- Alarm going off. Have to get up for work. Cannot hit the snooze anymore. Sure... now the baby is sleeping.
5:45- Get out of shower. Baby is crying again. But I hear Aaron taking him to the other room so at least the other children won't wake up.
7:15- Aaron calls me at work to let me know Rylen is now throwing up. So at least now I know why he was so very difficult last night. But of course, now I have the mommy guilt that I was so annoyed with him all night. If I'd realized he wasn't feeling well, I might have been more sympathetic when he kept waking up.

*sigh* It's shaping up to be a great day...

That's a new one...

2011-10-27T19:21:00.004-06:00

My boss has occasionally asked me questions about Mormons... just things she's heard and wondered about. Like "Why can't anyone else go inside a Mormon temple?" Or "Do you really wear special underwear?"

The other day, the topic of temple marriage came up (as part of a discussion about a wedding of another religion that someone had recently attended). Afterwards, my boss followed me into my office and said, "Can I ask you something?" I said, "Of course," and waited for her to go on. I could tell that she regretted bringing it up even as she was asking. She was having a really hard time even getting the question out.

"I'm sure it's not even true... I mean, if it is, there's nothing wrong... I don't want to sound like I'm judging... I just... I heard once, and I thought it can't possibly be right... but of course, maybe it is and there's deep symbolism... If you don't want to discuss it..."

I tried to put her out of her misery by assuring her she could ask and I wouldn't be offended, and she finally spit it out.

"I heard that in a temple wedding, after the ceremony the bride and groom go into another room with the... the... what do you call the head of your church?"

"The prophet."

"Right. So they go into the room with the prophet... and he... has... relations... with the bride while her husband is there and it's all okay with everyone."

I couldn't help myself. I started laughing. And assuring her it was most definitely not true. For one thing, I pointed out, the prophet is often a man in his 80s or 90s. And there are a LOT of people all over the globe who get married every day. There's not enough Viagra in the world. :)

Not sure where she heard that one, but at least now there's one less person believing a really odd Mormon rumor.

Getting Drunker All the Time

2011-10-26T19:37:00.001-06:00

As much practice as I have in decifering the mangled English and strange accents of little children, sometimes 3-year-old-speak still stumps me.

Brekken just walked in and told me: "I'm really drunk, Mommy. And I'm getting drunker and drunker all the time!"

I was naturally a bit concerned by this. After a bit of questioning, it turns out that he is actually really STRONG. And getting STRONGER and STRONGER all the time.

Whew! Much better.

Fall Festival

2011-10-26T14:22:00.000-06:00

The kids' school had a Fall Festival carnival last week. They looked forward to it for WEEKS. Every day they asked how much time was left before the carnival. So my heart sank when Preston came down with some sort of stomach bug and spent the day before the carnival throwing up - a lot. I was sure that either he would be sick or some of the other kids would catch it and be sick. Luckily he recovered and no one else came down with anything. There was a very sweet moment between my kids on Thursday night - Preston was feeling sick and was crying and sad because he just wanted to go to the carnival so badly and knew that if he was sick he wouldn't be able to go. He said: "Everyone else will go and have fun without me." And Haley walked over and gave him a hug and told him: "If you're still sick we'll all stay home. It wouldn't be fair to go without you. And I wouldn't have fun if I knew you had to stay home and be sad." My little drama queen can be such a sweetheart sometimes.

A few pictures from the big night...

Driver's Ed

2011-10-17T09:02:00.002-06:00

The radio show this morning talked about a statistic that says 61% of new drivers say that the person teaching them to drive was distracted by a smartphone and paying attention to that instead of the driving lesson. It reminded me of when I was learning to drive. No smartphone involved, but plenty of distraction...

At our school, we took a driver's ed class during the trimester before you turned 16, then once you hit 16 you could actually go out in the practice car with the driver's ed instructor. I grew up in a fairly small town and I know a lot of kids there did some driving before their 16th birthdays. There were plenty of people I knew who weren't too concerned with legal niceties like learner's permits. My parents were not among these people. Before getting in the driver's ed practice car, I had MAYBE driven the family car once or twice for very short distances. In other words, I was far from a confident, experienced driver.

My very first day in the driver's ed car, there were two students and the instructor, Mr. Henry. (As a total side note, I remember the other student was Tyler - who was born one day before me. Which I knew because every time his mother substitute-taught a class I was in, she would comment on the fact that her son was born one day before me and she and my mother saw each other in the hospital when we were born. By the time I got to high school, other students in the class would mouth the story along with her.)

Tyler lived about 30 minutes outside of town, so the instructor announced that Tyler would drive us from town to his house, where we would drop him off, and then I would drive the car back into town. Tyler confidently set off - he had obviously had some practice and did not seem nervous at all. He drove to his house, grabbed his things and hopped out. Then it was my turn.

I got in the driver's seat and started to pull slowly out of the driveway - very grateful that Tyler's family had a semi-circle driveway so I didn't have to try backing up first thing! I cautiously and nervously headed out to the highway. A few minutes later, Mr. Henry asked if I remembered the way back to town. I told him I did. He said I was doing great and he was sure I wouldn't have any troubles on the way home... and then he reclined his seat a few inches and went to sleep.

Yep, my first time really driving - especially driving on the highway instead of little back roads! - and the instructor went to sleep. I'm glad I didn't actually have any problems on the way! But we did make it back safe and sound.

Other memorable moments in Mr. Henry's driving instruction included the time he read the newspaper - unfolded fully in front of his face; there's no way he could see the road or anything that was happening out the front windshield. And of course the time he took off his shoes and clipped his toenails the entire time I was driving - I'll say this for him... he was a very flexible man.

This Week in Mormons

2011-10-12T08:29:00.000-06:00

I remember when I was a child we would go on family trips and my parents would listen to talk radio. I couldn't understand it. Why on Earth would they want to listen to people talking instead of music? It seemed so boring!

Now, as seems to happen in many ways, I'm turning into my parents. I often decide to listen to someone talking instead of music. I have several podcasts that I download and listen to when I'm walking or driving and I really like listening to the people talk. :)

I thought I'd share one of my favorites, as it's something that might interest a few of you. This Week in Mormons is a podcast by a couple of guys who talk about the news in, around, and relating to the LDS church. They're pretty funny, without being irreverent or mean-spirited. Plus they go to the trouble to research a lot of stories that I'd never hear about otherwise. The news about the Provo tabernacle being converted to a temple? They predicted it weeks before it was announced in General Conference. So when it was announced, I felt very "in the know" when I could just nod and think, Yes. That's what we thought would happen.

The podcasts from this week and last week are a review of General Conference. They go through talk by talk and rehash some of the main points of each talk - with a few random segues along the way (for example, who is the most attractive Church leader? Apparently it's Young Women General President Elaine S. Dalton.)

Saturday's recap: "Great Conference recap! It's basically all we talk about, though with some humorous asides - http://thisweekinmormons.com/2011/10/episode-87-sans-avion-2"

Sunday's recap: "17 MIN CONFERENCE: Conference highlights from the church, get the good stuff in 17 mins, it's like ESPN top 10, but for Jesus - http://lds.org/general-conference/watch/2011/10?vid=1206729280001&lang=eng"

You can listen to their weekly podcasts at their site: http://thisweekinmormons.com/. Or friend them on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thisweekinmormons. Or download the podcasts on iTunes. However you may do it, I would recommend it. I really enjoy listening to them talk. :)

That's a lot of firemen...

2011-10-11T06:09:00.001-06:00

I was listening to the radio the other day and they were talking about asking kids the question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" At the moment, the answers at my house are a mommy (Haley), a fireman (Preston), and a fireman (Brekken).

Apparently, my boys fit right into the mold, because the top answer for boys is fireman. That led to a discussion of what would it be like if adults everywhere were really doing the jobs they dreamed of as children. There would be a lot of firemen, policemen, astronauts, teachers and princesses (top answers for girls) out there! What you probably wouldn't find is a lot of accountants, office managers, or burger flippers. All jobs that someone needs to do, but you don't find a lot of kids dreaming about it from a young age. :)

It got me thinking about what I wanted to be when I was a kid. I remember when I was really young I wanted to be a teacher - specifically a kindergarten teacher. These days, I know I just don't have the patience to handle a room full of 5-year-olds every day! It takes a special person to be a teacher.

Shortly after that, I decided I was going to be a vulcanologist. I have no idea where I originally learned that this was a profession, but I do remember for a number of years every time someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would immediately tell them I wanted to be a vulcanologist. Very few people had a response to that other than a weak, somewhat confused... "well, that's nice." I was fascinated with volcanoes for a lot of years and had grand plans for all the studies and discoveries I would make as a world-traveling vulcanologist. Alas, it turns out that I really have a huge fear of being burned, not to mention an aversion to breathing smoke and ash and a dislike of climbing large mountains... All of these being rather common activities for a vulcanologist investigating an active volcano, it's probably best that I eventually decided instead to be a doctor.

That was my career plan for a lot of years, actually. All the way through college. I majored in Biology (specifically, Public Health) and even took the MCAT and started filling out applications for medical school. I had decent scores, too. I probably could have been accepted. But organic chemistry filled me with dread. I barely managed to pass the organic chemistry courses required for my bachelor's degree - and looking ahead to medical school I saw a LOT more organic chemistry in my future. It was at that point (my final year of college) that I changed my path and decided to go to nursing school and become a nurse practitioner instead.

At the same time, I had a job building computer-based training courses for K-12 geography students. I loved it. I was so involved in it that I happily spent 60+ hours a week working on the projects, often spending the night in the computer lab, going home only long enough to nap for an hour or two and then heading out to class and back to work. (I obviously had much more energy back then than I do now!) My boss pointed out how much I loved what I was doing and suggested that I look into it as a career instead... which led to a complete change in direction for my master's degree and a career doing what I do now.

And I love what I do. I especially love my current job because it combines my interest in maternal/child medicine and education. But I do occasionally wonder what life would be like as a vulcanologist...

Melt My Heart Moment

2011-10-10T09:52:00.000-06:00

On Saturday we were practicing a song for church that includes the line: "God gave us families." Preston thought about it for a moment and then said:

"I really like God. Because he made all the people I like the most. And he made you and made you my mommy. And I really love you so much."

What a little sweetheart!

I keep telling you, it's not strep!

2011-09-29T08:25:00.000-06:00

So yesterday afternoon I'm at work when I get a call on the cell phone. Looking at the readout I can see that it's from the school so I know I need to answer it. Unfortunately, I forgot to mute the line on the webinar I was hosting at the time, so I shared the conversation with my co-worker on the other line. I'm glad she was the only one to log in at that point - at least I didn't subject a whole class of students to listening to me chat with the school nurse!

Yes, it was the school nurse - excuse me, school health aide. They're not school nurses anymore, at least not at our school. I don't know what kind of background you have to have to get the job, but I'm pretty sure I could do it myself, based on my experiences with them over the last few years.

So she tells me that Haley is flushed and running a bit of a fever and has a sore mouth with sores and white spots on her tongue. It must be strep, so we should come get her. Or maybe not. Because the fever isn't that high. And she says she doesn't feel sick. So if we don't want to come get her that's probably okay. But maybe we should. But if not, it will be fine.

I always appreciate it when someone is so clear about what they need me to do.

After some questioning, it turns out that the fever is barely over 99 degrees. On a hot day. Just after recess playing outside. I think most of us would be a bit flushed with an elevated temperature after running around in 88 degrees for 20 minutes.

I questioned her about the tongue - having been down this road before with last year's school health aide. What did the tongue look like? Was it sore? Was it her throat (strep) or just her tongue (probably her citrus allergy - which is all over in her her school file)? Based on all answers, I was almost certain it was just her citrus allergy kicking in. I questioned what they'd had for lunch. The health aide looked at the lunch menu and assured me there had been no citrus, so she though it was probably not that.

So between Aaron and I and several texts and phone calls back and forth between us and the school, we decided that Haley would go back to class and then head to the afterschool daycare until I could get there, but I should go ahead and get her early because Aaron couldn't leave early. I walked the 1/2 mile+ to the bus station (because there were no busses coming to my regular stop at that time of day), caught an early bus, and picked up Haley and Preston a couple of hours early.

As soon as I got there, I had her stick out her tongue... yep, definitely a citrus reaction. Which makes her tongue sore and she gets little sores and red patches (just like me when I eat citrus). Annoying. And if she were to KEEP eating citrus after the tongue gets sore, then she'd get an upset tummy. But it's nothing that requires her to go home. Which I've covered with the school before.

*sigh*

She's fine. Turns out there was an orange and pineapple fruit cup with lunch. I could have stayed at work.Glad I have an understanding boss!

Quick Funny from... Me!

2011-09-27T14:48:00.002-06:00

I have some hearing problems and so I often mis-hear things that are said, resulting in unintentional funniness. This one may be my favorite though.

I had the TV on in the background (while working at home today) listening to Rachel Ray's Week in a Day. I was pretty startled when they went to commercial break and I heard the announcer say "This program is brought to you by Jesus."

What? Jesus is a sponsor of Rachel Ray's show? Is this some kind of church that endorses her?

I turned around to the TV to try and figure out what was going on and saw that the commercial had begun. It was for Cheez-Its. Cheeze-Its. This program is brought to you by Cheez-Its! That makes SO much more sense.

Crockpot Cooking

2011-09-20T12:58:00.000-06:00

I love my crockpot. In fact, I have 3 of them of various sizes. (And I could really use another.) It's rare that a week goes by without me using the crockpot at least once. I have learned that you can cook almost anything in the crockpot. My newest discovery... crockpot mashed potatoes.

I had some little red potatoes that needed to be used up, so I decided to just drop them in the crockpot and see what happened. I kind of thought they would be like when you roast them in the oven - cooked, but still a little firm. They probably would have been that way if I'd taken them out a little earlier. But it turns out that if you leave them in for a while, then just stir - they turn into perfect mashed potatoes!

I LOVE real mashed potatoes, but it's usually too much trouble to cook and mash them to the right consistency. But this method is so easy. I truly just stirred it around with a big spoon and they broke up with no effort. So good, and it made plenty. In fact, I'm having the leftovers for lunch today (which is what inspired me to post about them).

If you want to give it a try, use olive oil, butter or cooking spray to coat the inside of your crockpot (otherwise the potatoes stick to the sides and are very hard to scrub off). Add potatoes and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Add a splash of milk or butter if you like your potatoes creamy, stir them up and serve!

For Gayle

2011-09-16T13:07:00.001-06:00

This is a totally random post... I needed to share a video with a colleague and we couldn't manage to get it to work through any of the usual methods!

Quick Funny from the kids

2011-09-15T19:30:00.000-06:00

Our family is supposed to sing a song in church in a few weeks. I was asking the kids what song we should sing. I was thinking of a Primary song or a hymn, but obviously I wasn't that specific when I asked the kids for their input. Haley and Preston conferred for a moment then decided that we should sing "Moves Like Jagger".

I think it's going to be a big hit in Sacrament Meeting.

Quick Update

2011-09-14T08:13:00.000-06:00

Busy, busy, BUSY month. Not a lot of time to post. And I guess the kids haven't said anything especially funny in the last little while. But I thought I'd post just a quick update - hopefully I will get back to regular blogging soon!

Preston likes kindergarten, but complains that there is too much coloring. He had homework this week. They gave it to them on Monday and the kids were supposed to do a little each night then turn it in on Friday. He was so excited to have homework that he insisted on doing it all Monday night. LOL We'll see how long that attitude lasts. He really likes his new daycare. He goes to the school-based aftercare with Haley now. He has been wanting to go to PAWS with Haley for the last couple of years. I'm not sure if it's because he wants to spend more time with Haley or because going to PAWS seems like something you do when you're a big kid, but he really wanted to go. So we let him move there at the beginning of the year. They have computers and games and other kids to play with - and I have to drag him out the door at the end of the night.

Haley is liking her class, too. The teacher seems to be doing a good job of working with her so it's not just like repeating the same class as last year (since she was in a 1/2 combo class last year as well). The teacher sent home a note a couple of days ago to let me know that since Haley had mastered all the 2nd grade spelling lists last year, this year she will be moving on to the 3rd grade lists. And at last check, I believe she was in the 5th grade reading levels. She's a smart little thing!

With Preston at the new daycare and our sitter's son in school this year (they did homeschool last year), Brekken is the oldest child in the house for a good part of the day. He is LOVING being the big kid. He tells me that he gets to pick the shows to watch and he can choose the toys to play with. He quite enjoys not having to do what the bigger boys tell him! He is about 3/4 potty trained. He does really well for Michelle, not quite as well for us still. But he's definitely improving.

Rylen is growing fast. Hard to believe he'll be 10 months next week. It makes me a little sad. :( My last baby should have been a baby longer! He's very vocal these days and has a few "words" that he uses consistently. He is on the move all the time! Diaper changing time has become an enormous wrestling match. Rylen is also pulling up on everything right now - he mostly does it without a lot of falling down or head-bumping. Last night he took a little chair and pushed it clear across the room while walking behind it! He just may be walking before his birthday. I would actually be glad of it, because it's not like he's not able to go all over the place already - he's a very quick crawler. And I want him up off the ground. That boy puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. Rocks, cat fur, weeds tracked in from outside. Hopefully once he's not crawling he won't be so focused on picking things off the floor.

It's a Gray and Gloomy Day - and I LOVE It!

2011-09-08T09:10:00.000-06:00

The skies are gray. It's damp and drizzly. There's a little chill in the air. It's wonderful!!

I am so done with summer. It's been so miserably hot this summer that it's just such a relief to have some nice cool days. I always have the blinds closed in my office because the sun beams in so brightly, but for the last two days I've opened up the blinds so I can see the clouds and rain. It's just so nice to have some different weather for a change!

I wouldn't want it to be gray and gloomy every day, but then again, I don't want it bright and sunny every day, either. I like variety in my weather! When I first moved to southern California, it was in the midst of a VERY cold winter in Utah. So when I got to California I would get up each morning, throw open the curtains and say - "Blue skies and sunshine again! Great!" But then it was the same thing every single day. No variety. After 6 months or so, I would get up in the morning, listlessly look out the curtains and say - "Blue skies and sunshine. Again. Great."

That's how I've been feeling about this summer. It's just seemed to go on and on with almost every day the same - bright, hot, not as many afternoon thunderstorms as usual. I am ready for a change in weather! Bring on Fall!

Ode to Groupon

2011-09-02T08:35:00.002-06:00

Oh, Groupon! You have such great deals and specials galore.

You offer a chance to try things I'll adore.

A membership here;

A night out there.

A chance to have specialists straighten my hair.

How I wish that I could buy every one;

That trip to Bermuda sure looks like fun.

I made meals at Supper Solutions,

Joined the Butterfly Pavilion for only a small contribution.

Planned a day of fun at Up Up Jump;

And now comes the deal that makes my heart thump…

Oh Groupon, my Groupon, you know what I need.

You know that my house is where dust bunnies breed.

You gave me the chance to have someone come in

And clean it all for me! Holy cow! What a win!

Now I can’t wait until they come clean my house.

We’ll all be so happy – especially my spouse.

I’m sure it won’t last (not with four kids around);

But for a brief, shining moment there’ll be no dirt to be found.

Scrubbed and shiny, clean and bright,

I think my house will be quite a sight.

So hooray for Groupon and your incredible deals;

That sound you just heard? It’s just my happy squeals!

(BTW - if you haven't checked out Groupon yet, you should! http://www.groupon.com/r/uu18973654)

I Don't CIO

2011-09-01T11:58:00.000-06:00

All of my babies have been great sleepers. By the time they were 2 or 3 months old, they would sleep through the night. Until Rylen. He is 9 months old and still getting up 2-3 times each night! He wants to nurse, but I really think it's more for comfort than because he's really hungry. He nurses for just a few minutes and then goes back to sleep. So he's not up for long, but by the time I wake up, make Aaron get the baby out of the crib (because if I'm awake, why shouldn't he wake up too?), nurse Rylen, try to make Aaron put the baby back but realize that he is already asleep again, get up and put Rylen in his crib, try to make him take a pacifier when he wakes up as I lay him down, make him mad by trying to give him a pacifier, give up and take him back to nurse some more, and repeat above until he finally stays asleep, it's a decent chunk of time gone from my already short night's sleep. Especially if we do all of this another time or two.

I complained a bit about this on Facebook a week or so ago. (Because that's what Facebook is for - sharing a happy status and venting when needed!) And I got lots of advice from people who've dealt with this sort of thing. Which I totally appreciate, because I'm certainly open to new things to try. The one I'm not open to, though, is CIO.

CIO - if you don't know the acronym - is Cry It Out. Which (as I understand it, which could be totally off base) means that sometimes you have to let baby cry himself back to sleep, because if you go in every time he cries, you're reinforcing him and encouraging him to keep waking up at night so you'll go pick him up. I know there are various methods, and some involve staying in the room, some staying out, and that sort of thing. I get the concept, and I see why people do it. I have no issues at all with anyone who uses CIO. I just can't do it. I can't! I've tried and I don't have the willpower. I cannot stand to hear the baby cry and not do something about it. Not when I know I can stop it by just going over there and picking him up.

So I may be accidentally training Rylen to wake me up instead of sleeping through the night, but I just don't CIO.

Back to School 2011

2011-08-31T10:54:00.000-06:00

It's taken a while to get to this but finally, a back to school recap.

A while back, we bought a Groupon that got us a family membership to the Butterfly Pavillion. We'd never even been there before buying the membership, but it was such a good deal that it actually cost less than just paying for our whole family to go once. So we got the membership and went for our first visit. To be honest, I wasn't hugely impressed. The butterfly area itself is great, but some of the rest is only so-so. But the kids really liked it, so I figured we might go back once more before the membership expired. Then I got an email from the Butterfly Pavillion a few weeks ago saying that we were invited to a super-special, VIP, members-only Back to School Bash. We had nothing else going on that night (the Friday before school started), so I sent our RSVP and said we'd be there. I'm so glad we had the membership and went to the party! It was a blast!

We played games and jumped in the bouncy house.

We blew bubbles.

They even made enormous bubbles around Preston...

... and Haley

We saw the butterflies... (notice the one on the back of Aaron's neck)

...though luckily Rylen didn't see that one next to him in time to grab it! He loved watching them all fly around, though.

We looked at some sea creatures and even touched a few.

We did some more playing around.

We don't even have pictures of my and Aaron's favorite part, which would be dinner (hot dogs and hamburgers) followed by free Blue Bell ice cream. That is some GOOD ice cream and we ate a lot of it. :) It was a great party to start off the school year, and that party alone makes me glad we bought the membership.

Haley started school on August 23 and has really been enjoying her class so far. She is in a 1st/2nd grade combo class again this year and is enjoying being one of the "big kids" in her classroom. She has already taken one of the 1st graders under her wing and watches out for her at recess and lunch and walks with her to PAWS after school. ("She gets scared." Haley told me.) I'm proud of my sweet girl for taking care of her nervous classmate!

Haley's first day of school.

Preston started kindergarten on the 29th. He was very glad to learn that he would be in the same class with the triplet girls he knew in preschool. He likes them all very much... but he REALLY likes one of the triplets the best. (Puppy love - so cute!) Of course, the triplet who REALLY likes Preston - is a different girl. It's a good thing this is kindergarten instead of high school or it could be a lot of drama! As it is, they all get along fine and are very happy to be in class together. Preston doesn't like to talk a lot about school - I have to drag everything out of him. So far I have learned that he likes recess, he doesn't like sitting, and he feels that there is too much coloring. Hopefully kindergarten will grow on him and he'll decide he likes more than just recess!

Preston's first day of school.

Brekken wanted to be in the picture, too!

And just because there wasn't quite enough Rylen cuteness...

Quick Funny from a Kid You Don't Know

2011-08-31T10:18:00.000-06:00

Okay, this funny is not from my own child, it's my friend Donna's son. But it was so funny I couldn't resist sharing it!

Campbell was singing the song "Let It Be" (Beatles) and in his version, the lyrics include: "Speaking words with whiskers, let it be..."

Quick Funny from Preston

2011-08-30T08:50:00.000-06:00

It's been busy around here. I have several posts I want to write, but just haven't had the chance yet. I'll get to them as soon as I can, but until then, I just had to share this quick funny.

Preston moved to a new daycare when school started. It just worked easier with the kindergarten schedule, and he really has been wanting to go to PAWS with Haley for the last year. So on the last day at his old daycare - where he has been going since he was 6 months old - Michelle asked him if he was going to miss them. His response:

"Well, I'm going to miss the dogs."

Ouch! (For the record, though, he was very excited to go in and say hi to everyone when we went there last night to pick up the other boys. So he did miss more than just the dogs.)

Contemplation

2011-08-24T07:55:00.000-06:00

A sister in our ward is about to have a baby any day now. I've been watching her updates on facebook as she hopes each string of contractions will turn into real labor. And it really makes me think about the last time I was in that situation. I swear that it doesn't seem long ago at all. How can it have been nine months already since Rylen was born? Probably because he's my last, but I want him to stay my baby for a little longer. While I love watching him learn to explore and enjoy the world around him, I already miss the days when he just wanted to snuggle with me all the time.

When I mentioned my feelings to Aaron, he said he's been doing a lot of thinking lately, too. Specifically, he's been thinking about some dear friends who lost their baby at 8 months. Ever since Rylen hit that age and then moved beyond, Aaron's been thinking a lot about what we would have missed if we were in our friends' situation. And of course, now I can't help but think about it, too. It makes our hearts ache again for our friends and makes us feel even more grateful to have our sweet boy. (And our other children, too, of course!)

Surplus

2011-08-22T09:07:00.000-06:00

Surplus [sur-pluhs]: an amount, quantity, etc., greater than needed.

That's a good description of the grocery situation at my house right now. Which is certainly better than the opposite! But wasn't exactly what I had planned.

I like to use King Sooper's HomeShop service because I can create a shopping list online and then King Soopers will gather everything up and deliver it to me. Believe me, that $10 delivery fee is totally worth it to avoid dragging four kids through the store with me - especially on a big shopping trip.

So I created a (rather extensive, because we were out of everything) shopping list and set up a delivery for Saturday. Then I ended up with time to do an actual shopping trip on Thursday. I used my online shopping list as a reference and went to the store to buy all the things on my HomeShop order. After which, I cancelled the order and the scheduled delivery.

At least, I though I had. Right up until Haley looked out the window on Saturday morning and said: "King Soopers is here."

They certainly were. There with my entire order - that I had already bought. So now I had doubles of everything. 10 pounds of flour... make that 20. 5 pounds of rice... now it's 10 pounds. A gallon of milk... drink fast, because we've got two gallons to get through. 10 frozen meals for work... I've got 20 now, so I'm set for the month. 20 tubes of Go-Gurt... eat up kids! Because I ordered more than I ended up buying in person and we now have more like 60 or 70 tubes.

It was quite a challenge to find room for all this in my over-crowded pantry, fridge, and freezer. And an unexpected hit to my grocery budget. But on the plus side, I'm stocked up on everything now. I can make a lot of bread with 20 pounds of flour. And my kids go through the Go-Gurt like nobody's business, so I'm sure it will get eaten. And since I had to pull everything out of the pantry, fridge and freezer and reorganize to fit everything in, everything looks nice and tidy and organized for the moment.

If only I had ordered more Pepsi... that's something I would definitely like to have in surplus!

Quick Funny from Preston

2011-08-21T18:38:00.002-06:00

Preston was in a bad mood and I was trying to cheer him up. I tickled his cheeks and coaxed: "Come on, let me see those cute dimples!"

"No, Mom." he told me. "It's a no dimples day."

10 Things I Should Learn From My Kids

2011-08-15T12:24:00.000-06:00

Today's prompt from Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writer's Workshop: 10 things that your kids could teach you.

Live in the moment. Kids don't spend their time stressing out over what will happen tomorrow, or next week, or next year. They enjoy where they are right now. Time to play outside! Time to have video game time with Dad! Time to eat! It's all right now and it's all exciting. Granted, I'm a grown-up (allegedly) and so I do have to think about tomorrow and next week and next year. But I need to spend more time just enjoying where we are right now.
Tell me what you're thinking. Kids come right out and tell you when something's bothering them. They don't let it fester and stew until it's worse than it needed to be. They also tell you when something's good. My daughter is great about telling me when dinner is really good or she's really happy that I let her do something she asked for. Preston will tell me when he thinks my hair looks nice or he likes my clothes. (He'll say things like this to a lot of girls. He's quite the little ladies man already. One of my favorite memories is of 3-year-old Preston sidling up to one of the older girls - probably 6 or 7 - at church and telling her "I like your pretty dress. Can I sit by you?)
Have fun! Kids are so much better at having fun. It goes along with number 1, I guess, but seems important enough to have its own number. Take time to have fun and enjoy your life!
Take a nap when you need one. My kids are usually going 100 m.p.h. at all times. Brekken especially will never walk if he can run instead. (Can you picture that as a grown-up? What if all the people at your office ran everywhere at top speed? Not because they had to, just because life is so exciting! To the copier! To the conference room! To the elevators! Woo-hoo!!) But once they finally run out of energy, they will collapse wherever they happen to be and take a nap to recharge. At work last week I found myself so exhausted that I was nodding off at my computer. I finally just got up and went to our quiet room (a little room with a couch and a locking door) and laid down. I took a 15-minute nap. It wasn't long. It didn't take me away from my work for more than a few minutes. But that short time to just have a little rest made a huge difference. I was much more alert and productive for having had that short break.
Ask for help. I am very bad at asking for help when I need it. Even when I am overwhelmed and incapable of managing for myself, I hate to admit it and ask someone to help me. I need to take a lesson from my kids in this, because they often ask for my help. And even though sometimes I wish they would do it themselves, when they thank me or give me a sweet hug, I am glad to be there. (Note: This does not apply to 3-year-olds, who refuse to accept help at all costs. Brekken insists that he wants to do everything himself! Oh, how I wish he would let me help with things like getting a glass of water or putting his shoes on the right feet.)
Stop and enjoy the world around you. Just this morning I was trying to rush out the door to drop the kids at daycare and get myself to work. "Get a move on! Get in the car!" I snapped. To my frustration, they were all crouched in the driveway instead. "What are you doing? Get in the car right now!" "But, Mom, look at this beautiful grasshopper! I think it's the best one I've ever seen! It's so big and it has brown and yellow stripes." I hurried them into the car, because I really needed to be on my way. But I wish that I had paused for just a minute to look at the beautiful grasshopper with them. Next time, I will try to remember to do that.
Love one another. My kids beat on each other. They fight and shout and call each other names. And it drives me batty! But they are also quick to give each other a big hug. To sympathize over a banged knee or a bumped head. They give great kisses. They say I love you. I wish they would lay off on the fighting, but I definitely need to take a lesson about showing love more often.
Be comfortable in your own skin. Thank goodness, my kids do not have any body issues yet. I'm sure they will develop some as they head into their teen years, but for now, they're good. Preston is a tiny, skinny little boy. When he takes off his shirt, all you see is his white, white skin (other than the rashy patches from his mild exzema) and his prominent little ribs (we're trying to feed him up, really!). But he doesn't worry about that. This is a little boy who loves to go around without his shirt. When asked why, he tells us it's so everyone can see his muscles. And then he will flex his skinny little arms for us. He's totally comfortable in his own skin and happy with himself.
Be nice. Last week, Haley called her friend Emily to invite her over to play. She said to bring a swimsuit and we'd all go over to the sprayground to play. It turned out, though, that Kiera was already over at Emily's house playing. When they asked if Kiera could come, too, I had to say we couldn't do it, because I just didn't have enough seats in the van to get everyone there. Haley explained that and invited both Emily and Kiera to come over to the house and they could play in the water in the back yard. Instead, Emily said that wasn't any fun and they wouldn't come over. And more than that, Haley couldn't come over to her house to play, either. Poor Haley was in floods of tears. I was almost in tears with her. And so angry at that little girl for being mean to my precious daughter. "Why does she have to be mean?" Haley asked. "Why can't she just be nice?" I could only answer that I wished everyone would be nice and never be mean to her. But sometimes people forget to be nice. Haley swore that she would always try to be nice so no one else would feel bad like she did. And I try to do the same.
And finally... a friend of mine challenged me to ask my kids "What has Mommy taught you?" So I did. From Preston, I got a very ordinary answer - "Don't hit each other." But from Brekken, I got item number 10 on the list, which I think is an excellent life lesson. Don't put your fingers in other people's mouths. And don't put their fingers in your mouth either.

Camera Catch-Up

2011-08-13T07:54:00.018-06:00

Just a few pictures I found from recent days...

Rylen LOVES to eat solid food. He grins happily whenever we put him in the high chair, because it means food is coming!

Fun at the sprayground

Aaron and the kids love to play Super Mario Wii together.

The lovely frozen waterfall that we discovered in our freezer when the icemaker broke.

Picnic Fun

2011-08-12T07:53:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the Nurse-Family Partnership company picnic. I've worked at plenty of places in the past where social events are awkward and irritating - just one more thing keeping you late at the office instead of home with your family. But at NFP, we know how to have a fun party!

For one thing, families were invited, so Aaron and the kids and I headed off to the park. It was a beautiful park full of big trees to create plenty of shade on a hot day. We got there just in time for some great BBQ. Then a couple of people pulled out the water guns.

It was really Tom (our CEO) and Kammie (our COO) who started the water fight. And when Preston saw the water guns, he wanted in on it. He ran right over and asked if he could have one. Kammie quickly gave him a great big water gun and said to him: "You see that man in the blue hat? (Tom, the CEO) Get him!"

And Preston took that as his personal mission - every time Tom turned around, there was Preston, squirting him again! The first couple of times, he didn't know how to react. After all, water battle etiquette says you should shoot back - but it's this tiny little boy... Finally, Tom squirted Preston back, Preston laughed and thought it was funny, and it was all good. I did eventually have to tell Preston to stop stalking Tom and squirt someone else. So he chose to go after Kammie instead! Haley and Brekken got in on the fun as well, and everyone (including me and Aaron - unarmed bystanders) got plenty wet. At one point, Brekken took off and started squirting everyone in sight... including several people who were not with our group, they just happened to be at the park. Oops!

There were also a couple of piñatas, a playground, a dog to play with, lots of grassy open space to run around... it was just a really good time. The kids didn't fight like they usually do - my co-workers are now under the impression that I have very well-behaved children. :)

The picnic was topped off by a visit from the Cupcake Truck! The company paid for the Cupcake Truck to come over and hand out cupcakes to everyone. Yum!

Stealth Dating

2011-08-11T08:26:00.031-06:00

Yesterday's post about stealth crawling reminded me of another stealthy activity - stealth dating. When Aaron first moved to Colorado, he employed stealth dating techniques for a while.

To catch you up - Aaron and I actually met in college. We worked together for a couple of years, but never dated. After grad school, I moved to Provo, then California, and then Colorado. Aaron moved to Iowa to go to grad school and after finishing grad school moved to Colorado. He sent out one of those mass emails that you do when you're updating your contact info.

So I was living in Littleton when I got the email saying that Aaron was moving to Greeley. We hadn't been in touch in a few years, but I sent him a quick note to let him know I was in (kind of) the same area and we should meet for lunch and catch up at some point. A few weeks later he was in my neighborhood, gave me a call, and came over to my apartment to say hi and catch up.

After that, we ended up just spending quite a bit of time together. Not really doing anything date-like, just hanging out. It was time for the summer Olympics, and Aaron didn't have a TV. So he would come down to my place to watch. Greeley to Littleton is about a 60 mile drive... so I'm sure he could have found a TV closer to his own apartment if he'd really wanted to. :)

I remember my friends kept asking me about Aaron. "You're sure spending a lot of time together. Are you dating?" And I would respond... "I don't know." Aaron later informed me that we were in fact dating - he was stealth-dating. Hanging out and being friends without the pressure of official dates until we were so used to being together that it was only natural to be a couple.

Sounds strange - but obviously it worked... we got married about six months after Aaron moved to Colorado. And still going strong 10 years later. :)

Stealth Crawling

2011-08-10T08:26:00.001-06:00

So Rylen has started crawling, but he's very stealthy about it. I've only seen him actually crawling a couple of times.

I'll see him there on his hands and knees, rocking back and forth a little, so I'll watch. I know that any moment now he's going to go crawling off. And I watch. And watch. And he doesn't move.

I take my eyes off him for a moment to talk to another child or look down at my phone or something else minor - and suddenly when I look back, Rylen is halfway across the room.

Stealth crawling. He only moves when no one is watching.

Dream Party

2011-08-09T08:45:00.000-06:00

Today's prompt from Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writer's Workshop: If you had the opportunity to throw a dream party for your closest family and friends, describe what that would look like.

I didn't even have to think about this one. As soon as I read the prompt I knew exactly what I would do with unlimited (I assume) funds to throw a dream party for our family and friends - Disneyworld!

My idea of the ultimate dream party would be a week at Disneyworld. I'm not going to be selfish and say they'd have to close down the parks for only our group... but I would request some sort of special pass that put us at the front of every line. :) And tickets to all the character meals for the kids.

That would be some party...

The Lazy Song

2011-08-08T06:13:00.000-06:00

I was listening to the radio this morning and Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song" came on. If you don't know the song, some of the lyrics are: "Today I don't feel like doing anything. I just want to stay in my bed. Today I don't feel like doing anything. Nothing at all."

It struck me that the song captured my feelings exactly. I really don't feel like doing anything. I so wish that I could stay in my bed and do nothing at all. Not long term or anything, just for a day. I think if I could have one day to just do nothing but sleep and be lazy, maybe I could finally catch up on my rest and not be so exhausted all the time.

However, today is not the day. I'm on my way to the office, where I have the feeling they will expect me to accomplish something with my time. I just may skip lunch in favor of a nap in the quiet room, though. ;)

I Dreamed a Dream

2011-07-29T10:52:00.000-06:00

Last night, I dreamed of scrubbing the shower. It was very realistic. When I woke up, I thought - "Wow! Maybe I do have a clean and shiny shower. This dream could have been a message from the cleaning fairy letting me know that she had taken care of the shower for me!"

Sadly, the dream was instead apparently just a message from my subconscious that I really need to clean the dirty shower already. Darn it.

Sign You've Been Watching Too Much Little House on the Prairie

2011-07-26T07:58:00.000-06:00

You are feeling ill and suddenly realize - this is just how it started when Almanzo and Laura came down with diptheria!

I Need a Pepsi...

2011-07-23T22:41:00.000-06:00

...full sugar. Full caffeine. The goody-two-shoes Mormon girl's equivalent of hard liquor.

A couple of days ago, I came across an old post: I Am Supermom. And I thought - I can have more days like that! It's all in the mindset and some planning. I can make it happen. Saturday is going to be a supermom day.

And I really tried. I got up and made pancakes for breakfast instead of the usual cold cereal. I promised the kids some time playing at the splash park if they'd behave while we ran a couple of errands. And we headed out.

And then I didn't have the right insurance card to pick up Preston's inhaler from the pharmacy. Hopefully he won't run around too much in the next few days... And the trip to Target didn't go as well as hoped. And the fountains weren't running at the splash park.

And in general I just spent way too much time shouting at the kids. Even as I was shouting, I knew I didn't want to be this mom. And yet I couldn't stop.

By the end of the day, I really got nothing accomplished. The house is still a mess. I didn't catch up on the dishes. Or the laundry. Or the vacuuming. And it was a bad mom day, not a supermom day.

So I need a Pepsi. I wish I had some in the house...

Eat, Papa, eat! Nobody likes a skinny Santa!

2011-07-22T06:23:00.000-06:00

Bonus points if you can name the movie my title quote is from. :)

Just as we've suspected, Preston is just not growing like he should. He had his annual check-up yesterday and his height is actually ok (though still in that 5th percentile), but he's just too skinny. He's fallen off the end of the growth curve there.

So we were sent home with a list of high-calorie foods and instructions to really feed him up for the next 8 weeks. (*sigh* I never get those instructions from MY doctor!) After a weight check in 8 weeks we'll see if things have improved and hopefully avoid having to move on to a bunch of labs and tests. I'd sure like to avoid that if possible!

I just don't know, though. One of the doc's instructions was to not let him graze all day - follow scheduled mealtimes and snack times so he'll eat more at meals. Yep, already doing that & he still doesn't eat at meals. It's not that he's picky. He'll eat most things. But he eats two bites and decides he's had enough.

And the list of high-calorie foods? Mostly stuff he already eats on a regular basis. But hopefully if we're really intentional about having him eat those things he can gain some weight in the next couple of months. Wish us luck with that.

On a completely unrelated side note - posted this from my iPhone on the bus. Love this phone! Thanks to those who advised me to get it. You were totally right!

Eating Habits

2011-07-20T14:29:00.001-06:00

Today's writing prompt is to confess a weird eating habit. I thought about it and sure, I could go with one of the old stand-bys... I hate to have my food touch. I eat all of one item on my plate, then eat the item next to it, then the next item. At the ripe old age of 36 (37? How old am I, anyway?) I still don't like to eat my vegetables - even though I make my kids eat theirs.

But no, today I decided I'd focus on utensils. I'm very picky about utensils. Really, I just prefer to use a spoon at all times. If I could figure out a way to eat steak with a spoon, I would. Forks are to be used only as a last resort.

The type of spoon matters, too. A heavy-duty plastic spoon is best. Something about the texture is good for me. A soup spoon is also very good. For some reason I just prefer that shape. There are two soup spoons in the utensil drawer at work and I always search for one of them to eat with. I find it disappointing if I can't find one and have to use a regular spoon. (So a heavy-duty plastic soup spoon would be ideal.) If I have to use a regular spoon (or fork, if forced), I want the thickest, heaviest one available. I really dislike thin and flimsy metal utensils. I have no reason for this, it's just the way it is.

What about you? Anyone else have a bizarre eating habit they want to confess?

Kids' TV... Now with Schizophrenia and Cross-Dressing

2011-07-19T10:26:00.003-06:00

I know that according to all the experts TV is horrible and we should never, never, never let our children watch. But I also know that unlike the "experts" the rest of us live in the real world and television is a part of it. So yes, I admit that my kids watch more than the recommended amount of TV. Though when asked about this by the pediatrician, I have been known to respond "Yes, we try to limit the amount of TV," wherein limit actually means "We occasionally turn the television off in order to spend more time playing Wii."

I actually think kids can learn a lot from TV. My kids can tell you all about eating habits of the koala bear and why earthworms come out when it rains thanks to Wild Kratts. They're learning Japanese from Ni-Hao Kai Lan. Phineas and Ferb helps encourage their imagination.

But then there are the other shows. The annoying shows. The ones that I occasionally ban because I just can't stand to watch them anymore.

Like Dora. Always with the shouting and encouraging them to jump up. I know, I know... they're encouraging kids to get moving. But sometimes I have my kids sitting in front of the TV because I just want them to sit still for one. freaking. minute. And besides, who are these irresponsible parents who let her wander around on her own with only a monkey? What kind of example is this? On Halloween, she had to be in by midnight! That's quite a late curfew for a child her age. (I did have a bit of a revelation about Dora a couple of years ago that may explain a lot: http://5shields.blogspot.com/2009/03/after-many-years-of-watching-dora.html)

I can't handle Calliou because of his constant whining. It's like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. I have to hit the mute button. (And besides, what's up with the bald head? Is he a cancer patient? Does he have alopecia? Have they seen a doctor about it? Why is it never addressed in a "very special episode" where Calliou is teased by the other children because he still has no hair at 4 years old?)

Angelina Ballerina is another one that kills me with the whining. Believe me, there is quite enough whining and crying in my house already without watching it on TV! But in every episode you are guaranteed that at some point Angelina will begin to sob and probably run off somewhere to fling herself down dramatically and cry. (Maybe that's where Haley learned this charming habit!)

We've learned that sometimes watching children's television requires a little self-defense. If you add your own internal filter to the show, it's a lot more interesting (or at least bearable) for adults to watch. For example, Special Agent Oso... if you assume that the special part is because the bear is part of a special education program, then you see why he needs help to do the simplest tasks. Now you can cheer him on instead of being annoyed that he can't do anything right. ("Come on! You really need 'three special steps' to open a door?")

Handy Manny... does anyone else hear the tools talking? Or is it only Manny? Maybe the rest of the neighborhood just humors him. ("He thinks the tools talk to him. Just go along with it, because he's the only handyman in town.") The show is a lot more interesting to watch once you have that in mind.

A friend just told me that they picture Calliou's father as a closet transvestite... I'm watching that show with new eyes tonight!

At least those popsicles won't drip all over their clothes...

2011-07-19T08:33:00.000-06:00

Quick funny from Brekken

2011-07-16T09:38:00.000-06:00

"Look! It's a hooker!"

No, it's not. It's a HOOK. Big difference. There are quite a few hooks around the house. But hopefully no hookers.

That's nice to hear...

2011-07-15T10:15:00.000-06:00

The CEO's assistant just came by and let me know that she was talking with the CEO earlier and he made a comment about how he hadn't realized until recently how brilliant I am. Well! That's certainly a good thing to hear. The CEO thinks I'm brilliant!

Do you suppose this has anything to do with the day he saw me topless? ;-)

yawn

2011-07-15T07:46:00.000-06:00

Maybe I've been spoiled, but all my other kids were sleeping through the night by the time they got to this age (almost 8 months). Not Rylen. No this boy still gets up 2-3 times each night. He's not up for long - he'll usually go back to sleep within 10-15 minutes. But that's still an interruption in my sleep. Considering I rarely make it to bed before 11 p.m. or midnight, and I have to be up no later than 5 a.m. (though earlier is better), waking up 2-3 times in this short stretch means that I am chronically short on sleep. Thank goodness for naptime on the bus!

I dream (during the short time I'm asleep) of the time when Rylen decides it's okay to stay asleep all night.

A little help?

2011-07-11T09:56:00.002-06:00

So I'm FINALLY eligible to upgrade my phone to a smartphone... I'm so excited! Now the question is, what's the best option?

When I look at the options on my AT&T plan, they're offering

Motorola Flipside
iPhone 3GS (technically they also offer iPhone 4, but it's $200 more than I want to spend)
Windows Phone 7
HTC Inspire
LG Quantum

Any thoughts or reviews? Do you have one of these phones and love it or hate it?

I want to be able to surf the web and take a decent picture. And possibly make phone calls. Any input would be appreciated!

The Vacation... part 4

2011-07-10T06:05:00.001-06:00

As usual, we had to have some massive storms while at Reunion! We were all stuck under the tarps for quite a while while a few rounds of rain and hail moved through. The kids thought it was great fun to run around and get soaking wet in the rain. They did not find it quite as fun once the quarter-size hail began falling! But they greatly enjoyed the hail-ball fight that followed the storms.

There was time for fishing - the kids didn't really catch anything worth keeping, but they had a great time anyway.

My favorite thing about Reunion is just getting to sit around and talk with my family. I had a wonderful time talking with my sisters. Rylen met my brother Brian and snuggled right up to him for a good long time. He also really liked my sister Emily. Since I often can't get Rylen to go to anyone else when I'm around, it was really nice to able to hand him off for a little while and have him happy about it!

Two things that stick in my mind from all the various conversations...

At one point, the subject of my "dainty little hands" came up. A co-worker recently commented on the fact that I have "dainty little hands," which I've always referred to as "stubby little fingers." My sisters and mom and I all compared hand sizes and we were all pretty similar. Then we compared hand size with Grandma. When I pressed my hand against Grandma's, my fingers ended at the beginning of her first knuckle - confirming that I do indeed have stubby little fingers and explaining why Grandma has much better reach when playing the piano. :)

And I learned that my mom and sisters and I all have to have a blanket (or at least a sheet) when we sleep. It doesn't matter how hot it is, we HAVE to cover up. Interestingly, for all of us, if we get hot it's ok to stick your feet out from under the blanket, but you still have to have the blanket wrapped up around your arms and shoulders. I don't see how that could be genetic, but it sure seems odd that we all have the same habit! :)

We were very happy to have Grandpa there with us to celebrate his 82nd birthday at the Reunion. Given his stage 5 cancer, it was certainly in all our minds last year that he might not be with us this year. I'm so happy that we had him there again and will keep my fingers crossed that we'll have him with us again next year.

After saying goodbyes at the Reunion, we headed for home. The weather was cooler due to lots of rain, which helped make the ride more bearable. It was also very LONG, due to the fact that we had to change our route halfway home because a landslide had closed the road we were planning to take. We finally arrived home at 4:30 a.m.

It was fun. It was exhausting. I'll be glad to do it all again next year (minus the car troubles and visit to the DMV!), but right now I'm pretty glad we don't have another road trip planned until November!

The Vacation... part 3

2011-07-09T06:45:00.004-06:00

When we got to Vernal, we discovered a wonderful thing - my parents had gotten a new air conditioner for the living room and it blew out a lot of very cold air! After several hours in the car in the middle of a VERY warm day, this was a beautiful thing. My parents had already headed up the mountain, so we just hung out with the air conditioner for a while to enjoy the cool. {Yes, I realize we were a little obsessed with air conditioning.}

We took Aaron out to dinner at Cafe Rio for his birthday and went back to my parents' place to go to bed. Since they weren't there, they'd told us we could use their bed upstairs and put the kids to bed on the living room couches so we wouldn't have to haul our things downstairs to the basement bedroom we usually use. We were pretty tired, so it sounded like a good plan. Until the kids started complaining about that wonderful AC. "We're cold! We need blankets! Turn it off!"

It occurred to us that if we put the kids to bed on the couches, we would have to turn off the air conditioner or they would complain all night. And we would be in the bedroom wishing for the cold air. So instead we decided to put the kids to bed in Grandma and Grandpa's room and Aaron and I slept on the couches! Ah, wonderful cold air for us. :)

We spent Saturday, Sunday, and part of Monday on the mountain with the family, coming down only at night to go to bed. We had the usual big family lunch - and miraculously it did not rain and/or snow during lunch! We were half done eating when I suddenly realized that we were not huddling under the tarps to eat as we usually do for Reunion.

The weather was so beautiful that we were able to go with my cousin Robert to take some family photos after lunch. They turned out wonderfully! We're rumpled and a little dirty (especially Brekken, who fell in a swamp literally moments before we started taking pictures) but I love it. It shows what our family is really like! It's my favorite people in the world in my favorite place in the world. Perfect.

The Vacation... part 2

2011-07-08T06:34:00.027-06:00

We had a good time at Aaron's family reunion. The family rented a big house so that all of us could stay together, but still have enough space to not be TOO together. The house was really nice, with enough bedrooms for each family to have one, space for the kids to play indoors and out, and most importantly, air conditioning. ;-)

Unfortunately, we didn't have quite as much time there as we'd hoped, since we arrived a day later than we'd planned. But we had a good time while we were there. On Wednesday we kind of just hung out around the house recovering from the all night drive. (Aaron got to have a long nap. I, somehow, did not.) The kids immediately discovered the trampoline, slide, and ping pong table and went wild. They just love it when they get to play with "the cousins" as they refer to our nieces and nephews.

Thursday was zoo day. Aaron's parents have an annual pass to the zoo that lets them bring grandchildren as well, so we always go to the zoo when we visit. I've been to Hogle Zoo many more times than I've been to the Denver Zoo! It was fun, but hot. The kids were very happy to find some "spitting" statues that sprayed them with water. By the end of the day, we were very ready to head back to the house, where we had yummy pulled-pork sandwiches, a water balloon fight, popsicles and some firecrackers to round out the evening.

Friday morning - and Aaron's birthday - came and it was time to pack up and say goodbye. I'd thought we were going to take Aaron out to lunch for his birthday, but it didn't happen. And on top of that, I'd forgotten to bring Aaron's presents for him to open. Poor Aaron always gets short-changed on his birthday. We are usually travelling to my reunion and so we don't end up doing much. :( Next year I'm going to do better!

So we loaded into the hot car once again and set out for Vernal and my family reunion.

The Vacation... part 1

2011-07-07T09:34:00.000-06:00

I've had a few people ask where I've been - usually I manage to add a blog post or two even on vacation. But this time I took the week off! We just got back from a week of family reunions and it was wonderful. At least, it was wonderful once we got there. We got off to kind of a rough start...

I stayed up until 3 a.m. packing the night before we left. I wanted everything ready so that in the morning we could just grab the last couple of things (toothbrushes and such that we still needed to use that morning), put everything in the van and head out. I loaded the van while Aaron finished just a couple of things he needed to do for work before leaving. And then those few things took a LONG time. So several hours after I had hoped to leave, we finally got out the door.

Aaron had just realized that his driver's license was going to expire while we were gone, so we decided we had to make a quick - hopefully! - stop at the DMV on the way out of town. A co-worker of Aaron's had told him that the Golden DMV was always quick with no lines. Of course, when we got there, it was a 2 hour wait. They sent us to the Arapahoe County DMV, because they have an Express Driver's License location. Express. That sure implies quick, doesn't it? But it's not. It's very. Very. Very. SLOW.

The kids and I sat in the parking lot waiting for Aaron. Since it was an express location, we were hoping he could be in and out in maybe half an hour. After about 15 minutes, there was suddenly a huge hissing from underneath the van! Clouds of vapor billowing around us until we couldn't even see out the windows. And a sudden lack of cool air from the air conditioner. I turned off the car and we tried to wait it out with the windows down. But after about 20 minutes we couldn't take it anymore - it was 102 degrees outside and approaching that inside the car!

So I grabbed all the kids and we went inside to wait for Aaron. We checked in with him - still about 25 numbers to go ahead of him. Luckily, there was a waiting area in the hallway with some benches and a little room to wiggle around where we wouldn't have to confine the kids to the room where everyone was waiting in line. As we walked into the waiting area, an older man was sitting on a bench and says to me: "Jeez, how many kids do you need to bring with you to the DMV, for God's sake? What the **** is that about?"

Tired, frustrated, and really, really hot, I responded: "You know what? We tried to wait outside in the car, but the air conditioning just blew up. So to avoid heat stroke, we came in here. My kids aren't doing anything to bug you and until they do, leave us alone." He sputtered a little, but didn't say anything else to us while we were there. (And for the record, my kids probably did bug him by the time he left. I don't care.)

FINALLY, 20 minutes after the DMV actually closed, Aaron was done. Then we had to figure out what to do about the car. We found a garage where they were able to look at it and let us know that the AC compressor had gone out. The car was still perfectly drivable, as long as we didn't try to run the AC at all. So we decided to go have dinner and then head out on an overnight drive.

The drive itself was fine, just very hot. I think it was around midnight in the vicinity of Grand Junction that we couldn't take the heat anymore and started stripping down. Shirts came off all around the car. (Important bits were still covered, just a little less so. ;-) )

We stopped to sleep in a Wal-Mart parking lot for a couple of hours and made it Draper around 7 a.m. Whew! First leg of the trip was done!

Just had to share the cuteness!

2011-06-24T11:04:00.000-06:00

Vacation!

2011-06-24T08:02:00.001-06:00

Last day of work today before heading out on a week of vacation! We're taking off for Utah on Monday to attend a couple of family reunions.

We'll go to Aaron's family reunion first. We have rented a big house that can hold all of us (grandparents, 4 kids and spouses, and assorted children). We're looking forward to seeing everyone, taking the kids to the zoo, and just relaxing a bit. As much as is possible when you have 4 kids to take care of, anyway!

Then we go to my family reunion. This is my huge reunion that I have reminisced about on the blog a time or two. I just LOVE going to this reunion. It's a highlight of my year. We were a little worried earlier this month that there would be a snag in the reunion plans. There has been a LOT of snow in the mountains this year. And 2 weeks before the reunion, the road to the campground was still closed because of the snow!

But as of last week it is open. But very muddy (the boys will love that). And I have to wonder how much snow is still hanging out in the trees. I may be feeling glad that we're not camping, because it could be a cold, soggy year at Iron Springs.

Regardless of the weather, I can't wait!

Things My Kids Can't Do

2011-06-23T06:16:00.011-06:00

Thanks to accidents my children and friends' children have had, various news reports, and general paranoia, I'm becoming scared to let my kids do anything. The current list of things they can't do because mommy is scared includes:

Ride bikes (general paranoia that they could fall and get hurt or hit by a car)
Go to the playground (Sarah's daughter fell and was seriously injured)
Play near a door (Preston got his finger caught in the door and badly smashed)
Swim in a pool (Melissa's son had to be rescued by a lifeguard recently)
Play in a kiddie pool (news reports just released that LOTS of kids drown in kiddie pools)
Run down a hill (Melissa's friend's daughter fell and got a concussion and possible skull fracture)
Jump from the back of the couch to the floor (just seems like a bad idea, really, but Preston tries to do this all. the. TIME.)
Move out of my sight while we're camping on the mountain (news reports every year of kids who get lost)
Walk to a friend's house 6 blocks away (kidnapping, sex offenders, reckless drivers... all reasons that I have to walk Haley there and back myself instead of letting her go on her own)

The list is longer than that, but those are the things on the top of my mind. All of these things bring on The Fear. (From one of my favorite blogs, Rants from Mommyland. The Fear: irrational, all-consuming anxiety that something awful may happen to the [children] (or their father). Sex offenders, drunk drivers, and enemy combatants among those who inspire The Fear. Results in statements like; "No you may NOT walk to the mailbox without a grown-up. I don't care if you are in High School." The Fear strikes Daddies and Mommies in equal measure.)

What brings on The Fear for you? What do you do to deal with The Fear and let your children live a normal life in spite of your paranoia?

The Power of Prayer

2011-06-22T08:54:00.023-06:00

"Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings." (from the Bible dictionary)

A few weeks ago I posted about my friend's daughter, Kenley (Pray for Kenley). After all that poor Kenley went through, I will admit that I was feeling gloomy about her recovery. Here is a 20-month-old child who had 3 brain surgeries and a stroke. I knew that many, many people were praying for her, and I do believe that through prayer, miracles are possible. But I also know that sometimes the answer to a prayer is No. And I was so worried that this would be one of those times.

But I see this incident now as a wonderful testament to the power of prayer. Kenley has made wonderful progress in her recovery. From her mother:

"Kenley is able to drink a bit with a sippy cup, and she has been eating some pureed type foods, although only around 6 ounces a day, and she still refuses food a lot. She also clearly favors the left side of her mouth for eating, and was able to try a few gerber dissolvable snacks today. {Most of Kenley's nutrition comes from a feeding tube right now, but they are hopeful that it can be removed eventually as Kenley's ability to eat improves.}
She is really starting to babble. Mostly just jibberish, but she did say "neigh" to a horse and we think she is saying Minnie. Occasional movements from her right side, very sporadic and extremely weak, the foot movements seem to be purposeful, but I'm not sure about the hand. Her neck control is much better, almost back to normal which is great considering the floppy newborn she was a few days ago. We have been trying to get her to sit up, but she still ends up slowly falling to her right side."

So a huge improvement from the non-responsive child she was for the first week or so!! She is doing well enough that she was already transferred from the PICU to the regular children's floor. And now she has reached the point that she can leave the hospital and move to a rehab facility. She still has a ways to go:

"We are expecting to be at the rehab center for 4-6 weeks. In order for Kenley to leave, she either has to reach all of the goals they set for her, or she has to reach a point where she is no longer to accomplish anymore goals. Doug and I will also have goals that we will have to meet, in the areas of being able to care for whatever her needs are once we go home (such as her feedings, if she is still on a feeding tube)."

But compared to what the outcome could have been, this is wonderful. I am so thankful that Kenley's recovery is going so well thus far and know that it is in answer to all the prayers that have been uttered in her behalf.

R.I.P. Kindle

2011-06-21T08:51:00.000-06:00

Tara's Kindle succumbed to a sudden and unexpected software-related illness. Despite lengthy and heroic efforts by the Amazon tech-support staff, Tara's Kindle was unable to be revived. It was laid to rest on Saturday, June 18.

Tara's Kindle is survived by it's grieving owner, Tara, who is currently having to resort to reading physical books. Kindle is also survived by approximately 150 e-books currently floating out there in virtual space somewhere, waiting for a new home.

Thanks to Amazon Kindle Support for their kind assistance in this time of need. And especially for sending a replacement Kindle* ASAP.

* Thank goodness it was still under waranty so I didn't have to pay for a new one!

Quick Father's Day Funny

2011-06-18T19:34:00.000-06:00

Preston just informed me that he thinks he would like to get Aaron a tattoo for Father's Day.

"I think it's just right," he told me. "Because Daddy likes the needles." Aaron might disagree.

When I asked what the tattoo should be, there was some discussion. Preston leaned toward a picture of our cat, Chairman Meow.

But Haley's suggestion was voted best. I'm sure Aaron will be thrilled. ;)

One of these days I'll get it right...

2011-06-17T12:56:00.001-06:00

In our office suite, we're very concerned with security. To the point that to go to the bathroom, I have to go out one locked door and 10 feet later, go in through another locked door. (That, or go around the long way. Frankly, I'm like my kids. I always have better things to do than take time out to go to the bathroom. By the time I finally get around to taking a potty break, I'm looking for the shortest route!)

This has been the case for several months now, so you'd think I have the hang of it. But no. Every time I go out the first door, I reach for my key (hanging from a stylish frog clip hooked to my waistband) to open it. From the unlocked side. Oops! Don't need the key to open the door over here! But now that I've almost grabbed it here, I'm sure to remember to use it on the next door. :D

Then I exit the door. 10 feet later (Okay, I don't know the exact distance, but it's very short. It takes maybe 5 seconds to walk from one to the other.) I come to the second door. And try to open it. What! It's locked! Oh, wait... right. THIS is where I was supposed to use my key. D'oh!

But hey, at least serves as a good reminder so that I remember how it works when when returning from the bathroom a few minutes later, right?

So I go out the first door - don't need my key for that one! Walk 10 feet. Try to open the door and d'oh! Right. It's locked. I need the key. Just like I did 2 minutes ago.

Almost Disneyland

2011-06-16T16:35:00.000-06:00

Have you ever been to Disneyland or Disneyworld on a really hot day? When you walk past some of the indoor attractions like Pirates of the Caribbean or Small World you get just that little breath of damp, cool air coming from the front of the building. And it's just a little refreshing and makes you want more.

As I walk to the bus stop each night, I walk past the entrance to an underground parking garage. And on a hot day, as I walk past I get just that little breath of damp, cool air. And it always makes me think of Disneyland and think of happy trips I've made there.

It's an odd mental leap, I know. Parking garage > Disneyland. But it makes me smile. And also makes me want to take another Disney trip!

Barefoot and Hormonal

2011-06-15T09:19:00.003-06:00

Today's writing prompt from Mama Kat: describe an incident that upset you when you were pregnant, but now looking back makes you laugh.

When I was pregnant this 4th time around, I was teaching a church class of 4 & 5 year olds. I had a team teacher, so we would take turns. One week I would teach the lesson while she sat with the class to help them remember to behave and participate. The next week we switched roles. It worked pretty well.

Then I was gone on vacation for a week. I had arranged for a substitute while I was gone because it was my week. And so I knew when I came back, it was my team teacher's week to teach. I knew she was there. I'd seen her earlier. So when it was time to go to class, the kids and I went to our classroom and waited for her. After a few minutes, she hadn't arrived. So we did a round of bathroom visits and trips to the drinking fountain to kill a little time.

And she still wasn't there. So I opened the lesson manual and figured I would wing it for the first couple of minutes until she joined us. Then she could take over with her planned lesson. About 10 minutes into it, the door finally opened. I looked up in relief to see her there. Then I was confused when she just handed me a class roll and turned to leave.

She noticed my confusion and asked if anyone had told me that she was no longer team teaching our class. She was now the secretary for the children's primary instead.

Immediately, the tears welled up. But I don't have a lesson prepared! It was your week to teach. So I don't have a lesson!

She apologized. She was sorry no one got in touch with me - I guess no one realized I had been out of town and didn't know. I sent her on her way. After all, it's not rocket science. I can wing it for one lesson. And then I proceeded to sob all through class. Because, darn it, I was unprepared. I didn't have a lesson! I finally got myself under control by the end of class. Those poor kids, having to deal with me that day.

After class, the primary president came to see me and apologize that I hadn't been told. And I started to cry again. Because I didn't have a lesson. I didn't mean to be unprepared. I just didn't know. And so I didn't have a lesson! And I had to do it myself. And I don't feel good. And I didn't have a lesson!

I was very stuck on this point for some reason. It just struck me as the worst failing ever. My husband and the other kids joined us. He was concerned to see me standing in the hallway sobbing. The primary president tried to explain what was wrong. I tried to reassure them all that I was fine. I was just a little upset because I didn't have a lesson.

Looking back, it is very ridiculous to have been so upset. It's not like the kids cared one way or another. They would have been just as happy to color on a blank sheet of paper for the whole class. Or play Simon Says. Or go on a walk around the building. Or just keep visiting the drinking fountain across the hall. But I couldn't think of that in the midst of the hormone-induced craziness. All I could think was that I didn't have a lesson!

Quick Funny from Preston

2011-06-14T19:17:00.001-06:00

Preston and Brekken are playing something. Preston is running around the house shouting "Go, Team Jesus! Go, Team Jesus!"

I don't know what the game is, but I'm glad to hear that's the team he's cheering for. :D

Mmmmm... Panda!

2011-06-14T07:56:00.003-06:00

Last night I gave in to the pleas for a silly little toy currently in the McDonald's happy meals - Kung Fu Panda action figures. On the way home, the three older kids had an interesting conversation about pandas.

Preston: I think I would like to eat a panda. I would just take all of the fur off and eat it up.

Haley: That's gross! You would have to cook it first.

Preston: I don't know how to cook. So I would just have to take a bite.

Haley: I would cook it for you. You just pull off all the fur, then put it in the oven for 10 minutes and then it's done. ...{a few seconds of deep thought}... maybe I would need to have a recipe. Mom, where do pandas live?

Mom: In China.

Haley: Okay. Hey, Mom! I need to learn Chinese. Then I could go to China and find someone and ask them, "Hey, how do you cook a panda?" And then we could cook one and eat it.

Brekken: Mmmmm... Panda!

Quick Funny from Preston

2011-06-11T10:46:00.001-06:00

"You know what, Mom? I have a really strong butt.

When I get mad, I get super strong - like the Hulk. But especially in my butt."

Preston's Questions

2011-06-08T08:46:00.002-06:00

In the same file with Sounds from the Roadtrip (yesterday's post) I found a list of questions asked by Preston. Only some of them, because as I recall, this conversation went on for almost as hour as we drove. As soon as we came up for an answer to one question, he had another one to ask! This particular line of questioning was inspired by seeing a police car sitting at the side of the road:

What if the police fall asleep in their car?

What if they’re too tired to drive home?

What if they don’t have any friends to come get them?

What would happen to the car?

What if a police was friends with a bad guy?

What if a bad guy killed a police?

What if you know a bad guy and know he’s killing police – do you have to make it a secret?

What if you don’t know the policeman – can you talk to him?

What if a police had to arrest another police?

Road Trip Story

2011-06-07T08:38:00.002-06:00

Another prompt from Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writer's Workshop. Today's prompt is to share a memorable road trip story.

I don't know how memorable this is, but I had my work laptop with me on our last roadtrip. And after we got home, I found a file on the desktop. When I opened it, I found that I was apparently making notes about the trip as we drove. Here it is, exactly as I found it. :)

Sounds from the road trip

whisper mumble whisper giggle whisper (Haley talking to herself in the back seat)

snuffle squirm whimper (Rylen trying to decide whether to wake up and scream for dinner and a snuggle)

rustle wiggle giggle smack!* MOM!!! (Brekken and Preston playing in the far backseat… which inevitably turns to fighting and shouting, with Haley generally joining in at some point)

AARRGH! (the silent – and sometimes not so silent – screaming from me when all of the above gets to be too much. Remind me again why we do road trips?)

*As a side note, doesn't "Rustle, Wiggle, Giggle, Smack" sound like an excellent name for a children's book? :D

Comfort Food At It's Finest

2011-06-02T12:10:00.003-06:00

This is a prompt from Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writer's Workshop. It's a fun way to come up with blog topics, and I've been reading the prompts for a while. Now I'm finally getting around to actually responding to a prompt and I'm writing about:

Comfort food at its finest. Share a family favorite recipe you loved as a child.

The one that came to mind was tacos. We had tacos pretty frequently growing up. They're easy, pretty inexpensive, and all 6 kids were willing to eat them. No wonder we ate tacos a lot!

Our taco recipe was pretty simple. Cook ground beef, add taco seasoning. Spoon beef into a flour tortilla or crunchy taco shell. Top with cheese and lettuce. Add ketchup.

That's right, ketchup. For some reason we always put ketchup on our tacos! I don't know where that started, but that's just the way we always ate tacos.

These days, I cringe at the thought. I guess I've become a taco snob. Plus, I don't like ketchup!

And yet... I remember how much I always loved those tacos. Maybe I'll have to try it again.

Pray for Kenley

2011-06-01T15:54:00.005-06:00

A good friend of mine is going through a terrible time right now. Her 20-month-old daughter took a tumble from a slide at the playground. It happens to all kids. It's happened to my kids so many times. But this time, she just fell wrong. And Kenley hit her head. And her skull was fractured. And she had a brain bleed.

Kenley was flown to the hospital 3 hours away from her parents. While they were still on the way, it was decided that they had to operate. I cannot even imagine the pain of dealing with that. Knowing that my child was having brain surgery and I was not there with her? It brings tears to my eyes to even think about it.

Kenley's surgery went well, but she is still in a medically-induced coma and on a ventilator - and will be for several more days at least. They are still having some issues with swelling of the brain, and now running into trouble with her glucose and insulin levels. From all I gather, doctors are cautiously optimistic, but she's not out of the woods by a long shot.

As a firm believer in the power of prayer, I feel that the more prayers on her behalf the better! I've put her in my personal prayers. I've put her on the prayer roll at our temple. And now I'm asking for you to put Kenley in your prayers as well. She and her family need all the prayers you can send.

When I grow up...

2011-05-29T23:40:00.001-06:00

Preston informed me yesterday that he's decided what he wants to be when he grows up:

"When I grow up, I want to be a vet at a zoo. I want to take care of the tigers. Plus, they would let me ride the elephants."

Good to have a goal! :)

Bad Blogger!

2011-05-23T09:10:00.005-06:00

I know I've been a bad blogger recently. I haven't managed to post much at all. But in my defense, it has been REALLY busy around here.

I spent the last weeks of April and 1st week of May frantically trying to finish everything up for a big education session we were having. 250+ nurse supervisors and administrators coming to Denver for a week and I was in charge of all the sessions, presenter materials, activities during the sessions, etc. Talk about stressed! I was working flat-out all day at the office - to the point that as I was leaving for the day I would realize that I'd never had a chance to do things like eat lunch... or go to the bathroom. Then I'd go home and work some more; going to bed around 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. then getting up by 5:00 to go back to the office and start in again.

It was a relief when the time for the conference actually arrived! At least the end was in sight. And the conference itself actually went great! The sessions (mostly) went as planned. The attendees enjoyed the week. My boss was happy. Her bosses were happy. We (the planning group) were exhausted but very happy. I was VERY glad that my awesome mother agreed to come over and help for the week. It meant I didn't have to feel so bad about the early mornings and late nights all week (I barely saw the kids). I did feel bad for my poor mother having to deal with all of that! But I was glad she was there to help Aaron. I was ESPECIALLY glad on Wednesday, when...

The school called in the middle of a session. They were letting me know that Haley had pink-eye and had to go home immediately. Thank goodness Mom was there at the house, so she could pick Haley up and take her home. The pink-eye started a wonderful round of sickness at our house. Pink-eye for all! Actually, Aaron and I escaped it, and only Haley had a really bad case of it. Poor Preston did have to miss his preschool graduation, though. As the pink-eye was winding down, Rylen got sick with RSV. So the week after the conference I was home with him all week because he was just too sick and miserable to go to daycare. Just as I thought I could go back to work on Thursday, Brekken threw up on Wednesday night. Then Preston woke in the night complaining that he was really sick and about to throw up. So I stayed home on Thursday, too. And Preston missed his last day of school and the party for that, but both the older boys seemed fine by about noon. I actually went to work on Friday! Thank goodness, because I was out of sick time.

While all of the above was going on, we were getting ready for the kids' choir performance. Haley and Preston are both in Sounds of Joy and they've been practicing for a musical for the last few months. The performances were - you guessed it - last week. So in the midst of all the illness, we had to juggle in practices for the healthy (healthier?) ones. 4 hours on Tuesday night. Another 4 hours Wednesday night. Performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. The kids did great and it was a very fun show - but everyone was pretty tired out by the end of the week.

Oh, and we had two birthdays (Brekken & Preston) to celebrate, too. Had to work that in. And the end of school, field days, assemblies, etc.

So finally, it's all at an end. Things are back to normal with work and kids. Right? Except that yesterday (Sunday) Rylen still had that nasty RSV cough. And Brekken started running a fever. By the end of the day, we hoped things were looking up. Everyone seemed well enough to go to daycare on Monday - so I went to work.

Sure enough, an hour after I got to work, I got a call from Aaron. Brekken is throwing up. Rylen is running a fever again. Preston is complaining that he doesn't feel well. I'm going home...

Maybe TOMORROW things will be back to normal. I hope to eventually get some sleep.

Quick Funny from Brekken

2011-05-07T12:30:00.002-06:00

It's Brekken's birthday and he desperately wants to open his presents. He keeps picking them up and shaking them next to his ear, then making a random guess at what might be inside.

"I think it's a burrito!"

"Maybe it's a periscope!"

The presents are from Grandma & Grandpa Shields, so I can't be certain, but I'm fairly sure they did not send a burrito or a periscope.

When Brekken started to open one of the presents, I reminded him that he needed to wait until Daddy got home.

"Why?!?"

"Because Daddy would be sad if you opened presents without him. He wants to see what you got."

"Don't worry, I will tell him later."

5:55 a.m.

2011-05-06T13:28:00.004-06:00

5:55 a.m.
What is that irritating sound? It's not my alarm. I think it's a phone beeping to be charged. Is it my phone? Wait, what time is it? Should my alarm be going off? WHAT!?!? Why didn't my alarm go off? I'm supposed to leave to catch the bus right now!! CRAP! I guess I'm driving today.

5:57 a.m.
Okay, I can still get to work on time. As long as I leave by 6:30, I can be in the office by 7:15 to start packing up for the convention. I just have to be quick. 10 minutes to brush my teeth and shower. 5 minutes for clothes and makeup. 15 minutes to change the baby, give him his medicine, and feed him. No problem.

6:07 a.m.
Shoot! What happened to the time? How has is been 10 minutes already? I haven't even made it into the shower yet.

6:12
Okay, see, that was nice and fast. Now just dry off, yank the hair into a ponytail and put on some clothes. We're still okay here. So I get there by 7:30. Georgette probably won't be there by 7:30 anyway. We just have to have everything packed by noon - if we start by 8:00 we're probably okay.

6:15 a.m.
Thank goodness I laid out today's clothes before going to bed last night. That really speeds things up. I should do that more often. So, just a little moisturizer and I'm good. No meetings or anything today, I don't need to worry about makeup. My lips are a little dry, though. Maybe some chapstick. Oooo... I have that nice lipstain with the moisturizing gloss - I could put on some of that. Yeah, that looks good. Oh great. Is that a zit on my chin? Okay, a little concealer. It doesn't really conceal all that well on its own though. So alright, just a quick coat of foundation. And a little powder, because that's what I do when I wear foundation. So done! Oh, except I forgot mascara. And I'm already wearing foundation and lipstick. I guess I could add a little eyeliner and some shadow. Now I look all dressed up. All dressed up to spend the morning packing, that makes a lot of sense.

6:25 a.m.
Gaah! Why did I spend all that time messing with makeup? I have a schedule to meet, here! Okay baby, wake up! Time for medicine. No - don't drool it out! I don't have time for you to resist on this...

6:30 a.m.
Baby medicine - check. Baby changed - check. Now if you'll just cooperate and eat fast...

6:40 a.m.
That's going to have to be enough to hold you for the morning. I have to get going! That's right, lay back down in the crib... go back to sleep...

SHHH! Brekken, don't talk! Why are you up? Just climb in bed with Daddy and be very quiet, okay?

6:45 a.m.
Okay, kissed everyone goodbye. Everyone still sleeping - except Brekken, but he's watching cartoons quietly from the bed. I'm only an hour late leaving the house... I hope this isn't an indicator of how the day will go. [For the record, it was...]

It finally happened...

2011-05-04T15:58:00.002-06:00

So after all my paranoia over the last couple of months that I would accidentally go to work without a shirt, or walk out of my office with my shirt unbuttoned, or somehow expose myself in an embarrassing fashion... today it happened.

And it was totally not my fault! And it was really not as bad as you'd think it would be.

Let me set the scene for you. I was in my office pumping. Because I'm so swamped getting ready for this convention right now, I have no time to actually take a break and pump. I put up my sign on the outside of the door telling people I'm pumping, please don't disturb. Then, since I have a hands-free pumping band, I pull up my shirt, strap on the pump, and keep working away. So I sit there facing the (closed) door.

There was a quick tap at the door. Then before I could say a word (like - Don't come in. I'll be with you in a moment. Something along those lines.) the door pops open and in comes the CEO. He started talking as he walked in and then he suddenly registered what I was doing.

I pulled my sweater around me to cover up as best I could, smiled at him, and said: "Hi."

I've never seen such a comically horrified look as was on his face as he backed out of the office as fast as possible.

I talked to him later to find out what he'd needed, and he apologized for barging in. I told him it was fine - and it really was. It was really more amusing than embarrassing because he was so obviously horrified to have intruded.

So then it was all over with - you'd think.

Except that later in the day, I was pumping again. (I generally pump twice a day.) And here came that same knock on the door. This time, at least, he didn't immediately open the door. I had time to ask him to wait a minute, then put myself back together before opening the door. The poor man's face was beet red as he realized he had almost done it again.

As a co-worker pointed out to me, perhaps today is a good day to ask for a raise. ;)

Party in the USA

2011-05-02T07:49:00.002-06:00

Like most everyone else in the U.S.A. last night we saw the news last night about Osama bin Laden. When they first broke in with the "Breaking News" banner, we started speculating about what it could be. Something tragic like a plane crash? Something worrisome like an escalation of the conflicts in the Middle East? Something not truly newsworthy like Donald Trump announcing an election bid?

We definitely didn't expect the announcement of Osama bin Laden's death. To tell the truth, he's really fallen off the radar for me lately. I'm sure he's been doing things behind the scenes that I'm just not aware of, but since he hasn't been front and center in the news recently, I'd kind of forgotten about his existence.

Now that I've been reminded of his existence and his actions over the course of his life, I am very glad to have him no longer out there plotting against the U.S.A. I worry about what others in his organization might plan - either as retaliation or as a way of showing that they're still as big and bad as ever.

One thing I don't understand is the partying in the streets after the announcement. Like I said, I'm glad he is no longer heading up Al Qaeda. I don't have a problem at all with Special Forces taking him out, because it seems like something that had to be done to neutralize the threat he posed. But the fact is that no matter how evil he was, he was still a human being at the core of it. And it feels wrong to me to celebrate the death of any human being.

So I didn't join in any partying in the streets. Though Aaron and I joked that if we were truly patriotic we would roust the kids out of bed and head down to the Colorado capitol building with our American flag. And then we went to bed instead. ;D

Quick Funny from Brekken

2011-04-29T10:28:00.002-06:00

Aaron and the boys were driving through an area with a lot of construction equipment and saw a crane with a big hook hanging from the arm. Brekken's comment:

"Hey, look at that hooker!"

A Brand New Car!

2011-04-28T07:23:00.004-06:00

Last night, Aaron and I impulsively decided to get a new car for me. Because mine can't actually fit the whole family, and even to fit all the kids in it, we have to have Haley in the front seat. So even though my old car was completely paid off and still runs great, we decided it was time to replace it.

So I got up this morning and spent the whole time I was getting dressed, feeding the baby, etc. worrying over this new car. I was thinking things like: "What were we thinking?" "We can't afford another car payment right now." "Sure, it's nice, but we were managing with my old car." "How did we even get approved? Surely the financing company can see that we can't afford this!"

I was really stressed out and trying to figure out what we were going to cut from the budget in order to pay for this new car. It wasn't until I got to the driveway to see my old car still sitting there that it dawned on me that it had all been a dream. No new car. No new car payment. Whew!

Quick Funny from Brekken

2011-04-23T13:33:00.001-06:00

I told Brekken I would fix his lunch as soon as I'd had a chance to use the bathroom. Anxious to help, he raced ahead of me to the bathroom. He insisted on helping me out by raising the lid and waited for me while I used the toilet.

When I had finished, he clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Great job, Mommy! You didn't pee in your pants or your underwear!"

Quick Funny from Preston

2011-04-19T11:33:00.002-06:00

"Mommy, we should get a pig. Because a pig is a good pet. And when we had leftover food or food we don't want, we could feed it to the pig and he would eat it. He would be lots of fun.

And when we got tired of the pig, we could turn him into bacon and eat him."

Quick Funny from Haley

2011-04-16T14:44:00.001-06:00

Overheard while the kids were playing:

"Preston, let's play a game where we pretend like we're brother and sister."

The Six of Us: Stories from the Shields Family

Mitt Romney's New Ward

Mitt Romney’s New Ward

Weird Rumors about Mormons

Another Quick Funny from Brekken

Quick Funny from Brekken

Another exciting installment in the life of the Shields family...

Cake Pops

More Semi than Sandra

Haunted?

Happy Birthday to Haley

Christmas!

Christmas Train

I've been MIA...

Trichotillomania: The Secret to Web Traffic

Quick Funny from Brekken

Tara and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week (and a half... or more)

Fun with Facepaints

Look Who's One!!

Quick Funny from Preston

Christmas Confession

Quick Funny from Rylen

Free at last...

The Miracle of the Nasonex

Arancini

Dreaming of Sleep

Quick Funny from Brekken

Quick Funny from Brekken

Quick Funny from Preston

Trick or Treat

I'm alive, awake, alert, enthusiastic!

That's a new one...

Getting Drunker All the Time

Fall Festival

Driver's Ed

This Week in Mormons

That's a lot of firemen...

Melt My Heart Moment

I keep telling you, it's not strep!

Quick Funny from... Me!

Crockpot Cooking

For Gayle

Quick Funny from the kids

Quick Update

It's a Gray and Gloomy Day - and I LOVE It!

Ode to Groupon

I Don't CIO

Back to School 2011

Quick Funny from a Kid You Don't Know

Quick Funny from Preston

Contemplation

Surplus

Quick Funny from Preston

10 Things I Should Learn From My Kids

Camera Catch-Up

Picnic Fun

Stealth Dating

Stealth Crawling

Dream Party

The Lazy Song

I Dreamed a Dream

Sign You've Been Watching Too Much Little House on the Prairie

I Need a Pepsi...

Eat, Papa, eat! Nobody likes a skinny Santa!

Eating Habits

Kids' TV... Now with Schizophrenia and Cross-Dressing

At least those popsicles won't drip all over their clothes...

Quick funny from Brekken

That's nice to hear...

*yawn*

A little help?

The Vacation... part 4

The Vacation... part 3

The Vacation... part 2

The Vacation... part 1

Just had to share the cuteness!

Vacation!

Things My Kids Can't Do

The Power of Prayer

R.I.P. Kindle

yawn