Tagged. . .

Kendra "tagged" me, and this tag actually looked do-able. Some are so long, so many questions, and so many that I have no clue how to answer that I've never done one before. And no, Kendra, flattery did not play into my decision.

10 Years Ago. . . My life was significantly simpler, I was thinner, and had much more energy. I had one very easy five-month-old, and my life revolved around him and Guy. We were living in Riverton, I directed the choir at church, and Guy was the Scoutmaster. I hung out at Kerali's a lot (she had newborn Tamlen), and it seems like I had time to sew, paint watercolors, and scrapbook. In February 1998, I had a freelance writing job to create a short promotional book for a guy I had worked with previously. I liked the thought of extra money, but I greatly resented the job for taking me away from my baby.

5 Places I've Lived:
1. New Mexico
2. Dominican Republic
3. Prescott, AZ
4. London (does 2 months count?)
5. Utah

5 Things On My To-Do List
(I suppose if I gave more than 5 it could be supremely boring)
1. Do Cub scout advancements online, and call too many people about Cub scout stuff
2. Plan Marcus's birthday/baptism
3. Hang up new pictures of the boys (including getting one up of Mitchell finally)
4. Glue ivory keys back on my piano
5. Organize my sheet music/books and get it into my new cabinet

I Enjoy. . .
Spring rain showers, chocolate cake with a glass of milk, old movies, reading, writing, getting something DONE (that will not later be UN-done), reading with my boys, conversations with the boys, date night with Guy, hiking, email from friends, singing (especially with my sisters), a new toothbrush, getting packages in the mail, flowers, playing games (speed UNO anyone?), fall, newly-washed sheets, healthy children, good food (especially if I haven't had to cook it. Food can make me downright giddy), sleeping through the night, finding things on a really good sale, . . .

3 Bad Habits
(Only 3. . .)
1. Putting off things I don't want to do until it's almost a crisis
2. Worrying/over-analyzing
3. A very cluttered desk and bedside table

5 Things You Might Not Know About Me.
1. I use cloth diapers on Mitchell (I've had kids in diapers for 10+ years without a break and felt guilty about the amount of landfill space my children's disposable diapers have taken up. . .)
2. I'm attending a Book of Mormon class once a week (as long as Mitchell isn't sick).
3. I did back-up vocals for a country/rock band this Summer. The big event was a 4th of July show at the Stein Erikson lodge in Deer Valley (I made $50. Yeah...)
4. I have a serious phone-phobia.
5. I've never been downhill skiing (and I live within 1 hour of Winter Olympic venues).

5 Jobs I've Had
1. English teacher to kids (2-3 years younger than I was) in the Dominican Republic
2. "Courtesy Clerk" at the Smiths in Prescott (glorified title for "Bagger/Cart Pusher")
3. Secretary for Media Acquisitions at BYU
4. Orem Library, uh worker (I can't remember the title)
5. Ghost-writer for some real pain-in-the-neck doctors who thought they were heaven's gift to humanity, and my boss was a Mensa-freak. Ah, memories.

10 Years From Now. . . I'll probably be even more tired than I am now. I hope to not be changing diapers (at least not my own children's diapers). Sheridan will be mission-aged, and Marcus, a Senior in High School, Caleb will be 14 and Mitchell will be getting really antsy to be done with Primary. I imagine the kids' activities will take up most of my time, but I hope to have had some minor personal achievements by then. One thing I feel I can say with certainty is that we still won't be done with everything we want to do improve this house.


OK, done. This took much longer than I thought (see bad habit #2 pt.b).

Cerberus on Valentine's Day

I spent Wednesday night (the 13th) in a really bad mood. I had wanted the boys to make the valentines for their classmates, but ended up just printing some off for them because not only were we trying to get valentines ready, but I was also wresting with Cerberus, the three-headed dog guardian of the Underworld. Marcus had chosen to do a little report on Cerberus for Greek Mythology Day (which ended up being on the 14th), and his teacher had encouraged the kids to come in costume. I debated pulling out all the stops and trying to sew some kind of hooded cloak that we could attach two extra heads to, etc. (make it his Halloween costume), but decided that this was Marcus's school project, so he should do more of the work. We opted for paper mache dog heads. Marcus did a good job on that part, but my next thought was that we'd just hot-glue the heads to one of Marcus's MANY baseball caps, but he was violently opposed to damaging any hat. So that left us wrestling with tape. Combine that with my total lack of ability to create anything that looks remotely like an animal, and I was cursing Cerberus's name. Luckily, Guy came home from Scouts with a clearer head and responded appropriately when I shoved the project into his arms and raised my white flag of surrender. Guy and Marcus ended up using a wire hanger to circle the hat (inside the hat band) then come out either side to attach to the heads.

So, here is a picture of Cerberus (er, Marcus) on his way to school the next morning. I really am glad that they do these kinds of projects (really, I actually am) and the kids had a great time. Marcus came home with stories of his friend who was Hades and wore a red wig, his friend, Zeus in a white wig. Everyone's favorite, though was Medusa, who'd managed to weave lots of rubber snakes into her hair. When we were making the costume, Marcus commented that he was excited to see the kid who'd chosen to be Charon, the skeletal boatman who ferries souls across the river Styx, because he wanted to chase him and say he was playing fetch with the bones. (For those who care, I can't find that Charon was a skeleton--he's most often called an old man--but that was the picture Marcus had gotten in his head and he was having fun with it)

Oh, I'm still not off the hook for a Halloween costume. Marcus has decide that he wants to the the Chimera. Luckily, October is still a ways off.

(An interesting fact about Cerberus that I learned while helping Marcus: In some stories, the dog can be placated with cake. Maybe a 3-headed dog can be a kindred spirit after all.)

Literary Dreams?

Science Fair Saga

Well, we just found out today that Sheridan will not be going on to district. The school director was sure she'd gotten permission for him, but last night when she went to a meeting for the district fair she was told that they weren't going to bend the rules at all (the rule being that the fair is only open to students in 5th grade and above. Sheridan is in 4th). Both the director and Sheridan's teacher felt really awful about the situation (Sheridan's teacher looked like she might cry, actually), and encouraged Sheridan in his desire to write a letter expressing his disagreement with the rule. He is disappointed, but he'll get over it, and he's got ideas going for next year. On a selfish note, now I don't have to feel like I need to volunteer to help with the district fair. . .

To Warm My Heart on a Winter's Morning

This morning I made Caleb some fried eggs since I know he prefers these to the cold cereal that his big brothers usually get on their way to school. I had a monster headache and was feeling pretty crabby towards the world, trying to get dishes cleaned up, etc. and Caleb turns to me between bites and says, "Mom, thanks so much." And then the sun came out for me.

Science Fair

February 8, 2008 Both boys' classes required science projects this year. Marcus's class wasn't judged (they all just recieved participation ribbons), but Sheridans and all the older classes were. When we talked about what to do for their projects, Marcus was pretty adamant that he wanted to build a volcano and erupt it. We've made baking soda and vinegar volcanos for years, so to make it a little more academic, we learned about acids and bases (we tested several foods and other household items with litmus paper), and learned what about the baking soda and vinegar reaction causes it to foam up and erupt. We learned a lot, but when it came time for the kids to explain their projects while the other classes came in, Marcus was all about the eruption again (he had even built the toilet-paper "telescope" to help people focus on the action), and was thrilled he'd had enough ingredients to erupt it 5 times.

Sheridan's project was called "Electrolysis: The Effect of Voltage on Hydrogen Production." I want him to write about it, so at this point I will just say that Sheridan was told several weeks ago that only 5th graders and up could go on to the district science fair. He was so disappointed. His teacher said he "hung his head and cried silent tears." We got him past it, convinced him to simplify his project (he wanted to build a water fuel cell), and helped him get it done. When he got to school on Friday, his teacher informed him that they had decided to send his on to District anyway. I think the look on his face about says it all.

(As a post-script, I'm very happy that the science fair is over.)

Uphill, Through the Snow, Both Ways. . .

So, I thought I'd show you all what a mean mother I am to make my big boys walk to and from school every day. Since the new buidling was finished at the beginning of January, Sheridan and Marcus have walked this trail that runs from our cul-de-sac, right to the school parking lot. The school actually has a no-shoes policy in the classrooms, so it works well for the boys to wear their boots through the snow and then run around in their socks at school. Someone was a little shocked when I told them the boys had been walking in the snow and cold, but a little hardship is good for them, right? And when I've walked with them, I enjoy it so much I really can't feel too sad for them. Last Thursday Guy walked the boys to school to help carry Marcus's science project. On the way they noticed some rather large animal tracks along the trail (there are tons of bird tracks, cat prints, and we've seen lots of deer tracks too), so after delivering the boys to school, he followed the tracks up the bluff a way and spooked a rather large elk that had bedded down under some trees. He left a message with animal control when he got back to the house and we saw no evidence of it the next day. I think an elk in this area is just more evidence of the amount of snow we've had lately.

A Better Smelling Brown Mess Than Most

February 5, 2008 In the vein of trying to be grateful for more things, focus on the positive, etc. etc. I appreciated that the smell and brownish tinge to Mitchell's bath water came from Nutella this time. I could have even pushed it further and imagined I was in some exotic spa with the chocolate-scented steam. . . Well, almost.

What About "Mama" or "Dada"?

Mitchell is quite the little communicator. He manages to convey very clearly what he needs or wants most of the time, and he uses very few or no words. In fact his most used words are "cracker," "cheese," and "please" (which he uses in conjunction with much pointing and gesturing when he really wants something). We think he has a word for Sheridan and one for his brothers collectively, but I've never heard him say any version of "Mom" or "Dad." I hadn't felt too sad about it until a couple of weeks ago when Marcus's friend Aaron came home from school to play. Marcus and Caleb ran around calling "Aaron, look at this. . . Aaron, come here." Within a very short time of Aaron's arrival, I heard Mitchell following being his brothers shouting "Aa-in, Aa-in." I did get a report from a babysitter we had last week that Mitchell was very sad after I left and sat at the door calling "Momma, mom!" Maybe someday I'll actually hear it.

More Snow

January 30, 2008 This day was so pretty and sunny that after we got back from running on the treadmill at Marenda's house, I decided to take the boys out in the snow and play. Mitchell was thrilled to get his snow gear on, but complained mightily as soon as we walked out into the snow. I carried him around the back yard for a while, then we went into the front where Mitchell happily scooted around on his trike on the shovelled driveway. Not quite what I had in mind when I pictured playing in the snow. . .

Snow

We've had quite a bit of snow this year, and for the last several weeks, there has been very little melting between storms. In fact, this weekend warmed into the 40's and our cul-de-sac is finally almost free of snow and ice for the first time since early January. Here are a few pictures of the snow. These were all actually taken before our biggest storm (just over a week ago). The first two are Caleb and Marcus in the back yard. The third is one that Marcus took of Sheridan shovelling the walk. (Sheridan thought it was a funny thing to be photographing.)

Some About Caleb

Caleb has been great fun to be with lately. I think he's fully over the "threatening threes" and a full-fleged member of the "fabulous fours". He has lots of ideas and lots to talk about. One day he followed me around the house insisting that I needed to buy him a cell phone. I hate to admit that I was kind of tuning him out and focusing on what I was trying to get done. Finally I realized what he was telling me so I asked what in the world he needed a cell phone for. He answered that he needed one so that he could take pictures, of course.

Some of you know that Caleb has not always been the most adept at using words to express his emotions. But I was tickled the other day when, instead of getting angry, Caleb just put down the lego he was trying to build and declared "It's not coopicating!"

Last night we were talking about rhyming words and playing with my old stuffed Humpty Dumpty. Caleb's favorite creation (he had himself in giggles for a long time) was "Humpty Dumpty fell off a log, Humpty Dumpty sat on a frog." Poor frog.

Something Beautiful for Thursday

I could comment on the beautiful snow that fell today, but I must admit that I'm not fully appreciating the white stuff because we've had an abundance of it lately. My Book of Mormon class this morning was beautiful for several reasons: Mitchell happily went to the nursery with Caleb so I had both hands to take notes with, and most of my brain to pay attention with; the lesson was so well-prepared; I think I'm beginning to glimpse some insight into the Isaiah chapters. But the beauty that made the greatest impression today was soup. By the time my class was over, I could tell a cold was setting up residence behind my face, and once I'd been home for 1/2 hour, I had a bad case of the chills and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Guy took his lunch break to feed Caleb and Mitchell, and he brought me a big bowl of steaming soup (I was laying on the couch). That was a beautiful thing. While I'm still not feeling great, I've felt much better since that bowl of soup. I could be a commercial for Progresso, but I'm afraid it was as much the server of the soup that did me good as the ingredients from the can.

Mitchell the Mimic

January 2008 Mitchell has begun copying much of what he sees going on around him. Some of my favorite examples are how he "folds" his arms during prayer, and thinks he now has to lay down on someone's bed whenever he wants to read a book. Marcus has gotten into the habit of sitting on the floor heating vent in the dining area to stay warm while he eats his breakfast. He even gets out a placemat so he won't make a mess. The other day, Mitchell got a placemat out of the drawer, carefully spread it out and then sat on the vent. I do think his expression afterward seemed to question, "So, what's so great about this?" Finally, Mitchell has been very persistent in helping with the dishes. Whenever he notices someone working near the sink, he drags over one of the chairs (even going so far as to move the kitchen rug so he can push the chair all the way to the sink), climbs up and spends a long time putting dishes in the water, taking them out again, and even trying to wash some of them. So, what are the odds of this clean enthusiasm lasting another 5 years?

The Monkey M's

January 2008 Mitchell has been developing his climbing skills so we've begun calling him Monkey Mitchell at times. The original Monkey was Marcus as a toddler (whose most famous monkey-moment came when I found him on top of the fridge in pursuit of the fruit-snacks).

One night recently we were discussing our two Monkey M boys and Marcus commented, "Mitchell is more Mitchell than monkey, but I think I'm more monkey than Marcus."

A Story of Determination and Frustration

. . . but with a happy ending (mostly). This day, Mitchell was playing with his car and managed to roll it under the table. When he tried to go after it, he found that, by the smallest of margins, he just didn't fit (it's that big brain he's growing). This was an incredible blow to his plans, and he spent several minutes (punctuated with tears and shouts) trying different angles and approaches in an attempt to squeeze his head under. He was not about to be distracted or convinced to take another route, so I finally had to just pick him up and remove him from the situation (the only other option was to lift the table, but since I'm not the Incredible Hulk. . .)

Photographic Proof of the Arrival of the Inevitable

I think that most of you knew I was called to be the Cubmaster for our 3-wards-combined pack back in November. We all knew something like this would come eventually. In fact, I remember sitting in pack mtg when I was pregnant with Mitchell, looking at the cubmaster and the thought came to me, "I'm going to have that job after her." I quickly pushed the thought from my mind, and hadn't remembered it until I was asked to take over in November. It actually hasn't been that bad. In fact, most of the month there isn't a great deal to do. But then the week of Pack Meeting is a royal pain. They are working on getting me an assistant. It would be really nice if that could happen before the blue and gold banquet in 2 weeks (Silent whimper). Oh, then there's the Pinewood Derby in April which I'm really not looking forward to, but other than that, it isn't that bad, right? . . . Right?

Digital Scrapbooking pt. 3

Digital Scrapbooking pt. 2

Digital Scrapbooking

So, many of you know how my mind works, so the following story will not surprise you a great deal. The middle of January, I found out about a deal from a site called Winkflash, where you could buy a photobook with up to 100 pages in it for a flat rate of $20 +shipping. I made one of these books for my Mom's 70th birthday celebration and based on the prices I found at that time, this deal was REALLY good. I thought it might be a great way to get some scrapbooking done (from the years AFTER we bought our digital camera), but when I looked at their site, they had a 30 character maximum per caption. Since brevity is not one of my strengths, I called Kendra because I knew she'd had some experience with digital scrapbooking and she told me what she knew and pointed me to some websites where I could download free digital scrapbooking papers and elements (through the course of this project I found a ton more free stuff). Luckily we already had a program that I knew (sort-of) how to use where I could put the elements together and then save the page as an image. Then in the Winkflash site, I put the image in using their "full-page bleed" option. The real kicker with this whole thing was that the deal only ran until January 29th at 10pm my time. In about 10 days (during which I also had book group and pack meeting to pull off) I managed to pull-together 96 pages (well, Kendra was generous enough to do 2 of them of Shanda's wedding since I didn't have any good pictures), and create a family scrapbook for 2005. It was a pretty intense time, we ate a lot of frozen pizza, I pulled a lot of late nights (thank you to Kerali for keeping me awake on one of them), some pages I like better than others, and I have since gone back and found several small mistakes/typos that I made during the marathon, but I have NEVER in my history of scrapbooking been able to crank out that much material in that amount of time. I am so sold on digital scrapbooking as opposed to using scissors and glue. Well, I suppose I do have to hold my adulation until the book actually arrives (I got an email today saying it was shipped). But I'm watching some of the various publishing websites for other deals, and hoping to get more of my digital pictures into books. Now I'm really wishing we'd bought a digital camera much sooner (like 1997!).

At any rate, these posts are a sampling of some of my more-favorite pages. If you want to see them larger, just click on the image.

An Update (or Why I Haven't Posted in a While)

First off, I need to credit Kendra for my new header and background (which, for some odd reason, I have actually never seen because my browser has issues. . .). If you've been to Kendra's blog (bnkhalterman.blogspot.com), you've seen that she's experimenting with digital design, and has done headers for a lot of us.

So, a few weeks ago, I was feeling inspired by my friend Zina's blog (http://myimaginaryblog.wordpress.com/) --her fun way of writing, her humor, and insights or observations that I feel like I can relate to--and I'd thought that I'd like to incorporate more of those elements into my blog. I even thought I'd like to be on the lookout for something "beautiful" each day that I could share (if I wanted to). Then I got myself into a big scrapbooking (digital! I'll post about it later) project, which finished up just in time to do a final scramble to help Sheridan and Marcus finish their science projects (which we accomplished late last night). So, while I've tried to see beauty in things around me each day, I've not managed to document it much in these last couple of weeks. I have been a little better about noting and writing down the funny things the boys are doing. My scrapbooking project actually proved to me how much this blog has been my main documentation of life (mine and the boys) for the last year, so I will hopefully begin making it a little more detailed, and including more of the things that I find that make our lives rich. This will likely make it more wordy than some of you are inclined to appreciate, but I won't be at all offended if you skim or skip posts alltogether. In fact, I won't even know. . .

(By the way, to follow up on my last post--the devastating finger injury--I am truly impressed with the ability of the human body to heal itself. It's been about 3 weeks since my chopping accident, and, while I can tell that my finger is still a little flat on one side, and I still don't have full feeling on that side, no one else would ever know I was once missing a piece of it. It's pretty darn amazing. I am still a little squeamish using my chef's knife and I chop much more slowly these days. Unfortunately, I am back to fixing dinner for my family--most nights.)