Gingerbread houses

Today we did one of my favorite Christmas traditions - gingerbread houses! Thanks to those especially convenient kits you can buy in any grocery store, we've done a gingerbread house every year. We always put it together, go read Christmas stories (starting with The Gingerbread Baby) while we wait the 15 minutes for the icing to set, and then go back and decorate. Today we lit the fire, turned on the Christmas music, and went to it. In order to avoid any squwaks and squaffles over decoration placement, I got three kits and surprised the girls by having them each do their own. 

12 Chances to Regain Sanity

'Twas two weeks before Christmas and mother was busy,

Christmas shopping and cards had her all in a tizzy.

Despite planning and simplifying and cutting things back,

Her list seemed to grow longer with each day that passed.

Bogged down with the parties, events, and gift-wrap,

What she wanted most was a long winter's nap!

She was tired and grouchy from sunrise to nightfall;

And she felt she was missing the point of it all.

Where was the feeling, the joy and the bliss,

The bubbly excitement unique to Christmas?

"Something needs to be done," she decided, "right now!"

"We should start a 12 Days of Christmas countdown.

We'll give small gifts of kindness to each family member,

And my gift to them all will be keeping my temper. 

I'll try hard to be sweeter, more gentle, and calm,

Instead of a frazzled, mean, stressed-out mom.

I'll thank Him for the blessings He sends from above,

by showing my family more patience and love.

Then my preparations won't feel like a chore

but be a lifting reminder of the birth of our Lord. 

With love in my heart and His spirit within, 

Christmas will bring me nearer to Him. 

It's been 8 days since I wrote that, and since we started doing 12 Days of Christmas just among our family members. I assigned each day to one person in our family, and we all do or say something extra special for that person that day. It doesn't cost anything and it doesn't take any time, but it is helping. I really think it is, at least for me. Besides, only four days to go, and then I will be taking that nap!

Spencer Playing Wii Boxing

I've been trying since Thanksgiving to get this video to load. This is my nephew Spencer playing boxing at our Thanksgiving Wii party. He has kind of a 'box dancing" thing going on . . .

Christmas Wish List

For Family Home Evening on Monday night we had a Christmas lesson and then we lit a fire in the fireplace, turned on the Christmas music, and put out our Christmas decorations, but I forgot to have the girls write their letters to Santa. I like to do that right after Thanksgiving so Santa's elves have more time to work away in their magic workshop. I had a few hours set aside today so I could write the letters for the girls and mail them, just to help Santa get going on his work, but I had no wish list. So, I brought it up in conversation this morning. Here's what I got:

Madeleine: I know what I want but I don't want to ask for it because I think it's expensive. 

(Beth interjects) "Santa's going to MAKE it so it won't cost anything."

Madeleine: I know, but I don't want to ask for anything that's too much, so I'll have to think of something else but I don't know what. Maybe a stuffed rhinoceros since I don't have one of those.

Fortunately, I once overheard Madeleine confessing her secret desire for a rock-polisher and I will be sure and notify the elves if she does not come forward in the immediate future. (Catherine and Emma, if you're reading this please don't tell Madeleine that I am going to tell Santa that's what she wants so that he can surprise her, OK?) Moving on to Beth:

Beth: I think I want a teddy bear.

Mom: Really? You have lots of teddy bears. Is this a special kind of teddy bear?

Beth: Well, not really special, but I see it in my mind and I really like it.

Mom: Oh. Uh, what does it look like in your mind?

Beth: Well, it's kind of a lightish dark brown and it's not too big or too small or too medium.

Mom: Hmm, do you have anything already that is the same color and about the same size?

Beth: Yes, it's like my Build-A-Bear bear color, except it's different, and it's about an inch from the size of that bear, but I don't know if it's bigger or smaller.

Mom: Oh. That sounds like a really nice bear. (Mom begins mentally plotting subtle propaganda strategies to persuade Beth to choose a less "visualized" and more widely marketed Christmas present. Those elves may be magic, but they're no mind readers.)

And then of course there's Mary. I asked for her input just as I was about to leave to run my errands.

Mom: Mary, what do want Santa to bring you for Christmas?

Mary: A changing room

Mom: A what???

Mary: A changing room.

Mom: Um, what do you mean, a changing room? Can you tell me what it is?

Mary: ( with tone and expression slightly implying a "DUHH!") It's a room with two doors and it has clothes inside and you go in the doors and put the clothes on. 

Mom: Oh. That does sound like fun, but is there anything else you'd like for Christmas (pleeeaasse?!)

Mary: (matter-of-factly) You only get one present mom.

Mom:  Well, I know, but I don't think Santa can bring a room. I think he only brings toys. So, is there something else you can think of you would like him to bring you?

Mary: Yes

Mom: Really?? What?

Mary: A lipstick room.

Mom (sighing with resignation): Oh. Well, anyway, what do you think Grandpa Dave would like for his birthday?

Mary: A chicken. 

 I think the changing room fascination stems from something in an episode of Dora the Explorer when she changes into a fairy Princess.  If anyone out there is up on their Dora trivia and could elaborate, the elves would appreciate some further detail so as to better prepare them to work out a compromise.

I think Santa has his work cut out for him with this crew this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with to make these little girl dreams come true. I wish him the best of luck.

Kind of our First Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for the many things the Lord has given me;

my food, my clothes, my ears that hear, and my eyes that see.

I'm blessed to have a warm, safe home and to live where I am free,

But most of all I'm thankful for my wonderful family.

This Thanksgiving was  "kind of our first Thanksgiving" in that it was the first time we've had Thanksgiving dinner at our house. It was also the first Thanksgiving I've had with my brothers Michael and John since we've graduated from High School. John and his family drove down from Idaho to spend Thanksgiving weekend with us. Michael and his family came from Orem for Thanksgiving Day.

 I was excited to have Thanksgiving here. I started testing recipes about a month ago and after 4 practice runs with turkey recipes, I concluded that practice doesn't make perfect. It only proves that no matter what you do something is bound to go wrong, so don't worry about it. Even so, the practice was helpful and the turkey turned out great. 5th time's a charm I guess. In the last 30 minutes before dinner our kitchen somewhat resembled "Iron Chef America" as Luke and my two brothers took orders from me while we scrambled to finish everything up. It was fun cooking with Luke. He hefted the turkey for me and kept an eye on the creamed corn. He persuaded me to spare the green beans when, convinced that the onions were too caramelized, I was going to throw them away and start over. Michael was the assistant gravy chef and John was the table runner. Everyone chipped in in lots of ways, and if it weren't for all of the help I got from all of my gracious family dinner never would've happened. 

While dinner preparations were under way, the kids colored their own Thanksgiving placemats for the table and everyone wrote what they were thankful for on a paper leaf and put it on our family tree. After dinner we had an impromptu Wii party, followed by dessert. 

Growing up, my mom had a tradition of making everyone their own pie, flavor of their choice. I was not about to do that, but rather chose one dessert in honor of each our Smart Family groups.  We had my mom's favorite dessert (brownie pudding) to represent the family gathered together in Maryland, my sister-in-law's favorite dessert (berry cobbler) to represent the family in New Hampshire, and a pie that my brother brought for the Utah Smart Family celebration. After dessert we welcomed in the Christmas season by turning on our Christmas lights. 

One of my favorite things about this year's Thanksgiving was actually the day before Thanksgiving. I had a rose-colored idea that I wanted all of my girls to be involved in the dinner preparations. I selected some menu items that were simple enough for them to legitimately participate in the making of and I invited them all into the kitchen to pursue my goal of achieving family togetherness through culinary cooperation. Even with that goal in mind, there came a point when all three of them were sitting on the counter arguing, one with soapy water up to her elbows and the other with her finger in the brown sugar, and I almost said, "You know what, go watch TV and let me take care of this." 

Earlier I spoke with my mother about traditional Thanksgiving dinners. She offered that working together to make the dinner is the part of Thanksgiving traditions that bond a family. We discussed how the trick is to do enough work to create the opportunity for group cooperation and individual contribution while not overworking the people involved. With that in mind, I bit my tongue and regrouped and you know what? I had fun. 

Each girl had one dish that they "made" and they were proud to see it on the table and to show it off to our guests. They were genuinely helpful, especially where washing dishes was concerned. In fact, Beth was so dedicated to washing dishes she spent the better part of an hour at the kitchen sink and used most of a bottle of detergent. At one point I handed a dirty spoon to Madeleine and asked her to please put it in the dishwasher. She surprised me by handing it to Beth, assuming I was referring to Beth as The Dishwasher.  The whole morning was well worth a little chaos. 

There are more years to come where we'll work together in the kitchen, making dinner while creating memories.  Someday, I may even sit back and let them do all work! For this year, I am thankful for soapy dishes, chocolate splatters, sticky fingers, and licking beaters.  True, it took longer and made a bigger mess than if I would've done it by myself. It is also true that we each have something to give and something to gain by doing things together. Whether they will remember it or not, my girls were a part of Thanksgiving this year and that matters. I think they learned something about cooking and hopefully that will prove useful in their futures. More so I hope they learned something about how it feels to be part of a family and what it means to work together and serve each other. I did, and that made this "kind of our first Thanksgiving" the best kind.  

(see slide show for pictures)

My Tips For Shopping At Costco

The holiday season is upon us and that means lots of shopping. I've done most of my Christmas shopping already and in so doing have frequented Costco more than usual. In the process, I learned the following lessons the hard way:

There is no such thing as going to Costco "for just a few things." No matter how carefully you plan your list, inevitably you will find a few more things that you need and few things that you don't. 

If you think limiting your shopping time by going to Costco right before you have to pick your kids up from school will likewise limit your spending, you are wrong - and you will be late picking up your kids.

When loading your purchases into the back of your car, it is helpful if you don't have a bucket of old raspberry canes and a plastic bin full of Halloween costumes in there already.

Be careful about shopping there when you are hungry. Buying something that looks good at the moment means you will be eating it for the next two weeks. 

FYI some of my favorite things to get at Costco are paper products in bulk, discounted books, the Ottavio's tomato basil soup, the Del Monte bottled peaches, and the Posada Chimichangas. What are yours?

To all you Costco shoppers out there, happy shopping!

I Feel Kind of Old When. . .

At first glance the 20-something mother pushing her baby in a stroller strikes me as a teenager on a babysitting job

There are only two dinner glasses left out of the set we got as a wedding present

My daughter asks, "What's a VCR?"

My other daughter explains to her sister, "A long time ago there used to be phones with cord-things on them."

Oh well. I've been wanting to buy some new dinner glasses anyway, and who needs to be tethered to a phone by it's cord? As far as my kids go,  someday their kids will be saying things like, "a long time ago there used to be this thing called "email" and you actually had to TYPE the words . . ."

Uncles, continued

It turned out that Uncle Jake DID end up going to the Thanksgiving Feast with Beth. I had plans to be out of town with Luke and Beth could not be consoled that I was going to miss her Thanksgiving celebration. She cried and cried until finally I asked, "Would you feel better if you knew that Uncle Jake is going to try and make it to your Thanksgiving Feast?" The water works stopped and the little sun in her world was shining again. Thankfully, Jake was able to make it and Princess Pink Feather had a wonderful time.  Having family around to cover for you when you spread yourself too thin - that's something to be thankful for. 

Thanks Jake!

Uncles

Lately comments about Uncles keep popping up in the bits of conversation around here. For example;

Beth: When will we ever see Uncle Paul again? Maybe we can go on vacation somewhere and he can be there. (I think she is remembering last Thanksgiving when we met him in California)

Madeleine: There are phones where you can see the people the you are talking to. Deaf people use them so they can sign to each other over the phone. Uncle John has one because he is deaf.

Beth: Uncle John is deaf??

Madeleine: Not mom's brother Uncle John. Grandma's brother Uncle John. Mom's brother John isn't deaf, but Uncle Michael is color blind.

Beth: Color blind?

Madeleine: He doesn't see color right. When he looks at colors they look different than how you and I see them. Like when your eyes see blue, his eyes see purple.

Mary: My blue eyes can see Spencer.

Beth: Oh darn it! I forgot to ask Uncle Seth about the problem I'm having with my tooth. 

Madeleine: Don't worry Beth. If mom can't come to your Thanksgiving Feast maybe Uncle Jake can come, like he came to Science with me last year.

 They still brag about how Uncle Josh let them to drive a bulldozer, and how they can play soccer because their Uncle Chad taught them. They try to keep tabs on their Uncle Eric's dating life and they always hope he will be at Grandma's house when we go there. To all you Uncles out there, I hope you know whether you are down the street or across the country, you are in the hearts and thoughts of three little girls. What lucky girls to have so many great men in their lives!

Balloon Volley Ball

Madeleine needed a balloon to demonstrate a science experiment for us during family night so I bought a package. By the next day, the whole package had been blown up and the girls have been engaged in balloon volleyball matches ever since.  

Here is how Mary plays:

Here is how Beth plays:

Elections and Veterans

One day last month Madeleine surprised me with the following conversation:

Madeleine: "Religion is pretty much the biggest thing in the third grade right now. That, and the elections. Are you going to vote for Obama or McCain? 

Mom; "I'm not sure yet."

Madeleine: "I'm leaning towards McCain. I think he's nice, and it seems like all Obama cares about is America.

Beth, with a sideways glance:"Well, doesn't he LIVE in America? And shouldn't you care about where you live? It's not like he's going to be President here and go live in some other country!"

Madeleine: "Yes, but you still have to want to help other people. You can't just care about yourself all the time."

And so a political debate ensued between our little Republican and our little Democrat. It cracked me up. Mary chimed in, asking, "What's Oba?" "Obama" Madeleine corrected, "Like a bomb, that explodes, O-bomb-a." That struck me as an hilarious pronunciation guide for his name. Mary liked the sound of it and started running around singing '"obAAAAAAma! obAAAAAma!" 

Politics is rarely a prevalent topic of conversation in our house so I was surprised how much the kids thought about the elections and getting a new President.  Madeleine's class had been reading Time For Kids, the school news version of Time magazine, and she was pretty concerned about foreign policy. On Nov. 4th, different grades at school voted within their own classes and graphed the results. Madeleine came home wearing a personally made "I Voted" sticker on her jumper and she wanted to stay up on the night of elections to see who won. We sent her to bed with the promise that we would wake her up as soon as we knew. 

The next morning I asked her if she was disappointed that McCain lost. "Not really," she said. "I'm glad that he was so nice about losing. He was like, 'well, that's ok.' I think Obama will do a pretty good job - but I hope he doesn't just care about America and people. I wish he cared more about animals and forests too. . . " Besides that, the girl's only reaction to the election results was wanting to find out what kind of puppy is going to move into the White House. 

Freedom is a pretty amazing thing. Hundreds of thousands fight to obtain and preserve it while those who inherit it hardly realize they have it. I'm sure my children don't know how fortunate they are to live where they can receive an education, where they are free to voice their political opinions, and where their parents and someday they can take part in an election.  I'm not sure I fully appreciate our privileges myself, but I am thankful for them.  I'm thankful for people like my grandfathers and my father who served in the military and helped to provide those privileges for me and my children. I'm thankful to know that come what may with health care, taxes, and the war on terror we are still part of a great nation with the potential to become greater. I'm proud that we have a who leader was chosen by the people through the democratic process. I hope that my children will learn to appreciate the privileges they have. I hope they'll feel indebted to those who serve our country. I hope they will grow up to be people who care about America. 

 

Halloween Week

Last Friday Grandma Liz threw a big Halloween Bash. Last Saturday we went Trunk-or-Treating and got a big stash. Then at the Spook-tacular there were lots of games to play. At school we wore PJ's or crazy socks for a day. Last night we went Trick-or- Treating and had lots of fun. Now our candy's nearly gone and Halloween is done! 

        Happy Halloween from Madeleine the Bride, Beth the Goldfish, and Mary the Unicorn (costumes designed and made by Luke's amazing mother, Grandma Liz)

6 Ways to Celebrate Your 6th Birthday

1. The week before your birthday, snuggle next to your Grandma while she reads you an original story about her childhood that she brought to you all the way from Maryland. Then go have dinner with your cousins and open the hand-made gifts they drew for you. 

2. Two days before your birthday, take treats to your class, let them all sing to you, and have "free choice" of anything to play with in the classroom while the whole class makes you birthday cards.

3. The night before your birthday, go on a date with your Grandpa and his wife, fulfilling your life long dream of going to Build-A-Bear. Take your bear with you everywhere all week.

4. The day of your birthday, wake up to a "breakfast party" with your family. Eat your favorite breakfast foods, open your presents, and blow out the candle on your cinnamon roll. Take your mom to school with you for "Mother's Visiting Day," and sit on her lap during story time. After school, bring home a friend. Have a tea party lunch and decorate cupcakes with her, her little sister, and your little sister.

5. The night of your birthday, go to dinner with your Grandma and open presents at her house. Try on the Halloween costume that she designed and made for you while you're there.

6. The Saturday following your birthday, have a party with all your friends at The Little Gym. Spend the afternoon pasting pictures of your friends into your new scrapbook.  

 

And One To Grow On; Plan a Daddy-Daughter Date to go spend the birthday money you got in the mail from your Great-Grandmother. 

 Thank you, everyone who wished Beth a happy birthday. Beth is a lucky girl to have so many people to love her and make her birthday special. We are a lucky family to have such a special little girl. Happy Birthday Beth!

October Overview

Another month that is flying by! The leaves are changing, the garden is harvested, and the weather is consistently cool enough for me to put away the kids summer clothes. Mary is resisting the change in season and repeatedly retrieves her pink shorts and pink short sleeve shirt from the storage box.  I used to carry extra diapers everywhere we went. Now I carry a change of clothes for when she decides it really is too cold for shorts. Sometimes she puts the shorts over the pants. Mostly she won't wear the pants and walks around muttering, "Freeeeezin'! "

My birthday was earlier this month. As cliche as it is to say, I don't feel any older. A local cosmetic surgeon disagrees apparently. He sent me a "birthday discount certificate" for botox treatment. How's that for rubbing it in? Even with that reminder of the inevitable effects of aging, I had a great birthday. My parents and brothers were in town and it was nice to celebrate with them.  More than the celebration, it was just nice to have them here. Then Luke treated me to a birthday dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, followed by the question, "Don't you want to go shopping?" I'd say that's worth getting a year older!

Also earlier this month was General Conference weekend. Twice a year, the Prophet and other general leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hold a conference to make announcements and give updates that are of general interest for church members world wide. They also share different faith-inspiring messages and give counsel. The conference is held in a large conference center in downtown Salt Lake City, but it is also broadcast on TV and internet so that anyone who wants can listen in at home. We like to try and involve our kids in this significant occurrence. We also like to actually listen, and the two don't coincide very well. We compromise by requiring the kids to come in for the first hymn, the opening prayer, and to hear the Prophets introductory message. Then the deal is they if they leave us alone for the rest of the time we won't make them sit and listen any longer. Here's how the Saturday morning session of Conference started for us:

(music playing, scenes of the Salt Lake Temple are being shown) The announcer states,"This is  the 178th semiannual General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints . . ."

Madeleine, with annoyance, " WHAT! I thought it was the 178th  last time! (explanation of semi-annual and annual being in the same year and hence the same number given by dad)

The Morman Tabernacle Choir begins to sing the opening hymn. The camera zooms in on the Sopranos, dressed in magenta gowns adorned with a cluster of  glittering sequins at the neck.

Mary: Ooo, look at all the purple girls!

Beth: They are wearing grapes on their dresses

Everyone is quiet while the opening prayer is said. After the "Amen". . .

Beth: (sigh) "I'm bored already!"

That 5 minutes is as far as we got with the kids. No matter. Luke and I enjoyed the rest of the speakers. There is always something said that makes you feel good about what you're doing, and something that helps you want to do the things you're not. I really liked this comment from Elder L. Tom Perry:

There are cycles of good and bad times, ups and downs, periods of joy and sadness, and times of plenty as well as scarcity. When our lives turn in an unanticipated and undesirable direction, sometimes we experience stress and anxiety. One of the challenges of this mortal experience is to not allow the stresses and strains of life to get the better of us—to endure the varied seasons of life while remaining positive, even optimistic. Perhaps when difficulties and challenges strike, we should have these hopeful words of Robert Browning etched in our minds: “The best is yet to be” 

I don't think that means difficult things won't bother us, or that we should pretend things are great when they aren't. But I do think looking forward with hope can make the difference in what we learn from our experiences. Life's not perfect and neither am I, and I find that believing in the possibility of improvement keeps my head up. When I think of my husband and our daughters, I look forward to making each new phase in our lives the best yet. Of course, when I think of how blessed I am to have them, it's hard to believe life could get any better.

We Did Better This Week

This dress was mine when I was little. Mary wore it begrudingly because it didn't match her lipstick. 

"OK, I'm dressed for church!"

The shirt is dirty. The shorts are inside out. That's a hair scrunchy around her waist. Oh, and it's snowing outside.

Complaint for the Day

I seem to be a magnet for phone solicitors, no matter what I do. We registered for the National Do Not Call list,  I ask everyone who calls to take us off their list, I do not give my phone number out to anyone except people I actually want to talk to, and still my phone is plagued on a daily basis with aggravating interruptions from people who incorrectly pronounce our last name and try to manipulate me into buying things I don't want. It is 11:30 a.m. and there have been three already this morning. One insulted me for not agreeing to buy anything from their supposedly charitable organization (incidentally, I bought something from them before and I'm pretty sure their organization is a fraud, hence the refusal), the second tried to scam me into using their long-distance service, and the third I didn't answer.

I try to be nice, I really do. I used to work at a call center and I know they are just starving college students trying to earn some money, but honestly! If you're going to get me out of the shower and then ask for my husband by the wrong name, and tell me I already want what you have and you just need to verify my address, don't be surprised if I hang up on you with no further explanation than a curt, "No thank you."  If I wanted to change my phone service, my cable service, my mortgage company, or get a warrantee for my car I would initiate that process myself and do it at some time other than in the middle of eating dinner. And why is my phone number, my phone bill, and how many long distance calls I make per month anyone else's business in the first place?

While I'm at it, let me also note I spent almost an hour at the bank yesterday opening a fraud investigation on some unauthorized charges to our debit card. I'm sure everyone else was previously aware of this, but I only learned yesterday that allowing companies to take a monthly draw through your debit card is a bad idea. If you set up that arrangement for paying your bill, and then you cancel your service or subscription, they still have your card info and can make withdrawals without the bank flagging it as unusual activity. Fortunately for me, the bank believed my claim without asking for any documentation (and without chastising me for not noticing the charges sooner, which would've been deserved) and they are recovering the money. 

Moral of the story: keep your credit information to yourself as much as possible, and don't bother making a mad dash to answer the phone; it's just a telemarketer. 

I feel better now. Thanks for listening. 

South of The Border

(Sorry Amy R., you already know all this too :) 

Just as I started getting into the swing of things with school, Luke and I left for the Mexican Riviera.  Seth and Amy (Luke's sister and brother-in-law) joined us and we had a great time. We went for a whole week, which made me nervous in respect to leaving the kids, but they held up alright.

Despite hurricane season the weather gave us no problems and the resort was great; I love all-inclusives. We enjoyed golfing, swimming, reading, relaxing, snorkeling, site seeing, and eating - a lot. The first day we were there I slept in, took a nap, and went to bed early. In between I ate and read books and hardly moved from my pool-side lounge chair. All that sitting around wore me out so I slept in the next day too :) 

A really cool place we went was a state park called Xel-ha. We rode bikes through the jungle to get to the mouth of the river. Then we snorkled down the river to where it met the ocean. We saw the largest school of fish I've even seen.  It was almost hypnotizing to see how that group of thousands of fish could move and turn all together. Suddenly I decided it would be fun to try and swim into the middle of the school and be surrounded by all those fish.  I started to swim slowly down into the center of the mass only to be met by a jelly fish swimming slowly up out of it. Mental note to self - trying to swim through a school of fish is a bad idea.  

On the same day, we toured the site of some Mayan ruins. They were amazing and the scenery was beautiful. It was just so dang hot and there were mosquitos everywhere so we didn't linger too long.  One morning we enjoyed riding ATV's on the beach and in the jungle (well, mostly enjoyed - I was holding on for dear life most of the time). We saw an alligator in a marshy spot in the jungle but I was without a camera. Oh well.  We took  some wave runners out on the ocean and the water was so clear I got an irresistible urge to go snorkeling again.  We joined a short afternoon snorkel excursion and it turned out to be one of the best snorkel experiences we've ever had. There was so much to see everywhere and several species I don't believe we've seen before. I kept a nice distance from any large schools that time.

One of the highlights for me was the sea turtles. We were walking back from dinner and this baby sea turtle was flip-flopping it's way across the side walk. Seth tried to point it to the ocean but it kept turning around, so he picked it up and started carrying it to the beach. Then we saw another, and another. When we got to the beach hotel security was there with a bucket full of baby turtles they were taking to the ocean. Without the moon on the water, the turtles were confused by the hotel lights and couldn't find their way to the water. We picked them up and held them and took pictures. Then I thought, "Aren't these endangered, and therefore illegal to touch?" Woops. But at least we were trying to save them while we were touching them.

It was a great week but like all good things, it had to come to an end. Home was waiting and in some ways I was glad to see it. What can I say? There's no place like home. Although, when you're not home, on the beach in Mexico is a very nice runner-up. 

A Smart Mother

When a child in bed with a stomach ache promises, "I don't need a bowl. I'm not going to throw up," a smart mother would not believe them and go get the bowl anyway.

When a birthday party invitation arrives, a smart mother would write down all the information in her planner and post the invitation in a prominent place as a reminder, instead of misplacing the invitation and then wondering, "Was someone supposed to be somewhere today?" on the day of the party. 

When her husband is out of town and her children are asleep by 8:00, a smart mother would go to bed herself and not stay up until midnight blogging.

When she hears herself say, "I don't know if this is a good show for you to watch. I don't like the way they talk," a smart mother would go change the channel despite her children's cajoling protests.

When thinking back over the things she wishes she'd done differently, a smart mother will learn from her mistakes, laugh at herself, and above all, just be grateful that she is a mother. 

My Side of the Story (this is my longest post ever, but I wanted the details for myself. Sorry.))

August was one of those brief phases in life that you don't want to end but can't wait until it's over.  I was so glad to have time with the girls all home and I felt like the summer went too fast, but I was happy anticipating the great experiences they would have once school started. Mostly I needed to get all of us to the point where we were in a routine and over our fears. Particularly me.

After the class assignments came, I talked a lot of brave talk to my anxious little Madeleine, and then I found a quiet minute alone to personally freak out. Last June, a parent I met in a random encounter felt compelled to unload her negative opinion about Mrs. Johnson on me and encouraged me to take pains to avoid her. Since then I had feared the worst in regards to Madeleine's class assignment and now the worst was happening. I was also sad that Madeleine didn't have her friends in her class because I knew how important that was to her. I didn't know how help improve her perspective when the view didn't look too great from where I sat either. My first course of action was to email Luke in a panic. He replied in his typically unruffled tone, "Everyone has at least one weird teacher. She'll be fine." I sat on my bed in tears telling myself three things; 1) just because one kid and their parents didn't hit it off with this teacher doesn't make her a horrible person and an inexcusable educator. WE might like her even if they didn't. 2) I believe with all my heart that our Father in Heaven knows my daughter, her situation, and her needs. I have faith that He will watch over her and teach her what she needs to learn. If that means being in a class with a difficult teacher then He will help me to know how I can support Madeleine and bring to pass His will for her.  3) I'll watch that teacher like a hawk and if she makes one wrong move toward Madeleine so help me . . .

Beyond concern for Madeleine, I had been apprehensive for weeks about simply being able to pull this off. Getting everyone up, dressed, fed, out the door, homework done, papers signed, snacks packed, uniforms clean . . . for all three kids everyday - the thought of the physical demand had me scared sick. I became fully convinced that if I didn't live up to all of it everyday then their adjustment to school would be difficult and I would be at fault. How would they feel if they got to school and they didn't have what they needed? What would they do if I dropped them off at the wrong place or at the wrong time? What would they think if all the other kids knew what was going on and they didn't because I had forgotten to tell them? Going from one child in school to three  gave me a new empathy for the parents of twins. Instead of gradually easing into the next phase one child at time, we were jumping in two at once. On top of that, the one child who should already be comfortable regarding school was the most disconcerted!  For the next two weeks I tried to appear at my best and braced for the worst. 

I became an expert in subtle propaganda tactics. Suddenly, there were all kinds of reasons we needed to stop in at the school. I guided the girls through the hallways with butterflies in my stomach, hoping each visit would put them more at ease. When we went to the family picnic I was so tense I was literally sore by the time we got home. On "class gathering" day I was too anxious to go to the "parent reception" portion of the event. Who could eat a muffin at a time like that?!

By the conclusion of the back-to-school social events, I had stacks of forms to fill out and pictures to send in and the kids had "homework" that was supposed to go with them on the first day. The night before school I stayed up until midnight working on all the paperwork and printing photos that the teachers had requested. Finally, I made a decision; I was not going to do it. I would not be the mother who had everything completed, in order, and delivered on the first day. I would not. My kids would be there with or without their paperwork and the world would keep turning. Come to think of it, there's still a sheet from Mary's class I need to fill out around here somewhere . . . I set aside what was yet unfinished and tried, unsuccessfully for the most part, to sleep.

I teetered through the morning of the first day as though I  was keeping my balance on the edge of a cliff. Ok, maybe it wasn't THAT bad. More accurately, I felt as though I was only one wrong move away from completely unraveling. But, as you discovered in my post about the first day of school, we survived. I didn't even break down when I realized I was supposed to have brought Mary's book bag, although I came close for a second.  All in all, I really enjoyed the first day. I found it delightful to watch each girl as their distinctly different personalities were reflected in their reactions. Even with all my mom-guilt and fears of inadequacy, taking them to school was a joy. I am so grateful for their opportunities and so hopeful for the possibilities in their futures. The element of drama took it's toll though.  I brought Mary and Beth home at 11:00 and I went back to bed at 11:05 :) 

Dropping Beth off for her first day of class in Kindergarten was far less nerve racking than the previous day. She CELEBRATED going to school. Her expression was adorable beyond words as she entered the room, found her cubby, and went to her seat. She gushed and giggled and sighed blissfully, beaming with pride that she was now, officially, in school. I reveled in the moment and was so happy for her. I smiled all the way to the car and out of the parking lot. Then I cried the whole way home. My little girl, off to school and so big now. Exactly what do you call that feeling when the joy derived from loving your child squeezes your heart so tightly it hurts? Mary heard my sniffles and asked what was wrong. I answered, "I'm just a little sad because I am going to miss Beth while she is at school." (pause from the back seat) "Well, we're going to go get her and bring her home today!" "I know," I laughed, "I'll stop crying in a few minutes." (another pause) "You don't have to stop crying," Mary offered practically, "You can still eat when you are crying." Later, I noticed a message from Tori's mom. She had kindly called to commiserate with me, sharing that she was "having a sad moment" as she drove home. Her thoughtfulness in that moment couldn't have been more appreciated. 

The next day Mary had her first day of class. Her demeanor was subdued as she approached her cubby and she would not be coaxed into a smile for my ever-clicking camera. Not until I led her further into the classroom did it occur to me that I never prepared her for "extended day," the extra hour after her class when she would stay and have lunch. I hurriedly tried to explain the procedure as well as the reason (so I could collect her at the same time that Beth is dismissed), and finally left her in her teacher's hands.  Confident that Mrs. Kristie had things under control, I headed home, alone. The car had never felt so quiet. My thoughts seemed so loud they virtually echoed in my mind.  I made a mental note to start bringing my IPOD in the car with me. In the five years that I'd had it, I'd not yet connected it in the car. The girls chattering away from the back seats always provided enough background noise before. Without them the silence was odd.  Entering the quiet house was different though. I looked around, sighed with relief, and smiled slowly. Three hours, all to myself . . .

We've been in the school mode for several weeks now.  It's a daily scramble, as opposed to the controlled and orderly process I continue to envision, but we are happy. The routine is demanding but the structure is good for us. So far no one has gone without an essential item and I haven't forgotten to pick anyone up after school. And guess what? Madeleine's teacher is really great! (Moral of that story: if you don't like your kids teacher, keep it to yourself so you don't cause other people to lose sleep! ) Madeleine really likes her and I have found her to be professional, qualified, reasonable, creative, and helpful.  Beth is thriving and constantly announcing the beginning of new friendships. Mary has the "extended day" leaders wrapped around her finger and though she drags her feet and insists "it's boooring" she is smiling when I pick her up from school.

Thus begins a new phase for me and I'm not %100 sure how I feel about it yet. Previously, the next step was laid out before the last was taken - each school grade proceeded another, college followed high-school, a mission followed college, getting married was ahead as I left my mission behind,  and after each baby I anticipated another before long. Now here I am, dangling from the last link in that chain of events and wondering what comes next when your baby was your last.  Please don't misunderstand me. I'm at no loss as to how to fill my time. My question isn't with what, but in what order? Perhaps I should get my Master's, or start a part-time career, or become engulfed in a new hobby. Someday, maybe. For now, I'm beyond content to enjoy my children in this new phase of theirs, and occasionally take a nap:) 

After (the Big First Day and the First Week Reaction)

The night before school the girls were so keyed up they could hardly sleep. Madeleine was up past ten, just "thinking about school."  We had practiced getting up early and getting ready quickly, but it was hardly necessary. I went to wake up Beth and she blearily smiled, "Today is my first day of school mom!" and was up and at it in no time. Madeleine was less enthralled since waking up for school holds no novelty for her, but she still jumped to it. Mary was caught up in all the excitement but looked as though she still wasn't quite sure what all the excitement was about.  There was some hustle and bustle, but all went according to plan and we had plenty of time to snap a few pictures before we loaded in the car.  The first day was different for both Beth and Mary. Instead of a typical classroom day, they each had individual appointments with their teachers.  When I reminded Beth that she wasn't going to have class or recess, her face turned stony and she yelled,"That's not fair!" That's not fair!" She was good and ready for some kindergarten action and by golly, she was not going to be content until she got some. She toned down pretty quickly though. 

We dropped Madeleine off first. Her steps slowed as she got near the door, and she needed three hugs good-bye, but then she headed in like an old pro and didn't look back.  Beth and Mary explored the library with me until it was time for Mary's appointment. Trying to keep Mary entertained and relatively quiet while reading a book to Beth was a feat in and of itself, requiring my cell phone, a pack of gum, multiple lipsticks, and promises of food. 

Finally it was time to take Mary to her teacher. I was asked to stay in the room and fill out paperwork while Mary was guided around by one of the three teachers and introduced to the classroom routine. I didn't bring her little blue and yellow nursery-school standard book bag (it's not like she had anything to put in it yet anyway -cut me some slack!) so she used my purse to practice hanging her bag in her cubby. I had to smile when I heard her explain to the teacher, "There are lipsticks in there. That's ok."I was glad the teacher agreed that it was ok to have lipsticks in your bag or Mary may have formed a lasting grudge.  Mary seemed comfortable enough and was her usual talkative self. Before I could finish filling out the forms they had given me, she was done.  We took a break at a nearby McDonald's to wait for Beth's turn, where we called Grandma Rosie and played on the playground. 

Then it was time for Beth to go to her sort-of-first-day of Kindergarten. As we approached her classroom  She literally skipped  down the hall and bounced through the doorway. Her teacher remarked, "There's enthusiasm!" and for the next 30 minutes she had her teacher and her classroom all to herself. She was a proud little piper and I was happy for her.  Appointments complete, we went home for lunch and quiet time and before too long it was time to get Madeleine. She came bounding out grinning and exclaiming all kinds of things about her wonderful first day. (sigh of relief) One day down - one hundred and seventy nine more to go. . . 

Since that first day all three girls have done tremendously well adjusting to school and the routine. At the end of the second day (and her first day of class), when I went to pick up Mary, she greeted me by scolding "You weren't supposed to drive off without me!" I guess I didn't really explain that when she went to school I wouldn't be going with her. The third day she greeted me by moaning, "You leaved me and leaved me and leaved me here!!"  Once in that first week she did wake up and claim she didn't want to go to school, but the reminder that she needed to go trade her library book snapped her out of it and got her going. Last Friday I went to get her a little bit early, thinking she would be relieved not to be "leaved" there, but when I walked in she indifferently stated, "I haven't had my lunch yet" and left me waiting while she ate. 

Beth's expectations of Kindergarten so far have been met and exceeded. She likes to sleep in foam rollers and go to school with her hair curly. She looks forward everyday to going to her "specials" and she is pretty proud to have homework.  She has a best friend in class, Tori, and she is making more friends everyday. One day out of the blue she sighed, "I love school," and she told me that she can't believe she is in Kindergarten - that she tells herself over and over, "I'm in Kindergarten. I'm in Kindergarten and I'm not even 6 yet!" When the weekend finally came around Beth woke up on Saturday and was dissapointed to be reminded that it wasn't a school day. On Sunday night she exclaimed,"I'm so glad that in the morning I can wake up, get dressed, and ship right off to school!" She told me yesterday, "I had a fun day, and I get to keep having fun days, because everyday I get to do the same things!"

Madeleine's reaction to the first week of school was similar. One afternoon in the middle of homework she blurted out, "I LOVE third grade!" She always comes home with something that she is excited about from one of her classes - currently her hot topic is tracking a whooping crane re-population effort. Most of her friends from last year are not in her class this year so socially she is trying to get a feel for where she fits in with this new group, but that will come. She loves her teacher and says she is "sooooooo nice." 

We are soooooo glad that they are doing soooooo well. We're definitely off to a great start . . .

Before (The Weeks Leading Up To The First Day)

Summer is officially over. I don't know which was harder; saying good-bye to summer or saying hello to school. Thanks to uniforms, school shopping was painless, but the emotional fluctuation around here was more drastic than a theme park roller coaster. Throughout the summer Beth would cringe and whine whenever she heard mention of school. One morning she took something from Mary and got reprimanded. When I asked her why she snatched from her sister, she wailed, "Because she took it from me first and I DON"T WANT TO GO TO KINDERGARTEN!" Upon any such outburst, Madeleine would come to her aide with confident words of comfort and encouragement about how wonderful school is. She personally couldn't wait to get back to school. Any time we mentioned to Mary that she was going to go to school she reminded us that she was NOT going to school. Then, one fateful day, a fat envelope arrived containing the much anticipated class assignments. Madeleine was so excited you would've thought it was her college acceptance letter or something. She literally trembled waiting for me to open it. I read Beth the letter from her teacher first. She whimpered and sniveled through the whole thing, but the second that she heard her little friend Tori was in her class, her face lit up and she beamed, "I don't even know what all that fussing was about. I can't WAIT to go to kindergarten!" She happily skipped off to go try on her uniform. Madeleine read her letter with enthusiastic haste. She exclaimed, "I got Mrs. Johnson!" but while her face was smiling, her eyes were panicked. Of the three third grade teachers possible, that was the one she didn't want. Her grin became even more forced as she read through the class list and didn't recognize many names on it. She tried to act excited still, but by this time her eyes were brimming. She walked away soberly, and returned tearfully to confess that now she was afraid of school and didn't want to go. From then on SHE cringed when we mentioned school and she couldn't sleep for worrying about it. I read Mary's letter to her and she asked, " You mean I'M going to school??" Boy, did I have my work cut out for me. Over the next two weeks the tension mounted. Beth was still excited, Madeleine was still not, and Mary was still bewildered. I started finding reasons to stop in at the school and walk the girls through the halls. We called school friends and set up play dates. The Saturday before school we attended the family breakfast so that the girls could meet their teachers. That helped a little bit. Then during the week each girl got to attend a class party, with their teachers and classmates in their own classrooms. That helped a lot. By the weekend before school Beth was counting down the days and reminding me what she needed to bring for the first day. Now Madeleine couldn't sleep because she was missing school so much and wanted to go back so badly. Mary was all matter-of-fact about going to HER class, acting like it was something she'd been doing everyday for years. With that roller coaster ride out of the way, we're ready to move on to the next attraction. I have a feeling the weeks to come are going to be a cross between go-cart racing and bumper cars - a lot of "hurry, hurry, hurry" and a few jolts along with all the fun. 

Under the Blue Umbrella

I'm under my blue beach umbrella watching my children splash in the pool. I've been here in this very spot almost every day since June. We'll stay until we've had enough of the afternoon sun and then we'll go have popsicles on the porch while we wait for Dad to come home. Dinner will be late, and though I know I should probably enforce bedtime, I won't. I'll let them stay up and play - it's still light outside after all. The long, slow days of summer ironically seemed to fly by this year. It feels like it should be July when it's well into August. We're making our final check marks on our list of goals ( Summer Goals 2008 post). We did pretty well, all things considered. We visited This Is The Place, the petting zoo, and the aviary, along with the Children's Garden and Wheeler Farm. Madeleine worked on riding her two-wheeler until an high-velocity encounter with a tree squelched her enthusiasm. Uncle Chad came over and gave Beth her first soccer lesson. Mary spent many a blissful hour with her little friends. Luke improved his golf score significantly.

As for my goals, I did ok. If you only count the first and last week of the summer I get credit for the goal of keeping the kids on a routine. I thoroughly enjoyed our little pioneer adventure. Mary is in fact potty trained - it was the lipstick incentive that did the trick. As far as my blog goes, well, what you see is what you get. I also read a few books and started learning to play golf. Some day I may even be good enough to have a score. And of course, I've been here, under the blue umbrella, watching my children laugh, play, and sometimes cry. I forgot to bring my camera this year. I usually video them swimming and doing tricks so that the next year we can see how much they've learned and how much they've grown. But they grow so fast. With or without the videos I can't keep up.

I already miss them, the ages they are right now I mean. I miss the thought of waking up in the morning and having the whole day open to spend with them however we want. I miss the freedom of sending them out the door in nothing more than a playdress and sandals. I miss the anticpation of all the fun things we'll do together over the summer, because now summer is over. But, there's always next year. We'll make new goals, and have more adventures, and we'll be here, splashing and playing almost every day. Come join us - you'll find us under the blue umbrella.

Beautiful Birds by Madeleine

One of my goals this summer was to go to the Tracy Aviary. Today, I went with my mom, my sisters, and my Grandpa's wife, Nina. We got to feed birds, watch ducks, take pictures by a pelican, find lots of feathers, and go to a bird show. At the bird show we saw a golden eagle, a hawk, a crow, a macaw, and a cuckaboro. The golden eagle was my favorite. She got shot and couldn't fly so that's why she lives at the aviary.

Then we went and had a picnic at the park. We saw lots of ducks, and rolled down hills. Then we went to the 7 Canyons Fountain and played and waded in the fountains. It was a fun day. I can't wait until I'm 12 and I can have a bird.

(more photos from the aviary and Maine are on the slide show)

The "Maine" Event

   With Grammie Millie at her apartment

Sitting on the dock

On Uncle Larry's boat

Swimmers brave the cold, cloudy day to go down the slide

At New Castle Beach on the only sunny day

It's been awhile since my husband and daughters have been to see my extended family in New England, and we decided this year was the year to make it happen. It was a - fog delayed, unexpected landing for refueling, rental car mishap, little girl with a runny nose and a fever, driving in a rainstorm- kind of trip to get there, but we weathered it well (the girls even better than I) and happily arrived at Little Sebago Lake in Gray, Maine. My parents, most of my siblings, and their families were able to join us so it was one big Smart Family bash out there by the "watah." 

The kids reveled in swimming, blueberry picking, frog catching, "crystal harvesting," cousin sleep-overing, s'mores making, hot tubbing, boat riding and ice cream eating.  One thing Madeleine and Beth learned about Maine is that you get bit by leeches when you play at the water's edge, but a little bit of salt takes 'em right off. One thing I learned about Maine is that when it rains, IT POURS! Day and night for most of the week. Even so, the rain let up enough for us to do all of the above as well as visit a Wildlife Park, eat some lobster, and spend a day with our G.G Millie down in Portsmouth (G.G stands for Great Grammie).  

Wouldn't you know, the very last day was a bright, sun-shiny, blue sky day so we ran back to Portsmouth for a quick visit to the beach before we headed to the airport. Despite the weather, all in all it was well worth the trip. The week was full of reliving old memories and creating new ones. With your family there to share it, what more can you ask for? The kids are asking, "when can we go back to Maine?"  

Sorenson Boating 2008 -The Dawn Of A New Kind Of Fun

   

Last weekend some really great friends invited us to go boating. We gave it a shot and discovered our kids love it!

The girls got a run in the tube . . .

And Luke got to brush up his wake boarding skills.

We had so much fun we decided to go again this weekend. So, we rounded up more friends, borrowed Jim's boat (THANK YOU JIM), and headed to the lake!

Madeleine wanted to give wake boarding a whirl . . .

And she came close to getting up!

The kids could've ridden tubes all day .

Mary kept a close watch on everybody. 

We're convinced that boating needs to be a part of our family summer activities from now on. Anchors away!   (see slide show for additional boating photos).

Ode to Grandma Rosie's Visit

(Due to technical difficulty, the photos that accompany this post are currently not available)

Earlier this month, our Grandma Rosie came!

We swam on "noodles", hiked to a waterfall, and went to a baseball game.

She took a tour of our school, met Dad's work friends,

came to our Little Gym class - we wished the fun wouldn't end!

She and mom went to the temple and they talked for hours. 

We walked around the yard and showed her all of our flowers.

Our cousins came for dinner and we got to celebrate,

Grandma's birthday and Emma's. The cupcakes were great.

For Family Night Beth taught a lesson, and then Madeleine did one too. 

After a yummy lunch at Kneaders, Grandma had to buy new shoes.

We had "quiet time", story time, and snuggle time as well.

She stayed up late with mom and dad to discuss the gospel.

We were so thrilled she could come.

It's been more than a year

Since the last time that she and Grandpa were here.

We're lucky to have her. We know that she loves us.

We miss her and can't wait 'til we see her in August!

A First Time For Everything

It is evident everyday that our girls our growing up. Here's how I can tell the babies are all big girls now:

- Earlier this month I took my children on an outing and I didn't bring a stroller.

- Earlier this week I took my children on an outing and I didn't bring a diaper!

- One afternoon Luke and I put Mary down for a nap, took our cell phones, and left Madeleine and Beth alone while we visited with a neighbor. (I found leaving my kids alone to be a strangely liberating yet disconcerting experience!)

- Madeleine came downstairs on a Sunday, got the "church bag" out of the closet, and loaded it up with snacks and color books. When I asked her what made her think of doing that she said, "well, I was all ready so I just thought, 'what else needs to be done so that we're ready to go?' "

- When I take the girls to the pool I can sit in chair and watch them swim without needing to get in with them.

Sometimes I'm sad to see them changing so fast, but I can't deny that it is easier to have them be a little more independent. Besides, I know as well as anyone that sometimes even big girls still want their mommy!

Fourth of July Fun

Here's a little blurb to let you know how we celebrated the birth of our nation: The morning of the 4th, the girls went out to the garden and picked a bowl full of raspberries. We ate them on top of pancakes, along with some blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream so that our breakfast was red, white, and blue. Then Dad surprised us by taking us to the zoo. It was surprisingly uncrowded and the cloud cover kept it from being unbearably hot so we had a fantastic time. After the zoo it was nap time, and then we headed to the Spangler's. There was a big inflatable water slide, lots of yummy food, root beer floats, and fireworks.  When we got home the girls watched fireworks out their window until well past bed time.  It was a great day. We're lucky to live where we are free and safe and can enjoy such fun times with family.  

Bye Bye Bosom Buddies!

Two years ago, a three year old  girl named Beth skipped up the front steps to "Miss Diana's" house. She was pleased and proud to be a new friend in the Bosom Buddies Pre-school class. Beth was excited to go to school and to have her turn to feel "big." As she went through the door, her mom couldn't help feeling happy for Beth and she didn't even cry watching Beth walk away. Beth learned songs, played games, did art projects, and had parties. A year and a half later, Beth wailed, "but I already KNOW everything!" whenever it was time to go to school. Nevertheless, she persisted in attending so that she could spend some time with friends and keep doing those art projects. Now, a five year old fully prepped for Kindergarten, Beth is a proud graduate of Bosom Buddies Pre-school.  She is excited to go to school and she is certainly a big girl now.  It's a pretty sure bet that when Beth walks through the Kindergarten door next Fall, her mom will cry watching her walk away. 

The Rules To Being A Kid

One morning I came down and saw that Madeleine had written these out and posted them in the family room:

The Rules to Being a Kid

1. Not being a cry baby

2. Try to be kind

3. Love your parents

4. Always have something to do

5. Look nice when going to a friends house

6. Love your friends

7. Always have FUN

She inspired me to make some rules of my own:

The Rules to Being a Mom:

1. Not being a cry baby, especially when your husband has to work late or go out of town

2. Try to be kind, no matter how many times someone whines, complains, or argues (note to self - TRY HARDER)

3. Love your parents - They taught you well and they're rooting for you

4. Always make doing things with your kids more important than getting something done

5. Look nice when going on dates with your husband

6. Love your friends - they'll keep you sane 

7. Find ways to make life FUN

One For All

I have a fairly complicated relationship with food. I typically enjoy cooking, I certainly albeit unfortunately enjoy eating, yet I never enjoy cleaning up after meals, or preparing 6 meals a day, or preparing one meal only to discover that no one wants to eat it. Therefore I am on a constant vigil to find meal options which require simple preparation yet generally please the palatte of our entire household population. That quest for simplification influences even my fast food selections. My drive thru window approach is to buy 1 value meal, Super Size it, request extra drink cups, and divide the spoils among my three girls.  Ordering three separate kid's meals impedes my efficiency and annoys me. Happy Meals are a privilege reserved for when Daddy is at the order counter. 

Yesterday while running errands I realized lunch time was rapidly approaching. Something about Mary jumping up and down in the checkout line at the library yelling, "I'm hungry I'm hungry I'm hungry I'm hungry . . ." must've alerted me.  I considered my options.  Returning home to fix lunch would inevitably exacerbate the problem by prolonging it's resolution, but the prospect of nuggets and fries (again) registered as unsatisfactory to my innate maternal nutrition monitor. I determined that an experiment with a new lunch option was in order. 

We pulled up to Subway. After a censored description of the menu items and a briefing on expected behavior the girls consented to give it a shot. What choice did they have?  I was already out of the car and they were already hungry. I stood in a lunch-rush sized line waiting to order while Madeleine and Beth pouted at a nearby table. Mary lay prostrate in protest on the floor behind me, blocking other customers from proceeding through the line. The moment I saw her on the floor was the precise moment I realized I did not have any hand sanitizer with me. Eventually I ordered one foot long sub on wheat bread with turkey, bacon, cheese, and lettuce, requested cups for water, and added 3 sugar cookies for leverage.  

The girls had the wrapper torn off of the sandwich before I could fill their cups.  They eagerly inspected their 1/3 of the sub while I observed. Madeleine took the cheese off of hers and ate the turkey, bacon, and lettuce. Beth took the lettuce off of hers and ate the turkey, bacon, and cheese. Mary took the lettuce and bread off of hers and ate the bacon and turkey and then rifled through my purse trying to find my lipstick. They all ate the sugar cookies. Everyone was happy.  There you have it! One reasonably nutritious entree, readily modified to satisfy three individual appetites, at a relatively low cost/energy output. Ladies and gentlemen, lunch is served. 

Thanks Everybody

I want to say thank you to all of you who, at one point or another, encouraged me to start a blog. Now that I've finally done it I really, really like it! I'm afraid all of your compliments in reply to my initial posts have gone to my head a bit and convinced me to become a bona fide Blogger. I'm looking forward to making regular entries and improvements.  Coming soon: a photo slide show (this is for the Grandparents).  Thanks for reading!

Summer Goals 2008

A really great friend gave me the idea of having each family member set goals for the summer. Madeleine wants to ride a two-wheeler and visit her great-grandparents. Beth wants to learn to play soccer and go to the zoo. Mary wants to play with her little friends as much as possible and one of  Luke's  is working to improve his golf game. Here are mine:

Meredith's Goals for the Summer

1. Downsize my list of goals to a number that a normal, rational person could reasonably attempt to accomplish in a 12 week period of time.

2. Actually post something on the blog I created two months ago but has heretofore remained blank (one check mark for me!)

3. Take my girls to the This Is The Place monument and museum so they can live out a "Little House on the Prairie" fantasy for a day.

4. Maintain some semblance of a daily routine with my children in order to prevent absolute shell-shock when school starts.

5. Potty train Mary and show no shame in employing various methods of coercion and bribery in order to do so.

And there you have it. The bulk of my time and energy will be directed to the pursuit of these goals for the remainder of the summer, which is already passing too fast. Primarily I just want a lot of quality time with my children. They are growing so fast and I want to feel that I was a part of their childhood instead of wondering where it went. The trick will be to pull it off without losing my mind or running myself into the ground. We'll see how I do . . .

Champions Challenge

On Thursday I was able to go down to Thanksgiving Point and watch Luke participate in the annual Champions Challenge. It's a local golf tournament and charitable benefit featuring past and current pro's, hosted by Utah's Golfing Great, Johnny Miller. It was a gorgeous day, Luke was at the top of his game, and I had a great time buzzing around in the golf cart with my sister-in-law, Amy Spangler. 

Luke played the first nine holes in a group including Annika Sorenstam, the greatest women's golfer there's ever been in history, and the second nine with Jack Nicklaus, the ultimate golf legend. 

He had this to say of his day with the pro's:

"It was great playing with Annika because she was so personable and in her prime. There was a large gallery that followed her everywhere so being with her made it feel like you were one of stars. Also, I was playing well so it was pretty cool." 

"Jack is the ultimate legend in golf so I was awestruck being with him. One funny story;

We had a chip about 60 feet out and one of the amateurs hit the perfect shot where the ball stopped three inches to the side of the hole. Jack said, "Well, my goal then is to hit my ball between your ball and the hole.' So he got up and stroked the ball and it rolled exactly between the amateur's ball and the hole. Jack's reaction was to say, ' I guess that shows you've got to be careful about the goals you set, because you may end up acheiving it but having set the wrong goal'." 

I have to add that I saw several of Luke's swings and there was more than once when he hit the best shot of the group. Since they were playing, "best ball" the rest of the group then played off of his shot. I couldn't resist teasing, "So now you can tell people that Jack Nicklaus plays off of your ball."  Overall it was a great day which Luke describes as "awesome."

Zoology Camp For Madeleine

Before summer began I told each of the girls they could chose one activity to be involved in over the summer. Madeleine immediately opted to participate in the the zoology summer camp held at her school. For one week, she went up to school everyday and learned more about animals and animal care. They visited the Humane Society and a veterinary  clinic and did an activity where the kids doctored their own stuffed animals - that's something she's had a lot of practice with! The grand finale was to spend the night camping out at the zoo. After a trip to the store for new sleeping bags and an air mattress pump, she and I headed up to the zoo just at closing time. Her class had the place to themselves and enjoyed playing games in the education center, having a "get to know you session" with some small animals, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows next to the elephants, and finally taking a "nocturnal animal" tour after sunset. Due to projected rain,  instead of tents we slept inside, which was fine with me. Before we left the next morning Madeleine spent her own money on a stuffed wombat from the gift shop to add to her ever growing menagerie. Madeleine couldn't take it all in fast enough. She said she had "a great experience." Sharing it with her made it great for me.