One more...

Or you can watch these Christmas lights videos and have a good laugh...

We went to Thanksgiving Point to drive through their lights and it was fun, but then we saw a house down the street on our way home that had the coolest lights show set to Christmas music.

This isn't the house we saw, but check out these two Christmas light videos:

Amazing Grace

and

Trans- Siberian Orchestra


Wow. That's all I can think of to say.

Joy to Everyone

Christmas preparations are stressing me out! Holy cow, there's so much to do, especially since Santa will be coming to our house early this year. (I'll explain later. No time now!)

This video, however, brings me peace. When I watch it (which I did about 15 times), I step outside of my little world and see a bigger picture. It's the perfect Christmas pick-me-up. (Thanks Jennie!)

Now back to the 'to do' list...

Pandora Radio

I'm usually one of the last to hear about anything new, so I'm guessing everyone else already knows about Pandora Radio. But in case you haven't, it is my newest favorite holiday thing! You can use it for any genre of music, but I am especially enjoying it for Christmas music. Choose a favorite song, artist or genre, and it will create a playlist for you of similar songs you might like. I currently have 5 different Christmas stations. Rockin' Christmas, MoTab, Jim Brickman, and a few other lists that I can listen to whenever from my computer. I get lots of Christmas music (for free) and I never get sick of any one song. Try it out!

Last night I had it on 'Christmas piano classics' (by David Huntsinger -O Christmas Tree) while we were redecorating our tree. Yes, when Cal came home and tried to fix the base of the tree (nothing a little duct tape can't fix!), the tree tipped and hit the wall...and our tree was decapitated. No joke! The top third snapped right off. Luckily we had an extra tree in our garage that we'd been 'meaning to give away.' It's smaller, but will do the job just fine this year. Anyway, most people sing the words to 'Santa's Coming to Town' as, "Making a list, checking it twice..." We sing, "Setting up the tree, decorating it twice!" I'm sure we'll be remembering this Christmas tree incident in future years. (It will be known as 'The Year Mom Set up Lazer Beams to Protect the Tree.') Cal still remembers tipping his Christmas tree over trying to climb it with his sister Rachel.

I feel like an advertisement for Pandora Radio. "No matter what crazy holiday memories you're making, Pandora Radio is always there for you- in the background!" Seriously, you should try it out.

Oh Christmas Tree

Tonight Spencer woke up at 10pm. I heard him thumping loudly down his bunk bed, so I jumped up and met him in the hallway. "What's wrong, Spence? Are you scared? Are you sick? Are you gonna throw up?" "No," he says. "Well what's wrong then?" I ask. There was a long pause and then Spencer says, "I'm worried that I haven't been good enough this year." Then he started crying.

Um, that kind of caught me off guard. I ask him why he thinks he hasn't been good enough this year. He reminds me about the tree incident earlier this evening.

Oh yeah. From the minute he got home from school, Spencer had been a ball of gloom. We were trying to make some Christmas treats for our neighbors and he was just so grumpy! When the treats were in the oven, the boys finally played peacefully in the other room so I could clean up and start something simple for dinner. They seemed to be having fun. I heard laughing. Phew! No fighting; some peace and quite for a minutes, right? Wrong. I heard the Christmas tree fall with a thud.

Boys are easily entertained. They were tying one end of the string to the file cabinet on one end of the room, and needed something on the other end of the room to tie it to. Ah yes! The Christmas tree! Perfect! It worked splendidly for awhile. The string was about a foot off the ground- perfect for jumping over or sliding under. But when Grant accidentally landed ON the string during their acrobatics, the tree came crashing down.

I wouldn't have been so mad if the tree hadn't already suffered a few blows this year! The day after we put it up, Grant decided suddenly that he didn't like the tree and started removing the branches. Since he had helped his dad put the tree up, he knew just how to remove the branches. When I caught him, a third of the bottom branches were off! Our poor tree is probably hoping we'll hive him to DI and get a real one next year. (me too, actually).

So while I was trying to tip the tree back upright and get it to stand straight again, I totally lost my temper. The tree is not a playground, people! No-more-touching-the-tree!!

Back to Spencer waking up in the night...
Poor guy felt bad about tipping the tree over and was worried he had not been 'good enough' this year, and while he didn't exactly say "is Santa going to give me coal this year," I knew that's what he was thinking. I felt horrible. He WAS particularly grumpy today, but I had been just as naughty in my reaction to the tree falling over, and I felt bad too. I think it is really important to admit I'm wrong (if I'm ever wrong, ha ha) as a parent, so I apologized for overreacting. He apologized for tipping the tree over and for being grumpy. Nothing like having a little midnight chat with your 7 year-old to keep you in check! Hopefully Santa heard our heartfelt apologies in time to take us off the naughty list this year. I guess it's all pretty funny a few hours later. Too bad I didn't think it was funny then and take a picture!

New background

Does anyone know how to shrink the header picture so it isn't so stinkin' huge? I mean, my boys are just daaaahling and all... but really. Do you know?

Oh, and resist the urge to reach out and straighten Dallin's little red tie. It kills me every time I look at it. If I could just reach out and give that tie a quick flip, it would be just perfect! Trying not to want to fix it....must fix it!

Just hangin' out

This is a record- 3 posts in one day! But I just had to record this.

This morning I was herding the kids to the garage to get them buckled in and off to school. I opened the door to the garage, pushed the garage door button, and then we headed outside (where I parked the car last night). Grant was faster than me, so he made it to the garage door as it was moving before I did. I don't know what was going through his mind, but suddenly, he grabbed onto the bottom of the garage door and hung on as it was sliding up!!! He got a free ride for a few seconds until I managed to get there and pull him off. The best was the look on his face, standing under the door, like a little bird had just whispered this brilliant idea in his ear. It was like he just discovered how to fly. He was so excited about his little trick, but I couldn't help picturing him pushing the garage door button on his own, running to catch his ride, and then getting squished in the top, or letting go and falling to the cement. Scary! Grant usually keeps his feet planted firmly on the ground. I expect things like that from Spencer, but Grant?

Really?! Why do boys think of such things?

When I told Cal, he reminded me of the days he used to climb on his roof and ride the door down and jump off (this was pre-electronic garage door days). I'll never understand boys!

All they want for Christmas

Our car conversation, exactly as it happened:

Me- What do guys think you want for Christmas?

Spencer- First, a thousand dollars. If that's too much, then a mini 4 wheeler. If that's still too much for Santa, than a Wii.

Me- Wow. Those are tall orders! Grant, what do you want?

Grant- A flashlight.

The Double Thanksgiving Recap

Thanksgiving this year was doubly delicious. Why's that? Because we had two Thanksgiving dinners. Yes, two. You won't be so jealous when I explain why. Calvin did not get Thanksgiving Day off. Trucking is a fierce industry, to say the least. He runs a dedicated route back east, and is also a trainer- both of which make him impossible to replace. It goes without saying that at work and at home, he's irreplaceable.

So to make the best of it, we distracted ourselves by accepting 2 dinner invitations. The first dinner was with the Les Clawson gang in West Jordan. Les is my dad's brother (my dad passed away 10 years ago). He has 10 really cool kids and they all have kids of their own. Dinner was in the RS Room at the church. It was awesome! My kids had a ball running around the cultural hall with other kids, while I visited with cousins. My brother Stephen came with me. It was very kind of them to invite us and I really enjoyed visiting with them. (my hands were too full to take pictures!)

Then we headed off to Provo for round two, where some of Cal's family was gathering. This dinner was completely opposite of the first, as my kids were the only little guys present. It was more formal, and we caught the tail end so I wouldn't have to force my kids to sit and be so polite. :) We stayed the afternoon there, playing the Wii and having a great time. There are advantages to being the only kids sometimes. You get all the kid attention! Dallin was being especially funny.He's recently learned to fold his arms for the prayer. Cute!

Cal and I each have 10 siblings in our families...which makes for lots of really awesome aunts and uncles!!! Really, aunts and uncles are the best!

I saved a heaping plate of Thanksgiving dinner for Cal, and we picked him up on our way home that night. I wish he could have been with us for dinner, but seriously? I'm grateful for so many things, I hardly have room to complain.

Friday we had Cal's family over for pizza and hanging out. It was so fun to see everyone!

Saturday my family came over for pie and 'Elf.' (What's Christmas without Elf?) Cal's brother John and his wife Sierra were staying with us, and on Sat they watched Dallin for me so I could go see Twilight. I have my critiques, but overall I enjoyed the movie, and I especially enjoyed sitting in one place for 2 hours. My backside was even a little sore during the credits. I rarely sit for that long!

Sunday Cal was home again and we were able to enjoy some calmer family time together. We were sad John and Sierra had to leave. We miss you guys! Later we were able to pull out the Christmas tree and had a great time putting up decorations. I love white Christmas lights on my tree, but this year I was outvoted 4-1 in favor of the colored lights. (Dallin's vote was determined by the number of 'ooohs' he said in one minute for both types). Had I not been feeling a little weathered, I'd have fought for the white lights. Alas, 2 strings of white lights were broken, and I didn't put up a fight. At least I have 4 happy boys! With Dallin attacking the tree every few minutes, I'd kind of given up the 'gorgeous tree' idea anyway this year. (Which is good, because every 5 minutes Spencer puts on another 'homemade' ornament he's whipped up with string, markers and tape. It's so funny!) Maybe next year...

So though it wasn't the most 'ideal' Thanksgiving ever, we had some great times. And I am grateful for so many things.

I am grateful I have a wonderful relationship with my husband. And when I get cranky about not having him around, I remember the wives that don't see their husbands for 6 months or longer while they are on tour in Iraq- oh and they have a baby while he's gone too. And I am also grateful that though we are apart, we can communicate with each other! I am used to living without him day to day, but if our communication were suddenly cut off (or if he died), the silence would be unbearable! I'm sure our mobile-to-mobile minutes are putting our cell phone company out of business!

I'm grateful for friends and family, extended and immediate. I'm grateful for the freedom I enjoy in this country, and that though things are not as prosperous as they once were, we still have more than the majority of the world. I'm grateful to have so much family, I couldn't spend Thanksgiving alone if I wanted to! I'm grateful for triple chocolate pie, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and the occasional pumpkin pie. I'm grateful I wasn't at Wal-mart in NY on Black Friday, and I'm very grateful for cheap gas. :)

On a lighter note...

Here are some funny things my kids have said or done this week that I need to record...

1. Spencer brought home his parent teacher conference report. I said, "Spencer, your teacher says you are such a good reader. It says you are reading far above your grade level. I'm so proud of you!" To which Spencer replied, "I know mom. I read the report."

2. In the car one evening, the boys were discussing which star was the biggest. Spencer said, "The North Star is the biggest." Grant replied with certainty, "No! The Death Star is the biggest!"

3. Out of the blue, Grant came up to me on the couch and said, "Mom, I just love you mostly, and hate you a little." When I tried to probe for more understanding, he reassured me, "Don't worry Mom. I only hate you a tiny, tiny bit." I'm guessing it's when I make him brush his teeth or eat his dinner. :)

4. On Sunday we were having chicken enchiladas. Grant wouldn't try them (surprise, surprise). Spencer was reluctant, but tasted them. I was clearing the table when I heard Spencer say, "That was good. Can I have some more chicken Archuleta?" (If I have to explain this one to you,do a goodle search for 'American Idol' and 'David Archuleta').

Kids are so very, very funny! I love it!

Thoughts...

I've been off line for a few days because our internet went down. I should have read her news already when my friend Megan called, but I didn't know. Megan is a dear friend of mine. I watched her kids 2 days a week while she worked a few years ago , and her family is very dear to us. She was having a hard time with her pregnancy, and I had offered to have her kids come and stay overnight with us so she could rest. Megan was baking 2 little babies at once, and as you can imagine, needed a lot of extra support and help. I figured it would be a kid reunion for us, and a break for them.

Sadly, I got a call from Megan on Thursday informing me that the kids would not be coming to our house, but would be attending the funeral of their baby brother instead. Megan went into labor on Monday and delivered the twins at around 28 weeks. Both babies were born without a heartbeat. Baby Crew was revived, but Baby Dex had already been gone for possibly several hours.

My heart aches for Megan and her family. And yet, as I attended the funeral service this morning for Baby Dex, I was touched by the faith and courage the Bradshaw family has shown. Megan is a rock. A true fighter. I know this whole experience has rocked her world, but I also know what she's made of. These trials test us of what we are really made of. (Read Megan's own words here.)

It was a beautiful service. I let Spencer choose if he wanted to attend or not. He wanted to come to support his friend Kinley. It was his first funeral, and we spent a lot of time talking about life, death, burial, resurrection, and God. I remember attending a funeral service of a family friend with my dad once. We stayed after and spent a long time walking through the cemetery, looking at graves and talking about life and death. Several years later, we buried my dad in that same cemetery. The words of comfort he had shared with me on behalf of his friend, comforted me in a very personal way.

Interestingly, when Megan called me, I had been working on an entry for TheFamilySoup about my dad, and about Cal's mom, who died when he was 13. I haven't been able to come back to it yet, but I hope to post it soon.

Death is a painful part of life. And yet, as Spencer and I discussed, it is not so painful when you know you are simply saying 'goodbye for now,' instead of goodbye forever. That is real cause for grief! I hope Spencer understood today, that while there is sadness in death, there is life in the fact that we are eternal beings. We don't just go away. He has a very tender little spirit and I'm glad he came with me. Because of our backgrounds, both Cal and I feel it is important to discuss with our kids the realities of losing a family member or loved one. I know we won't be by our kid's sides forever, and I want them to have a clear memory of their mom and dad reassuring them that it is all ok, and for them to feel the immediate peace and comfort I felt when I first heard the words that my dad had died. I knew that what I had been taught in my religion growing up was true. That knowledge was confirmed again to me today. You can't fabricate that kind of peace. It is the kind of peace that strikes your very core and fills you with certainty and with strength.

So as I'm letting my thoughts go tonight, I wonder how much to write on my personal blog, and what to post on TheFamilySoup. I think way too much, and perhaps it bores people. I am prone to write, I write as therapy, and I write the things that I think would be selfish for me to keep to myself. It's either write, or down that bag of leftover Halloween candy I bought on sale. Writing is cheaper, and healthier! So I am what I am and it is what it is! Here's to my free therapy today...

Halloween PS

I forgot to write down this very funny, very real conversation Spencer and I had in the car this year about Halloween.

Spencer- Mom, what are you going to be for Halloween?
Me- I don't know. What do you think I should be?
Spencer- A witch.
Me- (?!?!?!? I hope that's not personal.) Uh, I don't have witch costume. Can you think of something else?
Spencer- How about Frankenstein?
Me- (? !?!?! This better not be personal!) Frankenstien? Are you serious?
Spencer- Yeah. Wasn't he a prophet or something?

Snakes and puppy dog tails... and a superhero. That's what little boys are made of this Halloween.

We had a great Halloween. I had to take a break from the Halloween craziness for a few days to be excited about posting these pictures!

Here are the boys at our ward trunk-or-treat.

This is Halloween night. Dallin and Grant's costumes are pretty obvious, but Spencer's needs a little explaining...

Spencer knew he wanted to be a 'Snake Hunter' 6 months ago. He is obsessed with snakes right now! A snake hunter is a cross between Indiana Jones and Steve Irwin. It's funny, because in years passed, I tried to get him to save pennies and avoid buying costumes. This year, when buying a costume was not a big deal, he wanted nothing to do with the store's costumes. He wanted to make his own! Just goes to show, money can't always buy a kid's happiness.

So this is Spencer showing us a close-up of his homemade name tag. In case you can't read it, it says, 'Spencer, the cool snake hunter.' For those of you following Spencer's young entrepreneur career (ha ha), this snake is one he bought himself with money he earned from selling gum to the neighborhood kids last year. What a funny kid.

This is Spencer in his complete get-up.

Grant was very happy to be a superhero. He had several costumes to choose from, and he changed his mind daily as to which one he was actually going to be. Superman is always a favorite at this age. I didn't get a close up of his costume. Is he the middle child?! Oops. Sorry, bud. (It helps if you actually face the camera cooperatively, though, kiddo). :)

Dallin? He was the cutest dog you've ever seen. He is SO obsessed with dogs right now. I had a giraffe costume for him (see trunk-or-treat pic), and he actually thought he was a dog. (He thinks pretty much all animals are dogs). But my friend gave us this dog costume because it was just too perfect for him!

This is my favorite shot of the night. Dallin really didn't care that he was dressed as a dog. He was thrilled to have discovered the wonderful world of...sugar!

I gave him a sucker from the first house, and he sat quietly and ate it the entire trick-or-treating! Of course, when it was gone, you could hear his shrieks and shrills from across the valley. Yikes! Once that door is opened, there is no going back!

Oh, and I am happy to report that despite a few light raindrops, we did NOT have a white halloween this year after all. Phew!

Scarecrow Festival

Last weekend Spence had school off and Cal was home, so we took the kids to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. We have a family pass, and had a coupon, so it only cost us $10 to get in! Awesome! We stayed for almost 3 hours, had to drop Cal back at his truck, and then I took the kids back for 2 1/2 more hours. I'd say we got our money's worth.

Cal had the camera most of the time, and I thought he was getting lots of snapshots, but turns out he was doing video. I'm more of a photo gal myself, but it's good to have video footage as well as pictures. Grant still talks about the 'Scarecrow Festibal.'

Tips and Tricks for Moms

My sister did a class in her home on mothering. She emailed her friends and family and collected a ton of tips people use in their families. It's a great list! I don't think a parent can read this and NOT get at least one great idea. I asked my sister if I could share it because, why not share a good thing?

I've adapted one of the ideas to fit my family, and it worked great today! K ids hate cleaning up toys, and I hate walking all over them in the basement. I also hate enforcing clean up! It takes more energy than doing it myself. Anyway, we made 3x5 cards with types of toys to clean up, like 'blocks, little legos, tinkery toys, cars, etc.' Then Spencer (my enthusiastic artist) drew pictures of the item on the card.

Today the toys had ALL been dumped out, and we needed a major overhaul. It is overwhelming, even for me. So we put the cards face down on the floor and took turns picking one. You can either assign a card to each person, or work together and complete a card and then pick another. Either way, it was really fun! (You could also try and beat your time. 'Let's beat our last time of 2:21 for cars!) There was no complaining and we were done in less than 10 minutes. I've also considered giving them one card before dinner of bedtime, when time is limited but you want them to clean 'something,' and they don't know where to start. Maybe this won't be so exciting in a few weeks, but heh. Even if it only helped make TODAY'S clean up nicer, it was worth it!

I also tried rearranged my laundry room and gave my kids each their own laundry basket to empty, which they were actually excited about (at least for now). The clothes go from the dryer to their baskets. Wow! That elminates a few steps.

Finally, I love the idea from my Aunt Linda to spend one on one time with each child. I can't think of a better way to spend 30 minutes!

This is kind of a long post, but oh well. (Anyone know how to share documents on a blog?). Enjoy this list of parenting tips. I hope something in it makes your life a little smoother/easier!


Tips and Tricks That Really Work
. . . Submitted by Moms Who Use Them!

25 Tips from Tearsa (Virginia):

1) Motto: "Do Today's Work Today" - the best idea from a book I read a few years ago about homemaking (basically, preparing healthy meals, having clean clothes, and safety/health are the most basic temporal things that really should be attended to every single day). When the basics are covered at least a little every day, things go smoother!

2) You can do ANYTHING for 15 minutes! Use a timer and set it for small increments to keep motivated. Housework, homework, paying bills, reading, whole house tidy, etc.

3) Positive Reinforcement and Praise Really Works (so does bribing when desperate, like smiling for family pictures, etc.)

4) Familiar Routines Get Things Done - ie. Before School Routine, After School Routine, Quick Clean Up before Dinner (nobody eats until things are tidy), Dinner Clean-Up Routine, Family Song and Prayer Every Night, Clear the Car of every single thing every time you get out, etc.

5) Hair Control: Dilute Hair Gel with mostly water in a small spray bottle and keep it handy with a brush or comb for quick control of Dinosaur or Mohawk hair (can be done during breakfast but don't let the spray land in the cereal bowl!) Keep one in the car in case you need it on the way to school or church!

6) Wake up CD – our kids’ alarm clock also has a CD player and my husband burns a CD with songs to wake them up at the beginning of each school year (and sometimes half way through. It gets them motivated to move, and the last song tells them it’s time to be ready for school, or downstairs ready for breakfast, etc. (ie. Over the Rainbow by IZ, You are My Sunshine by VeggieTales, Who Let the Dogs Out by The Baha Boys, Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top, 1000 miles by The Proclaimers, Time for Me to Fly by REO Speedwagon)

7) Put toothbrushes through the dishwasher often to keep everybody well!

8) Keep a small trash container near the dryer and cleaning supplies/paper towels in each bathroom (Favorites: Windex All Purpose Cleaner/Lemon and Clorox Spray Cleaner but don’t bleach your clothes!) – the toilet/sink (kills germs) and dryer vent (prevents house fires) is more likely to get cleaned. Also the kids can do quick touch-ups with no excuses!

9) Rotate perishables from 72 hour kits (or will, family journal, etc.) every six months (if you have one) around General Conference weekend (April and October) – my mom let the kids pig out on all the candy and junk while watching general conference

10) Feed big huge breakfast (ie. whole wheat pancakes) to kids before church to promote sleepiness … I mean reverence! during church services (my mom did this growing up and it totally worked!)

11) Get flu shots at health center = cheaper and you don’t have to pay your insurance co-pay, and the whole family can go at the same time. We cheer each other on, and moms get to show their true bravery in front of the kids. Our youngest is the bravest in our family:-)

12) When your dinner clean-up crew is whiny or slow, tell them to hurry up because you’re going to use the table to play a game! Mom gets to play, too, if everyone helps! Then they want to help because they want you to play. We play ongoing Mexican Train Domino games over several nights (or other pretty quick games in succession)

13) Organize kitchen cupboards so the cups, etc. are down low and easy to access (so kids can get their own drinks – color code them if you want) and all the things needed to set the table and put most things away from the dishwasher (then they can unload the dishwasher!)

14) Ideas for chores for young children: sharpen pencils, swat flies, dust (let’s see how dirty you can get this sock!), empty bathroom trash cans into big trash can in kitchen, set table, empty clean silverware from the dishwasher, straighten the books, gather toothbrushes for cleaning in the dishwasher, tidy the shoe shelf, find all the library books, put a whole bag of carrot sticks, grapes, etc. and boxes of healthy snacks in snack size baggies ahead of time so they can be thrown into lunch boxes in a hurry (and cheaper)

15) Make screensaver/login password something hard to spell like “Chesapeake” or “California” and change it to something new after you’ve caved and given and told it to them and they’ve also figured out how to spell it correctly

16) Our Family Motto: “All for one and one for all” – we voted on this as a family. We also use this to remind us to cheer for each other, help one another, work together, talk nicely, etc.

17) Use time travelling or waiting in the car to listen to books from the library on CD

18) Where possible make punishments have something to do with the consequence of the negative behavior (ie. forgetting lunch box = make your own lunch, not tidying room before school = no playing with neighbors after school unless you pay mom to do it for you - because it’s not “fit for company”, once in a while: hurting someone physically or emotionally = helping them with a chore, or being their “slave” for a certain amount of time, which often ends up in giggles NOTE: only a kind natured child can be trusted to be a slaveholder, and parents get to oversee, bad or disrespectful words=hot sauce or soap)

19) Every so often have the kids take turns being “the mom” for a set amount of time. They soon find how difficult it is to motivate, encourage, respond to negativity or whining, and keep the peace (let alone the amount of work mom actually does!) and they learn to show more respect for you. Sometimes they even beg to become the kid again!

20) To promote quick feelings of love and harmony, tell everyone to pile on your bed and read stories or talk, and then do lots of listening OR: Have Banana Splits or cereal for dinner and spend the extra time saved in the kitchen doing something fun together.

21) To calm a very angry boy down, ask him to run a few laps around the yard or dig in the dirt or shoot some hoops and then come back when he feels like talking or after a certain amount of time (to distract him from hitting or wrecking stuff!)

22) Inexpensive Afternoon Vacation: Go park hopping – spend 15 minutes or so at several different nearby parks, one after the other. The kids love this!

23) The Nice Seat: A child that is having trouble being nice to their siblings gets put in “The Nice Seat” aka Dad. He has them lie down on their back facing away with their head in his lap and his hands/”probes” robotically attach to both sides of the child at the ribs. Then he asks questions that they must answer about their siblings honestly. (ie. “Do you like Meagan?” “Tell me something good about Timmy.” If he suspects they are being insincere or they answer unkindly, the “probes” begin to move, causing a tickling sensation. He lets them up when they are saying nice things and are happy.

24) First Aid for Cracked or Bleeding Nipples While Nursing: Stop nursing on the side that is the worst for at least overnight (pump if you have to). Put some Pure Lanolin ointment on the nipple and cover it with a piece of plastic wrap, then your regular clothes. Leave it on overnight and only nurse on the other side. Take it off in the morning and wash up. It heals like magic! Then do the other side. Repeat if necessary.

25) If a DS game accidentally gets washed and dried in the dryer, don’t throw it out! Try it first to see if it works! Several have made it through …. It’s amazing!
Tips from my Aunt Bev (Utah):
“I think it's really important to get your priorities straight, and make sure your husband & kids know you love them, but don't be too lenient either. Teaching with good music is helpful too. Don't get into debt & Follow the Prophet. To us: weekly FHE, daily family scripture study, and family prayer night & morning are priorities. Our married kids have thanked us for these 3 things. Just work hard together at loving each other!”

Tips from my sister Bethany (Utah):
- “My old roommate has a family motto she posted. It says, "We can do hard things!" They refer to it often when kids are whining and complaining.
- When my son is overwhelmed and can't complete a task (like dress himself, or put his clothes away, or pick up some toys), I've found that it helps him at his age to break the task up. For example, "Put your arms through the sleeves. Good. Now put your head through the hole." Or, "Pick up all the red blocks. Now pick up the blue blocks, etc." It helps to break up the task when your child is easily frustrated. It's tedious, but at least he actually completes the action rather than us just fighting about it.
- Eating healthy foods. Give your kids a choice. Would you like broccoli or grapes? Oranges or spinach? Carrots or apples? As you try new foods eventually combine 2 choices that are not their favorite and because you've asked them a million times, it doesn't seem to bad.
- When our kids aren't listening (ie: running around like chickens with their heads cut off), my husband says, "Boys, front and center!" They know to freeze and stand in front of him like a soldier. Then we have about 30 seconds to give them instructions before we lose their attention again. We don't use it very often so it stays effective.
- have your kids brush their teeth as long as it takes to sing a certain song, like Happy Birthday, or the ABCs.
-One FHE (by myself) I got a bowl of skittles and told the kids if they asked a good question or made an interesting comment, they would get a skittle. Immediately, Spencer said, "Mom, that's a nice picture of the temple. What is it for?" (I was laughing so hard. he got a skittle for paying attention). :)
- When I'm not sure if my kids are telling the truth, I say (to my 6 year-old), "If I had a video camera on the wall right THERE, and I played back what just happened, what would I see?" Somehow that helps him tell the truth a little more.
- When your kids don't stay in bed, and if you don't have a way to lock them inside (ie- toddler learning to stay in own bed), throw a towel over the top of the door and pull it shut. It wedges the child in, but the door isn't locked. (This saved my life when we were renting and couldn't install locks!)”

Tips from my friend Jolyn (Virginia):
“One thing that really works for us on road trips is to check out books on tapes/CD from the Library. The kids love this, it stimulates their imaginations and they don't fight! Our road trips are filled with adventure, humor, or lots of plain old fun, instead of fighting and bickering. Now that the kids have iPods, we can download stuff to our library and load it on their iPods if they have different tastes in books. It's still working after 7 plus years!”

Tips from my Sister-in-Law Jean (Pennsylvania):
“One trick I learned - when pre-teen, teen girls are not cooperative, asking them to do something (like a chore) doesn't always work. However, I found if I IM'ed the girls (or now text them) that they are more apt to respond positively. Try it!

- Bathroom Tips for lots of kids in 1 bathroom: Everybody their own color of toothpaste, brush, etc. and put it in a bag that they bring in and out with them. Also color code the towels. Then you know whose stuff is laying around and whose toothpaste is in the sink!

Tip from my Mother-in-Law Vina (New York):
To encourage fairness: Have one kid cut or divide the food item (sandwich, cookie, whatever) and the other kid gets to pick which one they want.



Tips from my friend LeeAnn (Utah):
“Whenever possible say yes to your kids' requests.

Start discipline when your children are young. Even if they are "good" most of the time, you need a rapport with them that will take you both through the teenage years. They will not allow you to discipline them when they're older if you didn't when they were young.

Spend time hanging out on the living room couch and notice how many family members slowly but surely gravitate there too. :) I use this one all the time. Then my hubby and I watch the kids play and joke and sometimes fuss. We all talk. Sometimes we even pull out our scriptures -- but not usually. This is just a nice time together with no expectations.

The number one thing you can do is build a positive relationship with each child. Be a good listener. Sometimes this one kills me. I force myself to sit and listen to my daughter practice piano. I don't criticize or correct -- ever. I learned that one the hard way. Now I sit and let her do all the talking/playing. Sometimes it takes an hour or more.

Develop the language of the scriptures in your parenting. I use the terms hither and thither alot. It started as a joke, but now is a habit. I then heard a conference talk about this. We are obligated to teach our children. They won't learn necessarily by traditional family scripture study as much as they will if you are using some verbage from the scriptures on a regular basis. Then when we read it in the scriptures everyone already understands it. It's cool!

Subscribe to the newspaper. The kids will notice. They'll learn that being informed is good.

After 15+ years, my kids still can't still on the pew at church.

My kids brush their teeth once a week whether they need it or not. LOL

I do 2 crock pot meals per week. Then I'm not always as rushed around dinner time and I feel more relaxed.

I do my visiting teaching on the same day every month. That's one of my biggest scheduling difficulties as it involves so many households.

None of my family really loves to eat veggies or fruits so I mix up The Green Drink a few times a week. It has spinach, kale, soy milk, v8 smoothie, 1 frozen banana, 6 frozen strawberries, and vanilla yogurt. While this isn't exactly 5 a day -- it's helping. On the days I do make it, it's at least 5 for that day. :) My friend Karen gave me the recipe. I had to change it a bit to fit my family's tastes.

I re-direct little ones a lot using poems and rhymes. Again, this is to develop a positive relationship with them so that they don't start the habit of yelling, etc. Even if the only thing the poem does is to interrupt their thought process, that's usually enough to get their attention and then they're receptive to doing what you need them to do.

I don't force anyone to wear shoes or coats. (And here in Utah it gets pretty cold.) I let them have as much control over their own lives as we (Lee and I) can tolerate. The little ones go bare foot A LOT!!!! The bigger ones go to school and church without coats A LOT!!!! They haven't died yet. j/k”

Tip from my friend Correne (Idaho):
“Okay ... one thing I did so I wouldn't have to clean up pee all over the floor was to start out my marriage the very first week by insisting that my husband sit down when he pees. I told him that he could stand up if he would take over the job of cleaning all the toilets and the surrounding floors and walls. However, if he sat down....I would clean the toilets. So, he opted to sit down. Now all my boys sit down. It has been lovely. It is my girl that has the problem of leaving dribbles on the seat! Never imagined that one when I was initiating my plan. And funny thing is, the boys think it is a great treat to use a public restroom cuz they get to stand up! The beauty of small pleasures!”


Tips for children with challenges from my friend Shauna (Virginia):
“We give our 9 year old daughter a weekly allowance of $5.00 IF she completes all her chores without complaining. Then throughout the week if there is any negative behavior, she loses $.50. We keep a chart on the fridge and add a tally mark for each negative behavior. At the end of the week we bring out the $5.00 and subtract the amount she lost for the negative behavior. This has been working great so far, because she likes to get money.

Another good tip I received from a counselor is when trying to get her to clean her room, I write the items she needs to clean up on a separate index card. I hand the index card with PUT BARBIES IN BARBIE BOX, to my daughter, and she cleans up the Barbies, then brings back the card when finished and I give her another card: PUT PET SHOPS IN PET SHOP BOX, etc. and you do this until the room is picked up. This works very well for kids who get overwhelmed and don't know where to start.

Another idea is to keep a coloring book (I use a coloring book with things in it that my daughter doesn't like - boy stuff) or notebook with blank paper put away for the really over emotional moments. Bring it out and have the child scribble out their anger on the coloring book, or write down their feelings in notebook, kind of like a journal used only for those tender, upset moments. This helps to calm a child on their own, when nothing else works!”

Tips From my Aunt Linda (Utah, corresponding from Israel):
“When the children would squabble on long trips I used to have difficulty dealing with it because I become motion sick when I’d turn around. 2 things worked:

1) Bring a “squirt-bottle” (a good one with long trajectory)

If there began to be contention, I’d pick up the squirt bottle from the front seat and squirt away. Things always toned down in a hurry.

2) Go sit in a back bench between children who struggled to get along. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this one sooner. It immediately took care of the problem (as long as the road wasn't too windy for me).

Because my husband was always gone and I still wanted to have one on one time with the children, I used to plan “special time” for one day each week. Each child had 30 min. (I know that seems like little, but even that was a challenge with 8) to do with me whatever they wanted at our home (since I couldn’t leave the others). We did things like: I watched them to handstands or cartwheels and cheered wildly; played Scrabble; made cookies (they had to take turns making treats so we didn’t end up with 8 treats on one day); near their birthday I made them take one to update their individual picture journal for the past year; art projects; sewing little items; cleaning out “junk drawers;” once one of my older daughters decided I was an illiterate at the computer because I didn’t know any computer games, so she made me sit down and taught me how to play Pac Man; bike rides, etc. Our family did not watch TV, so during the week I’d tape some programs I thought they’d like and saved them only for this time. It made it fun for those who weren’t having their special time right then.

Hide & Go Seek in the Dark. One of our children was terrified of the dark. We began playing “flashlight tag” and it cured the problem. We took the frightened child with one adult and closed our eyes (with a flashlight in hand) and counted. Meantime we turned out all the lights and my husband helped the children hide in random places all over the house. After the count, the child would turn on the flashlight and we’d hunt out the children in the most random places imaginable. He hid them in the dryer (I don’t recommend that one), in cupboards (he’d dump everything out and tuck them inside), on top of the fridge…

Occasionally dish duty time became negative. Rather than help the children DO their jobs, I found that if I sat at the table and read stories to them, it resolved the problem even faster and they didn’t resent the time they spent working.

Job Charts – We used the same job chart for 20 yrs. with our children. The only difference between jobs was their one “individual job” that rotated. The baby always started with “Treasure Hunting” for their job. They dug out any old bottles under the crib.”

Tips from Aunt Linda’s Daughter (my cousin) Rebecca (Utah):
“I'm not a mom yet, but my mom used to do "special time" with us each week--since there were so many kids, we didn't always get one on one time with her, so that would be our special 1/2 hour, where we could do whatever we wanted with mom--even have her watch us play computer games, or clean out a junk drawer.”

Tips from my Cousin Candace (Utah):
“As for sitting together at church, I let my kids draw after the sacrament has been blessed and passed and the deacons and priests are dismissed. This keeps my kids reverent for sacrament and quiet during the talks. Then, I have them clean up during the closing song. That way they are ready to go to class right after the closing prayer.

As for brushing teeth, I have to constantly remind my kids, even my 11-year-old, to brush morning and night. Fortunately, they are honest in telling me if they have or not. Every once in a while I will check their toothbrushes to see if they are wet from brushing without them knowing. If they haven't, I have them do it right then. If they are too tired, I will brush their teeth for them; this also helps to make sure that their teeth are still getting brushed properly.

Hygiene works best with good habits. When my kids come in the door from school, they know to take off their shoes at the door and wash their "school germs" off of their hands. They also know to do this whenever we come home from the store or a park. I have had them do this from the time they were toddlers. I rarely have to remind them to wash up, which is nice.

Schedules are easy to maintain if I keep it simple and don't overload my children. We keep it to one extracurricular activity at a time. I also use a big desk calendar to keep track of everyone's separate activities for the day. I make sure to check this morning, noon, and night to keep from forgetting what needs to happen that day.

I have found that errands are easiest done alone. It's nice that I have an 11-year-old who is responsible enough to take care of her siblings when I'm out.

I am so far behind in my scrap booking, but I'm much less stressed about it now that I discovered you can have your blog printed into a book! To me, this is much easier than scrap booking! It also gives you more room to journal about things, too.

I have found that my kids do better when they aren't paid to do chores. They get an allowance every other week that coordinates with my husband’s payday. I am also helping them to save their money by not letting them spend it so quickly!

An effective way to discipline bad behavior has been to take away money from their allotted allowance. First, I give a warning that if they don't stop the behavior they will lose a dollar. Usually, they will stop the behavior right away. Money seems to be a great motivator with my kids. This method of discipline also helps me to avoid spanking my kids, which I feel is not the best form of discipline.

Here's a GREAT laundry tip that I learned from my mother-in-law: get baskets for each of your children and write their names on them with a permanent marker. Then, use the baskets to sort your clean laundry in. Next, give the baskets to your kids and have them hang-up, fold, and put away their clothes. It's amazing how a huge basket of laundry is done in no time. This has simplified my laundry duty greatly, and the kids can't complain about doing their own laundry.

As for getting ready to go places, I have found that the more time you have, the less stressed and frantic you become trying to make sure that everyone is ready to go. Having the kids pick out their clothes the night before also helps prevent morning meltdowns over what they are going to wear.”

Organizing and Budgeting Tips from my Sister Sarah (Arizona):
“I still have a “To Do” box that I go through once a month or so to make sure there’s nothing in there that now is a MUST do. But many times things just stay in that box for months at a time.

So I’ve been doing something a little different lately. I’ve always been a to-do list person. I have one big To-Do list that I’m constantly adding and taking things away from. But in addition to that running list, I try to sit down each week and find ONE thing to get done each day. If I can get ONE think knocked off my to-do list each night, even something as small and seemingly simple as “find a dentist” online, that’s something! Or, clean out one kitchen cupboard. Or call/email so and so. Or file my stack of bills and papers that have piled up for a few months. Or research such and such on the internet. Or vacuum. Just getting ONE THING accomplished does wonders. I feel like the day was not an entire waste, I did something! And then I deserve to relax and don’t need to feel guilty about watching some TV. But the key for me is I need to have it planned ahead of time what that one thing is going to be or I don’t end up getting anything done.

Tonight’s item is pull out my box of winter clothes from the storage unit down the hall (it got to the 50’s last night!). But I’m not going to necessarily work on unpacking it tonight and packing up the summer stuff., I’m just bringing the box in the house. Baby steps.

Budgeting…one idea I really like and might someday use is where the husband and wife each get a certain amount of money each month to use as they please. No questions asked. This has never been a problem for us, but I know it has for many couples where one spends more than the other on things that might be considered “frivolous” or whatever. But if each gets a certain amount from the monthly budget to spend as they please (on cd’s, earrings, extra baby sitter time, books, dvd’s, concert tickets, smoothies, etc.) then there can be no complaining from the other spouse. We don’t all have to have the same interests. Steve might be interested in going out with the guys to play golf (his newest hobby), whereas I might enjoy going out with friends for coffee or to a movie, or buying a new book I’ve been wanting to read.”

Tips from my Cousin Janel (Utah):
“I recently read a blog where the writer said that she tries to do three things every single day--I think she was a mom with pre-school and toddler kids at home. She called them her Three Dailies (Daylies?)
1. A craft/project (even small) with her kids
2. Make sure they get exercise each day--some form of running around outside, bike riding, etc.
3. Read 10 minutes to them.

Since I'm in that phase of my life, those ideas really stuck with me. I also, personally, think that it is essential for me to go to bed on time, or I am guaranteed that no tricks will work.

PS--More preschool stuff: My sister uses the gospel art kit to teach daily scripture time to her small son, and he has learned a ton. I've been impressed.”

Tips from my friend Nora (Virginia):

“- sitting on the pew together at church - a mary poppins bag of treats! 5lbs of treats and plenty of other surprises!! ha ha!
- schedules - start an hour ( yes and hour) before the scheduled time. such as bed time. at my house bed time is 8:30 so we start at 7:30. bath, and then we brush their teeth before they leave the br.
- brushing teeth :-) / hygiene - i tell them that there is a "stinky monster" in there and i need to get it out. and as i brush their teeth i play like "he" is jumping from the side i was brushing to the side im going to. they have fun spitting the "stinky monster" out.
- car trips, errands - be good or i'll beat your tail!! lol!! kidding. we play a math game! police are worth 20 points, motorcycles are worth 10 points, bugs are 5 points and newly added mustangs are 1 point. it keeps them busy and helps with math skills!! have fun if you add this to your road trips! we also play the abc game. and as an adult we have to get two of each letter before moving on to the next.
- mealtime/food - the kids help cook. not always the fastest, but they have tons of fun!
- one on one time - what is that?? i knock it out all at once!! one child hits the ball, the other child picks them up until it's his turn and the youngest plays keep away!! lol
- family togetherness/fun - they help to plan family time and treats. my oldest son assigns each person their job for the night.
- homework, chores, responsibility - job chart!! my oldest son runs a little when he gets home. he has a small snack and hw is done before games or play!!
- realistic expectations - it has to fit their range of understanding. talk about it - explain fully but simply.
- behavior management - treasure box!! i'm the only one with the combo and before school my son picks out what he wants when he has a good day...if it's good he gets it. if he's not, we talk about it and it goes back in. as my littlest is being potty trained - he gets a treat for going on the toilet.
- family rules or mottos that teach principles or grow great kids - do it or mommy wont be happy. - kidding again. will that make jesus happy? how would you feel if someone did that to you??
- teaching moments, fhe - i read my Sunday school lesson out loud and ask the kids about my lesson (14-16 year old class) as i go. it's amazing what they pick up on our already know! there is a lesson for everything!
- keeping things simple - get on their level and use small words. (kiss - keep it simple stupid)
- getting kids' attention, helping them focus on tasks at hand - i have a belt handy!! lol!! or hot sauce - which ever fits the crime! really, but to answer you better. i help them by telling them/ him to stay on task. what are we trying to accomplish?? what do we want/need to do next? what is our goal?
- helping getting ready to go be smoother / transitions - talk about it and explain what i expect of them?? then talk about it when it's all done with.
- organizing, budgeting, getting things done - do it right the first time! make a list!
- mottos or quotes - mommy's the boss!!
- classroom ideas that would work at home - if i'm talking - your mouth is closed. i rule!!
- photo management/scrapbooks, journals - dump your card onto the computer/external - organize them and scrapbook according to folder.”

I'm Dreaming of a White Halloween?

It's taken a few days for me to post this, but last Sunday we woke up to snow! It was the first snow of the year, and since it's been awhile for us, the snow was a big deal. Spence and Grant loaded up on snow gear (except for the coats. They wouldn't put a coat on!) and went out to play. It didn't last long (because they weren't wearing coats) and they came in. But it was very exciting for them.

As for me, on the other hand, I am dreading winter. It's beautiful and cozy, but I'm really missing that perfect October Vegas weather right about now. So here's a shout out to my friends enjoying the Vegas weather. I miss you! (Though I am glad we moved just before the August heat, ha ha).

Here are a few photos from their snow fun...

Why does Grant look so grumpy? Because he was mad that I made him stop and take a picture. Mean, mean mom.

Cut loose, running free in the snow!

I love how they're wearing their superhero PJs still. True to form.

After about 10 minutes, they came in and we watched the snow from the window. I guess it's time to buy some hot chocolate!

It is beautiful, but please go away snow! I was hoping for a little bit of fall this year. Luckily it melted quickly and the weather has warmed up again. Time to take advantage of every last warm day before we have to head indoors for the long winter. (Heaven help us!) Can you tell I have a bit of a bad attitude towards the winter? Yeah, I need to work on that.

Dear Grandma Larainne,

This post is for Grandma Larainne. (But feel free to enjoy it too). Grandma Larainne has a special relationship with my kids. We lived with them for a year and until recently, for all of Dallin's little life. Grandma Larainne has been in a lot of pain lately and we thought the best way to cheer her up would be to give her an update on all the fun progress Dallin has made in the last few months since we moved. Plus she just had a birthday. Happy Birthday Grandma Larainne and enjoy...

Dear Grandma Larainne,

I am growing so fast. My big brothers can hardly hold me anymore.

I like to feed myself.

Sometimes I help mom clean up.

I LOVE to swing!

And play outside at the park.

With my brothers.

I love animals. Look, I'm riding a horse!

And feeding the goats.

I love my stuffed dog. I call him, 'Doggie.' I think all animals are dogs. Every time I see an aminal (cow, horse, or dinosaur for that matter), I say, 'Doggie! Woof.' I sleep with Doggie at night. When mom says she is going to tuck me in, I point upstairs and say, "Doggie!" Mom thinks his name should be Pavlov instead.

I am very silly. I like to bite people's toes. I play this game with my family. (I never seem to catch their toes. Oh well. It's all about the chase, anyway).

I push my favorite toy around all day. It makes me so happy!

I am getting so smart. I can show you where your nose is.

I can also show you where your eye is. Ouch!

I am still a cuddler! I miss my dad when he's gone, but we have good times together. When we pick him up, I squeal with excitement when I see his truck 'cause I know he's coming!

I'm a tub dude.

I am such a ham!

I used to crawl everywhere...

But now I'm a walker!!!! Check out my battle wound on my eye. One day I just started taking about 20 steps. Mom was so suprised, she didn't think I'd walk the 20 steps I did, and then I feel on a container.

I'm so proud of myself that I can walk! Now mommy's REALLY in trouble.


I have grown and changed so much in the last few months. I miss my Grandma and Grandpa Cory. Come and visit me soon!

Love,

Your grandson, Dal-Pal

Introducing 'The Family Soup'

As many of you know, Cal and I have been working on a project for the last few months. It is a website called 'The Family Soup.' It's a collection of my own thoughts as well as articles (stories and experiences, really) from men and women on the realities of life, including motherhood, fatherood, marriage, divorce, mental illness, parenthood, money, death, dating, and childbirth.

If you want to know why I started it, click here:
http://thefamilysoup.com/Blog/?page_id=2

Here is the email Cal wrote to describe it:

Dear family and friends,

In recent years Bethany and I have come in contact with many individuals and families who shared with us their amazing stories of both victory and defeat. While facing some serious challenges to our own family, these stories from real people made deep and lasting impressions on us and blessed us with the ability to accept our own weaknesses and exercise the right kind of faith toward a miraculous recovery.

Since that time, we have often been approached by others passing through trials and searching for the support and hope that real resolutions to real problems are actually possible. Aside from sharing our own experiences with them, we found ourselves acting as a circuit board; constantly relating and matching stories from one party to another, watching how the experiences of regular everyday unprofessional people also made deep and lasting impressions on others who needed to hear them.

As a result, Bethany and I have spent the better part of this year developing the concept of a website that could act as that circuit board; allowing more people to share their experiences and readers to find those stories that interest them. We've worked hard to put it together and it's finally here! We excitedly welcome you to: TheFamilySoup.com

We've had many submissions and chances are you know some of the authors! We hope you'll come and open your mouth by either submitting or commenting. Whether humorous or solemn, we invite you to be yourself and be courageous enough to let others know what challenges you've faced and have or haven't yet overcome. Please don't underestimate the value of your story; we can still remember specific experiences shared with us that changed the course of our family's future.

The general mission of the site will be to promote legitimate values as found in "The Proclamation on the Family" and true principles of happiness, demonstrable through experience. To support this effort, we'll be sharing our own thoughts and experiences in an accompanying blog which is easily accessed from the main site (www.thefamilysoup.com/blog).

We look forward to your opinions on issues that are raised in those discussions. See you there.

Calvin and Bethany Cory

So please take a look and spread the word to anyone that might enjoy it. Thanks!

5 'o clock blues

You know you're having a tough day when at 5:30pm (with dinner done and still 2 hours 'til bedtime) you hand your kids a dollar bill and say, "Kids, get in the car. We're going to the Dollar Store and you can pick whatever you want!" And they yell, "Yeah!" And you think to yourself, "Brilliant!"

So you drive 15 minutes just to have some peace and quiet.

Then your kids pick out... candy. That you could have bought at the corner grocery store. And they eat it. And now they are hyper. And it's time for bed.

And as you type, your six year old falls off the bunkbed.

Sigh. All I can think to do is have a good laugh (and a bowl of ice cream). The boys are in their beds giggling after all. Crazy, but happy. That's what we go for around here.

Chopped

I totally chopped my hair yesterday!

I've been anti-short hair for a long time, so this was a big move...

It all started when I got a cheap haircut in Henderson. I decided I couldn't wait any longer, so when Cal got home I went to the nearest 'Super Cuts' type place. Boy, did I regret that! She butchered the side of my hair and I've had 2 cuts since trying to repair it. Finally, I went to my very talented cousin Debbie, who convinced me to cut it short to even things out. Go Debbie! I was too chicken to do the A-line cut, plus I need to grow the sides a little more. But that's my next cut.

I still surprise myself when I walk by the mirror. And it was hilarious to shock Cal last night when I picked him up, since he's always been a fan of my hair longer. But heh. He didn't consult me when he started loosing his hairline. :) Ha ha. Actually, he loves it because it makes me smile, and I look better with short hair, smiling, than long stringy hair, but grumpy about it.

I agree.

Yeah for short hair!

What are little boys made of?

What do you do to motivate your kids?

I take my kids to see spiders, snakes and reptiles. Gross, I know. Saturdays can be difficult without Cal around. Everybody's out with their family, playing, working in their yard... So I have to distract myself, and motivate myself as well. (Cleaning the house, leaving the house, having a great time with the kids, and coming back to a clean house just before bedtime... is an awesome reward!) This Sat we went to the Reptile Expo in SLC.

My sister (who teaches special education) commented to me once that it was ok to bribe/reward my kids once in awhile. They do the things you hope for them to do for the reward, but eventually they learn to do it because they want to. Anyway, this was their reward this week. Spence wasn't feeling well, but Grant got up close and personal with the slimy creatures.

"I really want to take you home, but my mom won't let me. She doesn't allow pets that if lost, could be found hiding in her bed."

"Awesome!"

(I had to look away while I took this picture. I HATE spiders! But if you train your kids right, they'll love 'em and kill them all for you. Sometimes it backfires, though, and they turn on you and decide to protect the envornment and the spiders. Then I get the spider spray. Sorry boys!)

"You look kind of squished in that small, plastic container."

"I think he ate too much."

"You're the sweetest creature I've ever seen. Someday, I'll earn enough money and come back for you. I have to earn enough to bribe my mom, so it may take a few years. Wait for me..."

Unfortunately, Spencer was not feeling so great, which was too bad, really. He LOVES reptiles right now. He wants to be the Crocodile Hunter for Halloween. Yes, he knows Steve Irwin is dead. He still loves to watch his old shows and can even do a pretty good Steve Irwin imitation. When we got home, Spence kept talking about the snakes and scorpions and frogs, so even though he wasn't feeling very well, he still managed to absorb something.

And that is how I bribed (I mean rewarded) my kids last week.

Funny Things Grant Said This Week That I Need to Document Before I Forget...

Don't you love my title? :)

1. I used to buy smelly soap so I could tell if my kids washed their hands or not, because for SOME reason, boys would rather lie about washing their hands and eat with gross germs and dirt than actually use a little soap and water. So I used to have them wash their hands and then come back so I could 'smell' their watermelon hands, or whatever scented soap we had. This is what Grant said to me today:

Grant- Mom, I washed my hands.
Me- Did you really wash them?
Grant- Yeah. I did. Wanna smell my breath?

I smelled his breath just to humor him (and myself), I was laughing so hard!



2. I often prep Grant about house rules before he goes to somebody's house. I was on my way to drop him off at our neighborhood co-op (the COOLEST thing EVER invented, by the way). I was busy, distracted and in a hurry, but I had managed to mention to Grant that this was a house he had never been to before. Grant has apparently actually been listening to those past 'house rules pep talks,' because out of the blue, THIS is what he announced to ME in the car...

Grant- Ok, Mom. Let's go over the rules.


Number 1. NO sneaking food out of their pantry.
Number 2. NO running around like you're crazy.
Number 3. NO going outside unless they say.

I was laughing so hard. I don't think I've ever said any of those rules except for number 3. Oh, and if you know Grant and his food obsession, you'll find #1 even funnier. I catch him in the pantry 10 seconds after lunch saying, "But mom, I'm starving!" Crazy kid.

Girls Night Out

It's been a couple days and I'm STILL flying high from a GNO this week. Thanks to Megan and all the ladies! It was fun to catch up with some of the old clan in Provo.

I wore my totally impractical jeans (the low rise ones that slip down when I pick up my kids), uncomfortable shoes, a necklace (yes Sarah, a real necklace- the black one to be exact), and a splash of body spray. Funny how much fun that can be. It was so good to talk about everything and anything, and of course, conclude the night with a desperate debate about how to get your kids to eat veggies. It was a great night and a long overdue pamper treatment.

To top it off, I had an excellent piece of chocolate cake, AND I was whistled at at McD's when I stopped to get change. What can I say? Those impractical jeans look good. (Cal, I know you whistle at me over the phone during the week, but it's just not the same as coming from some dude at the drive thru.) ;)

The best part? Picking up my kids who were fast asleep at a friend's house, taking them home and tucking them back into bed. It's good to want to come home to my little cherubs (at least when they are sleeping). :)

Sweet and Saxy

My conversation with Spencer after school last week-

Me- So who did you play with today?
Spencer- Um. Brayden. But I think I made a new friend.
Me- Yeah? What did you play?
Spencer- Well, Brayden and this other kid were playing just a dumb game, so I met a new kid and we looked for bugs instead.
Me- What were the other guys playing?
Spencer- They were playing 'chase the sweet and saxy Cheetah girls.'
Me- The what girls?
Spencer- The 'sweet and saxy Cheetah girls.'
Me- Saxy?
Spencer- Yeah, saxy.
Me- Spencer, what does 'saxy' mean?
Spencer- I don't know. But it was a dumb game so I just played with another guy and we found cool bugs.

I'm glad that for now, the 'saxy' girls are not as interesting as the bug are. Let's hope Spencer's interest in snakes and bugs lasts at least a few more years!

The Last 60 Days in 60 seconds or Less...

Yes, we are alive and well! I have been avoiding posting on my blog again because I'm so far behind, I feel like I can't just start up again without explaining the last few months! You know that feeling. The 'I'm so far behind and I'll never catch up' feeling? I'm totally one of those people. So here is my attempt to catch up on what we've been doing in those last 60 days (or so) of blogging silence... in 60 seconds or less.

We had a great last 4th of July in Las Vegas...

And then we packed up our stuff, said good bye to Las Vegas...

And moved to Utah!

We 'house sat' at a friend's house for a few weeks and played with all their toys and dirt while I looked for a place. (Thanks Michaelsons!)

Then we found a place in a great community. It comes complete with a great view, huge yard, a cul-da-sac, and lots of neighborhood kids to play with. What a deal!

We moved in (thanks to the help of my brothers since Cal was over the road), and are starting to settle down. Luckily, I had lots of helpers helping me unpack and fix things.

Grant turned 4 and got a red wagon for his birthday (for his brother to pull him around in, he he).

Dallin turned 1 and had his first chocolate experience. I think he liked it.

He also got his first haircut.

Handsome boy!

And Spencer started 1st grade.

Life has been pretty busy the last 60 days. Despite all the work, we've still found time to lounge around. At least some of us have...

And stop and smell the roses...

We MISS our friends in Las Vegas, but we're excited about our old friends here in UT and the new people we are meeting. Cal is still a busy truck driver, and we cherish every moment together. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's 100% true.

There I did it! On to the blog posts I've REALLY been wanting to do...