Happy Halloween!

Today was a busy day!  D wanted to wear his spider costume to school but I hadn't fixed the arms from trunk 'r treating yet.  I forgot.  So I frantically applied velcro to each arm and a strip of black fabric.  I wanted the arms connected so that when he moves his arms the spider arms move to.  Otherwise, they just hand limply there and it is hard to even tell what he is.  After all that work, it turns out that NO ONE wears costumes to school anymore.  He was fine but changed into his other shirt for PE and decided not to change back.  Eh, okay. 

After we got D off, the girls and I got ready to head to storytime at D's school.  They do storytime for preschoolers the last Monday of every month.  K decided she didn't want to be Wonder Red anymore.  She wanted to be a dragon/dinosaur.  She put that costume on for storytime and visiting Roy's work.  I didn't get a picture!  I didn't think about it but it is the same costume that D wore three years in a row.  It's just in the toy room so they wear it periodically.  A didn't want to dress up at all.

We went to storytime then headed downtown for the Library.  Our books were due 3 days ago.  I seriously LOVE that our library doesn't have fines.  Since the library is right across the street from Roy's work, we went over to say hi.  The secretaries like to see the kids, especially K as a "scary dragon".  We played at the library for a while.  One of these days I'll have to take some pictures at the library because it is crazy awesome!! 

We headed home for lunch and naps.  Then I got started on dinner.  I asked K if she would like "puking pumpkins and bones" for dinner.  She didn't think she would like that too much.  I thought she would and it turns out I was right:

One of the peppers had a bad spot  (not bad considering I bought them at Costco on October 5!) so instead of just "puking", it also had its brains spilling over.  The kids ate them up.  Literally!  I didn't take any pictures of the bones, but they are breadsticks.  I took the idea from here (scroll down 3 pictures).  They look pretty much like mine do.

After dinner, it was time to toss on our costumes.  K made a switch again.  She decided to be a ladybug.  It's great to have options!  I borrowed that costume from a friend 2 years ago.  This is the 3rd year K has worn it. 



10/2009



10/2010





10/2011

Trick-or-treating was fun.  It was really fun.  I loved watching the kids running from house to house, feeling the crisp air of fall, chatting with neighbors.  I was grateful for the generousity of our neighbors.  People had good candy, even full sized candy bars.  A real delicacy for my children who have never experienced such finery!  We just did a small jaunt around our closest neighbors.  The we loaded in the van and headed to Linda's house.  She is one of the secretaries at Roy's work.  She invites us over every Halloween to get special trick-or-treat bags from her house.  She is always so good to the kids and this year was no different.  Last year A threw up while we were at her house so when we knocked on the door, Linda and Pat jokingly got a tarp out to put down.  Fortunately, no one got sick this year!



 After Linda's house the kids trick-or-treated a few more houses before we headed home for bed.  It was a great Halloween!

More about the dead cat and other stuff

This week has been a pretty busy week about more than a dead cat.  But that has tainted my week to an extent that I don't like to admit.  Even still I'm filled with a bit of saddness.  Over a cat.  I never would have guessed it.  I like cats but I've lost family pets before but never been as effect by it as this.  I think there are two reasons for this.
First, I'm mourning more than just the loss of Friday.  I'm mouring the loss of the future and of having a family pet.  This is our second attempt at a cat, our last one having disowned us within the first 6 months of owning her.  We are done for now.  The kids have started the lobbying for a dog but that's not happening either.
The other thing is that I WATCHED HER DIE and IT WAS MY FAULT.  These have been proving difficult images to get over.
I'm getting better but it strikes me every now and then in ways I don't expect. 

Okay.  But like I said, there' more to this week than a dead cat.  I had carpool and preschool this week.  Monday morning, I was driving the kids to school.  They were talking about cartoons.  The 5th grade boy started a description of one of his favorite cartoons with this phrase, "You know way back in the 1900's...." 


O.o 
Oh my.....

Tuesday and Thursday were preschool days.  It is so fun and exhausting at the same time.  Those kids are energetic.  We started a unit about the Ocean this rotation.  We made a "sea cave" and "dived" for triangles, we learned the letter "O", we made ocean dioramas.  Have I mentioned http://www.mothergoosetime.com/ on here?  If not, I'm mentioning it now because it is the preschool curriculum we are using and it is great.  It cost us $110  for each child (it is a sliding pay -- more kids, less cost per kid) and provides all the materials for each kid to do all the projects as well as all the lesson plans.  If you are thinking about doing your own preschool, I defintely recommend checking it out!

Friday evening was our ward's Trunk 'r Treat.  Since we live in a rainy part of the world, it was more of a church-classroom 'r treat.  Still fun.  

Here's the family lined up for the costume parade.  D is a spider this year (hard to tell in this picture but he's swinging one of his extra legs around.  That's what the black blur is).  A is a bumble bee baby and K is Wonder Red/Red Riding Hood.  (Although she announced tonight that she wants to be something else for actual trick-or-treating.... kids.)

A wasn't too sure about the whole thing.  All the costumes kind of freaked her out.  She wasn't too sure about the trick-or-treating but was okay with the candy.  She mostly walked around the church with a bit of bewildered look on her face. 

K took right to trick-or-treating, making it around the church twice before the rest of us got all the way around once.  This surprises no one.

D is an old pro.  He was "Trunk 'r Treat" ing all over that church!  He was great to stay with the family though and help A out as needed.  She is luck to have such a great big brother to take her under his wing and teach her the ways of candy gathering.

Today D was invited to a birthday party.  We talked a little about the Sabbath day and how Heavenly Father has commanded us to keep it holy.  I asked him if going to a birthday party seemed like a good way to do that.  This conversation happened after I knee-jerk announced he wouldn't be going because it is on Sunday.  Hummmm, better to have held that back so he could make his own choice.  Maybe next time...

I was feeling bad about him not going though.  His friend lives in the neighborhood and D doesn't see him much anymore because of the different school bit.  Plus his friend dropped by about an hour before the party to remind D that the party started in an hour.  He looked truly dejected when D told him he wouldn't be there.  So, D and I walked over a few minutes after the party started to drop off a gift and explain why he wouldn't be staying.  His little friend was having so much fun playing with balloons and a couple of other friends that I felt much better.  I'm really glad we went over.  Now I've met his friend's mom which is always nice too.

Our Cat Friday

Wathcing TV like any reasonable PsychoCat.

Okay, given my last post about Friday you may think we don't actually like our cat.  You would be wrong.  We do like Friday.  She has so much personality.  That is what makes her Psycho the Wonder Cat.  One of her favorite pasttimes is riding in cars.  Or it would be if we would let her ride as much as she wanted.  She jumped into cars any chance she got.  It finally got to the point that if I was in a hurry I would let her ride along because trying to get a cat out of a minivan takes time.  Lots of time.  And sometimes a big stick.  Okay, maybe not the stick part. 

The other day when we went to the zoo, my friend drove so there had to be some carseat manuvering and stroller stowing and such.  Friday was so underfoot the ENTIRE time.  In fact, she jumped in the underbasket of the folded up stroller and I had to shake her loose.  Frustrating -- in a funny cat kind of way. 

This weekend, Friday went for a ride with my neighbor's mom because she jumped in the car and sat on the dashboard.  My neighbor's mom decided, "Sure, why not."  Friday stayed on that dashboard for the whole ride until the end.  She loved the movement and watching out the window. 

There was the time when I took her in the car to Target.  She stood on the passenger seat with her hind legs and had her front legs on the door so she could watch out the window.  She was intensly curious all. the. time. 

Alright, this post keeps switching from present to past tense.  I just don't want to say it but Friday died today.  She was only about 5 months old.  Her love of vehicles trumped her fear of moving wheels and she got ran over.  By me.  In the garage.  Ugh.  I feel terrible.  It was less than an hour ago that Friday was alive and I wish so much that I could go back and re-do that horrible minute when I pulled into the garage.  The thing is, I didn't even see her.  I don't know if she was laying on the garage floor and just didn't move or if she ran out in front of me.  I am sick.  Ugh.

She loved us totally.  She trusted us completely.  She was even learning not to jump people or climb on the table. I remember one morning when I was leaving and Friday was on the porch.  She watched the van pull out of the driveway through the front slats of the porch and moved to the side to watch us drive up the road.  She seemed so forlorn to be left behind.  That was a cat who wanted to experience life to the fullest.  And now she's gone.  URGH.  WHY DIDN'T SHE RUN AWAY FROM THE WHEELS?!  Why didn't I drive in slower or park on the driveway?!  Stupid cat!!

I'm really going to miss her.

Primary Program

Today was the primary program.  The kids did AWESOME!!  Especially D.  This was his first 'normal' year.  He really is growing up.  We've been praying for him and talking to him about not being nervous.  I'm so proud of how well he did.  He sat with is class on the stand the entire time.  He sang every song.  When it was time for his part he spoke directly into the microphone clearly and perfectly.  It was GREAT!  The only thing was his state of undress....  He was completely dressed when he got on the stand but when he got up to give his part his zip-up tie had mysteriously fallen to his navel and the top button on his shirt had dislodged itself from its hole.  He fiddled with his tie - zipping it up and straightening it - until it was his turn.
K was a little less awesome but no less adorable.  K is not my shy one but she was in some sort of mood.  Have I mentioned that K is stubborn.  She decides she is going to be sad and, by George, she's going to be sad.  So she was sad.  She stayed with her class but sat on a teacher's lap.  She got up with her class for every song but did not sing one word.  She would stand on the stand with her arms outstretched toward us like, "Please come get me... I need you!!"  When it was time for her part, she whispered it into the microphone effectively making it incomprehensible.  Like I said, a little less awesome but absolutely adorable.
Since the program, K has been singing Scripture Power which is her favorite song.  Kids.

A little housework

Sometimes blogging is like housework.  Every time I get caught up I think to myself, "Whew.  I'm caught up.  Now it will be so much easier to maintain rather than trying to play catch up again."  Then the next thing you know I have so many things to do it seems like it's better to not bother.  Hint:  It is never better to not bother. 
Another problem with not blogging in the moment is that I'm never as funny when I've thought about it for too long.  You miss the pleasure of my stream-of-conscious dialog with myself because I'm too busy trying to record our family's history.
I think I'd like to make a goal to blog everyday about the day before.  But then I think I won't do it and it seems a very public failure. 
So, if you notice some regular posts, that's just me trying to follow through.  If you don't, that's just me being me.  Either way I hope we can still be friends.

Fall Field Trip!

Today, we went on a field trip with K's preschool group.  We had talked about going to a pumpkin patch but decided to go to this great little farm stand for a mini-pumpkin patch experience.  It turned out to be a great time.  The Red Barn has a large front lawn that was covered in pumpkins layed out in a maze for the kids to run around in.  They have a few animals: piglets, a couple of big pigs, two goats and some chickens.

K really liked watching the chickens scratch around.

The man who was working at the farm stand was AMAZING with the kids.  He brought them each a small pumpkin, gave them granola bars and honey sticks and played with them.  One of the kids knocked his hat off and they ran around the maze chasing and laughing.  He talked to them and they all loved him.  K kept wanting to show him how she could climb on the huge pumpkin they had.  I always appreciate great people who make my kids feel special.

Picture taken by Heather

Wonder Red

K wants to be Wonder Red from Super Why for Halloween.  Today she had a Halloween party after preschool that she was supposed to wear her costume to.  What do you think?

I guess the only pictures I got were when she was climbing the fence.

Alright.  I realize that this looks nothing like Wonder Red.  Still, when I brought the dress home from Goodwill and showed K her only response was, "WONDER RED!!"  Good enough for me.  However, she wants roller skates because that's what Wonder Red wears.  Umm, no. 

The Halloween party seemed to be fun.  I went back to pick her up and have a costume parade around the block.  The kids were all dressed really cute and enthusiastic about everything.  The had put together some foam kits like you see in the craft stores.  One was a ghost on a stick.  K made hers super spooky by only using one googly eye.  Now it is a one eyed ghost.  This apparently started a trend because one of the others copied her.  That's my K.  A regular little trend setter.  Actually, she started the climbing on the fence bit as well.  I don't know if she's a trend setter or instigator. 

PTC

Today was the first parent teacher conference of the year.  I really like D's teacher.  She is so nice.  She has been teaching for 30 years.  She does a marvelous job teaching the Challenge 1st/2nd grade split.  D wanted to come with me so I called a neighbor to stay with the girls.
She had one word to describe D, enthusiastic.  "He is a very enthusiastic learner."  This was said without any sarcasm or fateful pauses.  And if you know D you know that he is an enthusiastic learner.  He gets really excited to learn new things. 
D needs to work on keeping his work neat.  He starts out writing neatly and keeping his paper clean.  As his work progresses it gets sloppier and messier as he doodles more and "decorates" his paper.  uh...I have no idea where he gets that from....
I had a few questions for D's teacher.  Roy and I have been discussing D's educational placement.  We are very happy with the challenge program so far and feel like this is the best place for D right now.  However, we have been wondering if he should be in 2nd grade rather than first.  I was able to talk to her about that.  She assured us that D is doing well in 1st grade and that she would not recommend changing him.  He is a good size for a first grader but would be a small second grade.  Although D is at the top of his age, he would be a year younger than some of the second graders.  He also fits maturity wise with the first graders more than the second graders.  Most of these are things I've felt but it is good to have his teacher reaffirm it.
The second question I've wondered about is how he fits in with his peers while they are playing.  She confirmed that he is fine.  He plays well with his peers.  She has raised two daughters who also went through the Challenge program.  She has observed a lot of play time with a variety of kids and expressed her opinion that often times the kids in the Challenge program "play differently".  This makes sense when I watch D interact with his peers.   He has more fun with the kids who are interested in things he is interested in.   Huh.  Now that I type it sounds really obvious.  We all have more fun with people who share our interests. 
 All in all, it was a great PTC.  I'm excited for D to be in this class.

Mommy's taking us to the zoo...

The kids have a CD with this song,
"Daddy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow, zoo tomorrow
Daddy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow.  We can stay all day.
We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo.  How about you, you, you?

You can come too, too, too.  We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo."

It is a very catchy tune.  Sort of like Lambchop singing The Song That Never Ends.  I start singing it in my head nearly everytime I hear the word zoo. 

All this is a long way of introducing the fact that I took the girls to the zoo.  We got a Groupon deal that we split with a friend.  It got us all into the zoo for $23.  That is a really GREAT deal in case you haven't been to a zoo or any other family entertainment place for the last 50 years. 



Today happened to be one of two fair weather days for the next 6-8 months so off we went.  Before we left Roy asked K what animals she wanted to see.  There was the regular list: lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes.  At the end of the list, K added Bats.  She decided those were her favorite animal of the day and we had to see the bats.  Disguisting little flying rats but that's just my opinion. 

The Groupon came with 4 popcorns and 4 sodas.  The girls polished their popcorns off.  In fact it seemed like everytime I turned around they were eating or asking to be fed.  Good thing I packed a few snacks. 





A was so cute.  She wanted to see everything.  She was loving it all.  There is something amazing about watching a little face discover new things.  She walked much of the time and was totally fried by the time we left.  

A growled when we saw the lions.  LOVE IT!!

K got a huge kick out of petting the goats. 

She kept getting down on their level and talking to them; asking about their house and what they were going to do. 

We managed to see almost all the animals before the kids started pooping out.  It was fine though because I had to be back to run carpool for D and my friend had to get her son from the school bus. 

Good news!  After a brief youtube search I have located the zoo song for anyone not familiar with it.  Or for anyone who clicked on the Lambchop link and would like a diversion song. 

Mexican Dinner

Roy and I have been seeking for adult friends.  Okay, me more than Roy but that's to be expected since he goes out with business people regularly and I eat PBJ with preschoolers.  We arranged with a youngish (like us) couple in the ward to go out on a double date.  So fun.  Except that I accidentally paid our bills before we were supposed to go out so I found out we didn't have any money to pay a babysitter and go out. 
When I was young I used to look forward to Mexican Dinners with the Campbells.  At the time I didn't realize it was probably more because our parents wanted to get together than because they knew their kids would like it.  Now I know better. 
I called our friends and invited them for a Mexican dinner.  The plan was to have dinner and play games while the kids played and watched movies downstairs.  We actually had dinner and talked until it was too late to play games and our kids were bouncing off the wall from exhaustion downstairs. 
It was a lot of fun.  I think it is good to expose the next generation to these timeless traditions.

Daddy's boy

D has been a daddy's boy from the time he was born.  Roy likes to tell a story about one time when D was a baby and got sick.  (Mom, you remember the time -- it was when D threw up on you at the hospital in SLC....)  I had to work the next day so Roy inflated our air mattress and went to sleep in the front room with D.  They snuggled together.  Roy rubbed his back and fed him some smashed carrots.  D threw up, went to sleep and awoke later in the night.  Roy gave him some juice.  The boy went back to sleep and felt better in the morning.  Roy likes to take credit for healing D. 
Of course, the man also claims to have raised D for the first year of his life.  Therefore his word can't always be taken seriously.

Today Roy went to have lunch at D's school.  They've been talking about this for YEARS.  Literally.  They have been planning for the day when D would be in full time school and Roy could come for lunch.  They also plan to make it a monthly thing.  They have both been so excited.
I thought about calling Roy around the time I knew lunch would be finishing up.  Imagine my pleasure when Roy called me.  I wanted to hear all about their wonderful lunch.  Instead Roy announced he'd checked D out of school and was bringing him home.  Apparently the poor boy wasn't feeling well.  He didn't even want his ice cream from lunch.  Obviously something was wrong!
So D came home early today while Roy went back to work.  D lounged on the couch, ate some cookie dough, had some lunch and felt better after a couple of hours.  I like to think I cured him this time.

Crafty Bath Mat

I've been working on this for longer than I want to admit.  Not because it is hard but first because I was intimidated by using silicone and then because my craft room became too messy to use and had to be cleaned.  Now it is finally done and placed in front of my shower.  So what is it?  It is a "Stone Bath Mat" via Lowe's Creative Ideas.  I think it turned out nice.  I am excited to try it out.  I do have a few concerns about the pracitcality of it due to water and moisture issues.  It may be that I have to get a regular bath mat for outside the shower and put this in front of the bathtub to be used for theraputic rather than practical uses.  As you can see, I used three large seashells to begin with.  I really liked the look of the shells.  However, when I tentatively stepped on the mat to try it out one of the shells cracked.  I was worried about them not being able to support standing on.  Turns out I was right.  Fortunately, it was a quick fix to pull the shells off and glue stones in their place. 

I will let you know how things turn out but I'm hopeful right now.  In fact, I can't wait to take a shower to so I can step out onto my new mat!

Guess who's wearing the cone of shame...

Friday the psycho cat. 

What?  You didn't know we had a cat?  I don't remember if I mentioned her or not and I'm too lazy to go back and check.  So here's a quick low down on Friday.  While the kids and I were in Utah, someone in Roy's office brough some kittens to work.  Linda (friend and ex-secretary, twice. long story.) knowing the story about Zibby (previous cat that disowned our family and found new owners down the street) messaged Roy to go get one of the cats.  This is how on a Friday, Roy came home with a free kitten.  Yes, that is why the kids named the cat Friday.  I lobbied against it but lost.  Anyway, this 'free' kitten was only 6 weeks old.  She has/is (paymentplan) costing us $300 in medical bills for all her shots, tests and the big fix.  Well, the big fix was today.

A little blurb about Friday's personality.  CRAZY.   

Even the vet and nurses delicately informed us that she is "more active than most cats, even for a kitten."  Somehow we got stuck with an ADHD cat with emphasis on H.  The vet strongly encouraged an Elizabethan collar for Friday because she was licking and biting her insicion before she even left the office.  When she wasn't running madly around the room looking for food that is.  So we borrowed one and she has been in the cone of shame all evening and will be all night.  And may be for many days to come because she can't bite with the cone on!

I was reading the post op sheet and it mentioned the cat may be lethargic and want to sleep.  I WISH!  She is running in mad circles and knocking stuff down.  It's like Benadryl and children.  Most children get sleepy when you give them Benadryl but a few get more wired.  I think that is what psycho the wonder kitty is doing.  Somehow those sedatives have made her brain race faster. 

I keep hoping she will calm down into a regular, lazy, sleepy cat but my hope is dwindling.  At least we won't be getting an unexpected batch of wonder kitty babies now!

This cat would NOT hold still for a picture.  She was all over the place and jumping and attacking anything that came into view around the cone.

Pictures I didn't take

Sometimes I upload pictures from my camera only to find there are more than I realized!  Here's a sampling from the latest batch.

These ROCK!!

I love love love what Marissa did with our family pictures.

 

 Her website is http://www.marissagiffordphotography.com/  If you want, she is running a 50% off special through the end of the year!

Letter to Uncle Rick

My baby brother is in the MTC preparing to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of Chile for 2 years.  I wrote this letter to him.  It's a pretty good summary of our week.

Dear Elder Rick,

It is good to hear from you.  We sure love to read your letters and talk about Uncle Rick on his mission. 

This week was a good week.  It is always a good week when we have General Conference! 

Thursday, Roy and I went to the temple with a family in our ward.  They were going through for the first time.  It is so amazing to go through the temple with someone who has never been through before.  Plus, Roy and I were invited to be the witness couple so we got to sit next to our friends for their first time.  Then we were blessed to be in the room as they were sealed together as a family.  I’ve never been in a live family sealing.  I’ve done sealings for the dead where children were sealed to parents, but it is different live.  Small children do NOT like their hands being held down so the one year old cried through the ceremony but it was still so sweet. 

On the way home, Roy wanted to stop at Video Only (a store that only sells video stuff ie TVs, DVD/Bluray players, camcorders etc.) just to see.  An hour later we left with a new TV in our backseat.  He’s been researching and wishing for some time now.  We got a smoking deal so I guess now’s the time to upgrade.  Having a new TV did have a perk for conference.  We were able to attach our TV to the computer and watch conference on the TV screen.  After years of huddling around a laptop it was super nice to have conference of 47” of viewable screen!

We spent a lot of time together as a family this weekend and fortunately the kids mostly got along.  That’s always nice.  We had cinnamon rolls and some crazy brownies that may have involved Oreo cookies and a chocolate cookie crust.  On not.  I plead the fifth.  We built block towers and knocked them down and played about a hundred games.  K can play Go Fish now so that’s pretty fun.  And then, of course, we watched and listened to conference.  Some of those talks to were so AMAZING.  I love conference weekends!

K started preschool this week, as she mentioned in her letter.  I should say that she typed part of it by herself.  I’ll let you deduce which part that was.   I have put together a co-op style preschool were each mom takes turns teaching.  This week was my turn to teach.  It was really fun to use my teaching skills – sort of.  There is a bit of a difference between middle school and preschool, probably not as much as you would hope but some difference nonetheless.  It is very gratifying that K now recognizes the letter P and knows its sound.  (P was our letter this week.)  D was so easy, you know.  He learned his letters, sounds and how to read mostly on his own because he wanted to.  K is rather indifferent to learning the letters and their sounds.  She is happy to learn but is just as happy to do other stuff. 

A’s language is really taking off.  She is speaking a lot now and in full sentences.  Usually, it is very difficult to understand her because he words are still in her own language but they are getting closer to the actual English words we use.  This weekend, she walked around the house telling everyone, “No, no – no touch.  No, no – no touch.”  She heard this a lot as we were building towers as you can imagine.  A 2 year old around a block tower is literally like a bull in a china shop.  Anyway, she is getting to be quite the mimicker.  I love it!

Roy did finally get the deck sanded and one coat of stain put on.  It has also started to rain.  This was a problem he was afraid of running into.  He’ll have to try to squeeze in staining anytime there’s a sunny day.

Our garden has finally stopped producing.  I for one am glad and may have allegedly pulled the zucchini plants out by the roots before their time.  No one can prove it was me though.  I’ve shredded and frozen more than 20 cups of zucchini, made zucchini bread, cookies, soup, salads, grilled/stuffed, given away and still have 4 in the fridge.  It was their time to go.  I am also really glad the tomatoes are done.  I’m done with the tomatoes anyway.  I bottled 59 pints for the winter.  That’s a whole lot of tomato peeling!  I’ve also worked in peaches and pears.  I need to do applesauce this week and then we should be good for the winter.  It is rewarding to have it done but it sure is a lot of work to do!

I know you are on the Lord’s errand and I am so proud of you.  We all love you!

Love,

Sheena