Friday, March 16, 2012
finally some photos
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Change
The one thing that is constant in life is change.
Today our really good friends, the Carpenters, moved. They moved here to Florida the week or two before we did and now they are moving on. Last summer another of our really good friends, the Prescotts, moved away and it just isn't quite the same without them. That's how it will be with the Carpenters gone. For weeks I will probably find myself looking at their house as I drive by and wonder if they are home only to remind myself that they aren't there anymore.
It was nice to be able to go over to their house today and help them with their final packing and cleaning. Seeing the house empty helps give that sense of closure and it was nice to be able to spend just a little more time with them.
I guess it will soon be our turn to be moving on, about three more months for us. It will be exciting to move onward, but we will be leaving a lot of "family" behind, for truly our friends here have become like family.
Today our really good friends, the Carpenters, moved. They moved here to Florida the week or two before we did and now they are moving on. Last summer another of our really good friends, the Prescotts, moved away and it just isn't quite the same without them. That's how it will be with the Carpenters gone. For weeks I will probably find myself looking at their house as I drive by and wonder if they are home only to remind myself that they aren't there anymore.
It was nice to be able to go over to their house today and help them with their final packing and cleaning. Seeing the house empty helps give that sense of closure and it was nice to be able to spend just a little more time with them.
I guess it will soon be our turn to be moving on, about three more months for us. It will be exciting to move onward, but we will be leaving a lot of "family" behind, for truly our friends here have become like family.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Sunday
I'm the organist in my ward which means that I am not sitting with my family for most of Sacrament meeting. Most Sundays this really isn't much of a problem, except when my husband isn't there, which has been quite a bit lately. Between work, being out of town and being sick it's been a few weeks since he has been there.
Pre new baby it wasn't a big deal, my kids were fine to sit by themself and more or less behave. In fact I was always impressed by how well they really did all by themselves. However add in a newborn and it's not an ideal situation to expect them to sit by themselves.
Last Sunday Matthew was asleep and in his car seat for most of the time that I was at the organ. This week when we got to church he was wide awake and I just didn't feel comfortable leaving him with the kids. I could foresee him fusing and crying, or the kids all fighting over who got to hold him. I asked an older single lady, who was sitting by herself if she would like to sit with my kids an hold Matthew. Thankfully she was more than happy to help.
Service is really a two sided deal--someone who needs service and someone willing to give. Last week I tried to brave it alone and didn't ask anyone to help, and it was fine, but this week I reached out and asked someone to help, and I know that she truly enjoyed being of help (of course who doesn't love holding a sweet little baby). For me it gave me better peace of mind knowing that someone with with my children and I didn't need to worry about the while I was not sitting with them. Whereas last week I was constantly looking down at them trying to see if they were doing okay, and it was very distracting to my playing.
Charlie gave a talk in primary. It was about the apostles an prophets. We have 8x10 pictures of each of the current apostles which Charlie used as a visual aid as he sang their names to the tune of "Books of the Book of Mormon".
We learned the names of the apostles to this tune a few years ago and each March and September we sing it in preparation of conference approaching. I show them the pictures as we sing it so that they are familiar with who is who. Then as we watch conference they can say "that's Elder Bednar, or whoever it may be, rather than "another boring old man" which is what my thought was when I was a kid, because I didn't know who any of those "old guys" were.
Jeremy made us a wonderful stir fry for linner (like brunch, but for the afternoon, lunch and dinner combined). It was doubly wonderful for me because it was very tasty and I didn't have to fix it. I always loved meal that I didn't have to cook.
Pre new baby it wasn't a big deal, my kids were fine to sit by themself and more or less behave. In fact I was always impressed by how well they really did all by themselves. However add in a newborn and it's not an ideal situation to expect them to sit by themselves.
Last Sunday Matthew was asleep and in his car seat for most of the time that I was at the organ. This week when we got to church he was wide awake and I just didn't feel comfortable leaving him with the kids. I could foresee him fusing and crying, or the kids all fighting over who got to hold him. I asked an older single lady, who was sitting by herself if she would like to sit with my kids an hold Matthew. Thankfully she was more than happy to help.
Service is really a two sided deal--someone who needs service and someone willing to give. Last week I tried to brave it alone and didn't ask anyone to help, and it was fine, but this week I reached out and asked someone to help, and I know that she truly enjoyed being of help (of course who doesn't love holding a sweet little baby). For me it gave me better peace of mind knowing that someone with with my children and I didn't need to worry about the while I was not sitting with them. Whereas last week I was constantly looking down at them trying to see if they were doing okay, and it was very distracting to my playing.
Charlie gave a talk in primary. It was about the apostles an prophets. We have 8x10 pictures of each of the current apostles which Charlie used as a visual aid as he sang their names to the tune of "Books of the Book of Mormon".
We learned the names of the apostles to this tune a few years ago and each March and September we sing it in preparation of conference approaching. I show them the pictures as we sing it so that they are familiar with who is who. Then as we watch conference they can say "that's Elder Bednar, or whoever it may be, rather than "another boring old man" which is what my thought was when I was a kid, because I didn't know who any of those "old guys" were.
Jeremy made us a wonderful stir fry for linner (like brunch, but for the afternoon, lunch and dinner combined). It was doubly wonderful for me because it was very tasty and I didn't have to fix it. I always loved meal that I didn't have to cook.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Just One Thing
My head is always full of blog posts, until I sit down to write them and then I can't remember any of the thoughts I had. So I think I will have to do what I did in Jr. high English class. We had to write a journal entry for 15 minutes every day, so I would just start writing anything and this would start the thoughts flowing and usually I would come up with an idea to write about.
My baby, Matthew, is seven weeks old. Crazy that he has been part of our family for so short, yet so long of a time already. Matthew is a joy and is happy, as long as he is being held by me. The children are constantly fighting over whose turn it is to hold him. Lydia tries the most for it to always be her turn and Matthew tolerates her the least.
It is raining right now and Tom keeps coming and asking questions about flooding - asking how long it would have to rain to flood Florida and what are we going to do if it floods. I ask him why he is so concerned about it flooding and he just shrugs and says "I don't know". Definitely here in Florida the adage holds true "when it rains it pours". I've forgotten how heavy the rain comes down, because it has been a few months since it has rained regularly.
A few months ago Jeremy bought Rebecca (5) a pair of rollerblades. She uses them and loves them, but Lydia (3) kept taking them and using them, so there was constantly a fight over them. Lydia is actually really good at rollerblading, so this week we got her a pair of her own. Now all of the kids (except Matthew of course) have their own pair so when we go to the park I push Matthew in the stroller (or wear him in the baby carrier, which he prefers) and the kids glide on their skates.
A couple days this week Lydia held on to the stroller for part of the time and rollerbladed for part of the time. However, yesterday she rollerbladed the entire time (about a mile) and I don't think she even fell at all. Funny thing is, as brave as she is about rollerblading, she isn't so confident about trying to ride her bike without training wheels. She saw her friend who just learned to ride his bike without training wheels and her comment was "I think I will have to wait until I'm older until we take the wheels off mine" or some such remark indicating that she is not ready to go two wheeled.
Jeremy's car got totaled last month in an accident. Thankfully he was not injured but our 1995 Honda Civic that we loved and hoped to have for many more years was beyond repair. Our replacement car we have chosen to buy, from some friends who are moving, won't be available for a couple more weeks, so Jeremy has been using the minivan. That leaves me carless. I don't go much of anywhere anyway, but we do like to go to the park often. Not having a car available has taken away my ability to be lazy and just drive the mile or so. Granted it is hot most days (even though it is barely March and only in the 80's, it still feels so much hotter than that) but it has been a good thing for me to be "forced" to walk and get back to exercising. I've even started adding in an extra lap around our neighborhood to get more distance in and get more of a workout.
This morning I took the girls and we did one loop around the neighborhood. It was at 10 am and we went at a fairly slow pace (lydia was pushing the stroller for most of the walk, so she set the pace), yet I was drenched with sweat by the time we got back. Florida is beautiful, but it is so humid and hot. Like I said, it's only been in the 80's, but the direct sunlight (not in the shade) feels so intense and hot and makes it feel at least 10-15 degrees hotter than it really is. 80 here doesn't feel like 80 in Idaho, where I grew up.
One reason I don't write on my blog very much is because I spend to much time reading other blogs and run out of "computer time" and/or energy to want to try to compose my own thought. However, I do read some great posts that motivate me and inspire me.
Maybe since it is spring time many people seem to be talking about spring cleaning and a popular idea going around is "40 in 40" - to purge 40 bags in 40 days. Although my home really does need some good purging I didn't set this as my goal, but it did motivate me to tackle to girls room and be ruthless and get rid of as much as I could.
It felt good to accomplish that much, but I knew that more of my house really needs the same ruthlessness. However, I get overwhelmed when I think too globally, in terms of the whole house. A blog post I read last night talked out doing just one thing, and how that usually is enough to help us keep going. Like if you don't feel like cleaning the house, just think of one thing that you can do in regards to cleaning, like wiping down the sink. Once you get started you usually will end up doing more than just that one thing.
So I think that is a good mantra/goal for me to have - ONE THING - I can do one thing at a time and one thing here and there will add up to many things, that usually overwhelm me, to get done.
Today my one thing was to pick out five shirts from my closet to get rid of. Once I got started I picked out five and then ten and then soon the bag was full of things I was able to get rid of. It felt good to accomplish that. So, my goal, instead of "40 in 40", which seems good, but would eventually overwhelm me (mostly because it is someone else's goal, not my own, even though I adopted as my own) is to do "one thing".
And this one thing pertains to more than just purging my home of excess, but to everything, one scripture, one moment with one of my children, one blog post, one walk, one moment of gratitude. I don't have to plan weeks and months and years of how many minutes and pages and miles I need to do such and such. I can just focus on the one thing.
My baby, Matthew, is seven weeks old. Crazy that he has been part of our family for so short, yet so long of a time already. Matthew is a joy and is happy, as long as he is being held by me. The children are constantly fighting over whose turn it is to hold him. Lydia tries the most for it to always be her turn and Matthew tolerates her the least.
It is raining right now and Tom keeps coming and asking questions about flooding - asking how long it would have to rain to flood Florida and what are we going to do if it floods. I ask him why he is so concerned about it flooding and he just shrugs and says "I don't know". Definitely here in Florida the adage holds true "when it rains it pours". I've forgotten how heavy the rain comes down, because it has been a few months since it has rained regularly.
A few months ago Jeremy bought Rebecca (5) a pair of rollerblades. She uses them and loves them, but Lydia (3) kept taking them and using them, so there was constantly a fight over them. Lydia is actually really good at rollerblading, so this week we got her a pair of her own. Now all of the kids (except Matthew of course) have their own pair so when we go to the park I push Matthew in the stroller (or wear him in the baby carrier, which he prefers) and the kids glide on their skates.
A couple days this week Lydia held on to the stroller for part of the time and rollerbladed for part of the time. However, yesterday she rollerbladed the entire time (about a mile) and I don't think she even fell at all. Funny thing is, as brave as she is about rollerblading, she isn't so confident about trying to ride her bike without training wheels. She saw her friend who just learned to ride his bike without training wheels and her comment was "I think I will have to wait until I'm older until we take the wheels off mine" or some such remark indicating that she is not ready to go two wheeled.
Jeremy's car got totaled last month in an accident. Thankfully he was not injured but our 1995 Honda Civic that we loved and hoped to have for many more years was beyond repair. Our replacement car we have chosen to buy, from some friends who are moving, won't be available for a couple more weeks, so Jeremy has been using the minivan. That leaves me carless. I don't go much of anywhere anyway, but we do like to go to the park often. Not having a car available has taken away my ability to be lazy and just drive the mile or so. Granted it is hot most days (even though it is barely March and only in the 80's, it still feels so much hotter than that) but it has been a good thing for me to be "forced" to walk and get back to exercising. I've even started adding in an extra lap around our neighborhood to get more distance in and get more of a workout.
This morning I took the girls and we did one loop around the neighborhood. It was at 10 am and we went at a fairly slow pace (lydia was pushing the stroller for most of the walk, so she set the pace), yet I was drenched with sweat by the time we got back. Florida is beautiful, but it is so humid and hot. Like I said, it's only been in the 80's, but the direct sunlight (not in the shade) feels so intense and hot and makes it feel at least 10-15 degrees hotter than it really is. 80 here doesn't feel like 80 in Idaho, where I grew up.
One reason I don't write on my blog very much is because I spend to much time reading other blogs and run out of "computer time" and/or energy to want to try to compose my own thought. However, I do read some great posts that motivate me and inspire me.
Maybe since it is spring time many people seem to be talking about spring cleaning and a popular idea going around is "40 in 40" - to purge 40 bags in 40 days. Although my home really does need some good purging I didn't set this as my goal, but it did motivate me to tackle to girls room and be ruthless and get rid of as much as I could.
It felt good to accomplish that much, but I knew that more of my house really needs the same ruthlessness. However, I get overwhelmed when I think too globally, in terms of the whole house. A blog post I read last night talked out doing just one thing, and how that usually is enough to help us keep going. Like if you don't feel like cleaning the house, just think of one thing that you can do in regards to cleaning, like wiping down the sink. Once you get started you usually will end up doing more than just that one thing.
So I think that is a good mantra/goal for me to have - ONE THING - I can do one thing at a time and one thing here and there will add up to many things, that usually overwhelm me, to get done.
Today my one thing was to pick out five shirts from my closet to get rid of. Once I got started I picked out five and then ten and then soon the bag was full of things I was able to get rid of. It felt good to accomplish that. So, my goal, instead of "40 in 40", which seems good, but would eventually overwhelm me (mostly because it is someone else's goal, not my own, even though I adopted as my own) is to do "one thing".
And this one thing pertains to more than just purging my home of excess, but to everything, one scripture, one moment with one of my children, one blog post, one walk, one moment of gratitude. I don't have to plan weeks and months and years of how many minutes and pages and miles I need to do such and such. I can just focus on the one thing.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Name that Baby
So, what is it like having 5 kids, crazy, but I don't really know the reality of it yet. My wonderful friends and neighbors have been bringing meals for the last week, so many yummy things each night, and my sister is here helping take care of the kids and the house, so all I've had to focus on is Matthew.
When she leaves in 10 days or so will be the litmus test.
Here are the baby photos with the answers, how many did you get right? The color of clothing and the baby bow should have helped narrow down the possibilities.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Our new arrival
Matthew Scott Taysom
January 18, 2012 Born 11:26 am
8 lbs 14 oz 21 inches
Long fingers and toes
Loved by all, even Lydia, who was convinced that I was having a girl,
she wouldn't trade her new brother for anything.
Welcome sweet, new baby boy.
Baby has arrived
Just a quick post to announce the arrival of our sweet baby boy, Matthew Scott Taysom. More details and pictures will be posted later.
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
It's not a summer day
Our weather here in Florida has been mostly in the 80's. There have been a few cooler days here and there, but mostly shorts and t-shirt weather.
Today the air is significantly cooler, right now at 10 am it is about 55 degrees. Lydia went outside and then came promptly back in a said,
"It is not a summer day"
I said, no, it is not. I love the cool air and love that it is not a summer day. It is nice to have warm winters, however in the 80's doesn't make it seem like winter at all, I would like it to be in the 70's, or at least not be so humid so that it feels pleasant to be outside. Regardless, I love a day like today with crisp cool air.
After getting geared up in a jacket and hat Lydia went outside again, but soon returned to say,
"I forgot a jacket for my legs."
"No, you need pants on." I replied.
"Oh, pants." she said, as if that was a novel idea to wear pants.
Today the air is significantly cooler, right now at 10 am it is about 55 degrees. Lydia went outside and then came promptly back in a said,
"It is not a summer day"
I said, no, it is not. I love the cool air and love that it is not a summer day. It is nice to have warm winters, however in the 80's doesn't make it seem like winter at all, I would like it to be in the 70's, or at least not be so humid so that it feels pleasant to be outside. Regardless, I love a day like today with crisp cool air.
After getting geared up in a jacket and hat Lydia went outside again, but soon returned to say,
"I forgot a jacket for my legs."
"No, you need pants on." I replied.
"Oh, pants." she said, as if that was a novel idea to wear pants.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
The Countdown is On
I finally just added the widget to my sidebar of my pregnancy countdown.
It's obvious, from my lack of posts, that I have been a slacker blogger for this whole past year. I'm not making any promises for next year, but I hope to make it more of a priority.
So, anyway, my pregnancy is soon coming to an end, and really it wont' be any too soon for me. I just hit my 36 week mark, but compared to my other 4 pregnancies I feel like I am at 40 weeks. My belly is huge, my hands and feet are swelling like crazy and I lack motivation to do much, partly due to trying to keep the swelling down, the more active I am the more swollen I am, but if I sit to rest, I don't want to get up.
Thankfully my children have been great helpers lately. The boys are on dish duty and do a great job keeping the kitchen from mountains of dirty dishes. Charlie is learning to do a great job mopping the floors. Friday we had a "clean the house" day and I made them badges to wear that held their chore cards so they could move their cards to the back of the badge as they finished.
They probably loved the badges so much because it is a new thing, we've never used them before, but it was great because the badges clipped to their shirt and on the back of the card that said the job I listed the steps of what was expected for that job to be complete.
For instance Tom was in charge of cleaning the patio. the steps were, pick up garbage, put the big toys in the garage, put the small toys in the toy bin, line up the bikes and toys with wheels.
Tom did a fabulous job and the patio looked great. The chore badges were very helpful in keeping the kids on task. I didn't have picture cards for the girls, so they just came and asked me what theirs said and then ran off to do it and came back to ask about the next one.
One thing I have been enjoying lately is sewing. So far the baby has a couple blankets and burp clothes, my next project is to make a nursing cover. Not knowing the gender of the baby has made it harder in choosing fabrics and such, but I found some fabulous fabrics that i made the rag quilt with.
The other children have benefited from my sewing marathon. They each got a new apron, which actually the boys helped make their own. And I made the girls towel wraps for Christmas which are great for them to wear after baths or after swimming.
Mostly I'm trying to keep myself distracted from wanting to have this pregnancy over now, and rather just enjoy these last few weeks before our lives are changed forever with the addition of a new little one. One thing I have to look forward to is my sister Susan coming to spent some time with us, before and after the baby is born. She will be here in two weeks and stay for almost a month.
It's obvious, from my lack of posts, that I have been a slacker blogger for this whole past year. I'm not making any promises for next year, but I hope to make it more of a priority.
So, anyway, my pregnancy is soon coming to an end, and really it wont' be any too soon for me. I just hit my 36 week mark, but compared to my other 4 pregnancies I feel like I am at 40 weeks. My belly is huge, my hands and feet are swelling like crazy and I lack motivation to do much, partly due to trying to keep the swelling down, the more active I am the more swollen I am, but if I sit to rest, I don't want to get up.
Thankfully my children have been great helpers lately. The boys are on dish duty and do a great job keeping the kitchen from mountains of dirty dishes. Charlie is learning to do a great job mopping the floors. Friday we had a "clean the house" day and I made them badges to wear that held their chore cards so they could move their cards to the back of the badge as they finished.
 |
| example of badges we used |
 |
| clips attached to the badges |
They probably loved the badges so much because it is a new thing, we've never used them before, but it was great because the badges clipped to their shirt and on the back of the card that said the job I listed the steps of what was expected for that job to be complete.
For instance Tom was in charge of cleaning the patio. the steps were, pick up garbage, put the big toys in the garage, put the small toys in the toy bin, line up the bikes and toys with wheels.
Tom did a fabulous job and the patio looked great. The chore badges were very helpful in keeping the kids on task. I didn't have picture cards for the girls, so they just came and asked me what theirs said and then ran off to do it and came back to ask about the next one.
One thing I have been enjoying lately is sewing. So far the baby has a couple blankets and burp clothes, my next project is to make a nursing cover. Not knowing the gender of the baby has made it harder in choosing fabrics and such, but I found some fabulous fabrics that i made the rag quilt with.
The other children have benefited from my sewing marathon. They each got a new apron, which actually the boys helped make their own. And I made the girls towel wraps for Christmas which are great for them to wear after baths or after swimming.
Mostly I'm trying to keep myself distracted from wanting to have this pregnancy over now, and rather just enjoy these last few weeks before our lives are changed forever with the addition of a new little one. One thing I have to look forward to is my sister Susan coming to spent some time with us, before and after the baby is born. She will be here in two weeks and stay for almost a month.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Wonderful Christmas
 |
| Going to see the lights at the Fletcher Farm |
We had a very nice Christmas day on Sunday.
Tom got his Christmas miracle. Jeremy was scheduled to work on Sunday and Tom was hoping that dad would get home early and be his Christmas miracle and what do you know Jeremy was home by 8:30am and never did get called back into work.
Since Jeremy wasn't going to be home for the kids to get to open their gifts early in the morning they must have figured there was nothing to wake up for, not one of them was awake before 7:30 am - that was my Christmas miracle, getting to sleep in.
We got up and made a pancake breakfast and daddy showed up just in time to eat with us. We then opened a couple of gifts and then got ready and went to church.
After church, which was only one hour, Sacrament meeting, rather than all three hours of meeting, we opened more gifts. The gift Jeremy was most excited to give was his gift to the girls.
He figured what little girl wouldn't love their own pink bb gun. Becca was indeed very excited, Lydia wasn't sure she wanted anything to do with it.
This is the only picture we took on Christmas, all the rest are videos.
We were invited to our neighbors house (the Wetterlings) for Christmas dinner and had a wonderful feast with them.
Later we came home to Skype with the grandparents, first my family and then Jeremy's family.
Being 8 months pregnant I can't say I feel very motivated to do much lately, I'm big and tired. My wonderful husband had Monday off and he helped clean and get all the Christmas decorations down and put away, it was so nice to not have to do that myself. We usually don't take it down the day after Christmas, but that was when he was available to help and I was very glad to have his help.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Videos you must watch
We love Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson at our house and the Piano Guys are doing a great job making videos that are awesome to watch.
Here are a few favorites:
Carol of the Bells (one of my favorite Christmas songs)
Here is a video from a recent concert - I would love to go to their concert
"Where are you Christmas" - with Jon's daughter singing
This next one is very fun to watch - a favorite of my boys, spin off of Star Wars, and a neat side note, a friend of Jeremy (from high school - Ali Morris) made the costumes.
Cello Wars
This one is Tom's favorite and we bought the single and he listens to it over and over and over.
Michael Meets Mozart
The most awesome thing about watching these guys, beyond their talent, is watching the joy they experience as they play their music, I love listening to their songs, but I also love watching them, it inspires me to want to improve my talents and take joy in what I do.
Here are a few favorites:
Carol of the Bells (one of my favorite Christmas songs)
Here is a video from a recent concert - I would love to go to their concert
"Where are you Christmas" - with Jon's daughter singing
This next one is very fun to watch - a favorite of my boys, spin off of Star Wars, and a neat side note, a friend of Jeremy (from high school - Ali Morris) made the costumes.
Cello Wars
This one is Tom's favorite and we bought the single and he listens to it over and over and over.
Michael Meets Mozart
The most awesome thing about watching these guys, beyond their talent, is watching the joy they experience as they play their music, I love listening to their songs, but I also love watching them, it inspires me to want to improve my talents and take joy in what I do.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
and bears, oh my!
We had an uninvited guest trying to take up residence in our neighborhood.
Yesterday I got and email about a bear sighting in our neighborhood.
I didn't know there were bears in Florida, alligators yes, bears, no.
I figured he was just passing through the neighborhood so I didn't worry about it too much.
Then this afternoon the neighbor kids (carpenters) who were over playing were walking home and soon came running back telling me they saw the bear.
I drove them to their house and just then the bear came lopping across the street.
Wildlife control had been called so we hung around watching the bear, thinking the wildlife control would be there soon. The bear seemed content munching on nuts from the tree and didn't seem bothered by the people cautiously gathered on the opposite of the road.
Over an hour later the bear was still passively under the tree and wildlife control finally came.
They weren't shooting bullets, just pellet bags (or some such thing) that would be enough to cause the bear to run off and not want to come back again (hopefully anyway).
All this caused for an interesting afternoon, but I'm really not wanting to hear of bears in our neighborhood again.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Halloween
Charlie - Obi wan Kenobi Tom- magician
Lydia-Rapunzel with butterfly wings Becca-Rapunzel
Group of kids that came to the halloween party at the clubhouse and then we went around the neighborhood trick-or-treating together.
Lydia heading up a walkway to got trick-or-treating.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
News and fun
It's been awhile.
We got back from Utah at the beginning of August and have been busy homeschooling since then.
My news is that I am pregnant, 20 weeks, so not really new news, but haven't really been spreading the news.
It's been raining a lot, we didn't get any effects of hurricane Irene, ironic since we live in hurricane territory, yet all up the east coast is where it hit.
Lydia turned 3 last week.
Since I'm not too full of words I'll share a few funny's.
We got back from Utah at the beginning of August and have been busy homeschooling since then.
My news is that I am pregnant, 20 weeks, so not really new news, but haven't really been spreading the news.
It's been raining a lot, we didn't get any effects of hurricane Irene, ironic since we live in hurricane territory, yet all up the east coast is where it hit.
Lydia turned 3 last week.
Since I'm not too full of words I'll share a few funny's.
Is this not so true.
Do you need ideas for pet costumes?
Sometimes you have to think outside the box and use the same materials, but get a different result.
this isn't really funny, it's a sad but true
way to look on the bright side
a fun way to go
I always wondered what they did on their time off
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Meal time
Being a good parent isn't an easy task. It is easy to slip into "easy" mode and let kids get away with things because then there is no resistance when the kids are getting their way, but it isn't doing them any favors.
The past few weeks I've really let things slide and I've been a lazy parent letting my kids get away with sloppy behavior and attitudes. The past couple days I've come out of lazy mode and my kids did not like it. But today has been a really good day. My kids know I won't put up with their laziness any more and after rebelling against me for the past couple days they are realizing it is better for them if they just obey and cooperate and then life is happier for us all.
Becca decided to test my resolve today. Lately she has been wasteful with her food at meal times and I have been letting her get away with it. Today I decided that was the end of that and told her she had to stay at the table until she finished eating her breakfast. I don't think she thought I was serious.
At first she poked at her food, then she sat back and tried to ignore her food. One time I caught her trying to spoon some of hers into Lydia's bowl. Once everyone else left the table and she was all alone she became angry and started crying and screaming. She carried on for almost 2 hours.
She must have finally realized I was not going to let her leave the table until she was done. Once she finally started eating it took her ONE minute to eat. All of her antics for one minute of eating. And surprisingly she was happy when she finally finished and I praised her for eating her food and she went on her merry way to go play.
I am so glad I followed through. There were a couple times I wavered and considered telling her she only had to eat a few bites or thought about offering to rewarm her food. I'm glad I didn't interfere and just let her deal with her own problem.
The past few weeks I've really let things slide and I've been a lazy parent letting my kids get away with sloppy behavior and attitudes. The past couple days I've come out of lazy mode and my kids did not like it. But today has been a really good day. My kids know I won't put up with their laziness any more and after rebelling against me for the past couple days they are realizing it is better for them if they just obey and cooperate and then life is happier for us all.
Becca decided to test my resolve today. Lately she has been wasteful with her food at meal times and I have been letting her get away with it. Today I decided that was the end of that and told her she had to stay at the table until she finished eating her breakfast. I don't think she thought I was serious.
At first she poked at her food, then she sat back and tried to ignore her food. One time I caught her trying to spoon some of hers into Lydia's bowl. Once everyone else left the table and she was all alone she became angry and started crying and screaming. She carried on for almost 2 hours.
She must have finally realized I was not going to let her leave the table until she was done. Once she finally started eating it took her ONE minute to eat. All of her antics for one minute of eating. And surprisingly she was happy when she finally finished and I praised her for eating her food and she went on her merry way to go play.
I am so glad I followed through. There were a couple times I wavered and considered telling her she only had to eat a few bites or thought about offering to rewarm her food. I'm glad I didn't interfere and just let her deal with her own problem.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Spending the summer in Utah
Six weeks ago I was laying on my bed, in Florida, realizing I didn't want to spend the summer in the Florida muggy heat. I checked plane tickets, which up to that point had been fairly pricey, and found a good deal and booked 7 weeks in Utah. For the month of July Jeremy was assigned clinicals in Davenport, which is 4 hours from our house, so he wasn't going to be around, which made the decision of leaving even easier.
We have been staying with Jeremy's parents in beautiful Pine Vallley and we go to St. George about once a week and visit other family and visit my parents. My parents live in a small house and now that my sister lives in their only extra bedroom, there is even less room to stay, so we usually just do day visits with them. Plus it is much hotter in St. George than in Pine Valley, and I prefer staying out of the heat.
The kids are having fun spending lots of time outdoors, and I don't even have to take them to the park so they can run and play (in Florida we don't have a yard, I have to take my kids to the park so they can play).
I grew up in Idaho on an acre an a half, we had lots of room to run and play. I have always wanted the same thing for my kids. For now this comes as close to my ideal as possible for now. The one thing I wish we had was bikes for our kids so they could ride around while we are here in Pine Valley.
The first weekend after we arrived in Pine Valley was Jeremy's family reunion at a State camp ground near Manti Utah. It was a beautiful place and the kids had a wonderful time playing with their cousins.
Last week was Tom's birthday, he turned 7. For his birthday he wanted to go see Cars 2, which had just come out in theaters. We invited the grandparents and some cousins to join us. It was an awesome movie and the graphics were incredible. After the movie we went back to my mom's house for pizza and cupcakes. My mom made Tom a fun cupcake snake, using skittles to put the snake pattern on each cupcake. It was cool and Tom thought it was cool.
I'll have to add pictures after we get back to Florida, I don't have any way to do it here.
I glad my in-laws have Internet, when we lived with them 2 years ago, before we moved to Florida, they didn't have Internet and that was a long 6 weeks. I would take my kids to the parks in St. George that had wifi so I could search for apartments and do other online tasks while they played at the park.
I try not to be on the Internet too much, but those few weeks were an eye opener as to how dependent I am on the Internet. I pay all my bills online, do all my banking online and when ever I have a question or need to find a recipe I look online.
We have been staying with Jeremy's parents in beautiful Pine Vallley and we go to St. George about once a week and visit other family and visit my parents. My parents live in a small house and now that my sister lives in their only extra bedroom, there is even less room to stay, so we usually just do day visits with them. Plus it is much hotter in St. George than in Pine Valley, and I prefer staying out of the heat.
The kids are having fun spending lots of time outdoors, and I don't even have to take them to the park so they can run and play (in Florida we don't have a yard, I have to take my kids to the park so they can play).
I grew up in Idaho on an acre an a half, we had lots of room to run and play. I have always wanted the same thing for my kids. For now this comes as close to my ideal as possible for now. The one thing I wish we had was bikes for our kids so they could ride around while we are here in Pine Valley.
The first weekend after we arrived in Pine Valley was Jeremy's family reunion at a State camp ground near Manti Utah. It was a beautiful place and the kids had a wonderful time playing with their cousins.
Last week was Tom's birthday, he turned 7. For his birthday he wanted to go see Cars 2, which had just come out in theaters. We invited the grandparents and some cousins to join us. It was an awesome movie and the graphics were incredible. After the movie we went back to my mom's house for pizza and cupcakes. My mom made Tom a fun cupcake snake, using skittles to put the snake pattern on each cupcake. It was cool and Tom thought it was cool.
I'll have to add pictures after we get back to Florida, I don't have any way to do it here.
I glad my in-laws have Internet, when we lived with them 2 years ago, before we moved to Florida, they didn't have Internet and that was a long 6 weeks. I would take my kids to the parks in St. George that had wifi so I could search for apartments and do other online tasks while they played at the park.
I try not to be on the Internet too much, but those few weeks were an eye opener as to how dependent I am on the Internet. I pay all my bills online, do all my banking online and when ever I have a question or need to find a recipe I look online.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Amazing talent from such a young girl - she has a beautiful voice. Her name is Jackie Evancho and she is 11 years old.
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