Introducing: Sally, Pally, Master, and Blackcoon

I don't do pets. But as Joe and I were talking about something meaningful to get Madison for Christmas we talked extensively about her love for animals. At first we considered getting her one of those "fur real" pets that you put batteries in and they walk and bark and pant. But, honestly, she has so many stuffed animals that I am constantly sneakily stuffing them in plastic garbage bags. When we rented out the house we are in--we actually asked the owner to add "no pets" to the contract so we would have a good excuse to give the kids every time they asked for a cat or dog. But then Joe suggested a fish and I thought maybe I could handle a fish. We got permission from the landlord and bought Madison a fish tank for Christmas.

One month later. . . I took Madison to Pet Smart last Saturday and talked to a nice employee for about an hour. I kept emphasizing that we needed something that "was hard to kill" and would "stay alive easily."  I don't know if he thought I was nuts, but he helped us through buying a different fish tank*, getting gravel, chemicals to add to the water, bacteria to add to the water, fish food, and most importantly: fish.

It's been over 72 hours and they are still alive. 

I'm feeling pretty good about this.

Madison is getting ready for school faster than she ever has in her life because if she isn't ready for school by 7:20 then someone else gets to feed the fish. The ultimate threat.

If the fish stay alive for a few more weeks we will go back to get a live plant to put in the box at the bottom.

Can you find all the fish? I tried to figure out a way to circle them, but it was taking too much time.

And, finally, Madison let Logan and Grant name 2 of the fish. Can you guess who chose which names? 

*The fish tank we originally got was less durable and did not have a light. I decided to spend a little more on this one because it actually looked decent, and since it would be living on our kitchen counter I wanted something that looked nice. . . but then I got home and realized that maybe an open fish tank (in the kitchen, no less, which is messy. . . and then I read that fish in the kitchen are "bad chi." oops) with four little kids might not be my most brilliant act. Time will tell.

Goodbyes are so hard to say. . . unless it takes three years.

We've been holding our breath on this announcement, but it's finally safe to say: our Cleveland house has sold!

Three years and three offers later. . . I'd say it's about time.

I won't even tell you what it sold for because you might want to cry. I've already spent my crying-time, so I'm mostly just feeling thankful.

This house represents a lot for me: a new job--our first REAL job, our first home purchase, a baby born, a lost job, a few months as a "single" mom while Joe forged the way for us in Texas, 14 or so birthdays, 3 Christmas's, friends and family visiting.

I loved the wood floors, the flowers that bloomed each season, the sun-lit walls, and Grant's method of getting downstairs. I love the memories we made and the friendships that were built.

Getting rid of it represents a lot for me now: a new start, a better life-style, a job that we have more control over, moving from a small, old house to one that is new (2001!) and monstrous in comparison.

We've learned a lot, and we've grown in so many ways that I can't even explain. I think I can sincerely say I'm glad we had this experience, but I am thankful that now we can let it go.

Goodbye house!

Random from the week

Finally set up the trampoline. = Many hours of play, exercise, and fun.

*note* the neighbor's are not allowed to jump on it (their parents' rule, not ours). I guess that might not be such a bad thing.

Grant dumped an entire tube of blue paint on the carpet floor. Luckily it was (mostly) water-soluble. I have been scrubbing for days to get it out, but when it dries it comes back up to the surface and I scrub some more. 

*note* the best part about this is that he also got the paint all over his face. He looks smurfish. 

Found some decent curtains at Target on super clearance at $6 a panel. Also found curtain rod at Lowe's for $4. Not exactly my favorite of either, but as we are in a hopefully non-permanent rental home, they will do.

*note* the curtain rod is a few inches too short. We only hung them up on one window because I can't decide whether or not I like it better with curtains or bare. All I have right now is a pathetic camera-phone picture, or I'd get your opinion.

A little bit of TMI: Now that Ammon is nearing his first birthday, Aunt Flo has returned.

*note*awful awful awful. Why do women have to go through so much crap? Seriously.

And that about sums up this week at the McGregor's. 

TV or not TV

As I mentioned a few posts ago, we got a bigger than 15" T.V.

This has been a much debated topic in our house because I LOVE not watching television.


I grew up in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania, and the only television we watched was a very fuzzy channel 12. Instead I read up in my tree, read in the fields, walked in the woods, and did lots and lots of work around the farm. OK, so maybe I was supposed to do lots of work, but I whined so much that I probably didn't do as much as I think I did. And I should probably note that I did not think it was cool at the time to not watch all the shows my peers were watching.

My point is: I hate the noise of the TV. I hate the time wasted in front of the TV. I think that kids should be outside running around and playing with their friends, reading books, doing art, or playing an instrument. Something constructive and healthy.

But. . . when we do family movie nights, it was kind of annoying that we couldn't see the movie without squinting. And my parents surprised us with a Wii for Christmas--and while I think that could also be a time-waster, I am actually excited about the interaction and exercise it could potentially provide. And then there's General Conference. And wouldn't it be nice to maybe someday invite friends over to watch a movie?

So we got one.

Then came the issue of trying to figure out where to put it. At first I wanted it go upstairs in the play area so that my living area could remain distraction-free. But there isn't enough seating upstairs for everyone to enjoy the movie. Plus it's a pain to drag all of the food and dishes upstairs on pizza night. But the main reason I considered putting the t.v. in the main living area is that it is the room that is most likely to be clean and fresh and relaxing (despite what Madison is telling everyone). And let's face it, if I am going to cuddle up and watch a movie, I want it to be in a nice atmosphere--and sometimes the play area is not that place (unless, of course, I want to spend 30 minutes cleaning it, which I don't want to do after the kids are in bed).

The final decision: TV in the downstairs living area.

This presented its own problems, which included several different furniture arrangements. I couldn't win it all, and after Joe kindly moved the piano all over the living room for arrangement experiments, it is now blocking the fire place, which I guess is ok because we don't even use the fire place, but it is a little sad to me anyway.

We do not have cable or satellite, which I am hoping stays that way forever regardless of whether or not we ever have money to pay for it.

I think we've turned it on for one movie night (which I wasn't there for because my dear husband surprised me with a babysitter and took me out on a date!), for a few you-tube videos (check out "cello wars", and some "just dance" and "wii sports." I'm not totally convinced, but so far so good.

Madison tells it like it really is:

"My house has six people.
It smells like (disgusting) trash and (yucky) diapers.
It looks giant."

or

"My house smells like trash and dirty diapers."

Which one do you like better?

When I laughed and put this on here Madison got very upset and said (and I quote), "Don't laugh. Those are good describing words."

Yes, Madison, yes they are.

Maybe I should rethink the WalMart-brand of scentsy.

On new year's resolutions

Before I say anything else, you should know that I am typing this on my iPhone in a parking lot facing a lake while I wait for the time in between Logan and Madison's first semester award assembly. Ammon is snoring in his carseat and Grant went to work with dad today (because he has been asking for a while and dad told him that Friday (today) he could go).

Let me tell you, I have had a battle going on inside of me because I can think of 101 things I could be doing with only one small child in tow . . . cleaning a house still suffering from Christmas break or going shopping are my top choices. But I keep reminding myself that I am a SAHM (stay at home mom) so that I can go to all of these things for my children, and in the long run it is better time spent.

The SAHM conversation has been going on in my head a lot lately. I feel like our generation is fairly supportive of SAHMs, but I still find I'm defending myself often. Not long ago I was having a conversation about how we didn't get a second car until we'd been married for 6 years and we were in Ohio, expecting baby #3. This person, someone I love very much, said something like, "yeah, but you didn't have a job to get to." That really stung-- and I said something like, "I did have a job, and I was stranded at home alone with 2 little kids, and it was very difficult."

Anyway, I've been so busy that I haven't had time to think of who I wanted to be this next year. It's so easy to see your own weaknesses but everyone else's strengths. This can really get a person down sometimes! Some things I want to make sure happen this year are:

Be more dilligent at teaching the kids piano;

Get Logan and Madison signed up for a sport;

Get Grant signed up for preschool;

Spend my time more wisely;

Be a more optimistic person, and have more spontaneous fun with the family;

Greet Joe with a smile and a kiss each day when he walks in the door;

Buy Joe the camera of his dreams; dear Joe, I was rereading this, thinking that some stuff (especially punctuation) was different, and now I know why. I wish you many nice dreams; maybe you can subconsciously alter them to include that camera. ; ). 

Be filled with gratitude and a desire to help others;

Come what may, and love every single minute; and

Find peace with who I am while striving to be better.

2011: A Partial Year Review

Jennifer and I spent much of the last 3 weeks debating what to call 2011: "The Comeback Year," the "Turnaround Year," the "Resurrection Year." You get the idea.

The point is, looking back, 2011 has been very good to us. It didn't start that way. In January we were out of money. I dropped a few resumes with potential employers thinking I would have to abandon my practice. I contemplated picking up a part-time job to make ends meet. Things were scary, and every penny counted.

To make matters worse, we were living in a pretty crappy house. For the first time in my life I was miserable in my church calling. Our Cleveland house was evaporating value. We were about to have another baby, and I wasn't sure how we would pay for him. And, BYU Football had just wrapped up an extremely disappointing year. It was hard to be happy, and it was sometimes difficult to be a good husband and father.

Needless to say, 2011 started out as a horrible year.

Somewhere in the middle of 2011, though, things began to change. Clients started showing up out of nowhere. With money. We moved into a much better house. I got a new calling (I teach early morning seminary). BYU won 10 games. Our savings account rose from the dead. And best of all, I don't think my marriage has ever been as strong.

I know people use blogs to only write the good stuff about their life. I wanted to relate the bad stuff because that's what makes these days seem so wonderful. In a strange way, I cherish that really rough patch. There are a lot of reasons our lives are much better now, and one major reason is that they were so bad at the beginning of the year. But most importantly, there's no doubt that our fervent prayers and other acts of worship during that time and since were heard and noticed by our Father in Heaven.

I look forward to what next January holds.

Rocket Launch Logan

 The kids got a rocket for Christmas. GREAT gift idea.

The day after Christmas Logan and Grandpa Foster assembled the rocket. On December 27, 2011, against partly cloudy skies and chilly Pennsylvania air, the entire Foster clan gathered around the launch site to watch Logan's first step towards becoming a rocket scientist.

Here Grandpa Foster is explaining to Logan how to trigger the rocket. 

Controller being handed to Logan. We all become a bit nervous.

On cue, Logan commences lift off. 

Rocket tube was recovered a few hundred yards away, ensuring future launches.