I'm Not Playing With Movies

We bought a new DVD player right before we moved to Texas. It was the cheapest one we could find, but we expected it get us through. About 8-9 months later it started making rattling noises so loud it was hard to hear the movie playing. Money was kind of tight, and I figured out that if I pushed down the DVD player the noise went away. So what did I do? I got some bungie cords and wrapped them around the DVD player a few times. It looked horrendous, but worked, and then we asked for a new DVD player for Christmas.

We were given the same one we already had.

So I unplugged everything and replugged and a few days later it started rattling. Stupid cheap DVD players!! I decided that if we were going to have a rattly DVD player we might as well stick with the one we already had and would take the other one back to Target. So I did the whole unplugging bit and retrieved the older player (I don't know why I still had it, but I did). I noticed that it rattled as I picked it up, so I plugged it in and opened it and shook it. 

Three DVD's came out.

I'm not kidding.

2.5 year old Grant had been trying to figure out how to watch movies, I guess.

Yesterday I came downstairs from doing something and Ammon ran to the stairs to greet me. "Mom, I'm not playing with movies!" "Oh good, because you aren't supposed to be playing with movies!" "I'm not!" "Good!"

You'd think that after being a mom for 10 years, I would know there was something wrong with that statement, "Mom, I'm not playing with movies!" 

I just thought he was being sweet, innocent, Ammon.

Until I tried to put in my pilates DVD a few hours later and the DVD player started shaking and rattling. I connected all the dots and opened that thing up and found not only a DVD but a Star Wars wii game.

Surprise surprise! Ammon is 2.5 years old.

Deja vu! 

We only panicked for a few minutes when the wii game wouldn't work, but mom worked her magic and wiped the smudges off and made some kids very happy. 

Satisfaction

Reality check: being a stay at home mom (SAHM) can be kind of a non-glamorous job. First off, there's no paycheck, and let's be honest, by all worldly viewpoints, the bigger your paycheck, the more successful you are. Ouch. People who "don't work" are often seen as lazy, uneducated, and have a lack of ambition.

*Now, let me note, that we are very grateful for the women in our lives that work. My children have fabulous school teachers, our pediatrician is a woman, my mom is a principal, and all around us are good women who work. I'm not contesting what is better, only making an observation from my point of view.

Sometimes being a SAHM can feel unrewarding; sometimes it might feel like the only time people notice what you do is when you don't do it. Sometimes it is hard to feel satisfied--although, again, I would like to recognize that this feeling is probably a worldly, wanting recognition, feeling. But sometimes I feel that way.

But today: I feel satisfied.

Yesterday Logan tried out for the district 4-6 grade honor choir. He got in! I went to pick him up from school (that means 90 minutes every week of extra practice) and I had the opportunity to see him mingling with his peers. He appeared confident and happy. I remembered my own middle/high after-school practices, and I felt excited for him. He is growing up and really gaining his own personality, and so far--he's doing great. That gives a mom satisfaction.

Madison filled out an application for a club at school called Kindness and Compassion Kids. I asked her a few questions and I think it's a precursor to Student Council. The kids pledge to help others and do things at school like food drives and planning activities. I asked her why she wanted to be in it (because she is good at making friends and helping people and wants to have more opportunities to help plan events). And she will be great at all of those things! I asked her if she was applying because her friends were, and she said she didn't know anyone else who was applying--and that made me happy, too. She's doing this because it's something she is interested in, not because of outside influences. That gives a mom satisfaction.

So no one notices when the toilets get cleaned, the floors mopped, or how the shelves stay stocked with favorite foods--but--this. This growing up and learning and taking new risks and opportunities. This is satisfaction.

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And in response to my last post. I was surprised by the response I had on my rhetorical question and blog post. Not only by the amount of response, but by the varied responses! Thank you everyone for your thoughts and tips and advice. I have thought a lot about it since I first had the idea on Sunday. I also looked up the price of plane tickets. OUCH! They are double what they were a year ago when Joe last went to China! So for now. . . I will keep checking the price of plane tickets. . . and keep saving our money!

As for what I have decided other than that--I don't know! I have a hard time making decisions and tend to really think things through. This would not be an impulse decision! I am also a money-saver. It would not be something we would ever go into debt for and would not spend the money unless we knew everything was in great order and it would not hurt our finances. 

I was surprised at the general impression that traveling with kids is hard and less meaningful--maybe because we have traveled great distances with kids our entire kid-experience. This summer we put about 10,000 miles on our van as we traveled from Texas to California to NW Pennsylvania and New York! The kids travel wonderfully and I think they even enjoy most of the stops along the way.

This summer we went to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Death Valley, Yosemite, San Francisco, Monterey Bay, traveled down the Pacific Coast highway, Los Angeles, Disneyland, and Phoenix. It was a whirlwind trip (and like I mentioned, we took another one out east a week later), and not without some complaining, but well worth every minute and dollar spent. Ammon is the only one who won't remember, but I don't feel too bad because my personal experience is that the baby is going to get a lot of things that the older kids don't! 

We studied out all the places we were going; the kids did a lot of googling and fact-telling. We provided them with journal prompts and they were in charge of keeping detailed records each day of the trip.

Just last week Madison told me (while I was doing her hair) that they had talked about Fisherman's Wharf and The Golden Gate Bridge at school. She told her class that she had been those places and they had an impromptu question and answer session. (That is satisfaction!) 

Grant especially remembers the Grand Canyon and has asked me several questions about it recently. 

Years ago (when I was educated and making money) I went to a teacher training class in Idaho and a study was the topic of the discussion. This particular study (I wish I had the source for you) showed that kids who travel over the summer actually gain knowledge, where kids who stay home lose quite a bit of knowledge (to be fair, they don't know why. They don't know if it is the experience or because the families that travel probably have more income and are better educated). If you have noticed--the first month of school is all about playing catch up and trying to get back to where you left off the year before. 

Traveling and new experiences teach us how to make connections with the world and people surrounding us (I'm focusing on world-travel). We not only learn about cultures and histories, but we learn about compassion and how other people live and maybe even how we can impact the world around us for good. 6 weeks in China--any country--would of course include exciting adventures. Madison wants to walk on the Great Wall and Logan wants to see the monks in Shaolin. Not to mention all the real-life applications we would learn! How to read a map, buy a train ticket, or how to move to plan B when something goes wrong. I'm telling you--travel makes a person confident!! Plus, you know, it's fun to make memories together as a family.

So what will we do? Who knows! It's one of those things we have to balance: living for today while planning for the future. It sure is fun to think about, though. Thanks for thinking about it with me!

*I realize I never did post about our trip. It might never happen. Here are just a few pictures.

The Golden Gate Bridge. Time of day made it hard to get a good shot.

We survived Death Valley!

The Grand Canyon

Yosemite

Yosemite

Potty break on the Pacific Coast road. The big kids were so embarrassed.

Pacific Coast. It was SO beautiful. 

This is excitement... from one kid, anyway.

Best Thing I Ever Did

I started my college education as an Interior Design major at Ricks College. I have to brag for a minute and say that it was one of the only two programs there (nursing was the other one) that required a separate application and took 3 years instead of 2 (it was a 2-year college at the time).

I started the summer of 1999 with an old-school drafting class. That was neat, but not really what I was thinking when I thought of Interior Design. I have some pretty cool blue prints scrolled up in one of those blue-print tubes. Yeah, I did that.

The next semester I took several more Interior Design classes. . . like drawing, and 2 other design classes that I can't remember the names of. It was hard. I did ok; I didn't mind that it was hard. I just got frustrated. For one thing, the grades were tweaked: an A- was a 95% and a B- was a 90%. Talk about pressure for a perfectionist. Also, I'm a perfectionist, but so not when it comes to tiny details with my unsteady hands. Like. . . my lines aren't always perfectly straight and there might be some eraser marks you can see. One assignment we had to create a decor ball. I decided to use puzzle pieces, but got super frustrated because I kept hot-gluing my fingers and then I could see the glue sticking out. Oh... and the teachers were kind of perfectionists, too. Let's not even get into the drawing class (Del Parson's brother was my art teacher, that was pretty cool). Anyway, by the second semester I was feeling a little shaky about my decision to be in the Interior Design program. I fasted about it (must have been in October, around midterms). A few days later I got something in the mail.

A "teach English in China" pamphlet. Everyone got one. I read through it and felt so excited that I conned my roommate, Kathleen, into committing with me. I called my parents late at night and told them my new plan: could they pay my way? I don't think they thought I was serious, and there was a pretty involved application process, so they told me that if I filled it out and did all the work then they would support me. I surprised them and got myself into the International Language Program (ILP).

(Shanghai, spring 2000. These are pre-digital camera days, so this is the only picture I have on the computer)

I spent over 4 fabulous months teaching English to preschoolers in Wuxi, China, and I came back confident and happy. So happy that I decided to go back the next year as a head teacher. I returned to Ricks in the summer of 2000 with the goal to learn Mandarin and somehow spend the rest of my life in China.

Then I started dating Joe (I met him in the Mandarin 101 class--and I will tell you that story soon, because you will love it). Actually, I think I applied for the job around the time we started dating (November 2001). Then Joe made me start talking about getting married, and my parents rushed out to meet this stranger, and one afternoon while Joe was doing something with my dad and I was hanging out with my mom--I got a phone call. ILP had accepted my application (this was in March--so quite a few months after I had applied) and could I go to Hefei, China that summer? I explained and apologized, but I was getting married and wouldn't be able to go.

Well, they countered, they would send us both if I would move my wedding date before August. I told them I would get back to them, told my mom, and we kind of cheered and then called the boys to come to the apartment so we could talk.

Joe--he was a little hesitant at first. It would mean delaying school for a semester, meaning that he would have to push back his graduation, etc. But I won (it wasn't hard to convince him, and after all, he had promised me that we would someday live there) and we honeymooned for 5 months in Hefei, China.

So.... I'm thinking of all of this, because:

I've been pushing and pushing to buy a house next summer. We've been saving our pennies for a nice downpayment (and I want a nice house).

But then today I thought. . . what if we saved and rented for one more year. . . and took the family to China for the summer. We don't have a mortgage, and except for Ammon, the kids are old enough to remember, but young enough that they don't have jobs or sports commitments over the summer, and Joe's job situation is such that he can take off for a while and even get a good amount of work done from a distance.

How amazing would that be? I know so many people think I'm crazy for loving China--but I LOVE it. I love the people, the culture, the food--not so much (something about those 10 months living there ruined it for me, but I would deal with it), the shopping, the history, the sights. I want my kids to love it, too.

It's so tempting!

The end of an era?

I stayed up way too late talking to some fabulous ladies. Maybe that's why it's so easy for me to tear up today.

Or. . .

Maybe it's realizing that it might be the end of an era.

The last few months I have been going through and getting rid of stuff. Baby stuff. I've gotten rid of car seats, high chairs, the pack and play, and I've been purging through baby clothes. I haven't kept a lot of clothes; all the boys' clothes fit into 2 bins and all of the Madison's old clothes fit into one. I've been giving her stuff away as she grows out of it because there was no one in our family to hand it down to, and I just saved a few of my favorite outfits for every stage.

But next month I'm going to visit my sister, who just had a baby girl, so I decided to go through and see what we had to pass on.

And I cried.

I don't know what is harder. Seeing all the cute things and remembering that not so long ago Madison was wearing them or realizing that this really might be the end of the baby era for me. I've been able to see all the boys wear their cute clothes (and by the third round. . . not so cute clothes), but the girl stuff--I don't know if I got enough of it!

Really mixed emotions.

Or I could just need a nap.

One of the outfits I kept.

I just found this picture and thought it was cute. 

Potty-training is one thing I won't miss. 

Grant's First Lesson

Today I took on my third piano student: Grant!

I'm really excited for him. . . kind of worried for me! He has been asking me to teach him for months. Experience has taught me that kids are more ready to learn piano (and I more patient to teach it) when they can read a little bit--somehow it seems to correlate with the ability to read notes and understand what is being taught. It's also a big commitment for me, because I am struggling to be consistent in teaching Logan and Madison. But--it's super important to me that they learn how to play and I can't justify paying $60 a week when I know I have the knowledge and ability to give them that gift.

Anyway, he did great! Everything seemed to click pretty quickly, granted we just went over fingers, correct posture, and quarter and half notes. He clapped and counted, figured out low and high, and was really agreeable and happily cooperated. But when I told him his homework was to play his songs 5 times everyday he said, "Wait. We're done? I want to learn how to play Star Wars!"

Did I mention it's hard to be consistent? Also, it can be really frustrating when they don't know things like: what is the name of this note? I know I probably was the same, but it seems so simple to me now, and I don't understand why they are having a hard time with some concepts! It really is a lot easier to be patient with someone else's kids, unfortunately.

Logan likes to tell me that I'm wrong and he's right (like about notes and rhythms). It would be really funny if it wasn't really annoying.

Madison gets frustrated and cries that it's too hard (though she's the one who sits down on her own any opportunity she gets). I am trying to control that (because it drives me CRAZY!!!) by threatening her that she will have to pay me $18 for the lesson if she behaves that way. So far it has worked.

Grant is just getting started, but he's still excited.

And Ammon likes to sit on my lap and turns the pages for me while I try to play with him playing the piano over me.

Logan Thoughts

Have you ever tried to see how many minutes you could pray? I have. As a child, I would try to peek at my clock to see how long it had been and I was always surprised. . . as with many things, time goes slower when you're peeking at the clock while you pray.

A few days ago Logan came to me with this question: How did *Enos pray all day and all night? Cuz I tried to pray as long as I could and I ran out of things to talk about after 15 minutes.

I didn't laugh--because like I said, I've totally had that experience (though I had never formed that question in my mind)!

So I thought about it for a minute and we talked about other prophets and stories in the scriptures that talk about prayer--and we came up with this answer: prayer involves talking and listening. The stories usually start with the person involved taking a deep question or concern to God (in the case of Enos, he wrestles before God and after many hours his sins are forgiven). I don't believe the concerns or questions were lightly stated, but thoughtfully explained and explored--just as we might talk to one another, with dialogue between the parties involved. Then somewhere along the way there is a sort of revelation, vision, or dream--information about how the world was made, how the world works, or what is going to happen in the future--you know, small stuff like that. Information like that might take a little bit of time, too. Some examples I can think of off the top of my head include Moses and Abraham, Lehi and Nephi, Enoch, and I'm sure you can think of others. Anyway, I'm too impatient to keep writing about this, only that I wanted to remember this conversation and the conclusion we came to that praying can take a long time if you are actually communicating with God and taking the time to listen to what He has to say. And if you do listen--you might learn an awful lot.

*The story of Enos can be found in the Book of Mormon. I can get you a free copy if you are interested in reading it. Even if you just want to read it as literature, you might enjoy the stories and you would become more educated on Mormonism. :) I love to talk about books, too, so we could talk about it. Or I could send some really smart and good looking people to answer your questions. :)
********************
Also, Logan came home today with a paper titled "Auction List" and an explanation that they had $2,000 to spend at the auction (fake money, of course). Here's what was being auctioned:

1. To be a famous rock star.
2. To never be sick.
3. To be extremely smart. x
4. To be a famous sports star. x
5. To help others. x
6. To be President of the USA.
7. To be a famous model.
8. To be a school teacher.
9. To graduate from a famous college.
10. To never have pimples.
11. To help underprivileged children. x
12. To be a doctor.
13. To raise happy children.
14. To be a successful artist.
15. To live a long life. x
16. To own whatever car I would like.
17. To have a successful business. x
18. To live in a mansion. x
19. To be liked by everyone. x
20. To be a famous movie star.
21. To help the homeless problem.
22. To have a lot of close friends. x
23. To be happy in life. x
24. To be a millionaire. x
25. To travel around the world.
26. To have a great relationship with my parents.

What would you spend your money on? Is there one you would be willing to spend the entire amount on? Would you split it between 2 or 3? Or would you take all the cheap leftovers so you could get as many as possible? 

Which one do you think was the most popular and went for the highest amount? I'll tell you in a minute. 

I could see which ones Logan had checked as possibilities (I put an x at the end if he marked it). I was surprised at how much thought he put into his bidding (he didn't get his top choice because EVERYONE wanted the top choice and the winner bid his entire bank account on it).

Logan was the highest bidder on two: To be liked by everyone, and to be a millionaire. He explained to me that if he was a millionaire, he could accomplish many of the options on the list--like 5, 9,11,16,18,21,and 25. He chose close friends because he believes that if he is liked by everyone (and has money) then he can be happy in life and have good relationships with his family. It was an interesting thought. Finally, he had $500 leftover, and with that he was able to purchase a secret box which was a fortune telling of what kind of job he would have. I don't remember what he said it was, though. Oops.

OK--the one that everyone wanted and went for the entire $2,000: 

#3. To be extremely smart.

I'm still pondering about what that means for our world and a class full of 9 and 10 year olds. 

Obsession

Last time I told you about my break ups, this time I'm talking about my obsession. Yeah, I have problems. Bear with me.

If you don't want all the details, skip to the next line below.

*********************
I have moved a lot. I was born in Provo, Utah, moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho when I was less than a year and lived in two different homes there. My family moved to Phoenix, Arizona when I was 6 and we lived in two different homes there (attended 3 different schools). Then we moved to a farm in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania when I was 9 and lived there until I graduated from high school.

I began college at Ricks in Rexburg, Idaho when I was 18, lived a semester in China that following winter, and then returned to Rexburg. I met Joe. I lived in 4 different apartments in Rexburg before I got married to Joe in July of 2001. We didn't have anywhere to live for a week before we left for China, and got lucky because the lady that managed the last girls' apt. I lived in said they would let us pay $10 a day for that week--but we didn't know that until the night we returned to Rexburg. I don't know what we were planning on doing. . . sleeping in the car and showering in the gym?

Then Joe and I moved to Hefei, China for a semester, where he taught English and I was the Head Teacher (I just like to say that because it is probably the only time in our lives that I will have a more prestigious job than he). We returned to what was now BYU-ID in Rexburg in Jan. 2002 and lived in a 2 bedroom apartment until we graduated with our undergraduate degrees in April 2004.

We lived in PA for the next 3 months while we waited for an apartment to open up at BYU. We left for Provo, UT July 2004 and moved into a cinder-block, utility-carpeted teeny-tiny apartment. I wanted to move as soon as I walked in the door; after moving the piano up three flights of stairs, Joe informed me that we would be living there the entire 3 years of law school. I'm so glad we did.

The summer of 2006 we moved to Akron, OH for a summer internship.

After graduation from Law School in April of 2007, we bought a cute little colonial and moved to Cleveland, OH. The economy crashed and for a couple of reasons we decided to move to Dallas, Texas. After living in our home for 2 1/2 years, we short sold it for less than 1/4 of the price we paid for it and moved to a run-down house in Garland, TX.

We lived in Garland for 18 months and then the owners wanted to move back so we moved to another, but nicer, rental home in North Dallas, where we have been now for over 2 years.

Moving is fun! I've been able to meet and make so many fantastic friends. I've discovered what I like and don't like in houses and city vs. country life. We've been led and blessed to live in each place we've been. But. . .

*****************************

My point is: I've moved a lot and I'm ready to stay put and grow some roots.

I feel like we are so enormously blessed--I'm not complaining, really! But there is just something about having a spot to call your own, to know you are going to be there for the foreseeable future and are willing to invest in the house and property.

So I'm obsessed. Obsessed with finding the perfect suburb to settle down in. An affordable place closer to Joe's work with a little bit of land (like .5 acres is all I need!) to let the kids run around on. An area with great school ratings. A little slab of concrete in the back with a basketball hoop. A front porch--and a patio, too.

The kids are growing up--Logan is almost 10! I feel like it's time to stop moving and get settled. They are feeling that, too. They all ask how long we are going to be here and where they are going to be going to school. Logan is saving money so he can buy his own room from us in the next house! When we were trying to decide about going to Disneyland we asked the kids what their priorities were--two expensive days in Disneyland or a few thousand dollars to put towards a house. Except for Ammon, who didn't have a vote, they all voiced their opinion that we save for a house. (We went to Disneyland anyway.)

It's going to be hard to find what I want--especially the part about getting closer to Joe's office plus the 1/2 acre and good school district. It's hard to join the country life (if you can call half an acre that) with the city. So if you find something, let me know! We need 5 bedrooms and an office. ;)

End of the Road

The last 24 hours have been interesting. Long story short: a friend broke up with me. It was so fantastically unexpected that I don't know whether I should laugh or cry. As with most breakups, it kind of stings and probably requires some time.

Which brings me to my subject.

 Breakups: brought to you by me.

My first boyfriend came about through the use of a "circle yes or no" note in the sixth grade. I think we "went out" for two weeks, but he was a fast mover and started bringing me gifts every day. . . like roses and teddy bears. Five teddy bears, to be exact. That creeped me out a little, so I sent two friends during an indoor recess to return the teddy bears and deliver the bad news. He graciously accepted the teddy bears, ripped them up with scissors, and then threw the stuffing back at me.

A short time later, another "yes or no" note took place and I went out with a boy for about a month. You've heard about this boy--the one I invited to my sixth grade birthday party at a skating rink. Also the one who broke up with me when I got a short hair cut and then called me bald eagle. (I've never purposefully had short hair since then.)

Then seventh grade happened. New school, new classes, new friends. I gradually, but quickly, lost my best friend of 3 years and had to figure out how to make new friends. That was hard. I survived.

I think that my first real boyfriend happened during the summer before ninth grade. Or was it tenth? I'm pretty sure this happened without a note, though I can't quite remember. There was never an official break-up (again, if I remember correctly), just assumptions and hurt feelings and a few years later we both realized that it was actually a communication problem.

The big break-up happened during my senior year of high school. The one where your friend tells you what is going on behind your back and you think you're going to die and can't imagine how your life will keep on keep on going on. (Of course, now I know it is the best thing that ever happened to me. Whew!)

Then there are the unannounced breakups. . . like the boy that I was kind of dating but had never officially asked me to be his girlfriend. . . he was probably surprised when he found out I was getting married. Oops.

Same with Backstreet Brad, who took me out for dinner and to the Homecoming dance at college and danced Backstreet Boy songs for me--and then I invited him to come play soccer with me and some cute boys (ahem, Joe and his roommates). He never asked me out after that.

(Can I just interject here and say that now, 12-20ish years later, I realize that I was kind of a jerk. I would like to apologize to all those boys. --I say "all," haha, there weren't that many, really. --I don't think I realized that I had the power to hurt people and I thought boys were unhurtable, but I was talking to Joe about it recently and he said that, yes, boys actually do have feelings and that I probably hurt some feelings. Again, I'm so sorry.)

Bottom line, I thought I had put all those days behind me, but I guess relationships keep changing and developing. Those changes happen for many reasons, good or bad. Some changes are gradual and some more abrupt; all leave behind memories and refine who we are.

Whether you live across the world or next door to me, thanks for being my friend.

words, words, words

I've been thinking about literacy rates. I did a quick google search and couldn't find any statistics, but I'm 99.99% sure that in no other period of time have so many people been able to read and write. It's amazing! And what a blessing--to be able not only read, but to be able to write down your thoughts and feelings and to be able to share them with other people who can read and write. 

Today Ammon has been a mess. Really! I think it all started with getting up at 6:00 a.m. and then not eating his oatmeal for breakfast. He has been hungry and crying all morning, so he ate an early lunch and is taking his nap now. I feel like that means I have an enormous amount of free time, but what it probably really means is that I better get everything I want to get done fast--because he'll wake up from his nap earlier than usual.

One of the things on my to-do list was to tidy up the office--and I found some words I wanted to share. I left them in their original form and spelling. 

from Madison

Dear Mom

I Dont like this house anymore. There is nothine new. Come up here and talk to me. I've very unhappy. Plus I am always very lonly.

I am mad.

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from Madi

Dear Mom

~~~~~~~~~~~

Are u coming I am crying. If you are coming Great and please hurry up. I am very lonely. And I have nothing to do. I just can't stand it. And problably nothing will cheer me up. And all I want is to be alone. but do I get to be alone? No, not ever. Madi do this, Madi do that. Oh please mom do hurry up. I'm waiting. Tick Tock. Tick tock. 

Logan

When I grow up...

When I grow up I want to own a restant. I have started planning how to get to the point. I am going to save up my money that I get for allowence, birthday money, or other money I get. With my free time I will study cookbooks. I have allready started making my own bread, cookies, pizza (including the dough), muffins, jam, and mashed potatoes. When I get realy good at cooking I will collect things I cook and toy cars I have made and other toys or drawing Is have made. Then I will keep making them as I sell them. After a couple of years I will go to college. By the time I am done I will go back to saving money. Soon enough I will have enough money to buy my house and to have a restant built. Then I'll start cooking and selling in the restrant, all by myself. But then when I have the money I will hire employese to help me cook. I hope my cooking will be so good that costumers will come allt he time. Then I will have enough for the isurance, my kids, my employese, and myself. I can pay for a car, for books, but most inportantly, the restraunts insurance, my houses isurance, my car isurance, my familys life insurance, and taxes. This is how I plan to make a living. 

Don't you love words, too?! 

A Day in the Life

Supper Fail

I am not a fancy cook by any means, but I think I make a fair amount of food from scratch and it's usually pretty healthy. But I don't make pie crusts. Part of it is the fact that I don't really care for pie (gasp) so I have never been interested in learning how to make pie crusts from scratch. I keep some rolled-up crusts in the freezer for those rare occasions that I need, well, pie crusts. Today I thought I'd make pot pie, but failed to remove the crusts from the freezer in time to thaw. It said not to use the microwave, so I thought I would stick the frozen crusts (that come sealed in plastic) in a pitcher of warm water. They were thawed in 10 minutes. . . except that when I took the crusts out there was water in the "sealed" package, so my crusts were all soggy. So what did I do? I balled them up and rolled them out in some flour. Dinner tasted ok (I guess it depends on who you talk to), but looked terrible.

Rolling with New Things

I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere. If we wanted to ride our bikes--we stuck them in the back of the truck and drove somewhere to ride them. So for some reason, that had to do with me not learning how to do things like roller blading. We did have skating rinks, so I have spent a few hours on roller skates (I have a great story that involves a girl inviting her boyfriend to her 12th birthday party and telling her parents he was just a friend, but I'll try to stay on topic here). Last year I got Joe to go to a roller rink with me and it was so much fun, even though I'm horrible. A horrible skater, that is. I'm a wonderful person. ;) ;) This year I have tried to get him to go with me, tried to get my girl-friends to go with me, but no one will go. :( They think we are too old to have fun or something. So last week I bought some roller blades. They were the cheapest ones I could find--$29.00--which it turns out means that they don't skate very fast, which is ok for me right now. So anyway, tonight I laced up my skates and donned my helmet and tried them out on this awesome cement trail down our road called a sidewalk. Joe told me to carry my phone just in case. The kids laughed at me and said they hoped no one knew who I was (not really, but they were very curious). I made it half-way down the road and then turned around. I was more self-conscious and shaky than I expected and will need to find a place where I can practice without feeling foolish. I'm thinking about sticking Ammon in the stroller to give me some support.

A Modest Proposal

This morning I went to institute--a 90 minute scripture study class. Now that it's just us, Ammon likes to chat my ear off in the car. 

Ammon: Mommy, when I grow up I marry you.

Me: Ammon, I'm already married! You have to marry a different lucky girl.

Ammon: Who are you married to?

Me: Who do you think I'm married to?

Ammon: (Insert name)? (Friend from our church, he likes to play with her kids)

Me: No, I'm married to Daddy.

Ammon: You marry Daddy? When I grow up I marry Daddy?

Me: No, Daddy is married to me! We got married in the temple, did you know that?

Ammon: You and Daddy marry in the temple? I get marry in the temple!

Me: Yes! You will get married in the temple some day to a beautiful and lucky girl!

Ammon: O-Tay!

*************************

fast forward to our evening family prayer

Ammon to Joe: Daddy, you get married in the temple?

Joe: Yes, I married Mom in the temple!

Ammon: I get married in the temple!

(I explain the whole story to everyone)

Joe: Ammon, who are you going to marry?

Ammon: I marry Madison!!

(lots of laughs and people saying "no, you can't marry your sister!"

Ammon starts crying.

It was funny at the time. It's so crazy to me that 1. my two year old is old enough to have a conversation about marriage with me and 2. someday he will be old enough to get married! Agh! I am savoring every moment I have with him--with all of them! Even when Madison sobs herself to sleep at night because. . . . you know--I'm not even sure why! Even when she tells me I still don't understand, except that I remember doing that myself as a child/teenager and promised myself that I would understand! Isn't life grand! :) 

The Fourth Child

Some people's kids look like this when they go to bed.

The McGregor's look like this:

In my defense: he picks out his own clothes and gets himself dressed. 

Just for Laughs

One of my favorite quotes is by Marjorie Pay Hinckley: The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.

I think I actually did laugh the first time I read it because it is SO TRUE! One thing I have learned in my vast 32 years of life (go ahead and laugh) is that no matter what comes up--the only option is to go right through it. SO, we can either go through it happy or go through it complaining. Now, I'm a natural complainer, so I have been working really hard on going through each day happy. I think I really have become a happier person! (Joe might disagree, haha!)

My brother, Brent, is serving a two-year mission in Brazil for our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He only gets to call home twice a year (on Mother's Day and Christmas Day), but we do get to send and receive letters and emails to him. Thank goodness for the Internet! My parents usually send out their emails to him to all of their kids  (that's me!), which has been a bonus. In the last one my mom asked how many times we thought the average person laughed per day. 

What do you think?

I would guess about 50 times a day. But the answer was (drumroll....) an average of 17 times a day. The average toddler? 400 times a day! 

I thought that statistic was so interesting that I did a little research on it. . . here's the best article I have found on the topic. You probably already know that there are lots and lots of great benefits to laughing and being happy, including lower blood pressure, a better immune system, and the release of endorphins. Laughing can even be an ab workout! 

I started thinking. I live with a toddler; I spend just about every waking minute with that toddler. Indeed, I have had four different toddlers in my presence pretty consistently for about 10 years. So I decided that I would start watching my little toddler, Ammon, and take note of how much he laughed, what made him laugh, and then I would try to laugh with him. 

It's been enlightening, really. I don't know if I feel any different--yet--but give me a few more days. He laughs about food, clothes, and silly Ammon-jokes. He laughs when he drops toys (although he cries, too. ...hmmm....maybe I should also be counting how many times he cries each day). We went to the school to eat lunch with Madison, and he laughed over and over every time she pretended to reach for his food and he beat her to it. It never got old.

Take notice every time you laugh today--notice the little things and find something to laugh about with the big things. They (the article I linked) say that even just thinking about laughter can be beneficial.

I really do have so many things to laugh about every day!

Madi's "doll"

mommy's mascara

Logan left this on my bed for me a few months ago

Warm spring day and I realized in the Walmart parking lot that Grant wore shorts and snow boots.

What made you laugh today?