A parenting moment

Last week all the girls in the family got our hair cut. Nothing major, just a trim. Kathryn was first. She settled into the chair as I was getting Juliana started on her reading. The person who cuts our hair is a friend from a previous ward. She lives in the neighborhood over, and it's very easy to get to her. Since we last went, some changes have occurred at her house, and she is now cutting hair in her kitchen as her other space has been taken over for another use. So back to Kathryn in the chair. . . we were discussing renting vs. owning. They are renting right now, and the house they are in is pretty old, and is a little hammered. Kathryn decided to enter into the conversation with her opinion. She said, "You should change some things in this house, (pause) and clean it." I was of course mortified. They do live differently than we do, but I had thought that we have discussed what to say out loud and what things to keep to ourselves. My friend took it like a pro, and admitted that afternoon was a crazy time at their house. I apologized, and she said, "Out of the mouth of babes." It was a moment in parenting where you realize your teaching has come up short. We'll be discussing the nuances of what to say out loud and what to leave unsaid this next week.

A new look

Last spring as we were looking forward to owning our own house, one of the things I was most anxious for was to be able to actually choose color, design, etc. Since life never really goes how you plan, we are still living here in a neutral colored house. There are a few reasons for this, one being that we didn't have any time from when we had to move out of our rental place and into this house. Thus there was not any time to do any painting before all the furniture was moved in. The other main reason, is that one of us (who will remain nameless) get nervous when the subject of paint is brought up. So, last Saturday we ventured to at least start decorating one room. We chose the bathroom. Small enough to get our feet wet. The subject of paint was briefly addressed, and then quickly dismissed (after all marriage is all about compromise). We went out found matching towels, rugs, curtain, the whole shabang. It was a lot of fun. It's nice to have one color scheme and not random colored towels that were given to us when we married. So here it is the first "official" decorating in our new place. I know it may not be too interesting, but hey it's the first time I've had a bathroom that all coordinated, so it's exciting to me! :)

Green eggs and.....

It wasn't quite Green Eggs and Ham, but at least it was green eggs. Sunday we had breakfast for dinner. Steve whipped up some delicious buttermilk pancakes. (If you have never actually made pancakes with actual buttermilk, you are missing out. I will happily share our recipe if you want to try them, they are heavenly.) I was slaving away on a fruit salad and scrambled eggs. The girls insisted that green eggs taste better than your everyday yellow variety. Last year in Kindergarten they had green eggs and ham to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday. So I thought why not? Dr. Seuss was born in March and we just celebrated his birthday at school, and St. Patrick's day is not far off. As I was dripping blue and green food coloring into the eggs, I couldn't help remembering my mother. She is famous, or perhaps infamous, for dying food around a holiday. I remember one St. Patrick's Day when we had green potatoes, milk, anything that could be made green was. I said to myself back "in the day" that I wanted to be just like my mom. Unfortunately my present self is often too busy, worn out, or forgetful to remember to stop and dye the food every now and then. It was nice to have a reminder. Here are the green eggs, and before you knock it, you gotta' try it!
P.S. I had to add the picture with Steve and the eggs. I did say that I made them, but really I just whipped them and then somehow he was the one who actually cooked them, and yes he tucks his tie in when he is cooking. Maybe I should get him an apron....

Just a thought

My friends posted this a few days ago on Facebook. It made me laugh so I wanted to share it.

"Women are angels. And when someone breaks our wings, we simply continue to fly...on a broomstick. We are flexible......."

Have a great day!

A Funny Conversation I Just Had

I just had a hilarious conversation with Juliana. She had been upset at her sister because Kathryn had eaten the last bite of her(Juliana's) cookie. There had been some yelling and maybe bodily contact, I wasn't in the room. So I called her to my side. Asked her to take a minute to cool off, and then launched into my very beautiful speech about how she will get to eat several cookies in her life, but she will only have one sister. At the end of our enlightening conversation, she posed this question, "Mom, when are you ever going to have a baby?"

I replied, "Well I'm not pregnant yet, I know that for sure."

"Yes but, what are we going to have for dinner?"

How these two thoughts are connected you got me, but it just hit me funny. I hope you enjoy it.

Painters Half Marathon

Steve ran the Painter's Half Marathon on Saturday in St. George. It was a quick trip, but still fun. Somehow we ended up with no camera so there are no pictures of the actual event. He did really well despite the cold weather, finishing in just under 1 hour 27 minutes. There was just one little hitch, he slipped and fell on a bridge around mile 7. So he ran half of the race with an injury. When he got done, his leg was all bloody and gross looking. Once it got cleaned off it wasn't so bad. The girls were really concerned. So for all you runners out there, just remember bridges freeze, and even if there is salt all over it, you can still fall. Here are a couple of pictures. He got his lower leg, and upper thigh.

Saying hello

Yesterday, Kathryn came home with wet and slightly dirty knees. I asked her what she had been up to. She said, "Something." I replied, "How did your pants get dirty?"

"I was kneeling on the grass."

"Why?"

"I was saying hello, because I missed it."

I kid you not. She cracks me up. Life is never boring with children.

Something to Ponder

The other night I flipped on the TV and it was on a public station. I don't remember which one, but the program was about how we learn to relate with others, and the importance of different relationships in our lives. It was fascinating how many different studies have been done. I used to think these kinds of programs were for "old" people. That brings up the question of am I old, or has my perspective just changed a bit...that's a subject for another day. For the concluding thought at the end of the program the "voice" said this profound thought, "Wether we like it or not, our happiness is in each others hands." I had to sit and think about this. We often tell children and young people that happiness depends on yourself. You alone can chose to be happy or not. I think that's not entirely true. We were made to be with others, family, friends, partners. So for today, just think about who out in the world is depending on you for their happiness, and who you depend on. It's really quite profound, or at least it was for me. Go out and spread the joy.

This week in a nut shell

It's bee a busy week. It started with me taking a final for my class on Monday. I did really well, and was relieved to know that my brain still works. We made treat plates, enjoyed a little Christmas concert at the school, and still have a few parties up our sleeve for this weekend. The other big project we accomplished is our Christmas letter. This year we were too cheap to send our cards, and so we made a blog. It was a lot of fun and a lot easier to share pictures. Here is the address. We hope you all have a wonderful holiday season.

http://nordstromholidaygreetings.blogspot.com

Monday Morning Adventures

So the plan for this morning was to get the kids off to school, go to my water aerobics class and then putter around getting things done. First wrinkle, snow. No problem; I got up early and went to shovel the drive. Steve was getting a ride with a neighbor because of said snow, and didn't have time to shovel. The girls were excited because a neighbor lady gave them a kid sized snow shovel. So they got booted up and came out to help. About 8:00 am we were done, and I started herding everyone in for breakfast. We had already happily waived goodbye to Steven. We put the shovels away, and continued onto the house. This is when wrinkle number two comes in. The door was locked and we have no spare key hidden or at a neighbors. So I started knocking on doors. We finally found a neighbor home. She was in her rob, but she let us in. Thankfully she gave the girls some breakfast so I could at least get them to school on time. Meanwhile I called Steven so he could borrow a car and bring me keys. I got the girls off to school, then jogged in place by our door until Steve came. This is where we discover wrinkle three. He did not bring his set of keys. He remembered his wallet but not the keys. He carries them in his backpack and so that's where they were. I get in the car, and think quickly of a good plan. We'll stop by a friends house to see if she can follow us in to campus and bring me home so that Steve will at least get a minimal amount or work done before his day is over. She is glad to help, but her husband had taken the kids to school and hadn't come back. She calls him, he's on campus working, even though she thought he was working from home. I did however find out that he was coming home mid-morning to work from home. So I drive into campus with Steve, call our friend and ask to hitch a ride home with him when he leaves. He is glad to help out. I finally arrived home at 10:45 am. Then I had to make lunches for the girls and take them to school so they wouldn't starve. Wow!

Gingerbread Train

We have a tradition of making a Gingerbread House at the beginning of December. This year the girls saw a picture of a gingerbread train, and really wanted to make one. So I googled it, and found a pattern. No problem I thought. So I started making gingerbread on Friday night. It's best to let the dough refrigerate for several hours, so Friday night it went in the fridge. After a few errands Saturday morning, I cooked my first batch. Once it's cooked you have to cut it into the shapes you want quickly because after it cools and hardens, you are out of luck. So I had all my pattern cut out of card stock and ready to go. I cut up the first batch, and then came to the realize several things: 1. The train was going to be a lot bigger than I had thought. 2. I was going to have to make at least two more batches of ginger bread. 3. I should have scaled down the pattern, but it was too late to look back. So I proceeded bravely onward; three batches of gingerbread and a double batch of royal icing latter we have a giant gingerbread train. It was a lot of fun to put together and decorate, and it only took about 1 1/2 hours. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment.

Happy Birthday Uncle Sean

A Random Conversation

Last night I was chatting with the girls, when we had this slightly random and pretty funny conversation. For a little background, the girls went on a field trip yesterday at school. They crossed the street to the high school and watched a production of Pirates of Penzance. As a side note, this is a very clever move, get all the kids to the play, tell them they can "bring" their parents the next night, then the children all think they will see the play again. It took some explaining for the girls to realize that we would all have to pay to see the play. Okay back to the reason for the post. We are talking, and K suddenly says, "I almost fell asleep in the play." "Oh you did!" It's warm, dark and cozy, why not? Then J pipes up and says, "I almost peed my pants at the play!" I didn't have a quick a witty response for that one! These two keep me on my toes that is for sure.

October

As proof that we actually do other things besides yard work I thought I would post a few pictures from this month. Really this last week to tell the truth. We'll start with a couple from carving pumpkins. Then from this morning. Steve ran the Halloween Half Marathon here in Provo. It started in Aspen Grove and ended behind the Riverwoods Mall. Other than the fact that the race started 50 minutes late, it was a lot of fun. The girls and I love to stand near the finish line and cheer, and Steve loves to run. It's a win win. We are really proud of him and his results. He came in 9th over all and 2nd in his age division finishing in just under 1 hour 24 minutes. Since we had plenty of time to wait before he came in, we took a few pics. Then of course we had a blast trick-or-treating tonight. So enjoy the pictures, and I hope you have a great October.

Kathryn

Juliana

Kathryn

Juliana

Kathryn and Juliana

A Reunion

On Thursday I got to see some friends of mine. To say we go way back might be a bit dramatic, but well it feels like it, and we aren't that old yet... 13 years ago I was just starting out my college career. I had signed up to live in an apartment but didn't have any idea who I would be living with. Fate threw me together with some of the greatest girls ever. I actually had 6 roommates for my first semester. Since those days 13 years ago, I have kept in touch with some of them on and off. A few weeks ago, I was chatting with one who mentioned she would be in town this weekend. She lives in Arizona, and I haven't seen her in at lest 3 years. So I knew I had to get thinking and plan something. Thanks to facebook, I found most of my first year roommates, and sent out an invitation. We got together on Thursday. It's magic how the clock turned back, and it seemed liked we had just left each other a few months ago. We've married had children and earned more than a few extra wrinkles, but we also have some amazing memories. I was so blessed to know them in college and I still feel that way. We were missing three others who live too far to come, but for a few hours I was able to feel "like a kid again." So many good and hard things we went through together that helped make us who we are. Thanks girls, for everything.

Yard Work Part 2

This is not the promised pictures of the front yard. We haven't reached that part yet! It has taken longer than we thought to finish up things in the back yard. Yesterday we were out there from 8:30 until 5:00. Well at least Steven was. I had to come in around 3:00 to get the girls clean and dinner started because we were baby sitting for friends at 5:00. So we got the garden tilled, and the back corner cleared out. Here are some pictures.

Here is the best before I could find. You'll have to just concentrate on the top right corner for the before picture part.

Here is the corner now. We are planning on putting the bench back eventually when we decide just what to do with all the space.

This is a shot of all the rocks we found in the corner. It was crazy how many there were. I think they were collected on purpose, but then they got covered over by all the growth back there.

Finally here is a shot of the garden after getting tilled. I can't wait to plant things next year.

Out of Retirement

In my closet there is a pair of shoes that have been very lonely lately. I think they have something like NIKE on the side! They are very nice shoes and while they feel very comfortable when I wear them, I haven't had then on my feet for a long time. Really this is not such a surprise, the bigger news is that they ever made it on my feet in the first place. For a while now I have heard them whisper every now and then when I open the closet. It has been getting louder as I have a pair of pants that are lonely too! They deserve to be worn, but there they sit, collecting dust as I continue to ignore the shoes, and my waist ignores the pants. So today the shoes came out of retirement. I will not mention how long they were on, or how fast they got to go, but they did go. In the end, they made it farther than I thought possible so perhaps things aren't as bad as they seem. Now the trick is to keep the shoes out of retirement, the treats on permanent vacation, and eventually the pants will join the shoes. If you don't hear back, well I might have some great shoes for you!

What We've Been Up To

I realize the frequency of my posts has been seriously lacking this year. So here is the reason....are you ready for this? Two words yard work. I know crazy. First of all we do so much of it in our "spare" time that there has been little time to do other things, and second of all that's really what we have been up to. I keep telling myself if we do all this work this year it won't be so much next year. I know it's not good to lie, but please for now just let me believe this little white one because I may not make it otherwise! When we moved in, we didn't really understand just how large our yard is. At first glance it doesn't seem that big, but once you start having to weed every square inch, well almost, then it grows exponentially. Previous to us living in the house it was lived in by a widow who was not able to do a lot. She kept it up as much as she could, but for a few years it's been getting more and more wild, then this last year the house was empty. So we are making up for a lot of years of work that just didn't get done. Anyway, to the fun part, before and after pictures. I have to warn you though, we haven't got to the planting part of the plan yet, so you may not be too impressed! I just thought you all might like to know why I dropped off the face of the blogging world. Note: This is just the back yard, there is one more thing to do in the front then I'll post before and after.

This last Saturday we spent the better part of the day and really got a lot of things cleared out. Today Steve got up early and took this load of green waste to the city green waste place! hopefully we are getting to the end of it for this year.

They're Off

Today is the first day of school and I am officially alone. How do I feel about this? I do not know yet. We'll give it a few days to process, maybe a few years and then I'll let you know. The girls were excited and couldn't wait to get going. With their back packs full of school supplies I sent them off. Here are a few pictures.

Juliana and Kathryn

Happy 24th

Today was a first in our hose. Steven ran his first Marathon. He ran the Deseret News marathon this morning. He did an amazing job. He ran it in 3 hours and 20 minutes! He was only 10 minutes shy of qualifying for the Boston Marathon! I am so proud of him, and really glad that he is still walking! Here are a few pics.