cleaning house

A couple of years ago, on black Friday, I bought a stupid digital camera because it was on sale. I didn't really know much about digital cameras (as I was still using an old reliable film camera), and since digital cameras seemed to change and improve rapidly, I thought it was better than nothing. It was on sale. I thought that my photo-journaling would take off. "Woohoo!" I thought, "now I can edit blurring pictures and take action shots." Much to my dismay my newly acquired stupid camera not only had a lag time of 5 seconds (may as well have been 5 minutes) but also had the controls on the internal menu. Suck! Well, the said "photo-journaling" never took off, and in fact dropped considerably since working with my stupid camera just gave me angst. I even just now, for the first time, used the memory card in the slots on our printer and uploaded them to the computer. All the photos uploaded to this sad, sad blog have been from my pda or Gene's cell phone and grainy at best. Argh!

Well, fast forward to today when my belated birthday present finally arrived via UPS--a beautiful, fast, with external controls, wonderful Nikon D40! Yay! I can hardly wait to get it charged, up and running! So I bequeath my stupid digital camera to Sarah and my film camera to Emma--have fun kids. And here are some of the photos from the memory card, some didn't turn out too bad, but it's a crap shoot.

Emma with Sarah when she got her Little Dragon Black Belt at Tae Kwon Do.

January 16, 2008

Sarah with her Tae Kwon Do class.
"Smile. Now hold still...hold it...hold it...almost there...one more second...okay."

Christmas morning 2007

Emma and Sarah opening their Furberries Christmas morning 2007.

Our house doesn't usually have this gray/blue hue to it.

Emma opening her princess mirror.

Little miss Morgan discovering Christmas morning and opening her presents.

She is so stinkin' cute and almost 10 months in this photo.

One of my favorite pics of Morgan off the card.

Happy baby last May or June '07.

Happy baby Morgan holding surprisingly still a couple days before Christmas.

Emma and Sarah playing at the Discovery Gateway children's museum

last summer.

Sarah and Emma gathering balls for the musical ball tunnels.

Such fun at the museum!

funny girls

I love the age that my girls are right now. They do and say the cutest things. I remember being that age where I was beginning to get adult humor but still misunderstood lyrics or whatever. Today Sarah was singing the song "What I like about you" by the Romantics, only Sarah sang it her way "What I like about you... your homemade pie." (instead of "you hold me tight".) She cracks me up. Then at bedtime I mentioned that in one week it'll be my birthday and asked them how old they think I'll be. Sarah said "41" while Emma said "17". It made me laugh.

summer of george

So I never got around to sending out Christmas cards this year (I might do "new year's" ones, but, then again, I might not). The holiday's were fun and Christmas day was more enjoyable than I had anticipated--mostly because I spent the entire day serving my family a wonderful breakfast (quiche, cinnamon rolls & oranges), snacks, and our traditional "roast beast" for dinner.

However, less than a week out Emma already managed to break one of her toys by submersing it in the bathtub....and I just want to go screaming from the rafters "THIS IS THE SUMMER OF GEORGE!" Or, the "year of Carla" as it were, what with new year's resolutions and all. So that's it! THAT is my New Year's resolution--to take back myself. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE being a stay-at-home parent and teaching Sarah and nurturing Emma & Morgan as well. Love it. Wouldn't change it for the world. But, as my sister pointed out recently, when I do something I am nothing if not thorough. And lately (for the longest time, really) that has left me feeling like I've lost myself, like I'm drowning in all my other duties.

It's hard for me to reconcile who I am and what I do with what I deserve and what I want. And it's nothing extraordinary, just some uninterrupted time to go running or paint or maybe get pampered every now and then. So this year is the year I'm going to allow myself to be a little selfish, just a little, and take care of what I need to feel like "me" again. In two words--health & hobbies. What do you want to do differently this year?

white christmas

Feeling much better; I was able to spend a girl's night out at a restaurant and go shopping last night with my SIL, Felicia. Got the hubby some things and enjoyed extended conversation without interruptions from children. I'm so much the better parent today because of it. While we were out--WOW--did we ever get blasted with snow! Turns out that it's supposed to snow 4 out of the next 7 days. Yay!

We are done shopping for Emma, but have a few more things for Sarah and one more gift for Morgan. Tonight Sarah and Gene are attending a Christmas party at her Tae Kwon Do school, and she might sit on Santa's lap. Last Saturday we went to the mall and Emma (of all people) sat on Santa's lap. This was huge as Emma is extremely socially shy, but my 7 year-old, Sarah, would have nothing to do with him?!? Silly girl.

The day after Christmas we are expecting a very special delivery. I am sooo excited! Yes, sadly a few days ago our dishwasher died. So, for now and until next Wednesday, I'm washing dishes by hand. Thankfully Sarah has energetically offered to help, since it's a novelty at our house, and so of course I've jumped on that opportunity! But, oy vay! what a time of year to be without a dishwasher.

Anyway, I would love to be able to post some pictures over the next week of the holidays and maybe the year in review, but as for now I'm just living life and playing in the snow and baking cookies and wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas!

humbug

I'm feeling very melancholy today. I could very literally curl up in my bed and go to sleep for the rest of the day! My head is foggy and hurts. I was looking forward to my girls night out tonight with my SIL, but she had to go get sick. Dangit. Now I'm bummed. I have been in desperate need of an estrogen-surge-filled-ladies-night for the longest time, but things keep pushing it back.

Maybe I'm coming down with something myself?!

edward?

This was the best one I could find of Robert Pattinson, whom has been chosen to play Edward in the Twilight movie.



At this point I am not optimistic about him "growing" on me. Let's all take a minute to mourn. :(

festivus yes! bagels no!

Okay, okay. Enough mushy "I'm thankful for blah blah blah..."

Frank Costanza: "Welcome, new comers. The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you're gonna hear about it!"

In the tradition of Festivus I was about to post all the ways that I'm disappointed with the stupid Writers Guild of America writers that are on strike!

"Watching people being told what disappointments they are can be fun."

As you well know I am a TV lover, especially that of Thursday nights, and so I was getting very upset with the end of episodes of the Office and 30 Rock, etc. and re-runs in November? What the...? You people suck!...and then, on the other hand, thank you! Because now I have time...

My wonderful sisters turned me onto the Twilight Series books. AND I CAN NOT PUT THEM DOWN! So it's just as well. If you are not reading these books, you must. I'm shamefully obsessed. OBSESSED! Especially with this face...

...my Edward!

blessings 17-22

So, life has been hectic with all the preparations and cleaning and what-not for the holidays. And I fear that by posting blessings en mass it appears to trivialize them, but be not mistaken--I am deeply grateful for my blessings just the same. A little piece of trivia about the above illustration, I seem to recall that I once heard that the gentleman in the bottom right corner is a cameo of Norman Rockwell himself. Clever. I wish everyone health and safety and a Happy Thanksgiving!

17. I'm thankful for sleep! My baby decides to sleep through the night every now and then, and last night she did and I'm happy and alert and a better person for it.

18. I'm thankful for extended family. Siblings, in-laws, cousins, nieces and nephews with all their wonderful eccentricities. For those of you that I have a "soul mate" connection with--that touch my life in amazing ways and help me more than you'll ever know--thank you & I love you!

19. I'm thankful for cuddling. Let's be honest here, it's wonderful to feel so connected with someone you love. It's fun and healthy and comforting.

20. I'm thankful for my talents. There are certain things I wish I could do and every now and then I think "it's never too late to learn", such as piano. However, I can sing. I can paint and draw and sew and quilt and scrapbook and dance. But I think it's the un-sung talents of humor and organizational skills and the ability to comfort and nurture that I'm especially grateful for.

21. I'm thankful for rain and snow. I love cloudy days! Love them! Sadly we seem to be in somewhat of a drought so far, but dramatic--but not tragic--weather makes me happy.

22. I'm thankful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. That he suffered for me and the mistakes I've made and continue to make while I'm learning. I'm thankful that I'm able to be forgiven and learn to forgive while striving for a better me, and that He helps me see that & that He loves me no matter what! I'm so eternally grateful for that!

Happy Thanksgiving!

blessings 13-16

13. I'm thankful for humor--for anything that makes me laugh and for the ability (sometimes) to make others laugh. My all-time favorite comedians are Mel Brooks, Paul Reiser and, of course, Jerry Seinfeld, but I love Conan O'Brien & Tina Fey. My favorite shows that lift me up when I'm feeling down are The Simpson's and M*A*S*H and, now, The Office & 30 Rock! One can't go wrong with The Far Side either. One goal in my life is to make sure that my children laugh every single day.

14. I'm thankful for my 8 month old, Morgan. She is beyond words... the sweetest and most cuddly and well tempered and most wonderful baby ever! Hands down! She melts my heart the way she looks at me and kicks her little chubby legs when she gets excited. She has 6 teeth now, but still a mean gag-reflex and so eating solids is slow going, but she loves to chew on blankets and rubbery toys. I love watching her grow and I'm so grateful that she's in our family!

15. I'm thankful for food storage. There have been many times that we've felt the peace that comes from being prepared and having some extra food and essentials laying around, whether it be an extra tight pay period or between jobs or being able to pass on blessings to someone else by lending them some food. Of course, we also do our best to rotate our food on a regular basis -"store what you eat and eat what you store".

16. I'm thankful for the luxuries of modern day living! From the obvious like electricity, and running water and indoor plumbing to our personal comforts, ie: the computer, iPods, cell phones, on-line banking, disposable diapers and also our wheat grinder and pasta maker and dehydrator, etc. (that can help with said food storage).

blessings 9-12

Three lines, 1964 by George Rickey

9. I'm thankful for art. The above sculpture I saw on a show and is displayed in the DeCordova Museum in Boston. Two of it's three blades use kinetic energy and sway to and fro with the slightest breeze, allowing light to play off the shiny metal. I like the way viewing art evokes different feelings, and I love the process of creating art--in any medium.

10. I'm thankful for Metamucil. Especially after having a baby. Yes. Fiber laxative. Call it a mid-life crisis if you want --if I live to be 74, I'm officially "mid-life", and let's just say it makes me feel gooooood!

11. I'm thankful for my three-year old, Emma. There are times when I think that this child will be the end of me, but then her sweet, tender spirit shows up and envelopes my heart like a warm blanket. She is simply the funniest, most sensitive, most adorable kid I know.

12. I'm eternally grateful for Forgiveness. This past weekend, when conversing about a hot-button topic with my husband, I lost it and acted shamefully--completely gone...out of my head...crazy. Somehow he was able to just sit there and listen to my rant. In addition, the next day he was able to show compassion to me while I sobbed in embarrassment and apologized, then he comforted me and forgave me...for which I am thankful. It got me thinking about some quotes I've heard over the years:

"The weak can never forgive.

Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." -Mahatma Gandhi

"Somehow forgiveness, with love and tolerance,

accomplishes miracles that can happen in no other way." -Gordon B. Hinckley

"Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit." -Peter Ustinov

blessings 1-8

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more.

It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.

It turns problems into gifts, failures into success,

the unexpected into perfect timing and mistakes into important events.

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."

- Melodie Beattie

With Thanksgiving approaching (and by the way, does it make anyone else sad that we seem to go straight from Halloween to Christmas anymore?) I've been thinking, as I do every year, about what I'm truly thankful for. My gratitude varies from year to year. That is to say that some years I'm gratefully reflective on a couple major blessings, while other years I might be having a pity-party for one and not really feel thankful for much, and thankfully that doesn't happen too often.

Well, this year I can't help but think about all the little things in my life that I'm grateful for, and as I thought about them I got the idea to post, on this blog, 1 blessing a day leading up to Thanksgiving--that's only 22 blessings (and I've been blessed far far more than that). These are in no particular order and have no underlining significance, other than they've touched me in some way and that I'm thankful for each one. And since it's already November 8th, I'll play catch up with the first eight here.

1. I'm thankful for Robitussin cough syrup. I've been sick lately, hence the lack of posts. That and Hall's cough drops. Basically, cold remedies in general.
2. I'm thankful for a caring husband who is willing to humor an insanely sick, sad wife and who fills up my steam vaporizer each night before bed.
3. I'm thankful for my seven year old, Sarah, who, being an incredibly thoughtful daughter, will help take care of her two little sisters like a mother hen. Will bring me Eggo's and milk in bed and rub my feet and check in on me from time to time when I'm not feeling well. Such an incredible blessing to have her in my life!
4. I'm thankful for Thursday night TV! I love my t.v.! "It's my only true friend...the only one who really understands me." Don't anybody say anything bad about my friend! :)
5. I'm thankful for soup. I love soup! Think about it...is there a better comfort food for when one is sick or it's cold outside? And the nutrition. Please. It's like a liquid meal, you could totally survive on soup.
6. I'm so thankful for music! I'm in love with music! I can't think of any other medium that can stir up memories as fast, deliver a message as eloquently, and commiserate with a broken heart as well as music. It makes the patriotic more patriotic and marks the happy events in our lives with even more joy. And the holiday's...please.
7. I'm thankful that I can fit into a pair of jeans (only 8 months after having a baby) that once took me 15 months post-partum to fit into. Yay!
8. I'm thankful that I was able to vote last Tuesday. And even though I don't agree with the results (it's only a matter of time), I'm thankful for the opportunity.

-----

(BTW, here's a pic of Emma & Sarah outside of Daddy's work Halloween party:)

old and new pics

About 6 weeks ago Sarah finally lost her top tooth.

This is a typical evening at home with Emma dressed up as a princess -sorry it's so grainy.

Last summer Emma got into my bronzer makeup and looked like an Oompa-Loompa.

Little miss Morgan 7 months old. Sleepy baby.

The only cell phone pic of Morgan's blessing. Beautiful dress by Aunt Cheryl (far right w/mommy).

(I'll have to scan in the other pictures sometime.)

(Mom, Verle's family, Felicia & Jeff's family, Don & Laura's family, Leroy, the Velluto's, Mommy & Morgan, Sarah & Emma in front)

Sarah learning to climb the monkey bars.

Every time it rains, a park by our house gets flooded. Sarah & Emma playing last Spring.

My niece, Chelsea, at her college dorm at BYU. Cutie!

congrats hubby!

Tuesday night Gene and I attended an award banquet, honoring an elite group of employees from his work, at the Grand America Hotel. They had to have spent a couple hundred-thousand dollars on this party. An hour before dinner were hors d'erves and a meet-and-greet with the Vice President of the company.

The invitation said the dress was either formal or 70's disco. I saw only one tuxedo and ball gown, a lot of suits and dresses (like us) and mostly disco costumes. Gene was lamenting that we didn't dress up silly. At 7:00 they opened the doors and out flew a ton of confetti and the sounds of Saturday Night Fever. As we walked through the doors they "high-fived" Gene, and everybody started dancing. (Go ahead, I dare you, as much as we might hate disco music, it's almost impossible to sit still without so much as a head-bob when we hear it.) We enjoyed a three course meal with the award presentations between the courses. The salad was very interesting. Melted asiago cheese formed into a "napkin ring" with the lettuce leafs inside like a "napkin". Dinner was Fillet Mignon and Sea Bass with whipped potatoes and steamed broccoli. And for dessert, a very rich bread pudding with caramel sauce.

In between the salad and dinner is when they called Gene up on stage. His superiors said that "he takes care of his people and creates friendships that last a lifetime", and they often refer to him as "Mean Gene machine" or "Bull-dog".


You might be able to see Gene on the big screen (middle--blue shirt) running up on stage slapping "high-fives" to the executives. We were there for 4 hours and had a really fun time. I'm really proud of you, Gene. Good job!

bullets

• I'm tired.
• Was up most of the night with my 7 month old, who can hardly breathe, because she has a cold.
• Emma got sick Friday night while DH and I were on a date.
• We have the most amazing babysitter in the world--my niece, Alyssa.
• Now I feel flu-ish, but still got through a day of school work and house cleaning...
• Well, kind of, until the plumbing under the kitchen sink started leaking.
• I can no longer blow dry my hair on hot--it burns my scalp, and I think it's bad for my hair which is thinning enough as it is.
• So now I blow dry on warm.
• I'm switching from Coke to Pepsi. Every time I drink Coke I am wired for hours and even well pass midnight, not so when I drink Pepsi.
• One of my favorite flavors lately: crumbled blue cheese.
• Some of my favorite celeb's have 3 daughters (like us) of their own: Harry Connick Jr., Tim McGraw and Bruce Willis.
• My current favorite color is navy blue.
• For some reason I am having a hard time finding anything in fashion that is navy blue.
• I have a lot of tomatoes that I need to do something with before they get spoiled, but not enough to go to all the work of preserving.
• I got rid of my summer highlights and opted for a single tone brunette, now that it's fall.
• I absolutely love autumn!
• One reason is because it's premere time for my favorite shows.
• I am an NBC Thursday night junkie.
• I really want Jim & Pam to get together soon--I hope they don't draw it out.
• I'm tired.
• When I'm tired I'm a beast, or at best I'm boring.

seattle

We got back from our vacation 5am Sunday morning, and spent the rest of the day sleeping. We had so much fun! It was the best vacation and the most rejuvenating time spent in a long time. Our picture collection sucks, but I'm okay with that because this was one vacation where I just lived in the moment, without thinking about what shot would make for a great scrapbook page. I don't regret living in the moment! We got a lot of video and pics taken with our film camera, so these are the best of our cell phone pics. Now back to the daily routine of things....more later.

We kept the kids entertained on the ride with a new "penny toy" to open every couple hours.

The Space Needle from the Pacific Science center.

Emma at the water table in the PSC. We spent all day at the Pacific Science center!

Not our usual hamster wheel of life.

Emma taking aim...not bad.

The aquarium "petting zoo" table.

Sarah loved the harbor tour and feeling the sea wind in her hair.

Mommy & Morgan with the Seattle skyline in the background.

At the Woodland Park Zoo bear attraction--this was so cool!

At the Zoo --the girls' in the foxes den.

We walked the piers and also enjoyed the Pikes Place Market and Underground tour and just walking around and being together! It was SO fun!

back to school co-op

On Monday we met with our home-school co-op group at a park to have a "Back-to-Home-School-party". It was so much fun to get together after a long summer and make plans for group time and watch the kids play.

I enjoyed watching Sarah pair up with her usual girl friends; it's so funny to watch the dynamics of girls and thankfully, at this age, they all seem to get along so well!

Emma still doesn't leave my side, maybe to play in the dirt for a while, but always within arms reach. The great thing about this group (that we've been with now for 2+ years) is that all the siblings have their own age group--even the babies! So hopefully Emma will break out of her shell and make some friends this year!

Sarah at the start of 2nd grade.

Emma at the start of pre-K

Parachute games.

Sarah jumping on the left.

The whole group.

Incidentally, Morgan is now 6 months and scooting into other rooms when left alone, and is also just as chubby and adorable as ever!!!

back to school

The past couple weeks have been spent cleaning and preparing for this coming school year. As a home-educator it is usually a very busy time sorting through curriculum and supplies, and making decisions, but this year we are WAY ahead of the game and have hit the ground running.

We've received our K12 curriculum for the year, the "school room" is clean and decorated and organized, even including Emma's pre-K stuff. I am loving this K12 curriculum--it's so thorough and organized and easy to follow. Sarah is taking 6 subjects: Language arts, Math, Science, History, Art & Music. Every Monday after we are done with the academics we get together with our homeschool co-op group for field trips, holiday parties, science experiments & book club. So, this is our schedule:

• 8:00 eat breakfast, get dressed & do chores
• 9:00 family prayer, scripture study & pledge of allegiance
• 9:10 Math
• 10:00 Language arts
• 11:30 Music/Art (we switch days)
• 12:00 lunch
• 12:30 Outside "get your wiggles out" time
• 1:00 Science/History (we switch days)
• 2:00 clean up/Monday co-op time

Emma doing her Pre-K book

Looking in through the doorway

She's into wearing her headbands that way lately, silly girl.

My sewing table and the curriculum shelves.

crazy making behavior

It's the perplexing behavior of a person, usually close to you, that makes you feel like you're the one going crazy. Also known as Passive-aggressive behavior. A few people in my life come to mind when I think of crazy making behavior and/or passive-aggressive behavior. I've been reading a lot of articles on the subject lately, so as to know better how to deal with these people and come out of these relationships SANE! One such article from Prevention magazine states that passive-aggressive people "aren't hostile one moment and then kind the next. Instead, they perform the maddening trick of being both at the same time." They never learned the right way to convey anger and hostility, and learned "tricks" in their childhood to couch their feelings in excuses, blame, forgetfulness, back-handed humor or sarcasm. Worse yet, if not called on it, they continue these tricks into adulthood wrecking relationships along the way.

To quote the article "He's so uncomfortable with self-assertion that he tries to get his way by doing nothing. By allowing others to take charge, he leaves himself only one option for getting what he wants: sabotage." They say one thing and then deny they ever said it because they don't want to be held to their word, because they didn't want to do whatever "it" was in the first place. It's this behavior that makes me want to smack my head against a brick wall when dealing with certain people in my life. I think it would be an awfully exhausting life to live--constantly undermining one's self. They often don't feel appreciated and say that they haven't done anything wrong, trying to pass blame onto you. Making you the "bad guy".

Unless you know how to react the right way: Nix the guilt; it's their problem! Don't let them get away with it; confront them about their dishonesty. And then try to create an atmosphere in which they'll feel comfortable sharing their feelings with you. Something that I've been working on, within myself, for the last year or so.

These articles got me thinking about teachings from the Savior and about forgiveness, accountability & the power of our words. My mind raced as I remembered talks and lessons and even though it seems a bit scrambled and rambling, I think the common thread is Choice.

Thomas S. Monson, in a conference talk, said "Let us not find ourselves as indecisive as is Alice in Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. You will remember that she comes to a crossroads with two paths before her, each stretching onward but in opposite directions. She is confronted by the Cheshire cat, of whom Alice asks, “Which path shall I follow?” The cat answers: “That depends where you want to go. If you do not know where you want to go, it doesn’t matter which path you take.”"

We can choose not only our actions but also our words and thoughts. In a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland, he said:

"Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity, the three great Christian imperatives so desperately needed in the world today. With such words, spoken under the influence of the Spirit, tears can be dried, hearts can be healed, lives can be elevated, hope can return, confidence can prevail. .....

"In all of this, I suppose it goes without saying that negative speaking so often flows from negative thinking, including negative thinking about ourselves. We see our own faults, we speak—or at least think—critically of ourselves, and before long that is how we see everyone and everything. No sunshine, no roses, no promise of hope or happiness. Before long we and everybody around us are miserable."

We can learn great and simple lessons from children too, they being so close to the spirit themselves. The other day Emma was goofing around and Sarah said to her "You're crazy!" to which Emma emphatically said "I'M NOT CRAZY! AND IT'S MY CHOICE!" Summed up very well, I thought.

three pints thursday

This past week has been fun with trips to the park & scrapbooking, but with mommy PMS-ing the days have been progressively less & less fun. I hope to find a clip on Youtube that will illustrate how I've felt & shamefully acted a couple times. So this weeks kids' post is not only belated, but to the point and mostly photo filled.

Sarah is in the middle of placement testing for this year's curriculum. She does so well on the math portion of the test that it's amazing, and I find myself wanting her to achieve the same scores in the reading, but she is her father's daughter in that regard. She is on level with the reading, but struggles at times and I find myself struggling to be patient with her. During "mom's time" is NOT a good time to have your child tested if you hope for them to retain a fragment of confidence & self esteem.

Emma is summed up in this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: There was a little girl, who had a little curl, right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, she was very, very good, but when she was bad she was horrid. Let's just say that this second daughter of mine has her vocal cords still to this day, by shear mercy on my part.

Morgan cut her second tooth this past week and also is up on her hands and knees rocking back and forth preparing for that day that she'll crawl her way into havoc. She is a sweetie that melts my heart. I am running around with this ever impending sense of urgency and doom to baby-proof this house better and shampoo the carpets, etc. We've been all too lax on the home remodeling clean up for the past several...yeah.

At Liberty Park. We brought along Sarah's friend, Christina.

Sarah looking so tan and cute on her two-wheeler.

Emma posing infront of her bike.

Morgan looking just simply adorable.