Christmas has come and gone, but man, did we have fun.

We’re still working on creating some traditions, and we were happy to participate in Mat’s parents’ traditions this year. On Christmas Eve we got together as an extended family, ate finger foods to our hearts’ content, and staged the Nativity. If I had gotten a picture earlier, you would have been able to notice that Uncle James got the very select role of the donkey.

The girls had fun playing the various Nativity roles with their cousins.

The next day was SOOOOOOOOOO relaxed. This is how we’re going to do things from now on. Mat told the girls they were not to come out of their room until we came to get them, even going so far as to make sure that the TV in their room was tuned to the Disney channel. The precautions turned out to be unnecessary, since they woke up about the same time we did—8:30 am or so.

Their first view of the tree.



The kids opened their presents first. That’s was Mat’s mom’s idea—she figured they could play with their toys while we opened our gifts, thus averting the boredom fidgets. It worked beautifully. After they were done, we had a huge, leisurely breakfast, then spent the next four hours chatting and opening our gifts. A good time was had by all.


Gift highlights: Mat got some movies he’s been wanting and some work-related things, like a planner and a business card holder, as well as a charging valet station and a fedora. I also gave him a lunch cooler and what he considers to be about six years’ worth of reading (the scriptures he got from his mother will be a lifetime’s worth of reading, of course). I got the first season of NCIS on dvd, Stardust, a beautiful shawl, some great jewelry my mom made for me (custom-made necklace and earrings!), and some books I wanted. Annika and Afton ended up with some excellent toys and stuffed animals, as well as several pairs of plastic sunglasses (since Afton is FOREVER wanting to “borrow” mine), a digital camera (blog entries in the making!), and a microscope that hooks up to the TV.

Oh, what can I say? We ended up with a lot of great things, courtesy of our wonderful family and friends, and thank you notes will be winging their way through the mail shortly.

It was a good day. I love the feeling of giving gifts to each other, and when I view Christ's Atonement as a gift, it changes my perspective completely--I feel more awe and have a greater understanding of His perfect love for us. I think, finally, I'm starting to understand what Christmas is all about.

The Eldest turned FIVE!

The birthday girl celebrated in true Texas style—with family, with food, with horses and hats! With a little conspiring, her great-grandfather and I (mostly him) (in fact, almost all him) made her a rocking horse on wheels, per her request. She just didn’t know we’d actually go through with it.




Since the birthday was on a Sunday, we kept the party a family affair. That worked out well.


The Eldest was very grateful to the right person for her spectacular gift.



She got a hat and sparkly jeans to complete the ensemble. I promise, the jeans are cute.

I can’t believe my eldest child is five. At the same time, it feels like she’s been a part of our family from the beginning. She loves to read to herself. Sometimes she’ll read to her sister. She still loves dark blue and her obsession with horses is in full swing. She loves homeschooling, drawing, and anything else that allows her to express herself artistically. She’s very helpful around the house and will do almost anything I ask her to. The Eldest is a fabulous kid and we love having her in our family.

Seasonal Weather Expectations

I had an odd realization the other day and thought I'd share. I remember when I moved to Utah, I began to have certain expectations about when the seasons would change from fall to winter, winter to spring, etc. I didn't have those expectations in Arizona, because there are no seasons there--just a change in temperature. (The monsoon was even redefined lately by dates instead of by temperature and amount of rainfall. How we thrive on predictability!)

My expectation for fall was that it would start to get cooler in September, the leaves would fall through October, and the first snow would show up in November. In Utah, I wasn't too disappointed, despite the high desert climate--that just made for hotter summers and a constant worry about drought.

When we moved to Texas, I had the same expectations, to a point. The Hub had made it very clear that it doesn't snow often here, but does ice. And it rains at random times, instead of being neatly organized into one rainy season. But as I was raking leaves last week, I found myself muttering (in my head, anyway) that it was the first week of December, for pity's sake, and it should be colder now and the leaves all should have fallen in November! Because that's when leaves fall, right?

But as I've discussed the weather with The Hub and my in-laws, I've come to the realization that my expectations are shaped by something other than actual weather patterns. At the moment, I blame the influence of Currier and Ives and movies on the collective cultural consciousness (because it isn't just me, right?). Currier and Ives gets the blame for showing actual snow during actual Christmas on their Christmas cards, leading other greeting card companies in the general weather misconception. Movies show time passing by showing seasons in the general order I described them before--cooler in September, leaves fall in October, snow in November, white Christmas assured. It's the movie shorthand for marking the year. (The caveat being, of course, if the movie is set in a specific, non-New England area. Like Arizona. Or India. Or if the plot requires uncooperative weather, as in White Christmas.)

Or do my unconscious weather expectations come from something deeper, like the fact that most of my ancestry is European and my ancestors marked time the way I described, passing that knowledge through their DNA to me? Or is it my own past and the fact that I haven't stayed in one climate long enough to let this weather knowledge sink into my bones? It's a conundrum.

A Follow-up

Thanks, all, for your opinions. I have sent the family Christmas cards, complete with newsletter and cute photo of the girls that The Hub took. The rest of you--watch your mailboxes around Easter. You will receive a present therein. Or at least a card.

It's frigid today--34 degrees with a windchill that takes us down into the teens. So what did we do? We went birthday-present shopping and Christmas package mailing, of course. With the children in tow, no less. We all survived, no frostbite, all cards and packages are sent, all presents are now wrapped, and I can move on to Christmas baking. Tomorrow. I'm tired.

For Family Home Evening tonight, we're having a short Nativity lesson (I think!) and heading down to a neighborhood that's famous for its Christmas lights display. Good thing gas is freakishly cheap now--I sense a LOT of idling engines in the near future. I may take an afghan to crochet.

Here's another thought: I'm pondering setting up an Etsy shop. This will definitely be AFTER Christmas and will probably include crocheted items like headbands and dishcloths. Maybe some handmade ornaments--they were pretty loved this year. I'm thinking of naming it something like The Dragon's Implement. I was going to call it The Dragon's Needle, but I don't use a needle when painting. Shocking, that. Oh! And bookmarks. Crocheted, not crocheted (involving the tricky use of ribbons and beads), that kind of thing.

Oh my. I just looked through Etsy a little more carefully. There were 1880 pages of crocheted items alone. CRAZY! Maybe I should come up with more products first, names later. Yeah, that sounds good.

Mostly, I just want an excuse to make stuff. Is that so bad?

The Christmas Card Dilemma

All righty, then, my friends, this is one post that I absolutely need a response to. You see, I have this thing about Christmas cards. They're time-consuming. The postage adds up. I'm not even sure I know where my address list is. Though I do have plenty of cards stockpiled thanks to a friend who worked for American Greetings and had to get rid of extra stock. Thanks, Kathleen!

So.

Aside from those family members who will be receiving a Christmas card from us because there will be a small gift inside, how do the rest of you feel about Easter cards? They may look eerily similar to Christmas cards, but they'll arrive in late March or April. There will still be family news inside, and they might even be hand-addressed. You'll still know that we love you and think of you often. Yes, you. And you. And you.

So weigh in, my friends! Easter or Christmas card? Which do you prefer?

(If you want either one of those cards (BOTH IS NOT AN OPTION), please send your current address to ladyceltic at gmail dot com. Thank you and Merry Christmas. Or Happy Easter. And good night.)

It's a Post!

I've got nothing to say, and NaBloPoMo (National Blog Post Month? Is that right, Shoebox Princess?) is over, so my native urge to write something, anything about my day is gone. Not that I was really registered for NaBloPoMo, but the idea was sound, so I ran with it.

Had to replace the battery in the van today. Took a mechanic to figure out what was wrong, since the van wouldn't take a jump. It is possible that the terminals were too dirty, or something. It wasn't a fun experience, but at least the battery died here at the house, in the garage, instead of at the library or somewhere else where I would have been stranded with the small children. I'm grateful for small mercies.

It's freezing here--literally--and by Sunday it's supposed to be up in the 70s. You know that saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes and it'll change"? Here in the ol' North TX, it's actually true! Ami--I've experienced two Blue Northers lately and it's changed my life. Well, made me shiver, anyway.

Ok, I'm tapped. Good night to all!

I Win! And I Want To Be Unique, Just Like Everyone Else.

Accomplished between yesterday and noon today:
1. Sewed the girls' capes and purses. Just have to add the drawstrings.
2. Sewed The Hub's robe! It's Jedi-style, which hopefully he'll like.
3. Sewed some other gifts that cannot be mentioned.

I've actually been fairly productive. It's a nice feeling, especially to have the girls' stuff and the robe sewn. They've been on my 'to do' list for a LONG, LONG time and I was starting to get stressed about them. So they're now done. Ish. There are finishing touches to be accomplished, but that's what watching favorite movies after the children go to bed are for--handwork!


Came to a realization the other day (while standing in the Hobby Lobby, no less)--I struggle with being Just Like Everyone Else. My two favorite colors? Christmas colors. Bugs me to no end. My favorite scent? Vanilla. Took me years to admit it, because it's such a common scent. I should be grateful I can find it everywhere, eh? But once I realized I was resisting things that I loved because I wanted to be different, I was able to let it go (for the most part) and start enjoying who I am. My first step was to buy vanilla-scented shampoo. Oh yeah. Baby steps, right?

Things To Get To Before I Go Crazy. Also, Photos.

1. Sew the capes and purses for the girls' Christmas presents. Simple project--I just need to get my caboose into action. Also, all readers of this blog are SWORN TO SECRECY!
2. Sew Mat's fleece robe. He knows he's getting it, as it's hard to hide five yards of royal blue fleece in the room we're in.
3. Sew bags for the Christmas exchanges we're in next week.
4. Finish my gifts for everyone else.
5. Decide between making Christmas cards or uncovering the whereabouts of my own.

Yeah, that about covers it. If I can finish that stuff this week, then I can be less stressed out about Christmas.

On to the photos!

Here I am, posing ever so lovely for my mother, in Hobby Lobby. I found this angel statuette and just fell in love with it. I'm fond of angels--real or statuette.


KEVEN, YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!
I found your Christmas tree.
That Hobby Lobby place is a fun place to be. We spent hours there, just looking at things. If I had a million dollars, a lot of those dollars would go towards this place. Then the rest would go towards shelving and walls to put all the stuff on.


Crazy girls dancing before bedtime in Arkansas. The picture is perfect because, really, Afton herself is a blur.

Afton holding still. It's rare, and one must enjoy these times as fully as possible.
(I like the smock I made for myself, as it is Extremely Comfortable, but it sure makes me look large.)

Mat enjoys the rare moment of stillness with us.

The girls playing Play-Do in their new fleece hats and scarves, kindly provided by Great-Aunt Anne.

Afton being proud of her Play-Do accomplishments.

Afton's creation. She loves cutting the dough with a plastic knife.

Annika's work, with a little help from my mother, I assume (these are her pictures).

The End.

This One Just Might Be All Over The Place

I missed a few days of thankfulness last week, so I may have to sprinkle more gratitude posts in before Christmas. Not right now, though, because I'm tired.

Ok, one right now: I'm thankful for my pillow. And soft bed. And the ginormous warm quilt I get to sleep under. . . . If I talk about this any more, I'm going to have to quit right now and go to bed.

I was lax in my blogging because we went up to Arkansas to spend Thanksgiving with my mother, my aunt and uncle, and the three cousins I have left who still live at home. We managed to eat a lot of food, annoy my cousins, watch fabulous movies (turns out I like the latest version of the Count of Monte Cristo well enough), and let my mother play with my children. The girls had a blast being with her, making ornaments and telling her the thoughts running through their heads. And Mat's said that we'll go to Arkansas many, many times, if only to eat at Smokin' Joe's BBQ. It was some good stuff, y'all, though next time, I promise myself, I'm getting the onion rings.

Anyway, so there we were, only SIX HOURS AWAY, having a great Thanksgiving. That meant I was too distracted to find my way to a computer for the length of time it takes to compose a blog post. Then we got home and I had to do the vacation detox, which primarily consists of staring at the emails I need to respond to and doing laundry. The laundry got done today. The emails should have been done yesterday and probably won't be done for a week. Why is it that I can blog every day for weeks on end, but I can't reply to an email within 24 hours? Email is not cheese--it does not need to age. And yet I let them age on their pixelated shelves, staring at them as time passes and answering them only when they are fully ripe. How they come to be ripe is a mystery to me, and one I should solve so that I may be a more . . . punctual . . . and considerate respondant.

I'm still yawning. That big quilt is so cozy and there's this cold spot on my calf that just wants to be warm.

I did a silly thing. I took my camera to Arkansas and didn't take a single picture. Dearest aunt, dearest mother, please send your pictures so I may post them on the blog!

Abby wanted to know what happens when books go unsold. They are shipped back to the publisher for a refund. A refund! There's no risk to the store--they always get their money back. Not much risk to the author, either--they don't have to return their advances and a pitifully small amount of them earn out said advances (sell enough books to cover the cost of their advance). Publishers risk so much to get books out to the general reading populace that sometimes it's a wonder books get published at all. With the economic crisis hitting publishing and the introduction of Kindle and other e-book readers, it'll be interesting to see what happens. I'm still an ink and paper kind of gal, so Kindle holds no attraction for me, but it seems that a lot of people are finding it convenient to be able to download a book for a few dollars. I can't imagine being able to carry the whole of my library in one hand. What happens if the e-book reader dies? Poof. There goes the library. Anyway, the publishing-related blogs I read predict a radical revolution in the next few years. I doubt that Kindle will change the face of literature consumption the way iPods changed how we handle our music, but it could make a serious dent. I'm definitely taking the wait-and-see position on this one.

The cold spot grows insistent. I must go. But not before mentioning that I played Guitar Hero for the first time this past weekend and my cousins, especially Jacob, were kind enough not to laugh at my pitiful attempts. My own husband schooled me by 20%. But at least I got through the song! That's all I wanted to accomplish.

The End.

Thankful for Thanksgiving

Normal operations will be suspended while we stuff turkey, ourselves, and the dog with turkey and pie and broccoli salad and cranberry salad and various other goodies.
I'm thankful for Thanksgiving!!

Thankful for Books

After movies and music, I should discuss my first love--books. I've mentioned before that I truly get lost in books, I've posted my reading list, I've even talked about some of the books I've read.

But books have affected more than the entertainment aspect of my life. At the BYU, I was lucky enough to read lots of books I liked for my master's degree. Somehow, I even got away with writing a thesis on the potential impact of epic fantasy series on adolescent readers. And I passed my thesis defense! That's especially amazing in light of the fact that often fantasy isn't considered a genre worth studying. BYU is ahead of its time when it comes to literary studies.

That isn't all books have done for me. I've learned how to see things from another's perspective in books. I've learned how to cook from books. I've learned how to improve my crocheting from books (my roommate Sharon taught me how to crochet--no books involved. Just a quickly formed addiction to hooks and yarn and impossible projects). I've learned how to craft from books. I've even learned a little parenting and a lot of religion from books. Much like Hermione in the Harry Potter series, if I want to know something, I go to the library and look it up in a book. (Trivia I find on Wikipedia.)

The publishing industry has been suffering lately, mostly due to stock market fluctuations and national belt-tightening and really poor publishing practices (the process in which unsold books are returned to the publisher is just STUPID (pardon my French)). So if you love reading, if you love books, if you love literacy or just want to encourage all of the former, buy a book for someone on your Christmas list. Shoot, buy 'em all one. Doesn't have to be expensive, though it's more helpful if it's not used. Kids' books run as little as $3, nice hardcovers aren't usually more than $30, and you're giving more than just a bunch of paper bound together. Sometimes you end up giving the key that unlocks someone's world.

So there's my plug for books. I love them and I think everyone should. Yay for books!

Suggestions and Thankfulness

John! You commented on our blog! Cool. A suggestion for you, since you like epic movies--I liked Stardust. Not epic in length, but it definitely transported me out of my self. A dangerous thing, really, since I was ironing at the time.


I am thankful for food--for the opportunity to make it, to eat it, to share it with loved ones. Some of my favorite memories, and my favorite memories to make, are around the dinner table, sharing good food and talking to each other, creating inside jokes, and bonding as a family. Cooking is not a burden if the food brings the family together.

When I was a kid, we'd always go to Utah over the summer for a few weeks. My grandma would make sure to get all the siblings and cousins together for a big family dinner one night while we were there. I vividly remember her cucumber salad--eating that made me realize just how much I like dill. Every time I have a cucumber, I can see Grandma's kitchen in my head, all of us squeezed around her big kitchen table with the extra leaf put in. She has the nicest tablecloths she uses for that table--they're almost like a big doily, they're that pretty. And I know I've spilled cranberry sauce on at least one of them during one of the many Thanksgivings we were there.

So we'd squish and talk and laugh and use the giant lazy susan in the middle to pass the food around and get yelled at for spinning it too fast. In the summer there was always watermelon for dessert--we'd sit on the patio and spit the seeds out in the backyard. I wonder how many renegade melon plants got mowed down over the course of the past few years?

Now the cousins have grown and married and scattered, as happens in this life. Our current families couldn't all fit around the table, but I wish we could, one last time. Maybe that's what heaven is like--one giant family dinner, where we swap stories and explain ourselves and spill a little cranberry sauce and sow our wild watermelons. I'm going to think it's that way because I like the idea.

Happy Thanksgiving, Grandma! Thank you for the memories.

Redux

I'm still grateful for movies, and I'm watching one instead of blogging. So I guess I'm thankful for free time to watch movies in.

I Am Thankful for Movies. And Shia LeBeouf.

I love movies almost as much as I love books. My tolerance for bad movies is greater than my tolerance for bad books as long as there is a character to love in there somewhere. For instance, at this moment we're watching Transformers. The exposition is handled rather sloppily--it's thrown into the movie all at once, slowing down the action--but Shia LeBeouf's character (Sam Witwicky) is so accessible and so funny that I don't mind watching the movie over and over again. The fights between the Transformers, the car chases and so forth, are also a lot of fun.

And there are the good movies, the movies I get lost in, the movies that I turn up loud so that people will QUIT TALKING OVER THE DIALOGUE. Don't talk to me unless the house is on fire. This is why I don't watch movies until the kids are in bed and Mat's off doing something else. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is in that lineup, but A&E's Pride and Prejudice tops the list. As does the new Andrew Davies' adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, though I will always have a soft spot for the Emma Thompson version. X-Men is up there too. I have a pretty eclectic taste in movies, surprisingly.

Tonight we've watched three movies. We've watched a little bit of Holes (also starring Shia LeBeouf), Zorro the Gay Blade (with George Hamilton), and now Transformers. It's a decent way to spend an evening, comfortably ensconced on a couch. I respect our ancestors that could sit and listen to a story, letting their own images fill their mind as the storyteller spoke, ignoring the sensation of their rears going to sleep or having a warm front from the fire, but a cold back. Personally, I need something I can see--words I can build my own images from, or movies, that create through some magic of medium and imagination more than I could on my own. The spoken word wouldn't distract me enough from my numb backside.

Music can transport me too--Loreena McKennitt's work especially. She tells stories not only with her lyrics, but with the style she chooses, the harmonies that work against the melodies to evoke a sense of wonder. When you put a good movie with good music together, it is nirvana for me. The Pirates of the Caribbean series is nirvana. I love Hans Zimmer's music, Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow and Geoffrey Rush's Captain Barbossa, and the transportation to a world of oceans, adventurers, and wonder. Bring me that horizon indeed.

A word here. Yes, pirates are inherently bad. They are, after all, pirates--careless of human lives, property rights, abiding by the law. However, my pirates, the pirates the Disney studio created, may steal, may lie, but there is an inherent innocence in the decent ones (I'm thinking specifically of Jack Sparrow and the pirate with the wooden eye), and an innate goodness despite what they do. They are adventurers first, pirates second. I admire the adventurers, the ones who brave endless stretches of water to seek out mythical treasures, surrounding themselves with people they trust and with whom they work well, free from the constraints of societal expectations. I don't hold with the lying, the stealing, the self-centeredness, and I like to think I can separate the two sides and admire only the good. I like to think that most fans of the movies can. We admire the spirit of adventure, not the need to "raid, pillage, plunder, and otherwise pilfer [our] weaselly black guts out."


So. I am thankful for movies and music and not having to sit by a fire to hear either.

And Now We're Thankful for the Dryer Lint

My mind is blank, so now I'm hauling out the dryer lint. I didn't expect to have to rely on it so quickly, but I've been in a daze all day. I blame my biological processes. You don't want to know any more than that.

So, I'm thankful for the dryer lint I pull out of the lint trap each time I dry a load. Having dryer lint means I have access to a dryer--I'm grateful I don't have to do my laundry by hand at the side of a river. Having dryer lint means that my life is enhanced by electricity--I don't have to live in the dark or without my precious, precious computer. Having dryer lint means that I have a place to put the dryer--I have a roof over my head and a place to sleep. Having dryer lint means that I have clothes to wear. Removing dryer lint means I have the use of my hands and my brain and my eyes. And according to my very own Shoebox Princess, having dryer lint means I have an endless supply of firestarter that could come in designer holiday colors! Ergo, I am thankful for dryer lint.

Fought Off a Menacing Migraine and Blurred the Line

So I didn't blog last night and I got all busy today. Not that it's an excuse. But it is, because last night I had one of my migraines. Thankfully they only come a few times a year and all I have to do is sleep them off.

Anyway, today's entry is inspired by one of my very own Internet Friends, who was thankful for her internet friends yesterday. My first reaction was "Awww! We're friends!" My second one was "Oooh! I'm so stealing that idea!"

So.

I am thankful for my internet friends.

Or, as one of my other internet friends calls *her* internet friends, Imaginary Friends. You see, the majority of my internet friends I have not met in real life. On the flip side, I have gathered many real friends with whom I keep up on the internet. (Diagram that sentence!) So my personal line between Real and Imaginary blurs so much that it gets downright fuzzy and disappears in places. Then I toss in family members who blog. Quite the mental salad, I tell you! Or mental geometry problem. I need to move on and quit mixing my metaphors.

The internets have been my friends since 2002, when I first ventured into two message boards: EricDSnider.com and the WB message board for the tv show Gilmore Girls. I posted regularly on both of these boards once we moved to Sacramento--I had no job and Mat was gone working, so I found "real" people to talk to. Now that I have children, I turn to the Snider Board for grown-up conversation. They also have a tendency to discuss great topics and it's a safe place to be, since the Brothers Snider (Eric's brother Jeff runs the board now) set the standards high and there's no cussing or other crudities allowed. I left the Gilmore Girls board about two years after I joined because standards weren't quite as high and because the members there were rather antagonistic towards each other, dividing along liberal/conservative lines.

Anyway.

Through the internets, I have gained a few favorite friends. Actually, I've gained a lot of them--too many to list here. But they know who they are because they're
a) reading this blog
b) friends with me on Facebook
c) in possession of personal correspondance and/or gifts from me (especially an odd cross-stitched "GAF the Indomitable" that may have arrived in a birthday card a few years back).

I've had a great time with my internet friends, had a lot of introspective conversations with them, and found a new way of looking at the world just by knowing them. I'm incredibly grateful for that interaction and I'm especially grateful to Al Gore for inventing the internet.

The End

Thankfulness and Such

All right, on the serious side, I am thankful for my parents, who did such an excellent job of teaching me right from wrong--they definitely taught me correct principles. Hopefully my way of governing myself isn't too disappointing to them. :D

I'm thankful for my grandparents for being great role models, especially in treating others with love and courtesy and in being generous. I can only hope to emulate them.

And I'm thankful for my brothers, though I don't know why. ;)


Now then. Down to business, also known as the Whimsical Thankfulness List.

I am thankful for:
1. Laptop computers that fold out to nearly 180 degrees so that I can freely slouch in my chair and still type.
2. Libraries that indulge my serial reading obsessiveness and get books for me. Fetch, library, fetch!
3. Teenagers with disposable income that drive entertainment industries. What would I do without YA lit to read? How would I live without my iPod? I shudder to think.
4. Multiple quilts to ensure survival while sleeping in a room with two exterior walls when the nightly temperature drops below freezing.
5. Whoever invented crocheting. I tried knitting when I was a kid and just could NOT get the hang of it--I was forever dropping stitches and more often than not my intended scarves became hotpads. But a roommate introduced me to crocheting in 2000 and I haven't stopped.
6. Sitcom reruns. It's the only way I get interested in them. Currently I'm in the middle of George Lopez and really enjoying it.
7. 1/2% milk. Just for the laugh factor. How in the world do you get half a percent?
8. Wikipedia. Where else can I surf for half an hour and learn about everything from humpback whales to rumors about the production of Shrek?
9. Books. Natch.
10. Witty t-shirts. One I read in the mall and intend to own someday, "I live in my own world but it's okay--they know me there."

We're starting down Desperation Road. Tomorrow I might have to be thankful for dryer lint.

Thankfulness

I am thankful for blogging breaks. I'll be back tomorrow with a real post.

Thankfulness - Day 4

Today I am thankful for enthusiasm and exuberance personified, also known as Afton, my youngest. Annika is a very serious child, always seeking to understand things, so when Afton acts her age, it sometimes throws us for a loop. She runs everywhere, even when I tell her to walk--she just forgets. She's also massive for her age--only three pounds lighter and four inches shorter than her sister. We're reminded of this every time she jumps up into our arms for a hug. Also, Afton is freakishly strong--she gives very tight hugs.

When she's at her most bouncy and energetic, it's very hard to keep up with Afton--I get exhausted sometimes just *watching* her, much less playing with her. And to go with that exuberance is a keen intelligence. I generally only have to show her how to do a thing once or twice and she grasps it. She's a very kinesthetic little girl--she loves learning through doing. And she's an extrovert--she thrives on having attention from other people. Often, when she and Annika are watching a movie, she'll come to the part of the house where I'm working and have a chat with me, then wander back to be with her sister. This will happen at least twice during the movie. I guess Annika gets extremely focused, like I do, and Afton feels the need to connect with someone who's acting human. It's just a guess, though.

Afton's a born comedian. She'll purposefully do silly things to make us laugh, and she grins like a maniac when she succeeds. She's also the purveyor of catch phrases in our little family. Last year it was "Because I want to!"--her standard response to our "why?". Lately it's been "nothingwhere." "Where's your bear, Afton?" "Nothingwhere." It's very cute.

In the interest of full disclosure, Afton does have her moments, but the threat of time out or the bribe of candy are decent motivators, leading her to do what I've asked. Someday I'll get the idea of doing things "just because" into her head, but for now I just continue to remind myself: She's only three.

I Forgot to Post Yesterday! Also, Thankfulness - Day 3

Spaced it yesterday, I did. I was surrounded by various gifts in various stages of creation until about 11pm last night. That was the point at which I could not think any more. The beads and the yarn and the ribbon were all starting to blend together. So I did what I always do when I can't think--I organized everything, and then I went to bed.

So, the next thing that I'm grateful for is my oldest child, Annika. I love that she's at that age (almost 5!) where she can be helpful and cheerful and cooperative. Most of the time. If you ask her to do something she hates to do, like use the bathroom, then she has a complete meltdown. I should start checking for a curl in the middle of her forehead. But she's usually pretty willing to help me out.

She loves reading and will spend nearly an hour in her room, reading to herself or her stuffed animals if she happens to be playing Big Sister. Often she graciously allows Afton to snuggle up next to her while reading and enjoy the pictures. Annika only reads out loud at this point, so Afton finds her and snuggles up next to her a lot. Annika will also often give her little sister hugs and kisses--she's truly affectionate. Sometimes she'll give Mat and I kisses for no reason at all. It's a nice surprise, especially when we've been having a bad day. She senses these things sometimes. And it's fun to watch her play with Afton and include her in her imaginings. They are great playmates for each other.

In utero, Annika was a lively baby and got the hiccups and/or kicked me all the time. There was one incident when I was about 8 months pregnant when she started dancing just as soon as I laid down to sleep. Mat put his face right up to my belly and said loudly something to the effect of "It's time for sleeping!" She socked him right in the nose. I would attribute this to a natural fiestiness, but now that I've seen her leave a room when the talking gets too loud or cover her ears and shudder after flushing a particularly noisy toilet, I know it's more due to the fact that she hates loud noises. She probably lashed out in surprise.

I think Annika is imaginitive, loving, intelligent, and introverted, and I'm thankful for every one of those qualities and the many others she possess, because together they make up my unique little girl.

Thankfulness - Day 2

Next up on the thankful list is my husband Mat. He's thoughtful, funny, patient, spiritual, and so fantastic with the children. Sometimes I tease him about being a human cartoon when he's with them, but it's true. Playing with the kids makes him the most animated. They adore him for it.

It was his thoughtfulness that first attracted me to him. We met at one of the huge BYU dances at the beginning of Fall Semester 2000. His roommates had known my roommates the year previously, as his roommates had been good home teachers to my roommates and therefore my roommates still liked them, so when they spotted each other in the crushing crowd, we stuck with them the entire night. Being the odd men out, as it were, Mat and I were thrown together and he asked me to dance. (Ironic, isn't it? Neither one of us likes dancing all that much.) A few days later, we were at one of my roommates' friends' homes, watching Waking Ned Devine. Mat and I got stuck sitting in an awkward place on the floor and would have been tremendously uncomfortable for the duration of the movie. So Mat ran up to the loft where we'd all been playing board games earlier and grabbed a couple of cushions from the couch--one for him and one for me. I was so impressed that I tried to hold his hand. Unfortunately for me, the movie put him to sleep. We were a little more successful later.

He's been my best friend, my confidante, for the last seven and a half years. He's stuck with me through all of my hormonal temper tantrums (I'm so much fun when I'm pregnant!) and everything else I've thrown at him (thought the only thing I've literally thrown at him is a football and he knew it was coming, as we were playing catch at the time). I couldn't ask for a better husband.

Thankfulness

It only took me until November 11th to figure out what my theme for the month should be: Thanksgiving. *bang head into wall* My neurons are firing, but they sure aren't connecting.

Anyway, I'll be spending the rest of the month posting about things I'm grateful for. By November 30th things may be getting a little crazy as I desperately try to come up with ideas. Stay tuned!

The first thing I'm thankful for is my religion. I'm grateful for the guidance I receive from reading my scriptures, saying my prayers, and testing out the principles my church leaders teach me to see if they're correct. They are. Every time. I'm grateful to have the Bible and the Book of Mormon in my life. I'm in the middle of rereading the Bible--I've made it to Joshua so far--and I'm enjoying it much more than I did the last time I read the Old Testament. Granted, that was thirteen or fourteen years ago--my attention span and my knowledge of Jewish culture have improved, which improves the reading.

So there's my first thing. I challenge all of you reading this blog to post something that you are thankful for. Consider yourself tagged!

Raining

It's been raining all day. Quite fascinating, really. I find myself invigorated when I go outside to clear the drains and prevent the backyard from flooding.

Went to Joann's and Wally-Mart today and finished my Christmas shopping. Now I just have to *make* the things I've bought the materials for.

All right, the water's about a foot from the door and the trashcan is starting to float around. I'm off to clean the drains again.

Clarifications

Jayne wasn't clear on the lists I was talking about before, so I thought I'd post a little more about them here. Goodreads and Shelfari are applications that allow you to share with other people the books you've read, the books you want to read, and various ratings and/or reviews you've given them. You can add friends, just like you do for Facebook, and see what they've been reading.

Goodreads is here.

Shelfari is here.

I've linked to my personal lists--you can see that I haven't kept up the Shelfari one very well.


Also, I'd like to thank everyone for the compliments on the kids' haircuts, but I have to make an admission--my children have very forgiving hair. Annika's has a decent wave to it, which hides any and all mistakes. I point cut Afton's hair instead of straight cutting it, which also hides my mistakes. I got that tip from Holly G. and thank her profusely for it.

All this talk about haircuts makes me want to go get my hair cut--shoulder length undercut with light layers in the front. I tend to get the same cut most of the time. Granted, I do like to wait until I have 10 inches to donate to Locks of Love, but I'm not feeling that patient this time around.

All right, I have warm tomato soup waiting for me, so I'm out!

I'm Still Not Convinced

All righty. Thanks for your responses, Janell, Sean, and Amanda! That's three for Goodreads, none for Shelfari (Cami, Lorena, I'm lookin' to you to defend Shelfari's honor!). And thanks to Abby as well for verifying that I am indeed crazy. :D

My niece (I have a niece!) is turning four tomorrow. So, of course, I had to make her presents. She's getting a few felt bracelets, as found here at Joann.com, a crocheted headband with butterflies sewn on, some butterfly barrettes, and a handmade bag, of course. My girls helped pick out the color combinations, with a little bit of gentle leading. Hopefully the niece in question will like them. There is a LOT of pink involved. Rumor has it, pink is one of her favorite colors.

OK, that's all I've got. Two weeks and I'm tapped out. Hopefully I'll think of another subject to write about tomorrow!

Time for a Poll!

All right, we've got some warring factions here. Some people say I should use GoodReads, others say I should use Shelfari. Sound off, fair readers! Which one do you use, and why? Is it easy to use? Intuitive? Can I import one list to another? Persuade me!

I'll Title This Later, Unless I Forget Or Can't Come Up With Anything Else

All right, before I forget, here are the pictures I teased yesterday:

The first one here is the girls playing "Happy Birthday." I convinced them to actually keep it over the leaf pile.

Here's my Afton, as buried in leaves by her sister.

And here's my Annika, not quite buried yet. This is pre-haircut.

And here we have post haircut! Don't ask me about the smile. I have no idea. She thinks she's funny, though. (And yes, she was sitting on the toilet at the time, but the lid was down. You know you were thinking about it.)


I could end it here and be happy, I think, but I've had a couple of things rolling around in my brain that I wanted to share.

The first is for my more vision-impaired friends. Do you find that you rely on your sense of touch more than your sense of sight? I realized a couple of days ago that I was all thrown off when some of my clothing wasn't folded the way I normally folded it. It disturbed me because I couldn't tell by *touching* what was what. When I think about it, I realize that I'm more successful digging around in my purse if I'm not looking in it. Well, for the most part. When I crochet, I feel for the next stitch to work through, rather than looking for it. Things like that. Anyone else, or is that just me? I have to admit, if I remove my glasses I'm pretty incapacitated--things have to be six inches or closer to be fully in focus for me. So maybe my brain is compensating.

Here's the other thing: I read Color Me Beautiful yesterday. The original version, not the "updates" that have come out since then. The cover is kind of hokey, but the information is solid and just as relevant as it was nearly thirty years ago. To me, it was the cumulative point of my fashion studies of the past two years. I'm determined to get myself a copy, which should be a relatively cheap and easy exercise. I recommend it. My studies, as they were, began with 10 Steps to Fashion Freedom. I picked it up on a whim at the library, as the fashion stuff was on the shelf just above the sewing books. I highly recommend this book as well, though it wasn't what I expected at first. This is not a how-to manual, but a who-are-you manual with the goal of helping you express yourself through your clothing. Everything I've read between these two books has added to my body of knowledge, especially Leah Feldon's Does This Make Me Look Fat? Feldon's book contains the rules on how to dress, Color Me Beautiful contains the rules on what colors to wear and how to wear makeup and accessories and jewelry, but 10 Steps to Fashion Freedom teaches you how to take the rules and break them successfully. I need to read it again. Or own it.

So if you're looking to figure out what to wear and you don't have Stacy London handy, a careful perusal of these three books will get you on the right track to feeling confident and comfortable in your clothes. It's working for me!

Sandals and Leaves Redux

Yep, did it again--raked the yard. But this time I was smart. I convinced the kids to help me make the pile, then I let them play in it. When they were through, *then* I raked it together the last time. Less yelling + happy kids = less guilt. The weather is beautiful at the moment--cool, cloudy during the day, the potential of rain on the wind. I love it!

I cut Annika's hair today. It rests over her ears now instead of being chin length, and when she's wearing her turtleneck, she looks like a French artist from the 60s. I need to take a picture. I did take a lot of pictures while the girls played in the leaves. I'll put them up tomorrow--I'm being a bit lazy right now.

Anyway.

A few people I've talked to in the past have talked about how their favorite color used to be one thing, but when they got older it changed. Well, I've gone through The Change. My devotion to Pine Green (the deep green that leans towards blue--I just learned the name for it) throughout my adolescent years was unwavering. It brought out the green in my eyes--everyone said so. And when you're a teenager, you live and die by the compliments you get. So my devotion to Pine Green deepened. When I left for college, my backpack was dark green. My towels were dark green. My bedspread was striped with dark green. (Kept the flower fairy pillowcase, though.)

But lately, my perspective has been changing. I find myself drawn to things like this:

(Trumpet Amaryllis)

And this:
(Pendant necklace from Coldwater Creek)

And this:
(cotton e-swatch from Joann.com)

I'm in love.

Sandals and Leaves

Today I raked leaves. I decided it would be a good outdoor activity for the girls to have a pile of leaves to jump in, so I gathered the leaves from the driveway and the path leading to the driveway, as well as the grass itself.

The pile was enormous enough that the girls could bury themselves in it. They had fun for a while--Afton kicked off her shoes and ran around barefoot. I tried the shoeless thing too for a while, but I couldn't quite bring myself to keep it up. Something about stepping on sticks with only my skin for protection--it doesn't work with me. Afton doesn't care.

I'm finding that raking isn't a burden--I like it, the imposing of order on chaos. Even felt pretty proud of myself for letting the kids play in it and not minding the mess. This lasted until they decided to play Happy Birthday. The game involved grabbing as many leaves as they could hold, running as far from the pile as possible, and shouting "Happy birthday!" as they tossed the leaves in the air. Fun time got the kibosh pretty quickly after that--I can only re-sweep the same surface so many times.

I wore sandals as I was raking, and I realized that wearing sandals is going to be a hard habit to give up. In Arizona, you can pretty much wear sandals 24/7, even in the dead of winter. They are my default shoes and I feel kind of lost when I can't find them. But they're a bit leaky in the rain and I don't think my toes would thank me for wearing sandals in 30 degree weather. I need suggestions for in-between shoes, I think--I don't want to wear my good athletic shoes or my hiking boots for everyday use.

I have no segue for this, so just go with me. My reading lately has taken me to strange, far-off places, and led me to books that I wish I'd had around when I was a teenager. For instance, I'm loving the Crafty Girl series by Jennifer Traig. The books are basically a compilation of embellishment ideas and simple but fun crafts, like Milkmaid Kerchiefs and Movie Star Sweaters (just add marabou boa trim!). I've started keeping a notebook full of crafty ideas inspired by my reading--there will be more embellishments in my life!

The other book that I loved and have probably mentioned before is The Daring Book for Girls by Andrea Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz. It's basically a guide on how to tie knots, build forts, wear bandanas, play sports, and so forth--a tomboy's guide to life. There's more to it than that, but that's what I remember. I loved it and I'm going to get one for my girls to read when they're a bit older. There are a few histories of famous women, daring women, interspersed with the how-to bits--it's a very well-thought out book. Ahhh, if only I'd had the sense to read more instructional non-fiction as a teenager, instead of strictly fantasy and the one biography a month my mother made me read. Life would have been a bit more interesting. Well, it's not like I can't change now. I may be a little too . . . mature . . . to be building forts, but the rest is fair game.

Mondays and Superheroes

So we had a Monday. Monday is library and errands day, and the girls were amazingly patient through the entire ride. This is possibly because we promised them a trip to the park at the end. Twenty minutes at the park is all it takes to guarantee their good behavior, it seems. I doubt it will work in ten years, but for now I'll take it.

After lunch, which for me was hastily gobbled down leftover spaghetti, I went to the local Kwik Kar for four hours to stuff envelopes. That was . . . work. I've also come to the realization that I am an old lady. By the end of the four hours, my back was screaming for a little pillow to put behind my back. Actually, my back was screaming because I hadn't done it three hours ago. Now, I do have some scoliosis, so that may be a contributing factor to my old-lady-hood, but there it is. I'm gonna have to make myself something. Church pews tend to be more comfortable with a hymnbook shoved behind me too.

Yeah. I should just get a cane and start dying my hair gray. I'm there. My body has declared it.

Anyway, Mat fed the girls lunch after I left and told Annika to say the prayer. Apparently she started right in--without closing her eyes. Her Nana watched her throughout the prayer she said, in which her gaze rested on her uncle, various walls, and the ceiling. So after the prayer, Nana asked Annika who she was praying to. Annika replied "Jesus!" Nana contained her laughter and corrected Annika on the whole closing eyes thing and whom we address when we pray issue. Apparently we haven't been clear enough on that.

So there you go. Enjoy yesterday's pictures and this Afton-ism that I forgot to post yesterday: "God is a superhero!"

100th post!

Well, wouldn't you know it? It only took me a year and a half to hit my 100th post. If I'd been doing this every day thing, I would have hit it after three months! Ah well. Less for new readers to catch up on, right?

Anyway, I did pictures! They're on my computer, on my camera, and I haven't lost a thing. Insert huge sigh of relief here.

Enjoy:

Do you like Afton's makeshift bed? In our last few days at the Tempe apartment, this is how the girls amused themselves.

This stork at the Birds of Prey show flew right over our heads when she was called to the stage. Her feet were inches--INCHES--above Mat's head.

Shortly after we got here, I realized that Annika's hair was getting too long and she was chewing on it again. So I cut it. And Afton insisted on getting hers cut too. So they were shorn. I really should do it again--they're starting to look like a pair of raggedy urchins.

The girls in the rain hats so thoughtfully provided by their grandfather.

The fun balloons we got at the ward Trunk-or-Treat last week. The flower is Annika's, of course, and the ladybug is Afton's. Afton loves ladybugs, and Annika loves blue. We did well, don't you think?

"Look Daddy! I'm a turtle!"

Here we are! The girls are flower fairies and I am a fairy herder.

And back a little to get the full effect of the girls' tulle skirts. They were a piece of cake to throw together and the girls loved them. Hurrah!

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into the last two months. Good night!

Closing in on a Full Week of Posting!

It hasn't been easy, especially on the days that I haven't blogged until 10pm or after, but it's been nice to have this record of my days.

Ok, to address a few past issues:
1. Glenn Beck is not a Democrat. Thank you ALL for pointing this out. I stand corrected.

2. Libba Bray is the authoress whose work I have been reading. If you want more samples of what I've been reading, check out my Goodreads shelves.
A quick breakdown of the star ratings:
*-I hated it. Would not recommend it.
**-Not a miserable waste of time, but not my favorite.
***-Worth the time spent reading it, but not the first thing I recommend.
****-Worth recommending, worth rereading, but not my absolute favorite.
*****-My absolute favorite and I own it or wish I did.

3. There will be pictures. It will not be today. It will most likely be tomorrow, when I have a tad more time on my hands.


Today involved a lot of vigorous dust-removal from every possible surface. The kitchen sparkles now, and I was finally able to make the oven-fried chicken dinner that I've been saying I'd make for days now. The kids helped a little with the cleaning, but mostly they watched TV or played. I am so grateful that 95% of the time they enjoy playing with each other. Makes my life easier.

Thanks for your response on routine vs. spontaneity, Heidi! I get the same response from the kids sometimes: "We're not going to do blank, even though you're suggesting something more fun?!!" And then, at times, a meltdown ensues. I'll have to think about it more.

Went to the adult session of stake conference tonight. It was great! I love the relaxed feel of the adult meetings--it's a pretty personable meeting, as church meetings go. For instance, both of the general authorities cracked several jokes at the beginning of their talks, and one of them even got all the lights turned out to illustrate a point about how darkness cannot overwhelm light unless we choose to turn the lights out. There was more to the metaphor involving spiritual dimmer switches that sometimes we don't even notice we're turning until suddenly our lives are that much darker, and I really enjoyed the talk.

Mat stayed home with the kids. Being the wonderful husband and brother he is, he also watched his sister's children so she and her husband could go out to dinner with her in-laws. Granted, Mat has several years' experience working in a daycare, so it wasn't that much of a stretch for him, and the girls love playing with their cousins. Tomorrow, I get to stay home with the kids--normally we would take them, but the stake presidency is being changed and it's going to be CROWDED. We'd have to get there up to an hour early to get decent seats, etc., etc. Ergo, the girls and I are going to have Primary at home. I don't know if we're setting the best example, but we think it's the best choice for the girls instead of trying to make them sit still for three hours.

So that was today. I think I like this daily blogging thing. I'm going to try for another week. Hasta manana!

Halloween

It's been an interesting day. We ran a lot of errands this morning, including brunch at IHOP since the kitchen was unusable (the eat-in area was being remodeled and dust was everywhere. Also, they were texturing the walls). I had the stuffed French toast--yummy! And the hashbrowns were just about perfect, which is a rarity anywhere. This evening, I let the kids run around in their fairy dresses until right before we went trick-or-treating. Turns out that small children don't know when they're being gypped--we only went up and down the street, but they were more than satisfied. I really should post pictures. The girls really enjoyed trick-or-treating and weren't scared of anything.

I'm glad you guys liked hearing my thoughts. I'm finding I don't mind sharing them. How about that? So here's the dilemma that crops up every once in a while: Is it better to get things into a routine, or to keep them fresh and new to exercise your mind? It's comfortable to know what I'm doing and when. I like having things predictable, and so do the children. And having too many choices is definitely overwhelming. But where's the middle ground?

Ok, it's late and the girls haven't been sleeping through the night for a couple days, so I'm signing off now. I'll try for more detail tomorrow. *yawn*

Since Amanda Asked

In the comments on my last post, Amanda suggested that I should write about what I'm thinking about. She has a point--it seems mundane to me, but that's because the thoughts swirl around and around in my head and by the time I write them, they seem redundant. Anyway, a la James Joyce, here we go.

When we moved, I gave away all the clothing that didn't fit me correctly and that I didn't wear on a regular basis. I've been studying fashion, specifically how to wear clothing that suits my body shape, for two years or so. (Anna, remember that trip to Old Town Scottsdale? That was at the beginning of my studies.) Nearly everything I owned two years ago fit me rather badly. So I've been fixing that, bit by bit, figuring out what I like, what looks right on me, and so on. I'm down to a few t-shirts, two blouses, several skirts and four pairs of pants. I got the skirts figured out, which is why I'm making myself another one out of brown floral corduroy. What I really need are more shirts, but I'm fighting the habit of buying t-shirts that really don't fit me. Even the one sweater that I own and love doesn't fit me correctly. It's a hard habit/buying pattern to overcome! Thankfully, the romantic tunic top is in style right now, and I've picked up several patterns in that style. They should be flattering and fit me the way I want them to. I hope. BUT I HAVE TO FINISH THE DANG SKIRT FIRST. I keep putting it off and putting it off. No idea why. I really do need more shirts.

I started in on a new series of books. The first is called A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray. It's interesting and well-written. I'm drawn in and keep reading late into the night despite my resolution to wake up early so I can read my scriptures without the midgets interrupting me. I linked the title to the Amazon page so I wouldn't have to cut and paste the summary for you.

So. Politics. Unavoidable these days. I tend to be Gibbs-like with my politics (Leroy Jethro Gibbs, head agent, NCIS. Watch this show!), trusting my gut but still being informed. Presidents may seem powerful, but they can't do all that much unless they have a Congress that will work with them. But there is one thing that I'm firm on, and that as Commander-in-Chief the President will directly affect: finishing the war in Iraq the right way. I'm familiar with John McCain's political presence, having lived in AZ for the last four years, and his stance unfailingly has been that we must finish the war correctly. The surge was a success and already the tours of duty are being cut short and the number of soldiers in Iraq is being reduced. General Petraeus did a fine job. John McCain will make sure that the war will end the way it's supposed to--successfully. I would like to say that other than that, I don't care who wins the race, but it's not true. I may be a registered Independent, but deep down I'm a Republican--less government all the way! Though I do like Democrats on a local level--I thought Tempe was well-run for the most part, due in large part to the attention given to public areas of life. Don't get me started on the Orbit system fiasco--though it turned out to be much less of a hassle than I thought it would be. However, if they try to "calm" traffic by putting a median on College Avenue (the street I lived on for three of the four years we were in AZ), I'd petition for a recall. If I still lived there, that is.

Sorry. Bit of a localized rant there. I find that I enjoy reading Glenn Beck and Orson Scott Card for political commentary. Go figure. They're both moderate Democrats who are rooting for John McCain to win. Interesting world we live in, isn't it?

Um, what else do I think about? I mentally tally my children's total TV time. Today, three hours (they wanted to watch Peter Pan). We had hot dogs, FunYuns, Fritos, and baby carrots for dinner--fried chicken has been moved to tomorrow night. Went to the farmer's market in southwest Arlington today, and Adam's Seed and Pet Supplies. Adam's had kittens and puppies and mice and rats and snakes and fish of all kinds for sale--we had to look at them all, according to the kids. And we did! Adam's also had a hay bale maze for the kiddies and promised a prize for finishing it. Annika did quite well and figured it out quickly. Afton kept trying to come out the beginning, and finally I had to send Annika back in after Afton to get her out the right way. When we went into the store, the cashier said the girls could have a piece of candy or a goldfish as a prize. I preferred the candy, so that's what we went with.

Cookies for you if you've gotten this far.

Turns out Mat has a couple of quirks after all. He hates it when we match--the other day I wore my maroon sweater and a pair of dark jeans. I got dressed before Mat did, but when he finally emerged, he was wearing his maroon ASU sweatshirt and his dark jeans. This would not have happened seven years ago! He would have gone back and changed, especially after his mom pointed out that we matched. Also, he doesn't share his clothes. If I'm cold and need a sweatshirt, he'd rather give me an old one of his than just let me borrow one.

Of course, I have even more quirks that I didn't list before, such as my amazing ability to get lost in a book and not hear what's going on around me. Mat has fun playing with this one. He's decided that if he ever has to yell "fire", he's going to have to take the book out of my hands first and *then* yell. I won't hear him otherwise.

Ok, I'm done for the night. I *think* that's everything I've been thinking about lately. If not, you'll hear about it tomorrow.

Games Children Play

Ok, the mailers are sealed, stamped, and addressed. Tomorrow I fold paper. Tonight I type.

Today wasn't all that exciting--I did my sticker thing, the kids watched tv, read books, played outside, and bathed, and Mat went to work and painted the exterior of the house. Routine stuff for us at the moment. So I'll record the girls' favorite games: Big Sister and Kitty.

Big Sister is a complicated game that I'm not included in. (Doesn't hurt my feelings--I'm all for the kids developing a sibling bond.) From what I can gather, Annika is the big sister, and when Afton feels like playing, she's Markus. (To Anna: I know! Don't ask me why.) They go into the room and shut the door. When I interrupt to get them to do things like eat, I've seen them tucking stuffed animals under blankets, reading the stuffed animals stories, the floor coated with toys, and I get very long and complicated explanations as to the story they're acting out. Sometimes it's a movie, but often it's straight out of their own heads. They can entertain themselves for hours playing this game. I love it.

Kitty is pretty straightforward. One of the girls is the kitty, and the other is her "humie" (human). They often use a necklace for the kitty's leash, and I'm often visited so that I can see the cute kitty and pat her head. Often the last one to be kitty (usually Annika) will meow instead of talking for what seems like hours after the game has ended.

I'll have to find something fun for us to do tomorrow to make for a more interesting post. Wish me luck!

A Bit Late

Sorry for the non-posting yesterday. I got me a payin' job!

Well, momentarily. I'm using my supreme sticker placement skills to get a newsletter ready for mailing, sticking on address labels and stamps, and so on. It's a great things to do in front of the TV, but doesn't exactly leave the hands free for typing.

Took the kids to the library yesterday. Thank goodness for libraries! I have a very low tolerance for reading the same story over and over (barring Dr. Seuss), and it's nice to have a fresh crop to choose from once a week. Had to fill up the van yesterday too, but it was almost a pleasant experience, since gas is down to $2.25! Lovely number to see.

All right, this must be brief, as my sticker placement skills are required for most of the day. More tonight, after I make oven-fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and green beans for dinner. There just might be gravy involved. We'll see.

A New Goal

Since this is supposed to be a record of our family as well as a newsletter/bulletin board of what's going on in our lives, I should be updating it a little more often. So my goal this week is to write one post a day this week. You, my gentle readers, are welcome to hold me responsible.

Today I helped clean the house a bit, gave Annika her lessons (math is her favorite subject at the moment, since it involves candy and subtraction), and then my mother-in-law said the fateful words: "Do you want to take down the wallpaper?"

You see, my mother-in-law (MIL) is redoing her kitchen in stages. The first stage involves moving a wall and repainting the other walls. She found a loose corner, pulled down a bit, then asked me if I wanted to help. I *LOVE* doing home improvement projects. She ran errands for an hour and a half, and when she got back I had pulled down everything I could pull down, which was most of it. I had to use a wallpaper steamer on the last wall, which made it ridiculously easy to finish. It's nice to do a project and have all the right tools, too, like the steamer and a wallpaper scorer. By the time dinner rolled around, all the paper was down and thrown away, the floor swept, and all of the framing around the window to the family room taken down (we preserved it just for you, Jess!).

So that's what I did today. The girls played their favorite game, Big Sister, for a few hours after lesson, then had a bath. We did Family Home Evening with the whole family, in which I read a story from the October 1978 Friend. 1978, people! The year I was born, when dinosaurs still ruled the earth! But it had a great story on the girls' level on how words can be the sharpest thing in the world and hurt us, or the softest thing in the world and make us feel loved. It was a lot of fun to have Nana and Granddad and Uncle James involved. I know the girls loved it.

I'm blogging now while the girls are getting ready for bed. They're supposed to be putting their pajamas on, but it's been 15 minutes. It's about time someone went and cracked the whip.

Until tomorrow!

For the Arizona Readers of Yellow Watermelon

Back in August, a young couple from Mesa were in a private plane crash. The instructor flying with them was killed, but they somehow survived. The husband, Christian Nielson, had burns over 30% of his body, but his wife, Stephanie Nielson, was 80% burned.

Out of this terrible event has arisen a marvelous amount of charity. Stephanie kept a blog in celebration of motherhood and attracted many readers over the years. These readers are banding together in every way imaginable to raise money for the NieNie Recovery Fund, a fund established to assist Nielsons with their hospital bills and so forth. For more details, you can read Stephanie's blog or her sister Courtney's blog.

Christian Nielson and I went to the same high school, though I didn't know him personally. This vague connection still impels me to do what I can to spread the word about the concert coming up on October 25th (next Saturday). Mindy Gledhill is one of Stephanie Nielson's childhood friends, and all the profits from this concert are going to the NieNie Recovery Fund. The concert will be at Mountain View High School at 7pm. Mt. View HS is located at 2700 E. Brown Rd in Mesa. Tickets ($15) are available at www.mindygledhill.com.



If you have the time, if you have the funds, if you need a good date idea for next weekend, consider going to the concert and supporting this young couple. Thanks.

Exploding with Quirky Goodness

My friend Sara tagged me in her blog to reveal six of my quirks. I fully intend to reveal a few quirks about all the members of my little family.

But first, myself:

1. I am a compulsive finisher. If I start a project of some sort, e.g. reading a book, sewing an article of clothing, cleaning something, I go faster and faster to get it done. I read two cozy mysteries today instead of watching Planet Earth because once I started them, I wanted to know how things were going to turn out. (They were also short, easy reads.)

2. If I see something labeled Celtic, I have to at least look at it/examine it/peruse it. I have a book of Celtic myths, a large scarf with Celtic knotwork on it, Celtic knotwork jewlery, Celtic fonts on my Word programs, and a huge collection of Celtic and Celt-inspired music. I've loved all things Celtic from the time I was 15 or so and first discovered Enya. Thankfully, my taste has become more refined in the last *cough*15*cough* years and I don't buy EVERY THING that claims to be Celtic like I used to.

3. I keep separate notebooks for the different categories of ideas I want to work on. I have my craft/sewing notebook, with a portable spiralbound for quick sketches and ideas. There's the writing notebook (one for each novel. This means I have two), along with its portable companion. And there's the spiralbound for everyday ideas, like lists of Christmas gift ideas, moving lists, etc. I intend to add a homeschooling notebook very soon so I can have a distinct place to develop curricula. I write down everything.

4. In line with the compulsive finishing thing, if I start a series of books, I feel like I have to finish them. AND I have to read them in order. I've mistakenly read books out of order and it has driven me crazy until I could get my hands on the correct first book in the series.

5. On Fast Sunday, I read cookbooks and plan elaborate dinners to prepare. By the time I feel ready to eat, I'm too wiped out to follow through on any of my plans. Surprisingly, reading cookbooks does not make me feel more hungry. It's just a way to pass the time.

6. I can't go to bed unless I've checked to make sure that all the doors are locked and my children are fine. It's an obsessive thing--I tried NOT to do it one night and couldn't sleep at all.

Kids' Quirks:
1. Afton will randomly talk about whatever movie/tv show is running through her head at any moment. She has to tell you a few details of the plot and you MUST acknowledge them or she won't quit repeating herself.

2. Annika used to have a strange quirk when she was less than a year old. We would sing her to sleep every night, but after a few months, she indicated in her infantile way that she didn't like it. So we took a book that we'd memorized, Dr. Seuss's ABCs, and recited it to her instead. Most nights she would be out before we got to Z. Thankfully, she's grown out of that one, though occassionally a phrase from the book will pop into my head during normal conversation.

3. Afton is a magpie--she's easily distracted by shiny things, such as watches or earrings, and always asks if she can play with them. She's delighted when the answer is yes.

4. Annika has a game called "Big Sister" that apparently requires elaborate set-up and is not easily interrupted for mundane things like cleaning up her messes in another room or eating meals.

5. A biological quirk: Afton and Annika are approximately 19 months apart, 5 inches different in height, but Afton only weights 3 pounds less than Annika. The genetic roulette wheel at work.

6. Afton doesn't like having too many blankets on her bed at night, though I'm convinced the girls' room is the coldest in the house. Annika, on the other hand, would probably take 20 quilts on her bed and still not be warm enough.

And Mat's quirks, as vetted by Mat:
1. Mat is a normal human being and has no quirks.