He's Alive!

While watching TV tonight I saw a preview for his new movie, Dolphin Tale (rated PG), and my first thought was "He is alive! I thought he died after the last movie I saw him in." The last Morgan Freeman movie I watched was The Bucket List and he dies at the end. I really enjoy his mellow mannerisms and rich sense of humor. So glad I get to see him in something else, and that the third Batman (Dark Knight Rises) will becoming out in Jully 2012.

*Picture found here.

Bekah is Special Too

Bekah's Primary teachers decided to reward their good behavior with a pool party. Saturday morning she was delighted that she was going to go do something just by herself. After watching big brother go to school all week this little party was just what she needed to remind our sweet little girl that she is important too.

Pinterest

A few weeks ago, my friend Raegan sent me an invite to Pinterest. As my friend, Margot, says "Essentially, it's a way to organize bookmarks, but instead of a list you have bulletin boards organized by topic and you can see everything you have pinned (yes, that is the technical term for it) in one place. It's pretty cool actually."

I love it! I can see the cool things I have found online all in one place, and I can go to their online location by clicking on the picture. I can create as many "bulletin" boards as I want, rearrange my "pins" as needed, and make comments on my pins. Using Pinterest has helped me solve some organizing dilemmas in my house, compile a bunch of neighbor gifts and party ideas, come up with a lot of sewing projects, collect ideas for decorating my home, and lots more. It helps fill the need I have to be more organized and have at least one thing in my life that will stay neat and organized.

Benjamin Creates a Dinosaur Habitat

Natural Talent

On Facebook this evening, I read someone's comment about how they were amazed at a musician's 'natural' talent. The comment made me smile because I know how much said musician's mother has told me he practices. I think sometimes a 'natural talent' is something that has been pruned and shaped by lots of love and time to make it even more beautiful than what the talent is all on its own. Just like a garden needs pruning and shaping on a regular basis, talents can be developed and beautified through regular practice and care.

I will not deny that some people are naturally gifted in certain areas without much effort. However, I do believe talents become more beautiful with work and care.

Lego Lover

We have another Lego lover at our house! Honestly, these are one of my favorite toys because they inspire creativity as well as teach fine motor skills like object manipulation and gripping. I love these Legos are big enough for Ryan to play with and I don't have to worry about him choking on them. I think we have another future builder on our hands

Losing More Teeth

We are still losing teeth around here. Benjamin lost his third tooth during this month, and he finished pulling it out all by himself! One more is extremely wiggly and will be out sooner rather than later.

Soup in a Bag

Today I picked up my Bountiful (produce) Basket and decided to do some vegetable prep and freeze some of my soup ingredients to use at a later date. My kiddos helped me cut up and bag a good chunk of the produce. We spent two hours peeling, cutting, and bagging produce for soups, lunches, side dishes, snacks, and tonight's dessert.

Here is what we did. I used gallon size bags and filled them each with chopped veggies that included

• 1 med zucchini
• 4 carrots
• 1/4 cabbage
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 head broccoli

Other veggies I have used in a variety of combinations include

• onions
• kale
• spinach
• tomatoes (cut or pureed)
• cauliflower
• corn

Now, the next time I want to make hamburger stew I can pull a bag of veggies out of the freezer to toss in the crock pot instead of having to take the time to cut them the same day. To make hamburger stew I use these additional ingredients

• 1 lb hamburger (browned in a separate pan before adding, or crumbled in between veggies and cooked in crock pot)
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• water - enough to cover veggies

Combine all desired ingredients in crock pot and cook on low (6 to 8 hours) or high (3 to 4 hours).

I am so grateful my little ones were willing to be so helpful in the kitchen today! We were able to accomplish so much I can spend the rest of my day doing something else.

First Day of 1st Grade

Benjamin goes to school so early now Michael helps get him out the door, and that means we were able to take pictures with Dad on the first day of school this year! Look at our big boy! He is doing an amazing job going to school all day, and doesn't even mind taking his lunch most of the time. Here's to a smooth school year because one can only hope!

Our big strong boys!

I actually got ready for the day hoping to stall until it was time to leave for the bus. I think I was only able to gain a couple of minutes. Oh well, at least I was ready for the day and could take the younger two for a walk around the neighborhood before the day heated up.

Look at all of those 1st grade boys!

Benjamin was the first one at the bus stop so he had the privilege of being the first in line to get on the bus.

Evening Hike

Bows & Arrows

Throwing sticks in the water and watching them swirl away.

Waterfall stop at the top. At least it was the top of where we wanted to hike to before we turned around and headed back down.

What's for Dinner?

The other night Michael went golfing so the kiddos and I decided to have something a little different for dinner. We had yummy fruit dipped in chocolate and caramel. It was delicious, and fun!

PAM & Crayons

Ever wondered how to remove crayon from a wood table? I did, especially after I picked up this table for free to refinish. (Thankfully, my kiddos do not color on the furniture like this.) I really didn't want to have to sandoff all of the crayon. My mother-in-law suggested using PAM cooking spray and trying to scrub it off. It worked! (And, I remembered to take before and after pictures.)

Before

After

It didn't remove ink, but it was fabulous for crayon!

A Comparison: Books & Friends

New Book or Friend: Attracted by the way it looks or sounds. I have to spend time getting to know the story or person before I know what they are really about. Occasionally, I do not like what I learn and terminate the relationship or downgrade it to casual acquaintance. Sometimes I am delightfully surprised to find out I really enjoy the relationship when my first impression was mild, neither good or bad just mild interesting. Other times, when I choose a book or friend I would not normally choose based on personal preferences I find a treasure I would have missed out on if I had not taken a chance on something different.

Old Book or Friend: Renew a relationship by visiting and sharing memories. I spend time with them because I enjoy their "company." I keep track of them because they are important to me.

Unreliable Book or Friend: I find I have difficulty separating myself from them. I keep hoping something good will happen or the ending will be different only to experience the same results over and over again. Sometimes I have to look for a teeny-tiny bit of good amidst the chaos to find a reason for continuing the relationship.

Bad/Offensive Book or Friend: I feel the need to terminate the relationship in order to protect my values, family, and personal worth. I do not value the person's or author's less as their choice to pursue their desired direction, I just do not want it to be a part of my life and feel the need to discontinue the relationship whether it is just developing or things have suddenly made a change for the worse.

Picture Book or (Vivid) Friend: I feel like I am swallowed up (in a very good way) in their brightness and vivid descriptions. The feeling of being surrounded by beauty and goodness I can almost reach out and touch (and in the case of a friend who likes hugs I can actually do it) is enveloping. The descriptions given of experiences are so realistic I feel like I have experienced the place and event myself. Often, I walk away feeling like I have been uplifted and shared in someone else's joy in such a way their joy has become mine.

Non-fiction Book or Friend: Someone or something that calls it like they see it. No fancy frills or sugar-coating, just direct and to the point about what the facts really are. Some are full of information on ways to improve a process, others show you how to do something. Some provide historical information about why things are done a certain way, others provide new ways to look at a problem or challenge. Some help with raising our children, others help us with cooking and cleaning. Some help with our cars and mechanical understanding, others help us solve math problems.

I love to read and I love having a variety of friends!

. . . . and We are Off!

School started this week. I found myself thinking about how we spend so much time going to school, sending our children to school, and arranging our schedule around school events and attendance. Not that school is a bad thing, just a very time consuming thing for a large portion of our lives.

Something else that occurred to me was I am starting this school year with twice as many children at home as I did last year. I still have the same number of children going to school this year, I just have two at home instead of one to start the year off.

We are going to be adjusting to all day school. I found myself constantly checking the time and wondering what I could "squeeze" into those "few" hours Benjamin was gone only to realize those "few" hours were not just a few anymore. I am also trying to collect ideas for school lunches so Benjamin does not have to take the same thing every day and still eats a variety of nutritional things. Something we did not have to tackle last year with half days but having him take his lunch is better for our budget and my feelings about what he is eating.

Now Benjamin is back in school, Bekah wants to do "official" preschool at home so we are doing "school" every day for her after we send Benjamin out the door. She is excited to learn something new though her attention span does not last for much more than 15 minutes at a time.

Lots of changes are happening at our house, and lots of learning. And how is Ryan handling all of this? He is his usual beautiful baby self: crawling, standing, eating solid foods, and babbling. Here's to another adventure in learning and school!

My Name is Bekah

On Friday, Bekah learned how to write her name. From start to finish, she can write her name very efficiently and we had not tried to do it before Friday. She is so delighted with herself that she is writing her name on all the "correct" papers she can find. (Correct meaning blank pieces of paper, old pictures she has drawn, or notebook paper from her notebooks and not on my papers, printouts, or notebooks.) Amazing little girl she is.

Movie Reviews in Five Words or Less

A story about determination & devotion.

Retelling a Classic: Repetitive & Slow

Wow!

I didn't get it.

Reminds me of Coyote Ugly!

Sweet

Zombies, Demons, Ugh!

For the Kids, Not Adults

Temple Square

At the end of last month we spent several hours on Temple Square when my cousin got married. We visited the Christ statue (which they are always begging to do), watched videos about prophets and scripture stories, and looked at all of the ehibits and pictures in both visitors centers.

ABC Compliment

One of my former teachers (and friend) posted this on Facebook. It was too funny not to share!

A wife asked her husband to describe her. He looked at her, then said, "You're A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K."

She asks, "What does that mean?"

He said, "Adorable, Beautiful, Cute, Delightful, Elegant, Foxy, Gorgeous, Hot."

She smiled and said, "Oh, that's sweet, but what about 'I, J, K'?"

He said, "I'm Just Kidding ." His eye is still swollen, but it will get better...

I can Feed Myself . . . .

. . . . when I want to. Ryan will adjust the bottle and move his mouth to catch the bottle, he just won't hold the bottle himself. Yesterday, I caught him actually feeding himself. I know he can do it because he has done it before, he simply chooses not to do so. Now, I have proof he can do it.

Super Hero Status

As a mom of young children, I often achieve Super Hero Status, according to them anyway. Some of the things I have done to earn this title include:

• changing batteries in a favorite toy
• baking cookies
• buying ice cream
• going to McDonald's
• renting a "kid" movie
• going to the toy store
• buying toys at the toy store
• setting up playdates
• playing at the park
• asking for their help to plant and harvest the garden
• making their favorite treat
• substituting in his/her primary class
• building forts with blankets
• allowing them to take pictures with my camera
• making macaroni and cheese
• bringing home their favorite fruits or vegetables
• letting them play in the bathtub with toys
• snuggling first thing in the morning, when they are scared, when we read stories, or whenever they need it
• letting them watch movies, play on the Wii, or play games on my phone
• taking them to surprise Dad at work
• purchasing something of their choice at the Dollar store
• finding a lost toy, blanket, or other comfort item
• taking them to the library to pick out books and/or a treasure they earned by reading each month
• going swimming
• playing in the snow
• coloring with them
• doing what they want, when they want to instead of having to do chores or stay inside

Yep, I can say I often do things to deserve the title "Super Hero" according to my kids. Not all of the time, but often enough to make me feel special because they love me and appreciate the things I do.