Timmy learned to say "cracker" ("gah gah gah gah"), and this morning he learned to say "dog" too. I was carrying him back to our house after dropping off the boys at school, and we saw somebody walking a dog. I said, "Look, Timmy. A dog! Dog!" He tried to repeat what he heard and said something like, "da da da da." Then you could see the wheels turning in his head as he kept trying and got closer and closer to saying it correctly. And then he suddenly came out with, "Dog!" He was all pleased with himself. Hooray, Timmy! Fun times. :)
About that essay I mentioned yesterday - I may post it here sometime. It needs fixed up, so I'm working on that. We'll see.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Shtuff
My new World of Warcraft signature makes me smile. :)
In other news, I wrote an essay on motherhood, and boy did it bowl me over. I'm hoping it's good and not just overly poetic.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Ever Tried to Boil an Egg in the Microwave?
Jeremy did! He had it in a little glass cup, and he wasn't sure how he could tell if it was done. He decided to try just 30 more seconds. About halfway through we heard a pop and stuff started dripping out. And this is what we found. Ha, ha! And the funny thing - it smelled like Cheerios!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Music Nerd
Yesterday I turned on a Josh Groban song. It's "You Are Loved," and I think it's my favorite of all of his. While I was playing that one I thought I may as well play "February Song" too. I love it. I always remember this song as the one with the surprising chorus. I can't tell you exactly what surprises me about it. I guess it's the chord choices. The first and third phrases are just surprising to me. (A good kind of surprise) And then he doesn't resolve the second phrase in the first chorus. That almost drives me crazy!
Well, anyway, all together it does come out just lovely, and I can't help but feel all happy because it's about February. (Duh! Hello, birthday month!)
Yesterday as we were listening Joshua finally understood the words "you are loved" in the first song, and he told me that that made him love it even better. Then when we turned on the second song Joshua noticed that he was wearing basically the same outfit. He thought that was awesome because then it would be easy to be Josh Groban for Halloween. Now, there's a boy who enjoys playing dress-up. That's just one of his obsessions. Lately he's been really excited about Halloween because he decided he wanted to be Wolverine and make knives with paper and tin foil to attach to his hands. He is often thinking of how he could make this or that costume. He is so clever!
Joshua has also been talking about his birthday incessently. He is so excited! It's tomorrow. He'll be 10, and he's been begging for a light saber that lights up and makes noises. He keeps asking if we got it for him, because he knows we've already bought his presents. I keep telling him he'll have to wait and see. And he keeps telling me he'll be really, really sad if he doesn't get it. ;) Silly boy.
Well, anyway, all together it does come out just lovely, and I can't help but feel all happy because it's about February. (Duh! Hello, birthday month!)
Yesterday as we were listening Joshua finally understood the words "you are loved" in the first song, and he told me that that made him love it even better. Then when we turned on the second song Joshua noticed that he was wearing basically the same outfit. He thought that was awesome because then it would be easy to be Josh Groban for Halloween. Now, there's a boy who enjoys playing dress-up. That's just one of his obsessions. Lately he's been really excited about Halloween because he decided he wanted to be Wolverine and make knives with paper and tin foil to attach to his hands. He is often thinking of how he could make this or that costume. He is so clever!
Joshua has also been talking about his birthday incessently. He is so excited! It's tomorrow. He'll be 10, and he's been begging for a light saber that lights up and makes noises. He keeps asking if we got it for him, because he knows we've already bought his presents. I keep telling him he'll have to wait and see. And he keeps telling me he'll be really, really sad if he doesn't get it. ;) Silly boy.
Monday, March 19, 2012
This made my heart happy
(Image shamelessly pilfered from here.)
Isn't this beautiful? I'm so excited for spring to come.
And also on the things to be happy about today: Timmy is 16 months old today, and we finished those silly forms to get Joshua tested. Hallelujah! :D
Thursday, March 15, 2012
The Boring News According to Me
I know you're wondering (;)), so I'll tell you I still haven't gotten my recommend signed by a member of the stake presidency. But it is certainly not for the lack of trying! I've gotten all dressed up and gone to the church to get my interview twice now, only to find that I couldn't do it. Here's the deal. I forgot to go the Sunday right after I got my first interview. Then a few days later I looked at the card and it said "every Tuesday except the first and fifth Tuesday." Blast! That was the first Tuesday. Then we had stake conference this last Sunday. I showed up at the church on time, but the offices were locked. I guess we can't get an interview on stake conference Sunday. And then the First Presidency sent a letter to all church leaders in Utah telling them that there hasn't been enough LDS participation in caucus meetings, so they urged the leaders to have nothing on the nights of those meetings (Tuesday and today). Don't get me wrong - I fully support the First Presidency, and though I wish I could just go vote instead of trying to make it to a caucus meeting, I think their letter was a good idea. However, I forgot all about it and showed up at the church all dressed up again. And to make it even better I showed up with Hyrum all dressed up for Scouts. Darn! That was cancelled too. I'm really sad that the month is half over and I still haven't gotten this signed.
I really did have a nice experience with my first interview, though. :) Bishop Reynolds is such a nice man. He's one of those people that is always smiling. He showed me that I was getting the first recommend in his new book of recommends. And not only that, but this new book is the beginning of a change in the recommends. They are a little longer, and you fold them in three parts instead of just in half. I felt way fancy! And he talked to me a bit about Jeremy going to France and made me promise a few times that I would ask for help when I need it, "because you're going to need some breaks." I told him that I was realizing that I need to make it to the Temple, so I've been scheming about that and he said, "Yes, you do!" So I have been thinking about it. I feel like we're going to get through this fine. I'm hoping that I'll have better luck finding Young Women who can babysit for me while I go to the Temple this summer. At least they won't have sports practices to go to then. (Sports are HUGE here. Everybody does sports, and there are always people out running, no matter what.)
Hyrum finally found a friend in his class. I'm so glad! I was worried about him. He'd even asked me before to switch him to a different class. He has now changed his mind. Hooray! Friends make such a difference!
I've gotten a few things replaced recently, so I've decided to hopefully stop feeling sad about my birthday. ;) Jeremy got me a new computer chair. I'm so glad. This one only cost 10 bucks at DI. It's big like the one Tom gave us years ago that I liked so much.
And on Saturday he got me a new alarm clock. I had my old one for almost 16 years. I got it as a high school graduation present from my parents. It played cassette tapes, but in recent years it was starting to break down. I had good motivation to get out of bed some mornings because sometimes it couldn't hold a pitch. It was ghastly. And if the kiddos messed with it and turned it to play the tape (not just the tape as an alarm), the only way to shut it off was unplug it.
And now I have a new cell phone. (I still have the same phone number, though, so don't worry, Mama!) I'd had the old one for just over 4 years. It's a flip phone (you flip it open), but the spring on the hinge was wearing out. And not only were my ring tones starting to sound garbled, but I could hardly hear anybody who called, even when I turned the volume all the way up. The new phone is a TracFone flip phone as well. It only cost $15. (Sweet!) I'm a little sad because my old phone was a cute shape. This one is a little bigger and more rectangular. Still, I'm glad to be able to hear when people call. I need to try out the calendar and see if it'll work better than the one on my old phone. That one had a glitch for most of its life. And another reason that I'm looking forward to Jeremy being done with school is that we're planning to get smart phones after he gets a good job. That's pretty exciting. We'll actually be able to take pictures and then send and receive them as texts. *Gasp* That will be new. :)
Goodness, this post is full of boring news! Ah, well.
I really did have a nice experience with my first interview, though. :) Bishop Reynolds is such a nice man. He's one of those people that is always smiling. He showed me that I was getting the first recommend in his new book of recommends. And not only that, but this new book is the beginning of a change in the recommends. They are a little longer, and you fold them in three parts instead of just in half. I felt way fancy! And he talked to me a bit about Jeremy going to France and made me promise a few times that I would ask for help when I need it, "because you're going to need some breaks." I told him that I was realizing that I need to make it to the Temple, so I've been scheming about that and he said, "Yes, you do!" So I have been thinking about it. I feel like we're going to get through this fine. I'm hoping that I'll have better luck finding Young Women who can babysit for me while I go to the Temple this summer. At least they won't have sports practices to go to then. (Sports are HUGE here. Everybody does sports, and there are always people out running, no matter what.)
Hyrum finally found a friend in his class. I'm so glad! I was worried about him. He'd even asked me before to switch him to a different class. He has now changed his mind. Hooray! Friends make such a difference!
I've gotten a few things replaced recently, so I've decided to hopefully stop feeling sad about my birthday. ;) Jeremy got me a new computer chair. I'm so glad. This one only cost 10 bucks at DI. It's big like the one Tom gave us years ago that I liked so much.
And on Saturday he got me a new alarm clock. I had my old one for almost 16 years. I got it as a high school graduation present from my parents. It played cassette tapes, but in recent years it was starting to break down. I had good motivation to get out of bed some mornings because sometimes it couldn't hold a pitch. It was ghastly. And if the kiddos messed with it and turned it to play the tape (not just the tape as an alarm), the only way to shut it off was unplug it.
And now I have a new cell phone. (I still have the same phone number, though, so don't worry, Mama!) I'd had the old one for just over 4 years. It's a flip phone (you flip it open), but the spring on the hinge was wearing out. And not only were my ring tones starting to sound garbled, but I could hardly hear anybody who called, even when I turned the volume all the way up. The new phone is a TracFone flip phone as well. It only cost $15. (Sweet!) I'm a little sad because my old phone was a cute shape. This one is a little bigger and more rectangular. Still, I'm glad to be able to hear when people call. I need to try out the calendar and see if it'll work better than the one on my old phone. That one had a glitch for most of its life. And another reason that I'm looking forward to Jeremy being done with school is that we're planning to get smart phones after he gets a good job. That's pretty exciting. We'll actually be able to take pictures and then send and receive them as texts. *Gasp* That will be new. :)
Goodness, this post is full of boring news! Ah, well.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Timmy
I do want to tell you, though, that the way he likes to eat best is to dump whatever he's been given on the floor or table and then eat it off said floor or table. Yeah, our house has been really clean lately. ;) (Cereal ground into the carpet.) Silly boy.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The Kiddos
My poor baby woke up sounding all croupy in the middle of the night. I pulled him into bed with me, and then I spent the rest of the night catching snatches of sleep. I worry when my babies sound like that! I even turned on the humidifier, but I fear it may be broken. I listened to him breathing a lot. And he snuggled closer and closer to me until he almost snuggled me right off the bed a few times. I'm not sure why, but I was not annoyed at my lack of sleep - probably because I like to snuggle with my babies. He felt hot, so I took off his jacket. (Yeah, I was lazy and didn't put his sleepers on.) His forehead didn't feel hot, but the rest of him did. I kept trying to muster the energy to go downstairs for some Tylenol, but I never did make it. I sure hope he feels better today. He's still sleeping.
Timmy has also learned to slither down the stairs feet first on his tummy. He's pretty quick at it. I need to video it. Last night while his brothers were doing laps on the stairs Timmy decided to join in. He climbed up about halfway, and then he noticed somebody going down, so he slithered down a few stairs. By then the person was starting back up, so he climbed back up a few and repeated. Cute boy. :)
Jill has noticed her brothers fighting for time to sit on my lap, so she's started doing the same. She has been rejecting her Papa's offers to hold her now and then, even when I have 2 or 3 people on my lap already. He comes to me and says, "A hudjoo." (Hold you - which really means, "Hold me!") She's also noticed her brothers saying, "What the...?" So now she says, "What a...?" in an exasperated voice. She even say it at appropriate times. It's so funny. And here are a few more Jill-isms for ya:
- dump a lout - dump it out
- snowball - dough ball (This is how she asks for a taste of cookie dough.)
- tyay - today (As in, "A shwimmin' tyay!" She pauses between those last two words and says the last word really excitedly.
Michael (well, and the rest of the boys too) has been suffering from the lost hour of sleep we had when daylight savings started. Actually there's been a lot of grumbling about that around here lately. When Michael's tired he gets really clingy, so it's been hard to get him to stay in bed at bedtime, and then he's tired the next day from staying up and it's hard to get him out of bed. Poor guy is stuck in a vicious cycle. We'll get it sorted out soon, though, I'm sure. We just need to be sure to get him to bed on time. And in the meantime I've been holding him extra. And I think it's funny how when he wants me and I'm in the bathroom (I hereby admit that I go hide in the bathroom with a book a few times a day when I need a little break.), he lays on the floor and talks to me under the door.
Like I mentioned before, yesterday we went swimming while the three older boys were at school. Jeremy and I had the three youngest kiddos in the car and were headed to the store, and we suddenly realized, "Hey, we have swimming suits and towels in the back of the car. Why don't we go swimming?" So we went swimming first. It's nice to go when there aren't many people there, and Michael had a blast. He's so happy that he's 6 now. (I still can't believe that. When he told somebody yesterday that he was six I almost said, "No, you're five!" My little boy's growing up - again!) He can go wherever he wants, and I don't have to worry. He gets around just fine. He swims just well enough.
Benji is also suffering from that lack of sleep. When he gets tired he can get way sad really fast. Last night Hyrum and Benji were impatiently waiting for something, so Jeremy sent them to do laps on the stairs. Jeremy always gives them a certain number of laps to do. Sometimes he'll even stand by the stairs with his stopwatch and time their laps. The boys really like that. (And we've found that little Michael is pretty darn quick. He can do it faster than any of his brothers.) Benji whined his way up and down 3 times and then slumped down and cried really loudly and wouldn't budge. Then Papa held him and got him calmed down and he finished his assigned laps. A little extra attention goes a long way.
Benji is usually really good about getting his homework done. He's enjoying his reading more, and I think part of the reason is that he's reading chapter books now. I'm glad to see him enjoying it, and I really love having him come and tell me what he read. He likes that I taught him some tricks for subtraction facts. He feels so sneaky getting the right answer right away. It's fun. :)
Joshua brought home a permission slip yesterday to start testing for Asperger's Syndrome. His teacher says that it will start at the school with the school psychologist. But she said that the psychologist is really bogged down with work right now, so it may be a few weeks before testing begins. That's a bummer. I really don't know how long all this will take, but I do know that this part is just preliminary and we will probably have to go to a neruologist and who knows what else to get it all done. I'm really thankful that it's at least started. We have a good friend whose son was diagnosed with AS at age 12 (after a 6-year battle to get him officially diagnosed so he could get help). She's already been a big support to us as she's gone through the process before. I'm thankful for all the support we're finding. Joshua is a terrific boy, and I really hope that this process will help him. I never want him to feel that he is deficient, though.
I think I mentioned that Joshua really likes dressing up. On Benji's baptism day he dressed up as a mad scientist. He's so clever! He likes to keep some of his pants with holes so he can dress up as a cabin boy with his striped red and black shirt. And he loves that he has a Harry Potter cloak. Every now and then he'll find his red marker and draw a scar on his head like Harry's. He likes his outfit to be as authentic as possible. He LOVES the Harry Potter series. Joshua has asked for a top hat and vest to go with the suit he wears to church. He wouldn't wear the top hat to church. He just wants to dress up in it. He likes being able to do that sort of thing. I don't know where to find a top hat. Maybe I could probably make one out of felt.
Hyrum has been having a hard time with school still. Every morning when I go to wake him up he cries because he doesn't want to go to school. I feel bad sending him. I think his teacher stresses him out. She's really not a bad person and I know she likes Hyrum. I think she's just trying to get her students ready for middle school, and one of the ways she's doing that is by teaching them to be more accountable and prepared. It's a good thing, but Hyrum isn't taking it well. He wishes I'd switch him to another class, but we're two months away from the end of the year, and what happens if he doesn't like the next teacher? I think if we can just be more on top of assignments he won't get docked for lateness and stuff and then maybe he won't be so stressed.
Yesterday Hyrum had a project he had to do with a partner. They'd read a book about the Holocaust (It's called Number the Stars.), and so he and his partner had to work together on Google Docs to write up a little paper. It was neat to see how that works. They just signed onto the same page (Hyrum was here and his partner was at his own house.), and they typed and edited it together. It was fun to see how well they worked together and also to finally see Google Docs in action. His teacher has been talking about it all year, but I guess I didn't really realize what all it is capable of doing. Pretty cool. And I think Hyrum really enjoyed that. I helped a little, and I enjoyed it too.
Blast! Timmy just woke up. Our humidifier is broken and didn't help at all. He's still croupy. That's not usual for my babies. We'll get this figured out, but I feel so bad for him. His breathing is so wheezy. :(
But Hallelujah! BookSmart (my book software) is up and running again today! :D
Friday, March 9, 2012
Parent/Teacher Conferences
We had a really busy day on Wednesday. Part of it was parent/teacher conferences, which the school inexplicably calls SEP. Ok. Anyway, here's how it went down.
Jeremy took care of the babies while I took Michael and met the older boys at their school right after classes ended for the day. We went to Benji's class first. His teacher pointed out a few problems he's been having. She says that he saunters in late every morning. She's told him that if he's not finished with breakfast when the first bell rings he's welcome to bring it with him, but he doesn't. And then he puts his feet up and eats cookies. Where is he getting cookies? And what makes him think he can saunter in late and put his feet up? His teacher loves him, but he definitely needs to show more respect. She read me some of his stories, and they were fun. Then she read me what he wrote for St. Patrick's Day. He was given a clover to write on and decorate. At the top were the words, "I am lucky because." He crossed out those words and wrote something like this: "I'm not lucky because I don't get to play games as much as I want and I can only watch movies that I don't like and..." You get the picture. He gives me this attitude all the time, and his teacher says she gets it too. It makes me sad. Benji does have a hard time as a middle child. I'm not sure how I help with that. I do wish he could see how much he has to be thankful for. Maybe that's something I can do. Still, he's doing well overall. He's learning a lot and his grades are great.
Next was Michael's appointment. I went into his classroom hoping to see that his teacher knows him like the other boys' teachers know them. I didn't find that. It's probably because these half-day teachers have twice as many kids as the other teachers. And maybe it's a little bit because they only have them for a few hours. Well, Michael is doing well, anyway. His scores on the mid-year tests they did in January were really high. He'll get to start bringing home books that he can read soon. Honestly, he was ready for that a while ago, but oh, well. He's just doing great, especially in math. He really likes math.
Next we went to Joshua's teacher. He's has our Relief Society President for a teacher. I love her. Anyway, his grades are good. She worries that he isn't doing so well on timed tests. One big reason for that is that we've been spending so much time just trying to get his homework done that we haven't had much time for practicing math facts. It's not that he's really given a lot of homework. He comes home with a math assignment, a bit of spelling, and maybe a page of language arts. I try to help him with his math as much as I can because he has a really, really hard time staying on-task. And if I don't help him heg gets a bunch wrong and then has to spend time correcting them instead of getting some done on the next lesson. And then we take forever to get it done at home. Anyway, Joshua's homework has been a huge burden on both of us, and when we have especially busy days we sometimes end up working on it late or waking up early or both. Not good.
One concern with Joshua is that we think he has Asperger Syndrome. You can Wikipedia that if you don't know what I'm talking about. I've wanted to get him tested for a few years, but I haven't been able to figure out how to go about it. I mentioned this to his teacher a couple of months ago when he was having an especially hard time and she wondered why. Well at our conference on Wednesday she asked if I'd like her to find out about how to get him tested. He told me that if he can get diagnosed they can get him an aide who would sit by him in class and help him stay focused and stuff. He's understanding most of the material. He just needs to stay focused. She also said she worries that if he doesn't have help he may fall through the cracks in middle school. I don't like that idea at all. So, of course, the answer to her question was, "Yes, please!" She said she'd ask a few people and find out. Hallelujah!
Another thing she said is that the kids in Joshua's class really like him, and they all kind of rally around him. The other day when he won some sort of Bingo game (looks like something that takes them a few weeks to win), they all were so excited for him. They all cheered, and Joshua come home with a gigantic pencil that he's really enjoyed using ever since. I love that! I know people like Joshua who have just been outcasts. I can't begin to explain how thankful I am that he has friends like that in his whole class.
Then we went to Hyrum's class. He's also doing well. His problem is that he's been forgetting to bring things home to finish, so he's had late work, and, therefore, he's not getting as much credit on things as he could. This is worrisome as he's headed to middle school next year. He needs to be more accountable. Hyrum was actually really worried about going in to his conference. He knew he'd had a bunch of late assignments and was really worried about what his score might be. He was actually crying at one point during the meeting. He just felt so bad. Poor guy. I came away feeling, though, that he's doing well. Everybody can improve somewhere, but overall, one quarter's grades are not going to be the end of the world, and he really has a good grade. I'm going to try to be more vigilant about making sure he gets things done, but he needs to remember to bring things home!
Hyrum is looking forward to middle school next year. He wants to get into orchestra and play the violin. Also, his teacher gave us something about a "maturation program" where they'll talk about how the kids' bodies are going to change. Goodness. Can you believe he's that old?
Jeremy took care of the babies while I took Michael and met the older boys at their school right after classes ended for the day. We went to Benji's class first. His teacher pointed out a few problems he's been having. She says that he saunters in late every morning. She's told him that if he's not finished with breakfast when the first bell rings he's welcome to bring it with him, but he doesn't. And then he puts his feet up and eats cookies. Where is he getting cookies? And what makes him think he can saunter in late and put his feet up? His teacher loves him, but he definitely needs to show more respect. She read me some of his stories, and they were fun. Then she read me what he wrote for St. Patrick's Day. He was given a clover to write on and decorate. At the top were the words, "I am lucky because." He crossed out those words and wrote something like this: "I'm not lucky because I don't get to play games as much as I want and I can only watch movies that I don't like and..." You get the picture. He gives me this attitude all the time, and his teacher says she gets it too. It makes me sad. Benji does have a hard time as a middle child. I'm not sure how I help with that. I do wish he could see how much he has to be thankful for. Maybe that's something I can do. Still, he's doing well overall. He's learning a lot and his grades are great.
Next was Michael's appointment. I went into his classroom hoping to see that his teacher knows him like the other boys' teachers know them. I didn't find that. It's probably because these half-day teachers have twice as many kids as the other teachers. And maybe it's a little bit because they only have them for a few hours. Well, Michael is doing well, anyway. His scores on the mid-year tests they did in January were really high. He'll get to start bringing home books that he can read soon. Honestly, he was ready for that a while ago, but oh, well. He's just doing great, especially in math. He really likes math.
Next we went to Joshua's teacher. He's has our Relief Society President for a teacher. I love her. Anyway, his grades are good. She worries that he isn't doing so well on timed tests. One big reason for that is that we've been spending so much time just trying to get his homework done that we haven't had much time for practicing math facts. It's not that he's really given a lot of homework. He comes home with a math assignment, a bit of spelling, and maybe a page of language arts. I try to help him with his math as much as I can because he has a really, really hard time staying on-task. And if I don't help him heg gets a bunch wrong and then has to spend time correcting them instead of getting some done on the next lesson. And then we take forever to get it done at home. Anyway, Joshua's homework has been a huge burden on both of us, and when we have especially busy days we sometimes end up working on it late or waking up early or both. Not good.
One concern with Joshua is that we think he has Asperger Syndrome. You can Wikipedia that if you don't know what I'm talking about. I've wanted to get him tested for a few years, but I haven't been able to figure out how to go about it. I mentioned this to his teacher a couple of months ago when he was having an especially hard time and she wondered why. Well at our conference on Wednesday she asked if I'd like her to find out about how to get him tested. He told me that if he can get diagnosed they can get him an aide who would sit by him in class and help him stay focused and stuff. He's understanding most of the material. He just needs to stay focused. She also said she worries that if he doesn't have help he may fall through the cracks in middle school. I don't like that idea at all. So, of course, the answer to her question was, "Yes, please!" She said she'd ask a few people and find out. Hallelujah!
Another thing she said is that the kids in Joshua's class really like him, and they all kind of rally around him. The other day when he won some sort of Bingo game (looks like something that takes them a few weeks to win), they all were so excited for him. They all cheered, and Joshua come home with a gigantic pencil that he's really enjoyed using ever since. I love that! I know people like Joshua who have just been outcasts. I can't begin to explain how thankful I am that he has friends like that in his whole class.
Then we went to Hyrum's class. He's also doing well. His problem is that he's been forgetting to bring things home to finish, so he's had late work, and, therefore, he's not getting as much credit on things as he could. This is worrisome as he's headed to middle school next year. He needs to be more accountable. Hyrum was actually really worried about going in to his conference. He knew he'd had a bunch of late assignments and was really worried about what his score might be. He was actually crying at one point during the meeting. He just felt so bad. Poor guy. I came away feeling, though, that he's doing well. Everybody can improve somewhere, but overall, one quarter's grades are not going to be the end of the world, and he really has a good grade. I'm going to try to be more vigilant about making sure he gets things done, but he needs to remember to bring things home!
Hyrum is looking forward to middle school next year. He wants to get into orchestra and play the violin. Also, his teacher gave us something about a "maturation program" where they'll talk about how the kids' bodies are going to change. Goodness. Can you believe he's that old?
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Something must be wrong with me
I really, really like looking outside. I don't know why. And maybe I just like it a lot since we moved away from that horrible eyesore that was across the street from our old house. Either way, I'm always a little sad to close the blinds at the end of the day. And today I almost teared up about it. It makes me sad to shut myself off from outside. So silly.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Editing...
I've complained about it before and I'll surely complain about it again. I dislike this business of editing. I'm working on my book again. These books all seem to come out to be roughly 400 pages. And while I'm glad that they're all written, I don't like doing the editing. I have to make sure the layouts are flush and consistent, and I have to make spelling and grammar corrections. It sounds like something I would enjoy, but I just don't enjoy it all that much. I think I'd enjoy it a billion times better if I could print it and THEN edit it. It's much more fun to edit something in my recliner with a red pen and my feet up. ;) But as it is about 400 pages, that's just not going to happen.
Also, as I'm reading through all these things I've written I keep asking myself how I really felt about certain things. Sometimes I'm altogether too blunt when I'm upset while writing about things. Sometimes I leave hints that I'm upset, but I kind of skirt around the problem. I keep thinking that if I said what I was really thinking I'd have a clearer picture of who I was at that moment in time. But if I did that it might be so good, you know? Life is full of nit-picky little differences, and though they are there, focusing on them would probably be more destructive than informative. At the same time, I keep reading through and wondering where I was in my little "journey," though I don't really relish calling it that. I know that since I wrote those things I have grown and changed. I also know that those things I wrote back in 2010 (Yes, I am behind.) to me sound shallow and not very thoughtful. I think back to what I was dealing with that I couldn't talk about, and it makes me wonder if I just sounded shallow and unthoughtful (Is that a word?) simply because I couldn't talk about that huge thing I was dealing with. Was I trying to make it sound like things were just dandy? Maybe I was. And maybe I needed that at that moment in time. Still, I don't want people to think that I'm not a thinker and that I'm shallow.
And while we're on the subject, who am I, anyway? I mean, am I the girl in my head who never stops thiking? Am I the girl in the mirror that I'm not too sure about? Am I the quiet girl that everybody else sees? Aren't those interesting questions? Certainly, I like myself, but sometimes I feel like there are all these versions of me and I'm never sure which one is really me, because just one of them can't be all there is to me. And then am I a different person if I'm having a hard day or a splendid day? And if that's true, then who is anybody? I just trust that God knows who I am. I am very much interested in getting his perspective on this matter.
And just so you know, yes, I'm writing this in a sleepy stupor. I'm probably going to come back and read this and say, "What?" I don't feel like I've even been able to even see clearly in the last week or so because I've been so tired. I can't seem to shake it.
Also, as I'm reading through all these things I've written I keep asking myself how I really felt about certain things. Sometimes I'm altogether too blunt when I'm upset while writing about things. Sometimes I leave hints that I'm upset, but I kind of skirt around the problem. I keep thinking that if I said what I was really thinking I'd have a clearer picture of who I was at that moment in time. But if I did that it might be so good, you know? Life is full of nit-picky little differences, and though they are there, focusing on them would probably be more destructive than informative. At the same time, I keep reading through and wondering where I was in my little "journey," though I don't really relish calling it that. I know that since I wrote those things I have grown and changed. I also know that those things I wrote back in 2010 (Yes, I am behind.) to me sound shallow and not very thoughtful. I think back to what I was dealing with that I couldn't talk about, and it makes me wonder if I just sounded shallow and unthoughtful (Is that a word?) simply because I couldn't talk about that huge thing I was dealing with. Was I trying to make it sound like things were just dandy? Maybe I was. And maybe I needed that at that moment in time. Still, I don't want people to think that I'm not a thinker and that I'm shallow.
And while we're on the subject, who am I, anyway? I mean, am I the girl in my head who never stops thiking? Am I the girl in the mirror that I'm not too sure about? Am I the quiet girl that everybody else sees? Aren't those interesting questions? Certainly, I like myself, but sometimes I feel like there are all these versions of me and I'm never sure which one is really me, because just one of them can't be all there is to me. And then am I a different person if I'm having a hard day or a splendid day? And if that's true, then who is anybody? I just trust that God knows who I am. I am very much interested in getting his perspective on this matter.
And just so you know, yes, I'm writing this in a sleepy stupor. I'm probably going to come back and read this and say, "What?" I don't feel like I've even been able to even see clearly in the last week or so because I've been so tired. I can't seem to shake it.
Timmy Update
Well, Timmy is doing better at this weaning business all the time. I did nurse him for a few minutes the night before last. Let's face it - I needed to relieve some pressure and he'd been screaming for a while. I'm wishing I could do it again - right now. I'm hurtin' pretty bad and I don't know where that silly pump is. Massaging isn't doing much. I'm all kinds of hurt today. Cringing has given me a headache.
However, on the bright side, I don't remember for sure whether or not he woke up the night before last at all. I'm a little hazy on the details. I've been super tired the last few weeks. But I do know that last night he didn't wake up at all! That is simply amazing. This is a boy who has 15 1/2 months and has only slept all the way through the night maybe twice in his whole life. I'm hoping this is a trend we will continue, and I'm hoping he'll learn to nap without nursing (because he was finally starting to nap as long as I'd nurse him laying on the bed so he could stay asleep instead of needing to be laid down). Fingers crossed!
And before I forget I'd better write right now - I was set apart yesterday as a visiting teaching supervisor. I hand out stuff every month and collect numbers. I took a walk yesterday to meet some of the people I supervise and collect numbers. It was lovely. The weather has been really nice in the afternoon.
However, on the bright side, I don't remember for sure whether or not he woke up the night before last at all. I'm a little hazy on the details. I've been super tired the last few weeks. But I do know that last night he didn't wake up at all! That is simply amazing. This is a boy who has 15 1/2 months and has only slept all the way through the night maybe twice in his whole life. I'm hoping this is a trend we will continue, and I'm hoping he'll learn to nap without nursing (because he was finally starting to nap as long as I'd nurse him laying on the bed so he could stay asleep instead of needing to be laid down). Fingers crossed!
And before I forget I'd better write right now - I was set apart yesterday as a visiting teaching supervisor. I hand out stuff every month and collect numbers. I took a walk yesterday to meet some of the people I supervise and collect numbers. It was lovely. The weather has been really nice in the afternoon.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Scrapbooking
I've decided that right now the biggest problem I have with the scrapbooking I see around that people have done (besides the time it takes and the necessity of having an endless supply of creative ideas) is that the pages are so busy they distract from the pictures. When I open a book of pictures I want to notice the pictures, not the frills. However, I do admit that I'm happy for the people who can make those and enjoy them. I personally do not have the necessary endless supply of creative ideas. My wedding book is embarrassing proof of that. Something must be done about it...
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Cold Turkey
Timmy is 15 1/2 months old and still has no interest in being done with nursing, even though he doesn't need to. He just likes the comfort of it. Well, given the fact that I've still been sleeping backwards in bed and waking up sore from struggling all night to stay on the bed, it's just time. So yesterday I woke up deciding that that was the day we were going to go cold turkey. That's the only thing I hadn't tried.
He did really well all day. I knew the night would be harder, and it definitely was. Falling asleep nursing is what he's known his whole life. It was painful for both of us to do this. He screamed for a long time at bedtime because he was tired. He just wouldn't go to sleep. Jeremy finally took him and fed him (again), and he finally fell asleep around midnight.
Then at 2:00 he woke up again and screamed. He screamed until he was hoarse and kept screaming. I tried holding him in every imaginable position, standing, sitting, rocking... I soon realized that all I was doing was restraining him, not just holding him. He was struggling to get away, but if I put him down he rolled around on the floor and screamed louder. I finally took him downstairs and turned on Baby Signing Time on my computer. Oh, my goodness. I have never hated that show so much. It just felt like it went on forever. It's just not nearly as cute at 2:30 AM. Timmy sure enjoyed it, though. He kept sitting up and smiling, jabbering and waving his hands around. And then he'd lay back against me and watch again for a bit. Afterwards I turned it off. I simply couldn't stand to watch it again. He cried some more as I stood and bounced him, and he finally went back to sleep at about 3:00. Hallelujah! I crawled back in bed and fell instantly back to sleep.
He woke up one other time, but he fell right back asleep when I held him a bit. I am so groggy this morning, and I have so much to do. I am not looking forward to bedtime tonight. It's not going to be fun. I'm just praying that it gets better soon for his sake and mine.
It kills me to wean my baby. It means he's getting all big. It feels like I just weaned Hyrum a few weeks ago, and now he's 11. I'm not ready for my baby to grow up, and I hate thinking that I'm causing him sorrow by not giving him what he's known all his life. Certainly, there are plenty of happy days ahead, but for now I'll allow myself to feel sad a bit at the passing of an age.
He did really well all day. I knew the night would be harder, and it definitely was. Falling asleep nursing is what he's known his whole life. It was painful for both of us to do this. He screamed for a long time at bedtime because he was tired. He just wouldn't go to sleep. Jeremy finally took him and fed him (again), and he finally fell asleep around midnight.
Then at 2:00 he woke up again and screamed. He screamed until he was hoarse and kept screaming. I tried holding him in every imaginable position, standing, sitting, rocking... I soon realized that all I was doing was restraining him, not just holding him. He was struggling to get away, but if I put him down he rolled around on the floor and screamed louder. I finally took him downstairs and turned on Baby Signing Time on my computer. Oh, my goodness. I have never hated that show so much. It just felt like it went on forever. It's just not nearly as cute at 2:30 AM. Timmy sure enjoyed it, though. He kept sitting up and smiling, jabbering and waving his hands around. And then he'd lay back against me and watch again for a bit. Afterwards I turned it off. I simply couldn't stand to watch it again. He cried some more as I stood and bounced him, and he finally went back to sleep at about 3:00. Hallelujah! I crawled back in bed and fell instantly back to sleep.
He woke up one other time, but he fell right back asleep when I held him a bit. I am so groggy this morning, and I have so much to do. I am not looking forward to bedtime tonight. It's not going to be fun. I'm just praying that it gets better soon for his sake and mine.
It kills me to wean my baby. It means he's getting all big. It feels like I just weaned Hyrum a few weeks ago, and now he's 11. I'm not ready for my baby to grow up, and I hate thinking that I'm causing him sorrow by not giving him what he's known all his life. Certainly, there are plenty of happy days ahead, but for now I'll allow myself to feel sad a bit at the passing of an age.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Blessed
For the last couple of days I've been going through a billion pictures and posting on the old blog. Is it the fact that I just went to the Temple on Tuesday? Or is it the fact that I took Excedrin this morning for a horrid headache? Either way, I am feeling incredibly blessed. I know that I don't always recognize how blessed I am, but every now and then the little things just suddenly get to me and I feel so thankful. My life is full of happy children, and my computer is full of happy pictures of those happy children. It is all more than I can grasp at or explain. But at this point in time, I am very happy and thankful. :)
Yesterday was a really busy day. I spent the morning cleaning and working on pictures. When the boys got home from school I finished cleaning and made cookies for scouts. Then I spent a little time with Jeremy while he was home for a bit. Then we hurried off to scouts - me with all six of the children. Then I hurried and made pizza dough, threw it in the fridge, threw on a dress, and dashed off to the church for my Temple Recommend interview. After that I made pizza while Jill (who had decided she didn't need clothes) stood at the sink "helping." She got a rag really, really wet and scrubbed and scrubbed a butter knife. Then she tried to scrub down the cabinet doors with the same very wet rag. The floor was soaked and so were the cabinet doors. I could have been annoyed, but this is just another instance where she was honestly trying to help me, and I was thankful. It was a really busy day, but it was filled with goodness.
At my interview our good bishop chatted with me about Jeremy's upcoming trip to Paris. He made me promise a few times that I would ask for help when I need it ("because you're going to need it! You're going to need some breaks!"). He told me to not forget that he has a ward family here with plenty of people who are happy to help. I told him I had just been realizing on the trip over there that I'm going to need to be sure to get to the Temple, so I'll need to find help to do that. He said, "Yes. Definitely. You be sure to do that." He also counseled me to study the two roles of our Savior listed in one of the questions he asked me: Savior and Redeemer. He said it's not required (of course), but that he's been studying that very thing and has been very blessed in doing so. It's nice to have an assignment. And I'm looking forward to being set apart on Sunday. :)
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