No Tag!?!?!?

I would have to side with Keryn on this one, I think that people need to learn how to constructively solve problems and tag is a perfect game to learn that with. It also teaches self restraint, albeit over time but eventually kids get the hang of it. You can only shelter for so long until you start to hinder development. That might be a very strong opinion but that is the way I see it.

As an aside, Keryn I never set up things before with being able to get on the blog and so wanted to know if you could send me an invitation or tell me what I need to do to be able to post to the blog. I also finally caved and signed up for a gmail account, so if you could please send the invitation to tjswing@gmail.com I would appreciate it. Thanks again.

Tyler

Re: Tag

Well, I think that we are worring about the wrong things!!!

Kids MUST be protected from tag, but not from the bullying problem that seems to get worse and worse every year!

I am a medium well gal myself!

Banned

"Colo. School Bans Tag on Its Playground"

And it's even in Colorado Springs! It's Discovery Canyon Campus school--is that the cool one in Black Forest, LaDale?

And what do you think about banning tag? I think it's pretty stupid. Kids were complaining of "chased against their will". What is that? If you don't want to play, DON'T RUN. If the other kids keep "tagging" you, move toward a teacher and mention (loudly) that you don't want them touching you. Learn to deal with the problem.

Or am I being too simplistic?

Re: Steak

I'm a medium well type of gal, personally.

So, are the Goffs here or there? Just curious.

Love you all!

Well Done

I really am a well done kind of person.

I was at the Salt Grass steak house on Monday night with the missionaries and the Goff's. I, of course, ordered steak. Medium. I wanted to try it. Everyone says it's better that way. I took a couple of bites and thought it was horrible.

Yesterday, I popped the left-overs in to broil. After it started to smell wonderfully, I took it out and decided steak from the Salt Grass is actually quite good. But I like it well done:)

I'm just a well done kind of gal and I'm never going to let anyone else tell me otherwise.

Happy...

August 24th, everybody!

Did you know that on this day:

In 79 A.D., Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii?
In 1814, The British set fire to the White House and Capitol Building?
In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as leader of the USSR after the failed coup attempt August 18-22?

But, Samuel, which of these are we celebrating? If it was the organization of the Primary, you're off by one day. That happened on August 25th.

Jobs

Well, it has been very interesting! Jeff's job search has yeilded some very promising leads. It is still very nerve wraking as we found out today that First Magnus filed bankrupcy today and as a result, our last paycheck may be held up for months as it works it way through probate! We are very grateful to the Family Fund, we may need help with the mortgage, we are going over things now. Tonight, Jeff went to the Stake Emplyment Meeting. While there they asked him to put on a Fireside for the Stake about Mortgages and how to get out of the situations that so many people now find themselves in because they went for intrest only, option ARMS or any other of the dozens of insane mortgage programs which put people into houses they couldn't really afford! Jeff is wondering if maybe this is the reason he is currently unemployed. If he wasn't he wouldn't have been there tonight. I hope that is the case, because then he'll be getting another job next week! We will be keeping everyone informed! Thank you all for you prayers.

Gid kid's tests

Gideon had some tests at the children's hospital today.

He passed with two A's and a B.

No, just kidding. Every time I say something about his "tests" that's what I think of, though.

But he did pass. His bladder study test was very satisfactory--he's not having bladder spasms or over-full high-pressure problems. This is good because it means there is much less chance for kidney infections and other high-risk problems. We don't have to go in for this test again for twelve months--yay!

His renal (kidney) ultrasound was also fine. Apparently his kidneys are a bit on the small size, but not anything to worry about. But everything is growing fine and healthy and looks just like it should. Another yay!

In a lot of ways, what I think of as his main disability--the potential that he won't walk--doesn't actually impact his quality of life. It's the "little" things--like kidney problems--that can cause much bigger problems. So I'm very very grateful that he is getting such a great start in life!

And now I'm exhausted, and must go to bed. It's an awfully long drive up to Primary's, and coming back during rush hour is no picnic, especially with tired, cranky kids in the back. (Thank goodness for Grandma and Grandpa Ross watching the older two for me! It sure made my day about 1000 times easier.)

Re: Round-up

I should start by saying that this last weekend Caren and I did purchase some Round-Up to help keep our crab grass in our front yard under control. It is very difficult to keep Adam and Kip away from the poison as they want to help so much. Adam even went so far as to get our Weed-B-Gone, which kills most everything except crab grass, thus it is good to use on the grass.

Now for our little family. I will start with myself. Classes officially started yesterday. I see it most as I walk on campus. there are a lot of people here. The summer seems to have allowed my mind to forget how busy campus gets during the main semesters. Research is doing well. I recently got to 'play' with liquid nitrogen. It was fun even if it was also difficult to get it to where we wanted it to be.

As for my beautiful wife: she continues to amaze me. She works hard on a daily basis to play/work with our boys. She continuously looks for oportunities to help our boys underdeveloped skills to grow. This of course is a tiring job and I know she looks forward to when I come home in the evening.

Adam is loving riding the bus to school. We are so excited that his speach is improving so much that he is talking in sentences to us now. We are thrilled to say the least.

Kip is showing some improvement in his theorpies. He is lengthing his attention span on the different activities that Caren and/or his theorpist play with him. He has recently rediscovered TJ Berrytales; a modern Teddy Rupskin.

So that is us in a nut shell. I hope you are all doing well. SKT

Round-up

No, not the weed-killing stuff (although I should get some of that out, that's for sure. Except how does one keep one's small children out of the way while spraying POISONOUS DEATH? Just wondering.) but a round-up of what's going down in the Chateau!

So, LaDale, did Nickelodeon do a cartoon of Sideway Stories? Or are the fifth graders just too jaded to think it's funny? And I think you'll be an awesome Laurel adviser.

David, excellent about the job! We're really excited for you. Does this mean we won't be seeing you Labor Day weekend? Bummer, but the job is definitely worth it!

Jen, I promise that if anyone I know is getting a re-fi, I'll send them your way. They don't have to live in Arizona, do they?

And finally, I recently had something I wrote (it's not a very exciting post) posted at one of the big Mormon mommy blogs. You could go read it if you want!

Firsts

During this past week and a half I have had many first. Here are but a few.

The first time I've taught a first day of school with fifth graders.

The first time I've worn slippers all day while teaching those fifth graders. I wasn't kidding about the FEET hurting.

The first time I did not get a roaring laugh while reading Wayside Stories. (STUPID NICKELODEON.)

The first time I've stressed this badly about parents/teacher night. (Coming up on Thursday.)

The first time I've fallen asleep during Enrichment. (How embarrassing.) I did catch my self with a head jerking reaction that probably attracted more attention than the snoring.

The first time I've taught a Laurel lesson. (My new calling- laurel adviser!?!?!)

The first time I've eaten at a Korean restaurant. It was quite good. We were the only ones in the restaurant so the service was excellent.

The first time I've ever played a memorized piece of music before my piano student.

The first time in a long time I haven't shaken the piano with nerves while playing for the choir in sacrament meeting.


There are many more to come, I am sure. For now, I hope you all feel quite caught up with my life.

Coming soon- a daily blog of LaDale's life (although it will have to be posted some weekend from notes taken all day because otherwise I could quite possibly be fired.

Love you all!!!

Whew!

Things summer makes you forget about: how much your throat hurts after talking all day, how much your FEET hurt after standing on them all day, how frustrating it is not being able to run to the little girl's room anytime you need to, how wonderful lunch sounds at about 10:45 in the morning, how ready for bed one can be even before the clock strikes 8 o'clock in the evening, how early 5:00 is in the morning, how to use the laminating machine, how crazy it makes me when their is no name on a paper, how crazy it makes me when someone spells their instead of there (ha, ha), how truly scatter brained I can be even when I am totally prepared(!?!?!), how no matter how much I try Johny will sometimes be called Joey and Joey sometimes Johny, and how much fun it is to have Flat Stanley for a visit (don't worry Jenafer he is returning your way soon!!)and how much I missed teaching (although I could use about three more hours everyday- three hours where no one can reach me by telephone, mail or you-whoing!).

It is 6:37 here and I am seriously thinking about calling it a night. Tomorrow will come bright an early and it will only be Monday.

I'm scared of the aye-aye

25 of the World's Weirdest Animals

I think my favorite is the angora rabbit. And, of course, Skippy the axolotl.

We're Back!!!!

Good morning from Las Vegas. Yes we are finally back on the Blog! I am soooo sorry that we have not been keeping up with the family.

Things have been very hectic around here. About a month ago I was rear ended on my way to work but as there was no visible damage I thought nothing of it. Our car is now in the shop with a little under $1000 in repairs needed. I got our insurance company involved but didn't have more than the phone number of the woman who rear ended me. However, after leaving her a message to call me back...she did. I now have her insurance information...she had told her insurance what had happened but she forgot to get my number to tell me to call her insurance so she had to wait for me to call her.

We now have a rental car until ours is fixed and I wish we could keep it...an '07 Ford Escalade (AKA the Monster...it's huge) just because I said I needed to fit 3 car seats in the back.

Now for the BIG news...

I have a new job!! The company is called Shift4. They are a credit card processing company (I think that is right anyway) when you swipe your card at a store then they are the ones who process that information and sends it to the bank for approval...it's their software that the store uses to provide card swiping services to their customers.

I start on August 28th and, after the training period is over, it is a 4x10 job so I will still have one extra day a week off but still have a 40 hr/week job.

I'm excited for to start...

Love ya all!!

The Stroller Dilemma

So at the Bountiful Temple on Wednesday, everyone was laughing at my stroller--it's a normal double stroller, but it's been...well-used. Although falling apart, I could still fit all three of my kids in it, and rearrange stuff enough to fit four, as long as the fourth was Katy, who weighs less than any of my babies. (Yes, Gideon weighs almost three pounds more than Katy.) And that was very useful while waiting outside of the temple, with Gabrielle's two (Kim was there to watch them), and JeriAnne's three (the youngest is four, so it wasn't that there was a ton of watching to do with them). At the temple waiting for the bride and groom to come out for pictures, I mentioned to Uncle Kim, Uncle Bob, and Mema that we were going to run that stroller into the ground. Then we'd use some money we'd saved up to buy a new one (~$150 in uncashed checks and money orders hanging on my fridge).

It lasted exactly one day more.

We picked Bradley up from work yesterday so we could tour the new office (they move in today). On the way from the old office to the new office, with all three kids in the stroller, one of the back wheels started bowing off more than usual. By the end of the (rather frustrating, because so much still wasn't done, and yet they were moving in the morning) tour, the wheel came off completely. We didn't even bring the stroller home; we left it in one of big dumpsters on campus.

So. I started looking for a new stroller. We could just buy the same stroller, for $87, at Wal-mart:
It's not been a bad one, and we've had it for two summers now. Not too pricey, not too exciting. The kids can get in and out by themselves (well, not Gideon!), and I already know it fits in my trunk. And I can distribute the weight by remembering to put one of the big kids in the front and let the back have the (relatively) lighter baby and the other big kid.

We could get the Sit N' Stand style, $140-ish from various places, including Babies R Us:
This is a fun idea, with a seat in the front for Gideon, and a little bench in the back for the big kid. And it looks light and easy to steer (something my old bus-stroller was not). Problem, though: I have TWO big kids. There is sort of enough room for two, if one sits and one stands. But those back wheels look a little flimsy, especially with as much weight as we'll have back there. Can't have Gideon in the back, so all the weight will end up there.

Did you know that they make triple seat strollers? They do! But most of them are:

• A. made for triplet babies, so they aren't easy to get in and out of;
• 2. very very huge
• iii. between $800-1200

So, not going there.

But wait! Sometime during my jaded browsing, hope suddenly shone from my computer screen. It was beautiful. It was perfect. It was...not exactly small, nor cheap. But at least it wasn't a house payment. Behold the Joovy Big Caboose Stand On Triple Stroller (only $299 with free shipping and no tax, if I buy it today!):
I could put Mercy in the front seat--she could get in and out--Ezra could be in the far back standing or sitting on the little bench, and Gideon could be in the middle seat. Stroller can hold up to 125 lbs! It's beautiful. I want it! (If it fits in my trunk. If it doesn't, well, I'll just need to get a van, right?)

Hence the dilemma. I could buy one just like we had for 1/3 the price. I could spend forty more dollars and buy something different but possibly not as workable. Or I could spend $300 and buy a dream-machine.

What should I do? What will I do?

Jobs

Well, it has happened again! Today, Jeff logged on and found that his company disolved while we were asleap last night. So we are back on the job market again. We are stepping up the Loan Officer thing, so if you know anyone who is planning on refinancing or buying or anything, please refer them to me! Other that that, he has had a few really good leads for contract underwritting jobs, so hopefully this will be short term. We will have to see.

YAY

Yay for the family blog! (What an awesome song, Jen!)

Today was a very very very very long, hot day. It was fun being at Garn's wedding, but man alive am I tired!

I'll write up a little bit about it tomorrow. Right now, I'm going to sleep.

Happy birthday

Happy, happy birthday, Blogger dear,
for keeping us informed for two whole years
If I had a wish than it would be,
for everyone to write more, including ME!

Only 26 to go

create your own visited states map

My eyes, my eyes!

Ooooh, Jen, I love that idea! Much better than laser eye surgery--which I want, but I'm a little scared of it. And wow is it expensive, at least for eyes as bad as ours. But this looks awesome.

Hey, more toy recalls. Polly Pockets, Doggy Daycare, etc.

LaDale, when you're not going crazy busy and aren't exhausted, be sure to tell us how your first day/week of school went!

I'm excited, how 'bout you?

What do you all think of this?
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=49750&cl=3690822&ch=68276&src=news

QOTW

Cars these days have so many luxuries--a/c, GPS, multiple-CD changers, DVD players, etc. What new type of luxury would you like to see invented--or, if it already has been invented, easily accessible the way the other ones are--for your car?

I actually have three: (1)I would like constant, hi-fi, cheap internet connection to follow my car around, like a bubble. (2) I would like a flip down tray like on an airplane (so I can put my computer down and surf said 'net). And completely unrelated, (3) I would like a flip down changing table for my babies.

What about you?

Happy Happy Birthday

We love you Jacob! You're half-way to twelve!

Blood and Guts

I have lovely, must sought after O- blood.

And, speaking of blood, have you thought about spelling lately?

Okay, so I loved reading about Keryn and Samuel's interpretation of those numbers and how they apply to spelling. Now, for the answers:

700,000 the number of words in the English language. English is, by far, the language with the most words. Finnish comes in second with 400,000 and German third with about 136,000 (I think- I can't remember the number of German words exactly).

26 the number of letters in the English alphabet.

44 the number of phonemes (sounds) used to create words in the English language.

1,024 the number of patterns used in the English language to spell those words.

Scientific spelling. It will probably save my life.

Blood types

I am A+, just like Mom,
Jeff is O+, just like, well almost everyone else.

The kids, naturally, have never been tested. But as I have AO+- and Jeff has OO+-, They actually have the same chances we all had. With the exception of only a 25% chance of -, instead of the 75% we had.

I Vant to Suck Your Blood

Not really.

But welcome to the community of O+ blood-types, Samuel! I have a question--do you and Caren have non-dial-up internet at home? Just wondering.

Last night was the father and sons campout for our ward. Mercy was excessively sad about being left behind. But a handful of glo-sticks, some pizza, and Backyardigan-therapy soon turned her sadness into adorable happiness. She has been SO cute this morning, though. In between watching Uniqua and Austin and Pablo and Tyrone, and playing with her glo-sticks, she keeps asking, "Where Eh-ra? Where Daddy?" I think she misses them.

Do the rest of you know your blood type? Just curious. Daddy's was O- and Mommy's is A+, I think (is that right, Mema?).

Blood and Numbers

So I thought you would all like to know that I finally know my blood type. It only took me 3 tries in 3 different states over a span of nearly 8 years. I have ....

....

....

O positive blood. And you thought I was not really going to tell you. Now you know and everyone knows that "knowing is half the battle." I always wondered what the other half of the battle was when all they do these days is push buttons once they know where to fire. Oh, well.

As for the numbers, I have a guess. I think 700,000 is the number of words a child will be exposed to in elementary school. Not that all of them will be on a spelling test at one point or another but there you go. 26 is the number of usable letters in our American/English language. 44 is the number of letters in the largest word. Don't ask me to tell you what that word is for I have no idea. And lastly, 1024, which coincidentally is 2^10, is the number of bits in a typical spell check program. There you go. As you can tell this is all hogwash and I obviously don't know what these numbers have to do with spelling. But this was fun anyway.

SKT

President Faust

President James E. Faust passed away early this morning.

Amy, numbers, and spelling

Happy, happy birthday, Amy! I'm so sorry I didn't get a chance to call you today to wish you many happy returns in person. But I hope you had a marvelous day.

One bad thing about being really sick for a short, intense time is that you sleep all day. No, I guess that's a good thing, because Bradley could stay home and watch the kids while I slept. And that's all I did today, except wake up long enough to take more drugs and feed Gideon (boy, those two activities sound odd grouped together!). But anyway, at about five pm I woke up feeling a lot better. And now, even though I have a headache still, I'm WIDE awake. And it's midnight. Oh, well.

LaDale, first of all, you had a dentist appointment at 6:45 AM!!!!!! Wow.

Second, how easy! 700,000 is the number of times it takes for me to spell the word "conscious" right (and even then I had to use spell-check), 26 was the age I was when I learned how to spell "sentence" (it has two "e"s and no "a"), 44 is the number of words with more than two syllables that I can spell correctly all the time, and 1024 is the year that the Catholic Church decided to take bad spelling off the list of unforgivable sins. (You may not know that 1997 was the year that the Catholic Church made John Schidner, the inventor of spell-check, a saint.)

Tidbit of information

What do these numbers have to do with spelling?

Answers to come in a later post.

700,000
26
44
1,024

:)

Happy Birthday, Amy!!

I had a dentist appointment at 6:45 A.M. this morning and I didn't figure you would enjoy a Happy Birthday phone call before the sun rose. I got home today, after the dentist appointment, a training in spelling and comprehension on the Air Force Base, and two hours of piano lessons in Black Forest, at 7:30 and you had already left for a well deserved dinner with your darling husband. Just know that I thought of you today and wish you a happy birthday.

Happy returns of the day!

Happy, Happy, Birthday, Amy dear!

I hope you have a wonderful, restful (ha, ha!) day!

We all love you, and am glad you are in our family!

(You keep David in line!)

Day in the Life of Keryn VI

4:00 pm All kids wake up (not quite all at the same time, but it was a pretty quiet napping period all told)

4:30 pm Say good-bye to Telima and Katy. Let Ezra and Mercy play with the computer camera on the iMac. Toy with the idea of not making dinner. Seriously consider leaving Gideon's braces off during the day 36 hours earlier--in other words, starting now.

Ezra playing with the iMac camera

4:30-6:00 pm Surf the web, read blogs, and put the baby diaper on the baby doll approximately 900 times. Or more.

6:00 pm Welcome Bradley home. Children excitedly give him hugs.

6:05 pm Say good-bye as he dashes out the door to retrieve a part for our new fridge.

6:15 pm Feed Gideon again. He doesn't like green beans, but he eats them anyways.

6:20 pm Welcome Brad home again. The kids are not QUITE as excited this time.

6:25 pm Go take shower. Tell Bradley I waited until he got home so I didn't have Ezra and Mercy stripping and trying to join me. Ezra tries to strip and join me anyway. Need to remember to LOCK bathroom door.

7:00 pm Walk up to church to attend Primary Board Meeting. Eat yummy baked potatoes, salad, rolls. Talk a lot to women I don't get to talk a lot to. Find out that nearly everyone at table has lived in the ward 20+ years. Feel young and upstart-ish.

8:00 pm Music people dismissed. We don't have to stay for the meeting part. YAY! Walk home, enjoying the evening.

8:05 pm Ezra missed me. It's good to know.

8:15 pm Help Brad take apart our sink. Looks like the part we need is relatively small (hopefully hopefully!). Say good-bye to Bradley as he dashes off to Home Depot to get the part before they close. Also he needs the part to get our fridge door-water and ice-maker to work. (Hopefully again!)

8:45 pm Put Ezra and Mercy to bed--change diapers, get drinks, listen to excuses, put the diaper on that blasted doll one more time (today). Say prayers. Mercy starts out repeating her prayer at normal volume, but quickly trails off until you can barely hear the tiny aspirated whisper of "Amen". Ezra's prayers are pretty unchanging nowadays. He's grateful for his bones, though. That's good.

9:00 pm Finish this post.

Day in the Life of Keryn V

1:00 - 2:15 pm Talk with Telima and sort toys. Chase three small children away from my piles. Let Telima entertain Gideon while I try to turn my disaster area of toy room into something less scary.

This is the before of the family/toy room

And this is after. Not bad for a couple of hours work!

2:15 pm Put various and sundry kids to bed for naptime. Amazingly enough, Ezra actually falls asleep. Katy is another story.

2:30 pm Watch Troop Beverly Hills with Telima while eating lunch.

Day in the Life of Keryn IV

11:27 am Wonder if I've got the Roman numerals wrong.

11:55 am Baby crying, Brad on the phone asking what I want from Costco (he's there for work right now), Mercy wants to get down from eating "lunch" (Rice Krispies)...um...got a little crazy there for a second. I tell Bradley to buy some more Minute Maid Frozen Lemonades, hang up, get Mercy down, go get the baby.

11:56 am Phone rings again. Ezra answers. It's Mary, our PT, canceling. Okay with me, gives me more time to clean and organize.

12:20 pm Telima comes over. My children are SO EXCITED. Seriously. Ezra shouts, "It IS her! It IS her!" Mercy screams, "Where are you, Katy?" I think they are happy to see her.

12:24 pm Telima hands me a box of chocolate-covered donuts. Immediately devour two, realizing I haven't eaten anything.

Day in the Life of Keryn III

9:25 am Realize I haven't fed my son his "real food". Make baby oatmeal with Benefiber and formula. Gideon doesn't care for it. I feed him a little more than half anyway.

9:50 am Unload, load dishwasher. Try to turn it on. Realize that perhaps I've turn off more than just the hot water to the sink. Shrug. Oh well.

10:00 am Slowly admit the fact that after being sick for four days, the whole entire house is a disaster (except for the "new" fridge). Try to convince Ezra to let me listen to some "rockin' music" to get myself into the mood of cleaning. Ezra rejects this as unacceptable and continues to play his computer game.

10:05 am Clean anyway. Compromise with myself--clean for ten minutes, read one of my favorite blogs for five minutes.

10:25 am Cuddle with an increasingly tired and grumpy Gideon. Have to keep him up until at least 10:45, otherwise he'll be too tired for physical therapy this afternoon.

10:40 am Take the now-sound-asleep baby down to his room.

11:00 am Give up on compromise. Clean and clean and clean. Ezra graciously allows me to listen to some ABBA, rockin' music if there ever was (in this house at least).

Day in the Life of Keryn II

11:00-11:45 pm Toss and turn. Why can't I get comfortable?

1:11 am Wake up to Ezra hollering. Lay in bed for a moment to see if Brad woke up too.

1:12 am Go into kids' room. Comfort Ezra, then have to comfort Mercy. Try to settle an argument between the two--Ezra seems to think Mercy wants a blanket over her; Mercy most definitely does not. Win because they both abruptly fall asleep.

1:30 am Get back into bed. Toss and t...zzzzzzzz

3:46 am Ezra starts hollering again. Bradley wakes up and goes to calm him down. Ends up bringing him into our bed.

6:15 am Wake up to Mercy crawling into bed next to me. Spend the next hour and a half trying to avoid inhaling her hair--no matter where I turn, she shifts position and snuggles her head into my face.

6:30 am Half-listen to NPR while trying to sleep. Miners, Democratic presidential debates, and cell-phones invade my dreams.

8:00 am Family begins to wake up. Snuggle with various members while trying to ignore the fact that Gideon (still not up yet) didn't nurse last night and my body knows it.

8:25 am Finally tell Brad to get Gideon up (can't let this sleeping baby lie!) so I can get some relief. Nurse my big boyo.

9:00 am Up, dressed, take kids upstairs. Get Ezra a drink of "fridge water". Realize that there is a strange hissing noise under my sink.

9:01 am Stare in semi-panic at the spraying leak coming out of one of several pipes and tubes.

9:02 am Order Ezra to get me the phone while I frantically position a bucket and start bailing.

9:03 am Go get the phone after Ezra tells me he can't reach it. Call Brad's cell, hoping to reach him before his 9am meeting starts.

9:04 am Consult with my husband. Decide to try twisting a knob--if that doesn't stop it, then I'll have to turn off the entire house's water.

9:05 am Sigh with relief, hang up with Brad. I don't have hot water to my kitchen sink, but at least i) there is no more leak and resulting flood in my kitchen ii) I have water in the rest of the house.

9:20 am Clean up a little, but decide to sit down and type this first. Procrastination! It works for me!

Day in the Life of Keryn

9:25 pm Decide to do a "day in the life" live-blogging post because it looks fun. Start.

9:26 pm Realize that by its very nature, a 24-hour live-blogging post cannot be written in one short sitting.

9:44 pm Read a great post on post-partum depression and consider how grateful I am for modern medicine.

9:49 pm Try to kill a fly. Miss.

9:53 pm While folding clothes, realize that Gideon missed his nighttime feeding. Decide to let him sleep.

10:00 pm Brad comes home from a very long Elders' Quorum presidency meeting (they are planning the Fathers/Sons campout this weekend). Read political stuff to him as he falls asleep (I'm pretty boring, apparently.)

10:31 pm Decide that Brad has the right idea. Good-night.

10:55 pm Actually put down computer and close eyes.

Re: Baby Einsteins

Well, I never did believe that it would make my child smarter. I just love them for their baby-distracting skills. (Did I just say that out loud?)

And, obviously, Backyardigans are the way to go if you want your kids to be smarter. I mean, they certainly have encouraged my children's imaginations. And isn't that what intelligence is all about?

Actually, I agree that T.V. isn't the very best thing for young minds. And doing nothing for your child, because you are too lazy/busy/whatever, thinking that a DVD will make up for that--that's practically criminal behavior.

I refuse to get too worked up about it, though. My children don't eat organic, play the violin, or answer to a special whistle, either. (Nor to they run around Saltzburg in nothing but old drapes. Sigh. Now that would be cool.)

Baby Einstein

Yikes! What so you think about this?

Baby Einsteins: Not So Smart After All

Hee hee

If I had a spare $30 to spend on a maternity shirt, I'd totally buy this for you, Telima:

I heart Wikipedia

No, seriously, I really love Wikipedia. (For those not in the know, Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia that anyone can add to, edit, etc. You generally have to be careful about obscure things, because they tend to either not be viewed or watch-dogged as much, and controversial things you have to be wary of, but on most stuff it is pretty accurate.)

Want to know more about Laura Ingalls Wilder? (For example, did you know that she shared a common ancestor with Franklin Delano Roosevelt?) What about chameleons? The last name of Smith? Hurricane season? What about color blindness? Lingonberries?

Why, yes, I am the child who loved to read encyclopedias, and wished the library would let you check them out. But now--although there is something to be said for actually picking up that heavy MA-MO volume with the shiny pages and beautiful color photos--I can access all the info I want anytime of the day or night. Pretty darn cool.

Re: Baby

And look! The blog is blue in celebration! How perfect!

(I actually really was going to change it to pink for a day if you discovered it was a girl. Because I am inherently lazy, this is easier.)

In other news, we're getting a "new" fridge. It is the third "new" fridge we have had since we moved into this house 2.5 years ago. Something tells me it perhaps might have been easier to get an actually new fridge at the beginning instead of swapping in and out fridges all these times. But sweat is free, and actually new fridges are not. Thank heavens for family with extra fridges! (And the word fridge is starting to look really really wrong.)

Our Baby

So, as all of you know, we had our ultrasound today and found out that we are going to have a baby boy! We are all very excited...well, okay, Katy really couldn't care any less about all of this, but Tyler and I are thrilled. Admittedly, we were sort of hoping for another girl, just because we already have everything, but we're really excited about having a boy. Tyler, especially, is excited about not being outnumbered anymore. =)

I told some of you, but not all of you, we actually already have a name picked out. It's a name that Tyler and I have both liked and talked about naming our first boy this since high school (I know, I know...). We are going to name him Jayson Tyler Smith. Yes, that means he could be JT. We will probably call him Jayson, at least, I will. I already gave Samuel permission to call him JT, though, so feel free to call him that if you want.

Anyway, I love you all and just wanted to make it official! WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!

Congrats

Congrats, Telima, Tyler, Katie and baby. Let us know if you want us all to weigh in on names!

Presidential last names

Quick, right off the top of your head, what are some of the most common last names in the United States?

Okay, I looked it up, so it's not off the top of my head. But here are the top ten from the 1990 census:

Smith (hi, Telima, Tyler, Katy, and fetus!)
Johnson
Williams
Jones
Brown
Davis
Miller
Wilson
Moore
Taylor

(Ross is number 80. Campbell (isn't that your maiden name, Amy?) is number 46. Tobler, Roy, Pace, Willis, Pendleton, and Maxwell aren't in the top 100.)

Anyway, the point (inasmuch as this post has a point) is, that out of those names, we've had a U.S. president named Johnson (Lyndon B., #36), one named Wilson (Woodrow, #28), and one named Taylor (Zachary, #12). Thirty percent of the top ten American names are represented in the U.S. Presidency.

If you want to up this percentage, you'll have to vote for/support one of the third party candidate, as all the Democrats and Republicans for 2008 are distressing less-commonly named. Even in the third parties, pickings are slim: Of the 14 listed, only Elaine Brown of the Green Party (hee, hee, Brown of the Green) counts. Although I'm sort of partial to Michael Moriarty of the Libertarian party. He's got a cool name.

This is quite possibly the most random blog post for the Chateau ever. Help!

Service

My stake had a huge service project this weekend. They've been planning it for months. We volunteered at the State Games of America. This included venues for the different games all over the city and thousands of volunteers. We signed up, gave our signature so that they could do a background check then received e-mails on where to be and when. My e-mail had the following information on it: soccer-adult, 7:30a.m.-12:00p.m. Saturday, August 4th at the Air Force Academy soccer fields.

So, I leave my home at 7:00 this morning, drive to the base and park once I get to the soccer fields. There is no one there. Of course, I am a little early as I was unsure how long it would take me to get there. I stand and just watch what is happening around me and notice people all walking in a certain direction. I start to walk and walk and walk and walk, asking people along the way in yellow security shirts where I am suppose to be. After another fifteen minute walk, a talk with a chief security officer, a ride with him in his golf cart, another lonely wait at another soccer tent until another man shows up, gives me a t-shirt, tells me I'm early, tells me to hike up another hill when he realizes I'm not early just still in the wrong place until finally I get to a person who recognizes my name.

Other interesting things that happened today. I was the only volunteer to show up for soccer-adult. We had about five special Olympic volunteers show up who weren't on the list, but did a lot of the work. I spent most of my time just walking and walking and walking, keeping track of any arguments that might be occurring or injuries that weren't reported right away.

We came close but never actually had the lightening siren go off, a beautiful sky filled with clouds and a nice breeze (and mom's voice telling me that even though the sun isn't out you can still get sunburned). We had one pretty bad bone break that included a police car, an air force security Hummer, an ambulance, a firetruck and a forfeit (the other team who was being slaughtered at the moment of the accident). We had two referees walk off in a huff (and I thought only elementary students did that), several spectacular goals (even for this inexperienced soccer fan) and one lowly volunteer who burned her nose, AGAIN, and didn't feel comfortable leaving until things settled down at about 3:30.

I am exhausted, sunburned (although not bad because I listened to that voice in my head), wind blown and- did I mention- exhausted. I am glad I went. Now I am ready for bed.

And it is only 5:30.

Sum-sum-summertime

I am Officially Tired of Summer. But we still have all August and most of September until it's truly autumn. So I'm collecting ideas on how to enjoy the rest of summer instead of hiding in my house and wishing it away. Any and all suggestions are welcome, whether or not they would work with my kiddos.

One I want to try when my kids are bigger is "Pool-less Marco Polo". You have an "it", who holds a running hose, eyes closed. The object is to get around the "it" and touch his/her back, without getting sprayed by the hose. The "it" periodically calls "Marco" and everyone else must call out "Polo", just like in the regular game. It sounds pretty fun.

Some other things: camping/picnicking (generally that needs the help of my husband, although we are scheduled to go camping in two weekends!), exploring the canyons (that needs my car), Salem Pond, library, Utah Lake, Spanish Fork Reservoir, etc. But my kiddos are little, and it is hard to keep them together and safe in a new, fascinating environment.

We got out the inflatable pool yesterday (I about keeled over from blowing it up), and that was fun, especially since it was overcast. Any other ideas? Help!

National Birth Defects Prevention Study

On last Friday I received in the mail a package from the Department of Health and Human Services. In it was a $20 money order and a letter inviting me to participate in a study of birth defects. This study is done yearly in nine states--Arkansas, California, Georgia, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and Utah. (Why those nine states? High birth rates? High birth defects? Random drawing out of a hat?) The study is done in two parts--the first is an hour-long telephone interview about your pregnancy, health and eating habits during and prior, etc--environmental factors that might cause/contribute to birth defects. The second part is the really cool part--a cheek cell collection kit will be sent to my home in the next week or so to do genetic studies. Awesome!

I completed the telephone interview part Tuesday night. It was really really boring and took about 1.5 hours. She asked me everything from did you have any highly stressful events during your pregnancy (um, yes, I think my father's dealth counts), and how many times I was sick (besides morning sickness) during the pregnancy (how do I know? Then she wants to know what days, how many days, what medicines, how many times taken...ack! I don't remember!), how often did I eat tofu, skim milk, tomatoes, hamburgers...I don't remember, but I did my best.

They will send me another $20 money order with the cheek swab kit, and another $20 when they get the cheek swabs back. I'd do this study anyway, because it's so important to try to figure these things out. But $60 isn't anything to sneeze at. Maybe I'll spend it in IKEA...hee, hee. Or maybe I'll just put it toward our minivan fund.

Gideon update III (or whatever number we're on)

So we had spina bifida clinic a little over a week ago, and it was pretty boring. YAY! That's what I want--boring is really, really good. He's doing great on weight (19.4 lbs), gross and fine motor skills, neurology stuff great. His feet are really responding well to the brace...AND we get to take off the braces during the day starting on August 10th. (It's funny how excited and impatient I am for that. When I didn't know how long we'd have to wear them all the time, it was no big deal, but now I CAN'T WAIT to lose them.) Urology is the only unknown--not bad, just we have a test scheduled for mid-August and we won't know if he's still doing great until then--and if he ever has a fever of just about ANY kind, I'm supposed to take him to the doctor because it might be a kidney infection. Gah. He should start teething here and how am I supposed to know if it is a kidney infection or just teething? Oh, well. At least my doctor is just down the road.

Anyway, just thought I'd update y'all on my adorable, cute, sweet, wonderful baby!

Re: Sweeping and Mopping

So, basically, Mema, we would be a great team. Ezra will move the furniture (he does that so well, I often find my chairs in very conceivable place except around the dining room table), I'll sweep, and you'll mop. It'll be fabulous (and CLEAN).

In other news, my refrigerator door won't close. I don't know why, and Bradley is attending a Mormon Studies conference in SLC. So right now there is a chair propped up against the fridge.

Hopefully Ezra won't move it.

No Title

My favorite household chore is mopping the floor. I would do it more often if I didn't have to clean up and sweep first. However, when I am here alone, I won't have to do it very often. I don't like to vacuum or dust, although with my new vacuum it is more fun because it really sucks up the dirt.
It has rained here off and on for 3 or 4 days. Mostly we get rain on one day and then have a day off and then more rain but we (all of us in this house) love the rain. We go out and dance and play and even pull a few weeds. We think it is great.
I just got the announcement for Garn's wedding. He is marrying a girl named Lori Nichole Neilson in the Bountiful Temple on August 15th. If anyone wants to send a card you could send it to Lori's address: 8257 Newton Avenue North Brooklyn Park, MN 55444
I think I am with Jenafer in that I will have to start using the blog to let everyone know what is going on because I can't remember who I have talked to. Sorry.

Re: Toy Recall

Thanks, Jen, for that link to the toys. I went to it in idle curiosity, because we don't really have any character toys besides the tricycles. Much to my surprise, a toy we own appeared on the page. What are the odds that one of the only character toys that we own was on that list? But it turns out that it really isn't on the list, because it was given to Ezra for his first birthday almost three years ago, and only toys bought after May 1, 2007 are being recalled. Still, it was a bit of a surprise.

Lovely rainstorms this evening, except while I was driving in Salt Lake City. It reminded me of the time that LaDale and I drove our roommate's car up to SLC to go to a wedding reception for one of LaDale's companions. I hadn't driven in months and months, and I was SO nervous about driving in a heavy August rainstorm in my roommate's car. Still, I love August rainstorms and rainbows.

Boring not boring

No more splint during the day. They added some material to one of my front teeth then remounted my splint with some HORRIBLE tasting material. I can still taste it when the thing is in my mouth, but at least I'm asleep for most of that time.

The session today wasn't too bad considering the kinds of information they had to give us. They split us into smaller sessions and had us moving ever 45 minutes. It helped us stay awake. It also helped that they put us with the other new members of our school so we could get to know them better.

I have to admit, I'm still not excited for another long day tomorrow of the same type of thing. I keep thinking about all the things I have left to finish before the kids come on the 13th.

Oh well, it means a pay check at the end of the month.

Recall

Yesterday, I saw online that Mattel has authorized a massive recall of a whole bunch of toys that were accidentally painted using a lead based paint. As many of us have small children, I am posing the website so everyone can check for themselves about their toys. We did end up with one of the recalled items.

http://service.mattel.com/us/recall/default.asp?recall_id=52430

Good luck, everyone!

Re: School and Kids Say the Funniest Things (KSFT)

Yay LaDale! I'm excited for you. I hope your training and stuff isn't too boring today and tomorrow. Did you get to lose the splint during the daytime now?

And now for my KSFT: Ezra is obsessed with "fridge water" right now. We got home from Mercy's doctor's appointment just at lunchtime and I asked Ezra if he wanted a burrito for lunch. He held up the glass of fridge water he had just obtained for himself and said, "I have my own kind of breakfast (why breakfast? I don't know). It's called "Fridge Water!" And then he takes a drink and smacks his lips. "Now that'sFridge Water."

I sometimes think that he's living in a commercial. A commercial for water in the refrigerator.

Favorite Chore and School

Dishes.

Not all the time but most of the time. They do seem to multiply exponentially as the days go by. But I love a clean kitchen. I am more likely to make Amish bread in clean kitchen. Not that I've ever been given Amish bread although I have seen it as Keryn's house.

I start school tomorrow, well officially start tomorrow. Unofficially, I've been in my classroom for the last two days. Today Joni came in and then we talked for three hours. Mostly about school and next year, but also about her treatments (she finishes this week), our summers, our families and family reunions in general, the price of gas etc. It was great but neither of us got as much work done as we'd thought. We'll have to watch ourselves next year. But how nice to know Joni's a kindred spirit.

The Curse of the Amish

Do you know what Amish Friendship Bread is? It's a delightful, delicious, guilt-inducing way to show all your friends (and acquaintances, and neighbors, and random strangers you meet at the park...) how much you care.

Lovely.

Some fabulous homemaker whips up a batch of the starter, and then separates it into four, or six, or nineteen batches to share with her friends. With each bag of starter dough comes the instructions--not terribly difficult, but spanning several days. When baking day arrives, you separate out your four, six, or nineteen batches and then bake a wonderful loaf for your family. And it starts all over again.

Except for me.

If Amish Friendship Bread was a chain letter, I would have been killed by a falling grand piano many times over. The scenario is always the same:

Friend: I brought you a bag of starter for Amish Friendship Bread! (smiles brightly)
Me: (fakely beaming) Awesome! I love AFB! (This is not a lie. I really do love the taste of this stuff.)
Friend: Well, here you go!
Me: (Taking bag, putting it on counter) Thanks!

Bag sits on counter. Sometimes it gets punched, as per directions. Sometimes the needed ingredients are added on the correct days. Mostly it is my husband who does this. The bag gets hidden from view, but I cannot forget it. Even if I try to ignore it, it whispers to me. "You are a slacker homemaker. The Amish are vastly superior to you! You are so lazy you can't even make bread when someone has started it for you!"

Until I finally chuck it and the instructions/recipe in the garbage. To my husband's dismay (he really likes the taste of AFB, too).

So why don't I make it? I'm not a gourmet chef, but I can cook. But only when I feel like it. Generally the cooking day is a day that is busy, or hot (what is it about AFB and the summertime? It seems like that's the only time I get it!), or I just don't want to cook it. So I throw it out.

Or maybe I just don't want to be told what to do. Even by the Amish.

(Bradley, if you are reading this, the bag is on the counter behind the Goldfish container. It's day four, I think, and if you want some bread you have the recipe!)