Another Major Award!

J. is having a lucky streak right now! Last month the local library held a "scary story contest" and J. decided to enter! He wrote the funniest story that actually has some plot and character development...I was a little shocked. I typed it for him but he did every bit of the writing and editing. We turned in it and crossed our fingers.

Last Monday night we went to the library to hear the winners of the contest announced and guess what?? J. won "honorable mention" for his story in the 6-8 year old category. This honorable mention came with a certificate and $5.00 cash! He thought he had hit the jackpot. So I present to you now, first time award winning author, Big J. and his scary Halloween story....

Once there was a Halloween house. It was scarier than the one you saw on the cover. If you went inside, there was no way out. If you ever tried to get out, you would need one million flashlights. It was because of the Dracula, the mummy, the witch, the ghost, and the bat that lived there. They liked to break the light switch anytime someone came near. Whenever kids came trick or treating, as soon as the kids heard the footsteps coming to the door, they ran away. The footsteps sounded spooky.
The monsters always knew they were nice. One Halloween, they witch said, “We are nice monsters. Why do kids run away from us when they come trick or treating? Is it because of our footsteps? We need to make sure that no kids hear our footsteps this Halloween.”
On Halloween night when kids came trick or treating, they rang the doorbell but they didn’t hear any footsteps so they thought no one lived there anymore. They just walked away.
The next Halloween, the mummy said, “Last Halloween kids rang the doorbell but they didn’t stay for treats. Is it because of the looks outside our house?” On Halloween night, the monsters put made their footsteps sound like human footsteps and made the outside of their house not look so spooky. But the outside of their house did not have enough Halloween decorations so when kids came trick or treating, they thought the monsters weren’t celebrating Halloween. They walked around to the back but the back of the house looked the exact same. So the kids just left.
Next Halloween, the bat said, “Last Halloween kids didn’t come trick or treating. They didn’t even ring our doorbell! Maybe it’s because the doorbell sound is too scary.” So that Halloween night, they made their footsteps sound like humans, decorated their house like anyone else would decorate for Halloween, and made the doorbell sound like a bunch of bats flying out. (It usually sounded like a million monsters growling.) When kids came trick or treating, they rang the doorbell and all they heard was a bunch of bats flying and they got really scared and ran away (a million miles per hour!).
On the next Halloween, Dracula said, “I heard kids ring the doorbell last Halloween but when I answered the door, I didn’t see anyone there! Maybe it is because of the yard, all dirty and trashy.” That Halloween night, they made their footsteps sound like humans, decorated their house like anyone else would decorate for Halloween, made the doorbell sound like a regular doorbell and cleaned up the yard (but they made it look like a bunch of monsters were coming out of the ground). When the kids came trick or treating and they saw the yard, they tried not to think it was real but there was too much stuff and thought it was definitely real so they walked away quietly.
The following Halloween, the ghost said, “Last Halloween I didn’t even hear the doorbell ring. Is it because of the way we look? Dress up like humans everybody!” So that Halloween night, they made their footsteps sound like humans, decorated their house like anyone else would decorate for Halloween, made the doorbell sound like a regular doorbell, cleaned up the yard, and dressed up in human costumes. When kids came trick or treating and they rang the doorbell and the mummy answered the door all dressed up like a human, the kids said, “Trick or Treat!” and took a piece of candy. For all the rest of the Halloweens, the monsters were happy because kids came trick or treating.

THE END.

Halloween 2007...Let The Games Begin

J. and M. dressed up for Halloween parties at school. J. is a "roman citizen" and M. is Peter Pan.

Our neighbors had a friend visiting them from Norway who had brought his little 5-year old boy along. They were here over Halloween and this little boy thought he had won the lottery. He just couldn't get over the fact that in America they have a holiday where you go around and people give out free candy...as much as you want. My friend said that every time someone dropped a piece of candy in his bucket, he would just stare at it with a really stunned, delighted expression. And really...can you beat Halloween? I am delightfully full of Reese's Peanut Butter cups, Mound bars, and Butterfingers. I've met my quota and feel like I can face this year with renewed energy and enthusiasm. So here is how we spent our day o' indulgence...

At J.'s charter school they made all the kids write a report on a historical character they wanted to be in order to get permission to dress up. They keep it all very educational and a little over the edge but J. didn't seem to mind. He decided he wanted to be a "roman citizen" (not a roman soldier, not Caesar, just a roman citizen...not sure where the idea came from!) so he wrote what I thought was a very intelligent report and got permission for his costume. Chris made an amazing toga like contraption out of a white sheet and fashioned a real laurel leaf wreath for his head. I thought J. looked rather sophisticated and "romanesque"! The kids and I went over to his school for the Halloween assembly where J. marched in the costume parade and then won an award for his report that he wrote! We were so, so, so proud! A major award! :>)

J. marching in his Halloween parade at school.





J. receiving his award during the assembly.




When we got home, M. was disturbed that I hadn't carved a pumpkin yet. Now I have to admit something here...please don't think that I'm unpatriotic or un-American but I really don't like carving pumpkins (or dyeing easter eggs for that matter). I find it slimy and messy and I don't have a lick of artistic talent so my pumpkins never look very interesting. Chris always carves pumpkins with the kids and I am always THERE but just not sticking my hand or knife in to any pumpkins. So in order to put my son's mind at ease, I went and got our box of Mr. and Mrs. Potato accessories and went to town on the pumpkins outside and I have to say, I was rather pleased by the results. I may have found my pumpkin niche!






























That afternoon we did a little costume changing and headed over to Chris' work for some pre-trick or treating. It was fabulous! People were handing premium candy and I literally ate my way silly through the experience! The kids walked out with pounds and pounds of candy and I was ready to just sit on the couch rubbing my buddha belly and watch a scary movie but the kids were not to be deterred from their real Halloween experience. So...we got home, emptied all the buckets from round 1 and prepared for round 2. J. had chosen to be Spiderman for Halloween, H. was Snow White, and M. went through a different costume every time we had an occasion to dress up. At one party he was a knight, the next party he was Peter Pan, school party he was a dragon, and on Halloween Eve he walked out as a vampire. (We do have an impressive dress-up box if you ever want to come and play!) Like I said, H. was a beautiful Snow White until moments before we were supposed to go out trick or treating and instead of wearing her amazing Snow White dress with the ruffle socks, black patent leather mary janes, and gorgeous golden curls tied in a charming red bow, she took it all off and decided she wanted to wear the dirty, dingy, matted purple fur unicorn costume that I bought at DI and can't quite get that funky smell out of. (Serves me right for buying a purple unicorn costume...it just seemed like such a good idea at the time! I hate unicorns!) After a meltdown, a temper tantrum, and a battle out on the front porch, Chris managed to convince her to be Snow White and the kids took off with their father and grandfather for some trick or treating.










The kids ready for some trick or treating!










The kids with their grandpa...I'm starting to see where my husband gets his artistic talent!


Todd and Carrie (Elvis)...isn't she fabulous?

I stayed behind with grandma and Elvis (Carrie) to fix a fall feast. We had acorn squash filled with a long grain, wild rice mixture, pasta alfredo with hot dogs cut on top to look like an octopus (for the kids), assorted veggies and dip, salsa and chips, gummy worm ice-cubes floating in the drink and a lovely apple-caramel cake for dessert. I was proud of the feast. I don't do feasts very often.

Well, the kids were out LOTS longer than I thought they would be. Chris commented that once you kind of find your trick-or-treating groove, it is hard to stop. They came back with tons more candy and deliriously happy grins. We ate, we purged, we ate some more. Everything you could ever want from a holiday...

It was a delightful day. I love Halloween...not so much the actual holiday but the arrival of autumn. The crisp weather, the gorgeous leaves, the decorations and chunky sweaters and new jeans. It is my favorite time of year.







P.S. If you are an Oscarson or suffer from mild to severe OCD then you will appreciate this postscript. M. came home from trick or treating and immediately organized all his candy in to specific piles and groups. He then placed each pile in an individual snack size baggie and rearranged them back in to his spider container. I couldn't have been more proud!

Carrie Ann Birthday QUIZ

It is time for some blogging fun! We are going to see how well our bloggers know are beloved birthday girl Carrie Ann. If you would like to play the Birthday Girl Quiz Show Game, then EMAIL me the answers to the following questions. There will be a legitimate prize sent to your home if you answer the most correctly.

1) How old is Carrie Ann?
2) List 2 majors Carrie Ann had while in college.
3) What year did she get married?
4) What year did Carrie Ann graduate from college?
5) What LDS mission did she serve in?
6) Name Carrie's 3 chickens. (2 of them have recently passed away but we will include this questions in memory of them!)
7) What is Carrie Ann's favorite color?
8) What is your favorite dish that Carrie fixes?
9) List 3 countries Carrie has visited since graduating from college.
10) What is one of your FAVORITE things about Carrie Ann?

(Consequently, I will make sure Carrie Ann gets a copy of your responses so she can have warm, delicious feelings about herself anytime she needs it! :>)

Do not delay! Email the answers right away! (If you need my email address, leave a comment and I will get it to you!)

The Birthday Kids

This month we have celebrated 2 birthday kids! Carrie Ann Rhodes and my own sweet MCC. Carrie Ann is turning 25 again and MC just turned 5 years old...which is hard to believe because I swear he was just turning 2! We had a little joint birthday party for them at Mo and Papa's house a couple of weeks ago complete with 2 wonderful Great-grandparents, stunning birthday crowns, a delicious snake cake made by my artistic husband, a delicious, traditional Sunday dinner provided by the parental units, lots of Swedish "hurrahing", and some beautiful singing around the piano. It was wonderful. For those of you who were not able to attend, here are the highlights.

MC about to enjoy a present from Mo and Papa.

So you take a bunt cake pan, pour in the batter, cook, cut in half, and make a snake. Now, I assure you I've looked at that pan a dozen times and never seen a snake. The artistic mind is a true wonder to me.

Enjoying the birthday song in two languages with lots of shouting at the end!

You are welcome to come party at our get-togethers any time but just be warned...they aren't always "sanitary" affairs. Here are my little darlings whipping the candles out of the cake, licking them clean, and then if you are 2 years old, sticking them back in the cake. Yum...serve me a slice of licked cake!

Chip and ML's family gave MC the cutest "chef's outfit" complete with hat, apron, and little hot pads just his size. He asked me all day when it was time to cook dinner and he was right in the thick of things the whole time. Thank you for such a fabulous gift!

Happy birthday sweet birthday people...now get geared up for Mo's on the 23rd!

Family Adventures

I have to clarify something right from the start...going somewhere with 3 little children can most definitely be classifed as an "adventure" but I'm not sure I would call it a "vacation". In my mind, a vacation involves lots of stress-free leisure with a fruity, slushy drink in one hand, a good book in the other hand, and my whole body resting on some kind of floating device in water. I didn't drink, read or float on this trip so it definitely classifies as a grand adventure! (And really if that is my definition of a "vacation" then I'm not sure I've ever really been on one. But I'm a big dreamer!)

We decided to squeeze one last trip out of our annual Disneyland pass and thought we would be clever by going at the beginning of October when surely no one else would be skipping school to go to Disneyland. We left bright and early Saturday morning and headed for Las Vegas to start our adventure with Abby, James and Caleb. It was truly a glorious 2 days! Their house is beautiful and tasteful and classy, Betty's cookies are amazing, the meals unbelievable, the company divine, and the purple sofa thingy heavenly to sit on. I truly loved every minute of being with my sister and her sweet family. Unfortunately, it was not well documented photographically. I will need you to zip on over to Abby's website for the one snapshot that was taken. Sunday evening we headed for California. After a bizarre traffic jam in the middle of nowhere, we arrived at the Taylor's home. Chris' sister and her sweet family have endured us 3 times in the last year and I'm certain they are very grateful that this annual pass is expiring! The next morning, bright and early, we headed for the happiest place on earth.

Now as I mentioned, I fully expected the park to be empty...what other irresponsible parents would pull their school age children out of school for a week to go to Disneyland? Well, we were in very good company. It wasn't summertime packed but it was definitely more crowded than I expected. Still...we started the day off hanging out with Buzz Lightyear! Great guy...lots of laughs. We then proceeded to ride as many rides as we could before the lines got too long.


This time of year Disneyland is DECKED out in full Halloween gear and I love it! My favorite ride is the Haunted Mansion which has been converted in to "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in honor of the season. It is spectacular! This is a picture of one of the "holiday wreaths" at the Haunted Mansion and J. preparing his best fright face for the experience!






























J., H., and I spent some quality time at Woody's Halloween Round-Up in the petting zoo. Why does it seem like we spend lots of time petting goats in our family? Everywhere we go there seems to be goat petting zoos. Not that it is bothersome, just a little strange. I wouldn't mind petting a sheep or pony or other furry animal sometime.

There was the most amazing pumpkin sculptor. He had just sculpted a Davy Jones pumpkin and an Alice In Wonderland pumpkin. How would you like to sculpt pumpkins at Disneyland for a living? Doesn't sound like a bad plan to me...except I don't sculpt.




This is J. and M. playing on the "skulls and bones" playset on Pirate's Cove Island (formerally known as Tom Sawyer's Island).










If there is anything to climb, hang from, explore or touch, M. will have it done in no time flat. I really don't know where this child gets his amazing energy!









J. with his first prom date. I'll have you know he set this picture up himself.










M. taking his turn with J.'s prom date. They seriously thought they were so, so, so funny! And they were.










As we were wondering around toward the end of the first day, we looked over and H. had climbed on a bench and was "resting". Nothing like a day being dragged around Disneyland on 2-year old legs. We did have a stroller but who wants to be strapped in when there are a million things to touch?




We truly had a fantastic time at Disneyland. Here is the "must have" photo in front of the Pumpkin Mickey on Main Street. Should have specified to the photographer that we wanted more than Mickey's lips in the shot!





On Day 2 of Disneyland, we celebrated M.'s 5th birthday! C.'s sister presented M. with a pumpkin cake for breakfast on his birthday. She had even dribbled his name and age out of white chocolate to put on the top. She is truly the master homemaker! M. thought it was tremendous fun to have cake for breakfast...and his favorite gift that morning was a pack of gum he received. I love 5 year olds!















The birthday breakfast ended with a rousing game of "use paper plates to make Dumbo ears and sing weird songs". I'm so glad these 2 boys have each other.






One of the strangest parts of Disneyland is Mickey's house. In order to actually meet Mickey Mouse, you have to walk through his house, garden and out back to his movie studio where you then wait in line FOREVER and are finally ushered a few at a time in to a room where he is standing and you awkwardly shake his hand and have a one-sided conversation and feel like an idiot at a peepshow. M. had written him a letter which he presented and H. had written Minnie Mouse a letter so when Mickey tried to take her letter, we had a little temper tantrum. Thus the picture where M. looks very solemn and H. is gripping her Minnie letter for dear life so the weird big mouse doesn't steal it from her. It was all a little surreal.

Speaking of surreal, try Mr. Incredible in tights with a huge plastic head.











Favorite moment from the entire adventure...we were resting on a bench inside California Adventure, when they started a "block party"with music and character's from the movie "High School Musical 2". The music was blaring over the loud speaker but we had already seen the show so we just continued our sitting. Well, M. heard that music start and threw off his shoes and headed out to the middle of the walkway for some serious dancing. Pretty soon H. and J. went out to join him. It was so hilarious! M. was seriously out there just being carried away by the music and nothing was going to interrupt his moment. Pretty soon, we had our own little group of vendors that had gathered to watch our show and they were very validating with their clapping and smiles! Our children had zero inhibition and it made C. and I laugh for a good 20 minutes. It was quite a show!

Disneyland was wonderful but after 2 days, I was ready to go. My feet, legs, arms...entire body hurt from pounding the pavement for 2 long days. So on Wednesday morning we said good-bye to Anaheim and headed for San Diego to visit C.'s brother and his family. It was divine!

We spent our day with them on the beach and had a great time! H. loved the sand, M. headed out for some boogey boarding, and J. alternated between serious sand building and wave crashing. It was the perfect afternoon!













































It was a great trip! We arrived home exhausted but really grateful for the time we had together and with family without all the interruptions of daily life! Thank you to the 3 families who cleaned their homes, baked cookies and cakes, and entertained us on our way! Our favorite moments with definitely spending time with aunts and uncles and cousins! So now that our passes are expired...who wants to host us next??

Great Clips

I have to start with a warning...this blog may be a little emotional for some of you. Get some tissue and hunker down. This is real life at its most brutal.

I walked in from my meeting yesterday to find a couple members of my family looking a little sheepish. "What's going on?" I asked innocently enough. "H. got a little haircut" my husband answered...and I kid you not, my heart stopped beating.

Turns out my little M. was giving everyone a little "beauty" treatment in the bathroom. First he had brushed my husband's hair and escorted him into the living room and put him down for a nap. A few minutes later J. came screeching into the room shouting, "M. just got a pair of scissors and went back into the bathroom and locked the door." By the time my husband got the door opened, the damage was done. M. had been brushing her hair with one of my round brushes and H.'s hair had become hopelessly tangled. So he immediately solved the problem as any 4-year old would and went to get a pair of scissors to cut the brush out. I sat on the chair and listened to the story in sheer horror. J. came in carrying a bag FILLED with curly blond hair. H. came in a moment later to show me her "haircut" in the back and I got up off the chair, walked into my bedroom, shut the door, and cried.

OK, it is just hair. It will grow back. She really needed a haircut anyway. But the truth of the matter is that I wasn't quite ready to have my hand forced in the matter. He cut a good little chunk out of the back of her hair right against the scalp so there really is no haircut that is going to disguise the situation. It was heartbreaking to me. I've seen this day coming ever since I put those curls up in their first little whale spout on top of her head but I wasn't ready for it. I guess to me it represented a little piece of her childhood gone that I won't ever get back. Her curls are growing out and she is changing physically every single day, right before our eyes. Seeing that chunk gone reminded me that there are moments of who she is right now that are passing and gone forever. I really am not trying to be overdramatic about a silly thing but it was a really hard moment for me.

Today H. and I went to my friend's house for her first haircut. H. was SO excited! She loved the chair that could grow tall, the special fish cape, and the mirror she could smile at herself in. She explained to my friend that she wanted "Snow White" hair (short hair), not Sleeping Beauty hair (long) and when she was all done being primped, she got out of the chair, gave me a big smile and said, "Now I have short hair like you!"

Her hair is not that short. It is shoulder length and looks really cute on her. I didn't shed a tear today and felt happy at the joy she gleaned during her "first haircut" experience. But tonight I took down the bag filled with golden curls and looked at them for a few moments. And then I went in and gave my great big grown up princess a kiss good night!

Prego Sauce Disaster of 2007

I don't believe in fighting over food...especially jars of spaghetti sauce. I'm definitely a pacificist when it comes to verbally assaulting someone over a $.69 jar of sauce that quite frankly, I don't think tastes all that great. But there I was...at our local Smith's grocery store at 5:55 a.m. watching women act like rabid dogs fighting over a pallet of sauce. It started innocently enough....

At presidency meeting last week, my good friend turns to me and says, "Hey, did you hear about the deal Smith's is having on spaghetti sauce?" I replied with, "You mean that grocery store that smells like poop and has weevils in all its food?" She didn't miss a beat. "Yeah, that one. They're having this deal where you can get Prego spaghetti sauce for $.69 a jar. [This was the part where she listed all the women from the neighborhood that she had seen there.] Wanna go?" I knew immediately that I needed to be suspicious. "What does this entail?" Turns out you had to be standing at the doors at 6:00 a.m. to get a shot at the one measley pallet they put out. I seriously don't know what possessed me but I agreed to get up and go with her the next morning.

So at 5:45 a.m. my friend pulls up in her van. I jump in and tell her that I will never, ever do this ever again and she better appreciate the early morning company because I don't even like my children well enough to get up at this hour. We drive to the poop-infested grocery store and there are a bunch of cars in the parking lot. Several women have approached the first set of electric, sliding doors and someone says, "Hey these doors are locked! AND THERE ARE WOMEN IN THERE SHOPPING!" Some light door pounding ensues until a heavy-set woman at the other set of doors says, "Over here. I think I can slide them open." And she proceeds to insert her chubby fingers into the doors and pry them open. We all go rushing in and I feel a little bit like a salmon caught in an uphill swim. By the time we reach the forklift, the spaghetti sauce is gone and the whining starts. "Who let those women in? Why don't they limit the number of cases you can get? The store isn't supposed to open until 6:00 a.m." whine, whine, whine, blah, blah, blah. Meanwhile, the guilty culprits are standing in a big long line at the checkout stand with baseball caps pulled over their greedy little faces trying to bury their noses in check stand magazines. ONE lone checkout lady is trying to handle the 6:00 a.m stampede and no one is going anywhere. My friend immediately pulls out her hefty wad of coupons and starts shopping the Campbell's soup deal. I wander around a little, check out the Hamburger Helper, look at the darling new Kleenex boxes, and finally push my empty cart over to the eternal checkout line to save a place for my friend and get caught up on the latest celebrity news in People magazine. I just couldn't bring myself to buy anything. I wasn't going to be "one of them". I was going to stand tall and proud as the "lone wolf" of shopping deals. I read an entire magazine by the time we got up to pay and by then they had 2 clueless checkout clerks who spent more time arguing over how to scan all the stuff then they actually spent scanning.

I got home around 7:00 a.m. and I felt dirty. Not only had I entered an establishment that I swore I would never enter, but I had been a part of some serious nastiness of those jars of spaghetti sauce. The funny thing is...since last week, I've had at least 3 conversations with different people who have brought up the Prego sauce fiasco and all the trauma they went through trying to get their rightful case of sauce. I told my husband they might need to call in the trauma unit. It is going to take a while for this little town to heal.

As for me, I'm going to continue buying my food at regular price, sleeping in until 7:00 a.m. and eating my spaghetti without the stinking sauce.


P.S. Just a weird side note...when I did a google search for "spaghetti sauce", the following image showed up:

Anyone? Anyone?

Spiderman Starts Preschool

What can I say? Spiderman has officially started preschool. And I can tell you...H. and I were bored to tears until his return. As if it weren't bad enough starting one child...now I have 2 children gone and that is more than half of my offspring. But you could not imagine a more excited 4 year old.

It all started last night when I found him lying in bed at 10:30 p.m. still staring at the ceiling of his bedroom with a big, happy grin on his face. Then he came in at 4:00 a.m. and again at 6:00 a.m. to ask if it were time to go to preschool yet. Finally his alarm clock went off at 7:00 a.m. and by 7:02 a.m. he was standing at the side of our bed, fully dressed wearing his Spiderman backpack, bed made, room cleaned up, asking if it was time to go yet! It really was a contagious, "something really big is about to happen" kind of feeling!

After chicken nuggets and mandarin oranges for breakfast (his choice), we all piled in to the car and drove the boy to preschool. He is going to school where J. attends so it is a very grown up feeling to be whisked away to the "big kid" school. He got out of the car clutching the straps of his backpack, grabbed my hand, and bravely started marching for the entrance. We had packed his extra set of clothes and underwear and a "light" snack and he kept asking to make sure I hadn't forgotten to put those things in his backpack.

We entered the preschool door and M. clutched my hand as we walked over to find the hook with his name. He hung up his crisp, new backpack and quickly wandered over to the table where the kids were working on an "M" paper...now this was a good omen since his name starts with "M" and it happens to be his "very favorite letter"! M. got to work and suddenly C. and I were very out of place accessories in the preschool room. Both of us let out a little sigh and then C. said, "Well, I guess that's it. Should we go?" I don't know what we were waiting for. We desperately didn't want him to be sad or nervous about us leaving...but maybe we were hoping he would be a TINY bit nervous or sad about seeing us go. It is the realization that he was completely ready but as his parents, we weren't quite ready to see him be so grown up and independent.

OK, so I haven't lost touch with the fact that we are talking about preschool here, not college but it still has gone so fast and our Spiderman is going to be 5 years old in a month. It was a great moment seeing him march into preschool but one tinged with a little bit too much reality. Those kids that you think are NEVER going to get any older are suddenly a little bit older and so much changes in the blink of an eye. I have to admit I was really, really happy to go pick him up. And it was the most fabulous ride home from school with M. in the back seat telling me all the wonders of his first day in preschool. It is his OWN experience that only he will be able to share with us and I could tell really quickly how much this was going to mean to him.I can't wait to share every minute with him!

Car Pool Nerd

Now we all know that I was a little emotional on J.'s first day of school. I arrived 15 whole minutes early to pick him up just because I wanted to be first in the car pool line and show all the other kids whose mom loved them the best! So I pull up close to the front of the line, and I get this little tap on my window. I roll it down and the car pool lady says, "I'm so sorry. I noticed you don't have a number on your front windshield."
I respond with, "What number? I didn't know anything about a number? What is this number thing?"
Car pool nazi sends me in to the front office to go register for a number. I head back out to the minivan, still parked in the front of the school, put my number in the windshield and look at the clock. Whew, still 3 minutes to spare.

Another tap on the window. I roll it down again to find car pool nazi smiling awkwardly. "I noticed you got a number."
Me: Yes.
Nazi: I'm so sorry. You have a blue number and this is the gold lane. I'm going to have to ask you to move.
Me: Where am I moving to?
Nazi lady points down the street and around the corner and half-way through the city where cars are piled up waiting.
Me: (speechless)

I pull to the end of the hideous line where I wait until 10 minutes after school has let out before I even move 6 inches and then another 15 minutes until I get back up to the school to pick up my little first grader who has now been waiting 25 minutes. I'm in the right lane, paid my dues and I can't find my son. I finally roll down the window and ask J.'s teacher where he is. She answers, "Oh, he is sitting inside the gym because you didn't have a carpool number."

I am not making this up. Not one line of it. I had to park the car, take the kids out, haul *&# into the school where my child is sitting in the middle of the school gym looking a little dazed. The funny thing was...there wasn't a single adult in sight to "check" him out or verify that I had complied with the very complex school car pool number legislation. We just walked right out.

J: Mom, why are you so late?
Mom: It's a long story J. but I want you to know something. Despite what it may seem, your mom really does love you the best!

First Day of School

J. has officially started first grade. He is surviving beautifully and I am surprising myself but not having the emotional attacks I expected. I spent the summer dreading the start of school. I thought kindergarten last year was the perfect blend of education and freedom. He went to school every day for 3 hours and then he came home and played. All day school would appeal more if he weren't such a pleasant person to be around. I love hanging out with the boy...I love going on field trips and adventures my kids and discovering new things to explore together. I love J.'s questions and observations and running commentary. I love being the one to teach him new things. Love it. But there are lots of things I want for my boy that I alone can't provide. So off to school we go.

Things started a week ago when the kids and I headed out for a little school shopping. First stop...Target. M. got a new backpack and H. got a Hello Kitty lunchbox (that she thinks is a backpack). The boys chose an alarm clock and only a preschooler and a first grader could be so excited about waking up to an alarm clock. It was the highlight purchase of the day. Everyone got new underwear and socks. Doesn't it just seem like items every child should have when starting school?

On to Children's Place where I found the deal of the century...last year's shorts for $1.99 plus 25% off. One pair in blue, one pair in stone, both in J.'s size. I took it as a gracious sign from God that we were on the right track with the whole school thing. We got shorts, shirts, new sturdy shoes...and then stopped at Cold Stone for a little school shopping treat!

Fast forward. Monday night for FHE C. gave each child a special father's blessing. They were beautiful and I once again felt overwhelmed with gratitude to have a husband and father who not only holds the priesthood, but honors it in every way possible. I truly felt strengthened and uplifted and felt as if angels were in place to ensure that each of us would be guided, protected, and inspired as we approached all this new year held for us. A miracle right in our front living room!

Tuesday morning dawned bright and early. The boys' alarm clock was shrieking and irritating and got us all out of bed. The kids did their chores and then we met around the kitchen table as a family for prayers, scripture reading, and cinnamon rolls and bacon. I made J.'s lunch with all his favorites...turkey sandwich on white bread with Dijon mustard, a little container of pizza flavored Pringles chips, and an applesauce. I put a spoon, folded napkin and a little note from his Mom in the brown paper sack that had his name sprawled across the front. With more enthusiasm than I have ever seen from a person whose childhood freedom has ended and 12 years of full day school sentence starting, J. bounded out to the car like he was headed to Disneyland. Off to school the whole family went.

We walked him in and watched the games unfold. The entire school met in the gym for a hideously boring welcome speech from the principal and some other lady who I don't know and then they were off to class. I cried a little but waved a lot. I took pictures and gave him hugs and then trotted off to the school library where I hung out cataloging books for the next 3 hours until I felt like I could walk out of the school and know I would see my boy again. I only checked on him once...he didn't see me. I just snuck my head around the corner. I really, really am not an overprotective parent. Really. This is just all been a little new for me and it represents a significant change in my life with J. Not in a bad way, just a new and different way.

J. will never be home with me full-time again. I share him now and although we are sending him to an amazing charter school that is filled with amazing people and wonderful experiences, no one will ever have his best interest at heart like I do. I love to teach and being able to share the wonders of the world around us with my children has been pure joy. I won't stop doing that but now I share that experience with a school that gets him for 7 hours a day. It is a paradigm shift and I don't always embrace change well.

I will write another post about the hilarious car pool incident at the end of school that really highlights what a clueless parent I am but needless to say, I finally picked my child up from school at the end of the day and HE LOVED IT! EVERY MINUTE of it! It was early out day for the first 2 days of school and he asked me the whole way home when he would be able to go to a FULL day of school. Today was his first FULL day of school and he said it felt like 3 minutes and then it was over. We've survived 3 days of school and he continues to love every minute. And you know what? It isn't so bad. I get to spend a whole day playing with M. and H. and I love this chance to be with them and get to know them in a whole new way. M. starts preschool on Monday so I'm bracing myself for the next big event but he is ready and excited and now I know it is all going to be OK.

So here is to crispy new school clothes, sharpened pencils, new boxes of crayons, and mother's tears as they watch little ones grow up! Hurray! May this school year be filled with grand adventure!

(P.S. I have a million pictures that I can't get to work on my poor broken down computer. I'll figure out a way to get it going! Stand by for darling pictures!)

Around the World

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome my fabulous sister-in-law to the world of blogging. The girl is only in her mid 20's but has literally traveled the world. She leads the most fascinating life and I love living vicariously through her adventures. And she is an amazing photographer. She is leaving in a few days for 4 months in India, Thailand, and Hong Kong. Hold on to your hats folks...if I know Cimberly, it will be one fantastic ride!

CIMBERLY'S AMAZING ADVENTURES

Tagged

I think Jessica tagged me. Does this mean I answer those questions on my blog? I've never been super clear about the tagging thing. I feel so old.

Here goes:

Job's I've Held:
1. Tons of retail stuff
2. Tons of receptionist jobs (engineering firm, travel agency, chiropracters office...)
3. Elementary School teacher
4. Library story teller

Places to go for a weekend getaway:
1. What's that?
2. San Diego, CA
3. A cabin in the mountains.
4. Somewhere where I don't have to cook, clean, wipe bums, or watch PBS Kids.

Movies I can watch over and over:
1. Singin' In the Rain
2. Charlie and Lola (any volume)
3. Princess Bride
4. Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, & Return of the Jedi

Guilty Pleasures:
1. Shopping at Target
2. Chocolate chip cookie dough
3. Reading books late in to the night when I should be sleeping (I just HAD to agree with Jessica on this one!)
4.Getting loaded potato bites and a rootbeer from Arby's, a People magazine from Wal-Mart, and then just sitting in the mini-van in the parking lot late at night enjoying all the delicious alone time!

Places I've Lived:
1. St. Louis, MO
2. Boston, MA
3. Goteborg, Sweden
4. Provo, Utah

What were likely the first things you thought of when you saw your significant other for the first time:
1. He has such great "happy" eyes!
2. He doesn't even know I exist!
3. I really like the goatie...
4. Cute bum!

Places I've been on Vacation:
1. Nantucket, MA
2. Western Europe
3. Vernal, UT (just went last week...had a great time!)
4. camping in the great Rocky mountains!

Favorite Foods:
1. Baked potato (actually, any kind of potato!)
2. Steak
3. cookie dough
4. pasta stuff

If in a "jam" with your spouse, what tactics do you use to get out of the doghouse?
1. Go get the loaded potato bites, rootbeer, People magazine, and give the situation some space!
2. Go to bed.
3. Pray...lots.
4. Try to put things in perspective...

Websites I visit Almost daily:
1. blogs
2. my email
3. my bank account
4. shabbyapple.com (just can't get enough of the beautiful dresses right now!)

Places I would rather be right now:
1. A cruise in the Caribbean
2. A cabin in the mountains
3. A little vacation house on Nantucket island
4. In bed

Who sent this to me:
Jessica

Now I get to pick four other blog buddies to do this survey:
1. Abby J.
2. Emma Jo
3.Megan...come on cousin...get going!
4. Missy

NEW BLOG!

My cute husband has posted new blogs! I'm so pleased. He always makes me laugh with his posts so hop on over and be encouraging!

CHRIS' BLOG

Gotta Get Me Some

OK, so I'm obsessed with a couple of new things. Just want to see if there are any other "crazies" out there that can relate. Here is the list:



1) Wicked. Can't get enough of the CD. My children actually BEGGED in the car for something new but I told them until they had the lyrics memorized the CD wasn't going anywhere. Love tracks 11 and 18. You realize you can just about watch the entire Broadway show on YouTube? They are illegally taped making them a little grainy and jerky but for a poor Utah girl, I'll take what I can get. (Is some secret government agent going to show up on my door step and arrest me for admitting I'm watching bootlegged copies of Broadway shows??)

2) Fabulous dresses. The kind that make you swoon. Go check them out and then tell me which one is your favorite. I love them all...but this "Summer in Nice" I feel a strong connection with.
Shabby Apple



3) I found a place that has made me actually want to buy a new swim suit! Really. And I don't say that lightly. I'm not a girl that looks forward to seeing all her nakedness on display for the public but I could look forward to it a little more if I had me one of these fabulous suits...Cute Suits

4)
Need I say more? Her third book "Eclipse" is being released August 7th and if you absolutely can't wait a second more, then check out her website where the first chapter is posted. Just remember...no one promised Newbury award winning literature in these books. Just a little passion, suspense, intrigue, sexual tension, and living on the edge. I'm thoroughly entertained and that was all I expected. By the way, while I still like Edward, I'm secretly rooting for Jacob. I just think they have more interesting conversations!

5) Pedicures. Everyone needs one. Nothing like fun red toes to make it really feel like summer. Seeing naked toes sticking out of flip-flops looks obscene. Just bite the bullet and do it. If you're like me, getting it done once a year fulfills the need and I'm happy to hang on to whatever red polish is left on my toes for as long as I can.



6) If you’re looking for a convenient, on the go treat, look no further than Ben & Jerry’s single serve cups. With a spoon under the lid and five delicious Ben & Jerry’s flavors to choose from, these 3.6 oz. single serve treats are perfect for any occasion. Available in Cherry Garcia, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Vanilla, and Strawberry Cheesecake. (By the way, I just cut and paste this from their website. It's getting late and I just thought they said it so nicely. If you are having a crisis, don't mess with these single serve things. Go straight for the big container. But if you need a fix without the guilt, eat the whole single serve cup...plus it comes with a spoon UNDER THE LID! I just can't think of 2 men who make it easier and more convenient to be chubby!)

7) I'm reading all the books on the Children's Literature Association of Utah's nominee lists. There are 5 different categories and every time I go to the library, I try and check out one book from each category. THEN...you go return your books to the library and vote on each book. Those votes are what determine next year's winners. Very serious responsibility but FABULOUS books. Loving them all. Get your lists at the CLAU website

I could continue but I'm getting a little drowsy and J. just woke up the whole house with a leg cramp. I feel a little weird stopping on number 7 so I'm going to do one more...but this one is really just a personal one for my cousin MICHAEL STUBBS!

8) Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
It is a book all about the power of poetry! I loved this book and instantly thought of Mike. Jake has been reading it out loud to me and it has provoked some GREAT conversations about what poetry is and what it isn't, what it looks like and sounds like and different ways to write poetry. It's the fictional diary of an elementary school age kid named Jack who is given an assignment and lots of inspiration and encouragement from his teachers and discovers he has lots of interesting things to say. It's a great story! Someone tell Mike.

That's it. I'm beat. I'm off to bed with my red toes, Ben and Jerry's, a great book and visions of sweet dresses dancing in my head!