Disturbed

I just want to get this out, so hopefully I can go about cleaning my house without disturbance. Yesterday after church I stayed after a bit to talk to the primary president and a member of the bishopric concerning the baptism. We walked out the door with the primary president's family of a husband and 4 children aged 3-11. We came out the door and the only vehicles left in the back were our van and a car next door. I thought the family must have parked around the corner. Then I saw the 9 year old going for the car. I assumed the family must have come in two vehicles. As I was in the van buckling everyone I watched the four kids pile into the back of a 2-seater seat. As soon as the back door slammed the car was off. I'm sure the family made it home safely, but it disturbs me. That is very unsafe! A few years ago when the second boy was 7 he fell out of the car. They were almost home, he had unbelted and opened the door (the front passenger door as he was sitting in the front seat). He fell out and was injured. I don't get it. How can people be so unsafe? I know of another family with super skinny and short kids. The extent of car safety that they follow is according to law. At age 1 the 14 pound baby is turned around forward facing in her ancient carseat. At the fifth birthday the carseat is removed (and saved for the baby to ride in when it is probably 14 years old. The approx 35 pound 5 year old gets to ride in a regular seat with the seatbelt behind her back in the front seat. Lap belts are extremely unsafe for anyone. I pray this family never gets in an accident because all the little kids will likely be killed. I wish I was one of those outspoken and convincing people. I'd try to save the world. At least I have my own family. I can keep them safe in the car. (Now that I have been awakened to all the stupid mistakes I made in the past.) Maybe that's why this bugs me so much. Karen was 18 months old when I finally learned car safety. (I used to be one of those that put the shoulder belt behind my back.) Luckily, nothing happened to any of us. Now if anything does we should be safe. And now I'm going to go clean the house.

Gearing up

I'm gearing up for another visit from my parents. They arrive tonight. They decided to bring their own air mattress this time, so I don't have to clean the storage room. (Mom doesn't like my guest bed.) I wish she'd realize that my house is not a hotel. It's a family thing to stay at people's houses, but most of us realize that in this situation we can't be picky. If all there is is a couch, then we should be grateful for it! I talked to my parents last night. My mom is being silly about the weather just like last year. They were coming at this time just to attend Emily's baptism on Saturday. They've decided to leave on Friday and drive the entire way in snow and rain. Saturday's forecast gives the Salt Lake area a 40 percent chance of rain. Then the salt flats and most of Nevada are clear of any precipitation. The only trouble would be the California mountains. Hopefully showing the parents the weather maps will get them to be reasonable so that they will not be driving in the storm and will come to Emily's baptism as they promised to do. I told Emily last night that they weren't going to come to it anymore and she was upset.

Last night Emily and Aaron practiced being baptized. Emily is scared of going under the water. I think practicing is really helping her. I also read her a book on baptism. I read it to everybody. It is amazing how Caitlyn (aka Hermoine) knows all the answers. I talked to the primary president who gave me the list of things to have and do on Saturday. I have to remember white panties! I'm going to take them out of the drawer so that no one wears them. I believe the girls only have 1 or 2 pairs that are white. (Why is one panty a pair?)

It is freezing cold today. I am definately not going out to spend money I ought not.

Merry Christmas!

I hope all had a fun Christmas. I'll have to bring the camera down sometime. The kids had a lot of fun. They received a bunch of gifts they love and I don't approve of. After a couple weeks I'll box them up and bring them out for a special treat every now and then. I crocheted Aaron a hat since he lost his. It was adult size. I pulled it out Christmas eve since he had to go out in the snowstorm and it was too small. I need to measure his head and make another. It will be better all in one color anyway. (I ran out of yarn and the store didn't have an exact match.) I also got him a bass recorder. It is taller than Karen. Karen is not materialistic yet and really doesn't care about her presents. She was excited over everything. Eric especially loves his shooting gallery, trains, and bank. (I gave all the kids 3-part banks so they could figure tithing, savings, and fun.) Caitlyn and Emily like Eric's shooting gallery too. They received replicas of the origional 6 My Little Ponys. We now have two cotton candys- one of them origional (not a replica). They have so many ponies now that they don't fit in the castle. I don't know what to do with all this stuff! Emily has been enjoying her birthday presents. She received several drawing sets and a horse stamp set. She just loves to color and draw. My highlight was the gift from Aaron. He gave me a box of rocks. There were cd's in it too. He bought some Tab (official abbreviation) Choir cd's at a rehearsal. They are very good cd's, although not the one I have wanted for years. Maybe next year... I've got some money. I'm going to go buy myself some new clothes. I have to go to walmart today for milk, so I'm going to get some clothes today, provided they have the right sizes left.

I have a story and a warning for all internet shoppers. My mother decided to shop on the internet this year. She is known as someone who cannot get the right thing. She looked at my list of Black Stallion books and saw that the first book was missing from the list. She decided I must be looney and bought that book as well as several others and a duplicate of one. She thought it was funny. The reason why "The Black Stallion" was not on the list was because I had already purchased it. So, I ended up with two, duplicate books. I figured since it was mom's fault I'd just send them back. The two books totalled $12.50. After deducting discounts, free shipping, and return shipping amazon gave me $2.80 of credit. Mom also bought mittens for Karen that fit Emily. They ended up being given to Emily and I got Karen some tiny ones. (They were one of two pairs of snow mittens left in town.) Now I've got a dulicate mail order dress. I am going to have to decide whether it is worth it or not to send it back. I may just put it into storage. In 10 years when the first one has worn out I can pull out the duplicate. Either that or I'll give it to some less fortunate person.

Happy Birthday Emily!

Today was the day Emily turned eight years old. (I have yet to get a picture. Tomorrow I will.)

This morning we learned the primary song "I Like my Birthdays" which goes:
I like my birthdays every one
Each brings a greater joy to me,
But I can't wait until I'm eight
for then I'll be baptized you see.

We learned all three verses. Emily wasn't too enthused, but Caitlyn sang with all her gusto. Next we sang every Happy Birthday song in the primary book, then the usual one. In the afternoon I let her choose a movie to watch. First she picked a My Little Pony movie, but Aaron fiddled with the tv attached to the dvd player. (Have I explained why we have two tvs in one room?) So, Emily had to pick a vhs. When she turned two years old we didn't celebrate. We did, just not on her actual birthday. I let her choose a movie to watch. This was the first movie she ever watched and she picked Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It is a really long movie and I did not expect her to watch the whole thing, but amazingly enough she did! That movie was her favorite for years. Today, on her eighth birthday she chose that movie again. Karen, the three year old couldn't watch more than 30 minutes and ended up with me. After the movie Emily had a hurried dinner, then off to a church class party. As she was gone the rest of us made green frosting for her cupcakes. She wanted green frosted cupcakes with my little ponies on them. (The McDonald's ones.) When she returned we did the candles, etc. She opened her cards and gifts. We gave her a watercolor set. (Watercolor crayons and pencils with a pad of paper.) She seemed intruiged. We'll see how she likes them tomorrow. She was supposed to get something else, but it hasn't come. I hope it comes by Christmas. I had something else too and somehow lost it. I hope I find it some time!

The car seat poncho

I decided to make Ben a car seat poncho. Basically, it is a poncho with a hood that he wears to the car and can still wear while in his seat and being strapped up. The hood stays on the head and the rest of it goes up and over the seat. Puffy coats are bad, so I've been putting him in a sweatshirt, wrapping him in a blanket, then unwrapping him to go in the seat. It is a pain, so I decided to make this poncho. I went to walmart and bought fleece off the clearance rack. It is ugly yellow and brown, but Ben doesn't care. It is really warm with two layers. Last night I figured out how to make a hood. I only have vague instructions such as "attach hood" and "sew up the outside". I'm not by any means a seamstress. I have little experience, but fleece is easy to work with. The trick is to figure it all out. I pinned the hood into the neck hole. The neck hole is way too large, so I had to pleat. I probably did not pleat the way an experienced person would, but I did it. I've sewn 1/4 of the hood. I'm doing this by hand and have lost my thimble. (I didn't know what it was for.) My fingers hurt!

Our other news is the weather. Apparently we had snow early this morning when Aaron was up. When I got up it just looked like it was about to start snowing. Then the sky cleared up and it was wonderfully blue. The sun was out and the water was just pouring off the roof. This afternoon I saw my lawn, so I went out and picked up the rake and a few other items. In 10 minutes the sky was covered with menacing clouds, the light went away, it started hailing, and the temp dropped 10 degrees. We had thunder and lightning. 10 minutes after the start of the hail our lawn was again hidden. It has since turned to snow and continues. We are expecting 6 inches. Not too bad compared to Boston's storm, but it is pretty good for us. I'm just loving all the snow.

Car seats and boxes

For many months now we have had the car and booster seats all arranged in the van the same way. Lately, though I've been annoyed with having to lean over Ben (making him scream) to get to Eric to make sure he is all strapped in correctly. (He can buckle himself, but he doesn't do it anywhere near properly.) The first move was just to switch Caitlyn and Eric. Eric was on the third row farthest from the door and Caitlyn was on the third row closest to the door. Then we went to pick up Emily's dress and then to walmart. Caitlyn threw a fit from the time we left until we were in walmart and I threatened to not buy her soy nut butter if she didn't stop crying. (Probably a bad thing, but it worked.) I then moved Karen to Ben's old spot. He had the third row, middle seat (with the lap-only belt). Due to the lap-only belt only a car seat can sit there. It would be very dangerous for anyone else whether child or adult to sit there. Then I put Ben on the second row furthest from the door, Eric next to him, closest to the door and Emily back in the third row closest to the door. The only thing wrong with the arrangement is that Karen's seat is wider than Ben's and Caitlyn can no longer buckle herself, so I still have to get to that far seat. I worked with the seats for two hours and the two carseats still are not in a position where I am happy with them. Ben's leans very badly. Karen's leans too, but even worse- it is too loose. Back when we had the Odyssey it took me 30 seconds to install a carseat. I am so frustrated with this stupid aerostar. I know, I am greatful to have a vehicle to seat our family in that we can afford. Last Feb we had no savings for a downpayment and we could in no way have afforded the monthly payments of a nice vehicle. Especially since we were still making payments on the Odyssey until April. It was lucky of Aaron's father to let us make payments on it, starting when the old one was sold. We are greatful that it will be payed off this coming March. Then we will save for our large dream vehicle. (My real dream vehicle is a vw bug or anything very tiny for that matter.)

My other rant is on boxes. My mother had the grand idea to send everyone's Christmas presents with their names on the packages. She warned me, so I had been taking the boxes before anyone had looked too closely at them. Today, however I did not get there in time. A box came with Emily's name on it. The kids bothered me all afternoon, during dinner, and evening about that box. It is Emily's so she should get to open it. Grrrr..... I hope they forget about it by tomorrow. I'm going to wrap the contents tonight and hide the box. They think it is her birthday present since her birthday is tomorrow. In the future I will beg mom to put my name on everyone's gifts and put Aaron's name on mine or do something so I know not to open it.

18th December

Ben's vision teacher came today. She had Ben play with package bows. He didn't like them. He'd touch one, make a face, then drop it. I guess he doesn't like smooth textures. He was cute. Eric has an obsession with teasing. Karen is most often the subject of the teasing, but sometimes it is Ben. I don't know why I lived with it so long. I guess I thought it was just a phase that would go away after the hundredth "stop it". I just couldn't stand it anymore. This morning I decided that Eric would go to his room for 5 minutes everytime he teased. He learned pretty quickly and only got sent to his room three times, although it was reported that he teased while I was in the shower. Hopefully this crack down will end the teasing. When my aunt was here she kept mistakenly calling Eric by the name of my younger brother. Just a week before her visit I remarked to Aaron that Eric's behavior reminded me of my younger brother when we were kids. I suspect that was why my aunt kept calling Eric by my brother's name. My brother was aweful and never got in trouble. I got in trouble for retaliating. This was back in the day when older brother would be in charge while the parents were gone. It wasn't a good idea. I'm not sure I should ever leave more than one child home alone! They can do some naughty things in company.

I had no plan for dinner. By afternoon I thought I was going to go buy walmart pizza. As I was cleaning the kitchen I found a recipe for turkey chili and decided to make it. After I had chopped the veggies I realized we had no canned black beans. I ended up using red beans. After putting in the beans I went downstairs to get a can of corn. Right next to the case of corn was a whole case of black beans! Dh bought them just before Ben was born, but they are behind the case of tomato sauce, so I never saw them. At least now I know we have lots of black beans. I almost bought a case at the last case lot sale. I made corn bread to go with the chili. I had wondered why the batter was weird and they didn't bake up the same as usual. It was as I brought out the milk batch that I realized I had forgotten the eggs! If you are allergic to eggs, cornbread will still work out, it just won't be the same light and fluffy texture. The muffins were more like biscuits than muffins. They were eaten anyway.

Christmas fun

We did our crafts on Friday. We made ball ornaments and rudolph decorations using hand and foot prints. We made tree cookies on Saturday. I took pictures of it all, but they turned out very fuzzy. When I came to the computer with the camera I found that the batteries were dead. Maybe that was why. I guess we'll just have to do more crafts and bake more cookies. I've got some other pictures to share anyhow. This is Ben eating avocado which is one of his favorite foods. (and Aaron's too.)



One of the girls put pixie wings on Ben. I think he looks cute.


These are the pictures from last week's snowstorm. It was just too freezing cold to go out and play though. This week's snowstorm is supposed to be warmer. I may go out and play with the kiddies.

I have a love affair with my neighbor's tree. I wish I had one like it!



Aaron was in the Tabernacle choir's concert this past weekend. Then he was in The Music and the Spoken word. There is a shot of him at the end. There is a video on some Spanish you tube-like site. Aaron has it and showed it to us, but wouldn't give me the link and I can't find it anywhere. If I get the link I'll post it. I listed to the rebroadcast of Music and the Spoken word last night. The music was really good. I can't wait to own the cd next year. Previously I had not known that Music and the Spoken Word was on tv out here. I had been listening on the classical radio station that broadcasts last week's, although yesterday they broadcasted last year's concert. Having Aaron in the bell choir is really neat. I live vicariously through him! I was thinking about this recently and I really have no desire to leave my children on a regular basis. Perhaps someday when my youngest is 10 years old I might go out and do neat stuff, but for now I really am content to stay home and take care of the kiddos. It's much better than worrying about a babysitter for weeks at a time. Babysitters and having to arrange babysitting causes me a lot of stress.

I made fudge today. It has no milk in it. Usually it tastes really good, but I did something wrong this time. It could be the marshmallow cream dated February 07 or it could be the lack of quality of Macey's chocolate chips. Here is the recipe:

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter substitute
3/4 cup non-dairy creamer

Put in saucepan. Stir and bring to boiling. Boil at med heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add: 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips and stir till melted.
Add: marshmallow cream and 1 tsp vanilla plus 1/2 tsp peppermint extract if desired

Then add mini marshmallows if desired and spread in greased pan.

The peppermint makes this fudge extra special. It is better than boring old fudge. The recipe is pretty much the same as you find on the back of the marshmallow cream. You just substitute mocha mix for the evaporated milk.

Annoyed

Tonight I opened up the rest of Karen's gifts. Her first gift was too big mittens that are going to Emily instead. The rest of her gift was a box of books- two of them appropriate for her. I wrapped up the my little pony book and sticker book for her. The other sticker book was heavy on the abc's and numbers. I don't forcefeed this stuff to my children and just can't give it too her. I wrapped it up for Eric who on his own has become interested. The other workbooks I left, sitting in the box for the kids to discover and do as they wish, which probably is not. They don't do workbooks any more. These are pre-k, k, first, and second grade workbooks. Mom sent them to a just turned 3 year old. She must be off her rocker. I think I'll just go buy Karen a Barbie doll and a pad of paper. Both are more appropriate. I feel bad because mom got Eric two big toys and all she got Karen (in the end) are two books. I am worried what will come next...

As a side happy note, I set up the South American creche my friend Cami sent to me. It is here next to me at the computer. It is really pretty. The llamas make me laugh. We decorated the tree. I dealt with the lights and garland. The kids managed to put every ornament on the tree themselves. They stood on chairs to get up high. I'll have to take pictures tomorrow.

Promotion

Aaron has done it only 3 months after the last one! He's been promoted to a database administrator. He's going to earn more money. I'm excited at the prospect. He's in the Tabernacle Choir concert with the King Singers this weekend. I have barely seen him all week. He got us a tree during his lunch break on Tuesday and set it up at 11pm. It is crooked and I'm not particularly happy with it. I haven't brought the stuff up to decorate yet. The kids are bugging me to do it. This morning we looked through a Christmas craft book. Then we went shopping to buy googly eyes, glitter, and pom-poms. Maybe tomorrow I'll post pictures of crafts. I am getting annoyed with my mother's online shopping. When she gets the wrong stuff I have to pay to return it. That bugs the heck out of me. She bought a book I bought which was why it wasn't on the list. Then she bought two of one book. Oh and I was chastised for opening the boxes early. These books are kid books for the kids. (The Black Stallion series) I told her that some of the books on my book list were for the kids and not me. Somehow she thought I was all that into kiddie horse books...I will read them, so I guess they can be a gift to me, but I'll wrap them up and give them to the girls anywhow. We got some more boxes today. I'm wondering just how long it will take before the children realize that santa doesn't drive a sleigh, but rather a ups truck, fedex truck, and the usps trucks. I'm tired of Christmas already.

All Better

Whew. It is a great relief to be recovered! Today I washed dishes and cleaned the living room. I took the kids over to the local Deseret Industries thrift shop to look for boy boots and a snow coat for Emily. Unfortunately there are no snow boots at the store and very few snow coats. The nice ones are $65, but I don't have that kind of money. We found some church pants for Eric, two winter nightgowns for the big girls, and a book. While there a lady and her kids whom we know came. She shopped separate from her kids. I couldn't believe it. Her kids played with the toys, then with the shoes, then ran (literally) through the store. Why do people think the thrift store is a playground where they do not need to watch their children? On a previous occasion we got to the toy section and the toys were all over the floor. After my kids played a little bit I made them clean up extra and I cleaned up too. Then some boys who had been there previously came back (unattended of course) and complained to me about how I picked up toys they were playing with. I chastised them and told them this was a store and not their living room. A little playing with the toys, then putting them back while the mother looks at things nearby is one thing, but making a gigantic mess and leaving it while mom is elsewhere is another thing. Anyway... Got some wrapping done.

Last night as Aaron was snoring, he managed to hear the phone. (I was wide awake and didn't.) He got the substitution call for the Tabernacle Choir concert this week. The bells play in four songs. Aaron is super excited. I gave his tickets away.

Still sick

I'm still sick. This is aweful. I spent the bulk of the dy laying on the couch. Fortunately Aaron heated up dinner before leaving for the bell concert. Emily missed her play performance tonight. Hopefully she'll be able to be in the Monday performance. I can see why many people get flu shots. I've lost 5 pounds.

I need some Christmas Cheer

I'm all depressed again. This year I had the money to buy all the kids and dh nice, store-bought presents. Last year I thought, if only I had money, Christmas wouldn't be so depressing. I used to like Christmas. Before marriage. (We had a baby the first married Christmas.) It used to be fun and exciting. I don't hope for any particular gift any more since I know I likely won't get it. Now that I'm grown my mom wants to spend lots of money on me for boring things. And Christmas isn't about that anyway. It should be about Christ. I need to do something. I've gotten slack on reading the scriptures. Last week Ben had the flu. Now Caitlyn and I have it. I feel rotten and don't want to do anything. Caitlyn spent two days in bed, but I have to get up. I am depressed about the illness. Not just this one, but the ones before that. From the last two months I can predict that this fall/winter/spring will be another sick one. With our large family we can't get sick all at the same time. It starts with one and goes down the line. By the time the last person gets over the illness the first person has got a new one. I hate living like this. I feel like we can't do anything. Caitlyn will miss another dance class this week. It is a waste of money. I worry about Emily falling ill this weekend when she's supposed to be in a play. I worry about Aaron getting sick and missing work. He used his leave time on me last month. The other thing is decorations. I don't decorate for Christmas with the exception of the Christmas tree. I feel lights outside are a waste of money. I won't buy decorations. We have no place to put anything in our house. My mom likes to give me snow globes, but we have little ones who break things. I only get out the plastic nativity scene and since the kids play with it it never looks nice. It gets bulldozed all over the room and the pieces go all over. It doesn't matter how many times I set it up it gets thrown all over the place. I would be happy if the kids would do some cute arrangement of it. I have no where to put the breakable sets. Actually, maybe I could put it by the computer. I'd at least get to see it. At least I've got my record player working this year. I've got lots of Christmas records. The only trouble is that I have to be downstairs to hear them. Well, Ben is doing another one of his blowout poops. I feel so lucky.

Happy Birthday Karen

She still likes pink! Happy 3 years old to Karen.

Guests, please don't wash the dishes!

My aunt and uncle came to visit. We had a lot of fun. We made pepperkarkor cookies and popcorn balls. (Throw away your old unpopped popcorn.) We had our grand Thanksgiving feast and celebrated Karen's birthday. It was really very enjoyeable, but I cannot stand using greasy dishes. My father likes to wash all my dishes and my aunt does them about the same way as my father. My mother decided to be "helpful" last visit and even boasted about her "helpfulness". I have one of the cheapest models of dishwashers out there. You can't just throw plates covered in food and grease into the dishwasher. You cannot put in unwashed pots and expect them to come out clean! I am very careful when I handwash my dishes. I use running water to rinse the dishes. Next I use running water and soap to wash, then rinse. In this way I get clean, not greasy dishes. Should you come be my guest you are welcome to vacuum my carpet, wash my kitchen floor, clean my bathrooms, but please- don't touch the dishes!

Saturday Aaron was singing at Temple Square. We went out to dinner at The Blue Iguana. It was very good Mexican food. We recommend it. Next we froze looking at all the lights. We went into buildings every now and then. Sorry I forgot the camera. I got to see the inside of the Tabernacle for the first time. I can see why the conference center was built. It is really small.
Aaron's choir was really not very good. Afterwards he talked for at least an hour about how bad the choir was and how stupid they sounded and all their problems. I approached him quitting since he's got bells now and he said "No way". Oh well. Caitlyn cried because she was so cold. Sunday morning she was obviously sick. By evening Eric had it too. I've just started. Ben was sick all last week. He still has pooping issues. He has to change his clothes afterwards. This Friday Emily is in "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". I hope she will stay well at least until afterwards. Emily and Aaron went to the Christmas Devotional last night. Emily enjoyed it. Karen and I listened to it on the radio. She fell asleep during the closing prayer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a nice thanksgiving with Aaron's family. It was fun and I was glad to hang out and relax in a comfy home. I feel cold at my house.

Things have gotten better for us. The car is fixed and so is the oven. I'm feeling much better. My back gives out after too much strain. Otherwise, we're back to being a boring family.

It's raining...

...misfortune, that is. I wouldn't say it's pouring yet. Our oven's bake element went out. Aaron didn't know to turn off the breaker before removing it and broke a piece. We had to wait three days for the repairman to come out and fix it. Aaron refused to buy the element from the repairman, which is frugal, but we have to wait. He took two days to find and order one off the internet. It is frugal. We still have 5-8 days left to wait for our element. I'm tired of eating soup! I am also not yet going out. I took Caitlyn to dance class this week. I was in such pain from bending over to buckle Ben that we stayed in the car for an hour in order to not have to buckle Ben again. I am not going to the store and we are out of bread products. I would bake bread if only we had an oven. Then the other night as Aaron was traveling to Salt Lake for Bell practice his car broke. It was fixed yesterday, but it broke again on the way to work. Ford paid for the tow truck the second time and didn't charge for labor. The first time they replaced a part broken by the origional broken part. I'm so glad Aaron got a good bonus.

Last week while I was couch-ridden I sent Aaron to the library with the kids. He came back with a book on the linguistics of Tolkien's Hobbits. It was so interesting that I engaged in reading The Lord of the Rings. I'm in The Two Towers now. It is an engaging story, but I am not yet a fanatic (I doubt I ever will be.) as are some like my husband.

Events

A week ago I took advantage of a sale on powdered and brown sugar. I had one bag of 16 pounds of brown sugar. The other had 8 pounds of powdered sugar. I was in productive mood and went flying down the stairs with my sugar to put away. When I was 1/3rd of the way down my foot slipped and I felt the sensation that I was flying. I started unconsciously screaming and I don't scream. I went to the doctor. I've pulled some butt muscles and bruised my tailbone. I'm still in a lot of pain and can't sit. I wish I could have broken my arm instead.

Ben got his 5th tooth last night. The sixth should be in any time soon. He's been sleeping with me at night. I really want this tooth business to end so he will be back to his own crib. We tried the "mommy shirt trick" last night. It lasted about an hour, which is more time than he had previously been spending in his crib.

Aaron's big news is that he is now a member of the Tabernacle Bell Choir. He's a substitute until someone quits or becomes pregnant. It's exciting.

Halloween and pumpkins!

We had a lovely Halloween. Okay, it was busy and crazy, but the kids had fun. We baked most of the day and then carved pupmpkins. The kids drew their faces (or Emily drew hers, Eric's, and Karen's- all the same and Caitlyn drew hers.) I took the liberty to make Karen's different.


Then they got into costume. The girls were Mary, Laura, and Carrie. Eric was a crocodile and Ben a dragon.




They went out and got tons and tons of candy. I need to find someplace to donate it.

The day after Halloween was pumpkin cooking day. I cooked all four jack o'lanterns.



Caitlyn's


Karen's


Emily's


And Eric's. (I forgot to take the picture prior to slicing in half.)


What I did with the pumpkin after baking it. This is Karen's and maybe Eric's.




This is Emily's and Caitlyn's.



This was last night's dinner: Pumpkin Chili. It was really good!


Here's my giant pumpkin which I haven't carved yet.


I am tired of pumpkins!!! Today is a day to take it easy, clean house, and order pizza.

Ramblings of the day

I'm almost finished with War and Peace. I'm at the end where Tolstoy rambles his philosophies on history. It is boring and quite a challenge to get through. I read Potok's "The Chosen" this weekend. An interesting way to educate. I started Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" today.

Dinner was something I pulled out of the freezer and re-heated. I don't remember what it was called. It was spicy with sausage. I've eaten too much candy today and feel really bad. Candy isn't good for me. I need more control. I made apple goodie as an alternative to candy.

I learned I should look at what Karen is wearing before I let her out of the house. Shakespeare made me sleepy. When the kids came up stairs I sleepily told them they could go outside. After coming in and out about a dozen times I was wide awake. Karen had managed to pull tights over her pants. She looked really silly.

The primary program is in two weeks. The kids had their lines memorized last week. On Sunday they got to practice, but they all got nervous up at the mic and forgot their lines. Fortunately Emily and Caitlyn can read.

On down the ranks

Yesterday Caitlyn and Karen were ill. Last night and today it is my turn. I think we're having waffles for dinner. We had plans this weekend. Tomorrow is the pumpkin walk at the grist mill. We were then going to spend Saturday with the grandparents. They have pumpkins to give us. If Emily and Eric will get sick tonight we should be able to go to the grandparents on Saturday. I am feeling lethargic. I'm glad I went around doing all sorts of household chores last night when I started feeling sick. I've made it to book 2 of War and Peace. Last night my dreams were of the Russian and French commanders having words with each other. Then they'd sing something to the tune of the 6th Article of Faith. That can get really annoying when it plays out in your mind over and over and over... Tomorrow will be a better day.

A Better Day

My grandpa called. It is his old car that had the missing keys. Turns out I should have talked to grandpa before paying a locksmith to make new keys. Grandpa has a spare set.

Aaron was ill last night. I realized my weird feeling is due to a clogged duct. I've got to deal with that before it turns very bad.

I got to my tomatoes. I canned a 16 ounce and an 8 ounce jar of tomato sauce. I think that is good for only two plants. The last two years I only got an 8 ounce jar. We used less fresh tomatoes this year. I feel relieved to be done with them.

Now, for dinner... I need to get my act together and make a monthly dinner plan. I hate dinner. I think we're having sandwiches since I am baking bread.

Christine

Ben's First Illness

Ben caught the stomache bug. It started last night just as it was bedtime. We passed a bad night. He is better today, but still not wholly recovered. He has eaten once that has not come back up and now is in a deep sleep which I must hold him for. I'll have to look for quick-cooking recipes for dinner tonight. I fear that the illness will spread throughout the family, starting with myself.

In other news, we gave up on the missing car key being returned. I hired a locksmith to make new keys. We must make duplicates and put them on separate rings.

Christine

War and Peace

After getting through the beginning of the book I find myself not wanting to put it down. It is such a long book it is aweful! To go along with it I heard Tchaikovsy's 1812 Overture on the radio today. If I don't post for several days you'll know what I'm up to.

A Fresh Start

As I intend to mention on my old blog, this is my new one due to my new gmail account. I've had the email account for months now, but I have finally decided to make my blog match. Blogger is of the same company of gmail. Although one can change their email address with blogger they will not allow you to change to a gmail address. You've got to start with one. I've gotten tired of logging out, in, out, and in to go to ,y blog and then my email. This will be much easier.

I've been meaning to mention my latest homeschooling method/philosophy. Last month after only a mere week and a half of k12 public school curriculum. I quit. My children were not loving learning and were not retaining information. Therefore I again picked up my copy of A Thomas Jefferson Education. I have again realize that this is the ideal situation for training minds. First we start by teaching the children the doctrines of the kingdom of God. That is what really matters in life after all. Then everything is taught by the classics through mentoring. I'm still learning how to do this, but my kids are happy, learning, and so am I.

This weekend we participated in the General Conference of the Church. After promising the children a granola bar for telling me 1 learned item for each of their years, they sat and attentively listened. (I was shocked.) Eric, my 4 year old boy desperately wanted that granola bar and managed to recite from memory (he does not read yet) the first and fourth Articles of Faith. Wow! Karen, my two year old repeated "Holy Ghost" every time it was uttered.

What I gleamed from conference was that there is much good in the world. If we spend a lot of time with the good stuff we likely would not have time for the best. We need to stop wasting our time on the good and spend the bulk of our time with the best. Entertainment should be used in great moderation. (This fits with my new spending time on what counts campaign.) We should write daily in a journal. I knew that, but I have resolved to do it yet again. We should serve more. I have a hard time with that one, but I'm going to. Last of all when The conference issue of the Ensign comes I shall read the talks to my children. If they can sit and listen live, they can listen again one talk at a time. Then I will learn what I forgot or what I slept through. I really didn't want to and didn't mean to, but staring at a screen makes me sleepy.

Today I called my former bell choir director. He was Aaron's too back before his mission. Our director, Brother Winkel moved to Utah shortly after I went off to college. He settled in a teeny weenie town. I searched the web and found him. We had a great talk. He's a good man. Unfortunately he donated his bells to a public school. The public school then decided to get rid of them because bell choirs are too closely related to the Christian religion. (Makes you say "huh?") So, the rumor is that his bells made to to the Tabernacle Choir. I'd like to find out the true story. Aaron and I both dream of playing in the Tabernacle Bell choir. It would be fun.