It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

No, I'm not talking about Christmas.  I'm talking January Baby!!! I love the New Year.  Cleaning my House.  Feeling organized and having time to craft.  January is my favorite month!

New York State of Mind

Under a Bridge in Brooklyn.  I can't remember which one but the Brooklyn Bridge is just to the left of us.

Darlene, Diana, and Jessie

On the way to The Statue of Liberty

Lady Liberty

Ellis Island processing room.  Site of the largest human migration in history.

Think It's Time I Start Blogging Again

Haven't blogged in forever. Not cause Nothing's going on. Mostly because too much is. QUICK RUN DOWN: Since Oct. 18, 2011: *Had surgery-- Nothing major *Went to Time Out for Women *Thanksgiving *Spent a week in New York *Built a Massive retaining wall *Dance Performances *4 days in Salt Lake *Choir concert *Piano Recital *Band Concert *Got a kitty *Christmas Whew!!!!! I do love Blogging and I miss the record. I'll post some pics, although if you have Facebook, you've probably already seen them.

When Our Taste Doesn't Match Our Product

Ira Glass-- a favorite of mine from NPR gave this amazing long quote about our creative work. He was talking specifically about storytelling, but I think it applies to all creative work-- including the creation of an amazing family culture.
Enjoy!

I'm Sensing a Theme Here . . .

Yesterday our Sacrament meeting was about Gratitude.  Then Relief Society was about Gratitude.  I can no longer ignore the realization that I keep having that I am guilty of INGRATITUDE.  Additionally I am suffering from Frazzle-Mommy Syndrome.  Let's give you a little update on the last week and then I'll end with things I am Grateful for:

Wed:  Surgery-- Taking it easy, not feeling too well, even still
Thurs.- Fri:  Kids out of school
Sat:  6 12yo Boys over for Breakfast and then 12 12yo Boys over for cake and Ice cream
       Dance Carpool Driver-- Both going and coming
       Lost patience MAJORLY (No details, but it wasn't undeserved necessarily, but probably a little melodramatic on my part)
Sun:  Noticed that all the dates on the newsletter I had created were wrong.  Only slept  from 11-2 and 5-6:30
Mon:  Very early Morning dentist appointments (7:30) both of which had multiple cavities due to their inherited soft enamel ---- SSOOOOOOO Frustrating and not much you can do.
Ben's Speech Therapy where I can tell the therapist is VERY frustrated with his lack of progress and frankly, so am I.

OKAY, with all of that as background:
1.  Man am I grateful we have dental insurance.  It is what it is.  Hopefully we can kick this problem in the pants the best we can.  FYI, because we don't have flouridated water in this neck of the woods, it's best if you only spit out toothpaste, not rinse it when you're done.  News to me, but it will hopefully help my kids.

2.  I am so grateful my surgery went so well and I have had so few problems.

3.  I am truly grateful for the opportunity to serve in the Relief Society and even more grateful for the understanding of my fellow sisters who all put their arm around me and say-- You've got six kids.  You're doing great.  You're family's wonderful.  Don't worry if a few dates are wrong.  That kid will talk when he wants to talk and then you won't be able to shut him up.

4.  I am grateful for Numerous stories from ward members about how this kid is amazing, or that one's a lot of fun, or this one's so smart.  Sometimes after you've torn your hair out you don't feel so great about them.  It's nice to hear not everybody's tearing their hair out over 'em.


RANT OVER.  Just had to get it off my chest.  I probably need a nap.

Touche'

The Favorite game at Chez Jensen as of late is Chess.  All except Senor Screamer are afficionados.  Tonight I assented to a match with Nater.  I will admit that there was some assistance to him by Maggie and Katie and that I was not entirely attentive to the game board and a couple of times I showed him how very advantageous the moves he had made really were.  The end result was a complete loss of all of my pieces (except for the king, of course), a pawn that became a queen and a stalemate.  All was fine-- My ego not bruised until he said:  

"Mom, you're not very smart.  You sacrificed yourself a lot."  

He's Right.  I have sacrificed a lot, but I think it's the smartest thing I've ever done.

Marathon Madness

My favorite sign running the marathon:

Because 26.3 Miles would be CRAZY.

I wanted to give you an idea of some of the signs we saw along the way and some others I didn't see, but wish I woulda!.  They just make you feel awesome.

• "On this day, you're my hero."
• "Pain is temporary, pride is forever."
• "You've done harder things than this."
• • • "It's not 26.2 miles…it's 10 water stops."
• "Last is just the slowest winner."
• "My mommy is faster than your mommy."
• "If it was easy, everyone would do it."
• The person who starts the race is not the same person who finishes the race."
• "This 26.2 is for all the girls picked last in gym class."
• • In our minds, you're all Kenyans."
  • "Your feet hurt because you are kicking so much butt!"
  • 
    
  • “Mommy, Have You Peed Your Pants Yet?”
  • 
    
  • “Humpy Dumpy Had Wall Problems Too”

  • 

    Thanks to Megan's Sister Keena and Her husband Nick for the One Sign with our names on it :)  Note to self, Must take lessons from a photographer on posing for pictures.  Flattering ones happen so rarely.

    
    

    

    Before the Start

    • “Running is a mental sport.  You’re all INSANE!”
    • 
      
    • “This seemed like a good idea three months ago, didn’t it??”
    • 
      
    • "Phiddipides almost died at this point in the race" 
    • • "One foot in front of the other. That's all."
      • "You are no longer a runner, YOU are a marathoner."

BETTER U CHALLENGE

Three weeks ago I entered a group betterment challenge-- with 10 tasks including exercise, decluttering, scripture study, etc.   I have done 80% of the things required but have been somewhat remiss about entering my accomplishments especially on the weekend placing me at the BOTTOM of the LIST.  A part of me is MORTIFIED.  Another part of me knows that I have been doing most of the things I committed to and also taking care of my family which doesn't always lend itself to time spent entering numbers in a spreadsheet.  Mostly though, I was kind of lazy about entering and lost points even when I did the requirements.  Oh well.  I've lost so much ground, there's probably not a lot of chance to make it up.  Again, oh well.  I know that I've been doing better than ever.  This kind of challenge is comparison Multiplied and me now compared to 3 weeks ago is a great thing.  SO there.

Turn Me In, I Dare Ya!

Currently I am allowing my toddler to watch Barney and I don't feel guilty at all so there!  It's keeping him sweet and quiet instead of screaming and screaming and screaming and peace and quiet is a very good thing.   Last week I was keenly empathetic with those moms that prefer to put their children in day care than be at home with them.  I think he might like it better, too, frankly.  I won't, but I'm not saying I don't want to.  When eligibility for preschool arises he may very well be enrolled from dawn to dusk.  That way he might all survive to age 5.

Why the Kids Need Our Schools

After much thought and concern that you would never actually read this article, I decided to put it on here after all.

REPRINTED FROM THE DESERET NEWS

Why schools need our kids

Published: Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2011 5:00 a.m. MDT

By Tiffany Gee Lewis, For the Deseret News

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In the Whirled

Years ago, I had a dream, back when I was debating whether to send my oldest son, Jackson, to a public school or educate him at home.
I dreamed that we went snorkeling in a vast ocean. As we swam along, I watched Jackson struggle to tread water. I had to continually prop him up just to keep his head above the waves.
Along came a group of friends who invited Jackson to go exploring in deeper waters. Jackson could hardly swim, but for some reason I let him go. After he swam away I panicked. What had I done, sending him off with so few skills? Hours passed. Finally the group returned and Jackson, miracle of miracles, was safe. Not only that, but he was filled with exciting stories of what he had seen on his adventure.
When I awoke from this dream (and I will tell you, lest you think I am a visionary, that it is the only dream I’ve ever had that contained any meaning), I knew what I needed to do. I needed to let Jackson go to school and trust that on so many levels he would be fine.
In the cartoon movie “Finding Nemo,” Nemo’s father, who is searching the ocean to find his son, gets ready to jump into the East Australian Current. Climbing onto the back of a sea turtle, he dives in and whoosh, off he goes, swept away at lightning speed, hurtling past hundreds of other fish.
The beginning of a school year can be a bit like that. You watch your children on that first day of school as they enter the stream of kids sporting their new sneakers. As they step in line with friends, you crane to hear what they're talking about. It might be about "Star Wars" or Justin Bieber's new haircut. It could be about the latest viral video on YouTube. You are no longer a part of their world. They get swept along without a backward glance. Part of you wants to hold them back because they might not be the best swimmers in this type of sea.
Yet as untidy and chaotic as public school can be, there’s a reason to send our kids there. Here’s why:
1. The world needs our kids.
Our kids may not need the world, but the world needs our kids. It needs our kids with their shiny faces and capped sleeves, the kids who read scriptures every night and sing funny songs about popcorn trees.
If we retreat from the world of public education, then we can’t help to improve schools. We miss an opportunity to do good in the community. How do we expect to make changes unless we’re the ones at the forefront, demanding improvements? LDS kids are the ones leading the band, captaining the football team, standing up against cheating in the classroom and making lunchroom loners feel included.

I had a high school teacher who once shook her head and said, “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about you Mormon kids.” Yes, we were quirky, but we were also good kids. Teachers and peers notice this.
2. Teaching moments come from opposition.
Some of the best talks with kids start with, “Hey, Mom, I heard this word at school today. What does it mean?” or “All the kids in my first-grade class saw ‘Transformers.’ Why can’t I?” Most days the post-school discussion revolves around the choices other kids are making and whether those are good or bad choices. I count those talks as some of the most valuable as a parent.
3. Good missionaries get out.
In my high school American history class, we studied Joseph Smith and the migration of the Mormon pioneers. My teacher asked if anyone in the class was Mormon. I raised my hand. I was invited to stand in front of the class and talk about my faith. I don't remember what I said, but it was something akin to a testimony. That experience empowered me. I knew what I believed, and I had the courage to say it in front of my peers!
We are a church of missionaries, and our job is to get out and teach the gospel. It would be silly if our full-time missionaries stayed in their apartments to avoid the world's evil influences. We teach the gospel by being out in the world, and we teach it best by living it every day and allowing others to witness how we live.
I attended girls camp this summer. What surprised me most was how many new converts and non-LDS girls we had in attendance. The youths of today are sharing the gospel with their friends, and their friends are listening.
So here we are, at the beginning of a new school year, with some of the same misgivings. Will my kids lose their footing in a current that goes so fast? Will they keep their heads above water? Will they be able to hear our voices in the crowd of constant noise?
The answer is yes. Our children know where they're going, and the world is taking note.

Katie's Birthday list

We have a family rule-- You can't talk about your birthday until 30 days before.  Mostly because I got so tired of listening to birthday party plans for the next year the day AFTER their birthday.  It's more than 30 days before Katie's birthday, but instead of talking about it, she just wrote this letter.  
I will translate:

I would like a pair of walkie talkies

I would like my kitten to be allowed inside on my birthday.

I would like a pocket knife and strawberry rice krispie treats. 

I would like a few bottles of perfume.

I would like to have Pizza for dinner and conference cake for breakfast

After presents I would like to throw fuzzy balls in the air {pom poms}

A remote control girl car

and also I would like an American doll.  I will pay half. {Also a family rule}

At least the girl knows what she wants :)

Schedule Posts

I am doing a test post.  Did you know that many bloggers don't blog every day?  They blog a lot at one time and then schedule them to post one day at a time.  If I ever had more than one post at a time in my head this would be a good tool to have.  As I'm lucky to have any posts at all, it's just a fun test.

Couldn't Have Said It Better. . . .

This is a great article that explains how I feel about public school.  Please read it.  I'd print it here if I didn't think it was nigh unto plagiarism to do so.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705389548/Why-schools-need-our-kids.html

Not sure why it's not hyperlinking.  Still learning curve on the mac.

Introducing. . . Maggie.

Maggie needed to do a digital collage for her class.  I thought I'd Share it with you.

Life Stages

You should check out the "What Stage Are You In" Post from the Power of moms.  It breaks down child-rearing/School Volunteering stages into several categories.  This article is right on the money.  I am definitely in an in-between stage.  When I had many young children at home I volunteered a lot more at the school than I do now.  Now they are spread out at 4 different schools AND I have a challenging toddler at home.  I find myself doing much less volunteering than I ever have and only have 1 baby at home instead of three. I do so little because the idea of taking Ben anywhere where he might need to stay quiet for a few minutes is repugnant.  His speech delays necessitate a lot of screaming and repeated phrasing, so I can't take him anywhere.  It makes a convenient excuse to say no, but part of me feels bad.  I LIKE helping out.  I LIKE being at the school.  I miss knowing all the moms and everything that's going on.

BUT, I wouldn't want to go back.
Yesterday I babysat two little angel girls ages 3 and 1 1/2.  They were angels and I was about to tear my hair out from "Help me" and "Down" and a million other changes.  I don't know HOW I ever did that. 

HAPPY DANCES!

Coming up in 4! days I will be sending Nathan off to that incredible land known as First Grade.  This monumental occurrence is grounds for that elusive, but oh-so-exhilarating rite-- THE HAPPY DANCE!!!!!  Ben will still be at home with me all day, but it's amazing how much easier one is than two.  He's my gym buddy.  And he naps.  Booooo Yah!!!.  If I seem to be belaboring the occasion,
I apologize.  It's a day 15 years in the making.  I have not had only one child at home during the day for that long.  Incredible!!!. Wow.  A lot of exclamation points in this post.  Happy Dance! Happy Dance! Happy Dance!

Sleepovers: Our View

I'm reprinting something I found today after much discussion from child #3 about our family rule of not having sleepovers except with cousins.  We are not the only family in the neighborhood with this rule, but still he pushes.  It has ALWAYS been the rule, but I thought this was a pretty funny article.

For the first time we know of in general conference the subject was mentioned, by Elder Lawrence of the Seventy in October 2010.  He said:
“May I express my personal warning about a practice that is common in many cultures. I am referring to sleepovers, or spending the night at the home of a friend. As a bishop I discovered that too many youth violated the Word of Wisdom or the law of chastity for the first time as part of a sleepover. Too often their first exposure to pornography and even their first encounter with the police occurred when they were spending the night away from home.

Peer pressure becomes more powerful when our children are away from our influence and when their defenses are weakened late at night. If you have ever felt uneasy about an overnight activity, don’t be afraid to respond to that warning voice inside. Always be prayerful when it comes to protecting your precious children.”

Letter to my Child's friends and parents:

Dear ________ (friend’s name),
My daughter has made it VERY clear that she is NOT happy with our family policy of not having sleepovers at any of our friends’ house (“worst parents ever” were her exact words).  So that you understand that this is nothing personal (in other words, she likes you very, very, much, and so do we), here is WHY we don’t allow our children to have sleepovers at friends’ houses when it isn’t necessary:
1.       We make the rules for our family, and we are very, very cool.
2.       We like to inflict unnecessary torture and pain on our children, and make their lives miserable for no reason.
3.       We don’t want our kids to have any friends.  Especially not nice friends like you.
4.       We understand that if our daughter doesn’t attend this sleepover that her life will forever be ruined, and she will never, ever, ever have another friend.  That is exactly what we want to happen.
5.       During those 8 hours you are asleep, we understand that you will find a cure for cancer, solve world hunger, discover the lost city of Atlantis, and provide democracy to China.  We don’t want our daughter to be a part of ANY of that.
6.       Our kids love us sooooooo much that they cannot stand the thought of being away from us for one night.  We would not want them to have such a miserable experience with their friends (we must shield them and keep them in a bubble!).
7.       We do everything just because everyone else does them and because they are culturally acceptable to do so.  If everyone else was just doing sleepovers, then we would change what we do and be like everyone else, because that is the best way to live our lives! We so bad want our kids to understand that we change our standards for every exception that comes along the way!
8.       We know that kids are always on their very, very best behavior late at night away from home when adults are asleep (especially as they become teenagers).  We would love to establish a repeated pattern of our kids spending the night with their friends so that when they are teenagers it is a common practice and they can act their very best in the wonderful environment that repeated sleepovers provide!  It is when they are at home that they are wicked, wicked little monkeys.  We want them to stay at home so we can keep our eye on them because we don’t trust them at all.
Thanks for being so understanding of our family rules!
With love,
Your friend’s dad"

The Time Value of . . . Time!

I am sitting at my desk covered in dried mud. On Saturday my Father in Law brought over his backhoe to dig out the area for a retaining wall that needs to be completed for our pool construction to begin. Let me say at the outset that I am so thrilled and grateful for his help. He is wonderful. In doing so, however, as is so often the case with big projects, we hit a snafu.  We pulled out a water line-- the water line, in fact, that regulates all of my upstairs sprinklers. Did I mention it's August and eggs fry on the sidewalk here. No really. It's kind of hot.

ANyway, the grass is in SERIOUS danger of Dying so we have been trying for days to get this thing fixed, but we also have Tennis practice, piano lessons, swimming lessons-- so the job (mine now, ya know cause hubs is at work)gets done in the late afternoon in the hottest part of the day.

Each day I complete what I believe is the final portion. AND each day something else turns up wrong. Today, beyond frustrated with the mud and dirt and sweat and heat and after many calls to my sprinkler guy, I finally decided that there's a reason I went to law school-- Because I never would have made a great landscape engineer. I'm going to go shower and wash my hands of the ENTIRE mess all Pontius Pilate-like And hope it rains cause my sprinklers still don't work.

This is just a stock photo, but this is representative of the chaos and despair outside my home.

Meanwhile-- the house is trashed, the baby is walking around in a diaper outside all white trashy and I am Uber Frazzlemommy!  Mwahhhhahhhhahhh!
Moral of the Story:  Don't spend 12 hours doing yourself what you can pay someone else to do in 3. 
p.s. Sprinkler man will be by tomorrow after work (insurance sales) if he doesn't have the flu.  Score One for Passing the buck-- and a little bit of cash.  So worth it!

Terrific Twos!!!!

I can't believe he's two. Crazy, messy, wild, loud, hilarious, cuter than heck!

Aimsley, Aimaronie, Amelia

Missed her this week and just learned how to make a photobucket collage so I thought I'd do a retrospective if you know what I mean.  And don'tcha dare mention that she's a year from driving and three years from leaving or I might break your face. 

It never ceases to amaze me how much better things look through a clean window!

YEARLY SUmmer VACATION RANT

I Hate summer vacation.  Despite NUMEROUS attempts to harness my workhorses into something productive I end up frustrated, irritated and mad at the whole lot of them. Add a Bentley to that and you've got a recipe for frazzlemommy.  I am not Type A-- I don't require a spotless house.  I just want it picked up, the floor neat, the table cleared and wiped and the chores often get done by noon.  But by noon thirty it's a mess again. And then they invite their friends over so I can't call them on the carpet when they've done their job inadequately which they almost always do EVEN THOUGH I have taught them the correct way to clean, pick up, every job in the house.  It's not unmanageable-- except they make it so.  I love the school year.  Except for Ben, it stays relatively neat for a good hour after it gets clean.  Not so in the middle of summer.  and Temperatures are not super conducive to kicking everyone outside.   Rant!!!!!!!!!! MOAN!!!!!!!! and my best helper's away for an entire week.  BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Sometimes you need to remember where you've been.

I have been looking for these pictures forever.  They got stuck on an old hard drive, but I had burned them to a disc first and Maggie found it.  So here we go they're a little out of order due to my lack of uploading skills, but you get the picture:

Front Courtyard before

Front courtyard after

Rear exterior in progress. Notice no balcony. Many nightmares about that one.

View From the dining room before.  Notice the 1/2 wall and lovely orange carpet.

Dining room before.  Those columns are gone.

Master Bath-- I won't show the new bath yet.  I can't find the after pictures and it's not too clean today.

Columns and stair rails removed.  Many Heart attacks over this as well-- also stair guys were 3 weeks late so 3 weeks of heart attack.



Exterior Before.  I know. Out of Order.  BUT:  pay attention to that stucco wall



And it's off.  But not before it knocks our contractor flat on his back from two stories up.  FYI, when removing a concrete wall and you're on a scaffold-- don't pull it towards you :{

More before of the stairs.  They were so pretty, but didn't match the rest of the house.

Drywall Nightmare because the wall texture was a knuckle breaker

Not a great after but you can see new stairs, hardwood floor, half wall removed, new closet doors, etc.

N

Blinded by the Light

Blinds are in.  Nothing like finally accomplishing a project that you've put off for like 2 years.  Well, just two are in.  I am awaiting approval from Camper Man who will not be home til tomorrow sometime in the P.M.   Originally, we were going to get some mucho nice-o blinds from the deadbeat blind contractor that would never pay his bill.  Newsflash-- if he won't pay his bill, he's probably not going to show up to give you blinds in your bedroom.  Anyhoo, we put up those nasty temporary blinds that did the job, but were getting to be embarrassing.  Then, we couldn't decide what we wanted, then we went looking at blinds and they were beyond pricey. We decided at that point to probably go with the cellular blinds.

That was all I needed.   While the cat was away I got me an idea and made some executive decisions (white-- because there's lots in stock and they mirror doors and molding) Laundry room and office (cause they're the rooms were in when the lights are on at night-- Most peep-showy, if you know what I mean).  I like them.  We'll see how it goes over with camper man.  I'm banking on the principle that a Home-improvement project finished is worth more than 2 in the head.  I shall finish the rest by the end of my summer at a fraction of the originally anticipated cost and be perfectly happy with it cause I'm flexible like that.

Running On Empty

I'm doing it again.  I'm training for a marathon.  I like the summit-- the reaching for something hard.  I don't love running.  In fact, I kind of hate it.  I like running with friends and talking with them.  I like the sense of accomplishment, but  man, do I hate running.  Recently my partners have experienced injuries, illnesses, and other forms of ennui.  It's hot, it hurts, but I am Committed.  Dang it!  I can't stand the idea of having thrown my hat in the ring and then taking it out.  I hate doing this kind of thing alone, but I HAVE to finish. Crud.  Looks like I'll be running 14 miles alone this week.  This is the definition of NOT FUN!
WHINE!
MOAN!
CRY!
Me and my stupid pride.  Just so I can Say I RUN Marathon SSSSSS instead of I RAN a Marathon.

While the Cat's Away

Checklist of things I Thought I would Get Done while Robert was gone for an entire week:
Clean Playroom
Clean garages
Laundry all done
Entertainment center cleaned out and new shelves in place
Stain head board and footboard
Install Blinds
Lap Blanket
Hem Jeans
Fix Ottomans
Make a necklace.

  Cleaned out the playroom, swept out my garage.  Still have 2 days and three nights.  I'd better get to work.

Compare and Contrast

The Same website that just got finished telling me not to compare myself with other moms has a link to a blog where a mom has this great idea of summer goals-- that are actually being fulfilled.  I have summer goals too, but they never get done.  Why can't I shake the lazies.

Land O' Disney

Getting ready for the amazing Fireworks!



On the crazy ferris wheel I wouldn't go on because of bad rememberies.



We did it.  We made another pilgrimage to that mecca of childhood wonder-- Ye Olde Land of Disney.  I love it there.  I think my favorite part is walking down Main Street with the old music playing.  I totally feel like I'm in the middle of Pollyanna. You may notice in these pix that we have a guest.  Her name is Virginia, she works with Rob and she offered to come and watch kids so we could enjoy the enchanted land a little easier.  What a blessing it was to have her along.  We had such a great time.  Enjoy the pix.

Heading into storybook land.  Also one I skipped. 

Katie the sailor girl






 

Incredible light show at California Adventure

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Ben Doesn't like fake dogs either.





Spring Roses

I love the Spanish broom in the Corner.  It has the best smell.  Although arguably not as good as the Idaho Honey Locust which is my all-time favorite spring scent.

Lots of these around

These Too.

My thumb is not green.  Despite this truth, every year my roses bloom.  Spring is my favorite time of the year.  Which is good because summer is full of scorching heat and weeds that afflict and torment and all that stuff.