Trick or Treat

Halloween Day:

• 6:30 get up
• put costumes on
• put makeup on
• fluff curls
• sparkle up
• eat breakfast
• rush around trying to get everyone dressed and ready
• wait for Izaac to arrive
• 7:50 dad loads kids into car and takes them to school
• discover battery in camera is about dead
• mom still waiting for Izaac
• 8:00 Izaac arrives
• feed
• change
• dress in cute Halloween shirt and socks
• load Izaac into car and drive to school
• wait
• wait
• wait
• Halloween parade begins
• smile and wave at Whitney
• feed Izaac cheerios
• smile and wave at Ashtyn
• see witches
• see princesses
• see guy from Deal or No Deal- Awesome Costume
• see blood
• see gore
• parade ends
• find MacKenna and take her home with us while her mom helps at party
• load Mackenna, Ethan and Izaac in car
• Mackenna change clothes
• Mackenna change back
• Ethan and Mackenna fight like married couple over what to play
• lay Izaac down for nap
• shower- gotta look hot when we go to dad's work later
• Izaac won't sleep
• turn movie on for Mackenna
• turn game on for Ethan
• 11:30 feed Izaac lunch
• lay Izaac down for second attempt
• Izaac snoozes
• Mackenna gets picked up
• put on eye shadow
• paint nails black
• 12:40 pick up Ashtyn, Whitney and Max (Mackennas brother) from school
• redo makeup, hair and sparkles
• get Izaac dressed as Tiger
• find two Tiger dolls for screaming Izaac
• load Ashtyn, Whitney, Ethan and Izaac into car
• drive and drive the long way to kill some time on the way to dad's work
• get to dad's work
• ride elevator
• ride second elevator
• 2:30 trick or treat
• trick or treat
• hi dad
• trick or treat
• trick or treat
• trick or treat 15X
• get a drink
• take a picture
• no Izaac is not our son
• draw dad a picture on white board
• trick or treat
• bye dad
• hugs
• kisses
• hurry
• hurry
• validation expires in 10 minutes
• watch elevator doors close before we can get on
• wait for new elevator
• mom freaks out-five minutes left
• ashtyn wonders why mom is a freak
• load Ashtyn, Whitney, Ethan and Izaac into car
• 3:18 make it with two minutes left
• drive to Izaacs moms work
• drop off Izaac
• drive
• kids eat candy
• drive to pick up grandma Betty
• pick up grandma
• forgot purse
• lock door
• load grandma into car
• drive to Honk's
• kids run
• kids scream
• wobbly cart
• new wobbly cart
• look at cards
• find cards for grandma's 95 year old aunts birthday
• look up and down each aisle
• Ashtyn threatens to run away if she can't push the cart
• pay for card and oatmeal cookies
• load Ashtyn, Whitney, Ethan and Grandma in car
• drive home
• 5:00 start orange chicken-our Halloween night tradition
• recipe here:http://www.recipezaar.com/103215
• burn arm when oil pops
• make pot stickers
• redo makeup, costumes, change shoes for walking
• doorbell
• trick or treat
• eat yummy orange chicken, rice and pot stickers
• tell Ashtyn to put pants on under dress
• Ashtyn threatens to run away if she has to put pants on
• try and take trick or treat photo- Ashtyn refuses
• kids leave to go trick or treating
• smell yummy spice candles in pumpkins on the porch
• door bell
• door bell
• make salad for super saturday tomorrow
• trick or treat
• grandma answers the door
• thinks all the costumes are adorable
• neighbors are confused by grandma
• look at 256 of grandma's recent photos
• kids come back for potty break
• more trick or treaters
• dad and kids come back for good
• 8:30 dad takes grandma home
• kids watch Return to Halloween Town
• 9:00 get kids in p.j's
• 9:15 dad comes home
• mom checks through candy bags
• reconsiders previously posted position on candy
• way too much candy
• we will NOT be eating all that
• kneel down for prayer
• kids whine
• kids cry-I'm too tired
• takes ten minutes to say prayer
• hugs
• kisses
• kids get in bed
• melinda comes over to give us a saw
• put burn jel on burned arm
• tired
• clean up
• go to bed
• THE END

Pumpkins

We held our annual pumpkin carving family home evening on Monday. I love this day. This year I took the kids earlier in the day and we bought the pumpkins so that it wouldn't turn into a late night by the time dad got home. Macey's had a haunted house and scary music playing and the kids loved running through it while we searched for our pumpkins. One year we hope to go to a pumpkin patch instead of the grocery store.

The kids get to draw the face they want and help to pull out the carved pieces. This year we even let them hold a knife to do this. We can't wait to put them out on the porch on Halloween. I have special spice candles I place inside that make our whole porch smell great for the Trick or Treaters.

Kid Party

We finished the haunted house we were building! We had the kids at our date night party decorate it. It turned out pretty cute. We also made pumpkin cookies from a Wilton kit I purchased. The frosting mix was awesome, but the cookies were as hard as rocks- no harder than rocks. In fact you could probably break rocks with them. They were not expired- but the whole pre-baked cookie concept is definitely NOT a good idea. This October has been very fun. I think because all of our Halloween activities have been spread out. This week is the last of the fun. We have parties at Up With Kids, Dance, School and maybe Dad's work. I am going to make our traditional orange chicken on Halloween night and then spend a relaxing evening passing out candy while Jeff forces the kids to go to all the houses in the neighborhood to get as much candy as we can. I love candy- maybe too much. I am definitely not the mother that buys the candy from my kids or takes it and donates it to the dentist. NO WAY- candy is to be eaten. Not all at once- but definitely enjoyed! Every last piece.

A sister is held even closer

Remember Stephanie Nielson. She is awake now. Awake after more than three months of being in a medically induced coma while she recovers from her accident. I think about this total stranger several times a day. I feel so much love for her and her family. I cry about her, laugh at the things she writes about and feel inspired by everything about her.

Her sister Courtney keeps every one updated on her blog. This weekend she went to Arizona and got to see her sister and touch her and talk to her. There was a news story written about the visit. You can read it here: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2008/10/26/20081026sisters1026a1.html

This story gives many details about the crash and was very hard for me to read. I feel like this is one of my own sisters. I love this woman and her family. Family is the most important thing in this world. I've spent so much time trying to distance myself from my family- trying to escape the problems, quirks, insanity and craziness that comes with a family. I have come to feel like that is what we are here for the most- is to learn to live in a family- to accept whatever comes and to support them no matter what. I think it will matter most how we treat our family above all other things we do in life. Family is where your true happiness is. This is the most important thing I have learned through Stephanie's life. She comes from a family of 9 children and her husband a family of 11 children- these families are the closest you can get. There are so many personalities and different schedules and lives- but they are ONE together. They are a family before any thing else.

Introducing Gracie Shaw

Gracie Shaw is an up and coming new author. We have the exclusive rights to her blog where she posts all of her stories. She is really talented and has a unique way of drawing her readers into the story. She has a very promising career ahead of her. Be the first to read these amazing works by this amazing girl.

http://storiesfromgrace.blogspot.com/

Field Trip To The Fire Station

I took my preschool class to the fire station for a field trip on Tuesday. In the past I have been able to attend this field trip with Ashtyn and Whitney's preschool classes as well. This was by far the best trip I have been on. If a call comes into the station then the the firemen have to leave immediately. When we arrived the truck was out on a call and we were given a tour of the fire house while we waited. There were eight bedrooms, two bathrooms, a weight room (firemen are required to exercise a lot and stay in good condition), a family room full of recliners and a big screen TV (the firemen pay for all their food and entertainment out of their own pockets and not with tax payer money), a huge kitchen with three fridges and a gas range(they told us that when a call comes in the stove automatically shuts off so that they don't have to worry about the station burning down), a community meeting room and lastly a huge garage where the fire truck and ambulance are kept.

One of the firemen got all dressed up in his gear and showed the kids what he would look like if he ever had to come to their house. They talked about fire safety and then we went outside and they showed us every inch of the fire truck. All of the kids got to go for a ride on the truck and hear the siren. Then at the end they got to climb inside the ambulance. A call came in when we were ready to leave. We couldn't have asked for a better experience for the kids.

When we returned to the school we held a fire drill and discussed what we had learned. It was so interesting. Did you know that each year there are close to 4000 applicants to become fire fighters, but only about 30 actually make it into the program. At this station there are three shifts of fire fighters- A, B, C. Each shift is on duty of 48 hours straight and answers about 4 calls each night- so they really don't get to sleep much. They told us that when they go out on a call most drivers never get out of their way- or they go to the left instead of the right on the road. It is a very dangerous job and an exhausting one on top of that. It's nice to know that they are there if you ever need them.

One of the leading causes of fire in the home is smoking and kitchen fires. When I was little my brother and I were making popcorn on the stove in a pot of oil. The phone rang and I was off talking. My brother had gone in to watch TV. All of a sudden I noticed an orange glow coming from the kitchen. Our stove was on fire. Luckily my brother got it out- but it could have been a disaster. Our kitchen ceiling was black and my mom made my brother scrub it clean. Fire starts fast and can double in size ever minute.

Today at school we talked about calling 911 and went over our family fire plans. Fire is no joke!

Sorry

Last night our family played the game Sorry. It is so amazing to me that we are at a point now where we can all play a game as a family and every one can take a turn by themselves. The kids all knew how to play and what to do and could move their pieces with out our help. Of course I still helped the kids with their strategy so that daddy couldn't cheat...LOL. It was great.

Sweetness

I had just logged into my blog today and the music started to play from my play list. Jordin Sparks song filled the room. Ethan came running into the room and said "Mom will you dance with me?". Then he jumped into my arms and leaned in for a kiss. He layed his little head down on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my neck. We danced until the song was over. He told me he loves that song. I told him that I love him.

Halloween

Jeff and I got called to be the Activities Chairs for our ward a few months ago and we just had our first party. We held the ward Halloween Party on the 18th. It turned out really fun. We had hay rides, a trunk or treat, soup and chili cook off, pumpkin decorating contest and games for the kids. The hay ride was great. It was my job to run this ride. We kept it going until it was too dark to see. We had almost 40 entries in the pumpkin decorating contest. We had plenty of soup and chili for everyone to taste and enjoy. The youth ran four carnival like games for children to play and then we ended the night with the trunk or treat.

It was definitely a lot more work than I had planned on. I tried to not have any expectations so that I wouldn't have any stress and it was great. Our next activity will be in December. Here are a few pictures from the night.

Farewell Fine Van

My grandma Betty has come to the point where she must sell her beloved van. She had just purchased it six months before her first fall and then she had to move up here and has no longer been allowed to drive it. She can't drive any longer and so the van had been being used by my uncle Dennis. After Dennis passed away suddenly a few months ago the van has sat and not been used. When my aunt is in town she drives it or my father will, but they don't come too often and so the van sits. Finally my grandma made the hard decision to sell the van. She adores that van and is having a hard time letting go of the van. We decided to throw the van a going away party to say good bye to the beautiful van. First we wrote messages of hope and love to the van on balloons and then we took pictures with the van and finally we released the balloons. Afterwards we watched them float away for quite a while and then we finished with a party in her house. We ate cookies and donuts and gave her roses to help remember the van.

She asks about the balloons every day "I wonder where they are" or "I wonder if any one has found them". She has had to learn to let go the last few years as she has had to part with many of her most cherished possessions. If you know Betty everything is a cherished possession. Everything she owns holds some sort of sentiment. When she moved in with my uncle she had to sell her home and give away almost everything she owned. She still brought a lot of things to Utah and her room is over flowing with things long loved.

Now she is going to encounter yet another change in her life. We found out this weekend that she will be going to stay with my aunt Kara for an extended visit. Meaning we don't know how long she will be gone. After my uncles death there have been so many things to work out for my aunt and she just can't manage everything and grandma. So she will be leaving in the next few weeks. I am very sad to see her go. It has been very hard for me this weekend. I adore my grandma- she is one of my best friends. We see her several times a week and I have loved getting to spend time with her these last few years. Up until a couple of years ago she lived in Oklahoma and we didn't see her often. My kids love her too, although I don't know that they will miss her as much as me. She is so beautiful and has taught me so much. Even now I get upset thinking about how much I will miss getting to see her whenever I want. I will still be able to write to her and call her and occasionally go for a visit- but it won't be often enough. Part of me feels a small bit of relief that she will be going because I have been trying to juggle helping her, school, dance, soccer, up with kids, teaching preschool, planning our ward Halloween party, girls camp, my mothers broken hip, babysitting, helping at the school, and remodeling our house. But it was never a burden to see her. I know she will be happy to be with Kara- her only daughter and my cousins that live there. She loves to be going and doing and around people. I hope it is a short stay and that one day she'll come home again.

Guest Blogger- Gracie Shaw

The Day I Lost My Tooth

When I was watching Casper Meets Wendy I was wiggling my loose tooth. It bent horizontal. I wiggled it a few more times. Then I went up to my moms room and told her my tooth was bending horizontal. She said "Do you want me to pull it out"? and then she said "What I would do is grab toilet paper and pull it out". I said "no". Then I went down stairs and I pulled my tooth out. I went and showed my mom and she said "WOW". Then she put it under my pillow in my tooth box. In the morning I looked under my pillow and there was $1.

She lost the tooth on Friday the 17th and it was her third tooth to fall out on the bottom- she has lost a total of five to date.

Soccer FUN

Here is a glance at Ethan's last soccer game. All these video's are from the same game- it was in the evening and gets darker as we go. He had more fun at this game than at all the others. More fun- not playing soccer- in fact I'm not sure he knew there was a game going on around him- but he loved every minute. Watch closely for the game to run by him. ENJOY!

More of the game

First Snow, Special Days and Car Troubles

We had our first snow. I HATE SNOW! Ok- actually I hate to be cold- snow is fine to look at through my window and is beautiful covering the trees- but to drive in and walk in and freeze in is not my thing. I dread this time of year. I have the hardest time staying warm and I can hardly function in the mornings when it is bitter cold in the house. On a thankful note- I am glad we have snow at Christmas, I am glad that snow kills all the bugs so we don't get bugs the size of small dogs like some states do. I am glad that snow brings with it wonderful snow ball fights and snowmen and snow with lots of yummy syrup poured over the top. It melted quickly this time and the weather is suppose to be warmer this weekend- so at least we get to ease into the winter this year.

I bought a plate that says "It's Your Special Day". I have always wanted a special plate- like the red plates you can find- but I didn't want one that said Red Plate- I wanted something different and spunky and fun. I found this at Hallmark and I love it. We have used it three times now. Once when Whitney was selected as the Stop and Go winner at school (This is a child who hasn't had any discipline problems all week), then again when Ashtyn got 100% on a spelling test even after she forgot to bring it home to study and then again when Ashtyn was selected as the Stop and Go winner. They have loved getting to use the plate. I hope it lasts for years to come and is used often.

Today my car battery died when I went to pick the kids up from school. This is the third time this school year and about the 25th time this year. I let Ethan sit on my lap and he turned the lights on and I didn't notice. Our car is horrible and if the lights are left on inside or outside the car the battery dies so fast. I bought industrial strength jumper cables after the 10th time of it happening and now am looking for a battery starter so I don't have to always find someone to give me a jump. This is not the last time this will happen. Car doors get left open, lights get turned on, and little boys love to sit on their moms lap and pretend to drive.

Walk To Remember

Today Ethan and I went to a Walk To Remember in honor of my sweet little nephew that passed away. Ryan Scott Shaw was born February 4th, 2004. He was stillborn at 36 weeks. Ryan's life and death are something that changed me forever. He was born just two months before Ethan. He lived such a short life, but has had a tremendous effect on our whole family. I have learned about love, compassion, grief, heaven, children, heart break, faith, and loss. We miss him every day. He is our angel now and watches over his mom and dad. Today we walked "for the steps that he would never take", today we remembered him.

We talk about him in our home and have his picture. Our kids love him. We all love him. Each year the Share organization holds a Walk To Remember all the children that have been lost. There was a sweet older couple that spoke who had lost their son 41 years ago. The father was the man who made the angel statue that sits in the Salt Lake City Cemetery and is the angel from the book The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans.

There was a beautiful song sang called Calling All Angels by Jessie Clark Funk. At the end of the program you are given a balloon to release when they read the name of the loved one you've lost. It was so special to see all of the balloons floating away and so eye opening to the great number of babies that are gone too soon. I wish I could say I understand how it feels to lose a baby- but I can't- my brother and sister in law understand though. They are amazing. They are strong and faithful and patient with people like me who don't fully understand. I'm so grateful to them for sharing their sons life and death with us. Ryan will never be forgotten in our family or our hearts. Today we walked to remember him.

Don't You Know You're Beautiful

I picked up a magazine yesterday at the grocery store- I love magazines! Inside was an article about Kellie Pickler- the beautiful country singer who got her big break on American Idol. I have always loved her- she's so true to herself and not fake in any way. She sings the song "Don't you know you're beautiful"- I have heard it lots of times, but after reading the article it made the song mean a whole lot more. I think any time you know the story behind someones music, art, writing, etc. it brings a whole new richness and beauty to it. Here is a little bit of what the article said:

She calls it her 3 secrets to true happiness

1. Learn how to take yourself out of it
"I'm just now dealing with the fact that my mother and I will never have a relationship, and I know now that my father and I will never have the relationship I want, " Kellie admits. "I think that's really hard, but I'm at a point where that's one reason I'm finally happy with who I am...because I've learned how to deal with it and to accept things I can't change. What did happen was I had to sit back and take myself out of it all. I had to think about all the wonderful people I do have in my life. Had anything been different in my past, I wouldn't have the wonderful relationships that I have now with my close friends, who I consider family. I wouldn't change it for the world because they love and support me."

2. Redefine your idea of beauty
"I've always been critical of myself. I never looked at the mirror and thought, Wow, that's a girl in there! But now I'm happy with who I see in the mirror, " says Kellie, "That's one reason I recorded 'Don't You Know You're Beautiful.' You think it's talking about beauty on the outside, but it's not. When I heard it, I knew I had to record it. It's like: Don't put a value on who you are-it's not on a price tag, but it's something that comes from within. Your heart is more beautiful than those designer jeans. The secret is finding the beauty inside. I can identify with that."

This has been my theme for this year- it's what I think about all the time. I have never not thought I was beautiful- I think I am very beautiful on the outside- I just never thought my insides matched my outsides. Which I guess is backwards from the way most people think. I have been trying to discover that. I read a quote that said "Life isn't about finding yourself. It's about creating yourself." I love that. You can watch Kellie's video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkBgOaw6Ais

3. Let your generosity fuel your confidence
She had an appearance on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? She won $50,000 for her two charities American Red Cross and AARP. They portrayed her as a complete idiot because she didn't know about Hungary. She admits that there is a lot she doesn't know about the world- but the show was about raising money for great work to be done and no one focused on that- just the things she did wrong.

I think we do this all too often. After all does any one person know everything there is to know in life? That's why we are here. To learn and to grow.

Happenings

I have been teaching preschool alone for one week now. For those that don't know I am a substitute at Ethan's school. The teacher just had a baby- yeah Tami- and so now I am there alone- with 12 kids- ages 3 and 4- help!..LOL. I am great with kids! I really do feel like I have a talent for coming up with fun things to keep kids occupied. I also have a huge weakness for chaos- which there is lots of at preschool.

Today we had three kids climbing the book cart, one child crying over everything, several that don't understand the meaning of a DAB of glue and all of them being very very noisy. I lose my voice easily when I have to talk louder than usual. I frequenly lose my voice. We had a fun day- it was skeleton day. We learned about bones, the number 2, the color orange, letter D, had show and tell, did two art projects, 3 worksheets, one snack, and three minutes of outside time. Whew! It's very fun and very tiring- I come home with a headache. They call me Miss Amanda- it's adorable. 2 days down- 8 to go. I wonder how Ethan will feel when I'm not there?

Ethan had a soccer game in the rain last week. It was pouring and I got to see my first glimpse of the male sports ego. Rain or shine....it's soccer time. He did great. He didn't complain that he was soaking wet and cold. Just ran around in the mucky muck and tried to kick the ball. He only has three more games and then he is done.

Ashtyn is on yet another field trip today. Her teacher took them to pick pumpkins last week- I have always wanted to pick my own pumpkin. She has been having a little trouble making friends this year. She told me that no one will play with her at recess because they already have other friends to play with. She gets to play with Whitney part of the time, but her bell rings earlier than Ashtyn's. We had a great talk about how to make friends. I want so badly for her to feel confident enough to go up to someone and ask to play. I told her that she is a fun girl and anyone would love to play with her- but she doesn't believe me. We decided to pray for help. She's doing better. How do children learn exclusion at such a small age- there are already groups and clicks and "you can't play with me's." It breaks my heart. Friends are so important in life. This is the hard part of motherhood- watching your children learn and grow and struggle.

Whitney has become a lot more confident this year. There are no more tears at Up With Kids. She even told me that she has 5 boy friends now. Her reading is picking up. She has also become a little more defiant lately and is the one being sent to bed early a lot. She pushes the limits.

My friend Claudia talked about the 5 love languages- the book by Gary Chapman on her blog- so our family took the test. It was really interesting to see the different love languages of our family. Ashtyn was pretty even on gifts, quality time and acts of service. Whitney was words of affirmation and Ethan was quality time. It made so much sense. You can take the test here: http://www.greaterquest.com/LoveLanguages.asp. I think back on all the times that I tried to love my children the way I need to be loved and they just weren't receptive and now I see why. This is a lesson that I am learning more about all the time. Everyone is so different in the way they think and the things they need and it's so easy to try and push your own needs and desires off onto someone else.


Yesterday my grandma and I went to the cemetery to visit my uncles grave and the headstone was in. I still can't believe he is gone. My grandma talked to him and she prays for him all the time. My aunt has a life time of belongings to go through- most of which she has no idea what it is for or what it is worth. I have learned a valuable lesson for their experience and that is to share your life with your spouse- all of it. I think it is easy to sometimes live some what separate lives. I have my group of friends- he has his. I'll buy something and he might not know why or what I plan to do with it. Take time every day to discuss everything you do with your spouse- even if it seems insignificant.

The remodeling continues this weekend. I will be very happy when we are done! :)

Baby Phoebe

She's here! Our new little niece Phoebe made her grand entrance on October 7th. She looks just like a picture we have of her brother Porter. What a sweetie. Can't wait to meet you in person Phoebe!

Busy

I feel busy- way too busy. We have so much to do-mostly at night. It's good to be doing something rather than nothing, I suppose.

Ethan got his hair cut and Aunt Kellie put blue gel in it for him to wear to his soccer game that night because it matched his jersey.

I found a white bench for our laundry room. I am excited. I wanted one that wouldn't be too expensive since we won't necessarily use it in another house. It is actually a headboard. It works- now I am on the hunt for a rug- if you see a great one let me know.

I bought a diaper bag- well- a larger bag. I love it. Except that I can't ever find anything in it- but I know what I need is in there somewhere. It's been perfect for all the places we go.

We took the kids to the canyon to find leaves. It was beautiful- not quite at the peak of color- but beautiful. We found some gorgeous leaves all over the ground. It was a perfect day for a hike.