3 winners in 48 hours

I've read three books in less than 48 hours, and each one has made me feel like my heart was going to burst and made me think, think, think.  Hats off to authors who can do that!

R. J. Palacio's book Wonder came out this year in February.  I don't know how I missed it.  It is wonder-ful.  "Be kinder than is necessary..."

Another super sweet, unexpected winner that came out this year--Katherine Applegate's The One and Only Ivan.  I read this in an hour or two and wanted to the kids to read it right away.  I said, "It's so good, like Charlotte's Web good!"

 

 

Rhiannon encouraged me to read Karen Hesse's young adult fiction book Safekeeping.  I stuck with it and agreed it had a good message, too.  Thanks, Rhiannon, for the recommendation!

 

 

 



Stir-crazy

Today is Fever Day 3 for Wade. 

I thought he was doing remarkably better during the day yesterday, but he started feeling bad again last night and had a 102+degree temperature this morning.  After almost passing out because his mom made him get up for a nasal rinse, going back to bed, and then taking a cozy bath to wash the stink off of him, Wade seems to be doing better now.  He's not chilled and seems content to sip his Gatorade and watch re-runs of Phineas and Ferb.

He IS tired of the crazy lady with bedhead still in her pink pajamas at 10:37am who will NOT leave him alone and keeps hovering!  (Yes, that's me.)   I'd probably be a little annoyed at myself, too:

"Blow your nose."

"Finish that bottle of water by 10:30."

"Here's some apple juice."

"Here's some water."

"Take these two pills.  Come on, drink a little more water with it, please."

"Are you okay, Wade?"

"Can I get you anything, Wade?"

"Do you want something to eat?"

"Are you cold?  Want another blanket?"

"Can I fluff your pillows for you?"


I'm starting to feel a little crazy.  Maybe it's the Lysol fumes?   Or the weird smell in Wade's bedroom when I enter in the mornings?  Maybe it's the worry about the future and how long this gunk is going to last?

I need to take some deep breaths and maybe go take a cozy bath, too.  Wade's had a priesthood blessing, he's alive and breathing, he's just got the flu that lots of other kids have from his school.  (10 kids were missing from his class yesterday.)  I spoke to his doctor's office this morning and they told me what the crazy lady/over-reacting mom already knew but needed to hear again:

"He's got what everyone else has.  All he needs is lots of rest and lots of fluids."

This too shall pass!

Christmas programs, concerts, and recitals

One thing we love about Christmas is the music, and we've enjoyed LOTS of great Christmas music this year, thanks to Rhiannon and Wade.

 

 

On December 6th we went to Rhiannon's concert band Christmas concert.  The band played songs called Stormchasers, Three American Sketches, the Mission Impossible theme, and songs from The Polar Express.  Rhiannon did a great job!   We were happy that Sandi could join us that night, too.  :)

 

I took a few pictures that night, but no video.  The top left picture in the collage below is of Rhiannon and all her percussion buddies.  I call it the "It's Mom's Job to Embarrass You" photo!

 



 

 

 

 

 

The next day Jason and I went to Wade's school to watch their Christmas program.  No such thing as a "winter program" here in Ridgecrest, thank goodness!  Every single grade took turns singing different Christmas songs.  Wade's class did a FANTASTIC job on the Beach Boys' song "Little Saint Nick."  Wade's the kid with the blue/red striped shirt in the photo--I think he's the only one WITHOUT a Hawaiian shirt on, ha-ha!  I may be a little biased, but I thought his group sang the loudest and the best. :)

 

 

 

 

This past Saturday I went to Rhiannon's Christmas recital while Jason was at Wade's flag football game.  Since we're missing the game on the 22nd, we thought it was important for Wade to support his team on the 15th and skip the Christmas recital.  Hopefully he can give a private recital for his grandparents in Texas! :)

 

Rhiannon performed Carol of the Bells (memorized) and the Phantom of the Opera.  She did a wonderful job!

 

We are so proud of these kids--they're doing well!



 



Thanks for the gingerbread kit, Grandma Deb!

We had a really good time putting together gingerbread houses this month.  Thanks, Grandma Deb, for the kit that came with all the goodies!  Jason won "prettiest"--he used a special tool to place his candies just right.  Must be the engineer part of his brain! :)

Our 2012 Christmas Card/Newsletter/Family Photo!

I broke with tradition this year and did something a little different from our usual Cushing Christmas Chronicle newsletter.   This time I bought cards through Shutterfly and included a little family update on the card itself.  I loved how they turned out.  The only thing I don't love is the ever-increasing cost of stamps! :)

 

Many thanks to Aunt Heather who took our family photo for us at Grandma Deb's house, too--I think it turned out well!

 

 

Rewind: Wade turns 9!

Wade's 9th birthday was on a Sunday this year.  We decided to "downsize" on the kids' birthdays a bit and do the big "friend" birthday parties every other year--luckily for Mom both kids were okay with this.  This meant a simpler "family" birthday party for Wade.

It sure didn't feel like we were downsizing, though, with all the wonderful birthday gifts Wade kept opening!  His big gifts were picked out by his dad--a deluxe Cat's Meow sleeping bag and hiking backpack!  Wade also loved his Lego set, new headphones, gifts from grandparents, and a special gift from his sister...Rhiannon handed down her entire series of Warriors cat books to Wade.  He was in heaven!

We finished off the festivities with a Baskin Robbins birthday cake that Wade picked out.  It was super yummy!

Hope Wade felt the love on his special day--we're so glad he's a part of our family!

REWIND: A wonderful Thanksgiving with the Cushing/Cropper clans!



Boy, were we ready for Thanksgiving in Utah!   

 

Oscar went to "Grandma" Cheryl's house after school on Nov 16th, and then we piled in the van and drove to Vegas for the night.  We had a good dinner, enjoyed some downtime, and then we got on the road at a reasonable hour on Saturday and made it to Grandpa Rod and Grandma Deb's house before dinner.  Maybe I'm getting old, but I was really happy that Jason decided to break up that 10-hour drive into two parts!

 

 

Being with Grandma Deb on her birthday was so special.  We miss out on all those big family birthday parties, so it meant a lot to us to be there to help Grandma celebrate hers.  She said it was the first time Jason had been there on her birthday since he was in high school!

 



 

 

We loved cousin time, watching recorded shows with Grandpa and Grandma in the evenings, swimming at rec centers, and shop/shop/shopping!  Many thanks to Grandpa and Grandma for our "tradition" of pizza from The Pie plus bowling, too!  We had a really great time at the University of Utah's bowling center.

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday morning Aunt Heather, McKaleigh, Rhiannon, and I got to the Salt Lake Temple early to do baptisms.  We had a memorable, happy time there, and I am VERY thankful to Heather for driving us and getting the idea going in the first place.  It was wonderful to make a "girls morning" out of it, and very special to experience Rhiannon's first time in the temple with family.

 

Thanksgiving Day itself was all about family time, food prep/eating and "ad-ing," where everyone studied all the Black Thursday/Friday ads and made lists and game plans.  I wasn't going to get sucked in, but how can you not with that kind of excitement and concentration?! :) 

 

Many thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for the cousin sleepover while Brett, Jaymie, Heather, Jason, Rhiannon, and I hit the stores Thursday night!  We got some great deals, and the kids really enjoyed their time together.  Apparently it was a bit of a miracle that everyone made it through the night okay and didn't want to go back to their own beds and homes--yay! :)  That's the power of cousin time!



We had some fun with friends and other family, too, during the trip.  Jason had lunch with his high school friends Steve, Al, and Joe.  We got to see some old friends from Ridgecrest, the Sendziks, and also spent time with Great-Grandpa Rod and, Grandma Nan, and Nick.

We headed back to Ridgecrest with happy memories and full hearts--we loved every minute of our stay and are so grateful to all our family for spending time with us and making us feel so loved!

IT WAS A WONDERFUL WEEK!  Thanks for everything!

Monday

Last night I made a list of things I needed to get done every day to be ready for our Christmas trip to Texas.

So far today I:

--took Rhiannon and friends to school

--called the newspaper and left message about setting up vacation stop on our subscription

--called LA Temple Visitors Center to see if Wade could hang out there on Saturday while Jason, Rhiannon, and me are doing temple work with the youth from our ward

--did a couple loads of laundry

--bought Ma and Pa Sheen something fun for Christmas

--got the leaf blower out and cleaned up the front yard

--picked up dog doo in the backyard

--tried to figure out printer's printing problems, to no avail

--chatted online with my brother Jordan

--checked emails and Facebook

--called Wade's school to let them know he was staying home today.  He felt like he had a fever this morning and was complaining of a sore throat and being tired, so, yeah.  He slept for almost 3 hours, and now he's downstairs reading The Hobbit (and being a good sport about having limited electronics time, too.)  I'm trying to make the time at home as boring as possible for him. :)

Still to do:

--finish Christmas cards

--pick up Rhiannon from school

--stop by the bank

--get a few groceries

--enjoy family dinner, maybe a movie together, and FHE!

Good day for the Cushing kids!

Good day for the Cushing kids--Wade scored a 2-pt conversion at his flag football game and helped his team to their first win, and Rhiannon nailed her Christmas piano recital (Carol of the Bells, followed by...Phantom of the Opera!) Woo-hoo!

Of course the game and recital were at the same time, so Jason and I had to divide and conquer.  He covered football, and I covered piano! :)

Sugar cookies and good neighbors

Yesterday we hosted a neighborhood cookie decorating party.  It turned out really, really well.

I spent the morning before churning out 2 batches of sugar cookies while I watched White Christmas, and then I made 3 batches of Wilton's buttercream frosting the day of.  Green, yellow, and pink (the red just wasn't happening) frosting.  We had bowls of butterscotch chips, peppermint flavored marshmallows, regular marshmallows, Twizzlers Pull-n-Peel, M&Ms, and lots of sprinkles.  Just thinking about all that candy is making me a little nauseous!

By 4:15pm Friday there were 13 kids surrounding the two tables downstairs, up to their eyeballs in frosting, candy, and sugar cookies.  Oh, yeah, and they'd all brought candy with them, too.  Man, it was a sugar fest!   Only 2 families didn't make it, and one kid had to stay home sick.  I was really pleased with the turnout.  The kids were fun, well-mannered, and happy!

We still had cookies leftover, so today Rhiannon and Wade helped me deliver plates of decorated sugar cookies to the older neighbors on our street and the two families we'd missed at the party.  I am so pleased to have that little "peace on earth, goodwill towards men" project accomplished!  We don't tell our neighbors often enough how great they are; thankfully Christmas is the perfect time of year to let them know!

I am trying to wrap my head around the Connecticut school shooting.  Rhiannon came home from school and pointed it out to me on the Internet, maybe a half-hour before our cookie party guests were to arrive.  It was a bit of an out-of-body experience at the party, having all that fun, yet knowing people on the other side of the country were devastated with grief and shock.  I wrote this on Facebook:

"I found out about the school shooting yesterday just minutes before we filled our house with neighbor kids to decorate cookies. It was ironic for me, surrounded by candy, cookies, and smiling kids having fun, while my mind thought about Connecticut. I can't wrap my head and heart around this tragedy; all I can think to do is pray, pray, pray for that community and do all I can to spread love and kindness in my own little corner."

Running circles

I didn't get a walk in with Oscar today, but I didn't feel TOO bad about it because I took him for a long walk yesterday morning and to Wade's flag football practice last night (Oscar LOVES going for walks at night, too.)

The poor dog figured out a coping mechanism and did his own exercise in the house just now.   He literally raced from one end of the hall to the other, back and forth, crazy fast, until he'd finally had enough.   We call it his "puppy crazies."  Thankfully he doesn't do it in the house too much, or we wouldn't have any carpet left.

It's loud.  I imagine it sounds a lot like this would:

Life is good.  Tonight our family is attending Rhiannon's Christmas band concert.  She says it's going to be "bossome"--Boss + Awesome = Bossome.  Tomorrow night is the Christmas dinner at our church, and then Saturday is Wade's 2nd flag football game. 

I'm about ready to work on Christmas cards--this is a good sign.  Last year I was so busy with a brand-new puppy that I could hardly think straight.  Things are almost "back to normal" from what they were then--now we just have a very large teenage dog who runs circles around the house!

Merry Christmas!

November 2012 was GREAT! Part One

Goodness.  I guess I've been a little busy/preoccupied the last month! 

Highlights from the last few weeks:


Our Halloween costumes rocked this year.  The kids created theirs from things around the house, and I bought mine for $2.50 at a thrift store.  (Not shown:  Jason rocked a jester hat at the ward Halloween trunk-or-treat)



Rhiannon aka Zorro



Wade aka Mutt Williams from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystall Skull



Yes, I wore this in public, and it was AWESOME!

Wade continued his 9th birthday celebration a little longer with a November 2nd movie excursion with friends to see Wreck-It Ralph here in town. 

 

Wade with his friends Nick and Halle.  He let me and Rhiannon come, too. :)

Rhiannon was recognized at school for excellent achievement on the state tests last year:

Wade was also recognized in a school assembly for being the October Student of the Month in his class and completing the 3rd grade math objectives in Accelerated Math (I'm a little behind--next month he'll get recognized for completing 4th grade math objectives, too!)

We love these smart cookies!

 

 

 

Oscar celebrated his 1st birthday on October 8th.  No, we didn't get him a cake.  And, yes, he's in full-blown teenager phase, but we still love him!

 

 



Ridgecrest sunrises can't be beat:

Wade performed in his first piano recital.  He played a song called Turtle Tank and did it perfectly!

 

 

Jason ordered a cord of wood and got us ready for winter, well, for the next 4 winters.  This was the first half of it:

 

 

 



 

Well, here I was on a roll, and then I got an error message saying I'd maxed out our photo storage.  And our Internet connection isn't great this weekend.  So......I'll get that figured out and then update the blog with more pics of Wade's birthday and a report on my new calling at church and our WONDERFUL Thanksgiving up in Utah!

 

Happy Sunday!

 

 



Love this boy! Happy 9th, Wade!

Man, we love this kid so much, and we are excited to celebrate his special day today!

HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY, WADE!

 

LOVE YA, BUDDY!

 

 

 

 

Wade and I type back and forth

Italics--Mom
Regular--Wade

(This was a little back and forth exchange at 9:30pm tonight--we were standing right next to each other at the downstairs computer.)


Guess who's turning 9 tomorrow?

Mom is the best person in the world right now.

Ah, shucks. Why's that?

Because you are.

I'm just a tiny bit excited for your birthday. Can you tell? :)

Definite y e s.

I'm getting sleepy. I wonder when Rhiannon is comin' home???????

I know,right

The sooner we get to bed, the sooner 2 hours and 28 minutes gets here, heh, heh. Man, my mental math STINKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My mental math is a-w-e-s-o-m-e.:)

You definitely get that gift from your D-A-D-D-Y. I could work on it if I spent some time with it. But it's so hard, sniff-sniff.

What's 1x636278176372618636.

Hey, I know that. It's 636278176372618636. Isn't it weird that we're typing instead of TaLkInG? :) Welcome to the 21st century...........

See,you are smart.

Thanks, man, thanks. We need to find some kind of typing "class" online that you and Rhiannon could practice to make your finger FLY over the keyboard, yeah, baby! :)

I CANNOT WAIT FOR B_I_R_T_H_D_A_Y IN 2 hours and 24 minutes! Finally,I got it right for once.


Shall we hit the bed trail? What do you think is in the BIG box??

Yeah, let's hit the bed trail.

Pleasant dreams.............................................................P.S. I love you, squirt.

Mom's dinner report

Every night at dinner we each give Dad a report about our day.  Most days my brain is turned to mush by dinner time and my response is short and sweet.  But today I thought I'd take some pictures to document most of my day, at least up until 1:00pm! :)

Today I:

--took middle school kids to school
--took Wade to Walgreens to pick up more of this:

 --worked out a dinner meal plan for the next 5 weeks and wrote out a grocery list

--took elementary school kids to school

--went grocery shopping:

 

 

--worked on washing/drying laundry (the kids will help me fold later):

 

 

--continued update on 72-hour emergency kits

 

 

This gives you an idea of what's in each person's backpack.  Then we've got a duffle
bag full of food and several Mountain House packages.

--tried to organize pantry a little bit:

 

 

 --then cut up all the meat I'd purcased earlier and divided into smaller packages to put in the freezer:

 

 



 

--took this guy for a walk:

 

 

--sat down for lunch:

 

threw some romaine, mushrooms, strawberry slices, and balsamic vinegar
together.  This was surprisingly tasty.  Also had some veggie straws
and some cookies!

 

--watched a Season 1 episode of this on Netflix:

 

I think I'm getting attached to these characters because I got a little emotional during this episode.

 

--listened to music:

 



--updated the blog and then messed around on Picasa!

 

 

--read some great talks that I'd missed during Conference weekend (click on their pictures to see their Conference talks):

 

"I Know It.  I Live It.  I Love It."

 

"Can You Feel So Now?"

 

 

 

Who knows what the rest of the day will bring, but I've enjoyed today! :)