Ballerina Girl

Slider Machine

Today Craig and Jerry showed up with a "slider" to (cross your fingers) transplant roses bushes and remove stumps from pine trees they cut and removed with the crane several months ago. Criag is cutting back the roses ball of roots hoping that it will force the plant to put down new roots. (Hmm, there could be an analogy draw from this concept). Later on in the day: You will note that the railroad ties, vinyl fencing, and tree stumps (as well as some of the rose bushes) have been removed. The tiny clumps of sticks are the roses. It will be interesting to see if cut back so much they can survive. (Perhaps after weathering the winter and coming back in the Spring, then we can make an analogy about roses being transplanted, pruned, and coming back even more beautiful.) Post Edit: Last Thursday a disgruntled Comcast employee knocked on my door. Apparently, while removing the stumps, a Comcast cable was pulled and cut. They are sending out an "investigator." The cable has been patched. The cable was right on the surface and Joe was upset the cable was not buried two to three feet which is usual. Another unplanned bill may come from this!

The Gift of Promised Sleep

My sweet man brought home a present for me last night...the gift of promised sleep. Joe whispered that that was what he had in mind when he bought these pajamas for me. Aren't they cute? What a sweet man. In reality, I have yet to actually receive that gift, but with the choice of pajamas, he had that in mind. I put these on, Joe got in bed, and Jonathan began crying. After nights of crying...we learned he had an ear infection. Then came Susie's cold--that she gave to the baby (snuffle, snuffle, snort, breathe, cry, try to nurse in the middle of the night). Add to that an insane schedule --something every night kind and I hold these pajamas in my hands and day dream that that full night of sleep will come...sometime before the children grow up. One can always (day) dream!

Book Club (Apple Trouble--Ouch!)

Eva played briefly

Amy, the energetic lady, has had dreams of a preschool book club for some time. She organized this one at Mel's house. The children came and she read to them from Apple Trouble (which used to be called Ouch!). Then they completed an easy dot to dot and colored an apple picture. Then came the snack: the children helped peel, chop, and cook homemade apple sauce. While the apples cooked down (20 minutes) the children played outside and the moms made the craft--a stuffed hedgehog with felt props to reenact the story! A fun time for all. How did Amy do it? *The cost to participate was $5. **Amy ordered the books from Scholastic for $1, she found the car wash mits at the dollar store (before Father's Day) and bought the felt on sale At Joanne's. The apples were seconds from a local grower.)

Playroom Painted

Joe and I stayed up until 3:00 a.m. painting the playroom. We will add Three Little Pig cut outs to the walls.

Book Review: The Gift of Fear

I've been listening to a book recommended by a friend (thanks Rachel). Our library did not have the one she recommended, Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe(and Parents Sane) by Gavin de Becker. They did have an audio cassette copy of an earlier book that shares some of the same stories from reading the reviews. The book is entitled, The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals that Protect Us from Violence. What a wonderful life changing "listen" this audio book has been for me. So much violence could be avoided if we listened to (and didn't reason away) our intuition. Also, violence has signs that predict and warn of it's behavior. Gavin de Becker is a leading expert of violent and criminal behavior. A "junkie" of television news myself, I was interested when Mr. de Becker mentioned he doesn't watch the local news. He has an interesting explanation as to why, focusing predominately on media being "more sensationalism and less informationalism." "Though television news would have us think differently, the important question is not how we might die but rather how shall we live and that is up to us. In my life and work, I've seen the darkest part of the human soul, at least I hope they are the darkest, that has helped me see more clearly the brightness of the human spirit. Feeling the sting of violence myself has helped me feel more keenly the hand of human kindness. Given the frenzy and the power of the various violence industry, the fact that most Americans live without violence is a sign of something wonderful in us...." "Abraham Lincoln referred to the "better angels of our nature" and they must surely exist." Yes, I believe that too! What are you listening to?

From Publishers Weekly

Dostoyevski said that child abuse is evil because it destroys a childs faith in the goodness of God. In this painstakingly practical yet impassioned guide, de Becker, author of last years bestselling The Gift of Fear, demonstrates that a child who was himself abused can grow up to be a vigilant protector of the gift of childrens innate faith in the goodness of life. Writing with a precision honed from his long experience as a security expert predicting violence in order to protect high-profile clients, and with a depth born of his own childhood understanding of how it feels to be hurt by the adult you love, de Becker describes how we can keep our children safe. Although he devotes separate chapters to the special threats facing children and teens, females and males (the murderous romance of boys and guns is covered), his basic message is encapsulated in 12 steps. Echoing his previous book, the first step involves teaching children to honor their feelings specifically, the intuition that makes them fear certain people. Children also need a parents permission to be assertive, to defy adults, to yell and fully resist. Throughout, de Becker stresses a childs need to trust that a parent will be open to listen about any experience, no matter how unpleasant. He opens and concludes with tales of ordinary mothers who overcame their doubts and inhibitions to experience a brilliantly intuitive wild brain as they fought off attackers to protect their children. De Becker offers a guide to fostering this fierce intelligence in our kids, ourselves and our society. Everyone in contact with children should read this important book. It can help save lives. BOMC, QPB and Childrens BOMC featured alternates; first serial to USA Weekend; second serial to Good Housekeeping; author tour. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Book Review:

Sleepless in America; Is your Child Misbehaving or Missing Sleep? by Mary Sheedy Kurchinka.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kurcinka (Raising Your Spirited Child) recasts misbehaving children as children missing sleep (and thus, children who can be helped sans drugs and punishment) in this treatise on the manifold virtues of a good night's sleep. "Sound sleep is the foundation of good behavior," Kurcinka says, warning parents that temper tantrums, irritability, screaming-bed-jumping-freak-outs and other unwanted behaviors can be scaled back dramatically if parents ensure their kids get enough sleep-something admittedly easier written about than done. Using advice and case studies from many of the parents who have participated in her workshops, Kurcinka provides insights into why kids do not go to sleep (an imbalance of "calm energy" and "tense energy" is one theory) as well as how parents' fatigue can affect their children. She advocates tension management as a way to foster good sleeping habits and includes how-to regimens to establish bed-time routines tailored to individual children's needs. She also helps parents reset their kids' (from infants to teenagers) body clocks to avoid sleepless nights and the morning battles, stress and school bus scramble. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A well-written, comprehensive, and above all loving and positive approach to understanding that oh-so challenging child." -- Evonne Weinhaus and Karen Friedman, authors of Stop Struggling with Your Child and Stop Struggling with Your Teen "Mary Sheedy Kurcinka’s Sleepless in America has some of the best tips for sleepy families." -- Minneapolis Star Tribune

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (January 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006073602X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060736026

I have really enjoyed this library book that I stumbled upon. I am sad that I will be returning it. I really like how this parent turned expert can help us look at the misbehavior of our children and find that we are all a little of when we are tired. She has practical, gentle ways of getting children to sleep (in various places) and of getting everyone of to a good start in the morning. This may seem like a no brainer but had some wonderful advice in our world of "We do it all!" (our family motto). I discussed with Joe about changing our motto to "we do less--and make sleep a priority." We are still negotiating that.

Yummy Breakfast Recipe (Banana Bread Oats)

Oats cooking (with frozen banana slices and spices)

Toasting walnuts under Low Broil

Steel Cut Oats (Uncooked)

This morning I smelled the bananas on the counter and wished I had time to make banana bread. Instead, I threw together this healthy breakfast recipe while we got ready for the walk to school. I added cinnamon, a pinch of Hain sea salt to 4 Cs. water and 1 C. steel cut oats (these are the whole oat grain that is partially cut like cracked wheat not like flattened Old fashioned "rolled" oats). Together, it cooks 15-17 minutes. Then, I added maple syrup to sweeten the deal and toasted walnuts (made by putting walnuts on a cookie sheet and toasting them on low broil approx. 10 min.) In the bowl I served up a ladle of oats, some sliced bananas on top, crumbled some toasted walnuts and a little maple syrup on top with milk/soy milk to cool it off. The children and spouse thought this quite delicious. Post Edit: Rebekah requested this recipe again, Sunday morning. I took some photos during the process. The difference this time was that since the bananas were frozen I cut chunks into the oats to cook/thaw. Feel free to add the spices you wish. This time around I added Pumpkin Pie Spice (sprinkled around), a tiny amount of ground cloves, a dash of cardamom, etc.

Korean Saying

Rebekah took the photos of Huckleberry after she made a bed for him

in their bathroom last night (I'm still not for indoor pets :)

The Koreans have a saying that bad things come in threes and so I ask you, do these count for today?

1. Carpet layer shows up to lay the carpet on the middle layer and learns that the cement pad has a cap on it and refuses to lay the carpet until all the paint (that was sprayed Saturday) is peeled off the cement floor. (He reassured me that with Citrus Peeler and a scraping tool it shouldn't take more than a few days.)
2. Went to the freezer tonight to get out the ice cream and discover that all the ice cream, pot stickers, frozen waffles and berries (you get the idea...) are thawed, foamy, or runny.
3. Daughter is sobbing because a neighbor called (the same one who called the inspectors to our house "anonymously" to see if our builders had the right license from the State) to ask if she can adopt our daughter's pet cat Huckleberry. She was worried that he was "too friendly" and might be picked up by someone or that he didn't have a warm place to go now that the weather is turning cool because he comes to her house to nap in her front chair in the afternoons (and she feeds him milk four times a day).

I could also go on about potty accidents, bath tirades, jammed new HP printers, stomach aches, homework not completed, sticky kitchen floors, children that played "hide and go seek" with cousins and dumped out all my huge bins of folded and sorted by age laundry and scattered it all over the floor, etc. These don't seem severe enough for the Korean Saying. On the light side...the baby is up because I couldn't resist kissing her on the cheek, the young children ask for mom to sing to them just one more song if they are very quiet, the contact rebate check came in the mail, and even amidst messes and construction I know how very blessed I am. Do the Koreans have a saying about good things also coming in threes? Post edit: (11:25 p.m.) Sweet husband comes up and tells me he has "fixed" the freezer. Apparently a little "helper" turned the refrigerator all the way down and there is only one switch for both the fridge and freezer. Both are up and humming now! No new fridge/freezer combo--definitely a blessing.

Murphey's Law

New door "knobs" (levers, actually) installed yesterday. Susie locks herself IN my bedroom before school, when time is of the essence, naturally. She breaks off something in the lock and so it won't turn to open. Thank goodness she could open one of the two doors, eventually. Sigh. Post-script: She has been singing a "I'm going to preschool this morning" song. The locking episode has apparently not been too traumatic for her. She jiggle baby keys in pastel colors and VERY confidently assures me, "I can drive (the car), Mom. Really, I can!"

Favorite Family Snack

Mrs. Robin McGraw’s Family Snack:

Ingredients

Non-stick cooking spray or melted butter, as needed for pan

3 cups large marshmallows

3/4 cup nut butter, such as cashew, almond, peanut or hazelnut

1 10 to 12-ounce box brown rice cereal

1/2 cup dried cranberries

2/3 cup chopped pecans, toasted

2/3 cup chopped cashews, toasted

Lightly coat the bottom and sides of a medium baking sheet with the nonstick cooking spray or melted butter.

In a microwave-safe bowl, zap the marshmallows and nut butter, stirring after 1 minute, until melted, about 2 minutes.

Add the brown rice cereal, cranberries, pecans and cashews to the melted marshmallow mixture and stir gently to combine – be careful not to crush up the bits of cereal too much.

Either wet your hands or spray them lightly with the nonstick cooking spray and turn the cereal marshmallow mixture out onto the greased baking sheet. Press it into the pan using your slick hands so that it’s evenly distributed. Set the pan aside and let the bars set up, about 30 minutes.

Once set, cut them into squares and serve.

(**Ours turned out darker brown in color, with less dried cranberries showing but I didn't get a picture before they were all gone. They were that good!)

Labor Day Game Night

Cousins:

Annabel, Eva, Cora

Tonight we enjoyed dinner (thanks to Dan and Katy) and games at Matt and Melissa's.

Special Sunday

Grandma and Little Annabel (8/2010)

Susie loved this little princess chair of cousin Hannahs. She rocked backwards in it and broke it.

Daddy Dan and daughter Isabella. (Katy sewed the gorgeous blessing gown of Isabella's.)

Little lady, eleven days old!

The Sweetest Thing!

Mother, Daughter, sisters.

This Sunday we had two baby blessings. Hannah helped Susie get dressed and did cute pigtails in her hair. On the way to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Stuarts church this morning the children were talking in the back of the car and all of a sudden we hear Susie say clearly, "When I was Hannah and Bekah's age I could drive the car. I used to drive Daddy. Isn't that funny, Daddy?" Joes' response was "Susie, what did you used to do when you were Mommy and Daddy's age?" Rebekah sat by cousin Jane. Hannah sat by cousin Katy at church. Joe dropped off the Frogeye Salad at Lisa's and met me at the church. I took Jonathan to the bathroom. Led Mike to the church on the phone. To Joe, "where's the baby?" To me "I don't have her...I thought you did." Joe retrieve's the happy baby from the car before the service begins. Stuart gave Annabel a beautiful name and blessing. The lesson I was suppose to give (as a Primary substitute for the Valiant 10 class) was on the Prophet Elijah and the Power of the Priesthood. I am grateful for the power of the priesthood, the authority to act in God's name and bless His children here on earth. Testimony meeting brought Rebekah (brave, once a very shy girl), Uncle Mike, and Grandpa to the stand. Happy baby smiles and plays in her car seat while I help others plate up food. Joe goes to pick up baby and discovers she is "silent but deadly." A blowout! She has pooped...all over her Onesie, dress, car seat, and Daddy's pants. In our impromptu wet wipe sponge bath, I didn't get any pictures of Annabel in her mother's blessing dress. She was cute! (Thankfully, we had another outfit in the diaper bag). Ashton's had Nate who took their pictures. We had a wonderful feast together (honey baked ham, salads, and desserts). In the afternoon we were invited to cousin Dan and Katy's blessing of their beautiful Isabella Nicole. Again, family, wonderful food, and a wonderful feeling of respect for these young parents who have been entrusted with two gorgeous daughters and have such strong spirits and responsibilities. The feeling of Heavenly Father's love was palpable. Fun to talk to Aunt Roberta and Katy about the amazing miracle of birth--each one a walk in faith, each one a unique journey. At home, someone left a plate full of scrumptious chocolate chip cookies at our doorstep...no note. The possibilities of who shared kindness with us keeps us guessing. Walk with Joe, Susie, Jonathan,and baby. Baby is restless--won't "stroll to sleep." Susie does. Jonathan is our trailblazer. So grateful for the beautiful temple it's light in our neighborhood and in our lives. Fall like weather and gentle wind. Earlier sunset. Scriptures, prayers, and bed time. Joe and I stay up and put Eva to bed and play Ticket to Ride Scandinavia. It feels like a holiday.

Construction

Beautiful girl in her clip on earrings.

So...What's been keeping you busy lately? Filling holes with Spackle, caulking, vacuuming sawdust and drywall powder, sanding baseboards, masking, taping, putting up plastic, painting ceilings, rolling walls, cutting in paint, installing lights, choosing carpet, going back and forth to the hardware store...Whew!