Six On Sunday

1. Oh my, the weather. What else can I say. I just can't get over it. As we were heading out to church I noticed that we all looked like it was a spring or summer day. We were dressed in markedly summer ware, all short sleeved, with summer footwear to boot (not intended as a pun). You would never guess tomorrow was December first.


2. The kids had plenty of time this weekend to get the bikes out. I tried to convince Jackson to take off the training wheels, but he wouldn't have it.

I love to bike ride. Given the blurriness of the picture, you can imagine how fast I was going.:)

3. We got all of our Christmas decorating done. Since Thanksgiving seemed so late this year, I was having a hard time waiting. I have been wanting to put everything up for the last few weeks, but made myself wait until Thanksgiving day.

I have to admit that I am a bit of the Grinch in my family. Every year I tell Eric I really think we should skip putting lights on the house, but every year he disagrees and puts them up. And every year I am happy he didn't listen to me. He is just so much more festive than I am!

4. Speaking of Christmas decorations, Sadie paid absolutely no attention to the tree or the decorations for the last 3 days, but tonight she discovered the fun she could have with ornaments. I knew it wouldn't last.

5. And speaking of Sadie, she has finally started to use sign language to communicate! We taught Megan, and she used it all of the time, but I wondered if it impeded her speaking. We didn't teach Jackson and he talked really early, so I was unsure if I would teach Sadie or not. But as you can see, we did, and really it is much fun to see her communicate so well with us. Right now she uses, want, more, bath, drink, all done, up and out. She can also blow us kisses in her own way, shakes her head yes and no, and waves constantly.

Want

Bath

Out or Up: She uses them interchangeably.
The signs are not exact, but they are her interpretations of them.

6. Lastly, we had a great Thanksgiving. Two of Eric's brothers came to visit, and as always we all had a lot of fun with them. They all went golfing, and on Thanksgiving morning Eric and Derek played in the "Turkey Bowl." One of them was on the winning team, but I won't tell who.

Breaking In

Today my front door mysteriously would not unlock. But no reason to worry: I still have a 4 year old that can break into my house at any time. It makes me worry about any small criminals that are roaming the streets. Those of you with small children, don't get any ideas.

So today I am grateful for my little "turkey." He saved me so much money today by not having to call a locksmith.

This year Jackson is grateful for turkeys, macaroni and cheese, candy, church, his family, playing with cars, and elephants?. Here he is with his thankful feather from pre-school.

Jackson Said

While talking about why we celebrate Christmas, after Jackson said for the 100th time, he is so excited about Christmas because of all the toys he is going to get.

Megan: "Jackson, Christmas is also the time we celebrate Jesus' birthday."
Jackson: "Jesus sure has a lot of birthday's. Christmas and every Sunday."

The Cheese Stands Alone

Sadie is finally standing unassisted. No steps yet, but a little more confidence, and I am sure they will come. She will now stand if she is engrossed in something she deems exciting (like this paper, for instance). Remote controls, cell phones, scissors, and glasses are also things she deems exciting enough to stand with. We try to get her to play with broken remotes and broken phones, but instinctively she seems to know the difference. She is already enjoying the thrill of the forbidden!

Five For Friday

It seems like I haven't been doing much lately, even though it feels like I have been constantly busy. Do you have these weeks? I guess I should say, I have been doing a lot, just nothing blogworthy. Anyway, I haven't taken any pictures because my camera has been out of commission this week, so here is a post free of pictures (which I know is annoying to at least one of you: I won't name names).

1) I went to a birthday brunch on Tuesday and discovered that Jackson is even more shy than I realized. He has always been quiet around new people, but he wouldn't even play with the kids that were there. He stuck right to my side. I don't really mind this, I am just getting slightly worried that he might have a hard time in kindergarten next year. Pre-school has been fine, because he already knows so many kids, but being in a new environment may throw him off. I guess we will see.

2) I have finally finished reading, "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle". It took me forever. I think I am a pretty fast reader, but my gosh, I thought I would never finish this book. It was quite long, but more than that, I have to say I found it quite boring, which added to my slowness. It is the newest Oprah's BookClub selection. I generally read most of the books she recommends, but there have been quite a few that I have not liked, and one in particular that made my list for my most hated book ever (The House of Sand and Fog). I may have to rethink reading her recommendations.

3) I don't know how I am going to handle having multiple kids in school. Luckily this is a few years off for me, but thinking about how much time I spend with Megan on schoolwork and school projects, how will I have time to do this times three? And as they get older, the schoolwork and projects will just keep getting more time consuming. This is going to be a quandary for me.

4) Jackson has started leaving the toilet seat up. He has been potty trained for over 2 years and has never left it up before, but suddenly is. Whenever I walk into the bathroom and it is up I call him back in to put it down. You would think that me making him do this multiple times a day, would change his behavior, but it hasn't. Every time he just says, "Oops, Sorry Mom."

5) I have been trying to cook more. I am happy to report that last week I made dinner 5 times. This is a new record for me. This week I have not been as successful, but I like to think I am making baby steps.

Have a great weekend!

Stop, Drop & Roll

Today was fire safety day at Jackson' pre-school. The fire department, along with some high school kids came and taught our little ones about fire safety. They had a lot of interactive activities along with a big firetruck for the kids to check out. Here are some pictures of our day:

Crawling close to the ground to avoid the smoke.

Pushing the buttons on smoke detectors.

Escaping out the window in case of a fire.

I noticed today, for really the first time, that Jackson has started playing exclusively with boys. Last year during pre-school all of the kids seemed to play together, but this year the boys seem to stick with the boys, and the girls stick with the girls.


Miss Sadie also had a good time. She was content to sit in her stroller for the duration. Yeah for me!

Skewed Roles

I asked Megan to vacuum her room, at which time she told me she didn't know how to. So I told her to get Jackson to show her. Afterwards I realized that is slightly bazaar that my 4 year old boy knows how to use the vacuum, but my 8 year old does not. Do you find this strange?

SPT

The challenge for November is to simplify your self-portraits. Each Tuesday take a self-portrait and post it on your blog. This month, our portraits will speak for themselves. What stories can you tell when you can't use words?

Bunch - O - Junk

Today we headed over the Las Vegas Mini-Grand Prix. These places are great but it drives me crazy how much money you have to spend to get enough tickets to buy such, excuse my language, CRAP! They really must be raking it in. Here is what we left with. How long do you think I have to keep these things before the kids would notice they were gone? I made sure to get the picture right when we got home, because I know most (especially the airplane, and paddle ball) won't make it more than an hour.


We did have fun though. I had my camera but wasn't in the mood to take pictures. But just a couple of things to note.

• Megan actually went on the roller coaster with a friend. She requested to go on it, without any prompting, and smiled the entire time.
  
• Jackson has been terrified of the large slides since his last birthday when he went on them. But after watching Megan and some of his friends go on them, I convinced him to give it a try. We started walking up, at which time he stopped dead, and started pulling me the other way. I told him that someone told me the blue slide went really slow and that we could go down that (yes it was a lie). He agreed but when we got to the top there was no blue slide. So then I told him it must have been the purple one. At which time the guy working there tells him that the purple one is the fastest one. I almost hit him on the head. I finally just sat down my sack, pulled him on my lap, and we were off. Needless to say, he wouldn't try it again.

UPDATE: The ball on the paddle ball broke in half, and one wing fell off the airplane. They are now both in the garbage. The ring and the frog are nowhere to be seen, only the skeleton army guy remains!

I

I AM: conflicted.
I WANT: a lot of money.
I HAVE: enough.
I MISS: some aspects of who I used to be.
I FEAR: snakes.
I HEAR: Sadie trying to talk.
I SEARCH: for my own voice.
I WONDER: how I will change.
I REGRET: some things I have said that I find embarrassing.
I LOVE: my husband and kids.
I FORGIVE: eventually.
I ACHE: for inner strength.
I ALWAYS: want to eat out.
I TRY: to become more fearless.
I AM NOT: fearless.
I SEEM: quiet but friendly.
I KNOW: my mom loves me.
I FEEL: nervous much of the time.
I DANCE: with my kids at home.
I DREAM: to live a long, happy, fulfilling life.
I GIVE: my time.
I LISTEN: to others opinions.
I SING: in the car.
I LAUGH: at comedians.
I CAN'T: tell a joke.
I WRITE: on my blog.
I CRY: when I am angry.
I SLEEP: enough.
I AM NOT ALWAYS: the best person I could be.
I SEE: people for who they really are.
I NEED: motivation to get things done I have been putting off.
I SHOULD: get those things done that I have been putting off.

A Dream

Now that the election is over and I have listened last night and today to many black people in our country express what it means to them to have a black president, I am overcome with emotion. Although I can try to put myself in someone else's shoes, it is never fully possible. Today as I reheard Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream Speech", I started to cry. Amazing that a country can come so far in a few short years. I have never read the whole speech, but I did today. If you would like to read it, click here.

Here is the part that I have heard over and over today, and that really spoke to me:

"I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today."

The Vote

I love to vote. I remember turning 18 one October over 13 years ago, and being thrilled that in less than a month I would get to vote for the President of the United States. I felt so bad for all of those 17 year olds that barely missed out. I woke up this morning feeling nervous and excited. I wanted to head straight for the polls, but because I didn't want to scare the other voters (I look pretty scary in the mornings), I chose to get ready, and then had to wait for Sadie to wake up from her nap! But by mid-morning I had voted, and it was great. As I stood before the voting booth and made my choice, I felt such happiness. I knew I had made the right one for me.

(See how happy voting makes Sadie)

Some voting highlights:

• I got to take all of my kids with me. It is so cool to me that they get to come and see the process. However, I may not have found this so cool if I would have had to wait in a long line. But I didn't, I walked right in.

• The election workers were so friendly and helpful, especially to my kids.
• A nice old woman walked in through the handicapped entrance and when she saw me trying to take a picture of my kids she offered to take one for us. I love this picture, even though it is out of focus, because the lady could barely walk, her hands shook as she was taking it, but she still found time to offer service to me. Not to mention she came to the polls to vote even though it was probably difficult for her.
  

• As I was leaving to go vote, I was met at the door by two ladies that were there to make sure I had a way to get to the polls. I loved being able to tell them that I was on my way right then, and especially loved the excitement in their eyes and the high five I was able to share with them. I don't mind the visits to the door, or the phone calls, regardless of party. I truly respect those willing to donate their time for a cause they believe in. I have also found that everyone I have talked to at the door or on the phone, has been very respectful when I told them my choice (unfortunately I can't say the same for some people I actually know in real life).
• As we were leaving, two young men were handing out the voting stickers. They were so fun and friendly and insisted that we all take one.

• I loved the way I felt after I had cast my vote. I had a realization that it doesn't matter what negative things I have heard, I know my truth.

If you love to vote like me, or if you don't (again I am all about personal choice) I hope your day was a great one!

SPT

The challenge for November is to simplify your self-portraits. Each Tuesday take a self-portrait and post it on your blog. This month, our portraits will speak for themselves. What stories can you tell when you can't use words?

Halloween 2008

INTRODUCING..........

Sadie as "The Spider"

Jackson as "The Skeleton"

and Megan as "The Geisha Girl"
Jackson started off celebrating Halloween with a party at pre-school. I can't tell you how much I love pre-school (and so does Jackson).

Some of Jackson's pre-school friends: Carson, Sarah, Jackson, and Whitney)

Thursday night we headed over to the trunk-or-treat and collected enough candy to last us all year.

Megan, Allie and Jackson

Since the trunk-or-treat was on Thursday we had all of Friday night to trick-or-treat. We had dinner with our neighbors, and spent the rest of the night trick-or-treating and visiting. I love our neighborhood at Halloween time. We have lots of neighbors that go all out for Halloween, decorating their garages and handing out candy. Our streets are lined with kids and parents going from house to house. It is great.

Jackson, Landree, Megan and Lily