Home alone again

We left BR and MC home alone again today. We went to the world wide leadership training at the church (on strengthening families/parenting, I needed something after my performance as a mom yesterday!! :P) We decided to try a longer period of time (2 hours) since we were just going down the street to the church and we could come right home if need be. I was slightly anxious the whole time (don't know when we'll be completely used to the idea) but after the first hour it got worse and I asked ML to go call and check on them. They were fine and just playing the wii. About 15 minutes later they called us saying somebody is at the door and it's not a relative, but it's a man with a bag. Well we remind them of the strict instructions that they are not to open the door for ANYBODY unless the house is on fire and then they're to go to one of our trusted neighbors and make calls there. After this phone call I could hardly concentrate on the rest of the meeting. I got bits out of it, but the main thing I kept thinking was that our kids were home alone and there was a man with a "bag" (??) knocking on the door. (I can have quite the vivid imagination...after we got home and were assured our kids were safe I jokingly said to ML "That man with the bag could have stuffed our kids in it and carried them off!!", but it wasn't joke material until then.) :/

Once we were home, we found out it was the "water softener/purifier" guy that we'd scheduled to come at 3:00. He'd gotten confused and come an hour early.

Is there an OPPOSITE to the mom of the year award??: Confessions of a poor, pitiful mom

I think I would get that after yesterday!!!

Yesterday, being Friday, I really needed a break and decided to just veg and do something completely non-productive and pointless. :) So after cleaning up a bit and then blogging for a while I decided to get out the wii and play a game that ML got for me a while ago. I've been thinking of this game lately and wanting to get it out because of all the talk about wii's and such. It's called "My Word Coach". (A game that my kids (and probably my nephews) wouldn't look twice at, but since I love words and language so much, I get a kick out of it.) :) Anyway, so I start playing this game and then my phone alarm goes off to remind me that I need to go pick up my kids from school. Yes, I need an alarm to remind me to pick up my kids (most days I don't, but some days I get so distracted that I lose all track of time). Well, my kids are currently participating in an 8 week "Fun Friday" after school program where they stay until the normal let out time (Let out time: 3:15 pm. Pick up window: 3:15 to 3:30.) (MC chose dance and PE and BR chose Art and PE.) So when my alarm goes off I look at it, remember the later pick up time, shut off the alarm and resume playing the game. I played a little of everything but I got playing this tetrus-like game (but with a word twist) and got so engrossed that I lost all track of time :/ and when I suddenly came to my senses and looked at the clock it was 3:37!! I start panicking and frantically running through the house trying to gather my purse, shoes and coat and get out the door (worrying the whole time what's happened to my kids...it was so late I was sure they'd have called from the office wondering where I was...so I'm going through all the possible senarios (good and bad) in my head). Just before I scoot out the door I get a call from the office saying that my daughter is there wondering if I was picking her up or, tactfully trying to give me a plausible excuse, if I'd made other arrangements. I tell them that I'm on my way and how dreadfully sorry I am and that I'd lost track of time and how I'm off because I forgot to set a reminder for the unusual Friday pick-up time. I'm sure this lady is thinking "What kind of mom needs a reminder to pick up her poor kids!?!? Yeah, exactly!! My poor kids! Who forgets to pick up their kids?? Because they were playing a lousy game?! Like I say, I'm the prime candidate for the Non-mom of the year award. I wish I could chalk it up to being only a dream where I forgot about my kids, but then wake up and realize I'm not such a bad mom after all.

My KING size bed!

As per Serin's request, I finally got some pictures taken of my new King size bed so I can post them. (Wahoo!! I just love having a KING size bed!! Every night I'm SO glad!! I wasn't sure it was going to be that much of a difference, but it's heavenly!) This past weekend I went and got some cute pillows to go on top because so far all I had was the quilt. I'm trying to be good and get a little at a time. :P So for now I got about 1/2 of the bed accessories from my wish list. :)

Wish list for bed:
* a few more pillows
* a bed skirt

Daddy's little girl

While MC and I were working together she told me about this boy, "Jet" that she heard likes her (who's in another class). She says that a friend told her that another friend has a note from him to give to her. She says she wasn't sure if they were serious or just trying to make her feel good by saying that. :) I asked her questions and agreed with her that she'd have to wait and see what came of it and thought about how kids will talk to you better when they're teenagers if they feel like they can talk to you when they are young. After we talked for a while and she went through all her thoughts and feelings on the matter she said she thought I might be mad that somebody loved her. I asked her why she thought this and helped her to know that there was no need to worry about that. Then she said, "Well, I thought that DAD might be mad about somebody loving me." (Poor girl doesn't think she can be loved :P I joked with her about this a bit and, in so many words, she helped me understand the distinction between "like" which you do with your friends, and "love" which you do with boyfriends.) LOL

I decided to open the subject up at dinner time so that she would know that her daddy was okay with her being "loved" as well. However, knowing that her daddy would have different thoughts about this and be protective of his little girl, I began, "MC wants to tell you about a boy that likes her" and then I gave him a significant look. It was too late. He groaned and said, "Not already!" MC hid her head so I plowed ahead helping her share her story in a light hearted way so she could feel at ease. She perked up a bit, despite the inarticulate grumblings of Daddy. I told her that I had a crush on a boy when I was little like her and that my friends all made fun of me for it then I asked her if she has a crush on any boys. She smiled and said she has a crush on a boy named Lincoln who's in another class. ML seemed to take a little comfort in this fact and asked if she plays with him at recess. She said she and her friends chased him once but he said he'd tell the teacher if they did that anymore. :( Ahhh.

Poor ML, I guess it's hard for Dad's to let their little girls grow up (especially in the boy area). :)

The Procrastination Gene

I think procrastination must be genetic. That's the only way I can explain why my kids (not genetically related to me) would be so devoid of it, and I on the other hand...well, you will see:

Last Wednesday, BR came home from school and said enthusiastically, "I've got a TON of homework" and proceeds to plop down at the kitchen table and jump right in. I marveled at his enthusiasm but thought it was some math he wasn't able to do in school and didn't give it another thought. (This kid so seldom has homework. When questioned about it he says he's finished it during school. Last month, he had a book report that I heard about the day before it was due. I was freaking out and he calmly tells me about how he's completed the written part of it and the wind sock display during his free time at school!! I sputter..."Well, what book did you choose??" and he tells me that he chose the novel Grandma Carol sent for Christmas. I continue, "Well, well... you have to have it approved by your teacher." Once again, he's ready with the answers. His teacher thought it was just great. He got it all read and everything is under control, Mom. (I never heard the likes of a kid like that! Well, I certainly never displayed such self sufficiency till I was in high school, if not college.) :P ).

Anyway, let’s see if I can get back to my original story. After about a half an hour or so BR approaches me and asks if he can have a whole roll of tape. Now I'm mystified. Come to find out that he’s got a report to do on “Jim Bridger” and he’s got to make a poster board about him for it. I tell him that first he needs to do the written part. He assures me that he’s finished that part already and that now he’d like to tape a bunch of pieces of paper together so that he can create his own “poster board” since he knows we don’t have any. Well I, the eager procrastinator, (as well as having too much pride to let my son take a hodge podge poster to school) tell him that since the report is not due until next Wednesday, we’ll go another day and get one and he can make it then, we’ve got plenty of time. I told him he could design it on a small piece in the mean time if he’d like. Well, almost as soon as the words have left my mouth, the thought has left my mind. It didn’t return until this afternoon when I got an email from his room mom reminding us about the “Mountain Man Rendezvous” tomorrow. Suddenly my folly comes rushing into my mind and I know that his report is due tomorrow and he’d have finished it if his mom hadn’t been such a horrid procrastinator. I rush to the store and buy some poster boards and then during dinner prep I ask BR to read me his assignment so that I can “help” him. As he starts reading we both realize that we’ve gotten the date wrong and we’re a week early. It’s not due till NEXT Wednesday!! Well, can you guess what I say to that?? I promptly proceed to tell him that we’ve got plenty of time then, and that we don’t need to worry about it tonight!!

P.S. MC does the exact same thing! No begging, scolding, cajoling or pressuring...she can hardly stand to change her clothes first or put away her coat before she pulls out her math and starts figuring away!! Go figure.

Angels attending once again

Yesterday morning ML decided to drive MC to school for me because BR is home sick and we weren't sure how the roads were so we figured that way he could take the Passport and have the vehicle with the good tires and 4-wheel drive in case it got bad. On the way to school one of the tires on the Passport blew out and completely destroyed it. He had to stop on Bangerter Highway and put on the spare tire out in the snow and wind and muck!! He and MC are very blessed that they didn't have any further incident/accident than that!! The angels took good care of them!!

I've never had a blow-out before, but it's happened to two of my cars when I should have been driving them. Once on my Accord when my dad had it and this time with ML. I'm not really sure how I would respond to a blow-out, but the idea really freaks me out, and I'm afraid I would freak out and swerve and roll the car. So I think that maybe the angels were attending us in helping ML to decide to drive that car/to the school yesterday instead of me because he has a lot more skill and presence of mind in driving than I do! (And I have no idea how to change the tire on that car either.) I know it wasn't fun for ML, and I'm glad that they are okay, but I'm also glad I didn't have to face that challenge yesterday!!

When ML got back from the tire store (the tires were purchased in November!!) he said kudos to me for getting the warranty on them because they replaced it for free. I don't remember getting any warranty. So, either I'm losing my mind, or they sold it to me without my knowledge. I choose to think the latter is true. :P Mostly because I usually don’t look at receipts and I just take people at their word. I asked what they recommend for good tires and said “okay, I'll take that”...they saw me coming from a mile away....I guess this time it's a good thing. :P

Christmas Post.

I finally finished my journal of Christmas Day and I put it with my Christmas Eve post. Feel free to take a look. :)

Snow day at church!!

When church got cancelled today (see: Today) due to the snow storm it reminded me of Louisiana (my mission). We got snow ONCE when I was there. It was on a Sunday and it was seriously less than 2 inches!! It didn't even stay on the ground. My comp and I had to scrape it off our car to get little slushy "snowballs" to throw at each other. We were ecstatic and considered it an early Christmas present! The natives however were horrified by "all the snow" and wanted to cancel church!! :P It's been a long time but I think 2 die-hard families showed up in all (plus us), and as my MIL says, they were probably transplants.

The funny thing is that I think I'm more surprised that church actually did get cancelled in UTAH, where we're used to the snow (as used to it as one can get), :P on account of a few feet of drifted snow (esp. the amount we got) than the fact that the poor people in LA wanted to cancel church (and most didn't bother venturing out into the horrid conditions) because of the miniscule amount of snow that melted on contact.

The Snowman: By 1 wimp and 2 tough kids!

I've always been too wimpy to get out in the cold and build a snowman with my kids. Or too preoccupied with other things. Well, this past Saturday, when we had my nephew with us, I took him and MC to the park because it was finally such a warm, sunshiny day (even though it was still pretty cold, it's all relative) that I just couldn't come up with any excuses not to go outside with them. :) We went to a park that is around the corner from us. It's a climbing park with no traditional swings or slides or anything.





I figured they'd tire of the cold or the park pretty soon, but it was I that got bored long before they did. Finally I pointed to a bridge that goes over a little lake in the neighborhood and asked them if they wanted to go venture across it. They both agreed with alacrity so we headed over there. When we got to the bridge, instead of going on the paved path that spirals up until it reaches the bridge, they both proceed to head straight up the side of the hill through the snow, slipping all the way up. I only had backless slip on shoes (I originally got them as house slippers, even though they are meant to be shoes) and some fairly thin leather gloves but I couldn't very well take the conventional way, they'd be long gone. So I climb up after them, slipping and sliding all the way.







Then we headed over the bridge and down the other side. I figured we'd just head back after this, but that was hardly on the agenda! I finally catch up with them when they spontaneously decide to lay down and take a rest in the snow. MC makes a snow angel and then they're up and running again. After a while they have a half-hearted snowball fight, and then MC decides she wants to make a snowman. She starts piling snow in a little mound and I groan inside at my slothfulness in not having taught my daughter to build a proper snowman by now!! My poor deprived daughter. :) So we start rolling balls in the snow, my nephew in charge of one, MC another, and I the third. Despite my confidence that I'd make the biggest ball for the base, they were all surprisingly close in size. After we stack them all up and the kids adorn the face and torso with various sizes and shapes of bark, MC laments that we cannot take our first snowman ever home to our own yard for all to admire and enjoy. So we've consoled ourselves with a few pictures of our beloved snowman:







On the way back they want to go down the snowy, muddy hill instead of the periphery sidewalk and so once again I have to follow them. I'm also a wimp at going down steep hills so I sit down on my feet and proceed to scoot/slide down the hill. Between the mud, the snow, and my slick shoes I fly down the hill rather quickly yelling, "watch out below!" and MC says with envy, "I wish I had shoes like yours". Meanwhile I'm at the bottom with mud all over me and wondering why I get myself into these messes. :P The things we do for our kids, sometimes, when we're (I'm) not too wimpy. :) How is it that as an adult I've become such a wimp?!!?

Feeling impatient

My sister had her baby this weekend. Another cute little redhead that they named Paxton. I got to watch her oldest for 2 nights and we had a blast. We visited the hospital (waiting the whole time while his mommy had a c-section) and he was so cute with his little brother. The next day our whole family (ML, BR, MC and I) went to the hospital to drop off my nephew and see my sis and her baby again. The kids washed their hands right when we got there so that they could hold the baby. I got a turn, and then ML wanted to hold him. I love seeing ML with a baby. He really is a natural. As we left the hospital he expressed emotions that I'd been trying to suppress, "Why is every other family we know given babies right and left?" We try not to ask the proverbial "Why us...or rather, why not us??" but sometimes its tough to not question the reasons for our trials.

Before pictures: my sister and my darling little nephews





I called our case worker, wanting her to read our "Birth Parent Letter" and look at our "Adoption Collage" so that we can get them approved or fix anything she thinks we need to change. She told me that she'll look at those when she comes to our house for our "home visit". She told me she'd call to schedule that. It's been a week. No big deal, I know, especially when we've taken months to do our part of things. But now that the ball is in her court, I wish I could just press the fast forward button. :)