Weekly Review October 18 '08

This week was definitely not a typical week. The boys' school schedules were crazy! Because of Parent-Teacher conferences, they went in 2 hours late on Monday, 4 hours late on Tuesday and Wednesday (except for the High Schools-they were open all day on Wednesday), got out 3 1/2 hours early on Thursday and were out of school on Friday. None of the parents like weeks like this. I'd be willing to bet that they got very little done on the days they were in school, since it was only for a few hours each day. And yes, I didn't get much done, either!

The first part of the week we enjoyed having Mom & Dad here. Unfortunately, Mom got sick on Sunday. She didn't feel very well most of the day, although she did go to church that morning. But by evening she really felt awful. Frank and Dad gave her a blessing, though, and by morning she had improved a lot. We're glad she got better quickly and that Dad didn't get sick too! I didn't do a lot on Monday and Tuesday--just the things I had to do--so that I could spend more time with them just visiting. It was nice that the boys were out of school part of the day so that they could see more of Grandpa & Grandma also. We played Apples to Apples for FHE activity on Monday evening, and Mom won.

Mom & Dad flew back home on Tuesday afternoon. I took them to the airport after I took the boys to school, and then picked the boys up from school on my way back home. At least this time I didn't miss any exits--as Amy pointed out, I seem to have trouble getting to BWI and back without some kind of mishap! My track record is not so good-- besides taking an unplanned trip into Baltimore when I picked Mom & Dad up last week, once I took the wrong exit getting there and we got so turned around that Amy missed her plane. Last time Mom & Dad came to visit, the car died it's final death on my way home from dropping them off at the airport. At least that didn't happen this time!

We were sorry to have to say good-bye to Mom & Dad, but we are so glad that they got to come see us! Seth even let them hold him their last day here. We hope they enjoyed their visit and that we will get to see them again before too many years go by. That is the one thing we don't like about living out here--being so far away from all our families!

Sunday at church was busy for me because we had our first practice for the Primary program. It went pretty well, though. We even got through the whole thing, which is really great for a first practice! This Sunday the Primary president will be out of town (her brother is getting married) so it will just be the other counselor (Andrea) and I running the whole show. Hope that goes ok!

Scott didn't feel too well Tuesday morning, but I made him go to school anyway since he didn't have any serious symptoms. (He was only supposed to be there for a few hours anyway, so I thought he could handle that.) He was there less than an hour when the school nurse called and said he was there and wanted to come home. So I went and got him, and he did throw up shortly after he got home. This is the 3rd time we've had stomach flu in our family since school started! Enough already! He got a blessing that evening, and he also was doing quite a bit better by Wednesday morning, but wasn't well enough to go to school, so he missed the one full day he was supposed to have all week. He was feeling a lot better by evening--bouncing off the walls!

Seth hasn't been feeling too well this week, either. He seems to have some kind of cold--he's congested with a mild fever and he sounds a little bit croupy at night. He has not been sleeping well at all, which means Frank & I haven't been sleeping well either. Hopefully he will feel better soon.

I scheduled all the parent-teacher conferences for Thursday afternoon. I was able to get Seth down for a nap right before I left, which was nice because I didn't have to take him with me. Scott was supposed to come with me for his conferences, so Tanner and Jared stayed with sleeping Seth. Scott's teachers had really good things to say about him. His government teacher said he is really smart and that he is the "go to" person if he asks a question and nobody is responding because he knows Scott will give a good answer. His science teacher said he is the best student in the class and he really should be in honors science next year. Because he was absent, he has some work to make up, though, so he has been busy this week-end doing some catch up. Tanner has also been doing some more catch up--I found out he has a few more missing assignments. Overall, Tanner is doing well and his teachers like him. He just needs to get more organized and he especially needs to focus better. It takes him a really long time to do his work because he has a hard time focusing. This is not a new thing for him, but it is becoming more apparent now that he has more work to do. We are considering having him tested to make sure he doesn't have ADD or something similar. As it is now, I have to sit right next to him when he is doing homework to try to help him keep on task. Not much fun for either of us! Jared is doing great. I asked his teacher to focus more on spelling with him because I think he needs to work on that.

Jared was supposed to have soccer practice on Thursday evening, but when Frank took him over there was nobody there. We thought they cancelled it because it had rained a little bit and it looked like it was going to rain some more, but we found out at his game today that they had just moved to a different field because there were too many teams trying to practice on the same field. The rain on Thursday was unusual--mostly we are having just gorgeous fall weather. Crisp in the mornings, warm in the afternoons, and mostly sunny. I am loving it, and just trying to enjoy it as long as it lasts!

Scott, Tanner and I spent Friday morning doing homework. Jared had a cub scout activity. The Frederick Ward cubmaster planned an outdoor event with hiking, fishing, etc. and they invited our ward cub scouts to join them. Jared seemed to really enjoy that. After he got home he was invited to go play with one of the other cub scouts and then that evening his friend Evan came over to spend the night, so he had a busy day! Scott went to play football with some of the other YM in our ward that afternoon. I feel like I spent most of the day driving kids to their different activities, as well as helping with homework.

Last night about an hour after we went to bed we were awakened by fireworks! Some of our crazy neighbors were setting some off, even though it is completely illegal to do that this time of year. We weren't too thrilled with them for waking us up, so when the police showed up a while later and gave them a ticket, we were kind of happy about that. Evidently, someone else was even more annoyed than we were and called the police!

This morning was one of the days that we did not have gorgeous fall weather. It was windy and cold! Jared's soccer game was at 10:00. His friend Evan came with us to see Jared play. We were all bundled up in extra sweatshirts, but we still got cold. About 2/3 of the way through the first half, Seth's hands were ice cold, so I volunteered (big sacrifice!) to take him to the car. Evan came too since he was pretty cold by then. We could actually see a lot of the game pretty well from the car, and Seth was very happy climbing around inside the car, so that worked out pretty well. About half way through the second half, Frank traded spaces with me so that I could see some more of the game. Jared played the entire game--the first half he was on defense, and the second half he was the goalie. I didn't realize he was the goalie until I traded places with Frank. I don't like it when he's the goalie (makes me nervous!), but he did a great job--blocked lots of goal attempts--so I was really proud of him. I was pretty frustrated with his team as a whole--most of the kids on offense were just not really playing--but in the end the score was tied 2-2. The other team scored one of their goals in the first half, so they only got one goal past Jared. While we were at the game, Scott and Tanner got their homework done. They had to do that before they could play, so they were motivated to get it done!

This afternoon Scott needed to take some pictures for his digital photography class. He needed to get some in an open space, so I decided to "kill two birds with one stone". I drove him out to a pumpkin patch. Scott got his pictures taken, and I bought a couple of pumpkins. We got one large pumpkin to carve for Halloween and one tiny one for Seth. It turns out that today is the annual "Family Festival at the Farm", so as well as pumpkins to purchase, they had a petting zoo, hay rides, pony rides, face painting, etc--all free. I was sorry Seth wasn't with us--he would have loved the animals--but he needed to take a nap! Scott and I took a look at the animals and went on a hay ride. I think Scott would have got his face painted, too, except we had to go to the store afterwards!

At the store we got Sunday shoes and dress pants for Scott since he is outgrowing the ones he has (already!) I also got some shoes for Seth. Our trip was cut short because Frank got a call from a frantic client with an emergency, so he had to go down to Rockville to take care of that. Fortunately, he was able to get the problem solved fairly quickly.

Tonight Scott is going to his first dance--a barn dance for all the youth in our stake. I asked him if he was going to dance, and he said "probably not--I don't know how to dance". I think he is going for the food! Actually, they are going to have hayrides, games, and a pie eating contest as well, so it sounds like there will be plenty to do besides dance. Maybe he will work up the courage to try dancing, too. I told him he should find girls who look left out and ask them to dance--it would make their day! It will be fun to hear about how it goes later. Knowing the girls in our ward, I'll bet some of them will drag him out there and convince him to give it a try!

That's all we have to report this week.

Weekly Review October 11 '08

Is anybody else having trouble trying to listen to General Conference online? I can't get the new media player to work--it gets "hung up" every couple of seconds. I am sad because I want to listen to all the talks again. We didn't get to hear as much of Conference on Sunday as we wanted to hear--Seth didn't go down for a nap like we hoped he would. At least I can read the talks now, though.

The first part of this week wasn't terribly eventful. The main thing that occupied us was helping Tanner get homework done. Not only did he have to catch up on a lot of work that he missed while he was sick last week, but on Monday he also brought home his interim report card. Yikes! He is doing great in Language Arts and Social Studies, but his math report said he is "in danger of failing" and science said he "was failing". The main reason for his bad grades is assignments that he hadn't turned in. Apparently Tanner knew he was in trouble a few weeks ago, but he didn't tell us. We had to have a chat about how he needs to talk to us and his teachers if he needs help! Anyway, a lot of e-mails went back and forth between me and his teacher, and by the end of the week all the missing assignments were turned in. But he spent every night doing homework all evening in order to do that. Not much fun for him, or for me.

I helped with Cub Scouts on Wednesday evening because a couple of the den leaders couldn't make it. They were making a little movie of a story that they had written last week. It didn't make a lot of sense, but it included pirates, a wild tiger, an army truck, a jet plane, and lots of explosions and shooting. The boys loved it and had a great time, of course! Tanner had scouts also, but Scott did not because they had a lawn aeration fundraiser today instead.

Thursday was a busy day. The boys were out of school that day for Yom Kippur, so I decided to get a few things done that I needed to do with them. This included picking out Halloween costumes and haircuts for everybody, including Seth and I. The boys also had to clean their rooms and I had the usual laundry / grocery shopping / vacuuming to do as well. We were trying to get it all done before I left to drive to the airport to pick up Mom & Dad. We did get
most of it done!

So yes, Mom & Dad are here! We are so glad to have them with us for a few days. So far, Seth will only "flirt" with them--he won't sit on their laps or anything like that yet. But he is getting more comfortable with them. He sat down right next to Mom this morning. I ended up going to pick Mom & Dad up by myself because Seth was taking a nap. So I left the older boys home to take care of him; Frank wasn't home from work yet. Mom & Dad's flight was right on time and I was able to pick them up at the curb after only a short wait. We had a little trouble getting
home, though--I missed the exit to get onto I-695 and we ended up in downtown Baltimore. I pulled over and Mom helped me consult a map; after that we managed to find our way pretty easily to I-95 which took us where we needed to go. By the time we got home it was almost time for Jared to go to soccer practice, so Frank took him while I finished up dinner.

Friday was busy also. Scott had an appointment with the orthodontist that morning so as soon as I took the other two to school, I went back to the high school to pick him up (he was able to go to Seminary and most of his first class by then). Scott had a band put on one of his back molars, so it was a longer appointment than most. Seth did well, though--they have a lot of toys and books for the kids in that office which helps. When Scott was done, they came out to talk to me and told me that he needs to have his bottom wisdom teeth pulled. I'm not too thrilled about
that since not only will it be no fun for him, but also I'm sure it will be expensive for us. I knew he'd have to have that done eventually, but I didn't think it would be this soon. I was thinking more senior year in high school, or right before his mission.

Friday evening Jared had a birthday party and the rest of us went to a cook out. Some good friends of ours were in town and the cook out was held so that some of us would have the chance to visit with them. (The friends are Peter & Darin Nielson--they used to live in our ward but moved away about two years ago. Darin was the RS president and I was one of her counselors.) My friend Starr (who was the secretary of the RS with us) arranged the cook out, and it
was held at her parents' farm. It's very beautiful out there, and we had a good time. I think I spent a good part of the evening following Seth around making sure he didn't fall into the campfire, but I did get to do a little bit of visiting also. We were all anxious to hear about how Peter's brother Christian and his wife (Stephanie) are doing--they were in a private airplane crash about 2 months ago and both were severely burned. They still have a long, long way to go before they will be better. Stephanie was burned much worse, and she still has only a 50%
chance of survival--but she's made it this far, at least. Anyway, Tanner and Scott both helped with Seth. Tanner took Seth for some rides on a little 4 wheeler they had out there which he particularly enjoyed. Frank took Jared to the birthday party, so he got to the cook out late and when he arrived he realized he had a flat tire. So he spent a good part of the time trying to take care of that. Unfortunately, the tire had to be replaced, which Frank did this afternoon.
Scott and Frank were gone a good part of the day helping with the lawn aeration project--they met at the church at 7:45 this morning and got home around 2:30. They were tired and sunburned, but they got all the lawns done. I am not very happy about the fact that they were some of the very few that actually helped--most of the leaders and other boys thought they had more important things to do. So did we--but we didn't get to do them. I'm sure I'll get over it, but right now I am mad about it!

Dad and I took Jared and his friend Sage to their soccer game this morning. Seth came too, so I didn't get to watch much of the game because he was much more interested in all the balls lying around and the dogs people brought than he was the game. Jared's team lost 3-1. His team is struggling a lot this season--they have only won one game so far. But they seem to be having fun, at least. Jared seems to be pretty unruffled about it. We didn't do much the rest of the day, but it was nice to relax and visit a little. I wanted to try to get some family pictures taken, but we just didn't have the time (and Frank and Scott were too tired). I hope we can get that done before Mom & Dad leave.

The weather was beautiful today. Seth wanted to be outside all day, and I can't blame him much. I took him for a walk down the street and he was fascinated by the neighborhood pets and Halloween decorations.

That's about it for this week--I need to go sweep & mop my dirty floors!

My Husband, the Baker

I am so lucky...my husband likes to cook! And he makes the yummiset things! Some of his specialties:

• Scrumptious cinnamon rolls


• Homemade pizza to die for


• Heavenly dinner rolls


• Totally decadent chocolate chip cookie bars

And now, his newest specialty:

Fruit turnovers!

He made some strawberry and some apple turnovers for us to enjoy during General Conference. With homemade crust, mind you! He called my friend Rebecca and got her pie crust recipe. I thought making pie crust was an art that took time to learn, but I am tellin' you--the crust on these little gems was a perfectly delicious balance of moistness and "flakiness". I'm not even much of a fan of pie--especially fruit pie--and I LOVED these little treats.

The man is a natural!

Minutes I love; minutes I don't

I was doing a little "blog hopping" recently, and read a statement by a mother of many children. She said that she was "loving every minute of it", meaning motherhood. I have to admit, my reaction was "really?!"

Don't get me wrong; I love being a mom. As far back as I can remember, all I ever really wanted to be was a mom. I think I was born wanting to be a mom--I even have proof!

Here is a picture of my twin sister and I on our 2nd birthday:
I mean, would you look at that? There we are--still babies ourselves, really--loving on those baby dolls! Talk about mothering instincts!
So now that I've established that I was born to be a mother, I have a confession to make: I do not love every minute of motherhood!
(*Gasp!*)
Consider these kinds of moments:

• I've just asked my child to stop playing and go brush his teeth (we have to leave in 2 minutes) for the 10th time this morning--don't love that minute
• I just found out that one of my boys has been charging his friends at school for the use of his pencil sharpener--ok, a small part of me has to admire his entrepreneurship, but still don't love this minute
• I spent the last two hours helping one of my sons do his homework; he's got a lot to do because he hasn't been turning in assignments and I just found out about it--didn't really love any of those minutes
• I just wrestled the baby into his car seat; he's decided that he hates his car seat. I know until he outgrows this phase that I am going to have to do this at least 4 times a day, most days more--didn't enjoy that minute
• Dinner needs to be made, two kids need help with homework, and the baby is hanging onto my legs and crying--don't love this minute
• My child came in the house crying because the other kids are making fun of him--didn't love that minute.
• My son comes home from a new school upset and completely overwhelmed, and I know I'm going to have to send him right back tomorrow...and the next day, and the next day--don't love this minute at all
• The baby just threw up all over the kitchen floor (but not on me, at least!)--not loving this minute
• One of my kids just called his brother an idiot and then hit him--the kind of minute I love the absolute least!

Maybe that other mom really does love every minute; I don't know. Either she is a much better person than I am, or she has amazing perspective. ("Isn't it wonderful; my kids are learning socialization" while they are hitting each other.)
There are minutes I love, though. For example:

• One of my older boys laughs at something the baby just did, and I know he is just as delighted with the wonders of a baby as I am--love this minute
• The look of excitement and delight on one of my boy's faces when he does something new for the first time--love that minute
• My baby gives me an ear-to-ear grin when he sees me for the first time in the morning--love every one of those minutes
• My oldest son says "I feel happy because today I realized I'm different from most of the kids my age, but I'm different in a good way."--love this minute
• I ask one of my sons to go do his dishes, and he does it! Right away; the first time I asked!--really love this minute
• One of my boys says "I'm sorry" and he really means it--love this minute
• Someone's feeling grumpy, so we have a tickle fight and end up in a heap on the floor with everybody laughing--loved that minute
• We are reading scriptures together, I look around and realize that (for once!) everybody is quiet and paying attention--love, love, love this minute!
• One boy prays for another one--love this minute
• I feel my baby reach up and run his hand through my hair (a security thing for him)--really love this minute
• I overhear one of the boys saying "I love you" to the baby--love this minute
• I hear my oldest son in the shower at 5:15 am and realize that once again he has gotten himself up and is getting ready for Seminary--love this minute
• One of my boys shares his candy with another one (without being asked)--just love that minute!
• I see two of my boys snuggling and laughing together under a blanket--love this minute most of all!

What are your least favorite motherhood minutes? What minutes do you love?

Watching Seth

Seth didn't sleep very well last night. I have no idea what was on his little mind, but from about 2:45 to about 5:00 am, he was wide awake. Then he fussed and woke up again around 6:00 and 6:20. At that point, he ended up in my bed. (Something that happens only very, very rarely!) The phone ringing at 7:45 woke me up (Frank, on his way to work, calling to make sure I was up. A good thing, 'cause I wasn't! Neither were the two boys who needed to be up getting ready for school.) but Seth slept like a little angel until about 8:15.

The bottom line is, I was tired today. And on days like this, I allow myself to throw the "to do" list out the window. This is not a bad thing. I mean, the world is not going to end if the bathrooms are dirty for one more day. So I floated around in a kind of tired haze, and found myself observing my little guy even more than I usually do. We read books; we "cooked" some soup (using a toy pot and plastic food) and "sampled" our work; I taught him to play "ring around the rosie" (he loved it; peals of laughter!);I let him chase me with his walker toy (more peals of laughter).

At one point, I tried to change Seth's diaper (I thought it was messy) and he kicked up a fuss. Which is unusual for him; he is usually pretty docile about diaper changes. I managed to determine that he wasn't messy after all, so I let him go. "Does he know something I don't know?", I wondered. Apparently yes--a few minutes later...grunt, grunt...now he needs to be changed! He walked over to the abandoned diaper and wipes I had readied earlier, picked them up, and brought them to me! Too bad he's only 16 months old...much too early for potty training.

He has spent the last half hour on the deck, watching the neighbor behind us mowing his lawn...totally fascinated! Now he is crawling back and forth underneath my chair as I type. What a monkey!

It is impossible to be unhappy on a day like today, even if you are dead tired. It is one of those gorgeous, sparkling autumn days. The reds, oranges and golds of the starting-to-change leaves stand out beautifully against the soft blue sky.

But even that doesn't compare to my little man...I could watch him forever! Why don't I do this more often?

1776

My book club read 1776 by David McCullough last month. The title is pretty self-explanatory; a recount of the events of the Revolutionary War that happened that particular year. I love anything historical so I really enjoyed it. The author did a great job of describing the people on both sides of the conflict in a fair way. The Americans didn't necessarily look all that good a lot of the time, and the English (King George in particular) weren't portrayed as big bad guys. George Washington was indecisive and made a lot of mistakes. The British made a lot of mistakes, too. War was so different back then! We had an interesting discussion at my book club about how different that war would have been if they had had cell phones, GPS, etc. back then.

I always knew that things were pretty desperate for the Americans during that war--that they had trouble maintaining a sufficient army, that they didn't have uniforms or enough weapons, ammunition, or food. I knew they lost some battles and that things looked pretty bad. But I had no idea just how bad it really was until I read this book! I am amazed that they didn't give up. I am also amazed at the clarity of the "vision" that a precious few (such as Washington) had about what they were fighting for and the impact it would have on future generations. It's amazing that they didn't give up! I'm so thankful they didn't, though.

The main message I got out of this book personally (no doubt I'm influenced by what's happening in my own life) is that just because you're doing the right thing, and even though God is on your side, it doesn't mean life is going to be easy! There were numerous examples of miracles in this book--weather and otherwise--where it was obvious that God stepped in to help this poor struggling group of Americans. I firmly believe that God was on their side; that an independent country like America was absolutely necessary so that the gospel of Jesus Christ could be restored to the earth. But that does not mean that God stepped in and made it easy for them! It was still incredibly hard. They lost a lot of battles. They went without some of the most basic human needs (food, shelter, warm clothing). Those men (and women) really suffered! I found myself thinking "That's how life is, isn't it?" God helps us; He often saves us from complete disaster. But He also allows us to struggle and grow. It's important for me to remember that if things are hard and I'm struggling, that doesn't necessarily mean that I am doing something wrong. As a matter of fact, it more likely means that I am doing something right!

This book was a great reminder of that important truth.

Weekly Review October 5 '08

Last week when I left off I was about to go to the RS Broadcast. Our stake had Enrichment meeting first; we talked about nurturing our families at mealtime (the importance of families eating meals together daily). We had a potluck dinner first--we were each asked to bring a dish that's a family favorite or that triggers happy family memories. I brought rolls, which actually Frank made with minimal help from me. They asked us to share special memories of mealtime, and ungrateful child that I am--I really couldn't remember anything! Maybe it's just that my memory is going, not that I don't appreciate all the meals my mom made when we were growing up. I do remember that we had breakfast and dinner together pretty much every day, and that we had hot breakfast every school day. I appreciate now what a great achievement that was; I have not been able to accomplish that in my own family! The broadcast from Salt Lake City was great, of course--always is!


Frank likes to have some sort of project to work on while we listen to General Conference--helps him stay awake! Last week he decided that this time his project would be to pull down the wallpaper in the kitchen so we can paint it instead. This is a project we've been meaning to do for years, actually. We painted the dining area and part of the kitchen about 5 or 6 years ago, but didn't want to go to all the work of taking down the wallpaper, so we tried to pick something that would coordinate with the wallpaper. It didn't really work out, though, so we've had kind of mismatched walls all these years. The wallpaper was here when we moved in, and actually I liked it at first (small pink and blue flowers), but it's starting to look pretty shabby. I think my tastes have changed a lot in the last 8 years also. I'm not into the "cutesy" country look so much--like a more classic, simple style with solid colors and clean lines. Anyway, I'm more than thrilled to be rid of that wallpaper, but the idea of painting (and pulling out the fridge and stove in particular) got me thinking that the whole kitchen really needs a good deep cleaning and de-cluttering. So I got all ambitious and started cleaning things up, but then on Wednesday I got sick and I lost all my steam. I did get the pantry and the refrigerator cleaned up, though. The rest will have to wait until later.

Speaking of the kitchen, there's a lot of things I would like to do to improve it. If I had been picking out the countertops, cabinets, and flooring myself, I'm sure I would have picked something different! I mean white countertops and a white floor? I'm sure it looked pretty for about...a month! The floor now looks dirty all the time--even right after I clean it. So do the countertops. Unfortunately, changing all these things takes time and money--seems like I never have extra of either of those things! So I try to content myself with making lists and planning what I'm going to do "someday", and doing one thing at a time. Getting rid of the wallpaper and painting instead will definitely be an improvement.

Right now it looks worse, though! Frank worked hard all day yesterday (I helped as I was able, but was mostly occupied with keeping Seth out of the way) pulling the wallpaper off the walls. I had a feeling it was going to be harder than it looked, and I was right. The wallpaper was vinyl, so we had to pull the vinyl top layer off first before we could even get to the layer where we could use wallpaper remover. Then parts of the wall kept coming off with the wallpaper because the wall was not properly prepped before the wallpaper was put on (not our fault). Bottom line is, after working hard all day most of the wallpaper is gone now (there's still a small section that needs the bottom layer removed) and the wall is bare, with lots of dark patches where part of the wall came off with the paper. An interesting decorating statement! We had one of our neighbors who is a professional painter come in to look at it for us and give us advice. He told us what we need to do next, which involves making sure all the glue is gone, then sanding and priming the walls a couple of times before we can paint. Fun! So the paint is not going to go up for a while and in the meantime we will just have to live with the ugly walls. In the end it will be worth it, I hope! At least I have the inner satisfaction of knowing that the floors and walls behind my refrigerator and stove are clean, now! Frank is very tired and sore after working so hard all day.


The bracket on one of Scott's back teeth popped off last Friday (he says he was eating a cookie). I called the orthodontist who said to just clip the wire off as close to the next tooth as we could, and call Monday morning to make an appointment for him to look at it. (The office wasn't open on Friday.) He had to go in Wednesday afternoon. They decided that he needed to have a band put around that tooth instead, so they put in some spacers and he has to go back next Friday to have the band put on. Frank took Scott to the appointment because I wasn't feeling well that day.


We had another round of the stomach flu this week--this time it affected Tanner, Seth and I. Seth and I got pretty mild cases, but Tanner was extremely miserable on Wednesday. Seth only threw up once--that was on Monday evening, and it happened without any warning. He wasn't acting sick at all, then all of the sudden he started fussing, I picked him up, and he lost it. Amazingly, he didn't get me or himself--just the kitchen floor. The floor needed to be mopped anyway.... That was it for Seth. I'd say his appetite hasn't been as good this week, but other than that he has not acted sick at all or had any other problems. Tanner got sick in the middle of the night between Tuesday / Wednesday. I got up with him and by the time I got him settled back down, I was wide awake and couldn't sleep for a couple of hours. That's when I noticed that I wasn't feeling too great myself. I never actually "lost it", I just had stomach cramps that hurt worse if I got up and walked around. I barely ate anything on Wednesday or Thursday, although Thursday I was feeling well enough to get around and do all the things I needed to do. By Friday I was feeling much better and able to start eating again, but we had pizza for dinner and that turned out to be a mistake. I started feeling sick again and went to bed early. Saturday and today I am still feeling residual effects, so I am still being careful what I eat and only eating a little bit. (Which stinks, because I got special yummy treats for General Conference!) Tanner started feeling better on Thursday, but on Friday morning he was feeling worse again and ended up staying home from school that day also. He seems to be doing better now. Whatever it is, it hangs on for a while.


The boys didn't have school on Tuesday--they were out for Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). That also meant Frank was extra busy on Tuesday and Wednesday because the other senior tech guy at his work is an orthodox Jew and took those days off. Tanner spent that whole day Tuesday doing homework. He had put a couple of things off that he shouldn't have. He also has trouble focusing on schoolwork, so he takes a lot longer to get things done than it should take. Besides that, he had a total melt down when I wouldn't let him go play with friends for a while--I told him he had to get his homework done first. That was another hour wasted while he felt sorry for himself! He did finally get everything done, and then he ended up being sick and hasn't been able to turn any of it in yet! I hope we are done with sickness for a while. Seems like we have had more than our share this last month.


Seth and I had doctor appointments on Wednesday morning. I was worried about doing that since I wasn't feeling well, but I didn't want to reschedule either of them. It was Seth's 15 month check up and he's 16 months old already! I needed to go also because I had to have my doctor check me over before I can have surgery done on my eye. So we pulled it together and made it to the doctor's office, and luckily I was ok. Seth had to get 3 shots which wasn't so fun but he only has to get one more at 18 months, and then he's done until he's 4 years old--hooray! They did not write down his weight and height for me, so I can't remember now exactly how big he is, but I know he is 25 pounds (don't remember the ounces) and I think he is about 33 inches tall. He's in the 90th percentile for height and the 60th for weight.


I had a Primary meeting Friday morning--we were working out the details for our Sacrament Meeting program which is coming up in 3 weeks. I've had some major frustrations with the Cub Scout program come up this week, but I will spare you all the details since all I feel like doing right now is complaining about it! I'll just say that no matter what we do, someone is upset about it.

Jared went home with one friend on Thursday to go to soccer practice and with another friend on Friday for a birthday party. He is quite the social butterfly--he has a party next week, too.

We enjoyed what we heard of General Conference yesterday. We got a lot more out of the first session because Seth was asleep for the whole thing! We only heard bits of the second session, but what we heard was really good. Hopefully today we will get to listen more. We usually go to the stake center to watch the Sunday morning session, but this time we are going to stay home and watch on the internet (like we do all the other sessions) because Seth is at an age that we don't think we'll get much out of it while at the church--we'll end up out in the hall too much! It will be better to stay home where he can play (we hope). Actually, I'll probably try to get him down for a nap right before the first session starts like I did yesterday. That worked out well! I absolutely love that we can start listening to the talks online within a few days after conference ends, so we can listen to the things we missed!

Frank took the older two boys to the priesthood session last night. (Tanner will be 12 next month.) I got Seth to sleep and then swept & mopped all the floors while I watched a movie on television called The Notebook. (Jared entertained himself until his bedtime.) I'd heard it was good, but I'd never seen it before. It had too much kissing, etc. at a few points (I had to turn the channel a few times) but otherwise it was a very sweet story. Reminded me of my Johnson grandparents! Yes, I cried.

Happy Birthday to Shellie yesterday--hope she had a fun day!

Some of you have been very silent lately--you know who you are! Let us all know how you are doing!