happy birthday - my tj

Answer to my previous Question:

I got a little carried away with TJ's birthday gift this year. Child Number FOUR!

I'm not craving or anything - he just wanted to make sure I had plenty of comfort-and-spoil-me-food on hand before he went out of town and couldn't take care of me himself!

Happy Birthday my Lover - I hope you like your gift!

Question:

What does it mean when you husband brings you home the following:

+ 1 bouquet of Roses

+ 8 Avocados

+ 3 large Grapefruits

+ 1 tub of moosetracks Ice Cream

+ 1 jar of Nutella

+ 38 ounces of M+M's

+ 1 giant box of Oreo's

+ 1 package of Bacon (to make Bacado sandwiches)

and and and...

december...

watterson's calvin + hobbes

Since I Know It's On Many a Mind...

The Silly Debate. Team Jacob versus Team Edward. IF you don't know what I'm talking about - thank goodness. If you passionately have an opinion - sheesh.

Since I'm a sucker for sisterly-pressure: I've read all the Meyer books. Watched the 1st movie. And, I'm sure I'll end up watching the others.

And, I know you won't be satisfied if I don't weigh in. Edward? Jacob? Vampire? Werewolf? Hmmm...

I say neither. Forget Edward or Jacob for that whiny girl.

Give me Quincey Morris or Arthur Holmwood from Stoker's novel "Dracula" anytime.

Also: Mina Harker could kick Bella's...umm, booty...anyday of the week.

That being said. I do have a final note. When literary discussions come up, very few people have read Bram Stoker's novel. However, 90% of those queried have delved into Stephenie Meyer's world. While I personally feel Stoker is beyond comparable to Meyer, I do have massive admiration for a woman who got so many to read (many of whom do not do so regularly). The Twilight phenomenon (unfortunately) reminds me of Harry Potter. Rawling's influence on reading was amazing. While those silly vampires are nowhere near as fascinating, imaginative, or well-written as the magical Potter world - they do get people reading. Hence: much respect for Meyer.

happy birthday - jodi

Early Christmas and Birthday present...

My husband spoils me rotten. After being without my own camera for over a year now (I've survived through the generosity of my parents who allowed me to borrow one of theirs in the meantime)...TJ's bought me a new one!

Here's my Casio Exilim.

And not just the camera (casio exilim zoom ex-z450 digital camera, to be precise). Also, an 8GB SD memory card, a spare lithium-ion rechargeable battery, battery-charger, camera case, fully adjustable tripod (similar to the gorillapod i've been eyeballing)...Wow!

It all just came in the mail. Since, some of my extended family is coming up this Sat, and TJ's extended family is coming up in December - he gave it all to me early! He is so generous and thoughtful. I am one very lucky woman!

This stylish model features a large 3.0-inch Super Clear LCD monitor with 230,400 dots of high resolution, as well as a lens ranging from 28-mm wide angle (35 mm film camera equivalent) all the way to 4X optical zoom. Its advanced features like Dynamic Photo and Intelligent AF are supported by a longer battery life lasting about 550 shots on a single full charge.

"Product Features

• Make-up Mode: The Make-up Mode gives you beautiful portraits with a press of the shutter button. You can select one of 12 different Make-up Levels for exactly the effect you want.
• Smile Detection Auto Shutter: In addition to optimizing focus and brightness, EXILIM also detects the expression on the subject's face and releases the shutter automatically when it detects a smile. It's the easy way to ensure perfect portraits of smiling faces every time
• Self Portrait Auto Shutter: Even when you are unable to view the on-screen image, the camera releases the shutter automatically when it detects a face is fully within the monitor screen and there is no blur-causing movement.
• Face Detection: The camera locates faces anywhere within the monitor screen area and optimizes focus and brightness. Even in backlit scenes, faces come out bright and clear.
• Night Scene Shooting without a tripod: The camera automatically detects whether or not it is mounted on a tripod. If it detects hand-held operation, the high-speed image processing CPU performs high-level dark area correction and digital noise filtering.
• • • • DYNAMIC PHOTO ANIMATED e-GREETINGS
    This innovative function allows you to add a number of different animated graphics to still pictures in the camera. These creations can be easily viewed on the monitor, printed or converted to a movie file. Additionally, the Dynamic Photo function retains its original ability to composite a moving subject and a new background as a Motion JPEG like a Hollywood green screen.
  • INTELLIGENT AF
    Intelligent AF automatically detects non-human photo subjects in the whole composition and determines the focus and exposure area. By simply pointing the camera at a desired shot, Intelligent AF ensures a focused, crisp picture without an out-of-focus subject.
  • LANDSCAPE MODE
    Enhance Colors & Remove Mist
    The EX-Z450 features a Landscape Mode for capturing beautiful scenic photography. Unlike earlier landscape photography modes, which enhance the saturation of an entire hue, users can now select between the Vivid Landscape option that uses image analysis to determine and vividly enhance only the most important colors in the landscape or the Mist Removal option that makes weather-affected misty scenes look clear and bright.
  • HANDHELD NIGHT SCENE FUNCTION
    The camera can automatically detect difficult situations, such as night scenes where there would normally be camera shake, and backlit scenes where faces or backgrounds can be poorly exposed, and then make the most appropriate settings. All the user has to do is to press the shutter button to take great pictures.

Party City...I mean: Park City

This past weekend was quite eventful. Following a difficult afternoon (my mad self locked my car keys in my running van...need I say anything more? Oh, yes, I should: what an idiotic, embarassing, frustrating, humiliating, time-wasting, expensive, irritating experience.)...I kidnapped TJ and we met Heidi and Chris in Park City.

We all stayed in a room at their timeshare. We explored Main Street. (And survived the chill). We saw a buck and his doe. We thoroughly enjoyed a long, late dinner at Glitretind. Sweet succulent. And despite their erroneous differing opinions, I had the most delicious entree. Perfectly seasoned Tasmanian trout with creamy mushroom sauce and potatoes (latke-style).

We slept in (heaven!). We explored more of Park City. Heidi and I got free Swarovski snowflakes from Beadnik. We tasted at Whole Foods. We had a yummy brunch.

All around: awesome. I love my children, but I have to confess, I thoroughly enjoyed fully adult company and conversation - without interruption, diapers, whining, etc. TJ, Chris, Heidi, and I have been talking about enjoying an extended fine-dining experience for a long time now. Fulfilled! While originally Heidi's and my plan was for a strictly girls-weekend. I'm glad we amended our plans to include the our husbands. I know it won't happen again for awhile - I think we all took advantage and had a wonderful time.

Monday Morning...

I know some of you don't read my husband's blog. Which means you'd miss out on this delightful gem: The Best Way to Start Your Week: I Promise. I don't know how he finds stuff like this - but, it's thoroughly entertaining.

For Your Enjoyment: Hannah's Fave Vid's

5. Chad Vader singing Chocolate Rain

4. Wedding Dance

3. Back to the Beach - Jamaica Ska

2. Weird Al - Fat

1. Weezer - Pork and Beans

Halloween 2009

We had a full weekend. On Saturday, we drove down to Payson to be with Abby on her Baptism Day. She was so beautiful. The girls were all brave and got in front of quite a large crowd to sing "I Like to Look for Rainbows." Heidi had a magic prop box for her Holy Ghost talk.

After the post-baptismal party, we went Trick-or-Treating with the Maloys. Hannah joined the other girl cousins and ran to fill up her bag with candy (Patty jogged along). Heidi and I sauntered along with the boys. The big boys (TJ, Chris, and Sonny) stayed at Maloy Manor to distribute candy, fresh hot chocolate, and spicy apple cider. The kids were pleased with their loot. They got scared by a couple of enthusiastic grandpa-men. They all looked awesome in their costumes.

Following an impromtu invitation - we Shelby's stayed for a slumber party. Yep - a good time was had by all.

For Gr'Ama Connie...

Recently, I posted a couple of movies of Adam. My mom was excited to see Caleb walking around in the background - she hadn't seen him in all his walking glory. Realizing this couldn't be enough for a loving grandma. I took a new movie - this time, the focus was on rapidly-growing-way-too-big-Caleb. Here you go Mom - Sunday morning at Maloy Manor. Caleb Derek in all his mobility. We love you! See you soon!

Hallo-Parade...

The boys and I went to Hannah's school last Friday morning to watch the grand parade of costumes. Adam wanted every costume in sight (Sully, Buzz, and Boba Fett). Caleb didn't know what was going on and why I wouldn't let him run around. I saw uncounted witches, jedi, spidermen, vampires, fairies, and brides. My fave (aside from the one awesome Wonder Girl): a little Slash with full hat, wig, guitar, and leather pants. Hannah thoroughly enjoyed the post-parade-party (the boys and I missed it, we were unaware).

This was quite different that Elementary School in California. Two years ago, we didn't even think that dressing up might not be appropriate. Hannah felt quite out of place in her Spidergirl outfit in class. And a parade complete with teacher participation? Yeah right! Last year we knew better. We kept the partying for our family and friends in the evening. Here in Utah? Every teacher was in costume, almost every child too. They paraded with pride. Hannah was disappointed we missed her class party - but, the idea of a class party didn't even cross my mind! Quite a significant contrast. Hannah loved that she was the only Wonder Girl there. Also, that most people didn't know who Wonder Girl was - so, she was able to teach them a little comic book background.

november...

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

Happy All Hallow's Eve Eve

"The first time you hear the concept of Halloween when you're a kid, your brain cannot even process the idea. You're like, "What is this? What did you say? Someone's giving out candy? Who's giving out candy? EVERYONE WE KNOW is just giving out candy? I gotta be a part of this!" ~ Jerry Seinfeld, from his book "Halloween"

"There are three things I've learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." ~ Linus van Pelt in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"

"'Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world." ~ William Shakespeare

"Halloween was confusing. All my life my parents said, "Never take candy from strangers." And then they dressed me up and said, "Go beg for it." I didn't know what to do! I'd knock on people's doors and go, "Trick or treat." "No thank you." ~ Rita Rudner

"From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-leggedy beasties

And things that go bump in the night,

Good Lord, deliver us!" ~ Scottish saying

"Backward, turn backward, O Time, in your flight, make me a child again just for to-night!" ~ Elizabeth Akers Allen

"A house is never still in darkness to those who listen intently; there is a whispering in distant chambers, an unearthly hand presses the snib of he window, the latch rises. Ghosts were created when the first man awoke in the night." ~ J.M. Barrie

"Hold on, man! We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title." ~ Shaggy in "Scooby Doo"

"It's Halloween! It's Halloween!

The moon is full and bright

And we shall see what can't be seen

On any other night.

Skeletons and ghosts and ghouls,

Grinning goblins fighting duels

Werewolves rising from their tombs,

Witches on their magic brooms

In masks and gown we haunt the street

And knock on doors for trick or treat

Tonight we are the king and queen,

For oh tonight, it's Halloween!"

~ Jack Prelutsky

"Where there is no imagination there is no horror." ~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

"Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite,

All are on their rounds tonight;

In the wan moon's silver ray,

Thrives their helter-skelter play." ~ Joel Benton

"She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven't you?" ~ Norman Bates in "Psycho"

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion." ~ Henry David Thoreau

"Hobgoblins know the proper way to dance:

Arms akimbo, loopy legs askew,

Leaping into darkness with delight,

Lusting for the ectasy of fright,

Open to the charm of horrors new." ~ Nicholas Gordon

"Of calling shapes, and beck'ning shadows dire, And airy tongues that syllable men's names." ~ John Milton

"Nothing on Earth is so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night." ~ Steve Almond

The Lost Detail...

For years, I've thought this little snippet of a story belonged in one of Dumas' tales. I could never find it again, but, that didn't dissuade me of its supposed placement.

Until today. I love S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure: "The Princess Bride." And clearly, it's been quite awhile since I've reread it. This morning, I cracked the cover to begin again. There it was.

"The year that Buttercup was born, the most beautiful woman in the world was a French scullery maid named Annete. Annette worked in Paris for the Duke and Duchess de Guiche, and it did not escape the Duke's notice that someone extraordinary was polishing the pewter. The Duke's notice did not escape the notice of the Duchess either, who was not very beautiful and not very rich, but plenty smart. The Duchess set about studying Annette and shortly found her adversary's tragic flaw.

Chocolate.

Armed now, the Duchess set to work. The Palace de Guiche turned into a candy castle. Everywhere you looked, bonbons. There were piles of chocolate-covered mints in the drawing rooms, baskets of chocolate-covered nougats in the parlors.

Annette never had a chance. Inside a season, she went from delicate to whopping, and he Duke never glanced in her direction without sad bewilderment clouding his eyes. Annette, it might be noted, seemed only cheerier throughout her enlargement. She eventually married the pastry chef and they both ate a lot until old age claimed them. Things, it might also be noted, did not fare so cheerily for the Duchess..."

Excellent. I love that little, completely unnecessary, detail.

Books I Want...

The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections, by Amanda Soule

Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose old Materials into New Family Treasures, by Amanda Soule

The Complete Wreck (A Series of Unfortunate Events), by Lemony Snicket

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, by Amy Krause Rosenthal

Peter Pan, by JM Barrie + illustrated by Scott Gustafson

The Life of Our Lord, by Charles Dickens

Stories for Christmas, by Charles Dickens

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, by JRR Tolkien

Letters from Father Christmas, by JRR Tolkien

The Hobbit

Last night I decided to start reading JRR Tolkien's "The Hobbit" to the hobbits living in my home. They might still be too young, however, this is one of my favorites. As much as i love The Berenstain Bears, I couldn't bear the thought of reading even just one more last night.

We explored the book first. Hannah and Adam got a kick out of the maps (and the glimpse they gave into the stories' adventures). Caleb ignored reading time entire, and amused himself climbing into and ou of my lap. We're only a few pages in, Hannah seemed to get a kick out of it (and loved that she figured out that Gandalf was a wizard, before Tolkien definitively declared it). Oppositely, when Adam realized this novel had minimal illustrations, he boycotted reading time and ostriched himself under his comforter.

I thought about drawing my own illustrations for them (and we still might keep that as an art activity later) - then realized my doodling might be disappointing. This led to the extensive google-image search of last night. I came to the same conclusion as Peter Jackson: John Howe and Alan Lee are the best.

I haven't decided if we'll just read in the basement, and look at the computer. Or, if I should print them out. Most images are copyrighted, however, I'm just using them for my children's personal imaginative and literary expansion. It should be okay. Hmmm...this should appease my Adam's entertainment preferences (since he was adamant that mind-pictures just isn't the same).

Alan Lee.

John Howe.

Life...

more often than not.

Is it just me, or is life just like cleaning. We wage battle on some aspect, overcome...just to wage the same battle again. I'm impatient and short with me children. I apologize, work hard to be more understanding and quiet. Then, all over again. I scrub down the kitchen, vow to never allow it to get so filthy again. Then, the sink fills up again and the stove screams for some attention (all right, a lot of attention). I exercise and watch what I eat, and feel great about my physical effort for change. Then, I get a hankering for cinnamon rolls.

The link between cleaning and my emotional state is ridiculously transparent. The more cluttered my home gets, the more exasperated I get. The more chores that demand actions, the less patience is filtered into my speech. The more I have to watch where I am stepping through the kids' rooms, the more I snap and scold. The more the floor needs mopping, the less I desire to make a delicious meal, and instead settle for whatever is easiest and fastest. The larger the pile of laundry grows, the less I want to just relax with my husband.

Unfortunately, my kids tend to end up in the line of fire. Then, I get conflicted. Guilt about my irritation. Anger that (for the most part) I work alone in a home of 5. Sadness that I get angry. Justified in my anger.

I'd take a nice hot bath to relax and come at my house from a fresh + clean perspective, however, I'd have to clean it first - it's surrounded with dinosaurs and fish.

"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing."
— Phyllis Diller

"Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean, over and over, day after day."
— Simone de Beauvoir

"This mess is too big and too deep and to tall. We can't clean it up! We can't clean it up at all!"
— Dr. Seuss (The Cat in the Hat)

"Who are you to judge the life I live?
I know I'm not perfect
-and I don't live to be-
but before you start pointing fingers...
make sure you hands are clean!"
— Bob Marley

"Laughter and tears are both responses to frustration and exhaustion. I myself prefer to laugh, since there is less cleaning do to do afterward."
— Kurt Vonnegut

"I believe in getting into hot water; it keeps you clean."
— G.K. Chesterton

"They did a lot of cleaning in their house, which I considered to be a sign of immoral parenting. The job of parents, as I saw it, was to watch television and step into a child's life only when absolutely necessary, like in the event of a tornado or a potential kidnapping."
— Haven Kimmel

"Life gives to all the choice. You can satisfy yourself with mediocrity if you wish. You can be common, ordinary, dull, colorless, or yyou can channel your life so that it will be clean, vibrant, useful, progressive, colorful, and rich."
— Spencer W. Kimball

"There should be less talk; a preaching point is not a meeting point. What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone's house. That says enough."
— Mother Teresa

“Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future…If you are still in the process of raising children be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled, will disappear all too soon, and that you will, to your surprise, miss them, profoundly.”
— Thomas S. Monson

"I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift."
— Shauna Niequist (Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life)

"It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule. (Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings)"
— J.R.R. Tolkien

We Do Everything Together...

An original song written and performed by Adam Noah. (I wish Norah wasn't singing so loud in the back - but, that's how spontaneous creativity occurs).

This One's For the Grandma's...

Here is Adam. He wanted to make a movie. Recently, he's been into singing and busting his "cool moves". So, without further ado, I give you Adam's expanded version of "Do As I'm Doing"...

Recent Halloweenie Craftiness

I went to a recent Relief Society Super Saturday. These are the crafts that I made. I'm mostly pleased. The kids (especially Hannah, of course) really like them. TJ is ambivalent. It was pretty relaxing to be able to get my craft on with adults instead of children. Plus, someone else did all the prep work, and most of the clean up. Nice. Waiting for things to dry? Frustrating. Realizing once you get home that the decoupage medium wasn't completely dry? Discombobulating. Reassembling your "boo" sign and realizing you glittered the wrong side of the O? Verklempt. Noticing that nobody in the family even noticed your errors and just like playing with, and redecorating the kitchen? Awesome.
I wanted to get home. So, I didn't finish my fabric scrap hair clips. I brought home all of the elements and made them with Hannah and her friend Bella. They seemed to have a good time digging through the fabric scrap stash, and designing their own. The RS ladies had flower templates...in the interest of keeping my charges interest, we raided the kitchen cupboards for different sized circles. Here's the one I made for Hannah for Halloween.

What are you making these days?

Do You Know What This Means?

We received this flyer in our mail today. Do you know what this means? In-N-Out is hiring! That means opening day, with all of its attendant scrumptious culinary delights, is approaching steadily and surely.

All I can say now: BURGER ME!

500+

That's the number of calories that I kicked to the curb this morning.

Learned today: On average, most people burn about 1 calorie per minute - that's at rest, doing no work. So, I'd say 500+ calories in 90 minutes is a good step up from the resting rate. And, I didn't faint. And, I didn't go home and ingest any chocolate. Feeling pretty good.

Still, I must say, there is a gigantic cosmic unfairness in all this. For as hard as I work, and as many changes are demanded - the physical change should be much quicker. My body evolution should not be so difficult and slow. Those stinky laws of physics.

I must also confess: if I talk to one more person who says they do nothing at all to maintain their slim physique, and in fact frequently gorge on ice cream, I might just freak out.

All in all, though it's painfully slow, I'm feeling good. Getting stronger. More flexible. Kicking higher. Keeping up better. Sweating copiously. And enjoying myself.

20 Questions

Saw this question-series on evie-s - and dug it. It's a little more interesting than most questionnaires. In case I haven't shared enough about me (what? I have? too late!).

1. Show us the inside of something cute:
2. What's the last home cooking you had? Steamed rosemary rice, garlic chicken w/ romaine salad dressed up with sundried tomato feta, almonds, tomatoes, basil + olive oil.

3. What do you miss? Volleyball legs + Viola fingers.


4. What makes you laugh often? Observing the interactions between my children, and watching comedy with my husband (it's always funnier with him).




5. What's your favorite word? Simple.

6. What are you trying to quit? Self-deprecating mental conversations. Eating to assuage emotional distress. Interrupting my husband. Impatience with my kids.

7. What's your favorite commercial right now? Any Jamaican Red Stripe Beer Commercial - not to be seen on regular tv. You've got to explore you-tube.

8. Whose style do you dig? The "angela" character on the tv-show "bones". Also, Anthropologie.
9. Link to a blog you've discovered lately: Molly Irwin.
10. What's the last craft you made? A black hooded cloak for my Halloween costume.

11. A photo of the last happy mail you got.
12. Something you've gotten lately? American Eagle jeans from DI. (My favorite jeans, that I've loved for years, recently ripped in an unfixable way...I didn't cry, but it was close).
13. What are you looking forward to? The Maloy's infamous Halloween party. We've been hearing about them for years - this year we've made the exclusive invite list.
14. Share a recent snapshot of yourself:
15. Recent favorite movie? "The Brothers Bloom". TJ and I watched it during our Anniversary Getaway. The more I think about it, the more I liked it. I highly recommend it. A movie that's also been stuck in my head (though for other reasons) "Sicko" - the Michael Moore documentary. I think we need to move to Canada, or France.
16. Something you're working on right now? The aforementioned Halloween costume (apparently, it's mandatory to embrace the entire experience when participating in Maloy holiday celebrations). Also, the Elephantine Project List. Working on the maximum possible homemade gifts for birthdays and Christmas this year. It's overwhelming and exhilarating.
17. If a movie were made about you, who would play you? Kate Beckinsale. Not that I think I look like her, or she like me. But, if I was a guy, she'd be on my "list".
18.What gives you goosebumps? I love beautiful music. Truly awe-some music speaks to the emotional response center in my soul. Whenever I hear Andrea Bocelli sing. Or a Mozart symphony. Or a Beethoven concerto. Or the scores from John Williams or Howard Shore. Or or or...


19. Share a new obsession: Exercising. I am loving the exhaustion, and feeling of strength and progress. Michelle (my instructor) does her best to kill me - and I love it.
20. What's the meaning of your life?
My family. The fundamental beauty and value of life. The moments big and small that remind me that life involves more than just my own wants, my own focus. The individuality and worth of each. The patterns and connections that emerge. The unfathomable mystery. Knowledge. Truth. Wisdom to discern the difference. Humor. Growth and change. Striving to become better. And and and...

Enjoy your weekend. Enjoy my sharing. Share you own - include a link here so we can all find one another easier.

Peace.

Halloween Decorations

What do you do when your husband is out of town? And you have kids who need to be entertained? And all of your previous Halloween decorations were ruined? Bust out the paper, crayons, glue, and pipe-cleaners.

Here is Adam's dragon picture (a collaborative effort).
Hannah's rendition of trick-or-treating.
Hannah's paper-strip pumpkin.
We made a bunch of these googly-eyed spiders.
A few weekends ago, we went to a pumpkin patch with the Maloy's. Since we don't want our pumpkins to get all nasty, the kids spruced them up with hats. Here are some of their pipecleaner ghosts and monsters.

Here's my paper-strip pumpkin. Adam helped with all the cutting and hole-punching.
And here's my collage made of left-over pieces from my scrap-box. I think it turned out pretty well. Happy Halloween!

Potato Cheese Soup

This is why we have children. Aren't they excellent workers? And the soup was delicious. Heidi's recipe...pimped out with broccolli.

october...

Awesom-est Alphabet Book ever...Part Two

Risa expressed interest in the inner pages. Adam was more than willing to show off his book. I asked him to pick some of his favorite pages to share. Here they are: enjoy!




We had to get a little creative to fill all the letters, and get the maximum favorite things included. Here's the rundown: Adam, Berenstein Bears, Caleb, Dinosaurs, Elephant, Finding nemo, mouse Guard, Hannah, Incredibles, Justice league, hulK, Lilo + stitch, Monsters Inc, Nintendo ds, One-hundred-and-One-dalmatians, Parents, lightning mcQueen, Robin + teen titans, Spiderman, Teenage mutant ninja Turtles, Universe (he-man + the masters of...), darth Vader, Wallace + gromit, Xmen, scoobY-doo, buZZ lightyear. Some of them are kind of a stretch - but it's still awesome.  

Real Snow...

The weather forecast was accurate. Rainstorms in the valley - snow for us. The kids were disappointed that, for the most part, it melted as soon as it touched ground. We did have to dig into our closets and pull out our warm coats, though! And, thankfully, I figured out how to turn on the heater!

Awesom-est Alphabet Book ever...Part One

My children are very intelligent. One problem, however, is that they don't like to learn anything from me. School-type stuff. Letters, numbers, and variations of what you can do with them. Hannah would have learned to read much sooner if she'd just let me help her. As soon as she went to preschool + kindergarten - bam!. Done. Now she's absolutely amazing. 

Adam's going down the same route. It's not TJ - just me. So, I decided it's time to get tricky. I thought of this idea, and Adam and I have been working on it together. I was thinking that if I could get him involved in something that he was excited about - then, he'd be more prone to be excited about learning his alphabet. And, if we did it together, then the mom-learning-embargo would be lifted. 

I decided to make an alphabet book with him. But, no A doesn't mean Apple, and X doesn't indicate a Xylophone, and U is definitely not an Umbrella. We had to get a little creative, but I think it all worked out. Adam and I brainstormed all sorts of things that he was "into". Then, we trolled google images together, and he picked his favorites. Stole them to my iMac, uploaded them to Snapfish...and the project was ready for us to start cutting and gluing. 

I knew he'd like it and want to pack it around in his backpack (which he loads up just to travel from his room to the basement) - so, it had to be tough. Buying blank board books for customizing can get pretty pricey. So, we got clever.

We dug through the used books, at DI, until we found one that was a good size and in good shape and had the right number of pages. We only had to do a little bit of photo cropping, and it had perfect amount of space to add in words. Adam helped with the cutting (with supervision) and gluing - and he liked the squishing part I think the best. He'd probably have like the cutting more if I'd let him use scissors in a more freeform manner. 
I didn't let him use the exacto. It had quite a learning curve. I ended up just trimming more off each paper piece, and inking out the middle. I think that worked much better. Plus, it lays flatter, and turns more smoothly. 
Look at the book before I fixed it. Blech. It reminded me of something Dolores Umbridge would strongly encourage everyone to keep with them at all times. Totally funky! It's much better now!

We're not in California anymore...

Weather today: 

High: 81'F; Low: 43'F

Partly cloudy

Weather forecast for tomorrow?

High: 45'F; Low: 29'F

Snow Showers; 100% chance of precipitation

WHAT THE WHAT? Yes, your surprise is my own. A 40 degree drop with a very high chance of snow. In October. I was just noticing the color changing leaves this morning - the arrival of fall. I am definitely not ready for several days of snow. Especially not with TJ gone on a business trip to St. George!

The visual is a real photograph of a snowflake. Taken by Wilson Bentley at the turn of the 20th century. Snowflake photography was this farmer's hobby.

Favorite Snack around here...

TJ brings home interesting things from his sales' travels. This past week, He brought home 3 different cheese varieties from Red Rock. So delicious. The kids inhaled Curd "Squeaky" Cheese - similar to string cheese, but with a little softer, and a bit more flavor. TJ and I have been enjoying Tomato Feta, and white Goat cheese Cheddar. And did you know that Cheddar describes a process not a flavor? If you manage to get your hands on some of this - eat it!