What Have I Done?

What I Have Done

I saw this on my friend Leisa's blog and I thought it was fun. It really made me realize what I haven't done in my life...YET! The lines that are bolded are the things that I have done...how about you?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (French horn)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a Mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee Jumping
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (too recently)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you were not ill (mental health day??)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (I was eight, I think, and my aunt suggested it to my sister, my cousins and me when we were at my grandparent's lakehouse spending the night, so we did it.  It was dark out, and a private lake, but please, kids, wear your suits).
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Czech - I'm not exactly what you'd call fluent, but I can get you to Wenceslaus Square).
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung Karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted (drawn)
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold girl scout cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a check (not my fault, and the bank reimbursed me)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Graduate from college
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Fish)
88. Had Chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Get married to the love of your life

That was fun. Hope you enjoy it as well.

My Valentine Flowers are Right Here

If you're reading this Valentine's week, you will see a beautiful bouquet of roses on the left of the screen.  Yes, it has taken me this long to figure out that there are all sorts of free template codes out there, other than the ones Blogger gives us.  I knew that, deep down, but I just never bothered to look for any before now.

Anyway, to get on with things, Aaron told me the other night that he has thought about getting me flowers a lot recently.   But, he wanted to know how I currently felt about that.  

Most women love getting flowers.  I like flowers.  They are very pretty.  I just don't like the idea of paying for hothouse flowers.  How much do you figure the bouquet of roses off to the left cost?  Probably $60.  Maybe $30, with a coupon, but undoubtedly you'll have to pay $20 for shipping with that deal.  Yes, it is beautiful.  Yes, if I were being proposed to, I might like the idea of the night starting out with a bouquet like that one (that didn't happen - our engagement was an extremely informal discussion while sitting on a couch, probably during a commercial break during an episode of Friends or some other sitcom of the 1990's, but that's not the point).  

For all the romance a bouquet of flowers could mean to someone else, to me it means I could have put that money toward our mortgage principle.  It means I could have built up our savings account a little more.  It means I am going to feel guilty every time I look at it because after it quits dropping crud all over my table that I will have to clean up each morning, and then finally dies, all I'll have left is one more glass vase to take up space in the cupboard above my refrigerator, and $60 less in our grocery budget.

I told Aaron I still feel the same way.  A couple of days later, he asked me what I wanted for Valentine's Day.  We got interrupted before I could think it over.  The other night, I was upset about my nail polish lasting only a day, and I told him I would love a mani-pedi.  I actually told him I thought we should both get a mani-pedi together, but he really didn't go for that idea.  He said he found the idea of paying for someone to manicure one's nails was upsetting, and that it was even more upsetting if one is male.  

I have only had two manicures in my life.  One was for a birthday party of one of my childhood friends.  We went to the Scot-Lewis beauty school and got very simple manicures.  I think I was in about the 3rd grade.  The other was on a whim when I was a teenager.  It was also at that beauty school.  It only cost $5, and I got what I paid for.  It was very rushed, and there weren't many polish options.  It did last a couple of weeks, though, from what I can remember.  However, I have heard some women lately talk about how nice a manicure is, and how their toenails are still pretty two months later, and how nice it is to just look down once in a while and feel good about one's toes.  So, I thought it might be nice.

I have one problem with my idea.  I'm afraid I will feel about the manicure the way I feel about the roses.  Will I feel guilty every time I look at my nails?  Will I be upset when they chip?  What if the polish doesn't last more than a day, like the stuff I have at home?  What if I can't control myself, and I peel it off?

Maybe I should just ask Aaron to make me dinner.

Our Nice Morning

William woke up early to make breakfast this morning.  He brought scrambled eggs and toast with peanut butter to me in my room while I was studying scriptures.  He helped Ben make oatmeal, which is Ben's current favorite breakfast and snack - yes, snack.  He asks for it when he comes home from school sometimes.

I was determined to make it to the gym today, as I haven't made enough of an effort lately. I've actually been putting on a few pounds for the first time in my adult life, other than during pregnancy.  Everyone was healthy - yay!  Katie's other eye was even clear! So I helped Aidan and Katie get ready, while Dallin got himself ready.  

My friend Patty gave me two pairs of shoes her little girl had just grown out of last night at our presidency meeting, and I tried the tennis shoes on Katie.  They fit very well.  While I put them on her, she examined the other pair - white dress shoes with pink-flowered straps.  I asked her, "Aren't they pretty?" and she said, "Pret-ty."  I said, "They are pretty!" and she said, "Yes."  We then repeated the conversation, as I wanted to be sure she really had said it all.  Then I took her in to see Dad, who was studying in his office, and she repeated it to him, too.  What fun!

The kids were happy to go to the child care center.  Dallin and Aidan ran off to play in the back, where the tubes and kids' gym are.  Katie found a little "bike" in the toddler room and scooted around happily as I left her there.

I attended Fitness Pilates for the first time in a year.  The last time I went, I reaggrivated my tailbone area injury.  This time, after 8 months of chiropractic care and a month of private training, I did not hurt myself.  There was a little discomfort there with one of the moves, but I adjusted and didn't push it.  However, the whole thing exhausted me more than I remember.  Of course, I always took a break during the planks and push-ups before, and now I am able to do them without straining my shoulder muscle tissue (thanks to training with Mitra), so I didn't get to stop and rest like I used to.  I burned almost 400 calories during the hour.

When I picked up the kids, Katie was a little upset, as a little girl who I would guess is about two was stealing the book she was carrying around.  She saw me and said, "Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma!"  and was happy.  Dallin was in the gym, where he was playing with a ball.  He told me that he was "...learning so many new things today, this place is a school!" This was said very happily.  We picked up Aidan from the bathroom, where he was washing his hands in a sink just the right height for him, and we left.

I enjoyed my morning, and I hope we will continue on a healthy trend so that I will be able to get back into the routine of getting there three mornings a week.

William's Huge, Mutant Grape

Today at lunch, William had a bunch of grapes.  On this bunch of grapes was the biggest grape he has ever seen.  I've never seen anything like it, either.  It doesn't look much like a grape.  Its shape is that of a pumpkin.  William would like to see if he can enter it into the Guinness Book of World Records, but I don't know if they have a place for mutant grapes.

Our Christmas Eve

Amy inspired me with her last blog entry to actually download some pictures from my camera and post some blog entries. I have been using this blog to vent more than to show off the kids lately, so here goes!

Christmas Eve was spent at my parents' house.  Katie got a Madeline doll from Grammie and Grandpa.  She gave it a hug and patted its back right away.  She calls dolls "bay-bay."  Last week during our bout with food poisoning, she was feeling better and wandering around, and I was still in bed.  She brought me all of the dollies from her room; my old cabbage patch, Tristin's old Raggedy Andy (or should we call it new?  It is the one Aaron bought when we couldn't find his and he couldn't get to sleep without it when he was three, that he could tell wasn't his, so he never played with it), the Madeline doll, and the dolly Jake gave her, too.  She wanted me to feel better, so she thought I could use some "bay-bays."

Aidan got a backpack on rollers from Grammie and Grandpa.  He loves filling it up with toys and emptying it all over my bedroom.  Yes, he thinks my bedroom is a good dumping ground for his toys.  We did a good clean-up of my room this week, though, and got all of the toys out.

Dallin was super-excited to get a velvet art kit.  He has made a lot of beautiful pictures.  

Ben got a fun game called Cadoo.  It is a kid's version of Cranium, made by the same people.  We have played it, and it is a lot of fun, and the right age for the middle kids to play together.

Tristin, Brandon and William were surprised when the gifts they received looked a little strange - like a PUR water filter.  But, judge not by the box!  They each received a Target gift card.  Tristin and William went in on video games, and Brandon got a Zero Gravity car.  It is a remote control car that drives not only on the floor, but on the walls and smooth-surface ceilings.  Pretty cool!

Katie has a clear eye!!!

After 14 months of goobery eyes, Katie's left eye finally cleared up a week ago.  Her right tear duct is still blocked, but now I have hope of avoiding surgery.

 

All of our kids have had blocked tear ducts for at least some amount of time.  Most have cleared up by 1 year, but Brandon and William had the surgery.  Our clinic recommends waiting until the child is at least one year, and my doctor leaves it up to me as to how much longer I want to wait, up to 18 months.  He fully supports waiting, as there are always risks to surgery with general anesthesia.  I regret having their surgery done at one year for Brandon and William, as the kids who came after them had theirs clear up on their own not long after 1 year, and William had one eye for which surgery wasn't successful, and we ended up waiting for it to clear on its own a couple of months later, anyway.

The surgery isn't fun.  They put the child to sleep, you don't get to be there with them, and they come out of it with miserable, swollen, and sometimes, bloody eyes.  The week after the surgery is full of antibiotic eye drops that the child hates having put in 3-4 times a day.  So, you can see why I'd rather just wait.

And now there's hope!

I Got Tagged!

Nancy tagged me.  I am supposed to list 10 things about myself that I am good at.  I'm not sure how this will go, but I can think of a couple off the top of my head.  I may need to save this and come back later, though.  We'll see whether this is finalized tonight (Monday) or not.  It is past my bedtime, so I don't have much time to think about it.

1) I am good at conceiving babies.  It has never taken me more than about six months, and normally takes 1-2.  I'm not planning on using this talent again, though.

2) I am good at delivering babies.  Pregnancy, I'm not so good at, but once I am in active labor, it takes very little time to get to the pushing stage.  Pushing itself goes so quickly for me that I decided not to take pain meds for #7, as I just didn't think it would be worth it.  I was right.  Active labor lasted about 40 minutes, and pushing lasted less than 20 minutes.  I can do anything for 20 minutes.  It was really nice not having to deal with a drowsy head or tingling legs after having Katie.  I did it with Ben, unintentionally, and I wish I had done it that way for Dallin and Aidan, too.  I found epidurals to be awful.  I'm not planning on using this talent any more, either.

3) Singing.  You ought to read Nancy's blog and duplicate this one for me. She put it down as #3, too.  http://ibeimomenti.blogspot.com/2009/01/things-that-i-am-good-at.html     She says it well, and I completely relate.  Except for the sisters thing - I haven't had that one happen, as my sister and I don't sing in a choir together.  

(and here's where I left off that night - our family was sick on Tuesday, and I just haven't had the time to get back to this until now, Friday)

4) Genealogy.  I'm a good researcher, as long as the records you need are from the U.S.  Once you need records from another country, beyond telling you to search for someone else who already has done the research, I'll tell you to go ask Merle what to do.  But, if you want to know how to use any family history software, or www.new.familysearch.org or ancestry.com, I can help.  That's what I was doing this morning, in fact.  I got Sister Hachtman up and running on the new Familysearch.  We even popped over to ancestry.com and found four of her ancestor's birth years and places that she didn't have.  It was fun.  We could have researched all day, but that wasn't really what I was there to do.  She also wanted to get back onto her ward & stake website, and couldn't remember her password, so I figured that out, too.  

5) On that note, I'll add computers as one of my talents.  I am quite good at figuring out software and web applications.  I even set up a secured home network.  I made my new laptop print from the printer that is hooked up to the computer in the living room, and I can share files between the two computers wirelessly, as well.  It took me a little while, and I kept laughing when I was going through the process, because Windows would tell me to contact my network administrator for such and such - and I was the network admin!!  But I got it to work, and I'm happy.

6) Laundry.  My wonderful husband took over on Tuesday when seven of us were throwing up (food poisoning, we think), and I totally appreciate it, but I will say that I will continue not using his help with the laundry unless I am sick.  We had a few casualties, including my new pajama pants (washing cotton in hot water), new holes in towels (not clasping eye hooks), and a baseball cap (not supposed to be in the wash).  In case anyone thinks I'm not being grateful, I already told him I'd take all of the damage any time if he will take care of us the way he did on Tuesday.  I also promised him I wouldn't even scowl at him over the damages.

7) Being on time.  I don't know what this "Mormon Standard Time" thing is all about.  I am always on time to church on Sundays, and people think I'm supernatural or something because of it.  I don't think that.  I know what needs to be done, and how long it is going to take, and I make sure we are prepared by Saturday, so that we aren't running all over the house looking for seven outfits that never made it through the wash on Sunday morning.  I know what I can delegate to the older children, and I leave things that aren't critical until last.  I hear some women who are consistently late ask what I do, and then they tell me they have everything prepared, too, and then they tell me they get up at 8:30am when church is at 10am.  This isn't going to work unless your children all get themselves ready, and then it still might not work.  There was one Sunday I can remember when we all overslept (other than Aaron) until 8:30am, and I had to forgo my shower and breakfast in order to make it there on time, but make it there on time, I did (no, I didn't smell - a quick wash with a cloth takes barely any time, and I only wash my hair every other day, anyway).  I also aim at leaving at 9:30am, even though the church is 5 minutes away.  That way, I can get a bench (there are not many benches in our chapel, and folding chairs would be extremely noisy for my brood), help set up the Primary Room, and be seated with the kids by 10 minutes before the meeting.  And if there is a disaster of some sort, this gives me time to recoup and still make it there on time.

8) Editing.  I hesitated to mention this because of the havoc I caused last time I mentioned grammar in my blog, but it really is a talent of mine, so I'm going to bring it up again.  I am the type of person who will find a pen and correct the grammatical errors in books.  I normally have very good grammar when writing.  My only regular errors are run-on sentences and some misspellings, but never of homonyms.  I never actually publish misspellings, to my knowledge, as I have a good command of the ABC button in both word processors and in Internet applications, such as this one.

9) Driving long distances.  I can drive for a very long time without breaks.  After a short break, I can go for quite a while again.  Just make sure I have Amy with me overnight to keep me awake.

10)  Again, I find myself stealing one from Nancy.  I am good at reading.  I read fast, and I process information well.  My best ACT scores were in grammar and reading comprehension.  This is a little bit of a fault for me, though.  I don't really get much enjoyment out of reading things over and over again, so reading the scriptures daily sometimes seems mundane to me.  However, as long as I have a study guide or subject I want to dig into, I do fine.  But the challenge to read the Book of Mormon over again by the end of the year a couple of years ago was misery to me, as I was just about to finish it for at least the 3rd or 4th time in 8 years when it was given to us.  I had also just made a new goal to finish the Old Testament by the end of the year, so I was a little overwhelmed with the amount of rereading of material at the time.  I did finish the Book of Mormon goal, although I took an extra month to get through the Old Testament.  Oh, and despite processing information well, I do not remember names well, so don't quiz me on who's who in the scriptures unless they have a book named after them or are mentioned repeatedly.  Doctrines, I grasp quickly, and I even memorize scriptures well, but names are a challenge.

Thanks, Nancy.  This was good for me to go through.  Now, I'm going to tag Mom, Connie, Lizzy and Leisa.  Connie and Lizzy, if you have blogs, let me know, otherwise email me :)

Aaron's New Calling

Last Sunday, a member of the Stake Presidency asked Aaron if he liked his calling (Executive Secretary).  Aaron does, and told him he loves it.  I told Aaron to watch out.  On Saturday, we got a call from the Stake Executive Secretary, setting up an appointment for us to visit with the Stake President for about an hour and a half from that time.  Sure enough, Aaron was called to the High Council.  That also means he was ordained to the office of High Priest.  

Aaron's assignment will be Technology, and he'll be on the Aaronic Priesthood Committee.  He will be over the Farmington Ward, the ward for which his dad was the "founding" Bishop.  His parents have since been split off into the Apple Valley ward, but the people there will probably know who Aaron is.  I guess even without the relationship there, they have been seeing him play the organ and piano and lead choirs for years now, so he will be a familiar face to many.  

Aaron's Dad ordained him yesterday after Stake Priesthood Meeting, and he was set apart by President Naatjes right afterward.  They were very interesting blessings.  I was grateful for the blessings offered on my behalf, as I will definitely need some help with Aaron gone so much.  Especially in Sacrament Meeting.  That will be the hard part for me.  Keeping our younger three kids reverent is hard enough when Aaron is there with me.  

I'm very proud of Aaron.  He has worked really hard.  He sets a great example to our family of personal worship, getting up so early in the mornings to study his scriptures.  He has held Family Home Evenings, family scripture and family prayers consistantly.  He has gone above and beyond with his callings.  I have no doubt that he is ready for this new assignment.  

Our Own Garbage Man

Aidan has taken upon himself the role of house garbage man. For the past week, he has emptied almost all of the garbage pails in the house daily, and I have never asked him to.  He drives himself all around the house in his imaginary garbage truck, collecting as he goes.  The only down side is that he goes through a lot of plastic grocery bags.  We have plenty right now, but give it a week, and we will start running short if I can't convince him to fill them up before throwing them out.  

His imagination is quite vivid.  If he is driving his truck around, and I ask him to do something else, he insists on parking his truck in the garage first.

Aidan got a Dustbuster for Christmas.  He really enjoys cleaning up messes with it, and has figured out how to empty it.  He has also figured out how to empty the vacuum canister, as well.  That can get a little messy, but he vacuums up the mess he makes afterward, so it is working out pretty well.

Let's pretend.

I went visiting teaching yesterday.  That reminded me that my visiting teachers haven't come in a very long time.  Then, I remembered how when I had consistent visiting teachers a few years ago, I always had a day each month that motivated me to have my house clean and decluttered (having piano lessons here on Tuesdays doesn't really have the same effect, as the dad that comes with his 7-year-old sits on the piano room couch, so his exposure is limited, and I don't really care if the high school boys see the mess).  So, today I pretended I have visiting teachers coming over tomorrow.  It helped.  Of course, it would probably help my mental state if they actually came to visit, but I guess you can't win them all.

My bathroom is clean.

FlyLady has a useful program that has helped motivate me to keep up the housework.  However, sometimes I get frustrated because there is rarely a room in the house that is all the way clean, as her program is to do a little bit every day, rather than doing it all at once.  You see, she is afraid that our perfectionism will inhibit us from getting through a task enough to feel a sense of accomplishment.  She thinks that if I set out to clean a room all at once, I am setting myself up for failure, as there just won't be enough time to get it all done.  She envisions me taking apart my boys' bedroom, getting halfway through it, and, finding myself out of time, hurriedly throwing things into containers, leaving piles all over the floor, and leaving it just as messy - or prone to getting just as messy within the next 24 hours -as it was when I started. 

While that may be true if I try that with the boys' bedroom (okay, yes, that has happened, I'll admit it), I think I can handle it with the bathroom.  My master bathroom has not been thoroughly clean since I started with FlyLady.  If she had her way, I would swish and swipe all four of my bathrooms each morning (that means a quick swish in each toilet with the brush, and wipe all of the counters), and do a quick mop once a week (and I mean really quick - from what I understood before today, she only allows you 15 minutes to mop the entire house once a week - see below).   But cleaning the light fixtures, fans, baseboards, switch plates, front of the vanity, etc. would only get done every few months.  And I have never had a reminder from her to clean the shower stall or bathtub, to my recollection.  

Today was the beginning of the bathroom week.  I couldn't stand it any longer - my shower stall was covered in soap scum and rust.  My bathtub was dusty (I rarely actually take a bath - I'm too tall to be comfortable in my tub, which stinks, because when we moved in I was really excited about a tub with jets).  My floor was really dirty.  I was ready for a deep-cleaning.  

I decided to disregard FlyLady this week and do the bathrooms my way.  I am going to select one bathroom each day, and go at it from top to bottom.  I started with my master bathroom today, and after three hours, it is clean.  Really, really clean.  I mean, I went the extra mile.  I got on the counter and wiped down all the light bulbs and got the dust off of the top ledge of the light fixture.  I wiped down the cupboards.  I wiped the baseboards.  Everything is clean in that room right now, and I feel good.

After I was done in there, I decided to declutter Dallin and Aidan's room.  They have too many toys and junk.  I took my laptop in and listened to an archive of last Friday's blogtalk radio of FlyLady's show on helping your kids have wings.  There was supposed to be some advice about decluttering their rooms, so I thought I'd have a listen.  During it, I found that she mentioned me.  Yes, I really mean me.  Last week I got frustrated with the Home Blessing Hour and emailed her to ask her if she had any tips for people with my family size.  She emailed back some links to her page with helps for large families, and let me know that the Home Blessing Hour is more flexible than I was making it.  Here's what that is, in case you haven't heard of it:

The Weekly Home Blessing hour is the time FlyLady spends blessing her home. No detailed cleaning required; vacuum the middle of the floors only!  The time on this can depend on the size of your home, could take less than an hour or more than an hour but on average about an hour.  Set your timers and have fun - you are blessing your home and family!

FlyLady sets her timer for 10 minutes to work on each of 7 ways to bless your home:
    * Vacuum
    * Dust
    * Quick Mop
    * Polish Mirrors and Doors
    * Purge magazines/catalogs
    * Change Sheets
    * Empty all trash cans


This takes approximately one hour; some tasks take less than 10 minutes.
 "Don't obsess, set your timer for 10 minutes for each task, then QUIT!"

I decided that FlyLady must live in a 2-bedroom apartment in order to be able to do all of that in an hour.  Or even two hours.  But, as I was told by Laura, who responded to my email, these tasks are to be rotated each week to an area that I didn't do the week before.  I didn't really like this answer, but when I listened to the radio show today, she referred to my email, and said that we also should have the kids in on these tasks, and that they can have their own home blessing hours each week (or maybe their own home blessing half-hour, or 10 minutes, depending on their age).  It's not like I don't have them doing this already - I was just stressing out over the idea that she thought I was supposed to do all of this myself each week.  

As for the links that Laura gave me in her email, there are some neat ideas, although there are also some duds.  The families that are as large as mine have some great ideas, but when I read on I find that they have some advantages, like walk-in pantries, large laundry rooms, super-sized front loader laundry machines, etc.  Oh, well.  But I might take one mom's tips.  She has bought her family some new dishes.  Each child gets a different color, and they each have their own cup, bowl, large plate and small plate in their own color.  They have to take care of their own.  They also each have their own towel and washcloth color.  These are some great ideas!  We have been having many discussions lately about "whose cereal bowl is this with soggy Cheerios in it?"  and "who left their plate on the table?" The only downfall to this is, what do we do when there is company and there are only 9 of each dish?  I can always pull out the china and stemware for a nice dinner, but maybe I'll need to make sure we always have a stack of paper plates and bowls handy for when the occasion doesn't call for something quite that fancy.  Maybe I'll keep the old dishes in a box in the basement for backup.

I also seem to wash way too many towels.  Dallin, William and Ben each have a bath towel of their own, so maybe I'll assign a colored one to each of the others, and instead of throwing their towels on the floor each time they get used, they will be held accountable for their own towels.   I'm always looking for ideas like those, so if anyone has more for me, please let me know (Leisa, if you're reading this, please do tell me how you manage with eight)!

The Stranger

This is something Aaron forwarded to me today.  I found it very interesting, and since I generally don't forward emails, if you want to read it, here it is...not cluttering up your inbox.

The Stranger  A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town.  From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.    As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family.  In my young mind, he had a special niche.  My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey.  But the stranger...he was our storyteller.  He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.    If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future!  He took my family to the first major league ball game.  He made me laugh, and he made me cry.  The stranger never stopped    talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.    Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)    Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home.. Not from us, our friends or any visitors.  Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.  My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol.  But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regularbasis.  He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.    He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex.  His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.    I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger.  Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.    More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family.  He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first.  Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name?.... .. .     We just call him 'TV.'  (Note: This should be required reading for every household in America !)   He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'

Last Week

This is more of a journal entry than a normal blog post.  I am not very good about journaling, so I'm going to take this opportunity to document what I consider a pretty important week.  

On January 2nd, Aaron's grandfather passed away.  The next day, Saturday, we found out that the funeral would be on Tuesday, and plane tickets were not looking too affordable for this whole crew of Minnesotans to get out to Utah.  Seeing as how I have a 12-passenger van, it occured to me to offer to put it into service to save a few thousand dollars in airline tickets for the family.   After frequent calls among Aaron's family (seriously, the call-waiting kicked in during almost every call), we determined that this was the best option, and it only hinged on my getting a sitter.  I got ahold of my mom around 11:30am.  Thankfully, she could take the kids for all but the first day.  My sister dropped everything and brought her three kids over for the first day.  I'm pretty certain that was the first time she has ever taken care of ten children at the same time.  In fact, that probably goes for my mom taking care of just my seven kids, too.  That was an amazing sacrifice on both their parts, and I am so grateful that they were willing to help out.  

I also had some help from the Primary President, my friend Kristen Johnson.  I called to let her know I wouldn't be able to make it to Primary, and she asked if I needed anything.  I told her I next needed to find rides for my kids to get to church, as my sister needed to get back home in the morning, and she couldn't have gotten them all into one vehicle even if she did want to take the kids to our church.  Kristen said she'd figure it all out, and she enlisted the Primary Secretary's family (the Beckles) to help pick up the kids that wouln't fit in her vehicle.  I hear there was a nice-sized caravan to get them home after church.

We started out with Merle and Emma meeting us at our house.  They arrived around 2pm, and we left about a half hour later.  We drove through sleet to Mankato, following a snow plow that was spreading sand for the first half hour.  It was a little slow going.  We picked up Jessica and baby Daniel around 4pm.  Our drive to Worthington to pick up Amy and baby Andrew was worse, but we survived it.  It took until after 8pm, which means it took us over twice as long to get there from Mankato as it normally would.  We drove straight through, with only stops for gas, food, and for Jessica to nurse Daniel.  Luckily, the precipitation stopped once we left Minnesota.

Aaron did the driving until around midnight, and then I drove overnight, with Amy keeping me awake.  She and I both have the misfortune to not be able to sleep in the car.  This could be looked at as an advantage, as I would rather drive than be driven on a long trip, and Amy is happy to keep a driver awake, because she's awake anyway, and doesn't want to drive herself.  That girl knows how to talk.  She kept me alert throughout the night.

Emma took a turn at the wheel the next morning.  I was so tired I actually fell asleep for a little while, but then the roads got icky, so I took over again.  I just can't handle being a passenger on bad roads, and Emma had never driven a 12-passenger van before, anyway.  The forecast before we left was really good, so I was surprised at the road conditions.  It seems they don't do such a good job at plowing in the mountains, as it was a beautiful, sunny day, and there were thick patches of packed snow and ice all over the place.

After experiencing Sonic for my first time (oh, gut bomb!!!  terribly greasy food, but good slushies) in Evanston, WY, we arrived in Provo, UT around 6pm.  We met Aaron's dad and other two sisters at Matt and Melissa's apartment, then Aaron, Amy, Andrew and I checked into the Hampton.  It was nice.  Aaron and I were able to work out the kinks in the fitness room before retiring for the evening, and the bed was fabulous.  It was seriously the most comfortable hotel bed ever.  I slept soundly every night we were there.  I guess this could be due to the sleep deprevation, but I'll give the bed some credit.  Aaron says the heater's blower kept cycling and waking him up all night, but I never heard a thing.

Amy and I both got calls saying we had children throwing up on Monday.  We felt really bad for our family at home taking care of our sick kids.  But, we had things to do, and we were able to prepare for the funeral ahead, support Reo through a tough day, and get another good night's sleep on Monday night.

The funeral affected me differently than I had anticipated.  

I really liked Grandpa Pratt.  He was always very caring, and interested, and funny.  He gave me some silver scraps once and told me about how he got them as a lithographer.  He also made me a walnut box, a good size for keeping cards and small keepsakes.  He wrote me back every time I sent him a letter, even if it was just a short note with pictures of the kids in it.  I knew he was very musical, and he played the horn for me on one of our visits.  He loved to hear us play and sing for him.  I have experienced a few funerals in the past couple of years, and I was expecting to feel about the same - pretty calm, reflective about the life the person lived, and comforted, with my knowledge of the plan of salvation assuring me of the sweet reunion in the future.  

However, about three-quarters of the way through it, I suddenly realized that so much of what was being said could be said about Aaron.  It could almost have been his funeral.  His love for music, his brains, his sense of humor, his sense of priesthood duty, his strong belief in singing hymns in Sacrament Meeting being a reflection on a person in the church.  

One brother talked about how when the choir had been struggling with singing "Oh, Say What is Truth," he taught them what the words meant, which is exactly what Aaron would do.  While anyone else would bang through parts, they would teach doctrine, with success.  Aaron had recently had our family sing this same hymn before scripture study a few times in a row, which was the first time I can remember ever singing it.  

I was awakened to the grief that I would be feeling if I were attending Aaron's funeral.  It also brought on a moment of self-examination.  I wanted to repent of my faults and become a better wife, a better mother, a better friend.  I made some mental notes on ways to improve my faithfulness to the covenants I have made, and strive to be found worthy to enter into the celestial kingdom when I leave this world, so that I can be with my loved ones.  I got a little choked up and teary-eyed, realizing how I would miss this great man, and also realizing how far I have to go.

We spent one more night in Provo.  Strangely enough, we went bowling that evening with Aaron's parents and all of his sisters, and ate some really good mexican food.  I actually scored around 130 each game, which is pretty impressive for me, as I haven't bowled in a decade, and I can't remember breaking 100 before.  

Aaron took off early the next morning with Nancy for Salt Lake City, as he had to catch a plane to Las Vegas for a trade show, and she lives and works in SLC.  Emma caught a ride with a friend up to BYU Idaho right after the funeral, so with the addition of Reo, the rest of us headed back home.  I drove all but a few hours of it, with Reo taking the wheel for a few hours before we decided not to push through and to stay the night in a hotel.  The babies had pretty much had it, and we moms of small children suddenly realized how much better off we'd be if we came home well-rested.  I was particularly in favor of a good night's sleep, as I was going to be without Aaron for the next five days.

I made it home at about 3:30pm on Thursday.  My house was clean, my kids were bathed, and my mom was looking ready to go home.

I am so thankful for this experience.  I feel so blessed that I have family and friends who are willing to step in when I need them.  I am greatful for Aaron's grandfather, who has been so influential in Aaron becoming the great man he is today.  I am also thankful for my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which gives me peace, rather than pain, at the losses of so many dear ones this past decade - especially when so many have passed in the last year.  I know I will see them all again, so my sadness is confined to just missing them, and sympathy for those whose lives are affected most by their deaths.  

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." - 1 Cor 15:22

The One Thing I Can Always Count On...

...when Aaron is out of town, kids puke and a foot of snow lands in my driveway.  

So far, we're five down and two to go for this particular stomach bug.  Aaron returns tomorrow, and I am looking forward to getting out to set up and teach at our Primary Teacher In-Service in the evening.  I'm supposed to bake cookies or brownies and bring them there, but I'm thinking everyone would appreciate it if I just buy some and reduce the chances of transmitting germs.

Cute. Here's my Castle thing.

I stole this from Emma, who stole it from Jessica.

You Are a Practical Realist

You are scared of new experiences. It's hard for you to break outside of your comfort zone. You like to think that people see you as intellectual and wise. You consider yourself to be very smart. You are a very realistic person. You see the world as it is, flaws and all. Right now, stress occasionally makes you feel trapped in your life. You usually have a clear perspective on things though! Overall, your life is calm and steady. Not much stirs you, and each day is full of joy. You feel like the fate of the future partially rests in your hands. You believe you need to help make the world a better place. The Castle Personality Test

Katie Rocks!

Katie figured out how to rock on our rocking horse yesterday, and today she figured out how to get up onto it by herself. Dallin found her there this afternoon, rocking away. She loves it!

Brandon Got Glasses (plus candy cane picture)

Last month, Brandon got glasses.   I think I forgot to mention it, as it was right before Thanksgiving, and then everyone got sick right after that.  Here he is, and he's holding that candy cane we made at his class holiday party.  

Wrestling Picture

Aaron found the camera, so here's that picture of Tristin's wrestling meet.  Tristin is on the back mat, and he's wearing purple.  All you can see of him are his legs, which are vertical, as he's trying to lift himself up to avoid getting pinned.  If you click on the picture, you will get a full-screen version, and you'll be able to see it better.  Unfortunately, that 9th grader on top of him was a bit too much for him to handle.  Tristin continues to work hard and do his best.  He won a match at his last middle school meet, and he made it through another match or two without getting pinned, although he lost on points.  He's getting better each week.

Dallin Lost His First Tooth

A couple of weeks ago, Dallin had a piece of yarn in his mouth, and Ben pulled on it.  Dallin felt some pain, and noticed he had a loose tooth.  Since none of our kids have lost teeth until the age of six, we figured it was loosened because of this incident.  However, yesterday I noticed that there was an adult tooth growing in behind the tooth that was loose.  So, either the body knows to push up the new tooth, or the tooth was loose before the incident with the yarn.  

Today, the tooth was getting nice and wiggly, but not quite loose enough to come out on its own.  Since the adult tooth was growing behind the baby tooth, I was a little concerned that it needed to come out to make room for it.  So, out came the dental floss.  I wrapped a slip knot around it and asked Dallin how brave he was feeling today.  He showed me with his fingers that he was only a little tiny bit brave.  So, I told him to close his eyes, and then I wrapped the floss around a couple of my left fingers, and counted, "One, two - " and then I did a miniature karate chop across the floss with my right hand, and it took Dallin a second to realize the tooth was out.  

He was a very brave boy, in my book.  Ben and William convinced me that taking the tooth out early was worth $.50 instead of $.25, and I went for that.  Dallin is feeling quite rich right now.

Brandon's Class Party

This morning, I took Dallin, Aidan and Katie with me to Brandon's class party.  I had to have them all ready to go in order to get there at the beginning of school, which starts at 8am, so we were all up pretty early today.  Brandon helped get Aidan ready, and fed Katie breakfast, as I told him when he asked if I could make it that I would only be able to do it if he helped.  As it was, we rushed out the door with only minutes to spare, and Tristin had to hustle into the school when we got there so that he would have time to get his instrument to the band room before going to his homeroom.

We did an interesting craft at the holiday party.  We brought a coat hanger and two colors of yarn, and cut the coat hanger about four inches from the bend on each side.  Then, we bent it into a candy cane shape, leaving a small hook at the bottom so the yarn doesn't fall off, which we later bent parallell to the hanger after we were done.  Next, we wrapped yarn around a 4-inch piece of cardboard, cut it, and tied a small piece of yarn around the middle of it, making what looks like a bundle of bows.  This little bundle was then inserted onto the wire, through the middle of the piece we tied onto it.  We alternated colors until the whole candy cane was full of the bows, making a colorful, fluffy candy cane.  After pinching the bottom end, we also bent and pinched a little at the hook end.

Most people made their candy canes red and white.  Some were purple and gold, which are our district's colors.  There was someone there with some blue and white, and one child had yellow and white.  I, unfortunately, did not have any red or white yarn, as I haven't been crocheting much lately, and Tristin used up our white two years ago when he did this craft, and William used up the rest of my red to make a crochet garland for our Christmas tree this month.  So, Brandon took purple and green.  I let him know I could buy some other colors, but he was fine with this.  We got a few strange looks, but if it doesn't bother Brandon, it doesn't bother me.  Besides, it looked quite a bit like the candy cane Dallin brought home from school yesterday.  He said it tasted like sour apple.  If I ever find the camera, I'll take a picture of it and post it here for you to see.  I still haven't figured out where Aaron put it after that wrestling meet.  Hahaha!!

There were Little Debbie trees for treats, and hot chocolate, as well.  I was ready to get Katie out of there by the time the treats were served, so I didn't take any, but I tasted Aidan's to see if it was too hot, and it tasted remarkably like coffee. I'm sure the thermous the hot water was in was normally used for coffee, and there wasn't enough mix in the water, so it didn't cover up the taste.  Ew.  

After that, we went to Lifetime Fitness so I could get my workout in.  I was short on time, so I didn't get through my cardio after my resistance workout.  Apparently the clock I was looking at a Lifetime was a little slow, and Aidan wasn't very cooperative at getting ready to go and getting out to the car quickly, so we were five minutes late getting Dallin to school for kindergarten (SIGH).  That's the first time I have ever gotten a child to school late.  I guess there's a first time for everything.  Well, we only had PB&J in the car, and I'm finding myself to be hungry again, and Katie needs her nap, so I will have to be done here.  Hopefully, after that I'll be able to shower, do some laundry, and get a little rest in before the kids get home at 2:50pm.  We'll see.

Detailed Dallin

Although all of our kids have been at the tops of their classes in reading, none of them caught on quickly to the idea of actually using lower case letters in their writing, nor making their handwriting legible. Until now, that is. Dallin is doing both.

Dallin made a Christmas card for his kindergarten teacher today, and I was very surprised to see how he formed his letters very carefully, and used lower case letters where they belonged, without me even reminding him to.

I have noticed that Dallin takes more time on art projects than most of his older brothers did at his age, as well. He likes adding details to his pictures, and mostly colors within the lines.

I got a surprise in the laundry room today, and it was very exciting to me. I keep all of the boys' church clothes in the laundry room closet, hanging up on a 6-slot hanger holder - the kind that allows you to save space in the closet by dropping it vertically, so that the clothes are tiered. Their shirts and pants each go on a hanger with clips for the pants, and their socks go in the pockets of their shirts. This way, there is no rush on Sunday morning when one or two of the boys realize they never threw their clothes in the wash, as I can check that they are all in place by about Thursday, and have them find any missing items that didn't make it to the laundry basket in time to wash them.

Anyway, the boys know that if their clothes are not in need of laundering when they take them off on Sunday, they are supposed to hang them up on their hanger, and if they are in need of washing, they are supposed to put them in the laundry basket in the laundry room - as opposed to on the floor of their bedroom, or a basket in their bathroom, which may or not make it up to the laundry room if I have enough laundry to keep me busy without reminding them to bring it up. Normally, I can trust Tristin to hang his clothes up (clean or dirty, unfortunately, LOL), but the rest either toss them into the laundry, or completely forget and throw them in a heap in the basement. Dallin's have been showing up in the wash pretty regularly without any help from me, but today I found them on their hanger, with a clean pair of socks in the pocket. I've got to tell you, I was stunned. I asked him if he had done it, and he told me he had.

What a nice surprise! I am frequently pleased with my sweet little Dallin. He's growing into quite the big boy.

Strep Over (knock on wood)

The last few weeks were not nice. I had to cancel so many things, due to illnesses. The most difficult day we had was the day of Brandon's choir concert. I was looking forward to it, but it was going to be a complicated evening. You see, Tristin was going to be at an away wrestling match, and Aaron had a semi-annual director's meeting, which he couldn't skip. When I say he can't skip it, it should be taken in all seriousness - the Vice President of Sales & Marketing just had vertebrae replacement surgery in his neck, and was there in a neck brace, while the corporate lawyer, who is another director, was attending via speaker phone from his hospital room, where he had just had throat surgery. Going to the choir concert just wasn't an option for him.

I woke up that morning with Strep Throat. After going to the clinic to confirm my suspicions and get antibiotics, I thought about how I would probably have to drop off Brandon at his concert. Then I realized that Tristin's instructions had been to find us at Brandon's concert after his wrestling meet, if he got home during it. This was going to be a mess. Then, I realized that maybe Merle and Reo were coming. They normally try to, so I called up Merle. Luckily, they were able to rescue me. They came by and got Brandon, bringing a cup of Eddington's Wild Rice soup with them for me (mmm....), then waited around at the school for Tristin when he didn't get back as soon as we thought he would. Aaron came home in time to relieve them, and the evening was concluded.

I was so thankful to have their help that night. I am afraid I don't always think straight when I'm not feeling well, and I probably made the whole thing more complicated than it should have been by not getting better details about when Tristin's wrestling team would return to the school, but it was a good learning experience, and it turned out as well as it could, under the circumstances.

Aaron and I have yet to attend a 5th grade choir concert, so it will be new to us when Will is in 5th grade, as Tristin just happened to have strep the night of his 5th grade choir concert, two years ago.

Stealing Emma's Picture

Emma took this great picture of Katie, giving a fashion show of her Christmas Dress. I just ripped it off her blog, figuring that some of you won't see it there.

This is an important dress. The reason it is so important is that Reo (Katie's grandpa) bought it for her in England 11 years ago, when I was pregnant with Brandon. He and I both knew that she was coming, but we had no idea it would take so long for her to get here.

Anyway, it was saved in a plastic dress bag for all these years, and it is just gorgeous. It is silk with a nylon slip, and Katie LOVES wearing it. I have put her in it for church the past two Sundays, as I figure that she only has a short while to wear it, so why not get some use out of it?

What happened to Easter?

I just realized I accidentally put this post on Pratt Family Cooking, so I changed it over to my blog, along with the comments.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

What happened to Easter?
Last night at Primary Presidency meeting, we were scheduling sharing time and who will be conducting in Primary over the first half of the year. When we got to April, we took note of General Conference, and then the Primary President told us that the next week was Stake Conference. We thought that was a little strange, having them back-to-back. Then I noticed something even more strange. That Sunday is Easter Sunday. My first thought was that it is quite rude for them to make people drive so far on Easter, which takes up most of the day for people in the outlying areas (in particular, Waseca and Mankato). Then another thought occurred to me. This time we are having a prerecorded video conference.Does this strike you as horrid, as it does me? Or is it just because I grew up in a church where the Easter services were full of lilies, scenery of the open tomb, and, especially, tons of really good music!!!??? On Easter, which is supposed to be the most important holiday, the service is going to be prerecorded????I don't often get upset about the things my church leaders ask of me. I am trying to hold back, while I hope for a little clarification about this meeting. Was the date entered wrong on the Stake Calendar (oh, please, let this be the case)? Is the service going to be geared toward Easter (I thought these prerecorded stake conferences were held on different dates)? Will there be live musical numbers (more than just a stake choir singing prelude)?In the presidency meeting, I said that nobody would show up, and they looked at me a little funny, and I said, "Well, I mean, I will, but most people don't even show up for Stake Conference as it is - this will make attendance drop even more, between people travelling and people who want to spend the day with their families, instead of driving across the state that day!" I then received a few sheepish looks from the others, who admitted that they are the ones who rarely show up for stake conferences at all. Then I changed my tune and told them all that maybe I would go to my mom's Lutheran church for Easter. They could tell I was kidding. I tried that one on Aaron last night, and I got the impression he thought I was serious. He found out about this over a month ago at the ward council's calendaring session, and never even mentioned it to me. He doesn't seem concerned. Am I just weird, or does this seem strange to anyone else?
Posted by Stef at 5:10 PM

3 comments:
MJ said...
Yeah, thats kinda strange. I love that you called out the primary presidency. That was awesome.
December 10, 2008 5:41 PM
Nancy said...
I actually had to cancel a baptism on my mission because of conference scheduled on Easter. The investigator wanted nothing to do with a church that didn't take the sacrament on Easter Sunday. I can see exactly where you are coming from... of course, the French only ever attend on Easter and Christmas, so those masses were the big sell for the local cathedral, my perspective may be skew-y. You can come to my ward that week!!!! (The drive is farther.)
December 10, 2008 7:29 PM
Keeping It Sane said...
I didn't think the conferences were shown on other dates. I thought the whole region had conference on that date, and that conference was made just for that region. I could be wrong, though.And, I'm really bummed about this. I hadn't heard. It stinks to have that drive on Easter. I mean, I'd make it to just go to mom and dad's, but to a church meeting? Ugh. I guess Easter is at Mom's house this year. I don't know why it isn't a bigger holiday. It should be.

Strep not over

Yesterday I took Ben and Katie to Lakeview Clinic for strep cultures. Ben was positive, and due to the difficulty in getting a good swab out of Katie, they are treating her, as well, since her throat looked bad and she had a little bit of a temp. (while writing this post, the clinic called, and her culture grew out positive).

Today, my throat is swollen and burning, so I'm on my way to Target Clinic for a swab. Whoo-hoo, I get a $20 Target gift card for being a new patient at the Target Clinic. We have earned $30 in gift cards for getting sick so far, and since we don't have copays for nurse only visits, and our prescriptions have been covered by insurance, we are coming out of this one ahead, financially.

That will help balance out the $35 wrestling shoes I bought Tristin last week, the $24 I spent on his shorts and t-shirt (they get the uniform and warm-ups, courtesy of Waconia Wrestling Boosters), and the $12 Aaron and I had to pay to watch our son wrestle once on Saturday, even though we were there for six hours and I worked in the concession stand for two of them. If you can believe it, $35 was clearance pricing on a price of very qood quality, however bright blue shoes. They were the only pair that were his size, and that was fortunate for me, because the other pairs cost around $170, and because none of them fit him, I didn't have to feel bad that his shoes are not black like everyone else's.

Anyway, strep is ruining my week again. I had to miss the pack committee meeting that I was supposed to lead yesterday after den meetings, as well as miss my 3rd consecutive Greek class, since Katie and Ben couldn't go to the church with us. Today I'll have to reschedule Brandon's and my chiropractor appointments (Brandon is going to treat some curvetures for just a few months), and I'll just have to drop Brandon off at his choir concert tonight by himself. Aaron has his semi-annual director's meeting today, which runs straight through dinner and into the late evening, so he can't take over.

Well, I'm off. Maybe I'll get to write a post soon that has something cheerful in it.

Tristin's first high school sport

Are you wondering whether I meant to say "high school?" Yes, I did. The 7th through 12 grades all are one team. Although the 7th and 8th graders have three of their own tournaments with the other middle schools in our conference, they also wrestle J.V., when there are openings available.

Tristin's first meet was Saturday. It consisted of three teams hosted by Waconia. Tristin got to wrestle one match for J.V. He was pinned in 25 seconds. In his defense, he was wrestling a 9th-grader who has probably been wrestling since kindergarten, and Tristin had only been wrestling for two weeks.

His second meet was on Monday. It was the first of the middle school tournaments. He wrestled four times, and lost all four times. However, he made it really close to the end of the first period each time, even scoring some points in the process, due to some escapes, before being pinned. I am really proud of him.

It was hard to watch him getting choked up at the end of each match. He went into this expecting to be behind everyone else, but it doesn't really help when you're being observed by a whole gym full of people. We have discovered that most athletes in this area actually start their sports when they start school. This has our kids at a severe disadvantage, as neither our financial situation nor our family's schedule would allow us to do that with them.

Financially, you either have to be poor or rich to be able to have your kids in activities around here. There are so many people who get their fees waived (which they get if they qualify for free or reduced lunches, or are on WIC), that everyone else has to make up for the difference, and that is really too much for our income level. But even if we could afford it, we would still be limited by our schedule; Monday night is FHE; Tuesday night Tristin has his percussion lesson and Aaron teaches piano lessons to three students; Wednesday Aaron and I have Greek class, the older boys have Scouts, and Aaron has to field appointments for the Bishop, and teaches a piano lesson after Scouts; Thursday Aaron teaches our own kids piano lessons, and I regularly have an Enrichment activity; Friday is date night; Saturday is our day to catch up and play; and Sunday we just don't do those things.

Tristin has three meets in a row now. Today after school is a Varsity/J.V. match in Annandale. Tomorrow is the second middle school match, held at Dassel/Cokato, again after school. Saturday is an invitational in Delano for Varsity/J.V. at 7am. It's sure to take all day. Our lives will be very busy for the next two months, the way the schedule is looking.

Aaron took some pictures at the first match, and I'll post them once I find the camera.

Tagged

I have never been tagged before, and didn't know what to do about it until I read Nancy's blog after she was tagged by the same tag-er. So, I guess I will be a lemming and do it, too.



Seven things to do before I die:



1. Go to Hawaii

2. Serve missions

3. Go to a mother/daughter function

4. Have grandkids

5. Find those elusive Hron and Novotny families in my genealogy

6. Visit Prague (probably required to do #5)

7. Tour Europe with Aaron



Seven things I cannot do:



1. Decorate a cake, other than smearing on frosting with a knife

2. Win at Scrabble

3. Keep my mouth shut when I'm upset

4. Keep a phone conversation under 20 minutes

5. Keep a grocery trip under $150

6. Be a broadway actress

7. Keep my house clean



Seven things that attracted me to my spouse:



1. His musical talents

2. His cello

3. His grin

4. His brains

5. His sense of adventure

6. His love of the gospel

7. His love of ice cream



Seven things I say most often:

1. How many times have I told you...

2. For Pete's Sake!

3. Ugh!

4. Do you have anything for me to sign?

5. Are your chores done?

6. Would you please...

7. Are you okay in there?



Seven books I love:



1. My Antonia

2. Anne of Green Gables (the whole series)

3. Ender's Game

4. Eragon (the whole series so far)

5. Pride and Prejudice

6. Sense and Sensibility

7. The Screwtape Letters

Report card

All the kids did really well on their report cards. Dallin's has the following written on his report card:

Term 1 Comments: We are working on having Dallin right words the way he
hears them and using some of our special rules for vowels and such.

I had to restrain myself, but I did not email him to point out the hilarity of the grammatical error.

Ugh!

I found a clinic for Aaron to visit in Chicago. It is right on the way to his hotel from the airport. However, I can't tell him that, as he left his cell phone in our bedroom. Ugh!

Strep/Scarlet Fever

We have not had a very healthy family this week. Katie is snotty, Aaron, Tristin, Brandon and William have sore throats. Dallin and I have a little congestion and runny noses. I kept the boys home from school on Monday, but none of them got a fever or headache, so I sent them back on Tuesday. This morning, Aidan had a rash all over. Of course, this falls on a Wednesday, the day my normal doctor is not in our clinic. Aidan has been falling asleep at odd times over the past couple of days, and his appetite hasn't been good, so we were pretty sure we knew what it was. Aaron checked his throat, and it looked bad, so I took him to Target Clinic this morning. He has scarlet fever. This is a bit ironic, as he doesn't actually have a fever. The rapid strep culture showed positive in only 2 minutes. The nurse practitioner looked at Dallin's throat and my throat, and said they didn't look red, so she didn't culture us. Her take on strep is that if you don't have symptoms, you don't need antibiotics, so we'll see how that works out.

Aaron is on a plane to Chicago right now. I looked at his throat before he left, and it looked pretty suspicious. He's had a headache, too, so I may have to try to find a clinic for him to drop by there. Fun stuff. As I said two weeks ago when Aaron left on his last business trip, either it snows, or people get sick. Did I mention the driveway has snow on it? We're two for two.

Darn it!

So, Aaron came home from church on Sunday (I was home with a housefull of sick kids) and said that a letter had been read directing us to get our food storage in order, have some money in savings, reduce debt, and cut expenses. I think there was some other stuff in there, too, but I don't remember. We have our year's supply, and only have debt on our house, but we could certainly stand to have more in savings. In anticipation of Microboards not thriving in this market while it tries to sell yesterday's technology, we have been trying to cut expenses.

So, on Monday, I thought about what we could cut out of our budget. Then it came to me as I was doing laundry. As I was folding laundry, I saw some socks with holes in them, and put them aside to throw away (I already have a whole bunch in the rag pile for dusting and wiping whiteboards). Then I though about it. I spend quite a bit of money on socks. They cost quite a bit, too. Then it came to me that I ought to be darning socks.

Aaron occasionally darns his own socks, but I always thought this was a waste of time. But then I realized that I could be darning while watching television at night. It takes about a half an hour to properly darn one hole, so in an evening, I should be able to fix a pair of socks.

Next, I had to figure out how to darn socks. I took out a needle and thread and started on one pair, and when I was done, it looked like I had quite a nice, lumpy seam with two uncomfortable-looking knots in it. I decided I needed instructions, so I popped on the internet and found this site: http://www.tutorials.com/06/0632/0632.asp

It gives a great tutorial, and a half an hour later, I had a comfortable, holeless, seamless, knotless sock. Yeah! I guess I can save about $7/month on not buying new socks.