Leo

Photo courtesy of Emily, the true owner, ie Tyler's sister, on her nice new camera

Meet the newest member of our family, Leo. So now we have a goldfish, a bunny, and a kitty at least temporarily. We're kittysitting for the summer, perhaps longer. Tyler's sister can't have him in her current apartment because of an allergic roommate so she's asked us to watch him for the summer until she moves in the fall. If, in the fall, she still can't have him then we'll adopt him.

He's been a pleasure to have around. He came litter trained, drinks out of his own water dish (though he has been tempted by the toilet already), wears a collar, puts up with excited children and eats his food without complaint. So, so easy! He only meow's when the children are too rough on him or when he wishes he could go outside.

Each time we open the door he bolts for the exit. Sometimes, however, that means running head on into my shin. Ouch! But each time he escapes he gets further and further in the yard before we catch him. I'm not ready to let him outside yet because he is still a kitty and we have a ton of stray cats around. It's so funny to see him sit by the window, yearning to be out there. Lol.

The only downside is that although the children, particularly Jocelyn, know that he is only with us for the summer, they will have a hard time letting go. And changing litter, hearing him chase balls all night long, being awoken by him licking my face or purring for attention at 2 am and the fact that he will inevitably become a cat are an acquired taste as well.

But I wouldn't mind if he stuck around for a while.

Images of Mt Pleasant

So my parents live in a rural town in the middle of Utah called Mt Pleasant. It's about an hour and 15 minutes from P-town. It is a pleasant place and they do live near mountains. However, I would never want to call it my permanent residence for reasons I won't get in to here. But we do love to visit them. It's quiet. Peaceful. And although the neighboring peacocks are a nuisance it gives Tyler a chance to have some target practice.

We've been down there a few weekends in a row and I took some still shots of my parents yard. No editing here folks, just some nice outdoor country lighting.

The children like to collect these bones. I don't allow them in the house. Kind of gross. But I don't mind the budding anthropologists.

Many a bonfire burned here. And delicious s'mores. Remember this?

Isn't it about.....thyme? My parents don't have grass lawn but a thyme lawn. Smells nice.

My mom loves flowers, especially those that the deer won't eat.

The only good thing about having peacocks invade your property:

Girls

Tonight Jocelyn and I had this conversation,

J said, "I wish the moon was dead"
I said, "Why?"
J, "Because I wouldn't have to go to sleep and I could just take little naps instead and stay up late like you get to."

Haha, I thought to myself. First of all, she no longer takes naps, except when she falls asleep in the car. And secondly, I didn't want to go into the natural necessity of the moon and how it makes our world go round. She has a hard time staying young and yet not wanting to grow up.

Take this for instance. She LOVES to paint anyone's nails, those who will let her. Cecily came up to me handing me a bottle of nail polish, "unh, unh" that's "here" in baby language. So I offered it to J and she took over. Thanks Aunt Stephy! You taught her everything she knows about painting nails and now she's passing it on :) Cecily loves her big sister, except when she gets attention from me then the jealousy creeps in. Jocelyn keeps saying she can't wait for Cecily to grow up so she can play more with her. I think it's sweet that they get a long so well and that Cecily looks up to Jocelyn so much.

Not a bad job either!

Opinions Please...

I noticed that when I participated in our May Relief Society meeting about literacy that I am a self-help lover. We asked everyone to bring their favorite books to display to give others ideas of what to read. Do you know what I brought?

1. Parenting with Love & Logic
2. I am a Mother
3. 5 Love Languages

"What is wrong with me?" I thought to myself. I didn't bring a favorite piece of literature. I did not bring my current novel. I realized that the only reading I am doing lately is from the Scriptures or these self-help books! Wow. Some things need to change. But a little at a time. I get all ambitious and want to start changing all at once. But that is when depression and self-doubt creeps in after I've realized...I've set myself up for punishment! I have to remind myself to take one goal at a time......

But what I need your help with is laundry. Please take this brief survey. Once I feel I have enough answers, I'll post them.

Check it out right here. Or on the side bar as well. OH, and if you do take it, please leave your name so I know who is responding. So, you know, I can grill you for more info later. heehee. The survey results don't show me who you are. If you take it.....I'll be really happy and you'll put a smile on my face. Is that enough incentive?

Les Miserables

Wow. It's been a while since I blogged. I've been focusing a lot on summer fun! You can see some ideas on my other blog. We've been busy busy busy! I feel like once I'm done entertaining the kids, keeping house and serving food to small people that there is barely enough time to check email, craft, facebook, pin photos and blog anymore. Sigh.

But Tyler and I have had the blessing of parents close by these past two weeks. We were able to attend my favorite musical and possibly theatrical production ever, Les Miserables. I organized a group so we could get a discount, which helped a lot. Sadly, however, I wish we would have paid the extra $10-15 to sit in the orchestra section. I've only been to the capital theater once before. And although our seats were directly above the seats of my parents who were down in the orchestra and over a bit (though, they could not see the very stage left....it should have been obstructed view rates....like in real theaters.....because they could not see the entire stage) we could not hear nearly as well. The music from the pit came directly upward and the actors voices went directly outward to the lower seats. Ugh. If I was not so familiar with the music I would have been a bit confused.

It was well done. I liked the new staging as well. They got rid of the rotating circular stage to name one thing. And it sounded like they added some new sound effects during the songs. Some of the scenery was different as well.

But it was fun to experience for the first time with my cousin Mabel. I was excited just for her to see it for the first time. And the last time I had seen it was in London when I was still single. Wow. The lyrics and blocking are a lot more meaningful when I understand them more. I always chuckled at the Thenardier's in their Master of the House but I didn't quite grasp all the innuendo until then.

And then tears came to my eyes as Fantine sang this. It means a lot more now that I have children. Listening to her sing about imagining Cosette (played by BYU's very own Jenny Latimer, who is friends with lots of my acting friends) playing with children and knowing that she will not able to say goodbye to her little girl was heartbreaking.




I Dreamed a Dream (whom Susan Boyle's rendition still gives me chills) was powerfully sung by our performer as well.

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was amazing too. Having lost a friend in the Service this song meant something at a greater level. And our Marius had a fabulous voice! Better than the Jonas bro in this video (who apparently played this role in London), imo.



Anyway, we LOVE this show. It was the first real musical I was introduced to by my uncle Scott, before I had seen very many live productions. So it means a lot to me. I am glad I was able to see it again and that it is still strong on Broadway and in London. If you have never seen this, you MUST sometime in your lifetime. It's deeper than Wicked and has better music than Phantom. Just sayin.

My baby is growing up

You can see more photos about this little monster here.

Not my current baby. My first baby.

Samuel reached two major milestones this week and I'm beginning to feel like Claire on the latest episode of Modern Family. Like I might just freak out after trying to contain the emotion. Well, actually, I'm not quite that dramatic.

Friday was his last day of Kindergarten, except for a single test this week. They had a little program with all 3 kindergarten classes. At first they danced a little square dance. The photos I took were very low quality so I won't share them. But just imagine Samuel dancing every movement with precision. Can you believe it? Mine and Tyler's child dancing knowing every dance move? That nearly brought tears to my eyes.

Then each kid (all 90 of them) stood in line and said a little something like, "I didn't know how to read before I was in Kindergarten, but now I do." That almost brought on tears as I thought about it. How much Samuel has progressed. He did not know how to read before kindergarten. He could not count to 100. He could spell his name but not very clearly. It's been so comforting to see how much he's learned. Though he's had some behavioral/social challenges, he's had a successful year. He will miss Mrs. Murray. He will miss his classmates. He will probably miss his little girlfriend. But I look forward to a fun filled summer with him and then a fresh start in the fall. He's scared of going to 1st grade because his buddies siblings have told him that it's hard but I am pretty sure he'll do just fine. Sigh, my first born is done with his first year of education. At least he held my hand after his T-ball game on Saturday while walking to the car. He initiated! That melted my heart!

The second milestone was losing his first tooth! He's had three loose teeth for a long while. About a year ago he bonked his knee and his front tooth became loose. He had another loose tooth on the bottom. But then yesterday he bit down into an apple and yelled, "Ow!" He had a third loose tooth.

So he jiggled it and tickled it with his tongue all day. It was just hanging by a thread. I told him we'd better get it out so he wouldn't swallow it in his sleep. Is that possible? I think I've heard of that happening. It scared him that he might so I reassured him it wouldn't. He wanted me to call a dentist to make sure. I told him the Dentists were closed but that I'd look it up on the internet.
But I was too scared to pull it out myself remembering how painful sometimes it was. So I let him sleep on it. The next morning it wasn't much looser but he wasn't eating breakfast and complained of it tickling and irritating him. So I got out the pliers and was ready for operation. And he was really brave too. The pliers didn't grip very well so Tyler suggested I just use a kleenex. That worked great! It came right out with no tears! And he was so gitty and proud!


After this great accomplishment I decided we needed a little something to put the tooth inside for the tooth fairy. I've seen these little pillows around the web and though it would be fun to make one. The way Samuel sleeps with pillows on all sides I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find the tooth.

So the tooth monster joined the family. The kids helped me whip it up before Samuel's T-ball game. Samuel was the head designer. He described what he wanted and we traced it out sewed it together. Fun times! And lucky for him the tooth fairy came in the night and left him $1.

I thought was a fair amount. He told me kids at school were getting $1. One of his cousins got $5 but I can't justify that much. Tyler thought $1 was too high. haha. But I told him I got like .25 to .50 cents when I was a kid and with inflation his should be increased to $1. How much did you get? Or how much do you give your kids?

Now, I expect the rest of his teeth will start following suit. And hopefully this summer will not be too painful, full of bickering and boredom. I have a lot planned and I am excited about it! I'll blog about it as soon as I make the final list of activities!

Mother's Day Brunch

It's okay if you think I look like a monkey. Because my family and I already know that truth. My mother looks beautiful, even in a handkerchief.

I love my mother and grandmothers. I love my mother-in-law too! It's so wonderful to be able to have such loving, supportive and helpful women in my life. I am proud to be their daughter. To show them my love I decided this year I would give them a special brunch. I wish my MIL and Tyler's grandma's could have been here too!

After I had seen this lovely brunch set-up on a favorite blog I realized that I could create a simplified version! My mom was already in town for the weekend to arrange flowers for my cousins wedding. It was perfectly timed. And I already live next door to my grandma, like across the driveway! Here is a photo from our adjoining yard. Sadly this lilac tree is no longer here. The roots weren't strong enough to handle my 6 year old monkey.

I quickly ran to Sunflower Market to buy some fresh fruit on Friday night. I asked my mom, who was quietly reading a novel, if she could watch my two oldest while I took the little one to the store. Sadly, though, I didn't think I'd be gone more than 40 minutes while the make-ahead manicotti was baking in the oven. My mom had no idea it was in there and in my haste I forgot to look at the time when I left so I didn't call her to check on it. Needless to say now we're stuck eating dried up crusty leftovers. Such is life.

So anyway, back to the brunch. I invited my mom and grandma over (sorry Aunt Claudia, I'm afraid we had while you were in Church. Jocelyn specifically asked for you!) along with Jocelyn. Cecily was sleeping.


I loved the citrus theme. It felt so summery. I gave up the idea of sleeping in and woke up and got to work. This day is a day I wished I had two ovens. I thought about using my grandma's but I didn't want to to spoil any my surprise!


The menu consisted of homemade quiche (and I made the shell this time!), orange rolls (Rhodes with zest and glaze added), poppy seed bread and citrus drop cookies.

We ate outside on my Grandma's patio. It was perfectly warm and we had a lovely and brief time chatting and eating. Two of my favorite things to do! And with some of my best friends!




All in all, my Mother's day was grand. After this brunch I managed to quickly (and not very motherly-like) get the children ready for Church. They were pretty well behaved. They both came home from Primary with two cute cards. The men served us ice cream too! That was fun and different. Then Tyler made dinner and cleaned up. He even mopped! You can hardly tell now but it was a much needed (and avoided) task by me! I've been reading a book called, I am a Mother and I am loving it. (Thanks Lori!) It's nice to hear a true perspective from a woman who, in some eyes, "had it all" with a very successful career in TV but gave it all up to be a mother. Honestly, some days are a struggle for me. I wonder why I chose this path. And some days I am NOT very good at it. But the few moments that my children give me hugs or write me love notes or say they don't want to go to an orphanage (gee, I wonder whey they would ever think of that??), makes up for the harder times. I think one day I will miss the crumbs underneath every kitchen chair, or the smudge marks on all the walls and surfaces. At least they are there. It means that none of us are perfect, and it's a good reminder that I have the blessing to be a mother.