Spors in the Desert

Dear Readers

2012-01-09T11:38:00.000-08:00

My computer has broken down and had to be sent in for repairs. I probably won't be able to post for a few weeks.

- Arwen

2011-12-24T12:36:00.001-08:00

Tree

2011-12-20T04:02:00.000-08:00

I love our tree. Some people like having a perfect tree that looks like it came straight from a shop window. Some people like a Martha Stewart tree with giant ribbons that coordinate with their decor and wrapping paper. I like having a kid-decorated tree with handmade decorations, sideways garland and ornaments mostly around the bottom. It makes me smile whenever I walk by.

WordFUL Wednesday: Christmas Traditions

2011-12-14T04:00:00.000-08:00

(Don't forget the giveaway here)

I have been meaning to participate in Chocolate on My Cranium's Wordful Wednesday for a while. I don't seem to be very good at remembering these kinds of things these days (or much of anything). This time I remembered, though!

This week's topic is Christmas Traditions. I was going to post about our advent nativity or our mailbox activities, but you can read about those here. Instead, I want to tell you about our Christmas book. This is one of my very favorite Christmas traditions, because it started in college with my roommate.

She was a good friend to both of us, one of the people who kind of helped get us together. (That doesn't really tell you much. You can read more of the story here.) She had a collection of Christmas stories she had accumulated over the years, and my other roommate and I sat and listened to her read, like storytime. She and I ended up giving each other books for Christmas, which became a tradition by itself for several years. We lost touch with her a few years ago, and we still have a book we bought to give her, as soon as we are able to track her down.

So whenever we read certain Christmas books, I think of her. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Last Straw - This was one my roommate had that I always had her read. It's about one of the wise men's camels, who complains all the way to Bethlehem as he is loaded down with cargo. I was finally able to find it on Amazon this year, so this will be Beeper's first year hearing it.

A Wish For Wings That Work - I have had this one for... I don't know how long, and I still have trouble not tearing up. Lovable Opus the penguin wishes to fly for Christmas. It's a story about appreciating our own unique talents, being kind to others, and dreaming.

The Stable Where Jesus Was Born - This was one of those lucky, grocery store bargain bin finds. This is my favorite of our Christmas Story picture books. It's just a rewrite of The House That Jack Built, but I think it's fun.

What are some of your favorite traditions or Christmas books?

One more picture

2011-12-13T03:58:00.000-08:00

Because if this doesn't make you smile...

A little self-promotion

2011-12-12T05:46:00.000-08:00

I haven't done much for the Spoonflower contests this year, but this week's was right up my alley, so I went ahead and entered. The theme is cloth baby books that fit on a fat quarter. The book I made doesn't really have any pages, just a cover. Inside is an ark pocket full of little animals:

You can vote here (vote for as many as you want).

I am giving away an Egypt-themed t-shirt with my own original artwork on Walk Beside Me. You can enter to win here.

Wordless Week: Happy Holidays

2011-12-09T05:05:00.000-08:00

Wordless Week: Ferris Wheel (Scheels)

2011-12-08T05:03:00.000-08:00

Wordless Week: Creche Exhibit

2011-12-07T05:02:00.000-08:00

Wordless Week: Grampa

2011-12-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

Wordless Week: Birthday Boy (6)

2011-12-05T04:58:00.000-08:00

Teaching Gratitude

2011-11-24T07:17:00.000-08:00

As I was pondering gratitude this morning, I thought about when kids act ungrateful (at least, my kids, and others I have observed; maybe all kids don't do this). For example: You've worked hard to prepare dinner, and when you put it in front of your child, the first thing out of his mouth is, "Yuck," or, "You forgot..." or some other observation of something you did "wrong" or that isn't to his liking. Then you get get mad, and arguing ensues and you send him to his room without dinner, and nobody is happy (again, maybe this is just our house).

I got to wondering if maybe that is something that is learned. After all, Beeper is, in general, a fairly polite kid. I wonder how many times he has done something, and instead of showing genuine thanks and leaving it at that, I nitpick, I point out mistakes or things he did wrong or things he could have done better.

Maybe he just figures that that's the way it is supposed be. How else can anyone ever learn to do things right, if we don't all nitpick each other to death?

It's something to think about, anyway.

Gratitude

2011-11-21T05:12:00.000-08:00

Someone read a poem in church yesterday that I liked so much I had to look for it when I got home. I didn't find it, but I did find a similar one. You can read it here. This is the line I need most right now:

Be grateful when you are tired,
Your hard work often means that you have made a difference

There is always something to be grateful for, if you look hard enough.

Another of the speakers reminded us of the inverse with Elder Holland's maxim, "No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse."

"Jesus Loves the Children"

2011-11-16T03:47:00.000-08:00

We've all been taking turns being sick for the last week or so at our house. Little Fish has been the worst off. It's always heartbreaking to see such a little guy be perfectly miserable so much of the day (and night).

I read some uplifting things this morning, though, and I wanted to share. Chocolate on My Cranium has having another great series of guest posts. Today's is a lovely reminder about gratitude. It flows nicely into this post by an old friend of mine about time and homemaking and children. You are so inspirational, Mantha. Thank you.

I wanted to add some of the thoughts I have been having lately to hers. I recently read Heaven is for Real. This is a bestseller about a little boy's experiences. He almost died and had an emergency appendectomy. The doctors didn't expect him to live. He made a miraculous recovery. Then, months later casually mentioned to his parents about some of his experiences in heaven during the surgery. Further questioning over time revealed more and more information that led his parents to believe the experience was genuine.

After hearing about the book, I was curious, so I checked it out. It is a short book and a fairly quick read. I think the main messages that the family is trying to share are that heaven is real, God loves you, and Jesus loves the children.

It was the last one that struck me especially, and the reason I am writing about the book. The author says his son mentioned that over and over. "Dad, Jesus wants you to know that He loves the children." "Dad, Jesus says He really, really loves the children." I keep thinking on that. I think that is a message God would emphasize. Remembering that helps my perspective.

There is another thought I have been turning over in my mind lately to try and keep a proper perspective. I have been pondering lately what, as a parent, I am trying to prepare my kids for. I think we often try to make our kids perfect and give them perfect lives. This causes us to be embarrassed, angry, annoyed, etc. when they are not perfect. How realistic is that? (I say "we" but maybe you are different.)

I made a conscious decision to make my goal instead to prepare them for imperfect lives. I want to teach them the skills that they'll need to live imperfect lives. It sounds obvious. but I am finding that having this purpose in mind helps. (Wow, teaching with a purpose works just as well in the home as is does in Sunday school and Cub scouts.)

I am far from perfect myself, but I hope these thoughts help me move in the right direction.

2011-11-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy.

That would explain it

2011-11-03T03:38:00.000-07:00

Baloo has been a lot crankier lately. I am sure it is related to him deciding that he doesn't like to nap.

For the last several days, though, he has been especially cranky (and napless). One day in paticular it was so bad, I didn't think I could take it much longer. He is way too heavy to be carrying all day (and way too loud to be listening to all day).

That afternoon, Baloo grabbed my finger and put it in his mouth.

Aha! A tooth!

The other two didn't get their first until nine months, so he's more than two months up on them.

Yay for teeth! Boo for teething.

Sunbeam

2011-11-02T04:23:00.000-07:00

Park Day

2011-11-01T04:18:00.000-07:00

Baloo had his first ride in a swing yesterday.

It was so much fun to have all three boys lined up swinging together. Beeper has finally completely gotten over his fear of swinging upright on the big kid swings. He's getting pretty good at pumping his legs too.

Web Cam

2011-10-31T02:19:00.000-07:00

I got a new computer a while back that has a web cam. Pretty much all laptops now come with them standard. The boys and I have been playing with it recently. It's not high quality, but it is an easy way to get them all in the shot smiling together.

The history of a costume

2011-10-27T04:25:00.000-07:00

I made the George outfit for Beeper when he was 10 months old. By the time Halloween rolled around (about 11 months) it was almost too small (the arms and legs were a tad short).

Little Fish was swimming it in at 4 1/2 months, but we figured it was his only chance to wear it.

Not so. It fit perfectly last year (16 months).

Now, at 6 1/2 months, it fits Baloo almost as well as it fit Little Fish last year. Scary.

Here's a picture of all of us on a hay ride last weekend. We were invited to a homeschool party and forgot to bring a camera. Fortunately someone else took pictures and shared.

This is part of this week's Spin Cycle: Halloween, Then and Now.

Family Photos

2011-10-26T04:27:00.000-07:00

Tree House

2011-10-25T04:43:00.000-07:00

I promised pictures when this was done. It's taken two summers to get it to this point. Firebirdluver probably has more plans for this, but it is to a complete enough stage that Beeper and the neighborhood kids can go up and down. They love it. Beeper finally got up enough courage to climb all the way up the rock wall. Now he loves climbing the wall, then descending the ladder.

Little Fish's favorite part is the sandbox. The sand came from someones ranching property out in the middle of nowhere. A relative gave us one of those diggers you can sit on and work the shovel like an excavator. The kids love it, even though it has to be taken out to put the cover over the sandbox. I sewed the cover from a heavy-duty tarp. Firebirdluver added grommets at the corners, and there are hooks on the sandbox to hook it down (it's screwed in at two corners so it doesn't blow away). They only remember to put the cover on about half the time. Oh well.

Firebirdluver designed and built almost everything. The rings and rope ladder (actually two rope ladders tied together) came from IKEA. The rocks for the climbing wall came from here. The rest is firbirdluver. He really pays attention to the details. Take a look at the floor of the tree house. Isn't it beautiful?

You can see earlier pictures here, here and here.

Muffin Tin Monday

2011-10-24T03:21:00.000-07:00

The boys were delighted to get a "spooky" muffin tin. In included ghost PB&J, mandarin oranges, Pirate Booty, yogurt with sprinkles (Beeper decided it was hot lava), corn and eyeball chocolates.

Capes

2011-10-20T03:48:00.000-07:00

Prince Beeper

Beeper the Bat

Super Fish

And that was just the first day.

I think a cape is an essential piece of childhood equipment. I still have the one my mom made me when I was little. I embellished it a few years ago, and it has made an appearance in more than one of Beeper's super hero outfits (like this one).

The reversible hooded play cape in Growing Up Sew Liberated (quickly becoming a favorite) is irresistible. With costume fabrics on sale right now, I couldn't help myself.

I made three capes to give them plenty of color choices: gray and green, brown and red, black and blue. The black, gray and brown are panne. The red and blue are costume satin (not the most practical choice, but it sure looks good). The green is from some curtains one of firebirdluver's sisters put in the yard sale pile (thank you, it makes excellent dragon wings).

They are super simple. They only took about an hour apiece to sew up (cutting and pinning included), even with such difficult fabrics. If you wanted super-duper easy, you could make a one-sided one out of panne and leave the edges raw. That would probably only take about 15 minutes from start to finish.

The clasps are especially brilliant:

They consist only of a hair elastic and a button sewn on the very egde. It's perfectly reversible, easy to operate and usually stays.

Determined

2011-10-19T04:48:00.001-07:00

After thinking about it...

2011-10-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

(aka: My Kindle Buying Guide)

There's a lot of choices to pick from now if you want to buy a kindle. Will you get one with a keyboard, a touch screen, color or the most basic option? Wi-fi or 3G? Special offers?

The answer will be different for everyone, of course, which is why it's nice to have so many different choices. After thinking about it and how I've used mine and reading different things, I think if I were buying a new kindle, I would get the Kindle 3G with keyboard and special offers - the same thing I already have with special offers. I like the keyboard and wouldn't want to give it up, even for a touch screen (I guess I'm old fashioned). I also like the text-to-speech, which isn't on the cheaper model. I don't think it has the browser either, which has come in handy, especially when travelling ("Look up the closest Michaels to where we are. See if there's a post office nearby.")

As for the special offers, I have read from people who have kindles from before those were available who bought one with special offers for a family member or had some other chance to use one, and they said they'd trade theirs in for one. The ads aren't invasive and the special offers are great - 2 for 1 amazon gift cards, super deals on audio books, etc.

If you want the cheapest thing, are only going to use it for reading, and would never want to type or use audio, then I would say go for the $79 Kindle 4 with wi-fi.

When I first got my kindle and was showing it to people, almost everyone tried to use it like a touch screen. Obviously for those people, the Kindle Touch would probably be the best choice, and the price structure is almost the same as the Kindle with keyboard (the 3G model is $10 more).

As for the Kindle Fire... well, it would fun to have a tablet computer, and that is a really good price for one. I don't care about having a camera in my computer, so I don't mind about that. I understand why there is no 3G version, because the bandwidth required for streaming movies is completely different than what's required to download books (those book files are teeny). I wish, though, that it had more storage or a way to add more storage and/or an option for a 3G contract.

If I were getting a Kindle Fire, it would be in addition to my other Kindle, because I really like the e-ink screen for reading, and the lighter weight for one-handed reading is a must-have. I expect a Kindle Fire at our house would get used mostly for streaming movies and tv and for the apps, both of which would be really handy features on roadtrips. (Have you ever tried entertaining one or more small children in a hotel room when their siblings are taking a nap in the same room?)

The cloud storage is a nifty thing, but it's just not practical for us on its own. We live in an area without many wi-fi hot spots, and when we're driving there's certainly not going to be any. Firebirdluver could probably use something like this on his bus rides to and from work (almost everyone has to ride the company buses to and from the mines, and it is a long commute). There is certainly not going to be wi-fi out in the middle of a remote desert.

In all of those cases, movies would have to be preloaded onto the tablet before the trip or at the beginning of the work week. We'll be going on a trip next month where the Kindle Fire would be perfect, except that the hotel we're staying at does not have free wi-fi (ever notice that it's the nicer hotels that make you pay for internet?) so with the way the Fire currently is, we'd have to pick 6-8 movies to put on there before the trip, and that's what we'd have for the whole week. I suppose we could put more on the laptops and then transfer them over to the tablet, but in that case, we might as well just watch them on the laptop.

I know. I should be writing this to Amazon. I figure, though, right now they are probably getting hundreds, maybe even thousands of e-mails right now about the Fire. I read somewhere that they got a quarter of a million pre-orders in the first two days after it was announced, so they certainly don't have to worry about making money.

One more thought on Kindle, as long as I am on the subject: After using the library lending for a couple of weeks, I think I'd be willing to pay for a book subscription service where you's pay a monthly or annual fee to borrow books. I like being able to read best sellers and other popular books without having to pay the $10 cover price. I think a subscription fee would be worth having a bigger selection and no waiting lists.

Conference for Kindle

2011-10-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

This blogger made a kindle file of the latest General Conference. He also converted the file to epub for Nook users. I tried audio files of conference last time but never got a chance to listen. Hopefully making it more convenient will encourage me to reread all the talks.

PS for Nook users: I noticed yesterday that lds.org now has an epub section of manuals.

Weekly News Round-up

2011-10-14T04:27:00.000-07:00

Marijuana-shaped candy - Seriously? What's the world coming too?

Study finds possible cause for pre-eclampsia - I highly recommend this article. It's a fun and interesting look at one aspect of pregnancy. With so much going on inside, it's no wonder pregnancy is so exhausting.

Woman gives birth after running marathon - Also a fun story. That's got to be like running two marathons in a row. At least she got to have dinner in between.

Babies/toddlers with a sense of fairness - I am rarely surprised when scientists find that babies are more aware of things earlier than previously suspected. The part of this study I found interesting was that the babies who recognized fairness were also more likely to be "altruistic sharers." (And the "more likely" percentages were way to big to be a coincidence)

Late Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-13T04:19:00.001-07:00

Parent News Round-up

2011-10-07T04:23:00.000-07:00

Happiness is genetic. Sort of. According to this study, people who are predisposed to moodiness due to low serotonin levels are more susceptible to how parenting affects their outlooks. Positive parenting helps kids be more optimistic and vice-versa. Interestingly, the results were duplicated in three different studies, giving them more credibility than most.

From the parenting perspective, this is another affirmation that I need to try to be positive as much as possible. From the "Me Generation" perspective, this could also be another excuse for people to blame who they are on something or someone else.

What I am trying to say is, yes I may be genetically predisposed to ________, and/or I learned _________ from my parents' example, but I can (and should) still be trying to be a better person. So that I can steer my kids toward being even better.

Don't be afraid of down syndrome. This is a nice study that showed that families of people with down syndrome for the most part have a positive opinion of their experiences, and almost all people surveyed with down syndrome are happy with their lives. This fits with what I have seen (okay, I have only known two families, and not that well, so my experience on the subject is limited).

Forward-facing vs rear-facing carseats - This article gives an explanation about why rear-facing is so much safer. I have to admit we moved Beeper to forward-facing at 11 months. With Little Fish, we turned him around at about one, but then after talking to a highway patrolman and carseat tech, we turned him back around until he was almost two (and we needed to fit three carseats in together). With Baloo I expect we will keep him rear-facing as long as possible. Since he is so tall, though, I am sure his feet will start hitting the back seat earlier than most, and I'm not sure what we'll do then.

I spoke too soon

2011-10-03T03:59:00.000-07:00

It turns out the Elko County Library System does have Overdrive now. (They didn't the last time I looked.) The selection is slim, but it's a start. They only have 33 Kindle titles, but there are a couple hundred audio books. You can find them here.

Ooooooooh.

2011-09-29T03:59:00.000-07:00

Kindle Fire.

(Oh, and there's the new Kindle Touch and Kindle Super Cheap.)

I am sure it is not a coincidence that the announcement for these came closely on the heels of the library lending announcement and the increased selection of streaming video announcement.

Speaking of library lending, we have now checked out several books. It turns out the library we are using has a really good selection, many of which are in stock. They have several "copies" of the best sellers (some as many as 60) so I have a few of those that I have wanted to read on hold. We have gotten the most use out of the picture books, though. Beeper especially loves getting Bearnstein Bears, which have surprisingly good formatting for the small screen.

Cool clock

2011-09-28T04:27:00.000-07:00

I just love how this turned out. We bought the pie tin at an antique fair a couple of years ago and just recently decided to turn it into a clock. Beeper and his dad did it together. I added number stickers on the wall around it for Beeper's sake, because he is learning how to tell time.

Some day maybe we will find a place to display my pie server collection too.

A deal not to be missed

2011-09-27T05:37:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite book stores is having a killer sale today only. BetterWorldBooks is giving a 50% discount on all bargain bin books today. Since the bargain bin books are usually $3.98 each, I just paid just under $14 for 7 books (all in “good” or “very good” condition). That will finish off my collection of the “Your ____-year-old” books by Louise Bates Ames.

(Note to any Swagbucks users out there. BWB is in the Swagbucks mall, so make sure to shop through the link there instead to earn swagbucks at the same time. They usually take about a month to show up in your account.)

Peter's Testimony

2011-09-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

I love the lesson we'll be teaching today about Peter and the growth of his testimony. I plan to tell the kids that we are going to write a biography (really a brief outline) of Peter, using the references suggested in the lesson:

1 - Matthew 4:18-19 (calling to be fishers of men)

2 - Matthew 14:22-33 (walking on water)
3 - Matthew 16:13-17 ("...flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.")
4 - Matthew 17:1-9 (Mount of Transfiguration)

5 - Luke 22:31-34, 54-62 (Peter denies knowing Christ)

6 - Acts 3:1-9 (heals a lame man)
7 - Acts 4:6-20, 5:12-42 (Peter and the apostles continue to teach in Christ's name, even after being threatened. Peter says, "We ought to obey God rather than men.")

Then we'll show them how their testimonies will grow like Peter's. Peter's testimony took time and trials to grow. It is a cyclical process even:

1- accepting the gospel, baptism or calling
2- doubt, temporary leaning on someone else's testimony or remembering to look to Christ
3- guidance from Holy Ghost
4- worship or spiritual experience
5- test of faith
6- serving others in the name of Christ
7- stronger testimony

I have loved teaching New Testament this year. I have learned a lot, and my testimony has grown. I was not familiar with the story in Acts 5 before. It's a great story. I found the wisdom of the Pharisee Gameliel at the end especially interesting:

35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.

36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.

37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.

38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:

39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Weekly Parent News Round-up

2011-09-23T02:51:00.000-07:00

There weren't as many interesting items this week. One worth noting is another study linking child abuse (specifically shaken baby syndrome) to recession. In times of stress we need to be extra careful how we treat our kids.

The other standout to me this week was about obese 8 and 9-year-olds suffering from emotional and social problems. I don't think this is really news, but I get the impression it is a lot more so than it used to be. The definition of obesity is stricter than it used to be (did you know the numbers were randomly changed back in the 90's with nothing to back those numbers up?), and the stigma on "fat" is growing. Some other things I read this week have made me wonder whether this war on obesity is actually hurting the people it is supposedly intended to help. We are all being trained to see Americans=fat=bad lifestyle choices, even when we know at the same time that that's not always the case. In fact, I am starting to wonder how often that is the case. Here is an article about how media spin is affecting our view on these things. Even doctors are affected by this mob mentality, and, as a result, people with unexplained weight gain problems or other health difficulties have trouble getting a proper diagnosis, because all the doctor sees is, "You need to go on a diet." (If you read the article and the comments, you will see that underlying medical problems can cause major weight gain in people with healthy lifestyles, but they are left with no help for their problems due to the difficulty of finding a doctor who will do anything besides recommend diet and exercise.) It seems to me that if we want a healthier America, this is exactly the wrong way to go about it.

I was trying to understand the concept of "doublethink" from the book 1984, and now I think I get it. The media does such a good job of feeding us these ideas that it really is not hard to know one thing but still find yourself thinking something else. I know size is not really an indicator of health or lifestyle, yet I still find myself making judgements about people who are bigger than me.

I just checked out a book!

2011-09-21T13:58:00.001-07:00

Okay, that doesn't sound too exciting. Unless you consider that I am sitting here at home without transportation, and the nearest library is 15 or 20 miles away.

As of today, Kindle has library lending. Woohoo! And it is cool.

This is how it works. If your local library has Overdrive, log on to their website. (For the record, the Elko Library currently doesn't. I'm not going to say where I got my book. It's just a good thing I have been saving all those library cards from all of the other places we have lived. After checking them all, it appears Elko is just about the only library system that doesn't have Overdrive yet.) Browse through the ebooks until you find one that you want that has copies available. (This is probably the most difficult part. Apparently ebooks are very popular to check out.) When you find something, click on the "Add to Digital Book Cart" link for the Kindle copy. When you check out, it will take you to a "library copy" page on Amazon's website where you click the button, just like you would if you were buying it. There's even a drop-down menu to choose which device to send it to, if you have more than one. The book is sent wirelessly, just like buying one off Amazon (although I read somewhere that it will only send library books over wi-fi, not 3G). It will also give you an option to download the file to your computer for USB transfer.

On the one hand, it seems almost superfluous, since I already have more books on my Kindle than I will probably ever read. However, the book I checked out (1984) is one I have been wanting to read but didn't want to buy, and my local library doesn't have it (what's up with that?) Plus checking out and reading books on the kindle is so much more convenient. I wonder if they have any Ramona...

Air Show

2011-09-21T04:16:00.000-07:00

MTM: Green

2011-09-19T04:05:00.000-07:00

We decided to have a green day last week, to try and help Little Fish learn a new color. I made the boys a green muffin tin snack. They each had some green apple, pickle, lettuce and celery. Not much of it got eaten (outside the apple), but it was worth a shot!

Weekly Parent News Round-up

2011-09-16T04:22:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to try this, especially since there are so many items this week worth commenting on. These are taken from BabyCenter/ParentCenter's news page:

Researcher shows Sponge Bob really does make kids dumber - Enough said.

Breastfeeding mothers protect themselves and their babies more aggressively - That would explain a few things. Don't mess with a nursing mom!

US ranks 41st in newborn survival - There is nothing funny about this. Cuba and Malaysia now have better newborn survival rates than we do. The study says that it is not that the US is getting worse - we're just not getting any better while everyone else is. Could this have anything to do with doctors unwilling to change their ways?

Boys' relationships with their moms have a big impact on their choices - Unfortunately it doesn't provide a lot of information, but this may be of interest to moms of boys.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T04:19:00.000-07:00

New Kindle Cover

2011-09-13T05:48:00.000-07:00

I've been in a sewing mood lately and decided to make a new cover for my kindle that would protect it better than my first try. I used some of my Spoonflower fabric that has been waiting for a project. I like the way it came out. It's not perfect, but it will do the job.

Celebrate Family!

2011-09-09T05:35:00.000-07:00

Chocolate on My Cranium is once again hosting a month long Celebration of the Family. The first post is up today and is by a dad. He talks about being a dad, 9/11, and philanthropy.

I started following this about halfway through lat year, and every post was amazing. I ended up going back to read all the ones I missed.

She also has ways for everyone to participate. You can read more about that here.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-07T04:04:00.000-07:00

Life is good

2011-09-06T04:15:00.000-07:00

(not to be confused with, "Life is perfect.")

Yesterday in church we sang, "There is Sunshine in My Soul Today." It hit me that we have had some of those days in our house lately where "the peaceful, happy moments roll." It gives me peace knowing that we are heading in the right direction - the path that's best for our family.

We are really loving homeschool so far. We are enjoying the curriculum I finally settled on. Beeper enjoys learning, for the most part. He is thriving in the relaxed atmosphere homeschooling allows. I think all four of us at home like not having to break up "the gang" by sending one of us away for half a day every day. It is nice to have Beeper around to help and play with his brothers.

We are back in scouts again already. Yes, we were going to take a break, but we were asked to help on the pack committee for our church unit. We went to our first pack meeting as committee members last week, and it was a blast. Firebirdluver and I each had a small part of the program, but compared to running day camp or helping every week with Boys and Girls Club, putting together a skit is a piece of cake.

I took Beeper's training wheels off this last weekend and helped him practice a little. He is taking to two-wheeling quickly, and I am sure he will be riding like a pro in no time. He loves riding his bike.

He does not, however, love wearing his helmet. His head is too big for a child-size helmet, and I am having trouble getting the youth-size to fit right. Plus the chin strap drives him crazy. Any suggestions?

Muffin Tin Monday

2011-09-05T04:06:00.000-07:00

Another thrown together tin: Beeper had a fluer di lis sandwich because it was scout night, Little Fish had a train sandwich. Then they both had bananas and mangoes, Sesame Street crackers and yogurt with sprinkles.

I love this

2011-09-01T04:17:00.000-07:00

I read an article the other day about a study of babies. This was my favorite part:

"About one-third of the infants were rated as highly irritable and two-thirds as moderately irritable."

What is it about monster trucks?

2011-08-31T04:51:00.000-07:00

Bear stats

2011-08-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

Baloo's four month check-up was last week, although I guess he is almost five months now (one more week). He measured 29" and just shy of 17 lbs. We were surprised, but our pediatrician told us that it is normal for them to not gain much in the summer.

Little Fish had his final toddler shot the same day (no more for him for another two or three years - yay). He's just under three feet and around 24 lbs. He is taller than I expected - in the 60th percentile now. He's still our little fish, though.

Mater Tin Monday

2011-08-29T02:45:00.000-07:00

Have you seen Mater's Tall Tales? You can watch most of them on Disney's website, so I wasn't sure it would be worth getting the DVD. We did buy it, and the boys watch it over and over, so it is worth it. They have been on a Cars/Mater kick lately. Little Fish especially love Mater. He makes his toys (tractors and otherwise) fall on their backs and say, "Mooo!"

Mater is fun, and he makes a good muffin tin theme. This time I made his profile out of graham crackers and peanut butter. He had chocolate chip wheels and a slivered almond tow cable. Each boy also had two apple pear tractors with carrot wheels (Beeper insisted I add slivered almonds to the tractors too for the pipe). The last cup was "Mater's taters" (tots).

Beeper ate everything but the taters. Little Fish attacked the taters first and just played with everything else. It would be nice if they'd learn to trade plates when they're done so everything gets eaten.

For my dad and uncles

2011-08-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

I was reading my aunt's blog (on the other side), and I saw a link in her sidebar to a blog called Middle-aged Mormon Man. I started reading, and it made me think of my dad and his brothers. Maybe it is because you all are also funny in a similar way and, well, middle-aged. (Check his profile for definition, as my copy-paste doesn't work right in blogger any more.)

At any rate. I think you'll like it.

Funny stuff

2011-08-25T04:19:00.000-07:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Yahweh or No Way? - Mormons & God's Poll Numbers

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor & Satire Blog

Video Archive

Baloo's current hobby

2011-08-24T04:42:00.000-07:00

California Trail Center

2011-08-23T04:26:00.000-07:00

We finally got around to visiting the California Trail Center that was put in a couple of years ago. It's not as far away as I thought - only about a half hour from where we live.

It turns out it's a pretty cool little museum, and it's free. They present information about the trail in all sorts of interesting ways. They show in a few different places about the different ways different people took and why. Our favorite parts were a chart that showed the pros and cons of choosing horses, oxen or burros, and a little corner where you can try and fit blocks representing different possessions and provisions into wagons.

If you're ever driving through, I recommend stopping to take a look. It's just off of I-80 near Carlin.

Muffin Tin Monday

2011-08-22T04:14:00.000-07:00

Muffin tins are really handy when you don't know what to make for lunch and just want to throw something together. There's no rhyme or reason to this one, but the bright colors made for a happy meal. There were oranges, cheese, peanut butter crackers, apple crisps, almonds and m&m's.

Picture this

2011-08-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

After our car accident a couple of months ago, the experience re-ran in my mind several times (I think that's only natural, isn't it?) - seeing the truck coming up too fast in the rear view mirror, seeing the driver look up in not enough time, feeling the impact and the glass flying all around us.

After a couple of days, though, I started imagining what the view must have been like from the other vehicle. Try and imagine this with me:

You're driving down a road you drive on almost every day. You have gone down this road hundreds of times. You glance down for a second to adjust the radio (or maybe you're looking in the backseat to tell the kids to stop touching each other).

You look up again and see the car in front of you has stopped.

You hit the brakes, but there isn't enough time.

Even their mid-sized SUV is no match for your large truck. Your truck crunches the back end of their vehicle like a soda can.

You watch as the rear window shatters and glass flies forward toward the occupants of the vehicle. This is when you notice the back seat is lined with carseats. Perhaps you even notice the "Baby on Board" sign in one of the side windows. Your stomach clenches as you realize there are probably small children in that car.

*****

I think distracted driving is something we are probably all guilty of from time to time. I know I am (hello, sleep deprivation). I have just been fortunate enough that nothing has come of it so far.

I came across a paper of statistics while cleaning out the library the other day. Here are a few of them. I found these especially interesting, because the road we were on is a 35 mph road. It's a road that probably everyone in the area drives regularly. I believe the guy in the truck did only look down for a few seconds (his mind was elsewhere, as firebirdluver later discovered).

A car travelling at 35 mph will cover 53 feet every second.

80% of crashes involve some form of driver distraction within 3 seconds of the event.

The number one cause of death for 18-27-year-olds is automobile crashes.

57% of American drivers admit to texting while driving.

(These statistics originally came from http://www.textfreedriving.org/)

I have been trying to do a lot better about focusing just on my driving while driving. I try not to talk on my phone or mess with the radio. I never text.

It has also made me more cautious about making sure the carseats are installed properly and that the boys are always buckled in properly. Just a quick drive down the street (which is basically what we were doing that day) is no safer than any other drive. (Well, okay, it's safer than the freeway, but you know what I mean.)

Free Narnia Download

2011-08-09T04:47:00.000-07:00

This is an opportunity not to be missed. You can download a free audio of The Chronicles of Narnia here. This is legit. The radio station got permission to make and share the podcasts of Chrissi Hart reading the books. The downside is that you have to download each episode separately – there are 101 of them – and each episode has the same intro giving information about the podcast and the reader. If you want to put them on CD you'd have to either trim each file or just have that interruption every half hour as you listen.

MTM: More dinosaurs

2011-08-08T03:08:00.000-07:00

Banana bread Triceratops, peanut butter lake, mud pits (with chocolate steggies), The Great (orange and cheese) Valley

(palm tree picks came from here)

You know you've lived in Nevada too long when...

2011-08-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

...you arrive in Salt Lake, and your five-year-old says, "Look at all the trees!"

...Utah in July seems humid.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-03T05:16:00.001-07:00

FYI for Nook owners

2011-08-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

We just got back from an extended weekend trip (not the good kind of extended, the car trouble kind of extended), but I found some good news.

My favorite blog for finding out about the latest free kindle book promotional deals has started addding links to Nook Books too. Check it out:

Pixel of Ink

Kindle Kids

2011-07-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

I had to jump into the Spin Cycle topic this week: "Kids and Technology."

When I got my Kindle, I didn't think of it as something for the kids. This was something for me.

It started out as an "imitate Mommy" thing. Kindles come in a box with a sleeve that has a life-sized picture of a Kindle on it, with raised buttons and everything. I glued this to a piece of cardboard and cut it out so that Beeper could have his "own Kindle." It was actually pretty funny, because the e-ink on the real thing looks so much like writing on cardboard that the pretend Kindle looks pretty convincing. Beeper insisted we do the same thing with the little picture on the back of the sleeve so that Little Fish could have one too.

I didn't think Little Fish would care, but he loved it. He would ask to bring his "own Gind" to bed with him at naptime, because Mama often sat next to the bed reading her Kindle while he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, I had downloaded The Secret Garden and was reading it to Beeper. He loved it. Anytime he saw me get my Kindle out to read to myself, he would come over and ask if we could please read his book.

Then I found some easy, phonetic readers made for the Kindle. I downloaded those and gave Beeper his own folder (collection). The novelty of the format was great motivation for a while for him to practice his reading. His favorites are Sam's Jet, Rat and Ram and Counting in the Kitchen (his most favorite).

I even made some pdf "picture books" with pictures of things like animals or family members for when I needed to entertain the boys (like during doctor visits when you end up sitting in that tiny room waiting for 45 minutes with nothing to do but say, "No! Don't touch that! Get out of there! You'll break that. That's dirty! Go ask the nurse down the hall for another sticker.)

Beeper caught me playing games on the Kindle and wanted to play too. Thankfully all of the free games at the time were way over his head. It was a good excuse. I thought about buying a dollar game I knew he'd like, but I caught myself in time, reminding myself that that would just mean he'd want to use my Kindle more often.

Then Amazon came out with Dots and Boxes. I think that was when I really lost control of the situation. His cousins had just taught him the old fashioned pen and paper way to play it during church (isn't that the traditional time to play dots and boxes?) so he was very excited to play it on the Kindle.

Now I have a couple of games on there that he likes to play, and he still reads "Counting in the Kitchen" from time to time. I don't get around to reading on it quite as often as I did during the first few months I owned it, and when I do want to read on it, half the time I have to wait my turn! He's even gotten upset when I made him wait for a turn, because I was so selfish as to want to read on it.

Muffin Tin Monday

2011-07-25T02:36:00.000-07:00

We've been studying dinosaurs, so this week we had a herbivore and carnivore muffin tin. On the herbivore side, there were salad and carrots. For the carnivore side were fish and animals (cheese). In the middle were green pudding and dinosaur-shaped PB&J.

Can I help it if they're so good-looking?

2011-07-20T04:39:00.000-07:00

The easiest muffin tin ever

2011-07-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

Beeper was playing Pirate Stash while I was making him a PB&J, so I decided to add a few things to turn it into a pirate-themed muffin tin. I poked some pirate sword picks into the sandwich pieces and added Pirate Booty and a chocolate that said "Treasures" on it.

Cleaning off the camera

2011-07-13T07:29:00.000-07:00

Car Update

2011-07-05T04:06:00.000-07:00

Several people have asked for an update on the car situation. We finally heard back from the insurance company, and they will be totalling the Toyota. They will pay off the rest of what we owe on it, and there will even be some money left over for us, so we're coming out of the deal alright.

We're hoping to use some of the money to fix up the Eagle enough to make it drivable, and we'll just use that and the Bronco for a while. If that works out we'll be able to save up for a while (aka pay off debt) the money we would have been spending on car payments.

We'll be taking the Suburban back to the rental car company tonight. We've enjoyed having it. Well, firebirdluver has enjoyed driving it. I've enjoyed the room. Suburban will be going on the list of possibilities when we do need to buy another car (if we could find one we could afford). It's not as bad as I thought (the new ones are quite nice) and would most likely meet our family's needs better than anything else.

Muffin Tin Monday: Happy 4th

2011-07-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

Sometime ago we bought the patriotic cookie cutter set. Of course I was looking forward to using it this week, maybe for a USA shaped PB&J. Then we ran out of bread. Graham crackers just don't cut as well, so the boys had to settle for a few star sprinkles on their sandwiches (Nutella and graham sandwiches). They didn't seem to mind. They were also excited to have a repeat of the star apples with flags in them. (Little Fish stuck his apple full of toothpicks, then was upset that he couldn't get them out so he could eat it.) They also had Chinese noodles (for fireworks) and string cheese.

Happy Independence Day!

Win a Kindle

2011-07-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

There's only a few days left on this; the drawing is on independence day. Several independant authors have put together a site where they are offering a chance to win a Kindle loaded with their books. They will also be giving ebooks to runners up. You can enter here:

Kindle INDIEpendence Day Giveaway

My Favorite Milestone

2011-06-30T04:17:00.000-07:00

The other day Little Fish said, "I love you," to me for the first time.

Actually, what he said was, "I lub I," but the sentiment was plainly sincere.

Travel

2011-06-29T04:11:00.000-07:00

Book List

2011-06-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

The Spin Cycle is back! Actually, it's been back a few weeks. It's just taken me a while to get back on board. Fortunately, this week's topic coincides with a post I've been meaning to do anyway. I want to share with you some of the books I've read in the last few months and what I thought of them:

Golden Acorn - This children's fantasy novel is offered as a free Kindle book. It was published after winning a writing award in England last year. I can see why it won. I enjoyed it so much, I downloaded the sequel, Glasruhen Gate (available in Kindle format for a dollar) before I had even finished the first book. The storyline is original and the writing is enjoyable. It relies heavily on ideas from Celtic Mysticism (I know that will bother some people.) Since it's written for children it's clean, but it's not condescending. This is going to be a series with more books to come. I am looking forward to the next one.

The Lens and the Looker - I also downloaded this one because the Kindle version was free (not anymore) and the sequel (The Bronze and the Brimstone) was on sale. This is going to be a trilogy, with the third book still to come. I thought this was supposed to be children's science fiction, but there were things in the second book that I wouldn't want to read to my children. I also found the second book slow most of the way through, then the story suddenly progressed all too quickly (and was depressing). The first book was alright, but the two stories don't really stand alone, so I wouldn't recommend this one.

Septimus Heap, Book 1 - This was another free download children's fantasy book. I enjoyed the storyline, and it was a fun read, but the writing wasn't so stellar that I'll be buying any more from this series. Unless my children get hooked on it some day, which I wouldn't mind.

Little White Bird - This is a classic by the creator of Peter Pan. In fact, this is the story Peter first appeared in, so I thought it must be a children's book. It turns out this novel was aimed at adults. Barrie has a bizarre and sarcastic sense of humor (at least, I think it's supposed to be humor) that takes some getting used to. I liked it, and I liked the way he wove the story, though that was also a little confusing. If you want something written on an adult level (perfectly clean) that is different and you don't mind making fun of yourself, I'd recommend giving this one a try. If you want the "real" (later, and written for kids) story of Peter, get Peter and Wendy. (Note: The free Kindle version of Little White Bird does skip a little at a couple of parts, which is annoying. But it is free.)

The Great Gatsby - This was from my list of classics I wanted to read. The writing was beautiful. I didn't care much for the story, though, especially the ending. It was depressing. I don't like depressing endings. It's a good book, just not my taste. The story is set in New York in the 1920's and is meant to illustrate a particular lifestyle (prosperous, big city) from that era. If you've ever wondered what the "Roaring 20's" were all about, this is probably a good example (though I prefer the more upbeat and innocent Thoroughly Modern Millie).

Call of the Wild - Another one from the classic list. I didn't know until I started reading it that this book is written from the perspective of a dog. I liked that, but the story quickly turned repetitive and depressing. It picked up about two-thirds of the way through, and I had a hard time putting it down, wondering what the fate of the hero would be. I would call this a guy's book. I had trouble relating to it.

Jane Eyre - Also from the classics list. Awesome book. If you like Jane Austen, you should like this, although the flavor is a little different. There are mysteries to keep you wondering all through the book and realistic romance that will leave you guessing at how things will turn out.

Shoeless Joe - This is the book that Field of Dreams was based on. The writing is really good. The baseball fanaticism comes out even crazier than in the movie. I couldn't help but wonder if the author wasn't making a very subtle mockery of religion. Also: not appropriate for children. If you don't mind mind those last two points, it's a good book.

Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling - This is one of the few books for my Kindle that I actually paid more than a few dollars for, because I really wanted to read it. I think reactions will vary from person to person, but I can almost guarantee you will be surprised by what Gatto has to say. I thought he backed up his points well, but I am aware that could be because my thinking was already geared in that direction. One former teacher told me she thought it was dead on. I can see other teachers being offended by it. I think it's worth reading to form your own opinion.

Beeper and I have finished a couple of books together recently too:

The Secret Garden - I was surprised at just how much Beeper really loved this book. I think it was the mystery that hooked him. He couldn't wait for Mary to find that garden. After that there was the suspense of keeping the secret and who would share the secret that kept it interesting.

Beezus and Ramona - His reaction to this one surprised me too. I thought it might be too old or too girl-centric for him, but he loved it and was always begging for more. We need to check out some more Ramona books for him.

Right now we're reading The Wind in the Willows together. I think I am enjoying it a lot more than he is, but Mr. Toad will be getting his motor car soon, and I hope that will catch his interest.

(I apologize for being a little random about whether I linked to the paperback or Kindle version of each book. I didn't want to favor one format over the other.)

Garden Blessings

2011-06-23T04:45:00.000-07:00

Once again we've been blessed in our gardening efforts. Last year I made a lot of notes in preparation for this year - detailed lists of what to do when, so that when the time came I wouldn't have to think much.

It didn't work. Our growing season started about a week and a half ago and I had no starters, no spring seeds in and a lot of weeds.

I spent a day weeding the area I call the children's' garden and threw in a few sunflower seeds in an attempt to at least do something. As I worked I thought how fun strawberries would be in that space. I even looked it up online and learned that strawberries are indeed a good companion plant to thyme (which I already have planted there).

The next Sunday in church I glanced through the Relief Society newsletter. There was a paragraph that someone was getting rid of a row of strawberry plants and anyone interested needed to come pick them up that week.

The next day after firebirdluver got home from work, we grabbed a couple of empty buckets and drove over. The gardener gave us two big clumps he said could be divided into a lot of little plants.

I have filled two of our square foot gardens with plants from one of the clumps. The other one will be divided between the children's' garden and one of those upside down planters (we bought it on clearance last year at the end of the season).

We gained more than the plants. We'll benefit from his knowledge. After talking to him and seeing his garden we now know better how to take care of our blackberries as well as the strawberries.

He told us not to expect much this year, but next year we should get a bountiful strawberry harvest. Little Fish will be thrilled. He has recently discovered how much he loves strawberries. We planted some carrots for Beeper too. I am so thankful we have a garden this year after all, even if it's not a very diverse one.

Company Picnic

2011-06-22T04:41:00.000-07:00

$100

2011-06-21T04:20:00.001-07:00

Since joining Swagbucks in January, I have earned $100 worth of Amazon gift cards. What a sweet deal. I wanted to share what I've learned about the best ways to earn swagbucks.

Searches: This is where about a third of my SBs have come from (way more than anything else), and it is the main thing the site was designed for. They have a google-type search engine, and it randomly awards SBs for searching. Usually within a half a dozen searches you will be awarded around 7-12 SBs, then it won't award anymore for several hours. Sometimes, though, you'll search and search and won't get any, and sometimes it will surprise you with more. (My biggest so far was last week when I won 59 SBs in one search and two more searches of 10 SBs each within about an hour of that.) I have found I tend to win most just doing searches for things I want to look up anyway. When I try searching for the sake of winning I often end up just wasting a lot of time.

Surveys: You can break your ledger down into how many SBs you have gotten from each thing, and when I did the other day, I was surprised to find out that I have earned more than I thought from taking surveys. Most of that has been in the last two months. There have been a lot more surveys available lately, and it doesn't take many to earn quite a few SBs. Each person has a survey dashboard. It has profiles you can fill out (you earn SBs for doing those too) which help it figure out which surveys are best for you. It lists possible surveys, telling you how likely you are to qualify for each one, about how long it takes and how many SBs you'll earn if you complete it (usually it's about 50, but it can be as high as 250, just for one survey). If it's in the 70-80% range, there's a good chance of qualifying. Outside of that, I have had the best luck with the ones that say "for moms" or "for parents" or "women 18-35" in the description. When you try a survey and don't qualify or time out, you're automatically entered into a "swagstakes" (usually). We have yet to win any of those swagstakes, but it's a nice thought.

Bonus Bucks: This isn't a huge earner, but it's super easy. You can earn as many as 6 SBs a day doing simple things. You can earn 1 a day just for visiting your survey dashboard, another for having the toolbar on your browser, 1 for answering the daily poll, 2 for clicking through the "NOSOs" and 1 for inviting friends through e-mail or social networks (yeah, okay, I don't think most people do that last one daily, but the option is there).

Referrals: This can earn you some big bucks, if you're good at it. When someone signs up for SBs using your referall link and earns SBs through searching, you get SBs too, up to 1000 per referral. I haven't been very successful in this area, but I understand some people do very well with it.

Games: It took us a while to figure out how to really earn with the games. You can earn up to 10 SBs a day just playing free games, 2 for every two games you play, but it doesn't always work. You have to do it just right: Instead of putting your name into high scores and letting it move on automatically at the end of the game, click on "Back to Games" or "Back to Game Details" but only if your game lasted more than a minute. At least, that is what has worked for me. I like playing "World Cities" because it's short and fun. It's so short that I have to wait several seconds before clicking "Back to Game Details" or I won't earn anything. I have gotten good enough at it that I can sometimes win a tournament too. The easiest tournaments to win are the three player ones. You have to be really, really good at a game to win the "multiple entry" tournaments (I'm not that good yet). There's a cap of five tournament wins per month.

Special Offers: There are often very easy Special Offers that can earn you a few SBs for watching a short commercial or clicking a link. Those 2 SB videos add up, especially when you get good at finding them. You can earn a few more (usually in the 10-20 range) for downloading things or signing up for newsletters. For me, that's not really worth it. You can earn big bucks for buying things or signing up for services (not an option I have really used, but there are some good ones on there if you don't already use them and were thinking of it anyway, like Netflix and Disney Movie Club). One thing that's important to know is that there are several "walls" and sometimes an offer appears on more than one wall for different amounts. For example, signing up for Netflix is worth 1000 SBs in one place butt only 695 in another. You can only earn from it once, so make sure you get the best offer.

Shopping: I've only earned a handful this way, but if you do a lot of online shopping, this might be a good way for you to earn. If you're going to buy something online, check to see if that website is in the Swagbucks mall, and click through to the store from the link there, then buy whatever it is you were going to buy. There are a lot of big sites in there like JoAnn, Old Navy and Barnes and Noble, as well as little guys like Better World Books.

Follow the Blog: This won't get you a huge amount, but I find it doesn't take a lot of effort, is kinda fun, can give you tips for using the site, can help you find out about all the extra contests and events they do, and occasionally you'll find a "swag code" that will get you a few extra SBs. If you use Twitter or Facebook, there are sometimes swag codes there too. That thing in my sidebar is called the "swidget" and you can check that every so often to see if there are any active codes. If there is a code, the swidget will almost always show where to look for it.

There are other ways to earn too, but those are my best tips. 450 Swagbucks = $5 Amazon gift card. There are other things you can purchase with SBs too (and gift cards in bigger amounts if you are earning a ton of SBs), but that is by far the best deal. You can't purchase more than two things in one day or more than five of the same item in a month, but for most people that isn't a problem.

We use our gift cards for buying diapers, kindle books and movies. Speaking of diapers, if you haven't signed up yet for Amazon Mom, I highly recommend that too. It doesn't cost anything and they occasionally send you coupons and special offers. You get three free months of Amazon Prime for signing up, and every time you spend at least $25 in the baby store, you get another month of Prime benefits for up to a year. We've started buying our diapers from there. They cost one or two cents more per diaper than Costco, but for us the convenience and Prime benefits are worth that extra penny. (I like how they even say on there how much the cost is per diaper.)

I love the internet.

Muffin Tin Monday

2011-06-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

We couldn't pass up the chance to have a Flag Day muffin tin lunch. There was flag-shaped PB&J, red and blue fruit snacks (I was going to put white string cheese in there too, but we were all out - oh well, fourth of July is coming), star-shaped apple and shortcake with cool whip.

Surprisingly, both boys went straight for the apple first. I guess having a flag sticking out made it hard to resist.

The flag cookie cutter came with this set.

Humility = Little Children

2011-06-19T03:25:00.000-07:00

The lesson we're giving today includes the story where Jesus shows his love for the children and says, "...for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Mark 10:13-16)

This struck me in a way it never has before. Being a parent has given me a new perspective on what this means, but at the same time I manage to miss seeing it in everyday life.

In another verse, Jesus says, "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:1-4) If we want a better idea of what it really means to be humble, we need to watch our children.

It always amazes me how quick Beeper is to forgive a mistake, as well as how often he is willing to forgive. He doesn't count to "seventy times seven." He'll forgive over and over again, the same mistakes, as often as he needs to. He shows true unconditional love. I fear I'll teach this out of him. How often, when we have a bad day, is he the one to come to me first and say, "I'm sorry," or, "I love you, Mama," and I'm not ready to let go of my grudge? No as often as he used to. He's learning.

Children are so teachable. They want to learn, and they are willing to learn from whoever is willing to teach them. How often do I insist on learning things for myself because I don't want to humble myself for the teacher?

Children are full of faith. They believe Jesus (or mom and dad) can do anything.

They are definitely not hypocrites. They don't act like something they're not just to impress other people. They don't even understand that concept. Not until we teach them to anyway.

We tend to think of children as being self-centered. We are told by experts that they think the world revolves around them. Yet I can't count the number of times I've witnesses my boys spontaneously sharing or committing some other generous act, just because that's what comes naturally to them. They seem to outgrow that too, though.

We need to change our terminology. Instead of saying someone is acting "childishly," maybe we should say, "adultishly."

I came across this talk about the faith of children this morning from the most recent General Conference. In it, she quotes another talk:

"Elder M. Russell Ballard has taught us the importance of the Savior's admonitioin to 'behold your little ones' when he said: 'Notice that He didn't say "glance at them" or "casually observe them" or "occasionally take a look in their general direction." He said to behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for what they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes.'"

What have your children taught you about humility?

Free Shipping at Spoonflower

2011-06-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Spoonflower, the custom fabric website, is going to be offering free shipping on all orders for one day only next Monday (June 20). This is a good opportunity if you've been thinking of designing your own fabric or purchasing something from someone else's shop (like mine).

Felt Food

2011-06-16T04:25:00.000-07:00

For Little Fish's birthday I made him a picnic basket full of felt play food. The patterns for the cake, sliceable fruit and some of the sandwich toppings came from Big Little Felt Universe. The basket and strawberries are free patterns on the author's blog. The rest I did myself.

Little Fish adores the banana and carries it around with a wooden knife, cutting it over and over again. It is held together with magnets that are inside each half. I ended up having to use neodymium magnets, because the others I had weren't strong enough through the felt. Obviously it's a concern using such strong magnets. We'll have to keep a close eye on the banana, and if it starts to come undone, fix it before the magnets can fall out and be swallowed. We'll also have to make sure the banana doesn't get too close to the computers.

The watermelon from the book also uses magnets, while the kiwi, apple and pear patterns have velcro incorporated into the design. While the velcro is safer, the magnet fruit looks and cuts better.

There are so many cool patterns in this book, it really is a good deal. There's a camping set I'll have to do for Beeper sometime. I'll probably make the laptop from the office set for Little Fish. There's also vegetables, potted plants, tools, a purse and a BBQ set. The details she includes in her patterns just make them so cute. (Her etsy shop is where I got my gingerbread house pattern. There's a new gingerbread house design in the book too.)

Even the purse set has things I can use for the boys. As I was sewing the felt food, Beeper asked if he could make something too. I helped him pick the wallet as a present from him for Little Fish. It turned out to be very simple, a perfect first project. You can see the finished product here. He wanted to make the cell phone for himself, but it turned out to be too ambitious a project, so I made it for him. Then Little Fish had to have one too. They have both been proudly carrying their phones around since. My favorite moment was when Beeper said, "I can read books on my phone, just like a kindle," and Little Fish said, "Book! Yone!(phone)"

Code name: Baloo

2011-06-15T04:20:00.000-07:00

It is my understanding that most babies who are born large grow more slowly than average to even out with their peers. This was true of Little Fish (born at 9 lbs 8 oz, 22 in), who was average size by the time he was six months old and has been in the 40-50th percentile ever since. It is partially true of Beeper (born at 9 lbs 2 oz, 21 in), who evened out weightwise by nine months. (By the time he was a year and a half, he was down to the 20th percentile in weight.) In those early months, however, his length increased at an amazing rate, and he has remained tall.

Even growing slowly, it would take Baby (henceforth known as Baloo) some time to even out with his peers. We are very curious to see how that turns out.

Baloo's two month check-up was last week. He weighed in at 15 lbs. 8 oz. and 26 in. He's the size of an average 5-6 month-old. I can't believe how fast he is outgrowing clothes. At this rate, I expect he'll be wearing the same size as Little Fish by the time he's six months old. He is already wearing the sizes Little Fish was in less than a year ago.

2

2011-06-14T04:17:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday, Little Fish!

He continues to live life the same way he entered it - full speed ahead.

Muffin Tin Monday

2011-06-13T03:11:00.000-07:00

Our luncheon last week had a breakfast theme, and there were lots of leftovers, so the boys got to have pancake muffin tins this week. They had whipped cream to dip the pancakes in, potatoes and eggs, and bacon. (cookie cutters from this set - we bought it specifically for the sheep)

Being Thankful for a Car Wreck

2011-06-09T05:07:00.000-07:00

Firebirdluver usually has Fridays off, and we use it for our errand day. We try to get everything we need to do in town for the week done Friday mornings. Last week that included last minute stuff for Day Camp, food for a luncheon on Sunday and a meeting with the health insurance representative.

A strange set of circumstances led to firebirdluver having Baby and Beeper at the meeting with the insurance rep, while I was down the street with Little Fish. We were returning to the corporate offices and were stopping at a light only a couple of blocks away. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw that the truck behind us was not stopping. He looked up at the last minute. Too late.

He slammed into us. There was glass everywhere. I couldn't believe it. The thoughts I was able to grab onto were, "Broken glass is not a good sign. Pull into that drive over there. Call someone... firebirdluver."

The drive was for the fire department. As soon as I parked, I called firbirdluver. He said he'd be right over and to call the police.

The other driver had come over to exchange insurance information. I asked him to call the police while I looked for our insurance card. (In retrospect, I don't know why I assumed he had a cell phone on him.) I think this was the point I also assessed whether Little Fish and I were okay. We both appeared undamaged (and no signs of injury have shown themselves since).

It didn't take the policeman long to get there. The police station is right next to the building firebirdluver was in. The policeman was collecting our licences and things when firebirdluver arrived. The fire chief came out and asked if the boys wanted to come inside and warm up. They went in and watched PBSKids with the firemen while I finished the paperwork.

The back of the car was pretty smashed up. (Firebirluver's dad got a picture, but I don't have it yet.) We have a rental provided by insurance while we await the verdict of whether our car is worth saving.

While it was not the most convenient day to get in an accident (like there's ever a good time for that) I spent the rest of the day thinking of reasons to be grateful.

The most obvious is that no one was hurt.

I am really glad it was not my fault. Not paying attention is an easy mistake to make, and I would have felt terrible. Plus it means the other guy's insurance is paying for everything.

I am thankful Baby was not in the backseat and that Little Fish was facing forward (we turned him around when we had to fit in the third carseat). I know rear-facing is normally safest, but I keep thinking about if all that glass had flown forward at either boys' face.

I am thankful it happened where it did - next to the fire station, close to the police station, close enough to firebirdluver that he could walk there. If you're going to be in an accident, that's a good place to be.

I am thankful firebirdluver's parents happened to be in town that day. They brought us the other car so that we didn't have to drive home and then back into town. They also took Beeper and Little Fish for the next several hours while we finished errands. It's a good thing too, because other events caused the errands to run a lot longer than anticipated, and having all three boys with us would have made for an even longer day.

The only car the rental company had available was a Suburban. That wouldn't normally be my choice, but it came in handy on Saturday. Firbirdluver had so much stuff to take over to Day Camp that he couldn't quite fit it all on the trailer. The Suburban had enough room in the back to fit the rest.

Finally, it gave me a great story to use in my lesson on Sunday, which happened to be on being thankful. The boys were particularly rowdy that day, but I managed to grab their attention for five minutes with, "Don't you want to hear about my car crash?"

200 Happy

2011-06-08T04:44:00.000-07:00

How much work is worth making 200 boys happy for a day?

The best parenting book I ever read

2011-06-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago there was a super sale on the Kindle version of Many Ways to Say I Love You by Fred Rogers. I thought, "Hey! It's Mr. Rogers!" and downloaded it.

This is Mr. Rogers for parents. I think some might find it cheesy or too feely or lacking meat, but I thought it was great.

It's not a parenting formula. There is no, "Do x and y but not z." In fact, he says in it that he doesn't like formulas. He doesn't think there's only one right way to parent, and he's not telling you what you're doing wrong.

In fact, the main gist of the book is that you're not going to be perfect, and you're kids are not going to be perfect, and accepting that makes things easier. Reading it has helped me be a little more patient with the boys and with myself.

I didn't realize Mr. Rogers had a psychology degree. The boys and I have been watching episodes on YouTube, and they both love him. The tone of the show is so completely different than most tv shows these days. It reminds me of How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk. He is a great example of being sincere about it. It's a shame PBS has taken the show out of the lineup in favor of trendier shows. (Some individual stations still choose to show it.)

I highly recommend this book.

(I want to clarify that I do know that Fred Rogers died. I couldn't get the tenses to sound right in some paragraphs.)

Muffin Tin Monday

2011-06-06T03:25:00.000-07:00

The boys were watching Cars the other day, and I thought it would be fun to surprise them with Cars mufin tins for lunch.

They had carrots, bananas, pepperonis, crackers (you can't really see, but there's a picture of Mater on the crackers), apples (that's the Piston Cup) and a leaning tower of Oreo tires. The toothpicks were made from this file.

It was a big hit.

You're older than you've ever been

2011-06-03T03:54:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's because we have a niece graduating today that I was even thinking of it. It hit me this morning that it's been 15 years since I graduated high school. 15! It really doesn't seem like that long. And I am three times as old as the boys we teach. Wow.

It's easy to pretend I'm not that old with my oldest only five and having just graduated college a couple of years ago (hmm... I guess I'm slow).

The last 15 years certainly went by a lot faster than the first 15. And the last five years went by a lot faster than the five before that (or any other five). How come nobody ever told me life speeds up more the older you get?

They probably did and I just didn't believe them. Next thing I know I'll be celebrating my 30 year class reunion and anticipating grandkids. Crazy.

Sharing a favorite nap locale

2011-06-01T04:08:00.000-07:00

My new favorite place to buy books

2011-05-31T04:23:00.000-07:00

Not all of the books I've been reading lately are on the kindle. I have found a great place to buy used books and have bought several from there that we have been wanting, including a couple of audio books. They sell new books too, but I have only purchased used so far.

They are called Better World Books. They have good prices, good customer service, and best of all, free shipping, even on marketplace (third party) purchases (there is some kind of "carbon balance" charge but it's only a few cents). As a bonus, they are also in the Swag Bucks mall, so if I remember to use the link from there when buying, I get Swag Bucks added to my account.

The above pictured books are ones I have wanted to add to our library for a few years. The public library in Redding had them, and I found the one-year-old book very useful for understanding Beeper's behavior. Unfortunately, new they cost over $10, which adds up pretty quick. At Better World Books, they are in the bargain bin, so I was able to buy the above four books for $12 total. (I have found the five and six-year-old books especially enlightening. I think I need to order the rest of the set.)

Muffin Tin Monday

2011-05-30T05:03:00.000-07:00

I think we have had our allotment of rain for the year just in the last couple of weeks, so an "under water" muffin tin seemed appropriate. There were cheese boats, ham, marshmallows, goldfish with peanut butter and carrot umbrellas.

It was the first time I've used the umbrella picks, and Beeper thought they were so cool. The fishy picks and liners were sent to us by a friend last year and get a lot of use.

For more muffin tin meals, head over to Muffin Tin Mom.

Role Model

2011-05-26T13:49:00.000-07:00

Beeper is pacing the room, his mouth moving a million miles an hour. This is not unusual. I recently read in a book about 5-year-olds that talkativeness is usual at this stage. Add to that a kid that has always liked to talk and never runs out of energy...

I notice Little Fish has started pacing too, following after his brother. He notes Beeper's pose and puts his hands behind his back in a similar way. Then he echoes the last word of Beeper's latest statement.

Beeper is oblivious. I imagine someday he'll notice. I wonder if he'll be annoyed or amused.

Good Monday Morning - a quick letter

2011-05-23T05:04:00.000-07:00

Baby is six weeks old (as of a few days ago). Those six weeks have flown by. During those six weeks I have written a lot of posts... in my head. Sorry most of them haven't made it farther. Most of the thoughts that go through my mind get pushed out pretty quickly by, "Has everyone been fed recently?" "Do any diapers need changing?" and "What still needs to be done for Day Camp?"

So far my assessment of having three children is that it's not too different than one or two. At least, right now most energies are focused on taking care of a newborn, which is not too different from when his brothers were newborns. Having a toddler does make things trickier, but that's balanced out by having a big kid around who helps out. (It also helps that we had Grandpa around again last week. He was great.)

Then there's Day Camp. I said I wouldn't do it - I wouldn't help after the baby came - but there's things to do, and someone has to do them. I complain, but I do think it brings blessings to our family. On the other hand, I think we're ready for a break, a chance to focus on just family for a little while. At least, a break from big things for a while; there will always be the little service things. Only two weeks left. Then we can clear that away.

We still don't have a blog name for Baby. It's tempting to name him something like Goliath, Paul Bunyan or King Kong. I also considered calling him Rerun, because he reminds me of Beeper in many ways already. (He adores Beeper already too.) I think I'd rather stick with Baby, Baby Spor or Spor 3.0 for now, until something better comes along.

Belly Blog Carnival

2011-05-10T05:36:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I posted about the shock of looking in the mirror and seeing how super-sized my belly was and some of my feelings regarding having big babies. I had no idea what that post foreshadowed. I wrote it for Well-Rounded Mama's Belly Blog Carnival. She now has the post up that lists all of the posts women did for the carnival. They are all about pregnancy and body image. If that's a topic that interests you, click here. Warning: Some of the pregnancy photos included in the post are less than modest, so if that's a problem for you or there are kids in the room, don't click over.

Muffin Tin Monday

2011-05-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

(This muffin tin is actually from a couple of weeks ago, but I am only now just getting around to posting about it.)

After watching The Tale of Despereaux, Beeper requested a Despereaux muffin tin. Remembering the pear mice my mom used to make us, I had to give it a go. The pretzels and bananas are supposed to be keys. Then there's cheese, of course. The pepperoni is supposed to be heart-shaped, like the princess's necklace. The pear mouse is next, followed by celery for the soup (it was all I had). The marshmellow bunnies don't really have anything to do with it. They were just something we had on hand that I thought made a cute dessert.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

Is it just me? Baby Cries

2011-05-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

You know that old idea that a mom learns to tell the difference between her baby's cries? Like, "Oh, that's his hungry cry," and, "He sounds tired."

In my own experience, it's bunk. Or I'm a defective mom. I have found variations in my children's crying, but mostly it indicates intensity rather than what they actually want or need.

What I have learned with each baby is how to fake it. There are other clues a baby uses to indicate his needs, and Mom is generally best at picking up on those.

For example, if he was trying to chew a hole in his fist or your shirt for ten minutes before he started crying, I can answer with certainty that that is indeed his hunger cry. If it's been three hours since his last diaper change, odds are that is causing at least some of his discomfort. If he naps around this same time every day I can be fairly sure he is tired.

I used to think I just wasn't good at cry interpretation, but now I wonder, are other moms faking it the same way?

Kindle + Free Amazon Gift Card

2011-05-02T05:41:00.000-07:00

Did you see the current deal on Amazon, in honor of Mother's Day? Right now if you buy a Kindle with 3G or a Kindle DX you can get a free $25 gift certificate with it (Underneath the buy button is a box you click first that says "Add $25 gift certficate at no extra cost"). Or, if you want the cheapest option available, there's the new Kindle with Special Offers. Amazon is offering the Kindle with wireless for $25 less ($114) if you are willing to have ads for screensavers. It will also give you occasional special offers like a $20 Amazon gift card for $10.

Have I mentioned that I love, love, love my Kindle? Even more than I thought I would. I have talked to several other Kindle owners, and they all say the same thing. (To be fair, I also know one person who owns a Nook, and she also says the same thing.)

In the three and a half months I've had my Kindle, I have finished 16 books and am partway through a couple more (out of the 16, two were not Kindle books and two were read-alouds with Beeper). I have found that I am more likely to read/finish a book if it's on the Kindle. The portability has been especially useful for doctor visits, the hospital, errands in town and roadtrips. I also like how easy it is to take outside and read while the boys play and to read one handed while nursing.

I have over 200 books on mine, most of which were freebies. I have a goal of reading as many of these books as I can (I'm up to 30 now, I think), and I have a lot of favorites like Jane Austin books and Anne of Green Gables, but I have also discovered some new books that are fun through the freebies, like The Golden Acorn and Glasruhen Gate (the first two books in what looks like a very promising children's fantasy series). Amazon has also announced that Kindle will soon have library lending capabilities (which would be very exciting if our library offered e-books; most of the major ones do now, I think).

Brothers

2011-04-18T06:13:00.000-07:00

I probably won't be on the computer much for the next little while, but here's a quick picture of the boys. Beeper and Little Fish both adore their new baby (so far). Little Fish even wanted to know the first night we were home why Baby wasn't going to sleep with them. He runs down the hall calling his name when ever he hears Baby cry, and he is always asking, "Hold? Hold?"

Pictures

2011-04-09T07:19:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all of the congratulations and well wishes.

Recovery is definitely going to take longer this time. Two pounds makes a BIG difference. Firebirdluver is doing an amazing job taking care of all of us. Fortunately he will be able to take all week off work, and his dad will be coming to help too.

The labor was only a few hours but very intense. Firebirdluver was perfect. His help got me through it. Here is what you really want - lots of photos:

Thankful Thursday

2011-04-07T04:45:00.000-07:00

11 lbs 10 oz

24 inches

4/7/11 2:38 am

More to come...