Daddy's Work

My husband works in aerospace as a design engineer.  We talk often of his job and what he's working on but due to security I've never actually seen either of the places where he works, until last weekend.  They had a family day at work and he took the boys and I to show us around.  We colored pictures to put up at Dad's desk, toured the plane they're working on, ate popcorn and met a handful of his co-workers.

 

The boys used to ask me every morning, "where's Dad," and we'd talk about what Dad did at work.  Now when Dad's not home the kids tell me about Dad being at work and how he's at his desk or working on the airplane.  After almost six year I can finally say I know where my husband works.  Hopefully there will be many more family days at work and we'll continue to enjoy being a part of such a great company.

Throwing Stones

I have a two-year-old who likes to throw things.  I can't say I'm surprised as I'm a bit of a thrower myself.  I tend to want to throw things to get someone's attention and there are days when there's nothing better than going outside and throwing a ball around.  I've even been known to throw a stuffed animal or koosh ball with my husband while having a conversation (the ball helps the focus stay on the conversation and it's just fun).  Anyway, I like to throw things (except basketballs, I stink at throwing basketballs).

We went down to the river with a bunch of kids and we had to throw rocks while we were there.  Imagine the joy felt by my two-year-old who is constantly being told not to throw things when we tell him it's okay to throw rocks in the river.  It was so much fun to watch the kids try to make big splashes in the water.  I also couldn't help but think of the Savior's teachings about throwing stones.  How often do we get involved in a bit of gossip and, like my two-year-old, go looking for a big rock to throw as soon as opporunity arises?  How often have I found myself trying to "out do everyone elses' splash" by telling a better story then the previous one?  I'm not going to lie, throwing stones comes very naturally to me.  The trick is to be more aware of the affect our splash is having.

The standard I was always taught to use when speaking of someone who is not present is to imagine how I would feel if the person were present.  Would I still say what I'm about to say?  Would it embarrass them?  Would it embarrass me?  That's the best standard I have found.  On the flip side, if you have a compliment to give don't be shy.  Even say it loud enough to be overheard by the person who you are speaking about.  When we have friends over I try to say something good about my husband when he's in earshot.  Imagine the difference between entering a room and having it go silent (and you know you were being spoken of negetively) or entering a room right as someone is complimenting you.  So remember the next time you're tempted to make a splash, NO THROWING ROCKS, except in the river.

Another Accident

Well, we just can't seem to stay out of trouble lately.  I was mopping the floor the other day while listening to Pandora on the computer and had set the laptop in front of the microwave with the cord crossing the floor.  I knew this was a bad idea but justified it because the kids were outside and I could keep it away from them.  Not long after the kids came in the house and after telling them three times to stay out of the kitchen my laptop was on the floor broken.

 

I must admit I was pretty upset but then I thought, better a broken laptop than a broken child.  One of my first thoughts was total disappointment because I had just downloaded an entire year of pictures onto it and the thought of loosing them was pretty devistating.  Luckily, it wasn't long before my husband (who will for all future purposes be refered to as "the most compitent man alive") came home, hooked the laptop up to the desktop computer monitor.  I've been operating that way for two weeks now.  The other day my husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I told him a new laptop screen. :)  To be completly honest I'm just glad it's still working.

Update:  I got a new screen for my birthday.  My hubby ordered it online for $65 and spent a couple of hours taking it apart (following the directions online) and putting it back together.  Now he can say he knows our computer inside and out. :)  I did have a bit of a scare the day it came.  I was out in the back yard finnishing staining the playhouse when the mailman came.  They opened the box, unwrapped the screen and carried it out so I could see it.  We were so lucky it didn't get dropped.

When We Fall Down

My two-year-old got a bicycle (garage sale find) in the beginning of July.  He was so excited it was rediculous.  He took to the riding really well and was excited about being able to keep up with brother.  Grandpa King was here and helped him figure out his brakes.  He did forget once (or he paniced and froze) so he's a little afraid of hills.  He'd been doing really well and then one day his dad took him for a ride to the school and after he fell he just pushed the bike the rest of the time.

 

I always tell the kids, "we all fall down sometimes."  So I asked Daniel later that day, "what do we do when we fall down."  To which he responded, "push our bikes."

 

This was a little disappointing for someone who grew up falling off a horse, literally, and was always taught to get right back on.  It was a good lesson for me to learn but I must admit there are times when I'm a little bruised and not eager at all to try again.  I often am content to just "push the bike" being very careful before getting my nerve up to try again.  Luckily, there is always that nagging thought carefully placed by dilligent parents that I need to get back on that horse and try again.

 

One of my favorite quotes “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” -Mary Anne Radmacher

I Can Be Taught

This project started when our neighbors gave us a slide and a rock wall thing.  Their son is 14 so they no longer had use for them and a project was born.  The most competent man alive and I have been throwing ideas around for a while and the hubs started digging a giant hole in the back yard. (He decided we needed less lawn to mow.) I asked him to draw up a plan (he's a design engineer) and make a materials list.

So I borrowed a truck, got a babysitter and we headed to dinner followed by the Home Depot.  Most Expensive Date EVER! :)  The next day we got to the point above.  The following Monday we were to the picture to the left plus the slide and climbing wall.  I was amazed how many questions  I had for my hubs.  I used the drill, miter saw, ladder, level, wheelbarrow and gloves.  I really enjoyed working with my husband and was surprised at how much I learned (including that my hubs is slightly afraid of heights).

A weekend later the almost finnished product on the right.  We still need to get the slats put in the back side and the entire thing needs stained.  The weather is supposed to be nice this week so it's now or never.  We've already had family night in the new playhouse and are looking forward to many more adventures out there.  And who knows what I'll learn to use next.  Maybe I'll get brave and help with the table saw next time, it's not likely but it could happen. Atleast now I know I can be taught. :)

 

The Cast

Someone once said that every mother of little boys must some day be initiated by her first trip to the ER.  I'm sad to announce that I have been initiated.  About four weeks ago my four-year-old fell from the monkey bars at the playground and broke his humorus near the elbow.  It was a supracondular fracture for all you medical people out there.  We spent two hours in Urgent care before they sent us to the ER at Children's Hospital.  We were there for almost five hours before they splinted the little guy and sent him home. We got lucky.  They originally thought he would need surgery but decided they needed to repeat X-rays as they weren't satisfied with the angle on one of the images.  The swelling was bad so they just splinted the arm and sent us home.

 

He spent the next two days with as much pain medication in him as was allowed and I took him in for his cast two days after the incident.  When the swelling went down I was surprised how loose the top of the cast was.  (I could stick 3 fingers in.)  We took him back one week later for a second layer of casting material and two weeks after to get the cast off.

 The cast didn't slow him down much.  Two weeks after it happened he was climbing up the climbing wall at the playground.  I was a little socked but didn't want to chide him and make him feel broken.

 If you look closly you can see the green casting under the blue.  I liked the blue better.

When the cast came off he didn't want to move his elbow.  The memory of the pain was still fresh in his mind.  He was excited to take a shower, soak in the tub and wear his lego star wars pajamas (they wouldn't fit over the cast).  He's pretty much back to normal now and we even went for a bike ride yesterday.

Being The Mom-Starting the Day

Laziness is like a disease.  You can catch it from other people, once you get it you have all the symptoms and it's really hard to get rid of.  The cure is simple, to get up and do something.  I thrive on structure and being a stay-at-home mom has been hard for me since it often lacks structure in our day to day lives.

Not long after I had my first child I remember being very frustrated by the lack of structure (the lack of sleep wasn't helping either).  I was talking to my mother about this one day and she suggested getting up every morning, getting breakfast and getting everyone bathed and dressed as if we had plans.  This has been a great blessing to me as it is so much easier to make something of your day when you get it going early.  I have stuck to that and there are days that I still don't feel I accomplish much but we've atleast all had a bath and are dressed.  Ofen an opportunity to go do something arises and I'm not usually rushing as we are prepared for the day, whatever it will bring.

Projects

I learned the value of art projects when my oldest was about a year old.  When they are acting out or squabbling the best thing to do is to give them something to work on.  It is also a great way to get quality time in with your kids as you supervise them.  Some projects are fancy and require planning and some they only do for five minutes and move on to something else.  My kids love working with their hands but didn't like to just sit and color until about three weeks ago so I had to be a little more creative.

Here are some of my favorites: Finger painting, painting coloring pages, stickers, dry erease board activities, stamps, cutting and glueing, letter worksheets (dollar tree has good activity books), reading a book and having them draw something from the book, making paper hats, glueing pasta or cereal to make a picture, and the list goes on and on. 

So I challenge you to take some time to do a project with your kids.  I bought a piece of plastic at JoAnne's to put on my kitchen table so clean up is always easy and we just have a good time.  The best part is there is something to show for it when you're done.  I used to have a wall in my kitchen covered with projects and each of them was a good reminder of a memory of mde together.

I Love A Good Story

What is it about stories that excites us to the point of exaggeration?  Sometimes we just get so caught up and excited that the story really gets blown out of proportion.  I must admit this has happened to me more than a couple times.  I love to tell stories, especially when you can get a laugh out of someone.

Well, this is Cherise.  We love her and she posed for this picture with a fossil and I thought it would make for a great fish story.  Cherise leaves on her mission to Canada in a few weeks and we will miss her dealy.  Best of luck to you and we will be looking forward to all your stories when your return.

Casper Babypants

We have been enjoying weekly park days this Summer with friends.  It has been so good to get out and take advantage of the activities in our area.  Last week we went to the fountain down by our city library.  We were also treated to a free concert by Casper Babypants.

The music was great and the water was great.  The company was even better.  I just found out that "Casper Babypants" is Chris Ballew who was a member of the band The Presidents of The United States of America.  I know, I didn't recognize the name of the band either but most of us recognize the song, "goin' to the country, gonna eat alot a peaches".  I had to laugh when I found that out.  So now it's more like, "goin' to the library, playn' songs for the kidies." :)