Peas

March 26, 2012
The only reason I will refrain from major complaints about the wind, rain, slush, and cold today - after a weekend of perfect weather - is because Jeff planted some peas for me.

It's a good thing they like cold weather.

Blossoms

March 25, 2012
Yesterday's perfect weather was just what our flowering plum tree needed to burst into bloom today. Seeing those pink blossoms makes me giddy every year!

Sunshine happy days

March 24, 2012
"Sunshine happy days and spring time everywhere..."

Or something like that.

To say today was B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. would be an understatement. The back door was open all day, with the glorious, warm sunshine beckoning us outside. I'm fairly certain the only times the kids and Jeff came inside was to eat or pee.

I could get used to weather like this.

I don't get it

March 23, 2012
I don't get it.

I pick up the kids and get an ear full about, "Why are you so late, Mom? What took you so long? Did you have a meeting? I'm hungry! I want to go home!" from two whining pip squeaks. But then the second we get out the door, those two take off towards the playground. The same playground they've played on all day.

Luckily for me, a friend - whose last day happened to be today... she got a new job at the University of Utah - saw me sitting there in a heap of defeat in getting the kids to leave, and came over to chat away the hour with me.

At least I'm not the sole reason we got home late tonight.

A surprise for Kurtis

March 22, 2012
My little brother is on the Sky View Varsity lacrosse team. He's good (and the one in the #3 blue jersey getting ready to pass the ball in this picture).

My mom had emailed his schedule to me a few weeks ago but I sort of forgot he had a game today. But in my defense, the schedule didn't have a location listed for the game... and I spent five hours in a single meeting today so my brain was fried! Luckily for us and Kurtis, my mom sent me the address before I left work. It happened to be right down the road from Jeff's office so we all surprised him with some sibling love cheers. You know, like "Pick it up you Sally! Go Sally! Get up! Be tough you pansy!"

He loved it.

The storms are here but the Rescuer is sending the wagons

"Blue Angel" painted by Julie Rogers

March 21, 2012
I went to a stake YM/YW Fireside tonight on Trek. If you've never heard of Trek, basically we dump our youth groups in the nothingness of Wyoming where the Mormon pioneers walked and experienced horrific trials, heartache, and loss for a few days to give them a sense of what their ancestors went through to come to Zion. They wear pioneer attire and leave all worldly possessions behind, get grouped into families, and walk the trail. I missed out on Trek when I was in YW so I've never experienced this myself. But I've heard AMAZING things about it.

Anyway, I went tonight because all leaders and youth were supposed to go, even though me and the Beehives won't be able to participate because they have to be 14 to go. The speaker, Jolene S. Allphin, wrote a book called "Tell My Story, Too" which tells of stories of Mormon pioneers in the Martin, Willie, Hodgett, and Hunt Emigrating Companies of 1856. She talked about some of the pioneers in the book, sharing the "Blue Angel" story from the picture above and of an 11-year-old boy named James Kirkwood who died carrying his five-year-old brother across Rocky Creek. Among other stories. I really need to do some reading and researching... we must remember these stories.

But her last words struck me. She said, as she'd described in some of the stories when the wind and snow storms came trapping the pioneers and then rescue wagons being sent by the Prophet Brigham Young, "The storms are here and more are coming. But the Rescuer (our Savior, Jesus Christ) is sending the wagons."

Then our Stake President spoke about the importance of going to the temple. People often question why the pioneers gave their lives to reach Zion, especially in the ill-fated handcart companies which this book was written about. Pres. Martin said it was because of the temple covenants. The temple was in Zion. He then talked about his walk to the temple from his house very, very early this morning. He told the youth, making temple covenants is what's it's all about. We must focus on our personal worthiness and the blessings of the temple. If we do these two things, not only will those going on Trek be spiritually prepared for their experiences, but we will receive blessings for the rest of our lives.

I walked to the temple from my house about six years ago. It was exhausting but the reward when I touched the temple gates and breathed a sigh, "I'm here. I made it." was incredible. I think I'll be getting up very early tomorrow morning.

Jazz Game

March 20, 2012
Tonight was supposed to be Cole's first Utah Jazz game. Instead, it was Pearl's. You see, I won free Jazz tickets at the Safe Kids Fair and Jeff said he'd take Cole because Pearl got to go to Disney on Ice. Well, Pearl proposed several reasons as to why she should be the one to go instead. Like, "But Dad is my best friend. Cole is your best friend." And, "I was really, really good today, Mom. I listened to you." And, "You can't have two best friends. That would be silly." And most importantly, "I promise to be good. No screaming. No whining. And I'll listen."

She did have a point. She was good. The allure of a potential tub of popcorn and evening with Dad kept her in line for most of the day. So Fern came with me to a Relief Society meeting. After an hour, he was done... proceeded to get his coat and put it on himself then walked out of there! I got this text message from Jeff:

1 Jazz bear
1 popcorn
1 soda (me)
1 water
= $100 and 1 happy Pearl

Despite what the photo above might suggest, they both had a good time. The second Pearl came through the door she started singing, shouting, and dancing around just like the cheerleaders. Jeff said, "we struggled" when he showed me his pictures of the Jazz game. I snickered to myself... um, yeah, how many self-portraits of Pearl and I look like that too? All of them!

Sesame Street Picnic

March 19, 2012
We had a picnic in the living room today.

Yes, in front of the T.V.

It's a special treat for the kids to get to watch Sesame Street on our day off. Pearl has figured out what 1 o'clock means by the sheer fact that on Mondays at 1 o'clock we watch Sesame Street. She starts the countdown about 10:30 or so and asks every 15 minutes if it's time yet. And let's face it, it's the one hour during the day when I can pretty much do what I want without too much interruption. So we enjoyed our Sesame Street picnic.

Bribery

March 18, 2012
I'm really excited to be in Young Women's but I'm struggling. I don't know how to get to know the girls. They are so shy and quiet and there's so few of them. Which is the exact opposite from my own YW experience where there were a whole bunch of us loud, outgoing, giggly girls. And I feel reserved and kind of shy myself around them. I'm terrified I'm going to be the leader that they all think is a dork or mean or completely uncool. Had I not had the most amazing, loving, fun, and angelic leaders throughout my entire time in YW, I wouldn't feel so much pressure. I really mean that. My leaders were friends and we still keep in contact. They made such a difference (and still do) in my life.

So I thought and thought and thought. Then I stumbled upon this cute and super easy idea from Our Best Bites. I figured a little bribery couldn't hurt in my quest to get to know them better. And it gave me an excuse to talk to them. After searching high and low for rainbow colored licorice - no luck at Walmart, Smiths, or Fresh Market - I decided to try Rite Aid by my work. I figured it was in a more sketchy part of town so no other bloggers and Pinterest extraordinaires would have bought them all. I was in luck! Of course I paid about twice as much for them, but oh well.

Pearl and I made a whole bunch of these rainbows for the girls. They all seemed surprised and excited today when I gave them their treat. Bribery may work after all...

Remember to wear green!

March 17, 2012
We had some little, mischievous visitors in green drop by last night. They left Pearl and Cole two books, green Play-doh, and new sand toys in the dryer. We loved following their picture clues around the house.

And for the record, my rear end (and rib cage and arms) was pretty sore after getting pinches all morning from three way-too-eager-to-pinch-someone family members because all of my green clothing - uh, hem two bras and a pair of socks - were confiscated by the pinching ringleader, aka Jeff.

The sunflower

March 16, 2012
I often complain about all the meetings I have to go to for work.

But every once in awhile, those meetings change me in a way I can't describe. Like today.

I had the blessing - and yes, it was a blessing - to attend a grief and bereavement workshop for professionals sponsored by The Bradley Center. The Bradley Center provides peer-group, interfaith grief support for children and families, offering a safe and supportive place for hope and healing. You can read more about The Bradley Center's philosophy here, here, here, or here. I figured it would be a good training to prepare me for doing our fifth teen memorial book - a collection of stories from parents who have lost a teen in a motor vehicle crash last year. It's an amazing and emotionally draining project.

But I soon figured out this wasn't going to be just another training. Not only was the setting very appropriate and humbling in it's own right... the workshop was held at Primary Children's Medical Center where angels work and walk in the halls! But the incredible journey the founders of The Bradley Center was going to play out front and center. Carrie Moore, the Executive Director and founder, lost her husband in a plane crash 16 years ago. You can read newspaper articles about the plane crash here. Eight men, all husbands and fathers, were killed when their plane crashed near Malad, Idaho, leaving 17 children behind. Carrie told us they estimated the plane hit the ground at over 800 m.p.h. leaving a huge, black crater behind with nothing else. They didn't know it at the time, but one of the men had sunflower seeds with him. The next fall when she went to the crash site, the mountainside was covered in sunflowers, just like the ones on our tables. The farmer who owned the field told her there had never been sunflowers there before. Her message to us was to remember that out of something so dark and horrific, can come something beautiful. And that's why she started The Bradley Center. My simple words can't even begin to do justice the amazing Spirit that was felt at that moment. It sent chills up and down me. I cried. The Spirit was there and so strong.

And then another twist. One of the speakers, a graduate student from BYU, was one of the 17 children left behind. They didn't realize this until she got to the conference and Carrie recognized her. This amazing young woman lost her father to cancer and then less than two years later, lost her stepfather - who was the pilot - in the crash.

Just when I thought I'd collected myself from the first half of the day, our last session was a panel discussion with families who have lost a child or spouse. It was incredible. I want to write about all their stories because each one touched me in such a strong way but I can't. It was all I could do to hold back the tears. A surge of emotions overcame me, what would I do if I lost Jeff or my kids? Guilt over screaming and yelling at Pearl all morning because she was tired and refused to eat or get dressed or go to school. I felt overwhelmed, grateful, humbled, shame, remembering losing my Grandma and almost losing my sister.

This was one meeting I am so grateful to have attended. It was an amazing and humbling experience. And if anyone needs help or knows someone who needs help with the loss of a loved one, I know The Bradley Center is inspired of God.

First bloom

March 15, 2012
Our first flower of the year has bloomed.

Mother Nature, please don't let this be a cruel trick.

Escape artist

March 14, 2012
Do you know what I just watched this cute little boy do?

Climb right out of his crib.

He's done this a couple times before, but it was when he was on antibiotics for horrible ear infections and I'm fairly certain he must have just flopped himself over the edge in his tantrum. But not today. He knew EXACTLY what he did. I put him in his crib because he'd just bitten Pearl on the stomach. Yes, you read that right. Ouch! The next thing I know, he comes running towards me laughing. So I put him back in his crib and sat in there to see what he'd do. He climbed up and over and I saw a little light bulb go off in his head.

We are in serious trouble.

Precinct party

March 13, 2012
Tonight we did our civic duty and attended the caucus meeting.

The Democratic Party caucus.

Gasp. Horror. I know.... we live in Utah. And we're LDS.... so naturally we're Republicans, right? (You MUST read the article "Why I'm a Mormon Democrat"by Boyd Peterson.... 1,000% agree with it)

Wrong.

But I assure you, we are not some crazy liberals. We just can't stand the crazy right-wing Tea Party, ultra conservative fanatics who think they're the only ones who can tell us how to live our lives... not the federal government, not even the state government, just them.

Take a deep breathe, Jenny.

You might be able to tell politics, especially Utah politics, really gets me boiling. I'm tired of the extreme ends of the political parties ruling the roost, with the majority of us at their mercy and whim. I know my background in public health and state government impacts what political views I believe. And I want to make a difference - ok, really just get the crazies out of our legislature!!!

So we went. It wasn't a traditional "date" night but it was fun. I was however, very disappointed in the disorganization of the event. The majority of people there had never been to a caucus meeting before. With the big media push and encouragement from the LDS Church to get involved, the organizers should have know they'd have a lot of people there who had no idea what was going on. When we broke off into our precincts, there was only five of us. Jeff and I were definitely the most knowledgeable about the process, but even that was limited. We elected a precinct chair - who is now the "creepy old lady" as my sister called her who I'm afraid will be coming by a lot more than we'd like - and I got elected to be our County Delegate. I'm not completely sure what that means except I'll be spending two hours on my birthday electing candidates for county offices and state legislature.

I was half-tempted to go to the Republican caucus too but it ticks me off that I'd have to register as a Republican to get elected as a delegate. I know that's where real change will probably happen (oh the horror if it goes extreme right), but the thought of wanting to rip my own eyeballs out with some of the party's views or thought of offending everyone at church, kept me to just one meeting this week.

Homework and hurt feelings

March 12, 2012
Pearl and I have an intense relationship. And it showed tonight.

She had a homework assignment to do a report on a fish. She had to pick a fish, learn about its habitat, what it liked to eat, a fun fact about it, and finally, draw a picture of it. We came up with a whole bunch of different fish ideas at dinner... salmon, rainbow trout, sharks, swordfish, and clown fishes. Pearl picked a clown fish.

After the dishes were done, I grabbed some paper and her box of crayons. My thought was to "practice" with her since the rule was she had to write everything herself. I thought it would make things easier for both of us if I wrote down things she told me so she could see the letters and then draw my own clown fish so she knew what they looked like.

That did NOT go over well.

As soon as I headed for the crayons Pearl started screaming at me... "I don't want crayons! I want markers! I want markers! I want markers! No crayons!" You get the idea. I'm pretty sure she either didn't hear my response or didn't want to hear it when I told her that we didn't have any markers. Not to be deterred yet, I sat down and wrote out my own fish report for her to copy. The banshee screams only got worse. The next thing I know, Pearl is screaming at the top of her lungs that she doesn't ever want my help and that she only wants Dad to help her, and I'm sitting in the toy room fuming and almost in tears. I hid there for the next hour throwing toys away and reorganizing stuff, all while listening to Pearl politely talk to Jeff about her report and following all his directions with a sweet innocence. Ironic.

It really shouldn't have been that big of a deal. After all, I got out of doing homework and got the house all clean. Not to mention, got out of giving the kids a bath. But my feelings were crushed. I spent all evening holding back tears. I crumbled my own report and threw it in the trash.

How can a 4-year-old hurt my feelings!? Pretty pathetic on my part. But I was so hurt. I kept thinking, is this what our entire relationship is going to be like? Fighting? I'm the one who actually liked doing homework and feel as a mom, it's my job to help my kids with their homework. We can't even do her reading most nights because I get too impatient and Pearl just won't pay attention or listen to me. We fight. We argue. Sometimes, I will horribly admit, that it's a lot easier to "love" Cole than Pearl when we are constantly up and down.

It really hurt. And I'm not sure what to do to avoid another homework meltdown with me being the one who ends up in tears.

Pretty in pink

March 11, 2012
Kids grow fast!

Every change of season brings with it the need for an entirely new wardrobe. After a few years, we picked up on a secret though... buy clothes a size too big and hope you can squeeze two years out of them.

With the sunny and warm weekend, Pearl decided to pull out all the "forbidden" summer clothes from her top drawer. As I was shouting at her to put that short sleeved shirt back because it's not summer yet, it suddenly dawns on me that I'm being ridiculous. So we had ourselves a little fashion show before bedtime to see what fit and what we needed to go shopping for.

Cole must have felt left out because he started jabbering at me to take his shoes and shirt off. I was able to distract him for a bit, but once Pearl started trying on her summer dresses, he was determined to play dress up to. He picked up a hot pink, frilly dress that was way too short for Pearl and came running over. There was no way he was NOT going to being wearing that dress.

Needless to say, Jeff was mortified.

And someday, I'm hoping Cole will be too.

Home and Garden Show

March 10, 2012
We should have stayed home today and worked in the yard. Not just because the weather was absolutely AMAZING and PERFECT for being outside, but because I have now broken commandment #10. Thou shalt not covet.

While the Home and Garden Show for some may bring a wealth of ideas, it makes me sin. I want everything I can't have. Like the pergola we've been saying we'll "do this summer" for years. Or these cool planter boxes. Or the old-stone sitting wall. Or a pond. Or pondless rock fountains. Or cool yard decorations. Or the soft water softener we really need. Or the interior design experts I wish could come fix my bedroom painting disaster. Or the mammoth playground our kids want. Or the shed to keep Jeff's "man" toys in. Or gorgeous flower beds covered in flat stepping stones and moss growing in between them.

I entered every free drawing they had. And I don't care one bit if I'm spammed with crap in my email or mailbox for life if I can just win that pergola.....

See, I told you we should have stayed home.

Junior Mints

March 9, 2012
This picture is for my amazing friend, who will know just what it means without me having to say a word.

Just another day

March 8, 2012
People often ask me how on earth I blog every day.

First of all, I don't technically blog every day. I'm losing my spark for it... all my blogging friends have been sucked away by Pinterest. Second of all, I have to confess. I don't always remember or want to take a picture every day. Probably 98% of the time you get a genuine picture from the day, but some days like today, I just didn't get around to it. Which probably means I got home from work late. Felt guilty about being gone all day from my kids. Rushed through dinner. Was impatient and as it's been for two weeks now, was sick with a horrible cough, no voice, and exhaustion.

So you get a flash-forward picture of me and Pearl being silly at Disney on Ice. Pulling funny faces was the only way I could get her to take a picture with me.

Cake bites and Personal Progress

March 7, 2012
Our original activity for Young Men/Young Women was canceled tonight. We were supposed to play fugitive, eh hem, I mean "journey to the Temple." And the boys were in charge.

Therein lies problem #1.

Problem #2? Mother Nature in her finicky state decided to dump snow on us last night. Two days after a glorious, warm, beautiful day spent outside.

So our fearless YW President threw together a night of cake bites and Personal Progress. None of us had ever made cake bites before. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Messier too. But if you think the vanilla cake bites were messy, you should have seen the girls in charge of the chocolate cake bites.

The Oreo vs. the brussel sprout

March 6, 2012
It's Oreo's 100th birthday today.

And I'm eating brussel sprouts.

Spring fever

March 5, 2012
Spring fever is officially in the air. And in the ground, as evident by our bulbs poking their heads out of the ground all over our yard.

Maybe that's why I am still dealing with this nasty cold. Spring fever, get it? A fever? I felt yucky today and was so grouchy, impatient, and tired. The only thing that made the day "fun" as Pearl told me tonight (shocking considering how many times we yelled at each other and the gazillion threats to leave her in timeout for life), was that we got to play outside not once, but twice. And, "Mom let us take off our coats" ... which according to Pearl was the best part about going outside today. We played baseball, hit what was left of Mr. Snowman with sticks, ran around, and busted out the sidewalk chalk. It was glorious.

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

March 4, 2012
This is the BEST banana bread recipe. EVER!

Even if mine don't have coconut in them (Jeff hates coconut) or this time around they aren't as pretty as the original creators' loaves (Our Best Bites), they're sure going to taste good every morning for breakfast!!!

Once there was a snowman

March 3, 2012
I love my husband.

Not only did he get up super early with the kids and then let me sleep in - I am still pretty stuffy and hoarse - he took two extremely bored kids outside to play in the snow. I'd bought a couple of snow toys and thought they'd make some sort of fort with them but when I peeked out the window, I saw Jeff rolling a massive ball of snow. Pearl and Cole were trailing behind him, walking on the grass.

They zigged and zagged all over the yard and I chuckled to myself at the thought of how he was going to stack these huge snowballs on top of each other. Well, between Jeff, myself, and our neighbor Vickie, we managed to get them stacked. I found two red potatoes for eyes, a scarf and hat, and some licorice for a mouth to complete Mr. Snowman. Jeff found a PVC pipe and random pole for arms and then sneaked Pearl's mittens on for hands.

It was a lot of fun watching these three. And it sounds cheesy, but it made my heart melt to see Jeff building a pretty-impressive-if-you-ask-me snowman with our kids.

Too bad Mr. Snowman won't be sticking around for long though. Mother Nature has warmer temperatures in mind over the next couple of days.

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!

March 2, 2012
Today is Dr. Suess' birthday.

In celebration, I played hooky from work this afternoon and took the kids to a Dr. Suess birthday celebration at the Discovery Gateway Museum. In my defense though, all week my coworkers had been begging me to go home because I sounded so horrible.

At least 500 other kids beat us there because we missed out on the free The Lorax book and Dr. Suess hats that they were giving out to the first 500 people through the door. But we did get two other books (which Cole won't part with now), met the Cat in the Hat himself, ate a snack of green eggs (vanilla pudding dyed green with two Nilla wafers on top), and watched an episode of the new Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That cartoons.

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!

A snickerdoodle just for you

March 1, 2012
This post is just for my brother, Jesse.

To rub it in his face... AGAIN! It's the last snickerdoodle of the batch.

It all started on Monday during F.H.E. My sister and I made a batch of snickerdoodles for the treat. It's been forever since I made a snickerdoodle. I'd forgotten how good they are and how much Jeff likes them. Anyway, we had our spiritual lesson on the Holy Ghost, played a game, and then dived into these sugary, cinnamony, soft, chewy, delicious cookies. I joked how jealous my Dad and brothers would be. Snickerdoodles are Jesse's favorite cookies.

So we sent them a loving text. With pictures, of me getting ready to bite into four cookies stacked on top of each other. (I swear to you I didn't eat four cookies... at once anyway)

Jesse was NOT happy. There may or may not have been threats on our lives and a couple of curse words once he saw what he was missing. Kimmy and I laughed and laughed and laughed at our cruelty. We've also decided to do this every week for F.H.E.

Leap Day

February 29, 2012
Today only comes around once every four years. Leap Day. And it must be an unusual day because I won something. Two things actually.

At the Safe Kids Fair, Pearl won an entertainment package from Larry H. Miller. Since she isn't 21, I ended up winning! Yeah for moms! I sort of rolled my eyes when the guy said he didn't have the actual prize and that he had to get my address and name to send me whatever it was they had back at the office. I figured a potentially free date night with my husband was worth the junk mail that will inevitably come now trying to get us to buy a new car or something like that.

Well, it was worth it. I got an envelope in the mailbox filled with 10 movie tickets, 2 food vouchers at the movie theater, and a voucher for two Jazz tickets.

Then, I got a phone call from Global Travel Network saying I'd won a free trip to one of three destinations. They babbled on and on about which trip I'd want... all sound tempting... but I admit, as good as it sounds to win a "free" trip somewhere I'm totally skeptical. I asked for them to send me some info to review before deciding but it was a ho and hum ordeal about how they couldn't do that until I picked the destination I was interested in, blah blah blah. And then I had to come listen to some schpill too.

I don't know, Leap Day or not, two free things in one day sounds almost too good to be true.

Lost voice

February 28, 2012
If you've talked to me today, you know you've gotten nothing in return.

It's not because I don't like you. It's just because I can't talk. I mean, I really can't talk.

I feel just like Ariel the little mermaid when she sells her soul (ok, just her voice) to Ursula so she can become human and woo her dream man. Luckily for Ariel, her Daddy was there to save her and she lived happily ever after.

But for me, I'm stuck with screaming at the top of my lungs to make the slightest squeak possible. My voice is totally gone, kaput, nada. What sounds I am able to make, sound more like a teenage boy going through puberty. It sounds more painful than it feels... at least today anyway. I have a feeling losing my voice is a sign of worse things to come.

My kids are loving this because I can't yell at them. Jeff is loving it because he can "ignore" me by saying he had no idea I was talking to him. And my coworkers love it because I can't talk so much in our meetings. I'm the only one who seems to have a problem with being mute.