Trophy

May 30, 2012
Tonight was Pearl's last Tball game.

I was really torn about going or not because it's also Wednesday.  Which means it's YW night... and we were going to Boondocks. I felt it was a lose-lose no matter what I picked. I could be a bad mom or a bad YW leader. In the end, I figured it would be easier to live with my kids and husband if I didn't abandon them one more night.

I'm glad I went. My parents surprised Pearl and showed up right before the game started. We didn't think they'd be able to get off work to see her last game but they did! Pearl ran over and jumped into their arms. Cole was busy practicing his swings but yelled, "Gampa!" and smiled the moment he saw them.

I think Jeff is glad to have Tball over with. It was starting to get hot and he was running out of ideas to keep 10 kids busy while they waited for their turn to bat. I think all the kids had a lot of fun. All of them made progress during the season - even if it was to just not have to go to the bathroom during the game! The kids had a blast tackling him after the game, learned some cheers (the "twins'" dad told us they did a "Go Dodgers!" - the team's rival - during sacrament meeting one week!), were able to hit the ball with coach pitch, and even learned to run the bases.

But the trophies were the biggest hit of the entire season! Jeff even got one for himself... to use as a Dundie award at work.

Big kid class

May 29, 2012
It was a bittersweet day for me. And Cole.

Cole got kicked out of the toddler room and sent up to the preschool class. I knew the day was coming but it's easy to try and deny the fact that your baby is growing up when they still get to go to the infant/toddler room. And for Cole (and all the kids), it's always fun to go "visit" the big kids but the minute you're stuck in the big kid class permanently, it looses all of it's appeal. Not even the allure of playing outside four times a day kept Cole from clinging to my legs and crying when I dropped him off with Miss Karen. And she is super nice! He kept saying, "No. Babies," and trying to run inside to his old class with Miss Kori. And the poor kids in Cole's toddler class... the second they saw me, they all shouted, "Coe" (think long o sound). 

Hopefully the transition isn't too bad. For Cole or me.

"Po-leen"

May 28, 2012
The kids' birthday present finally came today!

They had absolutely no clue what it was. When we picked it up from Walmart, we kept asking Pearl what the box said. She got a little upset with us because, in her own words, "I can't read big words yet!" But as soon as we opened up the box she knew EXACTLY what it was! And it didn't take Cole too long to figure out that the box had a "po-leen" in it.

I think this might be the single best investment we've made as parents. Those two haven't stopped jumping since.

He does what he wants, when he wants

May 27, 2012
It didn't rain today.

There wasn't any water on the ground.

And this picture was taken almost 10 days ago.

But it's cute. And since Fern pretty much does as he pleases around here - he could care less if he gets in trouble for it too - I thought it would be appropriate to post a picture of him doing just that. What he wants, when he wants. The day it was taken was his birthday anyway so he got away with just about everything. Even sitting down in the puddles, soaking his shorts, and riding home in just his diaper.

Popcorn blossoms

May 26, 2012
Those aren't popcorn kernels all over the lawn. Nope. They're blossoms from our Catalpa trees. We finally get those trees to bloom and the wind comes and blows them all over the place. 

Young love

May 25, 2012
I have never seen such a big, genuine smile on Pearl's face before.

It could only mean one thing.

Young love.

Pearl's Benny boy (her first boyfriend) moved to Colorado several months ago and life hasn't been the same. This morning, I surprised Pearl and told her Benny boy was coming to school to visit. I've never seen her get ready for the day so fast. She was BEGGING me to hurry up! Me!

Ben was a little shy and wouldn't go in Pearl's class to talk to her. He just stared at her through the window. But the minute those two were alone, their little faces both lite up. It was so cute. Ben's little brother Alex is only a month younger than Cole but I'm afraid they didn't seem to remember each other.

Pearl was all giggles when I picked her up from school. I figured she was still giddy from seeing Benny boy but not so. Apparently, she has a new boyfriend. A boy in her class named Rylan. I've heard about Rylan before - Pearl says he is nice to her and cute - but figured she'd forget all about him once she saw Ben this morning. Oh no. She kissed Rylan today! Kissed him! She begged me to not tell Jeff because "Dad will be really mad I kissed a boy." We went through this same discussion when Benny boy was still here and they kissed on the playground and Jeff wasn't too pleased about it. I kept my promise but I don't think her twitter-patted state will fool her Dad for long.

Pearl's school program

May 24, 2012
Pearl has been VERY excited about her school program today. She even made me an invitation to it a few weeks back, with a "love Mom" written on it.

Each kid in her class had to recite something they had learned during school this year. Pearl's part was, "O is for orbit the path our planets take. It takes 365 days for the Earth to go around the sun." She said it perfectly (she remembers EVERYTHING... even her teacher Ms. Penny mentioned this tonight) but refused to make eye contact with us. She didn't crack a smile the whole time either. Maybe it was her nerves.

We are so proud of Pearl! She is such a smart girl and has done so well in school this year. She can read, count, do simple additions, knows all kinds of things, and has outstanding behavior in class. Miss Penny said Pearl is nice to everyone and everyone wants to play with her. Hopefully her hoodlum brother will follow in her footsteps.

Help for the party planning impaired

May 23, 2012
When Pearl told me she wanted a ballerina birthday party, I panicked.

A ballerina party? Seriously?

She's asking a woman who was traumatized in the two years of dance she did take (from Logan's elite dance company, Tueller's, I will have you know) because she was two heads taller and 30 lbs. heavier than every other girl in her class and was thus stuck in the very back row of dancers at my recital where my parents couldn't even see me to plan a ballerina party!

Heaven help me.

Good thing there are stores like Zurchers for the party planning impaired. At least it will have the "look" of a ballerina party. Now, if I can just muster up enough self-confidence to teach myself some ballet moves for the party.

Drummond Maple

May 22, 2012
After the massive wind storm back in December, our yard has looked, well, like a disaster hit it. Our poor damaged pine tree is still clinging on and that darn thing has been sprouting new growth on it's branches!

Eventually the rest of that bad boy is coming down.

Since we have absolutely no shade our back yard now - which is ironic considering when we bought our house we had to take down a small forest of overgrown and ill-cared for trees-  we hit up a local nursery tonight. We walked up and down the isles of flowers, shrubs, and trees looking for something unique.

And then we saw it.

A Drummond Norway Maple.

By definition from E.C. Brown's Nursery's website: Acer platanoides 'Drummondii'. A large handsome tree with conspicuous clusters of yellow flowers on bare stems in April followed by eye-catching pale green, deeply lobed deciduous leaves with a wide cream margin.

We'd never seen it before and knew it was the one. Now if we can just hold out a few years until it's big enough to make up for the shade we're missing from a 70+ foot tall pine tree.

Flower pots

May 21, 2012
I'm going to give flower pots another go this year. We're going with a yellow, orange, and red color scheme.

Jeff, however, does not trust my green thumbs. Not that I blame him. I've already forgotten to water the ones on the back porch, which proceeded to bake in the sun until Jeff saved them. Oops.

So last year, he rigged up a drip line system to keep my flowers happy. He also told me I couldn't plant just petunias this year. Apparently he doesn't understand these are the only flowers I can actually keep alive all summer. When I reminded him how forgiving petunias are when I forget to water them for days on end, he gave in and let me get a flat of them to put around the yard.

Eclipse gazing

May 20, 2012
I'm pretty sure everyone in the viewing range of tonight's eclipse was doing the exact same thing... trying not to burn their retinas seeing a rare celestial wonder.

I remember in elementary school making one of those shadow box things to watch a solar eclipse through, but squinting through some welding glasses while trying not to stare too long was a lot more fun.

Something's amiss

May 19, 2012
Does anyone see something amiss in this picture?

Besides the box of diapers creating yet another room of clutter.

Yes, that is Jeff in Cole's crib. And yes, that's Cole getting ready to jump back into his crib. For some reason, Cole enjoys having Jeff climb into his crib, snuggle with him for a couple of minutes, and then yell at him to get out!

Birthday boy

May 18, 2012
It's hard to believe my blond hair, blue eye baby boy is 2 years-old today.

Can we just hit the pause button now? I'm not sure I can take any more growing up.

Watermelon

May 17, 2012
Even if you don't like to eat watermelon, you have to admit that juicy, sweet, red center and bright green rind is a sure sign that summer is almost here!

Texas cake

May 16, 2012
I was in charge of making a Texas cake for YW tonight. We take turns bringing the girls' favorite treats when it's their birthdays. Luckily, this is one thing I'm actually good at making. I came home with two pieces left. Any takers?

Homework redo

May 15, 2012
Pearl had her last take-home assignment from school due this week.

A detailed map of some place she knew well. We decided on the park.

After telling her "not today" for about four days, I finally caved to her pleadings this afternoon and broke out the crayons and paper. I was fearful of another homework mishap like last time, and not having Jeff home from work yet to keep me from killing her or locking myself in the bathroom and crying.

Praise the good Lord above because we both survived! I drew an example of my map, with Pearl telling me all the important things we needed to include on it. Then it was her turn. I said nothing except to prompt her on what things came next and let her draw and label to her heart's content. I mean, who cares if the rec center pool is the size of Texas and our streets are freeways?

And with not a single tear shed or threat yelled, I'm giving this assignment an A+.

1st dentist appointment

May 14, 2012
The kids had dentist appointments today. And while Pearl seems to do just fine now, I still have a slight fear that previous visits will repeat. The first two years of trying to take her to the dentist wasn't fun to say the least. Let's just say there was a lot of screaming (by all parties involved) and a few fingers narrowly missed being bitten off by a thrashing, inconsolable child.

But things have improved... greatly.

So of course, with all going well in the dental department for Pearl, it had to be Cole's turn. I was expecting the visit to go nowhere but downhill and fast with all his whining and clinging to my legs when we got to the office. Boy was I surprised though! Instead of screaming because he didn't want anyone near his teeth, he screamed because he didn't get to go first. And he was less than pleased that he didn't get to have x-rays done. I was honestly in shock at how excited he thought the whole experience was. When it was finally his turn (you'd have thought five minutes of waiting was five hours with his impatience), he climbed right up onto the chair, leaned back, opened his mouth, and said, "teefh" with a big grin. I seriously drug him out of the office kicking and screaming because he didn't want to leave! It was the funniest thing, especially after our experience with Pearl the first time. Both kids are in the "cavity-free club" and got brand-spankin' new toothbrushes and stickers to take home.

Let's hope he never has to see me go to the dentist... that might change his attitude about things real quick.

Mother's Day

May 13, 2012
I got the royal treatment today!

Jeff got up with the kids (twice if you count Cole waking up at 5 a.m. because he'd kicked the covers off and was cold) and helped Pearl make me breakfast in bed. He knows pancakes aren't my favorite -it's what I get for not going grocery shopping before Sunday, leaving nothing to eat - but wanted to treat me to something he knew would make me smile and laugh. It's kind of a running joke that you never serve mom breakfast in bed after the Cheerio incident when I was growing up. I may or may not have decided my mom deserved breakfast in bed and tripped on my Dad's shoe sending Cheerios flying all over their bed and floor.

It was very sweet of him. And Pearl. I even got a rose from Cole!

But the best Mother's Day present was having Pearl tell Jeff she was going to, "be good all day, not fight with Mom, let Mom comb her hair the way she wants, let Mom pick out my church dress, pick up all my toys, and listen because that's what you're supposed to do for Mother's Day." It was a long list and by 5 p.m. poor Pearl was down right worn out from being on her best behavior.

Happy Mother's Day to all the fabulous women in my life!

Thank you, Patty

May 12, 2012
Words will never express my love for Patty Jones and the influence she has had on me and so many others. The last month of planning an open house, filming a Mormon Times T.V. segment, and secret keeping (can you say performance from Michael McLean!) was exhausting and emotion-filled. But so worth every minute.

To watch KSL's Mormon Times T.V. segment on Patty and the influence she had on "her girls" in Young Women, go here.

Easily influenced

May 11, 2012
Cole is easily influenced by his sister.

Jeff will be mortified.

But in Cole's defense, after about 20 minutes of ballerina butterflies, he'd had enough and started yanking off his wings. The tights were another story, but he did proceed to tackle his big sister and pummel her with a football. That should make Jeff feel better about Fern's masculinity, right?

End of game tradition

May 10, 2012
Tball twice a week is giving me a small glimpse of what my parents suffered through for 20 years of soccer and lacrosse with me and my siblings.

It's exhausting. And the kids don't even know where to run yet!

Jeff's team is finally coming around. Not only are they getting better at hitting the ball and running to the right base at the right time, but they seem to be totally fascinated with their coach. Pearl is a good sport to share her best friend with a bunch of kids she doesn't know.

It all started with some high-fives at the end of the game. Jeff yelled "ouch" after each kid slapped his hand to the delight of them all. Those giggles eventually spilled over into some kid getting brave enough to actually tackle Jeff after giving him a high-five. The next thing you know, the entire team is on top of him laughing and squealing, with Jeff kicking his legs in the air and shouting for help.

The kids love it.

Even the other team loves it. Tonight, one of the other "team moms" had to pry her kid away from Jeff because as she reminded him, "that's not your coach!"

Father and son

May 9, 2012
Jeff is such a good dad. Not only is he coaching 10 kids on Pearl's Tball team (more like herding them from base to base) but he makes sure Cole feels like he's part of the team too.

Summer buzz

May 8, 2012
Jeff had had enough of Cole's long hair. Which is just about the point when I find it the cutest, minus the stuff hanging over the top of his ears.

A small piece of my heart dies every time that boy gets a hair cut. It sounds dumb, but I feel like I have to keep his signature look... super long, spiked, blond hair just like when he was born. Every time he gets a hair cut, people ask me why I'd do that? They must sense my heartbreak or see my eyes start to well up because they immediately respond with, "oh I bet it grows back fast."

Not fast enough. Not fast enough.

Faith is like a seed

May 7, 2012
Uh. Does any other mom out there in LDS-land wonder if it even makes a difference that you attempt F.H.E.? Seriously.

I happened to get this cool herb planter at my conference last week. I thought it would be a great visual for a F.H.E. lesson on faith. I knew there was a scripture somewhere about comparing faith to a seed but couldn't remember where it was. Luckily, Jeff knew it was Alma 32: 28-33. So I read the kids the scripture reference and tried to explain what it was talking about. I should have just skipped the explanation because I left Pearl more confused and bored than ever. Jeff chuckled under his breathe and gently told me to move on!

So we opened up my planter and plopped the soil packet into some water. And waited. And waited. And waited. If I hadn't bored the kids enough with my scripture lesson, waiting for the soil to plump up was agonizing for them. I finally did the one thing I'd threatened them not to do, stick my fingers in the water and play in the dirt to get things moving along. My patience was wearing thin. Then came the dozens of teeny, tiny oregano seeds. All over the table. Oh well. The kids were fascinated.

Now I'm just hoping my object lesson doesn't completely fall flat and one of us has enough faith to get those little seeds to sprout because Pearl keeps asking if "our testimonies have grown yet."

Monkey jammies

May 6, 2012
Oh, I missed this little monkey man.

He is obsessed with these pajamas that Grandpa and Grandma gave him for Easter. I laughed at a friend who kept mentioning how her little boy refused to wear anything but his Buzz Lightyear jammies and threw fits when she tried to wash them.

I completely understand now.

And to make matters worse, I brought home two little monkeys with magnetized hands and feet from Atlanta. Now we can't go to bed without monkey jammies and this little, green monkey.

Kool-aid stand

May 5, 2012
My Aunt Denise once told me that you should always stop at a kid's Kool-aid stand. Even if you aren't thirsty, the drink is too sugary or warm, and your investment costs you more than the groceries you just bought.

She was right. The look on those kids' faces as I handed over my money was worth every dollar.

The Hunger Games

May 4, 2012
I think I might have been close to the last person on the planet to read The Hunger Games series.  I don't know why, but I try to avoid reading any book that Hollywood has deemed the next Titanic. I still haven't touched the Twilight series. I guess I want to feel like I'm the first person to find the next gem in the reading world.

Or the fact that I don't read for pleasure very often.

But with about 10 hours of flight time this week, I figured this might be my only chance to actually read The Hunger Games. I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Plus, I want to see the movie and I refuse to do so until I've read the books.

I'm sold. Why didn't anyone make me read them sooner! They might be the only series I'll ever re-read! I was totally hooked, finishing the first one on the plane ride to Atlanta. Then freaked out because I couldn't find a bookstore ANYWHERE near my hotel because I was dumb enough to think I wouldn't need the next two books. Thank heavens for Target and birthday cash! I stayed up until 3 a.m. Atlanta time to finish book two (my favorite of the series) and then forced myself to keep book three closed until I got to the airport to fly home.

And not to spoil the ending for anyone but between Gale and Peeta, let's just say I think Katniss made the right decision. Oh, and the message behind the book was well worth the read too.

The Gala

May 3, 2012
I've got to give my fellow Violence and Injury Prevention professionals credit.

They know how to P-A-R-T-Y!!!

Tonight was the famous Safe States Alliance Gala. I had no clue this was such a big deal and missed the memo that this was in fact, a cocktail attire event. Oops.

The Gala was at Maggiano's. A delicious family-style Italian restaurant. Oh my! The food was heavenly and there was a lot of it! We got there late and ended up sitting with just two other folks from Ohio. So we had our pick of everything on the menu, including a platter of dessert! I haven't stuffed myself that much since Thanksgiving.

And then the dancing began. Whitney had warned me that this was a serious event.... the dancing that is. It did dawn on me after the 16th reminder during the conference that we'd ALL be on the dance floor. I knew I wouldn't be able to hold out all night, especially after watching almost 70 people cram onto the dance floor and shake their booties. Oh, and did I mention I have video evidence of all former Directors of the CDC National Injury Prevention and Control Center wiggling and jumping and shimming the night away? Seriously, I couldn't believe it! These are the staunch professionals who remain politically correct at all times, except at The Gala! I bet those nagging Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity folks don't have this much fun or activity at their conferences.

Side note: when you're from Utah, people make a few assumptions. Like when Whitney and I told someone we were "sister wives" and saw their jaw drop to the floor before we burst out laughing. You know they're all thinking it! Or when they ask you, "So... you're from Utah. Are you Mormon?" Yep. "So you don't drink?" Nope. "And you still dance?" Uh, I didn't realize drinking was a prerequisite to having fun.

While on my walk....

May 2, 2012
My friend and colleague, Whitney, and I went on a walk tonight.

I was DESPERATE to find a bookstore...apparently the Hunger Games series is as good as everyone told me.

Anyway, along the way to a Target store, we walked by a group of these trees. I was mesmerized with their gray and tan blotchy bark and loads and loads of skinny branches coming out of the trunk. I've never seen them before. Does anyone have an idea of what kind they are? Probably something that needs hot, sticky Southern weather and not Utah weather.

On the bright side

May 1, 2012
While there are a whole bunch of reasons why I hate Atlanta, I won't complain about having someone else make my bed.

Oh, and having eight pillows on the bed to jump into... Jeff (and I'd argue all men) has a strict "no more pillows than are absolutely necessary for sleeping" rule.

Atlanta

April 30, 2012
The next time the CDC decides to make camp in some disease-infested part of the world (and subsequently, requires me to attend a five-day conference there), can't it be somewhere near a tropical island paradise?  Like Hawaii?

Oh well. Atlanta, here I come.