Hasta La Vista...

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Tonight Spencer, Glen, and I attended a parent/teen safe driving seminar, complete with scary videos and terrifying statistics about the over-representation of teens in fatal crashes. 

Pardon me while I bury myself  in the sands of Antarctica for a few years.  

(Do you think there is sand underneath all that snow?  I'm looking for zero cell phone coverage and a soft place hide my head for a while.)

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My Son...a Literary Genius?

 Here's an actual assignment he turned in at English class.  You be the judge: 

Dear Math,

I think we both know that this relationship has been doomed for a while.  

Since like first grade.
You've always been soo needy, 

telling me to solve all your problems,
but never giving me advice on mine. 
So I'm afraid that I'm ending it
here and now. 

Good luck solving your own problems. 
You've always been an unwanted relative who I barely know,
but I've put up with you to keep the peace.  

But no more.

It's not me, it's you.  

Sincerely,
Spencer

And his English teacher's comment: 

Nice twist with the cliché.  Great--do you want to submit to the lit. mag? 

And his mother's comment: 
It reminds me of a quote I once read, "As long as they teach Algebra, there will be prayers in school."   :) 

And a little tidbit I found while researching a way to help him with his, um,  homework:

proof:

We know,

Girls = Money x Time

We also know, Time is Money.

i.e. Time = Money.

therefore,

Girls = Money^2

We also know that money is the root of evil.

i.e. Money = root(Evil).

So, Money^2 = Evil.

Therefore,

Girls = Evil
(at least until after his mission)

And your comments....




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Before/During/After

Lucky for you, I'm not feeling very verbose today, so you will be spared my long-winded reflections on the poor genetics we've passed onto our children and I'll cut right to the chase (a leftover cliche from last post): 


Cami (and her cousin Madeline) BEFORE BRACES:

DURING:  

AFTER:   She still needs some pretty serious dental work before she's totally done, since she's missing two of her permanent teeth right in front (see I told you it was poor genetics). 

CELEBRATING:  What better way to celebrate the happy occasion than with some gourmet cupcakes? (coconut, red velvet, pumpkin, german chocolate, dulce leche, chocolate)

BONUS:   I've been having to pick Ellie up early from school almost every day lately, but yesterday was the earliest yet that they've called (at 11:00).  Of course, Ellie didn't mind a bit that she was around for Cami's celebratory cupcake sampling fest and I admit it was kind of fun to have a bonus person home to join in on the celebration! 

( The coconut was our favorite!)



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A Day Late (or how many clichés can I use in one sitting)...

I hope that I'm not beating a dead horse or anything by blogging about my cute as a button kids in their Halloween costumes a full three days after the fact.  But, heck,  I always say "Why cry over spilled milk?" when the bottom line at the end of the day is:  Better late than never!

Every year I think that this is the year that I'm going to think outside the box in the attic and come up with some fresh and new costumes for my offspring.  But this year ended up like all the rest with me just eking by the skin of my teeth with a last minute trip to the consignment store to save the day.

  My Ems is smart as a whip and just recently finished devouring the Harry Potter series.  I didn't want to break the bank, but I had a sneaking suspicion that she would love this shimmery Hermione costume that came to a grand total of $4.34.  It's even homemade, so I can lie through my teeth and brag to everyone that beyond a shadow of a doubt--- I rock.

Next came my knight-in-shining-armor Sir Adam!  His costume was cutting edge awesome at only $5.63 and while it may be water under the bridge now, I daresay he was the handsomest knight of the night too!

 The writing was on the wall for this costume--no run-of-the-mill hand-me-down princess dress for my baby, Ellie gets her costume straight from my friend Kelly's tutu boutique!  And it's time to face the music my dear blog readers and admit that Ellie's  whirly twirly princess witch costume just might be the be-all-and-end-all of extreme cuteness.

And what about Glen and I?   We looked just like this for only $9.73....

except with peachy colored skin and no beaks.



Some people try to make it out that carving jack-o-lanterns is rocket science, but I say, "Pshaw!"  Easy as pie.  Try this trick on for size instead...

So while I thought I was up a creek without a paddle for costume shopping for Halloween a mere week beforehand, now you know that for people as awesome as me,  it's really like taking candy from a baby...

er, I mean the fierce candy guardians of the universe that would only give me their Bit-O-Honeys and black licorice.  (ew!)



Penny for your thoughts, especially if they're about how I totally hit the nail on the head....



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Star Struck

Once upon a time there was an awesome husband who decided that it would be really cool to take his wife and her parents on a date.  He looked online and found Idina Menzel performing at the Kennedy Center the very next day.

He knew his wife loved Idina Menzel in Wicked, Enchanted, and Glee and so he decided to go for it.  Too bad  the only seats still available were in the nosebleed section, which while still cool wasn't the exciting date he was hoping for.

On a whim, the very smart man decided to check what was available on Craigslist.   There he found a listing for 4 seats on the front row, for the very same price as the nosebleed seats.  He called the listing number and felt very comfortable with the way the transaction was handled--paying on Paypal and the tickets being sent electronically while he was still on the phone.  SCORE!!!!

So it was that the lucky wife, her handsome husband, and her parents sat right on the front row of an awesome concert! 



So it was that they were sitting so close to the stage that they actually got an advance peek at her song list taped to the floor next to the microphone.  It made the concert all the more exciting knowing which song was coming next. 

So it was that shortly after Idina walked out onto the stage she approached the couple and said,

Idina: "Oh you guys look so romantic.  Is it your anniversary?"

Lara: "No."

Idina:  "Did you just meet?"

Lara:  "We've been married almost 17 years." 

Idina:  "Seventeen years?  Wow!  ♫ Seventeen years....♫♫Seventeen years...♫♫"   and into her first song. 



So it was that they spent the night awestruck at their up close and personal concert with their new best friend Idina in her barefeet,  laughing at her quirky sense of humor, and crying when she sang, "For Good" a capella...

Awesome concert.  Awesome night.  Awesome husband. 

The end. 


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NOTE:  The couple mentioned in this account are rule-abiding citizens who would never dream of taking pictures during a performance like this. Therefore it is noted that the last photo was  found in a google image search wearing a similar dress to the one she was wearing that night.  The first two photos were taken by Dad on his cell phone before the concert started.  :) 



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Double Digits

From the day Adam was born a couple weeks shy of her 2nd birthday, Emma has been the proverbial middle child....always having to try a little harder to make sure she didn't get lost in the shuffle.   The bright red hair, the Halloween birthday, and glasses at age 2 ensured her extra attention whenever we were out in public, but at home she's always been a little more energetic, a little more daring, and a little louder than the rest of the kids.  Now don't get me wrong.  I don't give those descriptions in a negative way at all, but more as a little insight to her fun personality. 

I vividly remember when I was huge and pregnant with Adam, that Emma went through a "running-away-from-Mommy-phase".  Spencer and Cami had also gone through a phase of running, but they'd always stop, making sure I got close before taking off again.  Frustrating, still, but not too frightening.  Emma's running game was a little different though.  When she would stop to see where I was at behind her, she wouldn't wait for me to get closer, she would take off running faster knowing that there was no way her gigantically pregnant mom was ever going to catch her.  Poor Adam got a lot of jiggling (and yelling) before he was born from those chasing episodes. 

Interestingly enough, if there is any child in our family that reminds me of me, it's Emma.  I am decidedly not a middle child, but an oldest-of-eight, but many elements of Emma's personality are very similar to my own. 

Not only she is a voracious reader who devours books, but she also loves to cook.  For as loud as she sometimes is at home, she actually has a somewhat quiet, shy personality that is looking for approval.  She gets along well with lots of people, but she tends to have one or two really good friends at a time.  She is also is a person who tends to do things with a gusto and with a unique twist.  She gets an idea in her head and is excited about making it happen.  And if you need any other evidence that she takes after her mom...she recently told me that she wants to start a blog. 

I'm still thinking about it. 

For 10 years now, Emma has been a shining star in our family! We are so thankful for her giggly and optimistic outlook that make it hard to stay mad at her for long.   We love her delicious kitchen creations. We love her quick and beautiful smile.  We love her fun and creative ideas and most of all we love how hard she tries in everything she does--in her schoolwork, in her friendships, in her gospel living, and in her family relationships.   She is a great example to the rest of us!

We love you Emma!!! 
Hope you had a very happy 10th birthday!!

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If you think that family being in town, Adam's baptism, and Emma's birthday makes for a jam-packed weekend, just wait until I blog about the Idina Menzel concert, our IHOP brunch, and the church Fall Festival that were also this weekend.  Eventually I'm going to need a REALLY long nap. 

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Adam's Baptism Day....

 Nothing like a family event to show off our true colors.  As hard as I try to pretend I have things together, my family knows better.  They get to see things as they really are--the thrashed bedrooms, the disorganized closets, and the late night panics to complete procrastinated tasks. 

Thankfully they love us anyway and all that didn't matter when we got to the church (as last minute as our arrival was).  It turned out to be a peaceful and perfect day despite our forgetting to bring towels with us to the baptism. 

Although everyone had to wait an extra minute for us, I still made sure we took a second to take a pre-baptism Daddy/Adam photo.

It was a stake baptism split into two sessions, so there were three other children getting baptized at the same time and another 4 during the following session, but Adam was the only one from our ward getting baptized this round, so after the stake baptisms we split off by ward for the confirmation service. 

For journaling purposes, here's a synopsis of the service:    We sang, "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus" and "I Know My Heavenly Father Loves Me".  Cami played a beautiful cello medley of "I Feel My Savior's Love" and "When I Am Baptized" and Uncle Pete gave an awesome talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost. Bro. Stevenson officially welcomed Adam as the newest member of the ward and Grandpa Crain gave the closing prayer.  The entire time, Adam kept a tight-lipped "I'm trying-really-hard-not-to-smile" grin on his face. 

Here's a group photo that we took right after the service.  Unfortunately several people had already left, so it's not a full group....

(People who were there:  Bishop Mark and Karen H., Pete and Mika and family, Allen P. and boys (Sam, Saku, and Benjamin), Aunt Evelyn, Aunt Marilyn, Matt and Karey and Lincoln, Grandma and Grandpa C. (from Utah), Kent S. (conducting), Eve, Hannah, and Becca T., Bruce and Mikey N., Nick M., Kim, Kyler, Logan, Gavin N., Steven and Benjamin L., Scott and Lance D.,   Jeff, Hyrum, and Joseph T., Aunt Heather (from Minnesota), Alex, Ana, Gavin B.

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All in all, it turned out to be a wonderful day and we are thankful to all those who came from near and far to show their support.  What a happy day!!! 

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And since you know I couldn't get off with that few of photos for an event like this, here's a few Mommy/Daddy/Adam shots Aunt Heather took for us when we got home: 

We love you Adam!!  Congratulations on a wonderful step forward in your life!!!



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What's Better Than....

a gorgeous autumn day that also happens to be CRAZY HAIR and MISMATCHING CLOTHES day at school?   

I'll tell you what's better than that....


...A gorgeous autumn day that also happens to be CRAZY HAIR and MISMATCHING CLOTHES day at school AND also happens to be the day when Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Heather arrive into town for Adam's baptism this weekend!!!!!

Oh yeah!!  Can you feel the excitement?  

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Tis the Season...

As the night air cools and the hues of autumn light up the world in a blaze of color...



I find myself turning inward and pondering on the hallmarks of the season....



the quaint roadside stands with even quainter names that pop up around town...



the folksy yard decorations that bring a smile to my face....

and the hearty, cream filled soups that warm our bodies and bring a sense of nostalgia for simpler days.

Days when calories didn't matter and a treat in each hand meant it was a great day....

days when you didn't care that your dad was a vampire and not near as dazzling as the Cullens...

 nor as fearsome as the neighborhood pig,  Count Porkula....

But mostly all I really wanted to say is...

Happy Fall Y'all!!! 
Enjoy the season!


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Answers to the Super Hard Quiz

Which one of the following statements are NOT true about my last week?

a)  I wrote over 85 emails in 4 days' time coordinating a PTA sponsored event.  Totally true.  The event went off without a hitch and made oodles of money for the PTA.  

b)  I picked a friend's front door lock with a credit card in under 60 seconds.  I was picking up Cami from her regular babysitting job  and somehow in the transition  between one babysitter to the next they locked themselves out of the house with all the kids.  I felt really badly making the mom come all the way from work to let them in, so I gave the old credit card trick a try.  I was surprised at how easily it worked and I now have new motivation to keep my deadbolt locked.

c)  I spent 3-1/2 hours on a school bus for a 45 minute field trip at a farm. Unfortunately true.  Don't ask me why they picked a farm in the middle of boondock Virginia for a kindergarten field trip, but after the back cramping bus ride on swervy narrow roads and an entire 45 minutes on the farm, I was as grumpy as all the kids who weren't allowed to eat until we returned to school at 2:00.   On the upside, the drive was absolutely gorgeous.  Someday I want to take the family back to Waterford to actually have time to enjoy it. 

d)  I picked Ellie up early from school twice this week, because she was so tired.  True.  Once after the torturous field trip mentioned in (c) and again the next day when I walked by her classroom and found her in the class by herself with the teaching assistant taking a nap while the rest of the class was at recess.   I was a little sad that the teacher hadn't called me, but was glad that serendipity allowed me to rescue her from an exhausting afternoon at school. 

e)  I was yelled at by the lunch lady at school twice in the same day.  Yes, apparently the lunch lady was a little hormonal that day or something, because she yelled (actually raised her voice and treated me like a first grader) for minuscule provocations.  
Okay, okay.  I wasn't going to say, but if you must know...she yelled at me for wanting to place a bin in the lunchroom to collect the kids' milk cartons for an activity and then later yelled at me for taking 3 disposable plastic spoons to help scoop out frosting for the same activity.  She actually screamed, "Don't you ever come back in here again,"  when I took the spoons.  Good thing I was in a hurry and definitely non-hormonal or she would have heard an earful.  It was her lucky day.   

f)  I was finally officially nominated into the "Bad Mom Hall of Fame" when I hosted Adam's birthday party with little to no planning and several unsent invitations.    You knew this had to be the one that wasn't totally true.  While it's a fact that Adam's party was ill planned  (picking the party day to be the day after the large PTA event that I was coordinating was my first problem). Everyone here should already know that I was nominated into the "Bad Mom Hall of Fame"  a good 15-1/2  years ago when we took a three-week-old Spencer to an Orioles' game and sat down right behind the dugout.   Every time a ball came within 20 feet of us, people dove, not to try to catch the balls, but to protect Spencer from getting nailed in the head by a line drive.  I've been renominated entry into the hall of ill repute approximately 7322 times since that fateful day in 1995. 

"Why, yes, those would be my son and his friends running wild through the neighborhood during his birthday party.  "


g)  I took care of my family's Halloween costumes in a quick stop at a friend's house and a 30 minute trip to the consignment store.  I consider this feat my tender mercy of the week.  I was so overwhelmed and distracted by the PTA event, that I hadn't given their costumes a second thought, although they were supposed to wear their costumes to the event that night.  I had less than an hour between setting up sessions at the school and raced off to the big consignment store nearby.  I was completely amazed at how quickly I found perfect costumes in Emma's, Adam's,  and Glen's sizes. Ellie's cute little witch costume was purchased from a friend who runs a tutu business.  Shockingly, despite the haste with which they were chosen, the kids and Glen were all completely thrilled with their costumes.  (Pictures coming later this week). 
"No, I most certainly did NOT pick out the costume that Spence wore to the stake Halloween dance."

Winner gets their choice of a kajillion dollars (after I make my second kajillion, since I owe Glen the first kajillion for putting up with me for 17+ years) or 16 awesome comments on their next blog post.  

I just reviewed all the guesses and it looks like we have a tie.  Both Charlene and AnnaLisa are the full winners (do they know me or what?) and since Denise was almost right, she gets the runner-up prize.  Since I already owe Charlene a gazillion dollars from my last super hard quiz, they will each get 16 comments on their next post (Denise will get 8).   Look for your awesome comments coming soon! 



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Super Hard Quiz #2874

Which one of the following statements are NOT true about my last week?

a)  I wrote over 85 emails in 4 days' time coordinating a PTA sponsored event.
b)  I picked a friend's front door lock with a credit card in under 60 seconds.
c)  I spent 3-1/2 hours on a school bus for a 45 minute field trip at a farm.
d)  I picked Ellie up early from school twice this week, because she was so tired.
e)  I was yelled at by the lunch lady at school twice in the same day.  
f)  I was finally officially nominated into the "Bad Mom Hall of Fame" when I hosted Adam's birthday party with little to no planning and several unsent invitations.
g)  I took care of my family's Halloween costumes in a quick stop at a friend's house and a 30 minute trip to the consignment store.

Winner gets their choice of a kajillion dollars (after I make my second kajillion, since I owe Glen the first kajillion for putting up with me for 17+ years) or 16 awesome comments on their next blog post.  

Make your guess and let me know which prize you prefer! 


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Birthday Week

If I was tech savvy enough to do it, I would spare you the long post and put up a cool collage from Adam's birthday celebration, but since things like that require brain power, you're out of luck today.

Since his birthday was on a Saturday, it got stretched out to be an all weekend celebration--including Sunday morning crepes ( a birthday tradition in our house)....

with Daddy's special scrambled eggs...


and everyone's favorite of all...Nutella and whipping cream! 


Later on Cami made these beautiful (and scrumptious) Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes....


8 candles + 1 cupcake = easy, peasy to blow out


On Monday we buckled in our little confectionery delights....



that were cute as can be...



and shared them with Adam's very cute and very diverse 2nd grade class....

Adam was so thrilled with it all that he gave me his best unimpressed non-teeth bearing grin...

I think he thought he was being a bit rebellious by not giving me a full-blown smile for the camera, but little did he know that he totally melted my heart with those sparkly brown eyes and long lashes.  :)

Now I just need to figure out how I got to have 4 of my 5 kids over the age of eight.  I'm definitely too young for that kind of distinction. 


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