In September we moved into the home we have been building for . . .well, I’m not going there. This picture is part of the acre and a quarter that we live on.
Greg has offered the kids $1.00 per 5 gallon bucket they fill of rocks and haul off the hill. As you can see, there is a lot of opportunity here, and the kids are getting tired . . .
Anyone out there need a job? We’re accepting applications.
FB, What *Are* You?
There’s been craze lately for people who want to reconnect, support, and keep up on the latest with others they have relationships with. A place where you can go and chat with people who make you laugh, feel good about yourself, and in general put a smile on your face. You can be yourself with those you choose to stay in contact with, you don’t have to put on a facade for those who annoy you or don’t lift your spirits becuase, quite frankly, you can choose who your friends are. Day or night you can find someone to talk to. Post pictures of the family for others to see and in return see pictures of people who have moved so many times your address book is unreadable for all the erasing you’ve done. Take a stroll down memory lane, vent frustrations and ask for advice, cry on someone’s virtual shoulder when life just isn’t going as planned, raise up another when they are having a difficult time.
I’ve been a part of this craze. For over a year I have reconnected with friends from high school, the group I hung around at church/youth camps/dances. Relatives that live far away, and even people I admired in high school but was never ‘cool’ enough to be a friend to. And I have become friends with some of their friends, that I have never met but have things in common with. Want to know what I’ve learned about these groups from high school? Without their brand name purses, high hair, and huge hooped earrings, they are just regular people like me. Raising their kids, loving their families, and trying to make it through life the best that they can. We’re all on the same level now, and I am enjoying their company as much as I always thought I would.
I have learned many things from this place I call an outlet. I have learned to be more empathetic, a little less serious, and how to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. I have laughed, I have definitely cried, and I have felt at peace there. But let me tell you what else I have learned from this place called “FB”.
I have learned that my daughter has a knack for budgeting her money. My son finds new music to try to learn on his guitar. My husband is really more humble than I give him credit for. I have seen happy faces at the sight of a lost platypus, heard the squeels of delight when a chicken coop has been completed, and the long serious chats between to sisters as they try to decide what outfit they should put on their virtual pet or redecorate their fish tanks. I love having the chat box open up with a “hi mom! how are you?”
I know that my friends on FB get tired of my posting special eggs, sending random hearts, asking for more chickens. (learn to hide applications my dear friends!) But I’m not going to give up those games that my children and I play together.
I am a good mother. Above average even. I play with my kids (we love games), I go outside with my kids, we watch movies/TV together, I help with homework etc. so I don’t want you to think that I am not hands on with them and the computer is our only source of communication. It’s just ‘another’ source of communication, and trust me, with teens you will take as many options as you can.
So, FB. What are you? What is your purpose? Why are you so addicting? To the general public your FB initials stand for FaceBook. A gathering of people that you don’t always get to see face to face, but whom you can remain close to. Exactly the reason why I also consider you a FamilyBond. I don’t substitute my computer for actual contact, but when their is no other way I will continue to use FB. Family far, and near can still be close thanks to technology.
Who Wears Short Shorts?
As Spring is approaching and the stores are lining their shelves with the new and upcoming fashions, I stand back and ask myself, “who wears some of this stuff?”. Okay, besides the size 2’s and the 10 year olds. And maybe some people who really shouldn’t be allowed to wear them.
We have taught our children to be modest in their dress. Nothing too short, too scoopy, to revealing, too tight etc. You feel how you are dressed, so if you are comfortable and appropriate then you will be on your best behavior, right? Okay, it was worth a shot.
So I look in a lot of places to buy Spring/Summer clothing. A lot of times I end up online. Especially for my teenaged daughter. Have you seen how flimsy some of those t-shirts truly are?
Now I’d like to know, is there anyone else out there that feels that the runway has runout on modesty?
Oldies But Goodies
My daughter, Atalie, who is 9 years old and in the 4th grade, has been walking around everywhere singing songs like “Blue Suede Shoes”, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, “Rockin’ Roll is Here to Stay”, “Tutti Fruiti”, and “Surfin’ USA”. I’ve been loving it. She says that she really likes the “oldies but goodies”. When I was her age I remember my mom introducing me to songs such as “Tiptoe Through The Tulips”, and “Buttons and Bows” from when she was a child.
Anyway, Atalie (and Keegan, but he could care less) is singing these songs at their school music program for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade’s parents. I can’t wait. I seem to get a sense of pride when I see my kids singing on stage like I did. Especially when they love it. Atalie loves it. Colleen still loves it as well and is very active in the high school choir program. However, I have started to wonder exaclty what my grandchildren will be singing when I go to see them in their elementary’s music performance. What their “oldies but goodies” will be. Perhaps a little Journey or the Eagles? Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash or George Strait? Throw in a few bands like New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, and the Spice Girls? Someday a teenager is going to want to imitate Pink’s aerial performance of “Sober”. I am sure they will go so far as to sing well loved songs from Michael Jackson the way Atalie sings Elvis.
Sometimes it boggles my mind when I think about the changes in the future. Even now I find myself telling my 13 year old son, ‘Cameron, turn down that noise’ and, ‘how can you listen to that stuff? they aren’t even singing, they’re just yelling!’ Yup, things my parents told me.
When I was in 9th grade our choir put on a performance called Swanee. We looked forward to the show all year long. We even got to try out to sing solos and duets. I sang “Bye-Bye Love”. What a great experience, my mom was truly proud of me. I wonder how I will feel when/if my granddaughter has her spotlight solo singing, “Papa Don’t Preach”.
Hmmm . . .
The Buried Life
Have you seen this show? The Buried Life 10PM on Mondays on MTV. Next week is their last show of the season. 🙁 Bummer. 4 guys, 1 question. What do you want to do before you die? These guys have a ‘bucket list’ of 100 things they want to do before they die. As they drive their bus, Penelope, across the country crossing off things on their list, they also find a stranger and help them cross off one of their goals on their list. Why? To encourage people to go out there and find their dreams and accomplish the impossible. These guys make my Monday (along with www.newthingmonday.com and My Life As Liz)
I’ve always felt too young to have a bucket list (I hate that term) but after seeing so many amazing things on this show I’m going to start one. Here are a few of what I came up with:
*be certified in ASL so I could become an interpreter for the legally deaf
*be a music teacher in an elementary school
*have an enormous family picture on both sides of my families
*visit Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Norway, and the Panama Canal
*have a reunion with the people I grew up with in the Lubbock Stake in Lubbock, TX
*spend a week in Hershey, PA
*learn to sew
*get married again, to my same best friend (Greg), but do it better the second time
*grow a pumpkin patch that elementary kids could come to as a field trip
*travel the country with my husband in an RV
These are just a few, but a start. You can’t start on anything if you don’t know what it is first right? And you are more likely to reach a goal that you have written down.
So, if 4 strangers came up to you and asked you, “What do you want to do before you die?” what would you say?
http://theburiedlife.com/about/
Deputy In-Laws
I love my mother and father-in-law. How many of you can say that? It’s not anything showy that they do. They are pretty quiet people that live in a touristy Bavarian village on the other side of the mountains from us. Where the sun shines. Even when it’s 22 degrees outside.
I love to visit them for long weekends or the week. There is nothing that *has* to be done. Like I said, it’s a toursity town, http://www.leavenworth.org/ . Check it out. So, when my family goes there we love to play outside in the mountains, pick apples, cook, read, fly kites, and play a lot of card games.
Thursday my in-laws, Russell and Penny, came to our house. Penny wanted to hit the quilt show at the local fair grounds. Even though we didn’t do anything big and exciting, in fact we watched a lot of the Olympics, ate, and talked, we had a lot of fun. It actually revitalized me. I love our chats. And my kids love it when they can ‘host’ visitors. Especially when it grandma and bampa.
Anyway, I wanted a blog entry that wasn’t deep or heavy. Just a post of appreciation for friendship and support. Thanks guys!
Anyway, I wanted a blog entry that wasn’t deep or heavy. Just a post of appreciation for friendship and support. Thanks guys!
Table For Seven
So we have a great arrangement in my home that has been in affect since our 3rd year of marriage. Greg does the cooking and cleaning up while I clean the bathrooms and dust. Pretty perfect huh? I *can* cook, I just don’t enjoy it. Greg really likes to cook so he can get creative and our tummies are constantly happy.
The hardest thing about meals is knowing what to cook and having the ingredients on hand. Greg can throw things together, but he prefers to have an idea ahead of time. So we tackle the menu as a family a month ahead of time so we can go to the various stores using the coupons Colleen has so carefully taken a million years to organize. We plan the whole month at once. How do we decide? Well, we thought about having the same thing for every day of the week. ie. Taco Tuesdays, Pizza Fridays, Pot Roast Sundays . . . you get the idea. After about 3 weeks of doing this, it got old and boring. Now we take each child and ask them what their favorite dinners are. They get to choose 3, along with side dishes. Add Greg and I to the mix and thats 21 meals all planned out. We schedule a couple of nights for take out and a few for leftovers (which we aren’t good about eating) TA-DA! The month is done! Now we just have to go get all the ingredients and we are set. Want to know how much we spend at Costco every 4-6 months? Hmm, I bet you do. I’m not going to kiss and tell though.
There is something very gratifying about having this menu all put together and written in the calendar. Greg & I *can* provide for our children. We *can* do this, despite the fact we still feel like we’re 21 and are waiting for our kids’ ‘real’ parents to come pick them up.
Yes, a table set for 7. Very rewarding indeed.
Happy Thoughts
My son, Keegan, is 11 years old. He is a very compassionate person. He likes to rub your arm to let you know that he is concerned about you and hopefully make you feel better. He gives your shoulders a rub, which is actually just a light squeeze because he doesn’t want to hurt you, when he sees that you’re stressed. Sometimes it is hard for Keegan to get what he is thinking into words and express his feelings. So, these gestures are his way of letting you know he loves you.
Yesterday I had a very unfortunate thing happen to me. Something that someone else did put me in danger and Greg needed to take me to the ER. We still needed to pick Keegan and Atalie up from the bus though. Obviously we were going to have to take them with us. It wasn’t such a thing that would traumatize them though so I was okay with it.
We got done at the ER and I was given a prescription for some medication. I needed it filled right away so we went straight to the pharmacy and dropped it off. Greg and I realized that the way our insurance works that we might have to actually pay for this prescription. Only 3 weeks of it would cost us $300. Now, generally our insurance pays 100% of our medical, everything. Yes, the benefits of being owned by Microsoft. Not getting this prescription was not an option and we became very nervous about it. Keegan, though we thought he was playing with his sister, must have heard our concerns and leaned up to my seat and started rubbing my shoulders. I was a mess. But when those tiny hands started squeezing my shoulders I felt weight being lifted from me. Then I hear this, “mom, think happy thoughts. Things will work out if you think happy thoughts.” It became a mantra in my ear as my sweet boy continued to rub my shoulders. “happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts . . .” over and over being whispered into my ear. It was almost a prayer. Not a game like you would expect from a child, this was an earnest plea. I’m not sure to whom either. Was he calming me? Or was he asking his Heavenly Father to deliver to me what I couldn’t muster?
As we drove back to the pharmacy and awaited the medicine, the car was quiet. Greg received the bag and asked how much we needed to pay (having a feeling that we had used the benefits already for this particular Rx at this particular pharmacy) and the woman, who is familiar with our family, looked at him and smiled. “Insurance paid this in full.” In full. Exhale.
On our way home Greg turned to Keegan and thanked him. Keegan, confused, asked what for. Greg explained to him that the power of thought truly makes a difference in real outcomes and that just by repeating those 2 simple words, or praying them, he had made a difference in our evening. In my peace of mind. I really, really needed that medication, and we really, really would have had a difficult time without the insurance kicking in. I wonder if things would have been different had Keegan not been there. Because to be honest, I *know* that now we have maxed our limit as far as insurance is concerned (as for this Rx and this place)
Thank you Keegan. And to all of you out there, Happy Thoughts.
Opinions, Everyones Got One . . .
Everyone has an opinion, that, more times than not, they want to share with you. Whether you asked them for it or not. I’m guilty of it too. I think a lot of us feel that our opinions will be helpful to others. Maybe lead them into a better direction or avoid mistakes we’ve made when in a similar situation. I don’t know why we can’t just think about our opinion in our heads first and then use a filter before we express it. If we did we may be able to avoid hurting someone with what we feel is innocent information. I’ve found that opinions are trying. Testing. Sometimes people can take offense from an opinion or others may be able to take the opinion in one ear and throw it out the other. Kudos! Here is my opinion on the whole thing. Yes, whether you wanted it or not:
Hold to your integrity though opinions fly about you! Only you know what is best for you/your family in any given situation. Seek opinions of those you trust if you need more information about something and take unwanted opinions with a grain of salt. Shake it off and move on. Remember that most people are only trying to help and don’t know that what they have said to you is either stupid, or made you feel stupid. I could change a Dr. Seuss saying to fit this post so it would say; Do what you feel is right for you because to those that matter won’t mind and to those who mind don’t matter.
I was thinking today that for some reason I have a bit more energy on Wednesdays than other days. Maybe because it is the busiest day of the week for our family. Greg is at work in Redmond, the kids have late start at school (that’s a story in and of itself that I’ll save for later), I have girl scouts which means I am generally running around like a chicken with my head cut off getting ready, there is Activity Days for Atalie, Scouts for Keegan, YM for Cameron, YW for Colleen, oh, and Mom & Me Luncheon. Whew. So, since I’m working on a burst of energy on Wednesdays I think I’ll make it my blog day.
This week is deliver girl scout cookie week! Atalie sold over 150 boxes so now the sorting, delivering and gathering of money begins. We don’t do booth sales in our troop because we feel like it’s wrong to teach the girls not to talk to strangers but they should be cute and sell cookies to them once a year. Our troop still did pretty well, almost $600 is going into our troop account!
Colleen is going to her first Tolo this Friday, with a group of girls. She doesn’t want to stay too late, she just wants to go see what it is all about. Which is fine because the next day she’s got EFY in Auburn. This will be her first one so I’m very excited for her. She isn’t as thrilled, but I think that will change once she gets there.
We were going to try to make it back over to the in-laws in Leavenworth for their branch carnival but with such a busy weekend for Colleen we’re going to have to pass.
Greg’s birthday is coming up next month. We think we’re going to go to Crab Pot for dinner then to Theatre Sports in downtown Seattle. It’s a great improv place we haven’t been to in forever!
This week is deliver girl scout cookie week! Atalie sold over 150 boxes so now the sorting, delivering and gathering of money begins. We don’t do booth sales in our troop because we feel like it’s wrong to teach the girls not to talk to strangers but they should be cute and sell cookies to them once a year. Our troop still did pretty well, almost $600 is going into our troop account!
Colleen is going to her first Tolo this Friday, with a group of girls. She doesn’t want to stay too late, she just wants to go see what it is all about. Which is fine because the next day she’s got EFY in Auburn. This will be her first one so I’m very excited for her. She isn’t as thrilled, but I think that will change once she gets there.
We were going to try to make it back over to the in-laws in Leavenworth for their branch carnival but with such a busy weekend for Colleen we’re going to have to pass.
Greg’s birthday is coming up next month. We think we’re going to go to Crab Pot for dinner then to Theatre Sports in downtown Seattle. It’s a great improv place we haven’t been to in forever!
Howdy! My name is Mandi.
I'm just a regular Queen of Hearts married to "My favorite Deputy". Together we are blessed to be raising our sweet princess Belle, our always thinking Flick, our nimble and feisty Peter Pan, our full of spunk Tinkerbell, and our ever humorous Donald Duck. Yup, we're a bunch of characters.
