Playing catch-up.... again

I just can't seem to stay on top of all the stuff going on! Life is busy. It's good, but definitely busy. Going back a couple of weeks:

We went camping with my family up above Ephraim August 13-15. It was a fun weekend. The highlight for Faith was Averie's jeep.Dad helped Michael learn to skip rocks.
It was fun to hang out with family. The following Monday, Michael started kindergarten. I know, slacker mom who waits 2 1/2 weeks to post about his first day of kindergarten. We are sending him to Ogden Preparatory Academy, which is a charter school here. Kindergarten is half-day, and he goes in the afternoon. His teacher is Mrs. Thayne, and his friend Jacie from our ward is in his class. Michael loves, loves, loves kindergarten. He told me that he likes it SOOOOO much better than pre-school. He has homework almost every day (simple stuff like writing his name or sorting things in the kitchen), and so far he has been more than willing to do his homework. One day we did it in the morning before school. When he got home from school that afternoon, he asked me if he could do homework two times in a day. I didn't know whether to encourage his nerdiness or tell him that his friends will make fun of him for being such a nerd. In the end, I let him do homework again and made no mention of nerds or nerdiness.

I do have a photo of him on the first day of school, but Jeff took it with our other camera, and I can't find it right now.

The following weekend, we went to Elk Meadows, which is a ski resort above Beaver. We stayed in some condos with Jeff's family for the weekend. Michael and Faith thought it was cool that they got to sleep on a pull-out couch.I thought these mushrooms were cool.
We decided that condos are definitely preferable to tents. Temperature controls, TV, stoves and refrigerators, and no tents to wrestle with when it's time to pack up.

The big 3-2

Yes, I'm 32 today. Here is a long post, "32 random things about me." Some of them are common knowledge. Others, you might be surprised....

1. I have to be in a really particular mood to enjoy music. Usually, I just prefer silence.
2. Unless, of course, it's Faith singing. I'm always in the mood to hear that.
3. I don't really ever want a pet. And then I see how much Michael wants a dog. It almost makes me change my mind. Almost.
4. I really just don't want an indoor pet - pet hair, pet smell, pet slobber... on my couch, in my laundry, in my food.... uh, no thanks.
5. I once had my belly button pierced. It only lasted a couple of months.
6. I also once had seven holes in my ears. Now I just have one in each ear.
7. I have a hard time delegating.
8. I've had two minor surgeries - one to remove a piece of glass from my finger, and one to have a keloid scar removed from my earlobe. But I can't remember which earlobe.
9. I've totaled three cars.
10. But I haven't had an accident or ticket or anything since August of 2001.
11. I have secret dreams of being a writer.
12. I would also love to own a cabin at Bear Lake.
13. I'm not a natural-born mom. Being a good mom is a huge challenge for me.
14. I love, love, love to teach.
15. I'm not a very good party planner.
16. When I start a new hobby, I have to have EVERYTHING for it. For example, I have every size and type of crochet hook possible. Same with knitting needles. And I don't even knit. I just started learning once and went a little overboard. You should see my cake decorating closet.
17. I am hatching a plan to rent a booth at Quilted Bear.
18. I'm not very creative. I can copy anything, but I don't come up with many good original ideas.
19. I went parasailing in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. I would do it again in a heartbeat - even over Pineview. But especially in Mexico.
20. I also did the Sky Coaster at Lagoon. It was awesome, but I think the friend I did it with has permanent hearing loss from my screaming.
21. My passport is expired, but I really want to renew it.
22. I don't care how much debt I go into - when they build a temple in Cape Verde, I am going to be there.
23. I think computer games are the biggest waste of time e.v.e.r.
24. But I still spend plenty of time on the computer - just not playing pointless games. I do important things like check e-mail and facebook and blogs.
25. I had a facial for the first time yesterday. It was nice. Really nice. I almost fell asleep.
26. I don't get much sleep at night; therefore, anytime I lie down for more than 5 minutes, I just might fall asleep.
27. My dream job would be editing a magazine or newspaper.
28. I have a weakness for Reese's. And Hershey's Special Dark chocolate. And Whoppers. And Utah Truffles (the mint ones). And cinnamon bears. And licorice. Okay, just sugar in general.
29. I once botched what would have been a super-cool video of my dad doing an endo on the Lochsa River. Just as he started tipping over, I swore and put the camera down.
30. I can tie knots like nobody's business. You name the knot, I can probably tie it. And faster and better than you can.
31. I inherited my dad's ability to pack. That's a good thing - no wasted space.
32. I have a hard time coming up with 32 things about me.

Paranoia

Recently I had a dream that really freaked me out. It prompted a Family Home Evening about safety. Specifically about "stranger danger." We talked to Michael about what to do if he gets lost in a store (find a mom with kids and ask for help), what to do if someone besides us comes to pick him up from school (ask for the "secret word"), and what to do if someone tries to take him (scream at the top of his lungs, "You're not my Mommy/Daddy!" and fight back).

I've never been one to worry much about strangers. I know there are bad, horrible people out there. Believe me, I know. But I really believe that almost everyone is good. At least, they're not out to hurt my kids. But it's kind of been in the back of my mind for a while that we should talk more about what to do in various situations. So when I had this bad dream, I think I overreacted. Michael will probably now be terrified of anyone he doesn't know. That's not what I was going for. I just want him to know what to do if he gets lost, or if some freak tells him he's supposed to pick him up from school. I don't like living with the idea that everyone is out to get you, and the last thing Michael needs is to have that feeling.

Just a side note, though - even though I don't want him to be constantly worried about strangers, I think we're going to have to talk about this a lot more with him. When I asked him what he should do if he and Faith were outside playing and someone started to take Faith, he said, "Say, 'please give me my sister back.'"

At least we've taught him to be polite.

Thankful Thursday

1. I'm thankful for the lock on the bathroom door.
2. I'm thankful that the key to said lock is out of reach of little hands.
3. I'm thankful for naptime.
4. I'm thankful for movies that entertain Michael during naptime.
5. I'm thankful that after putting the kids in the van and closing the door, I can walk around the long way and get just that much more silence.

It's been one of those days. Can you tell?

bittersweet

You are going to think this is a lame post. But I have to record it, because it's kind of a big deal to my lame mind.

I sold one of my crocheted baby dresses on etsy. Big deal, you say. I've sold other crocheted dresses.

But not this one.
This one took me about two years to finish. Mostly because I got overwhelmed by it and didn't work on it regularly. All in all, though, I probably spent over100 hours on it.
It was listed for a lot of money. But definitely not 100 hours worth of money.
Goodbye, pretty dress that has been hanging in my closet for so long. Safe journey to Australia. *sniff* I hope that baby that wears you won't spit up on you.

Binky Fairy

The binky fairy came to visit last night. (I know what you're thinking - it's about time, she's two and a half.) Faith left her remaining two binkies in a bowl on the kitchen table, and the binky fairy took them and left a surprise - four butterflies that grow in water and a new ring. Faith was thrilled. So was Michael. I think he's enjoyed checking on their growth more than she has.

We started two nights ago with no binkies, and told Faith she was a big girl now and didn't need them. So far she's done really well. She has only whined one time for her binky, but stopped when I reminded her that she's a big girl. Then she just repeated, "I'm a big girl." It is taking her longer to fall asleep, and she wants me to lay down with her more, but I'm thinking that will soon pass.

Yay for big girls!!

Smiling for the camera (why can they never show their good smiles when they're trying?)
A good one.

Sample Workout

I've had a lot of people ask me what we do at boot camp. The new session started today, so I figured I'd write down our workout so you (whoever "you" might be) could see.

Today Becky had eight stations set up. We spent three minutes at each station, repeating each thing as many times as we could in the three minutes.

1. Rotate between 10 double-unders (jump rope) and 15 push-ups.
2. Rotate between 30 bench presses and jumping up a set of stairs two at a time.
3. Harness sprints.
4. Rotate between 15 platform jumps and overhead tricep presses.

Then we ran 3 laps, which is about a third of a mile. Then back to the stations:

5. Shuffle down the basketball court and back, throwing an 8-pound ball back and forth to a partner. Repeat that three times, then do 15 push-ups.
6. Throw a 15-pound ball as far as you can, long jump to the ball, then drop and do a push-up. Repeat that down the length of the basketball court.
7. Holding a 10-pound weight, do 20 step-ups on each leg on the bleachers, then 30 tricep dips.
8. Holding a 15-pound weight, long jump the length of the court, then lunge back while holding the weight above your head.

We ran 3 more laps. Then we did our ab workout, which today consisted of 4 sets of 20 full sit-ups and 20 reverse crunches, holding a weight.

We have three workouts a week, for eight weeks. Becky sets up a different workout for each time, so we never repeat the exact same one. I was worried that after two weeks off, I'd have a hard time getting through the workout, but it wasn't bad at all. I felt really good.