Back in 2007, I did this post about my poor Rose of Sharon bush. Well, look how big it is now. What a fun, surprising difference a few years makes.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Go Real!
Toothsome #3 won four ticket vouchers to a REAL Salt Lake soccer game at our school's fundraiser. After buying two additional tickets, we settled into our seats and enjoyed a fun, warm night at the stadium. They were playing Colorado and my kids kept on reminding me that I had to root for Salt Lake. (My heart is always in Boulder, CO--specifically, Boulder, but I love my life in Utah, so it was all good.)
REAL tied with the Colorado Rapids during stoppage time. It was very exciting for those few seconds. I also ran into one of my old beloved roommates. Hi Nadia. It was great to see you. It made the rest of the very boring 90 minutes worth it, just running into you.
Sorry folks, Homer Simpson had it right, "I watched hours and hours of soccer and I almost saw a goal!"
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Happy Birthday to you!
Toothsome number 2 finally had her 9th birthday party. She wanted a late over and that is all the inspiration she gave me. So, this is what I came up with:
Here she is with the party favors.
The party favor: bowl, spatula, whisk, hot pad, chocolate candy bars and recipe for Chocolate/Almond Pie. All cooking items from Ikea. I love Ikea.
Pizza for dinner
The left over pizza (four and 1/2 boxes) because I have no ability to figure out how many pizzas to order for 8 little girls. FYI: Little girls don't eat much food.
Playing charades. Toothsome #1 was a great sport and actually did this with them because these cute girls wanted him too.
Painting aprons.
One of the finished products
Opening presents. Notice Toothsome #4, she insisted on wearing her sparkly, feathered dance leotard over her PJ's. She was very fancy.
Decorating mini cakes
Watching The Princess Bride. FYI: Little girls will eat a ton (six bags worth) of microwave popcorn and lemonade Capri Suns.
Showing their final (dry) aprons.
8 girls (plus a very eager almost 4 year old) and four hours in my house means Dentist husband and the boys went and played video games at a local arcade. There was also some occasional spying on us done by the boys with me getting phone calls on my cell phone from the home phone from them. All in all a successful party.
Monday, September 20, 2010
And Now I am an Actress . . .
Sorry, no pictures to document the above pronouncement but yes, I have entered into the world of acting. Not paid acting or even my voice being heard acting but I am now an actress.
Last year, my husband sponsored a Candy Buy Back at his dental office. Children could bring in their Halloween candy, we would weigh it and buy the kid's candy for a dollar a pound. All of the candy is shipped over seas to soldiers, who use the candy to befriend local children in war zone areas, who in turn often tell the soldiers about dangerous areas to avoid etc.
Let me be clear, we are not anti-candy by any sort. Trust me, a look in my freezer will show you several frozen bags of mini Reeses peanut butter cups, but we are anti-excessive amount of candy and pro-soldiers. And, at the very least, we give parents another option about what to do with the tons of candy their kids collect every Halloween. (Last year, it averaged 4 pounds of candy per child.)
Anyway, back to me being an actress. Last year, a local news station did a story about my husband's office's candy buy back. Later that year, that news channel came back to us and wanted to know if we wanted to buy air time to advertise our candy buy back as well as advertise our office in general. Besides the commercials, Dentist husband would also get to sit at the table during a local woman's interest show and talk teeth. We decided it would be a good thing and a commercial shoot was set up. Enter me, wife of dentist, also known as free talent.
Last Friday, I had to get me and my children (also free talent) dressed, clean, hair combed, etc., to look good to be the extras in this commercial shoot. Any mothers out there know that can be quite a feat, particularly when you have boys who can't seem to keep their clothes clean longer than about 5 minutes.
What part did I play you may ask? I was "patient sitting in lobby area" and "mother carrying her young child (toothsome #4) into the waiting room up to the front desk." So, you see I am a true actress because I had two parts, not just one. I had no speaking parts, I never looked directly into the camera but I did have to force myself to have good posture (something I don't normally have) while I walked into the office. I can say, I am just grateful I did not get the "lay back in chair with dentist's hands in my mouth" gig or the "smiling and nodding in the chair while the dentist explains I need major dental work done" gig either. But, mother waiting in a dental office and exhausted mother taking my kids to the dentist, I can do. Because I do, do it. You see, art is imitating real life here folks, with the exception of my kids shirts being clean.
Last year, my husband sponsored a Candy Buy Back at his dental office. Children could bring in their Halloween candy, we would weigh it and buy the kid's candy for a dollar a pound. All of the candy is shipped over seas to soldiers, who use the candy to befriend local children in war zone areas, who in turn often tell the soldiers about dangerous areas to avoid etc.
Let me be clear, we are not anti-candy by any sort. Trust me, a look in my freezer will show you several frozen bags of mini Reeses peanut butter cups, but we are anti-excessive amount of candy and pro-soldiers. And, at the very least, we give parents another option about what to do with the tons of candy their kids collect every Halloween. (Last year, it averaged 4 pounds of candy per child.)
Anyway, back to me being an actress. Last year, a local news station did a story about my husband's office's candy buy back. Later that year, that news channel came back to us and wanted to know if we wanted to buy air time to advertise our candy buy back as well as advertise our office in general. Besides the commercials, Dentist husband would also get to sit at the table during a local woman's interest show and talk teeth. We decided it would be a good thing and a commercial shoot was set up. Enter me, wife of dentist, also known as free talent.
Last Friday, I had to get me and my children (also free talent) dressed, clean, hair combed, etc., to look good to be the extras in this commercial shoot. Any mothers out there know that can be quite a feat, particularly when you have boys who can't seem to keep their clothes clean longer than about 5 minutes.
What part did I play you may ask? I was "patient sitting in lobby area" and "mother carrying her young child (toothsome #4) into the waiting room up to the front desk." So, you see I am a true actress because I had two parts, not just one. I had no speaking parts, I never looked directly into the camera but I did have to force myself to have good posture (something I don't normally have) while I walked into the office. I can say, I am just grateful I did not get the "lay back in chair with dentist's hands in my mouth" gig or the "smiling and nodding in the chair while the dentist explains I need major dental work done" gig either. But, mother waiting in a dental office and exhausted mother taking my kids to the dentist, I can do. Because I do, do it. You see, art is imitating real life here folks, with the exception of my kids shirts being clean.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Big News
Toothsome #3 lost his first tooth last night, the 16th.
Just in case the first picture wasn't obvious enough . . .
Monday, September 13, 2010
New Family Photo
This was the year for a new professional family photo. My goal is to try and do it every other year.
This is not "the photo" but my 2nd favorite. "The photo" will be our Christmas card photo this year and I will post later in December.
But, I also really liked this one too.
Thank you Mike Olsen from Scott Breen Photography. Once again, you did amazing work.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sunflowers
For three years, he asked to plant sunflowers. For three years, I ignored him.
This year, we did it and I wish I had listened to him three years ago.
I love how they look on the side of my house.
Friday, September 10, 2010
New Favorite shoes
I have a new favorite pair of shoes.
http://www.zappos.com/merrell-oceania-navy-nubuck
Sorry folks, I got them on-sale, so I didn't pay this price but honestly, I LOVE them. And, I would pay this price for them because I love them. Now, I need to find some new Dansko clogs and I will be set. Let me know if you find any on sale because while I love them, I don't love them enough to pay full price unless I find a pair I LOVE like these shoes, and then I might pay full price but I would rather not.
http://www.zappos.com/merrell-oceania-navy-nubuck
Sorry folks, I got them on-sale, so I didn't pay this price but honestly, I LOVE them. And, I would pay this price for them because I love them. Now, I need to find some new Dansko clogs and I will be set. Let me know if you find any on sale because while I love them, I don't love them enough to pay full price unless I find a pair I LOVE like these shoes, and then I might pay full price but I would rather not.
First Days
3rd and 5th
First day of 1st grade (he started one day later than the others)
First day of pre-school
With her two best friends outside of pre-school. Obviously, pink and purple are big for three year old girls.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Going to the doctor
I used to like going to the doctor. It meant going in with a problem, having him (or her) tell me what was wrong, tell me how to fix it and then I would go home. It also meant going in for annual exams and being told I was healthy and me leaving with peace of mind.
All of that changed when I was 29. At 29, I noticed one day, in the lower left corner of my left eye, some weird fuzzy lines. They didn't go away and I wondered if I had an eye infection. I went to a doctor, I did have an eye infection and I thought everything would go away. It didn't. So, I went to another doctor. This doctor told me he thought it was something different and very casually said, "We need to test you for MS."
That lead to over a year of testings with various doctors, multiple MRI's and other such tests until finally, I was at a super super specialist (one of those doctors you don't get to see until you have been referred and then referred and then referred again) to tell me, "Your eye symptom will likely not get better. You don't have MS symptoms. We think we know what you have (way too long to explain here but it really is a benign condition) but we are not certain but we have ruled out all of the really scary stuff."
Needless to say, it was my first encounter with not being 100% healthy and I realized sometimes going to the doctor is not a "you have this, take this medicine and you will get better" situation.
A few years after that, I went in to have a mole removed and it came back as melanoma. Getting a phone call telling me I had cancer was no fun either. Fortunately again for me, it was caught in one of its earliest stages and things are good.
But really since those two experiences, going to the doctor is stressful for me. I also am getting older and wiser and have lost people I love to scary things, who went into their regular doctor visits and then had their lives changed forever. I am also a hyporcondriac by nature and so, again, doctor visits scare me.
So, about six months ago, I realized, "Oh dear, it has been over three years since I went in for my annual OB exam." For about 9 years, I was either pregnant or nursing a baby. I was a regular in the OB's office, and was forced to go for all of those exams. As anyone knows who has been pregnant, you are tested for a wide range of things from iron levels, to HIV, to diabetes, etc. When the answers come back as no, it is all very reassuring.
But again, four years ago, I had my last child. I went when she was one and then promptly forgot to go again. (That last visit was a dozie, I couldn't find a babysitter, so I brought all four kids with me and nursed my baby during the "exam" part because she was crying like crazy. My other kids were out in the hall eating cookies with a nice nurse but the whole experience was a little too much and likely why I thought I would wait a few years.)
Anyway, back to six months ago, I made the appointment and started worrying and convincing myself I had every disease on the planet. I really worked myself into a lather and ended up canceling the appointment. It was silly of me, I know.
Well, yesterday, I faced my doctor fears and went. It was a huge deal for me to face my fears and go (I didn't sleep the night before, etc) but I also know as a mother of four kids, it was irresponsible for me to not go to a doctor annually. They need a healthy mother and I learned from my melanoma experience, catching things early does matter. And, so, in I went and thankfully, I was told I am completely healthy. Thank goodness! Now, I don't have to worry about my health for another year or at least until my next mole check. :)
All of that changed when I was 29. At 29, I noticed one day, in the lower left corner of my left eye, some weird fuzzy lines. They didn't go away and I wondered if I had an eye infection. I went to a doctor, I did have an eye infection and I thought everything would go away. It didn't. So, I went to another doctor. This doctor told me he thought it was something different and very casually said, "We need to test you for MS."
That lead to over a year of testings with various doctors, multiple MRI's and other such tests until finally, I was at a super super specialist (one of those doctors you don't get to see until you have been referred and then referred and then referred again) to tell me, "Your eye symptom will likely not get better. You don't have MS symptoms. We think we know what you have (way too long to explain here but it really is a benign condition) but we are not certain but we have ruled out all of the really scary stuff."
Needless to say, it was my first encounter with not being 100% healthy and I realized sometimes going to the doctor is not a "you have this, take this medicine and you will get better" situation.
A few years after that, I went in to have a mole removed and it came back as melanoma. Getting a phone call telling me I had cancer was no fun either. Fortunately again for me, it was caught in one of its earliest stages and things are good.
But really since those two experiences, going to the doctor is stressful for me. I also am getting older and wiser and have lost people I love to scary things, who went into their regular doctor visits and then had their lives changed forever. I am also a hyporcondriac by nature and so, again, doctor visits scare me.
So, about six months ago, I realized, "Oh dear, it has been over three years since I went in for my annual OB exam." For about 9 years, I was either pregnant or nursing a baby. I was a regular in the OB's office, and was forced to go for all of those exams. As anyone knows who has been pregnant, you are tested for a wide range of things from iron levels, to HIV, to diabetes, etc. When the answers come back as no, it is all very reassuring.
But again, four years ago, I had my last child. I went when she was one and then promptly forgot to go again. (That last visit was a dozie, I couldn't find a babysitter, so I brought all four kids with me and nursed my baby during the "exam" part because she was crying like crazy. My other kids were out in the hall eating cookies with a nice nurse but the whole experience was a little too much and likely why I thought I would wait a few years.)
Anyway, back to six months ago, I made the appointment and started worrying and convincing myself I had every disease on the planet. I really worked myself into a lather and ended up canceling the appointment. It was silly of me, I know.
Well, yesterday, I faced my doctor fears and went. It was a huge deal for me to face my fears and go (I didn't sleep the night before, etc) but I also know as a mother of four kids, it was irresponsible for me to not go to a doctor annually. They need a healthy mother and I learned from my melanoma experience, catching things early does matter. And, so, in I went and thankfully, I was told I am completely healthy. Thank goodness! Now, I don't have to worry about my health for another year or at least until my next mole check. :)
Monday, September 6, 2010
When at Bear Lake I recommend . . .
When at Bear Lake, I recommend . . .
Staying at one of the Bear Family Haven houses. We stayed at Mama Bear and it was absolutely lovely. One of my favorite things about it was the huge grassy play area with a playset and horse swing. My kids played for hours and Dentist husband and I talked. It is also walking distance from a great "beach" access and most of the tasty food areas.
Watch a show at the Pickleville Playhouse. I am always looking for ways to expose to my kids to culture in a family friendly environment. This place is perfect for it. We saw their "Crazy for You" and it was excellent. Most of their performers are from the Utah State University theatre department and it ended up being a really fun night.
Eating at Cafe Sabor. This honestly is some of the best Mexican food I have had in a long time.
Visiting the Minnetonka Caves. Worth the $7 adult and $5 child fee. Wear warm clothes because the tour lasts an hour and 1/2 and the cave temperature is 40 degrees. My whole family loved it and say yes to the tour guide when he offers to do the "Iron Rod" tour part. So fun.
Visiting the Paris Canyon Ice Caves. We were there in September and yes, there was still a lot of ice in the cave. This is free and my kids had a great time climbing around. I wish I had thought ahead because I was wearing flip flops and I couldn't really join them much. Next time . . .
Get fresh raspberry shakes at Bear Lake Pizza Co. Yes, we tried various shake places while we were there and decided this place has the best shakes. Sorry La Beaus, you are still great but came in 2nd.
If none of this makes sense to you, check out the Bear Lake web-site.
Staying at one of the Bear Family Haven houses. We stayed at Mama Bear and it was absolutely lovely. One of my favorite things about it was the huge grassy play area with a playset and horse swing. My kids played for hours and Dentist husband and I talked. It is also walking distance from a great "beach" access and most of the tasty food areas.
Watch a show at the Pickleville Playhouse. I am always looking for ways to expose to my kids to culture in a family friendly environment. This place is perfect for it. We saw their "Crazy for You" and it was excellent. Most of their performers are from the Utah State University theatre department and it ended up being a really fun night.
Eating at Cafe Sabor. This honestly is some of the best Mexican food I have had in a long time.
Visiting the Minnetonka Caves. Worth the $7 adult and $5 child fee. Wear warm clothes because the tour lasts an hour and 1/2 and the cave temperature is 40 degrees. My whole family loved it and say yes to the tour guide when he offers to do the "Iron Rod" tour part. So fun.
Visiting the Paris Canyon Ice Caves. We were there in September and yes, there was still a lot of ice in the cave. This is free and my kids had a great time climbing around. I wish I had thought ahead because I was wearing flip flops and I couldn't really join them much. Next time . . .
Get fresh raspberry shakes at Bear Lake Pizza Co. Yes, we tried various shake places while we were there and decided this place has the best shakes. Sorry La Beaus, you are still great but came in 2nd.
If none of this makes sense to you, check out the Bear Lake web-site.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)