A Kid's Life For Me



Could you just die for those little "Dora" gardening gloves?



I am always telling my kids I want to freeze "this" moment so they won't grow up - - ever. There are many moments of complete charm and joy. These are just a few from my youngest charmer:



Does this not scream, "Kid"?



 I've been smiling at this little trike (from my kitchen window) all day. Even its tracks make me smile. Maybe seeing this is a sort of nostalgia-Little-House-on-the-Prairie thing for me, but I love it.





Little red trike

Our other daughter had a "late night" the other night, so I took our son out for ice cream and guess what the youngest got her daddy to do? 



This is what happens when Mom leaves Dad in charge



Tonight my husband thought I had texted him saying I was trying to "cane" the kids when I was actually saying, "calm" the kids (just a minor texting mishap). I do love 'em and am officially reporting they make me happy today. (For the record, he suggested there are alternative parenting methods out there)



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Charisma

My 7 yo had a very interesting spelling list last week. One of the words was charisma (along with chrysalis and scholarly - I mean, when would a 2nd grader need to use these words?). The other night, I was adjusting his stereo and he very sweetly asked me about charisma. He said, "Mom, which of your sisters have the most charisma?"

First, I was wondering why he skipped my friends and went straight to my sisters :-)   Second, I wasn't sure exactly what it meant, but I shot from the hip by thinking it meant a witty personality.  I went through each sister and talked about my favorite qualities and a few memories. I kept saying, "And, she makes me laugh" for each sister because they all do, each in their own way. I ended with the story of Jess when she was in high school. She treated my husband and I like celebrities because, according to her, we would actually play games with her.

One evening, we promised we would come up. After we got there and found Jessie wasn't home yet, we decided to play a little trick. So, we pulled our little tuna-can car into the backyard and planned to race downstairs when we heard her come in.

She was so loud coming in and calling out to Mom wondering if she had missed us. My mom must have told her we'd already left or something to indicate we weren't there (My mom NEVER lies - except in card games). I think Jessie actually started crying.

True love.

Then, we poked our heads out from the top of the stairs and said, "Surprise"!

Great memory. I think she cried some more.

So, back to charisma, here is a definition of charisma:

(kə-rĭz'mə)  (I have to insert the phonetic spelling because of the many hours I spent studying phonetics)

1. 1. A rare personal quality attributed to leaders who arouse fervent popular devotion and enthusiasm.
   2. Personal magnetism or charm: a television news program famed for the charisma of its anchors.
2. Christianity. An extraordinary power, such as the ability to perform miracles, granted by the Holy Spirit.

I love thinking about the magnetism that draws me to the people I love. That magnetism probably consists of optimism and class. One of the "happy" parts of my life are the people in it. I'm amazed by my insightful son who would think to ask me about charisma and would love to see him try and develop such a cool trait. I think I will make a goal to talk about charisma more in the next few months and see it in others.

Home

I've been reading President Thomas S. Monson's biography (thanks to my parents for giving me it as a gift) and enjoying it very much. I can't believe what a connection I have made with someone I've never met. He seems so real and approachable and most certainly raised to be a prophet of God.

My "happiness" lately comes from a quote given by President Monson's only daughter Ann (Ann Monson Dibbs). She said, "I believe when you teach the plan of salvation, it's all about being able to go home. When I go and visit my parents, I know I am loved, I am complimented, I am made welcome, I am home - and that's the way it is going to be in the eternities."



My Native Home



My Evergreen Home



This idea of making my home a place where my children feel loved and complimented seems within reach to me. I have made an effort to compliment my children these past few days and feel as though a small shackle has been loosened.  Why not?

"I think I am going to die"

Don't be alarmed. That phrase was what made me smile today, like smile for more than just a quick second.

Today's been one of the harried days I could certainly do without. I am a much happier human when I can just be home (my kids are too). I'll give you a rundown on my day and then you can understand why I smiled when my daughter said the above statement about dying.

I had a church meeting this morning that entailed me leaving the house about 8:30 with two girls. The boys in my family were camping (yahoo - they had so much fun) and had our one vehicle. I proceeded to push an empty stroller up the hill (wearing sneakers and a short denim skirt). The girls walked, but eventually both of them ended up in the stroller (thank goodness, or we'd never been able to meet the agreement). I dropped one off near the house she was going to be babysat (and said, "you can almost see the house, go ahead and run to it, you'll be OK). I just bank on safety around here, everyone's nice right? And, besides, my kids eat at least three times a day so I can't imagine anyone being interested in having to maintain that kind of strict :-) schedule.



Can you imagine me wearing these?



Amazingly enough, with just a little glisten on my forehead, I actually met the agreement and had both kids at their sitters' houses as well as ready (sneakers off, replaced by snappy pumps)  to go to the church meeting.

The meeting was really good and a privilege to go to because a church leader from SLC was visiting. I started to phase out around the start of the second hour, but composed myself and finished strong on the alertness factor.

I arrived home close to 1:00 to find the remnants of a fun camping trip and 2 out of 3 kids hungry for lunch. I fixed lunch, ate lunch (homemade burritos - wow, thanks to Kim and Jenni for teaching me that one), and then headed off to violin class at 2:45. We then head to swimming class which is clear across the valley (I definitely don't live in a valley, but I grew up in a valley so I don't know what else to say -- I drove from one lake to the other?).



Swimming Lessons 2010



The kids are cranky by this time (who am I kidding, it didn't take till 4:30 for them to become cranky) and I had that little wrinkle above my eyes that my childhood neighbor use to tease me about because I'd get sunburned except for that little crease, which has now turned into a deep-set wrinkle. I think I should get it botoxed. But then, you wouldn't recognize me because I would look so youthful and vibrant :-).

I got us all home and fed dinner (can I just mention, after swimming lessons, I filled up the car with gas, broke the little gas door, got a car wash and within 15 minutes of being home it is raining (still is - 3 hours later) AND my nice friend let me know we had left the van door open).  Back to the story, I got one child bathed and I finally FINALLY took a few minutes for myself to use the bathroom. I am not kidding, this is a feat. After just a few minutes, my 5 yo starts crying in the other bathroom. I was mostly choosing not to concentrate on that but when my son came back to chat, I asked him to go help her. Which, of course, didn't do a bit of good.

When, I came to her aid, I heard her tearfullysay (in an empty bathtub with the curtain mostly closed), "I think I am going to die in here." I helped her adjust the temperature to something more comfortable and went on my way.

Now, that all are in bed, that statement makes me laugh again. Kids are so dramatic, but after a day like this it feels so nice to just sit and smile.

It all started with a beetle

Monday afternoon, the kids and I (along with a few 'extras') saw a lonely, large, black beetle walking along my driveway. Since, this is an unusual site for my driveway and my kids, we examined the little bugger and then left.

Fast forward a few hours, and we come home to find the beetle

still in my driveway, only this time updside down, and with legs flailing. In between running in and out of the house, trying to load up the van with kids and gear, I suggested we help the beetle. So, I used a paper to flip him (do beetles have gender?) over, only to see him take a few steps/crawls and flip back over to his beetle-back (must be uncomfortable). We all felt a little bad leaving the little guy like that, but I needed to get to the next place in the day, so we loaded up.

When we got home, the beetle lay lifeless in my driveway. I carefully brought him inside on a piece of paper because I just knew he would be the focus of our Family Home Evening. Yes, it was Monday night, I hadn't planned anything specific, but we always do something as a family (moral lesson, fun activity) on Monday nights, so while I prepared dinner, I thought of how I could use the beetle as an object lesson.

This was one of my better ideas, I must admit. We talked about how we tried to help the beetle but he didn't accept our help. We talked about how we could see what the problem was and fix it. There are lots of people who can help us with our problems. We talked about some of "those" people.

To lighten things up after the demise of the beetle, we played a newly made-up games called, "Beetle" on the trampoline. I was in the middle first, on my back with legs flailing, trying to hit my kids with a beach ball. It was great fun.

The next day, all three kids had lots to say about the beetle, and wanted to check on him (out in the dirt where I thought would be a proper resting place). My son asked whether the beetle was a boy or a girl. Then, he answered his own question and determined the beetle was a boy because girls always accept help.



Do you like my littl gir's drawing?



Here's A Riddle

Last week I watched my friend's child for a morning. He's a busybody and I hadn't exercised yet, so I took them both on a jog along a river (that is downhill from my home, a steep hill). After I finally got back up the hill, which was no easy feat, the kids had fought themselves to silence. Guess who is the fake sleeper here:

Bolivia

My kids are laughing their heads off about this. The school-age kids have a thing every month where they participate in a geography exercise. They have to be able to point to locations across the world.

The evening before the last "Passport Day", I quizzed my son. We had to look up many places this time (Have you ever heard of San Merino? Or, did you know Vatican City is actually considered a country in the middle of the city of Rome, country of Italy?). Bolivia was one of the countries on his Passport Map.

My son generally wakes up at 6 am and is pretty good about doing his chores and homework on his own. He came into my room and aroused me from sleep (would you believe me if I said I "usually" get up with him :-)   ). He said, "Mom, where's Bolivia?" My reply, in my still-sleepy state, "On the shelf". He left and came back with the same question. I had just gotten to sleep again and then to be awakened by what I thought to be his questioning me on the book Olivia, I wasn't too cheerful. I think this went on three different times, where he would come and ask me about Bolivia and I would answer, "On the shelf". The last time he said, "Mom, I just don't understand how Bolivia can be on the shelf."