Elijah & Scouts

Elijah has been in Scouts for about a month now - he LOVES it!!!
This past Wed. he had his first Pack Meeting and received his Bear Award. We are so proud of him. I'm also proud of Bret because he has been working so much with Eli! :)

When we first got to Pack Meeting they weren't quite ready yet and Elijah turns to me and says, "Mom, can I go and play with my Scout friends?" That was just so great for me. Elijah hasn't always been so social. I guess he's coming out of his shell now.

Here are some pictures of that night:

This is Sonic!!

Just so you all know - this is Livvy!!! She is constantly telling me, "No Mommy, I'm Sonic."

9 Yrs Old Again...

Elizabeth went to a Birthday Party yesterday at Peter Piper Pizza. I went and sat in a booth a little ways away so that I could keep an eye on her but let her have her space with her friends. As I sat and watched (its so fun to watch kids) I noticed that this was a group of friends that she didn't know really well at school. I could tell that she was a little nervous and excited to be there. I'm glad I stayed, she seemed to need that little feeling of support from my corner of the restaurant. But I was transported back in time.
I watched the kids interact and I could feel everything she was feeling. Hoping to fit in, being a little nervous, and watching everything - Elizabeth's a watcher. And as I watched her and felt all those feelings again, I started to wish.

My wishes for Elizabeth:
I wish that you can truly love others. Not to condemn or criticize them. But to truly love them.
I wish that along with an open heart you will have open eyes. Love others, but don't let them lead you.
I wish that you will love yourself and your Heavenly Father above all others.
I wish that you will learn how to treat others - respect and understanding. My favorite quote of all time is:
They won't care how much you know until they know how much you care!

People really don't care what you look like or how smart you are - most people don't. We all need to feel special to others and even if we are dorky they'll still see the good in us. Because I'll tell you - there is a little bit or dork in all of us. There's a little bit of mean, grumpy, anger, frustration, and crazy in all of us. :)

Cowboy Boots, Puddles, and Chatty Kathy

Yesterday morning, after taking the big kids to school, Livvy and I worked in the backyard. She was still in her Jammies and wanted to "help" me. Which means that I've got a 3 year old dancing around singing; insisting I call her Sonic (you know - the Hedgehog); and giving a run-by-run commentary of everything that is going on, could be going on, and might someday go on!

Well, I had to water the lawn "old fashioned" style because our sprinkler system has been on the fritz for a few weeks and the grass is dying and my DH is just too busy to really fix anything right now....
My sweet little "helper" informed me that she needed shoes. I told her "no, just stay on the patio" and she tells me "I'll just wear my cowboy boots, that'll be ok." Of course, she had the innocent smile on her face that will make me sway to her way of thinking (not really) and she ran off to grab her cowboy boots. Because you know, she's Sonic and her cowboy boots make her go sonic fast; cowboy boots and super milk.

She comes back downstairs with her cowboy boots, and a big grin. "Pick your battles" I tell myself and let her on out with me.

"Mommy, Sonic thinks jumping in puddles is fun!" She tells me.

"Uh huh." No, wait! Jump? Puddles? I turn around just in time to see her smile at me and glance at the big puddle created by the "old fashioned" sprinkling system.

"Pick your battles" I tell myself. I was going to give her a bath after working outside anyway. "OH, OK!!"

"YEAH!!!" and in she jumps.

The rest of the morning was fun for both of us!! She talked my ear off. I was willing to listen. She jumped in puddles. I did too! :)
"Pick your battles" I tell myself - sometimes they become your Victories!

They're STACKERS, not Stickers....

Have you seen the commercial for the Fruit Roll-Up Stackers? Well, my kids have. I'd like to say they've only seen it once or twice, but truthfully - they see it OFTEN.

Anyway, Livvy had these for lunch the other day and I looked up and saw this! She smiles at me and says,
"They're Stackers, NOT Stickers!"
I laughed my butt off!

How can you not love this child??!!!

Procrastination

Ok, so I have a lot of things I should be doing right now:

sand and paint 6 little blocks
sand and paint a piece of crown molding
type up and print sign up sheets for these craft projects
put together a coaster, picture thingy kit
gather all this stuff together in a basket, ready to go for Sunday
clean my kitchen, upstairs living room, dining room
laundry put away
peaches cut-up
peaches pureed
peaches canned
fix dinner
clean the bathrooms
vacuum the stairs

What am I doing? NOT any of that! I'm posting on my blog. :) And I think about what I've been doing today and NONE of it is anything I SHOULD be doing. So, what have I been doing?!

I took Elizabeth's lunch to her because she left it in the car. I picked up my peaches. And then I went to the grocery store. Now THAT was the highlight of my day! Seriously, it was. I got 8 boxes of Post Frosted Shredded Wheat for $5. :) My coupon addiction kicked in today and I just HAD to stop to get this good deal on cereal. I'll go back tomorrow or Monday and get 4 boxes for $1. I just realized that this is a deal I can share with you Arizonans. So here it is!

At Fry's, they have some Post cereals on sale, 4 for $8. When you buy 4 boxes you get $4 off your order when you check out (with your card). So that's 4 boxes for $4. A good deal! BUT it gets better - you know those coupons that print out along with your reciept? Those are called Catalina's (coupon fact for you) and when you buy certain Post cereals right now, a Catalina prints out for $ off your next order.
So go to Fry's and grab either 4 boxes or Post Shredded Wheat or Raising Bran (or a comb. of the 2) and use your VIP card to check out. You'll pay a little over $4 for this order AND get a coupon for $3 off your next order (you use it almost like money on your next order at Fry's - its good for anything). Then you can just keep buying 4 more boxes of those cereals and pay only a little over $1 after you give them your Catalina coupon from before. Another Catalina will print out and you can go and get more cereal. It's a vicious cycle! :)
This deal ends Tues. so go as often as you like! But make sure to only get 4 cereals per transaction. If you have any further questions, email me!
By the way, this same deal is going on in Utah at Smith's (same as Fry's). I'm not 100% sure if the Catalina prints out, but it should.

After my shopping expedition I took Livvy home for lunch and nap. While she napped, I had a few phone calls to take care of and next thing I knew I was picking up the kids at school. And that's about all - up until now.

I really should go and do something that I should do. :) That's a funny sentence!

Follow-Up

Well, the PTA meeting went well. It was sad though - there weren't many parents there and only one or two would volunteer to do anything. They have all this money to raise because they are a new school and no one is helping out. I pipped up a few times and think I did pretty well. I just asked a couple of questions - no shirt needed (see prior post).

I just read that last sentence, and realized how it sounded - no shirt needed?! What kind of PTA are they running out here?! :) I meant from my prior post when I said that I needed a shirt with some saying on it to warn people of my mouth condition. LOL

Anywho.....
I was sitting with a couple of the teachers I have gotten close to and we were all talking, having fun before the meeting started. I was getting comfortable and thinking, "OK, maybe my mouth won't be such a problem. I feel relaxed and calm now."

The only thing that happened was that I made a couple of comments to the table I was sitting with (my teacher friends), thinking that only they would hear and right when I started to speak the whole room got quiet so that my comments were heard by all.

For example, the PTA board was asking everyone when was a good time to schedule the PTA meetings. I asked them about being able to bring kids to the meetings if we kept them quiet; I had always heard that you could bring your kids if you need to. They responded that they will have babysitting on the PTA nights for those who have to bring their kids. I turned to my table and said,
"Well, in that case - I'm up for a weekend 'meeting' in Vegas!"
The whole room roared with laughter. By whole room I mean maybe 20ish people so it wasn't as embarrasing as it could have been. :)

There were a couple of times that happened though. No, I don't learn do I?! Once should have been enough! But I'm just glad that I didn't offend anyone or get kicked out of PTA for being a troublemaker.
I wonder if they'd send me to the principals office? Then I'd have to tell my kids that Mommy was naughty at school! They'd LOVE that!

On a more serious note, I was disappointed in the lack of parental involvement. I know that people have very busy lives. Mine isn't so much so and I'm grateful for that. I know that not everyone has that luxury. BUT it's sad to see. I have a post a few weeks ago about Homeschooling and my thoughts go to one of the points that I brought up there. Needing good parents to be involved in the schools and that as more and more of those amazing parent homeschool, that takes them away from society changing positions in the schools as volunteers and members of PTA, etc. As I'm writing this, the PTA just called about asking me to help with their book drive. They've sent flyers home with every student from Kinder to 8th grade for parents who want to help. Do you know how many replies they have gotten?

3!!!!! Yes, I said 3. And one of those is me. In a school of close to 500 students, they only got 3 parents willing to help. :( Is it any wonder that the schools are getting more and more messed up?
I'm not saying that parents who don't join PTA are bad parents - don't go reading into my words! :) I'm just saying that the lack of numbers shows a hint of the parental involvement in the schools, or lack of parental involvement in the schools.

I really need to back off of my soap box. I don't have the time today to vocalize my views and thoughts on things. I have 20 people coming over tonight to learn about canning fruits and veggies. Gotta clean! :P

But just FYI, guess who is now heading up the Book Fair - yep, me! Mela, wanna watch Livvy a little bit around the 1st - 5th? :)
And Mom, my Shingles are fine - no flair ups. I have a LOT going on right now and coming up, but I feel good about it all! Necessary stress. So don't worry! :)

Why is Caffeine so bad for you? :(

Ok, so you all know my battle with soda. Most particularly Mt. Dew! Did you know that was what they used to called Moonshine? Things that make you go hurm?!
Well, I've been good for 2 days - no soda. Today I fell off the moonshine wagon! :) But I have had a clarity of mine and body that I haven't had for weeks. I have accomplished more in the past 3 hours than I have in a long time. AND it's stuff I've been putting off.
Why oh why is it such a bad thing?! Why oh why do my butt, hips, and stomach love it soooo much?! That's a rhetorical question - don't really answer it! LOL

This evening I attend my first PTA meeting. Any advice? I am actually nervous about it. It doesn't help that I have to take all 4 kids with me. They'll have babysitting there, but you can never tell how that's going to go. It's important for me to be involved with my children's schooling. I wouldn't even mind sitting on Boards and things like that. Nail free of course. (weak attempt at a joke). But there is one thing I have a hard time with. And that is opening my mouth and having words come out. Those of you that are really, really close to me know what I mean. When I get nervous and open my mouth, its a scarey thing. I never know what words are going to come spewing out. Seen Harry Potter? Remember when Ron had slugs coming out of his mouth from a spell gone wrong?! That is often how I feel. My whole family used to shirk down in their pew at church when I would get up to bear my Testimony.
Maybe I should have a shirt made with some funny quip about my mouth. I could wear it on special occasions like tonight. You know, kindof like - "here's your sign." :)

Anyway, it's important I go. Wish me luck tonight!

Finally....

I have friends that will often tell me about something their kids did that was SO hilarious! Often, a part of me feels like the boring friend and the other part of me is glad that my kids don't do "hilarious" things because it is usually something naughty that the parents think is funny. So my conclusion is that either my kids aren't naughty often or I'm a hard-nose mom. Which should I admit to? :)
But I finally have a very small funny thing. And here it is:

You know those words that you say that really don't sound so bad until you hear a 3 year old say it?! Well, Bret and I occasionally use the word "crap."
Last night Livvy, 3 yr. old, was doing something in the dining room and I dropped something in the kitchen. She jumped and then giggled saying, "Mommy, that scawed the cwaps out of me!"
Translation:
"Mommy, that scared the craps out of me!"

Bret laughed his butt off. I just shrugged, rolled my eyes and joined in. THEN we had a talk with Livvy about it. I know that we shouldn't have laughed, but what can you do?! It was way too funny!

Random Thoughts

Today I've had a lot going on in my mind which is surprising since I haven't had near enough Mt. Dew! I really want/need to put things down so that my little brain doesn't explode.

First of all, I like to check my little Cluster Map showing where people are from that view my blog. I know that mostly I get family and friends here in AZ and UT. But there are some random ones lately and its kindof exciting! :) I know who the New York one is - my sister. (By the way Jen, I didn't do what I said I was going to do this morning. I got sidetracked on the computer) I know who the Aussie is - either Chadwick or Muliau (hugs to you both)!!! But the others have me stumped.
I love people! I love knowing their lives and who they are. So here is my little comment to you "lurkers" - post a comment or send me a little email. :) I'd love to hear from you too!

Now aside from the Map, I've got such random thoughts today so if I'm jumping all over and not making sense I apologize!

And here we embark on the journey that is....
Steph's Mind

Homeschooling. I've been reading a lot of blogs lately of different types of Moms across the country. One concept that we all reach at the point our children start school is homeschooling. Do we trust the "system" or ourselves? Its a big issue for Moms right now. I have my own opinion - we all do. But my overall feelings are that when you do what is right for you and your family, THAT is what is important. Too often we beat ourselves up (and others too) for choices and opinions. There are pros and cons to both sides of this issue. So I am starting a world wide debate. The "Can of Worms" has been opened.

Now mind you that when I say World Wide, I have a very small group of visitors, but feel free to pass my blog on to others who might like to add imput or just get ideas and opinions. Maybe even a good fight as this is a HOT topic! :)

Please post or send me an email as to why either Homeschooling or Public or Private or Unschooling or Ignoreschooling has worked for you. And yeah, that last one was a joke. Don't get all excited thinking that there really was a way to Ignore and school at the same time! :) Yeah, I saw you all get way to happy about that one.

Hopefully I can come up with a unbiased list of pros and cons for those Moms who are just trying to decide what will work for them.

To start it all out, I have a few pros for Public:
* The public schools NEED good parents to get involved to make it better for all children involved.

* There is TOO much emphasise on KNOWING. From day one Babies are constantly measured by how much they know. Homeschooling has become more and more about advancing beyond what the schools can provide. There is beginning to become a segregation for kids who perform above the norm. or below the norm. I like that my children get to deal with others from all walks of life AND all smarts of life. (Personally, I'm not of the smart variety) :)

* I honestly feel that it is OK to be happy in who you are as a kid! Whether that be fast learner, slow learner, or average learner. And life is not all about ABC's.

* I think its important for kids to learn to deal with the world BUT find their own peace. I'm NOT saying to feed them to the wolves to be rapped and murdered. Only that the world IS a yucky place, VERY yucky. They HAVE to be in it. I think its important to teach them to be in it and deal with the unfairness, and rotteness of it but then to be able to come home and have peace and love and joy. They need to KNOW (and I mean really KNOW) how to stand up for themselves and be strong in this world. They can do this by being in school and its a smaller version of the grown-ups.

*I read a post from a Pro School advocate that also mentioned about letting others love your kids. Mommy/Daddy love is great, so is Brother, Sister, Grandparent, etc. But having a teacher or group of teachers is another way for your child to feel love. Yes, sometimes that is not the case. But again, its another learning experience.

There are other ideas roaming through my head right now. Pros AND cons. But this particular blog is getting long and I'd like to hear what others feel. And have it understood that I'm not saying that any parent loves their children more, or will have more brilliant children or anything like that! If you get your feelings hurt, its not my fault I swear! I just want different ideas about each option.

We are all GREAT moms! You have each been chosen for YOUR kids!!! Not mine or someone elses. Heaven knows, I couldn't handle anyone elses kids and WOW, no one would want mine! :) Your babies need you for YOU. That even means your faults too. :) Even if you were perfect, like you want to be, it would be detrimental to your kids. So love yourself and your place in life. Love your kids and screw anyone else! :)
Hugs to you all!

Punching Hearts and Tokens

Ok, so what do you do when your kids are rude and mean to each other?! Ideas would be great because that is what has been going on in our house! "Naw, not Steph's kids,: you think! But alas, tis true. Example:

Last night the kids were watching cartoons downstairs in my "craft" room (which is really only a "closethedoorsoyoudon'tseethelaundry" room or the "Bretjuststicksrandomjunkthere" room). ANYWHO... The kids were watching cartoons until dinner was ready and they fought about what to watch using rude voices and hollaring at each other to be quiet. I finally named a show they've all been wanting to see (yeah for DVR and new cartoons). And then they fought over who sits where.
Elizabeth - "I was sitting there first!"
Jake - "You got up!"
E - "So, I was just getting the remote control."
J - "SO, you GOT UP!"
E - "That doesn't matter, I was there FIRST!"
Mom - "Elizabeth and Jake, come here!"
waiting......
Mom - "I SAID come HERE!!"
waiting...... like if they are quiet, I'll forget that I called them - I'm not THAT old yet!
Mom - "NOW!!!"
They come in. Mom - "Ok, you two are done. Put your stuff away and come sit on the couch till dinner is done."
They go into the craft room, and mind you it is seriously 2 feet from where I am in the Kitchen.
E (talking softly, but not softly enough) - "Jake, you little snot."

Of course, I came even more unglued than I already was. I'm not glued together with super glue, ya know. More like Elmer's glue.
So then they got a lecture. ALL of them! And I hate to say it, but my whole goal was to make them cry. Sad, I know. Not crying cause I was screaming so much, but becasue they feel it in their hearts. So this is what I told them:

Mom - "If Jesus were here right now, would he like to hear how you treat each other?"
Kids - "No."
M - "No, cause he loves you all and doesn't want you talking to each other like that. Does Mommy like to hear how you treat each other?"
K - "No."
M - "No, cause I love you all and don't want you talking to each other like that. Do you like it when someone hits you?"
K - confused "No."
M - "Well, when you say mean things to each other and call each other names and use rude voices with each other, its like you are hitting each other IN THE HEART!!"
K - light bulb moment and starting to tear up
M - "Do you WANT to hurt each other - punch each other in the heart?"
K - tears streaming now. "No Mommy. We LOVE each other."
M - "Then be nice to each other and don't make our house a place with hurt hearts."

The "Tokens" part are these little hearts made out of card stock and the kids have to earn these "tokens" by being nice to each other. As they get tokens, they can "buy" special things. A trip to ice cream with Mom, ect. I implumented this last night. We"ll see if it works!