So You See...We Are A Happy Family!

He made the paper -- in San Antonio!!

2010-04-05T08:11:00.001-05:00

This was SO COOL to find in the front section of today's paper.
President Monson's conference address made national headlines! They
put a short blurb about it in the NewsScanner section, with all the
other national headline blurbs. Here's what it says:
"Mormons should cling to their faith to weather the temptations they
face, the church's president said at the close of a two-day church
conference Sunday. "Permissiveness, immorality, pornography,
dishonesty, and a host of other ills cause many to be tossed about on
a sea of sin and crushed on the jagged reefs of lost opportunities,
forfeited blessings and shattered dreams," Thomas Monson said. "My
counsel for all is to look to the lighthouse of the Lord. There is no
fog so dense, no night so dark, no gale so strong, no mariner so lost
but waht his beacon light can rescue," he said."

Those poor guys

2010-03-30T16:40:00.001-05:00

Ladies, have you ever sent a guy to the store for your tampons or
pads? Guys, have you ever been sent on this mission? Have either of
you ever had to help another guy you run into at the store with this
task? Check out this totally hilarious video, about a guy trying to
buy stuff for his girlfriend, and he tries to ask lots of people for
help understanding the wall of packages in front of him.
(btw, Dan NEVER gets stuff for me, unless I write down an EXTREMELY
specific description of what I want, including brand name and style,
what color and size the box is, and what designs are on it. If I plan
ahead, I sometimes just give him an empty box to take with him! :-) )

http://www.ubykotex.com/the_mission

FHE Activity – Choose the right words

2010-01-25T20:18:00.004-06:00

Tonight for Family Home Evening, we talked about using the right words. I read a story from the January 2010 Friend magazine,"Words That Build Up," then we discussed the quiz on the next page about choosing the right words. A couple things on the quiz sounded exactly like what happens in our house – here's a good example:

A younger child shows you a drawing she made. You --
A. say "I can't even tell what that is."
B. say "I like the colors you chose," or," You are good at drawing."

Occasionally, I will hear answer B, when my kids are really paying attention to what they say. But usually, answer A is the normal response around here. So this quiz was good for our family. Then I made a "Choose The Right Words" poster for everyone to color and hang in their room. They liked putting their own designs on them.

Happy birthday to me!

2010-01-04T11:35:00.002-06:00

To celebrate this momentous occasion , I have put a new playlist of songs on the blog for the day. Songs that are all about me! I'm missing one important song, though. The Proclaimers have a song called Oh Jean, and Alison and I would always bust a gut listening to that in high school. It's not available on playlist.com, but if you google the song it comes right up. I played it for Dan this morning, and he likes it :)

It finally happened

2009-12-17T12:15:00.000-06:00

Having such a gorgeous husband, I knew it would happen one day. And now that he has his own business, meeting and helping hundreds of different people, the chances were even greater. Well, this past Saturday, it happened. One of Dan's clients hit on him.
It was meant as a joke (so Dan says) but I still had to take a second and recover when he told me (which, btw, he told me as soon as he got home, so kudos to him!) Dan got an emergency call on Saturday while he was out with the kids at Stephen's soccer game. So after the game he took the brood with him to meet this client. When Dan was done fixing the problem, the lady commented on how large our family is. She told him that since I have already had so many kids with him, she would be willing to have some more for him so I can take a break.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dan politely turned down her offer. I wonder if she would have made that offer if I was there too. It is a little funny, but good grief!

Pure genius!

2009-12-17T12:05:00.000-06:00

Being raised on the Muppets, I am always excited to hear of new work
the group has put out. Hopefully you have all heard of their recent
endeavors on YouTube. But just in case you haven't, the Muppets have
recently done a performance of Bohemian Rhapsody. I wanted to embed
the video into this blog post, but I don't think the channel will let
me do that. So, to see the video, go to YouTube, search for the
Muppet Studio channel, and you will find Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody in
the side bar.
So completely awesome! Animal and Piggy are my favorite parts of the video.

The family tradition continues

2009-10-04T19:34:00.003-05:00

My neighbor Cathy says we're training our children to be in the circus, and perform on the flying trapeze. Tonight I caught a picture of Jeremy's "training", and I thought I would throw in pictures of the others as well. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of Stephen in training. He HATED being thrown in the air until he was around 3, and then he was too heavy for Dan.

April flying -- 2000

Emily flying -- 2004

Jeremy flying -- 2009

Bummed

2009-09-14T16:14:00.002-05:00

The kids are doing their annual Primary presentation this coming Sunday in church. The one time every year ALL the kids get to do present the entire program during church, with lots of songs, and lots of cute little kids getting a prized chance to use a microphone. The kids have been practicing these songs for MONTHS, and the older ones are all saying "ENOUGH already!!" But they're all being good sports about it, patiently waiting for next Sunday.

So today Stephen took a little invitation to his preschool teacher, and told her he was singing on Sunday about families, and he wanted her to come. She graciously turned down his invitation, explaining that she also went to church at the same time somewhere else. OK, Stephen thinks, no big deal. Then the teacher "explains" to me that she is Lutheran, and she has her own church. As we drive out of the parking lot, I'm thinking -- OK, so she's not coming to the program because she also has church at 9am on Sunday? Or is it because she's a Lutheran? And if it's the second reason, why is that a reason for not coming to the program? Are Lutherans not ALLOWED to visit other church buildings?? I don't get it. My son just wanted her to come watch him sing. I didn't tell him he had to invite her, he chose to himself. He likes his teacher a lot and talks about her often. He wanted to share this part of his young life with her. It's a big event, and he's very proud of it.

Well, we're driving home, with these thoughts going through my mind, and I start crying. I feel jilted for Stephen. He, thankfully, is oblivious to the whole political drama in all this, he's just thinking about what he wants to eat for lunch when we get home -- peanut butter & jelly or chicken nuggets? But I'm crying. Stupid mom. Just follow your son's example and get over it! It's not like this is the first time someone has turned down an invitation to this program. Heck, my children and I have been inviting friends and neighbors to this annual event for six years, and every invitation has been turned down every time.

And I cry more.

Why are so many people afraid of walking into a church? Why are so many people afraid of walking into a different church? Can't they see-- it's just a little boy who wants to sing for them, to smile for them, to say, "Look at me! I'm so big!"

Recently, my neighbor (who, btw, has herself turned down these invitations for 5 years running) was talking with me about how my religion gets bashed so much, and she has even noticed people do this to my face. And I just smile and don't say anything. "Doesn't that bother you?? I couldn't stand it if someone said that to me." she said to me. "It doesn't bother me anymore," I told her. I've grown up listening to people bash my religion my entire life. By now I know absolutely what's true about my religion and what's not, and just because someone bashes or spreads lies and rumors or refuses invitations and discussions doesn't change what's true. I've just gotten used to those things.

But today I realized that -- yes -- sometimes it still does hurt.

Does this look familiar?

2009-09-14T16:08:00.002-05:00

Today's Marvin comic strip ---- SO hilarious!

All that love!

2009-07-29T16:40:00.002-05:00

Today I took the kids and a friend to the free summer movie for the week. On the way home, Emily and Stephen, who sit together in the back, were arguing with each other. April turned around and started shouting at Emily to stop arguing. "Why don't you sing a song instead?!" So after a moment, Emily started singing ...."Stephen is a weirdo! Stephen is a weirdo!"

So much love.

The devastating effects of our economy

2009-07-16T10:56:00.001-05:00

Blessings from heaven

2009-05-16T23:46:00.002-05:00

What a beautiful description Elder Hales gives here about the blessings of the priesthood. I am always thankful the priesthood blesses my home, through my wonderful hubbie Dan. He truly strives to bless our family and our home as a loving father, husband, and priesthood holder.

Laws of the Crown

2009-05-12T13:03:00.004-05:00

You know those gold colored cardboard crowns from Burger King? My kids officially crowned me "Queen for a Day" on Sunday with one of these crowns. They had decorated it in Primary with lots of foam stickers.

The next day, Dan noticed that there are game rules printed on the inside of the crown. These rules are absolutely hilarious, and I decided I had to share them with you.

Laws of the Crown

Game Play
A) Adjust size and be the first to place on head
B) Whoever places the Crown on his or her head first, then in a loud voice proclaims, "I am the King" is from that moment forward, in charge. Rule ends if Crown is removed (see Coup d'etat). Crownings can happen anywhere, at anytime.

Advanced Play
1. There can only be one King.

2. The King always gets his/her way.

3. The King must speak with some kind of cool accent.

4. The King makes all the important decisions governing selection of TV channels, movies, radio stations, as well as popular activities like snowboarding, pool hopping and cow tipping. The King also determines who gets the remote, who rides "shotgun" and, of course, who pays.

5. Rule ends when Crown is removed for more than 3 seconds (see Three Second Law.)

6. Disagreement with the King results in a "penalty." This is decided by the King. Common penalties include: forfeiture of fries, surrender of video game controller and banishment from office cubicle.

Three Second Law
The King's rule ends when the Crown is removed from their hand for any reason, accidental or otherwise. The first person to exclaim, "One...Two...Three...King" may claim the Crown.

In The Event Of A Tie
If two people Crown themselves Kings simultaneously, the person whose birth date is closest to Dec. 4, 1954 (date the first BURGER KING restaurant opened) is King.

Coup D'Etat
If everyone agrees you completely stink as King, your rule may be renounced. This constitutes a Coup d'etat. A new King may be Crowned if the group can reach a unanimous decision. If not, the Three Second Law applies.

Kingdom
If you are eating in a BURGER KING restaurant, your rule extends all the way to the edge of the parking lot. Off restaurant grounds, your rule extends to a radius of 10 feet around you in any direction.

Warning: This BURGER KING Crown is made of paper. Your rule may end prematurely if Crown is exposed to water or flame.
(Therefore, don't invite flame-throwing jugglers to your coronation party.)

So popular with the ladies

2009-05-10T00:02:00.006-05:00

This was just so cute, that I had to post it!

New fitness site link

2009-05-09T23:13:00.002-05:00

I put a new link on the blog sidebar for eFitnessTracker.com If you get a chance to go to the gym, but wonder what exercises you should do, this is a good site to visit. The free Workout Wizard has TONS of different exercises you can look through, along with video demonstrations of each exercise. You can do a search on specific exercise equipment you want to use, like dumbbells or elastic bands, or you can search based on the muscle group you want to target in your routine. It also has various difficulty levels available for some exercises.

The site will let you print a sample workout, but it will only allow a total of 5 exercises. You can print two sample workouts before it requests you to subscribe to their service. When that happens, just close your browser window and open a new one. This clears your "history" on their site, and you can print again. I really like using this site, and I've got 4 or 5 workouts I take turns using when I go to the gym.

Pics of the kids

2009-05-09T22:33:00.017-05:00

While going through my recent blog posts tonight, I realized I haven't put any pictures of the kids up for awhile.

So here's a treat for everyone!

Stephen and Jeremy wave goodbye to Daddy as he goes to work

Hey, this door is just my size!

Yes, Mom, tights DO look better on your head than on your legs!

Such a beauty!!

Playing at the beach

Emily helping Mommy make bread

No, Mommy! Don't take my picture!

Ha! Take that, evil pinata fairy!

April huffs and puffs to blow out her birthday candles

Fiesta time!

Daddy, what are you doing behind the camera?

Jeremy stuck in the leaves

Emily with her birthday bear from Gramma Mary and pink umbrella from Mommy

Prom night

2009-05-09T22:25:00.002-05:00

My neighbor Cathy called me over with an emergency this afternoon. Her daughter Julie had gone to a hair salon to get ready for prom, and they turned her away! Maybe they were already booked with appointments, but whatever the reason, Cathy was panicking. So I grabbed my hair supplies and ran over to her house.

An hour and a half later, having shellacked the poor girl's hair to death, I had also done her makeup (smoky hues, pink chocolate lipstick and strawberry lip gloss), put some of my jewelry on her, and spritzed her with some fruity perfume. This was the final result.....

Cathy was SO SO happy with the results that she treated all of us to pizza tonight!

Have a great night Julie!

Excuse me, miss, are these your children?

2009-04-25T20:15:00.002-05:00

True story...

A couple months ago I was in the grocery store with Stephen and Jeremy. I just happened to be dressed totally awesome that day -- definitely not my usual. Long slimming t-shirt, low-cut denim flare pants, my 2-inch heel black ankle boots, and I think I had some makeup on that day.

While I pushed the boys through the produce dept, a woman approached me. "Excuse me...are these both your children?" I was slightly puzzled at her emphasis on both, but said yes. "Oh my gosh! How did you get your waist so thin again? I only have one (pointing to a nearby teenager) and I never got my waist back."

Wow, I really must look good! I thought to myself. I didn't mention the fact that I had two other children at home that very minute. "Well, I try to go to the gym 2-3 times a week," I started. The lady is literally hanging on my words, waiting for the magic spell. I continue, "and I work really hard at it."

"Oh" she said, sounding EXTREMELY disappointed. After another brief pleasantry, she left me standing in the aisle, quite stunned. "Oh? What does she mean, OH??" I thought? I've worked hard for months to wear these clothes modestly, you know, so I don't offend someone with "skin-tight" clothes, days on end with sore muscles as I get used to lifting weights and prancing on an elliptical, dragging the kids to the gym during the few precious hours the daycare is actually open, and all she can say is OH?!?

A Eulogy For The Boombox

2009-04-23T12:03:00.001-05:00

NPR made this great story about the boombox. You can check it out at their website (below.)

Man, those were the days! I remember sitting in elementary school, taking a BIG piece of construction paper, and making it look like a boombox -- the big round speakers, the tape deck in the middle, the buttons, nobs, radio tuner. I even cut a slit along the top so you had a handle to carry it with. Just a flat piece of paper, but my classmates loved them, and always asked me to make one for them. It was quite a status symbol in our part of DC back then.

It's so funny. I really DO NOT consider myself an inner city, urban type of gal, but I sure do relate to this story. I was immersed in this culture growing up, and at the same time I was isolated from it in my own little bubble. That's an entire story in itself, a story I still don't know all of yet.

"A Eulogy For The Boombox"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103363836

One-minute laundry lesson for missionaries

2009-04-20T17:10:00.001-05:00

Whenever we have the missionaries over for dinner, specifically the elders, I always give them my one-minute laundry lesson. And every elder has been so grateful to hear it. So here's my one-minute laundry lesson. Please pass it on!

Have you ever accidentally gotten ink on your shirt from your pen? Well, there's a very easy way to get it out.....aerosol hairspray!

(Here's the "ta-da" part as I hold up my can)

Simply spray the ink spot until it is very wet, and work at rubbing the stain out. This will take a lot of elbow grease, especially if it is a large spot. Once the stain is out, simply throw the shirt into the washing machine with the rest of the laundry, and wash as usual.

You may not believe it, but this also works when you get hair dye on your clothes! Just spray the area immediately (even if you're still wearing the clothing). Before you wash it, spray the clothing again very thoroughly, but don't try to rub the stain out. Then wash as usual.

A new favorite heroine

2009-04-19T22:41:00.002-05:00

Tonight the family watched "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler". It is a beautiful and heartbreaking movie about a young nurse during World War II. She lived in Warsaw, Poland, and worked with the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto. Through her, 2500 Jewish children were smuggled out of the ghetto before the Nazis emptied it and loaded everyone onto the trains. Some of the children were placed with Polish families, and some were placed in convents. Eventually Irena Sedler was caught and tried by the Nazis.

Because of her daring work, she was tortured by the Nazis for 3 months and sentenced to execution. Fortunately, a Nazi soldier "on the inside" helped her escape on her way to be executed.

In 2007, at the age of 97, Irena Sendler was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work during and after the war. I feel she definitely deserved, completely and wholeheartedly, to win this prize. However, the committee for the NPP thought Al Gore deserved it more. That's another conversation for another day, but I won't discuss it here.

Here is the link to where you can find out more about the movie:
http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/article|10001|10051|/HallmarkSite/HallmarkHallOfFame/HHOF_TOP

Poof

2009-03-29T23:15:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow I am going on a Mommy vacation for a few days. Yesterday I told the kids that once Dan comes home from work Monday, I'm leaving on a short trip. When asked where I was going, I said I was going to disappear. It was really funny to see Stephen and Emily take my words literally.

Stephen -- You're going to disappear?
Mommy -- Yep. Like the fairy godmother, I'll go "Poof! And I'll disappear.
Stephen -- I want to watch you poof. Are you going to poof right now?
Mommy -- No, I will poof on Monday.
Stephen -- I will go to school Monday morning, and then you will poof?
Mommy -- No, when Daddy comes back home from work, then I will poof.

He really thinks I'm going to do some real magic! If only it was that easy to disappear. This short trip has taken a couple months to plan, but I'm finally going to do it. Yes!!

A Book With A Promise

2009-03-29T23:02:00.003-05:00

Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I have come to know that so surely by reading the Book of Mormon as I have by reading the Holy Bible. Reading these books of scripture is like letting the peace of God flow into my mind and heart, soothing my troubles and bringing happiness to my heart. And, little by little, I understand God, myself, and life, better.

Yummy scents

2009-03-26T00:17:00.003-05:00

I went to a Scentsy party last night at a friend's house, and took my neighbor Cathy with me. I knew practically everyone there, and as we passed the scent jars around, it was SO much fun to see and hear everyone's reactions to different "flavors." It was especially amusing to watch this sort of scenario play out:

The lady to my left take and sniff and say, "Ughh, YUCK!!!", then I sniff the same jar and experience pure yumminess, then the lady to my right sniff and say, "I don't know, it's really flowery."

This happened over and over all around the room, and it was just too hilarious! Cathy often would suddenly put a jar up in my face and say, "This smells clean!!" (code for "I like this one.") She loved all of the orange-flavored scents, but I thought Scentsy's orange smells way too much like sugary candy.

At the end of the evening, I had ordered the "combo" of a warmer and three Scentsy packs:
Sheer Saffron (sounds like a pantyhose color, doesn't it?),
French Kiss (this REALLY reminds me of being newly married, all giddy and giggly)
Simply Irresistable (aka, Drakkar Noir, and all those HS boyfriends I left behind :)

I've got a whole list of other scents I want, but I have to go slow so I don't go broke!

Quote for the day

2009-03-24T15:30:00.001-05:00

I found this quote in today's paper, and really wanted to share it...

"Man must cease attributing his problems to his
environment, and learn again to exercise his will
— his personal responsibility in the realm of faith and morals."

- Albert Schweitzer, German-born missionary and Nobel laureate (1875-1965)

And speaking of creating...

2009-03-22T23:05:00.003-05:00

I swear, as of 2 generations ago all of my family were farmers! Where did the talent go???

My garden seeds were total duds. I watered them faithfully for 3 WEEKS! And nothing. 30 seed cups, organic potting soil, good sun and shade too, and NOTHING! My friend Marguerite said it was because I kept the cups outside, and the temp has been going up and down, not freezing, but I guess too unstable for starting seeds. (Now you tell me!)

SO...I started all over yesterday. I emptied the cups into the compost pile, refilled them with new dirt and new seeds, and now they are INSIDE my house, sitting pretty in the kitchen window. I also put the cups in a plastic tray and keep everything nice and moist (I'm copying this idea from my neighbor's 10 yr old daughter who recently got some seeds started. She's got a sweet little setup going in their greenhouse. Nyah!! Me, jealous? No, I'm not jealous! Why on earth would you think that?!?!?)

Now I just have to keep the cats away from the cups for the next few weeks. I didn't bother planting the flower seeds again, just the veggies. If I'm actually CAPABLE of starting seeds, then I'll do the flowers later this spring.

I still have tilling the garden on my calendar for this coming Saturday. Let's see if I can get it done.

Create!

2009-03-22T21:33:00.003-05:00

This is a beautiful video my mother told me about today. Elder Uchtdorf (from the LDS church) explains how important and strong the desire to create is, and how it is in each of us. No wonder! We are all literal spirit children of our Heavenly Father, and if talents and interests and passions can be passed down from parent to child, like the musical talents I inherited from my mother, imagine the creative abilities we inherit from God. The master of heaven and earth, who created all things on this planet, all life and environments, as well as the universe our planet is found in! And we are so mercifully blessed to receive our desires and inspiration to create from Him! All because we are his children. Imagine the possibilities -- YOUR possibilities!

How to decorate a candle jar

2009-03-07T16:43:00.008-06:00

At my local grocery store, I found lots of prayer candles on sale. These are tall, sturdy glass jars with unscented white wax poured into them. I decided that, with a little decorations, these would make some excellent gifts.

Decorated Candle Jar

You need:
a candle in a clean glass jar
metallic or decorative colored tissue paper
several yards of 5/8" ribbon
white glue
aluminum pie tin
small paint sponge
scissors
tape measure
ruler
pencil
hot glue gun

Using the tape measure, measure the candle around the area you want to decorate. First measure the circumference, then the height of the candle. Lay out the tissue paper and, using the ruler, draw a rectangle with the measurements of the candle. The circumference will be used as the width of the rectangle. Cut out the rectangle and wrap it around the candle to make sure it completely covers the glass.

Pour 2-3 tablespoons of white glue into the pie tin, then add the same amount of water to the glue. Using the paint sponge, mix the glue and water together. Paint a thin layer of diluted glue onto the glass. Glue the edge of the tissue paper vertically onto the glass, making sure it is straight up and down. Carefully wrap the paper around the glass, gently smoothing the paper as you go. The tissue paper will wrinkle some, but as it dries, most of the wrinkles will go away. The remaining wrinkles will give it a gentle texture. If the paper overlaps some, paint some glue on the underside of the overlapping edge, and smooth it down. Gently rub the paper to get out any air bubbles and flatten the wrinkles down.

When the paper is completely dry, measure two lengths of ribbon to wrap around the glass. Use a small drop of hot glue to secure one end of the ribbon at the top, wrap the ribbon around the glass, then glue the overlapping end down with another small drop of hot glue. Glue the second ribbon around the other end of the glass the same way.

Tie a larger length of ribbon around the middle of the candle into a bow. Use a drop of hot glue to secure the knot onto the glass.

Voila!

We have our stuff, and we're ready to go!

2009-02-27T14:56:00.006-06:00

Phase 1 -- Getting started with the starters

This afternoon, Stephen and Emily helped me fill the seedling cups with potting soil.

After watering them a little, we put a variety of seeds in, labeled the cups, and watered them again.

I then went into the back yard and plotted out my garden. It's not big at all, and will probably get a little bigger after we rototill in a couple weeks.

Can you see it?? It's the faint white square :)
The big, fat lump is one of the compost piles. Dan just put more leaves on it last weekend.

Being ambitious

2009-02-27T14:13:00.004-06:00

I am trying something new this year -- I am starting a veggie garden in the back yard. This is something I've wanted to do for quite a while now, but it always seemed to be the wrong time. Usually I couldn't start it because I was pregnant. Then Dan wanted to wait until the compost was ready. A year or so ago Dan started a compost pile in the back yard, and eventually it grew into two piles. He has been working hard to enrich them, and finally this spring, I think we're ready to go.

I dug some seed packets out of the garage, and went to the store to buy more. I also bought some Miracle-Gro organic potting soil and liquid plant food, and those little cardboard seed-starter cups (I am REALLY bad at transplanting plants, so hopefully these cups will make it easier.) I got myself some new gardening gloves (which made Stephen jealous, so I bought him a small pair too.)

I don't want to have a very big garden, just for the fact that I don't think my family would eat all of the food a big garden would produce. And there's no point in planting stuff we won't eat or I don't know how to cook with.

These are the things I am going to try growing this summer:

carrots
green onions
zucchini
cucumbers
tomatoes
green peppers
jalapenos
cilantro
peas
green beans

I also have a winter list of garden items I would like to plant in November:

lettuce
broccoli
basil
spinach
butternut squash
potatoes (in a garbage can!)
maybe jalapenos and cilantro again (I hear they do well both seasons)

Here are my four garden phases:
Phase 1 -- getting started with the starters
Phase 2 -- rototilling and composting the garden
Phase 3 -- planting the seedlings
Phase 4 -- housekeeping and harvesting

And here we go.....

My ambitious son

2009-02-19T00:10:00.001-06:00

Our ward primary recently handed out their February newsletter, and
Stephen's class was spotlighted in it. Here is what Stephen's paragraph says:

"Stephen's favorite primary song is I Love to See the Temple. He
loves dinner rolls, the movie Cars, Diego books, the color red,
computer games, going to the playground and playing with Daddy. When
he grows up he wants to be a big sheep!"

Yes, he actually said that.

No Way!!

2008-12-19T11:59:00.001-06:00

My consistently picky eater, Emily, has just blown my mind away. For
lunch today, I offered spaghetti-o's or a sandwich. Emily chose a
sandwich. I offered cheese or PB-honey. She chose the latter. So when
I place their food before them, Emily starts whimpering because she
does not have spaghetti-o's like Stephen. I scold her and remind her
she chose this food for lunch.

Here's where it get's weird. Emily says she really wanted a cheese
sandwich instead, so I offer to cut her a piece of cheese, but tell
her she still needs to eat her sandwich. When I give her the cheese,
she decides to 'enhance' her sandwich with it, and sticks it right in
the middle of the PB and honey. Now she's taking big bites of her
sandwich, chewing along with some emphatic "Mmm! Mmm! Mmmmmmm!!!"s.

She is just nuts (and making me a little, too.)

Almost heaven

2008-12-11T17:25:00.003-06:00

Recently Dan and I splurged on a treat for our bedroom -- 2 new sets of bedsheets. You may not think this is a big deal, but I actually like them a whole lot more than I thought I would, mainly because I have totally forgotten what it's like to sleep on new sheets. The first (and last) time we had new sheets for our bed was our first Christmas together, 10 years ago, when Dan's sister Julie got us a lovely set of red flannel sheets. Before this, I think the only other time I have ever had new bedsheets is when my parents bought their first home and I got new sheets for my new bed. I was 10 years old.
Dan and I didn't get any new bedsheets when we got married, just some hand-me-downs from several parents. So sleeping on brand-new, quality, sturdy, soft bedsheets is quite a treat, almost a brand new experience. Add that to the fact that my favorite smell in the whole world is a newly washed pillowcase, and my bed is almost like heaven.

My ultimate dream car

2008-11-21T13:59:00.007-06:00

Hey Santa, I know I'm not on your "list" anymore, but I thought I would tell you anyway what I wish for. Please keep this info for future Christmases--I'll take this whenever you can send it!

Lotus Elise
in Phantom Black with optional touring package

I first saw one of these in the past year or two. It was pulling out of a parking lot while I was pulling in. It was one of those mesmerizing moments when I couldn't take my eyes off of this delicious looking car, and I forgot to watch where I was going! For several months I couldn't even figure out what kind of car I had just seen, but it was soooo beautiful.....

"Melted Brownie" hot chocolate

2008-11-20T16:36:00.001-06:00

This is absolutely the most delicious hot chocolate I've ever had! It tastes just like a melted fudge brownie. I would say it equals in lusciousness to Starbucks' hot chocolate, which tastes like a melted chocolate bar. A friend of mine served this last week at her house. Yummy yummy! Make sure to serve it with lots of whipped cream on top.

1 cup milk
1 cup half & half
8 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

Heat milk, half & half, both chocolates, and sugar in a saucepan on medium-low heat until chocolates melt and sugar dissolves. Pour half of the mixture into a blender and mix until frothy. Return to saucepan and add vanilla. Stir briefly and serve.

Po' Boys

2008-11-17T21:30:00.002-06:00

Both Jeremy and Stephen have had a tough few weeks, fighting the usual fall/winter sickness that's going around.

Almost three weeks ago I took Jeremy to the doctor because he just wasn't his normal self. He had recently cut his first two teeth, and had a runny nose as usual. But the runny nose faucet kept going for over two weeks, and Jeremy looked like he was starting to wilt. The doctor said he had an ear infection, which is normal when a baby cuts his first teeth, and they put him on some antibiotics.

Meanwhile, Stephen was starting to develop a deep cough in his chest. We didn't think much of it for several days, waiting to see if it would die out. It didn't, and after a week Stephen had a deep, barking cough, no appetite, and a fever. So it was his turn to see the doctor. Stephen had also developed an ear infection and had lots of chest congestion. He was also put on antibiotics as well as an inhaler to fix the cough.

The day I took Stephen into the doctor, I also had them check Jeremy's ears to make sure they were clear (which they were.) His meds were done within a day or two of that visit. But, practically the moment Jeremy finished his meds, his nose started to run again. After a few more days he was looking droopy again, and coughing like Stephen.

I took Jeremy back to the doctor this morning, and they listened long and hard to his chest. Apparently he is congested enough to warrant the use of a nebulizer! I asked if I should just use Stephen's inhaler with the spacer tube and mask we use, and he said no, a nebulizer is what he really needs. They gave Jeremy his first neb treatment in the office, then brought me my own nebulizer kit to take home and keep (the pump looks like a big panda bear!)

After another visit to the pharmacy, I now have both boys on their own antibiotics and their own breathing treatments. Jeremy has another follow up visit Weds morning to make sure the nebulizer is clearing his chest up.

Whew! I sure hope my poor little boys get better soon. I'm glad they haven't gotten the rest of us sick!

Getting creative in the kitchen

2008-11-11T22:28:00.004-06:00

Last month we decided to order some of our groceries with Angel Food Ministries, to see if it would stretch our grocery budget some. It was an interesting experiment. First, if you're family is really into eating meat, you may like their monthly menus. But don't expect extremely high quality meat, at least with the beef-related items. Second, get ready to use food you probably wouldn't normally buy. This isn't a bad thing, as you will see, you just have to get creative in the kitchen.

We bought 2 "regular" boxes, which has SEVERAL meat entrees as well as a few other items, like noodles and spaghetti sauce and corn tortillas and hot dogs, etc. We also bought 2 produce boxes. Each produce box for October had a big bag of lemons, a fresh pineapple, a head of cabbage, a big bag of onions, as well as potatoes and apples. I wish I could just order the produce boxes, but you have to order at least one "regular" box before you order anything else.

Anyway, the produce boxes gave me an interesting challenge. Have you ever cut and cored a fresh pineapple? You have to make sure you cut ALL of the brown spots off from the peel, and who knew pineapple was so slippery in your hands? Dan sprinkled the pineapple chunks with sugar, like you do with strawberries. Then the kids gobbled it up. (Actually, the day we got the food, I was at Time Out for Women the whole day. When I got home, one whole pineapple was already gone!)

I finally decided to make lemonade from all the lemons (When life hands you lemons...you know) Oooh, it was yummy! But ouch! The lemon press thing I found at the store gets tough to squeeze after the 3rd or 4th lemon. I found a VERY simple recipe for homemade fries with the red russet potatoes, and now Dan wants them all the time.

The most difficult challenge, however, was the cabbage. If it was just up to me, I would make tons of coleslaw. But no one else in this house likes it. Hmm, what to do.... I didn't want to make "Corned Beef & Cabbage" because -- no offense, Mom -- I never liked it growing up. Plain cooked cabbage stinks so bad, and it doesn't taste much better. And if you've never had corned beef before, GOOD!

Well, I looked up some recipes online, and after reviewing a few, eventually made up my own recipe for goulash. I must say, I liked it a lot! Yes, it's still cabbage, and it has an Eastern European ring to it (think borscht and turnips.) But if you go for that kind of thing (I'm always willing to try new stuff), then let me know and I'll give you my recipe. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good cabbage CAN be. Even Dan liked it, and the kids...well, they're still kids (although April was brave :)

All in all, this little grocery experiment was fun, and we'll probably do it again, once we successfully deplete our excessive stock of meat in the freezer.

PS--- No, my recipe does not have turnips in it!

Tragedy strikes

2008-10-13T21:42:00.001-05:00

Last night a very sad tragedy struck our family. One of our new
little kittens accidentally got crushed. It happened at bedtime. One
of the children (I won't name names) was complaining about going to
bed. As this child fell to the floor in protest, we suddenly realized
the kitten had been crushed in the process. The kitten hardly moved
or made noise, but amazingly survived the night.
This morning I took it to the vet. When the vet first asked me what
it's name was, I realized we hadn't even named it yet. So I called it
"Little Friend." The kitten had suffered massive head and chest
trauma, one eye was damaged, and the other eye's pupil was fixed and
dilated. It was having a lot of trouble breathing. There was no way
for it to survive, so I gave consent for the vet to put it down.
All of the kids were completely devastated last night, and as we
commenced with bedtime business tonight, it reminded the kids again
of the tragedy. April is especially sad about it, and she keeps
saying she wishes the Second Coming was tomorrow, so the kitten could
be resurrected. Ah, what sweet faith! Tonight I told her that one of
the most difficult lessons to learn in life is waiting in faith, and
we talked about what being faithful means. I think she understands,
and I told she can always pray when she's sad, and the Holy Ghost
will help her feel better.

Free handbag

2008-10-01T22:09:00.004-05:00

My sister Alison told me about this:

HandbagPlanet is giving away 24 handbags to mark the launch of its website. This is the bag I picked out. You too can enter to win a free handbag at their site.

Pre-K curriculum

2008-10-01T09:57:00.002-05:00

Emily came home from pre-k this morning with a calendar in her folder. It has a list of everything they are learning about this month in class. This week they are learning about their body and the 5 senses. Here is how my conversation with Emily went:

"So Emily, you're learning about your body?"
"Yeah."
"What did you learn about?"
"There's a tube inside my ear (pointing to her head), and it goes all the way to my brain!"
"Wow! And what goes in the tube?"
"A little, teeny, teeny, tiny thing (She pinches her fingers to demonstrate.) Really little. Maybe it's a mouse!"

Okay!

You asked for it!

2008-09-28T11:24:00.024-05:00

Everyone is asking for recent pics, so here are a bunch for you. Just so all y'all are up to speed--
Our four kids are:

April (8)

Emily (4)

Stephen (3)

Jeremy (6 mos.)

Babies babies everywhere!

2008-09-28T11:10:00.008-05:00

As of last week, our house is suddenly overrun with babies. My own little Jeremy will be 6 months old in a week, and he is already sitting up some and getting ready to crawl. He has a very ambitious personality!

And here are the other babies that have recently joined the Vogler family, bring the total resident population to 13! (That means we have 7 cats now)

Our cat Jenny, who is less than a year old herself, just had her first litter. Talk about ambitious! We obviously couldn't get her into the vet fast enough to get fixed. Fortunately Jenny's sister Lily was fixed a few weeks ago.

The babies are currently living under Stephen's bed, much to his enjoyment. Sometimes we try to move the babies to the cat house in the living room, but Jenny eventually moves them back.

So, anyone interested in a pet???

Spending some time with my grammas

2008-09-17T04:39:00.001-05:00

I have a cookbook my grandparents sent me long ago. It is a group project their ward Relief Society in Iowa published back in 1989. While making my grocery list and menu for the week, I perused through this book, choosing a few dishes for upcoming dinners. Several entries in the cookbook are from my great-gramma Hazel Herker, and most of them contain sauerkraut. You can tell she was a real German :)

After finishing my lists, I get out my bread-making ingredients and tools, and start loading up my bread machine to make a loaf. As I do this, I think about all of my grandmothers who have now gone on to the blessed world of spirits. They were all women who grew up on farms or in rural areas, and many of them were well taught in the science of homemaking-- more specifically, in growing, storing and preparing your own food. I wonder if they would be pleased with my efforts of trying to make my own bread, grinding my own flour, and making my own jam.

Granted, I definitely don't do these things the same way my grammas did. I have an electric wheat grinder. My grammas, if they didn't just buy flour from the store, may have had to take their wheat to a mill. That would have taken ALL day, whereas I can grind 5 or 10 lbs of wheat within a half hour or less. And when I make jam, I use a packet of pectin specially made for freezer jam, along with some frozen fruit. My grammas probably used fresh fruit, and cooked and bottled their jam.

Somewhere out there is a picture of 5 yr old me standing at my gramma Alice Herker's kitchen counter, kneading dough. I remember the smell of the yeast, the warmth and elasticity of the dough, and how it stuck to my fingers. So as I'm loading up my bread machine, thinking of all this, I suddenly wonder, What would my gramma think of my bread machine?

Instantly I could picture my gramma Alice standing beside me, and my insides felt warm and fluttery, like she was really there. And we talked together.

"This is my bread machine. It makes bread all by itself."
"It DOES?" (her eyes are wide) "It can make bread?"
"Yes, it does. I admit it doesn't make bread as good as yours. And it can be a little fickle, but it does make bread."
And she watches me put all the ingredients in.
"Now press this button."
She presses the button, and is surprised to hear the machine jump to life, mixing all the ingredients inside. She opens the lid just a little and peeks inside. "Oh, my." Then she looks at me. "It's mixing everything up!"

As the machine continues its program, I look at it and picture all of my grammas each going over to it, and stealthily peeking inside, marveling at this amazing machine. And when the bread is done, and they each take a bite, I'm sure they will all agree. Their bread was better.

Aaaahhhh! Fall finally arrives

2008-09-15T10:36:00.002-05:00

Last night when I put the kitties out, I realized the temperature outside was about 72 degrees. What?? No Way!!!
This morning, it had inched down to 68 degrees. Oooohhh! So wonderful!
The local weather report says we're going to have a "chilly" day. Whatever!
I am so glad fall has finally decided to grace us with its presence. Whew! I am so done with hot, sweltering days. I hope they're gone for good.

Free Ice Cream!!!!!

2008-09-12T12:06:00.003-05:00

Coldstone Creamery will have the 7th Annual World's Largest Ice Cream Social on Thursday, September 25th. From 5:00 -- 8:00pm, everyone will receive FREE ice cream!!
Visit http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/promotions.html
for more details

Website is a brilliant answer to an age-old dilemma

2008-09-08T23:38:00.005-05:00

Whoever came up with this idea is so completely brilliant!!!!! The website is called Handipoints, and it's a fun interactive website that REALLY rewards kids for doing their chores with fun, FREE stuff, while you keep track of their work.

Essentially the idea is this:

You set up an account for you and your child(ren), then make Handipoints Chore Charts and choose which tasks will be on it. Each task is worth a certain number of "points", which the kids then use in "Handiland", a virtual world (like Webkins, Beanie Babie Land, etc) where they can buy stuff with their points, play games, all that good stuff.

You can also set up specific charts for stuff like homework, behavior (at home, at school, good & bad), practicing sports or an instrument, personal hygiene, and lots of other possibilities. The kids check off which tasks they did, then you get to "grade" their charts -- how good did they do completing the task, or did they fib when they marked the chart? There's a lot more to this website as well.

So, if you're kids love being on the computer and you're looking for a good way to motivate them to do their chores (well, that's EVERYONE I know!) then you MUST go see this website!!!

The "joys" of getting into shape

2008-08-28T21:41:00.006-05:00

I'm 4 months post-partum now, and so totally ready to get my trim little hips back! Wait, I never had them to begin with... but I want some!

So I went to a local Lady of America gym near my house and signed up for the long haul. It's a cute little place (and I mean little) but it does have everything I need-- instructors, a whole slew of classes at various times throughout the week, lots of equipment big and small, and -- most importantly -- daycare!!!! Yeehaaaw!!!!!

Next, I go home and open my drawer of exercise clothing. Hmmm, what still fits? Well, practically nothing, but isn't that the point? I pick out a t-shirt, some shorts I can wear without too much embarrassment, and pull my sneakers out of the closet. I'm totally set.

The first class I attend is Ultimate Toning on the Ball. I like exercise balls, so this sounds like lots of fun. The instructor is perky and seems very informed, the music is upbeat, but I quickly realize my personal stamina is sorely lacking. I don't have any balance to stay on top of the ball, and hardly any abdominal strength to do any other moves on it. Halfway through the one-hour class, I just sit down on the floor, panting hard. My instructor is concerned, but I reassure her I'll be better after I finish off my water bottle.

OK, so maybe I should avoid classes with the word ultimate in the title.

The next class I try is a short 30 minute step aerobics class, only to find it's an advanced class with a fast pace, intricate footwork, and high-impact moves. Usually I can follow dance moves fairly easily, but after 10 minutes I am totally lost, and overheating as well. So much for that.

I'm feeling downhearted. I am starting to realize how out of shape I really am, and how much stamina I don't have anymore for exercise. These classes make me so sore, from head to foot for days afterwards. But I don't want to give up. I am determined to make exercise a regular part of my life, lose some weight, and slim down some of this fluff-n-stuff. I just have to go at a much slower pace.

I talk with another woman who works at the gym. I ask her- which classes are good for beginners? She recommends I try the low-impact aerobic class. And I do. This class uses lots of fun toys -- steps (no risers for me, thank you), dumbbells (will I look too wimpy with 3 lbs?), exercise balls, and weightlifting bars (will anyone care if I only put 2.5 lbs on each end?).

Suddenly I feel like Goldilocks in her quest for porridge -- this class is just right. The pace is slower, the instructor is encouraging but not demanding, and she even stops and shows us how to do a particular exercise here and there. I feel more at ease going at my own pace. We get a few water breaks. And all the equipment is fun to use. Sure, some of the women around me look like they're professional exercise trainers, but there are also women who weigh a good 100 lbs more than I do. It's still very hard work, but the pressure's off. I can do this.

Two days later, I'm still a little sore, but I keep stretching and keep a good attitude. I have hope that someday soon exercising won't make me so sore, I will get through an entire class without overheating so fast, and maybe I will even need to buy smaller pants. Someday.

Ready...set... Oh, wait just a sec

2008-08-21T22:28:00.003-05:00

Tonight was one of the most busy and most boring back-to-school nights I've ever been to! The kids were so hyped up to meet their teachers tonight, and we were excited right along with them. But everyone ended up very bored and very hot in little rooms with TOO many people around, sitting on teeny chairs and listening to the usual dumb questions parents ask.

We first went to Emily's school to meet her pre-k teacher. We were 10 minutes early, and found ourselves waiting with at least 50 other people in the heat outside a locked school. The flyer we got in the mail said to come at 4:45pm, and they meant it!!!

When we finally did get inside, Meet The Teacher night turned into a big orientation in the library, with loud kids running around in the back, quiet teachers speaking in the front, and no one hearing a word spoken, no matter what language they spoke. (Lots of school meetings here are translated into Spanish, which makes things feel like they're going twice as slow.) After the orientation-part of the meeting, at least 70 people, including me with my big stroller, smooshed our way into this little classroom to get lots of handouts and info forms to fill out. More time for bored kids to run around and bug each other.

Whatever happened to "Hey, here's your room! Wow, isn't it great? Look at all the (books, toys, pictures, etc.)! This is your teacher, Miss So-&-So. This is going to be such a fun year!" Emily's teacher barely got to say "Hello, nice to meet you" to the kids, let alone anything else.

Next we piled all the kids into the car and drove down the road to April's school. Again, we were about 10 or 15 minutes early. There we found about 300+ people inside the school waiting for the hallway entrances to unlock (you know, those big metal chain-style curtains that roll down from the ceiling!) Uugghhh!!! When the curtains were rolled up, we all got sucked into various streams of people going down different halls, and finally made our way to the right classroom. Again, lots of people smooshed into a small room (at least the chairs were slightly bigger) and we watched two teachers READ a Powerpoint slideshow to us, which was also printed in full in the folders they gave us.

Excuse me, ma'am, I don't know about the rest of the parents here, but I can read a big screen on my own!

New bedtime routine

2008-07-22T23:45:00.004-05:00

Lately I've been feeling disappointed in our lack of family scripture study. I've been trying to figure out WHEN we could fit scripture study into our daily schedule. In the church's worldwide leadership training in February, one of the leaders said you should make family scripture time short and to the point when there are little children involved, so it doesn't turn into a nightmare every time with terribly bored kids fighting and running around.

SO, thinking about all of that, I came up with a solution. As part of our bedtime routine, we normally have a song and prayer together every night right before the kids climb into bed. I decided this routine would be the best place to add scripture study. Our bedtime routine now consists of reading ONE verse of scripture with brief explanation and/or commentary, and then the usual song and prayer.

I have a 'scripture-a-day' book that goes with the Book of Mormon, which I got from Deseret Book, and we've been using that with our scripture study. I understand that there are also 3 other books from the same author that go with the Old & New Testaments and the Doctrine & Covenants. I hope to add those books to our collection soon.

I feel very good about adding some kind of scripture study to our daily family activities. Yes, it's very short, and the kids probably don't understand the verses all the time. But that's not the point! The point is to follow the counsel of the Lord to "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6) Establish the habit now when they're little, and work on comprehension later.

Grrrrrr!!!

2008-07-22T16:45:00.002-05:00

I do not have 'the touch' when it comes to bread machines.

My new bread maker works very well, but it's very touchy. The problem is I can't get the precise amount of liquid right in the basic bread recipe. The manual says to use 10-12 oz. water for a 2 lb loaf. My first loaf of bread had 1 1/3 cup water (11oz), but the machine kept knocking when mixing and kneading. The loaf was short and very thick. I read the manual some more, and was confident I could correct the problem.

For my second loaf today I put in 1 2/3 cup water, then added 1 tbsp flour during the mixing, and the consistency looked a lot better. The dough rose wonderfully and looked perfect when it started to bake. Then when the machine beeped at the end of baking, I looked and *POOF* -- the top had fallen back down during baking. Arrgghhhhh!!!!

I will try again in a day or two. Hopefully I can get this right!

Ode to modern conveniences

2008-07-19T13:25:00.005-05:00

Just over a week ago, the microwave we've had since we got married died on us. It was making strange buzzing noises and it was glowing inside one of the walls (!) So we quickly unplugged it.

Without a microwave, I quickly realized how poor I really am at cooking. Sure, I know how to use a stove and oven to make meals, but when it comes to thawing meat and heating stuff up (like leftovers and water) I am really bad! Unless I plan WAY ahead for dinner (more than 4 hours :) we end up with piddly for dinner.

But yesterday we got THIS!

Hallelujah!!!!!

Then I went garage sale-ing this morning (in a REALLY nice neighborhood) and found a Regal Kitchen Pro breadmaker for $2!!

It didn't come with a manual, but I found a copy of one online, and it's got lots of good recipes in it. I plan to make my first loaf of bread this afternoon and eat it with homemade raspberry freezer jam I made a couple weeks ago. Of course, if the breadmaker ends up being worth crap, I'm only out $2.

*sigh* Life is good :)

Door magnet

2008-07-07T11:01:00.003-05:00

I just gotta say it....
When our 3 year old realizes that Mommy and Daddy have both gone into their room and shut the door, he is immediately drawn to the closed door, like a magnet, crying and pulling on the doorknob, saying he wants a hug. Every time!! Yeah, well Mommy and Daddy want some hugs too, so go away! Thank goodness for door locks. Even at 2am, can't be too careful. You never know when our little door magnet's sensors will turn on!

YW values quilt - 2nd block

2008-06-28T13:52:00.003-05:00

Here is my 2nd block for the value Divine Nature. It's a traditional pieced block, so it didn't take me as long.

1st block for my YW values quilt!

2008-06-27T23:11:00.005-05:00

I am making a YW values quilt for a Personal Progress project. It will be a wall hanging for our YW room at church, so each girl can learn the value colors easier. And here is my first block for the value Faith. It is a 6" paper pieced block (my first time paper piecing too.) Since it's basically a white-on-white block, I tried to give it some glitz to break up the white. I used a white cotton w/silver glitter for the background, and I blanket-stitched around the star with silver lame thread.

Paper piecing isn't as hard as I thought it would be, but it takes a while to get everything ready- tracing the pattern onto tissue paper PERFECTLY, and then getting the fabric pieces placed just right so they lay correctly after you stitch it. I'll have to find some more tutorials for paper piecing to find ways to make it a little easier.

Summer Break at the Vogler house

2008-06-27T16:45:00.005-05:00

Our house is frequently full of kids these days. In addition to my own 4 kids, today we have 2 neighbor kids over to play. This is their idea of playing together:

Typical summer break?

Our new dinner sticker chart

2008-06-27T00:24:00.007-05:00

We started a new sticker chart to encourage the kids to eat more of their food at dinner time. It's very simple and straightforward, and the kids absolutely love it! Here's how it works:

There are two charts taped to the wall- one is a plastic kids placemat with strips of tape dividing it into 3 sections, one for each child, with their names written on tape at the top. We put stickers the kids earn onto this one. Once they get 10 stickers and earn their prize, I just take the stickers off of the chart, and we start counting again. The second chart is a paper with happy & sad faces, explaining how the kids can earn stickers. It says:

Eat ALL of your food = 2 stickers (really, really happy face)
Try ALL of your food = 1 sticker (happy face)
Try SOME of your food = 0 stickers (non-happy face, but not sad)
Eat NO food = Lose 1 sticker (very sad face)
10 stickers = 1 reward from prize basket (toy picture here)

(1 or 2 stickers earned also equals dessert.)

Now here comes the funnest part of it all- the prize basket! I have a big basket on top of the refrigerator that I have filled with $1 goodies I get at Target. All sorts of stuff- toys (of course), colored pens, glow bracelets, little hats, stickers, jewelry, etc., even some socks that Stephen is coveting. During dinner I encourage the kids to try at least one bite of every food offered at dinner. If they do that, they get 1 sticker and can have dessert later. Other than that, I don't pester them too much with what they do or don't eat. When they say "I'm done!" I remind them of how many stickers they have or haven't earned, ask them if they want to do a little better, and then accept their decision.

I want the stickers and prizes to be their motivation, not my demands and threats. I do hype up the prize basket frequently during the week so the kids don't forget about it, and I make it a big deal when someone gets to pick out a prize, so the other kids are motivated to earn a prize as well. We started this just over a week ago, and April and Emily have already earned a prize. I don't have to give many reminders during dinner anymore, because the kids remind each other!

The dessert that didn't happen

2008-06-10T00:37:00.001-05:00

We recently acquired an old ice cream maker from a friend who was
cleaning out their garage, and tonight we decided to make ice cream
for Family Home Evening. Dan found a really simple recipe that called
for milk, sugar, and vanilla. Great! We thought. We have those
things! So we got all the kids in the kitchen, and mixed together 8
cups of 2% milk, 2 cups of sugar, and about 2 tablespoons worth of
vanilla, and let the kids stir it all up. Then, after reading the
ancient manuscript that came with this machine, assembled the few
pieces, poured in the concoction, and plugged it in.

Nothing happened.

Dan took the motor off of the top of the bucket and examined it. We
could hear the motor humming, but nothing was moving, and we didn't
see any reset button or anything useful to push, slide, switch, or slam.

We had just infused 8 CUPS OF MILK with sugar and packed it with 10
POUNDS of ice! What could we do?

After a quick and heated debate over our plight, Dan decided to stir
the ice cream by hand. The paddle that goes inside the canister had a
small piece that stuck up out of the lid, and was supposed to connect
into the motor. We decided to turn that little knob-thingy by hand to
spin the paddle, and when the concoction got thick, we got a small
wrench to use as a lever.

So we proceeded to spin..and spin..and spin..and spin. Everyone
joined in, with the wrench and without, for almost an hour. We added
more ice and salt around the canister, poured water into the bucket
to ensure a uniform temperature, and we kept spinning. At the end of
the hour, we realized that the paddle was still spinning just about
as easily as it had been when we started. So with great trepidation,
we lifted the lid and pulled out the paddle, and Voila! Really cold
milk infused with a whole lot of sugar!

At that point we threw the paddle into the sink, stuck the lid back
on, and shoved the entire canister into the freezer. Before we shut
the door, we pulled out 5 popsicles for everyone. Maybe in a couple
days we will have the world's largest sweetened milk popsicle.

Getting bigger

2008-05-23T16:48:00.005-05:00

We just went through my box of size 4T girl clothes to get Emily some more summer clothes. She was so excited to see all of the cute shirts. She was gushing about them to Dan, "Oh, look at this one, isn't it cute. Oh, I can wear that one when I go to school. I'm going to put this one on right now!" She changed her clothes at least 3 times yesterday. Just too many choices.

Emily loves being a big sister. She always tells me when Jeremy is crying and what he needs; "He's hungry" or "He wants to be changed." She sure loves him a lot.

Daily blessings

2008-05-15T16:52:00.000-05:00

Emily said the prayer for lunchtime today, and in her prayer she said, "Thank you that Jeremy is out of Mommy's tummy. And thank you that Mommy has a little tummy now." And in my mind I was saying, "Yes, THANK YOU GOD!!!" It's important to remember those little things.

Nightshift

2008-05-13T00:02:00.001-05:00

It's a quarter to midnight, and once again I am looking forward to another late night alone with Jeremy's antics. He's going through the usual colic my kids get between 2 weeks and 2 months of age. If he's still up and screaming at 2 am, I usually wake up Dan and have him start the graveyard shift.

So far Jeremy has been up for about an hour and a half, screaming for most of an hour before I finally decided to load some formula into him, even though I had recently fed him. Now he's much more calm, as long as he keeps his bink in. But I'm expecting more screaming soon and more feedings before he finally falls asleep between 1 and 2 am.

So it's just me, alone with the baby and the laundry piling up. Fortunate for me I have lots of time tonight to clean it all :P Getting time away from Jeremy to fold it all is another matter. I am resorting to my good pal Frasier to keep me company, since there is absolutely NOTHING good on TV after 10:30pm. Thanks to my dear hubby, I now have seasons 3-8 and 11 to entertain me tonight. I'm considering starting a 3 day Fraiser marathon tonight. I think Jeremy would go for it.

An evening at the circus

2008-05-10T19:52:00.003-05:00

We had the missionaries over for dinner tonight. Dan had a scout meeting at 4pm, then went to pick up the elders for dinner at 6pm. That left me with all the kids, and my plan was to start dinner at 5:15pm. So at that appointed time, this is what I was presented with:

1) The kids played in the sprinkler this afternoon, so April had put her new swimsuit in the kitchen sink to be washed (because it says "Handwash Only"). As I puzzle over why a swimsuit is sitting in my kitchen sink, I notice some writing on the inside of the swimsuit that says "Do Not Iron", written with a purple sharpie marker.

2) Stephen walks up to me, naked from the waist down, and says, "Mommy, I need a diaper." (He was trying to get dressed after sprinkler time outside.)

3) Jeremy is laying under his toy mobile on the living room floor, wailing his little heart out. Definitely time for him to eat.

And all I really want to do is start dinner.....

So, I tell Stephen to go to his room and get a diaper. I grab April's swimsuit, douse it with Spray N Wash, and throw it in the laundry with some other dirty clothes. I go to the boys' room, where Stephen is laying on the floor waiting for me, grab a diaper and put it on him. I tell him to put on some pants. I run back to the living room, grab Jeremy, and take him to his room to feed him.
At 5:35pm I am finally able to get dinner going. Fortunate for me, I planned ahead and thawed the steaks on the counter this afternoon. When Dan and the elders arrive at one minute before 6pm, I am feeling organized and in control again, dinner is ready and almost everything is on the table.
Of course, what dinner is complete without entertainment? This was graciously provided by my children, just by being themselves. The elders thought they were very funny, how they all try to talk to Dan and I at the same time, regardless of whether Dan and I, or any other adults, are already deep in conversation. At one point, Emily came up to me with little Nerf balls stuck under her shirts. "Look, Mommy, I have boobs!" The elders choked with laughter.
At the beginning of dessert, the elders shared with us a spiritual thought, and tried not to laugh while the kids kept asking for more cake, more strawberries, more whipped cream, despite our reminders to be quiet and listen to the lesson.
When the elders were done, they gave us the usual phrase, "Is there anything we can do for you?" Dan said, "Yes, hold the baby for me so I can eat my dessert." There is nothing funnier than watching a young missionary try to hold a baby. All I can say is--- Totally Clueless and Scared to Death! I couldn't tell if the elders were smiling or grinding their teeth as Jeremy wailed in their arms.
I truly don't think I could have gotten more entertainment than this if I actually DID go to the circus!

Welcome Jeremy!!

2008-04-12T13:49:00.010-05:00

We are excited to announce the arrival of our newest family member!

Jeremy Dallin Vogler was born a week ago on Friday, April 4th, at 2:15pm. He weighed 7lbs, 14oz, 21 inches -- our biggest baby ever. Jeremy has lots of dark brown, fluffy hair, just like all of his siblings. He is a good eater, a great sleeper, and enjoys snuggling. He looks so much like April and Stephen when they were born, and I often slip up and call him Stephen.

I originally had a c-section scheduled for Monday, April 7th. However, at my dr. appointment on Friday, my dr. said I was very close to going into labor, and decided to send me to the hospital right then, instead of risking me going into labor over the weekend.

My hospital stay was a great experience this time. I was very nervous about having another c-section (I still had bad memories of Stephen's delivery) but all of the doctors and nurses took very good care of me, listened to all of my concerns, and made sure my comfort was top priority.

The kids absolutely love their new little brother. April always wants to hug and kiss him when she comes home from school, and Emily and Stephen are fascinated by everything he does. They ALL want to watch when I feed him, practically every time. Stephen even brought in his little fold-up chair one evening, so he could stand on it and get a better view. I need to start charging admission and set up spectator seating. :)

My recovery is going well, as long as I keep taking my pain killers. Dan is doing a phenomenal job taking care of things while I rest, and I try to help out with little things, like folding laundry, or reading to the kids -- things I can do while sitting down. Dan's mother is also here for a week, and she's always taking the kids out to the park, or over to Dan's sister's house so all the cousins can play together. She also takes Jeremy during the night -- ALL night -- and brings him to me when he's hungry. She really spoils me doing this, and I know I will miss my sleep when she leaves.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and well wishes!

Jean

Hello World!

My first spongebath

American Idol audition

Popeye imitation

Sporting my trendy 'do

Alison owes me ice cream...

2007-11-19T10:56:00.000-06:00

Because I'm NOT having a girl!

I'm a boy!!!!

I have successfully broken my family's birth order pattern of AABA, and have made my own... AABB. Now Stephen gets a little brother to play trains with, and I'm very glad of that! (We told Stephen that, and he's not happy. He likes to keep his trains to himself :)

Now we just have to decide on a name for him. Here are our choices so far....

Spencer (mommy)
Gordon (Emily)
Jordan (April)
Thomas (Stephen, of course)
George (Emily)

Daddy has no comment yet (as usual :)

Please send us your preferences, so we have a larger list to choose from. I'm tired of looking at the weird names in the baby name book.

And, aside from choosing a name, we just have to wait. Everyone got to go to my dr appt this morning, since it's Thanksgiving break, and now Emily just can't stop talking about the new baby. She keeps asking if the baby is born yet (duh!) and we're trying to explain to her it will still be a LONG time.

It was very cute watching the baby during the sonogram. He wasn't moving around too much, but he was opening and closing his mouth. My dr said he was saying hi, so all the kids said hi back. It was so funny. And the baby likes to lay with his arm draped over his head, just like Daddy when he sleeps.

Yes, we're still here

2007-10-02T16:39:00.000-05:00

Hello, all. First, to reassure everyone, we have not fallen off the face of the earth. This has been a very busy summer. At the beginning of the season, Dan and I were both serving in Cub Scouts at church. We were in charge of organizing all the paperwork for summer camp and getting the needed chaperones. I attended camp with our boys for 2 days, one of which was VERY hot, and the other where we were drowned by an enormous rainstorm that lasted the entire day. The camp got totally flooded out, and we couldn't even leave until the water levels fell so the cars could reach the lodge. It was so crazy!
At the beginning of August we found out we are expecting our 4th baby! Never a dull moment in this house! April is excited about it, Emily keeps talking about having a baby in her tummy when she's a mommy, and Stephen doesn't have a clue.
Right before we found out about our new addition, I was called to be the Young Women president at church. Like I said, never a dull moment! So I am in charge of all the girls at church ages 12-18. I have 2 counselors and a secretary assisting me, and two Sunday School teachers. I'm still trying to get one more teacher for the 17-18 yr old girls, and in the meantime I am teaching that class on Sunday. It's such a tremendous responsibility being in charge of all the activities, all the classes, and just the general spiritual welfare of these girls. They are such a wonderful set of girls, and I love working with them.
We are getting ready for a vacation to Florida in November. We have had several vacations to visit parents and siblings, but this is our first vacation ever to an actual vacation place! We will be staying at a resort in Daytona Beach with my Dad and step-mom, my sister Alison and her whole family, and my sister Lisa and her daughter Ksenya. We are all looking forward to this trip. The only difficulty of the trip will be the travelling. We can't afford the $1000+ it would cost for 5 plane tickets, so we're taking two days to drive each way from San Antonio to Daytona Beach. It makes the trip a little longer than we'd like, but it's worth it to have a whole week at the beach.
So, there's an update for us. I will get pictures up next time. Right now I'm working on getting my energy back and still fighing occasional queasiness. Never a dull moment!
Jean

Just call me Anne

2007-07-14T11:18:00.000-05:00

Take the Quiz here!

I just got back from my monthly book club meeting. We discussed Persuasion by Jane Austen. One of my friends there told me about this quiz, and it was a lot of fun. I think I share several qualities with Eleanor Dashwood as well, but apparently I am most like Anne Elliot.

One guy in our group today learned a profound lesson while reading Persuasion. He said he was raised to believe that if a woman dumps you, or goes for another guy, just write her off because there's lots of fish in the ocean and you're sure to find someone better than her.

But he learned from Captain Wentworth's character that that sort of pride in a man can ruin his life. If you really were truly happy with a woman, then it is completely worth it to go back to her, make it work, and make it last. Anyone else you find just won't be the same, and someone else will get your happiness with the woman you truly loved. (Just make sure you get her back before a dashing young cousin comes along and snatches her up! :)

*sigh* It makes me want to read the rest of Jane's novels all over again. Although I have to admit, not all of Jane's heroines are as good as Anne. Some of them are downright silly, but I will leave that for you to judge which one you think is best. :)

Latest read — For One More Day by Mitch Albom

2007-05-18T13:21:00.001-05:00

This is a very sweet book, and an especially good one for us younger adults who still have trouble relating to our parents.
Chick is a former major league baseball player, an alcoholic, and someone who is completely lost in his life. After two failed attempts to kill himself, Chick makes his way back to the home he grew up in. He finds his mother there, waiting for him with open arms. By the way, his mother has been dead for eight years.

"Mom..." My voice cracked. "We buried you. You've been gone for a long time."
I stared at the sandwich, two triangles of bread. "Everything's different now," I whispered.
She reached over and put my cheek in her hand. She grimaced as if a pain were passing through her.
"Things can be fixed," she said.

Chick gets to spend one more day with his mother, and learns who she really is inside. He learns about the heartache and grief she went through alone as a single mother, and comes to forgive her for the "wrongs" he felt she had done to him growing up.

Throughout the book, Chick makes a list of "Times My Mother Stood Up for Me" and "Times I Did Not Stand Up for My Mother." Some of these chapters were heartwrenching to read, as I recognized stupid, immature, teenage attitudes and decisions we've all made in life, and how they really affect our families. Chick comes to see how skewed his view of his mother really was, and realize how much she loved him despite his anger and stubbornness.

This is a very easy and fast read — less than 200 pages and short chapters. It will lift your spirits and help you see things more optimistically.

You can find For One More Day at Alibris.

What big sisters do to little brothers

2007-05-07T20:32:00.000-05:00

Never growing up with a little brother of my own, I haven't ever seen this kind of torment firsthand. I've just heard rumors about it. So this is a new world for me.
This is a picture of Stephen after Emily had her way with him a couple days ago. No, it's not blood.... it's nail polish! (You should see our bedroom carpet!)

Grilled cheese donuts

2007-05-07T20:24:00.000-05:00

Lately we discovered that you can make homemade donuts out of a can
of small plain biscuits. Just fry them in some oil, drain on paper
towels, and coat them with cinnamon and sugar. Our first attempt
turned out so well that tonight, for Family Home Evening, we decided
to make them with the jumbo size biscuits. They looked great, and
tasted great until you got to the second or third bite. That's when
Emily said, "Mmmm! Cheese filled donuts!" Of course it wasn't really
cheese. The biscuits were just so big that they never cooked all the
way through. Dan and I thought they were decent enough to finish
one, then April commented that they tasted like grilled cheese
donuts. And it was true. They were just too gooey. So the last two
went in the trash. For all of you who want to make your own homemade
donuts, please use the small cans of biscuits and you won't be
disappointed. Don't use the jumbo cans unless you're a BIG fan of
grilled cheese!

The Happy Hooker

2007-03-31T20:12:00.000-05:00

Hee hee! I truly am a happy hooker.... a crochet hooker!

Man, what WERE you thinking? :)

If you enjoy crochet as much as I do, here is a fun quiz to test your skills.
Happy "Hooking" Quiz

And for those of you who have NO CLUE what I'm talking about, go here for a brief tutorial. (Check out some of the videos for better understanding :)
What is Crochet?

The groundhog was right -- spring is coming early!

2007-03-12T23:41:00.000-05:00

And with it, lots of allergies for me! I'm currently on some antibiotics to get rid of a nasty sinus infection. I practically slept at least half of Sunday, and didn't even bother to go to church. But I'm doing much better tonight, thanks to all this nice medicine :)

Here are a few fun pics of spring fever here in SA.

Baking cookies with the kids. They loved that dough!

Playing in the backyard on Sunday afternoon.
(Emily is trying to find April under the blanket. Can you see her foot peeking out?)

The mountain laurels are in bloom by my front door. They smell just like purple lollipops!

My first "pineapple" style doily I made for an online craft exchange.

My little girl -- all grown up (kinda)

2007-02-18T16:08:00.000-06:00

Emily's pronunciation has been improving lately, and she doesn't sound so much like a baby anymore. So before I forget all those cute little baby words of hers, I thought I would list a few of the more memorable ones here.

Chubup = ketchup
Fwamich = sandwich
Bain Bain Bears = Berenstain Bears
Chapic = Patrick (her cousin)

Mommy, can you speak Alien?

2007-02-18T11:09:00.001-06:00

This is what April asked me during her bath last night. I said, "No, I don't know any Aliens, so I don't know what language they speak." But I'm starting to reconsider whether I really do know some Aliens. Or at the least, I think my younger children have been overrun by Aliens. Well, more appropriately, by bugs. Stomach bugs, to be precise.

It all started Tuesday. I had a feeling an invasion was imminent when Stephen started having diarrhea. But the full blown attack didn't come until Thursday night, when Emily started retching her guts out. The standoff ended about midnight, when Emily successfully held down a 1/4 cup of water for an hour and finally fell asleep.

But the Bugs seemed to have just begun. I think they're baby Bugs, because they only are interested in Emily and Stephen. They tried to get me on Friday and Saturday, but I think it's because I'm the one fighting against them. Dan and April have been safe from the invasion, but we're being extra cautious around here. Saturday morning, Stephen had a retching battle with the Bugs, and this morning Emily had a huge retching battle with them.

I don't know when this invasion will end! I've been running my dishwasher on sanitize mode for three days straight, I cleaned all bedding I could find yesterday, and I've been cleaning clothes right and left all week. But I am determined to win! I refuse to let the Bugs triumph!

(I'm gonna take a nap now to conserve my energy for the next wave of attacks.)

Birthday Girls

2007-02-13T16:46:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to me! And Happy Birthday to Emily!

We both celebrated fun birthdays these past couple months. Emily's celebration was much more flamboyant, but mine was yummier! :)

Emily had several friends and cousins over for a big birthday party/play date. We put together our play fort and hit birthday balloons all around the house. Early on the kids tried to play Chase the Cat, but fortunately the cat was able to slip into the backyard before the game really got going.
Emily had a dinosaur birthday cake, and got lots of great presents from everyone. She is really enjoying being three years old now. I think she feels more grown up, not being in diapers like her little brother, and being able to play with bigger girl toys like her sister does. Emily loves reading and singing, and she loves playing with teddy bears and dolls.

Emily can draw an actual person now when she colors, instead of just scribbles. You know those amoeba-type drawings, where the person's body is a big circle with a huge smiley face right in the middle, and there are several sticks protruding from the circle at various locations, representing arms, legs, and hair.

As I said earlier, my birthday celebration was yummier than Emily's, because Dan treated me to a delicious dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House. I had a veal cutlet with a red berry wine demi-glace and creme brulee. OH MY GOSH! That is now my favorite dish in the entire world!!

How many Jean Voglers??

2007-01-23T10:35:00.000-06:00

How many Jean Voglers are in the United States?? I was actually able to find out at HowManyOfMe.com

HowManyOfMe.com

There are:

people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

I'm a pretty rare commodity!

Dan Vogler is even more rare-- only 2 people! However, there are 20 Daniel Voglers. There are also 3 April Voglers, 4 Emily Voglers, and 11 Stephen Voglers. But our cat is the most unique! There are no other Daphne Voglers in the entire country :)

2006 Family Christmas Letter

2006-12-19T08:14:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone, and welcome to our annual year-in-review! What an exciting year we've had! We have been very blessed to see lots of family this year, and have some new adventures.

In March, after being at Computer Nerdz for 4 years, Dan decided to go out on his own and started his own computer repair business as "Dan the Computer Man." He had been contemplating this move for a couple of years, but was hesitant to actually make the jump. However he received a firm, but loving, swift kick in the butt from Heavenly Father in February, and faithfully he chose to flap his wings and fly. And fly he has!! The work has been getting fairly steady, and Dan was fortunate to have some good, faithful clients during his time at Nerdz. Working with this client base, he has slowly but steadily built his business. We are so ever thankful to Heavenly Father for truly giving us our "daily bread" by constantly watching over us and providing for our needs through Dan's work.

In June, Dan's grandmother came to visit for her 85th birthday, along with Dan's mother and sister Sarah. She had an absolutely wonderful time playing with 6 of her great-grandchildren, and everyone threw her a surprise birthday party.

Dan's parents and sister came back in July for their annual summer visit.

In June Jean got to take the kids to Colorado and see her sister Alison and her family, whom she hadn't seen for 3 years.

They also saw her mom and cousin Heidi, who all live in the same neighborhoods. Dan joined them later in the trip, and we attended our nephew Nathan's baptism.

We took a whole day to drive into the foothills, and saw some breathtaking views and beautiful landscapes.

In August, we drove 5 hours north to Denton, TX and met up with Jean's aunts Susan & Gwen Herker, who were on their way back from vacation in Arkansas. We spent the weekend in a little motel, swimming, playing with the kids, and sharing stories.

Before we returned home, we took a 30 minute drive east to see Jean's uncle Dennis and his wife Mipette in McKinney. Her grandfather also lives with them, and it was the first time he got to see his great-grandchildren.

In September Jean's dad and stepmom came to San Antonio for a week. They enjoyed the sightseeing and various activities around town-- the Alamo, the golf courses, the Riverwalk, the golf courses... Did I mention her dad likes to golf?

The kids loved having their grandparents here. Grampa and Stephen always sat together at dinner and became good buddies. The kids introduced their grandparents to some of their favorite things, including Veggie Tales and Junie B. Jones.

In November we went back to McKinney for Thanksgiving. We ate LOTS and LOTS of food the entire week, and took the kids to the playground very often.

Mipette LOVED playing with Stephen. She even offered to have us back for Christmas, on condition that Stephen got to stay at her house until we came back in December. We graciously declined :)

In July we started working with the 8-9 year old Cub Scouts at church. We're not sure we know what we're doing, but as one of our leaders recently told us, "None of the parents are complaining, so you must be doing a terrific job!"

In October Dan's car got smashed, which meant he had to start using the family van for work, and Jean was without transportation. Heavenly Father has graciously blessed us with enough work since then (and a good insurance payment) to afford another car. However, Dan can't find enough time to actually go car shopping. (Well we're definitely not going to complain if his work schedule is staying full!!) So as of this point, we are still a one-car family. But Jean is managing well without wheels. Our church is a 15-minute walk from our house, so most Tuesday mornings she loads the little ones into our double stroller and walks to the church for a weekly craft group. Jean also joined a local crafters charity group this year. She crochets hats and sews little blankets for newborn babies, and collects various baby supplies. Most of it gets donated to local hospitals.

We took April on a special "date" in November to see the Nutcracker Ballet downtown. She was so excited during the show, especially when the Christmas tree onstage grew taller and taller, and when the Mouse King jumped out and started duelling the Nutcracker.

Jean had the opportunity to learn how to sing in French this Christmas season. She was asked to sing O Holy Night at a church dinner, and when her friend found some music for her, it had French lyrics as well as English. She said, "What the heck! I've never known how to pronounce French, so why not learn now?" Her performance was a smash hit, and everyone was convinced she had majored in French (really she didn't have a clue about what she was saying!)

April was accepted into the gifted/talented program at school at the beginning of the school year. She is an excellent reader, and you can often find her curled up in a chair reading Junie B. Jones or Magic Tree House books.

Emily and Stephen are good buddies here at home, most of the time anyway. They like riding their bikes together in the driveway and around the outside of the house. The go exploring in the backyard, and play on the seesaw often. Of course, all of the kids love playing with their Daddy the best. He is by far the best jungle gym we ever invested in :)

We love each and every one of you!! We hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a fabulous New Year.

With love, The Vogler Family
Dan, Jean, April, Emily & Stephen

States I've visited

2006-11-08T14:47:00.000-06:00

I saw this fun map on my sister Alison's blog, and I thought I would do it, too. This is a map of every state I've visited (one or two are just from airport layovers, but I still count them :)

You can make your own map at Visited States.

Emily's First Haircut

2006-11-07T15:20:00.001-06:00

We gave Emily her first haircut yesterday. She first watched her daddy and brother get their haircuts. Then a little later she agreed to get hers, as long as Duck could sit with her. She was very proud and felt like a big girl to have her hair look just like her big sister's.

Halloween pics

2006-11-07T11:59:00.000-06:00

Halloween was a little contentious this year-- primarily because our little ones didn't like their costumes. Emily has a sheep hat that she LOVES to wear around the house.

However, when it was time to put on the hat for trick-or-treating, Emily absolutely refused. April suggested she be a mommy, so she carried her baby doll around.
Meanwhile, I had made myself a big apron so I could be Little Bo Peep.

But I had to find another sheep.

We borrowed a bumblebee outfit for Stephen. He HATED it! He made sure we all felt his sting.
And April wore her big princess dress again. I'm sure she'll still be using it for several years to come :)

In the end, we got at least 10 lbs. of candy from trick-or-treating around our neighborhood, so it was a successful night after all.

Go Vote!!!

2006-11-07T11:57:00.000-06:00

Here is a friendly reminder for you today...
As a citizen of this great nation, remember to uphold your patriotic duty and GO VOTE!!!!

Letters from the past

2006-10-15T21:49:00.000-05:00

Tonight Dan and I rummaged through some boxes in the garage and found all the letters we wrote to each other during his mission 10 years ago. Wow! Has it been that long already? It was so fun to read about long lost friends and fun adventures we have since forgotten about. It is also wonderful to feel all the love and support we shared with each other through these letters. Life gets so crazy sometimes, especially when you're part of a young family — trying to make ends meet, working diligently with your toddler at potty training, maintaining some order in the house amidst the chaos, and in general keeping your sanity. These letters are a beautiful way to remember how the whole crazy, beautiful, wacky, fluttery, romantic story started.

Completely Magic Bubblebath

2006-10-10T19:54:00.000-05:00

Tonight the kids took a bath in our bathroom, since their bathtub faucet isn't working too well. They were really excited about the new location, and started playing with all the new bottles and soaps. After they were all washed, they upended Dan's bottle of shampoo into the water, getting tons of water in the bottle and filling the bathtub with lots of suds. I went in to check on them, and said, "Wow! So I guess you wanted a bubble bath, huh?" "No!" said April. "We didn't want a bubble bath. Somehow we just got them." We had a good laugh over that.

Hide 'N Seek Naptime

2006-10-10T15:04:00.000-05:00

I just found where Emily decided to take her nap today-- under my bed! She crawled under there to find our cat, and I guess she thought it was comfy enough for a nap.

Coupon Queen

2006-10-06T11:29:00.000-05:00

Today I am a self-proclaimed Coupon Queen. I just finished grocery shopping this morning, and I saved over $18 with coupons! It was completely amazing! I had printed several coupons from Inbox Dollars before I left this morning. Then when I got to the store, I found more in-store coupons hanging all over the place.
I needed some new eyeliner and mascara, and there on the shelf was a $2 coupon for all Revlon makeup. So I got one for each item and saved $4! Our store always has a "Meal Deal" going on-- you buy one or two items and get 3-5 items free, which usually makes a nice meal altogether. I bought fish sticks and a cole slaw kit, and I got free tartar sauce, mac & cheese, a large loaf of garlic bread, and a bottle of soda. That's $5 in free food, and we can use all if it for lots of lunches and dinners. I needed to get some sandwich baggies, and I had several $.50 coupons for a new store brand of plastic bags. I took two coupons with me, and found that the new brand of zipper sandwich baggies were the same price as regular fold-over baggies. So using the coupons, I saved $1 on better zipper baggies.
I have to say, this is definitely not the norm for me. Usually generic brand is cheaper to buy, compared to name brand WITH a coupon. And I also got some specialty things I normally wouldn't get if I didn't have a coupon. Regardless, I am really proud of myself. I rock!
(If you want to sign up at Inbox Dollars, be sure to tell them I referred you, and use my Hippy Hippo email address.)

Latest read — The Gingerbread Cowboy

2006-10-05T19:14:00.000-05:00

My librarian recently recommended this book for my kids, and it is our new favorite bedtime story. A new take on the classic story of the Gingerbread Man, this book by Janet Squires is romping good fun!
The Gingerbread Cowboy tells the story of a rancher's wife who decides to forgo her traditional biscuit-making one morning, and makes a gingerbread cowboy instead. When they open the oven...well, you know what comes next. The illustrations by Holly Berry are warm and colorful, with coyotes, javelinas (pronounced havelinas), and beautiful colors of the Southwest.
This book has been such a hit at our house, that we decided to make some gingerbread cowboys of our own this afternoon. The girls had a great time mixing and stirring and decorating.

You can purchase The Gingerbread Cowboy at Amazon.com.

Here is a recipe for making your own gingerbread cowboy!

1/4 cup shortening or butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup water
3 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinammon

Mix sugar and shortening. Add molasses and water. Sift all dry ingredients together and add to moist mixture. The dough will be very crumbly, but will stick together well as you shape it. Roll dough 1/4" thick and cut with cookie cutter. Carefully transfer to ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Ice when cool.

Gold Canyon October Promotion

2006-09-30T16:46:00.000-05:00

It’s a Pumpkin Pie promotion! Gold Canyon’s popular Pumpkin Pie is a fall favorite and now you can get it at a discount or even FREE in new Bella!

Customers will receive up to 60% off Pumpkin Pie in Heritage and Bella or the cute 10 oz. Pumpkin Pie (page 19 in the Traditions, A Holiday Welcome 2006 catalog). Hosts can be the first to earn the new custom designed Bella FREE! Leave me a comment to receive a catalog or learn more about the promotion details.

Hosts – don’t forget these October promotion benefits are in ADDITION to the regular Host Rewards you’ll already receive when you host a Party!

Simply leave a comment to this post if you would like to attend a Party, host a Party, place an order, or if you would like more information on becoming a Gold Canyon Demonstrator. Catalog parties are available for ANYONE who lives outside my area (meaning the entire 48 contiguous states AND Canada)!

Latest Read: Letters - Marjorie Pay Hinckley

2006-09-28T15:27:00.000-05:00

I do read quite a bit (mostly in bed at night when I can't sleep, which is quite often.) I decided this would be a good place to keep a log of everything I've read, and provide a little book review for anyone who cares. AND, if you're REALLY interested in reading the book yourself, I'm even providing a link to where you can purchase the book.

My latest read is a publications of letters written by Marjorie Pay Hinckley, wife of Gordon B. Hinckley, current president of the LDS Church. Sister Hinckley passed away in April 2004, and soon after her children decided to publish some of her letters in this book.
It's a wonderful life composition, showing a woman at all stages of life: as a young wife and mother, as a daughter, as a grandmother, as the wife and companion of a frequent-traveling General Authority of the LDS church. Sister Hinckley has a funny sense of humor and lots of wit that shows through her descriptions of everyday life as well as exciting adventures during her world travels.

Favorite Quote

Sister Hinckley describes the groundbreaking ceremony for a new building at Brigham Young University (referred to as the "Y".) Her way of playing down such an shocking affair had me rolling out of my chair in laughter!

November 8, 1980
Yesterday Dad was the speaker at the groundbreaking for the Eldon Tanner building at the Y... It was quite an elaborate affair with a special erected platform, sound system, and flowers for the ladies. Instead of the usual shovel-turning ceremonies or tractor digging, the first dirt was removed with a "small" stick of dynamite. It turned out to be much more than the slight thud they had expected. Rocks flew through the air, one hitting a young woman about 10 feet from me, and she fell to the ground as if dead. For a few paralyzing moments everyone just stood until it was determined that it was not as serious as had been feared. The ambulance came and took her away, put her arm in a sling, and she turned up in the president's box at the football game a few hours later.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Such an extraordinary woman with such simple, straightforward things to say about life.

You can purchase this book at Deseret Book.

Vitamin B-- my new best friend

2006-09-27T15:34:00.000-05:00

This summer has been a difficult one for me, mainly because of my dumpy mood and lethargy. I stopped doing lots of stuff I should, and even some things I wanted to do.
But, that is starting to change, thanks to my new best friend-- a little bottle of Vitamin B complex tablets. Who knew something so small could make you feel so much better. Every day I feel better, for a LONGER period of time.
Now I look around at the house, at all the messes staring at me, and since my energy is starting to feel decent again, I don't run and cringe in a corner. I'm not tackling everything at once, but I'm not hiding from the work anymore.
Dan also suggested I take iron supplements. I know I'm not aenemic, since my iron count is always good when I donate blood. But a little more wouldn't hurt, so I just ordered a really good multivitamin from Puritan's Pride. It's got all the B's, iron, C (to improve iron absorption), all the other letters and some extras.
I hope this is the start of good things to come (sure feels like it!)
Jean

Crash & Burn!

2006-09-26T21:57:00.000-05:00

Well, not really.....

(Our car is the one on the right)

We just got this car barely a month ago. We got it to replace the Tercel (finally!), but as of tonight it looks like it's totaled. It was a cheap, beater car, but we didn't mean we WANTED it beat up!

Dan was on his way to a meeting tonight when a lady pulled out from a side road, and smashed right into him. Everyone seems to be OK. At first the lady was so shaken up she wouldn't get out of her car. When the police arrived, they helped her out and had the EMT make sure she was OK. Dan has a sore shoulder from where the seatbelt and airbag restrained him. He has a scratch on his forehead from his glasses, and I joked with him that he looks like an adult Harry Potter.

I couldn't believe it, but we were able to drive the car home (3-4 blocks) and tomorrow we'll start making all the phone calls to insurance. We're back down to one car again (but that doesn't hurt us much. Emily's potty training, so we don't go far from home much anyway.)

We thank our Heavenly Father everyone was safe with minimal injuries!!

Jean

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home!

2006-09-26T17:12:00.000-05:00

This is the typical scene at our front door when Dan comes home from work. Tonight, Stephen was very fortunate to get to Dan's arms before his sisters, but the girls squeezed there way in right at the last second, and it became a huge group hug.
Normally, Dan will take the kids right into the living room and take turns swinging them around. But he just donated blood this morning, so the "homecoming festivities" ended early tonight.

Explosion Day!

2006-09-22T00:07:00.000-05:00

Today was going along so well until 3:15pm, when the whole house seemed to explode right out from under my feet in less that 10 minutes.When April came home from school, I got granola bars out for all the kids, and sat them all down at the table to keep the mess localized. April said she needed to go to the bathroom first, but she stayed and started eating. She eventually made her way to my bathroom since there was no TP in hers (she still hasn't figured out that we store it under her sink.)

While she was gone, the phone rang. After a minute on the phone, April started making funny noises at the other end of the house, and my parents (who were visiting) couldn't figure out whether she was laughing or crying, or just talking to herself. So I asked the person on the phone to please hold, went to my bathroom, and Oh my goodness! She had had an accident, and it was everywhere!

I quickly hung up with my caller, went to the kitchen to get a plastic sack, and put April's messy clothes in it. As I stripped her down, the phone started ringing again. Oh well, too bad for them! I thought, as I cleaned April up a little, then put her right in my shower. Next I searched around the house for my Lysol wipes (I LOVE those things!), did a quick clean up in my bathroom, got April out of the shower, and picked up my bathroom rug to put in the washing machine.

As I turned around to leave the bathroom, I noticed that Emily and Stephen had at some point in time migrated into my bedroom- WITH their granola bars- and were sitting on my bed playing with the cat. As I made my way back through the house with the dirty rug, I found granola bits everywhere- the living room, the kitchen, the hallway, and all over my bed and the bedroom floor. I rolled my eyes at my stupidity. Why did I ever believe the kids could actually eat granola bars in a tidy manner?

After the rug was in the wash, I took the bag of messy clothes and went to the hall bathroom to wash them out, since my supply of latex gloves are in there (a great necessity for all moms of diaper-age and potty-training-age kids!) I put on the gloves, lifted the lid of the toilet- and found the hinges of the seat had broken. I couldn't get the seat to stay up for more than a second, so I just tore the whole darn thing off and threw it into the tub. Stupid plastic! The next seat will have metal hinges, to be sure.

When the clothes were rinsed out and sent off to laundry land, I went around the LR and hallway, picking up stray nubs of granola. Then I got out the vacuum, shooed the kids out of my room, and closed the door- much to Stephen's dismay. (I'm not sure which was more upsetting for him- the vacuum coming out of hiding, or me behind a closed door.) Unfortunately for the cat, I forgot to shoo her out of the room, so she was darting around under the bed, staying as far away from the vacuum as she could.

10 minutes after the initial eruption, the rug and clothes in the laundry, both bathrooms cleaned up, my oldest bathed and dressed, my youngest calm after his screaming fit, the floors swept and vacuumed, and the vacuum put away, I plopped down in a chair next to my dad and gave a huge sigh. My parents stared at me for a moment, then said, "Everything alright now?" "I sure hope so!" I said.

First Day of School

2006-08-14T12:32:00.000-05:00

Today is April's first day of school. Yes, school starts really early here in South Texas, but hopefully the state legislature has fixed that problem for good. Starting next year, school shouldn't start before August 28th, and there will be NO exceptions. Good for the kids, but now I'm wondering what to do with two more weeks of summer vacation.
April was SO SO excited to start school today. Her bus comes to the corner at 7:08am, and she was pacing the living room at 6:40am, "Is it time to go yet? We're going to be late!" We're still trying to teach her how to tell time. Last year I took a picture of the clock at 7:00 and taped it to the wall with a message, "Time to go to the bus stop." So she knows if the clock looks like the picture, it's time to leave. But today she was just too anxious.
April laid all her clothes out in a line on her bedroom floor last night. It was so funny. I asked her, "Are you going to lay down and wiggle into your clothes?" She put her new rainbow alarm clock on the shelf by her bed and turned it on. There was so much excitement in the air, it felt like Christmas Eve.

Especially for Kumiko-- Johnson-Jimenez wedding reception

2006-05-24T20:57:00.000-05:00

OK, Kumiko, here are all the pictures of the Johnson-Jimenez wedding reception, just for you! (For everyone else, this bride is NOT the bride I talked about in my last post (although this one is just as sweet and wonderful!) I have another wedding reception I'm going to on Saturday, and THAT is the bride I mentioned before. Aahhh, gotta love summer weddings! :)

Eli Jimenez and Elizabeth Johnson-Jimenez

The happy couple

Ben and Melanie Johnson-- parents of the bride

Maria Johnson

Gideon and Sadie-Belle Johnson

Jasmin Johnson

Mercedes Johnson

The get-away car-- covered in Oreo cookies and filled with balloons

Mr & Mrs Johnson with Mr & Mrs Jimenez

L'amour!!!!

Congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple!

Advice for the new bride

2006-05-03T17:11:00.000-05:00

I'm going to a bridal shower tonight, and I know they will ask everyone to write down one piece of advice for the bride-to-be.
I've been thinking about this a lot this afternoon, and what I've thought about has brought tears to my eyes. The truth Heavenly Father has taught me about marriage and His plan for families has enriched my life so much. The happiness I've found through His plan is beyond description. It supports me through the heartbreaking moments, calms me during the hot rushes of anger, gives me energy for just one more step when I'm dead tired on my feet.
What will I tell this new bride? She's really young, barely 19, but a faithful, virtuous young woman who is putting her trust in God's love and in His plan for her life as a wife and, someday, as a mother. She has a wonderful, strong, supportive fiance with good common sense, mature, loving. He's definitely Mr. Right for her.
Things seem to be so right for this sweet young woman, happening at the right time with the right person, for all the right reasons.
So what could I tell her?
8 years ago I was in her shoes-- getting married to my Mr. Right, everything in my life was perfect. But no one knows for sure what happens once your Happily Ever After comes. Someone once said that after Happy Ever After happens, True Love begins. I completely believe that. True Love that grows from the day-to-day grind of working 40+ hours a week, knowing that you're doing it because you love your family. True Love that grows from nursing all 3 kids through ear infections, strep throat, fevers and stomach bugs all at the same time. True Love that grows as your husband struggles through a layoff and unemployment. True Love that comes out of betrayal, repentance and forgiveness.
What will I tell her?
Marriages that are started and built on God's foundation of faith in and obedience to Him can be SO powerful. I wish more women realized that. I think I'll tell her that.
I've learned that spouses need to be fiercely devoted to one another, no matter what happens. I think this principle would change so many marriages and families. Not to excuse, ignore, or defend your husband's faults and mistakes, but to love and encourage him DESPITE those stumblings. To encourage him to be his best. To be his cheerleader. Yeah, I think I'll tell her that, too.
I'm really excited for her. It's almost like me getting to relive everything 8 years ago. The butterflies in the tummy, the dreamy looks into his eyes, the giddy shrieks when you're by yourself. Yeah, I'm totally reliving it all. And what a blessing to remember all those great moments today, as I scrub down the kitchen, mediate in my children's arguments with each other, try AGAIN to teach my 2 year old about colors (No, honey, the banana is YELLOW, not blue), and the age-old question of What can I make for dinner? (Well, since I scrubbed out the fridge, I have a better idea now of what's in there :) Remembering those exquisitely happy moments that started this whole life helps me feel better about the things I do today, and the reasons I do them.
How could I ever convey all of this to this new bride-to-be? The answer is simple. I can't. So much of this life is meant to be learned as we go, holding God's hand through it all. That makes everything more precious, and worth every step.

Springtime in San Antonio

2006-03-30T22:20:00.000-06:00

Boy, it's been awhile since my last post, and a lot of stuff has happened over the past 6 weeks. First, April lost another tooth this week, making it her third, and the first one on top. Her remaining front tooth on top is also very loose, so she looks like a little snaggle tooth when she smiles.
(BTW, I'm trying to load some pictures onto this post, but it isn't working so far. I may have to put them up later :)
Stephen is 9 months old now. He is at least 18 lbs, probably more, fits 12 month clothing, stands up while holding onto furniture, crawls ALL OVER the place, still chews on EVERYTHING, and is screwing up his courage to start walking around the furniture a little. He's pretty happy most of the time and enjoys exploring. He adores his big sisters and turns his head and smiles when he hears them coming at him. Sometimes I notice him crawling after the girls while they're playing, and sometimes they will play along, squealing "Ahh! He's coming! Quick, hide!", slam their bedroom door, giggle a whole bunch, then open the door to peek at Stephen, giggle and slam it again, all while he's crawling as fast as he can to their room. We let them play this game until someone starts to cry. Then they have to find a new game.
Dan and I made the big step we were considering during Christmas. Dan has started his own computer repair business. The business is called "Dan the Computer Man" and the tag line on his business card is "Dan is your man!" He's been running his own show for just over 3 weeks now, and so far we're doing great! We had a good first month, and hopefully it will continue. Dan has lots of customer contacts from his job with Computer Nerdz, and he's already gotten a few referrals from those contacts as well.

Woohoo! I finally got a picture uploaded! Here's a picture of April yesterday (3/29) with her snaggle tooth smile.

I have to share my progress in keeping my new year's resolutions, namely #1 and #2. The first was to exercise 3 times a week. Well, I was really good for about 4 weeks. Yes, I actually went walking and jogging for 4 weeks straight! Yay Jean! But I've done even better progress with #2, which was fit into my skinny pants by Stephen's birthday in June. BTW, I'm not writing this to boast and brag and say Ha Ha! to everyone reading this. I feel very victorious about this accomplishment, and want to share the joy. At Christmas I was fitting into size 14-16 pants. After 4 solid weeks of exercising, and completely restructuring what and HOW I eat, I am now a size 8!!! WOOHOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!! For all you men reading this, the equivalent would be going from 34/30 pants to 30/30 pants (which are my actual sizes I've been wearing.) I've been wearing men's jeans for several years now, but just very recently discovered "stretch" denim. So now I'm buying all new women's stretch jeans. Boy, they feel good :) Dan bought me a really cute pair of pajamas for Christmas, something I had picked out of a catalog. He bought the medium size, and it turns out they were too tight. We were both a little disappointed. Dan asked if I wanted to exchange them, and I said No, I wanted to lose the weight so I could fit them. I should be wearing a medium anyway. That's what I always wore before the last 2 kids. Last night I put on the pj's, and the pants were loose! Woohoohoooo!!! I don't know how many pounds I've actually lost, since I don't own a scale (and don't really care :) The important thing is I'm in the same clothing size as the day I got married!!!!!

OK, I'll shut up now :P

Jean

Happy Birthday Emily!

2006-02-06T22:26:00.000-06:00

Today Emily turned 2 years old. We did our normal Monday things together-- grocery shopping, laundry, etc. I let her watch a couple of her favorite cartoon videos, and she got to go to the bus stop when April came home from school-- one of her very favorite things to do. In the afternoon, the girls and I made chocolate cupcakes for Emily's birthday. Emily got to help stir the batter while April put the ingredients in the bowl.
I made a mac & cheese taco dish that is a hit with almost everyone in our family. I say "almost" because Emily has become a very picky eater lately. She did eat about a dozen noodles from her plate, but refused anymore than that. Whenever I insist she eat her dinner, she will shake her head, hold up her hands in front of her and say, "Um-mmm! Can't, can't!" Hmmm, I wonder whom she got that from (I have my suspicions!)
After dinner tonight we opened up our game table, which is an endtable with a storage space we keep all our games in. Emily pulled out Candy Land and some Go Fish cards. Emily doesn't know the rules for Candy Land, but she loves to make the gingerbread men zoom along the rainbow paths, back and forth. The cards get thrown around while she shrieks with laughter. We are fortunate to have two packs of Go Fish cards. April likes to play this game with us. Emily also likes to join in, but she always hogs the cards from the "pond" and the rest of us can never finish the game. So we give Emily her own set of fish cards and play a game with the second set.
Dessert was the chocolate cupcakes, with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles. We had to light the candles twice, because Emily blew them out before I could take a picture or we could sing Happy Birthday. Emily got lots of fun toys and had fun playing with everything. April had a lot of fun with them, too!
Thank you to everyone who sent birthday presents, cards and email cards, and phone calls.

2006-01-15T23:24:00.000-06:00

I was inspired by my sister's blog to post my new year resolutions, some of which I mentioned in my earlier blog tonight. And No! I didn't just copy Alison's resolutions. I made these myself, independently. It's just a coincidence that some are the same! (We ARE related, you know :)
(Alison's blog: www.allmysunbeams.blogspot.com)

2006 New Year's Resolutions--
1. Exercise at least 3 days a week
2. Fit into my skinny pants by Stephen's first birthday, 6/23/06
3. Make a quilt for my bed
4. Make a donation to LDS Humanitarian Services by end of the year
5. Grocery budget-- $300 per month
6. Read the Book of Mormon, and all General Conference talks
7. 100% VT!!!!
8. My savings account balance will INCREASE every month (not the other way!)

2006-01-15T23:03:00.000-06:00

Tonight I'm up with Stephen, while everyone else has gone to bed. We've had lots of illness running through our home the past week or so, and this weekend has been my turn. It's my annual Mountain Cedar fight, and I hope I'm winning. Mountain Cedar blooms here just after New Year's, and I never get sick until the pollen levels start dropping off. It's like my pollen filters reach maximum capacity at that point, and I start to get sick while everyone else is getting better.
Mountain Cedar is nasty stuff for me, and if I do get sick with it, I usually get bronchitis and sinus infections. This weekend I've kept myself drugged up with antihistamines, ibuprofen, and an albuterol inhaler. I'm fighting it off pretty well, but I'm also spending lots of time in bed.
Anyway, since I've had an abundance of rest today, I'm fairly awake right now, even though it's about 10:30pm. Stephen had a really late, looong nap, so he's wide awake too. He is getting more adorable every day. Today he and I came up with a new game. I scrunch up my face really tight and shut my eyes. Then I open my eyes really fast and stick out my tongue- Blah! He laughs and laughs. We had a blast playing it this afternoon until he fell over and bonked his head on the floor.
Stephen is babbling a whole lot more now, and yesterday I caught him up on his hands and knees, rocking. Yep, crawling is just around the corner. Stephen can scoot a teeny bit on his tummy (more like drag himself) if he is determined enough to get somewhere, or to something. He loves to chew, chew, chew! Neither of the girls liked to chew like he does. Yes, I'm sure he's teething, but I expect he will take after his sisters and be a late teether at around 9-10 months. He is 6 1/2 months old now, so he's in a big "blooming" stage right now.
I finally organized my part of the playroom, with my abundance of craft supplies and my new sewing machine (my birthday present!) I've got 4 shelves full of plastic and cardboard boxes, filled with all sorts of sewing and craft supplies, patterns, yarn and string galore, and a bunch of stuffing and batting for stuffed animals and quilts. I also have two large plastic bins full of fabric.
I have made a goal to make a quilt this year for my bed. I plan to make one large block every month, totaling 12 blocks, and then sew them all together. I already made my block for this month (finished right before I got sick, thank goodness.)I've been looking at my abundance of supplies, thinking "What in the world am I going to do with all this stuff?" I already threw out 3 boxes of stuff I didn't want, and I have another box overflowing of stuff I'm going to try and sell on eBay. I decided to start redoing my wardrobe and make myself some new clothes, and make a few things for the kids. But then what? I can only wear so many different outfits. Then I thought of my church's humanitarian aid center, and decided to start making items to donate. My plan is to crochet hats, sew some simple children's dresses and pants, and make some mittens with leftover fleece I have from making the girls coats. I figured I have SO MUCH stuff! Why not start using it for a good cause?
Oh yes, and I have to mention a funny story. I have never personally seen a grown man crochet, although I've heard of a few males who know how to. Yesterday Dan asked me for a crochet hook. He was going to tray and fix a few stray threads in his sweater. He got out the biggest hook in my collection, and was immediately frustrated because it didn't fit the stitches in the sweater, and he didn't know how to fix the snags anyway. I pulled out a smaller hook and showed him how to pull the stray threads into the weave, hiding them inside other stitches so they wouldn't keep fraying. He was completely amazed, and all I could think was "Thanks for that little tip, Mom!" Such simple wisdom, passed from one family and one generation to the next.
Well, now it's about 11pm. Stephen is in his walker, still going strong. I think I'll take another rest on the couch while I watch him drool everywhere.
If you're interested in learning more about the LDS church's Humanitarian Services, go to www.providentliving.org, click on the link Caring For Others. On the next screen, click on Humanitarian Services.
Goodnight all!

2005 Family Christmas Letter

2005-12-21T20:50:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to everyone! I decided to do our family letter on the blog this year, since I can include more pictures. 2005 has been a big year for us.

Emily and the remains of her birthday cupcake

In February, Emily celebrated her first birthday. She got her traditional first taste of Sprite, and that was the day we discovered her fascination with books-- just like her big sister.

Reading with Daddy

Since then, Emily is always found throughout the day sitting in the middle of a pile of books, turning pages and talking about the pictures. At church the nursery leaders learned the best trick to calm Emily down when Mom and Dad drop her off-- they immediately offer her books. Sometimes I will peek in and watch her looking at books while all the other kids are playing with toys or playing a game with the teachers.

Stephen, 1 day old

We eagerly, and nervously, anticipated the birth of our third child this year. Stephen Daniel Vogler was born on June 23, 2005, which just happened to be our 7th wedding anniversary. We had planned on doing a c-section on June 24th, but Stephen decided the 23rd was too special of a day to pass up. He is 16 months younger than Emily, which is a closer gap than we planned on, but God knows what He is doing, and our family is really enjoying this new addition to our family.

Playing on the floor (3 mos. old)

Stephen has been blessed with a large mop of hair, and had his first haircut in September when he was 3 months old! Stephen is doing all the normal little baby things-- rolling over, smiling, grabbing and chewing EVERYTHING, and right now he learning how to sit up by himself.

Blowing out the candles (yes, there are 5 of them!)

April turned 5 this year and had a special Strawberry Shortcake "girls only" birthday party. She is an amazing girl, very smart and very perceptive. She started reading on her own this summer, right before starting Kindergarten in August. She often likes to write "stories", and will come up and ask me how to spell lots of different words. April lost her first baby tooth in July, and just a few weeks ago the new big tooth started to show in the gap. Now she has two more loose teeth and can't wait for them to come out as well. April is having a wonderful time going to Kindergarten. She talks all the time about her friends in class, and the fun "centers" they have in her classroom.

Thanksgiving school craft projects

April is very excited for Santa to come this year. A week ago she and her best friend were sitting in the back of the car while we ran errands, and they were talking about other friends who do and do not believe in Santa. One girl they discussed was not a believer, and they were very concerned about this. "I wonder why she doesn't believe in Santa? Maybe they don't have Santa in the state she used to live in."

Hello, Handsome!

Dan is enjoying working at Computer Nerdz, as always. The past several months he has talked a lot about starting his own computer repair business, and has been putting a lot of thought into it. We plan to examine our finances next summer, and decide if we are ready to begin our own business.

Dressed up for a Christmas party

Jean went on her own little adventure this fall, and studied for the state life insurance exam. She passed with flying colors and became a life insurance agent with Primerica. She chose to primarily be a referral agent for now, since that is the best way for her to keep a business going while staying at home with two babies. She works with her brother-in-law, Robert (who was her recruiter) to make appointments with clients, and then tags along on the appointments. As she gets more training, she will start doing some of the presentation and consulting herself. Jean is still with Gold Canyon Candles, and still in love with them.

Playing on Gramma Sue's trampoline

We enjoyed seeing several family members this year. In February we went to San Diego for a week to visit Dan's parents. Dan and Jean got to have a weekend to themselves at a beach resort while the girls spent time with their grandparents and aunt Sarah. It was a very fun vacation for all of us. In May we were extremely blessed with an offer to purchase a minivan from some friends. It was something we had been planning and praying for, and the Lord opened the windows of heaven for us. We were so lucky to get an extremely affordable offer for a vehicle in excellent condition. A couple weeks after we got the van, Dan's sister Julie came down from Oklahoma City, and we gave her our Chevy Cavalier.

Having a tea party with Gramma Mary

In June Jean's mom came to help the family when Stephen was born. But her trip was cut short when Jean's grandmother, who was in poor health in a nursing home, passed away. In July Dan's mom and sister Sarah came to visit for a couple weeks. April and Emily had a great time playing with their grammas.
The Lord has blessed us so much this year, in so many different ways. We pray that the Lord will also smile down on each of you this Christmas season, and bless you with his grace and love.
We love you all!
The Voglers

Emily flying

2005-11-19T21:00:00.001-06:00

2005-11-19T21:00:00.000-06:00

April had a sleepover last night with her friend Samantha, who lives 3 houses down from us. They watched Swan Princess before going to bed, and kept saying "Ewww!" at every kissing scene. This morning I gave the girls our small camera, and they had fun taking silly pictures of themselves.
In the afternoon, another neighbor girl, Emmi, was home, so the three of them played in the front yard, throwing leaves all over each other, and playing hide and seek inside.

Emily likes playing with April and her friends. Whenever someone comes to play with April, Emily sees herself naturally included in the group. Usually April is very compliant with this, and Emily is oblivious to any teasing or laughing directed at her. Sometimes April will play at her friends' houses instead, and Emily will stand at the door watching the girls run down the street, wondering why she can't go too.
But Emily has her own little friends, too. She has a weekly playdate with her cousin Bryan, and I take her to storytime at the library every week, where she sees lots of her little friends from church.