Rasmussens in Review

Apple Crisp

2009-11-14T22:31:00.003-06:00

So, I was excited to try this new recipe I found for a project at work. It was called "Best Apple Crisp Ever" from allrecipes.com, but when I was about to make it I realized that it didn't call for oats or nutmeg. So, I went back to what we know and love from Betty Crocker. It's super easy and what's fall without it?

This is in a 4x6 format, just print it out.

2009-11-14T21:11:00.005-06:00

DAY 318

con·fu·sion
a. The act of confusing or the state of being confused

b. An instance of being confused

There appears to be some confusion with the weather lately. It's November and yet the children are scootering outside in short sleeved shirts, there is green grass everywhere, and some of my plants think it's spring (see below). Yet, there are barely any leaves left on the trees out there. We had spring rains in October, a short cold spell, and now when you'd expect it to be freezing it's been jacket weather at most, even for me. If this is global warming, I'm loving it (and hoping it sticks around).

In other news:

The children are venturing into uncharted territory. Last night Pokey was on the phone for almost an hour with a friend and she had several friends calling her. Are we already there? She's only eight. Little Man started making videos with his camera today. I think he made 7. Some of them were pretty funny. I'll have to download the lego one he set to music. They are both having some serious attitude too. Pokey does this head swinging thing with her mouth all funny when she's being sassy and Little Man is constantly correcting my vocabulary. He told me tonight I should have used the word skimming rather than browsing, when in fact I meant browsing... Seriously? I'm constantly reminding him that I am his mother and have more schooling and life experiences than him. Very disrespectful. I asked Haldan when this happened and what we did wrong. No answers. Still looking for the right solutions. Sigh. Parenting is so exhausting.

Project Life Launch

2009-11-14T15:14:00.005-06:00

Becky Higgins just released her 2010 Project 365 kit.

It is called "Project Life" and it is even cuter than the original P365 kit. Last year the kits that CK released sold out in just a couple hours and I missed out. Becky is no longer affiliated with CK and I have no idea how many kits are available, but don't wait to get this kit... The price is $40.

For those of you that wanted to do project 365, but didn't... this is a great way to start. It's supposed to be easier and more adaptable than the P365. I think it is worth trying. It's been hard, but will be so rewarding in the end.

Click on the above link or go to http://beckyhiggins.com/projectlife/ to find out more or watch her video.

Free book from Shutterfly

2009-11-14T14:30:00.006-06:00

Photo books are the best presents!
Now until November 16th you can score a free 7x9 photobook for FREE.
All you have to do is pay shipping, which is very low.
Use promo code MYBOOK click HERE for more information.

I made one of these last year as a year in review for 2008 and love it.

2009-11-13T21:54:00.004-06:00

DAY 317

"Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." -Theodore Roosevelt

After taking hundreds of pictures for a couple photo shoots today I realized that I had no photo for my own POTD. So, I improvised. I photographed the Brands today. Some of you may have heard of Tom and Terry Brands. They are wresting coaches at the University of Iowa. I went to high school with Michelle, Terry's wife. I spent a few hours this morning with their lovely families. The children were troopers and did a remarkable job.

2009-11-12T18:31:00.005-06:00

DAY 316

"Nothing is more beautiful than the loveliness of the woods before sunrise."
-George Washington Carver

I've been in a bit of a creative rut so to speak... I look around the landscape outside my windows and see barren, colorless trees and wonder what in the world I can portray as beautiful today. Another 49 days to go...

The children's student led parent teacher conferences went fine. It still bothers me that they are "student led", but for the most part everything was very predictable. Little Man is gifted intellectually in every subject and is currently in a special advanced reading program and a math league, but still struggles with behavioral issues. His teacher accepts him exactly as he is and embraces his quirks and intellect and allows him to do alternate work and projects that challenge him. My concern is that subsequent teachers may not be this tolerant or accepting of him. He was recently asked to be the 5 Live News anchor man at their school. They had to apply and be interviewed for the position and he is excited about his coveted position. Pokey is a social butterfly with very little desire for most things relating to academics. She's average in that department, which is fine by her. She is a wonderful speller and reader though and enjoys writing stories. I'm happy to announce that the neighborhood map that I helped her with a couple weeks ago received a perfect score. I think they are very unique children and I'm proud of their efforts.

2009-11-11T20:29:00.005-06:00

DAY 315

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.” -George S. Patton

That's what I'd like to call it. We were enjoying another unseasonably warm, sunny day here in Eastern Iowa today. I don't often spend time in the office in the afternoon with the bright sun that comes in the large picture window, but I have many projects brewing and I really needed my desktop. I was sorting through cds of pictures for one project and getting very frustrated with how difficult it was to see the photos. So, I concocted a plan. It was rather warm and I didn't want anything too thick, so I grabbed a pillow case. Perfect solution. (It was just large enough to cover me and the screen.) That is until Haldan got home from work early and surprised me. He grabbed the camera before I realized what he was doing... and that is how the POTD came to be.

On another note, Haldan and I had health assessments today. Cigna will discount insurance premiums for all Duane Arnold employees and spouses that get these done, so Haldan scheduled them. It was supposed to be a quick finger prick and an immediate print out of the results. Unfortunately there is no such thing as quick and painless for me. After milking two different fingers for some length of time and coming up with not enough blood another nurse was called in to prick yet another finger. Luckily the 3rd try was the charm, but tonight my fingers are bruised and a little sore. Luckily my results came back great. Haldan was a little jealous because his numbers were not as good, but he's gentically predisposed to high cholesterol. I told him it wasn't a race, but after reading through his results I'm a little concerned and he's more determined to get back into a fitness regimen.

Haldan and I spent the afternoon catching up on V (for "Visitors"). For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a spin off the original V from the 80s. House has been the only show that we both watch together and I really only do it because Haldan likes it. We're hoping that this might be another one that we can watch together. So far we both like it, but only 2 episodes in. It's on Tues nights on ABC if you want to DVR it.

In honor of Veteran's Day, I just want to thank all the veterans, both past and present that work hard to serve and protect this country. Today I am particularly thinking about families who have lost a loved one or have sent them into harms way to ensure our freedoms. My heart goes out to you. You, too, should be honored.

I also want to thank my husband who spent 6 years serving in the US Navy. As I wrote out those 17 memories the other day, I revisited some of those days in the military. It was definitely not the easiest road we could have taken; some memories good and others painful. I think it is great that communication is so much easier and more affordable these days for military families. I got 8 family grams/patrol and they had to be 50 words or less (including my name and his name). Many times by the time the message reached him it was completely different. We also didn't have cell phones yet and phone calls were about 10 cents/minute. If he did get to port he would call and we would have to keep them brief because of the expense. Some ran over $200, which was a lot of money on a military budget. Often times I wasn't home when he would port and was unreachable. So, emails and cell phones are a blessing in a time when so many loved ones have to be away from their families.

2009-11-10T22:15:00.004-06:00

DAY 314

"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." Albert Einstein

So, Little Man has expressed interest in playing the guitar. I decided it would be the perfect Christmas gift. I saw a great (50% off) packaged deal in a Target ad, but when we found it we realized it was a very large guitar and probably not suitable for a small 10 year old. It was then that we realized we knew nothing about acoustic guitars, so we stopped by Music Go Round today to ask some experts. We were right in our assumptions- size is important. A 3/4 size seems to be a perfect fit for him.

He's a funny little boy. He is so easily influenced. It seems every year with each new teacher comes a new habit. In 3rd grade he started walking with his hands behind his back because that's what his teacher did. For some reason this habit disturbed Haldan and it was only after school was out that the habit dissipated. 4th grade was especially grating to me - Little Man picked up a very obnoxious habit from his teacher. He mouthed words while we were talking to him, perhaps in anticipation of what we were going to say (not sure), but it's a habit that has been hard to kick and I still find him doing occasionally, even after an entire summer has passed. This year Little Man has a teacher that plays the guitar. He incorporates his music into teaching. They've learned cute little jingles to almost every different grammar rule. He's had a lot of fun learning them and being timed on his memorization of them... a fun way to learn. Needless to say, this is where his infatuation for the guitar comes from. Not such a bad thing, at least not yet. As I watched him hold that guitar today I realized that most of his teachers have been good influences in his life in one way or another. Children can be so impressionable. They soak up the quirky little habits, but also the good.

On another note, Pokey asked me the other day how she can become famous. I asked her why she would want that. After several days of thought she told me that she's not sure that being famous would be that great because she would always have to look good and people follow you and take your picture all the time. She's still been writing music lyrics and songs like a crazy person, but maybe more just for fun now. When she sings her songs they are mostly all one or two notes except for a really high one thrown in here or there. I'll have to try to capture it on video one of these days. Her Halloween song was hilarious. Her fashion sense has been exceptionally painful for me lately. I realize that she's only 8 and this is but the beginning of a long road of clashing taste in clothing. She's been in tears multiple days over clothing choices. Luckily Haldan was around yesterday before ice skating to help her find something a little warmer and not so loud. I'm trying really hard to let this battle go, but I still have my moments...

They are so full of personality- original, stubborn, bright, quirky, witty, funny, sensitive... and I am trying to allow them to be themselves while leading them in the right direction and oft times it seems they overlap and it's hard to know how to be the best parent I can be.

Yesterday we finally got the H1N1 vaccinations. It was after much deliberation on my part. I know there have been contradicting views and opinions. I have done my research and felt like as a parent it was the right thing for my kids. Little Man has started exhibiting his annual pre-asthma symptoms and I know that it can create complications should he get the virus. After carefully weighing the risks with and the risks without the shot I decided to do it. Pokey got the flu mist.

2009-11-09T20:41:00.009-06:00

DAY 313

“Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living..." Bruce Barton

So, it was time to change things up a bit. As a mother it seems I am always trying to think up new ways to make life easier and to make less conflict and more results. Ever since we added additional household responsibilites this summer there seems to be more and more whining. Several times now I've let dishes set for days or forced myself to tip toe around a dirty kitchen floor to allow the children the opportunity to complete the task. Many times though I've just given in and cleaned myself; I just couldn't take it. So, even though they don't get allowance for these "household duties" as we've called them, they do get an allowance for a few other things that involve their rooms and their own space. So, I told them that to be eligible for that allowance they had to complete their other household duties first. It worked for a while, but soon they started to slip and didn't much care. Frustration set in and that's when I saw this chalkboard at Target 75% off. They both seem to thrive on positive incentives, so I've devised a new plan. This is our 3rd week now and it seems to be going better.

They each have their own responsibilites every week (that alternate) and then there are those that are the same for both of them; hence the photo of both of them. I bought colored chalk thinking they could each have their own color, but the chalk doesn't show up on the board, so I decided to draw a line down the middle so they could each have their own space; Little Man to the left and Pokey to the right. It seems to be working. If they do any of the tasks they get to make a check and for every check they earn a ticket. (Very cheap at Wal-Mart.) Last week Little Man earned 13 tickets and Pokey earned 15 tickets. The children participated in making this list of incentives. They can cash them in at any time or keep them for the larger ticket items/activities. I'm not sure they can hold out that long, but the potential is there for them to be earning about 25+ tickets/week.

25 tickets

$1 store

redbox movie

game night with mom and dad

50 tickets

$5 toy

movie night at theater

ice cream

bike ride with mom or dad

75 tickets

restaurant of choice

boat ride or fishing with dad

1 day pass from pictures

sledding

100 tickets

$10 toy

bowling

date night with mom and dad

ride a horse

250 tickets

planet x

DS game

campout

chuck e cheese

500 tickets

concert

train ride

I'm hoping this plan works for a while, but only time will tell. I've placed it in the kitchen right by where they eat with the hope that it will serve as a constant reminder. I'll keep ya posted.

2009-11-08T17:53:00.003-06:00

DAY 312

“One of the best things in the world to be is a boy; it requires no experience, but needs some practice to be a good one” -Charles Dudley

Today was Stake Conference, but we overslept. It was another beautiful day, 70 and sunny. Probably one of the last we'll see for a while, so we packed it up and headed out to Palisades Kepler. We did some light hiking and the kids enjoyed climbing some trees. I'm really wishing I had that anti shake lens about now; could have made a difference with this photo.

2009-11-07T23:20:00.009-06:00

DAY 311

"An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow." Author Unknown

Nothing special this year. I made Haldan a list of "17 memories for 17 years" and he brought me home a box of glazed pecans from GA. Love them, so very sweet. We went out to Biaggi's tonight. I thought I might be able to eat pasta, but the bow tie noodles were a little tough on my jaw. (Thanks Tom & Marilyn for the gift.) We wanted to go to a movie, but couldn't find anything worth seeing. I would have watched a couple of the scary ones, but it's not Haldan's thing. So, instead we went to his favorite place- TJMaxx. We walked, talked and spent 4 1/2 hours without kids. It was fun. What can I say? We're old and lame. We tried to have Little Man snap some photos of us before we left, but they were all blurry. So, we resorted to our waitress and this is what we got. Not my favorite, but out of options tonight. It was a gorgeous day here today. 70 and sunny. Wonderful! So, we aired out the house, cleaned out the garage, and did some spring cleaning on this beautiful fall day.

2009-11-06T19:45:00.004-06:00

DAY 310

“I am Me. In all the world, there is no one else exactly like me..." Virginia Satir

We tried a new hair style on Pokey today. It didn't turn out perfect, but a fun style. Maybe this should be for crazy hair day next year. I took the idea from one of my favorite fellow bloggers here. (http://paperpassionpixels.blogspot.com/) If you are in need of some new hair styles for your daughters, you should check out this blog here. (http://cute2tryhairdos.blogspot.com/)

Another favorite. It would appear that the blog is currently having technical difficulties, but it has great ideas. Definitely worth a look.

The other photo of Pokey was a must for today. She has recently taken to making these "fortune tellers" as she calls them. I don't remember calling them that, but I do remember making them as a kid. She has tons of them and she constantly wants to tell me my fortune. It's still very cute. I'm sure in a week it will start getting annoying.

In other news: I've almost survived the week. Haldan returns home late tonight. My jaw is still very sore, but appears to be on the mend so long as I keep nsaids going and don't talk or chew.

Where do the years go?

2009-11-06T17:38:00.016-06:00

Married Nov 6, 1992 in Chicago, IL

Spouse: someone who'll stand by you through all the trouble you wouldn't have had if you'd stayed single. Anonymous

We were so young and in love. This is my favorite photo from our wedding, probably because it's the only one we got. It's actually not even from our wedding either. We were so young and poor and what did we know back then? My mom asked someone she thought was a photographer to take pictures for us and then they couldn't, so she found someone else last minute who did a really lousy job. Seriously, they were horrible! My mom and father in law attempted to get a few, but none were all that great. So a couple days after the reception we got back in our clothes and went to Olan Mills, of all places. I think my mother in law had a coupon. Anyhow, this is what we got. Sad, I know. Maybe the fact that I have so few from my childhood or wedding has put me into crazed over drive lately. I keep trying to convince my children that one day they'll thank me, but with my luck they'll probably just be traumatized and need massive therapy. If I could do one thing over I'd definitely go into debt to get a photographer. One day you will never get back and it should be recorded, big hair and all! Thanks Olan Mills for this one sweet photo.

So, I've been trying to figure out what to get Haldan for our anniversary. Someone on Facebook gave me a great suggestion, which actually proved to be quite challenging- and a very good reason to keep a great journal!

17 memories for 17 years

1. We moved to Orlando, FL together after our wedding so Haldan could continue his Nuclear Navy career. We had no furniture and all we could afford was a waterbed. We attempted to assemble it together without any power tools and got into our first fight. ('92-'93)

2. Haldan's Chevelle Malibu's engine blew up in the middle of nowhere while moving to WA. ('93-'94)

3. Bought our 1st house together, all 880 sq ft, in Bremerton, WA- miscarried our first child there, sent Haldan on 2+ yrs worth of deployments, and got a dog, Sisco. ('94-'95)

4. I was alone a lot! I worked full time at the pharmacy, went to school, had several church commitments, and held down the fort in Haldan's absense. Used all of those family grams and constantly had a count down going to the time of his return. I also totally screwed up our SC taxes. ('95-'96)

5. Haldan wrecked the Mazda RX7 on his way to bring me lunch at work, then my Hyundai Elantra wouldn't start to drive him to the hospital. (Turned out the timing belt snapped and seized the engine.) Spent thousands of dollars to repair the exterior of the Mazda only to have the transmission go out. We bought a Nissan Wagon and 2 hrs later it caught fire. ('96-'97)

6. Haldan took job at Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo, IA. We drove all 40 hours in U-haul while I was pregnant and I still can't eat crab meat to this day because of the smell of the imitation crab he brought with him. Arrived at the new apartment in Cedar Rapids to pot smoking, party crazed kids next door. We had to hire an attorney to get out of our lease. ('97-'98)

7. Connor Thomas Rasmussen was born at St Luke's Hospital Aug 8, 1999 after 24+ hours of labor, seizure, and code blue. After one week in NICU he got to come home with us. ('98-'99)

8. We enjoyed the ups and downs of Connor together: colic, lot's of amazing milestones, RSV, and falling out of shopping cart on his head at Menards. He changed our lives completely. ('99-'00)

9. Camille Teagan came into our lives Aug 9, 2001. Her and I both cried for 4 months until we could get her to take a bottle. (Indicative of her stubborn personality- she was stubborn even at birth!) ('00-'01)

10. Haldan brought home 10 dozen roses (for 10 years) to a puking wife; 3 months later we went to Mexico to celebrate. ('01-'02)

11. Connor had to have surgery at age 3. I was a mess! Haldan was poised and calm and kept it together for the both of us. ('02-'03)

12. Moved to a new house in Cedar Rapids and just a couple weeks later... Connor and Camille escaped while I was showering and went to a neighbor's. The neighbor guy brought them home and stood in the kitchen near the back entry until I had figured out what had happened and came out in my bra to carry Camille to her room for a time out. Very embarrassing! ('03-'04)

13. Haldan bought me a new diamond ring for our anniversary. Love the cut! He also got me a new, beautiful piano for an early Mother's Day present. ('04-'05)

14. Connor started kindergarten. It was a hard decision for us because he was so young, but we finally decided even though he was immature behaviorally he could really benefit from having more intellectually. He became a regular with the principal that year, but the principal and teacher both worked well with him and he made gradual improvements all year. ('05-'06)

15. We went as a family to the commemorative pioneer fireside in Iowa City to see President Hinckley. ('06-'07)

16. Haldan and Connor went to Boundary Waters for 10 days. While they were gone sewage backed up in my basement. Haldan was unreachable by phone. ('07-'08)

17. Had an amazing "Search for Sun" Adventure as a family after the long SRO program was finally completed. ('08-'09)

Haldan, thanks for standing beside me thru both the marvelous and the muck for 17 years and for helping me be a better person. I love you.

2009-11-05T21:04:00.004-06:00

DAY 309

"The poetry of the earth is never dead." -John Keats

October Winners

2009-11-04T21:56:00.005-06:00

October 1st Place Nature/Scenery Category is:

October 2nd Place Nature/Scenery Category is: (tie)

October 1st Place People/Other Category is:

October 2nd Place People/Other Category is:

You guys were fast this month! It was really close on the 2nd place slots, but these photos got more votes. Thanks so much! If you didn't get a chance to vote just follow along with the Photo of the Day and you'll have a chance next month.

Silouette Tutorial

2009-11-04T20:57:00.005-06:00

This tutorial is from Alison. Thanks so much, very inspirational.

1. Photograph your subject, in profile, with a digital camera. Your camera should be on the same level as your subject. Try to shoot against a pure white background: this makes it easier to digitally remove the background later on. Hang a white sheet and used some lights behind.

2. Open your photo in Photoshop. With the Magic Wand tool, select the (preferably white) background for removal. Once clicked, the background will be outlined and highlighted, go to 'edit,' and select 'cut.' The background will disappear.

3. Go to 'image,' and select 'adjustments.' Select 'desaturate:' this removes all color. Also in 'adjustments,' select 'brightness/contrast.' Both lower the brightness, and increase the contrast: your image will take on the form of a silhouette. If your picture hasn't fully silhouetted, fill in the rest of the figure with black, or another color, using the Paintbucket tool.

4. Use the brush tool to shape the shoulder area. Use the magic wand tool to select the silhouette. Then cut and copy it into new canvas and add some text!

If you have them done professionally they are quite pricey. You can see them here. Worth a try if you have photoshop.

This is my rough draft. Still trying to figure out how to cut and copy to a new canvas.

2009-11-04T20:37:00.003-06:00

DAY 308

"It takes hands to build a house, but only hearts can build a home." Author Unknown

It's getting harder and harder to get photos with the natural light. It seems to be almost too dark to take pics at 4:30 PM now, particularly on cloudy days. So, this is what I got today. I don't think I've used the house as a POTD before. Too bad though because I'm sure it would photograph better in other seasons.

In other news:

The kid's dental appointments went very well, clean bill of health. Fast and painless.

Pokey enjoyed activity days tonight. It was a night with mom and I wasn't really feeling much up to it. She painted my nails an interesting color.

My jaw seems to get worse when I try to chew or talk too much, so trying my best to limit those activities. It's hard though. We use our mouth much more than we think.

2009-11-03T17:31:00.009-06:00

DAY 307

"The difference between try and triumph is a little umph." -Author Unknown

Little Man has been working night and day to get the raking done before Daddy gets home. When Pokey found out he was doing it for a monetary incentive she wanted to help too. Hopefully Haldan will compensate them both fairly. I'm going to leave that one up to him, but it's nice to see them work hard together for a common goal.

In other news:

I forgot to mention yesterday that I'm also having TMJ issues again... the curse of my life. My left side has been swollen and slightly off-kilter and today's dentist appointment was the last thing it needed. The good news is no cavities and no outbursts from the children in the waiting room. The bad news is that the 45 minutes with my mouth open seems to have put my jaw into further trauma and now the pain is all along my jaw line and down my neck. I think it's due to clenching or grinding at night, but it's obviously subconscious and hard to prevent. They've discussed a mouth guard the last couple visits, but a little pricey and no guarantees that it will help.

I got another phone call from our realtor in UT today and not great news regarding the short sale. The initial prospective buyers have backed out and now we are back to square one. It looks like it could be another 6 months and I think it will be impossible to come up with the mortgage for that duration. I try not to think about it as much as possible, but I'm sure that could be a contributing factor with the subconscious clenching. We do have another offer on the table, but it could take 90-120 days with the bank and then another 45 days for them to close after that. That's if they don't back out. The good news is that they have agreed to move into the house on a month by month basis, but are only willing to pay us $500 rent. They will pay utilities though, which will be good through the winter months. Please pray that it will move quickly.

I received a not so welcome present from Haldan today. We woke up to the most horrible stench. When Pokey opened the fridge we knew it was coming from there. Turns out that Haldan must have taken out some chicken to thaw a couple weeks ago and forgotten it. It was in a container under the meat drawer. I knew I couldn't leave it in the house all day and I also didn't want to leave it in the garage, so... I double bagged it, container and all, and off loaded it in a ghetto gas station dumpster on the way to work. Problem solved. The smell was much better when we got home tonight.

2009-11-02T18:38:00.015-06:00

DAY 306

“Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.” Orison Swett Marden

Have you ever felt like there was some sort of a dark cloud looming over you or perhaps you were in the twilight zone? That's exactly how today felt for me...

I watched Jerin for my friend Lisa today. It was sort of a last minute thing. Half hour in Jerin takes off his pants and I noticed a very pungent odor. A few minutes later it's become obvious that this is the motherload. It was hanging way low, starting to ooze out the side, and smelled almost like vomit. I went to get a diaper, but couldn't find the diaper bag. I thought for sure it had to be somewhere because Jerin had a sippy cup. We searched a couple more minutes until I realized there was no diaper bag or diaper for that matter. By then Jerin had climbed into the tub and I thought, "Ok, maybe he could be contained in there for a while." Unfortunately it was short lived and he climbed right back out and started running around the house wanting to sit on my furniture. So, I'm racking my brain... what in the world could I put on this kid? It's been 8 years since I've had kids now and not only is my house not exactly toddler proof, I definitely don't have a diaper. I called my friend, Lisa, but she didn't answer and I left some sort of a message. Then I called my mom in a panic. "Help me think of something that I can use as a diaper." She reminded me that before disposable diapers people used cloth ones... so I used my ingenuity and devised a plan. Luckily I'd just purchased a small wet wipes container for my purse a couple days ago, so I dug those out and then grabbed a kitchen towel, the closest size I could think of to a cloth diaper. It didn't work all that great though, so I had to use 4 large safety pins. I also decided to put a plastic Target bag over it for added protection. Jerin was extra unhappy and squirmy, I'm sure it was mostly because of his sore bum, so the holes for his legs turned out slightly skewed. I thought it was ingenious. He climbed up on the couch and that's when I decided to lay a small blanket under him. While he was laying there I ran back to the bathroom to scrub the poop smears out of the tub. Minutes later when I got back to Jerin I realized that my ingenious diaper contraption wasn't all that swell after all. It looked like he had started to pee and then climbed down. There was pee all over the blanket, down the side of the couch, and he was standing in a puddle on my carpet and rug. Then Jerin started to scream. I'm sure it felt pretty uncomfortable. I let out a large sigh, took off all his clothes, and then put him in the tub to soak-which is where he stayed for the next 20 minutes or so until Lisa got back. Once he was situated I went to attend to the pee. Unfortunately we don't subscribe to the paper and we had just used up all of our penny savers for pumpkin carving last week, so I had to resort to magazines as pee absorbers. Not exactly ideal. Whew! What a morning.

Unfortunately my obstacles didn't stop there. Highlights of my day include: nearly breaking my neck attempting to take the ghosts out of the tree on a wobbly ladder, having the electricity shut off at Wal-Mart (my least favorite place) right as I was about to check out with a full shopping cart, having a shelf fall on my head as I was trying to remove a rake from the shed, waiting 20 minutes on the phone to talk to a person to pay a bill only to hear a machine repeatedly say "we did not understand your request" as I'm shouting my answers at the top of my lungs and then hung up on, having guniea pig crap fall all down the front of me as I was trying to assist Little Man with cleaning the cage, getting Pokey to ice skating 5 minutes late only to learn she didn't have socks, finding out the colored chalk doesn't show up on the chalkboard- the entire reason I went to Wal-Mart in the first place... to name a few. There's been moments today that I could have seriously lost it, but I'm happy to report that I still have my sanity intact and that I win!!

Haldan left yesterday for a week in Atlanta and I thought he'd be happy to know that we miss him.

Moments by Months October 2009

2009-11-01T20:56:00.007-06:00

It's time to vote for October favorites! Where does the time go?

Don't forget there are two categories: Nature/Scenery and People/Other. You can do one or both. Leave me a comment or email me at lish@mchsi.com. The calendar above is a quick overview of the month (it doesn't always show the entire picture). It's more just to refresh your memory. If you would like to see the photos larger you can click on the project 365 or October Archives on the right side of the blog. Either way works. Can't wait to see the results!

2009-11-01T17:07:00.004-06:00

DAY 305

Learned or Genetic?

I am the only one in our little family that is unable to roll my tongue. I always assumed it was a genetic trait carried on from Haldan. However, in my reasearch today I have learned that it is not a definitive conclusion; many contradicting opinions out there. So, what are your thoughts?

It turned out to be a beautiful day here today, but to be honest this photo was actually taken a few days ago. With all of the Halloween festivities I wasn't able to fit it in and it's too cute to go by the wayside.

I've been having one of those days today... just trying to keep one foot in front of the other. Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily grind that we lose sight of the truly important stuff.

Halloween

2009-10-31T22:20:00.006-05:00

DAY 304

The kids made great pirates this year, but it might be Little Man's last year in costume. Hopefully not. We'll have to wait and see how he feels next year. Every Halloween we get together with the Jarbos and go trick or treating. It's become a tradition. The kids had lots of fun and scored some serious loot. Luckily I've got dental cleanings scheduled for next week.

2009-10-30T21:36:00.002-05:00

DAY 303

"Sometimes you like to let the hair do the talking!" James Brown

The children don't get to wear costumes to school for Halloween (a sore subject with me). Instead they have "fall parties" and this year they let them have crazy hair day. I had a great idea for Pokey's hair, but unfortunately her hair wasn't quite long enough. Little Man's was easier but I'm kicking myself that I got his hair cut last week. We could have really had some fun.

We've been having lots of fun this week with food. Yesterday we got the jack o lantern Papa Murphy's pizza and tonight we made these scarecrow tostadas. The kids got to design their own and they seemed to be a hit.

After a long day I took Pokey's hair out so she could shower and this was the result. This will totally be her crazy hair for next year.

In other news:
Little Man had his last soccer practice of the season tonight and the dads played against the boys. I think the dads won 6-5. It started at 5:30 and was already dark, so by 6:30 it was pitch black. It was seriously windy and cold. Pokey and I watched most of it from the car and after about 6 PM it was just too dark to see. I think the boys had fun though. Little Man scored 2 goals and had 1 assist.

We also watched "Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space" with the kids tonight. I was anxious to watch something else later with Haldan. Scary movies are my absolute favorite! Not the gorey disgusting kind, but the good old fashioned scary kind. Unfortunately Haldan's a party pooper and not a lover of scary movies. Luckily I have one kid that likes Goosebumps. Maybe I have a movie watching companion in the making.

Spider Cupcakes

2009-10-30T00:17:00.009-05:00

DAY 302

"Endurance is patience concentrated." -Thomas Carlyle

So, maybe I should have listened to my husband when he said to just buy some cupcakes for the kid's school parties and be done with it, but don't tell him that. (mistake number one) I was determined to make something original. I waited until the last minute to decide what I wanted to do (mistake number two) and then came up empty on almost every ingredient needed. By the way, Wal-Mart and Target do not carry Nutter Butters- just in case you were wondering. I was going to do witches with the Nutter Butters, but couldn't find the wafer cookies or the thin candy bars, so ended up doing the spider cupcakes. I would have done the ghosts tonight, but didn't have any white chocolate on hand. (mistake number three) The spiders turned out more like turantulas because I couldn't find the pull and peel black licorice anywhere. Haldan was a great helper today while I was at work and stopped at several places to try and find them. When I got home I must have called at least a dozen other places only to realize they were no where to be found, so I bought the regular thick licorice (mistake number four) which proved to be much more time consuming and annoying than (I'm sure) it's worth. I think I actually got a blister on my finger from cutting, if you can believe that. I had to cut them in sixths lengthwise (to make 300 legs). It tested my patience on many levels. I ended up making 50 of these puppies. And yes I realize spiders have 8 legs, but as it was I just had enough to do 50. Haldan actually helped me when he got home from work tonight even though he was against it from the beginning... I owe him big time. It's 12:30 and I have to get up early to try to figure out what to do to Pokey's hair for crazy hair day. I had this totally different idea in my head, but isn't that how things usually go? They were much cuter on the bakerella.com website, but I think they turned out ok. Hope the kids like them.

In other news, it was a nasty day here today. It poured buckets! They say we have had a record amount of rain for the month of October... and I was out in it all day long running errands for work wishing I could still be in New Mexico (where today it's 70 and sunny).

2009-10-28T22:46:00.003-05:00

DAY 301

"There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all." - Jacqueline Kennedy

Halloween preps are underway. We have been enjoying all of the things that go along with the holiday. This has been Pokey's favorite book forever. For a long while it was the only book she wanted to read. After telling her to find another book for so long she had forgotten about it. She finally pulled it out at the appropriate time and it was much more fun to read.

We had the Halloween Trunk or Treat at the church tonight. I wanted to share those photos, but wasn't quite ready for the costume reveal. You'll have to wait a couple more days on that.