And one more thing!

I forgot the most important thing I learned while painting last week:

• When Dad has to go to the store to buy more paint and I say, "Pick up some doughnuts while you're out," he doesn't take it as a joke. And then I am grateful we live around the corner from Dunfords Bakery. Yum.

And in answer to your questions, faithful reader, Mom did not get electrocuted. She got a little sparkle of a shock. And it's Dad's house, so I hung everything in Dad's way: levelers, rulers, measuring tapes, and ONLY ONE hole per picture! When it's my house, I do things my way: eyeball, don't like, move a little this way, uneven, move a little that way, don't like, one more try, and 42 holes per picture! (When I own a home again, I have been converted to Dad's way.)

New...

If you know me at all, you know that I like moving to a new house. Why? Because after I move, everything is clean and organized. It's a good excuse to clean out the cupboards, dust behind the books on the bookshelf, and throw away every broken toy. I like moving so much, I'm afraid I will be disappointed if ever we find a house we want to make our home for life. Somehow, I don't see that happening any time soon, so I'm good for now. Anyway, I've discovered something almost as great as moving: PAINTING!!

Painting is a big pain. But, now that it's done, everything is clean and organized and fresh. When the walls were first finished, Nathan came upstairs, stood in the corner of the room, spread his arms wide out and said, "We have a new house!" Today we did the finishing touches: hanging pictures and reshelfing the books. Fun, fun, fun.

Here are some things I've learned from painting (or watching my parents paint) this last week:

• No matter how dirty and dusty outlets look, wiping them out with a damp cloth is a bad idea. Electric shock is real, Mom.
• A color-blind nephew can receive minimal mocking for accidentally painting a wall with the wrong color paint, but a color-seeing dad is not so lucky.
• Using levelers and tape measurers and planning ahead when hanging pictures takes a lot longer. But in the end, it turns out better. There are not 12 holes hiding behind each picture as I artistically "eyeball" it to the right spot. Amazing.
• It is very difficult to homeschool and do home improvement projects on the same day. But, if I plan ahead (there it is again!), it is possible.
• It's a bad idea to let Chris look too closely at the painting job. He sees smudges and unevenness and old paint peaking through everywhere. This means more paint and more work. On the other hand, if you enjoy beautiful, perfect walls and ceilings, go ahead and let him look.
• My dad has a lot of books.

Did I miss anything? Probably. I'm tired.

Speaking assignment

Bethie gave her first talk in church today. She was brave (meaning she didn't run and hide her face in my chest, which is pretty normal behavior). She spoke near the microphone...not quite into it. She used her soft little voice, no matter how many times I told her to speak loudly. She quoted her favorite scripture (yes, a 3-year-old with a favorite, memorized scripture--Psalms 82:6) and then the lyrics to her favorite song.

All of you are children of the most High.

I am a child of God and he has sent me here.
Has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do to live with him someday.

She's a sweet little girl and it was a sweet little talk.

Sidenote: At dinner, Nathan started singing "I am a child of God" and Beth shouted, "HEY! That's MY favorite song!"

Okay.

It's a difficult wall to photograph properly because it is part of a narrow hall. But, these are my best attempts. It looks better in real life. The first two are from the top of the stairs looking towards the back hall. The walls around the stairs are actually tan, although the photos make them look white. The second two are closer to the actual orange color (the first two make it look pumpkin-y, which is not accurate). The first is from the master bedroom, looking down the hall towards the office. The last is from the office, looking down the hall to the master bedroom. It will look much prettier when we hang all the art back up. I'm not very helpful with the painting, but I'm good at hanging up pictures! I think I'll be more helpful tomorrow because I am planning on painting tomorrow.

Signed in.

I signed into blogger so I could make some comments on other blogs. I figured that means I ought to post something here. So, here it is:

The wall is orange.

It's painting time here at the homestead. One wall is orange. The other walls are supposed to be tan, but the tan is confusingly yellow. But then in better light, it's a delightful tan. Um, let's hope it all works out in the end. The orange is quite lovely.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I like holidays because I like parties and celebrating life. But for most of my life, there are two holidays I just didn't like, mostly because I couldn't see the point of them. Then my brothers got married and I slowly changed my ways.

My sister-in-law, Laura, loves Halloween. She loves it so much, you can't help but love Halloween when you know her.

And then there's Cami. Cami loves, loves, loves Valentine's Day. It's a holiday that's fitting for Cami because her life is a celebration of love. I can't help but enjoy this great holiday now that I know Cami. It also helped me when I realized that it wasn't just about romantic love, but all love. And I can always celebrate love. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone.

I try so hard to have a normal family.

My boys. They have strange loves. Shall I reveal their latest amores on this celebratory weekend?

Ammon
The Conversation:
Me: Ammon, did you do any reading today?
Ammon: Yes. I read all the books about punctuation. I love punctuation!

Nathan

The Conversation:

Me: Nathan, will you please clean the bathroom?
Nathan: Yes, oh yes!!! I love to clean the bathroom. It's my favorite thing to do!

Chris
The conversation:
Me (in my head): I'm going to give this Snuggie™ I rescued from Lisa's D.I. pile to Chris for Valentine's Day. It will be soooo funny. It's just a joke to make him laugh.
Me (aloud): Happy Valentine's Day, Chris!
Chris: A Snuggie™! I love it! I've wanted one of these.
(And he wears it all the time.)

Valentine's Day

I really like times when my kids are in the same situation, but their strikingly different and unique personalities are exposed. Like today. We were at a primary activity. The kids made valentines and took them to a rest home to give to the old people. And then all of the primary kids gathered to sing a few cheery songs.

Sarah, our most natural performer, stood with the group and sang her little heart out.

Bethie, our shy girl who really wants to be a performer, sang the songs and did the actions with her back turned to the audience.

Ammon, our rule-obeyer who doesn't like to perform, sang all the songs (or at least mouthed the words) while standing solidly behind the primary president so no one could see him.

Nathan, our Nathan, refused to go near the group--instead choosing to look at and play with the birds in the birdcage. He then tried to play the electric piano, got into the cupboard containing dvds and videos, and then put his hood over his face and walked around with self-induced blindness crashing into all of the children and leaders who were dutifully singing. At this point, his mother was forced to look around and ask, "Whose kid is that?"

One excuse is as good as another...

After breakfast, I said, "Nathan, put your bowl and spoon in the dishwasher."

His response, "My arms ache from eating so fast. I can't."

It's a good thing he's cute. :)

This was something new.

So, I sat down at my cousin's house. We had gone to visit her new baby. But Baby Macie was hungry. So I was waiting my turn to hold her. Little Bethie came up and said, "Mom, can I hold you?" Of course she can. She climbed on my lap and snuggled in. And when she was comfortable, and without warning, she wet herself. She was wet and I was soaked. It was an interesting visit. (By the way, the baby is as sweet as sweet can be.)

And there goes another one!

Dear Naomi,

We are now toothless twins.

Love, Sarah.

Dear all cousins,

Grandma would like you to know that it doesn't hurt when you get your tooth pulled. All she does is hold the tooth with a Kleenex and it falls right out. My mom "pulled" this one because Grandma wasn't home. But Grandma still wants you to know that.

Love, Sarah.

We're so free...

President Boyd K. Packer once described his views on weather. He had planned to paint his barn. And it rained. So he said, "...I declared my independence from the weather that day...I decided that I was not going to let the weather dictate what I was going to do that day or any day. I took the philosphy, let it rain, I got here first. I used to tell the missionaries in the New England States Mission that if they had nothing more than the weather to which to attach their dispositions, they were a yo-yo, going up and down all the time. I have been a lot happier since I declared my independence from the weather." (Church News, July 26, 1975, p.8)

Isn't that great? So, I have taken that attitude to heart. Here are some of the ways we've been independent from the weather this winter:

First there was this chilly hiking trip you might remember:

And then my crazy kids independently planned, packed, and ate a picnic (barefoot) in the front yard:

The lack of snow in the above picture is deceptive. So, I took another photo from the driveway:

It really was a beautiful winter day. This is the view from our front porch:

And this is Bethie after the picnic:

Winter crazies affect my whole family. My sisters, Rachel and Brynn, and I took our kids to the zoo in January. (It was free day!)

Ammon with 4 of the 5 Siberian tigers (3 are cubs--big cubs!). Well, there were 4 tigers in there, but I only see two in the photo:

Learning about a rescued peregrine falcon:

And having a picnic at the zoo (maybe the kids' winter crazies are inherited):

It was a pretty cold day. I think this picture proves that. (Our view from our picnic spot):

All the kids (yes, this was the best we could do):

Who says winter is inside weather? (Probably people with harsher winters than we have here.) We've been having lots of fun. :-)

Get that boy a dictionary!

Nathan is quite entertaining during school. He typically attacks his school assignments with the same enthusiasm he uses as he fights imaginary bad guys. I love to watch him completing his worksheets with his tongue slightly out because he's deep in concentration. Loud, demanding concentration. And he is so funny about it. I'll say, "Circle all the pictures that start with the /s/ sound." He'll obey, but then he'll come to a nest. He'll say, "But n is my favorite letter. I have to circle it." And then he'll see a yo-yo. "I like yo-yos. I can't cross it out." If I didn't watch him completing the worksheet, I'd think he has no idea what /s/ sounds like. But he knows. He's just Nathan. I'm trying to teach him the concept of following instructions, but until he learns, I'll sit next to him and enjoy his unique style of learning.

Oh my goodness. I am not telling the story I intended to tell. Let me start over.

The other day, Nathan turned the page in his math book to find an exciting page. He said, "I've been longing to do this page!" And then he said, "I don't even know what longing means!" But he used it right anyway.

Yesterday was a bad school day. There was very little in way of cooperation. I got frustrated. I said, "Nathan, please concentrate!" Nathan said, "I never concentrate!" (That is largely true.)

Then after a little pause he said, "I don't even know what concentrate means." (That could explain a lot about the way Nathan lives his cute little life.)

Boys...

During Sarah's dance class, the boys usually hang out with Chris at his work. And then he brings them home. But tonight, Chris couldn't have them there, so they had to come with me to dance. They were whining and complaining about it. I told them that Sarah's new dance class is different than the old one because at the end of every class, they spend a few minutes learning some Hawaiian words. I told the boys (Ammon, especially) that I would like them to learn the Hawaiian words with the class. Ammon said, "The only thing I'm interested in is Hawaiian food!"

Sweet little one.

I like how Beth asks me, "Can you get the water out of my eyes?" when she wants me to wipe her tears away. That's all.

Funnies....

1. Ammon does not enjoy using silverware. He likes his hands. This is cute in, say, a 9-month-old, who tries to eat his soup with his fingers. Not so cute in a 9-year-old.

The other night we were eating rotisserie chicken for dinner. Our children call this "greasy, slippery chicken." That description just makes your mouth water, no? Ammon was disgustingly using his fingers. I attempted to correct his behavior and reintroduce the concept of manners. Ammon said, "When I grow up, I'm going to open a freestyle restaurant, where people can eat however they please."

2. After he was sent to bed last night, Nathan came into the room where I was. The following conversation then took place:

"What are you watching?" 
"Psych."
"Can I watch it?"
"No. Come give me a hug and then go to bed."
"I love watching t.v. It's my favorite thing in the whole entire universe."
"You love t.v. more than you love your mommy?"
"No. I love you more than the whole entire universe. But I almost love t.v. more than you."

Do you have the time?

The kids were excited for Chris to get home. He said he'd be home at 6:30, so they were anxiously waiting. Nathan had been counting the minutes (so to speak) since about 4:00. I told Nathan to check the clock so that we would know how much longer until Chris got home. He said, "But I can't tell time!" I suggested he check the digital clock on the stove and tell me the numbers. He looked over and said, "It's 2:22."

I said, "I think you mean 5:55." He disagreed and I let it go. (That's because I'm the mature one.)

Sarah said, "I know how to tell time. I'll check the clock." Then she announced, "It's 11:00!"

At this point, I reminded my parents that my children are homeschooled. (That's a little home-educator humor. It's just sounds funny.)

This seemed a lot funnier when it was happening. Sorry to waste your time with the reading of this non-funny story. (Sarah had mixed up the long and short hands. That's for those of you who didn't figure out the clues.)

And with regards to the door in a previous blentry: Cami, Dad fixed the door immediately. Probably within the hour. Chris and I were planning to fix it; we just wanted to know the best way, but Dad beat us to it. And Rachel, only you would have a "favorite" door in your house! That's pretty funny.