Tap, tap, tap...

I just read an absolutely brilliant blog post at Jeff Lindsay's Mormanity--the paragraph about the Holy Spirit is so illuminating and simple it is stunning. Please go read it. It's truly amazing.

And on the twenty-ninth day of September...

...it SNOWED. Honest-to-goodness, real-life, for-sure-now, sticking to the grass, cars, and rooftops, SNOW.

For going on one-and-a-half hours now.

Um...I hate to complain, but I was sort of expecting Autumn.

Must be that global-warming stuff I keep hearing about.

Toothpaste Technology

I bought this new toothbrush. I'm always looking for something helpful for my teeth (and my pocketbook). Now it wasn't the cheapest toothbrush but it wasn't the most expensive by far, just a normal, everyday looking toothbrush.

So, I've been using this toothbrush for a few weeks now and it's nice, nothing to write home about (or on the blog about) but nice. Yesterday, I'm flossing my teeth and idly looking at my toothbrush. I suddenly wonder what the plus and minus signs on top of two little bumps on the front of the brush mean. I pick it up and push the plus sign.

Surprise! Surprise! The toothbrush begins to vibrate. COOL- now it's not just a nice toothbrush but a really nice toothbrush. I can't figure out where the batteries are- I suppose it is a disposable electric (or battery) operated toothbrush. Oh the technology involved in toothbrushes.

I get my teeth cleaned tomorrow. We'll see if my oh so, really cool, nice toothbrush has made any difference.

:)

We're Going to Mars

Boinga, boinga, boinga!

Misc.

So this weekend was the Stake Melodrama--Beauty Belle's Plight. While not the superbly fine piece of theatre that our melodrama was (for example, no one was kidnapped three days before he was born, and no one fell into a well), it was a wonderfully fun event (yes, someone was tied to a railroad track). And the accompanist/piano player/mood creator was fabulous! No, really, this man was amazing on the piano, shifting from mood to mood, providing chase music and train music and love music and villain music...it really made the play.

Oh, and he was really really cute, too.

The melodrama ran four performances--two a night. It was short, only about 25 minutes long, and they had a popcorn machine and lights and microphones and everything...very well done. And then when it was over (big applause for the pianist, especially), they invited the audience to an ice cream social in the other part of the cultural hall (which really felt like a cultural hall, rather than a gym). And they had waffle bowls, and fresh strawberries, peaches, and bananas, along with the ice cream and toppings. Yum.

The kids had a ball! It was very informal, and so the fact that Ezra didn't want to sit on a chair, and Gideon needed to be walked around, was totally fine. We stayed for both Friday showings (and, um, I had ice cream both times. Yes, I'm a pig, but at least I shared with Mercy). Brad's parents came to the second Friday night performance (Telima and Tyler were going to come, but Katy had a fever).

Then Saturday--homecoming for BYU--I went to the Geology Alumni Breakfast with Gideon, and then came home to clean and iron and Saturday stuff. And lo, autumn arrived. With a steady, all-afternoon/evening rainstorm, and wind that was just a little cold. And it was good.

Love you all! How was YOUR weekend?

Re: Dear Abby

Thanks for the responses so far. I welcome any others that would like to chime in as well. Being a parent is such a blessing and a challenge, and I'm really gaining a greater appreciation for the role a community plays in raising a child, both in terms of helping the parents (like in this thread) and in helping the children.

Giving women a bad name

Ok, who opened the idiot box and let this women escape into mainstream society, and then elected her into public office? A women politician wants for all marriages to expire after seven years. And here I thought the seven year itch had turned into the ten year itch. Who in their right mind would want to date every seven years? Not to mention what it would do to children out there. Has she even considered that simply having a marriage disolve would probably create bigger problems when it comes to property dissolusion and custody and support issues? Anyway, here is the link - read at your own risk!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070921/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_germany_politics_marriage

Re: Jena Six

Amen, Jenafer. I totally would have suspended the white students who put the nooses up--or completely expelled them, depending on the exact circumstances. But what a principal/superintendent can do (and should do) is very different from what a prosecutor can and should do. So, yes, the black students who beat up the white kid should have been prosecuted under the law. But NOT attempted murder--give me a break. I feel pretty sure that if they had wanted to kill him, they could have.

If you want a (another) brief summary of the events, and the stupid mistakes made by most everyone (adults especially), Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit has a good primer.

Discussion

Ok, I have a topic of discusion for all. I read a news article about a protest march that happened yesterday to "free the Jena 6". It was held, surprise, surprise in a town called Jena. Apparently there were six black teens who were charged with attempted murder for beating up a classmate. Normally, this wouldn't be a cause for a civil rights march, but apparently, just before this, three white teens from the same school were not punished in any way for hanging three nooses from the high school. Now, taking all racial tentions aside, technicly, the white teens hadn't broken any laws except possibly trespassing or defacing a public building, things like that, whereas the black teen did beat up a white student. Now, also, I think attempted murder might have been a reach, because apparently they didn't even harm this other student enough for him to be admitted to the hospital, in fact, he felt up to attending a school event that very night, so attempted murder? I probably would have felt assult would have been sufficant. Also, they charged and sentanced these teens as adults, even the ones that wern't. I'm not really sure what the DA was thinking! Did he WANT a political hotcake? Personally, I think that the three white teenagers should have been suspended or something, because they were obviously attempting to incite a riot, and I would have been more understanding of the black teenager, because they had been provoked. However, I would have punished the black teenagers harsher than the white ones simply because beating anyone up should never be the responce of anyone, regardless of provocation. And, in the end, no matter HOW awful the actions of the white teens, they didn't physically harm anyone. Opinions, anyone?

New sites I wanted to pass on

I discovered some new websites I wanted to pass on while looking for a whole wheat pancake batter recipe, you know, the one where you put milk and whole wheat kernals in a blender for the batter. Anyway, I discovered these two sites I wanted to pass along. The first is http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-61,whole_wheat_pancakes,FF.html
I is just a cooking website with alot of fun recipes. The second I found is http://www.foodsubs.com/GrainWheat.html#wheat%20berries
WONDERFUL website of all of those obscure terms no one ever understands. (LaDale, this would have answered your chives question!)

Also, just for everyone's info, Jeff is starting a temp job tomorrow. It is not a lot of money but is definatly better then unemployment! We will keep everyone posted about a permanent job. Hopefully, we will have news on that front soon. The temp job is for 30 days, so we have that much breathing room.

Re: Dear Abby

Not having children, I still want to throw in my two cents worth. I agree with Jenafer because now is the time to start teaching Ezra that although he sees other kids acting that way, the expectation is he should not. Eventually, in the not to distant future, you will not have the choice to keep Ezra away from those kids (i.e. school) and then, hopefully, Erza will have already learned how unacceptable it is to follow those kinds of behaviors. I know this will be harder in the immediately future, but hopefully, worth it in the end. Trust me, I deal with parents all the time who want me to stop the influence of other kids on their own, and there is only so much a teacher can do. The responsibility, in the end, lies in the child's decision about their own behavior and their ability to accept the consequences. Eventually, of course, there won't be parents or teachers around to enforce it. Agency and it's consequences are best taught early.

Re: Dear Abby

Brad,
I wouldn't worry to much about this child's influance. In the long run, and even in the short run, you and Keryn have so much more influance in your son's life that chances are, Ezra won't even be able to remember his name in another few years. Just be consistant in what you expect of him, punish him appropriately for aggressive behavor, and, who knows, he might tell his little role model to cut it out or he'll get a time out soon! As far as avoiding him, that would be punishing your wife and children be depriving them of a playdate they enjoy. There really is not much you can do about the precieved shortcomings of the other parents, but Keryn might want to suggest to the Relief Society's Enrichment Committee that some of the more experianced mothers in the ward might want to hold a monthly parenting class for the less experianced mothers in the ward. We have one in our ward, and we don't even have that many grandma's in our bounderies!

Dear Abby

I need some advice, and since Abby is dead, the rest of you will have to fill in. We're not too far into this parenting gig, so any thoughts you have are welcome from your various stages of life, from no children to grandchildren.

Ezra is absorbing behaviors like a sponge. He loves to put on a white shirt on Sunday "just like Daddy!" Sometimes, we don't really like the behaviors that he picks up. He has a fairly small Sunbeam class and the other boy in his class lives around the corner from us and his mother brings him to the weekly playgroup the women in the ward do.

This little boy has two very timid parents (from our very uninformed and distant view) and he has become quite strong willed and bossy. He's starting to manifest some bossy/pushy/bully behavior. After Ezra is around this boy, he starts to show those sorts of behaviors too.

Keryn said, "If this is the worst influence Ezra is ever around, we'll be amazingly blessed." Good point. But still you wonder... do you try to avoid the kid when you can, or do you try to deal with the fallout of Ezra mimicking the behavior?

Help me, Abby!

Interview

Well, I just got off of the phone with Jeff after his interview. It went very well. We are very optimistic about his chances to get a job. Countrywide, it turns out, has SIX positions currently available. We should hear by Wednesday of next week. Thank you all for your prayers. We have felt them!

Happy Birthday!

Just wanted to add my wishes to everyone elses! Happy Birthday Tyler. I hope you have a wonderful, uneventful day.
I will post how the interview went as soon as I know! He hasen't called me yet. I am taking that as a good sign because that means he is still IN the interview and it is now 11:45.
Telima, thank you so much for that number! I will be calling your mother in law soon!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Tyler! Katy, Jayson, and I love you soooo much (well, me more than them, but they love you an awful lot too!). I hope you're day is wonderful!

Pampered Chef

Jen, it just so happens that my mother-in-law, Terese, is a Pampered Chef consultant. Her number is 702-263-8865. Let me know if you need any more information to get in touch with her!

And, by the way, congrats on Jeff's interview! How did it go???

Happy Birthday

...to Tyler, our awesome and wonderful brother/uncle/son/husband/daddy. We love you so much. Have a wonderful day.

Question

This is a question for one and all. Does anyone know a Pampered Chef consultant? I was on their website looking at something (no, you may not know what it was, Christmas is coming!) and apparently you have to have a consultant or they don't let you order anything. So, free order for one consultant someone knows. Please post a name!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, Mema. Thanks for marrying Daddy and starting our family 34 years ago.

I love you!

Interview

Jeff has an interview on Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is at Countrywide for a government underwritter position. Jeff is going to be studying like MAD so that he can not just impress them but blow them away and have them offer him the job right on the spot! We are going to be fasting on Sunday. We really need the job. He got a temp job at the same location at Countrywide as a Customer Service Rep, but the money is not great and iit is only temporary, at least it is more than unemployment! We are just very encouranged that all of the resumes Jeff has been sending out are finally bring some interest. The hardest part of all this has been the waiting. I forget that three weeks is not an unusally turnaround time for job interviews. We appreciate everyone's prayers! Thank you all so much!

pictures

I tried to post some pictures here last night, but kept getting error messages. So, if you want to see some pictures of the cutest football player in America, go to the myfamily website. They ended up there!

Re: life and all

First, the Tobler reunion, where is that going to be? Is this the one that I thought was going to be next summer in Northern Utah that we were all supposed to start saving for this summer? The timing, being the New Year, is the same time that Caren and I will be spending time in Logan with Caren's parents. Therefore, I can't see it possible to take away from that to make it to this one, no matter where it is. There might be a slight possibility for a day of being there, but that is only if it is located in Northern Utah.

Next, education. Last Saturday, 8 September, I received a piece of paper in the mail that was my Master degree. The date on it was the graduation date back in early August. I am glad to have this degree and I wanted to share this with my family. My Master's degree is not my last degree which is why I have not made a big deal about it. So there it is.

Possibly more info to come from our neck of the woods. SKT

re: Reunion

So...I don't think there is any reason that we won't be able to make it.

I do have to say I'm not as pumped about it because you won't be there, Jen. We better hope that the weather is good--we do have the average temperature going for us, St George's average on December 29th is 52 degrees (which I guess isn't as bad as I was thinking it would be; I'm sure it will feel positively balmy to anyone from points north).

Are there any plans about places to stay, etc? Should we be reserving a motel room, are we going to try to stay in the same place as everyone else? Are you going to the wedding, Mema?

Re: Family reunion

We will not be able to make it in December. Carissa, Jeff's oldest niece is getting married here in Mesa at 10:30 am that morning. I think that pretty much shuts down any possible chance of us going, even if we could afford it, which is iffy at this point anyway!

Thanks everyone!

Family Reunion

Well, the Tobler's have made it official. The Tobler reunion is going to be in December. On the 29th as a matter of fact. I know that this is not a good time for anyone and I tried to tell them that but they really didn't ask me. This date is the day after Kearstens wedding but we are not all invited to the wedding. Dawn really can't afford to have everyone come to the luncheon after the temple. But on the day after there will be something for the family. I really hope that you will look at you calanders and see if you can make it. Please let me know, one way or the other, as soon as possible.

In other news, David and Amy spoke in our sacrament meeting today and they did a wonderful job. I was not able to hear everything because Arabella didn't like having mom and dad in the same room with her and not have them with her. I had to take her out and then she was fine.

Keryn, just know that you are not alone and that it will get better and harder all at the same time. Ezra is just feeling and acting his age. Just remember that children do grow up.

Frustration blended with love

Ezra.

He is almost four. He is testing his boundaries. He is a delight to cuddle and play, talk and laugh with. He is breaking my heart, and my temper, daily.

Friday was a day when he pretty much did nearly everything I have ever told him not to. He threw toys. He pushed Mercy (to be fair, at least a third of the time she pushed him first). He responded, "Yes!" when I asked him if we are supposed to fight, yell, be mean, shove, whatever.

After three strikes (warning, time-out upstairs, one last warning), he's out. Downstairs, on his bed, until he's ready to apologize/stop crying or yelling, whatever. As I carry him downstairs, he sobs, "I'll be good! I'm a good boy! I'll listen!"

It breaks my heart. I have to follow through; he has to have the consequence. And so I (try to) patiently explain, "Yes, I know you want to be good. I know you are a good boy. But you have to have a time-out because you broke the rules. This is the consequence." Or, "I'm sorry you're so tired/frustrated/wound-up that you can't listen. This time-out (or enforced nap) will help you so you can listen better next time."

But still his sobbing promises to listen to Mommy break my heart.

Today it was church. He wanted to play under the pew (crawl under, pop up on the backside, and come around to front of the pew and repeat); I wouldn't let him. But Gideon was cranky (naptime) and needed to be held in just that special Mommy way, Mercy was cranky (naptime) and needed to be held...therefore I couldn't hold Ezra immobile on my lap. Finally, Bradley had to take him out because of screaming and kicking. Once sacrament meeting was finally over (it was even ten minutes short today), Bradley took Ezra to sharing time and warned him: If you have to have another time-out, then you have to miss the rest of Primary and go home.

Guess where I am? It's not church. I turned over my props for senior primary music time to the Primary president, gather up my sobbing son, fetched my infant from Bradley, and came home. And put them both to bed.

What do I do? I'm so frustrated and sad and...I don't know. A blend of emotions. Is this normal? Is it common? Should I be looking for something that is making him act out? Or is this just part of growing up?

Growing up for him. And for me.

(By the way, I also have my Mercy here. I left with all the diaper supplies (which we NEVER need), and not two minutes after I left the nursery leaders brought Mercy to Bradley with a stinky diaper. So Bradley had to run home and drop her off, and then run back so he could teach the Elders Quorum lesson. What a day.)

Time share

Thanks, Everyone!
We rented it to someone in the ward!

Happy Grandparents' Day

According to my wall calendar, it's Grandparents' Day today. So, happy Grandparents' Day, Mema!

time share

As many, if not all, of you know, we have a time share at Disneyland. We paid for it for this year and reserved it for the first week in October, but now, because of the job situation, are not going to be able to use it. We are trying to find someone who would want to use it. It is a three bedroom unit for seven days within walking distance of Disneyland. It has a pool, a playarea and numous free activities. The week is from Saturday to Saturday, and we can switch the week if needed. We have already checked and there are no availible units in November or December but if anyone can use it between now and the week starting October 27. We are only looking to recover our maintanince fees which are $700. There would also be a $50 transfer fee due to the time share at check in. If anyone in anyone's extended family or aquantices might be interested, let us know. Thanks!

This one's for you, Samuel

Physics Flunkies at the Movies

TWO

Happy happy birthday Arabella dear!

I'm so excited that you are two years old! I'll bet your parents and Grandma are just a trifle less excited.

Now, if you all will excuse me, I'll go back to wiping children's noses and blowing my own. I just adore colds, don't you?

Tradition

Telima and I also had the chance to go shopping for Labor Day books yesterday. It was very fun. Telima got a book that I looked at for a little while but cannot remember the name for but it should be interesting. Katy and I went for lighter reads however. Katy got Floatsome (or whatever that book was called). I don't think the book has a single word in it. I got a beautiful book full of pictures of dragons (a funny interest of mine). It was a lot of fun, even if Katy would rather that we let her run around and pull random books off the shelves. Oh well, she dealt with it until we went home and she went down to sleep, someday maybe she will enjoy it more but that day is not quite now.

September 4

Happy Birthday, Daddy. We miss you.

Labor Day Books

Happy Labor Day!

Today we went up to Border's bookstore in the Riverwood Shops. It was (obviously) a different experience than my childhood memories (the whole children of my own thing, the whole "hello, we're spending our money" thing), but we had a blast. We only got one book for the kids, a beautiful DK encyclopedia of animals (plus a $3 Go, Diego painting book that Ezra latched onto in the first two minutes in the store), I got an amazing, huge normally-$60.00 but bargain tabled to $9.99 Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers, Bradley got "The Idiot's Guide to Music Composition". We lunched (ever-so-classily) at Subway, and then went home for naps.

It was a great start to our continuing the tradition.

Now, I have to put my poor sick little boyo to bed--he and Mercy have a terrible upper respiratory infection this week. You know the kind, with a dry cough, a runny nose, teary eyes, and a fever. Lovely. Mercy's doing okay, but I hate hate hate when my infants are sick. I know it's good for them, but it is so sad. Poor Gideon.

Re: Katy!

Telima, Telima, put the video up! Did you see the new video button on Blogger? It's right next to the picture button!

Yay Katy-did! Figures she do it right after Mema went home, though.

Re: Heather

She's a smart one! Not that we didn't know that already...

Jen and Jeff, just wanted you to know that you've been in our thoughts and prayers today! We really hope that things turn around for you soon. Let us know if there is anything we can do for you.

In other news, yay September! Bring on the fall weather, I'm ready. And football (go Cougars!), and Labor Day books (tomorrow!), and getting ready for Halloween, birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. This is the most wonderful time of the year.

Katy's First Steps!!!

Yay!!! Katy took her first steps tonight! It was very, very exciting. Her Grandma Smith is here visiting and she walked from Grandma to me...about three steps! It was soooo fun. We had her do it a few times and Tyler was able to video her taking those three steps the second time she did it. However, shortly after that, we were so excited and cheering, that she got too excited to keep doing it. But we had a LOT of fun with it! =) We've been told that we can expect her to be all over the place really soon now, but we are really excited about it. Anyway, we love you all and just wanted you to know the new and exciting news!

Heather

Well, Heather has decided that there is something particular that she wants. However, this time, she has picked a novel and wonderful way to "beg" for it. Thursday, she started her begging. She came home from school and did all of her chores. Then, Friday, she started to clean the toy room, all by herself! She has done dishes, cleaned bathrooms, the toy room is spotless and has asked for a night when she does dishes by herself. She has even asked to help with all the cooking! I told her that she was acting so grown up that she must want something special. That was when we discovered WHY she was being a pod child! She wants a new toy called a Barbie Girl, it is a MP3 player that also interacts with the Barbie website and with her friends players and everything. It is shaped like a doll and you can buy clothes for her to change into and hair and shoes and even faces to customize it to your own personal taste. We have since looked at it and told her that if she keeps up the grown up act and Daddy has gotten a good job that it looks pretty good for her birthday. It costs $54.44. That would be ALL she gets, but it's not too unreasonable!

Education

I just read, in the online magazine Slate, a fascinating article about teachers and the slowly changing perception the public has about them:

High-pressured and punishing—of such macho qualities is social cachet often built in the world of work. Nowhere in Tyler Heights or Stuyvesant, in Perlstein's and Klein's portrayals, do you hear anyone touting the familiar (female- and family-friendly) perks of the profession: the long summer months off, the seasonal breaks, the 3 o'clock dismissals, the heartwarming kids. Teachers' unions never get mentioned, nor do bonuses. The scene is more reminiscent of, say, the Union army, beset by struggles and squabbles within the ranks, yet striving to make slow headway on divisive home ground.

It is precisely the draining rigors of the job that are intrinsic to teaching's appeal, helping it shed its schoolmarmish taint, suggests Fortune in an article about TFA's popularity. "The program has been likened to a domestic Peace Corps, with long work hours and much emotional demand, so it's not for the faint of heart."

Read the whole thing--it's fascinating, and indicates that the exhausting, draining, but hopefully rewarding reality of teaching may actually start getting a little respect in the world.