Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

Courtney LOVES shoes! When she was a baby and wouldn't calm down, all I had to do was put her shoes on her and she would be fine. This worked on more than one time when she wouldn't calm down and go to sleep. Yes, she slept with shoes on.

Every time we go to a store, she wants to go to the shoe section and look around. This is usually followed by a massive fit when she is told that we aren't going to buy her yet another pair of shoes and then she gets a time-out in the middle of Target while people look at me like I'm a horrible mother. Courtney will even find pictures of shoes in books and tell me that those are what she wants for Christmas.

So you can imagine just how much I love little old women who sweetly bring shoes over to Courtney to look at when we are in the Thrift store. Yes, we went there today (it was 50% off day and I just can't resist a deal, I bought a couch for $25 that I'm going to try and reupholster and put downstairs and all the money to go getting a Life Flight helicopter) and Courtney was trying to find some shoes. They moved the children's shoes, of which I was glad, so she couldn't find any. This nice little old woman saw Courtney's stress, took Courtney by the hand, led her over to where the shoes were and showed her this LOVELY pair of silver shoes. Courtney fell in love! She put them on, ignoring the fact that they were about 5 sizes too big, and began to plead her case. She "had to have" these shoes because they were so pretty and she needs new Church shoes (yeah, that was her argument last month). After a long debate, in which the little old lady got involved by telling me that she would "eventually grow into them," I caved. Hey, they were 50 cents, so I wasn't giving in that much. But she hasn't taken them off. We even had to run to Bryan's office to show him her new shoes. Yeah, it's only going to get worse!

Here are her new shoes:

First Names

I remember when I finally realized that my mom had a first name and it wasn't "Mom." When I was in 2nd grade, my mom would have me write the notes to my teachers (excuse notes, etc.) and then she would sign it. I remember her signing it once and I noticed that she didn't sign it as "mom." That's when I realized that she had a first name.

Courtney, on the other hand, loves to call me "Michelle." Today is one of those days when that's all she will call me. "Let's go for a walk Michelle" or "Thank you for dinner Michelle." It was cute the first 100 times, but it's starting to get old! It feels like the kid equivalent of having your middle name used by your parents. ;)

Pickle

Courtney has this thing with the word "pickle." Sometimes when Bryan or I will read her a story we will substitute words to see if she is listening or to make her giggle. When I read her stories before her nap she likes me to put in the word "pickle" whenever I can. Today we made up a pickle song that made us both laugh. It's to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star."

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Pickle
How I wonder where you tickle.
On your belly or under your chin?
Now let's play this game again.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Pickle
Now I know just where to tickle.

Then I tickled her and she laughed and laughed. I guess you had to be there but we had a lot of fun. Unfortunately I had her so wound up after that, that it took her 2 hours to fall asleep. Oh well, at least she finally did fall asleep.

Gotta Love M&Ms

Ethan has been having a rough time with piano again lately. He loves his teacher and his lessons but he hates practicing. Every night he asks me what we do in the morning and then says, "And don't tell me piano because I already know I have to practice and I hate it!" Last Tuesday we had a really rough piano morning where Ethan, once again, told me that I'm a "wicked stepmother." I was frustrated and just didn't know what to do to help him.

My visiting teachers came over later that morning and we were talking about children taking piano lessons. One of my visiting teachers mentioned that her mother-in-law teaches her daughter and she uses M&Ms to help learn the notes. Inspired, I ran right out and bought a huge bag of M&Ms. Last night I told Ethan that I had a sweet surprise for piano practice. He was actually looking forward to it.

When he woke up this morning he was ready to go. He sat down, I pulled out the flashcards and the M&Ms. I put an M&M on each note that corresponded with a flashcard and we started. The rules were that if he could name and find the note, he could eat the M&M, but if he missed it, I would put that M&M back for next time. He only missed one! He was so happy and the rest of the practicing went great. He did so well and was so much more relaxed. He even gave a mini recital for Bryan before he left for work. I was so impressed and grateful to my visiting teacher for sharing her idea.

Tonight after dinner when Bryan left for Mutual, I saw Ethan by the piano. I asked him what he was doing and he told me, "I want to practice the piano some more. I beat up this piano today!" (That's his way of saying he did a good job.) And he played all his pieces another time without any help and did a great job! Yeah!!! Hopefully this will last.

Want To Donate?

If any of you don't know who Robert Jordan is or what the Wheel of Time series is, let me enlighten you. Robert Jordan wrote a series called the "Wheel of Time" which you can read all about at www.wikipedia.com. It's a series of fantasy books about a boy named Rand and is all about bringing balance to the Wheel of Time that was made in the creation. I have read the first 5 or so then I just don't have the brain power to keep up with all the characters and their different journeys.

Jordan had written 11 books and was in the process of writing the 12th, and final, book when he died in 2007 at age 58. A new writer was chosen, Brandon Sanderson, to finish the final book so it could be published. Brandon Sanderson is a BYU professor of fantasy writing and in each of his previous books, he has auctioned off the right to name a character. According to his web page, he has usually done this with church groups auctioning with cans of food for the local food bank. With the last book of Wheel of Time, he is doing a silent auction for not only the right to name a character but a walk-on part in the book (meaning that the character will have lines and everything).

Bryan really likes these books and usually is on the library's hold list for the book months before it comes out. When he read that you could name a character he was excited...until he found out that the latest bid on the silent auction is $10,000. Yes, someone is actually willing to donate $10,000 to a food bank in order to become a character in a book! Bryan turned to me and said, "If we had a spare $11,000 I would do it!!" Well, I think he is going to either have to do a bunch of fund raising or have a long lost relative die and leave him money. But he did find out that in the final battle of the book there will be a huge battle and anyone who donates over $20 will be put into a drawing for rights to name those characters. So that's an option.

This series of books really has a following, so it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out! The book is due out in the Fall of 2009 and is estimated to be more than 700,000 words long!

It was only a matter of time...

I was checking my email yesterday when Courtney came in the room looking like she had chocolate dripping from her mouth. I asked her what she had eaten and she said, "nothing" so I investigated more closely and realized that it was lipstick. I knew it was only a matter of time before she started getting into my make-up and here was the evidence. I laughed and called for Bryan but Courtney ran into her room yelling "I don't want Daddy to be upset!!" So I took a picture instead. After the photo shoot, I googled "how to remove lipstick from the face" and found that babyoil is the best way to get it off a little girl. I sat Courtney on the sink and realized that she had not only put lipstick on her lips, but that she had used it as eye shadow and eye liner. She really looked like a clown.

We got it all off her face, and her arm where she had tried to wipe her mouth, and she was fine. But it brought back a lot of lipstick memories I have from when I was young. I have quite a few memories of climbing up onto our bathroom counter when I was little and wiping lipstick all over the mirror. I even remember being yelled at by my mom and thinking, "But it was fun!" So I know this probably won't be the last time I'm going clean lipstick off of Courtney.

Panda

I saw this and just had to share it because it is hilarious! I am so jumpy so I can relate to this mom.

Courtney's Ladybug

I have to say that I don't like book fairs. I loved them as a child because I was the one begging my mom to spend money on books. But I don't like them as a mom because the books are way more expensive at a book fair than they are at any other time of the year. Having said that, I still used the "it's educational" rational to buy Ethan and Courtney a little something. Courtney loves ladybugs and Ethan found her a book that was in the shape of a ladybug. She was so excited she had me take a picture of her and insists that I post it on the "bog." So here it is:

He Won!!

Okay, in an effort of full disclosure, I have to admit that only 2 or 3 first graders entered projects in the History Fair. But having said that, I still think it's pretty impressive that Ethan won first place. I kind of wish I would have known about it and could have been there because it was announced during an assembly and he got a metal and everything. He was so excited.

Today was Moms and Muffins at the elementary so I went up after school to get Ethan and have a muffin with him. He was waiting for me in the classroom so excited to show me his metal. Because the fair was only required for 4th and 5th graders, we got to take his project home with us. We didn't get a muffin because the line was WAY too long, but we went to Grandma Tobler's and got a cookie to celebrate.

History Fair

Yesterday was the judging for the History Fair and then they opened the exhibit up to the public to see. After I taught piano lessons we piled in the car and met Bryan at the elementary school to take a look. The topic of the History Fair was "People in History and what effect they had on the future." There were papers, exhibits and some computer projects. It was interesting to see all the different people the kids had chosen (some were odd, but most were pretty interesting). There were exhibits on the Prophet Joseph Smith, Walt Disney, Hitler and Isaac Behunin (our ancester who named Zion Canyon). One of my piano students commented on Ethan's project. He told me that all the kids thought it was cool. Ethan got a kick out of that. I'm glad he wanted to do it and had such a good experience. He did a lot of the work.

Red Teeth

This week is Teeth Week in Ethan's class. On Tuesday, his teacher sent home a tooth care package. It had a new toothbrush, 2 toothpaste samples and 2 sets of teeth dying pills. The note said that parents should do the teeth dying pills with their child so they can talk about proper brushing. So Ethan wanted me to do it with him right after school. So we went into the bathroom, crunched up these red pills in our mouth and then tried to brush it off. Ethan freaked out and hated the fact that his teeth were all red. I thought it was fun until he started spitting red dye all over the bathroom. But Ethan worked really hard to get all the dye off his tongue and teeth. I thought it was pretty fun but he doesn't ever want to do it again.

Say What?

Courtney was "practicing the piano" this morning (which really means that she was banging on the keys while changing piano books) and decided that she wanted to sing. So she began to accompany herself. She sang "I am a Child of God" and "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" and then she began singing a couple of songs that made me really laugh.

"Shall the youth of Zion HOLLER in defending truth and right"

I just had to laugh. Then she went on to sing:

"We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet to guide us in these SATURDAYS"

It was pretty funny.

Bread Recipe

Here's the recipe to the whole wheat bread my mother-in-law worked with and perfected. It's made in a Bosch and it really good and easy!!

Wheat Bread

Combine and let sit while you grind your wheat:
3 cups hot water
oil (just enough to coat the 2/3 measuring cup you are using, I usually just spray my measuring cup with Pam)
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 Tbsp yeast

Add:
3 cups flour
1 Tbsp gluten

Mix this for 3 minutes and then let sit for 10-15 minutes.

Add:
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp dough enhancer
1 Tbsp tofu drink mix
3-5 cups flour (start with the smaller number and toward the end, add the flour 1/2 cup at a time until it reaches the right consistency, you don't want it too dry)

Knead bread in Bosch for 5 minutes.

Divide into 1 to 1 1/2 pound pieces (depending on the side of your loaf pans) and put into loaf pans. Let rise as normal. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. This recipe makes 2 loaves in my pans.

Welcome to the 21st Century!

We bought a new TV! This is the first TV we have bought in our married life. When we were first married, we had 2 televisions (one from Bryan and one I inherited from my Grandma). When those died, my parents gave us an extra one they had that had a DVD/VCR combo in it. We had a pair of bunny ear antenna that we have used and it got a few channels (we don't have cable). We were fine until channels started changing to digital and the TV's DVD quit working. It was pretty sad. With a bit of our tax return we decided to get a new TV and a VCR/DVD player. We originally put it in our room and it got some great reception with the bunny ears. Ethan and Courtney loved it. They said it was just like being in a hotel because you could lay in bed and watch TV (some of the channels were new to us so it was really cool!). But our room was thrashed and we really don't want babysitters watching TV in our bedroom, so we moved it into the living room where we thought it would get better reception...NOT!! We only get a few channels now, so we are going to hook up an antenna on the house so we can get better reception. But it's pretty neat to be "in" with everyone else! According to Ethan, all we need now is a Wii. ;)

History Fair

Ethan's school is having a History Fair this week. It is only required for the 3rd-5th graders, but when Ethan heard about it, he wanted to do a project too. For the 1st graders, it becomes a "family project" so we all got involved.

He is fascinated by the Titanic so we did some research, watched some NOVA movies and read some books. The History Fair is on a person in history and what impact they made on the future. So we chose the captain of the Titanic and wrote about what mistakes he made and what was changed. Then we made a Titanic front sinking and an iceberg. Ethan was thrilled with the results and I thought he did a great job.

Baking Bread

Thanks to a great recipe my mother-in-law gave me and regular sized pans Jeff and Andrea gave me for Christmas, I can now bake a killer loaf of wheat bread!! Here are some photos that I had to post to prove that my wheat bread can no longer be used as sinkers!

Long Legs

Today Ethan made the sad realization that his legs are too long for the kids cart at Home Depot. It's a cool, two seated racing car. He climbed in while I put Courtney in and he just couldn't get his legs in. He tried, but his knees were around his chin and he was really uncomfortable. He was so sad. But he improvised and, instead of sitting inside the cart, sat on top. My little guy is growing up. When we got home, he had me measure him and he is 4 feet 4 inches tall. At this rate, he's going to pass me up while still in elementary school!

Hilarious Slip of the Tongue

Bryan and I went to our Ward's Adult Valentine's Party last night and it was hilarious. They had a dinner and then played the "Newlywed Game." But what was really funny was a slip of the tongue that happened during dinner.

We were at a table with our neighbor (who is in the bishopric) and our home teacher (who is executive secretary) and their wives. We got into a conversation about technology and started talking about typewriters and computers. Our home teacher commented that he remembers when computers didn't have a mouse and you had to remember the "F" keys. You had to know what F2 did and what F3 did and then he made a comment to the effect that: "Yeah, you had to remember what command you were f-ing." We all paused and he went a little red and then every exploded with laughter. We were laughing so hard. Our neighbor turned to our home teacher and said, "I think you should schedule yourself an appointment with the Bishop." It was so funny. Bryan and I were still laughing about it this morning. It was just such a funny comment to come from him and Bryan can't wait to make some remark to him about it just to tease him.

I love February!

Normally, February is my least favorite month. It's short, so that's great, but it just is dreary and Valentine's Day usually doesn't help. But this year it has been a "Mom love fest" from Ethan. His 1st grade teacher is young and really cute. She has been having them write love notes as their writing assignment and Ethan has been writing them to me! I've loved it. We have had our rough times (usually revolving around piano practice) but it's nice to know that he still loves me (although I have been called the "wicked step-mother" on occasion). Here's what he brought home the other day. I'm debating whether I should frame it or not.


"I love you Mom. Becuse you make me read alot and becus you let me play with freinds. I like the books that you read to me. You make me breckfist an you play with me an becus you make me wrke (work) an becus you give me a kiss an a hug after school."

We need to work on the Southern Utah accent, but I think he did a great job! I love that kid!

Question of the Day

While I was putting Courtney down for her nap she kept patting my nose. Finally she asked, "Why do mommies and daddies have big noses and Courtneys and Ethans have little noses?" I told her that we were bigger so we needed bigger noses and she seemed fine with that. But I don't think I have a large nose! Now my three year old has given me a complex!

Buckle Buckle Beanstalk

This is the favorite activity after FHE. Ethan loves to play this game and Courtney makes us laugh because she isn't any good at it!

The rules are this: One person hides a small object while the others are out of the room. He/she then tells everyone to come in and the searching begins. When someone sees the hidden object they go and sit on the couch and say "buckle buckle beanstalk."

In our family it goes something like this:

Round 1: Bryan hides a Lego guy somewhere while Courtney and I try to keep Ethan from peeking from the hallway. Then we all run in to the living room and begin looking. After 2 seconds of looking Ethan will ask Bryan to say if he is "hot" or "cold." When Ethan sees the object he will immediately yell "buckle buckle beanstalk" and run to the couch. Courtney and I then run to where Ethan last was and find the object.

Round 2: Ethan hides the object and when we enter the room he immediately begins telling us whether we are "hot" or "cold." Bryan usually sees the object first, casually walks around a bit more and then sits on the couch and says "buckle buckle beanstalk." Ethan will run to where Bryan is and tries to find it, not realizing that Bryan saw it 5 minutes ago and has been playing with us all. When we finally find it, Courtney decides that she should hide it.

Round 3 (the funniest round!): Courtney hides the object. She usually puts it in the last place it was hidden but sometimes she will surprise us. When we enter the room she will either immediately tell us where it is or she will guide Ethan to where she has hidden it. Then she will be all excited that we found it!! Ethan gets pretty upset because she doesn't play right, but the game is fun and that's what counts.

Last night we played forever. The kids and Bryan kept playing after I started cleaning up for the night. It's a family favorite!

It's Snowing!

It has been a gloomy and rainy weekend, but today it began to snow. It isn't sticking on the ground, but it is floating through the air and making it fun to watch.

Courtney's Talk...Again

The Primary Presidency has their hands full with the little Sunbeam class. It's mostly girls (the two boys in the class aren't very active) and they all LOVE attention. During their first week in Junior Primary each little girl asked if she could talk in the microphone. And they haven't had any problems giving talks, prayers or doing the article of faith. It's been cute to watch.

This week Courtney was asked to give another talk. When she told me she had a talk she asked if she could sing another song, but I vetoed that and came up with a little, simple talk she could remember. Her topic was "I came to earth as part of a family." We showed a photo of our family and Courtney told who was in her family. Then we showed photos of the Pack and Oman sides and she told who they were. Then she bore her testimony. It was cute and simple.

We have this week off, so it will be nice ;)

Ethan's Letters

Ethan's 1st grade teacher has been having them write about their families. It's cute because they have Valentine's Day on their minds, so Ethan's notes are always about how much he loves his family. Here is what he brought home today for our family.


"I have four people in my famule. I lik my Dad he plays legos with me. I like him he is nise. From Ethan to Dad I like Courtney. She is nise. From Ethan to: Courtney."


"To: Mom From: Ethan I like my mom. Win evre I git home she givs me a kis an a hug. My mom lets me go to my frens haws. I like my mom."

Like I say: Cute kid!

Courtney Monkey!

When I hear Courtney yell "Mommy, HELP!" I have to admit that I don't run to her aid as fast as I did once. For the first couple HUNDRED times, I would sprint to where she was to see what the emergency was and how I could help her out of it. But after the first couple hundred false alarms (meaning that she wasn't in danger at all, just wanted someone to get her something) I have slowed down quite a bit.

This morning she was helping me clean and suddenly said, "I want to wear a dress." She went into her room and I didn't think anything of it. After a while I heard her familiar yell, "Mommy, HELP!" I said, "I'll be there in a minute" and kept on cleaning. A few minutes later she yelled, "Mommy, really, I need HHHEEELLLLPPP!" I went into her room to see this:

Yes, she used her closet shelves as a ladder to get to a Church dress she wanted to wear. I asked if she could hold on a minute so I could grab the camera and she happily said, "Sure Mommy." After the picture was taken and she was down, I explained to her that a) she shouldn't cry wolf any more because I didn't know she really did need my help and b) she isn't to ever climb the closet again.

But, she was having a girly day and wanted to wear a nice dress. She keeps me on my toes.

It's raining!

It is raining. Ethan absolutely loves the rain and checks Bryan's weather station every day hoping there will be rain in the forecast. Today he was rewarded. The main reason he loves rain is because he loves to have indoor recess at school. There are some days when he thinks doing art projects is a lot more fun than running around. I can't blame him. We all need a change of pace at times.

At the bus stop it was sprinkling, but none of the kids cared. They still played line tag and talked about how fun it will be to have indoor recess today. The clouds look pretty dark so we may just have a down pour. Ethan will be happy!

It's all about the shoes!

Courtney has always loved shoes, since she was a baby. She has been struggling with napping lately (she still needs one!) and the other day I decided to try a trick that worked when she was a baby. She had been crying for over an hour that she didn't want to nep. She kept coming out to tell me "something" and then going back in her room. Finally, I told her it was time for her to sleep and then I put shoes on her. It did the trick. There is something about her having shoes on that gives her comfort and lets her settle down. She slept for over 2 hours!

Last Wednesday we went to dance class and she was really struggling. She kept telling me she was tired and that "I just can't handle this right now." I suspected that her shoes may have been too tight so I asked her teacher to let me try some a size bigger. We put them on her and she was in HEAVEN. She had no problems dancing after that. Apparently it was all about the shoes.

How long will it last?

Our morning routine is pretty simple. Ethan and Courtney wake up REALLY EARLY. While they eat breakfast, I make Ethan's lunch and get his backpack ready for school (hang it on the door, etc.). Ethan then practices the piano followed by Courtney practicing the piano (she doesn't do anything but open books, bang the keys and then close the books, but she's in the habit now). We then read scriptures, Ethan brushes his teeth, put on shoes and then proceeds to check the clock every minute until it is 8:15 and he can go outside to wait for the bus. Courtney always insists that we go outside with him so she can play with the big kids. They all put their backpacks in a line (including Courtney) so they have their place saved. Oh, our house is the bus stop so it makes for a wild morning. When the bus rounds the corner, every kid at the stop yells "BUS!!" and dashes for their backpacks. They then file onto the bus. Courtney calmly walks to where her backpack was left on the sidewalk and puts it on her back.

Now here's the part I'm wondering how long will last. When Ethan gets on the bus, he always gets a window seat facing our house and proceeds to wave and blow kisses to Courtney and me as we watch the bus drive away. It's really sweet and really makes my day and I know it makes Courtney feel special. But I'm wondering how long he will stay in his sweet mode where he doesn't care if his friends know he loves his mom. But I'll take it as long as I can get it!! He's such a great kid.

Musical Smarties!

My kids are a lot like me in that they can hear a song twice and know the words. It's really funny sometimes because it takes people by surprise. Courtney listens to her CD of the Primary program songs each night over and over again (it's on repeat) and it's only been 1 month and she can sing most of the songs all the way through.

I have been helping the Young Women learn a song to sing for Ward Conference in a few weeks. Tonight I went to Mutual to help them practice. I went early and then Bryan brought the kids up when it was time for opening exercises. After they had opening exercises, Bryan and all the young men left and the kids stayed with me while we ran through the song a few more times. When I looked over at Ethan and Courtney, both of them were singing right along...and kept singing all the way home. It was cute!