Jon has had a fancy camcorder at home , checked out for his Video class, so we have been taking advantage of it by taking some home movies that are easily uploaded to the computer (something that our camcorder won't do).
Jon edited a bunch of footage together, but the length of the video is still almost 7 minutes, so I won't feel bad if no one gets through the whole thing besides the Grandmas and Grandpas.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
what's in a name?
I'm not a big fan of nicknames. Especially when parents give their kids a name and then plan on calling them by a nickname. If you want to call your child "Katie" then name her Katie and not Kathryn. The argument I hear most often is "I wanted to give them a choice to use their full name when they were adults." A valid argument, I just do not agree with it.
Another issue on the name front that bugs me is the increasing use of boy names for girls- making them unisex. Seth was telling me about a new child in his class and he said "We call her 'girl Alex' because we already have a 'boy Alex'." How sad is that? For the boy and the girl. What boy wants to have the same name as a girl and likewise what girl wants to be called "girl Alex"? Please let the boys keep their names people!
Enough of my rant, the real reason for this post is Jonas. I wanted to document some things that he has been doing lately so I won't forget. In direct conflict of my detest for nicknames, my boys both have them (Maryn doesn't- we just called her "baby girl" for a long time until she wasn't the baby anymore). But unlike what I described above- these are more like "lovey" nicknames that we just use in the family and would never plan on calling them that outside of the home. Seth is "Seffers" and Jonas is "Joanie". This is also in conflict with my dislike for unisex names- because "Joanie" is a girls name (which doesn't necissarily make it unisex, it really is a girl's name). But nonetheless- Joanie it is. I'm not sure how it started, but it sure has stuck. I'm confident that he will grow out of us calling him that because we don't use "Seffers" name very often anymore, so I'm not too worried.
So now- back to the documentation. Just this week, at his eleventh month mark, Jonas decided that he didn't want to be swaddled anymore (yes, I was still swaddling him every time I put him to sleep). So I was at a real disadvantge because I didn't know how to get him to sleep anymore. You'd think that by my third child, I would have it figured out, but no- every child is different. So I followed the example of my sister and started a little bedtime routine. I take him into his room, turn on the nightlight, sing him 2-3 songs while rocking and then lay him down in his bed all the time saying "It's time for bed, Joanie, bedtime." On that first night, I walked out of the room, closed the door, and just stood there is disbelief- he didn't cry! Not one little peep! Amazing. Now he hasn't been that perfect every night, and nap times are harder too, but for the majority of the bedtimes- he layed right down and went to sleep without making a single noise. I'm not saying this to toot my own horn, because seriously all the credit should go to Jonas. He is just such a chill baby. Thank heaven for him.
One last shout out- Happy Birthday Ellena! What a big girl!
P.S. For those of you who inquired about my new background, I got it for FREE here.
Another issue on the name front that bugs me is the increasing use of boy names for girls- making them unisex. Seth was telling me about a new child in his class and he said "We call her 'girl Alex' because we already have a 'boy Alex'." How sad is that? For the boy and the girl. What boy wants to have the same name as a girl and likewise what girl wants to be called "girl Alex"? Please let the boys keep their names people!
Enough of my rant, the real reason for this post is Jonas. I wanted to document some things that he has been doing lately so I won't forget. In direct conflict of my detest for nicknames, my boys both have them (Maryn doesn't- we just called her "baby girl" for a long time until she wasn't the baby anymore). But unlike what I described above- these are more like "lovey" nicknames that we just use in the family and would never plan on calling them that outside of the home. Seth is "Seffers" and Jonas is "Joanie". This is also in conflict with my dislike for unisex names- because "Joanie" is a girls name (which doesn't necissarily make it unisex, it really is a girl's name). But nonetheless- Joanie it is. I'm not sure how it started, but it sure has stuck. I'm confident that he will grow out of us calling him that because we don't use "Seffers" name very often anymore, so I'm not too worried.
So now- back to the documentation. Just this week, at his eleventh month mark, Jonas decided that he didn't want to be swaddled anymore (yes, I was still swaddling him every time I put him to sleep). So I was at a real disadvantge because I didn't know how to get him to sleep anymore. You'd think that by my third child, I would have it figured out, but no- every child is different. So I followed the example of my sister and started a little bedtime routine. I take him into his room, turn on the nightlight, sing him 2-3 songs while rocking and then lay him down in his bed all the time saying "It's time for bed, Joanie, bedtime." On that first night, I walked out of the room, closed the door, and just stood there is disbelief- he didn't cry! Not one little peep! Amazing. Now he hasn't been that perfect every night, and nap times are harder too, but for the majority of the bedtimes- he layed right down and went to sleep without making a single noise. I'm not saying this to toot my own horn, because seriously all the credit should go to Jonas. He is just such a chill baby. Thank heaven for him.
One last shout out- Happy Birthday Ellena! What a big girl!
P.S. For those of you who inquired about my new background, I got it for FREE here.
Friday, February 1, 2008
winter storm warning
...is currently in effect in my area. We woke up to 7-8 inches this morning and it has now started to snow again. I included the following picture because it shows the snow accumulation on top of the table.
It started snowing yesterday around 2 pm. I got a little nervous when it was still snowing 4 hours later and I realized that I was out of some grocery essentials...me and everyone else in my neighborhood. The grocery store was packed with people- imagine Wednesday night before Thanksgiving...only worse. I was only buying a few things, milk, cheese, bananas, tortillas (you know- the essentials) but it still took me almost 20 minutes to get through the check-out line. The guy in front of me was buying a cart full of Lean Cuisine meals and yogurt, apparantly those were his essentials.
As we watched Lost last night, the ticker along the bottom of the screen listed schools and other placed that were going to be closed today. I even got a call from Seth's preschool teacher saying that his school was cancelled for today. Jon anxiously waited for any news of his school being closed. No luck. Everything in our town is closed today- public schools, government offices, library, etc...except Jon's school.
So it's kind of nice today to have an excuse to stay home. My kids are begging me to let them go outside and play in all this snow, but that is a "Daddy job" so they have to wait until he gets home this afternoon.
I'm really missing Arizona right now.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
proud spouse
Jon has been making some short videos for a new class this semester. It has been fun to have a (very, very) small part in the process. Check them out here. So creative!
Monday, January 28, 2008
melancholy monday
I feel I should add my voice to countless others in acknowledging the death of our prophet. I admit that when I heard it, the first feeling I felt was relief. To think that he spent almost his entire life in church service, not to mention raising a family in his private life. He worked so hard, probably harder than most people his age do or should. Talk about fighting the good fight and enduring to the end. I also feel relief in knowing that the priesthood power continues and that there is no question who his successor will be. Unlike current American politics where there is so much speculation as to who our next president will be- it's comforting to know that that same craziness doesn't exist in church leadership.
This incident adds to my melancholy feeling as of late. The many stresses of trying to find a new home have worn me out, not to mention the constant demands of three small children, a hard-working and busy grad student husband, and living the life of perpetual poverty.
Jon and I read this talk together last night. As usual, it was exactly what I needed to hear- the true meaning of "enduring to the end".
"Enduring to the end is a process filling every minute of our life, every hour, every day, from sunrise to sunrise. It is accomplished through personal discipline following the commandments of God.
The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is a way of life. It is not for Sunday only. It is not something we can do only as a habit or a tradition if we expect to harvest all of its promised blessings. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
Enduring to the end implies “patient continuance in well doing” (Romans 2:7), striving to keep the commandments (see 2 Nephi 31:10), and doing the works of righteousness (see D&C 59:23). It requires sacrifice and hard work. To endure to the end, we need to trust our Father in Heaven and make wise choices, including paying our tithes and offerings, honoring our temple covenants, and serving the Lord and one another willingly and faithfully in our Church callings and responsibilities. It means strength of character, selflessness, and humility; it means integrity and honesty to the Lord and our fellowmen. It means making our homes strong places of defense and a refuge against worldly evils; it means loving and honoring our spouses and children."
"Enduring to the end is not just a matter of passively tolerating life’s difficult circumstances or “hanging in there.” It's not? Dang it! I've got some more work to do...
This incident adds to my melancholy feeling as of late. The many stresses of trying to find a new home have worn me out, not to mention the constant demands of three small children, a hard-working and busy grad student husband, and living the life of perpetual poverty.
Jon and I read this talk together last night. As usual, it was exactly what I needed to hear- the true meaning of "enduring to the end".
"Enduring to the end is a process filling every minute of our life, every hour, every day, from sunrise to sunrise. It is accomplished through personal discipline following the commandments of God.
The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is a way of life. It is not for Sunday only. It is not something we can do only as a habit or a tradition if we expect to harvest all of its promised blessings. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7).
Enduring to the end implies “patient continuance in well doing” (Romans 2:7), striving to keep the commandments (see 2 Nephi 31:10), and doing the works of righteousness (see D&C 59:23). It requires sacrifice and hard work. To endure to the end, we need to trust our Father in Heaven and make wise choices, including paying our tithes and offerings, honoring our temple covenants, and serving the Lord and one another willingly and faithfully in our Church callings and responsibilities. It means strength of character, selflessness, and humility; it means integrity and honesty to the Lord and our fellowmen. It means making our homes strong places of defense and a refuge against worldly evils; it means loving and honoring our spouses and children."
"Enduring to the end is not just a matter of passively tolerating life’s difficult circumstances or “hanging in there.” It's not? Dang it! I've got some more work to do...
Thursday, January 17, 2008
"Bootie-licious" (or pics to go with my last post)
Seth and Maryn in their Christmas Sunday clothes. Seth looks pretty happy doesn't he? To see more pics of our holiday times, click here. We also had some fun times with Wendy, click here to see those pics. 
Our family with Darth Vader at the Star Wars exhibit, for more pics of this fun trip, click here.
Now onto pictures of the projects I have completed this past month (in random order). (For a few more pics of these projects, click here.) First- a hat for Wendy. She bought the fancy-schmancy yarn and I crocheted it, we added cute little pom-poms to the end of the earflaps later.
Our family with Darth Vader at the Star Wars exhibit, for more pics of this fun trip, click here.Now onto pictures of the projects I have completed this past month (in random order). (For a few more pics of these projects, click here.) First- a hat for Wendy. She bought the fancy-schmancy yarn and I crocheted it, we added cute little pom-poms to the end of the earflaps later.
A hat for Ellena. This one fit because I had Jonas to try it on. See her wear it here.
Mary Jane slipper booties for Annie, made intentionally big so as not to run into the preivous problem. Jonas modeled these too. See them received here.
And finally, a collaborative effort. Wendy cable knitted the front two panels and I crocheted the border, made the flower, and put the whole thing together. I was surprised that she actually put it on for the picture, she won't wear it more than a few seconds.
You may be asking yourself- when does she have to time do all of this and keep her house clean, her family fed and still get some sleep? The answer is- I don't. That's what hobbies are all about, right? :)
Monday, January 14, 2008
getting back on track
I have not posted anything for a while for a few reasons. The main reason being that as more and more days came and went, I realized that it would take more and more effort to catch up on my blog and that made me avoid it altogether. But now, Jon started his new semester today and so our daily routines have begun to normalize. I realize that I need to get back to my real life. So I will attempt to give a short summary of our last 2 weeks.
First of all, some people commented and wanted more details about our crazy Christmas Eve. Well here they are in all their glory: We drove up to Chicago on Sunday (Dec 23) night and picked up Wendy from the Chicago Midway Airport. (Which was so busy, they wouldn't let anyone stop and wait for the people they were picking up, so we had to drive in a stop-and-go circle with hundreds of other cars 5 or 6 times.) We stayed at a hotel that I had booked online that was in downtown Chicago. It was an older but pretty nice hotel. The kids had trouble going to sleep because they were so excited about everything- Chicago, Wendy, Christmas. We should have planned better and brought the pack and play for Jonas and a sleeping bag for the kids- but we didn't- so Jon shared a bed with Seth and Maryn and I shared a bed with Wendy and Jonas. It was pretty much uncomfortable for everyone. Then as we were leaving the next day, a piece of paper was slipped under our door- it was a bill for parking at the hotel- $30. I have never heard of anything so crazy- a hotel charging you extra to park at their hotel! Next, we headed off to the museum to see the exhibit. We decided to be smart and save the $12 it cost to park there and park on the street a few blocks away. It was free admission day- so it was crazy busy. It was a challenge trying to keep our small group together. We went to the exhibit first and stayed in there for about an hour. It was really really awesome! There were costumes from the movies, a hovercraft you could ride on, an R2D2 you could build then plug in and drive, and a viritual game you played with small tiles on a large circle while watching yourself on a screen (hard to explain, but really cool). The rest of the museum was really really awesome too, three floors full of really cool interactive rooms about a variety of topics. By the time we got out of the exhibit, we only had the energy and time to go to a few rooms- farming, circus, and space exploration. Jon walked the few blocks, got the van and brought it back to the museum so we could load up the crew. He returned with a Christmas present from the City of Chicago- $50 ticket for not having our IL liscense plate on the front of our van. This is the law in IL, but there are so many cars in our town that don't have it, we have just been dragging our feet about getting it done. So we saved $12 in order to pay $50. Merry Christmas.
We had a nice Christmas, low-key, here at home with Wendy as a guest. We spent the next week getting our needlework on- me: crochet and Wendy: knitting. We both attempted to teach the other our skill, but both ended up sticking to what we know. We collaborated on a really cute sweater poncho for Maryn (that she won't wear- the stinker) and completed a bunch of other projects. I will post pics later this week.
We spent new year's eve at a friends house playing board games and singing along to the guitar (2 of my favorite things). Wendy went back up to Chicago to do the NYE thing and came home 24 hours later with Hans. We spent the next week watching movies, eating good food, crocheting/knitting, playing nintendo, and avoiding the outdoors (wind chill was below 0).
Last week...mmm...what did we do? My brother came home from a mission on Jan 10. Our town's library opened up their new building and we went three times (it's really cool). The rest of the week blends together.
And now here I sit. Dirty dishes, dirty laundry, dirty house, dirty kids- and I'm blogging. I guess my life really is back to normal.
First of all, some people commented and wanted more details about our crazy Christmas Eve. Well here they are in all their glory: We drove up to Chicago on Sunday (Dec 23) night and picked up Wendy from the Chicago Midway Airport. (Which was so busy, they wouldn't let anyone stop and wait for the people they were picking up, so we had to drive in a stop-and-go circle with hundreds of other cars 5 or 6 times.) We stayed at a hotel that I had booked online that was in downtown Chicago. It was an older but pretty nice hotel. The kids had trouble going to sleep because they were so excited about everything- Chicago, Wendy, Christmas. We should have planned better and brought the pack and play for Jonas and a sleeping bag for the kids- but we didn't- so Jon shared a bed with Seth and Maryn and I shared a bed with Wendy and Jonas. It was pretty much uncomfortable for everyone. Then as we were leaving the next day, a piece of paper was slipped under our door- it was a bill for parking at the hotel- $30. I have never heard of anything so crazy- a hotel charging you extra to park at their hotel! Next, we headed off to the museum to see the exhibit. We decided to be smart and save the $12 it cost to park there and park on the street a few blocks away. It was free admission day- so it was crazy busy. It was a challenge trying to keep our small group together. We went to the exhibit first and stayed in there for about an hour. It was really really awesome! There were costumes from the movies, a hovercraft you could ride on, an R2D2 you could build then plug in and drive, and a viritual game you played with small tiles on a large circle while watching yourself on a screen (hard to explain, but really cool). The rest of the museum was really really awesome too, three floors full of really cool interactive rooms about a variety of topics. By the time we got out of the exhibit, we only had the energy and time to go to a few rooms- farming, circus, and space exploration. Jon walked the few blocks, got the van and brought it back to the museum so we could load up the crew. He returned with a Christmas present from the City of Chicago- $50 ticket for not having our IL liscense plate on the front of our van. This is the law in IL, but there are so many cars in our town that don't have it, we have just been dragging our feet about getting it done. So we saved $12 in order to pay $50. Merry Christmas.
We had a nice Christmas, low-key, here at home with Wendy as a guest. We spent the next week getting our needlework on- me: crochet and Wendy: knitting. We both attempted to teach the other our skill, but both ended up sticking to what we know. We collaborated on a really cute sweater poncho for Maryn (that she won't wear- the stinker) and completed a bunch of other projects. I will post pics later this week.
We spent new year's eve at a friends house playing board games and singing along to the guitar (2 of my favorite things). Wendy went back up to Chicago to do the NYE thing and came home 24 hours later with Hans. We spent the next week watching movies, eating good food, crocheting/knitting, playing nintendo, and avoiding the outdoors (wind chill was below 0).
Last week...mmm...what did we do? My brother came home from a mission on Jan 10. Our town's library opened up their new building and we went three times (it's really cool). The rest of the week blends together.
And now here I sit. Dirty dishes, dirty laundry, dirty house, dirty kids- and I'm blogging. I guess my life really is back to normal.
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