Sterling's Nap

Sterling has his own night time routine. We go into his room together and kneel beside his bed. I help him say his prayers (mostly him repeating my prompts). Then he climbs in bed. I sing "I Am a Child of God." Then he points and says "laundry room." The laundry room is visible from his room. He will calmly fall asleep in his own bed as long as I have not A: gone downstairs or B: entered my bedroom (ensue instant howling).

Sterling wanted to be near me the other day while I was wrapping presents in my bedroom. It was nap time. I put his pillow on a small area rug and told him it was a bed. I started wrapping presents. He laid down on it and babbled to himself. Then I started catching words "(l)ead me, (gu)ide me (w)alk (b)eside me . . ." and realized he was singing "I Am a Child of God" to himself!

Merry Swine Flu to All

The boys' school offered swine flu vaccines to all the students yesterday. Kaith bravely took his. Trevor declined. Either way, it may have been too late. Trevor was feverish and coughing starting yesterday evening. I've had a cough since Thursday, and Sterling has had a low-grade fever with a cough, so I wasn't overly pampering. This afternoon, with Trevor's temp. at 102.9*, Cory took him to the walk-in clinic. He called to inform me that Trevor had tested positive for swine flu. I asked if he was joking. He wasn't. The doctor prescribed medication for our whole family; Cory stocked up on popsicles and other beverages. Kaith stomached the medicine fine. Trevor and Miriam vomited within 5 minutes. Sterling vomited within about 5 seconds. Cory and I have adult capsules, which hasn't bothered us yet.

Nathan and Rebekah: our best wedding present to you was that we did not attend your wedding today. Have a healthy honeymoon.

Even though I have an extreme excuse for missing Church tomorrow, I feel bad missing my first full Sunday as Relief Society President.

Sustained

Such a friendly bishop. After a few weeks in the ward, we still hadn't met him, so he called us one weekday evening to bring the whole family to come meet with him. We went. He called me to be Ward Relief Society President. Seriously. He insists it was inspiration, not desperation, and we believe him. I got sustained last Sunday. The plethora of sisters who had never met me were very warm in their expressions of support and appreciation, which helped me feel more at ease. I've spent half my free time this week getting oriented in my calling. The other half I've spent putting the house in order. Fortunately that includes at least a little interior design, which I love. If this week is symbolic of the average busyness of my calling, our family can handle it, as long as God keeps helping.

Suspended

Really, I didn't know they suspended kindergarteners. Leave it to Trevor to find a way. Last Friday he had a one day suspension from riding the bus because he was a repeat offender on spitting (a serious health concern, the school administration noted). Trevor doesn't know how to spit. It's more of a fine mist. And he's sent to time-out when he does it at home. His one day suspension from riding the bus was actually his best day at school: he brought home a behavior sheet with an unprecedented 8 smiley faces. I think he enjoyed having Dad drive him to school, even though Dad was lecturing half the way there.

I'm planning to move his bedtime up significantly, because he's really hard to wake up in the morning, and frequently falls asleep on the bus ride home. On days when he's especially difficult to wake up and we have to really push him to not miss the bus, he seems to have a rougher day at school. Like yesterday. He started by head-butting a friend. Trevor claims the friend thought it was fun-it was just that the teacher thought it was mean. If he had stopped there, he might have been okay. Of course he didn't. Next he kicked, spit upon, and licked another child. When he was reprimanded, he rolled on the floor laughing. While in time-out in the office, he stuck his tongue out at a teacher. I'm not clear which part of this series of events the school took most seriously, but they suspended him from school for today.

After being upset with Trevor, Cory suddenly saw the funny side. How is it Trevor, who is probably half a head shorter than the next shortest kid in class, and probably ten pounds lighter than his peers, ends up as the bully of the class?

Really, I'm renewing my efforts to domesticate my children. Evidence? Kaith has pulled a sticker-a-day in his behavior report (they only get a sticker if there is nothing to report for the day) and told me today how he was going to get a fifth. Now please ignore that my daughter cut her hair this morning for the umpteenth time.

My Sparkley

My husband-to-be had exquisite taste in choosing my diamond engagement/wedding ring. There wasn't a ghost of a "couldn't this be exchanged" thought to be had. Sometime after our seventh wedding anniversary this spring I had a broad dry patch of eczema on my ring finger. Naturally, I set aside my ring to let the skin heal. The children kept finding my "safe" hiding places, which left me constantly finding new hiding places. Well, sometime around May, I stopped seeing my ring, even when I looked for it. We waited, prayed, searched, waited, prayed, searched, again and again. We packed up and cleaned the house. It never turned up. Threads of hope rapidly unraveled. Three thousand miles later, I feel self-conscious taking my family places with my under dressed finger. It sheds doubt on one's virtue. Not that strangers care, but I do.

Today I was looking for my poinsettia pin, so I could wear it to church tomorrow. I opened the box that held my pearl bracelet, and down fell a lump of gold and diamond. I sat on the closet floor, squeezing it, laughing, crying and praying. I made more fuss over finding it than I did when my husband first gave it to me. I had been sure it was lost forever. So, rejoice with me. My hand looks whole again.

Non sequitor: as if that didn't make the day fabulous enough, while I was gone for a few hours, Cory managed to install our light/ceiling fan in the master bedroom! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

Trevor's School

By the time Trevor began attending his current school, he could read any short-vowel, 3 letter word you threw at him, combined into sentences or short paragraphs. His teacher assigned him to pre-reading group, level 1, because, even though he could read, he didn't pass that "reading readiness test." Fine. She sent me a note today that she'll be testing him tomorrow and expects him to move up. I can't believe Trevor spends 6 hours and 45 minutes at school, and it has taken him a month to pass that far. At this rate he'll be sounding out c-a-t around June. Oh, wait, he was doing that in preschool. Right now I feel like kindergarten is a waste of our time.

The one thing his school does best at is behavior/discipline. His teacher reads books, daily, about appropriate behavior. She made out a personalized behavior plan, and sends home a report, daily, of how he has done. Really, she's trying. Trevor brought home his fourth discipline referral form for the week today. Yes, I know it's only the third day of the week. You do the math. Instead of improving in his behavior, it's more like he's regressing. I partly blame it on the excessively long school day. When he was on half days, at his last school, he adored school, his teacher, and the whole process. I don't think I ever heard a complaint about his behavior. Now it's daily.

His current teacher wants, as soon as possible, to set-up another conference with me. What could I possibly say to her? Certainly not that he would be reading better if he was still homeschooled. It's funny, I waited so long to put my children in school because I didn't want them to experience negative peer pressure, when (what do you know?) my own children are the negative peer pressure at school. Their own worst enemy. Seriously, though. What do I say to Trevor's teacher?

Wet Electronics

For the minority of planet Earth who have been trying to contact me, you may have noticed my cell phone is off. After being negligently left in a pants pocket, it enjoyed a wet ride with a load of darks, while I spent half a day wondering where it was. There's a slim chance its internal workings survived. I've bee trying to wait for it to dry-out before turning it on.

By the way, what's the market for water-proof electronics?

Thanksgiving Thought

Trevor was telling me what he learned in school about Native Americans. When he was done, I asked if he knew we had some Native American ancestors. He was all surprise, and said "I haven't met my Native American Aunt-Sisters in a hundred years!"

Gwama's Fishie

I can't remember when either grandma last had a fish die, but a few days ago, Miriam asked me when "Gwama's fishie" was going to be resurrected. I'm not sure what our doctrine is on animal resurrection, but I tried to explain about spirits and death and resurrection. Today she has had a fever. Tonight she was on my lap while I was reading Old Testament stories when she stopped me to say, "Gwama's fishie sure is taking a long time to be resurrected."

My New World

We're mostly settled into our new house. The boys have adjusted to their long public school days, and the internet is working. I shall now rejoin the land of blogging. This implies that we are very soon going to replace the missing battery charger for our camera. I've missed so many photographic opportunities.

I am wondering, with my world being so new and all, if I should start a new blog. It's partly the focus, I was thinking about being more education/nurturing child oriented, less personal, and partly the labels-I don't know how to clean them up once they're started. I have a barely used "art" label. I want it to be "arts and crafts." I know some families keep two or more blogs-one for friends, one for a target audience. I think that's what I'll do, although I wonder how regularly I can post on both.

First Swim Lessons

I've been wanting to see the children in swim lessons for years, but didn't dare take all of the kids to the pool by myself (read-before Cory graduated college), so this summer was the first time we were able to put them in lessons. We put Kaith and Trevor in the same class. Their teacher thought Trevor looked a little small, but let him stay anyway. He was a little piranha. At the last lesson, his teacher said he could progress to the next level. Miriam was sick the first week, and her teacher was a boy, so she didn't want to go to lessons. We figured it would be easier to put Sterling in a Mommy-and-Me class than to keep him out of the pool for half an hour, but he hated the first five or so lessons. Then I saw a ball. Once we let him stand on the side of the pool and throw the ball in, he loved the pool. He got very brave about jumping in (more like a big step into the water). With a couple days left, Cory got permission to take her into the Mommy-and-Me class. She loved those last two days.

Trevor's Sprinkle Cake

The commissary had tubs of sprinkles. I thought Trevor would love that for his FHE treat responsibility. I was right.

Creative Letters

Every now and then I get around to a "supermom project." This was one of them. I collected pink rose petals for Miriam, and green leaves for Trevor (their favorite colors, respectively). On a sheets of paper, I drew bubble letter initials, then let them fill them in and glue on the nature. The project didn't last long, and I probably valued it more than the children, but it turned out looking good (okay, I helped Miriam a little).

Oregon Coast

What we did for summer vacation . . .
we drove down to visit our wonderful relatives (on my mom's side). We made a large group outing to the beach. When we got there in the morning, it was cloudy, windy, and chilly. Sterling wouldn't let go of me, and I shuffled my feet in the warm sand as I walked. Eventually, he drove a tiny dump truck in the sand, and found food in easy reach. My other children? You'll have to ask someone who knew. Perhaps Alex. Later, the clouds disappeared, Sterling chased waves, and the tops of Cory's feet burned dreadfully. Judging by the end of the day photos, we all got a bit of sun on our faces.

Miriam and Family Home Evening

We were shopping in the baking aisle shortly before Miriam was responsible for a family night treat. She started hopping up and down shouting "pink cake! Pink cake!" I usually bake from scratch, but she was so excited, we bought a pink cake mix. Then, hoping to build skills, I got a little tube of pink icing, imagining that she would decorate the cupcakes with pink squiggly marks. She didn't. She decorated with pink puddles. The cupcakes with squiggly marks are the ones I did to show her how. She was happy about it, though.

Pioneer Activity

Early this summer our Primary had a Saturday Pioneer activity. They had a handcart replica, and learned how little could be packed (less stuff than I'm packing in the back of our van for our one week road trip, although more food). Afterward, the children made ice cream. The ingredients were put in a sealed glass jar, which was put in a #10 can with ice, then sealed. The children rolled their containers back and forth for about ten minutes, until dessert was chilled and thickened. The most interesting part of the day was watching Miriam "adopt" an older girl, whom she tagged along with most of the activity, like a new-found sister.

An Officer's Wife

I've been waiting to post until we found our camera again, but it hasn't shown up, so I may be posting without photos for a while.

Yesterday Cory was officially commissioned as an officer (with the rate of an Ensign). We took all the children, clean and dressed-up, to the ceremony. Afterward, we hung around Seattle for lunch (in the Center House) and playing in the fountain.

We returned to Hometown in time to submit Trevor's kindergarten registration. This year they have two full-time kindergartens and two part-time. They will be drawing names today. We should get a phone call today or Monday if Trevor is a "chosen one" for full-day kindergarten. I'm hoping for it, because it would save us an extra trip to the school.

Pending Inspection

Our house has sold, basically. We got a second offer this week, asking for lower plus full closing costs. We counter-offered so we would pay closing costs, but the sell price would help us almost break even. He countered offered again . . . aiming to leave us $3 grand in the hole. So much for our investment, but we suspected as much when we listed the house. We all slept on it. Our realtor called his realtor and they volunteered to each take $1000 off of their commissions. That way we don't have to pay more than a monthly mortgage would be anyway to clear out. As long as the buyer isn't stingy over the inspection, we close September 10th, right before Cory starts Officer Development School (boot camp). Our new house should be done around November or December.

Drive-In Movie

As a special family night activity, we went to the drive-in. I hadn't been since I was about Kaith's age. I warned the children in advance that it was kind of a grown-up movie (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, rated PG), but that it might be fun for them because the screen was outside. Miriam obligingly fell asleep for us on the way there (she woke just before the previews). To pass the time while waiting, Cory started us on an alphabet game. He said he's played it with the children before, but I was surprised at how good the boys were at it. For this game, the first person said something that started with the letter A, the second person said something that started with the letter B, and so on. The boys had to sing the alphabet song to figure out which letter came next. I think we got through this game all the way twice before losing interest.

As for the movie, I think we lost some of the nuances of the movie when all the children tried sitting/standing/climbing/squirming up front with us and changing the radio settings, but overall it was a lovely family outing.

We all slept while Cory watched the second feature, Transformers 2. The car needed a jump start to go, but apparently the drive-in comes equipped and trained for that. We were on the road in almost no time.

Adventures With Pizza Dough

I was stretching pizza dough Monday evening when the children came in, wanting to help. I gave each of them a crust and mat to work with wile I chopped the lunch meat to go on it (yes. lunch meat). Miriam and Trevor got out rolling pins and got to work. Miriam was excited when her dough rolled unevenly and looked like a hop-a-roo. Trevor must have gotten bored after finishing his rectangle, because next it was rolled up, then smooshed into a ball. When I looked again, he told me it was "grown up pizza." He had gotten a leftover packet of crushed red pepper from Little Caesars, opened it by himself, and smothered the bottom of the dough with it. His creativity did not end there, though. He partially flattened it again, then pressed letter cookie cutters on the top. He was very proud of his word pizza, although a little uncertain what it said.

Piano Parking

After the older children were in bed Sunday evening, I unwound by practicing hymns. I was absorbed in my own actions for a while, and was only vaguely aware of Sterling playing near me and on me. I don't usually allow the children to play with toys on the piano, but when I saw how carefully he had parked his cars on the groups of two white keys, I didn't want to interfere. When he decided he was done, he put his fingers on the keys to play a parking song.

At the River

On Saturday we went to the Stake Pioneer Activity at Cascade Park. Grandma and Grandpa W. were there, along with the uncles (Nathan at a young single adult activity), including David, excluding Andrew . . . I mean the current Elder West.

We spent most of the time down at the river. The children were enthusiastic about throwing rocks in the river. BIG ROCKS. This would have been more peaceful if it wasn't for all the vulnerable swimmers and waders filling the water. Kaith got in the water the most, doing the Alligator Walk close to shore. Trevor disappeared upstream or farther out in the river depending on this inclinations. Fortunately Grandma had brought cookies, which drew the wandering children back at the end.

The Darth Side

Kaith was acting out Star Wars, playing Darth Vader.

He came up to me with a scowl, and fiercely said,

"I turned to the dark side because I don't like it when people call me Annie."

Staged to Sell

We've been browsing houses online with interest these past few days. While looking through a newly posted cottage in Marysville, Miriam saw the girl's room and said, "That's a pretty bed." There was a long pause, then she exclaimed excitedly, "Hey! That's my bed!"

By the way, thanks to all the family and friends who have been helping and/or lending furniture to make our house on this end look close to its best.

Mac, Felix, and Ashley

This is a post about major additions to our family this year.

Mac was added in late May. With a 24" monitor that has all the hardware built-in, Mac is the perfect study buddy for all my art classes. It's a lot easier to skim the thumbnails when they're big enough to see. While his Victorian cousin is quite a show stopper, I think I prefer his quality and ease of use. Perhaps I'm growing up.

Felix was added recently as a replacement for our last vacuum, which last died about a year ago. This last vacuum had been the second-cheapest model we found, and we did not make that mistake a second time. One of the best things about Felix is that his belt can't ever break--he doesn't have one! Instead, Felix comes with a clutch. The beater bar is easy to remove for cleaning, it has multiple filters to minimize air dust, and easily detaches from its base to become a lightweight canister vacuum. The best part about Felix is his design (perhaps I'm not growing up). We opted for the cream design with a plaid body and chocolate brown accents. That, combined with his shapely body makes him what may be the most stylish vacuum on the planet.

Ashley is a new construction possibility (okay, nothing's possible until after the pre-approval). She has a spacious great room design, with vaulted ceilings over the living-dining-kitchen. There is an optional fourth bedroom, which would bring square footage over 1700 square feet. The currently available model is nearly perfect, but I'm not sure I could live with black appliances and dark gray countertops, even if they are Corian.

Cory's Graduation

After more than a decade of higher education, Cory has graduated with a B.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. Having taken this long, he had to go through two graduation ceremonies to feel officially matriculated. It was an exciting day. That one day left behind our degree-less past behind and opened so many doors and so much employment security we never had before. The smaller, department graduation was the most intimate and entertaining. Not only was each graduate named, but a short write-up was read. Cory is going to be a Nuclear Power School Instructor. One of his classmates is going to attend graduate school at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Another, who believes that repetition is the best way to learning, is now going to start over from the beginning, by re-attending preschool this summer. I think these were ways of making light of their inability to find employment.

Incidentally, Cory's new job is neither aeronautical nor astronautical. It's just plain nautical. I'd like to thank the Navy right now for a paid three month summer vacation.

Employed and Moving

For the few people who missed my mom's blog: Cory is now employed, with the Navy! He called me this afternoon from D.C., his voice dripping with jubilation . . . and the desire to nap. His hotel is on the same block as the Ford Theater, close to the Smithsonian and White House, but it was late enough when he finished up that I'm not sure he'll get to go sight-seeing.

Income is now accumulating, even though "Boot Camp" doesn't start until mid-September, but before you start thinking we don't have to move cross-country until October, let's keep in mind the school age children. It appears that elementary schools in that area start in August (too hot to play?). My biggest let-down is that the public elementary school with a drama program had an application deadline for the end of March. Oh, well. Maybe the next year.

So, house for sale. Hmm . . . I've been de-cluttering for months, could we be staged and ready by next Monday? We're having a little work party Saturday (okay, I haven't officially cleared this with Cory, but my adrenaline is ready).

How Do I Love Thee

Since I missed most of Church today, I've been getting a spiritual recharge from Mormon Messages on youtube. Elder Holland's message about love is the one that sank the deepest, partly because I'm missing Cory who is still on the other side of the continent, and partly from the discovery of how many different ways family have showed love and support for me, in the days I thought I would be most alone

like when Alex slept over, so we didn't have bring the kids to the shuttle in the middle of the night, then played with the children all Saturday morning, so I could catch up on housework

like the several family members who quickly salvaged a ridiculous situation when I locked my keys in my van . . . some by transporting us, some by unlocking the vehicle--I still can't believe they did it

like when people have talked with us and supported us and fed us and entertained us.



If Cory wasn't gone (until Tuesday), I wouldn't have known how much outpouring of love our families were capable of, nor how much I would miss him. I miss our evening talks about current events and the day's experiences. I miss his assistance in getting the children ready for church and for bed. I miss his interest in what I'm thinking and feeling. I miss his understanding so much before I explain, and how he will keep listening until he does understand, when necessary. I miss how he smooths out and solves tough situations and keeps a spare key in his wallet. I miss who he is, the texture of his spirit when we're working together or being together. I miss him.

Among the Tulips

Yesterday had some strong downs and ups. I'm still trying to get past the downs, so I'm only publishing the ups.

We went to the Tulip Festival.

I've been twice before, and have longed to return every April, but knew the toddlers would not find the car ride worth the flowers. Cory's class was canceled Thursday, so he suggested it. Roozengaarde's web site said the tulips weren't to their prime yet, but I doubted we'd get a second chance this year, so we picked Kaith up from school and drove straight up.

There's nothing like three acres of tulips to make one second guess the necessity of grass and dandelions back home. In my defense, our forsythia looks way better than their many hyper-pruned, under flowering specimens. All of the flower beds are labeled. Kaith tried sounding out some of the names, with decent success. "Garden Party" was a well-received name, although Miriam squealed and hopped more over "Pink Diamond." The hyacinths were all blooming, and their scent wafted poetically in the breeze.

After taking photos of the two children not in the stroller (Kaith and Miriam), I coaxed Trevor out of the stroller with the offer to let him photograph Cory and myself. At least one person stopped to gape at our family arrangements, with the four-year old taking photos at the adult-determined locations. Unfortunately, the best shot he got of me was when he zoomed in so much that he cut off all of Cory's head. We never did get a photo of Trevor. He only wanted to hold the camera. Once Sterling was out of the stroller, he wasn't going back, and waddled proudly in his over-sized shoes all over grass, gravel, and woodchips, around the beds.

Goal Revision

Mothers who know do less.

from 2007 Relief Society Broadcast

Before getting laid-off, Cory angelically installed a dishwasher to buy me an hour a day. He was right, I don't feel as perpetually distressed as before, but experimentation has proven that I have at least one too many things still on my plate right now.

One major item has been my schooling. I transferred to the Academy of Art University almost eighteen months ago, intending to get my BFA in Traditional Illustration online, very slowly. It's funny. Before I had children, I finished my two-year degree in two years. Two school years-so less than two calendar years. As a mother, I've just chipped into my classes. I e-mailed my counselor this week, and discovered that the first two years for a BFA are identical to the requirements for the AA, and I would not (according to her) be penalized for taking a break after finishing the AA and before moving onto the BFA.

New goal: Get an AA in Traditional Illustration. Continuing at my current rate of 4 classes a year, I would graduate three years from August, just before Miriam begins Kindergarten. Then Illustration could take backseat as a hobby/service ability, until I went back for my BFA, which would probably be when my children were in high school or beyond.

Other issue: I love, love the K12 curriculum. I love, love the idea of homeschooling. But I'm so busy with Kaith's curriculum, even when I short-cut lessons, that I don't give Miriam and Sterling the kind of nurturing they deserve. Or have time for my school. So today I asked Kaith (before explaining alternatives) if he wanted Mom to be his teacher next year. He said, "No. I want to go away to school, like Dad does." Hmmm. I asked Trevor about it, too. Trevor said he wants to be in a classroom full of other five year olds. I felt pretty tender. I'm not sure if it was more the idea of having my children leave daily, or the loss of the K12 history, art, and phonics lessons we won't get to do next year.

New goal (practical, if still a little painful): let Kaith and Trevor go brick-and-mortar while I finish my AA. Perhaps by the time I'm done, they'll be ready to come back home and have Mom be their teacher again.

Fine Art

5 hour drawing, 5 minute photograph. Guess which got the A.If you guessed the 5 minute photograph, you're right! The 5 hour (give or take) drawing was another addition to my growing collection of Cs. Now, before you scoff at the photograph, please notice that I used exposure compensation to capture the "real" whiteness of the appliance and sugar, and that I thoughtfully used a 2/3-1/3 rule of proportion. My digital photography teacher was quite pleased. This almost beats my fridge magnet submission: an A-. Again, notice the thoughtful composition, as well as the subtle texture of the fridge.

Oh, why don't I want to be a photography major?!

Cory's Blog

The peer pressure has sunk in . . . or maybe it's just having a little more down time . . . Cory has a blog. He asked me to wait until he had a couple posts before announcing to the world. He now does. All mathmaticians will think his joke is hilarious. It took me a moment to grasp it.
For those who may be in ignorance, the prominently featured airplane is a P-38 (which of course I recognize by now, ha ha).
The title of his blog?

Flying High on Life

So, job update (accurate as-of last night): six applications (different jobs) still pending at Boeing, the small helicopter company in Kent that sounded so positive hasn't re-contacted, the government aerospace jobs didn't reject his applications, but that might have been less insulting than what they did say.
It's trickier than one might think. Aerospace companies reject him because his engineering experience is more mechanical/production, while he's denied mechanical engineering jobs because his engineering degree is in aerospace. I'm starting to see why people take unpaid internships.
Meanwhile, I'm preparing for the possibility of selling the house this Spring. I spent hours with baking-soda water cleaning the walls, trim, and baseboard heater in the dining room. I have lots of little ideas that involve spending little or no money of things I can do to stage the house.

Rambling Victorian

We're obviously not in the market to build our own house, but I was poking around at house plans online anway. Cory has mentioned before, and I agree, that it's actually nicer living on one floor, but that two stories have more character than ramblers. . . until now.

This is a picture of a Victorian-inspired rambler. It's 1446 sq. feet, 3 bed, 2 bath, and it has character.

Merry Mayhem

After spending the afternoon shooing children away so we could muse about our job and financial future, we refocused to spend the evening with them. Lunch is always so late on Sundays that dinner is usually an afterthought. Cory got out the air popper and said "Let's have a popcorn party." The kids got really excited. "Let's put up crepe paper!" they cried. I wasn't about to do that, but Cory got a picnic tablecloth out, and laid it on the living room floor. It was an instant success. Then he got out our electric lantern, so we were "camping." The event was over in just a few minutes (Sterling immediately turned over the big bowls of popcorn), but we all had a great time. Then Cory made "milkshakes" with this and that. Those were really good, too. I should let him cook dinner more often. It's way more fun when I'm not thinking about it.

This and That: sorry to Mom W., we think of your crippled state often and cringe. Very glad you got a substitute for seminary. I wouldn't have let you go, anyway.
Elder West's happy birthday letter should be in the mail tomorrow, and get to Japan a week late.
Cory installed a dishwasher right before he got laid off. No, we wouldn't have bought it if we'd known in advance, but we didn't and it's too late to return it, so we just enjoy using it.
Cory filed our taxes yesterday, since that "income" is more sure than any particular job application. Right now it's a hirer's market, since there are more unemployed people to choose from; not a job-seeker's market, since there is so much built-in competition and so many hiring freezes. That said, of course he's been applying for several jobs a week.
I added Digital Photography to my college load for this semester. The extra credits made me eligible for enough financial aid to cover tuition, and the extra class will put me back on my graduation class. I just hope I can stay focused enough to learn in both, and be a good mother/learning coach.

Cobra Stings

Cobra would allow us to continue our current medical coverage (minus dental) for $1,048.33 a month. We're guessing unemployment (if we get it, some think they don't give it to students) might be $900 a month.
How optional is medical insurance?

Laid Off . . .

over the phone!
There was another batch of lay-offs at Cory's work yesterday. He missed a bus and showed up an hour late to work yesterday, after the usual daytime officegroup had gone. He didn't hear anything about lay-offs then, but he stumbled across something that had "lay off" under his name, putting him on his guard. Thinking quickly, he printed off a phone list, so he would have the correct name spelling of any co-workers he might use as references, and forwarded a useful e-mail to an email acount he'll have access to outside of work.
They called him on his cell-phone this morning while he was at school to officially inform him.

I'm actually pretty cheerful about this. Why? Well, let me list some ways:
he'll have more time to focus on his school work, allowing him to master important material and raise his GPA
he may have more time to rest and to spend with the family, which will make everyone happy
he might be able to catch my back a little more so I have time to do my school work (beginning Monday)
there's a job fair at school today, anyway
we'll get our income tax return soon, so as long as he gets a new job for right after he graduates, we shouldn't get into too much trouble, even if we use-up our savings and have to fall back on an emergency credit card
he'll have extra time and incentive to hunt for a really cool job (can we say rocket scientist?)

A Livable Life

"How do I know he loves me?"

Cory shopped around online to find an attractive basket to hang on the wall near our computer (where we pay bills) to hold the bills in waiting. He also found an attractive magnet grocery pad that I've hung on the fridge. He may be able to help with the shopping as long as I have an active, up-to-date list. I think he's getting really good at guessing what I will think will look good, while still being functional.

The hope is that streamlining my life will make it more . . . well, livable. I will not live through last fall again. No time to exercise, not enough time to sleep, too much time sick, not enough down time by myself or with my family. Something has to give. I refuse to let it be my art school (I'll send my kids brick-and-mortar first, I will!), yet we're both unwilling to give up the children's virtual schooling, so we talked it out for an hour and came up with a few ideas to try before shipping the kids to the brick-and-mortar school two blocks away (if it wasn't for all the neighborhood halfway houses, it would be really easy to let Kaith walk himself to school by himself).

The dishwasher comes next week!

Froggy Phonics; Art Activity

Every end of unit (fifth lesson) in Kindergarten Phonics has an optional review activity. Up until recently I had been skipping them with hardly a glance. Last week, though, the activity was too good to pass up. There were about 8-10 sheets of paper, each with a letter or digraph (two letters that make one sound, like sh, ch, th, wh, etc.). These were to be taped to the floor. Then there were about a dozen slips of paper, with one word per slip. Kaith and I took turns, each reading a word, then jumping on the papers to spell it out. I don't know when the last time was he was so excited about phonics! The next unit finished with a Bingo game, which he enjoyed as well, but is looking forward to another episode of "Froggy Phonics" later this week, which will challenge his skills acquired this week--ending words with the trigraph tch or the digraph ck. Maybe this time I'll do it before Sterling wakes up. He was so determined to rip those papers off the floor.

We also pulled another activity out of Art for the Very Young. I got out the Crayola washable fingerpaints and a few washable toys. The children were instructed to dip the ends of the toys in the paints, then make lines on their paper, which could be straight, wavy, zigzag, etc. Trevor enthusiastically went through a large quantity of paper as he experimented with the physical properties of his available tools. Miriam, however, stayed with it the longest. I think Kaith had long left the table when she placed the finishing touches on her first piece. I have great hopes that she will make a charming artistic companion for me, once she matures a little more. Ah, working side-by-side with various mediums, subtly inspiring each other . . .

Trevor's Prayer

While Trevor was dodging Sharing Time yesterday, Sister H. consoled me by saying that any Sunbeam (well, now he's CTR 5) who can say an independent prayer is going to be fine. This morning he said an adorable one:

"Dear Heavenly Father, we thank thee that it's going to be summer, but please bless it to be Christmas again. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Post-Christmas Construction

The children got lots of building toys for Christmas, which they have been using. Cory had a week of unpaid, forced, leave from work, which he spent very industriously. First he took out a dead heater and put fresh wallboard in a deteriorating problem spot. Next he took down a very old light fixture. The wiring was no longer effective, and only one lightbulb would reliably turn on--not adequate in a 20' long room. He replaced it with THREE dome lights, evenly spaced down the length of the room. The effect is much fresher, and more elegant. Oh, yeah . . . it gives off a LOT more light. Then he turned to project 3 (or 4, if you count clearing out the filing cabinet). There was a small "dead" space in our house we've been transforming into a tv/living nook. We "extended" a wall and painted for the tv area, but seating has been very eclectic and inefficient. Cory has been building an approx. 7' long built-in window seat, hinged for storage, with lower back support, and comfort curves for the legs. It's all done except for cutting the memory foam (already purchased) and upholstering. Too bad he starts school Monday. We could have finished with just a few more hours. Oh! By the way, this is Cory's idea of a "sloppy" construction project.
Moi? Well, Carter, I heard you were sick, so you might like that I included an online photo: I finished the drawing of you dressed like Indiana Jones. Not fine art, but not too bad, either.
Poor Kaith, I've had him do some phonics through the break. I really hope to make the Spring cut-off to move up to 1st Grade Phonics. He's doing quite well, though. He's pretty confident with the digraphs sh and th, and just met wh.
Sterling has practiced walking, daily. He can get halfway across a room, now.