Baby Birds

Chelsea discovered a bird's nest in our front tree. There were two eggs inside. Chelsea watched the nest carefully and was delighted when two little chicks hatched. She collected one of the egg shells for show & tell at school. (Here she looks a little concerned because I told her that the mother bird may not come back if she touched the nest. But she did and all was fine.)

Tyler climbed up in the tree and took a picture. The chicks were really cute, in an ugly, gray, wet sort of way. Chelsea named them Charlie & Markie.

But then, on Saturday night we had a huge windstorm. The kind that makes even Mom and Dad nervous. Chelsea was terrified for the chicks and wanted to climb up in the tree and shield them from the wind. We told her that the mother bird made a strong nest and that the chicks would be fine. We were wrong.

On Sunday morning Chelsea found the chicks on the ground under the tree. The kids wanted to make a nest for them in an ice cream bucket and give them some worms, but we told them the chicks were too weak to eat and there wasn't anything they could do. It was a sad reality.

After a prolonged goodbye, Chelsea buried Charlie and Markie.
She said it wasn't fair that they only got to be five days old.
They will be dearly missed.

Daddy's Chocolate

After church, while the rest of us were changing,
Bryce snuck upstairs and raided Tyler's chocolate stash.

When I said, "Bryce, you need to clean this up,"
he said, "Okay."
He then grabbed another piece and began to unwrap it.

A bit of a mess here...

And here.
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But he didn't seem to feel too much remorse.

Butterfly Heaven

Chelsea found a butterfly in the backyard this afternoon.
It had died, but it looked perfect.

We have a neighbor who is going to post it
on a display board for Chelsea.

Chelsea is in heaven to have such a perfect specimen.
(The butterfly is also in heaven and I'm sure
he doesn't mind a bit.)

Probable Female

I had my ultrasound on Monday, and while everything looks great, the technician couldn't tell the gender for certain. (We looked for 10 minutes, but apparently this is a very modest baby.) Based on what didn't see, the tech wrote: "Probable female"on the ultrasound report. I've been thinking this was a girl, so even a hint that is the case was happy news for me. But Tyler reminds me that I also thought Bryce was a girl, so I suppose none of us will know for sure until August. However, the baby looks healthy and active, and that is good enough for me!

Board Games

This past weekend our friends, the Merrills, stopped by for a visit. I am always impressed by the Merrills because as a family they love games. All kinds of games: outdoor jousting tournaments, athletic contests, games of wit and strategy, and of course, simple board games. Whenever I spend time with their family I think, we need to play more games.

So, on Sunday afternoon I pulled out Trouble, the board game with the dice that 'pops' in the middle. The object of the game is to get all your pegs around to your "Home" before others get theirs home. Now, in the original game, if someone lands on you, your peg has to start all over. We immediately disregarded this rule because it led to hurt feelings and made the game last forever. So, now for us, this game is just a race to the end.

I played the game several times with Spencer and he loved it. Then I went upstairs to work on my lesson. Chelsea then played the game with Spencer. Now, most parents know that four year olds don't really cheat, they are just sometimes generous in their counting. If Spencer ever added an extra jump when I was playing with him I either intentionally didn't notice or I nicely said, "No honey, I think you are here."

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Chelsea has not yet picked up on these nuances. So everytime Spencer would overcount on his behalf she would get mad. Then he got mad back. Then she accused him of cheating. Then he accused her of being 'the meanest sister ever,' and so forth. Carter came over to intervene and unfortunately only made the situation worse. It was a case of everyone accusing and misunderstanding each other. By the time I went downstairs Spencer was having a full-fledged Donald Duck meltdown. It looked something like this:

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I remember now why our family doesn't play many games. Maybe we just don't have enough practice. Or maybe we just have the wrong personalities. Either way, for our family, Trouble is apparently appropriately named.

Pringles vs. Willpower

Last night I went to the gym for an hour. When I came home, I virtuously grabbed some water and headed in to turn off my computer. Of course, while I was here, in front of the ever-so-inviting monitor, I just had to log in and check the news, the blogs, the vacuous frivolity that is Facebook.

I also noticed that someone had left a half-eaten can of Pringles by my computer. I assure you, it was not me. I do not, in any normal state of being, buy or eat Pringles. However, pregnancy has altered my mental/
emotional/physical status to such a degree that the other day I actually ate a Twinkie. (Okay, I ate two -- but not on the same day!)

I cannot tell you how annoyed I was that someone could be so thoughtless as to not only break the 'no eating by the computer' rule, but then leave the evidence sitting there with such obvious disregard!

I picked up the can, looked for the lid, and noticed that there weren't many chips left. Now, I ask you, my fellow mothers, those of you who eat the crust you just cut off the sandwich for your toddler, and snack on the last few Dinos rather than dump them in the trash, what would you do with a lidless, almost-empty can of Pringles that was sitting open by your computer?

Well, that's exactly what I did. I don't know how many maternal diets have been spoiled by the rationalization, "Well, I can't just throw it away."

Of course, most men would not and do not have this dilemma. If they want Pringles, they buy them and eat them. If they don't want Pringles, they throw the remainder away. I often wonder what it would be like to live life with no guilt. In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to go the gym again.

We Have A Heartbeat!

I went to the doctor today for my first OB appointment. We heard a heartbeat - which is always a relief.

But the FNP said I was measuring several weeks larger than my dates indicated. So she recommended we do an impromptu ultrasound with a small, portable device they have in the office -- just to "check for multiples." So, for those few precious moments while they went to retrieve the machine, I got to indulge my twins fantasy (Tyler's twins fantasy, however, is something completely different).

The ultrasound revealed one perfect fetus and one very full bladder. No twins! But I am thrilled all the same. I'm also happy to be feeling a little bit better. I'm not 100% yet, but I can now do laundry and drive -- always helpful!

Temporarily Closed

This blog is temporarily closed due to morning sickness.

Check back again in February.

One of the many reasons I am a "mean mom" (so dubbed by Chelsea)

Musical Training Makes Kids Smarter, Study Suggests

Thursday, November 13, 2008
By Jeanna Bryner, FOXNews

Children who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children with no instrumental training on non-musical tests of vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning. This new finding adds to a list of music's magic. Past research has shown tunes can evoke strong memories, reduce stress and even boost athletic performance.

Researchers compared 41 kids, ages 8 to 11, who had studied either piano or a string instrument for at least three years, with 18 children who had no instrument training. Children in both groups spent about half an hour each week in music classes at school. But instrument-wielding kids also attended private music lessons for an average of 45 minutes a week and practiced on their own at home. Tests showed the kids who practiced instruments scored much higher than their non-musical counterparts on auditory discrimination and finger dexterity, both skills closely tied with musical training.

The young musicians' vocabulary scores were 15 percent higher, and non-verbal reasoning scores were 11 percent higher. The longer the child was musically trained, the higher the scores. The study was done by Gottfried Schlaug of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, and psychologist Ellen Winner of Boston College and Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and their colleagues.

"Music involves grasping patterns, and the non-verbal reasoning task involves grasping patterns," Winner told LiveScience. "You have to pay attention to the pattern of sounds, and you also have to pay attention to the pattern of the notes when you're looking at music notation."
The research was funded by the Dana Foundation, International Foundation for Music Research and National Science Foundation.

Blech...

Maybe it was politics. Maybe it was food poisoning. Maybe it was stress. But whatever the cause, we all came down with the flu this week. I'd love to delve into all the delicious details about why I hate the flu, but words just aren't sufficient. So, here is a helpful, visual example instead.
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This is the flu:
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This is me with the flu: .

Any questions?

Finally...

Did you?

I must say, I cannot wait until tomorrow, or Thursday, or whenever all this contentious hullabaloo is finally counted and over. I've had enough of it already!

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Living in such a vital battleground state only makes things that much worse. Utah is everyone's crown jewel, I tell ya! We are the real bellwether state! (For jello flavors.) We are the constituency everyone is after! We vote in an 89% bloc! We are... pretty much ignored. (Unless we dare to tread on national turf and interject ourselves into the presidential primaries. Then we are decimated.)

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And yet, despite my existence on the periphery of national significance, I have found this election year to be especially contentious. In my opinion, the presidential battle (who is running again?) is insignificant compared to the Prop 8 war raging in California. And so it is to you, my dear Prop 8 supporters, you who have fought the hardest battle, that I give my greatest applause. You have rallied and worked, polled and called, supported and endured much. To you I say: D&C 121:7-8.

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This battle and those that will rage in the future are not really about determining outcomes, they are about delineating sides. My hat is off to those who are courageous enough to stand up for what is right even when it is decidedly unpopular. The rest of the nation thanks you.

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Even those of us in Utah, "The other white meat."

6 Quirks

I am not good with tags. I have been tagged several times for several reasons, and by the time I actually get around to posting anything, it seems the tag is no longer relevant. However, in an attempt to keep my blog not boring, I am following up with my sister Hillary's tag to post six quirks about myself. (And just so you know, it took me a long time to come up with -- I mean narrow down to -- just six.)

1. I don’t like chocolate.

2. I do like Tyler.

3. I don't like to read anything that is currently popular.
(I ignored Harry Potter, refused the Work & Glory series, and won't even crack open a Twilight novel.)

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4. I took Bryce visiting teaching in his pajamas this morning. I only had time to get one of us dressed, and I reasoned it should be me. (Besides, didn’t you know that footed pajamas are all the rage currently?)
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5. I secretly try to hide vegetables in my family’s dinner. They know this and they hate it. (Last night I steamed a whole package of frozen vegetables, pureed it, and added it to the pasta sauce.)
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6. Sometimes, when I have a chore or task that is hanging over my head, I will write a poem about it rather than actually do it. For example, take this simple haiku:

My young one is dear
His eyes are bright, his smile sweet
But his rear, it stinks

Officially Boring

Today is Sunday. I should be showering, or reviewing my lesson, or making my bed, or cleaning up breakfast. But this morning I have to spend this precious, pre-church hour to address a horrifying accusation by my dear husband: my blog is boring.

It is true, my blog frequency has dropped dramatically from ten+ posts a month to maybe two. But, there are several reasons for this:

#1: I have a life. Between school, preschool, homework, grocery shopping, cleaning, church stuff, PTA stuff, piano practice, scouts, activity days and gymnastics, I am a bit tapped out.

#2: He blogs about all the fun stuff before I get to it. I figure none of you want to tune in for a "take two" post.

#3: I'm lazy. In order to write an effective post, I have to be witty, insightful, succinct, precise and motivated. In general, I am none of these things.

#4: Whenever I get on the computer for even a moment, children with needs come out of nowhere. It's like being on the phone or talking to a friend at the door. My children have an extra, "Mom is enjoying herself" sense that brings them out of the woodwork with the most obscure needs that require immediate attention. I could scrub windows for an hour and no one would interrupt me.

#5: When I get on the computer with the intent to blog, I often find myself sidetracked by news sites, beading sites, recommended reading sites, good recipe sites, and other engaging subjects that tend to usurp all my allocated blogging time.

#6: All of these are excuses.

I suppose rather than address this accusation directly, the best way to disprove it would be to actually post something interesting. So here are some pictures of a few of the cool things I did this past season.

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Here is me participating in a wakeboard contest at Lake Powell this summer. Don't I look toned?

Here is me skydiving out of a chartered plane over Las Vegas. (Jumping Elvises not pictured.)

Here is an upclose photo I took of a charging bull when I ran with the bulls in July in Pamplona, Spain.

Here is me climbing up the Second Step with the aid of my team in our Everest bid this last May.

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See, I am not just a boring housewife. I do lots of physically challenging, endurance demanding, sanity questioning, death-defying feats that routinely bring me to the edge of reality and back again.

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Or at least it feels like it.

Piano Virtuoso(s)

Bryce is sure he is the next great composer.
Anytime anyone begins their piano lesson,
he climbs right up on the bench to help.

And, since of course, louder is better, he pounds
on the keys with Beethovian ferocity.
(Carter, as you can see, has learned to tune this out --
also a Beethovian quality.)

"Wait, here comes the good part..."

"Oh, I love the scales in this Sonata."

"Stop taking pictures woman,
you are disturbing my concentration!"

Mmmm...fudgesicle

Do you remember your first fudgesicle?

Did it look something like this?

Chelsea's Birthday

August 11 was Chelsea's birthday.

She had a late-night movie party with some friends.

They enjoyed oreo cake.

Opened presents.

And squealed in delight about
Polly's and Littlest Pet Shop and Webkinz... oh my!

Then, to work off some of that excitement,
we had a dance contest.

(The loud music and dancing girls were just too inviting,
and Spencer could not be restrained from participating.)

Happy Birthday, Chelsea.
We love you!

First Day of School

Tuesday was the first day of school.
Summer sure comes and goes quickly.

A Mother's Tell-All

SPOILER ALERT!

The following blog contains "Tell-All" secrets about the everyday life of a superhero.

As the mother of a superhero, I'm here to tell you, it is not an easy life. I frequently find myself saying things like: "Don't fly over Bryce!!" & "Please don't attack the Home Teachers."

It is true that superheroes are brave and courageous. He repeatedly assures us that he is afraid of nothing! (Except the dark. And the scary parts of 'Wallace and Gromit, the Curse of the Were-Rabbit')

Like the rest of us, superheroes have an insecure side too. Sometimes he will ask me: "Am I as handsome as Superman?" & "Do you think Ruth will like my sunglasses?"

Of course, immaculate housekeeping was never the superhero's strength and I routinely find myself saying:  "Will you please come pick up your cape!"

But all-in-all, I'd have to say I enjoy being the mother of a superhero. Sure it has it's downsides, ("No, Bryce is not the green goblin and you cannot tie him up") but the overall desire to save the world is somewhat endearing.

We all outgrow that way too fast.