Day Two worked out much better than Day One. It helped to have read the story in FHE, so when the boys would start to fight, I'd just ask them, "Are you guys being bullies or heroes?" They'd usually stop fighting pretty quickly. They were all very excited to be able to be heroes to their brothers and do nice things. Chris decided that he wanted to bring a graham cracker up for everyone to have a snack, so he said he wanted to be a hero and do that. He and Alex also cleaned up a box of toys while Ben was at school that he had dumped out earlier. Ben and Alex were always running to get things for everyone and wanted to help out. They're all also much quicker to say sorry if they accidentally hurt each other.
Chris kind of cracked me up after he had been picking up some of the toys for Ben. He came and sat by me and said, "I'm a hero, huh Mom?" I said, "Yes, you are." "I'm a good guy, right?" "Yes, you are a very good guy." "I'm good, aren't I?" "Yes, you are very good." He grinned and gave me a hug and then ran off to do some more. I thought it was very cute.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Day One's Results
So Day One of my experiment for the week was basically a complete and total failure. I did kind of expect that for the first day, since it seems like the opposition is always worse to try to get you to give up before anything good can come of it. Through the day, the boys actually fought more and threw more fits. At one point, the 3 oldest boys were all time out at the same time for a while.
On the up side, our Family Home Evening went pretty well and we read a story in the Friend called "Bullies and Brothers" that gave us a way to help the boys want to help each other. We just ask if they want to be a bully or be a hero. They want to be heroes. So we can move it on from that to have them think of ways they can be heroes to their brothers. They get very excited about being heroes, so they're more willing to think of ways they can help each other out and serve each other. It's also been working as a pretty good way to get them to stop fighting when they start, since no one wants to be a bully.
Hopefully with that to help, Day Two will go a lot better.
On the up side, our Family Home Evening went pretty well and we read a story in the Friend called "Bullies and Brothers" that gave us a way to help the boys want to help each other. We just ask if they want to be a bully or be a hero. They want to be heroes. So we can move it on from that to have them think of ways they can be heroes to their brothers. They get very excited about being heroes, so they're more willing to think of ways they can help each other out and serve each other. It's also been working as a pretty good way to get them to stop fighting when they start, since no one wants to be a bully.
Hopefully with that to help, Day Two will go a lot better.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Weight check for Daniel
I took Daniel in to the doctor today for a weight check and to check on his ears that still had fluid in them at his 9 month appointment. I had it planned so I could drop Alex off at preschool, take Daniel to the doctor, then get back in time to pick up Alex and then drop Ben off at the bus stop. Of course, things don't always go as planned.
To begin, I was a little late getting the kids in the van and over to Alex's preschool. So of course I was a little late to the doctor. On the up side, we didn't have to wait at all to go back. We went back to the room and the nurse listened to Daniel's pulse, then we stripped him down and took him to weigh him. He weighs 18 pounds, 7 ounces. Then we went back to the room and had to wait a little bit for the doctor to come in. He asked some general health questions and asked if Daniel still has a runny nose or coughs. His runny nose and cough will stop for a couple days, then start back up, then stop, then start back up. Then the doctor looked at the growth chart and showed that Daniel's weight has a good curve and is on the way back up a little bit. It seemed to be at about 15%, but I couldn't see it really well. Thinking back, it was probably just below the 10% line. Still much better than Chris was at this age ... he was off the low end of the chart. He then listened to Daniel's chest and said he could still hear some wheezing in his lungs, but at this age, it's not too big of a concern and not really anything they'd do about it anyway. He then checked Daniel's ears, which both looked good.
We were free to go after standing in line for a little bit to make Daniel's next appointment, which is his 12 month well-baby check-up. We hurried to the van and got everyone buckled in and saw that it was almost 11:00, which meant that we'd be late to both pick up Alex and for the bus. Especially when we kept getting behind really slow drivers and kept hitting all the red lights. Ben really wanted us to try to make it to his bus, so we decided to try to drop him off there before picking up Alex. We saw that we had missed the bus at Ben's stop and the next stop from way down the street. From there, I couldn't tell if it had turned into the next subdivision or if it had turned onto Cherry to go into the third subdivision. I drove up past the entrance to the next subdivision and saw the bus pulling out, so we hurried and turned around and went down Cherry to the next stop. Ben was very happy to get on the bus.
After we dropped Ben off at the bus, we went to pick up Alex, who was happily playing with Ashtyn and eating pretzels. Luckily I had warned Ashtyn's mom that we were going to the doctor and she had said it was fine if we were a little late picking up Alex.
Then after getting gas in the van (at $3.399 a gallon!), we finally made it home where the boys played outside for a bit before we came in for lunch. So even though things never go quite as planned, it's nice that they turn out okay anyway.
To begin, I was a little late getting the kids in the van and over to Alex's preschool. So of course I was a little late to the doctor. On the up side, we didn't have to wait at all to go back. We went back to the room and the nurse listened to Daniel's pulse, then we stripped him down and took him to weigh him. He weighs 18 pounds, 7 ounces. Then we went back to the room and had to wait a little bit for the doctor to come in. He asked some general health questions and asked if Daniel still has a runny nose or coughs. His runny nose and cough will stop for a couple days, then start back up, then stop, then start back up. Then the doctor looked at the growth chart and showed that Daniel's weight has a good curve and is on the way back up a little bit. It seemed to be at about 15%, but I couldn't see it really well. Thinking back, it was probably just below the 10% line. Still much better than Chris was at this age ... he was off the low end of the chart. He then listened to Daniel's chest and said he could still hear some wheezing in his lungs, but at this age, it's not too big of a concern and not really anything they'd do about it anyway. He then checked Daniel's ears, which both looked good.
We were free to go after standing in line for a little bit to make Daniel's next appointment, which is his 12 month well-baby check-up. We hurried to the van and got everyone buckled in and saw that it was almost 11:00, which meant that we'd be late to both pick up Alex and for the bus. Especially when we kept getting behind really slow drivers and kept hitting all the red lights. Ben really wanted us to try to make it to his bus, so we decided to try to drop him off there before picking up Alex. We saw that we had missed the bus at Ben's stop and the next stop from way down the street. From there, I couldn't tell if it had turned into the next subdivision or if it had turned onto Cherry to go into the third subdivision. I drove up past the entrance to the next subdivision and saw the bus pulling out, so we hurried and turned around and went down Cherry to the next stop. Ben was very happy to get on the bus.
After we dropped Ben off at the bus, we went to pick up Alex, who was happily playing with Ashtyn and eating pretzels. Luckily I had warned Ashtyn's mom that we were going to the doctor and she had said it was fine if we were a little late picking up Alex.
Then after getting gas in the van (at $3.399 a gallon!), we finally made it home where the boys played outside for a bit before we came in for lunch. So even though things never go quite as planned, it's nice that they turn out okay anyway.
Service challenge
Yesterday I was planning my lesson for Gospel Doctrine next week. We're probably a little behind most people because of when we had our snow day and church was cancelled. We're on lesson 15, which covers Mosiah 1-3. In the lesson, it has you discuss the leadership qualities of King Benjamin and things that impress you about how he led. After you discuss that, it asks the question, "How were the people affected by King Benjamin's leadership?" and has you read Mosiah 1:1 and one in Mosiah 6 (I can't remember which specific verse). Both verses mention how there was no contention among the people through the rest of King Benjamin's life. As I read this, I got to thinking about how my kids, like most kids, often fight. I decided that this week in part of preparation for my lesson, I'm going to do an experiment. I'm going to try to get my children to serve each other and do nice things for each other to see if it helps reduce some of the fighting. As I thought about it, I remembered other times where one of them would do something nice and help another and they'd get along really well for a while. I'm also going to make sure we don't slack off and get in our regular family scripture study and family prayer. Tonight for FHE, we'll probably have a lesson on service and what it means to serve others and ways we can do it. I'm actually pretty confident that we'll see positive results from this, especially as Bryce and I join in the service too.
So my challenge today is to join me in my experiment and then let me know how it worked for you. If you do it and let me know by like Saturday, I could even use examples in my lesson. :) And if you think, "I don't have kids, so I can't do this," you're just kidding yourself. You can still do it at work or with extended families or neighbors. I'm also thinking of calling one or two families in my class and asking if they'd join in the experiment.
So my challenge today is to join me in my experiment and then let me know how it worked for you. If you do it and let me know by like Saturday, I could even use examples in my lesson. :) And if you think, "I don't have kids, so I can't do this," you're just kidding yourself. You can still do it at work or with extended families or neighbors. I'm also thinking of calling one or two families in my class and asking if they'd join in the experiment.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Running
As many of you already know, this last Wednesday, I decided that instead of running on my treadmill like I usually do, I would go run outside and take Ozzy with me. It was a nice evening, a little cloudy and would sprinkle rain a little bit, but not bad. So it was nice for running.
Things started out okay. We ran up the street to the street that kind of circles the subdivision and then started around. Ozzy was pulling a little bit, but not bad, and helped me keep my pace up and not go too slow. We ran past Caspian (the street Jarom and Katie live on) and were heading down the street. There were some other people out walking their dogs, a chow and a poodle, and Ozzy decided that they looked pretty interesting and he'd rather watch them than watch where he was going. He kind of stepped in front of me and took me down. Hard. I'm a little ashamed to say that I swore at the dog when he did that. Nothing too bad, and Bryce would say it's not even a swear word, but it really is. Just the fact that I actually swore at him is probably evidence that I've been around Bryce for a while. I then made the dog lie down while I assessed the damage. I had a nice scrape on my elbow, my sweats were ripped across the knee, I had scratches on that knee, bruises on my hip (not that I could see, but that I could feel), and had kind of pulled something in the back of my knee. I also looked around to see if anyone had been watching, and luckily it appeared that no one had. Then I got up and continued on the run. Even if the dog hadn't tripped me, I don't think I'd be taking him running again. When we got home, he was in worse shape than I was, with his hips or knees that bother him. But when I had to limp around because of the pulled something in my knee, I thought that Ozzy had effectively nixed any more running for me for the week at least.
Surprisingly enough, on Thursday, the pain in my knee continually lessened and on Friday, while every muscle in my body was still sore, I was feeling well enough that I thought I could run again. So after I gave the boys lunch and put Daniel and Chris in bed for their naps, I got on the treadmill to run. About halfway into my run, Chris got out of bed and he and Alex decided to come into my room. I told them to get out until I was done because I didn't want them to get hurt, so they decided to run around the treadmill and then back out the door. For some reason, Chris decided to step on the treadmill while he was passing it and fell. I guess my scrapes must have looked like fun, since he now has a nice scrape on his knee in the same spot as the one on mine. I do think I'd rather have him copy me with something like picking up his toys and cleaning the house rather than getting scrapes on his knees.
Things started out okay. We ran up the street to the street that kind of circles the subdivision and then started around. Ozzy was pulling a little bit, but not bad, and helped me keep my pace up and not go too slow. We ran past Caspian (the street Jarom and Katie live on) and were heading down the street. There were some other people out walking their dogs, a chow and a poodle, and Ozzy decided that they looked pretty interesting and he'd rather watch them than watch where he was going. He kind of stepped in front of me and took me down. Hard. I'm a little ashamed to say that I swore at the dog when he did that. Nothing too bad, and Bryce would say it's not even a swear word, but it really is. Just the fact that I actually swore at him is probably evidence that I've been around Bryce for a while. I then made the dog lie down while I assessed the damage. I had a nice scrape on my elbow, my sweats were ripped across the knee, I had scratches on that knee, bruises on my hip (not that I could see, but that I could feel), and had kind of pulled something in the back of my knee. I also looked around to see if anyone had been watching, and luckily it appeared that no one had. Then I got up and continued on the run. Even if the dog hadn't tripped me, I don't think I'd be taking him running again. When we got home, he was in worse shape than I was, with his hips or knees that bother him. But when I had to limp around because of the pulled something in my knee, I thought that Ozzy had effectively nixed any more running for me for the week at least.
Surprisingly enough, on Thursday, the pain in my knee continually lessened and on Friday, while every muscle in my body was still sore, I was feeling well enough that I thought I could run again. So after I gave the boys lunch and put Daniel and Chris in bed for their naps, I got on the treadmill to run. About halfway into my run, Chris got out of bed and he and Alex decided to come into my room. I told them to get out until I was done because I didn't want them to get hurt, so they decided to run around the treadmill and then back out the door. For some reason, Chris decided to step on the treadmill while he was passing it and fell. I guess my scrapes must have looked like fun, since he now has a nice scrape on his knee in the same spot as the one on mine. I do think I'd rather have him copy me with something like picking up his toys and cleaning the house rather than getting scrapes on his knees.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Nature Center and zoo
Today we went with Alex's preschool group to the Nature Center. The kids all had a really good time and the tour guide was good at keeping their attention and making them stay with her and not run ahead. Mostly we got to look at a whole bunch of fish, birds, and squirrels. They did also get to see lots of mounted animals, like bears and wolves and deer and elk. It was a great activity for them for little to no cost. If you don't do a guided tour, it's free, although they do willingly take donations. If you do a guided tour, they have a $10 mininum and you have to schedule the time in advance. I may take all the boys back there sometime when Ben can come with us to check it out.
Here are some pictures from the outing:
Everyone is looking over the bridge at the fish below
These are the fish below
Looking at the fish from under the water
The big one is looking at me!
Alex and the grizzly
Alex in the bear cave
Chris in the bear cave
Last Saturday we went to the zoo for Kyle's and Sabrina's birthday party. Since they were doing Earth Week activities, the boys got to see the River Fish and do some fun activities at the zoo. It was a bit chilly, but ended up being a lot of fun.
Here are some pictures from that:
The River Fish and the kids
The River Fish trying to get Chris to come to him
The story lady at the zoo
These were the kids all making "cotton tops"
And just because I thought it was cute, I'm adding this picture. Chris had pulled out our baby bathtub and decided to put his turtle in it and put the blanket over the turtle and then got his pillow and a blanket to go sleep by the turtle.
Here are some pictures from the outing:
Everyone is looking over the bridge at the fish below
These are the fish below
Looking at the fish from under the water
The big one is looking at me!
Alex and the grizzly
Alex in the bear cave
Chris in the bear cave
Last Saturday we went to the zoo for Kyle's and Sabrina's birthday party. Since they were doing Earth Week activities, the boys got to see the River Fish and do some fun activities at the zoo. It was a bit chilly, but ended up being a lot of fun.
Here are some pictures from that:
The River Fish and the kids
The River Fish trying to get Chris to come to him
The story lady at the zoo
These were the kids all making "cotton tops"
And just because I thought it was cute, I'm adding this picture. Chris had pulled out our baby bathtub and decided to put his turtle in it and put the blanket over the turtle and then got his pillow and a blanket to go sleep by the turtle.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
8 years in the making
About 8 years ago, I started putting together a quilt made out of denim squares cut from old jeans, as well as some strips of flannel sheets. My grandma Borrowman even let me have her sewing machine so that I could do it. I was pretty excited to be making this quilt and took my time gathering the jeans and cutting out the squares from them and sewing the squares together. I would make bigger squares out of 9 small squares and put the flannel strip around that. I had almost all the bigger jean squares put together and had two rows complete with the jean squares and the flannel strips (I'd do 4 big squares per row). Then somewhere amidst all that sewing, I stopped. It may have been because we moved from our apartment or I may have just gotten busy with work and such. I don't really remember the real reason I stopped. I do know that my grandma's sewing machine stopped working quite as well as it had been, so that might have been a pretty large factor in the reason for stopping. So for the last 6 or so years, it's been sitting in a closet waiting to be finished, largely forgotten.
As you may know, Bryce gave me a sewing machine for my birthday. I was pretty excited about it and sewed some baby gifts for a few people, sewed a pillow back together that had been coming apart, and kept thinking of things I could sew. Yesterday I decided to pull out the old quilt and start to work on it. I was surprised at how much I had actually gotten done and wondered why I had stopped in the first place, and why I hadn't pulled it out and worked on it within the last few years. Then I remembered my grandma's sewing machine, that's still sitting up in our guest bedroom, and thought, "Oh, yeah. That's why." So after lunch and after I had put Daniel in bed for his nap, I started sewing squares and strips together. I took a short break to go get Ben from the bus then got back to work on it, stopping again to give the boys baths and then to head over to get pizza and ice cream for dinner. After we got back home and put the boys in bed, I had to run to the store to get some stuff for preschool at our house this morning. While I was there, I bought batting for the quilt and some new scissors and some thread. I got home and worked on it until I had finished putting the top together and put it with the batting and the bottom sheet and pinned the edges together to be ready to sew and finally went to bed at 1:00 in the morning.
This morning I got up and figured I'd have to wait until naptime again. Ben was sick and stayed home from school, but I didn't think that would affect my being able to finish the quilt. So after preschool and lunch, I put Daniel back in bed, got the sewing machine out, and finished sewing the edges of the quilt. I had just finished doing that and was taking a needle and thread to tack down parts in the middle so that the batting wouldn't get too bunchy when we have to wash it and through regular wear and tear, when Bryce called and wanted us to come pick him up because he was sick. So I loaded up the boys, we picked up Bryce, and came home, where I once again got back to working on the quilt. So now after 8 years and a few hours of work, a bent sewing machine needle, and a sense of accomplishment, my quilt is finally finished.
Now I need to find something else to sew.
Anyway, here's a picture of my completed quilt:
As you may know, Bryce gave me a sewing machine for my birthday. I was pretty excited about it and sewed some baby gifts for a few people, sewed a pillow back together that had been coming apart, and kept thinking of things I could sew. Yesterday I decided to pull out the old quilt and start to work on it. I was surprised at how much I had actually gotten done and wondered why I had stopped in the first place, and why I hadn't pulled it out and worked on it within the last few years. Then I remembered my grandma's sewing machine, that's still sitting up in our guest bedroom, and thought, "Oh, yeah. That's why." So after lunch and after I had put Daniel in bed for his nap, I started sewing squares and strips together. I took a short break to go get Ben from the bus then got back to work on it, stopping again to give the boys baths and then to head over to get pizza and ice cream for dinner. After we got back home and put the boys in bed, I had to run to the store to get some stuff for preschool at our house this morning. While I was there, I bought batting for the quilt and some new scissors and some thread. I got home and worked on it until I had finished putting the top together and put it with the batting and the bottom sheet and pinned the edges together to be ready to sew and finally went to bed at 1:00 in the morning.
This morning I got up and figured I'd have to wait until naptime again. Ben was sick and stayed home from school, but I didn't think that would affect my being able to finish the quilt. So after preschool and lunch, I put Daniel back in bed, got the sewing machine out, and finished sewing the edges of the quilt. I had just finished doing that and was taking a needle and thread to tack down parts in the middle so that the batting wouldn't get too bunchy when we have to wash it and through regular wear and tear, when Bryce called and wanted us to come pick him up because he was sick. So I loaded up the boys, we picked up Bryce, and came home, where I once again got back to working on the quilt. So now after 8 years and a few hours of work, a bent sewing machine needle, and a sense of accomplishment, my quilt is finally finished.
Now I need to find something else to sew.
Anyway, here's a picture of my completed quilt:
Monday, April 7, 2008
Hearing Test
Alex had his hearing and speech test today. Before the doctor actually started the hearing test, he asked a few questions, like if his vocabulary is delayed or if he has balance or motor skills problems, or if we think he may have a hearing problem. I answered no to all of those, and he pointed out Alex's selective listening (we asked him to turn around in his chair and he ignored us for a bit). Then the doctor looked in Alex's ears, which looked good. After he looked in the ears, he started the first test where they test the pressure on the ear drums. Alex's were just fine. Then Chris, Daniel, and I had to go out because it needed to be quieter in the room. Not too much later than that, he came out and got us and told me what each of the tests did and said that Alex's hearing is fine, that he has no problems with that. He also had a good understanding of speech and vocabulary, and he did notice that Alex does have a hard time forming some of his words. He didn't seem too concerned about that and didn't even give us anything to work on with Alex for that, so it is something that may improve over time, especially if we help him work on some of it. At least now we can say that we know for sure that when Alex isn't answering us or seems to hear us, it's just that he's not paying attention.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
A couple of birthdays
Congratulations to Jarom and Katie for the birth of their second baby, Dennis Ivan. He was born on Thursday, April 3rd.
Yesterday, April 4th was my 33rd birthday (Cindy's too). I had a pretty good day. A family in my ward offered to take the youngest 3 kids while Ben was in school so I could enjoy a few hours doing whatever I wanted. I decided to have Bryce take me to lunch. Then he went with me while I used my gift certificate to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory from Jarom and Katie. He drove home with me to get the boys from the Hassards, then took the van. When he got back, we went to the store to pick up the cake I had ordered for myself and picked up some sandwiches from Cobby's for dinner. He and the boys got me a new sewing machine (I asked for it) and the dvd's of Anne of Green Gables. I ended up having a pretty good day.
Bryce had us do the candles this way. It's 100001, or 33:
Today is Sarah's 3rd birthday, so happy birthday to her. These kids are growing up fast!
Yesterday, April 4th was my 33rd birthday (Cindy's too). I had a pretty good day. A family in my ward offered to take the youngest 3 kids while Ben was in school so I could enjoy a few hours doing whatever I wanted. I decided to have Bryce take me to lunch. Then he went with me while I used my gift certificate to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory from Jarom and Katie. He drove home with me to get the boys from the Hassards, then took the van. When he got back, we went to the store to pick up the cake I had ordered for myself and picked up some sandwiches from Cobby's for dinner. He and the boys got me a new sewing machine (I asked for it) and the dvd's of Anne of Green Gables. I ended up having a pretty good day.
Bryce had us do the candles this way. It's 100001, or 33:
Today is Sarah's 3rd birthday, so happy birthday to her. These kids are growing up fast!
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