Sheesh, time just gets away from me...

So my last blog post was 10/30/2013.  So many things about my life have changed. Good and bad.

1. One month and 6 days after that last post my dad passed away. That is easily the hardest thing I have ever experienced and I miss him Every. Single. Day. I will talk about that more in another post.  I hate cancer.
2. Since that last post I completed nursing school and passed my NCLEX. I am officially Corie Green, RN.  I have been lucky enough to have a great job right here working for LCMC in the ER primarily.  I am an ER junkie and I absolutely love it. I love the people I work with and the patients I take care of.  I really couldn't ask for more.
3. Another huge change is we have moved our kids over to Joseph City School District.  We loved Winslow Schools and I will always be a Bulldog at heart but the smaller classes and focused one on one attention has been amazing for the kids.  Ethan is loving High School, (EEEEK I have a FRESHMAN!), his favorite class is Seminary and I just love that. Emma is about to become a Beehive. She has great friends in her 6th grade class and she has become so much more social.  The twins are making great friend and great strides academically. I love the changes we have seen.
4. We MOVED! I love my house on Iron Horse and it will always be special to me. One day Gramie came into work and told Greg, "I want you to buy my house."  Greg was shocked but replied, "Ok I will talk to Corie, but where are you going to live?" Then she said, "Oh well I am also going on a mission."  So we bought the house my dad built. The home my parents raised my brothers and I in. I love the spirit and comfort of this home.  We are so blessed here.
5. Gracie went on a mission!!!  She is serving in the Idaho Pocatello Mission.  President Gene Hancock and his wife are there serving as the Mission President and she works in the Mission Office. She is also working with 4 missionaries who have Asperger's and helping be a liaison between their parents and doctors and the Mission.  She is specially prepared for this assignment.  She is growing and learning and I love her spirit.  
6. I am going to try and catch up and do better about these posts.  If you haven't seen one from me in a while tell me to get on it!

Girls' Night!

I love these nights.  Greg and Ethan are at the temple for mutual tonight and so that means that I get to have Girls' Night with my three sweet girls.

When I started this whole mom gig I told Heavenly Father that I wanted all boys.  I only had brothers and I knew all about Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and Little League… I had no sisters and had no idea what I would do with a little girl.  Now that I have three of them I could not imagine not having all of the amazing fun I have with these beautiful girls that Heavenly Father knew I needed.

After the traditional french toast dinner, nail polish and hair doing we snuggle up and watch shows together like Say Yes to the Dress.  What I love most about this is the comments and conversations we have.  I love hearing about my girls' plans for their weddings, the dresses they want, the colors they want to decorate with, the flowers, the hair, the rings, all of it.  But my favorite part is when they tell me about the men they want to marry; how he will honor his priesthood and take them to the temple to be sealed for eternity, how he will be funny and make them laugh even when they have a bad day, how he will be "as handsome as Dad and Ethan", and how he will be their best best friend.  I am so happy to hear that even at 9 and 7 years old my daughters can't wait to build a marriage not just have a wedding. My girls are so rad :)

Emma and the (Hopefully Not TOO) Bummer Summer

It was a sunny and hot Thursday in May.  All of the kiddos were in a great mood because not only was it the last day of the school year, they had also all passed to the next grade!  I can remember being so concerned every school year, ripping that report card open, and nervously flipping the cardboard over scanning for the ever important "Grade next year" line.  I guess my kids are no different...

They had spent the entire day playing outside, eating otter pops and making big plans for the summer, the first of which would be swimming lessons starting Monday morning!  Greg was home for the rest of the day and we had been in the kitchen visiting with each other.  I might have mentioned something about how lucky we had always been, never having had any serious illnesses or accidents, no broken bones or real stitches in our family...

It was starting to get later in the evening and Emma and Rory asked if they could "scooter around the block." We said sure have fun.  About 2 minutes later Rory came in and said "Emma got hurt."

My sweet Emma has a slight tendency toward the dramatic so I told Rory to tell her to come inside and I will look at it, assuming it was just a skinned knee at worst.  Rory proceeded to insist that, "No! She is REALLY hurt!!"

So I ran out front to find Emma bloody from head to toe and screaming as she stumbled toward the house.  I told her to come to me and I would help her and she wailed, "I'M TRYING!!"

We brought her inside and started to clean her up and assess the damages.  Nose was bleeding like crazy and mouth was covered in blood but all of the teeth were intact (after shattering my own front teeth as a kid that is always my first worry), she had a huge deep scrape on her knee and bloody road rash all down her legs.  We started cleaning up the blood and we noticed she was holding her hand funny so I asked if her arm hurt and she held it out whimpering "yes..."  By the sickening angle her whole hand flopped down at, I knew it was broken and that covered in blood or not, it was time to head to the emergency room.

Greg was amazing as he very quickly and effectively got the other kiddos situated and ready for us to be gone.  We loaded Jo into the car and Greg called our friend Tom to meet us at the ER to help give Emma a priesthood blessing.  Emma was in a lot of pain and was sobbing pretty hard the whole way. We waited about zero minutes at the ER before they got her back into a room (which by the way the new Winslow ER is absolutely amazing!!).  They were able to get her some pain meds and started cleaning her up while we waited for Radiology.  Tom and Saleena arrived and Tom and Greg gave Emma a sweet blessing that eased her mind and body.  The cookies Saleena brought Emma didn't hurt either :)

The radiologist arrived with their new fancy schmancy portable X-ray machine and they did her X-rays right there in her bed.  The X-ray machine was called something like RadPro 2000.  I could tell Emma's pain meds were working because she kind of giggled and asked me, "Mom is it called the RadPro because it is a Professional at being Rad?"

The X-rays were visible right there on the screen and we could see pretty easily that yep, it was broken.  The good news was it was the best kind of broken; stable, already aligned, and away from the growth plate so it would only need a simple cast.  The bad news is being in a cast for a month meant cancelling those long-awaited swimming lessons. :)

They were concerned because her knee was so badly banged up so they X-rayed it too but it was perfectly healthy so YAY!  Cleaning the rest of the road rash was pretty painful for her but she made it through.  She had to wait a week for the swelling to go down so she was in a sling and splint for that time.  Her siblings sure loved doting on her and protecting her arm, it was incredibly sweet. :)

Well the cast is still on and she has spent the summer on the side of the pool watching her siblings swim and cursing her stupid cast.  But hopefully she will get it off this Saturday and then she is pool bound every free afternoon this summer :)

For all of you who love this kind of thing:

Where does the time go?

Oh that's right, it goes to:

1. my school
2. the kids' schools
3. running a law practice
4. working in the lab
5. taking/editing pictures
6. HESI exams
7. birthday parties
8. getting into Nursing School
9. YM activites
10. YW Activities
11. Stake Dances
12. Ward Conferences
13. Branch Conferences
14. Girls Camp planning
15. Scout campouts
16. getting a new perfect nephew
17. friends having babies
18. everyone home for Christmas
19. school spelling bee
20. district spelling bee
21. County Spelling bee :)
22. baritone practice
23. learning to read
24. homework packets
25. ADHD
26. Asperger's/Autism
27. Diabetes
28. making new friends
29. visiting with old friends
30. dear friends moving away
31. cleaning the house
32. laundry
33. laundry
34. laundry
35. living room dance parties
36. super fun game nights
37. family movie marathons
38. laughing
39. crying
40. humbling
41. fun
42. family <3...

So yeah, consider the blog caught up for now :)

Just Do It! Or Don't! It's really up to you though...

I hate political rants and posts on Facebook and such but I saw something today that said:

"like if you believe birth control should be a woman's decision, not a politician's."

I am a woman and my birth control has always been my own decision and I have always paid for it myself.  Even as a flat broke student.

So I am making my own:

"Like if you believe your birth control should be your responsibility and not the taxpayers'."  

There is always the option of not having sex... and that is free.  I just don't think I should have to pay into a system so that others can continue to enjoy biologically consequence free sex.

Ok, climbing down off my soapbox now... :)

Ok, I admit, I suck at this...

I can't stand the feeling of shame I get everytime I log on to the internet any longer. 

You see our home page is our blog and well as you may have noticed I haven't posted anything since January 26th.  Almost ten months...  Now, don't get me wrong, I still love reading all of your blog posts and seeing all of the cuteness that is your families, and truth be told, plenty has and is going on in our lives, I just can't seem to find the time to blog it, what with my very busy Facebook and Pinterest schedule... :)

So here is a quick recap of us for the last ten months:

1. Still working out of the new office and we love it and it was the best decision for us for sure!
2. Finished working as a TA for my professor in Holbrook.  So happy to never autoclave again if I can help it!
3. Passed my CNA boards and am now basically licensed to be a mom... :D
4. Kiddos all passed their grades this year (DUH) and we had a FAST summer break.  Tons of swimming lessons (all 4 kids can swim across the deep end of the pool now), playing outside and short trips for the family.  Our favorite: a quick trip to the Grand Canyon!  It was Greg's and the kids' first time, and they all loved it!
   
5. We had our first Girls' Camp as the Stake YW Presidency.  It was absolutely fantastic.  We have to give credit to all of the amazing ladies who did know what they were doing because we sure didn't and a lot of the time we were just running on faith.  Implemented a new plan for YL's and it was a bit sticky but a huge tesimony builder for me and I know it was the right thing to do.  I love serving with the ladies I get to. They rock!
6. Ethan turned 11 and since our 11-year-old scouts meet with the rest of the scouts in our ward, he has been getting to go to Mutual with Greg for 3 weeks a month and he is absolutely loving it!  Greg is loving having his Buddy there too. :)
7. School is back in session for the kiddos and for mom!  Ethan is in 6th grade and is super lucky to have Ms. Leonard.  Emma is a 3rd grader and in her first year at the Magnet School.  She has Ms. Garner and boy has she loved it all! The twins are now over at Jefferson in 1st grade with Ms. Bratt.  I love that we actually know all of our kids' teachers and that they are all such fantastic people! I have started my Anatomy & Physiology I class and yes it is hard but I really love it.  I will be applying for the Nursing Program in January so I am really getting close now.
8. Somehow I got roped into being a TA again this semster.  I have got to learn to say no!!  But it is good (so far), and this semester I am in Winslow with two other TA's which makes my job infinitely more easy!  Luckily I have already told the professors that there is no way I can do it next semester.  It is a great way to get extra study time and Christmas money though...
9. Greg and I are still being band boosters and it is so much fun to work with the music teachers in our district and the great kids in the music programs.  Ethan is playing the baritone this year and he is so in love with it.
   
    The kid has loved music since he was a baby and I am glad that he has a real passion (and talent) for something NOT technology related.

So that is a quick gloss over of a few highlights from the past 10 months.  Here is to yet another attempt at keeping up with the blog better! 

"Here's a stick to beat the lovely lady with..."

Ok so we don't REALLY want to beat anyone with sticks... That is a quote from one of my favorite movies, "The Quiet Man".  It is from a scene where John Wayne has decded that Maureen O'Hara has avoided being his wife for long enough and he marches across their Irish village to bring her home with him.  A helpful villager offers the Duke a "stick to beat the lovely lady with."  Greg and I often (jokingly) repeat this line when one of our girls gets into a full on rant or some other kind of misbehavior... 


I found this on Pinterest today and aboslutely had to share it!  We are having all of the same problems with discipline that families have when they have kids the same age as ours.  The problem is we have a couple of kids that "traditional" discipline simply doesn't work for.  These ideas are fantastic and I think they will definitely help cut down on the mom-screaming-and-yelling part of the day... :)


Disciplining our children takes dedication and effort.  It also helps to mix in a little creativity when needed.  The consequences below from parenting expert, Lisa Welchel, might seem a little strong, but let them inspire you to come up with your own.

1.    If time-outs don't work, try a "time-in." This can be accomplished by sending your child to a designated spot where he must complete a task that has a definite beginning and end. This could be putting together a small puzzle, stringing 50 beads on a piece of yarn, or tracing the alphabet. A time-in diverts his energies and encourages him to focus on something positive.

2.    Timers set definite boundaries. For example, with a timer, you can say, "I'm setting the timer. I want your room cleaned (or your shoes on, or the dishes unloaded) in 15 minutes. If you haven't finished by then, your correction is…." This method not only spurs on easily distracted children, but it also leaves little room for arguing about a job that isn't finished and whether the correction is warranted.

3.    Make a homemade "Correction" can and fill it with tickets or slips of paper with various consequences written on them. Instead of giving your child a time-out, send her to the can for a slip. A few ideas might include no TV or computer for a night, early bedtime, or an extra chore. Toss in a blank piece of paper, a "mercy" ticket. This gives you an opportunity to talk about how God gives us mercy even when we deserve punishment.

4.    If you repeatedly open the door to your child's room only to catch him in an act of disobedience, take your child's bedroom door off the hinges. It sounds harder to do than it actually is. And it works wonders!

5.    Adjust bedtimes according to your children's behavior that day. For each infraction, they must go to bed five minutes earlier, but if they've been good, they can earn the right to stay up an extra five minutes.

6.    An especially tough but effective correction for teenagers who forget to wear their seat belts is to add an additional day past their sixteenth birthday before they can take their driver's test. Hey, it's important!

7.    If you have dawdlers, try this: Whoever is last to the table at dinnertime becomes the server. But there's a catch. Even if you're first, your hands must be clean, of you'll end up serving the food, pouring the drinks, and fetching the condiments (after washing your hands, of course!).

8.    If your children are constantly turning in sloppy schoolwork, get a few photocopied pages of printing or cursive exercises. (These can be found at any teachers supply store.) Then ask your haphazard child this: "What takes longer: a report done neatly in 15 minutes or one you've sped through in 10 that must be redone and warrants a page of handwriting practice?"

9.    You've heard the reprimand "Hold your tongue!" Make your child do it-literally. Have her stick out her tongue and hold it between two fingers. This is an especially effective correction for public outbursts.

10. My friend, Becki, tried a variation on this idea in the car. If things got too raucous or there was too much fussing between siblings, she would cry, "Noses on knees!" Her children then had to immediately touch their noses to their knees until she determined that they had learned their lesson.

11. Next time your child "forgets" to put something away, like video games or sports equipment, put it away for him. When he asks where it is, tell him that he'll just have to look for it. Believe me; he will learn that it's a lot more trouble to find something that Mom has hidden than it is to put it away in the first place.

12. If you have younger children who are messy, try this: Put their toys in a "rainy day" box to bring out later. This has the added benefit of making an old toy seem new again. Or set the toy somewhere out of reach but within sight for a predetermined number of days. This increases the impact of the correction by keeping the forbidden toy fresh in their minds.

13. I heard from a mom who had tired of her three sons' ceaseless noises and sound effects—so she got creative. If her boys did not take their commotion outside, she would make them sit down and listen to the "Barney" theme song cassette for 10 minutes. For adolescent boys, it's torture!

14. If your little one gets too hyper, come up with a code word to remind him to stop the action without embarrassing him. Whenever Tucker started getting too rowdy in a group, I would yell, "Hey, Batman." He knew that he needed to calm down before I had to take more drastic measures.

15. Does your child slam the door when she's angry? You might tell her, "It's obvious that you don't know how to close a door properly. To learn, you will open and close this door, calmly and completely, 100 times."

16. If your child likes to stomp off to his room or stomp around in anger, send him outside to the driveway and tell him to stomp his feet for one minute. He'll be ready to quit after about 15 seconds, but make him stomp even harder.

17. The same goes for throwing fits. Tell your child to go to her room to continue her fit. She isn't allowed to come out and she has to keep crying for 10 minutes. Ten minutes is an awfully long time, and it's no fun if your parents tell you to cry.

18. Another way to handle temper tantrums is to simply say, "That is too disruptive for this house. You may continue your fit in the backyard. When you're finished, you are welcome to come back inside." When there isn't an audience, the thrill of throwing a temper tantrum is gone.

19. If a job is not done diligently, have your child practice doing it. She'll learn to be more thorough if she's made to sweep the floor three or four times because her first effort wasn't good enough.

20. When one of my children is acting disrespectful, disobedient, or defiant, I will instruct him or her to choose a chore from the Job Jar. The jobs include scrubbing the toilet, organizing the pots and pans, moving and vacuuming underneath the furniture, weeding the garden, matching up odd socks, defrosting the refrigerator, and cleaning the closet, garage, or under the bed. And those are just a few possibilities. You could add ironing, vacuuming the refrigerator coils, scrubbing the inside of small wastebaskets, polishing the silver, cleaning the window wells, brushing the animals, cleaning the fireplace, shaking the kitchen rugs, vacuuming the couch, alphabetizing the spices, and using wood cleaner on the dining room chairs. Not only does the Job Jar help to get my house clean, but it also keeps my little ones from complaining that they're bored. They know that with the Job Jar, Mom will always have an antidote for boredom.

21. I have a friend whose son's morning chore was to get the pooper-scooper and clean up the doggie gifts littering the backyard. The boy was not doing this job with much diligence, so his father came up with this creative solution: After the boy had completed the task, he would be required to run through the yard barefoot! From then on, their lawn was perfectly clean.

Taken from Creative Correction by Lisa Whelchel.

© 2010 iMOM. All Rights Reserved. Family First, All Pro Dad, iMOM, and Family Minute with Mark Merrill are registered trademarks.

So, what was one of the best "punishments" you have come up with?  One that really was effective?  Or maybe one that you were on the receiving end of?  I need ideas here... :)

Whatever helps you sleep at night...

I found a giveaway that I really hope to win!  As most of you know I don't usually sleep.  I want to, but it isn't until about 4 AM most nights that my body finally gives in and lets me.  I am hoping to learn a little more about my sleep patterns using this:

The Zeo Sleep Manager will track your sleep habits and sleep quality and then sends the information via blutooth to your smart phone.  From there it will give recommendations specific to you to help you have better sleep, be more rested, and just be healthier overall.  It is like your own private sleep lab right there in your home!  So wish me luck and hopefully sweet dreams!

Whew better catch up!

Time gets away from me so dang fast!!

So a lot has happened since my last post so quick recap:

August:  Everybody went to school!  Ethan is in 5th grade at the brand new Technology Magnet School! (Go Techno Dogs!) His teacher is our friend Allen Leonard and we love that!  I remember being at NAU with Al and thinking "I cannot picture Al as a teacher!" But holy moly he is truly amazing at his job!  Ethan has also started playing the trumpet this year and he is actually pretty great at it and even better than that he LOVES it!  Emma is a big ol second grader this year.  She is at Jefferson School with Mrs. Mitchell.  Emma loves her and her class and her favorite thing is going to GATE. The Twinners started Kindergarten this year.  They love everything about school and especially their teacher Mrs. Sutphen.  They are also following in the tradition of being just way too smart for themselves like their brother and sister before them.  I started school again too.  I took a Chemistry class and a Psychology class this semester.  I am working on all of my prerequisites for the Nursing program at NPC.

September: I RAN THE DISNEYLAND HALF MARATHON!!!  Yeah, I actually made it and I loved it and am planning on another!  My parents were so amazing and they took the kiddos for the weekend and Greg, Michelle and I went to Anaheim for the race weekend.  Longer post about this to come...

October:  We moved offices!  The time finally came to shut down Patton and Green and open The Law Office Of Gregory D. Green, PLLC.  We moved into an actual office complex and we love it!  It is exciting and we think it will be a great thing for our family.

November:  Thanksgiving was great.  I love time spent with family, we missed those who couldn't come but enjoyed those we were able to spend it with.  The Twinners also turned 6!  They are so big and so sweet and I love them every single day!  The best present of the day: Boots!!

December:  So far has been a fun packed month!  Emma Jo was baptized! Beautiful day and wonderful time with family and friends; longer post to come... Got to go visit Greg's family before Christmas and had an awesome few days with them.  Came home to a beautiful Christmas Day.  Wonderful musical numbers and my parents were the speakers (I always enjoy when they speak).  Hated spending it wthout my brothers and their families but somethings can't be helped.  Attended the beautiful blessing of my brand new baby nephew Dylan Adair DeWitt and I couldn't be more in love with him!!  Spent an entire day with 2 of our very favorite people: THE NEENI CAME HOME!!! Well for the day anyway... We love them and miss them all the time and were so happy to have a normal day playing games and laughing and talking with them.  Today we will head to Safford to meet our two brand new nephews!  Kelly and Kevin are adopting two amazing boys tomorrow and then we will all head to the Gila Valley Temple to witness their sealing.  What a blessed December!

So there ya go, all caught up again and hoping to do a much better job from here on out!  Happy New Year to you all!

Changing Perspectives

I saw this: Why I'm Raising My Son To Be A Nerd, on Facebook this morning and it got me thinking about a conversation Greg and I had the other day.  You see I have been doing this for a while.  I wish I could say that I recognized the importance of playing up my son's intelligence over his athleticism on my own but I was kinda forced into it.  You see boys with asperger's are often a bit, well, uncoordinated.  I had my baby boy and bought him cute little baseball outfits and tiny toy gloves and soccer balls and thought about how fun it will be to sit at his high school football and basketball games, to watch him at little league as he learns to be the little all star my brothers and husband were.

Then we put him into soccer.

My poor son hated it!  He cried on the field, sat and played with dirt, ate the dandelions, threw screaming tantrums, HATED it.  I thought "ok well, soccer isn't his game, besides he is barely 5 lots of kids his age aren't into the sports yet."

So we put him in t-ball.

Slightly better but he couldn't get the basics down.  He couldn't swing the bat hard, (sometimes his swing was barely one handed), couldn't run, the sun in his eyes made him simply walk off the field because he didn't like being out there.  Doesn't look like we need to worry about all-stars.

Ethan tends to not like anything he isn't instantly good at so sports have kind of fallen on the wayside.  And to tell you the truth as I have gotten to know my son, I don't even mind.

Ethan is amazing.  He is so incredibly brilliant.  I laugh every time we tell another therapist, psychologist, teacher, principal, etc., that he is REALLY smart and they look at me with that "yeah-every-parent-thinks-their-kid-is-super-smart" look and then, after meeting with Ethan they try to convince me that I don't get how truly intelligent he really is.

He gets things so completely so quickly and so easily.  I love that his teachers have been able to use him as kind of a teacher science project: "How much can I throw at this kid before it is finally over his head?"  At one point in kindergarten he decided to memorize all of the bones of the body... because the anatomy book was interesting to him.  (Not so fun when he explained the anatomical reasons why his 3 year old sister was not capable of becoming a mother yet... :S )

He can tell you the entire history of the Apple corporation.  When each product was introduced, how long it was sold for, how much it was sold for.  Was it a success or a failure?  What did the new version change from the old one?  How was it developed?  Who worked on it?  If you have ever wondered any of these things, Ethan has your answer.

The other day I came in and Ethan was on the Mac and hurried and slammed it shut when I walked up.  As a mother of a little boy in this day and age I was immediately concerned what youtube was introducing my baby to.  I opened the Mac and found that my then 9 year old was comparing and contrasting the computer engineering and programming programs at U of A and BYU.  Yep, planning college...  He not only loves the Apple corporation but is constantly planning the ways that he will some day take them over and buy them out with his even better programs and hardware.  Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, watch your backs because Ethan is coming for ya!

I have learned to cheer him on in this arena.  He shines here.  He is an all-star all the way.  He is going to be so successful and amazing that if he decides one day that he is interested in baseball, or soccer, or basketball, or football or whatever the sport may be, he can just buy the team he likes.


Am I still gonna sit on the sidelines and watch him as he swims, or runs, or jumps, or throws, or kicks, his little heart out and cheer until I am hoarse?  You'd better believe it!  Am I going to be disappointed if he decides that world isn't for him?  Heck no, because my kid is amazing in all of the best ways already!  So I agree with the article I linked to above, we need more nerds.  We need people to run this world and make it easier and better for us,  and the nerds of the world are the ones with the true power to do it.

I have something to say!

I think we have too much access to public forums.  We are way too able to express our thoughts and opinions for everyone to read, comment on and either hate or defend.  The irony that I am using my own personal public forum to express this opinion is not lost on me.

But here is something I have to get off my chest:

Last night some U.S. Navy Seals flew into Pakistan on a helicopter to take out the mass murderer and terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden.  The helicopter they flew in on malfunctioned outside of the compound and they were forced to land.  They tried to figure out the problem with the helicopter unsuccessfully.  They chose to continue with the mission knowing that there was a chance they would be unable to leave due to the faulty helicopter.  They stormed the compound and killed this evil man and took custody of his body.  After confirmation was made that it was, in fact, the man responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands and all of the necessary documentation was created, he was buried at sea as soon as possible according to his muslim tradition that burial be done as swiftly as possible.

Yep that happened, and while I don't wish for someone else to suffer or die I am unbelievably grateful that an evil destructive cancer has been removed from this world, making life a little bit safer for all of the other inhabitants of the earth.

What disturbs me is all of the blog posts, Twitter feeds, Facebook status updates, Facebook comments, Twitter responses, blog comments, etc., that have villianized our U.S. military and the methods used to eradicate this very real and dangerous threat.  Think that Obama took too much credit? Not enough credit?  Think he thanked the troops enough?  Not enough thanks?  Believe that this has become a political posturing platform?  Believe that it has nothing to do with upcoming elections?  I really don't care!!  But I have seen literally dozens of posts and comments calling our military men and women "barbaric," "heartless," and even flat out "evil!"  These men and women and their families sacrifice so much to defend our liberties and offer those liberties to those who might want them, let's not take away their dignity as well.

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine.

The Plan

I have had quite a few people ask me if I have a training plan for the Disneyland Half Marathon that I am running in September. So I thought I'd post it here. I use the one that Disney put out but I am tweaking it just a little... I can't do the run 10 seconds walk 50 seconds thing. I basically run until I have to walk, walk for about a minute and then start running again.


So far I have gotten to where I can run for three miles without stopping to take walk. I have loved all of the little changes running has brought to me. The extra energy, the sense of accomplishment, more patience, the looser jeans... I really am blessed to have a body that is healthy and strong enough to let me try this and enjoy it too.

Still going!

Another run tonight!  I am so getting into this running thing.


The 19th of April is my official start date for the 20 week training program for the Disneyland Half Marathon.  I am considering quitting pop or at least seriously cutting back while I am training.


I usually prefer to read Kindle books on the iPad while I run but sometimes that isn't possible so I am also working on a new playlist for running to.  Anyone have any suggestions?  What kind of music helps pace you?  What gets you fired up?  What helps you keep going?


Thanks for your suggestions! :)

OUCH!!!

VS.

My poor Emma had a terrible battle the other night and she lost.  It was Emma vs. The Pinewood Derby Car.  She was playing with Ethan's car running through the house and she tripped smacking the thin edge of the wedge right into her throat and chin.  It swelled up huge and hurt like crazy... I didn't get a pic of the worst swelling but you can imagine something a little like this:

Ok that may be a slight exaggeration, but only slight!

Well today the swelling has started going down but the bruising has started coming out and she looks like a prize fighter.  My Emma is one tough girl and I might mention that she is pretty dang gorgeous to look that pretty even with a bruised and swollen jaw...

Stupid Smart Bryn!!

Well I haven't wanted to admit it but our super awesome friends the Neeni are moving... all the way across the country...  You see my friend Bryn is a smartie.  She applied to grad school at Georgetown University and was accepted, so off they flit, tra la la la la, all the way to Washington DC.

While it sucks for me and I will miss her and Jason like crazy (not to mention the fact that my twins who are in Bryn's primary class might never recover) I am really happy for and proud of her.  It is an amazing opportunity and quite an honor as well for her.  So in the spirit of being happy for Bryn I did a Google search for The Top Ten Things about Georgetown University.  Here is what I got:

Best Things

1. International students and teachers
2. Washington, DC
3. Awesome speakers and presenters on campus
4. Cherry Tree season
5. The Exorcist stairs
6. Free movies on the weekend
7. Balance of academic and social life
8. Hanging out on the lawns
9. School spirit
10. Hoya basketball

Happy Students

96% of students return after their first year.

Commitment to Teaching

There are 10 students for every member of faculty on campus.

Proven Success

93% of students will complete their education and graduate with a degree.

Big Dorms

91% of students surveyed felt that dorms were more spacious than average.

Campus Pride

50% of students surveyed love everything about the school and have a
lot of campus pride.

Highly Satisfied Students

100% of students surveyed would make the same school choice if they
could do it all over again.

Help Finding a Job or Internship

80% of students surveyed said that the career center is very helpful and provide
services to students beyond help landing a job.

Strong Alumni Network

50% of students surveyed say the alumni network is very strong and involved
in activities on campus.

Vibrant Social Scene

60% of students surveyed agreed that there lots of popular activities around
camps every day.

Genders equally represented

A male to female ratio of 749/822 means there's a pretty even balance of
students on campus.

Learn from the best

89% of faculty have earned the highest degree in their field.

Help to succeed

The school has academic and career counseling available to help
you when you need it.

Get AP Credit

If you took AP classes in high school you might be able to get
college credit for them.

Work part-time during school

Employment services are available for students.

Help getting hired

Placement services are available to graduates.

Extremely diverse

One of the most racially diverse campuses, 45% of students are minorities

So there it is.  All of the best things about Georgetown.  And to quote a wise man, "huh, well, I guess that's fun." ;)

Congrats, Stupid Smart Bryn! :)

Pine Wood Derby Time!

We had the pinewood derby again and Ethan did awesome!  He went with the wedge style again and it was a super fast car that took him through four rounds of competition!

Special thanks to our crack team of engineers who stayed up late helping him finish the car for FHE: Lacy, Jake, Tom, Tayna, Bryn, Jason, Michelle, Mom, Dad, Emma, Rory, and Bailey.  It was truly a team effort and we can all be proud!

But what made me the most proud was the amazing grace and sportsmanship Ethan showed, win or lose.  I am so proud of my son!

I think this face says it all! :) 

My super amazing new laundry robot!

Well maybe it is just a washing machine, but it seems like an amazing robot! We have always been plagued by laundry around here. I am talking like a giant pile in the laundry room that tries to eat me when I open the door.

Around a year+ ago my "expensive, top of the line, never need another one" GE frontloader just flat quit working. Lame. But to my rescue came my wonderful friend Teresa. Teresa had had a similar problem that week in her house, her dryer had given up the ghost. She sent me a message that they had decided to buy a new set and that if I would come and get it, I could have her fully functioning washer! She is amazing!

Well, we used that poor thing into the ground! (Teresa and I both tried to clean those years of stuck on laundry soap but no luck, anyone have a tip for that?) For the last few months we have only been able to fill the washer 1/3 of the way with clothes or the poor tired agitator wouldn't/ couldn't spin. So I started the search on craigslist, ebay, freecycle, etc., etc., and couldn't find anything that looked functional in my very very low price range. On a whim we decided to go see what they had at the Furniture Bowl here in town. Long story (slightly) short(er) he made us an offer we couldn't refuse! I am now the proud owner of this beautiful thing:

It is enormous! I can literally fit two completely full laundry baskets (the big full size ones) into one load! I have at least one friend (no names Chelle) who wouldn't be able to reach the clothes at the bottom of the tub it is so deep! We have finally conquered the mountain of laundry! I <3 my new washer!

They are always watching!!

So, the other day Ethan was telling us about a friend of his who "has some friends who are game testing the new Halo game." We played along and said, "wow that is cool, how did Brodee meet them?" to which Ethan responded:

"I don't know, I don't know his life..." :D