updating

People keep asking me what the trick it to keep my blog updated.  Like anything else it just has to be something that clicks with you.  This is something I really enjoy.  I tell my husband, blogging does the same thing for me that video games or watching TV do for him.  Its like a release for me.  But for those of you that are struggling here are a few tips.
1.   Try to set aside some time each day or week. When you are sitting watching your spouses fav TV show that's not that great, set your laptop on your lap and type a few things.  This is a 2 for 1 my hubby feels loved that I sit with him and I get stuff done. This is a great Sunday activity for me, also I take my camera everywhere I go.  I just keep it in my purse, sometimes I remember to take it out sometimes not.   Most of us have phones with cameras so use them,  if you think "that is a funny/cute/memorable picture"  take one.
2. The other thing I think gets us all behind is trying to play catch up.  If we neglect some thing and try to catch up we are never going to catch up (unless you are very determined.  But how many of us are really that determined)  Forget about past activities just start with what you did today THEN if you have time LATER add a post or two about the things you did awhile ago.
My grandmother kept a journal.  I HATE!!! to write in a journal  but  I loved reading hers.  It helped me understand why my Dad does certain things and it helped me get to know her.  She died when I was 2 so I have no memory of her.  It has also helped me as a parent.  She had 15 kids,  (no multiple births), but her writings helped me learn from her experiences.
This blog is something I did mostly for my personal records so when I become old and senile I will know what my life was like.  Sometimes I think I will be not so old and senile.  Anyway it has turned out to be one of my kids favorite pastimes, so for now I try to keep it updated.

chivalry

Chivalry is not dead.  Today I went grocery shopping with my little guys.  They behaved pretty well, it might have been the ice cream I bought them or I just caught them on a good day.  We went to check out when Brennen offered to help put the groceries on the counter for me.  Once the cart was unloaded I went for my purse when Brennen gently pushed me a side and said "Don't worry mom, I got this."  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his dollar he so courageously earned 2 days before.

So Cute!!!

I took a mental snap shot of this sweet moment then had to explain that his dollar was not going to be enough for all these groceries but thanks anyway.  The cashier (a man in his twenties)  was awed at the whole scene.  He said "Wow such a gentleman!"  maybe I'm doing something right.  I play that scene over and over again in my head and can't help but think how cute he was with his kind serious manner. . . .Don't worry mom, I got this.

parenting

As a parent there are lots of things we worry about.  Are my children growing strong in their testimonies, am I doing the right thing, am I exposing them to enough culture, am I spending enough fun time with them, are they growing emotionally spiritually physically, are they healthy are they happy the list is endless.  When we lived in Cali I would sometimes drive by my  kids school during recess, not purposley I just happen to drive by, and I would see my oldest walking around the playground aimlessly by herself.  At one of these times I stopped and watched, she never really interacted with her classmates she just looked lost? sad? lonely?  As I watched her face it broke my heart.  She is supposed to be running around smiling, laughing, chasing kids kicking balls, jumping rope.  I thought maybe I just caught her on a bad day, so a few days later I drove by again only to find her clinging and chatting to the only adult on the playground, when that yard duty had to leave there she was again with no giggling girls whispering secrets to her or dragging her off to the next thing.  I learned that she had very few friends. and was closer to the teachers than her school mates.
With the move here I was hoping it would be a fresh start for her.  I prayed daily for guidance of where we should live so that my children would be able to have friends and be themselves, a place that my little grownup could see the importance of being a kid.  I stressed, I fasted, and I prayed.
As I drive by their school now during the recess hour I look for my kids from afar, trying to get a glimpse of what their life on the playground is like.  My prayers have been answered, I see my children laughing, running, and chasing friends.  Friends plural!  Today I stopped my car just to watch as my little grownup was acting like a kid with a huge smile on her face as she played with all her girlfriends on the field.  It was just a happy moment.  My children are happy.  They are thriving and I am so grateful Heavenly Father saw to it that this prayer of mine could be answered.

The Board

One of the things that my parents did a really good job on was teaching us kids how to work.  We are a working family and I will always be grateful for that skill they taught us.  So in trying to follow their footsteps in that parenting aspect I introduce you to The Board.  I don't know when or how it started, I think like everything it came from necessity.  With eight kids running in and out of the house and before cell phones, we needed one message board to manage the house.  Nothing grandiose just a large white marker board that was put up right next to the door that everyone traveled in and out of.  Everyday we came home from school we had a job on The Board.  It was an unwritten rule that as soon as we got home we were allowed a snack then onto our chores, even before homework.  We were not allowed to tamper with The Board, and I'm not sure why but we were not allowed to erase our job until it was complete.  I'm not sure if that was ever explained to us that way or it was just unanimously understood.
Now I have tried different versions of The Board before.  When my children were really young I laminated pictures of jobs and put them next to the kids names in the "to do" column, in which they could move over to the "done" column once completed however if I found their work unsatisfactory I reserved the right to move the picture back over to the "to do" column.  This board actually worked quite well, the only problem was a child playing with and loosing the pictures or not having a laminated picture of a new job I wanted them to do.

Now that my kids are bigger and can read I went out and bought our new Board.  As I hung it up for FHE I explained the purpose and rules of The Board. My oldest asked, "Do we get allowances for these chores, everyone in my class gets an allowance but me?"  my answer, "Absolutely NOT.  You do the chores because you live here, have clean clothes on your back a warm place to sleep at night and food in your tummy."  I am a firm believer in doing things because its the right thing to do not because you get rewarded. Too many kids nowadays expect something.  I am trying to get rid of the every kid gets a trophy epidemic.  What ever happened to the satisfaction of doing a good job., and pulling your own weight.
There is no reward system to get them started just a no nonsense just do it attitude.
William sensing an opportunity to schmooze me over asked, "can we add chores to our own list?"  (such a kiss up)  I replied in the affirmative as long as the ones I wrote were completed first.  So here goes the experiment, actually no its not an experiment its a new lifestyle for the Stringham family another generation of workers.

Liar

I recently read an article about a mom who said that when she became a parent she became the biggest liar she ever met, and I have to say I concur.  I have no problem telling my children that a certain toy or electronic is out of batteries and we have no replacements. That the place they want to go to is closed for the day even though its prime hours, that we are all out of cookies so they wont spoil their dinner, or that the tooth fairy didn't come either because their room wasn't clean or they went to bed too late.  (actually that one might be true) My personal favorite is that if they play that game too long the screen is going to burn up so they need to shut it off and let it cool down.
I find myself telling lots of little white lies to get through the days without a meltdown from one child or another, and while a small portion of me is concerned about all this dishonesty its only a small part  and my sanity thanks me.  Now don't get me wrong I do not spend my days lying to my children.  I usually try to explain things honestly and logically wiht only one or two lies to avoid meltdown mode.  So in the spirit of dishonesty I have to go clean that bathroom and when I say clean the bathroom I really mean read my book.

imagination

I love the wonder of imagination.  How it can turn every ordinary into an amazing adventure.  Since we have had such a wonderful non-winter Winter my kids have been spending a lot of time outdoors playing like real kids.  (I always say play like a real kid, meaning like when I was little and played games outside, play like the time before electronics started to take over.)  In doing so their imaginations have come alive and I love it.  However I guess I forgot how real a child's imagination can be, for instance.  William, Brennen, and the neighbor boys were riding their wheels on the driveway.  They started playing a variation of demolition derby when William told Brennen he didn't have enough  "money" to buy rocket boosters for his scooter.  Brennen was devastated,  he came crying to me and I told him to just tell William he had enough "money"  Apparently that didn't go well.  He came back crying again.  After three times of Brennen coming to me crying and the frustration growing I reached into my "wallet"  and handed him enough "money" to buy the rocket boosters.  He held out his hand and gladly accepted the "money" so William could not refute him.
Just yesterday ALL the boys were playing on the trampoline in a robot wrestling match. (They were the robots) They said there was a ring of fire around the trampoline.  This time it was Peter that came crying to me, he couldn't get on the tramp because of the "fire".  He was terrified.  I got everyones attention and told them to turn off the fire so Peter could get on.  Which they did until the next match, then here came Peter again afraid of the "fire"  We walked hand in hand over to the tramp when he pulled me back because the "fire" was hot and he didn't want me to get burned.
Now, that Peter has his rocket boosters he "flies" all around the house and yard.  The look on his face shows me how real it all is to him.
I find myself marveling about the wonderful world of a child's imagination.  I worry that the more electronics they are exposed to, the more they will loose that gift of imagination.  I realize now it is my job to help nurture that gift and provide opportunities for them to use it.

Bucket list

I just finished reading about this girl who had a sort of bucket list.  It got me to thinking that I haven't updated my personal bucket list in a long time.  I had written one when I was in high school and as I pulled it out I noticed I have crossed off many things on it.  The good thing about a bucket list is that you can add and cross off anytime you want.  So as of today here is my updated bucket list.  The more I think about it the more things I will probably add.  If any of you can help me cross off any items on my list I would be extremely grateful.  These can be crossed of in any order
1. Drive through a closed gate with a car (just like in the movies.  this has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember.)
2. learn a new instrument
3. try surfing
4. learn a new language
5. take a great family photo
6. travel to Europe and or Greece
7. travel to Fuji
8.  Go on a service mission or humanitarian project.
9. go parasailing
10. learn to sail
11. Go on a no kids vacation
12.  see some of the 7 wonders of the world.
13 fly in a small aircraft like a Helicopter or biplane
14. see the Northern Lights
15. Take a small engine repair class
16. fly paper lanterns like in the movie Tangled.
17. learn how to airbrush

Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day.  I was very excited this year for one thing, a Valentines box.  When we lived in Cali there was just an envelop provided to insert your valentines.  Here in UT the kids actually get to make a box.  I remember doing this when I was little and I loved it.  I remember one time I made a 3 1/2 ft. 3D stop sign that said "Stop and give me a valentine."  You put the valentine in the face of the stop sign and it traveled down the "post" to the base which was a box that also helped hold the stop sign upright.  I remember this one so fondly because it was the first one I made all by myself and in my memory it turned out great.

William's class did not get to do their own box but Ellie's did.  We brainstormed a little and came up with this.

It is a full size replica of a guitar that says U rock if You Give me a Valentine.  I built the structure and Ellie got to decorate it.  It brought back some good memories.  The down side of being here. . . I had to make 80 Valentines. We made these super hero suckers.  On their capes we wrote "You are a Super friend."  I was so sick of suckers by the time we were done.  Once we did enough for all of Ellie's and Williams people I didn't have the energy to do Brennen's so we just passed out  Kool-aid bursts with a heart that said "You are one Kool kid."I was really excited to give Scott his gift and now when I think about it, its doesn't sound very good for a Valentines gift.  I got him his concealed weapons permit.  Or rather I enrolled and paid for the class for him to get his permit.  Now before you laugh you must know, All my brothers have theirs and they go shooting together and have commando camp outs together for their "bonding" time.  Plus now that he has his permit we can work on getting him the gun he wants. If only we had unlimited funds. 

Geek of the Week

this weeks Geek of the Week goes out to our good friends the Smith's son.  We took them to our Legacy Center to go swimming.  While they do try to keep the pool warm (around but not above 90 degrees)  Those little ones have a hard time staying warm when in the water for longer than 30 min.  I brought along a little wet suit just for that purpose.  I did think it was going to be for their daughter because she has absolutely no meat on her bones.  She actually did really good.  But this little guy was freezing so we wiggled him into it and then he just had to try out Brennen's shark goggles.  While we were waiting for the safety/poop check I just couldn't help but snap a picture.  So congratulations Conner you are this weeks Geek of the Week.

Rocket boosters

For preschool I had the letter "R".  So much easier than "Q" I thought it would be a great idea to do rockets.  what little boy doesn't love rockets?  My mom has this awesome rocket launcher she made for her school kids so I went on a hunt for the rocket launchers.  No lunch at moms she had loaned it out to one of my siblings.  I called all of the likely suspects no one had it.  It was the night before my lesson and no launcher.  I called my brother, he didn't have my moms but he made one of his own I could use if I could find it.  (He wasn't home so I had to dig around.)  No luck.  Oh well I'll have to come up with something else.  Last minute scrambling I came up with a paper rocket they could use a straw to make blast off by blowing in the straw.  Sadly there were no straws to be found in my house.  I m grateful that my kids like to do crafts and create but I hate when they use all my supplies. I often find my self running to the store for supplies that I was sure I had on hand only to find they have been used by one of my very crafty kids.   sigh  So I made straws with paper and duct tape.  What would we do without duct tape?  One thing I did have planned was the rocket boosters (really jet packs but Peter calls them rocket boosters so we made it work.)  The kids loved them, although I think Peter loved them the most.  Days after he was still wearing his rocket boosters and "flying" all over the house.  He even found Williams old astronaut costume and put that on to make it official.  This was such as easy project and so well loved I should have done this long ago.  All it cost was the silver spray paint, so for $3 I made 10 jet packs.  Start with 2, 2-liter soda bottles.  cut up some cardboard in a square large enough to glue the bottles to but small enough for them to not be seen.  Spray everything silver and then I used duct tape for the straps.  2 strips of duct tape one  strip 4-5 inches longer than the other.  I taped the 2 pieces of duct tape sticky sides together leaving 2-3 inches of sticky side open to attach to the cardboard and voila.

Happy Birthday

It's Scott Birthday!!!  Sadly I did not have any grand plans for this wonderful man.  I asked him what he want to do for his birthday and all he could come up with  was to have roast and potatoes for his dinner and to relax and watch TV.  Sorry babe but that is a sorry excuse for a birthday but for once I am going to follow his wishes.  The dinner was a no brainer so I set that up for Sunday and it was delicious.   To get around this "relaxing day" (you all know how I hate to relax)  I have slowly done little activities so he feels loved.  On Friday we went to the movies.  He LOVES to go to the movies.  I am really okay with not going but I knew he really wanted to so when he asked I didn't give him my usual hard time and graciously accepted.  On Saturday we went to Trafalga for their laser tag.  The have a pretty good arena so I hear, plus it was free because of our aforementioned passes.  He had a great time with the kids.  It's a good bonding activity for all of them minus Peter he is too small. 

Sunday was the Superbowl so I did another 2 for 1.  We invited family over to come and watch the game.  We had the traditional too much food, lots of noise and fun games for the non game watchers.

My mother the forever artist brought over a fun craft for Valentines.  Basically shaved crayons between wax paper then iron to melt.  Cut to desired shape.  It was originally intended for the grand kids but I found myself sucked in to the craft vortex to join the creative juices.  It was a lot of fun and really neat to see how differently they all turned out.  They look especially cool when the sun shines through them.

For Scott's cake I saw the cutest idea on pinterest and thought I'd try it out.  They were a little time consuming but they turned out pretty cute.  I debated on whether to put a cavity on one but thought against it.  Who wants to work on their birthday.

So here's to a wonderful son, brother, uncle and my most important Father and Husband.

(but of course I would never choose anything but the best.)

I love you sweetie, you are my rock, my right hand

and my north pole.  I hope you have a wondrful year.

Geek of the Week

Here is this weeks Geek of the Week.  Brennen in Pj's, cowboy boots and a transformer hoodie.  Yes he went out in public like that.  We had to head out to school he said he needed to change his clothes because his got wet.  This is how he came out.  By then I had NO time to change him so that's how he went.  What a dork.

Pre school

I am in a joy school group where I teach preschool a few times a year at my house.  My time had come up again with the letter Q.  Could I get a more difficult letter to teach 3-4year olds?  I guess its easy to draw but I had a hard tome coming up with things that 8 four year old boys would like.   What's up with all the boys?   I teach the 6 year old class in primary ALL BOYS, eight of them.  We have 8 boys in preschool and 3 plus the neighbor kids on a daily basis ALL BOYS.  I guess if it was girls I would probably go postal.  Back to preschool.
 I started the day dressed as a queen, complete with cape and gold crown.  They all looked at me VERY strange.  Once I had their attention I asked them, what am I?  I got lots of shouts of "a princess"  kind of I said.  What is a princesses mom called?  . . . lots of blank and confused stares, finally one kid pipes up "mom?"  I had to laugh.  Of course, because all moms are called moms.  Once I straightened them out and informed them that I was a QUEEN I got the "oh" look and then was totally ignored.  I had the wrong target audience.  If they had been girls it would have been a totally different story.
My trouble was finding boy words that started with Q.  We started to make a quilt with not very much enthusiasm so I went to my good stuff, animals.   All kids like animals so we talked about what a duck says then we all followed like good little ducks quacking through the whole house.
My second day of preschool for that week I was totally stumped.  (We teach the same letter for 2 days)  So I tried to appeal to boys by using a Quarterback scenario, they hated it.  I tried pin the tail on the Q.  It was received a little better but they did NOT want to be blindfolded. (insert sigh)  Finally lightning struck.  I found a bunch of quarters and we played toss the quarter into the hat.  If you made it you got to keep your quarter.  Winner Winner.  turns out all kids love money especially shiny money.  We probably played 10 rounds of that game. (although the kids only got to keep one quarter.)
Pre-school is one of those things. .. I think I like it, I am good at it, but I don't think I could do it for very long.  I do love to watch kids learn,  I like to be creative and think up different things but I am usually done with kids at the witching hour (for me its more like the hours between 6 and 10pm)