ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY: 3/30/1981

I was in the fourth grade in Weatherford, Oklahoma and our class was in the basement of a church because they were repairing the school. Our teacher turned on the TV in our classroom and had us watch the news. Ronald Reagan had been shot. I was mostly worried about my three-year-old brother who worshipped Ronald Reagan...this would rock his little world (and it did). But Sam turned out fine and so did Reagan....thank heaven!

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY: 03/29/1925...

...My Grampa Bill was born in Los Angeles, California.

Here he is taking a stroll with his mom, my great-grandma Jayne.

Grandpa Bill with his sister, Marietta (this photo was always one of my favorites and a child because of Gramps' knickers and his Mickey Mouse/Steamboat Willie shirt).
Marietta & Bill
My Grandpa Bill with his Grandpa Thatcher

(I ADORE his chin & cheeks hanging over his collar...my babies do that, too!)

This is Heidi with her great-grandpa Bill in 2004
This is how Grandpa looked when I was a little girl (this photo was taken in May 1973).

I never realized how young Grandpa & Grandma were, but I am sure glad I've has so many years to enjoy them! Happy Birthday, Grandpa! We're so glad you were born!

Family Night

It has been way too long since I posted, but really, not much has been happening. Rich & Addie took a fun little trip to Utah this past weekend (he had to photograph a bride, I didn't feel well enough for a roadtrip, so he took Addie with him). Addie stayed and played with her cousin Liam (thanks for watching her, Audrey) and had fun--I'll post some of those pix later. Daddy took ADdie to Build-A Bear on the way home and she was so excited to bring her new bear home and show us (of course she and Heidi fight over the bear every day now, but Heidi does have a little collateral--we went thrifting whiel they were gone and she found a "sparkle stick"--a baton filled with liquid and glitter--so sometimes they trade peacefully). I missed Rich terribly, especially every morning when Heidi got up too early and I was still tired and nauseated. But we made it through and had a fun fmaily night last night--we had an enchilada-and-friut salad dinner followed by a walk down to Washington School's playground and some hot cocoa at bedtime. Here are a couple of pix--Enjoy! Addie swinging
Addie with her special bear, Tinkerbell
Heidi sliding

PS: There are 3 new houses being built in our neighborhood--one two lots to our "south" and two facing the side of us on Summit street. Ahhh, the happy sounds of construction--still gives me nightmares and a nervous twitch!

How the Flowers Looked on Monday

The drainpipe had beautiful icicles on Monday afternnon...
...and this was our equinox sunset...the tops of the mountains were getting snow!

The snow melted nicely into the ground to water the daffodils, tulips, and aliums on the first evening of spring.

Today (March 23) it was so sunny and warm, we went out in cropped pants and clogs and weeded the flowerbed along the driveway and re-potted the geraniums from my bedroom window (a gift from Gramma Suzie Blatter, who is now on a mission in Croatia). We will try hard to keep the flowers thriving so they are still beautiful when Gramma Suzie comes home! Heidi ate dirt as usual, but it was refreshing and gorgeous outside. Hooray for spring!

Equinox

This is just one of a million reasons I love NPR. On Monday, despite "winter's last hurrah," I noticed little signs of spring and felt a little more hopeful and sunny, even though it was still very grey outside. Just before noon our time, the sun passed over the equator and the day and night were equal all over the world. For some reason, I just love the equinox-es(?) (equinocies?) and solstices. I am enjoying them more now that I live in a place where the seasons really change. So I am glad the earth is tilted--the seasonal change makes the year fly by and it gives me something to look forward to.

I took pictures of our flowers on Monday and I am going to keep taking pictures of them so I can show the girls how they grew in a photographic timeline-type thing. I hope they will still be around for Easter!

Blogging under the influence (BUI)

I am so tired, I worry how this post will turn out, but I had to comment on The Daily Show tonight. One of the long-standing issues between my "dream-boyfriend" Jon Stewart (host of the Daily Show) and me is his willingness to repeat and reinforce liberal stories & stereotypes. One of the stories he swallowed suprisingly willingly was the "There are no WMDs in Iraq" thing.

It was funny to watch him squirm tonight when he interviewed Georges Sada, a former general in the Iraqi Air Force under Saddam, who just published the book, "Saddam's Secrets." In the book, Sada shares first-hand knowledge of the transportation of WMDs and nuclear materials to Syria. Jon Stewart reacted to this news (which for the American left is earth-shattering--it's the basis of all the anti-Bush business) by first insinuating that Sada was confused and thinking of the 1990's, then practically accused him of lying ("I won't hug you as hard if you're lying to me"). JS even asked GS how he knew that, and GS answered, "Because I was second in command of the Iraqi Air Force" (um, duh). Why would he lie? And what's so surprising about the weapons being in Syria? That border was open well after the US invaded--who knows how many criminals, Bath party officials, AND WMDs are hiding there?

Although some of the information that Colin Powell presented to the UN (by the way, I watched that presentation live and took notes, people!) was later debunked or diluted, I never doubted that crazy SOB had weapons of mass detruction. Anyone with half a brain would realize he had over a year to truck that stuff out of there when he realized that George Bush was SO not kidding about the War on Terror (Saddam had from our invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 until our troops reached Baghdad in April 2003 to mess around with his weapons and the inspectors).

I guess what's so frustrating to me is that it's so easy to know (or even guess) the truth if you follow history and patterns and news stories. When I turned on the TV the morning of September 11, 2001, the first words out of my mouth were "Osamam bin Laden"--it's true, you can ask my husband. I knew who had done it, and not because I am some scholar or spy. It's common knowledge, and it was coming for 20 years! Likewise, for awhile, every time I heard somebody talk about the "hunt for WMDs," I would yell at the TV, "Look in Syria!" Again--I don't study the middle east or know much about politics, but it was OBVIOUS. I mean, Saddam was a lunatic and a meglomaniac, but he wasn't stupid. He knew we were coming and he covered his trail.

OKay--I took a whole unisom istesd of a half tonight ond my eyes are now crossing...I hope this is coherent adn I hope my lefty friends won't cry or hate me after reading it. I'm off to dream about Jon stewart and a host of other crazy things...maybe we;ll have a debate in my dreams!

PS: OB checkup today--I have not gained any weight, the baby's heart beat was crazy-strong at about 155 bpm, my bp is high (140/95), and they say the baby is about the size of a hamster now. Awww...

I Got Tagged

First of all, let me say too bad about the Wildcats and the Tarheels--two of my favorite teams are eliminated from the NCAA MBB tournament. Shucks...but great games to watch!

Becca asked me about THE FOURS

4 Jobs I’ve Had:
donut finisher (I hate donuts)
copy girl at quick printer
bra fitter and sales girl at lingerie store
copy writer /editor

4 Movies I Can Watch Over & Over
Raising Arizona
A Room With A View
Cinema Paradiso
Sixteen Candles

4 Places I Have Lived
Tucson, Arizona
Weatherford, Oklahoma
Provo, Utah
Pinehurst, North Carolina

4 Places I Want to Live
Paradise Valley, Montana
Tucson or Summerhaven, Arizona
A small town on Oahu
??? (I like where I live now and I would never leave the states)

4 TV Shows I Watch Regularly
(and by regularly, I mean “Shows I Tivo and then fast forward to get the story because I watch for an hour at night”)
The Daily Show (rarely miss it)
Scrubs (never miss it, thanks to tivo)
My Name is Earl
Biography

4 Highly-Regarded TV shows I have never watched a minute of
Desperate Housewives
West Wing
Lost
Gray’s Anatomy

4 Places I Have Vacationed
Washington, DC (Disneyland for nerds)
Disneyland
San Carlos, Mexico
San Diego

4 Places I would Like to Vacation
Europe by Rail
Scandinavia by Cruise
Every fall in Mexico somewhere on the Sea of Cortez
New England

4 Favorite Dishes
Grilled Hawaiian Kebabs with Chili & Rice
Any Fresh Mex with lime, cilantro & fresh corn tortillas
Montana’s Rib & Chop House Baseball cut steak with sides of mushroom stuffing and squash casserole
Chili’s Caribbean Salad

4 Sites I visit daily
All the links to your right…
Joh
Becca
Google Maps

4 Places I Would Rather Be
Tucson
A Mexican Beach (especially when it’s snowing here)
Asleep
Nowhere (I like where I live)

4 People I am Tagging
Jill
Brent
Lacy
Brooks

Winter's Last Hurrah

Tomorrow evening, spring begins...celebrate accordingly! For me, I'm just hoping this snowstorm brings water for my flowers and doesn't get too terribly cold. The storm is supposed to blow out tomorrow (right on time!) and hopefully we won't get too much more snow this spring!

Even though it's snowing, it sounds like the Posts and the Petersens got home to Utah alright. Will's family visited MAtt in Helena this weekend, and Jill was here with me all week. They met in Helena last night to caravan home, which, considering the weather, was a rather good idea. It was a very peaceful Sunday here, but we miss the cousins already! We're so glad they came.

We don't have a lot of news over here...the girls keep saying and doing really cute things that are hard to transfer to the blog. Heid's vocabulary and singing reportoire are amazing, but her expressions and personality are the things that really get to people. She is a hoot and a handful; although she gets into way too much trouble, I am having a lot of fun with her. Addie is growing up and becoming more and more helpful , communicative, and independent. She loves to help me do my "mom jobs" and tonight, she even made herself a baked potato in the microwave (it has a "baked potato" button") and put cheese and bacon bits on top! Tomorrow she has a play date with her friend Scott-- he's coming over for lunch. Last night after we visited Scott's family and made the arrangements, she told her daddy, "Dad, I have a date with a boy, and it's not you!" (whoa, there, sister...) Her dad thought that was pretty funny.

Enjoy the pictures of the past week (mostly taken by Jill--we were both so busy, we forgot to take very many) and leave us a comment or email! Have a happy Monday!

Heidi, Belle, Ally, Addie (& Jack behind her) eating pizza Friday night
Nothin' says "I'm Irish" like eating a big piece of pizza ;)
All the kids loved the pizza & Uncle Rich was (again) our hero!

On Friday it was almost 50 degrees outside, so at 4pm, we took the kids out to play and draw on the drive way with sidewalk chalk. They had so much fun! Here's Ally & Addie...see Ad writing her name?

PS: I have about 6 more pix to post, but Blogger is freaking out, so I'll post them when I can.

Addie, Ally, Heidi, Jack, & Belle with sidewalk chalk
Me helping the kids make a rainbow for St. Pat's Day

Ally
Heidi (& Jack behind her) running around like wild kids
Deceptively Darling Isabelle

We have no infant chairs or toys at our house, so sometimes we had to make do for Baby Ben. He liked sitting in Heidi's High Chair...
One night, Uncle Rich had to set Ben down in this canvas box. Creative, but kinda sad.

Top O' The Mornin' To Ya...

Update: Arizona beat Wisconsin in the first round of the tourney (YAY!) and you would not believe the weather today! It's 49 degreesF and the wind is 10mph (that's like NO WIND in Livingston)--I got the mail in bare feet and it was so sunny and warm! So it's been a happy St. Patty's afterall!!!

We kicked off our big St. Patty's celebration this morning with...morning sickness!! Yay, my favorite! So the green pancakes I planned fell through and now the kids are just having a normal day, except Addie & Ally wore green (Ally is wearing Addie's Flogging Molly shirt--I should make them all learn a Flogging Molly song today, huh?). I think I will make green eggs and ham omelets for lunch and Shamrock shakes...if we didn't have 6 crazy kids, we'd get a babysitter and go out to O'Ryan's pub here in Livingston--it's the coolest old school pub with yummy Irish food and music.

So yeah, my sister has been here all week with her 4 cute kids and it has actually been pretty fun--just a little crazy! You can read some details here. I have to go see what the 23-month-old tasmanian devils are doing.

More later! PS: BEAR DOWN, ARIZONA!!!

More Idol Thoughts

Looks like I have my finger on the pulse of pop culture afterall... (heh, heh)!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11751511/

May Melissa and Kevin go home this week before my entire sense of justice gets tweaked!

Happy Happy Birthday, Dana Dear!

Dana & Jill hanging out at Utah Lake in 1992

My sister Dana, left, turned 28 yesterday (March12th). Even though she had kind of a sucky weekend, we hope she feels our LOVE and GOOD WISHES over the 1500-miles to Texas! Dana, we love and miss you!

Sam Post's Blessing Day

Baby Sam on 3/5 Post Family on Blessing Day: Jake, Matt, Sam & Amie
More Posties

PS: doesn't Jake look like a ventriloquist's dummy in this photo (& Matt is the ventriloquist)?
Petersen Family on Blessing Day: Isabelle, Jill, Ben, Jack, Ally, & Drew

Papa Post was there, too, but I didn't get a picture of him on my camera (I hope Matt did). Amie made us a yummy baked potato bar lunch and the kids had so much fun playing. Poor Uncle Drew and Papa had to head back home after only 22 hours of visiting so they could work on Monday, but it was well worth the trip!

Cousin Fun @ Sam's Blessing

We arrived in Helena around 11am; Dad Post & the Petersens had arrived the night before from Utah. The kids were just sitting down to a yummy luncj made by Super-Amie--mini-PBJ sandwiches, apples, and goldfish. Here, Heidi, Jake, and Isabelle munch some goldfish and have FUN!
After church, Uncle Matt helped Rich wrangle the kids; here's Matt with Addie (I love this picture!)
Matt with Addie again...
Aunt Jill did Ally's and Addie's hair before church...don't they look adorable?

Jewish Boyz

Perhaps you remember the SNL episode when Jerry Seinfeld was guest hosting and he did a Mary -Katherine Gallagher skit w/ Molly Shannon in which MK is all in love with him and he's the star of the Jewish High School Basketball team. In the very last line of the skit, MK does her trademark cheerleading lunge, throws her arms in the air and cheers, "Jewish Boys!" Well, I totally identify. I think I have mentioned before that I had a thing for certain polynesian men and really, really smart Jewish boys (For example, Ben Stein, the older conservative version, Jon Stewart, the younger and typically liberal version). I married a "white poly," but apparently the Jewish Boy thing lives on in my subconscience. I posted this comment to a friend earlier:

I have been meaning to blog this, but since I have to take a unisom every night when I am pregnant, I have been getting a lot of dream sleep. And since I have crazy hormones coursing thru my veins, the dreams are kooky. And since I watch The Daily Show on tivo almost every night before I sleep, I have been dating Jon Stewart in my dreams. But it's not "now me" and "now him," it's like 10-years-ago, post-college-pre-marriage us (cuz we are both obviously happily married with children now, duh). He is just in my dreams every single night and I think it's hilarious. My baby is going to be half Jewish.

PS: I have heard snide remarks from my conservative friends about my listening to NPR and watching The Daily Show, as if my political beliefs and values couldn't stand up to hearing another point of view. I'll try not to be insulted by the insinuation, but I think it is very healthy to listen to all kinds of ideas in order to form your own (Not to mention the insanely sharp wit on TDS and the very in-depth and people-based reporting on NPR shows like All Things Considered). It's kind of like being afraid to visit someone else's church because it would make me less of a Mormon. I have always been strengthened by opposition and it's nice to be well-informed and understand at least where other people are coming from. And if I couldn't be Mormon, I would be Jewish any day. Well, a Jew for Jesus maybe.

Where's Your Focus

Once a few years ago, I wrote about receiving a letter from my dad who never writes and talked about how much it meant to me. It ended up offending my mom and some other people that I talked about my dad on my blog, when all I was doing was expressing MY feelings on MY blog. Since then I have tried to avoid anything that wasn't sunshiney- positive about the family.

Until yesterday. I took a risk expressing feelings that I have had pretty often throughout my life, which boil down to this: I wish I meant as much to other people as they mean to me. I accepted a long time ago that that wouldn't happen very often in my life, but once in a while I let it get to me and say something and people take it the wrong way. I got two comments from people yesterday who took my post personally when it wasn't personal at all. It was a general observation of an ongoing situation which was just exacerbated by the events of the day. Everyone can justify their actions and decisions--or else they wouldn't make them--but I just think so often we don't think of the ripple effect of repercussions or the impressions our immediate choices make over time.

I was thinking about a couple of people who had asked me to marry them before I met Rich. I was thinking about how, when I decided the answer was no, it was mostly because the person did not have a vision of love and service that extended beyond us or our future children. They didn't want to live life with an outward focus, to live life as a mission. They wanted it to be all about us and our little problems instead of looking around to see how we could serve our children, our extended family, our neighbors, our church family, and in turn, find all our little problems resolved. When I finally met Rich and heard the love and concern with which he spoke about his extended family and his good friends, I knew I had met the man for me. He has taken my vision and taught me to expand it because he is the most selfless person I know. While I do sometimes get bogged down in worrying about our own family, he reminds me that when we think about and do for others, the problems get solved. What goes around comes around. While it hurts that a lot of the people I love most just don't ever see the world that way (that's why I was sad yesterday), I have to remind myself what an amazing blessing it is to be married to someone who does.

Grumpy

My girls are giggling and the sun is blazing outside, sending the snow that fell early this morning down into the soil to feed the little bulbs that are sprouting all around the yard (I am so excited for daffodils and tulips and aliums--we didn't have many in AZ!). In all of this delightfulness, I am feeling a little grumpy.

It's probably because of disappointment. See, I always thought my family of origin would be the kind of family that was like the postal service-- "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays" this family from supporting each other in vital moments or celebrating the special days together. Then, of course, we all ended up in our husbands' hometowns--eight sisters in seven states, some too far flung for much visiting. There's a core group of us close enough to be there for each other if we can make the effort and sacrifice. But it still doesn't happen as much as it should. Sometimes, it's just not a priority or it's not worth it.

I am so glad I married someone with the same philosophy as mine-- for either side of the family, we often forego our comfort, plans, security, etc., to show our support for our sibs and to foster the relationship between the cousins. I really appreciate that about my husband and my in-laws. I am still trying to swallow the bitter pill that my family of origin isn't that great at it anymore. *sigh* Maybe it's a phase...maybe when the kids grow up...

I think I will take my rowdy girls outside to play since it's sunny and warm (well, a little above freezing, I think). They always cheer me up.

P.S.:

Happy Birthday, Cousin Candace! I know she'll probably never read that, but I was thinking it today, anyway... I miss her.

Postie Weekend, #2 of 3

Jake & Heidi watching "Little Einsteins"
They are stuck in the Little Einstein tractor beam!
Sam is a lovely baby.

We spent last weekend in Helena with Matt & Amie, and this weekend, they came here! They got here Friday afternoon and we just let the kids play and hung out until Rich got off work, when we went out for pizza and went swimming at Chico. I stayed dry and took care of baby Sam, who's only 10 days old! The kids got nice and tired swimming, so when we got home at 9pm, they were all sound asleep. We watched "Be Cool" and went to bed.

Saturday morning, we ate pancakes, sausage, and blueberries with apple-raspberry juice and the boys, along with my bro-in-law/mason-extraordinaire, Mike, got busy finishing the tile in our bathroom. They worked all day while we entertained the kids and watched the new "Pride and Prejudice" during nap time. At dinner time (Matt & Amie treated us all to Subway--yum!), the boys were almost finished tiling, but ended up about 3 tiles short--shucks! The tile store doesn't open until Monday and Mike can't come back until later in the week, so we are at a stand-still again. It looks really great, though, and we can work on trimming and decorating until he comes back to grout.

Later Saturday night, Matt & Amie worked on Sam's birth announcements, my in-laws brought their friends, The Egelands, over to see our new house, and we (Matt, Amie, Rich, & I) watched "Whale Rider." Matt & Amie had to leave this morning to go to their church at 1pm in Helena, and we went to our church at 10am. I led my first choir practice today and it was pretty good. I am a terrible choir director--not authoritative AT ALL, EVER, but we had lots of people there and it sounded pretty good. Next Sunday we will be in Helena again for Sam's blessing. Jill & her family, Dad Post, and Willy's family will be there, too, and Jill gets to stay for the whole week!! I am so excited! That's all the news for now. Have a happy Monday!

Our bathroom from our bedroom door Our bathroom from the family room door
Our bathroom looking out from the shower

Idol Thoughts

Just so I don't have to comment on every show, I wanted to air my American Idol opinions now. If I have to eat my words, I will.

I chose my Top 12 a long time ago, and things seem to be going my way. I'll tell you what, though, if that Melissa girl doesn't go away this week, I might have to stop watching! Okay, so here are my 6 girls and 6 boys, divided into top and bottom three (in no particular order).

Girls Top Three:
Katharine
Lisa
Paris

Girls Bottom Three:
Kellie
Ayla
Mandisa

Boys Top Three:
Taylor
Ace
Chris

Boys Bottom Three:
Elliott
Gideon
Bucky


So Kinnik, Melissa, Kevin, and Will should be voted off this week. And let me just say that I think all of the top 12 are really super talented, but I just think as far as being POP stars, it has to be one of the top three. I really don't know if #1 will be a girl or a guy--I guess it just depends in the consistency of the performances from now on. I am secretly hoping it will be Taylor Hicks, just to make Simon mad, but it will probably be Katharine, Chris or Ace.

PS: Bucky's hometown is a town where I spent NINE months--that's HALF--of my mission. Good ol' Rockin'ham NC!

End of totally pointless pop culture commentary. :)

I'm So Ashamed

I got this test from my "socialist" friend, Georgia. I shed a few tears when, on the "Famous People" chart, my target landed right on Kerry's forehead. Um, no.... although I like being told I have an excellent sense of right and wrong. Yep...me and my homeboy, John McCain.

You are a Social Moderate (50% permissive) and an... Economic Moderate (43% permissive) You are best described as a: Centrist Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test