Dawg Tard

I am super-tired! This is the end of my Day of Accomplishing Things. It began with putting clean sheets on the bed last night, a good night's sleep, a little Denise Austin yoga with the girls this morning, prayers and goddbyes to daddy, and yogurt parfaits for all of us for breakfast (fresh strawberry banana parfaits with vanilla yogurt--yum!).

Addie lost her "All About Me" book that she was going to give her new teacher, so I made new ones for her and Heidi to fill out today. We had "preschool time", which included a welcome song, a dance, a story from the Friend magazine which arrived Saturday, and we filled out and colored out books. I tried to help them memorize our address and phone number--Addie's got it, but Heidi doesn't because she has a hard time saying "six." On the page about what I want to be when I grow up, Heidi drew dinosaurs because she wants to be a "dig-upper." This is what she calls a paleontologist. It cracks me up!

So I put on some music for the girls and cleaned the kitchen with James. He went down for a nap and we had burritos for lunch with Daddy and shopped online for discount dance supplies for Addie's ballet class, and music theory and piano books so I can teach her at home (I know it's really hard to teach your own kids, but I'm poor and should put what little knowledge I have to work). Addie helped me make some visual aids for Primary and some games for family night bingo (game called "I Will"--all the squares say things the kids should be doing to make a happy family, like be kind, listen, help mom, say prayers, etc...) while Heidi was asleep, and then we ate dinner (pork chops, couscous, green salad and fruit salad), had FHE, and shared a banana split at Dairy Queen (where we saw Zuzana & Peter working).

After the kids went to bed, I put in three hours work on Primary music (while watching hurricane coverage on CNN--poor Mexico!) and just finished my latest post on Framanisco. Check it out.

So now it's technically Tuesday and I need a shower and some sleep. It should be nothin' but fun the rest of the week (before my babies go away to school--ugh!).

Lame

So Monday I went to the Doctor and the initial throat swab they did was clear of strep, so the doc diagnosed me with a "possible" sinus infection (was it the gallons of Mountain-Dew-colored slime coming from my nose that gave me away? Or the swollen ears? or the fact that my throat was so irritated I kept losing my voice?). He said he though I just had a viral cold, but in case I wasn't better when I woke up on Tuesday (huh?), he gave me a Z-pack prescription but told me to wait until Wednesday to fill it because he had a gut feeling I was getting better.

Um, no. I went ahead and filled the prescription and started taking it Tuesday. I was done on Thursday, and still sick as a dog until that night. Friday I felt much better and canned a bazillion pints (nah, just 38) of applesauce, when the nurse called.

"Um, we were just wondering if you were feeling any better?... (yes, a little) Because we got your throat culture back and it turns out you DID have strep...Oh, so it's a good thing you went ahead and took those antibiotics, huh?...well, call us if you're not well on, like, Monday...."

Dear Clinic,

THANKS, GUYS! I totally diagnosed AND medicated myself, but I appreciate you taking that $75 plus the $30 for the culture to tell me what I told you first!

Hugs-n-kisses,
JM

I'm off to nap before I have to work tonight. Ugh.

Kitchen Fun

This is how Heidi helps us with our harvest canning...entertainment.
Addie was my official applesauce cranker...she put the cooked down apples through the sieve to get all the seeds and skins out.
Here's Addie with the fruits of our labors: lots of applesauce--the darker ones are cinnamon for eating plain or with pancakes' the lighter ones are plain applesauce, which we mostly use in baking. The sauce is made from the small greenish Transparent apples that grew on the trees in the garden area at the ranch. In a few weeks we will make pie filling and apple chips with the big crisp red ones that grow up on the hill.
Takine a break from cranking...

...Heidi loves to twirl (whirling drvish)
Sister Hug!
Here is the pizza we were making the other night when we talked to you, Gram & Gramp. One is BBQ chicken pizza with bell peppers and red onions and bbq sauce and low-fat cheddar cheese; the other is pepperoni with olives and mushrooms and mozzerella cheese. They were yummy!

Courtesy of Aunt Party

Yesterday I had a night off work and so did our tenants (Peter & Zuzana) for the first time in 6 weeks, so we all went to Bozeman together. We had the pleasure of introducing them to Old Navy (Zuzana: "I really like zis store!"--she had to buy large Girl sizes instead of Women's because she is so tiny). While they shopped, we exchanged Aunt Marti's shoes and got all of the stuff pictured below for the refund price plus 6 bucks:

That's two Hawaiian shirts for Bubby, a stripey dress for Addie, a Surfer Girl shirt for Heidi, and polka dot "Gramaree Shoes" for me! Neighbor, that's a GANGA!

Thanks, Aunt Party!

Happy Birthday, MOM!

Untitled from MelinFamily and Vimeo.

Big Week for my Big Girl

Sweet Adeline started Kindergarten Camp this week and she LOVES it!!! Here she is outside of the kindergarten room on Monday the 13th
There are two of my good church friends, Charity Winsor & Jenn Young with their kindergarteners. Addie spotted her friend Boston right away but they are not in the same class. I love Alexander's face in this picture--Charity said that he bursts into tears each day when they leave his big sis at kindergarten camp. Funny...Heidi celebrates! She loves when Ad's gone, but just for an hour or so...then she gets bored, I think.
Addie was excited to find her name on her desk!

"Real" kindergarten starts on August 30th.
Here's a random picture of James on Tuesday...
Here's me (with totally red eyes from my sinus infection, and frizzy hair from not blowing it dry) with Addie--she's showing her loose tooth.

Daddy yanked it out with the pliers...
TA-DA! Her first lost tooth!
Here she is this morning with a hole in her smile, happy about the dollar the tooth fairy left in the little tooth pillow we made yesterday.



And yes, it's killing me that all of this is happening at once...my baby!!!!

Dear TJay,

We are so sorry that we keep thinking your birthday is on August 14th [it's the 13th]...will you fogive us? Gosh, you've had 4 birthday parties, you'd think Aunt Jamie would get it right by now!

Anyway, we just wanted to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY and we love you. Thanks for being such a good cousin and friend to Addie Rose, Heidi, and James Ole. We sure are glad you're part of our family, and we're glad your mom and dad gave you such a fun party! We'll try to get the date right next year!

Love, Uncle Rich, Aunt Jamie (or Uncle Jamie, as Danny calls me), Addie, Heidi, & James XOXOX

Obscurity Knocks

Here's some Scottish fun for ya this stormy Friday. Back in 1990, we sure loved us some Trashcan Sinatras (Willy's an even bigger fan than I am). This song always cheers me up (even though the lyrics are depressing). So enjoy the vid, and then go make the most of one of your last weekends of summer (we will try to do the same, all though I am laid low with sore throat and hacking chest cough!).

Come on, sing along...

"Rubbing shoulders with the sheets till two
Looking at my watch and I'm half-past caring
In the lap of luxury it comes to mind
Is this headboard hard? Am I a lap behind?
But to face doom in a sock-stenched room all by myself
Is the kind of fate I never contemplate
Lots of people would cry though none spring to mind"

(click for more)

PS: The CHERRY ON TOP (best cover of this song EVER! do you agree? I'm in luv)

Sad for us, Good for Him...

THIS news made me a a little sad this morning.

BUT...if I could plan MY last words, I hope they'd be a powerful as THIS.

Here's a thought for the day...

"Dr. Sidney Simon, a recognized authority on values realization, has provided an excellent definition of forgiveness as it applies to human relationships:
'Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves.'
"Most of us need time to work through pain and loss. We can find all manner of reasons for postponing forgiveness. One of these reasons is waiting for the wrongdoers to repent before we forgive them. Yet such a delay causes us to forfeit the peace and happiness that could be ours."
-Elder Faust

Four days before I went into the MTC, I attended conference in the Assembly Hall where he was presiding. Afterward I went to shake his hand and told him I was on my way to the MTC, and he said, "I could tell." We talked about my choice to serve a mission and how I debated whether to go now or later with my husband and he said, "You should do both...but it's better to go now because you may not get the opportunity to go with your husband. And you'll be a better wife and mother if you go now." We talked about other things, but those words stuck in my mind. I have always love Elder Faust and will miss him.

Back on Monday...

...I took these pictures of my kids. During James' morning snooze, I traced the girls with sidewalk chalk on the back patio, and they colored themselves in (except Heidi wanted me to make her face and hair--Addie did her own AND made a sunshine over them).Heidi & Addie posing with "Heidi & Addie"
Sweet Adeline coloring the sun
Addie shows off her big sun; Heidi eats uncooked Ramen (her favorite). Oh, and I think this is the first pic we have posted of her sassy new bob.
Heidi shows off her drawing and refuses to smile
A close up of the details Addie drew on her portrait.
...and we had so much fun, we woke up our sleepyhead (who also got a haircut)...
G'mornin', James Ole!


***

Also, later that night I had a movie date with Rich and we watched "Breach." It was very interesting--I remembered Hanssen's arrest but didn't understand the depth of his treason. Alos, I had heard the he was or once was LDS, but was relieved (is that wrong?) to find out he was a Catholic, a member of Opus Dei. I think Eric O'Neil had one of the scariest jobs in the world. No wonder he left the FBI to practice law! I think the FBI or CIA would be hard on a marriage--I am suprise so many folks there are married.

Anyway, I highly recommend the film and suggest you give a little listen to this interview with the REAL Eric O'Neil from NPR's "Fresh Air" show (I love that show--Terry Gross usually has great guests, but I don't like her as much as I like Robin Young on "Here & Now."). Also, here's some fun trivia: The day Hanssen was busted was the morning after our wedding: Sunday, Feb. 18, 2001. So while his life was unravelling in DC, ours was just beginning in CA--we were waking up at the La Jolla Marriott, getting some fabulous breakfast, heading to Escondido to return Rich's tux and enjoy the honeymoon. Hmmm.

Yo

Waasup, my Kramer?

I am fixin' to have a post-FHE date with my hubby, but I wanted to point you toward my new Personal History Series now playing at Framanisco (click). I'll be hangin' out there for a while with some stops here to post photos and other wacky Melin Miscellany. Do enjoy.


PS: Did anyone catch that Matthew Fox episode of SNL in December when teh Jackson/Sharpton duo appeared on Weekend Update and replaced "The N Word" with "Kramer"? It pretty much slayed me..."Kramer, please..."