Cute Daddies, part 1

I have so many sweet pix of my hubs and brothers with their kids, I thought I'd find some and post them in honor of Fathers Day Sunday. I just found this one for today, reposted from my brother Sam's blog. I love how sober little Owen is looking at his Daddy in this one...so sweet!

We Survived Crafters Club!

But FIRST...the headline of the day is:

Addie got a HAIRCUT!!!

Addie's been asking for years to have her hair like mine and Heidi's (bobbed), but she also wanted ponies and braids and "princess hair" so I always talked her out of it. She finally convinced me to let her have short hair for the summer, so we went to see Kim Tubbs and both got our hair done last night for Family Night (I know, not much of a FHE with Rich and James and Heidi at the museum and me & Ad getting haircuts, but we had a fun night together).
I have been running around like crazy all morning, so my hair looks a little sad, but I caved and got blonde highlights. I was trying to be more natural, but let's face it: my natural hair now is a hideous brownish gray that is just plain sad. Depressing, even. So I will keep it lighter while I can, cuz, hey, it's sunny (my hair, the weather, AND my disposition--heh, heh)!
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Today we made Fathers Day cards and Krispy-Treat-Ties for Crafters Club. Three of Addie's friends from school didn't come (which I was kind of glad about since I felt a tiny bit under prepared this morning), so we had a small crowd and had lots of fun. This is how Addie's Tie turned out.

Here Ad's friends Hailey, Gracie, and Kelli decorate their ties.

Haily used the "scraps" from her tie to make a treat for her mom.

We wrapped them all up in cello-bags and ribbon, and taped the cards they made to the front.

James "helped" Heidi and her friend, Ember at the table.

Hailey, Gracie, Addie and Kelli...these girls have been pals for 5 years!

We had a great time! Next club meeting, we are making patriotic stuff to wear to the parade on July 2nd. Good Times!

[[later I will post more fotos and vidoes the girls took on Addie's blog]]

huh?

Me + No Sunday Nap = Dead on Monday

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My kids are chasing each other around yelling, "You dirty little hippy!" I don't know what that's about, but I gotta go bake.

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HAPPY BIRFDAY, COUSIN DAVE!

Mediocrity

My SIL posted about "things I suck at"--which is about my first three years of this blog for me: being pregnant, handling disorder, using power tools, dealing with people who have vastly different values than I do, math, typing, maintaining a decent weight, dealing with obstructed breathing, confrontation, patience...ALL THINGS I SUCK AT!

Right now the thing I suck at most is personal grooming. I am in the throes of busy momhood, and I am the poster girl for Letting Yourself Go. Part of me cares, but part of me cares more about my family life and THEIR grooming and cuteness. Don't get me wrong--I am still good about hygeine. I smell decent, my nails are ALWAYS cut and polished, my teeth are brushed at least twice a day, etc. etc. But I rarely "do" my hair (it requires a blow-out after each shampoo). I usually get up, put on yoga pants and a t-shirt and a headband, telling myself that AFTER I exercise and AFTER I get teh house clean, I will freshen up and put on an "outfit."

You've probably guessed that the sweaty chores never end. The yoga pants and Tshirts never get changed. The makeup bag gathers dust. I DO apply vitamin E oil to the lashes and I swear by clinique city block after the morning face wash--at least it evens the skin tone and provides sunblock. That's gotta count for something, right?

The thing is, I do a decent job at a LOT of things, but I excell at pretty much nothing. I am undisciplined in a lot of ways and that's why I can't sight read or sew or bake well. Or, like the Innocence Mission song, "I know nothing about so many, too many things..."

The Day That Kicked My Tail

So we got to the Museum of the Rockies at about 10:45am, just in time to watch a planetarium show about Hubble Telescope images. The kids liked learning about star birth and star nurseries as well as "old stars that blow up and make shapes with their gas clouds", also known as Super Novas.

The new main exhibit is about Pirates and treasure, so the kids got to watch clips of Goonies, control an underwater video camera by remote, use metal detectors in a big sand box to find stuff, put on a pirate puppet show, play a treasure hunting game, measure their weight in gold (James is worth $378, 000 and I am over 2 million--yikes) and other fun little activities. Of course we went to see our old friends the dinosaurs and played in the discovery room a little bit.

Heidi on a treasure hunt
James at the puppet theatre

All three kids put on a puppet show for me.

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Upstairs there is still an exhitbit of shepherding in Paradise Valley, so I snuck a few pix for y'all. All of the photos are just gorgeous. I really, really love them...

Sorry about the glare, but this is a sheep herding family living in their covered wagon, playing guitar in 1939!

Modern Shepherd--this pose reminds me of all those "Good Shepherd" paintings of Christ.

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After the museum, we had a few errands at Costco and Target (for upcoming baby shower, Rich's bday, Fathers Day). I was so DAWG TARD when I finally loaded up my brood and headed home at 3pm, I thought I would fall asleep at the wheel! Luckily, my coughing kept me awake! ;) I was driving Rich's hybrid, which was quite a contrast to my regular daily errand-running. I expressed the oddness on facebook like this: I had a moment today--I usually drive around in my van listening to talk radio (we don't get music here) and that's kinda 'my life.' But today I got to take our little hybrid, which has an ipod dock, so I had a moment at a stoplight singing along to Tigerlily where I thought, "this is kind of opposite of my daily grind--big van, conservative radio vs. tiny hybrid, hippy rock..." and yet still so very Me. Weird.

I was fortunate enough to have help making dinner (and some thawed beef strips), so Chef Addie and I threw this together (click to enlarge):

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I got a little run down, so Rich gave me the day off from the ranch today and I am instead doing Primary stuff and housework ALL BY MYSELF. Yay. Gotta go change loads, so TTFN.

It's Already Friday...

...that wasn't so bad! We are settling into our summer groove here at Casa Melin. This week flew by quickly, as I am sure the whole summer will. We started out the week with a little orientation, setting up summer rules and chores:

The kids have done really well, they got all their points, so guess where we're going today?

We get to use our Dinosaur Museum membership!

I didn't take many pix this week beacuse most of the time I was doing work or pushing a stroller, but here are some pictures of James and Heidi yesterday:

Weeding was the chore of the day!

Happy Helpers!

Here are all three kids playing on the stairs this morning (taken over the kitchen half wall). Last night we got home from the temple at 10:30, so they were all asleep. Grandma said they were angels, so we're off to visit Big Mike and the rest of the dinos in Bozo.

Livingston Promo Video (ignore the excruciating music)

Sabbath Night

I slept pretty much all day today (I still made meals for my family and got the girls ready for church). It was much needed, and I am feeling better than yesterday with much less coughing (the coughing was getting way out of hand because I pulled muscles just under my sterum and around my back last night and it was horrifically painful to cough!). I am sad I missed church today because (a) we got a new bishopric (b) our new dentist and his family moved in--I missed FOUR new Primary kids today (c) it's my turn for Sharing Time and I was so excited (I still am) to do this month's theme. Debbie covered for me and did a wonderful job, I am sure, but I wish I'd been there.


I am catching up with blogs tonight taking a leisurely stroll down my blog roll, cyber-visiting far-away friends. THIS post might be the cutest thing I have ever seen. Seriously. Click on it. You'll be so glad you did.

Need to rotate some powdered milk? Make some cheese with Beloved Heidi (or "Big Heidi" as she's called by "Little Heidi").

Even though I feel a bit steam rolled, mostly I feel blessed. All it takes is an evening with my family and a few cyber-visits to realize there are a lot of really great people in my life. Some of the coolest are right here in my house with me. I am so glad I have the kind of kids and husband who can crack me up, who are fun to be with, who like crab rangoon and Peach Crystal Light for Sunday night dinner.

Economic Enlightenment

Numbers give me a headache, so being a grown up has its challenges for me. Being an informed grown up is even worse. But my financial-whiz-kid/ mission-pal, Steve Mackay (aka Daddy Mac) is always posting educational bits on facebook from his Manhattan Office of Financial Wizardry that help me to understand what-in-the-BELL is going on with the economy. This weekend's offering was espceially helpful for a novice like me (it didn't even give me a headache!). It's from THIS blog by Harvard Econ Professor, Greg Mankiw.

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My favorite textbok covers business cycle theory toward the end of the book (the last four chapters) precisely because that theory is controversial. I believe it is better to introduce students to economics with topics about which there is more of a professional consensus. In chapter two of the book, I include a table of propositions to which most economists subscribe, based on various polls of the profession. Here is the list, together with the percentage of economists who agree:

A ceiling on rents reduces the quantity and quality of housing available. (93%)
Tariffs and import quotas usually reduce general economic welfare. (93%)
Flexible and floating exchange rates offer an effective international monetary arrangement. (90%)
Fiscal policy (e.g., tax cut and/or government expenditure increase) has a significant stimulative impact on a less than fully employed economy. (90%)
The United States should not restrict employers from outsourcing work to foreign countries. (90%)
The United States should eliminate agricultural subsidies. (85%)
Local and state governments should eliminate subsidies to professional sports franchises. (85%)
If the federal budget is to be balanced, it should be done over the business cycle rather than yearly. (85%)
The gap between Social Security funds and expenditures will become unsustainably large within the next fifty years if current policies remain unchanged. (85%)
Cash payments increase the welfare of recipients to a greater degree than do transfers-in-kind of equal cash value. (84%)
A large federal budget deficit has an adverse effect on the economy. (83%)
A minimum wage increases unemployment among young and unskilled workers. (79%)
The government should restructure the welfare system along the lines of a “negative income tax.” (79%)
Effluent taxes and marketable pollution permits represent a better approach to pollution control than imposition of pollution ceilings. (78%)

If we could get the American public to endorse all these propositions, I am sure their leaders would quickly follow, and public policy would be much improved. That is why economics education is so important.

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Well put. Of course, that's why he works at Harvard. I don't understand how people can be tricked into ignoring FACTS in favor of politics. I like economics (and yes, even NUMBERS, in this context) because there are hard facts and a couple of centuries of evidence upon which to build theories. Of course theories take off in all directions and can become mind-boggling (did you see "A Beautiful Mind?" YIKES), but basic principles like these can help us so much in day-to-day decision making (and voting). Thanks for all the insight, Mac. Keep it coming!

PS: Here is another guy who helps me make sense of the world. Love him.

Check Us Out

We just posted our 40th family video on vimeo!

Untitled from MelinFamily on Vimeo.

Around the House

Here's what Heidi's room looks like now:

Heidi's Room, June 4th from MelinFamily on Vimeo.

New covers on the throw pillows...
Shiny but fun, no?

Poor overburdened craft table

Crazy, burry pictures that Heidi took of Me & Addie cooking dinner Monday night.