Happy Mothers Day...

Mom & Me, 2001
Nana with my girls, 2004

...to my mom and all the other moms and grandma's in my life! Thanks for all that you do for me, my kids, and your own kids. Mamas make the world go round!

Flabbergasted

CAUTION: This post contains NOTHING of significance AND an American Idol spoiler...

Um...I am kind of embarassed how much a TELEVISION show is affecting my mood, but I am really truly shocked that Chris got voted off American Idol tonight. He and Kat were my top 2! Even Simon chose Chris as a top2. I feel a little sick, actually. Seriously...HOW DID ELLIOT BEAT HIM!?? I really thought it was some kind of joke. Maybe he'll be the guy the gets a second chance this season cuz there is NO WAY that Elliot is a bigger pop star than Chris. Whatever.

Happy Sabbath

Our Fence from the Back: Admire Rich's handy work--he did most of the pickets yesterday, and now we just have to build the gates to keep the kiddies corraled.
Look how awesome our tulips are looking! I can't wait to plant even more this fall! The girls posed after church, but Heidi wouldn't sit still (as usual).
Addie is especially proud of the tulips because she remembers helping to plant the bulbs.
Heidi's a punk, but she's awful cute!

We had a nice weekend and got lots done. I updated my personal history blog, so I urge you, especially family, to go have a look and a laugh. Enjoy what's left of your Sunday and have a good week!

Cinco de Mayo

We had tortilla soup for dinner tonight, but that was the extent of our celebration. I tried a new (made-up) recipe tonight and it was really good. Here's how it goes (these are all guesstimates--adjust to your taste):

3 cans chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup mild picante sauce
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
a little bit more picante sauce
about 10 corn tortillas cut into 1/2 inch strips
oil for frying tortilla strips
chopped fresh tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, lime wedges

Make a foil pocket and put the chicken breasts in there and cover with some picante sauce. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, pour all the broth, diced tomates, and picante sauce in a large saucepan.
Take out the chicken and chop it up and pour all the juices into the saucepan. Throw the foil away (one less dish to wash).
Stir and let it boil while you fry up the tortilla stips and drain them on paper towels (you should let them start to brown a little so they are good and crunchy).
Ladel soup into a big bowl and top with the tortilla strips, then the fresh chopped stuff, and even a dab of sour cream if you like. Then eat up--it's delicious!!

Stand Up, Sit Down

Slowest High Speed EVER! Our internet is being annoyingly slow the past few days--it feels like 1999 around here! Anyway, I have wanted to jot a few things down on the blog, but it has been taking way too long! I'll have to gather up thse randome thoughts soon. Today I just wanted to share this email I got from Stand Up and remind you to check out the web site if you haven't yet.

Dear Jamie,

Thank you for your participation in the STAND UP campaign for excellent high schools that prepare all students for success in college, work, and citizenship.

This email is to confirm that your Governor has received the message you sent. We hope you will tell others about your support for this important effort and encourage them to visit the website (www.standup.org) to find out how they can take action.

We are encouraged by the strong response from people like you who share a commitment to high schools that provide the academic rigor, relevant and challenging coursework, and teachers and other adults who know students and care about their success. We are also proud of the partnership in this effort with others who are working every day to improve our high schools, including organizations like National Governors Association, the Manhattan Institute, the Center for American Progress (who made your email communication with your Governor possible) and nearly 70 STAND UP coalition member organizations across the country.

Moving forward, STAND UP will continue to provide you with updates on the progress of our campaign, including additional ways you can support the effort. Working together, we can achieve our goal of making sure that all of America's young people graduate high school ready for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Thanks,
The entire STAND UP team

***

Also, the other day when we were driving over to the Smiths to visit their baby, we were talking to the girls about baby etiquette, how we ask if we can hold them, wash our hands, don't touch their faces, etc. We told them this would be good practice for when our baby comes, and Addie said, "But our baby is going to be a tiny baby BOY..."

"That's right," Rich answered.

It was quiet for a few seconds as Addie looked out the window then sighed to herself, "My wish came true!"

The Name of the Blog

A weird thing happens when I go to Utah. They have lots of "retro" radio stations that play "80s-90s-now-alternative" music, so there is always a time-warp quality to driving into Salt Lake or Utah Valley. Because invariably there is some old song, packed with late-teen memories, playing as I drive through this place where I spent my late teens and early twenties. And then, of course, it's freakier because I am driving a mini-van carrying my family, not a tiny Japanese car full of books and Big Gulp cups (and all the stuff THAT implies). One of the songs that came on around midnight as we drove into Salt Lake was "Life In A Northern Town" by the Dream Academy, the song from whence my blog title comes. Now, I own a bunch of Dream Academy and Kate St. John cds, but there is something strange and kind of melancholy about hearing the music when I'm caught off guard. I just can't stree how much I love that song (and the whole album) and the rush of memories that come when I hear it. Here are the lyrics:

A Salvation Army band played
And the children drank lemonade
And the morning lasted all day,
All day
And through an open window came
Like Sinatra in a younger day,
Pushing the town away
Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.
They sat on the stoney ground
And he took a cigarette out
And everyone else came down
To listen.
He said "In winter 1963
It felt like the world would freeze
With John F. Kennedy
And the Beatles."
Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.
All the work shut down...
The evening had turned to rain
Watch the water roll down the drain,
As we followed him down
To the station
And though he never would wave goodbye,
You could see it written in his eyes
As the train rolled out of sight
Bye-bye---
Ah hey ma ma ma
Life in a northern town.




The first time I heard that song was August 1985 and I was listening to Rock Over London on the radio while I was getting ready for church one Sunday morning. The song was so beautiful! When the DJ said the name of the band, I wrote it on a Baker's shoebox sitting next to me on the floor--isn't that funny? Thus began the obsession. I bought the self-titled debut album and was not disappointed--it was beautiful and it made me want to learn to play the cello and the oboe and wear my hair straight like Kate's.

So when I moved way up north here, the title just seemed appropriate. I suppose there are a lot of bands I can say sort of capture "me"--that I can use to describe my interests or background, and I have to say the the Dream Academy is definitely one of them, at least from "the early years."

In Utah

Our Utah trip was a bit of a whirlwind--we arrived at Jill's in Sandy about 1am and crashed soon thereafter. She had to work early so we got up and took our girls to the Gateway Center to Build-A-Bear and to watch the dancing waters, etc. They were so cranky that we skipped Temple Square and the new Joseph Smith movie (darn it) and took them to Jill's to nap. I had to take Rich to the wedding he was photographing at 3pm, then I headed down to Provo to visit Georgia and Jeanne Buchert. It was a lovely visit, but the traffic was terrible. It took me 90 minutes to drive 35 miles! Each way! The traffic jam cut into our time with the Post cousins and when we finally got to their house, there were babysitters there--mat, Amie, Will, & Audrey had gone to dinner. Not long after I got there, Rich was ready to be picked up at the wedding but my girls were not ready to get back in the car! Addie stayed with Melanie, but I bribed Heidi with a DVD and drove another 20 minutes across town to pick up Rich at Wheeler Farm. We didn't get back to Will's until 10pm, so we just went to bed, exhausted.

We went up to Sundance on Saturday to meet Rich's friend and former roommate, Matt and his family for some fun. We hadn't met Matt's new wife and daughter, so it was fun to hang with them for a while. The cabin where they were staying had a fun hot tub, so our girls got in in their undies. Then they warmed up by the fire and watched the Disney channel while the dads worked outside and the moms visited. We had to head for Pocatello to visit with my dad and our friends Johanna & Andy who have a new baby, Scout. We intended to leave by noon, but lost track of time and left at 2:30! We had to move our visit with the new baby to Sunday morning. Here are some pictures taken at Sundance... Addie, Heidi, and Ellie warming up after their dip in the hot tub.
Matt teaching the girls to gamble on the slot machine in the loft of the cabin.
Our family out in front of the cabin by the creek...we couldn't get the girls to sit still!
Me, Heidi, Ellie, and Addie
Matt & Andra goofing around by the creek.

In Idaho

We got to Dad's about dinner time and he cooked us up some delicious pork ribs, salad, and fresh guacamole! He is such a good cook! We hung out with him for a while, gave the girls baths, and got ready for bed. We made arrangements to visit Joh, Andy, & Scout in the morning, then go to Dad's church and head home at about 2:30pm. We had a good night's sleep and got up at about 7:30am. Dad made us pancakes, eggs, and sausage (we're spoiled) and we headed over to see baby Scout. This is Heidi with Andy and Duke the dog. Their yard is enormous and the girls had a great time playing with Andy--he's reserved, but great with the kids (probably because he's a pediatrician).
That's me with Scout, who is one week old in this picture, and showing off her tongue. I wish this were a picture of Scout with her mom, though--Johanna is a lovely mother.
Here's Addie checking out Scout. We like this picture because it shows off Joh's beautiful new kitchen.
Scout being super cute again.

We had a nice hour-and-a half visit with the Smiths, then headed north back to dad's. On the way Heidi fell asleep, so rather than wake her and suffer through church with her tantruming, we stopped at Dad's, picked up our stuff, and said good bye. Dad lent us his tent trailer for a few month this summer, so we hooked it up and headed home. After a few pit stops, we got home around 6pm. We cleaned out the car and the tent trailer and were so happy to sleep in our own beds!

RANDOM

We are leaving for Utah in mere minutes; Rich is doing a wedding and the girls and I are tagging along for some cousin fun, bargain shopping, temple square, etc. I am feeling almost normal today, so it's a nice day to go on a road trip (sans nausea).

I just have a few random thoughts. First--I really, really love Dole Whole Fruit Bars ("no sugar added"). I can't believe that sometimes I forget how good they are and don't buy them for my "treat." I was torn between a whole box of Coconut bars, or the mixed box of raspberry, strawberry, and tangerine-- I am glad I chose the mixed because I love all three--I had tangerine this morning and I am eating a strawberry now.

Here are some other random thoughts I have picked up lately, mostly from radio or TV.

California spends $10K/year per student in public school vs. $30K/year per prisoner in prison. 80% of inmates are High school drop outs. Do the math…just dollar-wise, doesn’t HS student retention seem like a good investment? How about no drivers licenses or full-time work permits for anyone under 18 or without a diploma? These are ideas I like, but I just wish education didn’t have to happen by coercion. Alas, if that’s what it takes…

A quote from an MSN article about “White Trash Chic”: “White trash still retains the associations of trailer parks, Camaros-up-on-blocks, screaming babies, unemployment, public drunkenness, lack of education or social skills — but not the social stigma.” Oh, really? So I guess I am living in the new fashion hot spot of the universe…well, the hottest place north of the Mason-Dixon line. And I am hoplessly OUT of style.

“A mother who radiates self-love and self-acceptance actually vaccinates her daughter against low self-esteem.” –Naomi Wolf

Wow. I could write a whole other post about that Naomi Wolf quote... it has made me think twice about all the things I say in front of my daughters--an ongoing subject in my self- and family-improvement efforts. Regardless of what I'd hope I'd be or how I wanted to look, or what I am good or not good at, I HAVE TO come to terms with WHO I AM RIGHT THIS MINUTE (and how I look, and what I do, etc.) so I can "vaccinate" them against all the crap girls fall for when they don't love themselves. Self-respect begins with me. (see this post for more about my ever-present concern for my daughters).

Okay, time to load up. Pictures and travel log coming soon.

The Wee One

In case you can't tell, this is our baby's fuzzy profile. We learned may good things from the ultrasound this morning, like:

• The baby has a big head and brain
• The baby has a nice spine that is fully connected in all the right places
• The baby has a 4-chamber heart, two kidneys, a tummy, and a full bladder
• The baby likes to suck on its hands and kicks like a donkey
• The baby does indeed have two arms, two legs, and digits

AND...

while no one will say for sure, The baby appears to be a BOY! Yep. So break out the blue, and let's celebrate! I celebrated early by getting a great haircut and highlights last night. Nothing like an evening of beauty and a healthy ultrasound to make a pregnant mommy feel WAY-better!

PS: HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my nephew JACK-A-RACK! He's two today and such a sweet boy--we love you, Jacky! And HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to my "Other Mom," Ellen Buchert on 4/23, my brother-in-law, Davey, and my brother, Marshall, on 4/24. Addie said, "My two uncles have birthdays today? Awww...I love my uncles, all my uncles...the grown up ones AND my little-kid uncle!" (Marshall turned 7).

More Saturday

I took this picture while taking the girls on a drive Saturday. It's just south of town as you head toward the Pop Stand...that's Livingston Peak.
I took this picture about 2 miles and 5 minutes after that first cloudy one...weird, huh? This is the entrance to Paradise Valley, about 5 miles south of town, just before the East River Road turn off.
After we played at the park, the girls went over to the creek to feed the ducks some bread and popcorn. There were ducks, geese, and swans, but we try to feed the ducks the most because the geese and swans are bullies. Addie liked the swans' black feet.

By the way, it's Monday morning and it's still snowing. I had to go get some milk earlier and I about froze to death--I thought it was warm enough for just a fleece, but no--it's 31 degrees and very windy ("feels like 18"). But it's supposed to be 60 degrees and sunny tomorrow and 75 degrees by Friday. Whatever! Gotta love spring in Montana!