Jordyn and the Beanstalk

So, can anyone help me understand what will happen to this little fast-growing beanstalk that Jordyn planted in Kindergarten? Its sitting on my counter, and every day we wake up and it's twice as big. I'm not sure how long its worth nurturing. Any thoughts?

Our Saturday

Lexi's internal clock is never turned off, and she is up at 7:00 am on the dot. Today was no different. For about 30 minutes I tried to convince myself it was possible to go back to sleep.

After realizing that my attempt was in vain, I decided to get up and browse a few local garage sales. My goal was simple: outdoor toys. I was only out for about 30 minutes, and $10 later I brought home a Little Tikes baby carriage, a [Peyton sized} scooter thing and a Little Tikes basketball hoop. Not bad, huh? The girls were very excited! (translation: thanks mom, more things to fight over!).

I can't get over this weather lately. I just LOOOOVVVEE it. For about 6 weeks it has been hovering around 70. My backdoor is open all day, kids are in and out and I don't have to worry about flies or cool/hot air escaping the house. It's just perfect. So the girls played outside for hours.

In the mid-morning, Tucker did some scouting stuff and when he got home we got the girls ready to go to the movies with him. He took them to Horton Hears a Who. Which was perfect timing for me because Peyton went down for her nap and I got about three hours of schoolwork finished. He even brought me home three chocolate covered strawberries from my favorite place (you better believe they are all gone)!

After some cleaning and more playing outside, we took the kids to dinner at Quiznos. Casual and yummy. We briefly pondered going shopping all together as a family, but then quickly realized we were crazy to do that at 6:30 pm on Saturday night, so I took Peyton to Wal-Mart and Tucker brought Jordyn and Lex home for baths. Doesn't that sound like great teamwork?

I like Saturdays like this. A good mix of fun and work. I enjoy them when I can because all too often there is a camp out or some kind of scouting thing Tucker is involved in. It was a great day!

Flashback Friday

Shana, Jammie, Becky, Melinda, Me and Katie

Can someone PLEASE explain to me how in the holy heck it has been 13 years since I graduated from High School?

How does that happen?

In some ways, I feel like the exact same person and can remember feelings and events from my teenage years with such clarity.

And in other ways I can't believe some of the choices I made and things I thought back then....and I realize I am not the same exact person.

How can that be?

I love this picture of me with 5 of my closest girlfriends. I was so blessed to have these 5 close friends in the same year of school. SO blessed. Each of them made a big impact on me and I still love to see each of them when I get the [seldom] chance.

I often think of my own girls in 10 years as teenagers and I have such a deep hope that they have GOOD FRIENDS. They can be your closest allies during the teenage years.....you know, when your family is not so cool anymore. That won't ever happen, will it?

I also often think of what I would tell myself if I could give myself advice as a 14-18 year old young woman. Here are just a few things:

• Spend more time making memories with your family
• Don't get so broken hearted over boys
• Don't date boys 5 years older than yourself
• If you decide to go to parties, ALWAYS be the designated driver. But it would be best to not go in the first place.
• Don't be so self-conscious. You are NOT fat. And people will like you more if you smile at them.
• Remember, your younger siblings watch EVERY THING you do. You are teaching them.
• Don't keep journals of things you don't want your parents to read about, and then accidentally leave it on the dining room table when you go to school.

And there are definitely more, but I'm sure my kids will read this someday and I'll decide then how detailed I want to be :-)

I'm not sure that I'd re-do my high school years if given the chance, but there are so many things that I still reflect on and realize how much I learned. Its such a time of exploring who you are and who you want to be. Thank you girls, for helping me through those crazy years!

Cakes

Here are bigger pics of the cakes I made. I love making these. Its a huge challenge every time. I get an idea in my head, and then I have NO idea if I can actually do it until I try. I usually bake them in a bread pan (the Pepsi cake) or a regular cake pan, and then I cut it the shape I need to (like the egg one). I use Wilton brand food coloring. I have all the frosting tips....but do you know what I do VERY often? Use plastic baggies and cut a tiny tip off. You can just throw them away when you are done!

Here is the most important part of my cakes (to me). They ALWAYS taste good. No shortening, no fake butter.......just REAL butter, REAL sugar, REAL milk, etc. I would rather sacrifice looks than taste. Its more challenging to get a stiff frosting when it doesn't have any kind of shortening in it, but I cannot STAND how shortening tastes. I use a box cake, but then I always make the frosting from scratch. Purely for selfish reasons. I love how it tastes SO much better.

I love to do these cakes because I just genuinely enjoy it! It's a fun personal challenge for me. They are FAR from perfect, but they are meaningful, fun and yummy. Thanks for your kind comments!

Easter Festivities 2008

MY FAMILY: Mike, Paxton, Lindy and Lyric. Ryan, Kristy, Mom and Dad. Jamie, Tucker, Jordyn, Lexi and Peyton. Missing: Carly and Alyson. We missed you guys a ton!

One of the reasons I love Easter is you really can't go wrong with it. Any traditions are great, as long as they are somehow tied to either Christ or the Easter Bunny, but preferrably both.

Incidentally.....isn't it so interesting that Easter is all about EGGS EGGS EGGS, but they are delivered by a bunny instead of a chicken? Why doesn't the Easter Chicken hide the eggs or fill the baskets? That always bothered me as a kid.

Anyway, on to my point. So Easter is great and I love the renewed feeling that comes with focusing on the ressurection of Christ and all that he did for us so we can also be ressurected and gain eternal life.

This year's Easter was extra special because it was also my sister Lindy's 25th birthday. We had a great celebration day and I'll tell the story with [lots of] pictures.

OUR EASTER SUNDAY

My mother loves to coordinate and/or match clothing. Especially for the grandkids. I totally LOVE that she does this because it makes my stress level almost non-existant for holidays like this. Growing up we always had new dresses at Easter time, and the tradition continues with my kids. She did such a great job picking out cute dresses - complete with capes, gloves, tights, shoes and hair bows. Nothing is left out when Mom is in charge!

As I may have mentioned before, I LOVE to decorate cakes. I've unintentionally started the tradition of making everyone a personalized birthday cake. I pick something random that is endearing to that person and let my creativity flow. It's therapeutic for me. I love the challenge and I always wonder if the image I see in my head is what will turn out on the cake. So for Lindy's birthday, I made her a "pepsi can" cake. It's no secret that she (well, all my siblings) loves soda. So I found it only natural to make her this cake, straw and all. The other "easter cake" was just a fun cake to use up the rest of the cake batter.



Happy 25th Birthday Lindy!

We had an Easter Egg hunt this year at Lindy's house. The "easter bunny" filled the eggs with random coins (nickels, pennies, dimes). He must have been tired of candy ALL OVER THE PLACE. Boy, this did not go over very well with the kids. We figure once they're older, they may like the money more than candy? Just not quite yet...

Get a load of these adorable costume slips these girls are wearing! My mom bought them with the intention of putting them under their Easter dresses. But when they came in the mail, they were much too full and long to do that! So, they became their "after church slips" and they LOVED them. They felt like princesses. The called themselves Giselle from the movie Enchanted [cute movie] all day. I loved seeing them run around like little faries.

Peyton did not have a slip in her size, so to not feel left out, Grandma got her this little ballet outfit and she looked SO cute in it!

Then, on to our third (I think? Maybe 4th?) annual Easter Egg Competition. We stole the tradition from Tucker's family and it is so much fun!







My Dad was the champion this year! He won with a whole Egg in tact, not cracked at all!



We did a little lesson using the "Ressurection Eggs". Telling the story and symbols of Jesus' crusifixtion and ressurection.

Look at these girls! They are so cute. Lyric (3), Jordyn (5), Lexi (4). I sure wish cousin Alyson Joy had been here to celebrate with them and get in these cute pics!

Whew, this is starting to seem like a week long post instead of just a day. OK, so we may be a little late to the Rockband party, but better late than never, eh? We rocked out for our first time tonight to some X-BOX Rockband. Nice Sabbath evening activity, huh? Hey, its family time! Its was definitely fun. Next time we'll try not to invade Mom and Dad's house till 10 pm with LOUD music though.



Happy Easter to all! Thanks Mom and Dad for such a fun day!

(by the way, I have to express my extreme thankfulness that I woke up today, after 10 days of itchy, bright red, swollen eyes....and they were near normal. Make up camoflauged the residual. Oh, there is nothing like having something taken away for a while to appreciate it 100 times more when it returns! To wake up with normal eyes is the BEST!)

Deep Thoughts on Blogging - By Jamie

In case you're wondering, this is a real life photograph. I didn't pose for it or photoshop it AT ALL. Hard to believe, huh?. On any given evening, this is where you'll find me. And Jordyn happened to catch me in action. Now you have a clear, untainted picture of me in your head.

I want to dedicate this post to my thoughts on blogging. Here goes:

• I started my blog nearly 2 1/2 years ago. I was hesitant to commit to it for months before. But once I did, I felt a strange undying dedication to it.

• My main reason(s) for starting this blog: 1. For family/friends to keep up on our lives and 2. As a family journal. Those continue to be my motivations.

• Since I've started online courses, I'm on the computer a lot more. And I feel guilty about it. I try to be on very minimally all day. I don't want my kids to think I love my laptop more than them. But once they're in bed, it's glued to my lap. Poor Tucker. He sees this picture waaaayyy too much. School takes a LOT of time, but I have this thing in me that feels like I can't start my school work until I've checked blogs and email. Weeeeelllll, we all know that its a work without end, so I've really contemplated disconnecting my internet when its time for homework!

• No one in the world can say they don't like comments. It's gratifying, satisfying and rewarding. It's insightful, reassuring and heart-warming. But it can NOT be the reason I post. EVER. Because it would dilute my purpose of blogging. I can't judge the validity of my post based on the number of comments because that would essentially be judging the validity of my life!

• ALL blogs are one-dimensional. No matter what. No one posts EVERY SINGLE detail of their life, so no MATTER what, you get a distorted view. But that's similar to many real-life friendships. We often share certain things with certain friends, but not always everything. So even in real life, many people are "one-dimensional". This isn't a bad thing at all. For me, its not because I want to portray a certain online image. I couldn't care less about that. But for privacy sake, respect for my family and personal matters, I DO write less of that "kind of stuff" than I would in say my private journal. I still try to keep it real. I'm a person who loves real. No fake, no fluff, no facades.

• If I post something I think I'm bad at, I've done wrong, or is an area of weakness for me, it is NEVER to get the "Ohhhh, no you're not Jamie, you're GREAT" comments. Those never hurt and are appreciated, but that is not my intention. It's simply because its a true feeling, event or thought.

• I love to keep up with my friends and family! I wish ALL my family had blogs! Who has time for the phone anymore? Seriously! I don't feel so out of touch when I see my loved ones. It's the greatest thing in the world!

• Sometimes I can think of 10 posts in a row and feel impatient for the next day to come so I can post again. And other times, a week will pass with NO blogging urge at all. Such is life.

• Don't you always have a nagging curiosity if a post is getting too long or may be too short? In all reality, it doesn't matter.

• I always think about my girls reading this someday in the future.....and thinking how cool it would be to read my mom's 30 year old blog [if it existed].

• I LOVE to learn about other people. Imagine how much insight we can gather from people's minds of whom we otherwise would have NO idea. I can often find all extremes of the spectrum, and then snuggle right down in the middle where I often reside happily.

• And lastly.........wanna know the question that perplexes me the most? "How do you find TIME to blog?". OMGOSH! That's like asking: How do you find TIME to eat? How do you find time to WATCH TV? How do you find time to check your email? Seriously, it's like anything else that you "make time" for. Maybe its a commitment of 15 minutes per day, average? And I guess I gain personal satisfaction from it that makes it WORTH the 15 minutes per day. I'll admit it............comments DO help ;-)

• Come to think of it, I guess I DO hold some of my *real* self back. I won't show you pictures of my makeup-less face first thing in the morning, I don't show you my saggy stomach or my stretched-out-from-pregnancies tattoo, I don't post pictures of poopy diapers or my kids on time-out......there are just SOME things better left to the imagination!

Did I forget anything?

Zoo-ropia

It's spring break and so far I haven't been much of a "fun mom". So today we finally did something fun and went to the zoo!


Well, us......and 5 of my friends with their 14 kids. Yep, that's right. A group of 17 kids and 6 moms. And you know what? Somehow, we ALL stayed together the WHOLE time! It was actually really fun, not as chaotic as I'd anticipated! The kids loved it. I just loved being outside in the 70 degree weather. Love it! We even had a picnic afterward. And after 5 hours, the kids were still begging to stay longer! But Mom was done.

I think the elephants are one of my favorites. They just fascinate me! This one was 32 years old! My peer!

Pey was a happy camper!

Well, until we got into the petting zoo. She did NOT like the goats and sheep around her, even when I was holding her!

But once Mommy showed her how soft they are, her tears left and were replaced with giggles.

These girls stayed together so well! And this was only a small portion of our group!

So then, Lindy came over with Lyric and Paxton so we could hang out since we were Magic Mountain widows today. I barbequed some chicken for dinner, and you know what else I had the urge to do? Make homemade wheat bread. I don't do this often (maybe 1-2 times per year). I am a big baker, but I don't very often bake yeast-breads. Maybe I'm too impatient. So Lindy and I endured the 3 1/2 hour anticipation of the hot, fresh bread while the kids played.




Mmmmmmmm, we were in heaven when it was finally done. Slathering tons of butter on each hot piece, I didn't stop until I literally felt sick. Just about the same time as I felt sick, I was perusing blogs and came across my friend Debbie's blog. And wouldn't you know it? She was sharing, with excitement, her accomplishment of running 5 1/2 miles nearly-effortlessly. I was a little jaw-dropped because I probably couldn't run for 5 1/2 minutes! It was sort of like her words jumped off the screen and gave me a little spanking for being so glutenous! Thanks for the inspiration Debbie! ;-)

And here's to not eating a whole loaf of bread tomorrow! But if YOU want to eat your own loaf of this yummy bread, this is the recipe I made.

Lunch Date

(My swelling was down enough on today, the sixth day, that I could cake the makeup on my less-puffy, scaley, eyes and feel semi-human)

Blogs are cool. Even if everybody and their dog has one. They're still cool. I like that I can do posts about anything and everything, and reveal as little or as much as I want to. And its all good. Some posts are about feelings, others are about events and some are about people.

Today's post is about people at an event and my feelings on it (ha! all three!).

The sun, moon and stars all aligned today and the result was a rare occasion. My sister Lindy and I had lunch with my mom (get this) with NO kids. We almost didn't know how to have a conversation without noise or interruption. You'd think that living in the same town would mean lunch together is just a no-brainer. But its really harder than you think.

Mom took us to a great yummy Scandinavian restaurant for lunch. We ate, chatted and then browsed their gift shop for a while. It was fun........especially because it's not often that we get mom "all to ourselves" anymore.

It constantly amazes me how many "hats" she wears. I see that it's a lot of physical and emotional work to be a mom....always. From watching her, I realize it doesn't end when they turn 18 and "move on". I appreciate how my mom has always "kept it real" and taught us not only by word, but by action. She's has worked extremely hard to pave a path for her 5 children....and by doing so has prepared us and armed us with essential knowledge for success. She has given us so much more than she was given growing up. I really believe in the theory of each generation improving upon the last, and hope my children can do the same.

Thanks Mom! I love you!

Dancing Friends

This is Jordyn with her tap/ballet teacher Miss Amanda, her assistant Miss Katelyn, and her close friends Ashlyn and Lindsay. This picture is special for many reasons.

This is Jordyn's 4th year of dance. I started her, on a whim, when she was 2 with a Mommy & Me class. She has loved it so much that we've done it ever since! Miss Amanda has been her teacher for over half of the past four years. We have loved her so much. She just got married and is moving after the recital this June.....which we're quite sad about.

Ashlyn and Lindsay have been two of Jordyn's closest friends in the 5 years we've lived here. I love these girls and am close friends with their moms (Kandelyn and Beth), which makes the whole thing a nice, cozy thing. Sadly, Lindsay is moving next month. This will be a big change!

Life is full of changes. Many of them hard. Not necessarily bad, just hard. Its always hard to see what's on the other side of the change before you get there!! We'll miss Ms. Amanda a ton, and miss Lindsay and her family an immeasurable amount. I'm glad I caught this picture while I could! :-)




P.S. If I didn't make any sense in this post, it's because I have an addiction. I'll admit it. I'm addicted to staying up too late, even when I'm deliriously tired. Not good. But I've tried to kick this addiction for....uhhh....well, my entire life. I am a tried and true night owl!

I just have to say....

....how much I HAAAAATTTTTEEEE when my face/eyes are puffy. I hate that there is NO rhyme, reason or cure. Nothing helps. Today, the fifth day, I woke up hoping it would be better and instead its worse. I feel like I have red ants on my eyes and a touniquet on my face! Even my brain feels swollen. The whole things just makes me feel tired, irritable and ugly.

Here's to a fun spring break! With the kids home ALL week and me feeling extra irritated. Please let tomorrow be better!!!!

Invented Spelling

I have been very enlightened this past 6 months as I've gone to school simultaneous to having a child start kindergarten. The two have enhanced one another for sure.


When Jordyn first started Kindergarten, her teacher would constantly recommend that we (as parents) let them spell how THEY want to spell and to not correct them. I figured there was a reason behind it, but didn't really question it.

The Language Development class I'm taking right now is probably my favorite so far. It really emphasizes that learning a language is SOOOO much more than simply letters and sounds. It's learning a code!

So this technique of letting them spell words how they think it sounds is called "invented spelling". This quote sums it up "learning to spell is not a matter of memorizing words, but a developmental process that culminates in a much greater understanding of English spelling than simple relationships between speech sounds and their graphic representations." (taken from this article: click here).

This picture above is one of Jordyn's recent writings. She is an incredible speller and reader. Her teacher refers to it as "hard-wired" for it. She is definitely hard-wired for reading. And she loves it. You can see some of her "invented" words: fr for fur, throsup for throws up, watr for water. I love it. It shows her brain working and shows her understanding of sounds and letter relationship. Next step will be to incorporate the billion rules of the English language :-)

My Little Helper

Seeing Peyton develop and learn new things is equally as thrilling for me as it was when Jordyn and Lexi were this age. It hasn't lost its excitement the third time around!

I was telling Tucker last night that I hope he never dies on me because no one else would have the same deep rooted pride and admiration for our kids that we both do. Not to sound morbid, but I'm sure most everyone shares this same fear about their spouse dying. And there are a million reasons why I wouldn't want that, but one of them is that I would really miss seeing him feel just as thrilled at any little thing the girls do as I am!

Peyton is 16 1/2 months old. She is such a fun kid!

• Jordyn and Lexi just love her. I've really enjoyed this three year age gap. Lexi always says "Mom, PeyPey is so cute!".



• She is obsessed with swinging. Lately the weather has been soooooo perfect, so our back door is always open. Several times per day I'll hear "Mama, mama!" coming from the back yard and I immediately know that means she is on the big 4-person swing waiting for me.



• In 5 weeks Peyton will be in the nursery at church! Hooray for us!



• She is a very affectionate girl. She gives kisses and hugs very willingly.



• Peyton loves her sisters. When she gets up from a nap, she squeals with excitement when we walk out in the living room....and if they are gone at school, she is dissapointed.



• She's quite the little mimic-er. She can always be found with a purse, a baby, a cell phone (she holds it with her shoulder and says "yeah....yeah" like she's really agreeing with someone), a tooth brush or her vacuum.



• She loves books and always brings one to me saying "book".



• Pey loves music and will "lead the music" with her arms all the time.



• I don't think she could love Belle or Kitty any more than she does!



• She's still a strange sleeper. She's up like 4 times per night. Sometimes quick for a drink and sometimes long and crying, for hours, with no explanation.



• She talks a ton! The other day she was playing hide-and-seek with Tucker and the girls and she was saying "Daddy....wuh ahhh you?"

Seems hard to catch them doing their *thing* on camera, but I caught a little video of Pey showing off a bit....

Mamma Mia!

Tonight was a great night! Beth, Lindy and I went to "Mamma Mia". I've always wanted to see this musical, and Beth surprised me with tickets - as an early birthday present - since she prob won't be here on my bday :-( .

We had a great dinner at El Torito and really enjoyed the show! Always fun (and necessary) to have a girl's outing. Thanks for the great gift, Beth!!

I love all the music of ABBA, but I also was particularly touched by the song "Slipping Through My Fingers", which I'd never heard before. It was very sentimental and made me think of my three sweet girls. Reading it doesn't do it justice...you should download it! But here are the lyrics:

Schoolbag in hand

She leaves home in the early morning

Waving goodbye

With an absent-minded smile

I watch her go

With a surge of that well-known sadness

And I have to sit down for a while

The feeling that I'm loosing her forever

And without really entering her world

I'm glad whenever I can share her laughter

That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time

I try to capture every minute

The feeling in it

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Do I really see what's in her mind

Each time I think I'm close to knowing

She keeps on growing

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes

Her and me at the breakfast table

Barely awakeI let precious time go by

Then when she's gone

There's that odd melancholy feeling

And a sense of guiltI can't deny

What happened to the wonderful adventures

The places I had planned for us to go

Well some of that we did

But most we didn't

And why I just don't know

Slipping through my fingers all the time

I try to capture every minute

The feeling in it

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Do I really see what's in her mind

Each time I think I'm close to knowing

She keeps on growing

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture

And save it from the funny tricks of time

Slipping through my fingers.

Ahhh, Piano

Jordyn's been taking piano lessons for 1 1/2 years, and Lexi for 6 months. Wow, what a commitment it's been! Taking them to lessons every week is one thing, but practicing can be quite the daunting task!

I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with the whole thing. I love to see them learn and to see them really enjoy the piano. I love that it enhances their ability to hear pitch, to feel rhythm, to read music and to be creative. And THEY really love it. So I want to keep providing them with the opportunity to develop this skill.

But what I don't like is remembering to have them practice. They are too young for it to be their fault if they don't practice...so its all me! And I don't always feel like spending two hours total in piano lessons with them...singing, dancing and being enthusiastic. Its 30 minutes away and I have to get a sitter for Pey. I also don't like wondering how I'll keep this up with THREE of them when its Pey's turn (this program thrives off the "mommy and me" type lessons the first few years). Just another thing to keep up with.

But I REALLY want to try. Every week, I remind myself that this is a great gift to them to someday (if THEY want to) to be able to play the piano. And even if they choose to sing or play another instrument instead, their ability to interpret music will be innate.

I know its young for them to do this. And I don't think I'd do it if I had to drag them kicking and screaming each week. But they just genuinely enjoy it and look forward to it. And I love seeing their skills and talents grow. Way to go Jordyn and Lexi!

The Great Thing About Family

"Family life is full of major and minor crises -- the ups and downs of health, success and failure in career, marriage, and divorce -- and all kinds of characters. It is tied to places and events and histories. With all of these felt details, life etches itself into memory and personality. It's difficult to imagine anything more nourishing to the soul." Thomas Moore

I love this quote....and I love my family. I am grateful for each one of them. I'm thankful for all the blog-worthy and even the not-so-blog worthy experiences we all go through. For these reasons we are stronger, and wiser.

Here are some pics from Sunday night's "blog-worthy" hang-out.

Mike & Lindy, Ryan (almost 17), Tucker and Kristy (who surprised us all with the news that she is moving to Ohio in a few weeks with a friend....she's ready to start her life's adventures!)

These babies sure love their Grandma! Peyton giving a little smooch.

For dessert, my mom bought these elaborate caramel apples. My dad could NOT believe she'd pay $30 for four apples! But dad, look at them!

Seriously, they were HUGE!

Dad and Ryan doing what they do best....

"We love Grandma's house because we eat hords of chips and juice and whatever else we sneak from Grandma's pantry!"

Poor Lexi, missed out on half the fun. She was a wiped out four year old from getting up at 5:00 am. (So was mom)

5 Things That Made Me Happy Today

Tucker brought me home my very favorite candy today. Hmmm, maybe this should actually make me sad since I just declared I need to do Weight Watchers again?

Jordyn wrote me this cute note:

I'm starting to see strawberry stands around again!

Pey's outfit today coincidentally matched her cute shoes...it was as though they were made for eachother. It made me happy to look at all day long.

And Lexi's new (Costco) dress happened to match this necklace (which she wears everyday and never takes off) just perfectly!