Monday, April 27, 2009

Want to get kids excited about folding laundry? (No, Really!)

This worked for an ENTIRE laundry-folding session!!--



My kids went NUTS!

They folded every single shirt in 6 loads of laundry like they were eating candy!



(Remember, presentation is everything. I basically said, without asking kids to fold laundry, but with all the clean loads sitting out ready to fold, "Look at this video, guys!" Their eyes lit up and they wanted us to show them how to do it. For that moment in time they were not working. They were doing a totally cool 2 second trick. And they even folded other things trying to get to more shirts!)
at 8:18 PM 8 pennies for your thoughts

How to get your kids excited about folding laundry-- (Really!)


Monday, April 20, 2009

It will be a great day

when I no longer have to preface most instructions to my children with the words,

"Without complaining, please do xyz...."
at 9:18 PM 6 pennies for your thoughts

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Chasing a Mirage



I'm an artist. I like looking at pretty things. I psychologically like thinking of myself as the "prettier" me, the one when I actually do my hair and/or makeup (which, folks, is not too often).

But why do we look to the barrage of media to tell us what "pretty" is, when their definition is a mirage? I mean, can YOU BELIEVE this video? She's so pretty to start with, and is drop-dead gorgeous by the time she's done with hair and makeup, and yet it's still NOT ENOUGH for their billboard. They lengthen and slim her neck, change her hair, make her eyes bigger, and of course use the good 'ole airbrushing.

So why do I look at a pretty billboard like that and think, "Wow, I'd love to look that pretty."???

I like the tagline of this video: "No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted." I think every parent should show this to their fashion-conscious tween and/or teen daughter/s.

I also like the tagline of another Dove video that shows the onslought of sexually objectified women via the media. It ends by saying, "Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does."
at 12:41 PM 10 pennies for your thoughts

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

With Parents Kind of Weird


So, we're making ice cream last night for our FHE* activity to teach our boys how important family teamwork is. (Hint, hint, boys!)


(This picture doesn't do our hands justice; they were COLD and RED!!)


Once we finished up and started eating the reward of our hard, freezing cold labor, Jeffrey started humming a child's hymn from our church called "I am a child of God," which starts:

I am a child of God
And He has sent me here.
Has given me an earthly home,
With parents kind and dear....

I was feeling goofy, and sang along to his humming, except I changed the last line, "With parents silly and crazy."

Rob piped up, "No, no, no, no." Then he sang the song from the start, one-upping my word changes about the parents:


"...With parents kind of weird."


The kids laughed so hard I think someone snorted ice cream.



*F.H.E. Family Home Evening, often called family night, that we hold each Monday evening. Usually we have an opening prayer, a song, a short lesson, a closing song and prayer, and on good nights, an activity and/or dessert.
at 12:24 PM 5 pennies for your thoughts

Monday, April 13, 2009

Why does it take...

...two and a half days of intense packing to go on a 4-5 day camping trip to the Sequoias?

Oh yeah. We have three active little boys.







at 1:12 PM 4 pennies for your thoughts

Monday, April 6, 2009

The Birth and Resurrection of the Savior


A friend is preparing an Easter talk that she will give Sunday. Via a Facebook chat, she asked me what The Resurrection* means to me.

Today is a very significant and special day for me personally because April 6th is the day Jesus was born, and the day He was resurrected. It is also the day Jesus's church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (my mormon religion), was officially restored on this earth.

We come down to this earth life to gain a body and prepare to return to live with God (a probationary time to prove our worthiness). Without the atonement, we couldn't return to live with God because we all make mistakes and sin, and no unclean thing can enter the kingdom of heaven. So I am deeply grateful to be able to continually repent and seek to be a better person.

But even with the atonement, where all our sins can be washed away through sincere repentance, we would still be stuck when we died, our bodies eternally separated from our spirits. Because Jesus was resurrected, we can be, too. It's the other half of the equation that we need to return to God.

This is what The Resurrection means to me:

1. Victory over death.

Our life doesn't end by being eaten by bugs in the ground. What would be the point if we just die and it's over? It would be like saying my life wasn't worth anything, like anything I did was for nothing.

I know I'll "be" again after this earthly life.

2. HOPE. Purpose.

Knowing that I will be resurrected gives me a reason to keep growing spiritually and intellectually, to strive to improve who I am. Otherwise I would feel so depressed, and think "Why even try? Might as well 'eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die'."

3. Eternal Families.

Being reunited with loved ones that have passed, and those that will pass after me, means so much to me and is very close to my heart.

4. Our spirits being reunited with our bodies.

Only perfected! No more ADD, no more back pain, no more physical/mental illness among us and those we love.

The very thing that Satan and his followers cannot have is a body, the physical likeness of our Father in Heaven and Elder brother, Jesus Christ. We not only are able to receive and live in a physical body, we will get to live in it again, perfected, in heaven. This is a profound blessing in my eyes.

---If you believe in Jesus Christ and the resurrection, what does it mean to you?

*Resurrection:
1. The rising (or returning to life) of Christ after His death and burial.
2. The rising of the dead on Judgment Day (us).

at 1:43 PM 0 pennies for your thoughts

Friday, April 3, 2009

What? What did I *DO*??

Whatever I did, it must have been bad. I mean, really, really bad.

Was it the chinese food I picked up for lunch on Saturday, in between selling scout coupon books at the grocery store?
Or the 3 free oz. of frozen yogurt the store next door was advertising? (Peanut butter cup, yum)
Was it the authentic Indian dinner we had with our friends the Aroras on Sat. night? (Parents of twin scouts I used to teach, Akash & Akshay)
Or the chocolate Hershey's bar I dipped into peanut butter for dessert later that night?

It certainly couldn't have been anything after that, because I've hardly touched any real food in 6 days except to swallow down a few bites of toast, applesauce, or banana.

So why is my throat so mad at me? I mean, it's not like he's just irritated or even put out. He is LIVID. He's so mad, he won't get better even with antibiotics, an antibiotic shot, an anti-nausea shot, lots of rest, painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, hot baths and ice packs (for my back that flares up when I'm sick).

I know he's spiting me. He sees all the fresh strawberries and watermelon in the fridge, and my favorite Mighty Mango juice.

Sigh.





Next up: How to lose weight, fast! And how to go off sugar with no temptation whatsoever.... (just get the flu and strep throat at the same time)
at 10:36 AM 4 pennies for your thoughts

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Graphic violence...

...should be outlawed when it comes to our bodies fighting against us. We should get to buy our own TV Guardian to filter out graphic body pain.

A few days ago, Natasha commented on my dental post (and by the way, did nobody notice my Dr. Seuss blog title "Just go Now!" that is a book of his quite blatantly directed at Richard Nixon?) about not being able to talk or think because of excruciating pain from an almost-root-canal. I would have agreed with her a week ago on how bad the pain was.

Not now.

This week has been horrible. I won't count it above an 8 in pain because I reserve 9 and 10 pain to be like actually on fire, etc.

warning: graphic violence ahead

But my throat has been so raw, it's like someone ripped it out, beat it with a sharp, pointy meat tenderizer, put it back in, and then turned on my sensory skills. I haven't been this sick since I got my wisdom teeth out in May 1996 and I reacted terribly to the medicine they used to knock me out for the procedure (though there's a blessing to that nasty, horrible week of my life, and his name is Rob, who came over at the end of that ordeal, and that's the night he first started falling in love with me even though I was emaciated, not-showered, weak, and sick [and did I mention ugly! And it was the first night he noticed I was 'beautiful']).

Please, I just want Strep throat and the flu to both be over.

Daily Gratitudes:
1. A dr. who is WAY smarter than the idiot who saw me in urgent care Sunday night.
2. A lady in my congregation who brought over the last bits of an easter egg hunt to us since we couldn't go. Last night I sat on the lawn bundled up, as did Rob (who also has strep and an ear infection), and we watched the kids hide eggs and find them over and over again, taking turns to be the egg "hider" each time.
3. Darvocet and Ibuprofin keeping the edge off the pain; I usually get to the point where it's very hard to swallow or talk, about every four hours.
4. Sweet Mita, my friend who picked my boys up for me on Monday when I was feeling so worse and questioning the rude Urgent care dr. I'd seen the night before.
5. Kind Tami, who all I could say as I was sobbing on the phone was "check...your...email...," which she did, and agreed immediately to 'watch' my kids from her house by calling in on them every 20 min (so she didn't come over and get exposed to any germs), so I could run down to my own dr. again and ask what gives if I don't have strep.
6. A smart PCP who said I shouldn't be in so much pain if it was viral, and gave me antiobiotic samples.
7. A kind husband who has helped me when I'm at my worst, and I've been able to help him at his worst. I don't think he and I have been so sick at the same time. He took 2 sick days, and he NEVER takes sick days!
8. That Nathan's antiobotics have thoroughly cleared up his strep throat.
9. That there are blessings that always come with the trials. I'm waiting to see what blessing I better be getting.... ; )
at 9:49 AM 7 pennies for your thoughts
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