Wrapping up

Christmas Eve--all the Cushing and Cropper clan got together at Grandma and Grandpa's for a wonderful dinner and games!

Christmas Day--so much fun!!!  We had to wake Wade up, but Rhiannon was awake from 3am on!  We had a blast opening gifts, and then from noon on, everyone gathered at G & G's again.  We loved the new space in their home--plenty of room to spread out!  It was great to see great-grandparents, Aunt Rochelle, and our friend Autumn, too!

Sunday, Dec 26--We drove down to Provo for baby Magnolia's blessing.  Derrick did a great job on that, and he and Traci treated us to an amazing build-your-own-nachos lunch at Pinnacle afterwards.  It was great to be with Derrick, Jordan, Logan, and their families!!!  CAN'T WAIT FOR SHEEN REUNION IN JULY!!!  That night Rhiannon and Wade went to Uncle Brett and Aunt Jaymie's house for another cousin sleepover with McKaleigh, Colton, and Alex!  They had a BLAST together (thanks, Brett and Jaymie!!!)

Monday, Dec 27--We picked the kids up and had another Christmas at Best Buy with our Christmas money and gift cards.  Among the many purchases made were the X-Men trilogy "on Blu-ray,"  more Wii motion controllers, Toy Story 3, DS games, and a new DS lite game system for Wade!!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you, everyone!  That night we enjoyed a get-together with some of Jason's old friends and their families.  We had yummy Thai food and a fun FHE lesson given by Joe.  Thanks, Westenskows, for having us, and thanks to the Yohos, Cleggs, Gottfredsons, Pias, and Westenskows for a great evening!

Tuesday, Dec 28--Happy Birthday, Uncle BRANT!!!  We got up early and drove up to Idaho to see Grandma Sue and Uncle Max.  The visit was too short but very sweet.  We hung out with them and got a pretty tasty lunch at JB's, and then we headed back to Salt Lake.  That night we went to Uncle Matt's Octapella concert.  Highlights for me were the great music and kissing Jason under the mistletoe!  Yay! :)

Today--We'll start packing up today and hope to get home tomorrow, but there is a BIG snowstorm heading this way, with lots of snow expected all the way from Salt Lake to St. George.  If we get held over another day, that'll be fun, but I am KICKING myself for not bringing a little Primary project that needs to be finished by Sunday... Oh, well!  Maybe it'll help me stay up til midnight on New Year's Eve! :)

Tron, cousin sleepovers, date night

Just trying to get all this down so I don't forget!

Tuesday--woke up to more snow and bad roads.  We didn't feel good about going up to Idaho that day--hopefully  next week will be better!  The kids played in the snow more, and then later in the afternoon we ventured out to see a family-first:  an IMAX 3-D experience.  We watched Tron Legacy and had a really great time!

Wednesday--visited Great-Grandpa Rod and Nan; the kids had a blast with cousins Sam, Tyler, and Lilly with a sleepover at their house.  (Thanks, Heather and Matt!)  Jason and I got a date night and ate at Cafe Rio, then came home and watched the Utah/Boise State game.  I lost track of how many workers were in the house that day, and it is almost done! Grandma is such a TROOPER with all that going on!

Thursday--hanging out, and looking forward to a Sheen mini-reunion at Pinnacle tonight!!!!!!!

Snow! Shopping! Construction! Awesomeness!

We made it up to Salt Lake on Saturday with absolutely ZERO problems on the road.  A little rain, and gray skies the whole way up, but the roads were great.  Traffic wasn't bad either!  Instead of stopping by Grandpa and Grandma's, we went straight to the Throndsen family Christmas party and had a really great time there.  I realized afterwards that I was in full-blown travel mode--hadn't washed my face, brushed my teeth, or put any  make up on before the party. Oh, well!  Thanks so much to Grandma Lola and Grandma Deb for a fun evening!

On Sunday we took it easy in the morning and went to the Parleys First ward's Christmas-themed sacrament meeting.  It was wonderful.  We'd skipped out on a chance to see David Archuleta and Music and the Spoken Word (thanks for thinking of us, Robyn and Heather!), but the music at Grandma Deb's ward was pretty awesome, too.  Seeing Jason's friend Al in a Christmas-red jacket was awesomeness, too.  More relaxing in the evening and then Brett, Jaymie and kids came up for dessert and visiting.  Rhiannon's cousin McKaleigh brought Christmas early for Rhiannon with a PILE of cute clothes she'd grown out of.  Rhiannon is in heaven and has worn McKaleigh's stuff non-stop! :)

Yesterday we woke up to a couple inches of snow on the ground.  The kids bundled up and played in it for at least 2 hours.  More awesomeness!  We also got some final Christmas shopping done and stopped by the Crown Burger downtown  for a yummy lunch (Adam from Man vs. Food ate there, too! :)). 

This morning we woke up to a bunch more snow and bad roads.  We were going to head up to Grandma Sue's today, but we just weren't feeling good about it, especially since Jason spun out twice just moving the van into the driveway here.  Since Friday there have been terrible accidents on the road, and people have died.  We felt better about staying off the roads today, and hopefully we can go up to Idaho next week. 

The really big, exciting news has been the major addition that Grandpa and Grandma have done on their home.  It's amazing.  I've taken pictures and will have to load them up later, but just imagine a beautiful new exterior with stone work, a huge dining area and great room upstairs, and massive bedroom downstairs.  A giant hole was dug in the yard for the expansion, and the roof had to be adjusted, too.  It isn't finished, and there are workers all over the place, but it hasn't been bad.  I'm amazed at how much work has been done!  Grandpa and Grandma have done so much to make us feel welcome and comfortable--we're so grateful!  And we are SO happy for them!

So today we'll sit tight and probably play in the snow more!  Stay safe, everyone, and Merry Christmas!

Ready to hit the road

We are just about ready to hit the road to Utah tomorrow.  Jason came home safe and sound from DC this afternoon, and we've got Wade's final flag football game tonight.  Should be interesting, since it rained all morning long! :)  We are so proud of him for trying something new, trying his best, and being a good sport!

Today Rhiannon joined a very select "club" at school--she was presented a "million dollar bill" and congratulated for reading over one million words so far this year!  It was quite a surprise to both of us--I was "woo-hooing" all over the place and Rhiannon was grinning ear to ear!

I don't know how often I'll get on here while we're on vacation--so our best to all and....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Kids

Rhiannon

--recently read Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse  (she will not be allowed to read Breaking Dawn for several years, though)
--I don't think she has too many bad dreams, but every night she asks me to tell her that she won't have any nightmares
--is making good progress with piano and very faithful about practicing.  She's filled the house with Christmas songs lately!
--is quietly boy crazy
--has most of Mindy Gledhill's songs on her Anchor CD memorized (we sing along in the van)
--does NOT get excited when people ask us about going back to DC someday and we say maybe when the kids are older
--has zero interest in getting her ears pierced; she's really worried it will hurt
--likes purses; she collects cute ones that she finds at thrift stores
--tried out for the school's spelling bee this week and got out on words "asterik" and "billycan."  I still don't know what a billycan is.
--is taller than me when she wears her "heel" shoes to church.  You can imagine how fun that is for her!


Wade

--gave me a sticky note yesterday that said, "your awesome"
--also gave me a sweet hug and kiss on the cheek yesterday, probably because I've been doing that to him a lot, too!
--trying to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows right now
--was so happy when Dad taught him and Rhiannon how to play Star Wars Battlefront with the PlayStation controllers
--has been complaining about his leg hurting lately (I hope it's just growing pains)
--list maker, list maker, list maker
--has improved a lot in flag football; the last game he played he blocked two people at the same time!
--LOVES searching iTunes; right now he's into movie soundtracks and has a long list of albums he'd like to purchase!
--is trying to grow his hair out "until at least March," after years and years of buzz cuts, he looks really different!
--must be getting taller, too, because he can reach the chips in the pantry and keeps growing out of his church shoes!

Catching the spirit of Christmas

I'll admit it, I've been a little too crazy busy lately to really feel that sparkly Christmas feeling.  I am SUPER EXCITED, TOTALLY STOKED, and R-E-A-D-Y to get out of town and spend Christmas with extended family this year.  But the downside of that is being rushed to get everything done before the trip.  I had these grand plans of baking up a storm and delivering fresh-from-the-oven goodie plates to neighbors and friends around town.  That isn't going to happen.  A few neighbors on our street who we know well will get a bag of M&M's with a poem attached:


M & M Christmas Poem




As you hold these candies in your hand
And turn them, you will see
The 'M' becomes a 'W',
An 'E', and then a '3'.

They tell the Christmas Story--
I'm sure it's one you know.
It took place in a stable
A long, long time ago.

The 'E' is for the East,
Where the star shone so bright.
The 'M' is for the Manger,
where the Baby Jesus slept at night.

The '3' is for the Wisemen,
Bearing gifts, with which they came.
'W' is for Worship,
Hallelujah! Praise His Name!

So as you eat these candies
Or share them with a friend,
Remember the meaning of Christmas:
It's a love that never ends.

And hopefully the rest of our friends we know and love will know that we're thinking of them!  Truly! 

This afternoon I was driving all over town delivering not goodies, but new 2011 class binders to our fabulous Primary teachers.  I finally caught some of that Christmas cheer as I visited with each person who answered the door.  I gave hugs, said lots of "MERRY CHRISTMAS," and let people know that I appreciated them for their service and kindness.  It was a good reminder that Christmas is NOT all about the shopping and baking and preparing--it's more about letting people know that you care!

Jason's work party

Jason was a trooper yesterday.  He woke up in DC at 2:45am California time, made it home around 2:30pm, and then we went to his Christmas party for work til almost 9:30.  Quite a long day for him, but he was a good sport about it.

This year's party was a blast.  We ate at Casey's BBQ (the dinner was awesome, but my favorite part was the garlic mashed potatoes...yum...) and played the traditional white elephant game.  There were some C-R-A-Z-Y gifts going around that night, everything from a vinyl "We Are The World" recording (the guy who unwrapped that was funny--"too bad I don't have a record player") to Disney Princess dominoes to a camo Snuggie.  I laughed pretty hard when I realized someone was opening the gift we brought to LAST year's party--nothing says love like re-gifting white elephant presents! :)

The best part of the game was the last 2 minutes.  Earlier that night Jason had been joking with friends at our table about how awesome it would be to wrap an autographed picture of yourself.  So the last few minutes of the game went like this:

1.  Stuffed Christmas mouse was taken from someone--we never saw that coming.
2.  Person who lost the mouse stole the Snuggie.
3.  The person who lost the Snuggie got to open the very last gift on the table, which was, you guessed it, an autographed picture of our friend Steve!

We laughed and laughed and laughed so hard that our voices hurt!  It was a fun night.

For the game Jason gave away his 1st Class pjs from our Lufthansa flight, and in return I got to take home some of these:




















Slipper Genies for dusting your floor, and a microfiber dusting glove.  I don't know if I could have come away with a more perfect gift! HAHAHAHA! :)

I wish I was making this stuff up...

I thought I'd share my substitute job experience from today.  It's a doooooooooooozy.

Let's start with the positives on today's job, shall we? First, there were some really sweet kids in the class. Second, I didn't cry. (Key word is I--I did make some kids cry,though). Oh, sorry, I'm supposed to stay positive. The kids liked my stories about Christmas ding-dong-ditching, and they loved it when I read aloud in strange voices. For my very first full-day job, I survived. (Is that positive???) I did what the teacher asked me to do in the lesson plans, except for the math problems at the very end. I wasn't found at the end of the day weeping in a corner or stuffed into a trashcan.


So here are some other things that happened that give you a clear picture of the overall day:

1. I dealt with a cryer, LOTS of tattle-talers, and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of talking. Some day these kids will be awesome presenters or politicians, any job where you get to talk/talk/talk and listen to your own voice all day. It's funny, though, I think the cryer was the hardest one for me to deal with. This person cried about EVERYTHING.

2. I got lots of help from other adults on campus, yelling at my class to quiet down outside because there were people in class. Yeah, and I was standing right there in the middle of it all, too. Heck, I even got help from the PRINCIPAL when she found one of my kids on the sidewalk with a sprained ankle. (No, this was not at recess--we were just walking back to class, and two kids started running after a ball. Kid #2 fell, sprained his ankle and went home. This is the part I feel the worst about.)

3. The very last minute of the day, I handed out Smarties, ONLY to the kids who'd had good behavior that day. It was probably about half the class. One kid, who'd really been crazy, acted surprised when I didn't give him a Smartie. He rushed out the door, sobbing, right when Rhiannon and Wade were there waiting for me. They looked at me with this "You made someone cry???" expression! Just pile it on, folks!

4. During the day I confiscated baseball cards, a Burger King Zhu-Zhu pet, a tiny skateboard, and a scary contraption made of broken paper clip pieces and an eraser. I should have confiscated ALL of the teacher's extra stash of pencils, erasers, dry-erase markers, a certain kid's scissors, and that darn pencil sharpener,etc, etc, etc.

5. Have you heard the expression "a sign of things to come"? Well, I got a BIG SIGN the first 10 minutes of class. The school district's counselor was out sick, so I read a story I had in my backpack, a drippy sweet story about how we all have invisible buckets that we fill by being kind to others, etc. Our invisible bucket is emptied when we're unkind. There were a few kids who got the message of it and had smiles on their faces. Guess what the rest of the class was doing? Trying to steal their neighbor's invisible bucket! I'm laughing about it now, but at the time I was stunned. I just didn't see that coming.

Well, my worst fear came true today. I became one of "THOSE" subs, the person who has zero control and manages to let the whole school know it. Oh, and the sub who makes kids cry, too.  HOPEFULLY it can't get worse, right? RIGHT?

I'm signing off on the longest day EVER.  May future jobs be less eventful!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Logan!!!!!!!!!!!

Nothing says Christmas like some new Coldplay! :)

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving was excellent this year.  We had a nice traditional meal with Howard and Sandi, enjoyed watching Texas A&M beat t.u., had a fire going in the fireplace, and had an all-around relaxing day.  I was surprised and pleased to find that even though I'd been on my feet most of the day, I wasn't tired and felt great!  (of course that all caught up to me the next day, but that's okay!)

Sandi brought some DELICIOUS apple pie, 2 bags of yummy rolls, and cranberry sauce (all homemade).  I prepared the turkey (LOVE THE OVEN BAG!!!), mashed potatoes, fruit salad, and green bean casserole, and then I heated up some store-bought gravy and stuffing. 

After dinner we played some Apples to Apples and then oohed and aahed over pie for dessert!  We were so happy to have Howard and Sandi come over to make the day complete!

I did a very little bit of Black Friday shopping around midnight, and then Sandi helped us with an annual family photo shoot later in the morning.  That weekend we also had a "blast" (no pun intended) shooting off Wade's cool rocket kit that he got for his birthday!  

We also spent the weekend decorating the house for Christmas--I'll get pictures up later!  Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Pancake molds ROCK!

Our Thanksgiving week is off to a fun start.  Yesterday we went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  This was a big deal because it's the first PG-13 movie I'd taken the kids to--usually Jason and I preview them first.  I checked out the very helpful review at pluggedin.com and then called Uncle Logan for some informed opinions.   I'll be honest, I wanted to see the movie pretty badly myself, but probably not as badly as the kids wanted to see it!  Since we knew what to look for and when to cover our eyes (about 2-3 short scenes), we were prepared and had a really great time watching it. Will I make a habit of taking the kids to PG-13 movies at this age? Absolutely not. But sometimes exceptions can be made! :)

When we got home, there was a surprise package waiting for us from Grandma Deb, and the contents totally rocked!!! STAR WARS PANCAKE MOLDS! We tried them out this morning and had a blast. :)

Here are a few random pictures from the morning, taken by Wade and me. Enjoy!

A year later...

and this is still one of my all-time favorite Mormon Messages:




Happy Thanksgiving!

Recess humor

This week I helped out at the school book fair and really enjoyed that.  The other parents working there were so fun and had the best stories.  Somehow Twilight came up in conversation, and one of the moms shared a story about her son in second grade.  Her son didn't know anything about the whole Twilight phenomenon, but he agreed to play "Twilight" with some other kids at recess time.  One girl was Bella and this woman's son was playing Edward.  At one point he was told he needed to take off his shirt like Edward does in the movie, and he said,

"No way.  My mom wouldn't like it, and it sounds inappropriate to me." 

We laughed and laughed and laughed over that one!  I think we were all a little spooked, too, to find Twilight had made it to an elementary school recess game.  That's big time!

Family Favorite--Quick and Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

I thought I'd share a chicken noodle soup recipe that is E-A-S-Y and loved by every single person in our house.  It's super yummy and tastes like it's been simmering all day, even though it's ready to go in less than 20 minutes.  I got the original recipe on allrecipes.com, found HERE. 

Here's how I make it:

1 tablespoon butter or oil
1/2 cup chopped onion OR a scant 1/4 cup of dehydrated onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrots
7 cubes chicken bouillion
7 cups water
1 can (14.5 oz) vegetable broth
1 can of chicken (12.5 oz), drained  (sometimes I add two cans)
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups egg noodles (cook separately according to package directions, drain, and set aside)

In a large pot, cook celery, onion, and carrots in the butter until just tender. (If using dehydrated onion, just toss it in with the water--no need to rehydrate!)  Add bouillion cubes, water, vegetable broth, chicken, and spices.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15-20 minutes.  Just before serving, stir in the cooked egg noodles.  Enjoy!!!

"Love is spelled t-i-m-e"

We went to Wade's third football practice.  Wade and I have got a little system going, where he'll look up at me during practice after he's done something cool or had a turn in a drill, and I'll raise my arms in reply or give him a big thumbs up.  No words, no yelling cheers (like I do at his games!).  It's a fun little connection we have.  Well, tonight one of the other moms pulled up a chair next to me and we talked the entire 60 minutes.  It was a really fun hour of conversation and I enjoyed getting to know this woman.  It sure made the time go by quickly while I was freezing my buns off!  I'll be honest--I didn't watch the practice at all.

Afterwards Wade came up to me and said, "Mom, I need to talk to you."  I made him wait while I got some paperwork from the coach.  I asked him what he needed once we got back to the van, and he said this:

"Mom, every time I looked up at you [to do our signal thing], you had your head turned and you were talking to that lady."

At the time I gave some kind of explanation that I was getting to know a new friend like he was making friends on his team.  It was lame, but we moved on and that was it.  But here it is, almost midnight CA time, and I keep thinking about what Wade said and wondering what the little victories were that I missed tonight.  No, I'm not giving myself a guilt trip because I do my best, and, most importantly, my kids know that I love them and would do anything for them.  But I can always use a good reminder about what is most important.  Like President Uchtdorf's "love is spelled t-i-m-e,"  love is also moments of undivided attention.  It's that secret thumbs up and all the other little daily things that fill up Wade's happiness bucket, and my bucket, too!

Fondue, football, friends, and "finished!"

Friday night--many thanks to Howard and Sandi for having the kiddoes over while Jason and I went to our couples game night.  We had a GREAT time at the Williams' home.  I wish I'd taken a picture of the dinner spread--just picture two long tables decorated to the hilt with the "good plates" set out, several crockpots full of divine melted cheese and a healthy (meaning LARGE) menu of several different foods to dip in the cheese.  I think my favorite was the steak and chunks of bread.  Fondue night was a huge hit!  We played a Wii bowling tournament and train dominoes afterwards.

Saturday--Jason left early to go rapelling with the youth.  Wade had his team picture taken for flag football and then a game at 10.  Their team did SO MUCH BETTER than last week--it was a really fun game to watch!  I think his team lost by 10 points, but the improvement was the important thing.  My favorite part was when quarterback Wade helped in a big touchdown by catching the hiked ball and getting it where it needed to go.  Go, Patriots! :)  Note to some of the obnoxious parents of our team, though: please stop yelling at the ref because I'm tired of watching my son's team lose yardage!!!  I think the guy finally got the message after the team was moved back twice...

Here's a really POOR quality video--sorry, Dad!   At least it's proof that Wade did play!

That afternoon we picked up some lunch and went to the park with several other people to see the Whitlocks!  They drove down from Utah just to catch up--now THAT'S dedicated friendship!  It was great to see them again.

Most of the pictures I took didn't turn out well, but I liked this cute one of Rhiannon with Abby!

The afternoon was quiet, and then in the evening the kids went to Keagan and Kyler's house while Jason and I enjoyed a second weekend date--we got some dinner at Bernardino's (which was okay but not great food) and then sat through the training broadcast on the new Church handbook.  Fun surprise of the night was seeing one of Jason's best friends serve on a ward council "panel" during the broadcast.  TOO COOL! :)

Sunday--PRIMARY PROGRAM day.  We did it, and we did it well.  The kids LOVED the cake pops we handed out afterwards, too. :)  I've given myself a 2-day respite from all things Primary, but now it's time to jump in and learn the new handbook, get classes and the theme lined up for next year, and try to get through this hectic time of year with as much grace, patience, and joy as is humanly possible!

Be back in a little while...

This is how I've felt the last two days, only I haven't been on a treadmill or out scouring the stores (ha-ha) in town.  I've been sitting on my behind, looking for deals online, having the time of my life!  Too bad I can't burn any major calories doing that, though...

An admission and a discovery

 

This may sound a bit blasphemous, but I have never read the Work and the Glory books (and don't plan on reading them anytime soon).  I don't own any Glenn Beck books or David Archuleta albums.  I'm not quick to purchase art, books, or music by LDS artists, authors, or musicians.  I'm not a card-carrying member of Deseret Book. I'm not saying that I go out of my way to avoid them, I just, well, I'm just not DRAWN to them.  It's weird, I know, coming from a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  But I have discovered Mindy Gledhill this week, and I really dig her music!!!   Maybe there's hope for me after all.  My favorite song so far is "All About Your Heart" from her Anchor album.

Fun on Veteran's Day

Last night Keagan and Kyler stayed with us, from about 5:30pm to 11:30pm, while their parents were at a Marines birthday ball.  The kids had SO MUCH FUN!  We went to Wade's freezing cold football practice, picked up some pizzas, and then the kids entertained themselves the whole night.  I never had to step in and stop fights--there were none.  I never had to give them ideas for things to do--they were never bored.  I never had to yell--they were pretty quiet.  My favorite part of the evening was waking up from an accidental snooze in the recliner around 10pm and finding the kids scurrying around the house to find 3-D glasses so they could watch Spy Kids 3  (Jason was home, too--I never would have fallen asleep if he wasn't! :)).  We love these cute friends!

This morning Rhiannon and I had some fun shopping together.  I was getting depressed trying to look for modest, decent church dresses for her online, and I knew there weren't many choices in town.  So we stopped at Goodwill and found some cute stuff there!  I seriously dislike shopping for clothes, but Rhiannon made it fun for me.  We scored with some cute like-new dresses, silky pjs with the tags still on, and a cozy Gap sweater, for a grand total of $25.  The best deal was Rhiannon's, though--she spent $2.50 for this SUPER CUTE purse/wallet!  The good sport of the morning was Wade--I told him ahead of time that we were just looking for stuff for his sister, but he still wanted to come along.  He ended up finding a cozy chair outside the dressing room and read Harry Potter the whole time.  He never complained, but I'm pretty sure he'll opt to stay home with Dad next time!! :)

Dad treated us to China Lake Buffet for a family lunch, then we stopped by WalMart for a couple things, and finally picked up a nice office chair with Dad at Staples.  Guess what the name of the chair is.....the CUSHING chair!  I thought we should buy it for that reason alone--the bonus was the sale price. 

I'm thankful for veterans, past/present/future, who make days like this possible.  I forget how blessed and fortunate we are, but I am grateful for the freedoms we enjoy!!!

Cake pop crew

One reason why I love having a church calling is that I get instant friends to work and play with.  This morning our Primary presidency got together at my house and made mass amounts of cake pops (over 200!) to give to the Primary kids after the program this upcoming Sunday.  We had a total blast!  I'd described my failed cake pops experience at a previous meeting, but they suggested we try some different variations instead of the vanilla-vanilla-vanilla-vanilla one that I did. :)  I have to admit they were pretty darn tasty:

Strawberry cake with vanilla pudding (pie directions), dipped in semi-sweet chocolate

Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, dipped in semi-sweet chocolate (our favorite)

Party cake with rainbow chip frosting, dipped in semi-sweet chocolate

Chocolate cake with french vanilla pudding (pie directions), dipped in ??? (we ran out of chocolate chips...)

My friends Michelle (with her son), Kim, and Heather--wonderful ladies!
 I didn't mean to get Michelle with her eyes closed, but it looks like she's saying "Mmm,mmm, good" after eating a cake pop.

Messy but yummy!  I have 5 gallon-sized bags of cake pops in the refrigerator right now! :)

What DIDN'T we do today?

Yesterday was a back-to-back kind of day, but it was good.  Jason and I were up early before the kids, and I took a picture of this:

The first thought that came to mind was that little poem  "Red sky in the morning--sailors take warning,"

and the second thought was "WOW!!!  This sunrise is awesome!!!"

Once everyone was up, we helped Dad with a little Young Men service project cleaning up an older couple's yard.  We did what we could for an hour and a half, and then we raced home to get ready for the next activity--Wade's first flag football game!

                                    

Wade is the third one in from the right.  His team is the Patriots.  Wade did a great job listening to his coach--he's got a lot to learn, but he has a great attitude.  His team won the first touchdown, but lost the game 20-7. 

I am LOVING how low-key flag football is.  We've got 5 more practices and 5 more games on the same days each week, and there are no make-up games.  It's fun exercise and pretty inexpensive, too!!!  Oh, and there's been no mention of team moms! :)  His coach is very patient and upbeat, too.

After Wade's hour-long game, we ate a quick lunch at home and got ready for the NEXT activity--Rhiannon's first piano recital!  She missed the one in the spring, so this was her first experience with it.  The recital was fun and pretty quick.  We think RC did a terrific job playing "First Cha-Cha."  She was invited to dress up for it, so that's why she's wearing that Tex-Mex outfit. :)

Rhiannon loves her piano teacher, and so do we!  She is kind, patient, and always encouraging!

In the afternoon we had a little time to chill.  Rhiannon helped me run some errands at Staples and the grocery store--we had a good time talking, too.

To finish off the day, the kids and I went to a birthday party for our good friend Kyler.  His mom and dad put on a Harry Potter-themed party, and it was AWESOME!!!!

And then some more special visitors!

So we had a great visit with family over the weekend.  Sunday's first Primary program practice went fairly well, considering we spent half the practice in the chapel and then squished everyone back into the Primary room for a good song practice for almost the entire last hour!  On Monday morning I did my first sub job.  I got home around noon and there were two messages on voice mail from some friends who wanted to come by for a visit.  They're good friends from Virginia who were moving to Monterey, CA for a couple years.   Yes!, I said, come and stay the night with us! 



We had a great time catching up, laughing, and pigging out on tacos for dinner. :)  I loved how well the kids got along!  Now we have a great excuse for a Monterey trip, too!!! :)  Thanks for staying with us!!!

Halloween visitors!!!

We were so spoiled this past weekend!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to Uncle M, Aunt H, S, and T for coming and staying with us!!!  It was a short but very sweet couple of days.

Playing Wii, Nerf guns, masks, swords, and Batman cars were all the rage! :)  So was the cousin sleepover in Rhiannon's room.  I was quite impressed by Sam and Tyler's good imagination--they definitely taught their cousins a thing or two about how to have fun!

On Saturday we walked to the park--it was WINDY but fun to get out of the house for a little while, too!

Halloween rock stars!!!

Dragon, Home Slice, Maid Marian, and Ninja had a pretty good time at our tri-ward trunk or treat!  The parking lot there was PACKED!  My favorite thing there was the giant Darth Vader walking around (I think Sam liked that, too!).   We had to say goodbye after the trunk-or-treat, and it was weird coming home to a too-quiet house! :)

But here is my favorite picture from the weekend--Matt is reading Mo Willems' Knuffle Bunny Free to everyone (the new 3rd book in the series).  Having family in town is always such a sweet treat!  It's awesome to be together and share memories!  We are so grateful to them for coming up and CANNOT WAIT to be with them again in a few short weeks for Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

First sub experience

I survived my first subbing experience!  There were a lot of things that worked in my favor this morning:

1.  6+ kids were absent (day after Halloween).  And then two more left during the morning for various reasons.  There were less than 20 kids there!
2.  I knew the full-time teacher and enjoyed visiting with her and getting some personal input before the day started.  Her room was neat and organized, and she had excellent lesson plans, etc, ready to go for me.
3.  I was only there for 3 hours.
4.  Nobody cried.
5.  I found out that kids like to tell jokes.  My favorite was from one of the second graders:
"What did the deer write to his aunt?  Answer:  'Dear Deer'"  After that the kids kept wanting to tell me jokes.
6.  Kindness goes a long ways.  So does assuming the best of each child, instead of focusing just on the trouble kids.
7.  I got some hugs and some cute pictures from kids before I left.
8.  Read-aloud time was THE best.  All eyes were on the story 'Library Lion' that I borrowed from Wade's bookshelf.
9.  The kid that I was told to keep a watchful eye on was super sweet!
10.  Both Wade and Rhiannon were SUPER excited that their mom was a sub at their school!!!

Will I do it again?  Absolutely.  Do I need to work on some stuff?  Definitely.  I'm not sure how much actual learning went on! I handed out worksheets and some of it was pretty hard for the kids.  I should have done a mini-lesson or something, instead of just handing the papers out and then walking around the room (and answering the same questions 20+ times).  I let a lot of kids work together on papers, which could be a little too much help, especially when the 2nd graders offered to help the 1st graders. I did finally pull all the 2nd graders to the carpet (it was a combo class) and we worked on one of the math sheets together.  I was pretty lax during center time, too. 

What a difference from being a first-time full-time teacher, though!  Sure, I was sweating like a dog, but I do that all the time.  I felt relaxed all morning and really enjoyed myself.  Hurray!

I don't want to take over the blog with subbing stories, so the rest will go under "Adventures in Substitute Teaching"--there's a page link for it on the right of the blog. :)

Maid Marian and Home Slice

Let's give it up for the CA Cushing kids' 2010  Halloween costumes!  Here they are........



The Rapper/Gangster and Maid Marian

Rhiannon absolutely LOVES her costume!  She's been telling people she's either Maid Marian or a medieval princess.  Hopefully I'll get a picture of her friend JenAi with her--JenAi is going to be Robin Hood!

Home Slice or Word Up Wade!  His serious pose freaks me out a little bit! :) 
Quite the departure from store-bought character costumes in the past!

Happy Halloween--stay safe and have fun!

The power of a quiet day

Yesterday I was feeling a little off, like I might be coming down with something.  After the kids went to school, I did some cleaning while I felt up to it (mopping, laundry, porch sweeping) and then I took it easy.  The calendar was completely blank for the day (rare!) so I relaxed, drank a lot of fluids, had soup for lunch, and took a nap.  By the time I had to go pick up kids, I was feeling better and had enough energy to get us through the rest of the day (turns out there were things to do after all--took Wade to WalMart, helped Rhiannon finish a school project and took her to piano group lesson which we'd forgotten about, and made some 3-ingredient pumpkin cookies for our new neighbors!)  I'm thankful for quiet days that seem to come around right when I need them!  I'm back to normal today and don't feel sick at all!

We've got some fun things to look forward to this weekend:

--a visit from Uncle Matt, Aunt Heather, Sam, and Tyler!!!!!!!!

--Halloween fun on Saturday at a big trunk-or-treat activity!

--first Primary program practice (okay, maybe not so fun, but it'll be good to get through it)

And then on Monday I have my first sub assignment:  a 1st/2nd grade combination class from 9am to 12pm.  I'm looking forward to it and trying not to dwell on the fact that it will be the morning after Halloween!!! :) 

Make up my mind already!

I'm killing a few minutes before I go help an older sister in our ward with some packing.  I'm digging Brant and Chris's blog playlist and have it turned up loud.  It's awesome!

So Friday afternoon I wrapped up the substitute teaching process and registered with the phone system, etc.  I've been really up and down deciding on this, so much so that I've started to laugh at myself now.  I hesitantly got online to check for future jobs and then I was surprised and bummed when there were none, zippo.  I wondered if I needed to lift some of the limitations I'd placed on my assignments (for now I've requested calls from only the kids' school, grades 1-5) and then reminded myself that I wasn't trying this out to make life more hectic and stressful on my family! :)  Just to try something new and maybe make a few bucks! 

So the weekend passed by, with no phone calls.  Wasn't this what I'd wanted, something low-key that wasn't stressful?  Yes, but I was still anxious anyways.  At that point I was hoping I'd be able to at least get enough work to be able to pay off what I'd already put into it for fingerprinting, credential fees, and a TB test!

Then yesterday afternoon the phone rang with an automated message about my first job, a 2-hr stay in a second grade class at the kids' school.  Perfect!!!!!!!!!!  Then this morning at 7:45 the phone rang again, this time it was a real person asking if I could take a job today.  What time, I asked?  As soon as you can get there!, she said, at Las Flores!  I looked at myself, barely out of the shower, and at the kids, who were finishing up breakfast and didn't have to go to school for another hour or so...just as I was going to politely say that I was only taking jobs at my kids' school for now, she said, Oh, never mind, it just got picked up.  I thanked her for the phone call and patted myself on the back for making up my mind and making a choice!

Just call me Wishy Washy!  I have a feeling I'm really going to enjoy subbing, if I can just have a positive attitude, have fun, and remember that I'm the one making the choice!

Final recap on Wade's 7th birthday!

On Friday we had some friends over after school for an Iron Man 2 party.  I gave Wade some parameters this year for his guest list.  #1, he could invite 7 kids, and #2, those he invited had to be kids who were good friends and had nice party manners.  I was impressed by Wade's choices--and it made for a VERY smooth, fun party! 

We started out with a little background on Iron Man's nemesis Whiplash.  The games we played helped us be mentally and physically prepared to defeat Whiplash, as well as being able to work well in a team.  First, we went outside and did some circuit training--there were 8 stations, everything from jumping jacks to bicep curls to yoga moves to my personal favorite--boxing moves with Wade's Incredible Hulk hands. :)  We rotated every minute and stopped when each kid had tried each station.  The kids really enjoyed this, and so did I! 

Then we broke up into two groups.  My party "helpers" Rhiannon and her friend JenAi took one group outside for 3-legged races (teamwork!), and I tested the other group mentally with a "guess what's in the bag?" game.  Then we tested our hearing as a big group--one person was blindfolded and had to guess which party guest was saying "I Am Iron Man."  There were a lot of giggles in this game as the kids tried to disguise their voices as best they could. 

Then we defeated Whiplash with some water balloons (this is the third year Wade has asked to do this--it's turning into a birthday tradition)!  We finished up the party with cupcakes, present-opening, some free time, and an Iron Man cartoon on Netflix for those who were interested.  There was quite a bit of popcorn spread everywhere, but that was an easy clean-up with the vacuum!

The night wasn't over after the birthday party, though. After all the guests left, we went to another birthday party for a cute 1-year-old that we know, and THEN we came back home and watched Iron Man 2 "on Blu-Ray". It was nice to sit back and relax!

Party guests:  Matthew, Isabel, Kyler, Keagan, Jacob, Nick, and Halle,

with Rhiannon and JenAi as party assistants (they were very helpful!!!)

On Saturday Howard and Sandi came over and made the birthday celebrating complete.  We were grateful for their visit, especially since Sandi was  recuperating from some surgery!  It was great to catch up and hang out!

After that the kids and I threw on some Halloween costumes and went to the Okerlunds for another party.  Wendy had called me to see if I could come and help her by just being another adult body in the midst of everything!  Her 3 kids ran the show, and I helped a little bit here and there.

One present that has gotten a lot of use so far is the Lego Harry Potter board game from Grandma Deb and Grandpa Rod.  We put the game together first.  So far this weekend the kids have enjoyed using their imagination with it--it's very, very cool!

A happy thought among many

We've had a full weekend and finished it up with our stake conference meeting this morning.  I LOVED the talks and testimonies, especially the ones from our stake president and the visiting authority, Elder Nelson Cordova. (To give you an idea, he had ALL of the Primary kids come up impromptu and sing "I Am a Child of God."  That was a first for me.)  I'll post more about the talks later.  The other thought that has given me all kinds of happiness today is this:

9 more Sundays until we get to switch back to the morning schedule!!!!! 

I'm loving the peaceful, quiet afternoon today--time to relax, time to cook up goodies, time to play games, time to ponder.  Can't wait to get a whole year of it!

How's THAT for an intro?

So this morning we were having a "work party" in the front yard helping Jason muck out the ponds a bit.  Jason did the hard part while the rest of us just put the yucky pond goo and weeds in the trash can.  I should have filmed him and sent it in to that show Dirty Jobs!  Just imagine him with his pants rolled up, wearing sandals, standing in the water and pulling stuff out with his bare hands...yeah, he's our superhero! :)

Somehow the end of the world came up in conversation.  We've watched the Cusack movie 2012 a lot, and I think that's where the talk started.  The kids were joking around about how funny it would be when 2013 rolled around and the earth was still okay.  I made some comment about how we don't know the exact date when that will happen.  Wade froze, eyes opened wide, and said,

"You mean there's REALLY going to be an END OF THE WORLD?" 

He wasn't afraid, just surprised!  Why this didn't come up when we were watching the movie, I don't know.  (The movie got to a point where it was SO over the top that we started laughing at parts...) But it was a neat thing to give Wade a 1-minute run-down of the 10th Article of Faith and the Savior's Second Coming, about how we don't need to be afraid if we're prepared, while we were in our work clothes, in the front yard, deep in dirt.  I said we could talk about it more for a family home evening lesson, and Wade was pretty excited about that.  Score one for Mom, taking advantage of a very unique teaching moment! :)

One more thing to sing about

10/22/10:  RANGERS ADVANCE TO WORLD SERIES! Game 6--Texas 6, NY Yankees 1

Wade is SEVEN!

Personalize your own free scrapbook

Wade had a great 7th birthday!  He started the day out with birthday balloons on his bed and a message on the bathroom mirror from the "Birthday Fairy."  Donuts for breakfast.  4 birthday phone calls before he went to school.  A surprise visit from Mom at lunchtime.  Vampire teeth and pencils to hand out to his school class.  SUPER birthday presents.  Tacos for dinner.  And an Iron Man cake for dessert!  The rest of the night he played his new Lego Harry Potter Wii game with Rhiannon, and then we worked on putting the Lego Harry Potter board game together--yes, half the fun is creating the game, and the other fun is when you actually play it!  The kids were thrilled to watch a version of Hogwarts Castle come to life as they put the pieces together.  We've got more celebrating after school with a "friends" party, so I'll write about that later!  LOVE YA, WADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There and back again

Tomorrow is Wade's big day. He's been counting down since, well, since his last birthday! We've got a fun day planned: birthday donuts for breakfast, some "goodies" to hand out to his class at school, lots of gifts to open, and his requested dinner (tacos) and cake/ice cream in the evening. Then on Friday after school we'll have a small "friends" party with an Iron Man 2 theme.

It's been a weird week for me so far. Even though I've been driving across town, back and forth, over and over again to pick up supplies or check prices or whatever, I'm not lagging or exhausted like I feel I should be. I'm not complaining--it's nice for a change.

So far today, I've vacuumed, visited a friend, picked up paperwork to complete the sub process (almost there!); stopped by Dollar Tree, the thrift store, and WalMart for the third time this week (thankfully NOT normal), and gone to the bank twice to fix and then fix again a PIN for my new debit card. There's still quite a lot to do today, too: visiting teaching, pick up library books, mop, fill out sub paperwork, and make a cool birthday cake!!! Somewhere in there I'll make some dinner and find time to RELAX with the fam!

I heard angels

I heard angels in the kitchen tonight. I wanted to cook some chicken using the handy grill pan that Jason and I got for a wedding present. I love the grill pan, but I'm not a very intuitive cook and have never been able to cook something "just right" with it. I thought if I could cover the pan a little the chicken might cook more evenly and be juicier. So I grabbed the nearest lid I could find (which goes with the big wok pan we got from Grandma Deb), and.........cue the angels.....
the lid was a perfect fit. It took me more than 13 years to figure that out, but that's okay. I AM THRILLED! And, yes, the chicken was "just right." Hallelujah!

Score!

Dear donors to the local DART Thrift Store:

I wanted to express my sincere appreciation to you for donating your cast-offs.  You may not think the white, silky, 100% polyester peasant top or the va-va-voom, floor-length deep red gown were anything special.  You were wrong.  Today I found them and showed them to my daughter.  She tried them on together.  We purchased the top and dress for a whopping four dollars and seventy five cents. 

Now we are home.  I am walking on air because I hit the jackpot and don't have to panic about a costume idea change.  My daughter is walking on air because she feels like an absolute princess and CANNOT wait for Halloween weekend to hurry up and get here.  She can be whatever she wants to be in that costume, a medieval princess or Maid Marian or a queen or Little Red Riding Hood, or, heck, even a character from Sound of Music.

Keep donating!
Sincerely,
a grateful mom

ps.  If you have any cast-off gangster items, let me know.

Human after all

After a wonderful day in the temple yesterday, a very inspiring sacrament meeting, and 3 batches of cookies to hand out for bringing scriptures each week, I got to Primary and seemed to switch gears. 

I got cranky with some 12-year-old girls for sitting in the back of the chapel instead of with their class, and I refused to let them sit back there.
 
I got cranky with some older kids for running in the hallway and JUST ABOUT LOST it in front of them; thankfully I was able to get a grip and just raise my voice a little and make them go back and try it again, with a curt "Thank.You." when they did.  I seriously thought I was going to start crying in front of them.

I scared a talkative Sunbeam and said she'd have to come sit with me if she didn't stop talking.  She started to whimper.
 
I was annoyed that two teachers didn't show, with no calls or subs (thank goodness this is a rare thing!!!!!!!). 

I scared some CTR 6 girls and said they were going to be split up if they didn't stop talking.

I took a breath.  I pulled a lesson together in 5 minutes and taught the class who still needed a teacher.  I taught the lesson.  And I was humbled and appreciative to the 5 kids in my class who were ABSOLUTE DARLINGS.  A rough day ended up being great.  Thank heavens for good Primary kids! :)

Temple trip

We weren't planning on attending our stake's temple session yesterday.  But a friend changed our mind when she called late in the week to see if we'd like her daughter (a wonderful girl who's babysat for us before) to watch the kids for us so we could go.  Jason changed his flights so he could get back sooner from DC on Friday, and then we woke up early yesterday and rode down with the friend, her husband, and some older ladies from Lone Pine.  It was a wonderful, peaceful day--there was a huge turn-out from our stake, too.  We found out later that we had been an answer to this friend's prayers.  She'd been concerned about something, had prayed about what to do, and felt that she should give us a call.  I'm so glad we changed our plans and went to the temple!  We were gone for 10 hours, but the day flew by for me, being able to enjoy such good company and knowing that the kids were having a great time, too.

Girls, 61; Boys, 24

Rhiannon's 5th grade class had a visit from Mr. Morgan, the school counselor today.  He's great about coming in regularly.  R told me they were playing this game, and the girls CREAMED the boys, so much so that her friend Chase, one of the boys, said, "We got murdered!"  Rhiannon thought this was so funny!

I thought it was funny when I found out what they were answering questions about.  Can you guess?  The topic was all about feelings! 

That girl's got SPIRIT

This morning I spent two hours going to Super Star assemblies at the kids' school.  These happen regularly and they're a lot of fun.  Usually my hands hurt afterwards from clapping so long!  Today I sat next to my friend Kathyrn.  This woman is a recipe of cheerleader and team mom mixed with high doses of caffeine.  She is wonderful, funny, and energetic.  When I first noticed her at last year's assemblies, I was a little embarrassed for her.  She was LOUD.  The rest of us parents clapped politely, but she was woo-hooing and shouting kids' names with joy through the WHOLE thing.  I've now learned that she's like that all the time, and I appreciate how her good vibes roll off to me.  I was woo-hooing and shouting right along with her today, and it felt good.  Thanks, Kathryn, for making a long couple of hours feel very, very short. :)

Well, now I know

A couple weeks ago our Primary presidency was discussing ideas for Christmas gifts/thank-yous for the adults serving with us.  One friend suggested making cake pops--she didn't know what they were exactly but had heard about them and a blog called bakerella.com.  After the meeting I got online to see what she was talking about and instantly fell in love with the idea of cake on a stick.  I even put the blog author's new cake pops book on my wish list.

Slowly I rounded up supplies--candy melts, cake mix, and frosting.  I couldn't find lollipop sticks so I figured craft sticks would be okay.  And then today, with a quiet morning ahead of me and a bake sale on Friday to get ready for, I took the plunge and tried to make them.

 



I'll admit that I probably did a few things wrong--the cake balls were too big and the candy melts weren't the recommended brand (and very thick).  But the root of the problem was entirely out of my control.  No offense to Bakerella and her super cute ideas, but the end result, a concentrated mixture of cake/frosting/candy melts/sprinkles was NASTY. Totally gross, even in small doses.  I can't believe I'm saying that because I'm a person who thinks dessert/sugar/sweet stuff is its own must-have-daily food group.  But these cake pops made me sick.  Enough to seriously consider mending my unhealthy eating habits!   Hopefully our Primary teachers will be okay with a candy cane instead! :)



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