No such thing as coincidence

So....turns out I didn't need to sub this week after all.  The teacher, who's a friend of mine, changed plans and wasn't going to be gone after all.  No biggie!  That left me with some extra time on my hands today that I desperately needed so I could work on decorating ideas for the Cub Scout

dinner this Thursday!

Another interesting thing:  The secretary at Wade's school in charge of sub jobs was trying to get me set up for another job later in February and told me I was blocked for some reason.  She did a little digging for me and helped update my profile on the new substitute system.  I'm sure glad she did--it had me listed as only being able to teach 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders--WEIRD!

Making the most of Monday

Last night we were joking about my lack of sub jobs lately.  Since we got the dog back in December, I've subbed once.  Again, I'm not complaining because the low-key nature of substituting REALLY appeals to me!  However, a very tiny part of me hoped that my consistent stream of office referrals hadn't labeled me one of "those" subs.  I'm definitely not shy about asking for help with a student if I've tried everything I know and the kid is still disruptive.  The last few times I've subbed, I've sent a kid packing.  (A scary incident earlier in the school year helped me get over the embarrassment of calling the office FAST.)

So today I got a call to sub for a teacher the rest of the week.  I said I was happy to, except for Thursday because I had appointments and such.  Woo-hoo!

Thankfully that call came in the morning--it gave me the oomph I needed so that I didn't squander the day away.  Instead I...

--washed/dried a small mountain of laundry
--took Oscar to the vet for shots
--cleaned up the kitchen, emptied the dishwasher
--got groceries
--vacuumed
--ran some errands
--made some arrangements for the Blue & Gold banquet on Thursday
--took Oscar for a nice long walk

I'm tired, but I feel much better about subbing for 18 hours this week!  Here's hoping for three wonderful, referral-free days! :)

Thankful for good neighbors

Saturday will be a busy day, at least in the morning:
*Baseball evaluations for Wade at 8am
*Scouting for Food for Wade whenever baseball is finished
*Rhiannon gets to go to a friend's house who's throwing a "Candy Shoppe Party" just for fun

At 11 our family will pay our respects and attend services for a good neighbor who passed away last week, Don Cooper.  Anyone who remembers our other Randall Street neighborhood might remember Don and Thelma Cooper who lived right across the street.   Over the last few years Don's health had drastically gone downhill, so I'm glad that his suffering is over.  Thelma's Christmas letter was so sad, detailing all the back-and-forth hospital and doctor visits--I'm sure it's been tough on her, too.  She's in her 80s and still stays busy, busy, busy taking care of her extended family. 

Thinking of the Coopers reminds me of the many kindnesses they showed to us--constant goodies for the kids, looking out for us, letting us borrow ladders, and keeping in touch while we were back east, just to name a few. 

We've been very blessed with good neighbors most of the places we've lived.  I definitely need to let our neighbors here know how much I appreciate them.  The Speredelozzis who have the kids over for hours of fun, Mr. Nelson who quietly puts away our trashcans if I haven't gotten to them yet, for Nancy who picks up forgotten packages when we're out of town, or Mrs. George next door, in her 90s and very ill, who still went out of her way to get us a Christmas gift.  I could go on and on.  I'm just very thankful for them all today and hope I'll take opportunities to help them, too!

Hearts of the children

An example of a census record

Last night Rhiannon and I went to the stake's family history center for an Activity Day meeting.  Sister Moran gave a short presentation and then they turned the girls loose on the computers.  Rhiannon and I looked up Robert Sheen, 6 generations back, and Veda Jensen, who we thought was Great-Grandpa Rod's mom, after studying the pedigree charts we brought with us. 

We were able to bring up census records that showed Veda at age 4 and Robert as a young man.  It was SWEET!  We should have printed those out but didn't--it'll be an excuse to go back to the family history center very soon! 

It was fun to see Rhiannon getting around the Family Search website just as easy as you please.  And I learned not to take these special centers for granted--they have access to MANY websites/records/images for free.  For example, we came home and I tried looking up the census images again, but I'd get a message directing me to another site where you'd have to pay for access to the image.  Not so at the family history center.

Sister Todd was another lady there helping us--she lives in our stake but serves a family history center mission by answering questions on the phone.  She said, "I spend 4+hours a day talking people through their computer problems!"  What a sweetheart--she was very helpful and took time to rig up the microfilm machine for us, just for fun.  She reminded us of Elder Bednar's latest General Conference message...


Hearts of the Children

New Youth and Family History website

Errand buddy

Today was a big day for Oscar.  He dropped kids off at school AND went to the car wash place. 


I guess the excitement was a little too much for him because when we got home he threw himself down in the middle of the tile floor and went to sleep!

I learned some things, too:

1.  As long as I give Oscar lots of time outside before we get in the van, he will likely be accident-free.  He did GREAT today.

2.  Oscar likes to put his front paws on the console next to me most of the time I'm driving.  So EVERYONE can see that I've got a dog in the van with me.

3.  Oscar makes people smile.

4.  The only time Oscar barked and whined was right after I dropped off Wade and our friend Halle at school.  He was very bummed that he couldn't go with them and was stuck with me.  Thankfully for me he snapped out of it pretty quick.

5.  Wade and Halle REALLY like having Oscar along for the ride.

6.  I can still drive well AND have a dog right next to me.  That's nice!

While we wait for the next season of Psych...

White Collar on USA Network.

This show is fun, smart, and endearing.  The kids and I have been watching the past two seasons on Netflix, and it is GREAT!

I avoided it for a while because one of the main characters, Neal, played by Matt Bomer, is almost too good-looking, if there is such a thing.  (Stop laughing at me, please!)  Thankfully the show is more clever than "swoon."  We LOVE it!

An accomplishment

So I finally got my desk cleaned off yesterday. 

This included putting away leftover Christmas items, tape, clothespins, a broken CD player, trash, lots of markers/pens/pencils, envelopes, gospel art pictures, a clothes hanger, books, my big Christmas organization binder, one of my new hats, a new bottle of shampoo, and a PILE of papers, photos, receipts, and miscellaneous other items. 

It was bad.  I've honestly been avoiding it for weeks.

I made a big pile, sorted it out, and got everything put away in its place.  I was most pleased with my "to deliver" bag, full of stuff that needed to be dropped off, returned, or turned in.  I filled that up, too, and put it in the van, ready to go.  GENIUS. 

After that I cleaned out my Primary binder and got it updated.  This was HUGE.

That night I went to WalMart and spent a whopping $7.50 for a hanging file folder box.  I moved some folders to it to make space in the one crowded drawer where I put everything else.  Now, instead of using up all my spare time avoiding my desk, I can take a minute or two here and there to organize the items in my Pictures Folder, my Wade Folder, or my Rhiannon Folder. 

It's a start in the right direction to help me get back to my good ol' habits of being on time, being organized, and overall being on top of things. :)

At least until my desk needs its next thorough cleaning!


Here are some links/ideas I turn to when I need motivated:

Real Simple
Fly Lady
Clean Mama
Hoarders, if I REALLY need a kick in the pants.

Happy Organizing!

Discussions during carpooling

At 6:45am every school day, we're off and running to pick up our friend JenAi and take her and Rhiannon to middle school.  Between the 4 of us (Wade's along for the ride, too) we manage to have some pretty interesting discussions.  We've discussed sunrises, Coldplay songs, school projects, dreams we had the night before, likes and dislikes, etc.

Today's discussion was a little different.  I don't know WHO brought it up--probably Wade, because he commented on this last night...

The End of The World.

We talked about a few of these ideas:  Signs of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  We remembered that anyone who says they know the exact date is fooling themselves, but it IS important to be aware of what's going on in the world.  I added that personally I thought society had to get a lot worse, even though it was pretty bad already.

It was a good topic, and I don't think any of us came away from the discussion freaked out, just thoughtful!

The Primary scripture chain

In 2011 we kept up a scripture chain that the Primary kids added to each week. 

One chain equaled one kid's weekly scripture reading.  We counted every single Sunday in 2011.  A few times during the year we draped the chain in the church hallways--you can imagine how much the kids enjoyed that!

I loved the IDEA of the scripture chain and can attest that the kids thought it was awesome, but I'll admit that as soon as the picture was taken and the kids went back to Primary, I snuck the whole chain out to the trashcan in the parking lot! :)  I was honestly relieved that this year's theme, Choose the Right, didn't include some massive project like the chain--we need a little break. :)

We have the greatest group of Primary kids--they are fun, sweet, and funny!

That's a first

We had a great time last night finishing up Jason's birthday celebrations.  We had Howard and Sandi over for a huge dinner of baked salmon, wild rice, salad, pineapple, asparagus, and some yummy bread that Sandi made.  Then we kicked back to watch Jason open a few gifts with the 49ers/Giants game in the background.

For the first time in our marriage, I did not make Jason a birthday cake.

He didn't want one.

And I was okay with that...

because it's pretty cool (and a lot easier) to put a candle in an apple instead! :)

We had some delish ice cream sandwiches, too, so you don't have to worry about us!

Jason, Wade, and the Boy Scouts

Jason celebrated his 37th birthday by going on a camping trip with Wade and 19 young men in Death Valley!  They had a fantastic time, as you can see from these amazing pictures that Jason shared...

I. LOVE. THIS. PICTURE.

Can you see the rainbow?

 One of the leaders took this great shot of a visiting fox...he was pretty bold.

Jason said the young men were really great and friendly with Wade--he was obviously in heaven.  Wade was super proud of himself for eating not one but TWO hamburgers for dinner and for beating Dad at Superman Uno in their tent.  And I was very glad to hear that the group sang "Happy Birthday" to Jason and that one of the boys gave him a bag of cookies that his mom had made.  The group had amazing weather right up until Saturday morning when they got to the top of the sand dunes to ride boards down them (the main point of the trip).  All of a sudden this huge wind whipped up a sandstorm--they all tried to go down a time or two and then they hightailed it out of there.

Back here in Ridgecrest we'd had terrible wind/rain since Friday night, so I was praying for the boys all night long.  I was very happy to hear that MOST of the trip had been great! 

 

Write it down

On Saturday I went to a memorial service for Matthew McFarland.  I didn't really know him but I had met him once at church.  He died last month of a sudden heart attack, at age 30, just 2 weeks after his first child was born.  I went to the service to show my respect for his sweet wife Chelsey and their baby girl Avril.

Matt's sister gave the eulogy and did a wonderful job.  At the end she shared a quote from Matt's journals, how he "lived for the present and the future and not for the past."  The rest of the service was very touching, but I kept thinking about Matt writing in his journal.  I was so thankful that Matt's full but short life had been captured through journals, pictures, and the stories of his family members so that his daughter will still be able to know him.

I wrote in my paper journal only 3 times last year but posted on this blog 105 times. Bottom line, I could do better, but at least I've written/typed something!  I'm looking forward to keeping up the blog and publishing another blog book--it WILL happen this year. :)

A pile of notebooks

Tonight Wade asked for a new notebook that he could use for writing down his own Beyblade stories.  (For all about the Beyblade phenomenon, see Beyblades...) 

I refused--"Wade, go through that huge stack of notebooks on your desk shelf.  There has GOT to be one in there you can use.  Go get the pile and I'll help you look."

A few minutes later he came down with a huge stack of spiral notebooks--there had to be close to 15.  I started opening them up and was surprised to find that they were ALL well-used and well-loved.  Turns out that Wade is a boy after my own heart.  His notebooks were filled with:

Lists
Journaling
Doodles
Shapes
Pictures and cartoons
Pictures cut and pasted in

Enough of the pages were filled for me to conclude that it would be okay for him to get a new notebook--only to be used for writing, though.  I told him that if he wanted to do anything else, he could use up the empty pages in the other notebooks!


Random:

Rhiannon and I had a wonderful time last night.  We saw Sherlock Holmes at the theater, got a pizza, talked and laughed and talked and laughed some more, and watched Bones on Netflix.  We went to bed at a decent time because we had to get up early and go help clean the church this morning.

The boys had a FANTASTIC time in Death Valley--more on that later! 

Rhiannon has a 4.0 GPA so far in sixth grade.

We've had horrible wind and a bit of rain today.   Rhiannon loved the down time--she said she's read for 4+ hours today (and counting).  But the wind freaks her out. 


We're finishing up Jason's birthday with a Sunday dinner tomorrow--excited to have Howard and Sandi come join us.

I love Stake Conference weekends!


The End

Jason is 37!

Our Superman is the ripe old age of 37 today!  We were discussing plans for his birthday dinner (that we'll postpone until Sunday...more on that in a minute).  Jason decided to pass on a birthday cake this year "because he might be tempted to eat it" so I'll probably try something different and stick a candle in one of his favorites, the Granny Smith apple!  Maybe he'll let me throw in some "healthy" ice cream, too. :) 

He has good reasons for trying to get in better shape, and one of the biggest motivators right now is the Ragnar Race he'll participate in on April 20-21.  Learn more about this pretty awesome race here:  RAGNAR RACE   And if that wasn't enough, he's going to climb Mount Whitney with the Boy Scouts in August!

I really appreciate his example, his persistence, and the fact that his change in "diet" hasn't been anything weird or difficult.  He's eating more fruit, LOTS more salads, whole grains, and lean proteins, and he's balancing that with running consistently.

Back to his special day, though, Jason is going to "celebrate" it by camping with the Scouts in Death Valley tonight.   They're going to take a bunch of boards and have fun riding down these:

The best part is that Wade gets to come, too.  I dropped Wade off at school this morning and he said the next 6 hours of school were going to be the longest of his life--he can't WAIT to hang out with his dad and the older boys. Rhiannon and I are going to help Dad celebrate his birthday by going to a movie and enjoying some girl time! :)

I know that no one is perfect, but Jason sure comes close in my book.  He's a dedicated, fun dad.  He knows how to work hard and play hard.  He keeps life interesting--just when I think I've got him figured out, he surprises me!  He's dependable.  And he takes very, very, very, good care of his family.  Happy Birthday to the best hubby a girl could ask for!

Cushing Family 2012 Goals

Family Goals for the year:
Go camping 2 times
Utah Spring Break
Texas Christmas
Use Universal Studios annual pass at least once
Family scripture study at least 6 times a week

Jason's Goals:
Run Ragnar race in April
High Adventure--climb Mt Whitney
Workout 3 times a week
Help Wade with Cub Scouts

Verity's Goals:
Volume 2 Blog Book
Complete Feeling Great in 8 program at least once
Start and finish Book of Mormon
More cooking lessons for kids
Get family to the dentist more
More date nights with J

Rhiannon's Goals:
Finish Faith in God program
Tennis in the summer
Try out badminton if class is offered
Join Concert Band
Read Book of Mormon again
Get good grades in 6th grade

Wade's Goals:
Take piano lessons
Baseball in spring
Basketball camp in summer
Tackle or flag football in fall
Keep riding bike; learn how to skateboard
Go to golf range with Dad at least 6 times
Read more

Oscar:
Learn to roll over
Go on family camping trip

Toby:
Get out in the sun more

You're not tired of hearing about the dog, are you?

Oscar's Favorite Things, in no particular order:

Jason

Rhiannon

Wade

Verity

Cuddling with Jason in the morning before he goes to work

Taking a nap with Rhiannon

Getting hugs and kisses from Wade

Sneakily tugging on blankets when he thinks we're not watching

Basking in the sun outside

Sitting on Rhiannon's couch pillow when she's sitting on the floor watching TV

Playing Doggy in the Middle when Mom and Wade play catch outside

Trying to catch Mom's feather duster when she's trying so hard to dust the miscellaneous dog hairs away!

The vacuum and the swiffer--but as soon as he goes for the electric cord, he loses the privilege to roam free and follow them!

Little pieces of Rhiannon's cheesestick, when she'll share--as far as I know, that's the only "people food" we let him eat

His doggie treats!!!  When he sees us going for the box, he'll immediately sit and then "down."  We don't have to say anything!  Looks like we need to start working on some more "tricks" so he can earn more "treats!"

Curling up in various "favorite" spots for a good nap, especially next to the fireplace and right under my feet when I'm doing dishes at the sink

Absolute favorite toy--heavy empty plastic containers, like juice bottles.  He is positively JOYFUL when we throw some out in the yard for him to run after!

THE DISHWASHER!  Okay, I guess he does get a few tiny scraps of human food when we're loading up dirty dishes.  He is SO SAD when I put him in his ex-pen and don't let him "help" load the dishes!

Running up the stairs!  We rarely let him upstairs and there have been a few times over the weekend when we've forgotten to close the French doors to the kitchen--he'll bust out and climb the stairs like it's the best thing since dishwasher leftovers!  Yesterday he managed to clear 3 or 4 stairs at a time.  Good cardio, right?

People!




Favorite items that we won't let him have, or occasionally have to remove from his mouth:

SOCKS!

Dirty washcloths or hand towels

Any tiny item of trash that's accidentally left on the ground, outside or inside; we're getting a lot better at cleaning up after ourselves!

Darts from Jason and Wade's Nerf guns

The mat outside the porch door--it was on its way to the trash can after he peed on it, but then he sealed its death when he started tearing the edges off of it.  I consider us VERY LUCKY that he hasn't felt inclined to do that indoors too much!



Things Oscar tolerates well but obviously aren't his favorite things:

Baths

The blow dryer

Being brushed

Going to the vet

Walks--he gets really stubborn initially, but a few treats and persistence from the dog walker, and we're off!


We're crossing our fingers...

It has been several days since Oscar had a potty accident in the house, even overnight.  What a good puppy!

Report on 2011 goals

Here's how we did in 2011...

Family:
2 family reunions in July
Disneyland
Family camping trip
Family scripture study every night  (we do okay but miss here and there consistently, so I didn't feel like I could check that one off)


Dad:
Work out 3 times a week
Lose 20 pounds by July  (I think he did this, but I'm not sure--will have to check)
Run in at least one 5K race (Did 10K in February!)


Mom:
Get piano tuned (Finally had it checked in February!)
Lose 10 pounds by July  (um, instead I broke my foot and gained weight)
Make Volume 2 blog book  (I've been working on it but it's not finished)
Read scriptures every day  (nope, hit or miss)


Rhiannon:
Work on Faith in God book
Limit gum chewing  (kind of tough, since we ALL like to chew gum)
Continue to work on posture
Tennis lessons in the summer
Flag football in the fall  (she had zero interest in doing this, maybe because she might be the only girl on her team?)


Wade:
Prepare for baptism
Baseball in the spring
Flag football in the fall
Practice golf  (he did go out in the backyard a handful of times and swing a club around)
Take piano lessons  (not yet, but if he really wants to, I think we could do it)


We'll set some 2012 goals tonight during family home evening--I wonder what they'll be!

Currently...

A cute idea from the personal history class I attended this week...

Currently I am...

listening: to absolute silence except for the humming of the computer and the refrigerator and the clanging of the dishwasher (I was lazy and didn't load it last night).  Family is asleep and dog has settled down.  It's 7:15am on Sunday morning.  (I am loving the Coldplay Mylo Xyloto album lately, though).

eating:  again, nothing yet, but I plan on eating a banana very soon.  I also have a weakness for fresh guacamole, not for breakfast, but just for fun.

drinking:  WATER, all the time, and lots of it.  There aren't too many things that taste as good as water does to me.  I know that's weird because water doesn't really have a "taste."

wearing:  the same thing I wore all day yesterday and slept in last night--I guess I was tired!  I'm wearing gray pants, and a layering combo of a long sleeved light blue shirt underneath a striped t-shirt.

feeling:  pretty great.  This time last week I was STRESSING about the busy Sunday ahead--today is much calmer.

weather:  COLD and clear.  Weather.com says it's 23 degrees but feels like 17.  The great thing is that it'll warm up to close to 70 degrees today--gotta love Ridgecrest.

wanting:  to curl up with the January Ensign.  Sundays are good for that, especially when everyone else is still asleep.

needing:  to brush my teeth, finish up some projects, scrub this house from top to bottom, clean off my desk, call someone I've been meaning to call all week, work on blog book, help kids with Faith in God and Cub Scouts, exercise, eat less, etc.  There are always things that I NEED to do.

thinking:  that I am very blessed to have the family that I have, both my little one here and extended scattered everywhere.  Also grateful for my health, for the dog, and for kind friends.  Thinking that I need to work on being a better friend.  Also thinking and wondering why turning 30 wasn't a big deal but being only 4 years away from 40 sounds pretty bad.

enjoying:  a wonderful, quiet weekend with the fam.  Also enjoying a show called White Collar  (currently watcing Season 1 with the kids on Netflix.)  And Person of Interest and the new season of Downton Abbey.  I also LOVE taking Oscar for a walk when he's not being stubborn--it's fun to do and just makes me feel alive and happy.

Birthday fun + Oscar at 3 1/2 months



I LOVED my new sleeping bag and thoroughly enjoyed the Baskin Robbins ice cream cake--yummmmmmmy!

Poor, lonely Oscar--he doesn't look like he's getting enough love, does he? :)

Noise putty

As I'm typing this, Wade is having a good ol' time making disgusting noises with his "noise putty."  All kinds of adjectives come to mind--oh the joys of being a boy!

Wade's report:  "My week was (insert sound effect with noise putty) okay!  Mom took my Nintendo DS away** (which I really like and play with ALL THE TIME) just because my AR test percentage was a little bit below 85%.   I have to raise my percentage to 90% to get it back, and then I'm going to play my new DS game called Iron Man which is rated E 10+.  Hee-hee-hee-hee, and I'm only 8.  At Cub Scouts on Thursday I totally hurt my back trying to do a front roll or somersault.  Nobody laughed, which was cool, boo-yah. (insert noise putty sound effect).  Today we're going to go get some new shoes because my old ones are falling apart, and I might get another Nerf Gun called the Nite Finder (I still have Christmas money left)."




**Mom's note:  I'm doing an experiment to see if Wade's test scores will improve if he spends less time glued to his DS.   We're also going to read aloud more at home, besides just family scripture study.   It's not a major cause for concern, but his teacher and I both know he can do better with those darn comprehension/memory tests. :)  Any other ideas would be appreciated--the L-A-S-T thing I want to do is fight with Wade over reading, ya know?  This is one of the few issues I have with the normally fantastic Accelerated Reader program--I've seen it make a world of difference for those kids who are struggling with reading, but I've also seen it drain every last bit of joy out of advanced readers (which I'm worried about for Wade).  I should also mention that he's REALLY good at math--we just need to find the right balance and definitely make reading fun at home, too.  Sorry for the soapbox rant...




Rhiannon's report:  "This week was tiring--I had finals on Thursday and Friday.  My PE final was ultra hard and apparently I got a D for running a mile and a half in 11 minutes and 50 seconds.  Can you believe that?  Mom and Dad were okay with my effort--we'll just see how it affects my final grade.  My band teacher said we're now Intermediate Band instead of beginners, :), and we're working on this REALLY cool train song for the concert in March.  I ordered some cool feather extensions for my hair, which I love (they're THE THING at my school). lolz (Yes! Mom went to the bathroom.....I shall now take over blog post*maniacal laugh: D*) Oscar and me had a nice nap together yesterday. I was spazzed out on the floor, and he decided to come and join me. It was pretty cute. (Oscar snores too: )
So, yeah, on finals, I'm pretty sure I did pretty well, except... after PE finals, my brain wasn't working. I'm kind've worried about English, I mean I tried my best.....(did I mention none of the kids in my period could walk in a straight line after PE?) Mom's back.........ta-ta for now.**





**Mom's note:  I'm so proud of Rhiannon for finishing up her science fair project, too--she worked really hard on it and turned it in on Wednesday.  We were ALL ready for a relaxing weekend after "interviewing" 18 dogs for her project last Friday and Saturday!  She was also a big help to me on Thursday--I subbed in Wade's class and Rhiannon watched Oscar for 3 hours while I was gone (she had a minimum day schedule and got home early). 





This week I attended a Relief Society meeting focused on capturing our family and personal histories. It was very inspiring. The gals who presented did a great job and had a TON of information. Basically, there's no wrong way to do it, as long as you're doing something!!! I plan on using some of their cute blog ideas/lists as soon as I can.  In other news, I feel like time is speeding up on me--this week was SO FAST!

Jason is shooting for a 5-mile run this morning--he's doing so great with all of the exercise and healthy eating.  I appreciate his example!  On Thursday night the young men he works with at church came over to play video games--I think they all had a pretty good time!  He'll have some work travel next week and then when he gets home he'll head off to Death Valley for a Scout campout--I guess that's one fun way to celebrate a birthday!

Feel-good story for the week

I will begin this post by saying that I do NOT have a crush on Tim Tebow.  I'm so over football player crushes. :)  But I sure appreciate Tim's example...

Read THIS to learn more:

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7455943/believing-tim-tebow

36 was a good one...

I love birthdays in all shapes and sizes.  I love quiet birthdays, rainy-day birthdays, busy birthdays, lonely birthdays, why-did-my-birthday-have-to-be-on-a-Sunday birthdays, etc. 

Today was a feel-like-the-whole-world-is-celebrating-with-you birthday.  Put simply, I felt loved all day long. 

Thank you for the phone calls, the emails, the songs, the messages on Facebook.  Thank you for the flowers.  Thank you for the Subway sandwiches and the Baskin Robbins ice cream cake.  Thank you for the school craft project and the piano music.  Thank you for the cards, the cookies, and the chocolate-covered donut.  Thank you for the doorbell rings, the hugs, and the well-wishes.  Thank you for the birthday money for "fun on Kindle" or "whatever your heart desires."  Thank you for lunch at that terrific Mexican place, and thank you to all the others who wanted to take me out to lunch or ice cream but someone beat them to the punch.  Thank you for the new cozy sleeping bag that I've been wanting for a very, very long time but stopped mentioning because other things were more important.  I'm even thankful to the dog for making me laugh (at him, and at myself.)

It was a perfect birthday!

WAKE-UP call

Saturday was much better after my cranky-pants Friday!  Rhiannon and I, with Wade along for support, tested 18 dogs Friday and Saturday for her science fair project.  It was a lot of fun--she was doing doggy IQ tests to see if younger or older dogs were smarter.  She found out that age didn't matter too much--the results were all random.

We all got a major wake-up call yesterday, too.  I was sleeping on the couch, Jason was out back working.  I woke up from a nap on the couch for a second and told Wade to let Oscar out back for a potty break.  When I got up Rhiannon asked, "Where's Oscar?"  The gate on the side of the house was open, and we thought Oscar had escaped. 

It was a HORRIBLE feeling.

I ran across to the neighbor to ask if he'd seen Oscar, and then just when Jason and I were ready to hop in cars and canvas the neighborhood, I saw Oscar in the garage.  He'd probably wandered in there and been snooping around the whole time.  Boy, were we all shook up!  It was everyone's fault--we talked about how we all needed to be careful and watchful, especially when we sent Oscar out into the backyard.  NOT an experience we want to repeat.

In other news, today is a VERY busy Sunday:

FAST Sunday

ward council for Jason and me

Sharing Time lesson for me in Primary

troop committee meeting for Jason after church

Linger Longer ward activity right after church (we're going to break our fast with everyone over a soup-and-rolls-dinner)

Baptism preview for me, and Rhiannon is going to help watch kids at it, too


Tomorrow I'll celebrate my birthday by taking Oscar to the vet and trying to start the Feeling Great in 8 program again!

http://fgi8.blogspot.com

If anyone wants to join me who hasn't already gotten an invite, just let me know! :)

I am not getting paid to put up with YOU

It's been an interesting morning.  Oscar started barking at 4:50am, about 45 minutes earlier than usual.  I quietly let him out, he went potty, and then I went back to bed for an hour.  Weird, but life goes on.

Then I went to Wade's school to take my "traffic cop" turn which I normally try to do on Fridays.
 Another mom asked for help crossing kids at the school when her son almost got ran over.  Just so we're clear, this is a total volunteer effort--nobody gets paid to manage the traffic and cross the kids.  I was happy to help and had taken a turn several times.  Well, this morning was CRAPPY.  It was a really, really bad day--I think I needed two more people to help handle the increased number of cars and the RUDE adults I had to deal with.  It all went downhill when I asked this older lady to please let her kid out when there was a long line of cars waiting, and she said she'd do that when she felt like it.  I could not believe it--after that things got worse and it was all I could do to just get kids across.  I cried in the office afterwards--I'm not eager to do the traffic cop thing again!  I bawled about it on Facebook and really appreciated one friend's comment to keep "killin' them with kindness."  Either that or just wear a t-shirt that says,

"I am NOT getting PAID to deal with YOU!"

or

!!!

In other news, we had a busy, fun night last night.  Wade had pack meeting and Rhiannon had New Beginnings--both programs were great!

For Grandma Deb

With Rhiannon's help, I set out to find the "cutest winter hat" I could find--at the very least it had to be a hat that didn't make me look like a 10-year-old boy. I giggled when I saw this one, but then I tried it on and it was JUST RIGHT--cozy, warm, and cute, cute, cute. I may be turning 36 next week, but I'm totally okay with this hat!   The fact that I look like a 10-year-old GIRL in it doesn't seem to bother me, ha-ha!

I like to wear it in the mornings when I take Oscar for a walk--today it was about 35 degrees outside, so the hat was much appreciated.  Some old friends walked by and we had a good laugh about my hat--I was wearing black from head to toe except for this neon thing on my  head--my friends called it the "camoflauge hat!" 

Wow.  This was the only picture I took the entire 2011 Christmas weekend. 

Thank goodness it's a good one! :)

Parts

Last night I went to bed at 8 and found myself dragging this morning, too.  After I took Oscar for a walk and did laundry/housecleaning, I took a little cat nap and thankfully found my second wind this afternoon. 

I went to Wade's classroom and worked with 4 different students.   Three boys read stories to me and then I "quizzed" them on what they read before they took Accelerated Reader tests on the books.   I especially enjoyed working with this one kid who'd chosen Tedd Arnold's book Parts. I guess I was in the mood for that one because we laughed and laughed through it!  Then I helped a girl with counting money.   

The kids in Wade's class make me feel like a million bucks:

Kids:  "Mrs. Cushing, when are you subbing in our class next?"
Me:  "Next week on Thursday."
Kids:  "YAY!!!!  YAY!!!!"

If they're faking the enthusiasm, they've got me fooled! :)

Rhiannon came home tired, too--she ran a mile in PE and found out that one of her friends is moving to New Mexico.  She's pounding out the blahs of the day through the piano. 

Jason also volunteered at Wade's school today--he was invited to participate in the Career Lunch program and present info on engineers/inventors.  I can't wait to hear about it when he gets home!

Back-to-school jitters

Rhiannon was up before dawn and ready for school by 6:15am--she was SO excited to see her friends again!  I love her enthusiasm, her humor, her sense of fashion, just to name a few.   She had on this cute shirt that looked something like this:

Rhiannon also made me laugh so hard this morning when we were going to school.  There is some construction on the base which changes our regular route, so I had to go through this different gate.  I messed up and turned too early--Rhiannon thought it was hilarious that I was going the wrong way, especially when she saw the sign at the entrance I took--it said something like, "for explosives only."  

Wade  woke up feeling sick to his stomach.  I told him that he probably had some back-to-school jitters, and they would go away once he had some food and got ready.  The night before he realized that he hadn't touched a book the whole vacation and was very nervous about telling his teacher--that was probably another reason he felt sick!  I had him read after breakfast up until we left for school, and he'd almost finished the Judy Moody chapter book.  He looked fine and ready to get back to the grind!

The house is really quiet.  Even Oscar is quiet--he folded up into a ball and fell asleep next to the fireplace.  I've vacuumed, done dishes, folded laundry, shopped at Wal-Mart and done other errands, and checked my email.  I also made a smoothie with berries, ice cubes, water, and a scoop of whey protein--a tip I read in

Thanks to my brother Brant for the recommendation--I like what the book has to say and appreciate the fact that it's easy to read, very informative with good principles, and fun.  I'm also motivated by my fabulous husband who managed to LOSE 4 pounds over the holidays, instead of gaining weight like everyone else seems to do!  WAY TO GO, babe!

I doubt I'll remember to blog every single day this year, but I wanted to try it out, especially since my 2011 blog posts were fewer in number than in years past!  

Last day of stay-cation

Tomorrow we get back to reality, and I'm sad.  It has been WONDERFUL having Jason, Rhiannon, and Wade home the past two weeks.  We've watched tons of movies, spent time together, worked hard and played hard.  Many of my friends are READY to send their kids back to school, but I'm definitely going to miss their company.  On the upside, I'll have Oscar to keep me busy and I'll hopefully be able to focus on that messy desk of mine.

This morning Wade had his first orthodontic appointment--he took pictures and x-rays and had some molds made of his mouth.  (Thankfully that process has gotten much quicker--I still have nightmares of the mold-making process when I got braces.  I remember having my mouth FULL of gunk for several minutes--it felt like someone was holding my head underwater--it was AWFUL.)  Wade took it like a champ, though--he didn't have any complaints.  The next phase will be in a couple weeks after the orthodontist has evaluated him and put together the final treatment plan.  Wish us luck!

Many thanks to Jason and Rhiannon who took down the Christmas tree and all the lights while Wade and I were gone this morning--there's just a little bit of stuff left, and I'll get to it tomorrow!

I just got back from taking Oscar for a walk and his first impromptu playdate with our friends' puppy Sona.  What a workout those two got!  They played and rough-housed for what felt like an eternity--Oscar was one happy, dog-tired pup!

We're off to dinner at the Nations' home tonight--they wanted to get to know us better, and we sure appreciate the invite!

Welcome, 2012!

Last night we watched Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon, and then we headed over to our friends' home, the Okerlunds, to ring in the New Year.  It was relaxed and fun, and there was something for everyone.  We sure appreciate their hospitality!  Many thanks to Andy Pfahl who supplied the fireworks, too, on his birthday no less.  All of us breezed right past midnight with no problem.  Funniest part of the evening for me was at the end when the men were introducing the kids to the joys of helium-filled balloons.  Jason won the show when he started singing the Smurfs theme song and talking like Papa Surf--"La, la, la, la, la, la"--in this squeaky voice.  SO SORRY that I didn't catch that on tape--it was awesome.

This year our Sunday meetings will be from 1pm to 4pm--personally Jason and I MUCH PREFER morning, but it's our ward's turn to grin and bear it.  I'll admit the time change was nice today, too, because the kids didn't wake up until after 10am.

There is so much to catch up on, going all the way back to our Thanksgiving trip, then Christmas fun, Oscar updates, and our 2012 goals.  I'll get to it evenutally!

Welcome, 2012--Happy  New Year!