Training Fireballs

Conversations With Strangers

2010-06-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up, my grandpa used to embarrass me. I loved him dearly, but he would strike up conversations with strangers, and as a teenager I thought it was mortifying. I still felt that way when I was in college. He taught at BYU, so he could get me a nice discount on my books if I took him with me to the bookstore, but I always had an "Is this worth it?" moment in my head when he would go around asking the other students where they were from and what they're major was.

Now I think it's endearing. And maybe there's something to this conversation-with-strangers thing. I don't think I'll ever be as outgoing as my grandfather, but I had fun talking to a stranger today. I was in a waiting room, about to get my foot x-rayed (another story for another day), when an elderly woman struck up a conversation with me:

Little Old Lady, seeing my crutches and my foot in a boot: Oh, you poor dear! How did you do that?

Me: Running.

Little Old Lady: Were you training for a race?

Me: Yes, a half marathon.

Little Old Lady: My granddaughter runs lots of races. She doesn't do the 26 one, but she does the 13 one.

Me: That's what I was training for. A half marathon is 13 miles.

Little Old Lady: Then you must know my granddaughter! Kim Flenderson?

Me, trying not to smile too broadly: No, I don't think I've met her.

If I could be guaranteed fun conversations like this, I would totally start embarrassing my kids.

Saucy and Bobbo!

2010-05-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we headed to Utah for my sister's wedding. They were married in the Manti temple, which is in the middle of nowhere. They chose this temple because my parents were married there, and, hey, it's beautiful. We stayed in Provo, which is a couple of hours away. I have to admit that I grumbled a bit on the drive there, but eventually we turned a corner, and there was the temple, surrounded by rolling green hills. It was like some of the castles we saw a few years ago in Germany. So worth the drive.

The happy couple, just as they're coming out of the temple.

Thing 3 with my cousin, who we lovingly refer to as "Flocky," although it's been so long that I can't remember why. He's more like a brother than a cousin. He's also the one who took all these pictures. Except this one.

Me and the sibs. We always do this pose when we're together. See the family resemblance? If you know what movie this is from, you get bonus points.

The fam. Can you tell how warm and toasty we are? This was on May 1st and it snowed that day. Seriously.

The bride and bridesmaids. I spent most of the night tugging on the bottom of my dress because it was a little too short for me.

The three Things and their Auntie.

This is the best picture we could get with all the nieces and nephews. Doesn't Thing 3's little 3 year-old cousin on the left look just like him?

Thing 3 is still getting his groove on

2010-05-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

Last week my sister got married! More pictures from that to come, but until then here are some clips of Thing 3 dancing at the wedding. He danced the whole time the music played. Unfortunately, he was usually in the middle of a crowd, so it was tough to film him (Thanks Flocky for the footage). I wish we had gotten some of the air guitar, but we can't have everything.

A Daddy - Daughter Outing

2010-03-25T09:17:00.001-07:00

My dad called me last week with a surprise - he was going to some of the first and second round NCAA men's basketball games in San Jose, and wanted to know if I wanted to go with him. Um, yes please!

He is friends with a guy who's on the athletic director's committee for San Jose State, so we got the tickets through him - center court, 16th row. They were incredible seats. We were with my dad's friend, his many sons and sons-in-law, and some guys that my dad's friend lovingly refers to as "my three Jewish friends from Syracuse." We saw four games on Thursday and two on Saturday. We had the best venue of the eight by far: we saw Murray State upset Vandy with a buzzer beater and Washington upset Marquette with another last second shot. Four of the six games were close. I yelled myself sick at the Washington game.

Notes from San Jose:

Four games in one day is not too much.
No matter how great nachos look, they're not worth $6.50.
We went into this fabulous place at the arena called "the clubhouse" to watch Kansas go down against Northern Iowa on T.V. (sometimes it really pays to know people - it was a room for the president of the university and his friends). At one point I looked around, and there were about 100 people crammed into this small area, trying to watch the game. It was then that I noticed that I was the only woman there.
You can still be a superfan when you're in your eighties. There was an awesome New Mexico fan in the row in front of us. She was really old, but totally into the game. She kept meticulous stats, and continually informed her husband of things throughout the game ("That's four on him, honey. One more and he's out of there!") There were some fun Montana fans sitting a few rows behind us, and one time we heard one say to another, "Man, those New Mexico cheerleaders are really ugly." Superfan Granny whipped her head around fast and gave them a dirty look. The next time New Mexico scored, she stood up, turned around, and shook her fist at them.
You could tell which fans were which whether they were wearing their school colors or not. All Montana fans had cowboy hats. New Mexico fans had a weather-beaten look to them. I can't describe it. Maybe too much sun? Butler fans look just like BYU fans. Polo shirts and jeans, clean cut. Washington fans = holey tee shirts.
I'm sorry to say that the Montana fans weren't exaggerating about the New Mexico cheerleaders. They had that fake bump thing going on with their hair, and they had a Tammy Faye Bakker thing going on with their make-up. Sad.
There is a little cafe in San Jose called Hobee's that has the best breakfasts ever. We ate there twice.
Some people just shouldn't drive. We didn't rent a car, so we just walked everywhere or bummed rides off of people. There were multiple times that weekend that I was afraid for my life.
The Murray State band was terrible. Mostly they just played their annoying fight song over and over, which I'd had enough of after the first time. By the end I was plotting ingenious ways to get them to stop. The Butler band was incredible, especially their drummer. I wanted to bring him home and bake him brownies.

The Newspaper News

2010-02-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of months, Thing 2 has been bringing home issues of the newspaper that he has been publishing in his spare time (aka when he's supposed to be working at school). It's called The Newspaper News. We love The Newspaper News. I had no idea there were so many scams going on in our neighborhood! I scanned a few of my favorite issues for your viewing pleasure. I have my attempts at the translation underneath, but I warn you that my second grade is a little rusty.

Newspaper
A person is getting money for the poor, but she is actually stealing the money, and the old beggar spent it all on one pair of jeans which is mean!

Newspaper
A man is stealing rubies. He is wearing black stripes and white stripes. He has black thin rubber gloves, and he has a big, big bag.

Newspaper
A man in black is robbing old people. He has stolen 9,000 dollars. He has a big brown bag. He has a knight that is double bladed (I'm thinking he means a sword. I'm sure double bladed knights are hard to come by). He has escaped from jail. He has clothes that are black and white.

Desperate times call for desperate measures

2010-02-08T15:35:00.000-08:00

I love playing with my kids. I'm not just saying that - I really do! But in the last few months, Thing 3 has turned into a game junkie. Board games, cards games, whatever. He is constantly trying to get his fix, and he'll play with anyone - he's not picky. He's a good sport, win or lose, although more often than not he wins. He's great at Yahtzee, and he smoked everyone the last time we played Monopoly (with him exclaiming "I love money!" and "I love this game!" the whole time). I play games with him every day, but it never seems to be enough to satisfy him. Unfortunately, I can't play Uno and go fish every waking minute, so in desperation, I taught my four year old how to play 4 card solitare. What does this say about me as a mother?

Pioneer Fitness Challenge

2010-01-17T12:40:00.000-08:00

This is why I haven't been blogging. Normally I don't have an excuse, but I have had one for the last couple of months. I'm starting a fitness program in my stake: We're celebrating the Mormon pioneers by "exercising" our way from Nauvoo, Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah, the 1300 miles that the pioneers walked. Every 30 minutes of exercise equals 5 miles on the trail, and if you exercise 150 minutes a week (recommended by the American Heart Association), after 52 weeks you'll hit 1300 miles. My dear friend Diana put together the chart you see above, and my lovely friend Jen helped me with the blog for it: pioneerfitness.blogspot.com (It's a private blog, so let me know if you want to view it and I'll send you an invitation). The challenge is from February 1, 2010 to January 31, 2011. I just wanted to put this out there in case any of you are interested in taking on the challenge. I don't know about you, but I'm always in the need for a little motivation when it comes to exercise!

Tetris God

2010-01-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

I've played a lot of tetris in my time. I thought this was funny.

Blessings

2009-12-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

At Christmastime, I usually try to focus on giving, but this year I can't stop thinking about the blessings that we have, especially the blessing of friendship. I have been overcome with the thoughtfulness of our friends this year. Some good friends of ours invited us over and went out of their way to cook us a gluten free, vegetarian meal. This year we have had an outpouring of caroling and goodies (Including some gluten free!). And the Christmas cards, so many of them hand written, have brought us so much joy. I usually try to reciprocate, but this year it's beyond my capabilities. I feel like George Bailey at the end of It's a Wonderful Life, surrounded by all his friends who love him, with everyone singing Christmas carols. "Merry Christmas, you wonderful old Building and Loan!" Thank you, dear friends. I wish you all peace and happiness this Christmas.

Family Pictures

2009-12-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

My lovely friend Shama has great talents when it comes to photography. She took some pictures of us on a freezing cold day in November. I think anyone that can get us to relax somewhat in front of a camera is truly gifted; usually we all look like we're being tortured. Go to Shama's blog to see more pictures. Thanks, Shama!

Getting the heck out of Dodge

2009-12-04T16:03:00.000-08:00

For about the last year I've been bragging about something, and now it's coming back to bite me. I was at a doctor's appointment, getting my blood drawn, when the lab tech saw my wedding ring and said, "Oh my goodness! You're married? I thought you were in high school!" I would have hugged her if I didn't have a needle stuck in my arm at the time. She didn't make my day, she made my year.

It all came crashing down yesterday, when I was Christmas shopping at the mall. I was at the register buying something for Sparky, some articles of clothing clearly for an adult man, and I had this conversation:

Perky just-out-of-high-school cashier: "Oh, cool. Are these for your son?"

Me, full of calm and patience: "Um... no... They're for my husband."

*Awkward silence*

Cashier: "Debit or credit?"

I wanted to either slap her or lecture her (Listen, if you're going to work in retail...). Of course I have no backbone and did neither, just pasted a smile on my face and got the heck out of Dodge. I've decided that the two experiences cancel each other out, so now I'm just left with me, being dragged kicking and screaming into middle age.

Two things

2009-11-20T10:03:00.000-08:00

1. Last night I had a dream that I suddenly discovered that there were a bunch of prequels to the Lord of the Rings besides the Hobbit. It was a nightmare. I've read all of those books and I just can't muster any excitement about them.

2. Two days ago I went into the garage and our furnace was leaking. It had to do with the pump on the side of the furnace, and when Sparky called the furnace people, he was informed that the nice extended warranty that we'd bought didn't cover the pump. We prepared to pay a ridiculous amount, but today the guy came, fixed it, and refused to charge me. He said it was easy to fix, no big deal. I didn't know that there were any nice guys left in the world (besides my friends and family of course). A bright spot in a rather lousy week.

Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed.

2009-11-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

Looks like BYU women's soccer had a rough time yesterday. Check out these clips on Sports Center last night. Watch for #15 on New Mexico. There's aggressive and then there's evil. Thanks, Sparky, for sending me the clip.

All The Cats Join In

2009-10-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

Does anyone remember when this used to play on The Disney Channel? It was back when The Disney Channel was fun, before it was taken over by a bunch of lame shows geared at tween girls. I loved "All The Cats Join In." I heart Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa. I used to say all the time that I was born in the wrong time period, until I started having health problems. If I could go back in time and visit just one concert, it would be a no brainer for me - Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall, 1938. That concert made big band music legitimate, and it changed music forever.

Anyway, I was working out this morning, and I was tired, and the thought suddenly came into my head - I need a giant animated magic pencil to erase a few inches off my butt and thighs like the one in "All The Cats Join In." It sure worked for that girl. If only.

Bashing The Myth About Exercise

2009-09-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

Last month, Time magazine came out with an article that still has me steaming. It tries to convince the reader that exercise won't help people lose weight, and that it's awful and meaningless. It misrepresents a study done by Dr. Timothy Church from LSU, who actually found in his study that exercise results in weight loss. Dr. Church was interviewed on one of my favorite podcasts, Fitness Rocks, where he explained the study and the importance of exercise.

I have been trying to get over this article and I can't. The information in this article is wrong (So wrong!), and it could affect the health of so many people. The average American is looking for an excuse to not exercise, and John Cloud is giving it to him. I don't know how he can sleep at night.

Feet on the Ceiling

2009-09-10T09:11:00.001-07:00

This morning, while "snugging" under the covers with Thing 3 (AKA Genius The Monkey), he informed me that, "I love you, but not as much as I love dad because he can put my feet on the ceiling!" I can't compete with that.

Wobbly Bits

2009-08-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

What is up with the middle-aged-to-old women and locker rooms? Someone needs to teach them how to get dressed without scaring the children. Yesterday, my friends and I took our kids to the pool, and while my friend and her daughter and I were in the women's locker room, there was... an incident. Look, I get that it's a locker room, and people are changing, and everyone is going to see some things. But this lady was not getting dressed. She was just walking around, butt-naked, taking her time, bending over repeatedly as she stuffed things into her bag. Not pretty! In my mind, I was pleading with her to stop stalling and get dressed already. I wanted to run to all the children and cover their eyes. To quote Bridget Jones, we don't want to be seeing your wobbly bits, lady.

I move that anyone who violates the Fireball Locker Room Changing Standards (not giving little children nightmares) should have to be paired up with a surfer for changing lessons. Have you seen these guys getting dressed in beach parking lots? They are masters! And half the time they're dealing with wet suits. All they need is a water jug and a towel, and in two minutes they've had a shower, they're dressed and ready for work, and no flashing. No wobbly bits.

Our House

2009-08-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a conversation that took place in our car yesterday:

Thing 3: "Mom, does our house have a name?"
Me: "No..."
Thing 3: "Hmmm. How about Mr. Fred? Or Whitey!"

I was glad we were in the car so he couldn't see me shaking from held-back laughter.

Moosebutter

2009-08-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

My kids won't stop singing this song. It's by an a cappella group called Moosebutter. I'm embarrassed that I laughed when I saw it, and that I got all the little jokes throughout. Dangit - that's two posts in a row that expose the nerdy side of me. Here's hoping that posting this will get this out of my head or at least get it in yours. Misery loves company, right?

The 80's List

2009-08-03T15:27:00.000-07:00

This post is going to expose my nerdiness. I'm sorry, I can't hide it from you any longer. Last week, my brother and cousin were in town, and we finally finished a project we've been talking about for years: the 80's list. It all started when we were trying to decide what the best song from the 80's was, and it ended with each of us compiling a list of the 100 best songs of the 80's. Actually, it didn't end there, it got nerdier. We then combined the three lists and used a point system to figure out our combined top 100 list. I know, your respect for me just dropped a notch.

So here's my list. Disclaimer: This is not a list of my favorite songs of the 80's, but what I think are the best songs of the 80's. There's a difference. At the end of the list, I grudgingly stuck on a few songs that I don't love, but I figured they probably deserved a nod for one reason or another.

1	Simple Minds Don't You Forget About Me
2	A-ha Take On Me
3	U2 Where the Streets Have No Name
4	New Order Bizarre Love Triangle
5	Duran Duran The Reflex
6	Peter Gabriel In Your Eyes
7	Cure Just Like Heaven
8	OMD If You Leave
9	Michael Jackson Thriller
10	Bonnie Tyler Total Eclipse of the Heart
11	Foreigner I Want To Know What Love Is
12	Madness Our House
13	Oingo Boingo Dead Man's Party
14	Information Society What's on Your Mind (Pure Energy)
15	Madonna Like a Prayer
16	Modern English I Melt With You
17	Naked Eyes Always Something There to Remind Me
18	Billy Idol White Wedding
19	Police Every Breath You Take
20	R.E.M. Stand
21	U2 With or Without You
22	Depeche Mode People Are People
23	B-52s Love Shack
24	The Smiths How Soon Is Now?
25	When in Rome The Promise
26	Bon Jovi Livin' On a Prayer
27	David Bowie and Queen Under Pressure
28	General Public Tenderness
29	Crowded House Don't Dream It's Over
30	Journey Don't Stop Believin'
31	Frankie Goes to Hollywood Relax
32	U2 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
33	Thompson Twins Hold Me Now
34	Romantics What I Like About You
35	Erasure A Little Respect
36	Tears for Fears Everybody Wants to Rule the World
37	Spandau Ballet True
38	Elvis Costello Veronica
39	George Michael Faith
40	Cars Drive
41	Bananarama Cruel Summer
42	Men At Work Down Under
43	Clash Rock the Casbah
44	Soft Cell Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go
45	Prince 1999
46	Toto Africa
47	Police Don't Stand So Close To Me
48	Cure Close to me
49	Flock of Seagulls I Ran (So Far Away)
50	Genesis In Too Deep
51	Mr. Mister Broken Wings
52	Stray Cats Rock This Town
53	R.E.M. Orange Crush
54	Level 42 Something About You
55	REO Speedwagon Can't Fight This Feeling
56	Police Wrapped Around Your Finger
57	Chicago Hard to Say I'm Sorry
58	EMF Unbelievable
59	Duran Duran View to a Kill
60	Billy Joel We Didn't Start the Fire
61	Heart Alone
62	Huey Lewis & the News Power of Love
63	Cyndi Lauper Time After Time
64	Talking Heads Burning Down the House
65	U2 New Years Day
66	Eurythmics Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
67	The Smiths Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
68	Yes Owner of a Lonely Heart
69	Erasure Oh Lamour
70	Bangles Walk Like an Egyptian
71	INXS Need You Tonight
72	Survivor The Search Is Over
73	Queen Another One Bites the Dust
74	R.E.M. It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
75	Midnight Oil Beds Are Burning
76	Clash Should I Stay or Should I Go?
77	Men At Work Overkill
78	Oingo Boingo Weird Science
79	Hall and Oates Private Eyes
80	Echo and the Bunnymen Lips Like Sugar
81	Howard Jones No One is to Blame
82	Kenny Loggins Footloose
83	Police Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
84	Cure Lovesong
85	Survivor Eye of the Tiger
86	Rick Astley Never Gonna Give You Up
87	Harold Faltermeyer Axel F
88	Dexys Midnight Runners Come on Eileen
89	Thomas Dolby She Blinded Me With Science
90	Tommy Tutone 867-5309/Jenny
91	Pet Shop Boys West End Girls
92	Wham! Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
93	Beastie Boys Fight For Your Right
94	Alphaville Forever Young
95	Richard Marx Right Here Waiting
96	Chris DeBurgh The Lady in Red
97	Belinda Carlisle Heaven is a Place on Earth
98	Human League Don't You Want Me
99	Billy Joel The Longest Time
100	Cheap Trick The Flame

So there it is. I'm sure you're thinking, "I can't believe she put that song on there." Believe me, I already feel like making changes. But if you're really bent out of shape about it, make your own list. It's harder than it looks. Oh, and don't bother telling me that EMF's Unbelievable came out at the beginning of 1990. We figured that out just after we made the lists, and I'm too lazy to change mine.

Next up: we're making a playlist. We've figured out that between the three of us, we have just about all of the songs. So if anyone feels like OD-ing on nostalgia, you know where to go.

Watching the Mariners (and Thing 3) is a Treat!

2009-07-30T08:18:00.001-07:00

Tuesday night we went to the Mariners-Blue Jays game. My brother and my cousin were here visiting, and my cousin had never been to a MLB game before, so off we went. And let me tell you, the M's did not disappoint. Bottom of the 9th, bases loaded, tie ball game, Ichiro base hit to center for the win. My oh my! Here's a picture my cousin took of that hit:

Thing 3, our star performer, did not disappoint, either. There were some really obnoxious Blue Jays fans sitting in front of us (I knew we were in trouble when I saw their sign - "We're Drunk!!!"), and every time they finished their chants of "Let's go Blue Jays!" Thing 3 would squeak out "Let's go Mariners!" in his very loudest voice. I've never seen a four year old cheer so hard. Usually it's painful to take little kids to the ball park, but he was so much fun. The crowd loved him, and one of the Blue Jay guys even grudgingly admitted, "Now that's a true fan." But the best was when he danced to the music in between innings. My cousin caught one such moment on camera. You can hear the rest of us laughing in the background, and watch for me grabbing him before he topples into the next row.

Seattle Rock and Roll 2009

2009-07-29T13:41:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but we've been on vacation, then we had house guests for a while, and oh yeah, my dog ate my homework. The truth is, I have not been looking forward to writing this race report. The race did not go well. Not well at all.

My doctor and I stuggled to figure out how I should be medicated for the race. I am by far his youngest patient; one of the nurses in the office refers to me as "That young thang," and another one asked me once if I'm still in high school. I guess that's what happens when all the other patients are 80+. Needless to say the doctor isn't used to treating patients who are training for endurance sports.

We ended up doubling some of my meds, but that ended up being a gross underestimate of what I needed. I felt great the first five miles, but then I started feeling queasy. By mile six, I was dizzy and stuggling to not pass out. And that's how it went for the last seven miles of the race. I kept thinking about the stupid blog post I wrote the night before, dedicating the race to my kids, and how I had to finish, and how if I passed out, they wouldn't let me finish. I tried dedicating each mile to someone I loved and focusing on them, but my mind was pretty numb, and after a few seconds I just went back to trying not to hurl and keeping the blackness away. It was pathetic.

I finally crossed at 2:30:19. I took a few steps and then just sat down because everything was going black. A race lady told me to keep moving, I told her I couldn't, and what happened next I don't know. I remember being dragged by two race workers to the medic tent. I stayed there for a while with my feet elevated and ice bags on my ankles (which felt soooo good). After a while I left because I knew Sparky would be looking for me, and what I needed was my meds and I knew they weren't going to hook me up.

So what went wrong? I don't know. I'm kicking myself for not taking extra meds on the course with me; Sparky suggested it, but I said I'd be fine, I didn't need it. I'm frustrated because I trained well for the race. I had run three 12 mile long runs, I'd been running 24 miles a week, I'd done hill work once a week. It was frustrating putting in all that time and sweat and then being so disappointed with my time. But I'm really proud of Sparky and our friends. All of them did really well, and being with them made the experience worth it. In fact, we're doing it again next year. Sparky finished in 2:05, and he wants to get his time back under two hours. And I'm determined to redeem myself. I have an appointment with the doc soon, and we're going to figure this thing out. A friend of mine is a PT, and she scolded me after the race. "What were you thinking? You could have died!" I told her that I have to live my life. I'm not going to just sit on the couch of doom and watch other people live their lives. I want to experience things.

I know this post is a little long, but I have to include one last thing. They had a video camera at the finish line. And I was dreading how it would turn out - Would you be able to see me pass out on camera? I'm sure it wasn't pretty. I wasn't sure if I wanted to see it, but Sparky looked it up, and then told me I must have been praying hard, because I got my wish. Just after I crossed the finish line, someone bumped the camera, and you can't see anything constructive for a while (long enough for me to make my graceful exit). I tell you, it's all about those tender mercies in life.

Tomorrow

2009-06-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

It was just over four years ago that I was lying in a hospital bed, fighting for my life. The doctors had no idea what was wrong with me, so they put me in the oncology wing. I slept most of the time. I couldn't keep any food down. I looked like a skeleton and had dark circles under my eyes. I endured so many tests. I had transformed into a human pincushion. I was so dehydrated that they had trouble taking my blood; the barely twenty year old lab techs had to stick me five or six times every test just to hit a vein. I remember one time one of the techs just came into my room and I burst into tears.

Lying in that room, I felt closer to God than I have at any other time in my life. I prayed a lot. I was edging close to the end of my life, and I had an overwhelming feeling that if I went, I would be okay. I had lived a good life. But I thought of my sweet husband. I thought of my three boys - six years, three years, and two months old. Still babies. They needed a mother. I had so much left to teach them. I prayed fervently to my Heavenly Father that I would get to raise my boys. And then, somehow, I knew that my prayers would be answered and I would live. The next day, the doctors figured it out - Addison's disease. Within a day or two, I was playing cards with my family, bored, ready to get out of bed and eat anything salty.

I'm not sure if I would trade that experience. I hate that it caused my family stress, especially Sparky. I hate that I did not have enough energy to be a good mother for months before I was diagnosed. But I don't take life for granted. I thank God every day that I am alive. The time with my children is precious. My time with Sparky is a gift. The little things don't matter as much as they used to.

When I was sick, and even just after I was diagnosed, I never thought I would be able to run again. But over the last four years, I've slowly built up my strength so that now I can run regularly. I do it for my kids. I want to be as healthy as I possibly can for them. Tomorrow is a big milestone for me. I'm running the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon - my first half marathon since my diagnosis. I am dedicating this race to my kids. I'm pretty sure that they are the reason that I'm alive today. And I'm so happy to be doing this race with Sparky. Everything is ten times better when he's around.

Spring Recital 2009

2009-06-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday was our annual spring recital. I couldn't be prouder of all my students. Most of them had their songs memorized, and they all were so confident up there! Thing 2 did great, playing the much loved "From A Wigwam." He told me, "No mistakes, Mom!" when he sat down. And Thing 1 made me so proud; he played his first "real" classical piece, "Waltz in B Flat" by Schubert.

This year I did things a bit differently. First of all, I held this recital with two other piano teachers in my neighborhood, something I had never done before. It was really fun, and it was good for the kids to hear some older kids play "the real stuff." I'm hoping they gained a little inspiration, maybe enough for some practicing this summer? My fingers are crossed.

Something else that I did differently was that after much prodding by one of the other teachers, I performed a song. I hadn't played a solo at a recital since my senior year of high school. I was trying to decide what piece to play, and thought back to that senior year when I tried to quit piano because I was so unbelieveably busy, but my teacher wouldn't let me stop. I had learned all the pieces she had wanted me to learn that year except one - "Valse Chromatique" by Benjamin Godard. It's a great piece, but it's full of crazy chromatic scales (hence the name), and I just couldn't get some of the passages down in time for my senior recital. I ended up pulling it at the last minute and playing something else. It always kind of bugged me that I never finished that piece, so I blew fifteen years' worth of dust off of it and got to work. I didn't quite play it perfectly on Saturday, but I did it. Mrs. Martin, that one was for you. It was really liberating, like getting a splinter out that's been annoying you for a while.

Viking Fest 2009

2009-06-06T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the post you've all been dying to read, my second annual Viking Fest post race report. I have been waiting for the chance to ask Sparky to put together the race video, but he's been busy seeing his brother graduate from med school (way to go Corn!) and other various things. I can't believe my blog doesn't come first in his life, but whatever. Luckily I have a wonderful friend who was there and grabbed a few still shots. Note Thing 3 ran his race before I managed to get the chocolate frosting from his doughnut off his face.

Here is a picture of Thing 1 and his friend, the one who convinced him to run the 5 mile instead of the 1 mile. These two have been friends since they were 3. Today at church, they both were wearing blue long sleeved shirts and ties, along with Thing 2 and Thing 3. I told the friend he fit right in with my crew - my four boys.

Here is one of Thing 1 and me pre-race. Look how excited he is to be in a picture with his dear mother. I am proud of him, though. He finished in 46:02, way faster than I expected him to finish. I was somewhat pleased with my time, too - 40:37. I'm a little bummed that I didn't break 40 minutes, but I did set a course PR, shaving a minute and a second off of last year 's time. Next year I'll have to do a little speed work and see if I can get under 40! This race is so much fun. We had so many friends there and the course is gorgeous. By the way, I didn't forget about Thing 2. He had a baseball game that morning and missed the race.

Apparently I'm raising a mini George Lucas

2009-06-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

Santa brought Thing 1 a digital camera last Christmas. I envisioned him taking lots of pictures with his friends, documenting good times. We recently uploaded his latest batch of memories to Picasa, and while there were a few random pictures of his friends and brothers, we had a lot of this kind of stuff mixed in:

Okay, so maybe he's not George Lucas.

I am a lousy mother

2009-05-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

I am not the most supportive mom ever, and little league baseball tends to broadcast it to the world. I still believe that the best thing about little league is how cute little kids look in catcher's gear. Last year, I was bitter about the snack. Last week, we found out that Thing 2 made the baseball all-star team, and my first reaction was, "Aw crap. Now I'm going to have to go to more games!" Then I realized that normal parents don't react this way, so I gave a half-hearted "Go Thing 2, go!" to keep up appearances. I think there's something wrong with me. There's another family with a kid on this team that totally makes up for my lack of enthusiasm. They have their kid training year round, and they are really into the games. I'm pretty sure they would have been devastated if he hadn't made all-stars (he did). I think they're having a parade in his honor next week, and the paperwork is being filled out to make his all-star debut a national holiday.

Anyway, I was lying in bed this morning, thinking what a lousy mom I am, when Thing 3 came in for his usual early morning snuggle (or "snug" as he calls it). After a few minutes, he turned to me and said I was his best friend, which of course made me smile. I'm not a great mom, but at least I have my kids fooled!

Mother's Day Fun

2009-05-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

On Friday, I found this video clip of Thing 1 at age three when I was searching on our computer for something else. I'm sure I knew about it at one time, but I'd completely forgotten about it. I think it was a particularly fun find since it was so close to Mother's day:

And since it is Mother's day, I'd like to thank all the women out there that are helping me raise my boys. It truly takes a village to raise a child. My kids have the best grandmothers a kid could ask for, and the coolest aunts. They've had the most wonderful teachers at school and church. And a big thank you to all of their friends' moms who I sometimes think they love more than me, including two of my friends to whom Thing 3 lovingly refers to as "his girlfriends." You know who you are.

Edit: I just made the video public - apparently I didn't do that before, so people couldn't watch it. Let me know if you still can't view it.

The 9th Ward

2009-05-08T13:24:00.001-07:00

I found a new comic strip that makes me laugh - it's called The 9th Ward. Most of them are only going to be funny if you're LDS or are familiar with LDS culture. It's put together by a father/son combo. They produce about one strip a week. Here are a couple of my favorites:

The Downside of Running

2009-05-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

I generally enjoy running. I know, I know. I'm a freak. But it's my escape, my "me time." Plus I feel better when I do it. Gotta love those endorphins! I have had some bad experiences while running, though. I have been chased by many scary big dogs. I was flashed once when I was running by myself on the Provo river trail (nasty!). I lost my key once and had to backtrack for a mile and a half, looking for it while praying for a miracle (I found it!).

And now I can add yesterday to the list. I was at the corner of Myhre and Mickleberry, and I passed a crazy man who started screaming at me and scared me to death. He was yelling "You stink!" and asked me if I rubbed dog s*** all over myself. How do you answer a question like that? I kept going, but checked multiple times to see if he was following me, and I turned my key so that the jagged side was sticking out of my hand, just in case. I don't know why, but that always makes me feel a little better. If I have to ever defend myself, then it's - look out! I've got my key! And I can somehow hurt you with it! Anyway, I'm hoping for an uneventful, pleasant long run this Saturday, so help me get the word out for the crazies to stay off the streets from about 10 to noon.

Get Smart = Not Funny

2009-04-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

When I was about 10 years old, my sister and I loved watching Get Smart on Nick at Nite. We thought it was hilarious. Agent 86 was stupid but loveable, and we adored Agent 99 with her mini skirts and go-go boots. It was predictable and full of slapstick comedy, just right for an eight year old and a ten year old.

So when I saw the Get Smart season one DVDs at the library, I grabbed them and thought it would be fun to watch since I haven't watched the show in decades. I watched the first episode last night, and it was... lame. I had trouble making it through the whole episode! No wonder I loved it before, a fifth grader must have written the script. I think part of it is just a difference in the times; the show was from 1965, and things hadn't changed that much when I was watching in 1986, but they've changed enough now that the jokes aren't funny anymore. So there's a phone in his shoe. Big deal. That's a stupid place to put it, but whatever. But back then we thought it was brilliant. The other part of it I'm just chalking up to youth. When you're ten, a little tiny man named Mr. Big = funny. A man slipping on a banana peel = funny. Now... not so much.

Anyway, it was weird to watch it last night and realize how different the show was from what I remembered, and how much I've changed. I wanted to call up my sister last night and ask her what we were thinking back then. I didn't want to wake her up, so I'll ask her now: Skeeter, was mom slipping a little crazy in our bologna sandwiches or what? And I'll ask my 2 or 3 readers - Do any of you like this show? And have any of you loved anything as a child and then had a completely different opinion of it as an adult? Discuss.

The Easter Bunny Blues

2009-04-09T12:49:00.000-07:00

***Spoiler alert: Don't read this post with little kids hanging around. It will totally ruin the holidays for them!

One of my pet peeves is when well meaning adults try to give my children a bit of fun that leads to me doing damage control. Example: Yesterday at preschool, the Easter Bunny hid eggs all over the playground while Thing 3 was in class. The kids got to go find the eggs and take them home. Fun, right? Well, I have been fielding questions ever since. Why did the Easter Bunny come when it's not Easter? Did he go to the big boys' school? Is he coming back tomorrow? Last week we walked by the Easter Bunny at the mall, and I totally had to distract Thing 2 and Thing 3 as we walked by - not because they would want to sit on his lap and get their picture taken, because of the questions that would result. That's the Easter Bunny? Why is he bigger than normal bunnies? Why is he here and not at a mall in a different city? Does he like to eat carrots?

The worst is Christmas. All the different Santas. I know they mean well, but they don't look anything alike, and kids are smart. Last year's church Christmas party was nice, and my 17 year old neighbor got to play Santa. Very fun, but it didn't work for my kids AT ALL. After sitting on his lap, the boys had things to say about it. Thing 2: Mom, I just sat on Matt's lap! Weird! He's not really Santa. Thing 3: Mom, why is Matt wearing Santa's clothes?

Every year we go to Sparky's work Christmas party for the kids of the employees. At least there they have the same Santa and Mrs. Claus every year. Things 2 and 3 are convinced that this is the real Santa (he really looks great), although they still ask me why he's here and not at the North Pole, and where is his sleigh and reindeer? Shouldn't he be getting ready for Christmas eve? Why can't my kids be like the other kids at the party and just blindly accept Santa and live in a state of pure bliss?

About a year and a half ago, Thing 1 and I were in the car together without the others, and he admitted to me that he knew that Santa wasn't real. I remember feeling really conflicted about it - I couldn't decide if I wanted to cry or pull over the car so I could dance a jig of celebration. I asked him how long he'd known, and he said since before last Christmas. When I asked him why he didn't tell us then, he said that he didn't want to ruin it for me and his Dad, so he just went along with it.

I know I'm going to miss everything when the other two stop believing. Thing 2 is already on the verge. But until then, everyone pass the word around to play it cool with the world of pretend. I heard the Tooth Fairy came by Thing 2's classroom recently, and I'm not looking forward to THAT conversation.

Little Worriers

2009-03-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

I've decided that Sparky and I tend to breed little worriers. When our kids hit four or five, they tend to start obsessing over something that they won't have to deal with for decades. When Thing 1 was younger, he wanted to know how to get a job. I told him if he helped clean the windows, I'd give him a dollar, but he said no, he was talking about a real job, like Dad's. I asked him why he wanted to know, and he looked at me like I was an idiot. He said, "Someday I'm going to be married and have kids, and I'm going to need to have a job so we can have some money. So how do I get a job?" He was genuinely concerned about this, and he was around five years old. He wouldn't let it go until I mapped out for him the whole high school - college - grad school - job interview thing, and then he finally started breathing again. Poor stressed out baby.

With Thing 2, it was leaving home. He kept saying he was going to live with us for the rest of his life, that he was never moving out. The funny thing was, he would usually say it when he was acting up or doing something to bother me, and I'd say under my breath, "You wanna bet?" He was really worried for a solid year about growing up and moving away, and then all of a sudden, he started wanting to sing "I hope they call me on a mission" every family night and started talking about going to BYU someday (like I said before, his brainwashing is officially complete!). Sparky and I breathed a sigh of relief when Thing 2 grew out of his worry phase.

So I've been wondering lately what Thing 3 is going to worry about, and I think that I stumbled upon it this week. He's worried that when he grows up and moves away, he won't be able to find our house again. He's been begging me to promise that we'll never move to another house. He asked me if, when he grows up, I would come pick him up from his new house and drive him to our house when he wants to visit. I pointed out that he would probably have his own car by then, but he insisted that he wouldn't remember where our house is, and I should just drive him in my car. He happened to have a friend with him when he said all this to me, and his friend said to him in exasperation, "Come on! We're not grown-ups! You can't even drive yet!" Thing 3 can't help it; he's just like his brothers. I should probably be concerned about my kids getting so stressed out, but it's just so cute to see a little four year old worrying about something that's 15 years away. I guess what I'm trying to say is, my kids are weird but cute.

Busters

2009-03-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

The boys are currently on a lego kick. We've had them forever, but they recently realized that they're actually fun, and they run to play with them after school. Thing 3 can't put together all the sets, but he loves the lego people. In fact, he loves the lego legs. He calls them “busters,” and he pulls them off all the lego people and just plays with the busters. Our playroom usually looks like there's been some sort of lego massacre, with legless lego people lying all over the place. Sometimes he'll put the busters on top of each other so there's one tall, mutant buster. Other times he'll line them up and have them kick in bizarre rockette style.

I don't know how he came up with the name busters, but it stuck. The whole family calls them busters now. I curse the busters when I step on them in the middle of the night when Thing 3 wakes me up and makes me tuck him back in bed, and I shake my head at the busters when I find them clanging around in the dryer. Busters have totally taken over my house!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

2009-03-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Oh, I love March. I'm like a kid at Christmas with my nose pressed against the store window, gazing longingly at the Red Rider BB gun. It's March Madness, baby! The brackets came out today and I'm in heaven.

We have done a pool with our friends (for bragging rights only, of course!) for about 10 years now. I've only won it once, and it's a year when my brother in law has chosen to experience some very selective memory loss. I know I'll never win again. Usually someone wins who has no clue about college basketball and just picks all the high seeds (except the two years my dad won). I end up grumbling about it for a few weeks and then placate myself with chocolate and Mariners games.

All three Things are already claiming victory with their picks. Thing 1 has declared that he will win with his superior knowledge and insider information. Our brain washing of Thing 2 is complete, he picked BYU to win it all and is appalled that anyone would pick differently. I love his dedication. It's totally me at his age. I'm just afraid he will end up like this kid:

And Thing 3. He picked Gonzaga to win it all, after all, he's heard us talking about them constantly for the last 4 months. But it's his final four that's really gutsy: Gonzaga, BYU, Portland State, and To Be Decided. Yep, he picked the winner of the "play in" game, one of the two worst teams in the tournament, to go to the final four. I love it.

We've sent out our email to everyone from last year. If you want in, let me know. It doesn't matter if you are a huge basketball fan or not; like I said, you actually have an edge over me if you aren't. And, hey! You could be the one I grumble about in April!

Thing 3 Turns Four!

2009-03-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is four! He started off as our miracle baby, surviving being inside a very sick mommy and having the cord around his neck. Now he is our comic relief and one smart cookie. Last night a friend of ours was sitting with us at Thing 2's basketball game (He is finally well enough to play in a game! Yay!), and she asked Thing 3 to dance for us. He jumped right up and did this booty shake thing that Thing 2 taught him, much to the delight of the crowd/horror of his mother. Well, I guess I wasn't too horrified - I had to stifle a few giggles myself. Thanks, Thing 3, for being a part of our family and making us smile!

We had a birthday party for him on Saturday. Here is a picture of the poster that the kids colored for him, and one of the little rascals themselves. It was a "Halloween" birthday party. Yes, it's March, but hey, that's what he wanted. Who am I to judge? We had a pirate, Diego, four Star Wars guys, a ninja, and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

A Friend to the Rescue!

2009-03-05T11:34:00.000-08:00

After my last post, a dear friend of mine asked me if I wanted her iPod mini that she wasn't using anymore. Jen, you rock! It came in the mail yesterday, and it works great. I think she was worried that I would mind that it's pink. On the contrary - I am so thrilled to have a working iPod that pink is my new favorite color. Thanks, Jen!

Something completely unrelated - Thing 2 has pneumonia. This is the second time he's had it in the last couple of years. He had a chest x-ray on Tuesday and you could see some junk in there. He has missed a lot of school, but he is back at school today after begging me to let him go. This round of medication seems to be working. He has more energy, but is still pale and coughing. We're keeping our fingers crossed that he will get better soon - he has been sick since the end of January! I know many of you have been praying for him - thank you. We received a nice call from his Sunday School teacher today to see how he was doing, and my grandmother put his name on the prayer roll at the temple the day before we found out he had pneumonia after feeling prompted to do so. We feel so blessed to have such great friends and family!

Spring

2009-02-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

There's a line in the movie "IQ" where Meg Ryan's character says, "It's spring. Everything goes through an upheaval in the spring." Well, I guess spring has come early at my house, because despite the snow we had last week:

My dishwasher is to the point now where the dishes have to be absolutely pristine when I put them in if I want them to be clean when I take them out. I'm not sure why I still run the thing.
Our fireball truck is crazy. Sparky couldn't get the key to turn in the ignition the other day. Apparently we do weird things when we turn keys, because last year with our minivan we not only couldn't get the key to turn, but we got the key stuck and had to get the whole ignition replaced. Our fingers are crossed that it won't happen with the truck.
Most importantly, the bottom fell out of my iPod mini. Seriously. It just fell out. Now, I've had it for almost four years, which I hear is like 102 in human years. They don't even make minis anymore. I'm guessing it's time to let it go, but I'm having a hard time. I always have that thing with me, and I've grown quite attached to it. We've had a beautiful relationship. Sure, there was that rocky patch when it had trouble syncing up to iTunes, but we worked through it.

So anyway, this is going to be an expensive spring. We've picked out the new dishwasher and are ordering it today. We're praying that the truck gets over its dislike of our keys, so we don't have to pour money into a 16 year old truck. And the iPod. Well, of course I have to get a new one. Can you picture me without earbuds in my ears? I'm thinking of getting either a Nano or an iTouch. Obvously, the Touches are cool. But they're more expensive and quite a bit bigger, which could be a pain when I take it running. Anyone have any thoughts?

Fun With Weather

2009-02-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

I have discovered the best way to get your weather forcast in Kitsap county. My neighbor, Matt, has a blog called Forecasting Kitsap. He is a high school senior who I suspect will someday be the weather guy for one of the local channels. The kid has been saying he want to be a weatherman when he grows up for as long as I've known him (8 years now!) He has already had some amazing opportunities, including writing this blog for our local newspaper, The Kitsap Sun. Check it out. Even if you don't live here, he has some video clips that are fun, especially the football one.

Bumble Bee 5k

2009-02-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

My Brother-in-law had a bunch of us run the Holiday Bowl Bumble Bee 5k together when we were in San Diego. It was a beautiful race along the harbor. What wasn't so beautiful was the mile markers. They were invisible, so we had no idea how far we were along the course. At one point I saw my sister-in-law with a video camera. As I was waving to her, I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder how much I have left?" 5 seconds later, I turned a corner, and BAM! Finish line. I had a kick of about 3 seconds. I definitely had too much left in me at the end. Usually in the afternoon after a race I'm like a toddler in the car at 5 pm - I can't stay awake for anything. But we went to the beach after the race and well, I wouldn't say I was a bundle of energy, but I wasn't dead to the world either. Here's a picture of the crew and some quick footage. Look for Thing 1, and watch as I almost mow over the guy ahead of me at the end. Who stops just after the finish line?

Thing 1 ran the race - his first 5k! He finished 22nd out of the 54 in his 12 and under age group, with a time of 27:16. I was so proud of him. I finished 10th in my age group out of 51, with a time of 24:17, which I was not so proud of. I was hoping to be under 24:00 at the very least. But it was fun. Thanks for suggesting it, Tim!

Fail!

2009-01-28T13:23:00.000-08:00

Sparky recently pointed me to one of my new favorite blogs: Failblog. They post a couple times a day, and they make me giggle. Check it out for a quick laugh.

Shenanigans

2009-01-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Sparky and I finally watched the movie Juno, and I loved it. It's been a long time since I saw a movie for the first time and liked it this much. It was both side-splitting funny and moving.

I have had the song that they sing at the end of the movie in my head ever since, and apparently I've even been singing it out loud, because yesterday I walked by Thing 2 and heard him singing to himself, "We sure are cute for two ugly people."

Here is a clip of the song. I swear, I want to give Michael Cera a big hug and bake him some cookies or something.

Surfer Boys

2009-01-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things to do in the entire world is to watch Sparky surf. I love laying out on the beach, attempting to get a tan, flipping through a magazine in between sets. He is a good surfer and, as a bonus, he looks great in his wet suit. Don't laugh, I have proof. When we were in San Diego, a young 20 something tourist asked if she could have her picture taken with him and his brother-in-law in their wet suits with their surf boards. We had a good laugh about it later, since she thought she was getting a picture with the locals and really they are from Silverdale and Cincinnati.

Here is Sparky at the end of a wave. The waves were pretty wimpy on the day we brought the camera.

Thing 3 begged to get in on the action. We stuck the smallest wet suit on hand on him (the water was 58 degrees!) and hoped for the best. For a while, Sparky ran along the side of him and held him up:

And then he got more adventurous and tried having Thing 3 ride on his back. Thing 3 had a vision of him and his dad surfing side by side on separate boards holding hands, and he cried when we told him that it wasn't going to happen. He also cried when we left the beach, even though his lips were blue and he was shivering.

Thing 2 decided he wanted to get in on the action:

But he didn't last too long - it was just too cold!

Playing Basketball With Boys

2009-01-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

We're back from our vacation in paradise, also known as San Diego. We had a blast and ate way too much good food. We thumbed our noses at the weather: our flight to SD beat out the huge snowstorm that hit Seattle by a mere hour, and on the way back, we changed flights and ended up being on one of the last flights out of SD for a day due to fog.

Sparky and I have spent the last couple of days recovering from exhaustion. We always play hard when we go down there, but this time we outdid ourselves and got up to play basketball at 5:30 in the morning four times. Not just one time. Four times. That was how we chose to spend our vacation. I guess you could say we aren't very smart people.

It was a lot of fun, though. We played with Sparky's dad, brother-in-law, brother, sister-in-law, and cousin, along with close friends. Thanks to Lady Chinchilla X for going easy on me out there. That girl can run circles around me. No thanks to the three guys that totally mauled me one of the few times I attempted to drive to the basket. You know who you are! I ended up with a lightly sprained ankle and some very colorful bruises. I meant to take a picture since they were were way more blog worthy than my last one, but I waited too long and now they're fading and not as impressive. Thank my procrastination skills; you've been spared.

Anyway, I guess that's what I get for playing basketball with boys. It's a lot different than what I was taught in my youth. When I was about 15, my friend and I were in the gym at the church shooting baskets with a bunch of guys from our ward. I'm pretty sure we were ditching making some craft with our young women's group, because we always tried to ditch the crafts. Our leader came in and found us and scolded us. "Don't you know what happens when you play basketball with boys?" Me being the smart alec 15 year old that I was, said, "No, what happens?" She paused for a few seconds and then blurted out, "You get pregnant!" There it is folks. Forget everything they taught you in 8th grade sex ed. My friends and I got a lot of laughs out of that one, let me tell you.

Thing 3 is Thankful

2008-12-04T23:41:00.000-08:00

Bah! I meant to post this on Thanksgiving, and I forgot. Thing 3 brought home a paper from his nursery class at church two weeks ago, with the classic painted hand print turned into a turkey. On the side, they had asked him what he was thankful for and wrote down his answers. I think it's a pretty good list for a three year old:

My family
My body
All three blankies
My grandma and grandpa
Jesus
My friends
Grant
All the colors

I love that he's thankful for his friends... and Grant. It makes it sound like Grant isn't his friend, but really what's going on is his relationship with Grant is beyond friendship. Grant is five, and Thing 3 thinks that everything Grant says or does is genius. He worships Grant.

I also love "all three blankies" and "all the colors." I know my son, and those are two things that he really is thankful for.

"When all words fail, she speaks, Her mix tapes are masterpiece" - Ben Folds

2008-12-03T12:24:00.000-08:00

I love making mix tapes/CDs/playlists. I've made one for almost every major trip I've taken since college. They're all have names like "Reno 1998" or "San Onofre 2000." I even have a Shingletown 2002. You get bonus points if you know where Shingletown is. I have others that are named after an occasion, like "Viking Fest." Some just have stupid names like "Songs I Really Like" or "Fun Songs."

It all started in 10th grade. My best friend and I made our first mix tape - we called it "Hector and Lee's Hot Picks." ( I was the only one who called her Hector, and it would take way too long to explain why I did.) I found the tape case two days ago when I was going through my music. I thought I would post the playlist here for laughs.

Hector and Lee's Hot Picks:

The Glory of Love - Peter Cetera
In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
Forever Young - Alphaville
Stayin' Alive - The Bee Gees
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Faithfully - Journey
Just Like Heaven - The Cure
What Have I Done to Deserve this? - Pet Shop Boys
Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You) - Pet Shop Boys
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Free Fallin' - Tom Petty
Who'll Stop The Rain - CCR
Who Can It Be Now - Men At Work
I Can See It In Your Eyes - Men At Work
Down Under - Men At Work
Never My Love - The Association
Cherish - The Association
Stay - ? I don't even know what song this is.
On Bended Knee - Boyz II Men

Apparently this was made when we were going through a classic rock phase, after my pure 80's days but before I started wearing flannel shirts and cut off jeans to school everyday, listening to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" about a hundred times with my friends, trying to decifer the words but still proclaiming Kurt Cobain to be a genius. I look at this list and cringe. Boyz II Men? And what was I thinking putting songs by the same group next to each other on the playlist? Rookie mistake. And I threw up in my mouth a little when I saw The Association on there.

So anyway, this week I've made four mix CD's to give out as presents. Three of them are mixes of Christmas music for some awesome ladies that I work with at church, and one is for my brother's birthday, just some music that I think he'll like. (My family rarely reads my blog, so no worries about anyone blowing the surprise!) Now we get to the reason for this post. Are these lame gifts? I'm afraid it's too high school. I love getting mixes from people - it's personal, they took time to do it, and sometimes it introduces me to something new. It's how I got hooked on Ben Folds, this generation's piano man. But maybe someone else will think it's dumb. I'm not trying to be cheap - usually I'll just build up a bunch of songs that I think a certain person would like, and when I get enough, I make a CD and give it to them. So, what are your thoughts? Give me some feedback.

Halloween Piano Recital 2008

2008-11-19T13:46:00.000-08:00

I got tired of seeing the post about my kid mooning people, so I had to post something else.

This is the second year that I have done a Halloween recital, and I love doing it. It gives the kids an extra chance to wear their Halloween costumes! We do the recital at an assisted living home in the area, and the residents love seeing the kids dressed up and hearing them perform. I even found some spooky Halloween songs for most of them to play.

Here we are, all the kids minus one, plus me and two stowaways:

And of course, we have to have the silly picture. This is how we look at the end of a lesson:

I am really having a lot of fun teaching this year - probably my favorite out of all the years I've taught so far. The kids are great and most of them are doing a good job of practicing, which makes lessons so much more fun. This year I'm teaching not one but two of my own kids - Thing 2 started lessons. You would think that teaching my own kids would be horrendous, but we actually have a good time. Plus, that's two students out of my twelve that I don't have to wonder about how their practicing is going - I'm all for less mystery!

Blue Moon

2008-11-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

Um... what do you do when you see your three year old mooning his brothers with glee? I'm pretty sure the proper response is not to laugh, but I just couldn't keep it in. Both big brothers were completely offended. Where the heck did he get the idea to do this? And, more importantly, is this a one time thing, or am I going to get a phone call from the preschool telling me to come pick up my wayward child?

Belated Thing 2 birthday pics, AKA how in the world did I pull this thing off?

2008-11-10T19:01:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we had Thing 2's birthday party. The guest list kept getting longer and longer as we got closer to the party, but I thought, no big deal. Not everyone will come. Oh, Fireball. So naive. Everyone came but one. We had 16 kids at our house. My friends all told me I was insane, and in the back of my mind I agreed with them. Here is a picture of the whole crew: a pilot, a wizard, Cleopatra, a ghost who didn't want to wear his costume, a cat, a pioneer, a police officer with his arm around a ninja, Boba Fett and Jango Fett, a robot, a 10 year old friend to torment the little kids, a skeleton who didn't want to wear his mask because it was too scratchy, two more ninjas, and Indiana Jones (or as Thing 3 says, India Jones).

We decorated ghost cookies and bat cookies.

There were so many kids that everyone had to stand around the table so all the kids could fit!

Here we are at the start of the treasure hunt. I have a funny look on my face because I'm pretending I lost the party bags. "Help me kids! Here is my only clue to where I put them." After looking in the flower beds, the play house, the basketball court, the truck, the mailbox, and Sparky's shoe, the kids discover that I had them with me in the house all along. Silly mom!

All in all, it wasn't too bad. The kids were good, and I didn't crawl into my bed and pull the covers over my head when they left.

Happy Sparky Day

2008-11-09T21:37:00.000-08:00

Today is Sparky day. He turned... well, I don't know if he wants me to say. I think he sometimes reads my blog, but who knows. I've mentioned before that he thinks he's old, but I discovered this week that he doesn't like me saying that he's old. Whatever.

Despite his quirkiness, or maybe because of it, I love him. This weekend I got to see him in his element at Thing 1's end of the season soccer party, where as the coach he got to hand out medals and talk about each kid individually - what they did to contribute to the team this year and things he liked about them personally. He loves coaching, and he loves the kids he coaches. We talked in the car about how we didn't realize what we were getting into when he started coaching that first team 5 or 6 years ago, but how we wouldn't change anything. I don't like being apart from him, but I love that he enjoys volunteering in the community. I love that he is a good dad to our boys. I love that he makes me laugh and he still lets me beat him at Dr. Mario. I love that he is fantastically brilliant, but spells like a third grader. And I love that out of all the presents I got him this year, his favorite is the college basketball preview magazine that I got for 5 bucks. I told him it's like babies ignoring their presents and playing with the wrapping paper.

Anyway, happy birthday, Sparky!

We're sorry, but your princess is in another castle

2008-10-28T11:51:00.000-07:00

I smiled when I found this online. If you aren't into old school nintendo, this might not be that fun for you, but for me, this took me back in time...

Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me

2008-10-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

A couple of mornings ago, I went running and about half way through my run, I looked up and saw the big dipper. At 7:00 in the morning. I should not be able to see the big dipper at 7:00 in the morning. I should see the sun. It should be bright and sunny and cheerful, and I shouldn't have to worry about whether cars can see me well enough to know I'm there and not run me over. I don't want to be able to have a quick astronomy lesson with my kids before I send them off to school. Really.

Tagged Again

2008-10-16T17:20:00.000-07:00

Nothing like getting tagged when you don't know what to blog about. Thanks, Jen, for the tag!

8 Favorite TV shows: (I'm noticing that most of these are now off the air. Sad.)
1. The Office
2. Scrubs
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Ed
5. Lost
6. Freaks and Geeks
7. You Can't Do That on Television
8. The Colbert Report

8 Things I did yesterday:
1. Dejunked my room (yay!)
2. Taught piano lessons
3. Helped Thing 2 with homework
4. Pulled weeds
5. Read Thing 3 books
6. Made homemade vegetable soup and muffins
7. Ran 3.5 miles
8. Listened to an audiobook

8 things to look forward to:
1. Halloween piano recital
2. Thanksgiving with my parents and some siblings
3. No more shoulder pain
4. Going to the pumpkin patch with the kids
5. Sneaking candy out of my kids' Halloween bags
6. Finding time to play Brain Age
7. Going out with Sparky this weekend for the first time in months
8. Christmas in San Diego - Yay!

8 Favorite restaurants:
1. Tio Lio's - Mexican restaurant in San Diego
2. Santana's - Mexican restaurant in San Diego
3. Old Town Mexican Cafe - you know where
4. Oscar's - Not Mexican food, but still in SD
5. Claim Jumper - serves enormous amounts of food, there is one in SD
6. New York Burrito - doesn't exist anymore, was our favorite place in Provo
7. Central Market - best soup in the world located here, look out Soup Nazi!
8. Aroy Dy's - Thai food located here

8 Things on my wish list:
1. Nice ear phones for my iPod that work!
2. A new Ben Folds CD
3. Mental Floss!
4. Real Mexican food
5. Time
6. Energy
7. Health
8. A house where we can stretch our legs!

8 people I tag:
1. Suzanne B.
2. Emily S.
3. Sara K.
4. Diana G.
5. Thing 1!

6. CDR
7. Rachel B.
8.Sandy F.

I'm Getting Old

2008-10-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Sparky is always claiming that he's getting old. I used to have little patience for this and would tell him he's fine, suck it up, only in a much nicer and more acceptable, loving way. But now I'm starting to think that maybe he was on to something and I was just two years behind on the enlightenment since I'm two years younger.

Case in point #1:
I am forgetting everything. People's names. Things I'm supposed to be doing. Semi major events that happened to me years ago. I used to brag that I had a great memory, now I am batting under the league average.

Case in point #2:
Last night I was playing volleyball (I know, another volleyball story, sorry), and I pulled a muscle in my shoulder during my first hit of the game. I tried to keep playing, but I was worthless. I went home early, popped a couple of Advil, and iced it. I thought of my father-in-law, who takes ibuprofen like they're candy - before, during, and after basketball and surfing which is almost every day for him - and realized that I am teetering at the top of a very slippery slope.

I am getting old. I am making the transition to liking classical music more than rock. I care about current events and listen to NPR. I like to go to bed at a reasonable hour, and I tell the kids to turn the TV down. I swear, next come dentures and a walker.

BYU vs. Washington

2008-10-07T01:10:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to post this for a while. About a month ago, Sparky, Thing 1, and I went to the BYU-Washington game with a bunch of friends. My parents drove over and went to the game with us, which was fun. Now, if you follow BYU football, you know what a close game this was. We're up by seven, Washington's quarterback has a fantastic run into the end zone, celebrates by flipping the ball up into the air and gets called for excessive celebration. Washington fans cry about it, boo-hoo. I think it's a lame rule, but it is the rule. If you have a problem, take it up with the NCAA and get the rule changed. Anyway, they moved the ball back for the extra kick, and BYU blocked the kick for the win. I could not stop celebrating (which for me consisted of jumping up and down and screaming my head off), until a guy a couple of rows in front of us started taunting the Washington fans in the next section. I wanted to shake him and say, "what are you trying to do, get us killed?" The Washington fans have hated BYU since 1984 when they claim we stole the national title from them, so who knows what they'll do when provoked.

Luckily we made it home safely. I learned two things at the game: 1. Washington fans are whiners. 2. Wahington fans like to brag about how "established" their stadium is, but all that really means is it's falling apart and the seats are brutally uncomfortable.

Pretty

2008-10-04T16:10:00.000-07:00

This is the result of Thursday night's volleyball fun. I love playing volleyball, and those who I've played with know that I'm not afraid to sacrifice my body for the ball. I'm usually pretty good about rolling so I don't get hurt, instilled in me from all those high school practices (thanks, coach!) But I often get mocked for my less than graceful rolls, and Thursday night I guess I got a little self conscious about it, et voila. I dove for the ball and didn't roll. See? Roll, people, roll! Tell your friends and neighbors, don't let this happen to someone you love. It's been two days, and I still can't kneel down. But, I saved the ball and we won the point, so it was totally worth it.

Facebook: The beginning of a beautiful love/hate friendship

2008-10-01T14:18:00.000-07:00

I caved and joined facebook. Sparky has been telling me to join for a long time. Apparently my friends were finding him and asking where I was. I've been dragging my feet with it just like I did with this blog - hey, I am a busy girl, and I don't have time for computer fun! Plus, I'm weak. I knew once I started I'd get addicted.

Case in point: Last night I signed up and it was so fun finding and talking to people that I haven't been in touch with in years, many since high school. Then I looked at the clock - cub scouts had ended five minutes ago. Yikes! So that's what facebook gets you, a good dose of neglecting your children. I felt so bad. I was always the last one picked up as a kid. The office ladies at my elementary school got to the point that they didn't bother asking if my mom was coming; they knew she'd be there eventually. I was so embarrassed by this as a kid, so now I totally overcompensate and make every effort to be there on time to pick up my kids. Except, apparently when someone has asked my to be their friend on facebook or has written on my wall. Luckily I called Sparky, and he happened to be at the same building for a meeting, so he went and grabbed him for me. At first I was grateful, but then I realized that this is all his fault anyway for having me sign up and getting me hooked.

Getting My Jim vs. Dwight Fix

2008-09-25T12:52:00.000-07:00

Happiness is watching a new season premere of The Office. It's my favorite show out there right now. I love love love the pranks that Jim pulls on Dwight. Stapler in jello: funny. Wallet in the vending machine: hilarious. But my favorite is the one where Jim steals Dwight's identity. I've shown the boys clips from the show, and this is by far their favorite, too. They spent the whole summer saying, "Bears... Beets... Battlestar Galactica" to each other, and Thing 1 can quote the whole scene he loves it so much. Anyway, to celebrate tonight, here is a video of some of Jim's pranks on Dwight for your viewing pleasure.

First Day of School 2008

2008-09-24T22:25:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to get these up for a while - first day of school pics! Sparky's family had a tradition of taking a picture of each kid in the same spot on the first day of school every year, and we have done it every year, too, starting when Thing 1 started preschool. This is the first year that I have had all my kids in some form of school; for the last ten years I have always had some little guy with me that I tortured by dragging him on errands with me. What do I do with all this free time, you ask? I've gotten to go on some long runs during the week, which has been nice, I run lots of errands of course, and apparently today I'm wasting away my free time by blogging.

Thing 3 started his first year of preschool. He loves it and is completely frustrated that he doesn't get to go as often as his brothers. We know he likes his teacher, because the other day at church Sparky asked him what Jesus did for him, and he said He made Ms. Diane. If you ask him what his favorite thing about school is, he'll tell you it's the blackberries that grow near the playground.

Thing 1 is in 5th grade. His teacher told me at parent night that he is the top of the class in every subject, although I think she must have forgotten about spelling because he seems to have inherited his father's abilities in that area. Too much spell check! He ran for class president and lost, although the girl who won picked him as her VP. They also have a class legislature and a judicial system, and his teacher said she has had to send him as VP over to the legislative meetings to break up some arguments. I think the class politics thing ended up being more realistic than she expected! She also told me that she had a meeting with Thing 1 and the class president over who to appoint as Chief Justice, and he suggested that they choose one of the two new kids in class, since they didn't really get a chance to run for anything because no one knew them. What a sweet kid.

Thing 2 is in 1st grade this year. His teacher told me that he is Mr. Popularity. Everyone wants to sit by him, and the kids keep giving him gifts - cool looking rocks, twisted up paperclips, pencils sharpened down to little stubs. You know, what most of us refer to as trash but first graders see as treasures. I think the first day of school was a little long for him. He came home from school and plopped down his stuff and went to lie down on his bed. I don't think he has taken a nap since the day he turned two. I hated that I had to tell him to get up and get his cleats on because he had to leave for soccer practice in 10 minutes.

Monkeys

2008-09-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Question: What do you do when you walk into a room and you see your kids doing this:

Apparently I am raising a couple of monkeys.

Whaling Days 2008

2008-09-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the races the boys and I did at the end of July. Whaling Days is the big festival here in Silverdale and is always lots of fun. Here is Thing 3 in his first race ever! He is in a navy blue shirt, number 2200. Note how he keeps looking back to check on his mama!

Next is Thing 2, on the far right in a gray shirt, who had a great start and a not so great finish. At the very end, a kid cuts in front of him and trips him. Not the sparkling first place finish we saw at Viking Fest in May.

Thing 1 ran the 1 mile again and did great, finishing in 8:08. This course is pretty hilly, so he was pretty happy with his time. As you can tell, he gave it all he had!

I ran the 4 mile, and had a lousy race. I felt really tired from the start. I had been sick with a cold, and I coughed throughout the race. At the end, I felt like it was hard to breathe, which brought back memories of childhood asthma. Apparently other people were having trouble as well. Sparky said four or five people who crossed the finish line before me puked while crossing. Nice. No wonder the race worker looked panicked when I crossed looking green. I ran it in 33:26 which is a full minute and a half slower than last year. Here is a picture of me at the beginning of the race before I knew what I was getting myself into. Sparky took one of me at the finish line, but I'm not posting that one.

Feel Good Parenting Moment

2008-09-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

Today is soccer picture day for Thing 2. I hate when it is scheduled on a Sunday, but I try not to make a big deal about it. I have a big thing about playing sports on Sunday. I only did it once in my life; it was the Gus Macker 3 on 3 basketball tournament. I was 17, my parents were out of town, no one would know. Long story short, I broke 2 fingers, my bishop had to take me to the emergency room, and I nearly screwed up my senior year season of volleyball. Yikes! Lesson learned - no sports on the sabbath.

But what about sport pictures? I figure it's okay to take pictures on Sunday, we do it all the time. I'd rather do soccer stuff on a different day, but whatever. This year it's a pain, though, because I have to take Thing 2 out of primary a few minutes early to make it. Now, let me pause here and tell you that this is the kid that really grumbles about going to church. "Is it Sunday? Aw, man!" "Why do I have to wear a tie? I hate ties!" "Why is church so long and they don't even have any food?!" So when I stopped in primary to pull him out a little early (I know, I'm evil) he surprised me. He wouldn't leave. "Mom, I want to stay. Can't I just put on my uniform for you later and you can take a picture?" I wanted to give him a big hug right there in front of everybody. Of course you can stay in church, buddy. Thanks for teaching your mom about what's important.

Loving the Blackberries

2008-09-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

One thing that I hate about the Northwest is the blackberry vines that grow all over the place. They are a weed that I constantly have to yank out of my yard, and they poke me and make me bleed. But one thing that I love about the Northwest is the blackberry vines that grow all over the place. In August and September the berries are everywhere and we can pick them to our hearts' content. All three of our kids would live off them if I let them.

This year was a particularly good year. I got ambitious and made a couple of batches of jam. A friend happened to stop by mid-process and caught me amidst the stirring and the sweating. I also happened to have some bread baking in the oven at the time to give to our awesome neighbors for watching our house off and on this summer, and my friend accused me of going Molly Mormon on her. I told her to snap a picture because it would be a rarity.

Yesterday I took it up a notch and baked a blackberry pie. I had just watched the movie Waitress the night before, and if any of you have seen it before, you know that you can't watch that movie without craving pie. So the kids and I went out to pick berries. An hour and many scratched up arms later, we had a bowlful. Thing 3 insisted on carrying home the bowl. I gave it to him and then two steps later realized that was a bad idea. Sure enough, before I could take the bowl back, he tripped and dumped all the berries we'd picked. He looked up at us with sad eyes and said, "Sorry, guys." He was too cute to get mad at, so we picked more berries, and the pie turned out great. Not as good as Keri Russell's character would have made, I'm sure, but then again I'm not married to an angry, needy wife beater either, thank you very much.

Playground Etiquette

2008-09-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Earlier today I took Thing 3 to the play place at the mall. When he was done, he came over to sit by me and put his shoes on. Before he could get started, a little boy of about 3 came over and stood in front of him. He stared at Thing 3 for about 5 seconds, and then wiped his nose on Thing 3's knee, and then ran off. Seriously, nose to knee. Thing 3 looked confused and then completely grossed out.

What do you do in a situation like this? A) I could go the parent, but it seems like it's an adult form of tattling. "Your kid wiped his nose on my kid." I could B) scold the kid myself, but that never goes well. Kids don't care what you say to them unless you're their parent or their teacher. Plus, if the parent caught me, she'd be ticked. And I'm too repulsed by the whole thing to just C) ignore it and forget it ever happened. I guess I decided on D) rant about it on my blog and subject my poor friends and family to the trivialities of my life.

Happy Birthday Thing 1

2008-07-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a sleepover birthday party for Thing 1. I've decided that throwing sleepover birthday parties for your kids is like giving birth to your kids - when you're in the middle of it, it's unbelievably painful and you vow you're never going to do it again, but as time goes on, you think it wasn't that bad and you sign up for another one (No, I'm not pregnant). The party this year did contain a few gems, though. It was the first year that I heard girls discussed (in hushed tones, as though the subject was taboo), and we apparently invited a couple of pyromaniacs because I heard "Yeah, I know! Fire's awesome!" more than a few times. However, the best moment of the party came during the opening of presents. It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

Thing 1 opened his gifts from the kids and then I brought out the pièce de résistance: the gift from all four grandparents and us. He started opening it, and he got this smile on his face that anyone who knows this kid well will recognize. It's like he's trying to hold it back, but you can tell that he's really pleased. It was a Nintendo DS. Every ten year old's dream. The best part, though, was the reaction from the rest of the kids. They broke into applause. They cheered for their friend. They patted him on the back and shook his hand. I swear, if this kid ever wins an Oscar or a Nobel prize, the crowd support will be a disappointment after this. I think they would have hoisted him on their shoulders if he hadn't been holding the DS. Sparky and I were both shaking with laughter. I am kicking myself now for not getting it on tape. Luckily I did manage to get a few pictures with the still camera.

Here's that smile I was talking about...

And here we are in the midst of the hand shaking and celebrating.

Happy birthday, kid. 10 is a big birthday. I hope you have many more birthdays like this, and I hope for your sake and your brothers' that I continue to forget what a pain it is to throw a sleepover for a bunch of 10 year olds.

Thing 3 gets a haircut

2008-07-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

Before our trip, Thing 3 went from shaggy to spiky. Here are the before and after pics. (Why do my kids always look like they're being tortured when they smile for the camera?)

Vacation + Illness = No New Posts

2008-07-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week we got back from our two week vacation to everywhere. We spent two nights in Spokane, where we hung out with my fam and went to the water park, then we went to Yellowstone for five days, then to a surprisingly fun family reunion in Lava Hot Springs, then to Utah for three days to visit friends and family. We did the 16 hour drive back in one day, and of course I had to get sick on that day. One of the great things about Addison's disease is that you catch everything that's going around, so sleeping in a house with 55 people is not recommended. I'm not exaggerating. We had 55 people in one house for three days. My immune system just couldn't handle it. It's like using a bullet proof vest made out of swiss cheese. So we got back Tuesday night, and after two days of drugs and tissues, I have decided to rejoin the land of the living.

You always learn new things when you go on a vacation with your family, and this one was no exception:

The nursery in the West Yellowstone ward is full when it hits 6 kids and won't accept any more.

When you drop off your kid at the sunbeam class because he was rejected by the nursery (hey, he's tall for his age and can sit still), don't panic when he's not there at the end of church and the teachers think you're crazy. He'll be in the CTR 6 class, and no one will know why.

If you lose Thing 2 at a swimming pool crowded with hundreds of people on the Fourth of July, just watch the diving boards. (It's starting to sound like we lose our kids all the time - I swear we don't.)

I heart playing Rock Band on the Wii.

A ping pong table, an air hockey table, and two Wiis can make anything endurable, even a family reunion!

You can learn new things about people that you've known your whole life by playing Loaded Questions. I learned that one of my sisters is a closet political junkie, another thinks she looks like Zoe from Sesame Street, that my mom wants to be in a boxing match with Satan, and that my Dad likes Christopher Cross ("You could get caught between the moon and New York City. I know it's crazy, but it's true." Can anyone name the TV show this quote is from?).

Pool lifeguards are actually there to rescue people and not to daydream. We saw one jump out of her chair and save a kid from drowning. The kid was five or six and the parents were nowhere to be seen.

When you're three, you get to make up new words. Thing 3's new word of the trip was "drinky." "Mom, I'm drinky." "I'm berry drinky." I heard this all trip, and it always made me smile.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is breathtaking, possibly the most beautiful place on earth, and Old Faithful is worth the wait.

When three-year-olds see guns in a play, they think they're real. We went to the Playmill in West Yellowstone to see "Oklahoma," and during the show, they shot guns, with blanks of course. I didn't think anything of it until the end of the play when the lights went on and Thing 3 turned to me and said with relief, "Phew! They didn't shoot us!"

When you visit with old friends that you haven't seen in years, it's like you were never apart.

The Prophet Said To Plant a Garden

2008-06-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

Here is my attempt to grow an herb garden:

Seriously. This is why I don't own pets! I thought I was doing great - you know, I use fresh herbs all the time when I cook, so I'll save some money and grow my own. Food's getting expensive, and we're supposed to be self reliant, but I am just going to have to find another way to do it. This is the third time I've tried to do this, and each time they've been completely dead in less than a month. My grandma, who is a gardening genius, is just going to shake her head when I see her at the family reunion this summer. I feel like I'm letting her down. Hopefully she has passed her talent on to one of the other grandkids, because I am a genetic dead end when it comes to gardening.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go

2008-06-14T07:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Thing 3 was carrying around his backpack and told me he was ready for our trip. I found this slightly amusing since we aren't leaving for a couple of weeks. Later, I noticed the T.V. remote was missing, so I checked to see if he'd stuck it in his backpack. No remote, but I did find some fun stuff in there.

Things a three year old packs for a summer vacation:
Shoes
Jacket
Monkeys
A packet of instant oatmeal
Fruit snacks
All of our letter refrigerator magnets
Book of Mormon
A hymnbook
Han Solo
Little pirate guys
Little knight toys
Compass
The top of a toy fire extinguisher
Two books
Hammer
Football

Not bad, not bad. We have a couple articles of clothing, a little food, and if we get lost, Thing 3 can tell us where to go with his compass. I'm impressed that a Book of Mormon made its way in there; I can't tell if that was randomly thrown in or not. I love the packet of instant oatmeal. Of all the food we have, he wants to bring oatmeal? It wasn't even a good flavor; it was one of the "regular" packets.

Now I have to see if I can unpack it all and put it away without him noticing. And by the way, anyone know of any good hiding places for remotes?

Spring Recital 2008

2008-06-12T16:37:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we had our spring piano recital here at our house. The kids did great! This is worth mentioning because I wasn't sure that would be the case. I held my breath during a couple of the songs, because earlier that week during lessons, a couple of the songs were... still in the "needs-more-practice stage." However, the kids worked hard and pulled it off. And a big thank you to one friend who helped out with serving the desserts afterward - the kids always make a mad dash for the kitchen as soon as I start hinting that the recital is over. I saw a few eyes glaze over as I started wrapping things up, you know, "this has been a great year," "the kids have made a lot of progress." It was like I could see the words changing as I said them out loud, and all the kids could hear was "Blah, blah, blah." I felt like one of the adults from the Peanuts specials. Then I said the magic word - dessert - and bam! The whole front row was gone.

We did have two minor catastrophes, though. I forgot to give out the award ribbons at the end! After going to all the trouble of ordering them, picking out a color that would match the programs, writing the kids' names and song titles on the back - I was furious with myself for forgetting. I have been hunting down kids all week, trying to get them their ribbons. The other issue we had is also my fault. I have been stubbornly continuing to have some of the recitals here at our house. It is mostly because I heart my piano and the way it sounds with the high ceilings in our front room. So I force everyone to get cozy and smoosh into the front two rooms of my house. In the past, we've had 30 people at most, so it hasn't been too bad. Friday's attendance: 45. So. Many. People. It's fantastic, it's what I want, we just don't fit. We had people spilling into the kitchen and the front entry way, and of course the parent paparazzi on the stairs. I felt really bad when I noticed that someone that I borrowed twelve chairs from ended up having to stand. I think next year I am going to have to bite the bullet and reserve the church. The piano there may be crummy, but at least we won't feel like we've been playing sardines.

Check out this video of Thing 1 and his friend playing their duet. I got this from a friend; I would have posted the version from my camera, but mine didn't have the dance footage in the background.

Viking Fest 2008

2008-06-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Thing 1, Thing 2, and I participated in various races at Viking Fest in Poulsbo. Thing 2 squeaked out a win in the 50 yard dash:

And Thing 1 ran his first 1 mile race in an impressive 7:38.

Thing 3 said when do I get to run my race?

And I ran the 5 mile race. It was a gorgeous day, and the course was breathtaking (in more ways than one, ha-ha). Most of it is right along Liberty Bay, and it ends in downtown Poulsbo. I counted 12 women and one man from our stake who ran the race. It was nice to run with friends! I ran with a friend from basketball for the first mile or two, then I caught up to another friend around mile three and ran with her for a bit. I was really pleased with my time - my goal was to be under 45 minutes, and I finished in 41:38. Thing 1 admitted to me that Sparky had told them that I would finish sometime between 45 and 50 minutes. Thanks for the confidence! I took fourth in my division. I was bummed about not placing, but third place finished two minutes ahead of me so I didn't feel too bad.

Before this race, I had only run in 3 races since I had been diagnosed with Addison's disease in 2005, and all of my performances had been... less than stellar. This is the first race where I felt good before, during, and after the race. Sparky said I felt too good afterward - I guess it looked like I still had a lot left in me at the end. I don't know, I totally crashed on the couch when we got home and was completely worthless for the rest of the day. Anyway, it was fun, I'm looking forward to doing it next year, and I'm planning on doing more races this summer. And I'll have to remember to sign up Thing 3 for one of the kids dashes next time!

Losing Teeth and Sleep

2008-06-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

A few nights ago, I was sleeping peacefully when I was shaken awake by Thing 2. “Mom! Great news! I lost my tooth!” Great news. Stop the presses. I looked over at my clock. 1:35. I decided at that moment that I am completely out of touch with what it's like to be six. He was practically doing a jig by my bedside, and all I wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep. I gave him a “That's great, buddy,” and sent him off to bed. As an after thought, I called out, “I'm pretty sure the Tooth Fairy has already passed our house, so don't bother putting it under your pillow. We can do it tomorrow night.”

I have to say, he does look cute without that tooth.

Tag - I'm It

2008-06-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

So, apparently my lovely friend and cousin CDR has "tagged" me.

The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing ten years ago? Let's see, I had just graduated from BYU, living in San Diego and about a month away from giving birth to Thing 1. I was mostly living in my in-laws' pool trying to cool down.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today: Read to my kids, make dessert for 30 to 40 people for tomorrow, play basketball, talk to Sparky on the phone, order our new carpet.

5 Snacks I enjoy: pickles, candy, cashews, dried fruit, and ice cream (The pickles and ice cream make me sound pregnant but I swear I'm not).

Things I would do if I were a billionaire: I never know what to do with this type of question; I'm just not dying to have lots of money. I think I would just spend it on the people I love, take lots of trips together (Germany and/or Hawaii, anyone?), maybe get some huge cabin somewhere so my family and friends could gather and spend time together. I would probably get a house in San Diego and keep our house here in Washington, so we could go back and forth. I think I would end up giving a lot of it away, maybe start some sort of foundation or after school program for kids in this area. Boring, I know, but I'm just not the type of person to spend a thousand bucks on a pair of shoes. Oh, and I probably would have to break down and get my kids a Wii, because I wouldn't have an excuse not to anymore.

Places I have lived: Provo UT, San Diego CA, Reno NV, and Silverdale WA.

Jobs I have had: Retail, various odd jobs at a hospital in Reno, Athletic Trainer, Piano Teacher

The 5 bloggers I am tagging? Jenn, Diana, Potato Girl, Rachel, and Mako

Adventures in T - Ball

2008-05-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

I'm the worst mom ever and I'll tell you why: I hate T-ball. Sparky coaches the boys' soccer and basketball teams, so by the time baseball season rolls around, we are pretty burned out. Thing 1 decided not to play baseball this year, and we did a silent cheer when he wasn't looking. Thing 2, however, loves snacks and trophies, so he wanted to play again this year. We put on our happy faces and signed him up for the Orioles, since he played on their team last year. Bad move. They have a new coach, and he is super nice, but any skills Thing 2 has picked up this year have been from the few minutes here and there we've spent working with him in the yard or at the park. I'm not one of those parents that dresses up the whole family in Orioles gear for the games (we have some of those on this team), or is living through my kid's experiences, pushing him hard, dreaming of him pitching in the world series. I just, you know, want there to be a point for us to sit through two games a week besides getting to take pictures of him in catcher's gear (so cute!), and the fact that we paid for him to do this. But I could live with this if it weren't for the whole T-Ball Snack Fiasco of 2008 *cue scary music*.

A couple of weeks ago, it was our turn to bring the snack. Now I should preface this by saying that I have issues with the whole snack thing. Why can't it be like when we were kids, where every once in a while your mom showed up at half time with a bunch of cut up oranges and everyone was happy? Our kids have gotten ridiculous snacks in the past - the 3 course meal snack, the Halloween-came-early-this-year snack, and what I like to call the happy meal snack, where it comes with a toy. Now maybe I'm just being the T-ball Scrooge and I need to lighten up a little, but I refuse to spend 50 bucks or more on the snack. So anyway, we had the snack, and it wasn't horrible - craisins, a granola bar, a fruit roll, and a little bottle of gatorade. A little on the healthy side, but I don't think the kids would have tossed it in the trash on the way home. After the game I went on the field to give it to the kids, and the team mom comes over and stands right in front of me with this big cooler. I asked her what she was doing, we had snack, and she told me not to worry, she just wanted to give something out because she had forgotten to bring snack the week before. So then the kids come over, and she starts handing out her bags-o'-candy and drinks, and Thing 2 ends up being the only kid that takes one of my snacks. The team mom was completely unapologetic, and I was fuming. Thing 2 looked at me with big worried eyes and said, "Mom, I thought we had snack." Sparky kept giving me sideways glances, waiting to see when I was going to explode, but luckily I held it in until we got to the car.

Giving in to Peer Pressure

2008-05-29T13:19:00.000-07:00

So, for the last couple of years, I have had people politely nudging me to do a blog. It does make sense - I enjoy writing, and I have a husband who is a computer genius. But with a husband, three kids, two pain-in-the-butt diseases, and 11 piano students, I haven't had the time to just sit down and create one. Well, today I don't know why, but I decided to go Nike and just do it. So here it is. Aren't you so pleased?

My husband and I aren't big on putting our family's names out there in the big bad web, so from this point on, my husband will be known as Sparky a la the Chevy Chase Vacation movies, and the boys will be, from oldest to youngest, Thing 1, Thing 2, and Thing 3. (The idea for this came from Sara's post with her two youngest kids in cute Thing1 and Thing 2 shirts. Thanks, Sara!) If my family doesn't like them, too bad. They can get their own blogs.

I know I'm going to get questions about this - why "Training Fireballs?" Fireball was my nick name in high school. It came from a friend of mine who was at one of my volleyball games my sophomore year, who was unfortunately completely stoned at the time. I had rattled off a bunch of serves in a row, and he yelled out during the match, "Wow! Those things are like fireballs!" After that, people started calling me Fireball (with red hair, the nick name came easily), and the name kind of stuck. I became Fireball Trainer when I graduated from college with a degree in Athletic Training and passed the NATA certification exam, and now that we have our three boys, I figure I am training my own little fireballs. And they truly can be fireballs, as you will see in future posts.

I think one of the reasons why it took me a while to start blogging is that I wasn't sure what I wanted to blog about. I wanted to do a blog about my family, one about Addison's disease and Celiac disease, one about my running and fitness goals, one about the mountains of books that I read, and maybe one about being an LDS gen X mom. I just don't have time to do them all. They are all going to be smooshed into this blog, so I apologize in advance for the seeming randomness of my posts (and I apologize for, you know, you having to read my blog. Seriously. You must either be family or a really great friend).