NKA

After the crazy allergy incident at our home this week and reading my friend Libby's blog, I was reminded of a funny/sad story from Tyler's kindergarten days...

 

Tyler on his first day of school (September 2005)

I guess we did a poor job of educating our new kindergartner on what allergies were.  For whatever reason, the topic never really came up in our daily conversations with our 5 year old.  We filled out all of the school forms reporting that Tyler had NKA (No Known Allergies) and left it at that...

On one of his first days of school, the new computer lab teacher brought in cookies for the new students.  She asked if there was anyone in the class who was allergic to cookies.

Tyler thought that was a funny question to ask and not knowing what allergies meant, he assumed that she wanted to know who liked cookies, so he raised his hand up high.  "Me, Me!"

He was the only child in the class who did not get a cookie that day.  Instead, he got some stickers and shed lots of tears.

This was one of Tyler's first lessons on speaking up!  And one of the new teacher's first lesson on why the parents fill out the school forms, not the kindergarten children!

Birthday Girl

"I'm going to be 4...and then I'll be 5"

Why do they have to be so eager to grow up?

My best buddy turns 4 today!

She's my lunch date ("Where are we eating lunch today?"),
my personal shopper ("Is this on sale?  Can we get it?"--repeat 100x),
my cleaning helper ("Why don't the boys ever put this stuff away right?")
my officer worker ("I want a purple stapler and pink tape dispenser for my birthday!"),
my little fashionista ("I can't decide if I want short hair like Betty or Rapunzel hair like Amy's mom..."),
my own Pandora station ("When do you think All the Single Ladies will play again?")...

I don't know what I'm going to do when she does turn 5.  That's only months away from going to kindergarten.  Gulp.

Happy Birthday, baby girl.

Super Man

Are you ready for some cheese?
It's Rob's 35th birthday today.

And I couldn't go today without letting him and the whole world know that he is my Super Hero!

 (Because how many husbands would dress up like this and walk around Disney all day with red hair dye dripping down his face because of the sweltering heat.  All just to make his family happy.  He hated every moment of it.  Yet he played along.  I love him.)

BEHOLD your little ones

I've been in bed sick and resting for the past two days. Which means no church for me today :( but time to catch up on General Conference that I missed while in Michigan.

I've had many reasons to be thinking about the family over the past few weeks.  More so on the impact that we as parents have on our children and the blessings that children provide in our life. Some of my favorite quotes and thoughts from the conference...

Richard J. Maynes shared my favorite poem, The Echo by C.C. Miller, during his conference address along with this thought...

"Parents are responsible to teach their children in love and righteousness. Parents will be held accountable before the Lord in how they perform their sacred responsibilities. Parents teach their children with words and through example."

’Twas a sheep not a lamb

That strayed away in the parable Jesus told,

A grown-up sheep that strayed away

From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek

And earnestly hope and pray?

Because there is danger when sheep go wrong:

They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,

Wherever the sheep may stray.

When sheep go wrong,

It won’t take long till the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead

For the sake of the lambs today,

For when the sheep are lost

What a terrible cost

The lambs will have to pay.

Our role as parents is SO important.   We need to be mindful of the choices that we make.  Our little ones are watching and following.

And then Sister Jean A. Stevens shared some words to a song that the children in our ward learned a few years ago and has become a favorite bedtime song of Anna's...

God gave us families

To help us become what He wants us to be—

This is how He shares His love,

For the fam’ly is of God.

(You can listen to the song here.) 

"Have some of life’s experiences taken from you the believing heart and childlike faith you once had? If so, look around at the children in your life. And then look again. They may be children in your family, across the street, or in the Primary in your ward. If we have a heart to learn and a willingness to follow the example of children, their divine attributes can hold a key to unlocking our own spiritual growth."

"It was Jesus Christ Himself who taught us to look to children as an example. The New Testament records His answer when His Apostles disputed who should be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus answered their question with a small yet powerful object lesson. He called a little child to Him and set him in the midst of them and said:

“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4)."

We have SO much that we can learn from the young ones in our life. To quote from Elder Ballard's thoughts on Christ's love for the children...

“And he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

“And when he had done this he wept. …

“And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones” (3 Nephi 17:21–23).

“Notice that He didn’t say ‘glance at them’ or ‘casually observe them’ or ‘occasionally take a look in their general direction.’ He said to behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes” (“Behold Your Little Ones,” Tambuli, Oct. 1994, 40; emphasis added; “Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children,” Ensign, Apr. 1994, 59).

I love General Conference and the gentle reminder that I've been given to love, cherish and learn from the children that I have been entrusted with. 

Birthday Boy

I just returned from my whirlwind trip across Michigan.
And just in time!
It was no accident that we made it back by today...
I hate missing birthdays!

And today is Evan's 6th!
I can't get enough of this kid.
He never fails to put a smile on my face (even when he shouldn't be).

Happy Birthday, Evan.

Some of my favorite photos of Evan from the past year...

Anna, Anna silly banana,

how does your garden grow?

We've got lots of work to go, but I have the best helper one could ask for!



Seedlings are growing (not as well as I'd like however).  Tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, oregano, jalepenos and sweet peppers.  I can't wait!
Raspberries are planted (thanks Delilas).
Soil will be prepped this weekend.
Green onions, carrots, watermelon, peas, cilantro!!
Looking forward to the harvest!!

Hello Cello

Learning the cello has been so much fun for Tyler.  He's signed up to continue with it next year which means forking out the big bucks for a rental (rather then the beat up elementary school cello which has a one time small fee).   He hates that he has the ugly cello, but we wanted to make sure that he was really invested.  And he is.  His few years of piano lessons have helped him pick up the beginning cello lessons quite easily.

A few weeks ago they had a mini concert tagged on to a PTO meeting (in hopes that we would all stay...we didn't.)  Because they really have not learned that much, the concert lasted all of 5 minutes.  A few children were chosen to play a song with their bows and Tyler was one of them.  We're so glad he's had this experience.

Are you getting sick of all these catch up posts yet?  

I am.

But I'm happy to have them documented.

Why I Love Spring

(Minus the whole lack of grass thing.)

The Great Ice Race

Water, lemonade, soda or juice?  Which freezes the fastest?

Evan can not just sit back and watch everyone participate in science fair projects.  He's been dying to do his own for years.  Now that he is in kindergarten, he could officially participate in the school science fair!  Once Evan realized that making his science fair board was more then just completing an experiment, he wasn't as excited about it but he finished it none the less.  He made a graph, wrote out his hypothesis (I think water will frez first becuz thur is no junk in it.) and results (I was rit!).

And now he is so proud.

(And you can call us crazy for adding unnecessary stress to our already busy schedules, but we like science experiments over here and if the kids want to participate they have to initiate everything and earn the privilege to participate--except for Tyler this year, it is required in 5th grade.)

FYI...plain water freezes the fastest.

Mr. America

I love the music programs that our elementary school puts on.  Each grade has it's own program that they really try and make special for the children.  This year, Jared's theme was America.  The 3rd graders sang several songs, wore their patriotic gear and waved their flags proudly.  It's fun to look across all of the 3rd graders and recognize so many of them from over the past 4 years.  We really do have a great school!

 Jared isn't a fan of singing, but I did see him open his mouth (but just barely)!

I survived a 5th grade field trip

I guess once kids hit 5th grade, parents don't care so much about going on field trips with their kids because there was no lottery necessary and I was able to go on Tyler's trip to DC.  We spent the entire day in DC and were able to go to the top of the Washington Monument, walk across the mall and see the WWII and Vietnam Memorials and visit the Lincoln Memorial.  After a quick lunch break, we spent a few hours at the American History and Natural History Museums.  The trip was maybe an hour or two too long for the kids to handle and by the end of the day we were all dragging. 

Hanging out with 5th graders all day was eye opening.  They are enthusiastic.  Their minds are constantly running (along with their mouths--talk, talk, talk all day!). They are good, good kids.  And they are still young. Unfortunately, maybe some of them don't have the best influences in their life.  Or I am just getting old and old-fashioned.  Am I wrong to think that 10 years old (and 8 year olds according to one mother) is too young to be watching Grey's Anatomy and Glee or having Facebook accounts?   Blah...I don't think I'm ready for middle school!
Can't Tyler stay in 5th grade forever?

Not sure the point of this post...

I love this picture.  I hate this picture.  We both have sad, crying, puffy eyes.  This wasn't the way I would have preferred to see my long lost forever friend, but it was...

 Care (Catalina) and Dre (Andreas)

Care and her family lost their dear sister to breast cancer in March.  I wish I had known Liz better.  She was older then us, so she was always the older, wiser, off to college, on a mission sister that Care looked up to and talked about often. Liz was much too young to go.  She left here a husband, three children (2 with autism--don't forget to light it up blue), 3 sisters, parents and many, many friends.  I've never seen a  funeral so well attended.  It was evident...Liz loved many and was loved by many.

I haven't seen Care in YEARS--maybe since Tyler was a baby??  But some things just never change and it was like we were in high school again.  I wish we could have had more time to visit, but obviously she was needed elsewhere and we were heading off to a wedding in WV.  I left knowing that I missed her and looking forward to seeing her again this summer--hopefully under much happier circumstances.

"Life does not begin with birth, nor does it end with death...We were born to die, and we die to live. (See 2 Cor. 6:9.) As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven." Elder Russell M. Nelson

I went to Japan (Socks post)

Remember last year when I went to Japan...
That was awesome.

I wish I could go back.

When the earthquake and tsunami destroyed parts of Japan last month, I was reminded about so many things from our trip.

Namely...their "socks style".  Weird, huh?

 Isn't that the best name for a store!

 

Uh-oh!  Where is my sensor button??!!  ; )

Because my feet had swelled up so badly on the plane ride and they were rather uncomfortable our entire trip. Foot comfort was on my mind A LOT!

I brought home tons of socks from Japan!  It turned out to be my favorite souvenir.  In Japan, they even have accessories for their socks--little pompoms and bows, etc...!  You know how we wear nude colored slip on socks with our flats...I think that is a fashion no-no in Japan.  If you're wearing socks then they need to be great and they're meant to be seen!  We here in America have so much to learn from the Japanese (and really this extends far past sock style, but that could be an entire post of its own)!

After the tsunami, I heard from a friend about an organization that was collecting socks for the people in Japan.  It immediately tugged on my heart strings.  Socks for Japan...I couldn't think of a more perfect way to help in a way that was personally meaningful to me (and my family)! 

So, I gathered up the kidlings and we went sock shopping!  The only rule was that the socks could not be boring.  The kids had tons of fun picking out cool socks and we finished off the afternoon with lunch at PeiWei,  using chopsticks and all.  The next day, Anna and I created a note (and found someone to translate it for us in Japanese) that we wrapped around each pair of socks and delivered them to a friend to be shipped to Japan.  Word is that our socks have arrived and soon will be on the feet of 45 Japenese friends.  I'm so happy.

You can follow along (and donate socks) on the Socks for Japan website about their experiences as they deliver socks to the shelters in Japan.  It is inspiring, motivating, heart breaking and uplifting to read that the socks are so greatly appreciated.  Help if you can.

Enjoy your life!  Enjoy your socks style!

March Madness

Thought I'd check in before March ended.  Talk about waiting until the last moment...

We've been busy.  With science fairs and art fairs, funerals and weddings, basketball and gardens, campouts and first aid merit badges, service projects and church responsibilities, school concerts and new unfinished projects, missing teeth and moon bounces...

I really do have so much to share and journal, but I haven't felt like it.  But I feel like I should.

So I will.

Tomorrow.

I Believe In...

My kids love this song.
Ever since Sister Hayward taught them this song at church, it has turned into their anthem.  (When I say kids, I mean Evan and Anna.  Tyler and Jared don't sing, so they say.  But Sister Hayward has some kind of magic power and they'll sing for her, but only at church).
They'd sing it from the roof tops if we'd let them.
Instead, Rob let them sing it to his iphone video camera.
Way better then a rooftop.

First, Miss Anna...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id1I4aJ8Rlc  <--you have to click on this link to view it.

Not too shabby.  She really gets into her singing--shaking those shoulders and all.

BUT Evan, he's a whole other story.  I can't stop laughing when I watch this.  Nope, not because of the silly voice or karate chopping moves.  Nope, you have to watch until the very last second.  Very last, I tell you.  (No child was injured in the making of this video.  A direct quote from Evan, "That didn't hurt!")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3BSmflW9Zo  <--you have to click on this link to view it.

It's all in good fun, right?!  But seriously, I'm so glad my children love this song!

11

I was due on February 4th, 2000.  Eleven days later, Tyler was born.

Was that really 11 years ago?  It seems like just yesterday, but also forever ago!

So to celebrate this February 15th, here are 11 things about Tyler...

1. He knows who he is.  This has been a hard year for Tyler, but he is aware of that.  He seeks guidance from his parents and knows that he is in control of his feelings and actions. For an 11 year old to be self-aware amazes me.

2. He doesn't care too much for Santa, or the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny--but he's not ready to give up the perks, so he plays along.


3. I am in awe of his maturity.  The poor child has to wear headgear at night and he hates it, but he chose it over a retainer.  One, he didn't want the burden of possibly loosing a retainer and two, his younger brother also has to wear headgear and he didn't want him to have to do it alone.  Sweet.

4. On another maturity note--Tyler recently had to decide which language to study in middle school next year.  Spanish or French?  With minimal coaxing from his parents (Rob voted Spanish.  I voted French), he came up with a decision on his own.  I know he didn't want to hurt one of his parents feelings, so he looked at the facts and made a decision that didn't involve us.  (He chose French!!!!!!!!)

5. When Tyler was much younger he used to be afraid of...EVERYTHING.  Not so much anymore.  He is still hesitant about things, but that doesn't stop him from trying.  Like being a pitcher for his baseball team or going off jumps while snowboarding or eating Japanese food.

6. Tyler does NOT like to be the center of attention.  He shies away from the camera, large noisy groups, even a kiss from Daisy Duck sends him into hysterics.  And if we were to ever even mention the name of a cute girl in his class--that would be the end of us!  See, I mentioned that I wrote this and now he is MAD.


7. He's an over achiever.  Over, over achiever.  His goal last year (and this year) was to receive a 600 on all of his school SOLs.  And he did it!  Along with straight A's as an added bonus.

8. He's not a fan of piano lessons.  Cello lessons at school are ok.  But the recorder--now that's cool because it's easy! And I'm quick to point out that the reason the recorder is so easy is because he has his piano and cello background to help him out.

9. Tyler is looked up to by his younger siblings.  If Tyler does it, then it must be ok.  If Tyler is playing video games then we all should do that.  If he is outside then we should all go outside.  If Tyler does a science fair project about pinewood derbies then so should I.  Etc., etc,. etc,. I know this bothers him, but he tries to be patient!

10. Legos, reading and baseball are still his favorite pastimes.  He's starting the Lord of the Rings series, collecting Lego Star Wars sets and gearing up for baseball season.

11.  He loves vacation just as much as his mom!  Myrtle Beach, camping, and Disney were some of his favorites this past year.  He has high hopes of going to Alaska to see Denali, cruising the seas, visiting Rome and seeing more of Utah's National Parks.  The last one seems to have the highest probability.

Why must they grow up?

Yesterday as I walked around Target I got a little teary eyed.

I no longer need to shop in the baby/toddler/preschooler section of the store.

We've grown out of diapers and sippy cups.  No more little socks and onesies.

It's all XS 4/5 and bigger.

Why can't these silly kiddos...

...stay so sweet and young?

what to do, what to do

I had resolved to not make any more cupcakes until I lost 5 pounds.
And then it snowed.
And I've been stuck in the house with kids for three days.
So I broke my resolution.
Happily.

Ingredients

• 24 Oreo halves, with cream filling attached
• 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 20 Oreo cookies, coarsely chopped
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted (I only used 3 cups and it was plenty sweet)
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• Oreo cookie crumbs (for garnish)
• 24 oreo cookies, halved (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line the wells of two cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Place an Oreo halve in the bottom of each liner, cream side up. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; stir together with a fork to blend and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter and sugar and beat together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients. Gently fold in the chopped Oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated, being careful not to over-mix.
2. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and 6 tablespoons of butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Blend in 1 tablespoon vanilla extract. Beat in 3-4 cups of confectioners’ sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Add the 2 tablespoons heavy cream to the bowl and beat on medium-low speed just until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Frost the cooled cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with Oreo crumbs and garnish with Oreo halves.

 

It was well worth it.

Snow Day

We've had our first official "SNOW day" of the season today (ice and dustings of snow don't count even though the kids had no school)!  The snow accumulations compare nothing to last years, but the heavy, wetness of it all made for a fun storm.

The kids had no school yesterday.  

I'm still not sure why.

So we enjoyed the day before the storm came.

We had lunch at Pizza Hut.

Made some cupcakes.

Around 3 it started to hail hard.

 

And then it snowed.  And snowed.  And snowed.  

Within minutes our grass was completely covered with snow for the first time this season!

The kids were thrilled (so was I).

We shoveled.

We made a snowman.

 

When Rob came home, we went sledding. Can you see us in there?  The snow was pouring from the sky.

 

Too much play, no time for dinner.  I heated up leftovers for the kids.

Then the power went off and then on and then off again (around 6:15pm).

So we made a fire and put the little ones to bed in the family room. 

And the older kids, roasted extra large marshmallows in the fireplace. 

The snow was so bright and pretty and heavy and messy, but we were safe and cozy in our home.

 

We couldn't have asked for a better night.

And now for our first "snow day", I've kicked the kids outside for the morning to ENJOY it!!

 (Evan building his own snow cave.)

 (Anna following the neighbors around.)

(Tyler and pals beginnings of a snow fort.)

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the power came back on sometime between 4:30 and 6:00 am.  Rob purchased an indoor propane heater last year that toasted our place right up.  In fact, I was sweating.  So, no worries--we did not freeze!

Happiness in Family Life

Something I've been thinking about ever since Christmas break when Michelle agreed to take a photo of all 38 of the Chiapelli/Mead family children and their children on one of the coldest days of the year...

"Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer,repentance,forgiveness,respect, love,compassion,work, and wholesome recreational activities.”

~ The Family: A Proclamation to the World ~

 

 

  I'm happy, blessed, and grateful to be a part of this.