Be Careful What You Wish For

So, for a long time I have said that I would love to be called as the Ward Activities Chairwoman. I love to plan parties and have no one come. (At least that's been my experience when planning my own gatherings.) A couple of weeks ago, I got the call. Either I mentioned it to the right person, or they really wanted to get us (and by us, I mean me, because Matt is an awesome teacher) out of teaching the pilot class "Strengthening Marriage".

I don't know about your wards, but in the last 4 years that we have lived here, we have done the same activities. The Chili Cook-Off in March, the Pancake Breakfast on the 4th of July, the Trunk-or-Treat in October, and the Christmas Party. I'm going to bet that it's the same for most of you. Minus the Chili Cook-Off in March. March?? I only make chili from September on, when the weather is right. Now that I think about it, here in Idaho, that can include March.

I got the "go-ahead" to shake things up a bit. I might get fired before I even get to some of my ideas, but it needs to be done. While I won't mess with the Trunk-or-Treat, I definitely have plans for the Christmas Party. I hope no one is offended when I don't serve ham and funeral potatoes.

What are some of your favorite or not so favorite activities that you have been to? I'm talking church gatherings, neighborhood block parties, school parties. We, Mormons, can adapt almost anything to suit our needs, right?

On Turning Ten...

This about sums it up. He always has a great way with words.

09/08/09

This friend of mine and I are due on the same day. We thought it would be cool to be induced on 09/09/09. Looks like she is set to get her wish. Unfortunately, I am not. I am scheduled to be induced one day earlier. My doctor originally had me scheduled for Wednesday and I had to talk him out of it. You see, my husband, the ever advocate of higher education, thinks his students would rather be in class reading, writing and well, no arithmetic in English 101.

I can't complain, he is starting his "paternity leave" tomorrow (except for teaching one hour a day three times a week). He asked me what is he really going to do for two weeks at home ("besides take care of the kids and get them off to school?"). Oh, I told him we have all kinds of things on our "to do" list. He is anxious and willing (well, anxious might be an overstatement). I am looking forward to having him around for a while.


p.s. check here to see another friend who will be birthing a child around the same time (guess which one is me?)

Why Is that, Anyway?

You would think that I would be blogging more, especially now that it is hot and I am 7+ months pregnant and really don't have the desire to do anything except sit on my rear. Plugging in my camera to upload even seems like too much of an effort.


Maybe I should correct myself. I have the desire to do a lot of things. I do want a clean house, and laundry done, and sewing projects finished, and scrapbooks worked on. It's just the motivation that I am lacking. There's a difference. I did manage to upload a few pictures to Facebook. I don't feel pressured to come up with witty captions and sarcastic remarks like I do when I post them on this blog.

So, I guess I'll just sit here under the ceiling fan and slurp down Sir Isaac Lime and Alexander the Grape Otter Pops (the two flavors of choice in the last half hour). They do a surprisingly good job of cooling a preggo off.

Why is that anyway?

My Fifteen Minutes

Well, it was more like 30 seconds, but I'll take what I can get.



Click on the title to be taken to Pocatello's NBC affiliate. Then find the "Summertime Presents Learning Opportunities" story on the video player and enjoy my fifteen minutes of fame.

A Little Bribery Never Hurt Anyone

This is how I get my kids to listen to General Conference. Every time they hear the word, they get to eat. They get to help pick the words and assign them to the treat. After one session, they do some switching with words that they never heard to words they think they will hear more. So for Sunday afternoon we added "temple" to the mix. I have to thank Elder Bednar for his talk about "temple" and "service". We ate well during that one. We even ran out of our "temple" treat and had to combine with something else.

It must be noted that I don't expect my kids to sit motionless for the entire thing. The rule is they have to be close to the room with the TV. You'd be surprised how well they hear a word and come running in to get their snack.

Who says you shouldn't bribe your kids with food??

Homemade Goodness-Pay It Forward

All right, it's time for a new post. Since I'm not in the mood to be creative or witty, I'll do a couple of random tags since all I have to do is cut and paste. And this one is my own fault since I was number three on a friend's blog.

The Rules:

1. Be one of the first 3 (three) people to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?! (But if you live far away, don't count on the yummy, and I just learned to knit).

2. Winners may then post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. You have 365 days to send your items. (There always has to be a disclaimer!)

Thanks to everyone who reads my blogs, thanks for letting me read yours. It's fun to catch up and learn more about you and enjoy your sarcasm. But mostly it's nice to know that there are others out there just like me going through all the same things day in and day out.

The Line

Some of you know this line. I'm sure you all have something like it in your own home. Everyone at Grandma Darlene's is very good about obeying the House Rules, especially the rule about not crossing the line (I wish they would listen this well at home). We are grateful to have somewhere close to go where people like us. Maybe I'm just it's my wishful thinking on that last part, but I'll just claim ignorance.

Thank you again for letting us crash for the night. Thank you also for watching all of our combined children for a couple of hours. It's nice to go out to dinner and pretend we don't have kids once in a while.

Fine, And You?

We're all good, just staying in. Although, I really need to go to the post office. I think it finally stopped snowing, maybe I will be brave.