Bobby Jack

Okay, sorry about the bad pics, but here you go. I wouldn't know what Bobby Jack was if it weren't for Autumn. I'm sure you all have seen t-shirts and such with those monkeys and the obnoxious sayings like, "It's all about me." So here's some pics of the bed. It may not be the perfect bedcover that took months to pick out, but it works for Autumn and didn't cost an arm and a leg and that's what counts! Oh, and by the way, I had to have her make the bed to take this pic. So much for the incentive to keep the room clean...

between a rock and a 'tween

Autumn wants a Bobby Jack comforter for her bed. We can't buy her the $80 one at JC Penney and she's sad. Now, I don't feel like she will be deprived if she doesn't have it, but Autumn is very good at making people (me) feel guilty about not being able to get her some of the things she wants. She needs a new comforter, that's true. And I promised that if she kept her room clean for 2 weeks solid she could get one. (We're constantly trying to motivate her to keep her room clean, because otherwise it turns into the wreck of the Hesperus--thanks for that expression, Mom--in a day or two.) The groundrules were that she could pick it out, but I had to approve and it had to be affordable.

So she sees this Bobby Jack one on jcpenney.com and falls in love with it. I like the cute but budget-wise one at Shopko. When I try to convince her to get the cheaper one she just acts insolent and ungrateful. "You can buy me anything in this store and I won't want that one," she says. (Was I like this at 10?) So I tell her we can go look around at other stores and see what we find and if we find one cheap enough we can get it.

Our compromise: A cute clearance Bobby Jack pillow sham from Mervyn's she can use for a throw pillow that will match the on-sale set at Shopko. That works for her. The bonus is that we found a half-price Bobby Jack throw blanket that she can have if she keeps her room clean until she goes back on track on Jan. 14. Woohoo! Another incentive to put those dirty clothes in the hamper!

So did I handle this in the best way? Probably not. I want her to value the things she has and not take them for granted (hence not taking care of her things and leaving them lying around in a messy room). But I also want her to know that I'm trying to work with her and not just ignoring her desires.

Oh, I don't look forward to teenagehood.

Christmas

Today is Christmas Day. What a wonderful Christmas season it has been. Too bad it has to end, huh? But who can keep up with the eating? I guess I probably could if I tried hard enough.

I especially enjoyed seeing family from far and near. We just don't see each other nearly enough! It's good to be with the ones you love.

Now my house is a sea of trains, cars, craft projects, and the packaging from said items. Outside is a winter wonderland. Life is good. I'm grateful for my blessings.

my hubby

I have such a great husband! I just needed to sing his praises really quickly and show my gratitude for what he does for me and for our kids. There's not one particular thing that spurred this sermon, just lots of little things. So I know all of you girls have great husbands, too, but I just had to extol Trevor's virtues briefly.

Thanks, Trev!

MISTAKES

Oh, boy. What a mess. I've got three callings in my ward, right now. Trevor and I teach the marriage and family enrichment class together, I'm one of the ward librarians, and I'm the building scheduler. And admittedly, I'm forgetful! Not a good thing to be when you have lots to keep track of.

Well, after the ward Christmas party was planned and announced for this Saturday morning, Trevor noticed a discrepancy on the calendar. Another ward has it scheduled the building for almost all that day. Somehow, our activities committee had changed the date and it never got rescheduled. And it's my fault because I never even realized it wasn't on the calendar. Oh, I feel so terrible! The activities committee chair called me to find out what had happened and all I could do was apologize! I wonder if they'll ever trust me again...

I just wanted to record this catastrophe and then try to forget it forever.

a special request

Simon saw that I had posted the pictures of the other craft projects and requested that I post the pictures of these two Perler bead creations that he and Parker have made in the past few days. So here they are...

I imagine we could start a blog just for their craft projects! Uh-oh, what have I just suggested?

an artsy family

Sometimes I feel like I belong to the wrong family. My husband knows his way around an art project, and all our children follow suit. Tonight it was cheesy little pistachio and walnut shell people. He just grabbed the shells and started gluing.




The kids all went nuts (no pun intended) about them and wanted to make their own. Parker called them "Nutty Buddies." Yesterday and the day before it was Perler Beads. It's always

something. They always have to be creating. Most of the time I just let them go for it and hope they clean up after themselves. And this is my point. I have no desire to "create" unless it's dinnertime and we're hungry! I don't know if I just gave up on arts and crafts because everything I ever made turned out bad, or if it's because there's always something more important to do (like create dinner or some folded clothes). Either way is sad. I shouldn't give up on crafts mostly because it's time spent with the kids that will be memorable and appreciated by them.

So this is where scrapbooking comes in. When Simon is bored and can't possibly figure out what to do, I suggest scrapbooking. Then he and I both get to do something we like, and he gets to create. Scrapbooking is my one outlet where I don't mind if it turns out bad, and once in a while I make something that turns out good! But in 10 or 20 years no one will mind, and we'll all just be glad to have our pictures in a book where we can enjoy them. And again, it's cathartic.

vroom vrooms

Eli, 2 years old, has an affinity for what he calls vroom vrooms. This is a car--mostly Hot Wheels types, but he loves anything with wheels! He has a book of all different kinds of transportation and he'll open it and point to whatever one and I have to name it, i.e. cement mixer, bus, delivery truck, police car, tow truck, etc. Over and over and over. He loves all the different names.

I guess I never imagined myself a mother of boys, and now I have three that keep me informed and abreast of all the cool new boy toys and boys obsessions. My family room is constantly a sea of vroom vrooms and choo choos and I embrace it! It won't last long.

the choir

Okay, so this blog has nothing to do with singing. I just liked that title because I feel like I'm just chiming in with my small voice. Just like the song that my kids used to listen to over and over, "All God's critter's got a place in the choir, some sing low and some sing higher." It goes on, and I can't remember all the words, but it ends with "...some just clap their hands."

So do you ever have one of those days when you feel like you've worked nonstop and you have nothing to show for it? In fact, your house and everything else looks worse than it did when the day began? That's me today. I guess I can't feel bad, because I really did get a lot done. It just wasn't anything that visible. And while I was busily getting things done, my kids made more messes. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

catharsis

1. the purging of the emotions or relieving of emotional tensions, esp. through certain kinds of art, as tragedy or music.

That's what writing is for me.

So I'm joining the 21st century and starting a blog. I've enjoyed reading everyone else's blogs so much, that I thought I'd like to start one, too. I don't yet know what my purpose or aim will be, but I know it'll be cathartic...