Can you identify with this, too?

Vancouver Temple Open House

A few months ago, when I realized there was a temple open house just a couple of hours from us, I knew that I wanted to take my kids.  I wanted them to see the inside of a temple and have one more opportunity to teach them about what happens in the temple.  After discussing this with Ryan, we immediately set to work on our passports in preparation for the event.

We originally planned to go on Monday, April 19.  Imagine my disappointment when that day found Kallie very sick and Whitney coming down with the same thing.  I started praying my guts out that we would still be able to make it before the open house ended on Saturday, April 24.  Each day we woke up hoping to see a change in the high temps the girls were running.  We figured if Kallie was looking better, we'd know how long the illness lasted and could calculate when Whitney would be done. 

By Wednesday, Kallie had made only minor improvements and Whitney was still in the thick of it.  That same morning, I ended up at the doctor for a lovely case of conjunctivitis.  When I came home and realized Kallie's eyes looked just like mine, I took her to the pediatrician.  After looking her over, the nurse practitioner proclaimed, "Strep!" based on her little throat.  Swabbing determined it wasn't strep, but the NP decided antibiotics were the way to go.  Thursday morning, she was looking much more like herself again.

Knowing that Whitney was 2 days behind Kallie--and STILL hoping to make it to the open house, I took Whitney to the pediatrician Thursday morning.  Her throat looked alright to me, but I just felt like it was a good idea.  (Just for the record here, Kallie complained a TON about being sick.  Whitney didn't complain one bit.  Except once or twice to say, "My head hurts.")  Good thing I took her in--she had a raging ear infection.  As I picked up the second bottle of antibiotics, I decided that it would be easier to remember to take the medicine with two little people to remind me.

Thursday night, Ryan and I prepared to go to the open house the next morning.  We would go on Saturday if the kids weren't well enough, but if they were doing fine--then we were going Friday.  When Whitney woke up on Friday, her eyes were brighter and she had no trace of a fever.  Game on!  We dressed everyone in church clothes and packed up the car.

The drive up was really nice!  We haven't been further north than downtown Everett, so we enjoyed seeing the new places on the way.  When we got to the Canadian border, there were a few very short lines.  We were 3rd in line and had waited about 3 minutes when the lane next to us opened right up, so we slid right in.  As we drove into Canada, I changed our GPS to kilometers.  A 20 min. drive through beautiful Langley, B.C., we parked right next to the Vancouver Temple. 

We walked across the parking lot to the church building where the tours began.  After sitting in the chapel for less than 5 minutes, they took our small group into a classroom in the building to show us a short video about temples and about the history of the church in British Columbia.  When the video ended, we walked back across the parking lot to the temple.

The Vancouver temple is absolutely beautiful.  I haven't been inside a temple that isn't beautiful, really, but there were features that I just loved about this one.  The attention to detail was amazing to me.  The decorating theme in this temple is the province flower, dogwood, and ferns--which according to our tour guide are very West Coast.  There were small dogwood flowers on the handles and tips of the door handles and the chandelier in the Brides' Room was patterned after the dogwood.  Once again, amazingly beautiful.

One feature that our guide pointed out was that since the Vancouver temple is a smaller temple, there is light from outside windows in almost every room.  Sure enough, as we went through, there really was a lot of light coming in through the windows.  I loved it!  After the tour, Kallie reported that her favorite part was the Baptistry and Whitney's favorite part was "the marrying room."  My favorite part was being there with my kids--taking the time to let them know that these things are important to me.  The spirit was incredibly strong through our entire tour.  I was just so grateful that we were blessed to be well enough to enjoy this experience as a family. 

After having cookies and flavored waters at the chapel, we packed back into the car.  We stopped for lunch at a local place, and then stopped off at a grocery store to pick up a few Canadian treats for the kids to try.  (We did a tasting session after dinner when we got home.)  We had a 30 min. wait at the border back into the US.  We felt like we got off lucky with such a short wait--the lines going into the US were much longer earlier in the day.

I am so glad we were able to go!  It was such a fun and memorable outing!

(P.S. Because of my eye infection, I can't wear makeup or my contacts.  I am not a fan of going without either of these things.  Makes me look a little more washed out in this pic, but life goes on, right?)

Whitney's First Person

No paper is safe in my house anymore.  In fact, I've had to start protecting the paper on the printer, even though we have an entire box.  My girls go through it like they go through liquid soap.  (Speaking of, how do you keep your kids from using up all your liquid handsoap?  Our think it's the greatest toy ever.) 

So, last week, my girls raided the paper.  Their drawings are ALL OVER the house.  The most popular art project at our hosue these days involves 138 red Hello Kitty faces stamped on one piece of paper and then a few of the faces are selected for additional features--like black scribbles, circled eyes, and random doodles.

Whitney was hunting for a fresh piece of paper the other day when I handed her a Hello Kitty-ed sheet and said, "Look, it's still white on the back!"  A few minutes later, she came to me with the following drawing.  I was amazed to see that she had drawn a person.  But, her description made the pic even better!  (The "in" and "out" lines were drawn as part of the description.)  "Jonah and the Whale" has been a frequent topic of conversation at our house lately, thanks to Primary and Family Home Evening.

.

And it begins...

The time has come.  As you can see, these boxes have moved us a few times. 

Just one more to go and then we'll gladly pass them on to someone else.

What's Missing?

Welcome to the lastest edition of "What's Missing?"  (Remember to say the title in an announcer-style voice.  Makes this post worlds more interesting.) 

Here's how to play:

Read the following clues, then decide what's missing.

• Excessive drooling
• Grumpy disposition
• Not sleeping well
• Tugging on ears
• Chewing on everything
• No fever (See, I've just elimnated one possible answer for what's missing.  You're welcome.)

There are the clues.  I'll sing the Jeopardy theme song while you're thinking.

**da-da-da-da-da-da-daaaa, da-da-da-da-da!-da-da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da-da, DA!-da-da-da-da-da-da**

Now for the answer.  (If you're still thinking, return to the Jepoardy theme song until you've got an answer.)

If you guessed "Clayton's Tooth," you're right! 

You've won my hearty congratulations and the satisfaction of knowing your kid isn't the one teething!  (Unfortunately, there are no parting gifts for those who didn't answer correctly.)  Thanks for playing!

Home is Where You Hang Your Heart

My heart has been precariously hung on the "Yellow House" for almost 4 weeks now.  We have been moving forward with a bit of caution, not knowing what would yet be required in order to make this house ours.  And, there are many things that have been out of our own control--which makes us even more cautious.

Today, we heard back on the appraisal--the final hurdle to our home ownership, (at least with this home).  It came in right at the asking price, which we pretty much expected.  However, contrary to our expectations, there were no conditional clauses to hold up closing.  What a surprise!  But, truly, what a relief.  We are going to be homeowners in about a month!

This experience has been, at times, very harrowing for me.  I don't know why it was so intense on my end, but I feel that I've learned so many good things through this experience.  The details are personal, but here's a Reader's Digest version of my learning curve:

Greater trust in personal revelation
Greater faith in Jesus Christ
Greater trust in the Lord's timing
Heavenly Father is more powerful than any aspect of the housing market
Heavenly Father wants to bless us with our desires

I feel incredibly blessed by the way this has all turned out.  I look forward to moving in, settling down, and making it into our home.  After all, my heart's already in it.

One Movie, Two Lessons

Last night, we introduced our daughters to "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."  We had been calling it just "Snow White," but the full title includes "and the Seven Dwarfs."  But, that isn't one of the lessons.  So, maybe I should say One Movie, THREE Lessons.

Anyway, on to the first lesson.  As we were watching SW&T7D, I realized that all princesses seem to be relegated to housework prior to becoming a queen.  (OK, except Jasmin and Pocahontas.  But Pocahontas really isn't a princess in my opinion.  And I didn't like the movie.  So, she doesn't count.)  All the others had to learn to work hard and do so happily before they realized their full kingdom-leading potential.  Recognizing this idea made me feel all the more princess/queen-like in my own life.

The second lesson happened as Kallie was relating the end of the story to me.  (I had to head upstairs to feed Clayton and put him to bed before the movie ended.)  When Kallie came to say goodnight, I asked her to tell me about the rest of the movie.  Not that I'd never seen it.  I just wanted her version.  She told me that the Wicked Queen gave Snow White the apple, and then Snow White died.  The dwarves were sad and gathered around her while she was in a glass box.  Then the prince came.  He kissed her and she came back to life.  And now, here is the lesson: The prince picked Snow White up and put her on his horse.  Because she couldn't walk.  Probably because she was dead before.  Consider this your warning should the same thing happen to you!  (You know, with the poison apple and all...)

MomGyver

Being a mom comes with many opportunities for extreme creativity.  Today was one of those opportunities.  This morning, I took all three kids to the Primary Easter activity.  (Ryan was down at The Yellow House for the inspection.)  The kids were divided up into groups and got to make the rounds to several different Easter-themed stations over the course of an hour and a half--and then there would be an Easter egg hunt. at the end.  To make things a little easier for me, I tucked Clayton into my Moby and rotated through the stations with Whitney. 

About 30 minutes before the hunt, she started doing the potty dance.  We made it to the bathroom in plenty of time and, since the three of us were a sizeable group, we used the largest bathroom stall.  Since the potty in that particular stall is so tall, I lifted Whitney onto the potty and then repeated several times the instruction to "Lean forward!"  When she was about half way done, she stopped leaning forward and got her leggings, skirt, and unders wet.  Great.

Now what?  I don't carry changes of clothing for my fully-night-and-nap potty trained child.  We had two options: leave the party or come up with clean clothes.  Kallie was rotating with her group and Whitney had been having a great time--I didn't want to call the party on account of a little moisture.  I gave all three layers a good inspection, just in case one was still useable, but there was no such luck.  I headed out to the car, hoping that somehow we had something clothing-or-unders-related in the resident 72-hour car kit.  Unfortunately, the resident had temporarily moved to the garage.

Fortunately, Clayton still wears diapers, and while they're 3 sizes too small for Whitney, they could still do the job.  I grabbed one and then grabbed Whitney's pink-polka-dotted fleece jacket from the back of the car.  Once in the bathroom again, I velcroed the diaper on, then wrapped Whitney's lower half in her jacket, zipping it up so the hoodie was around her waist.  I then tied the arms in front--and voila! she was wearing a pink-polka-dotted fleece skirt!  Good thing Whitney likes skirts.

It felt funny for a while, (according to Whitney), and she hid behind me while we were walking back to the main event.  But, once she realized no one noticed her make-shift skirt, she didn't seem too phased by the whole thing.  She finished the activity stations and then participated in the egg hunt with no apparent concern over her clothes.  When we got in the car after the event was over, Whitney said, "Mom, as soon as I get home, I'm going to put on pants!"  She was such a little trooper--and I succeeded at an exercise in creativity.

Blowing Kisses

Quite a while back, I started a naptime tradition with Kallie.  It began back in the day when I had to stay in their room and wait for Whitney to fall asleep.  (Otherwise, she would get out of bed and/or talk to Kallie, keeping both of them awake.)  After Whitney fell asleep, I would quietly sneak out of the room and shut the door.  Usually, Kallie wasn't quite asleep and would pop her little head up to say good-bye.  Instead of talking, I started blowing kisses at her.  And she, being a little sponge, decided if mom did it, she should too.  So, after a while, she started blowing kisses back.  To be silly one day, as she blew kisses on my way out, I "caught" them in my hand and pressed them to my cheek.  Kallie eventually followed.  Then, one day, Kallie decided to be silly.  Instead of catching them in her hand, she opened her mouth and caught the kisses.  She caught so many that it made her cheeks puff out!  I love this little routine we've got going.  Now, to come up with another surprising way to catch kisses...so I can catch Kallie off guard!

Courtesy of Love and Logic

Many of you know that I try (some days harder than others) to implement Love and Logic principles in my parenting style. Just as we have to study and learn most topics little by little, so it is with Love and Logic. Having a successful experience bolsters my confidence--although these experiences are usually the result of praying for creativity and the ability to keep a cool head in the heat of the moment. Here are some examples of what I consider successful experiences:

Whitney is my girly girl and likes to get into my makeup drawer. Most of my makeup is purchased from the aisles of a big box store. Nothing too expensive. And, when she gets into it, she usually smears some on her face and is done. Recently, she got into my loose powder. It ended up in piles on the floor and counters and some spilled down the white cupboard doors. To me, the logical consequence was that she needed to clean up the mess. So, we brought in the vacuum, put on the attachment and let her take care of it. One of the principles of L&L is "build the self concept." By having Whitney clean up her own mess, she knew she could be responsible. She knew she could control the vacuum and she was very pleased with her accomplishments in the end. I, on the other hand, was also proud of her. She took responsibility for her mess and I didn't have to clean it up.

The other L&L success story involves Kallie. Over the past week or so, Kallie has reverted to hitting, instead of using her words. This creates a whole chain reaction of crying, coming to tell mom, having to hear both sides of the story (which takes a LONG time), instructing to hug and be friends again, and then going back to play--and then repeating this process several times a day. Obviously my method wasn't working because nothing was changing. I don't expect immediate results, but I do expect that over 2-3 days the behavior will change. It didn't. So, I changed my method. After one such drawn out episode last Thursday, I told Kallie in a very sweet voice that girls who don't use their hands properly won't get to use their hands--and that I would tie her hands together if she hit again. She and I laughed about it and then we moved on with our day. Well, Friday morning, sure enough, she decided to hit again. I had long forgotten what I had said the day before, but I used my typical question: What happens when we hit, Kallie? And, she dutifully reminded me, "I'm going to get my hands tied together." Yes. That's right. (Thanks for reminding me...) I pulled out an old nylon and cut off the top and the toe. Then I said, "Do you want your hands in front or in back." She chose front, so I loosely bound her hands together and then said, "OK--go play!" She complained that she couldn't use her hands, which really was the point of all of this. After a little while, we took the nylon off her hands (it was loose enough that she could have taken it off at any point--she just chose to leave it on) and we had a little talk about how not having the freedom to use our hands is not fun. It must have left an impression because she hasn't done it again. I figure there will be a time she will forget and I will remind her about losing her freedom--which, knowing Kallie, will be enough to keep her from hitting again.