cheyenne chronicles

Change of Plans

2012-02-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well, sometimes things just don't work out the way you imagined. In my last post, I talked about going to grad school. Having done it for about five weeks, I came to the realization that it isn't the right time for me to pursue that goal. So many factors went into my final conclusion.

First, the time and energy necessary for my program was more than I could handle. It was exhausting and stressful just to drive the 50 minutes to class. You may think 50 minutes isn't too bad but you don't live in Wyoming. The highway between Cheyenne and Laramie can be treacherous between October and May. Even just a little snow can make the drive dangerous depending on the temperature and wind conditions. Blowing snow is a common occurrence leading to low visibility. Couple that with a steady stream of semis that regularly traverse this artery and you find yourself holding on to the steering wheel with white knuckles. In addition, I was spending a huge amount of time studying and doing the assignments (okay, I only had one assignment at the time). It was also affecting my sleep. The nights before the days I had class, I was sleeping very poorly which was bad because then I didn't have the energy I needed to make the drive and pay attention in class.

This leads me to the second, and the most important factor: my family. I was stressed-out and not having a lot of time to spend with my family or for taking care of them. Sure I made sure they were taken care of but in the back of my mind I was thinking about when I could study and not really enjoying my time with them as much as I could.

In addition, I still had my calling and my PTA position. So, after much thought and prayer, I decided it just wasn't the right time for me to go to grad school. Maybe I'll reconsider when both kids are in school and when we live somewhere closer to a school or with more reasonable road conditions.

New Year, New Opportunities

2012-01-08T21:32:00.001-07:00

Happy New Year!! Last year was great and this year's going to be even better! I know it will be.

I'm so excited for my goals this year because they're mostly extensions of my resolutions from last year. I'd always been frustrated by new year resolutions because like most people, I would make them and by the end of January they would be forgotten. Last year I changed how I made my resolutions - I made sure they were specific and achievable. For example, instead of saying I would lose weight, my goal was: lose 1 to 2 pounds a week for a total of 15 pounds. What really helped me with this goal was WeightWatchers. (Note: I'm not in any way being compensated for this!). I started this goal near the end of January and by May I had met my goal. And, I have maintained that weight since! So with that and some other goals achieved last year, I'm ready to commit to improving on those goals this year. Bring it on!!!!

One very thrilling area I'm working on is getting my masters degree in mechanical engineering. I'm starting a class tomorrow at the University of Wyoming. Things are not quite official yet but I've been told I'll probably get in and one of the professors said he could probably find funding for me to take the class. That means that I would probably not have to pay tuition at the very least and I might even be able to get funding for expenses like textbooks, travel, and babysitting. We'll see. I'm nervous about how much time taking this class will take because it's a 45-minute commute each way three days a week and I would have to carve out time to study. Plus, my math is rusty so I will have to study more than the other students. I'm trusting that if it's the right thing for me, it will all work out.

I will end here since I have to go work on another goal, get to bed by 10 PM!

Swimming

2011-11-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

Over the summer, I signed the kids up for swimming lessons at the YMCA pool. Because it costs about the same amount to pay for a membership and the lessons as paying for the lessons alone without a membership, I decided to just sign up for the membership so that our family can take advantage of the other activities offered.

At the back of my mind, I was also thinking that I could get back into swimming. I have had an interesting relationship with the pool since elementary school. When I was in the 4th grade, we took a two-week swimming course at one of the few schools in the county that had a pool. I remember having fun jumping into the pool from the side. Fifth grade was our last year in elementary school and to celebrate graduating from elementary school, the teachers arranged a pool party.

We were enjoying ourselves in the pool splashing and playing Marco Polo. Then, a few of my friends decided to go down the water slide. I thought that would be fun to do and my friends encouraged me. So, I climbed up the ladder and slid down into the water. That's when I realized two weeks of swimming lessons was not enough to give me the skills I needed to go down the water slide! I didn't know what to do and so I did nothing. I kept going down, down, down... Luckily, a lifeguard came to my rescue and pulled me out of the water. I was scared and mortified. Since then, I'd had a fear of the deep end of the pool.

Fast forward to sophomore year in college. I had to take some PE classes to satisfy the university's graduation requirements. I decided I needed to learn to swim so I signed up for a beginner swimming class. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one who couldn't swim! I barely passed the class only because I managed to just tread water a little bit. That was really hard for me since we had to do it in the diving pool, which had one depth: 12 feet.

Fast forward again. Now I'm married and have a one-year-old. I wanted to do something to improve my health and I decided to get back into swimming. I took swimming lessons at the community center. At the first class, the teacher asked what level we are and I told her I was intermediate. She asked my group to use the kick-boards to warm up. So, I got on the kick-board and start off down the pool. At about the middle, I got tired so I decided to stop to take a break, not realizing that it was deeper than I'd thought. So, I floundered and had to be rescued by a lifeguard. What little confidence I had gained from my college swimming class was wiped out by this unexpected incident. I nervously continued the class at the beginner level. Luckily, the teacher was patient and understanding. I was eventually able to swim laps again and started going on my own to swim laps at the pool. The deep end was still scary but I managed to push my fears aside.

That was almost six years ago. Last month, I again decided to get back into swimming. I'd been working out and running regularly and felt pretty good about my physical fitness. With winter approaching, I felt like I needed to find another activity to be involved in so I wasn't running on the treadmill inside all the time. So I signed up for private swimming lessons at the YMCA. Every pool is different; some pools start at three feet and have one corner that's deeper, other pools start shallow at one end and drop down to 12 feet about halfway. I found myself having to re-acclimate myself to the water and to the configuration of the pool each time. This time, it took me a couple of lessons to be able to swim in the deep end. I was determined to get over this fear and went to practice on my own in between lessons so that I could make better progress and get my money's worth from the private sessions with my teacher.

For the past few weeks, I've been going to swim laps early in the mornings instead of running because it's not fun to run in the cold, dark, and windy Wyoming dawn. I am not where I want to be yet but I know that with time and practice, I will improve.

Teeth

2011-11-04T16:31:00.000-06:00

This is the first tooth Charlie lost. Before this, he actually had to have one tooth pulled on Halloween - worst day to have that done to a kid! That one was a molar so you can't see the gap. Isn't he so cute with his missing tooth?

First Day of First Grade

2011-08-23T09:43:00.000-06:00

Today is Charlie's first day going to first grade. I can't believe how fast summer went and that my little boy is not so little anymore!

How to Ace the GRE

2011-07-17T18:47:00.218-06:00

When you are focused on a goal, you have to prioritize everything accordingly so you can accomplish it. Since I signed up to take the GRE back a few months ago, I have put most things on the back burner. Blogging was one of those things. There were still things that had to be done like taking care of my family, my church calling, housework, etc. But high on my list was preparing for the test which was a challenge given that it had to be worked around the other things in my life. When Charlie was in school it was pretty simple since I could just study while Ellie was taking her afternoon nap. However, once school let out I found it much more difficult to find time to study. We were busy with swim lessons, story time at the library, and play dates at the parks in the mornings. During Ellie's naps, Charlie would usually want to play a game or need my attention for some reason. I admit I have put on a movie for him more than once in order to get the quiet I needed to focus and practice. It is for that reason that I scheduled my test for the week after school let out. Unfortunately, my math score was not high enough to be competitive with the average score of those entering grad school in the program I am considering so I signed up to retake the exam this month. That was not the best time since it's summer and I had even less time than before to study.

Luckily, I had learned from taking the test the first time that I didn't have to study for the verbal section and could just focus on the math section. I reread the sections about math in the GRE study guides I had and practiced solving math problems, lots of math problems. One very important thing I learned about the scoring method was that omitting questions was highly penalized. On the GRE, you cannot skip questions. The computer does not allow you to skip questions - it forces you to pick an answer to a question before you can move on to the next question. However, if you run out of time, you will not be able to complete all the problems. The problems at the end that you don't answer will count against your score. One of my study guides said that the percentage of the problems you miss for that section is subtracted from your score. For example, if you would've gotten a score of 660 but you missed 3 out of the 28 problems for the math section, your final score for the math section would be 590. (3/28=11%, 11% of 660 is about 70, subtract 70 from 660 and you get 590.)

Another key to doing well on the math section is to work carefully so that you get as many questions right as possible, especially in the beginning. The GRE is a computer adaptive test, which means that the questions you get are based on how you answered the previous questions. The first question is usually of a medium difficulty level. If you answer the question correctly, the next question you get is more difficult; however, if you answer the question incorrectly, the next question is less difficult. You want to get the more difficult questions get them right because they lead to the higher score. The computer is constantly guaging your score based on how well you solve each problem and the difficulty of the problems. However, since each subsequent question is based on your performance on the previous problem, the earlier problems have more bearing on your overall score. Therefore, it's important to do the best you can on the first ten problems.

Finally, I believe that another key to doing well on the GRE is to relax. There's no doubt it's a challenging exam and most people get stressed out about it. However, if you are too stressed out during the exam, your stress will distract you and keep you from doing your best. I knew that I needed to relax the night before the test so I didn't do much studying. I looked over a couple things but other than that, I didn't think too much about the test. I spent most of the day cleaning my house and that evening my husband and I went on a date and then rented a video. I went to bed at my normal bedtime. In the morning, I went for my usual run, which is a big stress-reliever for me, and got ready for the day. My test wasn't until 12 noon but I had a two-hour drive on a busy highway, that in itself is stressful as well. (There's a long story related to my having to drive two hours away for this test which I won't get into right now. Suffice it to say this added to my stress level and I feel pretty good that I was still able to to do well on the test despite the long drive and added stress.) I just kept thinking that there wasn't anything I could do about having to drive that far so I did my best to stay calm and think positive. I told myself that I was ready for the test and that I would do just fine. Another positive thought running through my mind was that I would be done by the end of the day and that I could enjoy the rest of the summer with my kids without having to worry about this test anymore. Also, if I didn't do well, which wasn't likely since I had done my best to prepare, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Life would go on, I could pursue other avenues and interests besides grad school.

The test consists of a 45 minute analysis of an issue essay and a 30 minute analysis of an argument essay. There's a 10-minute break and then a 30 minute verbal section and lastly, a 45 minute quantitative (math) section. For me, the issue essay is a challenge because the issue is worded very broadly and you have to think about it and write it in 45 minutes. The argument essay is a little easier since you're just critiquing an argument and poking holes in the assumptions made in the argument. This exam seems to also be a test of one's patience and endurance since it lasts over two-and-a-half hours.

During the test, I made sure to take deep breaths and focus on the questions rather than how I thought I was doing. Also, I did my best to be comfortable: I wore comfortable clothing, adjusted the chair, took off my sandals, and took advantage of the breaks I was given. Finally, the test was over! The computer asks me whether I wish to report my scores before it would let me see my scores. Of course! There wasn't any other way to see how well I did. If I didn't report my scores, I would never know how I did and I would have to pay to retake it. Why would I want to do that? Then, I was asked to select the schools to which I wish to send my scores. After all that, the computer shows me the verbal and quantitative (math) scores.

Finally! I was pleased to see that my verbal improved by 20 points and that my quantitative score had increased by 130 points, which was significantly better than my score from last time. Now that the test is over, I can look back and see that all my efforts had paid off and that my strategy of completing the test and relaxing had helped me do well on the test. I may not have aced the test but I came pretty close!

Talents

2011-06-26T17:56:00.000-06:00

You know what? I don't think I'm blogging is one of my talents... Good thing I don't have a large audience! :-)

Speaking of talents, I've really been thinking about what my talents are. Some people are blessed with many talents which are readily apparent but I'm really having a hard time coming up with my own list. It's really troubling me. Some people have talents that are visible like playing a musical instrument, singing, acting, leadership, being confident, etc. It seems like they were born with these gifts.

For me, the only thing I feel like is a natural gift is a sense of direction. If you were to plop me down in the middle of a strange place, I'd do a pretty good job of finding my way around. You could maybe count languages but the only language I feel completely fluent in is English. I speak some Chinese but my vocabulary is limited and while I've tried to improve that skill, I haven't made much progress because of time and energy limitations.

Even things that I feel I might be good at seem to take a lot of effort. I studied engineering in college. I had to study really hard and didn't really feel like I was as good as the other students but I thought did okay. I would like to go back to grad school eventually and get a master's or maybe even a PhD. I do love learning and would also like to make some contribution to the field and to society. So, I've taken the GRE which is required for admission to any graduate program. With a degree in engineering, you'd think I would get a high score in math but I got an average score. I'm retaking the test in a couple weeks and hope my math score is much higher so I'll be a competitive candidate.

I know I have talents. God has given each person talents. I just need to discover them and develop them. What are your talents and how did you discover them?

Accomplishments

2011-03-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

My kids are just growing up too fast!

Charlie is getting to be a great reader. He loves to read and asks to read the scriptures and other things. He figures out most of the words, except the big ones. His Kindergarten teacher has told me that out of a list of one hundred words, he knew ninety-nine of them. He's also doing addition. I thought Kindergarten was where you learned to color and count?

Ellie has decided in the past couple weeks that she's ready to use the "big toilet" and has been regularly going in it. She was excited to wear her big girl underwear but now has decided she still wants to wear diapers. It's probably because she's had a couple of accidents. So, we just take it off when she wants to go potty. She especially loves the family bathroom at the library because it's got a regular toilet and one that is the perfect height for kids. It's really nice that she's willing to use public bathrooms. I'm thrilled that this interest in potty-training is not the result of me pushing her but her own desire.

This Week

2011-02-25T11:20:00.001-07:00

The last full week of February is National Engineer Week.

It's a week when engineering is celebrated as a profession. Most leaders in the fields of engineering try to educate the public on the impact of engineering on our daily lives. Even as an engineer, I sometimes marvel at the the things I use on a regular basis. The other day, I heard a guy on the radio talking about how even something as simple as a pencil is not something one person can produce very easily. It takes a variety of resources, most of which require engineering, to produce a pencil.

One very important goal of many engineers is to encourage school children to go into engineering. There is a term called STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. It is a term used to describe the technical fields that many consider "nerdy" and many people tend to think that they're not smart enough to do those types of jobs. That is a myth. The fact is that jobs in STEM are for anyone who enjoys being creative, playing, problem solving, and social. Yes, nerds are social!! I know because I'm one of them and I'm married to one too.

It's crucial that we as parents and adults break down the stereotypes of STEM and help children, especially girls, see that science and math are not boring subjects and that they are smart enough to learn those things.

In honor of Engineer's Week, I went to Charlie's Kindergarten class to talk with them about engineering and what engineers do. I read a book called Engineering the ABCs, which lists an item that is made by engineers for each letter. Then, I talked to them about rockets, which requires lots of engineers to design and build. After giving them a simple explanation about how a rocket works, I brought out pop rockets that I had made (one with Charlie's help, see picture above) and told them I was going to launch it. Because it was freezing and snowing outside, we had the students stand by the windows inside while I launched the rocket outside. The children erupted into cries of "Whoa, that was awesome!" when I returned to the room. I had given the teacher a couple of coloring pages that had the ABCs and things that were created by engineers that started with each letter. While they colored, the teacher showed a video of the Space Shuttle Discovery launch from yesterday.

Three

2011-02-24T19:49:00.001-07:00

Ellie is three-years-old! Her birthday was a couple weeks ago. We celebrated as a family with dinner, cake, and presents. She has definitely grown up in the past year! She likes to put her own clothes on and even sometimes insists on wearing big girl underwear. We haven't been pushing her too hard to be potty-trained, thinking that it would be easier when she decides she wants to do it. Lately, she has been showing more interest: asking to watch the Elmo's Potty Time DVD, telling us she wants to use the potty, and actually peeing in the potty a few times.

We love this girl! Ellie is delightful to be around. She loves to take care of her stuffed animals and makes sure to wrap each of them up in its own blanket before placing them in her bed so they can take a nap. Ellie has a passion for blowing bubbles. She has a great sense of humor and loves to say to Charlie: "Tickle me and run!" She's developed a love for reading books and playing the Thomas matching game. And, she's picked up a knack for using the computer (thanks to Dan and Charlie). Last but not least, she has a big sweet tooth!

Happy birthday to my sweet little dumpling!

Christmas

2011-02-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

(This was written in the middle of January. I'm way behind on the blog!!)

We went to visit Dan's family in Michigan for Christmas this year. Traveling is just rough for us since it's a two-hour drive to the airport and our trips this year have been marked by sick kids throwing up multiple times in the car and airplane. But, crossing our fingers that lightning wouldn't strike thrice, we prepared for our trip.

Fortunately, this time we were as prepared as can be with IDs, plenty of diapers, and changes of clothing in our carry-on bags. We left with plenty of time for the drive down to the airport, parking, riding the bus from parking to the airport, going through security, grabbing a bite, and boarding the plane. Everything went pretty smoothly except the two-hour delay in Chicago. But, that wasn't too bad because there was a play area for the kids and we had time to get dinner.

The only other snag was getting the cold so we were not as energetic and didn't get to do as much as we wanted. Oh well, it was winter and staying nice and warm inside was nice. We had a lot of fun seeing family and running into friends. Charlie and Ellie sure enjoyed playing with their cousins!!

Here are some of the fun things we did:

Celebrating Christmas

Charlie getting ready to sled. Sorry this was the only pic I got of sledding!

Tobogganing! Charlie and his cousins loved it so much they went down at least 5 times with Uncle Dale.

Whee! These hills were seriously steep - Charlie, Brenden, & Josiah were so brave!

I love how Charlie's hair is flying here.


Decorating a gingerbread train.

Celebrating birthdays for Kyler, Brenden, & Dan.

Art

2011-01-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

I just read a post on a friend's blog about her son drawing on the floor with a pencil and it reminded me that I have some art work on our dining wall to take care of. This was drawn by Ellie several weeks ago... I can't believe I keep forgetting about it, even though it's right there in the dining area where I can see it as I walk by and as I sit down to eat - literally hundreds of times. It didn't even occur to me to clean it up before I had people visiting. I guess it's just part of the decor now and it's almost a shame to get rid of it.

I was pretty upset when the first time I saw it. I guess it's my own fault for leaving the marker where Ellie could get to it. Now, I'm realizing it's not that big of a deal. I'm remembering a talk President Monson gave, in which he said: "If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly," (General Conference October 2008 ).

Bookworm

2011-01-13T22:10:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start another blog. It's about books and it's called Cheyenne Bookworm. Check it out!

New Year, New Adventures

2011-01-04T14:54:00.003-07:00

Happy New Year!!

Every new year, I look back and wonder how the last year went so fast. It's true that time speeds up as you get older. I often wonder if I've done enough but that's probably the wrong way of looking at things. Sure it'd be great if I accomplished some great feat. But I need to think about whether I've done my best at those things that matter most to me.

One of the things I wanted to accomplish last year was to be healthier. I know that most of us wish we could lose 10 pounds and I still wish that but losing weight should be the result of a healthy lifestyle and not an end in itself. Because what happens when you do lose the 10 pounds? What's next?? More often than not, they come back and we're back in the cycle. But if we focus on developing a habit of eating healthy, exercising, getting enough sleep, and learning to deal with stress then we're on the road to a healthy and strong body. We will feel good physically, mentally, and emotionally. We won't worry about those 10 pounds and we can free ourselves to focus on other important aspects of our lives. We will be able to tackle life and accomplish our goals.

I feel good that the one thing I did consistently was exercise regularly. I started using exercise videos to do cardio and strength-training exercises last January and have stayed with them throughout the year. There were a few days and weeks when I slacked off due to illness, travel, and blood donations. Other than that, I exercised 30 - 45 minutes a day, six days a week. You would think that I would look amazing with all that exercising but, alas, exercise is only one part of the fitness equation. I still need to work on eating healthier. My main problem is: I LOVE FOOD. Period.

We all know New Year resolutions tend to go by the wayside after a few weeks. It's because we have high hopes of turning over a new leaf with the start of the year but reality sets in and we cannot sustain the effort required to meet our unrealistic expectations. This year I will take small specific steps everyday towards meeting my goals. Instead of saying I will lose 20 pounds, I'm going to exercise at least 30 minutes a day, six days a week and be more aware of the quantity and quality of food I eat at each meal. The long-term goal is to have a strong and healthy body so that I can better fulfill my roles as mother, wife, church member, etc.

Other goals I have are:
* Be more focused with my time. I will only spend time on things that matter most: spirit, family, home, health, skills, talents, and service.

* Learn 5 Chinese characters a day and spend 20-30 minutes a day reading and studying Chinese. Eventually, I will be able to read the newspaper without having to look up 50% of the words.

* Practice playing the piano 15 - 30 minutes a day. (I never had the opportunity to take piano lessons as a child but have always been interested. This will actually fulfill a Young Women Personal Progress requirement! My long-term goal is to be able to play church hymns.)

* Spend at least 15 minutes a day reducing clutter. Be careful of the stuff I buy - ask is it something I really need? Do I have space for it? Does it fit in my budget?

Basically, I'm trying to be careful not to overdo. I'd love to hear what your goals are!

Five Ways to Enjoy the Spirit of Christmas

2010-12-20T17:18:00.003-07:00

Christmas time is hectic!! Everyone is busy decorating, buying presents, baking, and attending parties. It's a great time of the year but sometimes it can be a little too much. I've been trying to keep in mind the true meaning of Christmas and not worry about the little things that can overwhelm us if we let them. I'd like to share five things we've done as a family that have really helped us have the spirit of Christmas.

1. Decorations. Keep them simple. This year, we mainly decorated our living room with a tree, nativities, and a few other items. I went ahead and ordered myself a nativity set because I didn't really have one. Well, we have a one-piece display that included Joseph, Mary and Jesus that we bought the year we were married but I've always wanted a set that included animals and other people. Having the new set as a centerpiece on our mantle was really nice!
2. Treats. It's so fun to make treats to share with others! I stuck to a few relatively easy to make treats like pretzel turtles, dipped pretzel rods, and peanut brittle. By far the most popular treat was the pretzel turtles! Everyone who's had them has raved about them, which was great because they literally took minutes to make. I made almost 150 of these yummy things.
3. Meaning. I've been telling my kids that Christmas is about Jesus; we're celebrating his birthday. We've been reading different scriptures that talk about the birth of Jesus every night this month to help us focus on why we have this holiday.
4. Family Time. We've been doing a few activities as a family that have been fun and festive. We attended a nativity open-house and Christmas play put on by the Stake activities committee. Our ward put on a breakfast with Santa that was very well-done but not too elaborate or extravagant. We went and looked at Christmas lights that various people in our community have put out around their homes. Some people have some spectacular light displays!! We're also looking forward to a trip to see Dan's family in Michigan.
5. Cards and Gifts. Gifts are always the big thing for Christmas so it's been really hard not to go overboard. To help in this area, I've actually been setting aside money a few months before December so we won't be taking all the funds out from this month's budget. Also, I should've gotten our cards out earlier but it didn't happen so I'm not going to stress out about it. However, I've decided to make sure I mark when I'd like to send them out next year so I can be better prepared.

I'd love to hear about how you've kept the spirit of Christmas!

Christmas Photocards

2010-12-13T22:01:00.005-07:00

Disclosure: This post is in response to Shutterfly's 50 free photocard offer.

I'm a little behind on sending out Christmas cards this year. With Facebook and email, it seems rather old-fashioned and costly to send letters or cards in the mail. But, I love getting pictures and letters in the mail from people. I enjoy hearing from family and friends and catching up on what they've been up to this year. I do enjoy getting the email updates too but a card, picture, and/or a letter just seems so much more personal.

The downside to sending out cards and letters is that it seems to take so much longer than you think it would. Also, there are so many options. You could do a letter with a family picture, a photo card, just a plain card with a handwritten note, or, a homemade card (which is really personal). I'm very much leaning toward a photo card this year. In the past, I've written letters and included photos, which is a fine option. I just feel like I don't have enough to tell for a letter this year. Also, I feel like I say pretty much the same thing every year so it's time to do something a little different.

I've been impressed with the photo cards Shutterfly has to offer this year. As I look through the many designs and layouts for Christmas Photo Cards that they have, I find it hard to narrow down to just one design. There are also many pricing options so you can pick one that fits your budget. Here are a few designs that I really like.

I love this design because you can write a little update on the kids. Since I have two kids, this would be perfect.

I like how you can put three pictures on this one. The background is very nice. I think "Oh Holy NIght" is one of the most beautiful Christmas songs.

Simple but so very cute!

This might be my favorite. You can list ten things about the year - perfect for me since I don't have much to say!

Ooh! This one lets you write a little letter along with the pictures! Hmm... it's going to be hard to decide which design to go with.

Christmas photo card to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

holiday cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

photo calendars to http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

Thanksgiving

2010-12-08T13:36:00.011-07:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My parents came on Monday and stayed over a week. It was great having them here. I know the kids enjoyed it as well. Here are some highlights from their visit:

* Dan and I planned to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Wednesday night. I'd seen the show times in the paper a couple days before and it was the perfect time, 8:15 PM. We were able to get the kids in bed by 8 and had plenty of time to get there. We got there AND... they told us that the times were different for that night because of the opening of several new movies. The next showing was 10 PM. We left disappointed. We could've gone back and seen the movie at 10 PM but we didn't. You know you must be getting old if you don't feel like staying up late, even for a movie you really want to see.

* Our Thanksgiving Day was great! We decided to keep our menu traditional this year and it was not as stressful. However, as seems to be the case with most of our Thanksgivings, this one had a couple of memorable events. In the late morning, as Dan was beginning to make the rolls, he felt water dripping down on him from the ceiling. We have an exhaust fan that vents out of the kitchen through the roof. The fan is right above the stove. At first we thought it was snow melting and dripping through the vent cover. Then we realized that it must be the warm moist air from the kitchen condensing inside the cold vent. In any case, we lost some time trying to figure out a way to prevent the dripping water from getting into the food we were making. I'm sorry to say, we didn't get any pictures!!

After lunch, we were able to catch the Harry Potter movie. Loved it! It made me want to re-read all the books.

* Every year in Cheyenne, there's a Christmas parade. It starts at 5 PM so all the floats are lighted with Christmas lights. Luckily, this year it was as cold as usual. We watched it from the same spot we watched it last year because it's not at the beginning of the route so we had more time to park the car and get there. Ellie was so funny - she clutched the candy she got in her hands and wouldn't let go for anything. Her poor little hands were freezing cold!

* I was assigned to speak in church that Sunday. My topic was the creation. I found an Ensign article by Bruce R. McConkie and based my talk on it. I learned SO much preparing for my talk! It was nice that my parents were there for my talk, even though they probably didn't understand much of it.

* The day before my parents left, we went to visit the Wyoming State Capitol. It was my first visit there myself. We got a tour and it was neat to learn more about Wyoming history. I learned that the state of Wyoming was the first government in the world to grant women the ability to vote and the first state to elect a female governor.

Crazy Morning

2010-11-19T16:52:00.002-07:00

Do you ever have crazy mornings?? Or, am I the only one?

This morning was crazier than ever. Ellie woke me up at 3:30 AM and I had a REALLY hard time falling back to sleep. So, I didn't get up until... 8:01. School starts at 8:35. SO...

I got up and pulled on my gray sweat pants and a gray shirt - the first one I saw in my drawer. Yeah, very stylish. I didn't care. I was in rush mode.

I got Ellie up. Fed the kids cereal. Used the bathroom. Helped Charlie pick out an outfit and told him to put them on. Thank goodness he can dress himself now! Got Charlie's lunch together while he got dressed and brushed his teeth. Dressed Ellie. Got her socks and shoes on. Fixed Charlie's hair - his hair is always a mess in the mornings and needs lots of water and gel.

I look at the clock and see that we have 10 minutes to go. Yay, we're not going to be late!! Until...I realized that my car keys which also includes my house key were missing.

I must've left them in Dan's car last night and he's already at work. I search for the spare key - do we even have a spare house key??? I grabbed the spare car keys and all the extra keys from the key drawer. None of them worked on the garage door, which is not attached to the house and has a separate lock that uses the same key as the house. Which I don't seem to have at the moment. I tried the emergency key hidden in a special location, which has a combination lock which didn't want to open. Meanwhile, the minutes seem to speed by and we've missed the first and second school bells. Finally, I figured out a way to get in the garage.

I got the key for the lock to the back gate and grabbed the garage opener and hurried the kids out the back gate and opened the garage door using the electronic opener. I speed (or try not to speed) to the school which fortunately is less than a mile away. We go in the office so we can get a tardy slip, our first one ever! Whew!

This is SO cool!

2010-11-09T14:34:00.003-07:00

I'm a geek at heart. I love learning about how stuff works and hearing about cool things that are being developed. I love listening to NPR and learning about different subjects like the science of cooking or why the annual performance review should be ditched. One of my favorite NPR shows is Science Friday where guests talk about science-related topics.

I really enjoyed the one time they had Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway, on the show talking about the FIRST robotics competition. He wanted to get kids excited about science and engineering so he started this competition where kids had to build these robots and have them compete each other in playing games. I wish I could've participated in something like this when I was a teenager. It sounds SO fun! Here's a video of Dean Kamen talking about FIRST:

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-31T19:18:00.006-06:00

Our ward had a really fun Fall Festival. The kids loved the little games set-up all around the church and, of course, getting all the candy.
We carved our pumpkin the night before Halloween. Charlie helped with the design. He was totally excited when we put it out on the porch with a candle inside.

Purse

2010-10-24T17:11:00.001-06:00

I lost my purse!! Your prayers that I can recover it would be appreciated!

5K

2010-10-09T14:32:00.003-06:00

Today, my friend and I did the Cheyenne Schools Foundation 5K. Both our husbands were not available to watch the kids so we took them with us! It was fun! My time was about 5 minutes off my usual because I was pushing an extra 90 lbs. It was windy and kind of chilly but we did it!

PTA Adventures

2010-10-06T21:29:00.002-06:00

So, I joined the PTA. I read somewhere that the kids that do well are the ones with involved parent. Well, I'm nothing if not an involved parent! Well actually, I've always wanted to be in the PTA and I was curious what it was like. Okay, so the first meeting was a little disappointing. I was a few minutes late and wondered if I'd find a seat. I was expecting the cafeteria to be filled to the brim with parents, standing room only. Like in the movies. Not so. There were a couple of long tables with the PTA officers facing two rows of ten chairs. A little over half of the chairs were filled. After me, a couple more people came - one of them was the principal. Oh, and it was all female, which I expected.

They started talking about all the stuff they're doing. It's pretty much all fund-raising stuff. The first big activity was the Fall Festival in October. It's like a carnival. There's going to be food and games. There will be baskets that are raffled off. The baskets are to contain stuff donated by people, organizations, and businesses. They started asking for committee heads - I refrained from volunteering. Once upon a time, I did a lot of heading up of organizations and got burnt out so I decided to be a helper but not head or leader of anything. One mom volunteered to do the decorations and somebody else offered to help her. Another mom offered to do the food. Baskets are next. That sounded like A LOT of work. I just sat there. Certainly someone else would volunteer. A someone did! Hmm... I do want to help! Another person said she'd help with that. Oh good! I said, "I can help you with that too!", now that there are two other people involved and I don't have to be in charge!

So, I talked to the mom in charge of the baskets. Her name is Laurie. I saw her in the school yard, while dropping off and picking up Charlie. She assigned me to call the restaurants in town. Perfect! I can do that! It took me a while, a couple of weeks actually, to get around to calling them. My daughter got two colds and I was busy with stuff. But, finally I got the phone book out and made a list. I decided to pace myself and just call ten places a day. My first day was pretty disappointing - I got two places to donate gift certificates. After that, it seemed to get easier. I had a script and it was friendly. I didn't care if they said no as long as they weren't mean about it. Just about everyone who said no was nice about it. EXCEPT for this one place....

It was this Italian place in one of the back streets across from the mall. Dan and I had gone there once on a date. We had to wait a long time to be seated and a long time for our food. The people behind us in line had raved about the place. I didn't think my food was anything to write home about but Dan thought his was pretty good. However, he didn't think it was good enough for the wait. He said he'd never go back there. I would've given it another chance... Well, now I know that I would never set foot in that place again!!

I called this place and told the guy who answered the phone that I was a member of the Henderson PTA and that I was calling around for donations for our fall fundraiser. Did he know who I could talk with about this?

He said, "That would be Al* but he's not here right now." I asked when he'd be in and he told me.

So, at the time that he'd be in, I called Al. Al answered the phone. I gave him my schpiel.

He asked, "Linda, do I know you?"

I was puzzled. For a minute I thought he knew someone named Linda and that he was thinking I was her. So I said, "No, why?"

He said, "I don't know you and you're calling me. Why would I want to do business with you?"

All I could say was, "Okay..." and something to the effect of I was calling all the restaurants in town, blah, blah, blah.

He said, "I only do business with people I know and who help me."

Well!! I was speechless. When I found my words, I said, "Okay. That's fine! Thank you!"

When I hung up the phone, I was literally shaking and tears came to my eyes. I couldn't forget the meanness in his voice and felt utterly flabbergasted that someone could be so cutting. I mean, it wasn't like I was demanding anything. He could have just said, "No, thank you."

I told Dan about the incident. He told me that he'd heard rumors that this family who owned the restaurant were from "Jersey" and that they were tied to the mob. The business was probably just a front for their "activities." Dan said that if I'd told him I was going to contact this place, he would've told me not to bother. Hmmm! That explains a lot!!

I talked Laurie about this the next day. She told me that the owner was a convicted child molester. Yikes!! Well, I'm glad he didn't donate anything then! I don't want to do "business" with anyone like that!!

So, the moral of the story is - Being on the PTA can be quite an adventure! I'm actually excited to help out with the projects and activities of the PTA. I want to support the school and make it a good place for all the kids, especially Charlie. But, you know, I am going to be careful what I volunteer for in the future and be prepared to meet some "interesting" people!

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-25T21:26:00.003-06:00

It was Charlie's first day at Kindergarten today. I can't believe he's old enough for school! He seemed pretty excited to go. I'm just so glad he took this new, huge milestone in stride. I think it helped that he's had so many different experiences with going to classes like Nursery, Sunbeams, CTR 4, gymnastics, and preschool. Both Dan and I think that attending preschool was key to helping him be prepared to going to Kindergarten. It was just a stepping stone for him.

We live close enough to the school that Ellie and I were able to walk there with him. We were actually a little early so the kids got to play at the playground right next to his classroom. When it was time to go inside, I helped him find his seat. He actually said, "Mom, why are you still here?" Where was the little boy who had such a hard time going to Nursery and Sunbeams?

Many other moms I've talked to have told me about how they just cried the first day they took their kids to Kindergarten. Maybe there's something wrong with me because I didn't cry. No tears. I did feel a little sad but I think it helped that I had Ellie so I was busy with her this morning. It was nice to have some one-on-one time with her. Also, I felt good knowing that I'd done everything I could to help his first day go smoothly. He actually got the teacher I requested for him because I'd heard so many people rave about her. So, that was a comfort to know he was in good hands. Ellie and I went to the school and at lunch with Charlie, which was another source of comfort for me just to know I can go and spend a little time with him if I wanted to.

Lastly, I'd always enjoyed school so I feel that it would be a good experience for him too. I'm just excited for him to start on his educational adventures! It was just fun to walk him to and from school and to see all the other school kids there.

A New Calling

2010-08-13T16:45:00.002-06:00

I got a new calling! I was beginning to think the Bishopric had forgotten about me because I was released from my Nursery calling several months ago and hadn't gotten a new one. I still had my calling on the Enrichment (um... Relief Society Meeting?) Committee but it doesn't seem to count since we haven't been having very many activities. Although I am also in charge of playgroup, which technically isn't a calling but I do have to coordinate it and attend every week.

Anyway, we're in the midst of many changes in our ward since a new ward is being made from our ward and the other ward that meets in our building. We've already had about 6 families move out this summer and add at least 10 active families that are being taken because of the new ward and our numbers have diminished significantly. So because of all the changes, people are being shuffled around and everyone is going to have to step up and do more work. We got asked to meet with the first counselor in the Bishopric and I had a feeling that it was me that was going to get a calling in a certain organization. I won't get sustained until Sunday and there's kind of an unspoken rule that you don't tell people what you're called to until after being sustained. But I just wanted to say that I'm really excited for this new calling and opportunity to serve. It will be a challenge but a blessing as well. It's kind of exciting to be on the front row of growth in the church!

July

2010-07-21T15:23:00.002-06:00

As I'm sitting here in front of my computer, I'm supposed to be doing stuff - laundry, dishes, sweeping, packing, etc., etc. But, I'm procrastinating and wiling away the minutes doing meaningless things.

This month has been a difficult month. It's gone by pretty quickly, which is good since a lot of times time seems to go by slowly when things are not going well.

I got some sad news on the 4th of July. My dad got shot. Fortunately, he's okay now. He was in the hospital for 10 days and has been recuperating at home. But, yeah, that's the kind of news that stops you in your tracks. I have been feeling fine - I mean, I feel terrible that it happened but I'm okay. You never want something like this to happen to your own father. It's unthinkable even though it happens everyday. Just not to anyone you know and love. You hear it in the news and you don't really think about it. You never wonder how it affects the people it happens to.

Well, I know now.

I'm relieved he's okay. But, even though I'm okay and he's okay, I think deep down, we're all a little shaken. I haven't been sleeping well. The past few weeks since I got the news, I've been having difficulty falling asleep and getting up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back to sleep very well. It's been better lately. I think it's just the shock of the news and my mind processing it.

18 Years Ago

2010-06-29T13:57:00.003-06:00

18 years ago yesterday, I was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the most important decision of my life.

I was fifteen-years-old. I had questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? What is the purpose of life? Is there life after death? These are the questions many through the ages have asked. I was trying to find meaning in my life. I felt depressed - I think it's a common feeling among teenagers trying to figure out what life is about and how they fit into the big picture. I am grateful I received my answers.

On an Easter Sunday, I was flipping through the channels and saw part of "The Easter Dream", a production by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the end of the program was an offer for a free video, "Our Heavenly Father's Plan". A free video? Cool! I called the 800-number to request it. A few weeks later, two young missionaries delivered the video and shared the first discussion with me. I felt the spirit. They taught me the gospel and I accepted it. The message they taught me answered all my questions.

I am a child of God. I am here to experience life and to choose whether to follow God and Jesus Christ. Each person on earth has a purpose and a mission. Because of the Fall of Adam and Eve into mortality, a Redeemer is necessary to provide a way back to God. Jesus Christ is the only person qualified to perform the atonement which allows us to overcome mortality and gain eternal life.

The truths and principles I learned have guided my life since then. My conversion has literally changed my life for the better. The teachings of the gospel has helped me to become a better person and to make better decisions. I was able to face my challenges with greater perspective and to not let them discourage me too much.

Before I joined the church, I didn't understand the role of women. Even after baptism, I didn't think too much about it. However, through the years I have come accept that because families are essential to Heavenly Father's plan, the most important thing I as a woman can do is to be a mother. Of course, there are some women who do not have the opportunity to be mothers but they are still valued. The idea that motherhood is sacred and divine became evident to me when I became a mother myself. Contrary to our society's views, motherhood is not a denigration of womanhood. Men and women are equal in the sight of God and neither is less than the other. Husband and wife work together to make the family a successful unit of society.

I am grateful that I found the truth when I did. Because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have been blessed with strength to endure my personal trials. I have joy and peace in my life. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Joseph Smith, Jr. was an instrument in the hands of God in restoring the Church of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon is the word of God, as is the Bible. Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today.

Maryland

2010-06-28T22:06:00.001-06:00

We recently got back from a trip to my old stomping grounds in Maryland. It's always a treat to go home and be among family and friends. This was Ellie's first trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa Chu. My parents and my sisters have been to Wyoming so it's not their first time seeing her. It was however the first time some dear friends and my Aunt Rose got to see her, which was very fun.

We got to stay with the Fergusons, a wonderful family for whom I used to babysit. Their three daughters are now grown up; their youngest, Michelle, just graduated from high school. It makes me feel old that the kids I babysat for are all graduating from high school and going to college! The Fergusons lived a few minutes drive from my parents' so it was very convenient.

Our trip started off with a little more excitement than we'd expected. First off, right out of Cheyenne we missed the exit to the highway down to Denver which led to a 10 minute detour. Luckily, we had left home with plenty of time to get to the airport for once (most people know we're usually running late). When we got to the airport parking lot, I suddenly realized my driver's license was not in my wallet. Usually it is but this one time it wasn't because I'd taken it out a couple days earlier and had put it back in my purse but not in my wallet. When I was packing, I didn't pack my purse and just brought my wallet. Dan thought that for sure I wouldn't be able to board the airplane without a photo ID and that we'd have to reschedule our flights. He suggested that we just leave the luggage in our car and take the bus to the airport terminal to get our flights rescheduled. I said that we should just bring all our luggage just in case they do let me on the plane. Amazingly, when we talked with the Southwest agent about the situation, she said that Southwest doesn't require a photo ID to fly and that the security personnel would just do additional checking on me. I was so glad we brought our luggage along anyway and didn't have to pay extra money to reschedule flights which we would've had to do if we left our luggage in our car because there wouldn't have been enough time for us go back to get the luggage.

So, with a sigh of relief we got to the departure gate in time for our flight. However, our adventures were not over! On the airplane, Ellie got sick and was very fussy. We didn't know what was wrong with her. She cried a lot and wanted to be held. Then she threw up. Fortunately, we'd traveled enough with our kids that we were prepared and had packed a change of clothing for everyone. I cleaned her up as well as I could and changed her soiled shirt. Everything seemed fine for a bit, although Ellie was still a little fussy. A while later, she threw up again. This time it was a bigger mess and I didn't have another clean shirt. So, I used one of Charlie's shirts. It was obvious something was wrong but we still were clueless. So, I just held her and tried to get her to drink fluids and be as comfortable as possible. By this point, I was looking forward to getting to our destination ASAP! However, we had a stopover in Cincinnati and then another one-and-a-half hour flight to Baltimore. After the stopover, we continued on in the same plane to our destination. I was not surprised when Ellie threw up a third time. What a mess!! I got to clean it up again because Dan was sitting across the aisle from us. With no clean shirts left for either child, Dan had wisely decided to wash the first soiled shirt since it wasn't too badly soiled. So, by the time we needed it it was pretty well dried.

Sorry to bore you with all the details of our trip there! We were just glad to get there in one piece and to look forward to having our visit go a lot better than our experiences thus far. The next day we were able to take her to a walk-in medical clinic and have a doctor look at her. They couldn't tell what was wrong - it was probably a virus. We figured as much but wanted to have her checked out just in case, especially because she was wheezing a little and seemed to be taking quick breaths. We got a nebulizer for helping her inhale some medicine for the wheezing. We only had to use it a couple times but that seemed to help her breathing get back to normal.

Anyway, we did have a great trip overall. Besides seeing my parents and sisters, we also got to see my dear friend, Jaya. I'm so glad we were able to see her since she is super busy. Jaya and I were best friends in the fourth grade and have been good friends since then. It's amazing that we've been friends for so long despite living in different states and leading totally different lives. Seeing her again made me realize why we are friends and that we will remain friends always. She is a great person!! Love you, girl!

It was wonderful to spend time with my family. We were crazy enough to go down to DC one day. It was SOOO HOT and HUMID!! I'm not used to the climate anymore. We went to the Museum of Natural History and the Air and Space Museum. I can't believe how many people were at each place - it seems like there weren't very many people all the previous times I'd gone. We didn't stay long at the Air and Space Museum because the kids were just really tired and Ellie needed a nap. Before we went to the Air and Space Museum, we saw a carousel and I went on it with Ellie and Charlie. Ellie just LOVED it and cried when we had to get off.

Aunt Rose was off on Monday so we went to lunch with her at the Wheaton Mall - a place at which I've spent a lot of time as a teenager. On the way from the restaurant to the park, I showed Dan the neighborhood where we lived when I was a child. It was strange to see all the changes that had been made since my family and I moved to the house where my parents live now. The Catholic high school right by the apartments we lived in has been replaced by a new development of townhomes. There were more storefronts and other buildings in the area. The library still looked the same though! Ah, what a trip through memory lane!

After lunch we went to the park. Ellie was really excited to see that there was a carousel there and, of course, the kids got to ride on it with my dad. There was also a miniature train and we rode that too. I had ridden on it as a child. Charlie was in heaven! I was amazed that it was about 10 minutes long - a lot longer than any little train ride I'd taken Charlie on.

We also got to see some wonderful friends of mine from church, the Connors, the Fergusons, and Charlene Weaver, who was in Young Women's with me. Brother Connor was my seminary teacher and my employer for one summer. I also babysat his kids during high school. Sister Ferguson was also one of my seminary teachers and Brother Ferguson used to drive me to seminary. Can I just say these are amazing people? I count them among my eternal friends.

Charlie was excited to have his own little backpack to bring whatever he wanted on the trip. Guess what's in it?

Sid and Melody Connor. Sarah Connor & Charlie

Ellie on carousel in DC. Charlie in spinny thing on carousel.

Dan & kids at lunch with Aunt Rose. Kids with Grandma and Grandpa Chu.

On the train ride, Aunt Rose in white hat & shirt. Another carousel ride!

Our New Lawn

2010-06-23T22:06:00.014-06:00

We have a new lawn!! When we bought the house, we weren't too excited about all the rocks in our front lawn. We love greenery and so after a couple years of talking, we finally acted. We debated for a long time about how to get it done, whether to do it ourselves or contract it out. I'm so glad we decided to have a landscaper do the work because we did not have the skills, tools, or time to do a good job on this project.

Here are the before and after pictures. Sorry they weren't taken around the same time of day so there are shadows in the before picture.

It took 4 or 5 guys at least a day to get the old grass and the eight tons of rock out. I'm sure just this part of the job alone would've done us in!

It's so nice to be able to look out the front window and see green grass instead of ugly rocks and weeds. I love it!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-07T14:04:00.020-06:00

We had a great weekend! Friday, the 28th was the last day at Charlie's preschool. They held a graduation that evening in which all the parents got to watch their kids perform songs they'd learned throughout the year. Charlie did not want to perform so he sat by me in the audience and sang most of the songs. I wasn't surprised because he has yet to go up to the stand when all the kids sing at church. I hope this is a phase because he sings very well and usually knows the words. I am so glad Charlie had a good experience in preschool; it'll make the transition to Kindergarten this fall that much easier.

Charlie and his preschool teachers, Miss Cathy and Miss Barbara
My little graduate!

Dan's brother, Andrew, and family came to visit for the weekend. We had a wonderful time with them! The kids especially enjoyed being with their cousins. On Saturday morning, we had a pancake breakfast and then we went to downtown Cheyenne. It happened that this weekend was Depot Days, an annual event celebrating Cheyenne's railroading heritage. There were lots of activities related to trains, which as you know is my son's passion. Charlie's two boy cousins, Nathan and Matthew likes trains too, so it was a great activity for all. We chose to go to the Union Pacific Roundhouse Openhouse. This is where the public gets to see the steamshop, where workers repair steam engines, and the Roundhouse where they house many engines and railcars. It was thrilling to be able to see the old steam engines up close. They were humongus! The adults enjoyed learning more about the inner-workings of the steam engines and some railroad history from one of the UP employees.

Later that day, we grilled some tandoori chicken, one of our favorite recipes. It was our first grill-out of the year and turned out very nicely.

On Sunday, we attended church. Before dinner we went to our favorite park and took a walk around the lake. The kids enjoyed seeing all the doggies and playing at the playground. I heard a group of people speaking Chinese and asked them where they were from. We ended up talking a while in Chinese. It's always a surprise to find Chinese people in Cheyenne because there aren't many here. Actually, there aren't many of any ethnic people in Cheyenne, except Hispanics. I miss the diversity of other places.

On Monday, Andrew and his family left. We were sad to see our guests leave. Charlie was especially sad and even a few days later he'd say that he was sad the cousins left.

In the evening, we had a barbecue with a few friends from the ward. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Birthday, Charlie!

2010-05-11T11:02:00.008-06:00

Yesterday, Charlie turned five. As trite as it may sound, I really can't believe how quickly he's growing up! In the weeks leading up to his birthday, I've been reminding him that his birthday was coming up. He would say he didn't want his birthday to come. And, when people asked him how old he would be on his birthday, he'd say "four!" and deny that he would be five. I figured out that it was because I had told him that after he turned five, he'd be able to go to kindergarten. He really loved preschool and didn't want to go to kindergarten. I think he thought that the moment he turned five, he'd have to leave preschool and go straight to kindergarten. It's interesting how kids think of time. Well, I think he's accepted the fact that he's five because he now says that he's "five years old". I'm sure it helped that he got to go to preschool on his birthday.

As mentioned previously, Charlie didn't just love trains, he LOVES trains. I can't remember when it all started but I do remember the early days of him learning to eat solid foods and lining up whatever was cut up for him on his plate like train cars. So, it was very appropriate that Grandma sent him a locomotive cake mold. I thought it'd be fun to bring the cake to share with his preschool friends on his birthday. Since I'd never used a mold for a cake before, I made a practice run for playgroup on Friday.

So here's the trial cake:
And here's the one I made yesterday for Charlie's preschool:
I must admit it wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be. The hardest part was greasing the pan, which took a very LONG time because of all the nooks and crannies. Charlie got to pick where he wanted the different colors of frosting. That was the funnest part!

I was too lazy to make the cake a THIRD time so we had the leftovers of the preschool cake for our little family birthday party. Charlie wanted pizza for dinner so that's what we had! I loved that I didn't have to cook but I would've enjoyed making something at home for him if he wanted. Not having to cook and do too much clean-up was a bonus.
He got to pick out his birthday gift from us at Target. It's a remote controlled GeoTrax train. I'm glad I let him pick because I wouldn't have thought to get this toy for him. I thought he would've wanted a Thomas train because he loves Thomas. But maybe he chose this one because he already has several Thomas & Friends trains. It's so fun to watch him be so happy playing with a toy he really loves.

Changed

2010-05-06T22:13:00.002-06:00

I had planned to have playgroup at my house tomorrow morning. Charlie's birthday is coming up and I wanted to have a small celebration with our playgroup friends in our home. I was going to put up a few decorations and make a train cake with the locomotive cake pan my mother-in-law sent us... Charlie loves trains; it's his passion.

Anyway, my husband called from work to tell he'd have to go into work in the middle of the night. He used to have to go in at night about once a week and I never could host playgroup. Now that he has a new job, it's rare for him to have to do that but it happens. I couldn't believe that the one time I actually planned to have playgroup at our house he has to go in the night before. I wasn't happy about it.

Later I was on the computer and I read about Stephanie Nielson. When I got on Facebook, I saw a link for a YouTube video that a friend had posted. I watched the video and was touched. I changed my mind about playgroup and decided that it wouldn't be so bad to have to do it at the church. Now I don't have to clean my house or worry about decorations! I'll still make the cake.

Lost and Found

2010-05-04T09:23:00.003-06:00

I have a bad habit of losing things. I've lost my wallet a few times and luckily have been able to find it each time except once. I looked everywhere I could think of but couldn't find it so I had to go through the routine of calling the credit card companies and getting my driver's license renewed.

A week or so ago, I lost my cell phone. I hadn't had much luck finding it in the house or the car. Last night, I just felt like I should look in both cars. So, I combed through Dan's car and my car. Not only did I find my phone (yay!), I found some other stuff. I wonder how long that's been in there? Can anyone guess what it is??

Amazing People

2010-04-20T21:41:00.002-06:00

Recently, I finished reading two books about people who are inspiring and amazing. These two individuals were just human beings but what made them great was the love they had for others and how they showed that love. Their lives were great because of how they chose to do the things they did.

The first book was Glimpses into the Life and Hear of Marjorie Pay Hinckley which is a compilation of Sister Hinckley's own words as well as those of friends, acquaintances, and family members. These recollections allowed me as an outsider to really see what Sister Hinckley was like as a person. They showed her as a real person with an extraordinary ability to show love and kindness to everyone with who she came in contact. I felt inspired by her positive attitude, faith in the Gospel, and the personal touch she gave to loved ones and strangers alike.

The second book was Three Cups of Tea which is about a man named Greg Mortensen, who after suffering personal loss decides to help the impoverished people of Pakistan build schools. He accomplished this by much personal sacrifice - the kind of sacrifice most people would not be willing to do. The way he worked with the people demonstrated that each culture has its own way of doing things and that when we respect other cultures, they respond. I enjoyed not just the story of this man's journey in fulfilling his promises to the people in the remote part of northern Pakistan but also the understanding of what life is like and who the people are on the other side of the world. This book shows that peace in the world can be achieved more effectively through education than military action.

After reading these books, I wondered to myself if I could do what these people did. What would I be willing to sacrifice for the people I love, let alone those I've never met, whose language I do not speak? Am I content to sit in the comfort of my own home and focus on my daily activities while the world passed me by? I know that what I'm doing everyday for my family and the people around me is important. However, am I willing to stretch beyond my boundaries and give more of myself? Would I be willing to work at a job knowing that most of my paycheck will go toward a cause that wouldn't benefit me or my family as Greg Mortensen did? Would I be willing to patiently endure while my husband spent most of his life traveling and attending to the affairs of the Kingdom of God as Sister Hinckley did?

Well, my path is not the same as Sister Hinckley's or Greg Mortensen's. I know that each of us has our own path in life and that the important thing is to do our best with what we have. I hope that I can be just as willing as these people in offering of myself in whatever mission is mine to accomplish in life. For me, that may be doing yet another load of laundry without grumbling or substituting (for the third time in a month) in primary without wishing I could attend Relief Society instead. Or, getting through a day without yelling at my children...but with showing patience and love.

Easter

2010-04-05T13:50:00.002-06:00

We've enjoyed a wonderful Easter weekend. It was General Conference weekend so we reveled in the fact that we could stay home and watch it on TV. We made breakfast on both days - waffles on Saturday and pancakes on Sunday. We were able to watch all the sessions except the one on Saturday afternoon and the kids behaved relatively well which was great! The kids loved looking for the things the Easter Bunny brought and hid for them. They also loved the gifts Grandma Schmidt sent in the mail.

We've decided on a new family tradition: watching a family movie with popcorn. We did it on both Friday and Saturday evenings, we started a movie and continued to watch it the next evening. We're still not done with the movie... The popcorn did not last long as you can imagine.

After an Easter feast, we finally dyed some Easter eggs. A great end to a great weekend!

My Thoughts

2010-03-29T09:42:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure about this blogging thing... I find it difficult to put a lot of my ideas and thoughts in writing in a place where I know it might be read by family and strangers. One reason is that most people would find what I have to say or write about quite mundane and uninteresting. Another reason is that I don't have the time necessary to compose and edit a piece I feel would be enjoyable yet informative - perhaps I setting my expectations a little high in this regard. One last reason: A lot of times, I censor myself, especially when it relates to political issues because I know politics is an emotional and controversial area.

As far as politics is concerned, I have only ever been able to talk about it with one dear friend of mine without feeling anger and frustration. In fact, we talked about it yesterday evening and I came away feeling like we were both on the same side even though I know we disagree on many aspects of the issue we discussed. Interesting isn't it? I think our discussion was calm and rational only because we have such a good relationship with each other that we were trying to understand rather than change the other's opinion.

So, hopefully I'm not going to offend anyone here but here's my take on Healthcare Reform: I feel that we do need to change the current state of healthcare in our nation. It's ridiculous that the wealthiest nation on earth has millions of citizens that do not have access and/or cannot afford health care. It's ridiculous to me that an insurance company can raise premiums at will - that recently, an insurance company in California increased premiums by over 30%. How about the fact that most personal bankruptcies are a result of high medical bills? And, our emergency rooms are being used as urgent care facilities by the uninsured which is dangerous for people who really need emergency care and also increases cost of care for everyone. These are just a few of the problems we have in our current health system.

Now, whether or not the bill just passed by Congress is the right solution is arguable. I know that many people around me believe that it's the first step toward socialism. I agree that forcing people to do something is not a good idea. It's too bad that the politicians can't seem to work together toward a real best solution. I feel that there was too much ego and money involved. The whole process wasn't about finding the best solution, it was about power and perception and even deception. Would it be too much to ask that everyone involved be rational? Probably.

My only idea is what my friend suggested - that we put all the engineers in charge of solving this problem. I like it. We could use the Six Sigma methodology. Here's the Six Sigma methodology as defined by Wikipedia:

Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes.^[2] It uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization ("Black Belts", "Green Belts", etc.) who are experts in these methods.^[2] Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantified targets. These targets can be financial (cost reduction or profit increase) or whatever is critical to the customer of that process (cycle time, safety, delivery, etc.).^[2]

Part of Six Sigma is identifying all the causes of defects and then choosing those that would have the highest impact and lowest cost. So if we applied it to the health care problem, we could list the causes of high cost and then work on the areas that would reduce the cost for everyone. By reducing the cost of health care we make it more accessible to the lower income population and more affordable for everyone. The government would not have to spend billions of dollars to help people buy health insurance.

Spring Fever

2010-03-12T14:44:00.005-07:00

It is gorgeous outside! Sunshine, 50 degrees. Looking out of my sunroom windows, I realized they desperately needed cleaning. So, I grabbed the glass cleaner and some newspaper and went to town. Initially, I meant to just clean the big picture windows but then I saw the smaller windows and decided they had to be cleaned as well. Our sunroom is surrounded by windows on three sides so it was no small task. "Any job worth doing is worth doing right" as the saying goes! I did cheat a bit - I cleaned the outside of all the windows and only did the inside of the two largest windows.

Here's the before picture of the outside of some of the windows:

And, here's the after:
Earlier, I scrubbed the kitchen sink and the stove top and vacuumed the sunroom. Could it be spring fever?

It might also have to do with the carpet cleaners being here to clean the carpet downstairs. Here's the story for those of you who haven't yet heard my tale of woe:

On Valentine's Day, we called some plumbers to unstop our main drain in the basement. We'd noticed the problem the day before but it wasn't too bad and we didn't want to pay the premium charges for getting it fixed on a weekend. Also, I was sick as a dog and was in bed all day. But, by Sunday, the utility room had flooded from the kids taking a bath so Dan called around and got some plumbers to come out in the afternoon. One of the guys broke the clean out which was located in our guest room closet downstairs. They couldn't figure out what was causing the slow drainage so they stuffed a rag in the clean out and left for the night. Unbeknownst to us, dirty water flowed into our guest room every time we flushed the toilet. Keep in mind, I was still sick with some sort of stomach bug and was going to the bathroom more than usual. The next day, they came back in the late morning and fixed the problem but the water/sewage had to be cleaned off of the carpeting. We rented a Rug Doctor and Dan cleaned the carpet as well as he could. Unfortunately, there was still a residual smell in the carpet.

It took me a few weeks to finally talk to the plumbing company to get them to fix the problem. I'd been sick with the stomach bug and two colds in the meantime so I didn't really have the energy to deal with it but this week I managed to get my act together to have take care of it.

Anyway, maybe having the carpet cleaners here inspired me!

What I found in the middle of the night...

2010-03-09T12:00:00.003-07:00

Ellie has a new habit - a very bad habit. It started about a week ago during naptime. I was glad it was just during naptime...

Then, one night I checked on her and this is what I found:
I was glad that the sheets were clean and dry. Unlike the times when her bedding was wet or poopy. I'm thinking it might be time to get her to wear big girl underwear.

I do it!

2010-03-09T11:52:00.004-07:00

Ellie loves to do everything herself. Brushing teeth, feeding herself, putting on a diaper... the list goes on. One day, I clipped Ellie's fingernails. Well, of course she had to do it herself...

Chinese New Year

2010-02-16T14:10:00.004-07:00

We love celebrating Chinese New Year! It's a great excuse for a party and we love making the food. This year we had invited the missionaries and a family with whom we are friends. Unfortunately, our friends weren't feeling well but we still had fun with the Elders. As per tradition, we made dumplings. This year, I decided to also make a shrimp stir-fry. Served with rice and some mandarin oranges (for good luck :-) ) and we had a feast!

The Elders enjoyed learning to make the dumplings. I was pleasantly surprised that Ellie kept asking for "more orange, please"! We had given the kids some mandarin oranges in nursery several weeks ago and she didn't touch hers...but this time she decided she likes them.

Elder Sneary and Elder Yee

Big Girl

2010-02-11T16:02:00.014-07:00

This week has been especially hectic - mainly because I've been looking through the paperwork for benefits through Dan's new job. Sometimes it is a full-time job to keep up on our financial affairs! Hence why I'm finally getting around to putting up pictures from our little celebration for Ellie's birthday.

I love this face! Charlie's showing how much he's enjoying the cake.

I can't believe Ellie is TWO! It's amazing to think that this time last year she hadn't even started walking yet. I love watching her grow and figure things out. She is all girl. She loves taking care of her baby doll - feeding and changing her. She enjoys getting dressed up in her dresses and fancy shoes on Sundays.

I giggle to myself when I see her putting on her pretend lipstick.

Here's Ellie helping me sweep our kitchen floor.

Ellie loves her daddy!

She's tickled to have figured out how to open and close doors. Nothing's safe from her now!
Ellie loves having a big brother!

Apollo 13

2010-02-02T14:42:00.007-07:00

January seemed to fly by! I meant to write more than the one posting but it didn't happen. It's not like we had anything specific going on -- I'm just busy chasing my two little monkeys.

I've been thinking about a lot of things though... It's hard to put it all down in words because they're all random stuff just floating around in my head. I'd write them all in here but I'm afraid no one will really get it or understand where I'm going with it all.

Anyway, here's something coincidentally interesting -- I was looking for something to read from my bookshelves and found the book, Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger. I loved the movie and had gotten the book from a library book sale a long time ago but never finished reading it. So, since I was looking for something to read, I started reading Apollo 13 again. For those who are not familiar with the event, Apollo 13 was to have been the third moonlanding for NASA but the spacecraft suffered some damage and the crew had to return to earth. I love this real life account especially because as an engineer, I'm still amazed by the fact that we are able to send human beings into space and have them come back alive and well.

I was interested to see if there was anything on the NASA website about the incident but there wasn't much about it. However, I did find out that on each January 29th, NASA holds a Day of Remembrance to honor the men and women who lost their lives in support of the agency's mission to explore space. This day was chosen because most of the unfortunate events killing these astronauts occurred around this time of year:

January 27, 1967 - Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chafee were killed by a fire in the command module during a dress rehearsal for the Apollo 1 mission.

January 28, 1986 - 7 astronauts were killed when the space shuttle Challenger exploded during liftoff.

February 1, 2003 - 7 astronauts were killed when the space shuttle Columbia exploded minutes before landing.

I feel kind of a connection with NASA because of two personal experiences. When I was in college studying engineering, I really, really wanted to work as an intern for an engineering company. So, after my sophomore year, I was determined that that's what I was going to do. I'd gone home for the summer break and still hadn't found the internship I wanted so I pulled out the phone book and looked under "engineering, mechanical" for all the mechanical engineering firms in our area. I started going down the list and calling each company. I'd reached the 3rd company on the list and still hadn't gotten a live person and had to leave messages. (Thinking back on this made me realize how bold I was! My high school job as a tele-receptionist had prepared me well for this experience.)

Anyway, I finally reached a live person at this one company called Genesis Engineering. The man who answered said that they didn't have an internship program but that he'd transfer me to the engineering department. The next person I talked to said that I was welcome to go in for an interview and submit an application. The next thing I knew, I had a summer internship with a NASA contractor. They build space enclosures that NASA astronauts used to haul supplies into space. It was really cool to be a part of something so exciting!

My other experience happened a few years later when I was working as an engineer in Michigan. I was very involved with the Detroit Section of Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at the time. The annual conference was being held in Detroit that year and I was in charge of the slide show for the opening ceremony. Our keynote speaker was Sally Ride, a former NASA astronaut. Because I was so involved with the conference planning, I was invited to accompany Dr. Ride to an interview with the Detroit Free Press after the opening ceremony. A few of us rode in the limo with her to her interview. I can't remember anything we talked about but I remember thinking that she was just normal like the rest of us.

Another coincindence: I was reading the paper today and read an article about President Obama changing NASA's direction. He wants them to focus on building an updated rocket instead of trying to go to the moon again. I think that it's a good idea to focus on updating our space technology rather than trying to redo something we've already done before.

Oh, I get it!! I just realized why Charlie's preschool class had space as their theme for January!

Inspiration

2010-01-05T15:34:00.003-07:00

It's a new year and around this time I'm thinking of goals and looking forward to the year ahead. Instead of making resolutions I know I'm going to break, I'm continuing to work/improve on goals I've had all along. I find it easier to make progress towards a few big goals little by little. What I seek is the inspiration and motivation to keep going as the new year rolls around.

Here are a few things that have inspired me recently:

*A QUOTE - "Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again.

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other" (Marvin J. Ashton, “The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword,” Ensign, May 1992, 18).

*FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology is a non-profit organization founded by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen to make science and technology fun for kids. I heard an interview of him on NPR today and got online to learn more about FIRST. They have programs for kids from K - 12 that are geared towards giving them experiences in problem solving and team work. I wish I had been involved in something like this when I was a kid! It's awesome! There's a documentary produced by PBS called "Gearing Up" on one of their programs, the FIRST Robotics Challenge, where kids have to build these robots and take them to compete against other robots. Having been an engineer, I think it's neat that FIRST provides hands-on experiences for kids and helps them see that engineering is fun. We need bright minds to go into science and technology and create better solutions to today's problems. Given today's economy, it's even more important to encourage our children to pursue higher skills that can't be outsourced to other countries.

*JILLIAN MICHAELS - If anybody out there is looking to get better results from their fitness routines try working out with one of her videos. I've been using her video, "No More Trouble Zones", and I'm definitely seeing results. It makes you sweat but it's worth it!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends:

As 2009 comes to a close, we review the year with gratitude for the many blessings we've enjoyed. We are mindful of the people who may have faced job loss, health problems, and other misfortune. Despite the ups and downs of life, it is comforting to know there are caring people all around willing to strengthen and support us. Our year has been busy but unmarked by any earth-shattering events. That is definitely a good thing!

Charlie is four-years-old and lets everyone know this fact! He started taking gymnastics in the spring and is loving it. He enjoys building towers and railroads. Charlie is a great helper to his family. He helps set the table, makes sure Ellie doesn't get into things she's not supposed to, and dresses himself. Charlie is learning new things all the time! He loves to spell and can spell his name as well as Ellie's. He knows all about the letters and the sounds they make. Another thing Charlie loves to do is sing. We enjoy Charlie and his great personality.

Ellie, 22-months, has grown so much this year. She went from crawling to walking to running. Her bright smile brings cheer to everyone around her. Ellie loves doing everything her big brother does. She loves to talk and laugh and sing. Her favorite songs are “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”, “As I Have Loved You”, “I Am a Child of God”, and the alphabet song. Ellie is also a great dancer. She and Charlie have a lot of fun dancing to the music on the piano. We just love this sweet little girl!

Dan continues to work hard at Echostar as a network engineer. He's usually the go to person when others can't fix a problem. He's great dad and husband. The kids are always glad when he gets home from work. When not at work, Dan's busy working around the house. He's very handy when the computers break or if the garage door doesn't work. His latest project is fixing drywall and painting it.

I'm just trying to keep up with it all! I love being mom to two great kids. They are the joy of my life. I try to keep balance in our schedule and to enjoy this time while they are little. We have three things we do every week: gymnastics, story time at the library, and playgroup. When the kids are napping, I get to work on my hobbies: exercising, learning more about personal finance and investing, reading books, and blogging.

So, that's what we've been up to this year. I hope you are all well. We'd love to hear from you and to keep in touch. We are grateful this season for the Savior, Jesus Christ, and for the meaning he gives to our lives. May you and your family be blessed with peace, joy, and happiness now and in the new year.

Love,

The Schmidts
Dan, Linda, Charlie, and Ellie

Christmas Parade

2009-12-13T16:23:00.011-07:00

The holiday season is a wonderful time of year, especially with little ones. I love the decorating, making treats, and all the other activities we do with the children. Even going to Lowe's to get the stuff we need to fix our kitchen walls turns into a family activity. The kids love looking at the Christmas displays they have. Charlie's favorite thing to look at is the Christmas village with a moving train going in circles.

Our first event to kick off the Christmas season was the Cheyenne Christmas Parade. We thought we were going to miss it because although we arrived in the downtown area on-time, it took a while to find parking. Finally we parked a couple blocks from the Wyoming State Capitol and I asked a passerby whether we were far from the parade route. I was pleasantly surprised by the reply that we were very close to it because the parade passed the State Capitol. So, we didn't miss much when we got there. Despite the freezing cold, I think it must have been literally freezing temperatures, there was a good crowd along the route.

I read a neat story in the paper about how they started having the parade. Since we're Michiganders, it's fun to know that this parade was modeled after a parade in Michigan. The couple who got this parade started had been driving back to Wyoming through Michigan when their car broke down and they had to stay overnight in Marshall, Michigan. They found out there was a parade and enjoyed it. It was held after dark and all the floats had lights on them. When they got back to Cheyenne, they thought it would be neat to have a parade like that here. The woman has been involved with the parade planning for the past 17 years.

We were really cold but enjoyed the parade nonetheless. I was glad we had a blanket to keep the kids warm! I couldn't believe it lasted over an hour!! The parade organizers did a great job getting different businesses and organizations to sponsor floats. It was wonderful to see the community coming together for this event.One of my favorite floats was the one where they had this huge flame coming up.
Here are a few other floats with pretty lights.

Shutterfly Stinks!

2009-12-12T10:57:00.002-07:00

Hope you don't mind if I vent a little. Also, I want to share this so no one else has to go through the frustration I felt. Here's a synopsis of what happened:

We were at the mall and decided to get a picture of the kids with Santa. Great idea right? Yes until we decided to buy a picture package that included a gift card for Shutterfly. I thought how great it would be if we got the digital image of the Santa picture and uploaded it to Shutterfly and ordered a bunch to send to friends and family for Christmas? Well, little did we realize that it wasn't as great a deal as it seemed. I did upload the picture to Shutterfly and proceeded to try to order the pictures. The card was for $20 but you had to use it on an order totalling $20 or more. Also, even after I did try to make an order meeting the minimum dollar requirement it gave me an error. So the order didn't happen! By then I had wasted more than two hours just trying order some cards and pictures... (GRRRR! Visualize face turning red and steam coming out of my ears!!!)

So, sorry you may not be getting any pictures from us this year! But you can check back on this blog to see the cute picture of the kids with Santa and an update of our year. Thanks for listening and allowing me to let off some steam!

What I'm Grateful For

2009-11-25T14:47:00.004-07:00

Around Thanksgiving time it's natural to think of things for which we are grateful. President Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said: "Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings" (October 2008 General Conference).

When I think about what I am grateful for, President Monson's statement rings true. These things are truly important to me... Here are a few:

* My relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ
* The atonement of Jesus Christ
* The restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ and all its ordinances
* My husband
* My children
* Inspiration by the Spirit
* My health
* A home
* Extended family members
* Friends
* Temples
* Opportunity for education and learning
* Good books
* The beauty of the earth
* Living in a free land
* Motherhood
* Life

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Little Handyman

2009-11-10T09:38:00.004-07:00

New and Surprising

2009-11-06T14:19:00.010-07:00

Recently, we've had a few interesting experiences...

1. Two snowstorms in October- Having lived in Cheyenne for 2.5 years, I thought we'd seen it all: high winds, hail storms in July, highways shutting down in winter storms, etc. But, a snowstorm the first week of October beat it all. I'd never seen snow in October before, let alone twice! Apparently, the amount of snow we got last month was the average amount of snow this area gets in one winter.

Our backyard after the first snow storm:
After the second snow storm:
2. My first auction - A friend had told me about an auction in town and I wanted to go see it for myself. She was supposed to come with me but spaced it. I was nervous but decided to go by myself anyway.

It was definitely an interesting experience! I made a an embarrassing mistake on my first bid and won a box of sheet music for $65. That was a lot more than I wanted to pay for it! Seeing the shocked look on my face, the auctioneer was kind enough to redo the bid. Someone else got a steal on the music once I was out of the bidding. I did get a swivel rocker for $10, a chair for $5, and VCR for $5.
3. A new bed. We finally got around to getting Charlie a twin bed. Can you tell what he thinks? We were worried about him falling out of bed but so far so good!
4. A trip to the park - It's the beginning of November, hardly a time you'd think of going to the park. Well... apparently in Cheyenne anything is possible! It was gorgeous and 66 degrees so we made sure to spend it out of doors. I took the kids to our favorite park in town. We took a little walk and afterward my plan was to let the kids play at the playground. As we ended the walk, I suddenly remembered that a new children's garden had just opened at the park so we went there to see it. What a great place! The kids loved all the neat water features there. It was really hard to tear the kids away.

Trunk or Treat

2009-11-01T15:52:00.004-07:00

I LOVE HALLOWEEN!! My favorite part is seeing all the kids in their cute costumes, especially my own. Would you believe I bought Ellie's at 5:20 PM on Halloween? Charlie wanted to be Thomas the Tank Engine again this year and fortunately we were able to borrow one from a friend.

Traditionally, our stake does a carnival at the stake center. They set up games and activities in different rooms. The kids get candy as prizes.It's so fun for the whole family. Unfortunately it was canceled because last year there was such a huge turnout it became a fire hazard.

Luckily, we still had our ward's trunk-or-treat last night. It was even better because it was combined with the ward that shares our building so we had a bigger crowd. The kids got tons of candy. I think we have enough candy to last us the whole next year.

Easy Jack-O-Lantern

2009-11-01T15:44:00.003-07:00

Here's how you can do a jack-o-lantern in 5 minutes:

Grab a pumpkin and some permanent markers, any colors you want. Draw face on pumpkin with child's help. Take picture. So easy and cute! No mess!

Notice the red ear? That was Charlie's idea.

Ready for Potty Training?

2009-10-14T16:01:00.003-06:00

I wish!!

Ellie has really become mommy's girl in the past couple months. She just wants to be with me all the time. It's quite flattering and sweet but can be very inconvenient sometimes. Like when I'm using the bathroom, she would insist on coming in with me. Then, she'll sit on the little potty, making sure the lid is off.

Even when Dan's holding her, if she sees me she'll want me to hold her. I know I should enjoy it and bask in this sweet adoration because I won't always be so loved. I guess I don't mind if it means an early interest in potty training... Well, one can hope, right?

What Happened to Autumn???

2009-10-13T22:24:00.003-06:00

We had our fourth snowfall last week! The first few were light but this one was a big one. I don't remember ever seeing snow in October.

Clean, Dirty

2009-09-27T14:29:00.006-06:00

It's funny how children can differ so much, even within a family. Charlie seems to have a streak of OCD. I probably shouldn't say this in jest since OCD is a serious problem for some people. He's the only child I know of who hates being dirty. He loves washing his hands. It's not that he does it all the time but at times when one should wash hands, like after using the bathroom, he enjoys the whole process: turn on the water, put soap on his hands, rinse. He just likes to be clean. This morning, we had leftover waffles from yesterday. As usual, he asked for a rag (moist washcloth) so he could wipe his hands and face in case get got syrup on himself.

Ellie, on the other hand, doesn't seem to mind being dirty. She freaks out when I try to wipe her face and hands clean after meals. It's not that she doesn't like to be clean because she enjoys washing hands and taking baths. I think she just doesn't care as much about being clean all the time as Charlie does.
Here's a picture of Charlie and Ellie after eating pudding. Notice how Charlie's face is practically spotless (and just to be clear, I did not wipe his face or hands before taking this picture!) and how Ellie has pudding all over her face. Even after I thought I'd cleaned Ellie up, Dan discovered she still had pudding in the creases of one of her eyelids.

LOL

2009-09-20T14:17:00.002-06:00

I wish I was better about recording the cute and funny things my kids do. Dan told me this story when we were going to bed last night.

We were at the farmer's market yesterday. I must have been at a different stand at the time while Dan kept an eye on the kids. A lady was trying to get people to buy her tomatoes and was calling out her prices. When he heard her, Charlie ran up towards her stand and shouted, "Team Geotrax, all aboard!" If you have a little boy who loves trains, you'd know that that's from the theme song of a video about trains. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I heard about the incident. I love how my kids make me laugh all the time.

Waipo and Waigong

2009-09-15T14:46:00.002-06:00

In Chinese, Waipo is what you would call your maternal grandmother and Waigong is what you would call your maternal grandfather. My parents were here for a visit this past week. Charlie and Ellie loved having them here. Charlie kept saying "Waipo and Waigong" constantly. I think this is the first time they were both able to take a long trip somewhere together for fun.

There wasn't much happening this time of year in Cheyenne but it was nice to just relax. We enjoyed going to the park, the library (which is amazing by the way), and to Ft. Collins. It was great to have my parents here because they did the cooking half the time! Ellie, who loves going outside and walking down our street, was really glad to have someone willing to walk with her. Charlie said it was nice to have Waipo and Waigong come and visit us. I'm really glad they came too!

Yea for Dan!!

2009-09-04T17:45:00.002-06:00

Dan studied computer science in college. He realized that his school was not strong in the area on which he wanted to focus - computer networking. So, after getting his degree he took classes specializing in Cisco networking and got two professional certificates which instantly made him a lot more marketable. Those tests were beasts - for the first certificate he only had to take one test but for the second certificate he had to take FOUR tests. But his hard work paid off and he was able to land a good paying job mainly because of this second higher level certification (and because he's a great problem solver!).

Well, there's a catch with these professional certifications: you have to renew it every few years, which means taking more tests. You only have to take one test to renew before the expiration date but if you don't do it before the expiration date, you have to retake ALL four tests. Talk about torture! Anyway, he's worked really hard to study for the exam between working full-time, taking care of his family, and dealing with health issues. But, he never gave up and just kept trying when most people would have thrown in the towel.

Once again, he has overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. He passed his test today. I'm so proud of him!!

Flow

2009-08-25T15:07:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I went running. I LOVE running. I could do it everyday. But, alas, I don't often have time to be able to go running. Also, when I am able to do so, it's not the ideal time because most of the time it's the middle of the day and the bright, hot sun is beating down on the barren landscape of our town - which is 6062 feet above sea level, almost 1000 feet higher than Denver. There's not much shade to speak of. I'm usually out of breath. I'm really sweaty. My eyes sting from the sweat mixed with sunscreen running down my forehead. Despite these discomforts, at the end of my runs I'm always glad I did it.

Luckily, my run yesterday evening was very pleasant. It was after 5 PM and the sky was overcast. In fact I had felt a few raindrops but I wasn't going to let that keep me from enjoying a little me time. Usually, when I go for my runs I have a goal to run at a certain speed so I could get back home as quickly as possible to tend to my family. While that was in my mind, this time I chose to consciously enjoy myself and to not push too hard. The words "just do it for fun" kept running through my mind. I seemed to notice that my gait was smoother, that even though I was running hard I didn't feel like I was too out of breath. Near the end, I was going up a steep hill, at which point I normally would've felt like walking but instead I kept going and felt like I could've gone on running forever.

That feeling is why I run.

I Won!!

2009-08-20T16:58:00.002-06:00

Okay, most people will probably not consider this very exciting but I've recently discovered a new investment product - bonds. We have some savings with Zions Bank and they have a website called Zions Direct where they sell fixed asset securities like bonds and cd's. I've never considered investing in bonds before but I got an email about a 1-year corporate bond with a yield of 5.35% which in today's market is phenomenal. Also, I learned that 5.35% is the yield if you choose to pay at par but if you decide to do some bidding, the potential yield is about 2% higher because you could end up paying a lower price. Of course, depending on the rating of the company buying a corporate bond is not without risk. Because the bond I'm buying is being offered by Zions Bank and I've always had a good experience with them, I feel relatively comfortable taking the risk.

So, today I got a message that my bid for the number of shares I wanted was accepted! And my rate is 7.1%!! We'll see how it plays out but I'm pretty excited to have learned something new and to try this out.

Too Bad...

2009-08-14T13:51:00.002-06:00

This year I planted a small (tiny) garden. We have a small yard so I wasn't very ambitious. In a corner of our flower garden, I planted some snow peas and a few bean plants. We have two rectangular wooden planters on the patio in which I had planted green beans, broccoli, and spinach. Then, I've also planted two tomato plants in pots. I wasn't expecting too much since our backyard is shady and those areas where I've planted are the main spots that get sun throughout the day.

Just when the spinach was ready to be eaten, I discovered something unfortunate. One day, Ellie was playing with a small label she'd peeled off one of the planters. It turns out, the planters were built using treated wood - as in treated with chromated copper arsenate, which was used to prevent rotting. So, this means my spinach, broccoli, and green beans are not safe to eat. Oh, well! At least I found out before we started harvesting the green beans. Darn, I'd been looking forward to fresh homegrown green beans!

So, the moral of the story is, if you have anything in your backyard that's made of pressure treated wood, find out what it's been treated with so you can take proper precautions. Most pressure treated wood for residential use is now safe but it's best to be sure. We will be dismantling our planters soon and we have our kids wash their hands after playing outside.

Grandma Schmidt

2009-07-28T14:28:00.015-06:00

Dan's mom came out to visit this past weekend. We really enjoyed having her here and doing some fun things together. The kids loved being with Grandma Schmidt.
On Friday, we went down to the Denver Zoo. It was probably the hottest day ever - temperatures reached 99 degrees! Even though I lathered on sunscreen a couple times I still got a little sunburned. We had a great time though! Can you tell what Charlie's favorite thing was?
Grandma picked the busiest time of the year to come to Cheyenne. Every year for 10 days near the end of July Cheyenne hosts the largest outdoor rodeo in the world: Cheyenne Frontier Days. Our little town of about 57,000 doubles in population and every hotel is at capacity. Traditionally, we go see the US Air Force Thunderbirds airshow which features six F-16 doing amazing acrobatics and formations. We also go to one of the parades which march on 4 different days. The third thing we always do is go to the carnival which is open everyday from 11 AM to midnight. This year, we took Grandma to the parade and carnival on Saturday, the day before the end of the rodeo. I wish we could've gone to the rodeo as well but we just ran out of time. Maybe next year!

The carnival was a blast! Of course, Charlie had to go on the train ride. He got to be conductor. Ellie was too young for most of the rides but was able to ride on the crousel. Charlie was sure he wanted to go on the ferris wheel. He first went on it at last year's carnival with Dan. This time, I got to go on it with him. Let me tell you, it can be scary even for a grown up! I managed to quell my nerves enough to grab an aerial view. Charlie was really brave to go up on this scary ride.
After the carnival, we walked around the chuck wagon area where we sampled food from chuck wagon cook-off. We also discovered the Indian Village which features Native American displays and crafts.

We were all sad when it was time for Grandma to go home. The sweetest thing was when Charlie said to her, "Grandma, I don't want to let you leave."

Shelf Reliance

2009-07-22T15:29:00.002-06:00

Does anyone know anything about Shelf Reliance? It's a website that sells food storage and emergency preparedness products. If anyone has had experience with their products, I'd love to hear about it!

Apparently, they do weekly giveaways and this week they're doing a drawing for a 72-hour kit for two.

Being prepared in an emergency is definitely something I could always improve on!

Preschool Decision

2009-07-20T21:40:00.003-06:00

I've made a decision... Well, sort of. After a lot of thought and prayer, I've realized that I'm not ready to send Charlie to preschool. It's ironic that I was so worried about him being able to make the adjustment to going to all-day kindergarten when I'm the one that will be having a hard time sending my baby off into the world. I remember a friend of mine who'd always say how sad she was when school started in the fall because her kids would be off to school again. At the time, I was amazed to hear her say that because I thought it made life easier when the kids were out of the house. Now that I have my own kids, I've realized how quickly they grow up and how precious is that time you have with them. It seems like nowadays society pushes kids to grow up even faster.

While I'm sure preschool can be a wonderful experience, it's not a requisite experience. However, I know every child is different and it's a personal decision for families whether to send their kids to preschool. I've decided to try to do preschool at home for a couple months. However, I've left myself the option of sending Charlie preschool if that doesn't work out. I'm looking forward to spending more time with him!

Preschool

2009-07-08T17:13:00.004-06:00

Since Charlie seems to have a hard time with new situations (see Change and Progress), I'm starting to worry about him going off to kindergarten next year. In Cheyenne they have all-day kindergarten. That is a LONG day for a 5-year old! I thought maybe I'd sign him up for preschool this fall as a stepping-stone for kindergarten so he can get used to going to "school" and being in a learning environment outside of our home. I've heard great things about a preschool called Discovery Unlimited here in town. The director of the preschool has been doing it for over 20 years and I have friends who have sent their kids there. People have signed their kids up a year ahead of time just to get a spot.

During the summer, she has drop-in days and she said we were welcome to go to see how Charlie would like it. So we went to check it out yesterday. Charlie actually did fine. I stayed for a few minutes and then left when he was occupied. Charlie was a little sad when he noticed I was gone but the director was able to distract him with a different activity. I was pleased that when I asked him if he wanted to go back he said "yes".

Well, now I'm not sure what to do! Either Charlie has gotten better with dealing with a new situation or the preschool was set-up so well that kids just feel comfortable being there. On the one hand I don't want send him to preschool if I don't have to, however I also want him to have opportunities to learn and develop skills academically and socially.

What do you think? I'd be interested to hear other moms' experiences with sending kids to preschool. Was it a positive experience? What were the benefits and drawbacks?

Summer Fun

2009-07-05T14:40:00.010-06:00

I'm a little behind on my posts. No excuses though. I really enjoy blogging but to be honest it's not at the top of my to do list right now. Taking care of myself, my family, and my home often leaves little time for anything else. And that is okay. I've accepted that there's a time and season in life for everything I want to do. That said, here are some fun things we've been doing...

Superday: In Cheyenne, the rec department puts on a wonderful event called "Superday" to highlight all the great activities that are available in this town. There are 5K/10K walk/runs, a bike race, a judo tournament, a volleyball tournament, etc. It's held at the largest park in Cheyenne where booths are set up for all sorts of things. There's an area where local artists and crafts people sell their wares. Another area has clubs and organizations sharing information. There's a children's carnival. And what's a great event without food? Superday is just a fun day for the community to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather at the park.

We love going to Superday. I wasn't ready this year but next year I plan on doing the 5k run. Charlie had a lot of fun going down the huge blowup slide and going in the bounce maze. The carnival was great too. The Lions Club gave free rides in their miniature train. Both Charlie and Ellie loved it. We finished off our superfun by walking through the booths for freebies and grabbing lunch.

4th of July: We had a pretty laidback 4th of July. There was a kiddie parade downtown so I took the kids. I didn't expect much but I have to say the kiddie parade was a disappointment. I thought maybe there'd be at least few floats but all we saw was a group of parents walking with their kids in decorated wagons, bikes, strollers, etc. I guess I just had a different idea of what a parade should be!!

After the parade we headed to the park for a barbecue with a couple of friends. We expected the day to be warmer but it ended up feeling a little chilly! That's Cheyenne weather for ya, you just can't be too surprised by it. Anyway, it was a beautiful day and we were lucky we decided to do a barbecue for lunch instead of later in the day when a huge rainstorm occurred.

My Dad

2009-06-22T21:18:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was Father's Day and I meant to write this post then but never made it to the computer. I've been thinking about my dad and his influence in my life. As a kid, you never really appreciate your parents and what they do for you. You kind of take your parents for granted. At least that was true for me. But now, I am an adult and a parent myself and can look upon all that my parents have done with a better understanding. So, it is with this improved perspective that I see my parents as amazing people who willingly and literally sacrificed all that they had for their children's benefit.

I can't talk about my dad and exclude my mom because they did it together. They both did their best to provide the basic necessities and more for me and my sisters. The first thing they did was to give us life. Which is not necessarily something for which one usually thank his parents but I specifically want to mention it because I am grateful to be here and to be alive. Being born is the most basic thing about life and it is not a small thing, especially if you're Chinese. In China, you're only allowed to have one child but my parents somehow got away with having three. My mom told me it was because they were in a rural area - I don't know if that meant they weren't watched as closely as those in more urban areas.

Living in rural China, neither of my parents had much schooling. To go to any kind of school, you had to pay tuition and most people ended up just going to school for a few years if they're lucky. My dad got through high school and my mom only attended elementary school. Despite the lack of educational opportunities, being educated was important to my parents. When my sisters and I were born, that was their hope and dream for us.

My dad actually came from a pretty well-to-do family. One of his uncles was a doctor. His father was a computer programmer and his mother was a congresswoman in Taiwan. Unfortunately, he was born in a time of civil war. This was when the Nationalists and the Communists were fighting for control in China. His parents were involved with the Nationalists who fled to Taiwan in defeat. He was just a baby then and ended up being left behind with a relative. Eventually, he was adopted by a couple from the countryside of Guangdong Province. His adopted father had been a teacher. I think he was one of those people who got sent to live in a village as part of the Cultural Revolution. The idea was that to make everyone equal, those who were more middle class had to be retrained to live like the common person. The Cultural Revolution was a social disaster to say the least.

So, my dad was raised by this couple. He and my mom had an arranged marriage, which was very common in rural China. They had three girls - I was the eldest. The other thing about the Chinese is that having a son is more highly desired than having a girl. One of the reasons is that traditionally it is the eldest son's duty to take care of the parents in their old age. If you had a daughter, you had to pay dowry to marry her off and she became a member of someone else's family and took care of her husband's parents. Also, it was considered more important to educate the males. But, my parents only had girls and they thought it was important that we get educated.

When I was about 6 years old, we left the village and moved to a city the the north. My grandfather, my dad's biological father, had found him after years of searching. By then, my grandparents had been divorced, my grandfather had remarried and he and his family had moved to the United States. My grandfather wanted to bring us to the US so we would have better opportunities. This was literally a dream come true for people in my parents' situation. So, we moved to the city while we waited for all the paperwork to be processed. It took two years - that's bureaucracy!

After arriving in the US, the only line of work my dad could do was to work in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant. Today, nearly 24 years later, he still works 12-hour days at a Chinese restaurant six days a week. He had to work to provide for our family. My sisters and I lived in one of the best school districts in the country. We all did well in school and graduated from college. One of my sisters just got a master's degree from Columbia University.

Our lives are immeasurably better because my parents were willing to leave all behind in China. I am profoundly grateful for my dad's example of hard work and sacrifice so that my sisters and I could live the American dream.

First Haircut!

2009-06-07T13:44:00.002-06:00

I finally had enough of Ellie's hair hanging over her eyes. She wouldn't let me put hair clips or ties in her hair. So, yesterday, I gave her her first haircut. It wasn't easy!! She kept moving and trying to grab the scissors. I had to get behind her and grab the portion of hair that needed to be trimmed. At first I thought it looked okay but now I feel bad. Luckily, hair grows so in a few weeks it'll look a lot better!

Catching Up

2009-06-02T16:16:00.028-06:00

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. As it turned out, Charlie was sick on the day of the rescheduled birthday party so I ended up canceling it. It was questionable whether he was contagious at that point but my conscience told me I'd feel bad if anyone else's child caught the cold from him. We did have some fun decorations and many guests were kind enough to drop off the gifts. I was glad to be able to hand out the party favor bags and give away all the cupcakes we had. Charlie took the whole situation in stride and enjoyed seeing guests at the door. He loved his presents and had a great time making little pompom worms with me.

The next day was spent doing laundry and getting ready to leave for our trip to visit Dan's family in Michigan.

We had a blast during our vacation! Charlie loved being with his cousins and seeing Grandma & Grandpa Schmidt along with Uncle Dale, Aunt Julie, Uncle Andrew, and Aunt Cindy. The first few days, we were all able to get away to the coast of Lake Michigan. The whole crew, except the grandparents, got to stay in a beautiful house in the woods. It was just a joy to spend time together doing simple things like cooking, chatting, playing, and going on walks.

One funny story we'll be able to remember years from now is how Ellie got scared of one of her cousins. They're both about a year old and he's very loving so he was always coming up to her trying to give her hugs. She wasn't used to that kind of attention from someone her size so she would cry every time he got close or if she saw him. Near the end I think she kind of decided it wasn't that bad.

Later in the week, we were able to visit a children's museum I'd heard rave reviews about. The kids loved it so much, it was hard to tear them away after a couple of hours.

We also got to visit our favorite gardens in Midland. It's always on our list of places to see when we're there. It is beautifully landscaped with flowers, bushes, and trees. There are many hills, paths, ponds, and streams to explore and a children's garden where the kids love to play.

Before we knew it, we were on our way home to Wyoming. It was sad to leave but we're looking forward to seeing everyone again on our next trip. I'm so glad we were able to make more fun memories and strengthening bonds with our extended family.

Crazy Week

2009-05-15T19:21:00.002-06:00

It seems like Murphy's Law has been hard at work this week. I feel like things undesired/unexpected have just been piling on...

~ Dan's been sick and have been home everyday but Monday. I don't know about the rest of you but it really throws me off my game when my husband is hanging around the house. Not that it's bad to have him around but it's not fun when he's sick as a dog and can't do much.

~ I finally got a haircut on Saturday but it didn't turn out like I'd hoped. I have such a hard time finding a good hairdresser for my type of hair here.

~ I lost my wallet. Really this time. I went grocery shopping and realized as I was checking out my big ol' cart of groceries that my wallet was not in my purse. Searching all over did not recover it and so I ended up staying up til close to midnight Saturday night cancelling our credit cards. Then, I had the "fun" experience of taking two active little kids to the DOT to get a new license.

~ Ellie's been especially fussy at night and wouldn't go to sleep very well. We discovered she had a fever of 102. Charlie also had a slight fever. I ended up taking the kids to the doctor this morning and had to reschedule Charlie's birthday party we'd planned for tomorrow.

~ So, I'm looking at an incredibly busy week next week as I prepare for a birthday party, Enrichment, and packing for a trip next week!! I'm exhausted...

Thanks for letting me throw myself a big pity party!

Eighth Anniversary

2009-05-05T16:05:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was our eight-year anniversary. I'd been thinking about it in the week before but for some reason didn't think of it again until yesterday. That's when I realized we'd scheduled to have the elders over for dinner last night. I must be getting old, I can't remember things like I used to.

My Addiction

2009-04-28T20:46:00.003-06:00

Yesterday afternoon, I was able to spend 15 minutes at the library, alone without kids. A rare treat! Of course, I quickly got lost browsing in the new adult books section. I found several books that looked interesting and checked them out. Since then, I've been enjoying reading and feasting on my new finds.

For me, books are like food. I eat them up. I can't remember a time when I didn't like to read. One of the things I remember enjoying as a kid was our regular trips to the local library. I'd check out a stack of about a dozen books and devour them over the next two-to-three weeks. Then, I'd return them and get another stack.

This afternoon, I was able to spend a delicious hour with a book about creating spaces in our homes. The author is self-taught artist and designer but not an interior designer. She shared her experience with buying a house and making it her own. It wasn't your typical interior design book and gave me some great ideas on the process of creating spaces that are livable and enjoyable and not just for show.

I love all kinds of books: fiction, non-fiction, history, business, finance, self-help, mystery, young adult,... Usually, I'm reading at least two or three books at a time. Right now, I'm reading Jean Chatsky's The Difference, Jason F. Wright's Recovering Charles, a book about ETF's, and a couple others.

Why do I read? To learn new things or new skills, to understand the world better, to be entertained, to get away (take a mind vacation), and to see someone else's point of view.

I also love to read to my kids. There are some amazing illustrated children's books. I think the love of reading is a gift a parent can give a child. Charlie loves it when I read to him and he loves to "read" to himself. We always read a story before naps and bedtime. Ellie's still young and won't sit still to be read to but she loves looking at the books we have around the house. I often find her sitting on the floor turning the pages of a book she's found.

The only downside to my love for reading is that it's akin to an addiction. If I'm really involved with a book, I have a hard time putting it down. Sometimes, I feel the urge to keep reading even though housework or other things are calling for my attention. I tend to get lost in the story. I find myself intending to read just 15 minutes and the next thing I know, it's been an hour. So, I have to watch myself. Despite their addictive nature, books bring me joy!

Progress

2009-04-23T15:00:00.000-06:00

Ellie is teething. She has had two bottom teeth for the longest time but recently more teeth have been coming in. A few days ago, it looked funny because she had another bottom tooth coming in and one on top also coming in on the right side. But since then, the second tooth on top appeared suddenly and another one sprouted to the left of her bottom ones so it's more balanced now. Her appetite has been terrible and she's been very fussy. I've basically stopped buying baby food because she won't eat any of it. It's like she's decided she's not a baby anymore and refuses to eat anything mushy - except for the applesauce. I don't know why I've been buying baby apple and pear sauce when I could've started feeding her apple sauce months ago! Unfortunately, there's not too many things she can eat with just a few teeth. I'm looking forward to her getting more teeth so she can expand her menu.

I've learned something new about Charlie. He definitely has a hard time with being in new situations. I caught a glimpse of it when he freaked out the first Sunday he went to Sunbeams. It took him a few weeks but he did finally get over it and now he tells us all about how he got to go to "primary school." He loves singing the primary songs they're learning this year. The other night, he sang "My Eternal Family" and got all the words and the tune right! I'm hoping he inherited the Schmidt genes for music.

Last week, Charlie had to be in another new situation and reacted the same way as he did with going to Sunbeams initially. I signed him up for a once a week gymnastics class through the city's rec department. Last Monday was his first time going and he just bawled. One of the instructors had to hold him and he wouldn't stop crying for at least 25 minutes. He kept saying he didn't want to do gymnastics. I kept reassuring him that he didn't have to do it and that if he wanted to go back to class, I'd go with him. I also told him we could just sit and watch with him. By the end of class, we made it to sitting at the doorway.

So, Sunday night, I made sure to remind him we were going to gymnastics on the next day but that he wouldn't have to do anything and that I would sit and watch with him. Monday morning, I reminded him about class again and told him that he could just watch with me. He seemed to be okay with the idea but said over and over that he didn't want to go. I almost decided not to take him then because I didn't want to make him do anything he was uncomfortable doing. However, I'd already paid for the class and I wanted to give him a chance to realize it could be fun. I told him that if he behaved, I'd let him have a piece of gum after class. Well, he did great! He watched with me but I kept encouraging him to try doing all the things the other kids were doing. He did try a couple of times but kept running away or sitting by me. Finally, when the instructor was showing the kids how to jump on the trampoline and letting the kids take turns on it, Charlie just joined right in! I was really proud of him for overcoming his fears and felt good about giving him a chance to do it on his own terms.

On Being Older and Other Things

2009-04-14T22:24:00.000-06:00

I'm 32 years old. Just saying it makes it official, right? Ever since my late twenties, I've been too busy and too caught up in my life to really think about my age. Now, if someone asks me - no, no one usually asks me because most people think it's rude to ask about someone's age, especially if it's a woman - I meant, if a form asks for my age, I usually have to do the math and then confirm. Although, I think a friend did ask once but I wasn't offended, I'm not offended if anyone asks my age. Anyway, before I turned 30, I'd always thought it was SO old, so grown up. Even now, I still think it's old and have a hard time thinking of myself as someone who's over 30. I still feel like I'm 25, young and invincible, sometimes. Until I look in the mirror or try to go for a jog and realize I don't look or feel so young anymore. I'm not trying to be depressing because there are some great things about being in my stage of life.

For example, I'm still young enough that even though my retirement portfolio took a huge hit, like minus 40%, during this economic downturn, I still have what financial experts call a long time horizon so my risk tolerance is pretty high (i.e. I have time to recover my losses...I hope).

Also, if we were to have another child, I'm still under that threshold of 35 when they say you're at higher risk for having complications and you have to take all these tests for genetic problems.

On a different note, my computer area in our basement is a disaster area. It really looks like a tornado has gone through it because I have jumbles of papers and receipts on my desk and my table AND the floor. Cleaning it up has been on my to do list everyday for the past two weeks but for some reason, it's still here. Every time I come down here to do it, I end up checking my email or getting on Facebook, or doing anything else BUT what I intended to do. I really thought I'd have it cleaned up by the the time the appraiser came yesterday morning but it still didn't happen. I was mortified when I saw him taking pictures! I don't know why I'm having trouble cleaning it up.

Why I'm Angry

2009-04-14T15:45:00.002-06:00

With so much going on in the economy, it's easy to be scared and confused. How did this terrible thing happen? How is this going to affect me and my money? What's going to happen next? How long will the recession last?

I don't know the answer to the last three questions but I'm angry about how it all happened. It all happened because in 1999 Congress deregulated the banking industry, allowing commercial banks and investment banks to "consolidate into a single institution which had essentially free reign to offer everything from passbook savings accounts to speculative financial investments such as commodities trading and credit default swaps. It is the credit default swaps that got us in trouble when the housing mortgage market collapsed. Suddenly, banks lost billions of dollars on their books and people couldn't get the credit they needed for their day-to-day activities. So, then the government bails out these banks because they are "too big to fail." The very people who got us into this mess is getting help from us, the American people. Many ask, "Well, who's going to bail us out if we lost our jobs and our retirement savings and now we can't pay our bills?" The same banks who are getting bailed out by us are now increasing our credit card interest rates.

And now, the big banks are saying, "We are big and strong, we don't need the bailout money. We were forced to take it but now we're returning it because we don't like the restrictions that come with the money we took. We want to pay our executives unreal sums of money and bonuses and to h--- with everyone else!" Except, what the big banks didn't say was that they screwed up big time and that the very people they're paying huge salaries and bonuses to are the same people who created this crisis in the first place. The banks are trying to tell the government that they don't want to be told what to do. Well, the president, the treasury secretary, and the Fed Chairman need to stand firm and not back down. The government runs this country, not the banks.

And another thing: In a situation like this, it's natural to just want to blame somebody. Well, it's not just one somebody that's culpable. There are many people who bear responsibility:

the investors who want big returns, not caring how it got there,
the banks who thought they were so smart to come up with such risky and complicated investments,
the people who couldn't afford the huge homes they bought,
the lenders who sold the subprime mortgages,
the Congress who decided to relax laws regulating banks, and
the regulators who were supposed to be the watchmen.

Maybe we all just got a little too greedy and too complacent during the good times.

That's my two cents!

Easter Fun

2009-04-07T15:30:00.006-06:00

Easter is my favorite holiday after Christmas. I love, love Christmas but I love Easter just as much because there's no presents involved and it's so fun for little children. Also, my finding the gospel makes Easter that much more meaningful to me. I mentioned in a previous blog post that my conversion began with making that phone call to get a free video on Easter Sunday. (See Time Out for Women.)

Two of my favorite things to do with my kids on Easter are hunting for eggs and decorating eggs. Last week, we held an Easter Egg hunt for our little playgroup at church. After the hunt, we had a brunch with fruit pizza, cut up apples, muffins, and a bunny cake. I was the one that made the bunny cake and I had such fun making it! I saw the idea in a magazine and decided to make it because it looked so cute. Now, I'm not a baker - I can do it but it's not my favorite thing to do. My husband's the one that usually makes the cakes so this was kind of a big deal for me. For some reason, I loved the whole process of baking and decorating the cake. I even enjoyed getting all the ingredients from the store! Here's what it looked like.
Decorating eggs is a tradition we've had even before Charlie was born. Last year, I found a neat idea for making unique designs on the eggs using reverse-stenciling. If you want to try it out, go to the Family Fun website.

We haven't dyed our eggs yet for this year but here's how they turned out last year.
I also look forward to having a special Easter dinner with my family on Easter Sunday. We will have ham because it's not something we normally eat and it's on sale. I've been craving my mother-in-law's yummy rolls so we'll probably have that along with a couple other side dishes. Mmm, just thinking about it is making me hungry. I can't wait for dinner!

Movie Review: The Freedom Writers

2009-04-06T22:09:00.002-06:00

This was the most interesting, thought-provoking, and inspiring movie I have seen in a long time. This is based on a true story. Hillary Swank was the executive producer and also the lead role as Erin Gruell, an idealistic new English teacher at a Long Beach high school. She is given a class of inner-city ninth-graders who face unbelievable racial/ethnic problems and the school administrators have already written them off as failures. Despite a rough start, she is able to engage her students and helps them see themselves and each other in a different light.

I love this movie because it shows how a great teacher can influence her students. It's also a lesson to the audience about the importance of seeing each person as a human being and that when we do so, we are able to bridge the divide between ourselves and those we percieve as antagonists.

I highly recommend this movie but just to warn you, it does contain some rough scenes and language.

Grateful for the Cold!

2009-03-24T15:09:00.004-06:00

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm so grateful for the cold weather that has suddenly swept through Wyoming. Last week, we had spring-like weather with sunshine and above 60 degree temperatures. My tulips were coming up and the grass even started looking a bit green. When I heard that it was supposed to snow yesterday and that it would be freezing cold for a while, I was so sad!! I had hoped that, just for once, spring might come early here. Spring in Wyoming usually comes near the end of April or beginning of May. I guess I got fooled!

Well, now I'm actually glad it's cold! Our fridge broke down over the weekend and we weren't able to get a repairman out until this morning. The freezer still worked so we were making as much ice as we could to put in the fridge and keep the food from spoiling. I wish we had realized it was broken before I went grocery shopping on Saturday! It turns out that the controller for the defroster is broken and the airway from the freezer to the fridge is blocked up. The repairman replaced the controller and said that we had to defrost the freezer for 24 hours in order to clear the blockage. So, all our food is outside the backdoor, which is nice and cold. Isn't this a lovely picture of the contents of our fridge? Most of the blue plastic food containers have ice in them, for keeping the food cool inside the fridge when I bring them back inside tonight.

Time Out for Women

2009-03-11T15:49:00.002-06:00

Besides losing my wallet, Time Out for Women was awesome! I had fun just being with women who were all trying to do the best they can in life. I felt uplifted and reassured by the speakers and the music. There was a lot of laughter and moments of spiritual reflection. I wish I could've recorded the whole thing but here are some of the things I remember most.

Sister Okazaki's talk was based on these words by the prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr., "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves" as applied to dealing with others, particularly our children. Well, let me tell you I wish she could've spoken for much longer so I could get how to do this. I for one could use some help getting my 3-year-old to govern himself. She talked about the principles of agency and love and the importance of respecting our children's agency and showing love to them. This is definitely much easier said than done for me. Sister Okazaki should write a book and share in more detail how she was able to get her second graders to solve conflicts with each other without her involvement and to behave when she had to leave them without supervision in the classroom for periods of time. I personally think she just has that magic touch... and is a genius for figuring out how to teach correct principles.

A really cool realization dawned on me on Friday night as we were listening to Michael McLean talk and sing. It's a connection I've never made before because I've only heard his music a few times. I have to start with the story of how I became a member of the LDS Church.

It was Easter Sunday and I was flipping through the channels. For some reason, I stopped on the PBS channel which was showing what I later found out was "The Easter Dream." I didn't know what it was and I only caught the last few minutes. At the time, I was 15-years old and had been trying to figure out what was the purpose of life, why I was here, and where I was going. Life's big mysteries. So, at the end of the show, there was an ad for a free video, "Our Heavenly Father's Plan". I thought, "Cool, a free video!" and I called the 800-number. Three weeks later, a couple of elders knocked on the door with the video. That led to me taking the discussions and being baptized.

So, basically, this video changed my life! And I realized on Friday night that Michael McLean directed the video! After the event had ended for the night, a bunch of friends and I went up to talk and get pictures taken with him. I had to tell him the story so he could know that at least one person's life was influenced for the better by his work. When I told him the story, he said that he was involved in every single aspect of the video from writing script, directing, and writing the music. How cool was that?

Another speaker I loved was DeAnne Flynn, the author of The Time Starved Family. Besides the fact that she told the most hilarious story about how she didn't want to die naked in her kitchen, I loved her message about being prepared to meet God. It really struck me how we go along with our lives every single day and not really be any closer to being ready for the time when we will have to meet our maker. I know what it's like to sit down at the end of the day and ask myself, "Where did the day go?" It seems like there's always something to be done: laundry, diapers, meals, dishes, phone calls, playgroup, bills, work, and on and on... I'm grateful to be reminded that while there are many worthwhile things out there, I need to not let them take place of the things that are most important to me like strengthening my relationships with my family and loved ones and being ready to go when it's time.

I'm really glad I took a "time out" for myself. It's given me a chance to reflect and to refuel so that I'm ready to tackle the everyday routine again.

How I Lost My Wallet

2009-03-07T20:17:00.004-07:00

I've always thought what a nightmare it would be to lose my wallet. If someone unscrupulous happens to find it, he/she could do a lot of damage. I've heard horror stories of identity theft and how devastating it could be on your life. At the very least, it is a pain to try to replace the driver's license and the credit and debit cards.

Well, today it happened. I was down in Denver and we went to Subway for lunch. I was in line and as I got closer to the counter, I decided to get my money out to be ready to pay for my food. I opened up my tote bag and realized my wallet was gone!! I thought maybe I'd left it in the convention center where we were sitting. After lunch, we went back to the convention center and I checked at the courtesy desk as well as the lost and found to see if anyone had turned in a wallet. Nope. I then checked the bathroom stall where I could've left it because I remembered bringing it to the bathroom with me.

As the time passed by, and there was still no wallet to be found I became worried that maybe some strange person from off the street had walked into the building, used the restroom, found the wallet and taken it. In my mind, I pictured the person taking all the cash. (I usually don't keep cash on me but had just gone to the ATM this week in anticipation of needing it for this weekend.) I didn't care too much about the cash since that was a small loss compared to the damage that could be done if thousands were charged on my two credit cards and one debit card. The thief could max out the cards and wipe out my bank accounts. The more I thought about it the more anxious I was for my wallet's safe return.

I checked lost and found a couple more times and even talked to the events center facilities staff. No luck. I thought maybe I was going out of my mind. I double-checked with my friend who drove and asked her if she didn't remember me asking her to hold a notebook and my wallet for me so I could have my hands free to put on a necklace when we were in the parking lot. She thought she did remember doing that.

During my search, I said many silent prayers that I would be able to find my wallet. Finally, just to be sure, I decided to check the one place I knew for sure it couldn't be. I got the car keys and walked out to the parking lot. It was a long shot but I've got to check everywhere. I opened the trunk, got into my bag and rifled through the contents. It wasn't in the side pocket. I dug into the main compartment and there it was, hidden between the pajamas and toiletry bag, my beloved missing wallet, safe and sound. I breathed a huge sigh of relief and realized what an idiot I'd been.

This has to be THE worst case of mommy brain I've ever had. I'm glad I didn't lose my wallet but I'm afraid today will always be etched in my memory as the day I lost my brain.

Something to Look Forward To

2009-03-05T16:02:00.003-07:00

I have never been away from my kids for more than a couple of hours, unless you count the few days I was gone to look for a place to rent when Dan got a job offer in Wyoming. Not that I'm complaining because Dan and I are great partners in caring for our kids and doing household chores. Dan does a lot around the house and works very hard at his job all the while dealing with pain resulting from a car accident many years ago. Still, I do dream about taking a break once in a while.

That's why I'm so excited about this weekend: I'm attending Time Out for Women in Denver with a bunch of women from our ward! For those who are not familiar with TOFW, it's sponsored by Deseret Book. There are presentations/talks by prominent LDS people. This weekend features Chieko Okazaki, Kenneth Cope, Michael McLean, and others. This is my first time going so I don't know what to expect but a friend has told me it's amazing. So, I'm ready to be amazed! I'm also looking forward to hanging out with my friends and eating at one of my favorite restaurants. And I heard there's a hot tub at our hotel. Mmm!

I've been looking forward to this since I signed up last month. I'll be gone from Friday afternoon to Saturday evening. I've gotten Ellie to nurse only once a day so she won't be too upset while I'm gone. Dan knows what to make for dinner. All I need to do now is pack by bag!

Relief!

2009-02-28T21:33:00.002-07:00

My little boy is growing up! My last blog about him was full of frustration over potty-training. Well, he has decided to be a big boy and has been wearing his Thomas the Train underwear proudly this past week. With only a few exceptions the first few days, he has remained clean and dry even overnight! I'm so proud of him!

Tonight, we celebrated his accomplishment by taking him out to eat at our favorite family restaurant.

I want to thank all my friends who have shared experiences and tips with me. That support has definitely helped me not get too stressed out about this whole process.

Everybody Dance!

2009-02-25T10:08:00.003-07:00

Movie Review: The Family Man

2009-02-17T15:28:00.003-07:00

Here's something we don't get to do often - Dan and I watched a movie on TV this weekend: "The Family Man". It stars Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni and was made in 2000. I'd never heard of it before so it must not have been popular or I was too out of it when it came out. The year 2000 was a busy year for me.

We both thought it was a great movie. Nicolas Cage plays a Wall Street whiz who had left his college girlfriend to pursue success 13 years earlier. One day, he wakes up married to her. I won't give the rest of the movie away but suffice it to say that he learns a big lesson. It reminded me of how grateful I am for a wonderful husband and family. I wouldn't trade what I have for a million dollars (or more). If you haven't seen this movie before, it's worth checking out.

http://www.family-man.com/intro.html

Birthday Girl

2009-02-12T14:34:00.004-07:00

Ellie's birthday was last Saturday. I can't believe she's one!! She's definitely a big girl now. Just within the past couple of weeks, she started eating crackers, bread, and bananas.
She loves to play peek-a-boo and show us that she's "so big!"

Ellie also signs "more" when she wants more of something and waves "hello". She mainly says Da-da and cries Ma-ma when she's sad.

We had yummy chocolate cake with ice cream to celebrate Ellie's birthday. Here are pictures of the cake and of Ellie enjoying it.

After eating cake, we opened presents. She loves her new toys.

Bugged

2009-02-06T15:44:00.006-07:00

I've been bug tagged by a friend. You're supposed to list 10 things that bug you and then tag 10 friends. I don't know if I have 10 friends I could bug about this that haven't already been bug-tagged so I'm just going to pick on Holly C., Jody Z., Steph Q., Mandy A., and Janie L. I'd love to find out what bugs you!

My friends who wrote their lists said that they don't really get bugged. Well, I, unfortunately, am not as laid back and I do get bugged by a lot of things. I guess I just have to be more patient, which is really hard to do. (Ironically, I had a hard time thinking of 10 things that bug me.)

1. I go to the store to get one thing I really needed for dinner and end up buying a bunch of stuff but forget to buy that one thing. My kids must have really sucked away a lot of my brain cells!

2. Interrupting people. I hate being interrupted so when I realize I'm the one doing it, I feel terrible!

3. Being tail-gated. Ooh, I get mad and I try extra hard to hover on the speed limit. I guess this is considered passive aggressive so I've been working on it. Fortunately, I don't spend that much time driving around and Cheyenne is a little town. I used to live in the DC area and you really do have to be aggressive there. Though I wouldn't get in the way of tail-gaters (there are a lot of them out in that area) because I'd probably get shot!

4. When people smoke in parks. I know it's a free country and people can do what they want. But it still bugs me because usually I have my kids with me and I don't want them to be inhaling second-hand smoke.

5. Commercials. I'm so glad I have TiVo so I can skip them!

6. When I realize I just wasted 2 hours on the computer and got nothing accomplished. The internet and email are great but it's easy to get sucked in!

7. When I get insomnia and my kids are sleeping fine.

8. When my son says, "Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy,..." and doesn't really have anything to say. Obviously he's just trying to get my attention. Now, why doesn't he do that to Dan?

9. Exercising 6 days a week for two months straight and not really seeing any results.

10. When it's dinner time and I'm still in my pj's! Some days are better than others.

This whole list makes me depressed. I'm going to make a list of things that I love so I'm not depressed anymore:
1. My hubby. :-) I love having someone to share everything with.
2. My two beautiful children. I don't think I knew true joy before they came along.
3. The restored gospel - can't imagine life without it.
4. Dark chocolate. Mmm!!
5. Exercising. Even if I don't see results right away, sweating makes me feel good. I especially enjoy running - all those endorphins are great!
6. Taking a nap.
7. Food. You should check out my blog on food.
8. Reading. I can just eat those books up. Give me a book and I'll be happy for hours.
9. Traveling. My favorite show is "House Hunters International" because I get to see what life is like in other countries.
10. Living in America.

Pulled Over

2009-02-05T16:21:00.002-07:00

I bet you've never had this happen to you before:

A few weeks ago, I was returning home from the library with my kids. I took a left turn with a cop car behind me. It wasn't a big deal because I'm usually a good driver and I "try" not to speed (although my husband tells me I do). Anyway, I wasn't speeding so when I looked in the rearview mirror a few minutes later and the cruiser's lights were flashing I wondered to myself why he was still behind me when I was obeying all traffic laws. Then, I realized that he was trying to pull me over!! So, a couple blocks later, I was able to safely pull over and remained calm.

He asked me if I'd realized that my registration has been expired since August. Shock and disbelief was all over my face. I said really? I had no idea. He asked to see my registration. Fortunately, I had the receipt from the last time I'd renewed my registration (in 2007) and the receipt said it did indeed expire in 08/2008. Uh-oh. I told him that I hadn't seen any renewal notices in the mail or I'd have taken care of it right away. Then, I told him that they must have sent it to my old address and it must not have gotten forwarded. He asked for my license which I had to get out of the purse which was in the trunk. He also asked to see proof of insurance - which was in the glove compartment. Did I seem disorganized or what?

He went back to his car to check the info and I sat in the car waiting. I wondered why it was taking him so long and I knew he was probably writing a ticket. Great! He came back and told me that my registration was expired but that he wasn't going to cite me for that if I'd promise to call the county treasurer (who does the registration) and take care of it. Then, he showed me a ticket and said that however, I didn't have current proof of insurance so that's what the ticket was for. But, he said that I could get the ticket (and $400 fee) waived if I brought current proof of insurance information to the county court or to the police department.

Well, needless to say, I was relieved that he was actually nice about my registration because he could've given me a ticket for that and I couldn't argue with it. But, instead he gave me the ticket for the insurance which I could easily get out of because AT LEAST that was in order. Whew!! I took care of the ticket later that day because I did not want to have that hanging over my head.

Goals

2009-02-01T16:37:00.002-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, for Family Home Evening, we wrote our goals for this year on cardstock paper. Each person had his/her goals, even our baby whose goals were to sleep through the night and eat real food (she loves nursing!). Then, we cut out images that are related to each goal and glued them by our lists. The goals are posted in visible places so we can look at them every day.

A good friend of mine said that a goal is not a goal until it's written down. I think there's something to that thought. When we wrote down our goals, I thought to myself that it's going to be pretty tough to accomplish some of them. However, as I have walked past each person's poster, I've realized that we've each made a little progress toward those goals. I think it's been helpful to be reminded of our goals everyday and it feels good to know we're a bit closer to the end result.

Xin Nian Kwai Le!

2009-01-28T15:04:00.009-07:00

Xin Nian Kwai Le! Happy Chinese New Year! This is a couple days late since Chinese New Year was on Monday. This is the year of the Ox, which is known to be hardworking and prosperous. While the official holiday was on January 26th this year, the celebration lasts about a week. Millions of Chinese people travel home to be with family because it is considered the most important holiday of the year. The traditional belief is that the new year brings good fortune. A major part of the celebration is eating a fancy meal of foods that symbolize good fortune, prosperity, and long life.

Our family celebrated by eating dumplings, rice, and stir-fried bok choy with garlic and shiitake mushrooms. The dumplings represent gold nuggets and the rice is for good fortune. The day before the holiday, people usually clean their homes from top to bottom, symbolizing sweeping away bad luck or ill will from the past year. You're not supposed to clean on the holiday itself as you wouldn't want to sweep away any good fortune that might have arrived. Not being superstitious, and since the day before was the Sabbath, I did do some cleaning on the first day of the new year.

Our little celebration was quite modest compared to how you're really supposed to do it. Here's a link to some beautiful pictures of people celebrating Chinese New Year around the world.

By the way, I have another blog devoted to something I enjoy very much: food! It's called Cheyenne Foods and the url is http://cheyennefoods.blogspot.com. I will be sharing recipes and food thoughts there.

Help!

2009-01-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

After spending hundreds of dollars and changing countless diapers, I've decided enough is enough! Dan and I have made it our goal to make sure Charlie is potty-trained this year!! The sooner the better.

Unfortunately, it's been a struggle. I regret that we didn't start doing it sooner. We should've started a couple years ago but Dan got a new job and we moved almost 2000 miles. Six months later we bought a house and a few months after that we had our baby. So, now he's much older and even more stubborn. It truly seems like a battle of the wills. For a couple of days, he was really into peeing in the potty so he could get a piece of candy. We tried to get him to do number two but that wasn't going to happen. I got mad at him one day because I knew he was trying to do a bm but he told me he didn't want to sit on the potty. Five minutes later, he told me his diaper was pooy. So, I yelled at him (which I know was a no-no). Then, he decided he didn't want anything to do with the potty. A couple weeks passed and the other day he peed in the potty once. I feel like we're back to square one.

If anyone has any tips, we'd love to hear them! For now, we've told him that we're not buying any more diapers. My only consolation is knowing that he will be trained eventually.

Okay, so I wrote this yesterday and since then I've had a chance to talk with some other moms and read up a bit more on potty-training. So, I feel a little bit better now. I have a potty chart with squares that I would mark off with a star every time he uses the potty. I told Charlie that when he earns six stars I would give him a prize (which will probably be a small Thomas the Train toy because he loves Thomas). He seems to like the idea and earned his first star today!

I'd still love to hear what you've done so I can have an arsenal of tricks.

Proud to be American

2009-01-21T21:51:00.002-07:00

I couldn't help feeling touched when watching the Inaugural Ceremony on TV yesterday. Having grown up right outside of DC, the Capitol and other great buildings and monuments on the National Mall are familiar landmarks. It was as if I was actually there to witness this amazing moment in history.

President Obama's speech was a somber reminder of the dire problems we do face but it was also a call to every citizen to do his part to solve them. Being a mother, I was especially struck by his mention of nurturing a child. I thought to myself that that's what I do every single day. I'm glad he included such an important work in the list of things we can do to help our country move forward.

Much has been said about the historic significance of an African-American becoming the president of the United States. I think it does merit recognition as does the fact that we were able to have a peaceful transfer of power. I am so grateful to be an American and to be blessed to live in this wonderful place. While we do have challenges, we also have so much. It reminds me of the scripture that says, "where much is given, much is required."

Smile!

2009-01-16T13:43:00.004-07:00

Yeah!! I found the camera! It was actually in a place I didn't think to look before and I happened upon it while putting away some stuff.

Finding the camera was one less hurdle to taking a picture of Ellie & her first tooth. I didn't realize how hard it can be to get such a picture! Every time I caught her smiling or laughing, she'd see the camera and reach for it or she'd stick her tongue out. Out of all the pictures I took trying to get one with her tooth in it, this was the only one that turned out.

Money, money, money ...

2009-01-14T16:45:00.004-07:00

There's no way to ignore what's going on out there. We hear about it in the news every single day. The credit crisis, the Wall Street Bailout, the Big Three Bailout, the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme gone wrong, layoffs, bankruptcies, etc., etc... Okay, I don't want to be negative because there's still a lot of good things happening but these are sure rough times for so many people.

I've been keeping up on this stuff because I keep track of our family finances and get a weird sense of satisfaction from learning more about investing and personal finance. Last year, Dan and I worked on getting our affairs in order, mainly so the kids are taken care of in case anything happens to us. It's morbid, I know, but it's also preparing for the unknown. So, I used Suze Orman's Will & Trust Kit to set up a trust and other documents. I've read several of her books and have found her advice to be very helpful.

Now Suze Orman has a new book out called Suze Orman's 2009 Action Planner, which can be downloaded for free from Oprah.com. It's only free until January 15th. I love Suze's advice because it's always practical and easy to understand.

So, even though it's kind of crazy and scary out there, I feel like we do have some control because we're trying to do the right things like tithing, savings, living within our means, and... well, I'd like to say budgeting but that's one we're still working on. It just makes me feel grateful to know that even though money is important and necessary, it's not the most important thing in our lives.

Missing

2009-01-11T21:45:00.002-07:00

Ahhh!! Tonight, I discovered that our digital camera is LOST!! I have been looking for it the past few days but just thought it was hiding somewhere in the house. Well, tonight Dan hunted around all the places I could think of it possibly being and no luck. Then I realized maybe I'd accidentally left it at the restaurant we went to a week ago with the kids. (I'd brought it thinking that I'd be so prepared to snap any cute pictures.)

I've been dying to take this adorable picture of Ellie with her first tooth. I'll be calling the restaurant first thing in the morning to see if they have it. Wish me luck!

Change

2009-01-04T14:25:00.003-07:00

We attend church in a building used by two wards (congregations) so our meeting schedules are staggered to accommodate all the people. Last year, the other ward's meetings went from 9 AM to noon and ours went from 11AM to 2 PM. Every year, the schedules switch so now we meet at 9 AM and vice versa. While it was nice to be able to sleep in and take our time getting ready for church, last year's schedule was not conducive to maintaining a good nap schedule for the kids. Both Dan and I were excited for the new schedule that started today. The only downside was not being able to sleep-in but it was a trade-off we were willing to make so the kids could get their naps in at the normal time and we could have our Sunday afternoons to relax and spend time with each other.

One change that was not welcomed by Charlie was starting Sunbeams (Sunday class for 3-year olds). He kept insisting on going to Nursery and was hysterical when we brought him to the Sunbeams' meeting area. I don't know - maybe we didn't talk with him enough about going to Sunbeams during the week. Dan stayed with him until he calmed down, which took a while. I think he'll be okay after a couple weeks, once he realizes that his friends are still there and that things are not too different.

A new year brings new changes, some welcome and others unwanted. I'm excited for new beginnings: new experiences from which to learn and grow. This year, I hope I can accept both the joys and the challenges with gratitude and grace. I hope I can be a little better, a little kinder, a little more patient, a little more loving, and a little more compassionate.

The Kindness of Strangers

2008-12-31T12:39:00.001-07:00

Originally, we were going to stay home for Christmas but Dan's Mom, who'd wanted to come visit us but couldn't, invited us to go to Michigan. Since Dan had a few vacations days left this year and would lose them if he didn't use them, we made plans a month ago to take the trip.

So on Christmas Eve, we got to the Denver International Airport early (for once!) for our flight to Michigan to visit Dan's family. This was a quite a feat because we live two-hours away from the airport and we had to get two little kids ready and out the door by 6:45 AM.

Looking at the departure flight information on the monitors, we noticed that our flight was delayed for a few hours. Another person on our flight was also scratching his head and we agreed it seemed strange that the flight should be delayed because the weather was fine. So we head to our gate to find a long line of people waiting to talk with the agents. It turns out that the plane had mechanical problems and the part had to be flown in from a different airport. After many hours of waiting around, they finally canceled the flight so we had to get on a flight for the next day.

What made it bearable was the people we met while waiting and waiting and waiting... We met two other families who were on the same flight. One family had brought a portable DVD player and invited Charlie to watch the movies with them. They had a little girl about 4 1/2 years old named Maggie and a little boy about two-years-old named PJ. They were watching "101 Dalmatians" and Charlie was a little scared of the scenes on screen at the time. The little girl tried to reassure Charlie and told him she would keep him safe. After a while, Charlie decided to sit and watch the movie. The little girl sat down next to him and put her arm around him - she was "keeping him safe". Isn't that just the sweetest thing? There was another family there with two girls, one close to Maggie's age and the other close to Charlie's age. They and Maggie hit it off right away.

So while the adults tried to get the latest status of the flight and figure out what to do - whether to try and get a different flight, or even if another flight was available at all - (this WAS Christmas Eve and all flights were full) - the kids were having fun watching movies and playing with each other. It was actually very nice because we were worried enough as it was without having to try and entertain our kids or keep them from melting down.

When it was apparent that our flight would be canceled, it was too late to get on another flight. The first family invited us to stay the night at their house but we didn't take them up on their offer because we hadn't figured out what we were going to do yet. Dan had wanted to drive home but I didn't want to have to drive two hours home and then have to drive all the way back to the airport the next day. Later, the other family also extended the invitation for us to stay at their house and said we were welcome but that they wouldn't be offended if we chose not to stay with them. They left the airport before us because we needed our luggage and it took the luggage people a while to get them for us. We did decide to stay with the family because it had gotten late, almost dinner time.

The man is a firefighter and his wife is a nurse. He had written out detailed directions and gave us their cell phone number. They lived in Aurora, which is only 30-minutes from the airport. Their house was very nice with a finished basement which had the guest room and an extra child's room.

They had gotten on a flight early the next morning so they had to leave much earlier than we did but they said to just lock up when we left. We were amazed at how nice they were. They even watched Ellie for us while we took Charlie to get some dinner. The next day, around noon, they called us to make sure we'd gotten on our flight.

We were so grateful for this sweet family and their kindness to us. These people opened their home to us, mere strangers whom they'd only met at the airport. They trusted us to lock up their house for them when we left. The world is a better place because of people like them. I will always remember their great example of kindness.

Have a Very Merry Christmas!

2008-12-22T14:57:00.003-07:00

Christmastime is a great time to remember friends and family, especially those we don't get to see often. We always enjoy hearing from you and getting cards and letters updating us on your lives.

Our little family has weathered a year of ups and downs and just feel grateful to be mostly on the upside of things. We began the year by settling into a newly purchased home. Right away we began two home improvement projects: one, moving the laundry area from the kitchen to the utility room complete with a new set of larger and more efficient washer and dryer and two, replacing linoleum flooring in the kitchen with tile. The tiling was not yet complete when our little girl arrived at the beginning of February.

The birth of baby Ellie ushered in many changes in scheduling and lifestyle, which are normal. Ellie is a darling girl and we enjoy her sweet little personality. She has learned to crawl and loves to explore all the places she can get into. Recently, she has been working on pulling herself up and standing. She also shows signs of getting a couple of teeth.

Charlie accepted the new way of life in stride and continues to be a happy, healthy little boy. He loves to build railroad tracks, play on the computer, watch TV, sing, dance, and count. He's learned to count in English and Chinese. He plays well with his baby sister and likes to help with the diaper changes and other chores. The thing he doesn't like as much about having a baby sister is having to share his toys. It's a hard thing to learn for a three-year-old.

Dan is always busy both at work and at home. About once a week, he has to go into work in the middle of the night to do maintenance on the network. Because there's a chance of taking down the satellite connection, the maintenance has to be done during the time when there are few viewers. He's also on-call every six weeks. During one on-call week, he was called every night! When he is home, he's busy helping with the kids, dishes, and laundry. Charlie and Ellie are always glad when daddy gets home from work. They love to give him hugs.

I stay busy caring for the kids and our home. After Ellie was born, I did get tendonitis again but am now able to do most things. We were grateful to be able to get help from church members. My mom came and helped out for almost two-months, which was really a lifesaver.

We remember the Savior, Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. We're grateful for the many blessings we enjoy because He was born. We wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season. May the new year bring many happy things to come!

Making a Difference

2008-12-20T11:22:00.004-07:00

Every Christmas season, our family participates in some form of giving to a good cause. While living in Midland, we did the Sharing Tree where we took tags describing gifts we could purchase to give to someone in need. Last year, Dan's workplace did something similar but this year there isn't a program.

Well, I just found out about a great idea through my cousin's blog. She's a singer songwriter in Atlanta, Georgia. Her most recent blogpost includes a video in which she explains the Not for Sale Campaign to fight against human trafficking. Did you know that this is a problem here in the US as well as all over the world? The Not for Sale Campaign's website describes the purpose of this non-profit organization:

...Not For Sale is a campaign of students, entrepreneurs, artists, people of faith, athletes, law enforcement officers, politicians, social workers, skilled professionals, and all justice seekers, united to fight the global slave trade.

Not For Sale aims to educate and mobilize an international abolitionist movement through the innovation and implementation of open-source activism. Inside the United States, the campaign identifies trafficking rings and collaborates with local law enforcement and community groups to shut them down and provide support for the victims. Internationally, the campaign partners with poorly resourced abolitionist groups to enhance their capacity.

Every single person has a skill that they can give to free an individual living in bondage.

It is unbelievable to me that such terrible things are happening to people today. I know that while I can't personally stop such atrocities, my actions and contributions added to those of millions of other people can make a difference.

Maybe this is not the kind of cause everyone would like to support. There are many other good causes you can support. United Way is an agency that supports local organizations that help the needy in communities throughout the US. If you are looking to help locally, that would be a great place to start. I encourage everyone to seek out ways to help others. I know many of you are already doing this and it's great to know such caring people.

I want to do all by myself!

2008-12-17T17:08:00.009-07:00

This morning, I was changing Charlie out of his PJs and when I was getting ready to unbutton the shirt, he said, "Mommy, I want to do all by myself!" Then, he proceeded to unbutton his shirt. It was really hard for me to let him just do it. If you have had a three-year-old, you know how much longer it takes for them to do something that would take you a minute. But, I've decided to let him just try to do some things on his own, under my supervision of course.

Here are a couple other things Charlie likes to do on his own: Put the toothpaste on his toothbrush. This is usually dangerous because he squeezes really hard and too much comes out. Oh well, he tries.
Brush his teeth. I usually help him brush after he's done to make sure all the teeth got brushed. I'm a stickler for clean teeth.
I'm really glad that Charlie enjoys trying out new things. He really likes to be independent. I remember when he started eating solid food, he would try to grab the spoon so he could feed himself. Back then, he couldn't tell me what he wanted but now he often tells me, "I want to do all by myself!" or "I did it!"

My baby's not such a baby anymore!

A Good Day

2008-12-08T21:17:00.002-07:00

It was quiet and peaceful when I woke up this morning. Something seemed off. I looked at my watch and it was almost 9. Dan had already been gone at least an hour. I wondered if he'd put a program on for Charlie but no, he was still sound asleep in bed and so was the baby. And, I feel rested. That's amazing; I can't remember the last time I got this much sleep.

When you're a mother, sleeping-in is not an option. In my case, my wake up call comes in the form of a 3-year-old boy who comes to my side of the bed every morning asking for chocolate milk. But don't think I'm complaining, I'll take that over what he used to do which was to wake up 2 - 3 times a night wanting milk and needing a diaper change.

The day gets better. My visiting teachers arrive with goodies: fresh, warm-out-of-the-oven banana bread and a plateful of homemade fudge and cookies. We enjoy visiting and chatting; Charlie gets to play with a couple of kids they brought.

After lunch, the kids go down for a nap around the same time and sleep for about two-hours! That almost never happens. I am left with time on my hands which I quickly fill trying to whittle down my to-do list.

How do I order another day like this? Ironically, if everyday was like this, I probably wouldn't appreciate it as much.

Love Bill!

2008-12-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

Ever since Charlie was a baby, he's had a stuffed frog. The first one he had was a small lovey some friends gave us. Unfortunately, "Froggy Friend" was lost during a walk. Even at a few months, Charlie had learned to love and showed signs of sadness at losing his friend. We bought several stuffed animals in an attempt to replace this lovey but none took hold of his affections until Dan found another stuffed frog, which was similar in color.

We call him Bill. Charlie and Bill are inseparable. "Bill" was one of Charlie's first words! We take him everywhere we go, although we've lost Bill enough times that now he stays in the car when we go somewhere. Charlie won't go to bed without his buddy Bill. Dan made up song about Bill to sing to Charlie when he tucks him in at night. Now, it's funny to hear Charlie sing the song himself. Even I don't know the words as well as he does.

Charlie is now 3 1/2. I'm surprised that Bill's lasted this long. We've lost him a few times and have always been lucky to get him back. Bill's also been thrown up on, dragged through dirt and dust, and washed countless times. Besides his family, Charlie loves no one better than Bill.