Two-Face

Andrew loves making faces. These are the half faces he was showing me:
1/2 happy, 1/2 angry
 :
1/2 sad, 1/2 worried

1/2 mad, 1/2 sneaky

1/2curious 1/2 happy

1/2 worried, 1/2 excited

1/2 thinking, 1/2 sad

 

A Change of Plans

Emma wrote this poem for her teacher for Halloween (just cause). Can you tell she's been reading a lot of Shel Silverstein? She takes after her dad and grandpa; both clever, funny, talented writers.

a change of plans…

by Emma  Steed

With all these busy plans,

and since I’ll get cramps in my hands,

and really, it’s getting old and bland,

so can’t we change the HOMEWORK plans?

(Oh,yes.that would be very grand!)

My mind is much too tired to work,

and I really don’t mean to shirk,

(no,I don’t care if you call me a jerk),

but PPLLLEEEAAASSE,

can’t we just change the plans of HOMEWORK?

Yes ,I DO care about college,

my appetite just wants halloween spirit,not knowledge.

Don’t you see?

HOMEWORK is a FALLEDGE!

(don’t judge me! what else rhymes with college?)

since i don’t want to blow up my head,

(and i promise that if i get my way i’ll make your bed,)

so unless my name is Fred, I think you’d like

not homework but…

a piece of halloween  CANDY!?!?!?!?!?!?

Tooth Fairy

Inflation, everyone is suffering from it.
 

Step in Time

Sometimes I think my kids are getting too grown-up in their interests and we weed out the little kid stuff from our house so I was surprised when Weston said one of his favorite movies is Mary Poppins. So I checked it out at the library and my kids thoroughly enjoyed it. I was surprised again to see them dancing around to "Step in Time." As toddlers they would sit like zombies on the couch and never participate in the interactive shows but no here's my 10-yr-old leading the boys in a spirited rendition of the musical. Glad to have a break from the pre-teen moments and see that they are still kids.
 

 

Happy Halloween

We had a flash mob do the fox dance at our Trunk or Treat. I've got the video on Facebook and you can hear my kids singing along next to me. Fun!
 

Andrew and his buddy Hunter rocking out in the back of their truck.

Vampire donuts for Halloween breakfast.

Emma told me she's done with cute and wanted to be creepy this year. Apparently our friend and neighbor Gracie had the same idea. I ratted and sprayed Emma's hair really crazy and stiff but by the end of the night it was pretty flat again. Stubborn straight stuff that hair of hers.

I told the kids they could wear whatever they could find around the house this year, and that's what we did. I wore my German dress for the Ward Trunk or Treat and tried to be festive but comfortable for our preschool Halloween party that morning.

 

RS Activities

I am blessed with an amazing Relief Society presidency to work with. They seriously are the best, so talented and organized and diligent. And they love and serve the sisters. My counselor, Shauna, that organizes our RS activities always makes it look good, fun, tasty and uplifting. This last one was a Wizard of Oz theme and we had the stake Relief Society President come talk to us about "walking the path of discipleship." Unforunately I dropped my camera running out the door to make it to this so half my pictures were blurry so I don't have any of the yellow brick road in the hall or the other display tables in the RS room but you get an idea of how good she is at this. I wish I had pictures of our Dr. Seuss activity with a motherhood theme- We had moms speak about raising Thing 1 and Thing 2, When birds leave the nest,", Who you are as an LDS mom (Horton Hears a Who) and more. I can't do this stuff so it was important to find someone that could come up with this stuff and pull it off. I totally scored! The Lord was very generous and provided what I needed in the presidency he gave me.
 

 

 

 

Sorry Card Fail

Jamie was told by Andrew's primary teacher that Andrew was spitting in class and got his teacher on the face. We were not impressed and quite appaled especially since his teacher is one of the sweetest people I know (imagine Andrew spitting in Lindy's face). Andrew had some serious reflection time when we got home. Then we made some cookies to bring to his teacher and asked Andrew to write a sorry card. This is his first attempt:

Interpretation: "Blah, blah, blah I'm sorry from spitting blah blah blah I thought that it would go over people's head blah blah blah blah blah." This one obviusly was not taken to the teacher. We had an attitude adjustment and made him try again. The second attempt went better:

Sorry card
By Andrew Steed

"I am sorry from spitting. I thought it would go over the children." Then he draws a picure, bad-him spitting at his teacher, good- him hugging his teacher. She loved it and Andrew gave her snuggles and good behavior the next Sunday. But I'm still not sure I can ever show my face in primary again.

Jamie's cute, he always makes me a humongous pancake when he makes pancakes. I was down with my back for the weekend (a few weeks ago) so this was dinner one night and he delivered it to me on the floor and maybe it was just the day but I'll tell you what it was the best pancake I ever had, warm and buttery with applesauce and cinnamon. Thanks babe!

Tell me how you really feel about it

Apparently Andrew's piano lessons with Emma haven't been going well.

Andrew's 6

Andrew turned 6! He is such a crazy, funny kid that has certainly given some flair to our little family. He makes us smile and laugh and is very loved. I hope he survives kindergartner, or rather, I hope his teacher does. Love you monkey man.
 

 

Boys and Books

I'm not sure this book is really appropriate but when it gets my boys reading, snuggling and laughing together, how can I not allow it? Getting books Weston will read has been so much more work. He's a good reader but he's very picky. Any suggestions?

Preschool

I'm teaching preschool again this year. We started the first week in September. I teach with my friend, Jennifer and we have a lot of fun. We've got a sweet, fun bunch with a great mix of personalities that go together so nicely. I amreally enjoying these cuties!

Weston

Weston is a funny kid. He fully devotes himsef to his passions but if it isn't something he doesn't love he will avoid it like the plague. Writing, not his passion, he wants to know how little he can possibly do and be done with it. No details, no depth, just the facts. He'll spend hours designing airplanes and reading a non-fiction about tanks but write more than two sentences and he thinks he's being tortured (and getting him to do so the war his teacher has waged). So different than Emma who spent her Halloween evening writing a poem for her teachers, not an assignment, just because she thinks poetry rocks. Kids are so individual that way, their own talents and interests, makes our family fun.
 

 

Weston came home from school one day and saw this newspaper in the driveway so he plopped down and just starting reading. Then he came over to me and showed me an article about SATs and told me to look at it. Uh, okay, fascinating buddy.

Happy Birthday Emma

Emma turned 10 September 2. I have a terrible mom confession: she's never had a friend birthday party before. When she was little and we lived in Vegas we'd have her grandparents, aunts, and uncles for fun family parties with varied name themes: Emma Loa's Luau, Emmapalooza, The Emmy awards. And then we moved and she started school and her birthday is always around the first week of school, Labor Day and the very beginning of the month so it always sneaks up on me and I just can't get it together in time. But this year we were determined to pull something together. She had a ice cream sundae party so I made a ice cream cupcake tower and the girls designed cupcake boxes to take them home in. And we had ice cream sundaes at the party instead of cake.

We did glow-in-the-dark freeze dance.

Meg, Sadie, Anika, Ella, Maddison, and Emma. Emma's lucky to have good friend at church and school and a nice group of girls her age.

Ice cream time!

There Emma, I did it, only took me ten years but don't say I never do anything for you. :o)

Back to School

The last week of August, Emma and Weston went back to school and my baby started school. I asked Andrew is he'd miss me and he said, "no, I'll be having too much fun!" I guess that means he's ready and I'll take it as a compliment that I raised an independent kid. My kids like school. They like to learn and see friends and the resources available.