The Big Kids

So I'll be brief about the two BIG kids in the family.

Scott is preparing to do a days worth of driving on Saturday. He's picking up a trailer full of stuff from my mom and dropping off a bunch of stuff for Liz. He's meeting mom and Papa Pheel at the halfway mark which is 8 hours away. To prepare for the journey, the truck needed new tires and a hitch installed. In the meantime, the power steering tube was split and the repair, although less than we were expecting (around $300 the last time I heard) has been dogging our every step to be ready for the journey. The tires came in but they were too small and different ones were ordered. They have arrived but the truck is at the 3rd or 4th repair shop still not repaired and so the tires are in limbo until the tube is fixed. The hitch can't be installed until after the fix also. We are hoping to take care of all this today and tommorow. Otherwise, Scott will need to rent a vehicle to do the pass-off. Can you believe that a truck that small and old has such a high tech driving system that the shop it's at now is the only one around that can handle this kind of repair?!?!? It doesn't make sense!!!! Anyway, I had better show Scott the appreciation he deserves because this is costing us an arm and leg and many headaches. I've learned that it's best to give Scott news or questions at night, let him miff and mull over them and then keep silent until the morning when he's come to a decision and is used to the idea and won't make me feel like the executioner about to take his head.

I've been on the painting war-path. I'm taking it in small chunks. One day I painted the entryway piano nook. The next day the long hall and kitchen hall walls. Today, the front entry and R's room entry. Tomorrow, the kitchen and so on. Eventually, all the public area's will be the same color as well as our bedroom. I'm on my second gallon and have three left to work with. By the way, I'm loving the color!!!!

Colbey

Colbey approached me last Friday about 2 minutes before the bus arrived telling me he needed me to write him a check for $35. When I inquired as to why he needed this, he replied that it was for his accompanist for solo and ensemble. So after telling him, absolutely it was not going to happen and him expressing that I would need to take this up with his band instructor, this is the email I wrote to mom...


So Colbey just informed me that he wanted me to write a $35 check for an accompanist?!?!?!?!?!?
What the heck...
Has he not been paying attention his ENTIRE life to me playing the piano, and get this, .... FOR FREE????????
Who knows who this "accompanist" is and whether or not they are any good? I can't even begin to explain how roiled my blood is right now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So now I have to call the band director, get the music from him/her (I don't even know which director is his) and figure out where and when we have to be at Solo and Ensemble next Saturday. Yes, I'm speaking of the 12th.... that means no Scott to watch the other two, probably interferes with the birthday party we are supposed to be going to ... and even if I did lose my mind and go ahead and let someone else spend 17 minutes of work for $35, I would still need to figure out something for the other two because I still need to take him to Solo and Ensemble.

HOW COME TODAY IS THE FIRST I'VE HEARD OF ANY OF THIS?????? ONE WEEK BEFORE THE ACTUAL DATE AND 10 MINUTES BEFORE HE HAS TO LEAVE FOR THE 15 MINUTE REHEARSAL WITH THIS "ACCOMPANIST"???????????????????????
*$%&!*)$%&#)@$(^*#)!(&%!@)*#(& Yes, these are bad words!!!!!!

So, I did go to his band teacher, and after a few words with him, I now have a job for next year. I will be one of the required accompanists and get $35 per kid for 17 minutes worth of work. All's well that ends well. And yes, I am accompanying him and have already had requests from other band students to be their accompanist because they don't like who they have. Snicker, snicker!!!

Colbey also went to a private air field with his YM group last night. We have a pilot in the ward and he gave them a tour of the planes he flies. He came back having taken a bunch of pictures and said it was COOL. Hopefully, I'll have the pictures to post shortly.

Landon and Ryleigh

Landon had his Kindergarten program this past Monday. It was ssooo cute!!! He came out in the second group and had this gigantic smile on his face. I made sure he saw us and we periodically waved to him to make sure he felt our support in this endeavor. When Colbey had his first program, he began crying hysterically and we had to remove him from the "stage", take him to another room and were accompanied by another teacher and counselor. To say the least, I was prepared to go through that again, but low and behold, we have a "Star Of Stage And Screen" living amongst us! He was so cute even with the massive fake smile. I handed Ryleigh off to Scott so that I could get some pics of this momentous event and it was then that I realized, the camera had no memory card in it.

I blame all of you reading this blog!!! I had taken the card out to post pictures last week and forgot to put it back in the camera. That's ok, we'll try again next year.

The best part, besides Landon's cuteness, was the program lasted only 30 minutes. Now that's the way to hold an elementary school program!!!!

He has also discovered the art of finagling. He told me yesterday, "You can make me happy by getting off the computer so that I can play, or ... make Colbey and Brock play with me." When I told him he could use the computer as soon as I was done, he replied, "I'm not happy and it's all your fault!"

Being the amazing mom that I am, I replied, "It doesn't bother ME when you say you aren't happy. Besides, you need to figure out how to be happy no matter what is going on."

He wasn't really thrilled with my answer or my suggestion that he go ride his bike or skateboard until I was finished.

The evening perked up, though at bedtime. Landon decided it was time to have all his nails trimmed. Anything to delay the dreaded sleep!! The funny part that happens every time I trim his nails, is his question, "Which one is nasty?" and then, "Is this the nastiest?" It's a contest to see which one is the grossest and it gets special love and appreciation until the next time we trim. BOYS!!! So last night was especially funny because Ryleigh was in the room at the time of the great trimming fest and she picked up a new and interesting word. NASTY. She repeated it several times just to see how it felt rolling around on her tongue. It was so great! My little girly girl going around saying, "Naaaa-shly!" The best ones were accompanied by a quick little bounce as she said it. Kind of like, Jesus Wants Me For A Sun-beam! You know what I mean...

Ryleigh has become obsessively protective of me. It's sweet ... until it becomes annoying! She needs to be right by my side and preferably in my arms at ALL TIMES! I love her, but holy cow, I'd love to be able to go to the bathroom by myself, too.

Her speech has become much more decipherable, but I still am anxious for the day when it doesn't take all my 20 remaining brain cells to smoke as they try to keep up with her babble. They are wearing out quicker than I can afford for them to. Those 20 need to last until Scott's senile and doesn't recognize that what I'm saying and doing is ridiculous. The illusion of intelligence is required until further notice!

She has also taken off in gymnastics! Man can that girl move!!! She loves the tramp, the beam, the bars and especially the rings. She RUNS through her routines like a pro and the others in her class can't keep up. (There are only two others in the class, a brother and sister.) We've started teaching her to cartwheel and she can almost push her bottom over her head for a somersault. She is saying the correct names for different tricks and I have never seen more beautiful and gymnast like thighs as hers. I love her in her leotard! She is so teachable and willing to "show off" and the teachers giggle each time she climbs up on the slide and does a boodie shake before sitting down and sliding to the next bar area. Her teachers say she has a talent and a build for a gymnast. We'll see if she continues to have a desire to be one. She's loving it for right now. That's all that matters.

So here are a couple of requested pictures.

1. The chandelier in the dining room.

2. The pilot. (Her name is Zoe.)

3. The double stroller. Liz, it needs a really good cleaning and it's missing some covering for the front bar. The paddings there but the material is gone. I'll email you the rest of the pics.

4. Ryleigh's big girl bed. (The foot board and head board.) An antique french twin bed. We got it from an antique dealer in Dallas. What color do you think it should be? The bottom 5 feet of her room is a deep chocolate brown and the top 3 feet is 18" diamonds in a medium rose and lighter rose. The ceiling is the palest pink.

As you can see, I'm in the middle of painting the hall way. Notice how judiciously I painted around the head board! : ) The kitchen looks the same.

The Mama's and The Papa's

So we attended a Gladys Knight concert on Saturday. WOW!!! She was fantastic, funny, inspirational, ... Her husband was there and spoke at one point, what a crack up!!! It was such a wonderful experience! She has a choir that goes from venue to venue called Saints Unified Voices. They are non-profit and boy do they have voices! They have a CD out called "One Voice" (I think that's the name). Anyway, I'm going to look for it. We had a wonderful dinner at Texas Roadhouse after. Amazing that after nearly 13 years, we still have things to talk about. We ate way too much and brought home yummy leftovers.

So here is what I'm doing right now... I am keeping a log of my eating and calories because I am not losing weight even though I work out at the gym three days a week (SERIOUS workout) and walk six days a week. My trainer says the only other reason I wouldn't be losing this weight is because of diet. By the way, even my trainer says that the weight I'm able to work with is impressive and I could definitely kick some serious @#$^%!!. So here's the rub ... I like food! On a cold, overcast day, there is nothing more comforting in the world as eating toast drizzled with honey in front of the fire. I like grilled cheese sandwiches and pickle spears for lunch. I LOVE Ceasar salads (which I have discovered are the worst salad to like because Ceasar dressing is the most calorie laden dressing around). There's nothing better than knowing your going to have a red face because you have a piled high plate of spaghetti in front of you, and you know what, I'll take the red face anytime rather than avoid spaghetti. I love the warmth of Mexican food resting in my gullet as it makes its leisurely way through my intestines. I love a honey glazed ham with a GIANT glob of applesauce and I wouldn't be a Flint (maiden name) if I didn't adore mashed potatoes (minus the gravy). I wouldn't be a Thompson if I didn't love Hawaiian Sweet Rolls.

When we have guests over, I look forward to planning the menus. I spend tons of time and enjoy every minute of it figuring out what to make and which recipes to try. Holiday meals are a splendid treat for me to organize. Although, with all our extended family out of state, the last several have been pretty standard and BORING!!!

So after seeing what I CAN eat and how long it takes to prepare, I'm inclined to think that being overweight isn't so bad after all. Don't freak out and get up on your high horse just yet, I'm not giving up ... I will try to contain my caloric intake to 1500 a day, but dang it ... This SUCKS! There is no joy in eating this way.

The Soon To Be Separted

It is official. The boys are splitting up! What can I say, two years is a long run at living together and they've had it. The judge and jury have set the date and this Saturday will be the first time at sleeping in their own abode. It's true, it's sad, it's tragic when something like this happens ... sniff, sniff ... NOT. Colbey was nearly panting when we told him Landon was moving into his own room. Landon asks 12 times each day when he gets to sleep in his own room. He doesn't quite understand that Saturday is still two days away. The computer is being moved into the piano niche, the piano is being moved to where the couch is and the couch will be dealt with after all the moving is done and over with. As for guests coming and visiting, we still have the top bunk in Colbey's room, the trundle under Landon's bed, a couch and two arm chairs. Shoot, bring on the whole extended family! We even have a ten man tent we can set up in the back yard!!!

Ryleigh's Shoes

Ryleigh has just found her newest favorite thing in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD! Our friend and neighbor, Jennifer, owns and operates Two Sisters And A Cat. Her inventory covers all sorts of yummy things for kids, and one of these fabulous offerings are shoes called Mooshu. Ryleigh just got a pair of hot pink high tops with leopard print on the toes and heels. The delightful thing about these shoes are the squeak pads in the heels. She has been dancing, running, jumping and anything else she can think of to revel in the gloriousness of the squeak! She even slept in them last night. I know most of you are wondering if I have gone crazy with the squeakies, but after the first hour of mental torment, I kind of stopped hearing them. What kind of mom would I be if I took away her most favorite thing just for some quiet? Anyway, she loves them!!!!

Combined Sunday Lesson

The essence of the lesson was on building the kind of relationship with your children that will make an environment of trust and comfort. We want them coming to us with their questions and concerns regarding the law of chastity. If we are not the ones informing them, someone else will be and the first introduction they get to sex is the one that sticks.

We need to build our children's self esteem. The better their self esteem, the less likely they will be to try titillating or thrill seeking activities.

The thing children want most is love and attention. If they don't receive that love and attention at home, they will get it somewhere else.

Ways of protecting our children:

1. PRAYER - ask for protection, for blindness from Satan's visual attacks, for deafness against his verbal attacks. Our children are being exposed earlier and earlier to moral issues at school and their innocence is being taken without them even being in a bad situation. They hear this talk in the hallways, in the locker rooms, and even in the classrooms.

2. Attend the temple. As we attend the temple, our families are blessed with added protection.

3. Reading scriptures. Our first counselor told us that unless he has read the scriptures that day, he has the rule that he cannot turn on the television or computer. I liked this rule so much, that we've incorporated it into our family. It makes sure that we get in our morning family reading. President Benson said, "Drink from the divine fountain [the scriptures and words of the prophets] and fill your lives with positive sources of power." ("The Law of Chastity," in Brigham Young University 1987-88 Devotional and Fireside Speeches, 53-54)

4. Regular family home evening. Take the opportunity to talk with your children about the situations that may present themselves to them when you are not around to protect them. If they already have a course of actions for protection, they will be less likely to fall victim and commit a sin.

5. Family dinner. Studies have shown that a family who eats dinner together nightly have children that do better in school and stay safer from worldly temptations such as drugs and sex.

6. Talk with your children. Review "For The Strength Of Youth" with your children even before they reach the age of 12. Each child's needs will be different, but it has become increasingly apparent that the need for the "Birds and Bees" conversation be conducted at a much younger age. Talk openly about it. Use correct verbage and don't put silly names to the bodies organs and operations. If you are not embarrassed by the conversation, your children won't be embarrassed by it. Talk to them about pornography and explain how damaging to their spirit it is. The more open you are about the subjects that come up in their lives, the more open they will be with you as they face each of them.

7. Be extremely mindful of what your children and even you are watching on television. You no longer need to wait until late night for excessively violent and sex oriented programs are shown. Guard your home against them by turning these programs off.

8. Move the computer into an open area where anyone can see what is being done on it.

9. Do not allow TVs, computers or stereos inside bedrooms. This equipment is best kept where all can view and hear the content. Be aware of the games they are playing on game systems and on computers. Also, limit the cell phone use. With today's technology, Satan's message is being sent to our children from all directions. Cell phones should be for emergency use, not as a tool for one child to send notes and pictures to another. There is no reason for this.

10. Be aware of what your children are reading. The availability of violent and sexual material is in our school libraries even as young as 5th and 6th grade. The written material can be just as permanent an imprint on them as visual material.

11. Get to know the friends of your children. Talk with your children about the importance of surrounding themselves with good influences. Involve their friends in your family activities so they become aware of the standards your hold and expect. Make your home the one that their friends gravitate to. If your home isn't filled with the spirit of love, your children and their friends will gravitate towards another home and you will have little chance to protect their actions.

12. Avoid sleepovers. There are no good things that happen after dark. Shortly after Scott and I were married, our Stake President was talking during Sacrament Meeting and he said, "If you knew what I know, you wouldn't ever let your kids spend the night at anyone's home. Even members."

We need to provide the firm foundation for our children as they enter this increasingly wicked world. Build the kind of relationship with each of your children where they will feel comfortable coming and talking to you about the issues in their lives. And don't forget that what you do as their parent is what they will see and think is right. Be the kind of example that Christ would want. Set rules for the house that you follow also.

The Grumpies

It's all about me!!! Do I feel this way because I'm the only one in the family blogging, or am I just in a bad mood the past two days? Maybe a bit of both...

Colbey went on the two night camping trip this weekend and did indeed take pictures but we haven't gotten them developed yet. He wasn't looking forward to the trip which I didn't realize until an hour before he needed to leave. He said it was ok and had a couple amusing stories but he's a techno junky and this being in the nature deal just didn't float his boat. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to fry all electronic equipment!!!! My theory is that everyone would be healthier and even happier. True, there would be an adjustment period, but we'd get over it more quickly than we realize. I can go on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, (you get my point) ... but my grumpiness finds this subject already boring so off to another we go.

Landon is terrified of wasps. We get quite a lot in the spring and summer but there have only been maybe 10 that I've seen so far and already, he's asking us to walk him outside so the bees and wasps don't get him. He's had neighbors walk him to the door so that they don't get him as he's coming home from school. When I sat down with him and explained that they wouldn't bother him if he left them alone, he had that look of "I see you're talking to me and I'm being polite and keeping quite as if I'm listening but in reality you seem to be talking Greek and it's easier just to nod my head at the appropriate time". So there have been several instances where he will approach me and ask, "You know that thing? ... That thing?" Of course I haven't got a clue as to what he is willing me to remember and after several large and general hand circles on his part and more "that thing", I pretend to remember and in his random speech wanderings, I glean a hint and realize he needs me to reinforce the idea that leaving them alone means safety for him.

Anyway, Landon is also frustrated that Easter came and went and his birthday still seems a millennium away. He has asked us to celebrate it early and has even questioned the accuracy of the calendar. Then in a giant mood switch, he says he doesn't want to get older because he doesn't want to be dunked in the water and not breathe. That took a little time to decipher the meaning of, but in a nutshell, I'm pretty sure he must have had a lesson on baptism recently and the thing he got out of it was death by drowning. I think that will be the subject of our next Family Home Evening.

Ryleigh has decided that nap time is ridiculous and with this stupid, non-essential time change, her schedule is all messed up (so is mine and I get just as fussy as a baby when that happens). Instead of having a 12:00 to 3:30 nap, around 1:30 I realize that the time has flown by and now I'll be lucky to get her down for an hour and a half. Here's why, ...

I put her down and wrap her in her blanket and kiss her on the head saying I love you and have a good nap. Then I hustle out the door and close it before she can get there because (I know this sounds barbaric but it works for us so back off) we keep a door handle cover on her side so she can't open it. Then she spends between 20 and 30 minutes crying and pleading and bargaining at her bottom door crack before she gives up and crawls back into bed for her nap.

Well, the boys get home between 3:30 and 4:00 and even when I greet them at the door with my finger to my lips and whispering "SSHHH", it doesn't take long before Ryleigh's sixth brother sense kicks in and she needs to be apart of whatever they are doing. So her nap has gone from a solid 3 hours to maybe 1 1/2 if I'm lucky because, again this cursed time change, I'm lucky if I realize as early as 1:30 that it's past nap time. This is also prime "lets call the Thompson house and see who all we can wake up during nap time".

So my million dollar idea that I think of each day is a phone system that you can program to NOT ring during blackout times. Those times would be from noon until 4, and from 8:30pm until 8:00am. This phone system would take messages and also give the option that if it was a life threatening emergency, press such and such a number and it would ring through. However, I reserve the right to provide a life threatening emergency to whomever abused this feature. It would also have a pass code for the selected FEW whom I choose that could call at any time because they are loved more than others. That code could be changed if I decided to change those with it and the old code would send them right into the messaging center. There would also be a message to telemarketers that would require a trivia question answer and if they got it wrong, they would be cut off without the option of leaving a message. The trivia question would be something that only those that knew us would know the answer to such as "what is the name of our dog?". We don't have one and any name would be wrong.

So now on to Scott and myself. This week has been interesting. Scott had Spring Break off, which was nice, however we didn't get as much done as I had hoped. The garage is still a disaster even though Scott got the attic grates installed. I need to go through all my holiday boxes in there and MINIMIZE! Until I get to that, they are still sitting in the middle of the garage making it difficult to walk from the car to the door. I will take the blame for that project not getting done. The house is partially painted and none of it has a second coat yet. The holiday boxes have migrated their way into the piano area and so it doesn't matter that I clean, the house just never looks clean.

Now I did do a couple of things that made me happy. The kitchen floor got a good mop. That only happens every other blue moon. The kitchen looks so good with the new paint color!!! I LOVE IT! And I finished some Sparkle projects and got them listed on a new site. I'm hoping to list them on eBay today. It should be easy as everything is already loaded, I just need to cut and paste.

So here's my gripe list:

I clean, and five minutes later no one would believe it. Why can't the kids and Scott see my frustration at the house and pick up what they have brought out? I might be guilty of that also, but I pretty much keep all my project "stuff" to my general bedroom chair area. If they would do their part, then I could see where my "stuff" (I'm using the word in parenthesis because I would really rather use not so nice words and I'm trying to keep this G-rated) is causing a problem.

I am a list person, but I can't make lists for others because then I get this "stop pushing me and I'll do whatever it is I like because I know what is best and don't care how this is affecting you" silence. Then, the list is lost and other projects get taken partway care of that were never in my "please do this so that I can breathe easier" list in the first place. My list is prioritized so that the most important to me is first on down. There is always a rhyme and reason for what I do and I am not a person that functions well in chaos.

And finally, I'm tired of not being able to finish anything before I'm being asked to do something else. The kids do this, Scott does this, people at church do this, etc. I understand that there are going to be interruptions in life, especially with the kids, but my insides are being shredded apart because nothing is complete. I'll be asked to make a sandwich, and then halfway through, the same person will need me to make some juice and as I'm juggling those to things, the SAME person will then need me to sign a paper or read a book or help with homework. I'm evidently not a multitasker, because by the third request before either of the first two are done, I'm ready to pull my hair out and scream. I am a plodder. I know that and I've worked with this my whole life. I've got a system that I follow and this system calls for extreme organization. Take my church calling for instance. As the Music Chairperson, within the first week of getting the years Sacrament topics, the music and special musical numbers for each Sunday minus Fast Sunday, were mapped out for the rest of the year. I was five musical numbers short but they aren't needed until the months of August and October so I felt fine about it. Even with this organization, things still fall apart and I am running like a mad woman nearly every month to fix what others have decided isn't important. As I've been told, I don't like change. If there is something you want different, that's fine. Just let me know in advance so that I can make those changes without feeling like it's come down to the last second. I don't work well under pressure and although you may not see the torture you've caused me, my family does and I do.

Enough of my complaining. Maybe I just needed to get it out of my system. Maybe my grumpies will dissipate now that it's out and the rest of this week will be better.

I'm off to clean the office and whatever else today. Wish me luck that something gets done so that I can go to sleep tonight and not want to cry like I do right now.

Sorry there are no pictures, I'm just drowning right now and don't feel up to finding something cheerful to post. But take a look at my link Sparkles and you'll see pictures there that I posted. And tonight, I'm making a goal of posting in my God's Hand in my Life to pick me up.

The Easter Bunny

NOW, this is a real EASTER BUNNY !!


He weighs in at 22 pounds and measures a little over 3 feet . He is a breed of rabbit called German Giant (how appropriate!). This is his owner, Hans Wagner, struggling to hold him up. From the NY Post article: We don't feed him an unusual diet said Wagner. He goes through more than his brothers and sisters, but he eats the same food mix. His favorite food is actually lettuce. He can never get enough of it.
LOOK AT THOSE FEET!