We got back from Cove last night and there is so much to catch up on! First of all, Amelia turned 9 months on Sunday. We brought Jeb along for the picture but couldn't fit the recliner in the van. Amelia discovered the joys of table foods on this trip and won't let me eat anything in peace now.
23 April 2008
9 months!
We got back from Cove last night and there is so much to catch up on! First of all, Amelia turned 9 months on Sunday. We brought Jeb along for the picture but couldn't fit the recliner in the van. Amelia discovered the joys of table foods on this trip and won't let me eat anything in peace now.
15 April 2008
While Mommy is away....
.... Amelia watches Riverdance!
Amelia is very much attached to Mommy. She has a proximity alarm that goes off if Christie gets more than 3 feet away from her or out of direct line of sight.
Once a week Christie goes by herself to Monahans for Weight Watchers meetings (and a little sanity break). Obviously, Amelia isn't too thrilled with this. We thought I would just have to tough it out until Christie comes home or Amelia grows out of her separation anxiety. Then I found a (partial) answer by accident.
I was sorting through my anime music videos, and I had one playing set to some Riverdance music. Amelia focused on the computer and let me hold her without fussing while the video played. As soon as it ended, she started fussing, so I pulled up another one. Again, it had her attention. Other music didn't work; only Irish fiddle music works. I only have a few videos, and most AMVs use other kinds of music, so I had to get creative.
Youtube to the rescue! I've been playing around finding funny videos there (Star Wars and Harry Potter trailer with 133t subtitles) and figured I could look for Riverdance clips. Yup! All the Irish fiddle music Amelia could want! Here's the one she's watching in the picture. She even likes to dance with Daddy to the music.
Amelia is very much attached to Mommy. She has a proximity alarm that goes off if Christie gets more than 3 feet away from her or out of direct line of sight.
Once a week Christie goes by herself to Monahans for Weight Watchers meetings (and a little sanity break). Obviously, Amelia isn't too thrilled with this. We thought I would just have to tough it out until Christie comes home or Amelia grows out of her separation anxiety. Then I found a (partial) answer by accident.
I was sorting through my anime music videos, and I had one playing set to some Riverdance music. Amelia focused on the computer and let me hold her without fussing while the video played. As soon as it ended, she started fussing, so I pulled up another one. Again, it had her attention. Other music didn't work; only Irish fiddle music works. I only have a few videos, and most AMVs use other kinds of music, so I had to get creative.
Youtube to the rescue! I've been playing around finding funny videos there (Star Wars and Harry Potter trailer with 133t subtitles) and figured I could look for Riverdance clips. Yup! All the Irish fiddle music Amelia could want! Here's the one she's watching in the picture. She even likes to dance with Daddy to the music.
Calling all Parkins grandchildren!
Grandpa's got a big birthday coming up...he'll be 80 on May 2nd. I know I wouldn't have known if it didn't come up talking to my mom this week, and I have his birthdate staring me in the face every time I open my family history files! So I thought I'd give a heads up and suggest that we all make a point of sending a card or something this year. That's just over 2 weeks away, so go ahead and get the card the next time you're out and I'll try to put up a reminder to put it in the mail a week before. It's also enough time that if you want to you can be all creative and make one on Shutterfly or something like that. I'm sure he'd like to read our memories of fun times with him when we were little...and for most of us I bet that includes scrapping gum off the chairs at the Lodge!
Personally, my plan is to buy a card the next time I'm at a store and use it to write memories in, then if I get on the ball and do a creative one that is just gravy and it can be from the girls, but at least I'll know that I have something if life gets in the way and I don't do anything more original.
09 April 2008
Hillary Under Fire by OSC
Hillary Under Fire
Ode on Hillary in Bosnia
by Orson Scott Card
"We landed under sniper fire!
We ran for cover, terrified!
The bullets flew around my head!
I thought for sure that I was dead!"
She told the tale in hopes it meant
We'd vote for her for president.
Instead we looked for evidence
Of Hillary's experience,
And found that not a bullet flew.
Her thrilling story wasn't true.
Because we know she never lies,
I ask, how did this tale arise?
Was it a dream, and when she woke
She thought that it was real?
Or was the story just a joke,
And no big deal?
Did drinking too much mocha make her
Fantasize this tale?
Or was it from a line of coke,
A furtive toke of the kind of smoke
That Bill did not inhale?
Oh hush, right-wing conspirators!
Your reasons suck! Now here is hers:
She just misspoke.
She meant to say
She landed on a sunny day
And a little girl read a poem aloud
And Hillary waved to the friendly crowd.
But campaign days are oh so long,
And being a woman, she isn't strong,
So the story simply came out wrong.
How could you think that Hillary lied,
When it was such a small mistake,
The kind that anyone could make?
No joke, no toke of smoke, no coke,
No dream from which she never woke --
She just misspoke.
You've heard that what goes up comes down
And where there's smoke there's fire.
Well, when you visit Hillary Town
The word "misspoke" means "liar."
(Copyright © 2008 by Orson Scott Card. Please duplicate
this poem as much as you like, as long as you don't charge
for it; but include this copyright notice with it.)
Ode on Hillary in Bosnia
by Orson Scott Card
"We landed under sniper fire!
We ran for cover, terrified!
The bullets flew around my head!
I thought for sure that I was dead!"
She told the tale in hopes it meant
We'd vote for her for president.
Instead we looked for evidence
Of Hillary's experience,
And found that not a bullet flew.
Her thrilling story wasn't true.
Because we know she never lies,
I ask, how did this tale arise?
Was it a dream, and when she woke
She thought that it was real?
Or was the story just a joke,
And no big deal?
Did drinking too much mocha make her
Fantasize this tale?
Or was it from a line of coke,
A furtive toke of the kind of smoke
That Bill did not inhale?
Oh hush, right-wing conspirators!
Your reasons suck! Now here is hers:
She just misspoke.
She meant to say
She landed on a sunny day
And a little girl read a poem aloud
And Hillary waved to the friendly crowd.
But campaign days are oh so long,
And being a woman, she isn't strong,
So the story simply came out wrong.
How could you think that Hillary lied,
When it was such a small mistake,
The kind that anyone could make?
No joke, no toke of smoke, no coke,
No dream from which she never woke --
She just misspoke.
You've heard that what goes up comes down
And where there's smoke there's fire.
Well, when you visit Hillary Town
The word "misspoke" means "liar."
(Copyright © 2008 by Orson Scott Card. Please duplicate
this poem as much as you like, as long as you don't charge
for it; but include this copyright notice with it.)
08 April 2008
07 April 2008
General Conference from the perspective of a "young mother"
At age 32 I don't really feel like a "young mother" but I'm going to assume Elder Ballard really meant "mothers of young children." That talk was just what I needed. Here are some highlights of our Conference weekend.
Elizabeth has an issue with singing. The opening hymn usually spells a total meltdown. She gets the most devastated, pained look on her face and sobs her little heart out. But she LOVES the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the exact same hymns. The other choirs that sang made her happy, too. No matter what she was playing with she would run over to the computer as soon as the music started. When they showed a shot of the organ she ran over and got her keyboard and joined in. How cute is that? I can't wait to see if all this means she has some musical talent. It does seem her ears are sensitive to off-pitch singing!
We did get dressed up and go in to the meetinghouse on Sunday. We got there early so I could work in the Family History Center, which I'm trying to get up and running again after it's been mostly dormant for the past few years. And so Elizabeth could enjoy Music and the Spoken Word! Here's Amelia playing in the foyer. She didn't like how dark the chapel was. I wish I'd gotten a picture of the big box of Cheerios James brought (I meant for him to put some in a baggie!).
Elizabeth has an issue with singing. The opening hymn usually spells a total meltdown. She gets the most devastated, pained look on her face and sobs her little heart out. But she LOVES the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the exact same hymns. The other choirs that sang made her happy, too. No matter what she was playing with she would run over to the computer as soon as the music started. When they showed a shot of the organ she ran over and got her keyboard and joined in. How cute is that? I can't wait to see if all this means she has some musical talent. It does seem her ears are sensitive to off-pitch singing!
We did get dressed up and go in to the meetinghouse on Sunday. We got there early so I could work in the Family History Center, which I'm trying to get up and running again after it's been mostly dormant for the past few years. And so Elizabeth could enjoy Music and the Spoken Word! Here's Amelia playing in the foyer. She didn't like how dark the chapel was. I wish I'd gotten a picture of the big box of Cheerios James brought (I meant for him to put some in a baggie!).
After the Sunday morning session we stayed for a baptism and I'll admit I was glad we had plenty of Cheerios because I was getting really hungry by then. Elizabeth had a meltdown as soon as the singing started, though, so the girls and I left halfway through. They both fell asleep on the way home, giving me a little peace during the first half of the last session.
That allowed me to have dinner ready by the time Conference was over so I could load it and the girls back in the van to rejoin James at the meetinghouse and tackle the FHC once more. I'd downloaded some instructions during their nap and this time managed to get the internet back up and running. It helped that James had keys to the utility room because the modem and firewall are in there.
When we finally got home around 7:30 our next door neighbors had their new puppy out front. Elizabeth was so excited. Then she discovered something even more exciting...a sprinkler! She liked it a lot more than this picture shows and ended up going straight into the tub once we went inside.
While Daddy was in the scout office
We found a park to play at. The swings were great for both girls and Elizabeth was very brave crossing the bridge by herself. I had learned my lesson from the week before and this park didn't have a pond (too tempting for Elizabeth). Sigh. It didn't matter. This time she waited until as far from the van as possible to decide that she just HAD to go in the street. Here's a pic of the fit she was throwing after I refused to let her run out in front of a car. Great fun dragging her back to the van with one arm while carrying Amelia in the other.
04 April 2008
I can has cheezburger?
No, I'm not hungry, just showing my new stress-buster at work! Just go here and enjoy more of what you see below. You can even make your own! It isn't just cats; they have other cute animals too. Christie loves the elephant ones I found for her. I especially like the polar bear cub.
03 April 2008
While Amelia was tortured...
... Elizabeth enjoyed the playground outside the hospital. She had no idea why we were there, but she certainly got her energy out.
There were lots of other kids there also playing, which made it even more fun for Elizabeth.
She didn't quite understand the slider thingy, but she had fun anyway, especially with a little lift from Daddy along the way.
The shovel crane looked like a fun part of the playground, but even the big beefy boys couldn't muscle all that metal around without some help.
Another part of the playground is a diagram of the Solar System, with a speaker that says facts about the different parts whenever you go near one. At least I think that's how it works; it was stuck on Jupiter so I heard an excited 8 year boy's voice repeat "Jupiter, the biggest planet. It has a spot!" about a zillion times before another kid got it to switch over. Elizabeth is sitting on Mercury. The planets were covered in nice foam padding that was surprisingly cool and not sticky despite the heat.
If only we had known about this playground when Amelia was in the NICU, we could have brought Elizabeth to it since this hospital is only a few blocks away from the other one.
There were lots of other kids there also playing, which made it even more fun for Elizabeth.
She didn't quite understand the slider thingy, but she had fun anyway, especially with a little lift from Daddy along the way.
The shovel crane looked like a fun part of the playground, but even the big beefy boys couldn't muscle all that metal around without some help.
Another part of the playground is a diagram of the Solar System, with a speaker that says facts about the different parts whenever you go near one. At least I think that's how it works; it was stuck on Jupiter so I heard an excited 8 year boy's voice repeat "Jupiter, the biggest planet. It has a spot!" about a zillion times before another kid got it to switch over. Elizabeth is sitting on Mercury. The planets were covered in nice foam padding that was surprisingly cool and not sticky despite the heat.
If only we had known about this playground when Amelia was in the NICU, we could have brought Elizabeth to it since this hospital is only a few blocks away from the other one.
Guess James and I are lucky we're both the oldest
New research from Brigham Young University shows that first-born children get about 3,000 more hours of quality time with their parents between ages 4 and 13 than the next sibling gets when they pass through the same age range.
Click to read the rest of the article
Of course James' next sibling passed through that age range less than 11 months behind him, and my next sibling less than 17 months behind me. I wonder how (if) spacing influences things.
I think one of the most interesting parts is the ending.
The research also shows that the youngest child gets roughly the same amount of quality time whether the family is large or small. Price found that parents of large families devote more overall quality time to their children, so the youngest of four siblings ends up with as much quality time as the younger of two siblings.
01 April 2008
Fluoride
I've been wondering about the fluoride (or lack thereof) in our water for a while and something I read today led me check it out here. I found out our water is NOT fluoridated...because the water has natural levels above the optimal level.
As we in the Jeppson clan know, too much fluoride can be a bad thing. Levi was the one at the worst age for tooth development when we lived in Bruneau and has suffered the consequences. So I looked up Bruneau for comparison. Now, I think we were on well water, but I imagine the levels were similar because Bruneau has far higher levels than elsewhere in the county. Their levels are over twice the limit and ours are far less, so hopefully my kiddos teeth will be ok.
How's your water?
As we in the Jeppson clan know, too much fluoride can be a bad thing. Levi was the one at the worst age for tooth development when we lived in Bruneau and has suffered the consequences. So I looked up Bruneau for comparison. Now, I think we were on well water, but I imagine the levels were similar because Bruneau has far higher levels than elsewhere in the county. Their levels are over twice the limit and ours are far less, so hopefully my kiddos teeth will be ok.
How's your water?
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