Month: November 2009

Eloise Wilkin Books

Post author By McAdmin
Post date November 29, 2009

When it comes to children’s books, nothing makes me more nostalgic than the old Eloise Wilkin books and illustrations (you may recognize some of these titles: We Help Daddy, So Big, We Like Kindergarten, The New Baby, etc.) Most of them seem to be out of print now!

We had several of these Little Golden Books at our house when I was young, and I loved the illustrations. I still do! I now have the Eloise Wilkin Treasury, as well as We Help Daddy and We Help Mommy, given to me by my mom. I think I especially connect with these books now, because a lot of the stories feature a young boy and his little sister, and because my babies have both kind of looked like the wide-eyed babies in these classic books. 🙂

Which Eloise Wilkin stories have you enjoyed?
And what were your favorite childrens’ books in general, when you were a kid?

Chase Adventures

Gotta Learn to Love It ALL!

Post author By McAdmin
Post date November 26, 2009

This funny little guy has been more bored now that it’s colder outside, and because we’ve been sick (but we’re not anymore! I’m grateful for that).

This is how I found Chase one morning after my shower– sandwiched between the mattress and the bedframe while watching tv in our room. Comfy!

To help pass the time at home, we’ve done the usual cooking and baking, which I almost always let Chase help me with. It’s a lot messier this way, but it’s something we can do together! I have to take a deep breath, though, when spills like this happen:

Recently, Chase was hammering and drilling some toys on the table and I asked him (from upstairs) what he was up to. He called back to me, “You know how Santa does it? That’s what I’m doing.” And he proceeded to hammer out the beat of Jingle Bells. He really loves Christmas music.

He helped out one morning by taking my blush away from Charlotte, who had snatched it out of the bathroom. He’s usually really helpful with such things, but this time he decided to scrape the blush out onto the carpet in his room. “I’m making a collection!” he insisted. Whatever THAT means! I still haven’t gotten the stain out. Any suggestions on that?

This boy’s current obsession is to make forts with lots and lots of pillows from around the house.

On this particular day, he also dumped out all the laundry I had just sorted. But I paused before reacting, and didn’t get mad. I’m not always so perfect, but it was one of those times when I remembered that you’re only a kid once in your life!

Personal

Being the Mom

Post author By McAdmin
Post date November 19, 2009

It’s 9:30 am, and my kids have been up for 4.5 hours. No wonder I run out of things to occupy them all day! Last night I was experiencing some overwhelming feelings of discouragement and feeling like I lack the “right” amount of patience and long-suffering that a good mom should have. Luckily, I did recognize these feelings as ones that were coming from Satan, who doesn’t want us to feel like we’re doing a good job.

Since I’ve become a mom, I’ve had this new awareness and tremendous respect for moms. I can’t believe so many people have done and are able to do this large task!

I am thankful for my mom, who helped me with my math homework almost EVERY night, had lots of books available in our home for us to read, drove us ALL over the place in the “taxi,” often left little treats and surprises on my pillow for when I got home from school, helped me put the clean sheets on my bed, put things away when I left them in a growing pile by my bedroom door, cheered for us, listened to us, always made (and still makes) birthdays and holidays very exciting and special for us, displayed a lot of patience, and never appeared to be “weary in well-doing.”

Deals

Time for In-N-Out

Post author By McAdmin
Post date November 18, 2009

Don’t let the vomit reference fool you, In-N-Out burgers hit the spot time after time. And I just confirmed with Sara at In-N-Out corporate that the Orem location will be opening tomorrow, Thursday Nov. 19th at 10:30am. She also mentioned based on the number of calls, that it will be a VERY busy day. There is your announcement / warning, Tyler better plan on some extra time if you are driving past the Univ & State intersection on the way to class.

Here’s the menu to help you prepare, and the “secret menu“.

OH and very important if you are new to IN-N-OUT, get it “Animal Style” because if you don’t it’s just a 1950’s McDonalds hamburger.

Ranting

Sunshine is Good

Post author By McAdmin
Post date November 17, 2009

I just wanted to say that I am SO SO SO glad that we’ve only had 2-3 snow days here thus far. I do not like snow ONE BIT, and for that very reason, I do not intend to live in the state of Utah (or any snowy state for that matter) for the majority of my lifetime. I might even have SAD because when it’s snowy and dark out, I want to lie in bed and be lethargic/depressed.

I used to think my mom was crazy when I would beg her to let us move from Sonoma County to somewhere snowy like Winter Wonderland Tahoe, and she would say, “NOOOOO thanks.” But now I know why– it’s cold, chilly, freezing, causes car accidents, creates shoveling work that breaks one’s back, makes one not want to go anywhere, makes it so your “Energizer Bunny x10” child can’t play outside without a long bundling-up process only to come back inside 4 minutes later… I could go on and on, but I will not. I’m just not a fan of the white stuff. Or the yellow stuff either.

Back to my main point– I am happy that it’s not snowing for now!

Married Lessons

Quite the Relaxing Getaway!

Post author By McAdmin
Post date November 13, 2009

Ahhh, I am feeling relaxed. Pace & I just returned from an overnight stay at the five-star Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City. It’s the same place where Rachel & Nathan got engaged just last weekend! And it was fabulous.

Pace found a great deal for this place, so we went there to celebrate my birthday a few weeks early. A very adequate gift, I must say!

When we checked in, “Rey” at the front desk told us, “I can actually have you stay in my townhouse for the night if you’d like.” For a moment we were confused, thinking he was graciously offering us his own home for some odd reason. But then we realized he was talking about an upgrade (for a fee)—and we accepted!

Below are some photos of our “accomodations.” We especially loved the layout of the bathroom & the simple/classy decor. I highly recommend that you go to this place for a taste of luxury!

The staff was friendly, but also very formal. At dinner, when our main course was brought out, we were warned. “The plates are quite warm.” And after dinner, the server asked, “And how have you two decided to enjoy your desserts tonight?” Pace responded, “We’ve decided to enjoy them very much.” (I think she set herself up for that one.) I also received special birthday chocolates!

After we left the hotel, Pace took me shopping at the Park City Tanger Outlets, which is always a blast. Thank you, Pace! And thanks SO much to GG for watching the kids so we could escape! It was wonderful to get a good night’s sleep and to have some time together.

Can you guess whose legs are whose in this photo? (I will hurt you if you get it wrong.) 😉

Tech

I’m gonna have to try this

Post author By McAdmin
Post date November 12, 2009

SO I found this video when YouTube told me people in my contact book uploaded videos. The Hanks use this thing apparently and say it works! Who wants to go halves with me?

Deals

Want to earn $50?

Post author By McAdmin
Post date November 12, 2009

Dear Parents,

Your child is invited to participate in a VitalSmarts training video! In these videos, children will be asked to participate in different learning activities like playing a game or copying numbers on a flipchart. The purpose of these videos is to observe children’s reactions to different sources of influence in their environment. It will be a fun and educational experience for the children. Here’s an example of one.

Children will each receive $50 (holiday spending money!) for their participation and will be provided with refreshments during the shoot. Each child’s parent will be required to sign a video release form. This video will be used in VitalSmarts web site, training courses and speeches.

The video shoot will take place on Friday, Nov. 20, and Saturday, Nov. 21, at Noah’s event center in Lindon. (644 N. 2000 W., Lindon, UT 84042).

The following are the time slots and age requirements for the video shoot. The time slots are estimates at this point and we will follow up with exact times as soon as we can. Your child would need to be available for at least 4 hours.

Friday, November 20
– 3:30-6:30 p.m. (7-8 years old)
– 6:30-9:30 p.m. (7-8 years old)

Saturday, November 21
– 7:00 a.m.-12:00 noon (10-12 years old)
– 1:00-5:30 p.m. (9-10 years old)
– 5:30-9:30 p.m. (9-10 years old)

If you would like your child to participate, please email Darren Poulsen at dpoulsen@vitalsmarts.com with your preferred time slot by noon on Tuesday, November 17. Please include your child’s full name and his or her age. There is limited space available and we anticipate the time slots filling up quickly. During some of the activities your child may be asked to sample certain foods like cookies or spinach. Please indicate in your reply any food allergies your child may have.

Thank you for your help and willingness to participate. We’re confident this will be a rewarding experience for both the parents and the children!

Respectfully,

The VitalSmarts Product Development Team

Personal

Waste Not…

Post author By McAdmin
Post date November 9, 2009

I have a confession to make. I think that some (including Pace) have noticed that I can’t throw products away before they’re completely used up. Like, to the very last drop. Mainly this pertains to any lotions, soaps, even the classic Q-Tip— if I’ve only used one end of it, it remains on the counter or in the drawer until the other side is used, then it can be thrown away. As for the lotions and soaps, I turn them upside-down until they’re used up, or I cut the tube or bottle with scissors to access the remnants. I really can’t stand to buy the Bath & Body Works liquid hand soaps, not just because they’re too expensive, but also because there is a TON left at the bottom afterwards. One is faced with the dilemma of either wasting that last $2 worth by tossing it, or figuring out some creative way to access that last bit of soap! I don’t know if this is all because I can’t stand wasting money, or if it’s just an OCD type of issue… Any thoughts? Does anyone else do this, or have any similarly quirky habits to confess?

Tech

Friday Fun

Post author By McAdmin
Post date November 6, 2009

This is great, just great: what a storm trooper does when not fighting.