MK and the Stairs

MK fought the stairs...and the stairs won.

MK

I'm not sure what the problem is, but MK has fallen down the stairs twice in the last month.

The first time, she was trying to turn on the light switch right at the top of the stairs, lost her balance, and fell about 4-5 steps before stopping. It was horrifying for me because I was right behind her and could see it happening but helpless to stop her. You know when your brain is telling you it's gonna happen but your body can't seem to react in time to stop it. Yeah--I don't have Spidy senses. 

The second time was just a few days ago. I was sitting in R's study with R when I heard a rumbling sound of something tumbling down the stairs and I KNEW it was MK. I jumped out of the recliner and can hear S yelling for us that MK just fell down the stairs. By the time I got to the top of the stairs she is at the very bottom crying. She managed to hit her head on a toy at the bottom of the stairs. Other than that, she was okay. No broken bones. Phew! She had a nice bonk on her forehead and  the bridge of her nose, though.

Now, she tells me every time she walks down stairs "I won't fall."

Let's hope not.

Airport

The boys at the SLC Airport

The Boys

R's younger brother is doing an Ironman Race today, and R and the boys flew to AZ to watch.

This is the first time on an airplane for S, and the second airplane ride for C. 

While the boys are away, the girls will play. 

MK and I are having girl time.

Firehouse Field Trip

The Preschool we have sent the kids to has been amazing. We love them!

Not only do they spend time learning letters and school basics, the Preschool has a take-home library, fun activities, and bi-monthly field trips.

Last week, the kids got to tour the Firehouse, and I went along.

The Fireman giving the tour was great: his son is in the afternoon class and you could tell by the excellent way he interacted with the young kids. He took the time to show how he got into his uniform and not to be scared of the firemen. Two of the kids did NOT like this. MK was fascinated by it.

Here is MK's class with their Firemen friend. MK is in the middle back with pink sweater on.

MK and her preschool group

 Here is MK in front of one of the firetrucks. The sun was in her eyes.

MK at the Firestatioin

MK wore her fireman hat ALL day. Not kidding.

MK Ballerina

MK in her dance tu-tu and fairy wings.

MK

MK has been involved in dance classes for the past year. She LOVES to dance. She loves to watch shows about dance. She will dance anywhere anytime. Today, she wanted to wear all pink: her pink leotard, pink tu-tu, pink fairy wings, pink headband, pink flip-flops. (She did put on her black dance slippers on once she got to dance.)

She loves to watch Angelina Ballerina. A lot. Often. She has begun to change into this same outfit each time she turns on her Angelina Ballerina show. She then takes my sewing measuring tape and whips it around like it's her ribbon.

Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer

S and his Rudolf Cupcake

S

Our school has had a 4H After School Program we have taken advantage of. They have offered weekly classes on things like cooking, buggy crafts, pottery, science, soccer, Olympics, etc. This semester, S has been enrolled in a "Cupcake Creations" class. Each time I pick him up he has some crazy new cupcake to show us. Today, he showed off his Rudolf the Read Nosed Reindeer Cupcake.

The Dollar Store

I was originally planning on going to the store today to pick up a few things, but decided to wait until after payday when I realized we were getting low on funds.

MK: When are we going to the store?
Me: We are going to wait until tomorrow because we don't have much money right now.
MK: We should go to the Dollar Store and buy some dollars so we can go to the store.

Lots of Snow!

Fourteen inches of snow!

(Our neighbor measured the snow in his backyard.)

So, on Friday I had dreams of sitting inside cozy warm while I watched the snow from INSIDE my house.

Instead, I spent an hour or so shoveling the driveway. The snow was so wet and heavy, it was a lot of work.

Our poor tree was so weighed down with the snow! The branches were bent back so bad! Saturday, the kids played under the tree branches making it their fort because the branches were so bent the leaves were touching the ground. R and I went out there and tried to shake the snow out of the branches to lighten the load. We didn't want it to break all the branches off.

This picture was taken Friday night (11/9/12) during the storm.

Snow

After I finished shoveling, I came inside to find S and MK trying to find all their snow gear. Even though it was getting dark, they were going to go out and play in the snow.  

MK & S in the Snow

They spent about 1-1/2 to 2 hours outside playing around.  Do you like MK's sunglasses?

SNOW!

Backyard of snow

The kids and I are staying holed up in the house with hot chocolate.

Yesterday once MK saw the snow she told me
"Snow means it's Christmas. So, we need to put up the tree."

Where have I been?

Between being sick and then having to actually work, I haven't gotten much work done on my projects and very little done around the house. I could feel myself getting sick: I put up a valiant fight, but succumbed in the end. The worst part was I pretty much lost my voice...the week I had to work 4 days in a row. Did I mention that I talk on the phone for a living? Basically, I whispered as loud as I could and kept the mic RIGHT next to my mouth. 

For my FRACTURED FLOWER project, I have a pile waiting to be pressed. The seam needs to be pressed open, which tends to take a bit more time.

Fractured Flower Quilt

As for my SUPER SECRET HUSH-HUSH project, I am VERY excited. 

I just finished a significant milestone with the project and am now working on the final part of this project.

 

When talking to a friend who was helping me with a part of this project, she was amazed that I'm keeping this a secret. She said she would never be able to keep it a secret for as long as I'm planning.

I said I love this sort of thing. Then, I told her about when I got my Mission Call in 1997.

In Fall of 1997, I didn't go back to school. I was living with my sister in CA and working. I only told my two sisters and absolutely no one else I was planning on going on an LDS Mission. I wanted to make the decision myself without everybody weighing in with their opinion. So, I sent in my papers and received a nice BIG FAT envelope about 1/1-2 weeks before Christmas. I knew what it was. Instead of opening it, I put it in a big box, wrapped it up, and stuck it under the Christmas Tree. On Christmas morning, my entire family was gathered for the normal Christmas festivities. We opened tons of presents. Soon, my mom noticed a big box with my name on it from "Santa." She was a bit confused as this wasn't with all the Santa gifts. I opened it up to the surprise of all my family. I was going to Paris, France and I only ad 6 more weeks to get ready.

I can totally keep this SUPER SECRET HUSH-HUSH project under wraps until it's time to reveal.

I Voted

 

Movember

 

Every November, R takes part of Movember. Movember is a foundation raising awareness and funds for men's health issues. Men who participate shave all facial hair on November 1st for a clean shave and then get their 'stache on by growing all sorts of crazy moustaches.

On November 1, R shaved off his goatee in the evening. The next morning, the kids had such funny reactions to seeing their dad without facial hair. R was sleeping in since he was working from home last week. C snuck into our bedroom to grab something for school. He saw R sleeping and came out to tell his brother and sister that "dad doesn't have any hair." S and MK then took turns to sneaking into the room to look at him.

When R got up, the kids kept staring and touching his clean shaved face. It was very funny to watch. MK was the most vocal about it.

MK: You have no hair. *Repeat this several times.*
R: Do you think I look better with hair or no hair.
MK: *without hesitation* With hair.

Peanut Butter is made from Peanuts

At church last week, the primary kids earned cookies for bringing their scriptures to church. Each Sunday, a M&M was added to a jar for every person who brought their scriptures. Once the jar was full, the leaders brought M&M cookies. MK seeing that food is being offered to her asked loudly if it had peanuts in it. A leader heard MK asking about peanuts and came to ask if MK was allergic. I informed her that MK and S were both allergic to peanuts. She then asked me if they could have peanut butter. Um, no. Peanut butter is made from peanuts.