Obsessed with Vinyl

So my awesome husband got me a Cricut machine for Christmas. I'd been wanting one for a while but didn't know just how much I'd enjoy the thing. I've been able to cut things for cards and for Jane and recently, thanks to a creative sister-in-law, I've been turned on to vinyl. I got all excited to get vinyl and get going. I bought some from e-bay then found out I'd gotten the wrong stuff so I sold that on ksl.com and went to the supply store my sis-in-law told me about. I went nuts! I bought yards and yards of vinyl, transfer tape, and a squeegee to apply it. I've had a blast playing with different fonts and finding different sayings to put up on the walls. Our house is starting to look like a scrapbook! But I'm having fun. So if anyone wants to play with vinyl, give me a call--I'm always game!

Play Room

Grant's room

Jane's dresser

Above the Pantry in the Kitchen ( I know I'm missing an accent. . .I'm working on it!)

Above the washer and dryer

Dino Playland

On Monday we had the opportunity to go to the Dino play-land at the South Towne mall to hang out with some of our friends from the village. It was so fun to see everyone and catch up on everyone's lives. It made me miss living in the village and being able to see everyone all the time. The play-date was planned to say good-bye to Abby who is moving with her family to California for her husband's internship. They will be greatly missed! Jane is betrothed to Abby's son Asher (that is if he will still have her after she pushed him around). What a fun morning! Thanks to all who came!

The crew (minus Kate who was shopping at the time)

The Bulley

So you know that kid in nursery or daycare or on the playground that likes to push and kick and take toys that aren't his/hers and pull hair and cause general mischief. I used to loathe that kid. This past month, it has come to my attention, that Jane is that kid. Two weeks ago she got kicked out of nursery for pushing and pulling hair. The nursery leaders exact words were: "Usually she's pretty good, but today it's been really bad." I took her back to nursery after a talk about being nice and watched her push an unsuspecting kid off of his chair so she could sit there for snack time. What the?!?!!? We had several long talks with her about "hugs not hits" and that she wouldn't be able to go back to nursery if she was mean. This past Sunday she stayed in nursery the whole time. When I went to pick her up I asked the teachers how she was. They looked at me kind of strangely and said, "She was fine. She just went around hugging everyone. . ." I was so proud and happy that that was all it took to solve her violent ways. But alas, it wasn't.

We went to a playground at the mall with some friends the next day and Jane was terrible!!! She was pushing and pulling and hitting. She pushed some unknown kid off of the top of the slide flat on his back! She took several time outs and still the message didn't sink in. It wasn't until I took away one of her princess dolls that she started to regret her actions.

I am totally beside myself! I don't know how to change this behavior. She isn't really around other kids that much (besides Bubba) so I don't know if the solution is to schedule more play dates for her (but then I worry about the well being of the poor kids chosen to play with her) or whether to isolate her until the behavior improves. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. And a big apology to all those kids out there that my daughter has bullied. We are working on it.

Sleepy Guy

Sundays have become increasingly difficult now that we are at the 1:00 church time. The kids don't get naps and by the end of the day we are all so tired it's hard to see straight. Sunday we put Bubba in his walker while we got Jane ready for bed. When we looked over he looked like he was praying. Turns out he fell asleep standing up. Poor kid!

Logan Retreat

This past weekend we had the opportunity to go up to Logan/Providence to have a fun weekend with some really great friends. We dropped Jane off at my parents and headed up on Friday. Jane had a fun time at her Grandparents house painting with her Grandpa, eating everything in sight, and watching Princess shows. We had a wonderful weekend of food, swimming, games, and staying up way too late. We all got to meet the Kinghorn's new little boy, Calvin, and Grant and Jesspi DePola had a blast rolling around together. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends. We wish that we all lived closer but weekends like this make the distance between us seem smaller.

Bubba is 6 Months Old!

Grant turned 6 months old the other day. He is growing up so fast! We took him in for his 6 mo check-up and he weighs 17 lbs 11 oz (50%), is 27.5 inches long (85%), and his head is 18 inches around (95%). He can sit up without support for about a minute, he is eating cereals and starting vegetables (he's not quite a fan of being spoon fed yet.), and he adores his sister. He puts everything in his mouth and loves to slap his hands together. He's still having troubles with his little bowels so we are getting more tests done, but he's the happiest little guy we know! His smile just lights up the room! His hair is still strawberry-blond and his eyes are still blue and we're hoping they stay that way. We love you Bubba!

Honestly the Honesty. . .

When we moved into our home in July, we found beautiful red rock in the front yard for landscaping. The yard was a nightmare and the rocks hard to find, but they were there and we were so excited to use them to make a flower garden. Thinking that the previous homeowners had stared a project that they couldn't finish, we got started on one of our own. Talking to the neighbor one day we mentioned the rock. She politely told us that the previous owners had "borrowed" it from a construction site. I was appalled!!! How do you "borrow" expensive red rock from a construction site, you ask? Well, no one was using at the time so they just took it. We felt so dirty even using that rock after that, but there was no longer a construction site to return it to.

That story has troubled me since we moved in. Then today when we got home from church, we were getting lunch/dinner ready and I looked out the window at our back yard. Just behind our house they are building new townhouses. They are a little too close for my liking, but it's been really fun watching them progress. Anyways, as I was looking out the window, I noticed a car stop by the construction site and a little boy (probably 5-8 years old) get out. He was picking up various pieces of particle board and my first thought was, "holy smokes! that kid is totally stealing wood from the site!" so I called Trent over. We watched as he picked up pieces and then set them down studying them closely while his mother (I assume) waited in the running car. Then he started clearing the snow off one of them. "Whew!" I thought, "He's just clearing the snow or playing in the snow". Nope. He cleared that board of snow and then tried to take it to the car. He couldn't handle it by himself so his mother came to help and together they threw it in the back of the car. Trent was mad. He walked out on the back porch and whistled at them to get their attention. They didn't notice us. They sat in the car for a minute then the boy got out again, picked up another piece of particle board and a strip of metal, threw them in the car and then they went on their way home. What was so disturbing about this whole scene--other than the fact that they stole from a construction site in broad daylight-- was that they were on their way home from church. Our church. Our ward. And it was also saddening to watch this mother set such an example for her children. She taught them today that it's ok to take things that aren't yours. They were not poor, or at least didn't have that appearance in their new SUV and fancy church clothes, so I wonder why it was so important for them to take those things? Why it was so important to give up their integrity for $15 of particle board. Maybe I'm over reacting. I tend to do that. But it made me think. Is that what this world has come to? I hope that I'm a better example for my children. I hope that my children grow up with a sense of integrity and accountability. We are always, always, setting an example for our children. The choice is ours whether it's a good example or not. Maybe it's become common place for people to "borrow" indefinitely without a care in the world, but I do not wish that for my children.