Playing at the Park

Spring in Utah is my favorite!  We can play outside again and see beautiful stuff bloom! 

                                        

Book Giveaway!

Those who know me know that I LOVE to read.  Because I love to read, I love to read to and with my kids.  I constantly encourage them to read.  I think it is just a great hobby to have. 

A few years ago, I came across this book: 

Description from Seagull Book: 

Children come in all sorts of sizes, shapes, and colors. And they come with unique talents, gifts, interests, likes, and dislikes.

I Chose You celebrates those differences as it reminds parents of the one thing all children have in common: the need to feel loved.

This beautifully illustrated book reminds us that few moments shape children's character as much as the moments that they feel love from their parents-those special times that tell them they are valuable and cherished just for who they are.

I LOVE this book.  I had previously bought two copies of this book, one for my two children.  When I first read it, I had a lump in my throat.  This book talks about seeing so many kids in Heaven, short ones, tall ones; ones with curly hair, ones with straight hair; ones who love soccer, ones who love videogames, etc.  At the end of the story, it says something to the effect of “I saw all these children…and I chose you.” 

My son is now 9 and is too cool for the book, but my 6-year-old daughter loves it.  She loves pointing out things that are like her in this book and things that are like her siblings.  She especially loves the part where it says, “and I chose you.”  I know it makes her feel so special…so loved…so wanted. 

I had inscribed a note to each child in their own copy of the book to personalize it and let them know how much I love them, etc.  My too cool 9-year-old recently cleaned out his bookshelf of the “baby books” and tried to give this one away too.  Mildly hurt, I reminded him that I got this book just for him and that even if he didn’t need it now, it was a message I wanted him to keep.  He agreed and slid it back into his bookcase. 

As he did that, it reminded me that in the interim, I’ve had another child and he doesn’t have his own book.  Does he care or even know?  Nope!  He probably won’t even pay attention to it because it doesn’t have Lightning McQueen on it, but I want him to have one nonetheless.  So I went about finding one. 

The store I previously bought them from doesn’t carry this book anymore, so it took a little searching to find it, but I did.  I ordered one for my little “Austin McQueen,” but because I love this book and its message so much, I ordered an extra one to give away.  Even though I have one for each of my children, that doesn’t mean you do too.  That works too! 

To enter, just reply and tell me how much you like me.  Just kidding, just reply with your first name.  You can tell me your favorite book too if you’d like because I always love hearing that!  Anyone can enter.  I’ll even mail the book out (as long as it’s in the lower 48 States..haha).  I’ll select the winner Saturday morning!

*note: this giveaway is not sponsored by anyone…just me!

March Photo Page

What a fun month we had! 

Happy Day!

Happy birthday to my most favorite person in the entire Universe!  Thank you for being my rock, my support, my companion, my love.  Even though I HATE, HATE, HATE living apart from you, I’m so thankful you’re the kind of man who will do what it takes and that ours is the kind of marriage that will make it and not only survive, but get stronger! 

Happy birthday, Justin Jones!  You are my favorite!  Thank you for loving me. Thank you for marrying me!  Have a WONDERFUL day.  We’ll see you soon! 

The Science Fair Project

Hand Washing – Does it matter how long you wash for? 

Tyson got a microscope for Christmas and wanted to “grow stuff” to see.  I found a kit online that was a test about soaps.  You cultured bacteria from hands (nasty) and then tested different types of soaps on the bacteria.  This was going to make a sweet science fair project and show my kids how nasty  their dirty hands are!  Unfortunately, you can’t culture bacteria for the science fair.  Well, not easily, at least. I still want to do it, but that’s a mess for another day. 

In finding a science fair project for my third grader, I wanted to stay on the hand washing theme, because it can be fun to gross kids out about germs.  My mom did it to us when she was in nursing school.  We were all terrified to walk out of a public bathroom without grabbing the door know with a paper towel. 

In my search, I found “GloGerm” and Tyson’s SF project. 

We put the GloGerm on our hands and examined them under a black light (our small kit came with one, but it was too tiny, so I ordered a bigger one).  These aren’t real germs, but just gel to simulate germs, but it was still pretty gross.

 

  Hands freshly “germed.” 

Then we washed hands in 5-second increments (scrubbed with soap for five seconds and then rinse only and dry with paper towels).

 

(hands partially through the wash cycle).

We then examined the hands again and again until the hands had been washed for a total of 20 seconds with soap. 

     

(Hands after 20 seconds of washing)

What we discovered is that it really does matter how long you wash your hand for and that you don’t just rinse them, but scrub them.  There were still places that the germs stuck to, like fingernails, dry skin areas, and in between fingers.  Only dad’s hands were perfect, because he used a nail brush and he’s a germaphobe! 

That my friends, was the easy part.  The fun part.  The part EVERYONE wanted to help with.  Unfortunately, that was the smallest part of the SF project.  Next came the research, the typing, the organizing, etc.  The stuff no one wanted to do. 

I helped Tyson out, but made him do as much as he could do. Here’s the finished result: 

 

 

I found those cute little germy guys at the “Henry the Hand” website.  We put them on his board.  They were a type of germ you could pick up on your hands and what it could do to you.

And…..We Tyson won!  Or he gets to move on to the district level with his project.  (In his mind, it’s as good as “winning the science fair.”)

He was so proud.  So excited.  He said it was the best day of the year so far!  Really, he told me earlier in the year that his goal for the year was to win something in the science fair!  Way to go Tyson!

This Boy

Go on…look at that angel.  Try and look away.  I know, I can’t either.  Yes, he did pose with that little smirk on his face.  He told his dad that he was “Sheriff Woody Austin,” which is just one of his two alter egos (the other being his more frequent “Austin McQueen”).

This boy is my wonder baby, for so many reasons.  He is funny beyond words.  He is a little tease.  He’s a snuggle bug.  He’s a monkey.  He’s a delight.  He’s playful.  He’s friendly.  He’s shy.  He’s so talkative.  He’s so, so much. 

What he isn’t, is an eater.  I mean literally.  He…won’t…eat… Not a single thing.  Not…a…one.  His history with food is long and scarce.  He’s never loved it, but he did eat.. and now he won’t.  We’ve been to doctors.  We’ve been to therapists.  We’ve been on waiting lists.  We’re at the top now. 

Thank heaven, because this little guys is causing some major, major worries in my life. No, I can’t force him to eat.  He literally will puke it back up.  Trust me…we’ve tried. 

It’s so heartbreaking to me to see this most amazing, adorable child literally starving.  He’s normally very pale (I’m his momma after all), but he really is translucent now with the most tired little eyes. 

I just hold him and try not to let him see me cry over him.  I beg him to eat.  I beg and plead and pray and even bribe the child to take a bit of something…anything.  He will out of some attempt to ease his hunger, I imagine, lick the cheese off of Cheetos.  But, he won’t eat them.  I got him to bite one…once, but he thought he was choking with this piece of something in his mouth.  It’s so sad to me.

I’m in completely unchartered territory here.  I have stubborn, picky eater kids, but this is so outside what I know how to deal with.  When I tell you we’ve tried everything, I mean we’ve tried EVERYTHING to get him to eat…ANYTHING, but it’s not happening. 

Until his therapy starts, I’m so thankful for Special K protein powder to go in his apple juice to give him something to help sustain him. 

I’m struggling to find the “good” in this situation.  I’m looking.  I suppose it’s good that he is an otherwise healthy child and if you don’t look at his skin tone or his eyes, you won’t know he’s starving.  I suppose it’s good that we live near a wonderful children’s hospital to help us get the help we need.  I suppose it’s a good thing he’s so stinking CUTE, because I need to remember that when he wakes up more often at night because his stomach is growling and he needs to drink something so he can go back to sleep.  I KNOW it’s a good think that he’s mine and that I love him so and that I’d go to the ends of the earth for him (or any of my children for that matter) to help him succeed.  I’ll just keep remembering that to help me through (and him too!). 

Tyson’s Birthday

I can’t believe he’s 9!  It’s not gellin’ with me! 

There were really no good photos taken, because the kids didn’t sit still long enough.  We had family over for dinner and birthday donuts (Tyson’s favorite).  Happy birthday, Tyson!  You are amazing!

I did go check on the girls and found them in Emma’s room playing in her dress-up clothes.  They were more than happy to pose for me when I grabbed my camera!  So silly!