Work and play

We decided that instead of doing absolutely nothing this summer we would indulge ourselves with a 12 dollar a person Pass of all Passes. We put it to good use this weekend and went to the Lehi fun center. We have a goal of using it at least every other week, there are so many fun things you can do with it  and it allows us to do so on a smallie fun budget.

The kids loved it! Jed took some pictures on his phone(I need to figure out how to transfer them) We did go carts, spraying bumper boats, which was my favorite, I thrill in soaking people when they can only move their boat away at about 1 mile an hour. I can't remember laughing so hard in a while. Plus the shock on their face and the stupor it puts them in as they get blasted in the face is almost to much for me. The girls rock climbed, Ruby made it to the top after insisting repeatedly that she is afraid of heights, Emma made it three to the top. We put the kids on a mini, mini version of the rocket, even Eli. He was all smiles on the way up and then when the drops started he was screaming and crying. It was funny and sad at the same time.

We played miniature golf, we are rusty. And the kids also got to go in the airplane ride, Eli went repeatedly while the girls and Jed played laser tag. We had a lot of fun and look forward to going again.

When we got home we did yard work, dandelions spread in a ridiculous fashion, the girls put their clothes away and tidied their rooms, I growled at the dishes "I hate you!!!" and Jed cooked dinner while I took Ruby and Eli for a walk. We then proceeded to lounge for the evening and enjoyed buttered popcorn and "Jessie" from netflix.

Sunday was nice and quiet other than Ruby and Emma's love for playing karate and hi-ya-ing each other. I snuck in a little nap while Ruby read stories to us and before she started she said to me "Your not going to fall asleep are you?"

We borrowed Rise of the Guardians from our friends and their son came over on Saturday to pick it up. I told him I would go get it and he followed me down stairs anyway and took a look around and said "Don't your girls ever clean down here?"

So here we are Monday, my room is spotless, laundry is 75% done, and I have a few more chores to tackle. I didn't take that comment personally did I? It lit a fire under me and I guess I needed one. :) I am beaming with pride and glance around my room and I feel like patting myself on the back. 

Thursday's

I love Thursdays, part of it is because it is the armpit of my week, because Jed is basically only home to sleep Monday through Thursday evening. He works 4 10's, has an hour drive to work one way and then as soon as he is done with work he races to get to school. It is the quarter before he gets his associates and it is keeping him excessively busy. Please don't take this as complaining, I do get lonely at times but how grateful I am that he is willing and determined to do his best. I like him a lot. :)

So come Thursday I am at the end of my emotional rope so to speak with being a single parent. I honestly don't know how people do it day in and day out. But Thursday is also a great day because it means we have Jed home for the whole rest of the weekend. It makes me giddy with glee.

We had some fun happenings today, Eli managed to climb very carefully down the very large stairs on the bus, he normally just wants to jump to me, but between the bus driver and I we decided it would be worth the extra time it would take to help him grow the confidence to go down them. He did great and I kept reminding him to hang on to the rail and come down slowly. I also got an email from his teacher telling me he has already made great progress.

 

Ruby called me from school telling me she wasn't feeling well, so I came to pick her up and she did look pail, so she came home. It was amazing how her strength was restored after getting home. :)

We borrowed Rise of the Guardians from the neighbors and as we were getting ready to watch it Ruby said she had a tooth that was wiggly and tried to pull it out, she needed a little help so I was able to work my magic and Ruby will now be visit by the tooth fairy this evening. She is thrilled.

I tucked the girls in and came upstairs to run my bath so I could watch Larkrise to Candleford and I could hear Emma's voice, I came out to check on her and she came up to tell me that she wrote a note for Jack Frost and that it was under her pillow and that she hoped that the Tooth Fairy would take it to Jack Frost. And she just wanted me to know that. She said that she would show it to me tomorrow if the Tooth Fairy didn't pick it up. I love that girl, I think she has a thing for Jack. It was made known to me tonight at dinner that she broke it off with her boyfriend E. It was difficult to keep a straight face and to be casual.


I am feeling a little responsible as well for my neighbors misfortune, their son is waiting for his mission call to come and so when I saw the mail truck I knocked on their door to let them know it was here. I know I am a stinker. So Eli and I watched from the window while eating popcorn, as he was coming out to get the mail his dad was walking backwards recording and his mom and sister recording from the back. Long story short, Sir neighbor took a stumble and is now left with a broken foot, I feel some guilt for it. Perhaps had I not been a Mrs. Cravitz none of that would have happened. Alack and alas, I did make amends by lending them a favorite musical of mine that I was sure would lift their spirits.

Time

Isn't time a funny thing? It passes in an unreal sort of way. The days are long and the weeks are short. When I decided to take a break from the blog, I enjoyed just enjoying the moment without having to find some sort of witty thing to say about our happenings. The sad part is that I have forgotten all of the small things that are so precious.

When I took a break from the blog last January I became a big participant on a health group on facebook and would make many a comment there and I think that filled the blog void for me, but I never made any posts on my wall during that time either. In the last couple months I have again found it fun again to write about mine and my families life, it was so well received that I decided that it was time to get back in the saddle, like Roy Rogers suggests. I remembered that my small experiences are significant. While I writing this the girls are getting ready for bed, Emma keeps telling me that she can't find her toothbrush and as I look at her I see that she is using mine... bless her beautiful heart.

As I a fore mentioned I am back in the saddle of blogging, time to dust off my camera and maybe invest in a pair of blogging boots.

My Gift and the sweaters

So the story with my gift is a little lengthy but deserves telling. A few weeks before Christmas we were in Eli's room playing with toys, Ruby was drawing on the magnadoodle and we have a little chat:

R: Where is a good place to buy clothes?
A: Macy's is a nice place.
R: I need someone to take me.
A: I could take you.
R: No you can't because it is for you.

Then she covered mouth and started bawling.

A:What's wrong?
R: The surprise was for you and I ruined it.

I was so seriously touch by the idea of her wanting to give me something, it so nice to be thought of and to have the desire to give be so sincere and pure. She is so thoughtful. I told her that when you want to surprise someone you talk to someone other than that person and they will help you. I suggested she get a piece of paper and draw pictures of some of her ideas and then we would seal it with a sticker and she could put it on Daddy's pillow so he could look at it when he got home from school and I promised not to look.

On the 23rd, my sister invited me to go into town with her. This is when they put their plans into action. Emma slipped an said what it was and Ruby was so mad. I pretended that I forgot and all was well again.

When my gift was opened, the girls were so excited and kept saying "You used to always get this for Christmas and we wanted to make sure you got one." Jed and I cried and he told me all the facets that went into this gift. The girls drew over 20 pictures and they picked the best from the pile. Jed created the calendar section, and they all glued, and Jed used his handy drill to create the holes since he couldn't find the hole punch. He is so handy. It is such a treasure to me, and Suzanne laminated it for me so it will last.




These are the sweaters. I felt this picture was perfect, because this is exactly how my kids are during picture taking time. Both are trying to keep Eli happy and in place and their care for him is so evident.



Eli's has a cowl neck with a button, he looks so handsome in it. Emma's has a hood and the pattern you see on her arm goes all the way around the body and Ruby just looks so grown up to me. Let me just say, I love sweaters, but especially these particular sweaters on these little loves.

Christmas 2011

Our Christmas morning we spent letting the kids open their stockings, which Santa always bring part of our breakfast in. My cute sister delivered a Christmas wreath bread to me the day before. It was amazing. It was our families tradition growing up. It is time consuming, but when she dropped it off I was so excited and I told Jed that was her way of saying I love you without saying it.

Jed made breakfast, and after we got ready for church. Jed and I both sing in the choir and usually I just go to practice but don't preform because it is difficult to have someone come to sit with the kids while we both go sing. It causes too much commotion. However for this performance our primary president who also sings in the choir offered to have her husband and children sit with ours. Her girls sat with my girls on the bench and Steve sat with Eli on the bench behind. It was so sweet of them. It worked nicely as I was also singing in a small group. Our meeting consisted mostly of music with narration. It was such a emotional program for me there would be times that I would have to stop singing because I would get so choked up over the words. Particularly in the second verse of Away in a Manger where it says "But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes. I love thee, Lord Jesus." and also into the 3rd verse "Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay close by me forever and love me I pray." How many of us don't want that. I love the spirit that was felt. We also sang Mack Wilberg's arrangement What shall we give. You can hear it here. It is amazing.

We came home and opened gifts. Like I said in a previous post, we had secret Santa's who brought gifts that were so special. In particular beautiful sweaters; one for each child. I have no idea where these came from. But they are such a treasure to me and as the kids grow out of them they will be one of those things that get put with special items, that remind us of goodness and special moments.







I got a very special gift from the girls but that deserves a post of it's own. I will also include a picture of the kids in their sweaters because I know you would feel cheated if I didn't ;)

The kids got to play with their things for a little bit and then we went to our spend the rest of the day with our families. We had a wonderful day that was filled with so much happiness and feelings of love for those we are so blessed to call family. I also relished the time that I got to cuddle Brock and Brevin.

Santa brought Eli a swing so that we could hang it in his doorway to help him with his sadness about not being able to go outside. He LOVES it! Sorry it is turned sideways. I always forget that I can't turn it later.

Christmas Eve

It was so fun having a laid back day, we did a clean sweep so we would have a place for new toys and such. I have talked a lot about cleaning in my recent posts haven't I? I may be ready to take that subject to the cleaners.

I introduced the girls to The Princess Bride during Eli and Daddy's nap time. They really liked it but did insist that they put the blanket over their eyes during a few parts (the torture machine and when the holocaust cloak is on fire.)

In the afternoon, we made gingerbread houses. Jed helped Ruby and I helped Emma. At first they both wanted to decorate exactly like they look on the box, but we kept telling them that we wanted them to be creative. Each house turned out great, and Eli woke up mid project with his shirt off. He was happy to toddle around and occasionally hit the girls up for a bit of decorating candy.

For dinner we had pizza, and sparking apple juice. Normally I don't like carbonation, but it was particularly choice on this occasion. We opened Pj's, which Ruby asked all day long when she could open them. We ended the evening watching White Christmas. Jed thought he was going to be bored, but it brought a tear to his lovely eyes at the end of the show. For some reason, I like it when Jed cries. I confess, I am a weird Harold.

Emma and E-man

They have moved some of the sunbeam classes around in our ward a bit as need be this year and with that has come E-man being moved into Emma's class. I think one week they played Rapunzel during class (Bless their teachers heart) and ever since then they have been such good little friends.

I wished Emma happy birthday on facebook and I got this comment from his mom: "happy birthday emma! so last night ethan got a fever & we told him he wouldn't be going to church today. "but i need to sing happy birsday to emma! it is her birsday!" he was so sad! it took me a bit to figure out which emma he was talking about...happy birthday from ethan!"

At our ward Christmas party, we were sitting at a table and his family walked in and he plopped in a seat at our table and asked where Emma was. He sat by us the whole time and I later saw the two of them together right before the primary preformed and he had his arm around her and brushed some hair out of her face. These two really are so funny. I always joke with his mom when I see cute things like this that when ever she is ready to look into wedding announcements we will be at the ready. :)

They occasionally have playdates, and they are just so fun to watch, and also to hear the things they say to each other. I love that my kids have good friends.