An ARMY Birthday Party

Gabe's birthday was on May 11th and so was his "friend" birthday party. Of course, it HAD to be an "ARMY" party...any one who knows Gabe, understands that!

It was so much fun preparing for it!! I got some wonderful ideas off the Internet and then added a few of my own. I think it turned out wonderfully!  I'll let the pictures do the talking...

First I made the "Top Secret" invitations. Gabe dressed up in his fatigues and hand delivered them, with a salute, to each house.  The kids were given classified information about some "top secret missions" they were to perform. The first was to color "Uncle Sam" and bring him to the party.

I had so much fun trying to figure out how to make a "tank cake". The hardest part was trying to paint in it camouflage!  But I had a nifty tool that made it pretty simple. Just add some chocolate covered pretzels for the gun, some Oreos for the wheels and a few Army men, and you've got yourself a cake!

I had an idea that each recruit should get some sort of book that they could track their accomplishments in. I decided to make a page for each activity we were going to do. If they "completed the mission" they got a stamp in their book!

 Two of Gabe's friends couldn't attend the party so they delivered a gift earlier in the day. I loved how their mom,Jeni, came dressed up in her husband's Air Force gear (he's currently serving in Iraq, which we are all grateful for). Gabe thought it was wonderful and, of course, I had to take a picture!!

At one of the party stores nearby, there were tons of  "Camo decor" so our house was decked out...here are a few of the pics

When the kids arrived they had to check in at this secret location at "Fort Miller" to receive further instructions. They also received a helmet, dog tags, wrist bands, face paint, their missions book, a bucket to keep their prizes in and their first stamp, if they finished their first mission (bringing back Uncle Sam, pictured below).

After everyone was checked in, I took a picture of each of them with Gabe in front of the US flag. You can't have an Army party without honoring the nation we love so dearly!!  Each kid got a copy of their picture in Gabe's thank you card.

My handsome soldier, Gabriel!  :)

One of the games we played was to save the wounded soldiers. The kids had to wrap up their "soldier" with a roll of toilet paper and be the first team done to win. They had to use their entire roll.

Of course we had to have a pinata!  Gabe saw it at the party store and wanted it. I thought it was awesome that they had a "Tank" pinata so I had to get it. The only problem was, it was made like a military foot locker so in the end, I had to rip it open and pour the candy all over the scrambling kids.

Here's Gabe enjoying the food from the "mess hall". The Army Recruiting office gave us the water bottles...one for each kid, along with Tshirts, wristbands, pens, key chains, and pencils.  I went in to the recruiting office just looking for some posters to decorate with and came out with a couple of huge bags full of stuff!  It was AWESOME!!  And they loved Gabe's authentic uniform.

All in all, it was a great evening. The kids seemed to have a great time yelling "Yes Sir!"

and saluting each time they received a stamp in their "secret missions" book. 

I hope it was a party that Gabe will always remember!  :)

Things I Was Reminded of the Last Few Weeks...

I have a friend who did this on her blog and I loved it, so I thought I'd do something similar :)

Things I was reminded of the last few weeks...

• It's hard to live away from my mom but it makes it so much nicer when she comes to visit
• Running (or jogging/walking) a 5K can make you feel wonderful...especially when you cross the finish line
• Doing something for a charitable purpose inspires me to be a better person
• Gabe's military obsession isn't going ANYWHERE for a while
• Seeing Gabe smiling and having fun with friends makes all the many days of preparation worth it. His happiness is my happiness  :)
• Running with shin-splints isn't the smartest thing to do BUT when you find out the run is for an amazing cause, it makes it all worth it!
• My daughter is amazing...when I grow up, I want to be just like her...no joke!
• I need to work on my irritability!
• The Seattle area is beautiful when the sun is actually shining  :)
• I am once again reminded of the major blessing of Motherhood that I've received. There are some who are still waiting for their miracle, and I'm praying for them. It truly is a miracal that I am a mother of FOUR beautiful children! Even as I type it, I'm finding it hard to believe...I'm so blessed!
• Sometimes "6:30pm" means before 8pm
• My ancestors were amazing!  The more I learn about their lives and the things they accomplished, the more in awe I am!! How grateful I am to have the opportunity to be with them forever!
• I love being a part of a book club and I also love that the books are focused around traditional values. I'm always a better person after reading each book!
• Family History inspires me!  The Spirit of Elijah is VERY strong...and I love it!!
• Some of my church callings came naturally and were easy to magnify...others, like the one I currently have, takes a little more time to get into the groove...not because I'm not physically capable but because past experiences & self-doubt are hard to overcome sometimes.
• It's hard to see a friend you care for dealing with a loss, especially when you can't do anything to really help  :(
• I hate shin-splints
• I have certain dreams I want to reach and I need to start putting energy into them or I may not
• 6 yr old boys cannot listen (to where it sticks in their little brains) and think/walk/talk at the same time.....ahhhhhhh...give me strength!
• My twinners truly are miracles...I'm so blessed!
• I love reading the scriptures
• True friends are hard to find and even harder to let go of...Can't we just live by each other forever?!?
• My blog is a good source of therapy for me. Not very many people read it, I'm sure, but that's ok. I do it for me and for my family. I love that I add my entries into my yearly book that I make about our family. Isn't technology wonderful?!?
• I love seeing my husband with my kids. He's such a wonderful father. My kids will never fully understand how blessed they are to have him in their life...and I'm so grateful for that fact. Those of us who weren't as lucky, know too well.

...Even if You Stand Alone

Last Friday Hannah had a birthday party to go to. It was for one of her closest friends, which also happens to be in our ward.  She was so excited about it because it was going to be 6 hrs long!!

The party started out awesome...she went bowling, ate pizza & fries, and played field games with all the rest of the kids. The final thing on the agenda for the party was to watch a movie.

I realize that my standards aren't everyone else's standards and I often find myself being the "odd one out" because I have such firm, conservative boundaries when it comes to my children and the home I create for them. I am very picky when it comes to what media sources come into my home and the amount of time the kids are allowed to use them. It's just who I am and the way I feel most comfortable parenting my kids. Sometimes, though, I forget everyone doesn't view things the way I do.

A few months ago I went on a "girls night out" with some friends. We went to dinner and then a movie. The movie was considered a "family movie" and I was actually really excited to see if because it looked cute and it was PG! 

Well, it turned out to be a major disappointment...not "story line" wise, because it was a really cute movie, but when it came to the language, I was SO surprised!! They had a little girl (about 5) swearing in it!  I was like...What?!?  Why would they add that in there? This is suppose to be a family movie!!

The cussing was completely irrelevant...it wasn't like it was war scene with lots of stress & action, you know?  It was completely unnecessary!  It just broke my heart because I had hoped to see the movie again as a "family night out"...but there's no way I'd take my kids to that movie knowing, first of all, the swearing, and secondly, it was marketed to kids (totally against my principles).

So, I'm assuming you've already figured out that it was that same movie that was being shown at the party.

I get a text from Hannah telling me that was the movie they were going to watch and she wanted to know if it was ok for her to watch it. She knew what I thought of the movie because she had heard me complain about it for several days after I had seen it.

This is where I failed as a mom, and this is why I'm writing this post...

I knew in my heart that I didn't want her to see it. I knew in my heart that it wasn't appropriate. I knew I needed to tell her not to but I also knew it should be her choice...she's almost 12 now.

I went to text back and felt the "Am I too strict?" doubts creeping into my head. I really wanted her to enjoy herself and I knew she would feel really uncomfortable/embarrassed if I made her leave early. I had a feeling that she'd make the right choice so I simply said something like..."That's ok. It has cussing in it though. What do you think?"

As soon as I hit send, I knew I had worded it wrong. I knew as soon as she read the words "That's ok" she would feel I was giving her the green light, and she did. She chose to stay.

I felt really uncomfortable the rest of the evening. And I kept hoping my memory wasn't 100% accurate and that maybe there weren't as many as I thought there had been.  When I picked her up, we spoke a little on the subject and I could tell that she had an issue with the swearing but as I did, she thought it was cute anyway.

When we got home, I heard her telling Greg..."It had some cussing in it but it was still really cute!"

Those words were like knives to my heart!! I had just taught my amazing daughter to justify watching a movie with swearing in it because it was cute.  I'M SUCH A MAJOR LOSER!!!

I spoke with Greg after the kids were in bed and he seemed disturbed by it to. But I explained to him that I had began my texting to her with "That's ok". I TOLD HER IT WAS OK TO WATCH A MOVIE WITH SWEARING IN IT!!  What was I thinking?!?!?  We then spoke about how we needed to talk with her and somehow undo that justification because we both knew we couldn't let this get by us. Even though I began the problem (Hannah knew she shouldn't watch the movie or else she wouldn't have texted me) we both knew we had to try and fix it.

This morning I was reading from the Ensign. I had gotten to the back where the talks to the Young Women are. Since I'm now in the YW Presidency, I thought it would be a good idea to quickly read over them. I began with the talk by Sis Dibb  "Arise and Shine Forth".

After reading it, I knew exactly what to do. During our breakfast I brought up the subject. I asked Hannah how she felt about watching that movie. Those dreaded words again..."It had some swearing but it was still really cute." I wanted to cry!

I then went into my apology and told her I hadn't been a good example. I hadn't showed her the right path. I was too busy worrying about her "having fun" and "fitting in" and my own insecurities to stand up for what I knew was right. I also explained that I didn't want to offend the other mother, because I think she's awesome and I didn't want her to think I was judging her.

I told her I was so sorry and that I had made the wrong choice when wording her text ("That's ok").  I explained that I should have told her how I felt about the movie and then just let her choose.

This is when the dagger was shoved deeper into my heart.

Hannah's reply..."yea, I was really surprised when you told me it was ok because I knew it has swearing in it." I felt like a TOTAL loser!!  She would now see me differently, even though I was trying to fix my mistake.

I again apologized. 

Hannah then said that she knew she shouldn't have watch the movie, even after I told her it was OK, but the thought of being the only one to leave (and the fact the the two other Mormon girls weren't) made her really uncomfortable. I told her I understood but we both should have stood up for what we know is right.

Then a quote from the talk I had just read came into my mind. I ran over and began reading it to Hannah.  I got all choked up because once again, the shame was rising within me.

The quote read...

"My young friends, be strong...You know what is right and what is wrong, and no disguise, however appealing, can change that....If your so-called friends urge you to do anything you know to be wrong, you be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone."

..."you be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone"...those words rang out with truth and I explained to Hannah that we both failed to do that. We were both worried about what others thought of us and we can't let it happen again.  Hannah agreed with me and we both shed a few tears over our learning experience.

It's times like these that make me grateful for the Ensign, for the words of the Prophet, and for our Savior's forgiveness.

I can only hope that my bad example doesn't end up hurting Hannah in the long run. She's never been one to bend with the wind...and I had given her the "go ahead" to do so. I hope she realizes that I was wrong and should NEVER have handled that situation the way I did.

I think I am going to make a plaque to hang on my wall with those words...

"Be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone!"

"I Don't Know"

This is for all you moms out there that have said..."What the HECK were you thinking?!?!"

As I begin this story, you may think to yourselves..."I know what's gonna happen" BUT I wouldn't be so sure. As this unfolded, I continued to be in awe of the situation and, at times, decided to laugh so that I wouldn't cry!

About two weeks ago...(I'm listening from my room as I'm folding clothes)

Hannah: "Gabe, why does your room stink?"
Gabe:  No reply
Hannah: "Gabe! Did you fart or something? It stinks!!  Did you just go poop?"
Gabe: quietly..."yes"

Hannah then walks into the bathroom...

Hannah: "Oh my GOSH!!!  It stinks so bad in here Gabe! You need to use the fan from now on!"
Gabe: quietly "ok"

Hannah then turns on the fan and comes into my room and retells the story that I just listened to. She kept going on and on about how bad it smelled and she couldn't believe that Gabe made it stink so bad. I didn't think much of it and we all continued getting ready for bed.

The next day I was walking down the hall towards Gabe's bedroom. When I got near the bathroom, I quickly stepped in and turned off the fan. It had been on ALL night!  Note to self: give lecture to the kids about them paying for the electricity themselves if they don't start turning things off.

Later in the day I walk by the bathroom...and I smell an odor. I quickly go in and glance around, check the toilet, etc, trying to figure out where the smell was coming from. I was in a hurry so I just turned on the fan and decided I'd figure it out later.  Note to self: cancel the above stated lecture.

That night...

Hannah: "Mom, it really stinks in the hall and bathroom. Do you want me to turn on the fan again?"
Me: "I turned it back on earlier. Did you shut it off?"
Hannah:  "yea...I didn't stink anymore but now it does."
Me: I think to myself what a good choice it was to cancel the lecture..."Me too. I shut it off this morning but had to turn it on after lunch."  Hmmmmm....

So, this is where the drama begins. The little details are a little blurry because when I get to the point of "losing it", my memory seems to not work as well, so this may not be 100% accurate but close enough...

Hannah then goes to question Gabe again and she realizes that his room still stinks as well. He had slept in her room the night before or else I probably would have noticed. Within a minute, she comes back into my bathroom with her mouth wide open from disbelief...I knew I didn't want to hear...

Hannah: "Mom!!  Gabe pooped in his closet!!  He POOPED in his closet!!!"
Me: "WHAT?!?  GABE!!!  Get in here NOW!!!"

Gabe then enters slowly but doesn't seem to disturbed by the whole thing.

Me: "Gabe, why did you POOP in your CLOSET?!?"
Gabe: "I don't know."
Me: "What do you mean...you 'don't know'?"
Gabe: "I don't know."

I then proceed to go over the long list of consequences that he will now have...as Hannah is still trying to figure the whole thing out.

Hannah: "If you pooped in your closet, why does it stink in the bathroom?"
Gabe: "I don't know."  He looks guilty...
Me: "Gabe, what did you do with the poop? Did you flush it down the toilet?"
Gabe: ...looks as if he's pleading the 5th...

Hannah then leaves to go figure out the stinky mystery as I continue on with the now longer list of consequences. Then she returns...

Hannah: "Well...I figured out why it stinks in the bathroom. Gabe put his poop in the garbage."

Hannah was almost laughing because it was just so unbelievable but I lost it...

Me: "GABE!!! You put your poop in the GARBAGE?!?!" Why, Gabe, WHY?!?!  Why would you put your poop in the garbage?!?!"
Gabe: "I don't know."
Me: "How can you NOT know why you pooped in your closet and then threw it away in the bathroom garbage?!?"
Gabe: "I don't know...I was just being lazy?"

At that point, he had to get out of that room before I did something I would regret. I told him that I wasn't going to clean it up because I wanted him to SMELL IT ALL NIGHT LONG!!! I knew that would probably be the worst consequence I could come up with because, ironically enough, he hates to be dirty and he's not a fan of germs...he's always washing his hands, etc. 

When he heard he'd have to sleep in the stinky room, he just fell apart and I felt MUCH better...as bad as that sounds. That night I tried to think of why he would do such a random thing. I began wondering if he had been asleep and was sleepwalking or something?  Or maybe I had him in timeout and he didn't think he could leave his room?

The next morning, I sat down with Gabe to hopefully get answers...

Me: "Gabe, have you figured out why you pooped in the closet?"
Gabe: "no"
Me: "You really have no idea why you did that?"
Gabe: shakes his head
Me: "Were you asleep? Could you not find the bathroom?"
Gabe: "No, I was getting into my pajamas and I guess I just didn't want to hold it so I just pooped in the closet."
Me: "Gabe!! Why didn't you just go to the bathroom? It's right outside your door!"
Gabe: "I don't know."

By this point I knew there was no use continuing on with the questioning because he "didn't know" and if he did, he wasn't about to tell me. I took him upstairs so that he could clean up the mess in his closet (part of his punishment-I knew he'd hate it). As I looked inside his closet, I noticed that there were yellow marks as well...

Me: "Gabe.............(I didn't even want to ask)..................did you pee in the closet too?"
Gabe: "yea"
Me: "What the HECK were you thinking Gabe?!?!?  What is wrong with you??!!!??"
Gabe: "I don't know."



Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..............the joys of being a mother!!  :)

If It's Not Broken...

Just a quick post to say how much I am NOT thrilled about how Blogger is now set up. I can't seem to find much of anything!  If it's not broken...please...don't fix it!!  I just don't have the time to figure it out!

"It Really Doesn't Matter"

Hannah gets the exciting pleasure to go to the public school next week for 3 days for testing. In the state of Washington, they require the kids who are home schooled to get tested once a year. I think it's kind of silly but hey, when in Rome...

The lady from the school called me a few days ago to make sure Hannah was still planning on coming to the testing. I took the opportunity to chat with her about a few things that irk me about this whole "testing" thing.  My first issue is that Hannah won't be in a familiar environment for the testing (some random classroom filled with random kids and a teacher she doesn't know) and so I asked if she could do the testing online. The lady said that at this point it's not an option but the school district is working on it. I was ok with her answer though it didn't ease the small amount of anxiety I had about the environment issue.

The next issue was bigger in my mind, though I wasn't sure what response I was looking for... BUT, I'll tell you what, the response I got was NO WHERE NEAR what I had expected!!

So, my bigger issue...I have been homeschooling Hannah and mentoring her in the areas of her interests. If she wanted to learn about sharks, then we learned about sharks. If she wanted to learn about Black History, then it was Black History...the solar system, our Nation's history, etc., etc. I'm sure you get my point.

Now, in the area of Reading that's no big deal...reading is reading...comprehending is comprehending. And our Math, I assume is pretty much the same as what they are teaching at the public school but it may not be. It could very well vary a bit from the program she's been using...so only a slight issue.

My biggest issue is in the area of Science. The chances we are studying the same thing as the public school, aren't good. I worried that the testing would not only stress Hannah out (because she won't know the answers) but also that it will not be an accurate assessment of her progress this past year...

I know, I know, those of you who are doing  TJEd in your home are wondering why I'm even bothered by this and here's why...I know my daughter and she'll be nothing but hard on herself if she doesn't know the answers to the questions. I've spoken with her and she understands that she just needs to do her best but, again, I know her, and I know her "I've got to be perfect" personality...it's going to be a long couple weeks after that testing. The other reason (accurate assessment) was more to make a point...the testing is pretty much useless because it's not ACCURATE!!! Why are you making my daughter go through 3 days of testing when it isn't ACCURATE?!?!?  It's just a waste of tax payers money....

Anyway, back to the lady's response...

I went through my last concern with her and I about fell off my chair with her response...

"Ma'am, this testing doesn't mean anything. It doesn't go toward college admissions, it doesn't affect the child's grade (letter grade), it doesn't affect if the child passes their current grade or not. Kids come into the office worried about these tests because they think if they fail the test they won't go to the next grade, which is just not the case. The test really doesn't matter"... as she continued on, the impression I got was that the testing was to pretty much to make the government happy so the school can get funding.

REALLY?!?  Are you kidding me?!?

And I'm NOT joking!!

Obama's Baptism...

I saw this on Facebook and had to laugh!! Thought I'd share to give whoever reads my blog a smile :)