Nice Mormon Kids

So, here is my question...

Why is it that my sweet, sheltered (homeschooled), Mormon kids sing "Red Solo Cup" any opportunity they get? Not just sing, but really belt out! It started around Christmas, when they were making a gingerbread house with their cousins who are 15, 12 and 7. Somehow they *all* started singing it. All six of these nice, sweet kids knew the entire chorus. If you don't know the song, DON'T LISTEN TO IT! It's terrible! Of course, once they caught on that I did not approve, they sang it all the more, especially my three year old. How redneck can we get? At a girl scout meeting for my 8 year old the other day we had a dance party, and every kid got to choose a song to play. What did my daughter ask for? Yup, you got it.

Whatever.

So much going on...

So much, apparently, that I can't write anymore.
Our super-exciting news is that we are expecting another baby. He will arrive around July 25th. We haven't entirely decided on a name, but we are thinking Finnick, and calling him Finn.
Other than the diabetes scare, everything is going well. Last week I got my real A1c results back and I am at 5.5, which isn't even a pre-diabetic number. I still have to test, and I'll still have some work to do after the baby comes, but it is not so scary. And I have not put the baby at risk. Just this week I think I can feel him swimming around in there. :)
Aunica had two teeth pulled last week. She was awesome, not a whimper, didn't cry. In fact, afterwards she asked me why I had told her it would hurt, it was no big deal. She looks so much better. Her supernumerary tooth was really displacing her permanent tooth, and it has already started to move into the correct position. The only unfortunate news was that the dentist recommended I get her into see an orthodontist as soon as possible. And she is only 7!
Sidda had a birthday last week, and now she is five. She just wanted a park birthday, and so that is what she had. We fed 25 kids and their grownups hotdogs and hamburgers. It was so easy, I felt like I was cheating! We also ordered cupcakes from my friend's new cupcake shop, On a Lark Cupcakes here in SLO, and they were great. Most of all, Sidda had a great time. On her actual birthday she chose to have dinner at Franks and her cousin made her a Minnie Mouse cake. Happy 5 year old days! :)
Dimitri is great. Just turned 2 1/2. He is fully potty trained, even at night. I am so excited. He pretty much did it on his own. Everybody told me that boys are later to talk and later to potty train, but that certainly wasn't true for this boy!
Deon is working along at REC Solar. He likes it, the people are very appreciative, but the work is a little boring. He was recently contacted by the Highway Patrol to start the background investigation. He applied a year ago, and we have just now gotten to this point. So last week they asked to come over to our home for an interview. I cleaned like I have never cleaned before, and my house is spotless. It has never in my life been this clean. I love it, and I think I can keep it this way. So the guy came today, but he was upset about h0w Deon had answer the background questions, and left. Aborted the interview. So, I was irritated, but Deon is a much better sport than me (must be why he is trying to get this job and not me). We'll try again on the paperwork and interview. But, like I said, my house is clean, which is awesome. Although I am exhausted. I must put out a public thank you to all those who came over and sweated and toiled to make my house look presentable though, and watched my kids so all this would go smoothly.
Another big change at our house is that my mother in law has moved out. Or, I should say, we moved her out. We had already agreed that she would need to be out before the new baby comes, but last week she found out that her grandson in Utah would be needing some help with his family. She told me she would be heading out in two weeks (although this was a bit of a misunderstanding), so we decided to get her out before the interview so we could have the extra room in the house. It made all the difference in the world, I am so happy with the extra space. We are finally not cluttered. We will miss her being here though. And it was a rediculous amount of work to be done while I was trying to do all this major cleaning. But it is done.
My sister moves to Brazil in a month, and I am sad about that. Hopefully it will be a good move for her family.
Still trying to get a loan on this house, such a headache.
I think that is all for my news right now. Some good, some not so good, all in all we are doing well.

Christmas Eve

So, the lists are all made and checked. All the Christmas traditions are almost complete. We have visited Santa, carolled, delivered the 12 days of Christmas, read our Christmas book, bought the tree and trimmed it, made gingerbread houses, and on and on. We still have left cookies for Santa and the ceremony of presents, starting with new pjs from "the tree" tonight. We'll be having a quiet Christmas at home, which is fine. Someday I hope to be like another woman I know whose immediate family has grown enough to feel full just with her own brood at home. Someday I'll feel that.
It has been an interesting month for me. I was referred to a diabetic specialist because I have high fasting glucose numbers (106), and upon my arrival at my appointment was told I had type two diabetes, a lifelong diagnosis, and I was being put on insulin shots effective immediately. This was all based on an a1c of 7.3. I was devastastated. However I got a phone call the next morning that there had been a mistake. That an a1c had not been run at all and that I am not diabetic and should not take insulin. Which was a huge relief, and I wasn't at all upset with them. Until later, when I started to realize that they could have killed me. My fasting number at 5am is 70, and if I had additional insulin on board I probably wouldn't have woken up. Thanks, guys. So now I am testing, watching what I eat, trying to figure this out. I do have pre-diabetes, which can be reversed if I make some changes. So it has been a rough month.
Otherwise life is good. I am enjoying a few days at home, not doing much (which is actually driving me crazy). Deon loves to watch movies, so he is perfectly content. Now I am going to go make chocolate covered pretzels and wrap packages. The busy season is almost over. :)
Merry Christmas...

Dimitri says...

Lets do it!

I love it. :)

Family Traditions

I love family traditions. When Aunica was little, a teacher at the adult school put a bug in my ear about creating family traditions. I went crazy, printing off lists, deciding what type of traditions I wanted to create in my own family. I think some of this stems from my lack of family growing up, and my need for roots (just like my need to NEVER move), but that is for another story.
I wanted to write down some of my family traditions I have created with Deon and the kids. There are the daily and weekly religious traditions, daily scriputure study and prayer, morning devotionals, weekly family home evening and church attendence. Then there are the holidays. Homemade valentines. Easter egg dyeing, then hunting in the yard. New outfits for Easter. The Easter bunny brings summer baskets. Fourth of July means parades and sand castle contests, and fireworks in the park. New costumes for Halloween, pictures at Jim's Campus Camera, trick or treating our neighborhood, Booing our friends, a Halloween dinner party. Thanksgiving at our house, with our thankful journal, even if the date isn't actually Thanksgiving. Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (that you have have to mix with your hands, also a tradition), homemade cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, Laura's pecan sweet potatoes, and pies, pies, pies. Board games, and hanging out. Christmas means...buying all my presents before December, giving away the 12 days of Christmas, caroling in our neighborhood, a Christmas book, reading the Christmas book every day of December, new pajamas "from the tree", a new ornament for our family and for each child from the ornament shop on pier 39 in SF, pick out a tree together and decorate together, sit on Santa's lap downtown and ride the merry go round. Santa brings the one thing you ask for (this one may not last forever!). Make a gingerbread house, hang lights on the house. Other traditions include birthdays, with cake for breakfast and your choice of where to go to dinner.
Maybe we have more, but this is enough for now. I love this time of year, and all the traditions that come with it.

Awesome event

Today was crazy. We have some friends that were in a terrible car accident a few months ago, so I decided to put on a fundraiser BBQ. When I told my 14 year old niece, she asked to do it, so that she could use the service hours for girl scouts and young women through church. I was thrilled. It has been a ton of work, mostly for her and her mom. Today was the big day, and I spent all day (as did she and her mom) working on it. Finally, our awesome BBQers came and rocked, cooked a great meal, and we sold 45 tickets, raising $1700 for the family. Isn't that awesome! So many people helped out buying tickets, making donations. So many local businesses, too. Trader Joes, Tahoe Joes, Hometown Buffet, Albertson's, Vons, SLO Fresh Market, Costco, San Luis Sourdough, Smart and Final, Kiwanis Club, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, Wade Brown Construction. I am so thankful for the charity that people have in them.

GUESS WHAT?!?!?

Deon has found a JOB! Woo-Hoo!!!
He is the newest employee at REC Solar, here in SLO. I feel like the Titanic is righting itself. :) It has been a rough year for our family. I am so excited, and hope this really is the end of that tunnel.
I had a chance to hang out with some very special people in our lives today. Our friends, the Dunnes were in a car accident two months ago, and this is the first time we have been able to see them. It was so nice to see them whole and healing.
My worrisome news is that my father is in the hospital. He fell off his boat, onto the dock and into the water. Thankfully he was able to get out, but he is in the hospital, having suffered a broken vertabre and a punctured lung. It sounds like he will be okay, just a long, painful recovery. I hope we'll be able to get up there soon.
It looks like Deon won't be starting for a bit, so he'll be able to make the Washington wedding, and a birthday trip to Disneyland for Dimitri. Then it is back to the 9-5! Can't say I am sorry about that!
Thanks for all the prayers on our behalf. :)

Firefighters to the Rescue

Well, I just had another exciting parenting moment. The fire department just left my house, after freeing my 22 month old son from his grandma's bedroom. I tried for about 20 min to get him out, using various keys, a paperclip, a safety pin, and, of course, testing all the windows. He screamed the WHOLE time. I called Deon, his brother, Henry and knocked on all my neighbors doors. Finally I gave up and called 911. They sent out the fire dept, and three firemen with axes in their hands showed up at my door, while I lay on the floor singing primary hymns to my son and stroking his toes. When I saw the ax, I said "no, really?" And they said it wasn't for breaking down the door, but for cutting off the doorknob if they had to. Which they didn't. One firefighter (who is a dead ringer for Chuck Liddel-and I KNOW Chuck Liddel) took a screwdriver to the door and popped it right open. To my screaming, half naked (he had taken his pants and diaper off) toddler. Lots of thank yous, and a recommendation to change the locks to an easier one to open. *sigh*
Otherwise, we are doing fine. We are heading out for a big trip to Montana on Friday, that I am trying like mad to get prepared for. Deon's sister lives in MT, right outside where the Battle of Little Bighorn took place. They do a reenactment every year, and we are going to be there for it. I am really excited. Aunica is really into pioneers and Native Americans, so we are incorporating a lot of those sites into our trip. We plan to hit Temple Square and This is the Place in SLC, UT. Then up to Yellowstone, and on to Cody, Wy. While in MT I hope to go to a pow wow, and the reenactment, of course. The trip is short because it is flanked on both sides by girl scout functions. Tomorrow we are going camping with Aunica's troop, our big end of the year celebration. Then we have have to be back for Aunica to start horse camp with her best friend, Erika on the 29th.
Deon still doesn't have steady work, and it wears on our whole family. Aunica has sucessfully completed the 1st grade. Sidda has decided she wants to learn how to read this summer, so we'll see how that goes. We are planning a trip to Disneyland this summer to celebrate Dimitri's 2nd birthday. We just keep plugging along, grateful for our health and each other. Really, the very most important things are going great, and we are very happy.