Getting BOO'ed

So we got BOO'ed last week. You know... the ring of the doorbell, the treat left on the step, the return of two treats to another family and the ghost in the window.

So one evening, while McCall was at dance we made some cookies. I will not get into the details of baking cookies with helpers ages 6/4/2, my post is not about all of that, but needless to say that it in itself makes a great post.

So we finished placing the cookies in cellophane bags and headed out the door. There was a small battle over rain boots. I tried to tell the girls it's hard to run fast in rain boots but they wanted to wear them. "Okay, dig your own grave!" I thought.

So we head out ...

So... did you notice that all 4 paragraphs SO far have started with SO? I see a trend in which a lack of adjectives is deeply shocking! I am about being real, keeping it real, so rather than me editing out the above SO's into something more intelligent sounding, I am sacrificing my own personal pride and your perception of my intelligence and leaving the so's for the world (or the two readers of this blog), to view and judge me by. I will be more careful hitherto.

To continue on... we headed out with our cookies, if you still even remember where we were going with this... and went into the neighborhood.

House #1:
Elizabeth wanted to go to this home, so I stood by the mailboxes and told the girls to go and set the items on the front porch and then ring the doorbell two times and then RUN, Forrest, RUN... (ahem) and hide.

Onward they trudge in those darn boots, (in case you have forgotten amid my rambling, the girls are in rain boots), and arrive at the home. Elizabeth is carefully holding the bag of the cookies, while Claire is running ahead with the paper. As they approach the door Claire is at this point most certainly in the lead and I see her drop the paper and reach for the doorbell. "Oh no, busted!" I think. At that same moment I hear Elizabeth scream, about 10 feet from the door, "NO CLAIRE! NO! Don't ring it yet!"

Now, I am watching all this from across a cul-de-sac, and laughing quite profusely. If I can hear the girls from my distance, I'm sure everyone in the home can too!

Among the two girls they get the whole leave the items THEN ring the bell discussion sorted out and the bell gets rung and then they run behind the parked van in the driveway. Despite their best efforts to get caught by peeking out from behind the said van, the homes door gets closed and the girls run away, "thump thump thump" as the rain boots slap their shins across the cul-de-sac.

House #2:
This home has a steep drive and a lot of steps. I told the girls it was a risky getaway but in case you are as uninformed as me, my girls are smarter than I am.

I hide around the bend in the road behind the neighbors motor home with a perfect view of the 'home on the hill'. The girls trudge (still in boots) in the direction of the home.

As they near the home a large truck pulls into our subdivision. It turns the corner by where I am positioned and starts to pull up to the 'home on the hill'. My first instinct was to run out thinking this person is going to snatch my girls. The girls are now heading up the steep dive, as the passenger door of the truck opens and out pops a youth. "Oh crap I think, the son is home from football!"

The rest is basically a blur because the girls are at the door with the youth approaching, I'm thinking "ABORT, ABORT!" and laughing so hard I'm having a hard time standing upright with Stella in my arms.

The girls come dashing back, "thump, thump, thump" and when they get to the safety of the motor home I say, "So you got caught?" Wide eyed, excited, and heavily breathing they tell me "No, we didn't". I ask, "But what about 'name of youth'?" Elizabeth tells me "Well he just said, "what is going on!" but we rang the doorbell and ran away." Claire added, "no one even caught us!"

They returned home thinking they are they greatest, smartest spies in the whole wide world. CIA BEWARE! 


HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Flashback Friday - Grandma Boyd

Maurine Eyring Boyd

Erik's maternal grandmother 

Grandma with her sweet sister Jeneveve Eyring Layton.

Such Beautiful sisters - Isn't Aunt Jen's dress fabulous? The cut out along the neck is wonderful. 

Grandma loved pink and wore it always. When we talk about her McCall still says, "the pink grandma?" and the other girls now follow suit.

One thing I remember about her is she seemed to worry enough for the whole family. Her father, Edward Christian Eyring when writing a brief account of each of his children said that she "is of a very serious nature taking life in general just a little too seriously."

I think grandma worried about people. She wanted the best for them, she wanted them to be their best and that brought on her worries and "serious nature".

 

After having McCall, I don't think their was a visit that we made that she didn't council me "Now you know, now days they say not to shake babies, it's very dangerous."

"Yes, grandma, I know! We would never shake her!" I might have been a tiny bit offended but soon realized she just was sharing her knowledge. "They didn't know these things when we were parents," she would finish.

Later when I heard her repeat the same thing to countless other new parents I would have to smile.

Grandma had a really hard childhood and I think that had a large role in her "serious nature". From the story of her life, grandma's mother, Emma Romney Eyring wrote, "a local physician called to see if I could nurse his wife who had been badly burned. I nursed her there for a month. While I was gone, Maurine, at fourteen years of age, kept my hotel washings, another family's washing, cared for my family, canned forty quarts of fruit, and put $18 in the bank. Maurine then sold subscriptions to "Capper's Weekly" to by a wagon for LeRoy's Christmas."

Many times I read about grandma taking care of the children, working to help support the family., attending school and supporting herself while trying to send some money back, taking her younger siblings to purchase coats when she had her own income.

Grandma was notorious for using things up and wearing things out. She would wash plastic bags, zip lock, bread bags, whatever. When they started to wear out she would sometimes stitch them up and keep on using them. She hated to see waste and one of my favorite stories is when Grandpa came home and told her he purchased a golf pass at East Bay Golf Course. Upset at the expense of such a thing, Grandma made him go out every day just so they could get good use out of that pass! 

I can hear in my mind her reply to her husband's wit and humor "Oh, George!"

She was always concerned about her figure. She was a tiny thing and I remember in later years her children piling her plate with food or dessert. When bestowing the offering before her she would gasp, "Oh, I can't eat that!" and then her delighted laughter would follow.

 We were fortunate to get to visit Grandma right before she passed. 

I was days from delivering here.

At her funeral a story was shared about life living in the Hurst House in Berkeley, Ca when Grandpa Boyd directed the Institute of Religion there. Hearing wonderful stories of secret passageways, and one priceless Japanese vase at the bottom of a giant curved staircase that grandma's children used to slide down the railing and bump into the vase. Luckily the vase remained in tact and the vase now sits in the Japan temple if I recall correctly.

 We miss you Grandma!

Good Beginnings

I love opening a book for the first time. 

The newness of the binding, tight and cracking as you stretch it open.

Between the front and back cover a world exists, you will be part of this world for the next few days, or weeks.

You acclimate to the smell of the pages and the smell of  the ink. Musty or sour, it's foreignness fading as you immerse your way through the pages.

Pages that are smooth, almost cool to the touch; or rustic, rough, a faint imprint as you run your fingers along the print.

My eyes adjust to the font, getting ready to settle in...a thick font, oozing out ink or maybe a fine script, delicate and feminine.

Then I come to the first page...the first line, that first statement that sets the story in motion. Your world is ready to begin...


"I write this sitting in the kitchen sink."

"My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die. I counted."

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." 














"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in it's own way."

"A storm is rolling in, and that always makes me a little sad and wistful so I got it in my head to set to paper all these things that have got us this far on our way through this heathen land."

"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."













"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."













I love a good book, but I love a good beginning.



What are your favorite beginnings?

What camera do I use?

I have to laugh when people ask because I know nothing about cameras. I know nothing about aperture, ISO, shutter speed. I play around with manual settings but when it comes down to snapping shots I usually shoot in Auto mode.

Sometimes I can get a good close up shot and I like shooting those, but getting landscapes or group shots to be AMAZING even just GOOD is difficult for me (ask Maureen).

I want to take a class, and will someday. I've been looking into a few, but right now I am busy with other things and when I do take a class I want to be able to apply the things I'm learning. Right now that is not my life.

There are some really good brands but the two I compared were Canon and Nikon. I researched, looked and played with both DSLR cameras prior to making my purchase.

1. Prior Experience: My biggest reason for purchasing the Canon Rebel was that I was a prior Canon user. I'm loyal and if I like something and have good experience then I'm going to stick with it. I had a really great higher end point and shoot digital that took amazing shots. I liked the way buttons and menus were organized on the Canon. I love Canon video too.

2. How it feels in your hands: So when I held various cameras the Canon felt easy in hand ( I have read this same comment from other more experienced photographers). Lets face it, that is one of the most important things to consider, if it doesn't "set well" you won't be picking it up to use as much. You want it to feel stable and secure in your hand and you want to be able to make adjustments and manipulate setting easily. The knobs and controls on the Canon felt more intuitive and easy to use to me.

3. Extraction: When we shopped for a full size violin for McCall we wanted something that was easy to extract good sound. Even two of the same violins extract sound differently. You don't want to feel like you are pulling and working to extract a good sound. In camera's, if you know what you are doing you can get a good picture from any camera. For me between the cameras I had a better chance at extracting a good shot from the Canon - even though I know nothing! Canons are great and rate higher in low light (something I knew I'd be faced with often with kids and their shenanigans). I also read lots of reviews that Canons had better straight from camera shots and needed less editing which was important to my choice.

Ultimately, I think it depends on you and what feels right for you. Don't make your decision based on what someone else uses because it has to feel right to you. When you get into DSLR's any camera can take good photos - just as it can take crappy photos!  It's the user -- so base your decision on the user. I don't think one camera is better than another. ("Pioneer Woman" has a Canon and a Nikon and discusses the strengths of each. She is the best resource for photo info.) Really, you see professionals using various brands, why do they stick with one brand over another? It's what they are used to and familiar with.

TUESDAY TIP: Saturday Jobs

Each Saturday morning my girls are expected to jump in and help out around the house. If we don't get things done on Saturday then our week gets messy and complicated so we try to be consistent in what has to happen before fun time can start.

In our house we have to be specific, so that the girls know what we expect. If we say bedroom and bathroom it just isn't enough, so the girls have things broken down for them somewhat. I got inspired from Shawni.

Bedroom:

Beds are pretty much a given every day of the week, so I don't even have them on the list. You make your bed or you don't play! The older two are great, the younger ones I have to remind often. Stella still gets some help making hers!

1. Dust bed, dresser, nightstand.

(Includes wiping finger prints off of these items too.)

2. Put away everything on furniture.

(All those papers, notes, trinkets, jewelry, books out of place on the bookshelf, toys not put back, ALL OF IT has to be off the dressers, bookcases and nightstands and be put away.)

I knew I could go down and get a good example from McCall. Man I love that girl!

Here is what I expect. This is Elizabeth.

3. Organize clothing.

(This means clothes off floor or that missed the dirty clothes basket. Drawers need to be cleaned and everything folded. Closets organized all clothes hung up in order and shoes in boxes.)

This is what I check for.

4. Pick out clothes for next week.

(see this post.)

5. Vacuum Bedroom

Bathroom:

This one applies to McCall and Elizabeth in their bathrooms. Claire does the basement bathroom but I do the toilet and help oversee the wiping of sink, counter and mirror.

6. Clean your bathroom

(Scrub counter, sink, mirror, toilet, (shower/bath), shake rug, sweep floor and empty trash)

Other:

McCall and Elizabeth have different spots they clean each week.

McCall cleans the coats and shoes at the front door.

Lizzie cleans the bookcases in her room ^ and the 2 girls' room. (McCall's bookcase is under the furniture section of room cleaning. She isn't pulling books out each day like the little ones do, albeit the pencils, erasers and notes from school clutter her shelves to catch up to the little ones messes easily.)

They have a couple other jobs they are responsible for and they check them off with the other jobs. You can see what I use here!

FOR MOM:

I try to get my room and bathroom, kitchen, living room and family rooms cleaned before Saturday so that I can help the kids move along with theirs, but if not, then I'm catching up doing those on Saturday with the girls. I do have a weekly cleaning chart which I do most of the time and I'll share that tip sometime too.

In addendum:

We started this at the beginning of the school year. We have a different way for jobs over the summer. On the first Saturday it took us a while to get the girls drawers cleaned and I heard McCall mumbling in her room ... "I am going to keep my drawers so clean that next Saturday I won't even have to clean them!" 

My point EXACTLY Calla! 

At first I thought it might be too much work but you know, it isn't. I am raising future wives and mothers and they need to have these skills and they need to know how to work - because life is not a shopping trip, a vacation to see pretty places, or a sporting event.

Just last Saturday McCall had to get the vacuum out THREE times (NO JOKE: re-winding the cord up and all) to vacuum and re-vacuum the family room because I kept finding popcorn and other stuff from Friday night.

Erik thought I was being too hard but you know, if you say it nicely then I don't see the problem and I promise you this week she will remember to do it right the first go round!

I think it's preparing the girls for life in the real world. What happens in college or in the workplace when they don't give it their best or do it right. They need to learn these lessons now from a loving parent.

Flashback Friday - Ward

Man these kids grow so fast!

Joy in the Canyon

In between the Saturday conference sessions we headed up Provo canyon and did the loop returning through AF Canyon. We took this route so we could stop at our favorite place, Orange Leaf, for some frozen yogurts before making it back for the 2pm session.

The leaves were pretty, a lot of yellows and light greens and a few reds and oranges tucked in here and there but mostly near Sundance.

We didn't have a ton of time to let the kids play around. But we did snag some pictures in a nice little meadow area they ran around in for a minute.

Darn this girl is growing up so fast.

 

So is this one if I must tell the truth.

Can you tell them to stop?

PLEASE!

This one will steal your heart if you're not careful.

So will this one if I must tell the truth.










Man alive... you wouldn't think you could be so happy but this makes me think that I wouldn't change all the gold in the world for the peace of doing what's right when it's easy and when it's hard. It's shaping these beautiful spirits, it's making them noble and strong and good. It's ensuring that when they stand before the Lord they will know Him and He will know them.

I was looking for this scripture...

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

When I came across some other gems from John...

"And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

...Unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;

 For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.

 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.

 I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.

 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments." 

A brass fastener

 My girls have been using their imagination a lot lately. Which isn't really appropriate to say lately, as they always do.  I should say cape's have been a big part of inspiration, lately. They fly around the room watching their blankets float behind while I'm usually warning them, "Look where you are going!". Sometimes their inspiration comes from what took place recently, either a story, or book they read.

On Monday morning, Claire approached me saying, "Mom, betend (sic) you were laying their dead, and then I be a guy who just walks by, then another guy that just walks by, and then another guys walk (sic) by but I give you a drink from a cup like this..." as she (without moving her elbow, only her shoulder) demonstrates how to move her arm a bit robot style to the imagined mouth.

You cannot see the little arm that moves by a little brass fastener in her Picasso colored picture, but it moves the cup up to the afflicted man's mouth.

So it got me thinking... I am so thankful for sweet teachers who take the time to copy, cut out, prepare and donate a little brass fastener to make it "movable". It may seem like a little thing but in Claire's book it makes it extra special. And in my book too.

A Tip for Tuesday

So I have a set of four of these. They have been reinforced at the hole punch and laminated if you can't see from the photo.

(Look at that nice wrinkled duvet cover from targets Rachel Ashwell line. Should have paid more attention to the lack of wrinkle-free on the package. I hate that thing.)

I made the tags large so they are noticeable. It's strange I know, but in our house things need to be noticeable to be noticed -- or they aren't. ???

So part of the girls school year Saturday jobs are to pick out clothes for the week and hang one of these tags on the clothes for that day. Saturday and Sunday labels don't get used as often as the other ones...

1. I don't care about Saturday mornings usually. But if we do have something to get out the door for then it helps to pick it out before. 

2.Sunday is done as a group usually. 

(I'll tip on Saturday jobs and Sunday groups soon.)

To do this on Saturday it means laundry needs to be done on Friday.

Or Thursday when I know it's a crazy Friday.

Or Wednesday...

Okay... at some point laundry should be done.

So..... if you don't have laundry done then they end up pulling out the ratted and torn jeans. It is ironic for the above photo to fall here, this is not an example of ratted and torn. I paid good money for these to be "distressed".

My dad once offered to wear out my jeans for me when he heard what I paid for some "distressed" jeans.

He's a really nice dad.





Wow, look at the glare on Wednesday's photo. Yuck!

The girls know I have ultimate say on outfits and obviously the two little ones assist me as we pick out items.

Ultimate say = a mean mom. 

Dear Elizabeth seems to think if you have a brown top you should wear brown pants. Poor thing doesn't understand when I say it doesn't match, "But they are the same color, Mom!" It really doesn't make sense does it?

And then you have McCall. She would wear jeans and t-shirts every day even though at the store she loves and wants to buy the skirt, the blouse, the chic sweater - so mom has to remind her I paid good money cause she LOVED this sweater and she's going to wear it!

So do you want to make these for your kids? You can use my template here.

1. Print on card stock.
2. Hole punch before you laminate.
3. Laminate if you didn't figure that out from step 2.
4. Re hole punch laminate if you didn't figure that out.
5. Put a little ribbon to hang them by.

Side Note: So when I was laminating the lady at the counter started raving about the idea and as I tried to explain I was sick of picking things out the night before or morning of (for my girls), she cut me off and started going off about how nice that would be to make sure you didn't wear the same thing in the next week, yada yada yada. I left wide eyed and slightly embarrassed, for me or her, I am not sure which. She thought all those sets were for me in my closet I guess!

Monday and manners

So I have a great respect for our youth, I think the world of them and know that they are capable of amazing things. I have high expectations, but so does the Lord. I talked to a primary leader recently who told me about a struggle with children in our primary and tech toys. She explained the hardship leaders face with these devices.

We had considered a device for McCall, but worried she wasn't completely ready. It prompted a conversation with a primary teacher who was telling me about the struggles with her class and the attention being taken and time spend trying to revert attention back to the lesson and away from the device.

I know it's one of those "grey" areas where a lot has to do with parents - where they are at and how they feel. But when it disrupts a teacher, a class or a primary, YM/YW, it passes beyond the parents feelings I believe. We can completely miss the mark and talk about the good these gadgets can do, and good people who use them. For adults who have been taught and know how to use gadgets properly, it is acceptable to use them in a church setting. (Albeit many adults miss the mark on proper use too!)

But what about the youth? When are they responsible enough to know when to use and not to use these devices?

It got me thinking about what the real problem is. It is not the devices themselves. You could believe that any device is incompatible with anything close to good manners. I disagree... it's the people operating them. For our youth, it's the same problem we face with so many other issues today. Lack of teaching, guidance and follow up on behalf of the parents.

Etiquette is basically about paying some attention to the convenience and comfort of the people that you interact with. Whether technology is involved or not, the basics of good manners apply. "Technology doesn’t cause or contribute to breaches in manners, it just put a new face on old symptoms of inattention,indifference,or boorishness."

I'll step off my soapbox now. :)

Update: Peterson Factoid

Just an update from this post.

It's been 3 years and I'm sure you have all wondered and worried about how we are doing... right?

Erik has doubled his miles.

I'm not quite as close.

But I actually feel good about the increase because it has all taken place in the last month, so I'm moving in a more consistent direction, and that is what counts right? Even though it had been two weeks since I exercised last (when Erik asked me Sunday night how my exercising was going). I think he noticed my numbers remaining stagnant for the past 2 weeks. Maybe two weeks on, two weeks off, isn't so bad...right? 

Oh...And can I just say the p90x guy is so annoying ("Pam or BaBam")! But boy howdy, I could hardly move for those first few days!

Leading with Love

LEADING WITH LOVE:

"Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin as to take them by the hand and watch over them with tenderness..."*

As I thought about all the mistakes I make on a daily basis, as a wife, mother, friend and especially in my calling I thought of the difference kindness makes. Sometimes I feel sick over how apparent my sins and shortcomings are (and I'm supposed to serve the sisters when I am so full of error?). When I read the above I thought about the difference when people treat one another with love and those who seem to want to criticise and find error with every move someone makes. I see the difference in those who look for good and find it and those who are waiting at an instant to take something said or done the very worst way.


I think one thing that has been the hardest about my calling right now is that some people think that leadership puts you in a position to judge. We hear that some will be a judge in Israel and that's true but at times I feel like sisters want to apologize to me for shortcomings, I sometimes want to say, do you think you have to explain to ME? Me who is so full of sin and error? Do you think I can judge you? I'm having to stockpile forgiveness from the Lord, I can't afford to make apparent my beam by pointing out others mote!


I don't think that I was a judgemental person before, but I can really see how this calling has helped me to see the gold which is in everyone, to not take offense, because you just don't know the history, how someone was feeling and what was going on when something was done or said. It has helped me see that we are all just trying to sort our way through.


I am so grateful for the people in my life who have lead with love and set the example; for a husband who wants me to be the daughter that Heavenly Father intended me to be, for a Bishop and my presidency who put up with me and all my errors and accept my offering even when I know I should be doing so much more to help, for friends who see my faults yet love me anyway, and for my daughters who love me and who forgive me when I have made mistakes.

*From: Daughters in My Kingdom

Exterior Erik and I agree on... it's this or a classic all brick. (Click on picture to see full screen.)

Comment from the most amazing Jess on the House Plans...

"Yay!! You're blogging again! :)

Ok, so I probably have too much to say on this, but you said input is welcome so here you go!

In your girls' bathroom, do two sinks instead more counter space. Lauren and I are constantly waiting on one another in our bathroom when we're getting ready. It would be soooo nice to have two different areas. I know, we should be ok with being patient and sharing, but if given the choice I'd pick two.

I like the second kitchen best, but the third kitchen makes me think "Aunt Ashley" the most.

You should do curtains on the lockers in the mudroom. You can still "hide" what's inside, but you'll also avoid smashed fingers in cabinet doors when the girls are in a hurry. Plus, more design variety and color with fabric!

I love love love the idea of a seating area underneath stairs!! I can just see awesome imaginative ways that little girls could play there, and a little Peterson girl curled up inside reading a book or something. So cute.

You may have already thought this through, but have a "teenager" space. I know your girls are young, but I'm assuming you'll be in this house for a good while. I love having friends over to my house with my parents home because it is the easiest situation to make good choices around my friends, but we don't really have a good "hang out" place in our house. It definitely shouldn't be a totally closed off area, but enough that younger siblings won't disturb excessively.

I miss you guys!! Love you all! -Jess"

We really want teen feedback because that's exactly what we are moving for...

1. Yes, we will keep with the two sinks, good call.

2. "Aunt Ashley" makes me feel old. Erik and I just had a conversation about this. I was at dance and most the mothers were talking and graduated in 2000, and for the first time in my life I felt like the old mom! :)

3. Never thought of fabric - nice one designer Jess! Maureen said to do doors, and I started wondering that I considered having it all open to start with.  Even if it is one of McCall's regular jobs to clean the coat/backpack/shoe storage each Saturday morning, it still is such a mess all the time.

4. I think the seat is the most fun too!

5. Teen Space: Love your feedback. We removed the bonus room because it's a pain to keep warm/cool and we want two separate furnaces for main and basement and I don't want a third one up, plus bonus rooms sometimes are too remote and closed off! Plus we want to die in this home so it has to be good once all the kids are gone! We don't want too much space when they are all gone. I hope that we can make it workable with the two family rooms up/down, then younger and older can be separated. We considered having two girls share so we can use one room as a play room until 1. McCall goes off to BYU in 8 years (ouch!), or 2. the girls don't need a designated TOY room anymore! I'm also trying to negotiate a disco ball in the dance/exercise room cause I can see the girls playing there for hours, it's just those darn mirrors for the walls, they are expensive! We would do french doors on the entryway so a parent can always see in! In the craft/office space (up bedroom) I want wood so we can get our craft on, I see friends in their too, maybe we should do a great window seat or a comfy love seat in there so there's a place to hang? Thanks for getting me thinking, we really want our kids at our home and I'm trying to select carpet and flooring that will make it a place people will be comfortable - we don't want a home where food can't be enjoyed in the family room!

Thanks for your comments!

Negotiations

 So it's no secret that at our home we love to create. The girls love play dough, they love painting, stamping, stickers, coloring, beading bracelets, making potholders, cross stitch...

You do get the idea, don't you?

 So very often the girls are asking to do one of these items but it's not everyday that we can halt everything to do it. They take a long time to get everything out, then put it all away and clean up - so it's much easier to get out coloring books or something.

So the girls get REALLY excited for paint and glue and dough...

A. Because they are messy.

B. Because they are messy.

C. Because they are messy.

 So very often (almost daily) Claire will ask "Can we paint today?" Yes, sometimes it's "Sure!" but I often say to her daily requests, "not today", or "not this morning but later this afternoon when the girls are home", or something like that. 

To which Claire responds... "Okay Mom, what can we do?"

With her bright eyes she follows up with my options.

"Can we paint a picture or go outside and swim?"

(That was last Thursday. Do you know how cold it was last Thursday?) OR maybe "Can we play with play dough or go to Thanksgiving Point?" Claire then sincerely adds to the end of the question with palms raised questioningly,

"Which one Mom, which one?"

Sometimes it's a treat.

Claire: "Can we have a granola bar?"

Mom: "No Claire, it's almost lunch/dinner."

Claire: "Okay Mom, so which one, can we have a granola bar or a fruit snack? Which one, which one?"

OR

 Claire: "Can we have dessert tonight?"

Mom: "Is it Monday?"

Claire: "No"

Mom: "Is it Friday, Saturday or Sunday?"

Claire: "No"

Mom: "Then you don't get dessert"

Claire: "Okay Mom. So which can we have, can we have a cookie or go get ice cream? Which one Mom, which one?"