Let. Me. Eat. Cake.

This week/weekend has been crazy busy, just like the entire month of May.  But it's all good stuff, so I want to do it all.
Schedule:
Wednesday:  all day field trip to the Uof U
Thursday:  kids soccer tryouts 5-8
Fri:  Ethan soccer / Kids Primary Activity / Ethan Scouts    Family bday party for Ethan
Sat:  Ethan soccer game / Brooke's baby shower / Eva's tumbling exhibition/ Ethan Party for Friends
Sun:  Dad's b-day celebration

All of the above (except the soccer and field trips) included rich, sugary, chocolatey, sprinkly, gumballed, yummy delicious cake and/or cupcakes.  And all of the above also included rich, frostingly, chocolatey, cold-from-the-fridge delicious leftover cake and/ or cupcakes.
I have no will power.  None.  None!  I've had cake for lunch and dinner and a late evening snack.
Just had to get that confession out there.  It wasn't like a dainty piece of cake here and there, either.  It was like 6 cupcakes and a big fat piece of chocolate cake eaten with a spoon out of the tupperware.  And that was just this afternoon.

I've analyzed this before - the lack of will power issue on sweets.  I think that what I am trying to do is eat the cake/chocolate that I am craving to an extreme so that I will eventually make myself sick to stop me from eating it.  Heaven forbid I use a little discretion or conscious eating practices!  Actually, now that I think about it...hormones could have something to do with it.  Yep.  It's not me.  It's the hormones, dang them!
As soon as I get out of my sugar stupor I'll have to post some of the fun stuff going on.  But until then...
I'm going to lick the batter from the beaters and from the spatula I used for the frosting, thank you very much.

US History

Watch it Sunday Night!  

I think this is one of the best shows out there right now.  If you have seen it, you'll know what I'm talking about.  It is a great way to learn basic US history and quite entertaining.  Fascinating, really.

It is so well done and I look forward to it each Sunday night.  I could do without a few of the celebrity interjections, and I'm sure there is a political slant to it.  But I like the basic overview it gives.  It is a series of 6 episodes and goes through American History from the first colonies up to the present day.   My kids were completely captivated  by the Revolutionary and Civil War episodes, especially Ethan who has an affinity for World Wars and  US Presidents.  Ethan told me about a dream he had the other night of George Washington: Ethan was fighting for him and it somehow also incorporated our Tahoe as an escape car....go figure.  Anyway, the point is, this kid really is intrigued by history and all things military.  

I never liked history growing up.  It wasn't until after I had graduated from college that I found the correlation between God and Country in the Revolutionary War.  This fascinated me.  The British Army, the most powerful army in the world at the time, being defeated by a bunch of farmers loyal to their desire for freedom.  It wasn't supposed to happen.  It never should have happened.   But it did, and God's hand was all over it.  This changed everything for me and I had a desire to learn more.  Kerry's parents are extremely patriotic and over the years it has been amazing to hear the stories that his dad has told from his time of service as the chaplin for the state of Utah in the National Guard.   I loved reading 1776 by David McCullough  because it goes into so much detail about the role of divine providence and the leaders who knew that they were called to such a time as this.  Good men. Honorable men.  Men I want my kids to know.

With everything that is going on with our country today, Kerry and I were talking about how we could study parts of the Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence with our kids for family night.  It really is being diluted and I'm afraid that they are going to need to know it, far better than us, to maintain the freedoms we have in place.  We haven't been great at family nights, a little sporadic, and we could definitely be better.  But I like the idea of teaching them about God and country, freedom and agency.  I want my kids to understand what they have and all that is at stake.  And to know the sacrifices so many made on our behalf.  And to do what it takes to preserve these freedoms.

Just Google it!

Technology is amazing.  Really, our kids are going to think we sound as ancient as the pioneers when we tell them how life was 'pre-internet'.  How we actually had to go to the library and look up subjects in large wordy books called Encyclopedias and sort through micro films to get articles from past newspapers.  If we wanted to take a vacation somewhere, you had to write to the local tourist bureau and have them send you informational brochures, then call a travel agent to see about what hotels to stay in and what they cost.  They'll think we are archaic when we tell them about the first time we had a 'car phone' (not a cell phone yet, it had to be plugged in to the lighter) that was as big as a brick.  How we actually had to make sure we were home or up at a certain time if we wanted to watch a specific show on TV, and that we used to actually write letters to see how people were doing. 
In the world they live in, information is just a few keystrokes away.  To prove my point as to just how powerful and all knowing the internet is in their minds, here is a google search that Eva put in to look for a new toy our family is getting.  


  Google search:
 every trampoline in the whole world for sale

Eva's Substitute Mom

So while I was at Women's Conference learning how to be a better mom, I missed Eva's Mother Daughter Activity Days Date.  The irony here is killin' me.

So just wanted to say thanks to my super duper sister Britter Critter who saved the day!  She was Eva's "stand in MOM" for the evening, and I think Eva was happy as a clam. 

Thanks Little Sister!

This Just In.......Breaking News

Prepare for like, really annoying tweenie talk:


Oh. my. gosh.  Oh. my. gosh.  Oh my gosh!  Don't be, like, totally jealous, but I just found out that
teen heartthrob Justin Bieber has the same birthday as, yours truly.  March 1.  Eva.Can.Not.Believe.It.
She found out while reading his unauthorized biography.  So it must be true.  So totally awesome!!  It must be a sign!


Aaaaagghhhh!  Are we really to this phase already?  She's got the Bieber Fever like every other girl in America and would love to become a tweenie groupie for Justin Bieber, Justin Bieber, Justin Bieber.  She just spent her reading tickets to buy a JB book and a JB CD.  The fantastic thing about this is that it also came with a free poster of the beloved Justin Bieber that she can plaster all over her walls.  Heaven help us!  And it's not just her.  Oh no. It is every friend from school, in the neighborhood, etc.  She and her friend Elisabeth just made a JB fan club poster.  It's pretty exclusive.


I guess it was about this time (4th grade) that I had a HUGE crush on this guy Michael Jackson.  You may have heard of him. My first love, really.  I specifically remember on my birthday getting a pencil box with his face plastered all over it and a large MJ poster that would hang in my room for subsequent years.  It was the pure Michael.  Pre nose job(s), skin lightening, Neverland)  The Thriller Days.

I'm sure my parents were just dying when I begged and pleaded for that poster.  But they gave it to me anyway.  Maybe they remembered how they felt about Elvis? haha  So I am going to try and remember what it feels like to be a 10 year old with a crush and let Eva just 'be'.

'Sup Homies.'

Jack The Dog wants to tell you about a cool new website for your chitlans.  

commonsensemedia.org

It allows you to check by age and reading level for good book suggestions and other media, like movies, websites, etc.  It's a great resource for finding new books for the kiddos this summer.  You can add your kid's ages when you register and then it personalizes the picks for you.  Handy little tool, Fo Sho.

Peace Out.

Part Deux: Speaking the Lingo......Again.

Compare and Contrast:  


What is different about these 2 pictures - that should look exactly the same because they were taken only an hour  apart? 
Just after the weeding that the little 4 year olds decided to do to my garden, I went back inside and watched as they played in the sandbox and did little boy things.  All was well. Broccoli was dead, but all was well.

2 hours later

Becks mentions in the car as we are getting kids at school that he picked some flowers for the moms in Honduras.  I asked what flowers he had picked, to which he quickly said, "No. I mean I DIDN'T pick any flowers."  Hmm..  Suspicious  

Next Question:  

Why is there a red bucket hanging from my tree branch?

.  

Answer:  

To keep the tulips safe that they picked to give to the moms over in Honduras.  All of them.  Each and every tulip that decided to light up my yard with color as the only sign that the bleak winter was coming to an end.  

We have been making little bead bracelets for Kerry to take on his trip to Honduras that they hand out to all the kids, and I guess Becks wanted to make his own contribution.

Honestly.  How do you get mad at a kid when he tells you he's picking flowers to take to the moms?

One year, all too soon, I am going to have all of my tulips blooming beautifully in my yard and wish I had a little 4 year old that would come back to pick them and hide them in a bucket for safekeeping.