Taylor tells me on Tuesday night (the night before her party), "I'm having a boring day." I thought she meant her day had been boring so far so I started reminding her of all the things we had done - arts and crafts class, gone to the zoo, picked up dinner and then had a friend over to eat plus played on the trampoline at the neighbor's house. BORING??? But she clarified, she WANTS to have a boring day. To Taylor, a "boring" day is a day at home that she can do things she wants to do - it does NOT have the negative meaning most of us think of related to boring. In other words, she doesn't want to go do things, she just wants to hang out. The first half of our summer isn't "boring" enough for Taylor - too many activities (even if it is just picking up Alyssa from swim every morning, it means we have to get up and get going).
For Taylor, I'm hoping we have a "boring" day on Monday (tomorrow won't be because we are going up the canyon to get our camping spot and then setting up camp!). I could use a few more "boring" days in my life too!!
The rain helped her out ... "boring" day on Friday since we aren't going camping - don't want to deal with rain! :)
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Parties are DONE!!
Yippee!! Wahoo!! YEAH!!!!! The birthday parties are OVER and the messes cleaned up. Its nice to have 2 summer birthdays but I wish they weren't the same week! It makes for a lot of work in just a few days. Taylor wanted a water slide/blow up house party (us and some of our friends co-own one we bought last year at Costco). Alyssa wanted to do rock climbing at Lehi's Legacy Center. Guest lists ... Taylor just kept going and going and going with who she wanted to invite. I don't normally let them invite a lot of friends, but Taylor has always been so shy, I decided why not let her really enjoy it! And so she did ... 23 kids at my house for the party yesterday - fortunately it was ALL outside! (3 were my kids and 1 was a friend Alyssa brought over to play with). Usually its an easy party to set up, but the blow-up got put away wet last year, so it was moldy when we pulled it out yesterday. I spent 2 hours spraying it with a squirt bottle with 1/4 bleach and 3/4 water in it and then scrubbing and rinsing it. I opted to do it my board shorts and a tank top so I didn't ruin any of my other clothes ... oops - fried my shoulders (I put sunscreen on my chest and arms but forgot to have someone help me with my shoulders and back)! I didn't expect it to take 2 hours but I kept finding more moldy spots. Made for a crazy morning, but it all worked out and we were just barely ready to go when the kids started arriving.
Then, today was Alyssa's party. Much easier ... no setup and almost no cleanup. Her party included up to 10 kids (including herself). She had lots of kids who couldn't come, so we ended up with 11 including her and her sisters. It was fun. Pizza, presents, smiley face cupcakes made by a dear friend, (THANKS LISA B!) and ice cream cones then rock climbing for an hour! Everyone had a great time!!
Pics and more details for both parties later! I'm just glad to have them done and be able to get back to a little bit calmer of days. We are leaving to go camping tomorrow though ... :)
Then, today was Alyssa's party. Much easier ... no setup and almost no cleanup. Her party included up to 10 kids (including herself). She had lots of kids who couldn't come, so we ended up with 11 including her and her sisters. It was fun. Pizza, presents, smiley face cupcakes made by a dear friend, (THANKS LISA B!) and ice cream cones then rock climbing for an hour! Everyone had a great time!!
Pics and more details for both parties later! I'm just glad to have them done and be able to get back to a little bit calmer of days. We are leaving to go camping tomorrow though ... :)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
A visit from Heather
Today was a fun evening! I had a chance to finally get together with my college friend Heather ("Hawaii Heather" as Steve and I call her so he knows which Heather I mean). She and I twirled flags together in BYU Marching Band in 1995, 96 and 97. We went through some tough times together when I left colorguard and even though the circumstances could have been awkward for her, she was a true friend then and still is now! I am really grateful we've stayed in touch. She now lives in California but is here visiting family. We tried 3 different times to get together last week, but I kept having to postpone/cancel (other plans that I forgot about, sick kid, etc). Finally gave up but then they extended their trip! And we were able to get together tonight. It was just nice to hang out. Its been a long time! She now has 2 cute little kids and of course I have my 3, so we picked up Cafe Rio and came back to my place to eat and just visit! Great to see you Heather! I miss you!!!
She and I are both bloggers ... but would you believe we remembered to take a picture as she was getting in her car - she'll email me the pic but for now, I'm posting this old one of us in band together in 1996 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX (I think - oops - WRONG ... its in Arizona at ASU's stadium in September 1997 - didn't think the stadium looked right for Dallas) - it will have to do. She and I are the middle two. Gotta love the uniforms!!
She and I are both bloggers ... but would you believe we remembered to take a picture as she was getting in her car - she'll email me the pic but for now, I'm posting this old one of us in band together in 1996 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, TX (I think - oops - WRONG ... its in Arizona at ASU's stadium in September 1997 - didn't think the stadium looked right for Dallas) - it will have to do. She and I are the middle two. Gotta love the uniforms!!
Finally adding the picture from when she was here!
Upcoming Block Party!!
For those of you who live in my neighborhood and read my blog ... don't forget the upcoming block party, July 2nd!! It promises to be as good as always! BBQ your own meat, potluck, popcorn, cotton candy, races, bounce houses, LIVE BAND, fireworks ... To those who aren't in my neighborhood (but live fairly close) and have been wanting to hear Steve's band, they will be playing!! Check out our neighborhood blog so you know all the details. www.utahhighlands.blogspot.com The band will start playing about 7:00 or 7:30.
Hope to see lots of you here!
Donna
Hope to see lots of you here!
Donna
Monday, June 22, 2009
Getting to Know You
Alyssa is moving into the 9 year old group for girls' activity days at church. The lady who helps organize the activities asked her to fill out a "Getting to Know You" form. Alyssa filled in teh blanks like this:
I have sandy hair and brown eyes.
My favorite color is blue
My favorite food is Hamburger Helper
My favorite music/song is (with music/song crossed out and "band" written above it) Abba
My favorite movie is Condorman (yes, this is the 80's movie - it was one of Steve's faves)
My favorite subject in school is math
For fun my family likes to go camping
Something interesting or unusual about me is I'm trying to help the earth.
So that is Alyssa - according to Alyssa! :)
I have sandy hair and brown eyes.
My favorite color is blue
My favorite food is Hamburger Helper
My favorite music/song is (with music/song crossed out and "band" written above it) Abba
My favorite movie is Condorman (yes, this is the 80's movie - it was one of Steve's faves)
My favorite subject in school is math
For fun my family likes to go camping
Something interesting or unusual about me is I'm trying to help the earth.
So that is Alyssa - according to Alyssa! :)
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Happy 9th Birthday Alyssa!!
Alyssa turned 9 on Saturday!! She's half way to 18 years old!! Wow! This girl has grown up so fast and she is such an amazing kid!
Alyssa was born on June 20, 2000 at 7:45 pm. She did NOT want to be born ... and was 11 days late! I was finally induced after pulling CAT4 wire in our new home until late the night before. She was posterior so the doctor had to use forceps to get her to turn and come out ... As she was born, the doctor didn't say then expected, "its a girl" or "congratulations, you have a daughter." Nope, the doctor said "wow look at those cheeks!" The next thing he said was "she weighs 11 lbs if she weighs an ounce!" And when she only weighed 10 lbs 7 oz, he argued with the nurse and made her weigh Alyssa again. Even then he wasn't sure he believed the scales.
1 day old - mad about something! ... look how big she is and how strong she is ... and people wondered why holding newborns was so weird for me ... she never acted like a newborn!
Alyssa's name: In my first trimester - before we even knew it was a girl, I wasn't feeling "great" on a Sunday morning so Steve stayed home from church with me. I laid on the floor of our spare bedroom/office while he surfed the web for baby naming sites. We started with the A's. I loved the nickname Aly so we looked at names that begin with A-l ... Alyssa was the only one we both loved for our daughter - all the others reminded one or the other of us of someone or something. So, it was Alyssa for a girls name ... we never did find a boy name, although we talked about using a family name. 
Alyssa started out so big, we never got to put her in any of the newborn clothes and she wasn't even in 0-3 very long. Most of those outfits she wore once before we moved onto the 3-6 mo clothes! She always smiled a lot and made us happy!
Alyssa was born on June 20, 2000 at 7:45 pm. She did NOT want to be born ... and was 11 days late! I was finally induced after pulling CAT4 wire in our new home until late the night before. She was posterior so the doctor had to use forceps to get her to turn and come out ... As she was born, the doctor didn't say then expected, "its a girl" or "congratulations, you have a daughter." Nope, the doctor said "wow look at those cheeks!" The next thing he said was "she weighs 11 lbs if she weighs an ounce!" And when she only weighed 10 lbs 7 oz, he argued with the nurse and made her weigh Alyssa again. Even then he wasn't sure he believed the scales.1 day old - mad about something! ... look how big she is and how strong she is ... and people wondered why holding newborns was so weird for me ... she never acted like a newborn!
Alyssa's name: In my first trimester - before we even knew it was a girl, I wasn't feeling "great" on a Sunday morning so Steve stayed home from church with me. I laid on the floor of our spare bedroom/office while he surfed the web for baby naming sites. We started with the A's. I loved the nickname Aly so we looked at names that begin with A-l ... Alyssa was the only one we both loved for our daughter - all the others reminded one or the other of us of someone or something. So, it was Alyssa for a girls name ... we never did find a boy name, although we talked about using a family name. Alyssa 3 days old - coming home from the hospital outift!
Alyssa hated the heat when she was little. We went on a vacation to Pennsylvania, Washington, DC and Virginia with Steve's family when she was just 7 weeks old ... she hated every minute of being outside in the hot, humid weather.
Alyssa 7 weeks old - Hershey, Pennsylvania
Alyssa started out so big, we never got to put her in any of the newborn clothes and she wasn't even in 0-3 very long. Most of those outfits she wore once before we moved onto the 3-6 mo clothes! She always smiled a lot and made us happy! 3 months old
Alyssa started out life very strong willed! She always knew what she wanted and when. As long as we kept her fed, she was an easy baby though - sleeping 6 hours a night at just a few days old. She is still every bit as strong willed and determined. When she sets her mind to something, she is hard to dissuade (is that a word? - meaning persuade to do something else?) 
5 months old
Her favorite pose as a baby ... just had to share because of those rolls! Check them out! We called her Buddha Baby! :)
Alyssa is a happy child. She loves to make others happy. She loves to make others laugh and loves to perform with hopes of approval, applause and making others smile. She always loves to be doing something - often so distracted that she doesn't hear what others are saying to her.
1st Birthday
Not a shy child either ... did I mention she was happy as long as we kept her fed! She dove into that cake on her 1st bday like it was the only food she'd ever eaten!
Alyssa is daring and likes excitement! She loves to try new things and has little or no fear! She loves rides at amusement parks and water slides, she thrives on feeling that thrill of speed, height, or whatever it is. She tends to be a wild-child!
Alyssa loves babies ... and always has. She loves her little sisters, especially when they do what she wants. :) She loves to help with them (although now it is becoming less that she loves to help and just wants to make them do what she wants!) She truly loves little ones though. She always loved holding both Taylor and Jessica as babies. And she loves holding or playing with any baby that comes close to her now! When our neighbor's twins were about a year old, Alyssa often asked if she could go play with them. I didn't always let her, but when we were at their house for something, she always spent her time with them rather than the kids closer to her age.
Alyssa always loves to be doing things! She often asks, "can we go here" or "can we do this?" It doesn't matter if we are on our way home from some place fun, she already has the next outing planned and wants to go now! The outings might be Kangaroo Zoo, Jump-On-It, geocaching, playing at the park, Chuck E. Cheese's, McDonalds, the zoo, ice cream, dinner out, a friend's house, etc ... The list of things she wants to do never ends!! Currently, she wants to go to Disneyland so she figured out how much money it would cost for us to go with one of the package deals we got a flyer on. She decided she and her sisters would earn the money to go!! So, they are currently working on it. We have a jar that gets money added to it when they do their jobs and money taken away when they disobey and/or don't do their jobs. She is determined to earn enough money and has contributed some of her own money as well!
Alyssa has an amazing love for our country, our flag and our environment. She is very concerned about taking care of what we have and always wants to do more! She loves to see the flags flying in the yard on holidays and loves July 4th. She is very appreciative of our military men and women and always shows respect when she sees them. She really seems to understand how lucky we are in the United States to have so many freedoms and how blessed our family is compared to many others who are less fortunate. Shedoesn't always remember it though when she is wanting more!
Alyssa LOVES animals. If she could have ANYTHING in the whole world, it would be a dog. Steve and I aren't big animal people, so right now, she has to settle for an aquarium with fish and a frog and playing with the neighbors' dogs. She has always loved animals of all kinds and loves learning about them too (insects and snakes too - I can handle the butterflies but the other bugs and snakes that she likes ... UGH)!
Alyssa can be a little bossy at times, but she doesn't do it to be mean. She just likes to take charge (a lot like her mom!). Sometimes it means she doesn't have a lot of friends to play with though. When this happens, she often tries to befriend other kids who are different or who don't have friends. She sees their hearts and tries to offer friendship to them, even if she doesn't
Alyssa started out life very strong willed! She always knew what she wanted and when. As long as we kept her fed, she was an easy baby though - sleeping 6 hours a night at just a few days old. She is still every bit as strong willed and determined. When she sets her mind to something, she is hard to dissuade (is that a word? - meaning persuade to do something else?) 4 months old
5 months old
Her favorite pose as a baby ... just had to share because of those rolls! Check them out! We called her Buddha Baby! :)
Alyssa is a happy child. She loves to make others happy. She loves to make others laugh and loves to perform with hopes of approval, applause and making others smile. She always loves to be doing something - often so distracted that she doesn't hear what others are saying to her. 1st Birthday
Not a shy child either ... did I mention she was happy as long as we kept her fed! She dove into that cake on her 1st bday like it was the only food she'd ever eaten! 
Alyssa is daring and likes excitement! She loves to try new things and has little or no fear! She loves rides at amusement parks and water slides, she thrives on feeling that thrill of speed, height, or whatever it is. She tends to be a wild-child! 
Alyssa loves babies ... and always has. She loves her little sisters, especially when they do what she wants. :) She loves to help with them (although now it is becoming less that she loves to help and just wants to make them do what she wants!) She truly loves little ones though. She always loved holding both Taylor and Jessica as babies. And she loves holding or playing with any baby that comes close to her now! When our neighbor's twins were about a year old, Alyssa often asked if she could go play with them. I didn't always let her, but when we were at their house for something, she always spent her time with them rather than the kids closer to her age. 
Alyssa always loves to be doing things! She often asks, "can we go here" or "can we do this?" It doesn't matter if we are on our way home from some place fun, she already has the next outing planned and wants to go now! The outings might be Kangaroo Zoo, Jump-On-It, geocaching, playing at the park, Chuck E. Cheese's, McDonalds, the zoo, ice cream, dinner out, a friend's house, etc ... The list of things she wants to do never ends!! Currently, she wants to go to Disneyland so she figured out how much money it would cost for us to go with one of the package deals we got a flyer on. She decided she and her sisters would earn the money to go!! So, they are currently working on it. We have a jar that gets money added to it when they do their jobs and money taken away when they disobey and/or don't do their jobs. She is determined to earn enough money and has contributed some of her own money as well! 
Alyssa has an amazing love for our country, our flag and our environment. She is very concerned about taking care of what we have and always wants to do more! She loves to see the flags flying in the yard on holidays and loves July 4th. She is very appreciative of our military men and women and always shows respect when she sees them. She really seems to understand how lucky we are in the United States to have so many freedoms and how blessed our family is compared to many others who are less fortunate. Shedoesn't always remember it though when she is wanting more!
Alyssa LOVES animals. If she could have ANYTHING in the whole world, it would be a dog. Steve and I aren't big animal people, so right now, she has to settle for an aquarium with fish and a frog and playing with the neighbors' dogs. She has always loved animals of all kinds and loves learning about them too (insects and snakes too - I can handle the butterflies but the other bugs and snakes that she likes ... UGH)!
Alyssa can be a little bossy at times, but she doesn't do it to be mean. She just likes to take charge (a lot like her mom!). Sometimes it means she doesn't have a lot of friends to play with though. When this happens, she often tries to befriend other kids who are different or who don't have friends. She sees their hearts and tries to offer friendship to them, even if she doesn't always do it in the kindest ways. She has a good heart, and I love her for that! It really makes her sad to see or hear about people who don't have the things we have. Even when she was little, she wanted to do things to help others. She loves to donate money to the humanitarian fund at church and she loves to do projects for others! She is one of those kids that I can see growing up to get involved in causes. I'm not sure what cause she will choose, but I really expect her to serve others and do good things! 
Did I mention no fear? This kid tried boogy boarding at 7 years old and got so far out and away from her dad that we had to have help pulling her back in! She lives life with energy and enthusiasm. Whether it is dancing, gymnastics, swimming, school, singing, writing stories, creating crafts of all kinds ... she does it with energy and enthusiasm!!
Alyssa loves her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and really tries to do what's right. She is the one who reminds us to have family time! She was very excited to make the decision to be baptized and we are very proud of how she is trying to live her life. She really has grown A LOT this last year. She has learned to discern right from wrong and is working on making the right choices.
Alyssa is full of drama! The stories I could tell would fill this blog for days and months! She has an amazing imagination which leads to stories to get her out of doing things she doesn't want to do as well as stories to get attention! She also loves to write stories, choreograph dances, draw pictures, make things and just CREATE in general. Her talent is amazing and I am proud of the things she does!
Alyssa loves to be silly! These next few pictures are some that I found on my camera a couple weeks ago - she just loves to be crazy. She has a lot of her dad's spontaneous personality which keeps me smiling and laughing. I love when she does things like this. I also love her laugh. She loves to laugh and one of her favorite things is playing with her dad (he tickles her). I just sit back and watch the giggling and teasing that happens. I will be sad when she gets too big for that, and I'm glad it hasn't happened yet!
Alyssa is so grown up. She is 9 going on 13! I love her passion for things. I love her determination. I love her creativity. I love that she loves to read. I love her sweet, sensitive side! I love when she helps me. I love my little girl!
Did I mention no fear? This kid tried boogy boarding at 7 years old and got so far out and away from her dad that we had to have help pulling her back in! She lives life with energy and enthusiasm. Whether it is dancing, gymnastics, swimming, school, singing, writing stories, creating crafts of all kinds ... she does it with energy and enthusiasm!!
Alyssa loves her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and really tries to do what's right. She is the one who reminds us to have family time! She was very excited to make the decision to be baptized and we are very proud of how she is trying to live her life. She really has grown A LOT this last year. She has learned to discern right from wrong and is working on making the right choices. 
Alyssa is full of drama! The stories I could tell would fill this blog for days and months! She has an amazing imagination which leads to stories to get her out of doing things she doesn't want to do as well as stories to get attention! She also loves to write stories, choreograph dances, draw pictures, make things and just CREATE in general. Her talent is amazing and I am proud of the things she does!
Alyssa loves to be silly! These next few pictures are some that I found on my camera a couple weeks ago - she just loves to be crazy. She has a lot of her dad's spontaneous personality which keeps me smiling and laughing. I love when she does things like this. I also love her laugh. She loves to laugh and one of her favorite things is playing with her dad (he tickles her). I just sit back and watch the giggling and teasing that happens. I will be sad when she gets too big for that, and I'm glad it hasn't happened yet!
Alyssa is so grown up. She is 9 going on 13! I love her passion for things. I love her determination. I love her creativity. I love that she loves to read. I love her sweet, sensitive side! I love when she helps me. I love my little girl! 
Happy Birthday Alyssa!!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Dad and Doughnuts
LATE POST! Kindergarten Dads and Doughnuts! Friday, April 24. I got this picture of Taylor and Steve from her teacher when school ended. But I just got around to scanning it. Isn't it cute? I think dad and doughnuts is a great program and I'm glad Steve gets to pariticipate with his girls. Taylor informed me, "I didn't eat a doughnut!" No surprise there! But she did have fun reading with mom until dad got there (work conflict) and then with dad too!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Happy 6th Birthday Taylor!!
Happy Birthday to my Sweet Taylor!! She turns 6 today!! I can't believe how fast she has grown and how old she is getting. Taylor still seems so little to me! Sometimes I watch her playing or doing something and I'm shocked at how grown up she has become!
Taylor's arrival came 3 days later than we expected. I was induced on June 15th ... but after 8 hours of pitocin and contractions, we went home, with baby still inside of me! We went back on the 18th and did a 2nd induction! How many kids can say that their mom was induced TWICE just for them? The nurses I dealt with said VERY few. I think between the nurses on staff that day (it was a quiet Sunday) they had 40+ years of experience and only one nurse had ever seen it happen one time! CRAZY. Anyway, the 2nd induction was perfect! She came very quickly arriving at 11:49am. She was my smallest baby, at 7 lbs 15 oz and 19 1/2 inches long!
I love Taylor and am so grateful for the things she teaches me. I am thankful for her cute little grins and her big hugs and kisses. I am grateful that she still wants me to carry her, snuggle with her at night and hold her hand when she sleeps. I cherish these moments, because I know they won’t last forever!
Taylor's arrival came 3 days later than we expected. I was induced on June 15th ... but after 8 hours of pitocin and contractions, we went home, with baby still inside of me! We went back on the 18th and did a 2nd induction! How many kids can say that their mom was induced TWICE just for them? The nurses I dealt with said VERY few. I think between the nurses on staff that day (it was a quiet Sunday) they had 40+ years of experience and only one nurse had ever seen it happen one time! CRAZY. Anyway, the 2nd induction was perfect! She came very quickly arriving at 11:49am. She was my smallest baby, at 7 lbs 15 oz and 19 1/2 inches long!
Taylor’s name. Many of you have probably heard this story. We were at Trolley Square in SLC with our friends, the Taylors. We were discussing names of kids. At the time, we just had Alyssa and they didn’t have any children. We weren’t even expecting yet. Michelle mentioned that she had always wanted to name a little girl Taylor, but obviously couldn’t because of their last name. I found that very ironic because my best friend in 4th grade was named … Lindsay! And I always loved the name and wanted to name a daughter Lindsay but obviously can’t. We joked that I should name mine Taylor Lindsey and she could name hers Lindsay Taylor. They’d be best friends, live back to back together and confuse the heck out of their teacher when they got to Kindergarten. Steve and I liked the name and when we found out we were expecting, she was always Taylor! Michelle didn't really like Lindsay (at least it wasn't her favorite) and fortunately for the girls, didn’t use with that name for their daughter who is just a month younger than Tay. Taylor was confused enough as to why her best friend Makenna Taylor always wrote Taylor’s name on her papers! Taylor spent several months of kindergarten writing Taylor Makenna on all her papers … when I tried to explain that she should just write her own name, she told me “Why? Kenna writes my name on her papers.” I let it be!
Taylor has also had some trials with eating and speech. After almost 4 years of speech therapy now, she is doing much better. Her eating has not come as far, but we are working on it. I am so proud of how far she has come, although I know she still has some big mountains to conquer before she is caught up! 
Taylor had some rough nights when she was tiny and was a NOISY sleeper even when she was asleep, but soon learned to LOVE to sleep. I once took Taylor to the doctor because she was sleeping up to 20 hours a day at several months old. They did some tests and said, ENJOY it! We did but we also started paying more attention and realized, she wasn't sleeping all the time, she was just very content in her bed for quite awhile before she'd let us know she was awake. Her love of sleep soon waned and she started staying up late at nights ... sometimes 11:00 or midnight before she'd finally crash. Even now, she is the one who is the hardest to get to go to sleep. She does fairly well on 9 hours of sleep! She is my kid who wakes up the most in the nights though, which doesn't make it easy on me.
Taylor has always loved her sisters. She wasn't quite 20 months old yet, but wasn't talking, when Jessica was born. She loved her from day one! When she came to the hospital the next day to visit, she held her arms up to me and Jessica and said "Hold her"! It was a very sweet moment! The two of them have been close friends ever since!
Taylor is a dancer, a dreamer, a gymnast and she LOVES music! She loves to play music, sing, listen to music and move to the music. Songs aren’t given names in her world though, they are usually numbers—#7 in Karianna’s car or #3 on the CD. She really loves Abba right now especially Dancing Queen. 
Taylor is a creature of habit, a child of pattern and routine. Taylor has always done well with structure, organization and patterns. When she wasn’t even 3, she would line her toys up in a pattern and if anyone moved any of them, she could always tell. She’d walk over to the toy and fix it and then shoot you a look like, how dare you! I remember her putting legos in long short long, long short long, long short long. She would line up her Fisher Price People—all facing the same way and even if I switched two blonde girls, she could always tell. When things are chaotic, Taylor seems to stress out. She does very well when things are consistent for her.
Taylor is my memory! When I need to remember something, I can tell Taylor and she’ll remember for me. She has always had a great memory. She can say, remember when we did this … and I won’t remember at all. But then she’ll start to expound on it and wow, she can recall even the tiniest details accurately. She notices little things, items out of place, tiny changes. The other day I wore eyeliner—something I don’t wear very often and she noticed the second she walked in my room. 
Taylor is a helper! She loves to help do things. She does NOT like to do them by herself! She loves to clean with me or with Karianna, unload the dishes with Jessica, help in my office with stamps or sealing envelopes. She loves to be productive and get things done.
Taylor is very smart. Because she remembers things so well, she does well in school with little work on my part. I’m sure if I read to her more often she would EXCEL.
Taylor LOVES to play! And her favorite person to play with is probably Karianna, my office assistant and our babysitter. Taylor asks every day if Karianna is comingover. If the answer is yes, Taylor asks if she has to work or can she play. If I say she has to work, Taylor asks if I can go away so Karianna can play.
I love Taylor and am so grateful for the things she teaches me. I am thankful for her cute little grins and her big hugs and kisses. I am grateful that she still wants me to carry her, snuggle with her at night and hold her hand when she sleeps. I cherish these moments, because I know they won’t last forever! 
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Busy, Busy, Busy!
I was getting so close to catching up on my blog ... but BUSY, BUSY, BUSY hit again.
It is year end for Mary Kay at the end of June so a lot of my clients are working extra hard to finish up their goals and contests. I usually offer some extra mailers to help them. This year, I'm just doing one because I just didn't get organized to do others. When I offer these mailers, I typically do 100-300 of them total. This one, I've already done almost 500 and I've still got 4 more clients to do them for. My printers ran for hours yesterday printing the flyers and envelopes and then I stuffed them all, sealed them and now my girls are slowly putting stamps on them. They love to help and I love that it gives them a chance to earn some extra money. I hope they are learning a little work ethic in it, but I think they just have fun doing it and like to help!
Year end for me also means time to create all new mailers for my clients for the next year, change prices (if necessary - which it is this year due to several of my costs going up), send samples to all my clients and announce anything new I'm offering. I've got a lot of work to do to make it happen, but I think I'm going to add an option to mail in Spanish! I also need to work on offering extra mailers quarterly. A lot of clients want them and are starting to use other companies for it. That's the last thing I want, so I've got to get on top of it. Its going to be a busy next couple of weeks to get it all done! I always see a lot of my clients evaluating the work that I do for them - some add more for me to do, others pull back or quit. Traditionally, I also add quite a few new clients this time of year too, so here's hoping the economy doesn't hurt that too much.
On another front ... GREAT NEWS!! The carpet padding has been replaced downstairs so we're one step closer to putting that area back together! Now we just have to wait on the drywall to be fixed and the insulation to be put back in... hopefully soon!!
It is year end for Mary Kay at the end of June so a lot of my clients are working extra hard to finish up their goals and contests. I usually offer some extra mailers to help them. This year, I'm just doing one because I just didn't get organized to do others. When I offer these mailers, I typically do 100-300 of them total. This one, I've already done almost 500 and I've still got 4 more clients to do them for. My printers ran for hours yesterday printing the flyers and envelopes and then I stuffed them all, sealed them and now my girls are slowly putting stamps on them. They love to help and I love that it gives them a chance to earn some extra money. I hope they are learning a little work ethic in it, but I think they just have fun doing it and like to help!
Year end for me also means time to create all new mailers for my clients for the next year, change prices (if necessary - which it is this year due to several of my costs going up), send samples to all my clients and announce anything new I'm offering. I've got a lot of work to do to make it happen, but I think I'm going to add an option to mail in Spanish! I also need to work on offering extra mailers quarterly. A lot of clients want them and are starting to use other companies for it. That's the last thing I want, so I've got to get on top of it. Its going to be a busy next couple of weeks to get it all done! I always see a lot of my clients evaluating the work that I do for them - some add more for me to do, others pull back or quit. Traditionally, I also add quite a few new clients this time of year too, so here's hoping the economy doesn't hurt that too much.
On another front ... GREAT NEWS!! The carpet padding has been replaced downstairs so we're one step closer to putting that area back together! Now we just have to wait on the drywall to be fixed and the insulation to be put back in... hopefully soon!!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Last Day of School
Unfortunately, my pictures are missing from the Last Day of School! ARGH!! I can't figure out what I did with them. So, this post will just be stories...
Start out with Taylor the night before the last day of school. Imagine, Taylor melting down, sobbing about having to go to school the next day. I talked to her for quite awhile before I got out of her that she didn't want it to be the last day of school because she didn't want to go to 1st grade. NERVOUS!! ANXIOUS!! She doesn't handle change well. I agred that she didn't have to go and she settled right down. The next morning, Alyssa tried to convince her to go and Taylor was still set against it. There was nothing I could say or do to convincer her to choose to go to school. I probably could have FORCED her to go but it wouldn't have been happy and since school is only 90 minutes the lsat day, I didn't really care if she missed it. I called her teacher and she agreed it wasn't a big deal. She also mentioned that Taylor had been really quiet and a little nervous all week ... hmmmm too much change for her! All of the extra year end activities had disrupted that for her causing intense anxiety. Taylor is my child who loves a schedule and knowing when and what is going on. I hope that she can overcome that and deal with change. That's my job with her - help her learn to deal with change without freaking out.
Then you go with Alyssa's morning. After unsuccessfully trying to convince Taylor to go to school, Alyssa left (very frustrated that Taylor didn't want to go). Tay, Jess and I got ready to go to the school to take the annual year end pictures. First we went to Alyssa's class where they were playing a final game. They were in a circle and rec iting a poem. The person with the sunglasses then had to say something nice about the person on their right. I got there just before it was Alyssa's turn. The person sitting beside her was none other than her least favorite person in the class, Jacob. I was intrigued to see what he'd come up with about her. I even wondered if her teacher had arranged the seating arrangements. She's quite aware of the conflict between them and at the field trip she took some pictures of him with my camera and suggested a scrapbook page about it. So, what did he say? Her shirt ... he said he liked her shirt. It was all I could do not to just crack up laughing! We took a few pics and then went to Taylor's class where she refused to sit with her friends or even leave my side. As the kids were lining up to leave, she did pick up her final papers from her teacher and then agree to take a picture with one of her friends. She was NOT about to let me leave her though.
As we headed out, I had a thought ... introduce her to her teacher for next year. I took Alyssa, Jessica and the rest of the carpool kids to the van and then Taylor and I went back inside. We went to Miss Crowton's classroom. After talking to several people and interacting with the 1st grade teachers, I've decided to request Miss Crowton for Taylor. Because of Taylor's speech and other issues, she has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Students with an IEP require extra effort and time from the teacher for the students to succeed. Also, many of them see more success with one teacher than they would with another because of their needs and personality of both of them. That's Taylor! She needs to be comfortable. So on that last day of school, I decided to test it out. I took her to Miss Crowton's class and asked Miss Crowton if she would meet Taylor because I was requesting her for the next year. She readily agreed to it. She knelt down and asked Taylor what her name is. Taylor actually spoke up and told her ... which is a surprise for shy Tay! We talked for a few minutes about being in her class and then I asked if Tay would take a picture with Miss Crowton. Tay said yes, and slid right up next to Miss Crowton and even smiled for the picture - without her nervous look! Miss Crowton asked if she was excited to be in 1st grade and Taylor even nodded and said yes - although a little unsure. HUGE SUCCESS! It reaffirmed my decision to request Miss Crowton. Now some of you may be thinking but what if you don't get her ... with an IEP, I have some extra rights and get to be a little more involved in decisions regarding Taylor's education. :) Unless the principal, speech therapist and IEP coordinator can come up with an educational benefit for Taylor to be in another class, she will have Miss Crowton. I really wish I still had my pics from this day! I had planned to print the picture of Taylor and Miss Crowton and hang it where Taylor would see it regularly just to reaffirm how much fun she'll have in 1st grade and help her adapt to being more comfortable with the change! Grrrrr... I try to help her make the change easier and I lose my pictures.
Start out with Taylor the night before the last day of school. Imagine, Taylor melting down, sobbing about having to go to school the next day. I talked to her for quite awhile before I got out of her that she didn't want it to be the last day of school because she didn't want to go to 1st grade. NERVOUS!! ANXIOUS!! She doesn't handle change well. I agred that she didn't have to go and she settled right down. The next morning, Alyssa tried to convince her to go and Taylor was still set against it. There was nothing I could say or do to convincer her to choose to go to school. I probably could have FORCED her to go but it wouldn't have been happy and since school is only 90 minutes the lsat day, I didn't really care if she missed it. I called her teacher and she agreed it wasn't a big deal. She also mentioned that Taylor had been really quiet and a little nervous all week ... hmmmm too much change for her! All of the extra year end activities had disrupted that for her causing intense anxiety. Taylor is my child who loves a schedule and knowing when and what is going on. I hope that she can overcome that and deal with change. That's my job with her - help her learn to deal with change without freaking out.
Then you go with Alyssa's morning. After unsuccessfully trying to convince Taylor to go to school, Alyssa left (very frustrated that Taylor didn't want to go). Tay, Jess and I got ready to go to the school to take the annual year end pictures. First we went to Alyssa's class where they were playing a final game. They were in a circle and rec iting a poem. The person with the sunglasses then had to say something nice about the person on their right. I got there just before it was Alyssa's turn. The person sitting beside her was none other than her least favorite person in the class, Jacob. I was intrigued to see what he'd come up with about her. I even wondered if her teacher had arranged the seating arrangements. She's quite aware of the conflict between them and at the field trip she took some pictures of him with my camera and suggested a scrapbook page about it. So, what did he say? Her shirt ... he said he liked her shirt. It was all I could do not to just crack up laughing! We took a few pics and then went to Taylor's class where she refused to sit with her friends or even leave my side. As the kids were lining up to leave, she did pick up her final papers from her teacher and then agree to take a picture with one of her friends. She was NOT about to let me leave her though.
As we headed out, I had a thought ... introduce her to her teacher for next year. I took Alyssa, Jessica and the rest of the carpool kids to the van and then Taylor and I went back inside. We went to Miss Crowton's classroom. After talking to several people and interacting with the 1st grade teachers, I've decided to request Miss Crowton for Taylor. Because of Taylor's speech and other issues, she has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Students with an IEP require extra effort and time from the teacher for the students to succeed. Also, many of them see more success with one teacher than they would with another because of their needs and personality of both of them. That's Taylor! She needs to be comfortable. So on that last day of school, I decided to test it out. I took her to Miss Crowton's class and asked Miss Crowton if she would meet Taylor because I was requesting her for the next year. She readily agreed to it. She knelt down and asked Taylor what her name is. Taylor actually spoke up and told her ... which is a surprise for shy Tay! We talked for a few minutes about being in her class and then I asked if Tay would take a picture with Miss Crowton. Tay said yes, and slid right up next to Miss Crowton and even smiled for the picture - without her nervous look! Miss Crowton asked if she was excited to be in 1st grade and Taylor even nodded and said yes - although a little unsure. HUGE SUCCESS! It reaffirmed my decision to request Miss Crowton. Now some of you may be thinking but what if you don't get her ... with an IEP, I have some extra rights and get to be a little more involved in decisions regarding Taylor's education. :) Unless the principal, speech therapist and IEP coordinator can come up with an educational benefit for Taylor to be in another class, she will have Miss Crowton. I really wish I still had my pics from this day! I had planned to print the picture of Taylor and Miss Crowton and hang it where Taylor would see it regularly just to reaffirm how much fun she'll have in 1st grade and help her adapt to being more comfortable with the change! Grrrrr... I try to help her make the change easier and I lose my pictures.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Flood update!
Wahoo!! When I sit here blogging this entry ... its quiet. TOTALLY QUIET in my house. The little girls are playing at a friend's house. Alyssa is drawing in her room. And ... there are NO FANS or NOISY equipment to remind me of the flooding mess from the weekend. The last of the noisy fans and equipment are officially gone. The guys that came over the weekend were the ones to come back and pick up the last stuff. I feel very lucky that we caught the water when Steve did and that we had as little damage as we did. The guys were telling me that they had 7 calls last night from all the rain we've been having - flooded basements everywhere. Some of them had as much as 4 or 5 feet (clear up to 9 feet) of standing water in their basements!! EVERYTHING destroyed. And many days and LOTS of fans ahead of them to get things dry! 2 days with 7 fans, plus 3 more of the extraction mats is not so bad! I'm glad we have only small patches of drywall to be fixed, 38 sq ft of carpet padding and some insulation! Thanks Utah Disaster Kleenup for taking care of us - great service!! I'd recommend them to ANYONE with water problems!
Side note, I've done a lot of blogging today so keep scrolling for lots more. I'm determined to get caught up soon! I hate being so far behind. Keep reading! Hope all of you are having a happy day!! I am! Have a great weekend everyone!
Side note, I've done a lot of blogging today so keep scrolling for lots more. I'm determined to get caught up soon! I hate being so far behind. Keep reading! Hope all of you are having a happy day!! I am! Have a great weekend everyone!
Dance, Dance, Dance ... Festival
The kids love dance festival day ... not sure the teachers all do. :) Its fun to see them dancing though. Alyssa's grade did their dance to the Mexican Hat Dance music. She LOVED her dance this year ... but at least a small part of that was because of her partner. The teacher lined the girls up alphabetically by first name (Alyssa was of course first in her class). Then she lined the boys up alphabetically by last name. The boy she has a crush on (Isaac - mentioned in the field trip post) has a last name that starts with a B ... and nobody else has one that comes before him. SO, they were partners. Alyssa LOVED that!! Here's a few pics (Alyssa is in a brown shirt).
She and Isaac both really seemed to have a good time with the dance. We were a little worried when he was sick the day before!
They were asked to wear a long flowing skirt with bright colors if possible. Alyssa doesn't have a skirt that matches that description, so she decided she wanted to wear one of mine. I thought she was nuts, but we tried it and with some safety pins creating extra tucks in the skirt, it actually worked well.
My parents went to NC and Ohio for 2 weeks. They got back the day before the dance festival so Jessica was QUITE content to be held by grandpa during the dances! She and Taylor begged to go home with them after the dancing was done too! Grandma, of course, complied.
Taylor's grade did a Hawaiian dance. There were several pieces of music but of course the Hookie Lau was one of them. Taylor has a big purple flower in her hair and a blue wrap on (not the blue and white dress though). She had lots of fun!
Back in the classroom after the dancing, Taylor poses with her teacher Mrs. Scoville who lived in Hawaii for many years, if I remember right when she was growing up and in college and when she met her husband who was also living there. 
She and Isaac both really seemed to have a good time with the dance. We were a little worried when he was sick the day before!
They were asked to wear a long flowing skirt with bright colors if possible. Alyssa doesn't have a skirt that matches that description, so she decided she wanted to wear one of mine. I thought she was nuts, but we tried it and with some safety pins creating extra tucks in the skirt, it actually worked well.
My parents went to NC and Ohio for 2 weeks. They got back the day before the dance festival so Jessica was QUITE content to be held by grandpa during the dances! She and Taylor begged to go home with them after the dancing was done too! Grandma, of course, complied.
Taylor's grade did a Hawaiian dance. There were several pieces of music but of course the Hookie Lau was one of them. Taylor has a big purple flower in her hair and a blue wrap on (not the blue and white dress though). She had lots of fun!
Back in the classroom after the dancing, Taylor poses with her teacher Mrs. Scoville who lived in Hawaii for many years, if I remember right when she was growing up and in college and when she met her husband who was also living there. 
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