Bing Blog

Hair

2012-01-22T22:08:00.003-07:00

It's time for a more light-hearted post.

Molly's hair is so thin and so fine I'm not sure what to do with it. I've tried to curl it with a curling iron before, but "hot mamma," "hot mamma," "hoooooooot mamma" prevails and she won't let me use it (or get it within 5 inches of her head). This is our second attempt at spongey curlers. Our church isn't until 1:00 p.m. now, so that gives us a few hours between bath time and church time to experiment. During the first attempt I had 1 in before it got pulled out and I never could get it back in. Today she left them in for probably 45 minutes . . . sort of. It was more like she

pulled them out and I put them back in for that long. The effect was pretty good. There was a little bit of curl. But alas, it only lasted a short time and by the time the bus left for church it was straight as straight again.

Oh well. Maybe next week.

We try pig tails every once in a while. We try pretty bows. Mostly, though it just gets parted to the side with a barrette. It's probably time to trim her bangs again, too, but that has potential for great adventure. We both have to be in just the right mood to do it.

If anyone out there has any hints on how to comb little girl hair, I'm open for suggestions (especially suggestions that survive car seats and rolling on the floor).

Political Rant

2012-01-19T20:47:00.005-07:00

Politics make my blood pressure rise like bad basketball does. This really irritated me today, so it goes on the blog. Topic: Mitt Romney. Reason: He's a Mormon, so I'm supposed to believe he is honest, has integrity, is a good member of the Church and should have my automatic vote, right? Wrong. I don't like the guy. If he were in my ward, I'd think he was a pretentious weirdo who I wouldn't want anything to do with.

Watch this video. It is supposedly from a campaign stop in South Carolina. Here is the text if you'd like to follow along.

MAN: “What will you do to support the 99 percent seeing as how you are part of the one percent?”

ROMNEY: “Let me tell you something. America is a great nation because we’re united. And those who’re trying to divide the nation, as you’re trying to do here and as our president’s doing, are hurting this country seriously. The right course for America is not to divide America and try to divide us between one and another; it’s to come together as a nation. And if you’ve got a better model – if you think China’s better, or Russia’s better, or Cuba’s better, or North Korea’s better – I’m glad to hear all about it. America’s right and you’re wrong.”

Ok, now here is my political rant:

1) I think this may have been staged to make Mitt look like "Mr.-Patriotic-America-is-the-Greatest-and-as-President-I-will-not-waiver-from-that-ideal."

2) I think that perhaps the clip is taken out of context and there was more to what the man in the crowd said than was put on the video.

3) Maybe it wasn't staged. Maybe this is another example of Mitt pitching a fit. (Do you remember the Olympics traffic debacle? ) If so, here are my talking points:

A) In true politician style, he refuses to actually answer the man's question.

B) I'm not into the whole "We are the 99% thing," and as much as the Warren Buffet/Obama plan to have the wealthy in American be taxed higher to bail out our failing economy, sounded like an alright idea, I don't see anything wrong with wealthy people in the U.S. keeping their own money and doing what they please with it. I would hope that most extremely wealthy people would find ways to be generous and give back, but I don't think it should be a government mandate to do so. With that said, though, a person running for public office with intent to represent 100% of the population, should try to be a bit more understanding and sincere about helping those unlike himself.

C) We live in a nation where we have a protected right to question our government and challenge what we don't think is good and fair. If you don't respect that, can't answer a question that challenges your own beliefs, or look at both sides of an issue, you shouldn't be holding a public office. Since when does questioning your political leaders (or potential political leaders) make you un-American and make you "wrong."

D) Who is voting for this guy? He is so far removed from any sort of normal life. He's born to American aristocracy and has been groomed to be a politician. What does he know about "average" people? It's an honest question, "How are you going to help the people of the United States who aren't as well -off as you?"

E) Finally, for anyone who is still reading this, what in the world was Mr. Romney doing dropping the names of current and former communist countries? He's saying, "you better not challenge me or you must be a communist?" Duh! What is your problem. "I'm right. You're wrong. I'm 10 and going home to tell my mom that you don't like me." He was simply rude. He said flat out that the person was wrong and his opinion was not worth listening to. Who wants to be led by someone like that?

This is the problem with our country today. Any decent, smart, rational person who might actually have the ideas and know-how to get things done in our country is too decent, smart, and rational to get within 10 feet of politics, political offices, or guys like Mitt Romney.

Nice Mormon guy? Sure. Future president? I hope not.

Midnight Ramblings

2012-01-19T03:05:00.001-07:00

It's late. It's a school night. My eyes are tired, but my brain is still going. Here is a little bit of today:

Just checked the paper and Willie got his actual name in an article in the Deseret News:
"Heath scored the Vikings' first four points in the third overtime, giving them an 81-80 lead with 1:01 remaining, but Hunter tied at the other end as Willie Petersen hit 1-of-2 free throws with 45 seconds left." It's not a great article, but it's still cool! There are no pictures, though, and they had their chances, but lost in triple overtime, so that's a bummer, but we'll go try it again on Friday. Oh, and the Viewmont team . . . at least 3 players had super ugly full-blown mullets. What are they thinking in Davis County?
Molly was a disaster by the end of the game. Triple overtime gets you pretty late in the night for a little girl. She was disgustingly dirty and stinky (the 3rd OT didn't sit well with her tummy, I guess, and rolling all over the bleachers can't be good either) so in her tired state, I made her have a quick bath and then she was off to bed.
James is sick. He has tonsillitis and a sinus infection. We came home to him only half living. After I got Molly taken care of, I got James medicated and off to bed (up from the living room floor). He's already called in sick for tomorrow and with some mega antibiotics, hopefully he will be feeling better.
We were a little slower getting home tonight because I had a student in my room who is super smart and applying for lots of scholarships, but she doesn't have a computer at home. She stayed after to use a laptop in my room and work on a few things. I wish her luck. We also stopped at the grocery store to get some things for James and then a trip through the drive-up at Wendy's for dinner. Oh, and it's snowing and the MHS boys basketball team was playing at Skyview tonight. I sure hope they make it home safe and sound.
I just read blogs. Some people whine a lot.
Molly is crying. I'm sure her binker fell out. Back in a minute . . .Ok, I'm back.
Mr. Custodian, Wes, today asked me "Are you sick of Obama, yet?" Apparently there was some type of oil pipeline legislation today that he didn't sign? I just said, "Hmmmm. That's interesting. I am definitely getting sick of all these Republicans trying to run against him." I didn't tell Wes that I like nature and if I bought a new car today it would probably be a Prius. I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed with President Obama and I wish he would have been able to do more of the things he campaigned for. The "hope" has definitely dwindled, but I don't want to see Pitch-A-Fit Mitt Romney in the White House either. With that said, though, does it show the progressive nature of our country if the 2012 election is between a black man and a mormon? Who'd a ever thunk that 100 years ago or even 50 years ago. Go figure.
How about sports? Coach Krystkowiak kicked Jiggy Watkins off the Utes team today. He's their leading scorer and probably leading turnover-er. I don't know what he's done, but I think I applaud a coach for having the guts to do that. Maybe there is some hope for the future of Utah basketball. We'll have to wait and see.
That's probably enough. I just yawned. It's late. I need to get up early. Good night.

Oh Boy!

2012-01-16T19:27:00.005-07:00

James and I went to our halfway-point ultra sound today. And . . . . definite boy parts were seen. Above you see a cute little foot and below you see it a tightly clenched fist. "See this," he says.

I was positive Molly was girl. I wasn't positive, but I was pretty sure this one was, too. I was disappointed for a second today, but not really. I think I was more disappointed by the fact that I had guessed wrong than by the fact that he is actually a boy. James said afterwards that he was pretty sure this one was a boy, but just didn't want to say anything.

Everything looks fine. All other major organs and body parts seem to be in tact and functioning. We scheduled another ultrasound for 6 weeks from now just to make sure all other things are fine and dandy.

The only weird thing about today was that when we found out Molly was a girl, I got really nervous. Having only been exposed to boy babies (partially responsible for a little brother and then occasionally tending my nephews), I had the thought, "I don't know what to do with a girl." However, today after realizing that now I'm going to be fully responsible for a boy, I had the thought, "I have no idea what to do with a boy." Oh well. We'll figure it out, I guess.

Last thing . . .

Tonight, while in the bathtub, I looked Molly in the eyes and said, "Molly, you're going to have a little brother. You need to be nice to him and you need to be friends with him. No bossing him around." She gave me this crazy grit-your-teeth grin that could have meant, "Sure mom, that's what you think." Or, it more likely meant, "Hi mom, I love you but have absolutely no idea what you are telling me!"

That's all for today. Happy Martin Luther King Day!

It ended up being a good day!

2012-01-11T20:40:00.002-07:00

Today started out ok, but by this afternoon it was getting pretty rough. I literally had students in my room taking tests all day. That should have been a breeze of a day for me (and yes, I did get caught up on quite of bit of end of term grading and other stuff), but it was tough. Mainly it was difficult because my SLCC 1010 kids get 2 hours to take the final, Wednesday is a short day, and we were trying to fit 2 hours into an hour and 16 minute class period. Yikes. Fourth period stayed in for lunch. Sixth period came in during lunch. Students had to sit on extra chairs I'd borrowed from the library until desks became available. They were all super stressed. It was tense and crowded. Including my TEAM (advisory) class, I taught five classes in a row and through lunch. I did have another teacher come in and ask me a question at one point. While she was there, I asked her to stay so I could run to the bathroom. It was crazy.

I don't know if it was the lack of food, or the lack of fresh oxygen, or the fact that I had a few extreme disappointments after grading the day's worth of tests, but by the time this afternoon rolled around I thought I might die. My head was throbbing (probably because I hadn't had a Coke since Saturday). I felt dizzy and nauseous (probably because I didn't eat lunch and my head was throbbing). I wasn't sure if Molly and I were going to make it home. We did. I crashed on the couch for a half hour while Molly screamed at James and then I finally started to feel better. Phew!

But, it ended up being a pretty good day. Why?

The term is just about over and I have Friday and Monday off!
James fixed most of our dinner. We had breakfast and between the 3 of us we ate an entire pound of real burned bacon. Delicious!
I got a message that I sold a third used book on Amazon in about a week. These books having been sitting on my seller list for months. I'm not making more than a few bucks on each, but at least some boring books off my shelf are going to a better home.
Molly finally stopped screaming and was super funny in the bathtub. She was copying everything I did except animal sounds. Every animal I asked her, "What does a ____ say?," she panted like a puppy and then giggled at me.

And then the best news of all . . . GUSTER IS COMING TO SALT LAKE and to top that they are playing an all acoustic show with some type of string ensemble. Amazing! I am so excited. When I e-mailed my sister to make sure she read the news, she said, "Yes. I saw this and cheered. I am in!" Woo Hoo!!!!

Guster can make any day bright!

This little girl . . .

2012-01-09T20:46:00.006-07:00

This little girl is mine.

She is my most favorite little girl in the whole world.

Today when I picked her up from school, one of her teachers told me this story. Molly and Emily (Emily and Molly are often confused by other people. Emily is a month or two older than Molly. They are both about the same size, have blonde hair, about the same length and cut, but otherwise look nothing alike.) were both sitting at the table eating their snack. Emily threw her cup of milk on the floor. She started whining for it back and Miss Sarah said, "No, Emily, you need to say, 'Help, please'." Emily continued to whine about her milk and Miss Sarah wouldn't give in, repeating, "Emily, you need to say, 'Help, please'." Finally, Molly, surveying the situation, threw her milk on the ground and promptly said, "Help, please. Help, please. Help, please." Good girl, Molly! (Ok, so maybe you shouldn't throw your milk on the ground, but at least you followed directions well.)

Also, Miss Sarah said they've been working more on sign language with the little kids. I know Molly knows "more," but that's all I've ever seen. Sarah said she also knows Please, Help, Milk, Cheese, and a few others. I've been trying to get Molly to do them tonight, but she just says all those words instead of signing them. I'm okay with that.

She's also been pretty good about going to school since we started back in January. She's whimpered a few times, but hasn't screamed at me yet. She's even waved and said, "Bye mama" a few times. It's a huge relief to not have to leave a screaming child every morning. It takes her a few minutes (it's not like she's running away from me in excitement), but usually she can find something fun to do (look at "Sal" the salamander, do the Chicken Dance, play with play-doh, put chairs around the tables) and is pretty good in a few minutes.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-07T16:31:00.003-07:00

I need to take a chill pill. I was told this by my sister yesterday. She said I was a super grump and was rude. I was kind of mad, but she may be right. Last night I sort of freaked out at a Hunter basketball game. I hate cheap shots that refs don't call, but I probably shouldn't have screamed. I hope no one has a video because I don't really want to see it. Today, we were at a Utes game and I told James he needed to unzip his coat a little. My mom told me to stop being so bossy. I'll try. I guess I'm just a little on edge. I don't like new years resolutions. They are dumb. If you're going to change a behavior, just try to change it. Don't wait until January. Perhaps, though, I should set a goal. Being more patient and less ornery is my goal for the near future. Sigh.

I think I am a very patient, understanding, and nice to the point of being a total pushover at school. I must run out of patient energy by the time I get home. However, with that said, I guess I'm even a bit difficult at school lately. I sent an e-mail to a colleague the other day. I didn't think it was rude, but I was sternly asking for some clarification because he continually forgets to inform me of things going on and then I'm left in the dark. Another teacher e-mailed me back with some of the information I had requested. I spoke with her later that day and said thanks for the e-mail. I also said, "I e-mailed [so and so], but he never responded." She said, "Ya, he came to me and told me to send you the things you needed because he thinks you are mad at him."

Ok. I give up. I'll try to improve.

Phew!

2011-12-31T00:00:00.003-07:00

We survived!

It's 11:59 on New Year's Eve Eve. The wind has been blowing so hard for the last 45 minutes that I thought my house might actually blow over. Since moving to this frozen tundra (which is just a slightly higher elevation than the rest of the world around us), I have realized that our weather is a bit more extreme.

When everyone else has had dead ugly grass, we have still had snow on our grass. It only melted just within the last 2 days since the record 50 degree December heat wave we've had. During the last few cold weeks, we've had frost that is so frozen to our driveway in the mornings that when we get home from work, our tracks are still there.

The wind was so bad I was watching our light pole out Molly's window and it was waving back and forth. Our neighbors Christmas blow up lawn decorations must be staked in with cement because they were whipping around like those freaky blowy things you see at gas stations, shaved ice stands, and used car sales.

James and Molly are both sound asleep and I just finished watching "Midnight in Paris" by myself. James and I attempted to watch it a week ago and both fell asleep in the middle of it. It was interesting. I liked seeing the sights of Paris. It was definitely a weird artsy Woody Allen movie and I'm not sure what the point was, but at least it didn't put me to sleep this time.

. . . and at least the wind stopped blowing and now I know my house won't blow over in case of a hurricane.

Update: It's now 12:10 a.m. and I just went and checked out Molly's window again. It's sad to say, but the blow up lawn decorations at the neighbors are nowhere to be seen. It's possible that the neighbors came outside and rescued them in the last 15 minutes, but I think they may have perished. May they rest in peace. They fought a good fight.

Let's just go ahead and make this the last post of the year, shall we?

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year #5

2011-12-26T21:35:00.007-07:00

Christmas is coming the goose is getting fat . . . . Christmas is over and we didn't eat a goose, but we do an excellent job of eating everything else and therefore are probably more fat than we were a month ago.

Anyway . . . Here are the final Christmas season highlights.

On Monday, December 12th, we had are Petersen-Howden-Binggeli Christmas Party. We went to the new Brick Oven restaurant in North Provo (aka South Jordan) and then traveled to midtown Provo (Thanksgiving Point) to see the drive-thru lights display. The little kiddies all piled in my mom's truckster and the 4 big boring married ones piled in Annie's car. We later returned to North Provo (Annie's house) for hot chocolate and cookies. It was a fun night! (picture stolen from Annie)

On December 17th, two family parties overlapped on the same evening. Our annual
Petersen family was at my aunt Karen's this year and our annual Huber Progressive Party was also the same night at my Aunt Jackie's and my Uncle Dee's. The Petersen Party was great! Karen fixed us french dip sandwiches, we made wooden block ornament crafts, and everyone generously handed out gifts to be opened on Christmas (since we aren't all able to make to to Christmas breakfast anymore). When that party ended, Molly was hanging in there ok (and wanted to ride in my mom's truckster) so we headed to my Uncle Dee's for the tail end of the Huber party. We tasted the remains of Chloe's authentic lasagna recipe from Italy, bruschetta, and other yummy things. It was a good night.
On Christmas Eve we had our traditional turkey feast, nativity program, and sing along at my Grandpa Huber's house (photo stolen from Natalie). Annie and Ross added beef to this year's menu and it was delicious. It was a little sad to not have my grandma there. Ok, it was a lot sad (not the party, it was fun, but just the whole season). I've had several melt-downs during the last month (perhaps enhanced by my condition mentioned in the post prior to this). I miss her. I think I have defined Christmas by her presence (and presents, since I've helped with that end for many a years). Usually during the month of December I spend hours and hours at my Grandma's helping with Christmas preparations. My time has been shortened a bit since being married and then adding Molly, but this year I really felt left out without that extra responsibility. Christmas consumed my Grandma from August to December and as much as my Grandpa tried to keep it all the same . . . I just miss her . . . . but I'll move on because the screen is blurry and my nose is running.

On Christmas Day we woke Molly up to play with all the cool things Santa Claus brought her, then we headed to 9:00 a.m. church with my mom, dad, and Willie. Molly wore a pretty Christmas dress with black shiny shoes. Next, we went to my parent's house for gifts and breakfast/brunch. Annie and her family came. James spent much of the time we were there Skyping with all of his family. Technology is pretty cool! He can talk to Germany, Kuwait, North Carolina, Idaho, Garland, and West Valley all at the same time (and with video). We at way too much! It was a great morning.

We then made a quick pit stop home to get out some rolls to thaw for our dinner later and to let Molly have a little bit longer nap in the car.

Next, we headed back to Grandpa Huber's for a brief visit. He had cards for everyone, socks, Sam's Club items, and gifts for the smallest kids (Molly included). Molly and I ate a few chips and dip while James loaded our car and then we went back home.

The Binggeli's were waiting for us when we got there. We visited, opened gifts, and then I fixed dinner. We topped it off with hot chocolate and a fruit cake type thing that Jason had sent from Germany to be eaten on Christmas. We had a great evening and Molly was an angel. Grandma and Grandpa Binggeli gave her a baby doll with a baby stroller and she pushed it all over the house all night long.

All in all we had a very nice Christmas. I think we were able to visit with just about everyone this holiday season. We love having our families around. It's a fun time of year. I'm always a little bummed when Christmas is over, but it really is my favorite time of year.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Cat's Out of the Bag

2011-12-26T21:13:00.005-07:00

I don't particularly care for cats. Actually, I don't like cats at all. They make me sneeze. They are sneaky and always look guilty.

Anyway (to continue with the metaphor) I wasn't intentionally keeping the cat in the bag. I was just avoiding conversation about the cat and the bag all together. Why? Because I'm Haley and there are just certain topics I would rather not talk about . . . cats in bags being one of them.

We only needed to let a few people know about the cat in the bag and then they were free to tell whomever else they'd like. The news just pretty much took care of itself. I think most of my family knows now and James' as well, but after receiving a text from my friend Emily tonight (after she read a particular line in my mom's blog) I decided to make an official post on this here blog (for the 2.78 of you who read this and aren't related to me and don't already know).

So to finally release the dreaded feline and let it out of it's paper or plastic compartment . . . .

James and I are having a baby in June. The due date is June 8th. We won't have an ultrasound for a couple of weeks still and so we don't know details about heart, lungs, gender, etc. As far as the preliminary doctor visits go, everything looks fine and dandy. My bets are on another girl if either of my Grandma's have anything to do with it, but James' family, I'm sure, would like to add another boy to the grandchild lineup. Molly has been told about the arrival of a sibling, but I don't think she has any idea what she's in for. Our office is still a mess and seems to be the catch-all room in our new house for everything that hasn't found a better home. I like the idea of having an "office" though, and don't have any intentions of turning it into a bedroom. I think Molly can share. James and I both shared rooms with siblings for parts of our lives and I think we survived ok. There isn't much else to say at this point.

That's the news from here and I don't think I will post again about cats anytime soon.

Basketball Update

2011-12-21T21:32:00.004-07:00

For whatever reason, the Hunter team keeps getting in the paper this year. There was an article about last night's Northridge loss (Salt Lake Tribune article) and then an article and pictures of last week's Skyline loss (Salt Lake Tribune articles and pictures). Here is a picture from the Skyline game.

The report: Hunter is now 5-3, which I think is pretty respectable considering their last year's season.

They lost to Juan Diego - off game, terrible officiating, short and ugly opponents, and mega coaching errors.
They lost to Skyline - good solid team who didn't miss a basket, cut a huge defecit to within 2, would have been a huge upset, but couldn't quite finish.
They lost to Northridge - totally cold, leading scorers not playing well, dark and stinky gym, several players out hurt and sick

Willie plays all of the JV game and gets substantial minutes in the varsity games. He is a very strong defensive player, a good rebounder, and has even hit a couple of 3's this season. He averages around 4 points per game in the varsity game, but you'll have to ask my dad what his rebounding average is. Willie's best game was 25 points in a JV against Cyprus.

The highlight of the season however, may have been tonight's halftime show. Mamma Judy got called down to shoot a free throw for a prize! She um . . . threw the ball . . . at the basket . . . about 3 feet short of the rim . . . . Good try mom! Unfortunately Annie had to leave early and didn't get the excitement on video. Oh well. Maybe it will happen again some time.

Go Hunter!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year #4

2011-12-21T21:26:00.003-07:00

Ahhhhhh . . . so much going on . . . . so much to do still . . . . .

Actually, we are doing ok. Molly and I ran some errands today except for 1 more strange item that James is in charge of finding, we are done with our shopping. Yesterday was the last day of school for me and Molly! Phew!!

After a week of extreme temper tantrums nearly every night (over who knows what), Molly has been an extra good girl lately. Today, she did unwrap a gift that was wrapped for my dad, but I think she'll be good about it from now on. When we first put our tree up, she kept taking ornaments off for only a day or less and then she hasn't bothered it. It's just that I'm barely getting around to wrapping anything and it was a new and exciting under the tree when she woke up from her nap. Oh well.

A few more days until Christmas . . . .

I think we will make it!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year #3

2011-12-14T22:37:00.005-07:00

Look Alike Christmas Contest

James has been sporting a new seasonal look and I can't decide which stop-motion animation Christmas character he is trying to be. What do you think? Yukon Cornelius or Kris Kringle

Most Wonderful Time of the Year #2

2011-12-14T22:26:00.003-07:00

Molly's School Program

Didn't participate last year because she was too small. Participation this year was limited to ringing jingle bells with her buddies Cael and Jude during "Gingerbread Rock." Excellent bell jingler. Terrified Santa lap sitter. Sticky candy cane eater. Next year will sing and have 1 line part with the bigger kids. Should be fun.

Most Wonderful Time of the Year #1

2011-12-14T22:14:00.002-07:00

Binggeli Family Christmas Party!

Hosted by Mary and LaRon this year. Food. Family. Bingo. White Elephants.

Loss tonight despite article in the paper.

2011-12-13T22:17:00.002-07:00

The Tribune has an article in the paper this week about last Friday's Hunter game. Hunter came back from a 17 point deficit at halftime to beat Herriman. It was another heart-attack type game, but very exciting and the kids acted like they won the NCAA championship, storming the court afterwards.

Unfortunately, they tried the the same tactic tonight against Skyline and got down by 13 at the half. The second half was much better played, but it was too little too late for the Wolverines and they lost to Skyline by 4. Oh well. Anyway, my little brother's picture was in the Tribune again.

Here's the article: http://www.tribpreps.com/sltrib/tribpreps/53099730-190/hunter-togiai-game-win.html.csp

Here's the picture:

10 x 10 = 100 things

2011-12-11T12:52:00.005-07:00

At the end of the first presidency message in December's Ensign, there is a challenge to write down 100 things you are grateful for, 10 things in 10 categories. Here it goes:

1.
Write 10 physical abilities you are grateful for (I extended this one to personal skills, since I don't necessarily have great physical ability).

I'm thankful to breath, walk, and move around to get thing things done that I need to.
I'm thankful that I have the stamina and energy to take care of Molly.
I'm thankful that I can teach school and be confident speaking to a group of people.
I'm thankful that I can play several instruments (thought they do collect quite a lot of dust).
I'm thankful that I have learned how to work hard.
I'm thankful that I can mow lawns and plant flowers.

2.
Write 10 material possessions you are grateful for.

My home
My trusty, dusty car
My piano
Plates, glasses, and silverware
Showers and toilets
Heating and air conditioning
Computers
Basketball
Clothes to wear
Diapers

3.
Write 10 living people you are grateful for.

Molly
James
My mom
Willie
My dad
My sister
My Grandpa
Elliott
Wyatt
Everybody else!

4.
Write 10 deceased people you are grateful for.

Grandma Huber
Grandma Petersen
Great Grandpa Eccles
Great Grandma Huber
Great Grandma Petersen
President Hinckley
Abraham Lincoln - without whom our country would not be our country
Thomas Jefferson - not because of who he was, but because of important words he wrote
WWII Veterans- just because they're cool
All other family members who I have never met, but shaped generations past and in turn have influence on me today

5.
Write 10 things about nature you are grateful for.

Trees
Autumn Leaves
Fluffy white clouds against a pretty blue sky
The Sun
The Moon
Mountains
Cool fall days that need sweaters
Rain
Snow
Spring/summer days in the 80's

6.
Write 10 things about today you are grateful for.

Opportunity to hear my Grandpa speak in Sacrament meeting
Opportunity to also hear my dad called on for impromptu testimony by in Sacrament meeting
Got to sit with a variety of family members in sacrament meeting
Molly ate all her breakfast
Molly is taking a nap
Christmas
Family
Christmas parties
School is almost out for Christmas break
Chance to record important things on this blog

7.
Write 10 places on earth you are grateful for.

My house
My mom's house
My grandparent's house
Disneyland
Yellowstone
Washington, D.C.
School
Places I haven't been but want to go
All other places I have been
The United States of America

8.
Write 10 modern inventions you are grateful for.

Computers and the Internet
Cell Phones
Indoor plumbing
Washing Machines
Dish washers
Department stores so I don't have to make my own clothes
The cheese grater
Fast food restaurants
Wrinkle resistant clothes so I don't have to iron
Antibiotics and Ibuprofen

9.
Write 10 foods you are grateful for.

Potatoes
Bread
Cheese
Potatoes
Cherry Coke
Cheesburgers
Bacon
Potatoes
Bread
Cheese

10.
Write 10 things about the gospel you are grateful for.

Jesus raised people from the dead even when they "stinkethed."
We can be reunited with our families members who have passed on as long as we live worthy.
We can be sealed to our family for eternity
The power of prayer
My patriarchal blessing
The opportunity to take the Sacrament each week
The Church gives us opportunities to serve others
The Church gives us opportunities to lead and work alongside others
I'm grateful for pioneers who established our Church long ago when it was a difficult thing to do. Now days it is easier to be a member of the Church. I would never have made it as a pioneer.
I'm grateful for living prophets who communicate with God and teach us what Thou would want us to know.

Failed Attempts for a Christmas Card Photo

2011-12-04T14:42:00.002-07:00

Albino

2011-12-02T09:12:00.005-07:00

Hunter basketball season opened up on Wednesday night at East. It was the most exciting Hunter basketball game I have ever seen. There are a handful of new players on the team this year and they brought some sweet skills, energy, and order to the court. It was great. Hunter was down most the game, but then pulled it out in the 4th quarter. Pretty Sweet!

East had quite the crazy cheering section with retro short gym shorts, body suits, and plenty of red to go around. They cheered very well in unison. Some of their comments were typical, "Aiiirball. Aiiirball." Some were not so sportsmanlike, "You Suck. You suck," And then this big blonde Hunter kid (who didn't start, but played substantial minutes, didn't score much, but was a huge presence on the court) got to the free throw line, "Albino. Albino. Albino." I thought it, too, was a bit unsportsmanlike . . . but nonetheless creative!

Way to go Hunter! Let's hope this was a start to a good season.

Here are some pictures courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune.

T'is the Season . . .

2011-11-30T12:33:00.004-07:00

... to be sick, I guess.

Molly is home sick today. She is, of course, just little, so I am home with her. James was super sick one day last week and had to miss a day of work. He was, as Ross would say, "selling the buick" in a variety of ways. Several of our family members on both sides have been sick, so I guess it is Molly's turn. I refuse to get sick myself and if I do . . . boy, is James in trouble!

Molly has had a bad cold, runny nose, and cough for the last week or so, but has been getting by okay. Yesterday when I picked her up from school she was in her extra set of clothes and on the board it said "bad bm blowout." Yikes. They said she seemed fine the rest of the day, so they didn't bother calling me. However, she had a similar experience last night and then woke up crying this morning, needing a change of clothes once again.

I raced into school this morning to get sub stuff together. James had an early appointment, so I just took Molly with me and her school was nice enough to take care of her for a half hour before my sub came. We stopped at the grocery story for some Pedialyte and fresh popsicles, but I'm having trouble getting her to eat or drink much. We'll keep trying. She gagged on some Ibuprofen and threw up once we were home, but is sleeping soundly now.

Hopefully she gets feeling better soon. It's tough to miss school and plan for a sub, but I guess it is kind of a blessing because at least while she is napping, I can get some schoolwork done and a few other things at home I needed to do.

And yes, if my mother or anyone else is wondering, I put a blanket back on top of her.

Thanksgiving by Molly

2011-11-25T18:10:00.007-07:00

My mom asked me to write a post about Thanksgiving. First, I was very glad to not go to school for a few days. I like just hanging out with my mom even if i don't act like it and I get frustrated at her sometimes. On our first day off, we ran a couple of errands and ate lunch with Uncle Willie. We were going to run some more errands, but I fell asleep in the car, so we just went home. Later in the afternoon we met my Grandma Petersen at Great Grandpa's house to set up for Thanksgiving for my Grandma's family. There were going to be a lot of people there on Thursday, so we had to set a lot of places. I helped move some of the spoons off of the table after my mom set them there and I helped by eating all the swedish fish.

On Thursday of the actual Thanksgiving, we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa Binggeli's for the day. I got to play with Morriah. She didn't let me out of her sight all day. We had a lot of fun, but once I did have to tell her "No," because I didn't want to hold her hand.

We ate dinner. I ate lots of mashed potatoes and even a little bit of turkey. We all talked to Aunt Alicia on Skype and I blew her a kiss. We frosted cookies and then the big people looked at adds for the rest of the day while I played.

Around 9:00 p.m. (I was so tired) we loaded in the car to go shopping before we went home. I fell asleep before we even turned the corner from Grandma and Grandpa's house, but I can still tell you what happened.

We went to Wal-mart in Logan. I don't know why. All my parents bought was a paper shredder and something they wouldn't let me see. It was so crowded. People were yelling. Grandma said she saw a lady get stepped on. I saw a worker yell at a bunch of people to "stop stepping on the merchandise." I don't know what that word means, but they probably weren't supposed to step on it. We lost dad and aunt Annie at different points and then I lost it and made my mom take me back to the car. We drove around the parking lot and I fell back asleep. I did get to play with this Elmo drummer thing for a while when we lost my dad. That was kind of fun.

We went to the Kohls parking lot next (it felt like 5 hours later, I think, but I was still asleep). Grandma, Annie, Dad, and Aunt Ina and Jalisa all met up there, but my mom stayed in the car with me. They weren't gone very long because they said the line wrapped clear behind the K-Mart next door. We left everyone there to shop the night away and told them bye and we headed for home (except that my mom did have to stop at a gas station to go to the bathroom and buy some licorice).

I was a perfect little girl and slept the whole way home, woke up for just a minute when we got in the house, but then went right back to sleep (my mom said it was around 2 in the morning but I don't even know what that means), and stayed asleep until after 8 in the morning.

On Friday morning, we talked to Grandma Petersen and she told us Uncle Willie went with Parker and Meranda to Target at midnight. They thought about buying dog food, but then only bought a scarf and socks. They definitely don't even have a dog. Uncle Willie said later that they also kept getting the super hot items like the Wii and carrying them to different parts of the store so the people who wanted to buy them couldn't find them. My mom said that sometimes they are stinkers.

We talked to Grandma Binggeli and they stayed in Logan all night long and didn't even get home until probably lunch time the next day. I think they forgot they were supposed to sleep during the night time. I bet they got lots of cool Christmas things, though.

That is my Thanksgiving story! I can't wait until I can tell a Christmas story. I've been practicing my Ho-Ho-Ho's and today my mom bought me a singing snow globe. It is my most favorite thing at the moment, except for the stickers I am putting on a piece of paper (and my forehead) right now while I sit on my mom's lap at the computer. She is helping me type this because I have a hard time with home row. We are watching my favorite videos, too. 1-2-3-4 Monster walking cross the floor . . . .

Molly Likes the Washing Machine.

2011-11-19T21:58:00.002-07:00

Molly seems to really like our new house. She likes the closets. She likes the big bathtub. She likes sitting on the counter and going through the silverware drawer. She likes to roll around on the carpet. She also really likes our new washing machine. It has a clear glass top and I will often sit her on it while I fold what's in the dryer. She likes it so much she puts her face right on the glass and watches it go round and round and round. She says, "Whoa." Yes, she's a little weird, but look at her parents.

What in the World?

2011-11-19T21:56:00.002-07:00

The other day, 2 of my students were laughing hysterically in my class. They were looking at something on the computer (definitely not working on their math homework). I went over to see what was up and they were looking at this. I have to admit. I laughed a little, too. I'm not quite sure what it is.

18 Months Report

2011-11-16T21:46:00.002-07:00

Yesterday Molly had her 18 month check up with Dr. Havlik. She cried. It was sad. As soon as she realized that we were there for more than just looking at the fish in the waiting room fish tank, she didn't want anything to do with it.

As soon as we entered the exam room, she started crying. She cried on the scale. She cried at the doctor. She cried at the nurse. She cried at her flu shot. She cried through her marshmallows that we took to try and make things better . . . . sigh.

The good news was that all of the tears and sniffles were actually relaxed enough that the doctor was able to do his exam and she sort of cooperated. She was not near as fiesty or "violent" as the ear doctor said she was a few weeks ago.

Here is the report:
Age: 18 months
Height: 32.5 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 24 pounds 3 ounces (49th percentile)
Head size: 17.9 inches (22nd percentile)

Overall she is healthy and doing well. If you notice her numbers, she is shrinking. Perhaps she is going to end up being less giant like her mom's family and more average like her dad's family. Either way we love her and will keep her.

The only interesting Dr. Havlik comment of note was, "Does she say any words?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
"Maybe 10."
"Well I was looking for 6, so tell her to slow down."
"Um . . . ok."

Since then, I've been trying to count the number of words that she can say. Here is the current list:
1-Mom, 2-Dad, 3-Molly, 4-Please, 5-Stuck, 6-Keys, 7-Shoes, 8-Yes, 9-No, 10-Bye-Bye, 11-Cheese, 12-More, 13-Hi . . . maybe a couple of others.

Now she doesn't have to go to the doctor until her 2 year old visit. Hopefully by then she will get over her paranoia of the doctor's office and realize it's not that bad. Although, I really can't stand going to the doctor's either. Maybe it is all my fault. Oh well.

Our House is a Very Fine House . . .

2011-11-12T20:22:00.007-07:00

We've been in our house for a whole month now and today I finally hung more than just clocks and 1 or 2 pictures on the walls. I even spent some money and purchased 1 new print to go above the stairs. I bought it at that fancy art store called Kohls.

The greatest feat of the day was not only hanging the pictures, but then moving all the boxes (tons) of extra frames and pictures downstairs. Their previous home had been in front of this railing. This is the first time we've actually seen the space in front of this railing and been able to vacuum the carpet there since we moved in. I might eventually decide to put a small table or something here (or maybe a Christmas tree) in the future, but right now I just like the fact that we got some of our floor back!

Additionally, we had our first house catasrophe yesterday (not really a catasrophe, but the first thing to break). One of the drawers/shelves on the inside of the refrigerator door just fell off. Luckily, none of the bottles inside it broke when they hit the ground, but the shelf thing cracked and it's plastic trim fell off. It's really not that big a deal, but the fridge is covered under warranty, so I called Lowe's today and they are going to send us a new part.

That last post was depressing . . .

2011-11-06T21:07:00.002-07:00

Life is good! I just looked at my last post and I need to write something new. Molly must have read it and has actually been a really good girl the last few days (not that she's ever bad, just more temperamental on some days than others).

What's going on lately?

Utah Basketball has begun! As bleak as it may seem at the moment, we are still excited. To celebrate, we went to the Rio Grande for dinner on Friday before the game. It was delicious! Molly even picked out the cheese in the middle of her "Sissy-dilla" and ate quite a few chips.
Hunter basketball is beginning soon, too!
On Thursday night, my mom is tending Molly while James and I go to "Hello Dolly" at my school. I have to admit that I've never seen this particular musical (it must have slipped past my mother somehow during my childhood) and I'm not real excited, but I have several seniors who are in it and I have not been supportive of an MHS musical yet. I need to go.
My aunt Cindy and cousin Meranda came to visit our new house yesterday and they helped us hang a few pictures . . . just a few because I'm not capable of making decisions like that, but it was very helpful.
On Saturday James tended Molly while I went to the UCTM Conference (Utah Council of Teachers of Mathematics). It was ok. One session I went to was really bad, but the rest was ok. In the bad one, the presenter referred to himself as an "old codger" several times. What is that? Is it like a badger?

There are lots of words on this post and no pictures, but at least it's a new post.
Here is a picture of a cute little curly-haired girl from the archives of 1 year ago!

Being a Mom is Hard

2011-11-01T22:31:00.005-06:00

I never thought that it wouldn't be hard, but it is hard in different ways than I would have thought . . . and I only have 1. How do people take care of more than one? How did James' mom take care of 6 or my grandma's with 5 or 8?

This little girl is plenty!

Some nights Molly goes to bed just fine. Other nights, like tonight, she screams hysterically forever . . . so I go get her. We sat and watched the end of Biggest Loser with James. She's fine. She's eating ice. I say, "Molly, it's time to go to bed." She says, "Bye, bye Dad" about 7 times, blows him kisses, lays her head on my shoulder and I think we're in business. NO!!!! She screams as soon as we hit her room and she screams for another 20 minutes before finally crashing. Ug. We're pretty routine. She seems to like her room. I don't get it. I hate having to just leave her in there crying, but if I go get her, it just starts all over again. Last night she went down fine and was out in about 2 minutes.
Earlier, we were watching a few of her favorite Sesame Street Youtube videos (her latest favorite is an Elvis Costello/Elmo one with Cookie Monster. She bounces and giggles.) She's totally relaxed and enjoying the songs. Meanwhile . . . OUCH! . . . she's pinching my hand as hard as she can. "Molly stop. That hurts. Molly, No!" Ug.
Earlier again, she got out of the bathtub and was on our bed while I was trying to get her diaper and pajamas on. She moved from one side of the bed to the other. She stayed as far away from me as she could. She would NOT cooperate. I had to call in the secret weapon, "James, can you come here?" She holds perfectly still for him and he gets her pajamas on in a few minutes. Ug.
Like going to bed, she sometimes is fine about being dropped off at school and other times she screams. Today, she was fine and was headed to show Miss Nancy some cool rocks she had found. I quietly stepped out the door out of her sight. As soon as I leave . . . SCREAM!!! They assure me she only cries for 30 seconds after I leave and then she's fine the rest of the day, but it totally puts a bummer on everything when I have to start my school day off by leaving a screaming baby to go teach obnoxious kids who could care less about what we are doing. Sigh.

To focus on the good . . . she really is pretty good most of the time. She's a perfect angel for her grandparents. Everyone at school loves her. She is trying to talk . . . please, cheese, keys, stuck, bye-bye, Momma, Dad, Molly, more, out, two, shoes, and a few others I'm probably forgetting. She has started to figure out how to color and that it can be pretty fun. Some new crayons and a notebook kept her entertained last Sacrament Meeting for a good 20-30 minutes. She loves candy, marshmallows, yogurt, hot dogs, and cheese. She gags on apples and any fruit in the yogurt. She memorizes everything and knows exactly where to go (in anyone's house or at school) to find what she wants. She's getting better at not getting drenched by drinking fountains. She loves to fill and empty containers. She tries to put any clothes on her legs like pants. She loves to try on other peoples' shoes. She is friendly and likes to say hi to people. She has perfected the art of blowing kisses, waving, and saying bye-bye to anyone and everything. Bye-bye water in the tub. Bye-bye bubbles in the tub. Bye-bye house. Bye-bye toys. . . . . except, of course, bye-bye mom. I just always have to sneak away or get cried at. Sigh.

Oh well. I'm not complaining. I'm just venting. I can't imagine anything without her . . . . she just screams so loud!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-30T21:15:00.004-06:00

Night before Halloween costume practice

Bows added to liven up the costume (and to make sure it's clear she's a girl monkey).

Will little opinionated girl inside the costume hate it, not cooperate, and not wear it?

Nope. Liked it!

Not a Star Wars fan, but the monkey does look a bit like an Ewok.

Oh well. At least she's a cute Ewok.

Football Season Ends

2011-10-28T21:46:00.004-06:00

Hunter somehow snuck into the playoffs this season after their amazing victory over Viewmont. Today they played Lone Peak in the first round of the playoffs. (It was also the last round of the playoffs for the Wolverines.)

It was an afternoon game. It took about 17 hours to get to Lone Peak High School. Then, the football field is approximately 2.3 miles from the school and the parking lot. Unfortunately, it wasn't much quicker coming back home. It was a very long day. Plus, Utah County just makes my uptight.

Hunter lost. Willie played well. He was even coaching the offensive line at one point (or at least that's what it looked like). Here is Molly at the game. Thanks, Annie, for the picture.

Basketball season is just around the corner. I'm excited, but I'm also feeling a little uptight about that, too. It could be a long season. It might feel like being in Utah County all over again.

Violence at the doctor's office

2011-10-21T23:10:00.004-06:00

"I've never seen a child react so violently to me looking at their ears before," said Dr. Child, the Ear Nose and Throat doctor at Molly's ear tube check up this week. She screamed. She whipped around. It took 3 of us to hold her down, but that wasn't even enough. "It's like trying to see into an earthquake," was his next comment.

All he was trying to do was look in her ears with the normal otoscope. It was nothing invasive or painful. It was just Molly!!

After a minute or so, he sent us down the hall to some type of pressure booth. It still took 3 of us to hold her down, but apparently the pressure gauge thing doesn't require as much accuracy as the otoscope, so he could get the information he wanted without actually seeing in her ears.

The verdict: Infection. Ugh. She hasn't had an infection or required any drops since one right after she got the tubes in. I hadn't even noticed any green goo coming out of her ears this time.

"Do you think she'll let you put drops in her ears?," was the doctor's question to me. Um . . . I doubt it. Didn't you just see how she reacted? "Ok, then I'll give you a prescription for drops." Thanks. "I'll also give you a prescription for an oral antibiotic in case the drops don't go well."

We've been trying the drops, but not as diligently as the prescription calls for. James cradles her against him and I put the drops in. She screams. If we're both not around, we can't do it. I tried to sit on top of her on the floor one day, but my extra hand was holding her flailing arms and I need a third hand to hold her head. Ugh. I feel like we're terrible parents. Oh well. What do we do?

Football and Playoffs

2011-10-21T22:55:00.003-06:00

After a terribly slow start to the season, Hunter High School football has actually made it to the playoffs. How? It's quite crazy actually. They played Viewmont on Wednesday night and shouldn't have won, but pulled it off. Viewmont was and still is the first placed team in the region, but 1) I don't think they were really ready to play and 2) Hunter came out with what seemed like a different team than we've watched all season and played out of their heads. They scored a touchdown on the opening kickoff and never looked back.

Unfortunately, the tall, handsome left tackle, then center fill-in, then right tackle didn't get to play in this high energy game. He was stuck on the sidelines recovering from a brief, but monstrous illness that wiped him out. He got sent home from practice Monday, spent the night on the bathroom floor, ended up at the doctor's on Tuesday with a blood pressure of 70/50, had 2 IV's and some ant-nausea medicine pumped into him, was wheeled out of the doctor's office by mother Judy in an double-wide wheel chair, and then went home and crashed for another day and a half. Oh well. He's feeling better now! The good news is that he got to ride up to the game and back in style in the family truckster, instead of on the stinky school bus.

Because of their win, however, they clinched the number 4 playoff spot in their region and now get to play Lone Peak . . . and hopefully not get squished. Good luck! Football prevails for another week!

Landlords-A-Waiting

2011-10-19T23:48:00.003-06:00

Our place is now up for rent. Do you know anyone interested? Please send them our way!

KSL Listing

We're In . . .

2011-10-15T20:30:00.003-06:00

. . . but not exactly all the way.

Here are some pictures. There are still boxes everywhere, but the clutter is getting less and less and the boxes are slowly emptying. We moved in a week ago. We like our house. It has lots of room. Mary helped us put the kitchen together. My mom helped us put the living room together. Molly has helped move many things around. We have also lost her a few times, though I am finding her most likely hiding places are her closet and the master bathroom (emptying drawers).

Fini!

2011-10-01T21:34:00.004-06:00

Done. Closed. Moving soon.

What is going on besides our house?

2011-09-26T22:09:00.005-06:00

Molly spent a Saturday with Grandma and Grandpa Binggeli, Dad, and Jarrell in Utah County . . . on the day of the BYU v. Utah blowout game. She needs a new Utah t-shirt, but has grown out of all the others she has had in her short lifetime. So, we had to go with the 4th of July shirt. At least it was red, right? James said she had fun playing on the white board with Alicia.

We also made it to the State Fair last week. Molly practiced all of her animal sounds as we visited the sheep, pigs, goats, and cows. We also visited the FFA kids farm where little kids get to see all of the aspects of agriculture from feeding a fake cow to selling your produce at a market.

My favorite part of the fair was when we were stopped, watching the pigs cross the walkway from the pig building to the showing-the-pigs building. A high school aged boy who had just walked across with his pig, ran back towards the pig building and exclaimed, "Ashley, hurray, I need the towel . . . the pig's got diahrea." Classic fair fare.

Besides rugby and pig viewing, Molly has also been enjoying her fair share of football games. She really likes footbal for the 1st, 2nd, and part of the 3rd quarter. At some point during the 3rd, she starts to melt and then she either A) falls asleep (only once) or B) begins a wrestling match with me until the game finally ends and she falls asleep in the car before we get out of the parking lot. The Wolverines are struggling. Molly looks cute in James' hat, though. She has discovered hats at home, too, and puts them on often.

House Update - Even Closer!

2011-09-21T20:29:00.002-06:00

Countertops are in. Bathroom surrounds are in. All electrical is finished (as far as we can tell), including the garage door openers on the new garage doors. The top of the porch has been pored. The brick has started, but has a ways to go.

What's left? . . . . final plumbing, carpet, touch up, wood on top of railing, back porch stairs, garage stairs and railing, porch steps, finish the brick, smooth out the backyard, poor the driveway . . . I think that is about it.

The builder hopes to be finished with it by next Friday, September 30th. My guess is that we will close sometime the next week and then move the second weekend of October. Before we move in, I want to paint some accent color in Molly's room. I know if I don't do it before we move in all the way, it will never get done. We have also ordered all our blinds and would like to get them hung before we actually move in.

After that . . . touch up paint and carpet cleaning in our townhouse, then we need to get it listed and rented, hopefully by November. (If anyone in the blog world knows of someone looking for a rental, please let me know.)

Here are some new pictures. One is the house with stucco before brick. The second is the house exterior with some brick finished.

House Update - It's Getting Close!

2011-09-17T22:52:00.005-06:00

Our house was locked this past week. That's a good sign because it means it is close to being finished, but it is bad because we haven't been able to go look at it every night. James goes sometimes during the day if he's in the neighborhood, but I haven't done any more than peek in the back window for a week. Today, we asked our realtor to let us in and, oh my, there was quite a lot of progress.

There is a railing. It is supposed to have a wood top, but it's not there yet.

The bathrooms still need some work, but are coming along. Here is a picture of the master bathroom.

We have 2 cement slabs. One is outside the back of the house and will be a landing for the back sliding door steps and one is out the back garage door. We still do not have a driveway, though.

The cabinets are in (and Molly was IN every cabinet she could wiggle into, especially this one in the bathroom)!! In this photo (and the bathroom one above) you can also see the tile on the floor and the paint on the walls.

I was pretty excited to see kitchen cabinets today. This kitchen is why I ended up choosing this floor plan. I really like it! And, I have been worried about the colors inside, but I think the walls, cabinets, and flooring (not the cardboard with the green tape, but what's under it) have turned out very nice.

In addition, the stucco has been done for a while, but I haven't take a picture of it. Oh wait, I did take a picture with James' phone . . . oh well. I wasn't very happy with the stucco color. It just wasn't what I had it looking like in my mind. I was really nervous that the red brick we had chosen was going to look terrible. Plus, the front bedroom was supposed to be brick and they had accidentally stuccoed it. Well, there were two guys working on the brick today and I think it's going to look ok. The brick doesn't look quite as red as I thought it might be and the lighter trim didn't look quite as yellow against the brink. I think it will be good!

School Days

2011-09-12T21:23:00.003-06:00

Last week a teacher I work with was having issues with a parent of one of her students. I told my mom, "I'll bet you $100 that the kid is transferred into my class by the end of next week." Today I got the transfer. He seems like a nice kid. I don't quite know what the problem was, but I don't know why people can't just figure things out.

I'm teaching 2 sections of SLCC Concurrent Enrollment this year. I've never really taught "the smart kids" before and although it is only Math 1010, it is an entirely different environment than my other classes. It is super fast paced and I feel guilty that it is the third week of school and there are still a few students whose names I don't know. There is a lot of pressure and right now there are a handful of kids who didn't do well on our first test. That means that if they don't pick things up, they'll have a bad grade on their college transcripts. It's a different type of pressure than I am used to.

This year, we are in our 2nd year of double blocking our low-end Algebra kids. That means we teach the same group of kids every day all school year, instead of the traditional every other day block schedule. We were happy to find out that our math score actually improved 19% last year for Algebra 1. We were all pretty happy about that. Unfortunately, my scores were the lowest of the three teachers who taught those classes, but I did have one nice special ed. teacher who told me that was because he stacks my classes with all of his kids because, "they can't handle them." I don't know about that, but I'll take it as a compliment.

There is not enough time in the day to get everything done that I need to. I am teaching on one of my preps and I have students in my room nearly every day after school. I have one student who comes in EVERY day after school to work on her homework (even though she's not in my classes and has never taken math from me). She tries really hard and is hoping to graduate while making up for missing most of her sophomore year, but it wears me out to help her every day. She just really struggles. I'm not sure if she's going to make it through Algebra 2. She has a test tomorrow and we'll see how she does.

We have a new principal this year. He has an enormous water buffalo head mounted to his office wall. Interesting.

The other day I had a discussion with one of my students about how her grade is low. I said, "Yes, your grade is low because you bombed that test and need to retake it." She replied, "I didn't bomb it. I got a 43%." I said, "Yes, you bombed it." She said, "No, I didn't." This went on for a minute or so until I finally realized that she thought I was telling her that her test was "the bomb," meaning that she did exceptionally well. She did, indeed, understand that she did poorly. I must be getting old.

My U.S. History class is tough this year. I am having some management issues and feel like a first year teacher who is on the brink of losing total control of the class. It is very stressful . . . and there are only 14 kids in the class . . . and then they probably swear at me in Ukrainian.

I got this e-mail the other day from one of my 1010 kids. It made me laugh.

Mrs. Bing,

I'm scared for my sanity.

I solved this equation and got it right...and the first thing I thought was "this is fun".

What is this world coming to?!?!

Have a lovely night.

Sincerely, Student

I made a girl's day last week. She is not one of my students, but came in to Math Lab because she needed to use a graphing calculator and didn't have one. I have gotten a small grant the last 2 years to purchase some calculators for just this reason. I gave her one. She was pretty excited!

Molly is finally liking school. It took a couple of weeks, but now she jumps out of my arms, runs to Miss Autumn, Autumn picks her up, and she wave goodbye to me. I'm not needed anymore. That's good, though. It sure makes heading off to class a lot easier than leaving a sad baby girl.

Friday Nights

2011-09-10T13:31:00.003-06:00

Friday night Hunter played a game against Davis on Weber State's field. It was a late start 8:00 p.m. game and then lasted forever. The first quarter took almost a whole hour and Davis outscored Hunter 28-0. After that, it did speed up a little and Hunter finally scored twice in the 4th, with failed PAT's, but ended at a more respectable 28-12.

To overcome that last three losses, the coaches switched things up quite a bit this week. The two big defensive players are now playing both ways and the former left tackle (Willie) is now back at his former little league position, center. My mom said he was super nervous switching spots, but he did a good job last night.

Hunter is really struggling this year. I don't know that much about football. I can't dissect it and tell the coaches and players (through the internet, of course) what to do like I can with a basketball game. They have a new coach and Willie seems to be having a lot more fun playing than he ever has before. It seems to be a real positive experience. The coach seems gutsy and very disciplined, which I admire. A head-case kid is suspended. Players who are tardy to class do extra up-downs and stadiums. Last week when the seniors weren't cutting it, he put in more sophomores and even a few freshmen. It seems like the program is going in the right direction and positive things are happening. As a teacher, I like that. As a sister of a good kid who's on the team, I like that. Now I just wish they could score some more and win one. . . . I think it will come.

Whatever the outcome, Molly sure looks cute in her new Hunter shirt (made by her crafty Aunt Annie, of course)!

Labor Day Posting Follow Up

2011-09-06T21:29:00.002-06:00

We found Molly's shoes!

She didn't throw them away. They were buried under of pile of stuff in the kitchen. Good girl, Molly. Thank you for not throwing your shoes away!

They really are wearing out, though, and too easily pulled off her feet. We'll keep the new ones.

House Update - Shelves, Molding, Stucco

2011-09-06T21:16:00.006-06:00

We have shelves and door moldings. (This is the pantry)

The stucco on the front of the house has been started, though this is nowhere near the brown color it is supposed to be. (I don't know anything about stucco, but I hope this is some type of gray primer coat.)

The siding is now complete on all three sides of the house.

We also have real stairs and not scary 2x4's.

I think they are probably pretty close to painting this week. We'll see. There are closet organizers in each closet and those are only partially installed. The door moldings are also only partially installed. Do floor moldings come before carpet?

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-05T20:27:00.008-06:00

James, Molly, and I had quite a nice labor day weekend. We did our fair share of laboring around our house and running errands (and a ton of school work for me), but it was nice to finally have a weekend to just do nothing. I can't remember the last time we did that.

Thursday night James and Jarrell went to the first Utes Pac 12 Season game. The Utes pulled it out, but aren't actually looking too good. It's a little scary. After Molly and I finally got home from a marathon afternoon of JV football, traffic, and picking new counter tops, we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Binggeli all night and had a good time.

Friday night we went to the Hunter game. I haven't blogged about football, yet. Willie, my brother is a junior at Hunter High School this year and the starting left tackle. Earlier in the summer I asked him, "If you are a starter, does that mean you're actually good or that your team is really bad?" Some may think that was a mean question, but I just thought I would ask an honest question. He said (and chuckled), "I don't really know." I think he is good. He hasn't been taken out of a game yet. It is hard to watch him on every play while wrestling with a 1 year old, but when I watch him, he usually creates holes and "holds" his guy pretty well. A couple of times someone has gotten through on his side and that tells me that he's not perfect, but he is most definitely the smartest and most handsome kid on the field. He seems to be actually liking football a lot more this year, but they are now 0-3 and need to figure out how to win! Maybe this week will be the week! (picture stolen from my mom)

Saturday we sort of cleaned our house, though I've pretty much given up on that concept all together since we will be moving soon. My house is generally clean . . . bathrooms get cleaned, sheets and clothes get washed, dishes are done, and the floor gets wiped down. Other than that, there are piles of stuff everywhere and I haven't seen my entire kitchen table in months. We just sort of move piles around as we need to. Every time I think, "oh, my house is a cluttered mess," I soon have a second thought "but in a few more weeks you'll have much more room to put all this crap, so why find a place for it now?" We also went to run some errands including Lowes, Ikea, and measuring windows in our new house.

Sunday we went to church. I played the piano in the Spanish branch. I am starting to finally pick up on some Spanish church words. I finally said the opening prayer in sacrament after having to cancel two other invitations to do so. James gave a lesson on appropriate dating to the teachers and priests. Molly was really good in Sacrament meeting, but then during relief society had her first bad alone experience in nursery. She's not quite old enough to go, but we have been in there a few times and she knows where its at. On Sunday the ladies working in there kept saying, "oh just leave her. She's fine." I finally did what they said and went to relief society empty handed. With 10 minutes left, I heard Molly screaming in the hall. I went to get her and they said she had been crying on and off for the whole hour. Oh dear. I'm a terrible mother. I shouldn't have left her. Oh well. Also on Sunday, Annie treated us to a yummy dinner at her house. She offered. (My parents were out of town, staying in a "cottage" in the Tetons with no tv and no internet.) Knowing that anything she fixed would be better than my best efforts at home, I said yes. I'm sure James was very appreciative. We ended the day with a visit at Grandpa's house.

Monday we wrapped up our Saturday errands. The nightstand purchased from Ikea was broken and had to be returned. We went back to Lowes and purchased some appliances to be delivered in a month or so. We went back to our house to measure the one window I forgot to write down. We mowed the lawn and got Chick-fil-A milkshakes. We bought Molly two new pairs of shoes at Shopko. Has she outgrown hers? No, not really. However, during the course of this weekend, we went from 3 pairs of shoes to only 1 1/2. A purple flip flop disappeared Thursday night while looking at our house with the Binggelis and I am pretty certain Molly threw away her pink tennis shoes on Saturday at some point. She's been throwing things away all weekend like a good little helper and that's the only place they could possibly be after searching the whole house. Oh well. We didn't feel like dumpster diving our stinky dumpster and the shoes were starting to wear out, so off to Shopko we went. It was a good day.

Now back to my schoolwork that needs attention before tomorrow . . . . . . . Ugh!

House Update - Sheet Rock

2011-08-29T21:52:00.002-06:00

Since these pictures were taken a few days ago, there is now more siding up, initial mud throughout the house, the front is prepped for stucco, and . . . . maybe a few other things.

It's coming along nicely.

Welcome Home Jarrell

2011-08-22T22:13:00.006-06:00

Tonight at 9:00 p.m., Jarrell returned from his Washington, Seattle Mission!

Mary, LaRon, James, Molly, and I were at the airport to greet him. It was pretty exciting, not only because of Jarrell, but because there were 15 missionaries from the Seattle area on the same flight. The airport was packed with people waiting for missionaries.

Jarrell came down the escalator and didn't stop smiling . . . ever! Mary and LaRon got hugs.

James and Jarrell argued about who was taller and who was fatter.

Molly was a little tired and grumpy. In her delirium, she kept waving at everyone and kept staring at Jarrell like she had seen him before (or at least in a picture). She looked like she knew he was probably friendly, but she was otherwise a little unsure.

Glad you made it home safe and sound, Jarrell!!

Oh . . . and in preparation for his return, and in true Box Elder County fashion, James and Alicia painted the old Sugar Factory wall (north of Brigham City) on Saturday. Here's a picture.

New School Year

2011-08-21T21:51:00.002-06:00

Updated the website. Take a look if you'd like!

http://bingmath.blogspot.com/

15 Months

2011-08-20T07:24:00.002-06:00

Molly had her 15 month check-up today. Aunt Karen was tending her today and was nice enough to drive her in to the doctor and meet me. That saved me quite a bit of time, especially since I ended up staying at school until 5:30 anyway (phew!). Oh well. That's how the week before school goes, especially when we really only have 1 day to work in our classrooms.

Back to Molly . . .

Name: Molly

Age: 15 months

Height: 31.75 inches (86th percentile)

Weight: 23 lbs 2 oz (55th percentile)

Head Circumference: 48 cm (94th percentile)

Received 3 vaccinations

She passed all of the developmental questions and seemed to be doing just fine! Her ears are good. She can walk and say a few words, eats table foods (sort of), can follow simple commands, and interacts well socially. She cannot run.

Yesterday we went to an open house at the Day Care to orient the kids before they come back on Monday. I was worried that Molly wouldn't remember school and would be nervous about going, but I was totally wrong. She held out her arms and immediately wanted to go to her caretaker, Autum. Then, after playing in the toys for a while, she cried when we finally went to leave.

Good! . . . She will be fine on Monday.

Bad! . . . I guess she doesn't really need me.

House Update - Framing Continues

2011-08-16T21:37:00.003-06:00

Our house is beginning to look more and more like a house everyday. The framers have been pretty busy.

There are interior walls up and it looks like they are close to starting the roof. We have a forest of 2 x 4's.

Our front porch has also been prepped to be poured.

You can see our hazy mountain view from our kitchen/nook window, as well as our neighbor's back yard (who expressed one day to us that they were glad they didn't actually put in a yard and fence before our house was built).

Pushing the Trash Can

2011-08-16T21:33:00.003-06:00

Molly literally spent a good 15 minutes the other day pushing the office garbage can back and forth between it's regular location and the bedroom. Coo-coo!

Molly Can Hold Still

2011-08-12T21:29:00.003-06:00

Molly rarely holds still, not even in her sleep. She is constantly moving. Here is an example of how she spends most of her day. She is constantly picking things up and dropping them in new locations, adding to (and creating much of) the messiness of our house. Her little legs must be tired at the end of the day with all the walking around she does.

I not only apologize for the lack of tidiness in my house, but also for the terrible choice of music. Molly is capable of taking the alarm clock off the nightstand, turning it on and off, and moving the dial. She picked Cozy 106.5 the other day.

She does sit momentarily in this next video.

This summer, however, we have discovered a few favorite Sesame Street videos on youtube that have stopped Molly in her tracks. We watch them over and over again. I was able to catch her on video a few times while watching some of her favorites. Here is an example.

But, alas, nothing lasts forever . . . not even holding still during your favorite videos.

I can be crafty

2011-08-12T14:50:00.004-06:00

I am not a very crafty person, but on occasion, I can be. Remember when I posted those nerdy math signs a few posts back? Well, I decided they would be a nice addition to my classroom at school. I tried to just steal them and copy the images, but they were too small to make bigger, so I recreated them, with some minor adjustment. I bought sturdier-than-dollar-store frames at the D.I., I spray painted them, and ordered prints of the signs. The whole project came in at under $10 and I am very proud of myself. (The "octopi" sign was the hardest and it took some sweet skills using Paint and Microsoft Publisher to make that one.)

House Update - Framing

2011-08-12T10:35:00.005-06:00

Our house is coming along nicely and is beginning to look a bit like a house.

We don't have much of a backyard,

but we have big side yards.

The back wall to the 3rd car garage was finally re-poured and backfilled, so that garage floor could finally be poured.

Overwhelmed

2011-08-09T22:13:00.003-06:00

When I was a little kid I had extreme anxiety about going to school. It wasn't pretty. When I say, "little kid," I mean from 1st grade up through about high school and beyond. So what did I do to relieve this extreme school anxiety that I had (besides perhaps some medication)? I became a school teacher. What was I thinking??????

This year (this week, in particular) the anxiety is beginning to maximize. I don't really know why, but I start having a million thoughts a minute about things I need to do for school, things I should have been doing at home all summer, but still haven't, things that will be new this school year. It is scary. To ease my thoughts a bit, it is sometimes healthy to write them down in a journal (or on the internet for the whole world to read).

Positive things to look forward to:

Teaching Concurrent Enrollment Math
Teaching U.S. History again
Double blocking our lower level kids again and working with Mr. Berg
Having Molly as my carpool buddy on the way to school and taking her to a place where people love her, take good care of her, give her structure, socialization, and cool art projects
No more Master's Degree Classes (still waiting for my final grade and then degree to post, though)
I finally painted most of my outside fence that has been gross all summer. I just need to do the very bottom that gets chewed up by the weed eater.
A new house coming soon

Anxiety Ridden Things that make me Nervous:

Dropping Molly off at a place that is not with me at home
I need to do some touch-up painting in my house and I haven't done it yet.
Renting my house still scares me
Building a new house still scares me
I have to give a presentation next week in front of my faculty, I don't know how all this concurrent enrollment class stuff works, I didn't keep good records of how I taught U.S. History last year and I'm afraid I'll have to reinvent the wheel.
There always seems like so much more than is humanly possible to do in a few days to get my classroom, curriculum, etc. ready for a new year and I have zero desire to work on it at home. Oh well. Somehow or another it always comes together.

Hi, Molly here.

2011-08-06T22:04:00.004-06:00

Hello blog world, it is me, Miss Molly. I haven't written an update on the blog for a while, so my mom told me I probably should. I don't really do anything else she tells me to do, so I don't know why I am doing this, but oh well. I like to walk, but I kind of waddle around like an old lady. Plus, my left arm is always pulled up to my side while I walk, and my right arm sticks out straight. I kind of veer to the left, but one of these days I'll figure it out, I guess.

I try really hard to talk to my mom, but she just doesn't understand me. Like, she'll say, "I love you Molly" and I'll say, "a-joo-ewe-wagga." Or, my mom will say "thank you" and I'll say "allajooda." She just doesn't get it, but maybe one of these days she will. Oh, there are a few things that I can say that she DOES understand. Thank goodness. Here is the list: Hi - but it is more like Hiiiiiiiyah - Hot - but it is more like Haaaaaaat - Mama - but I don't like to say this one unless I'm crying or whining - Dada - my favorite word. I have also used this one a few times in a complete sentence, "Hiiii Dada." -

I like to throw things in the garbage can, but then I don't understand why we can't take things back out of the garbage can. My mom is so mean about that and she says, "Cu-cu" and I say "Sckaaaa." She also says that a lot when I try to throw things in the toilet.

When I feel like cooperating, I can make lots of animal sounds, but that has gotten kind of old and I get tired of telling my mom what different animals say. Doesn't she know already? Why does she keep asking me?

I can also say, "mmmmmmmmmmmmm," when I see food.

Oh, I haven't felt like doing it for a couple of days, but for a while, I would say, "A-Ha" really loud at the end of a prayer. Every time I did it, though, my mom would tell me "shhhh," so now I've stopped.

I have a red necklace I love to wear around the house.

I still take my shoes and socks off almost every time I get in the car.

People keep telling my mom that now I'm walking, "I'll bet she's in to everything," but my mom just replies, "No, she was in to everything before, now she just gets there faster."

I love to be outside. I like to play with the hose, ants, my ball. I'm still not really sure about grass. When we go get the mail my mom makes me poke this sharp tree with needles. She says, "ouch," and I say, "hot." I don't know why we have to get the mail everyday. I am excited to go outside, but then we have to walk so far to the mailbox. Sometimes I just stop and look at pine cones instead.

I can give you a high 5 and blow you a kiss.

I still drink a bottle in the mornings. I don't really care if I have it or not and sometimes I tell my mom, no, but she says I have to drink it or else I'm not getting enough milk.

I hate getting my diaper changed and I run away or crawl away almost every time. My mom gets really mad at me then, but I still do it.

I have 4 teeth on the bottom and 2 on the top, but like 4 more coming in. My nose is runny and I've been kind of grumpy lately.

I pretty much just like to play by myself, but I really like it when other kids are around, so I just follow them sometimes.

I eat cheese, bread, hot dogs, chicken, noodles (including mac & cheese), yogurt, grilled cheese, mashed potatoes, marshmallows, fish crackers, fruit loops, did I mention yogurt (it is my favorite), applesauce, anything with sugar. My mom still makes me eat baby food every once in a while because she says I need some fruits and vegetables. They are always giving me weird things that they are eating, probably fruits and vegetables, but unless they are mooshed up like baby food, I usually just spit it back out at them.

Oh, and lately I like to help my mom comb my hair. She always gets really frustrated. I don't know why. I am just rubbing my hands all over my hair when she's finished. Doesn't that make it look even better?

And, I had my first real haircut at a haircut place. I sat like such a big girl in the chair and ate a sucker while the lady cut my hair. I was sooo good. My mom told me I had to have them fix it because she did a bad job trying to trim it herself. Duh, mom, why didn't you just give me a sucker and a big chair? I wouldn't have wiggled around so much.

That's about all for now. It is past my bedtime.

That's Willie's Head

2011-08-04T23:04:00.004-06:00

I just happened to be reading the Tribune tonight and caught site of my brother's head in the background of this picture. No, he's not mentioned in the article, of course, but is a member of the offensive line being the "biggest hole" in Hunter's football season. Oh well.

BY TONY JONES
The Salt Lake Tribune
First published Aug 04 2011 12:12AM
Updated Aug 4, 2011 12:12AM
Les Hamilton is back. Way before anyone expected him to be.
The former head coach at Alta, who led the Hawks to state titles, resigned this winter to pursue a seafood career. He’s since returned to Hunter High and is poised to lead the Wolverines to what he hopes are similar results to what he produced at Alta.
On paper, Hunter is well-stocked to make a run at the Region 2 title. The Wolverines have one of the best defensive ends in the state in Utah commit Moses Foluahola. Derrick Payton is back from Lehi to be the defensive coordinator, and the defense overall looks deep and poised to make a lasting impact on the upcoming season.
The question is whether Hunter will be able to score points.
It seems almost silly to wonder whether a Hamilton-led team can get into the end zone. But there are holes. Gone up front is Ului Lapuaho, a 6-foot-7, 285-pound left tackle who’s now at Brigham Young University. The offensive line will be new; so will the quarterback, Jairo Tarver, and a host of receivers.
Still, the talent is there. Hamilton loves Tarver’s dual-threat ability. Devonte Maez, a 6-1 wideout, already has an offer to Weber State and could have a breakout season. And then people wonder how a team full of players designed for a running game will adjust to a spread offense.
“People think we’re going to throw it like Jordan High,” Hamilton said. “But at Alta, we’ve always tried to be a balanced offense. We’re going to run the ball, but when it comes time to throw the ball, I feel confident that we’re going to be able to do that too.”
Last year » 7-4 (lost to Bingham in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs).
Key returner » Moses Foluahola anchors the defensive line and will be perhaps the most important player on the team this year.
Player to watch » Wide receivers usually excel in Les Hamilton’s offenses. The best one for Hunter this season will be Devonte Maez.
Biggest hole » An offensive line that dominated last season is gone, leaving a huge question mark.
Need to know » Hamilton considers Kearns, not his team, the Region 2 favorite.

Math Nerd

2011-08-04T21:54:00.002-06:00

... and finally, not math related, but specifically for Willie and Parker

That'll Do Car

2011-08-01T17:02:00.002-06:00

On our Idaho trek over the weekend, my good little trusty Honda made it to a huge milestone in it's life . . . 200,000 miles!!!!

We reached this extraordinary mark just a few miles west of Arco, Idaho on Sunday, July 31st. We stopped and took some pictures of where we were. Molly even woke up for the occasion!

This car is the best. It's getting a little old, creaky, and rattly, but it is still hanging in there and safely driving us places that we need to go. I've had this car since it was just a teenager at

35,000 miles. It has been with me ever since and taken me all over the place. We had great times driving back and forth to Tooele for 5 years and I swear that my car, like a trusting horse, new the way by itself because some mornings I wondered how I got there.

I bought this car in May 2002 when I realized that my final year of school was going to be completely paid for by a cushy scholarship from the Education Department. With no more tuition, I was able to stop driving borrowed cars (my parents' cars, my sisters' Ford Escort, my Grandpa Huber's red Honda Accord, or my Grandma Petersen's white Buick with the blue afghan in the back window) and actually buy my own.

Here's to many more miles little Honda! (knock on wood and keep our fingers crossed)

On the subject of cars . . . one more thing. As much as I love my little Honda, there is another car I've been dreaming of for most of my life. We saw three of them in excellent condition over the weekend. I think it was some type of omen.

James promised me (we even shook on it while driving on the freeway, no lie) that if he ever gets his "dream car" that he would find one of these for me and even rebuild it if necessary. He said yes! The car he wants and has drooled over since I've known him is some model of a Jaguar, pronounce Jag-u-war, not Jag-wire, according to my Grandma's Scottish friend, Mora. I guess it is time to start saving for James' Jag so that I can get my mint condition VW Bus. Don't laugh. I'm serious.

Biorn Reunion and Idaho Drive

2011-08-01T12:58:00.006-06:00

This weekend we headed to Idaho Falls to a Biorn Family Reunion (Mary's family) and to hang out with James' mom, dad, and sister Annie's family. Last year we went up and back in a day for the reunion, but this year we decided to turn it into a little 3-day vacation (since we hadn't really planned any other summer vacations).

On Friday, Molly and I got all ready and waited patiently for James to come home from work so we could leave. Eventually he did get home and we left around 7:00 p.m. We hit invisible road

construction and 1-lane freeways in a couple of spots on our way up and pulled into Idaho Falls around 10:30. James worked all the way up in the car. He stayed in the parking lot of the motel working for another half hour while Molly and I got settled in our room. At midnight she was still wide awake and not sure what to do with her new surroundings. I suggested to James that if we were to just turn out all the lights and be quiet, she'd probably fall asleep in a couple of minutes.

Unfortunately, my husband and I have communication issues sometimes (lots of the time) and

whatever I said was then interpreted as, "I will leave the room with my computer and go hang

out with the Cotton Tree employees in the lobby all night long while I work and watch them

prepare breakfast at 2:30 in the morning." Molly was asleep in literally 2 minutes. James was back in our room when we woke up around 7:00 and he was tired, but oh well.

We headed to the reunion around 10:00 and were at the park where it was held for most of the

day. It was hot, but otherwise a nice day. Molly kind of likes to do her own thing and just

wanders around, but she is always pleasant when other kids are around.

She did fall several times. The step from the grass to the concrete of the bowery was tough and she has a bit of a raspberry on her face to prove it. She survived, though. I think I said this last year, but Molly definitely blends in to Mary's family. She really resembles a lot of them. In fact, here is a picture of Mary as a little girl. I think you can see the resemblance.

After the reunion, we invited Annie and her family over to our motel for a swim. I think the kids had a lot of fun. James and Annie were trying to give RyAnn and Issac swimming lessons. Morriah only wanted to hang out in the smaller hot pool. Molly squealed at everything. Elizza even got in the pool after Grandpa let her play with a tootsie pop (she was pretty sticky and a

quick pool bath did her good).

We left the pool, picked up pizza, and had dinner back at Annie and Jared's house. The kids played with bubbles, LaRon tried to fix their tiller and lawnmower, Jared rigged up a wire for giant bubbles, we ate, and had a good time. Molly had a lot of fun, but was pretty dirty, though. She had a spit bath in Annie and Jared's kitchen sink and rode back to the motel in her undershirt. Needless to say, she and James were both pretty wiped out and were asleep fast once we got back to our room.

On Sunday, we headed out of Idaho Falls on a longer ride home. We drove to Arco, the first

town in the United States to ever be powered solely off of nuclear power (and also near Jared's

hometown). It was just outside of Arco that my car hit a major milestone of 200,000 miles (but that gets a post of it's own).

Next, we stopped at the visitor center and drove through Craters of the Moon National Monument. Neither of us had ever been there and it was interesting. It's just a dark, sullen black landscape in the middle of nowhere in Idaho. It was caused by the lava runoff and underground volcanic activity thousands of years ago. Interesting.

Afterwards, we drove to Twin Falls over this enormous bridge and ate dinner at a Perkins.

We visited both Shoshone Falls (pronounced Show-shown even though the Indian tribe is pronounce Show-shoney)

and Twin Falls (which used to be two matching falls on either side of this rock, but one of the twins was assassinated and turned into hydro-electric power)

After the falls, we stopped in Snowville, Utah for gas and then continued on. We got home a little before 9:00 p.m. Did you know there is a Mollie's Diner in Snowville?

It was a good weekend. I like to go for drives in the car. With the exception of a few minor meltdowns, Molly was really good. It was fun to hang out with our nieces and nephew who we don't see too often. It was great!

Maybe next year we'll make it a 4 day weekend and go to Yellowstone on the way home. We haven't been there for quite a while.

House Update - Foundation

2011-07-28T21:14:00.008-06:00

Our house has a foundation now and today they were backfilling it. A couple of days ago, they were also putting the rough plumbing in the basement. It is now plumbed and full of gravel. I imagine they will probably poor the foundation floor this week and then we are less than 90 days out before it is finished! It's exciting. They also said we should start to see framing go up withina few more days.

There has been one problem so far that may delay things just a day or two. The back footing and wall for the 3rd car garage was mis-measured and poored 2 feet short of where it should have been. They had knocked that part of the wall down today and looked like they were preparing to re-pour it.

Things are moving along nicely.

24th of July

2011-07-28T21:13:00.006-06:00

The 24th of July landed on a Sunday this year. It seems like that should be a perfect day to celebrate Pioneers, but instead I think they may have been a bit forgotten. We had a youth conference report in Sacrament meeting and didn't get to hear about pioneers there. Monday was the parade, but it didn't really feel like it. James had to work and it just seemed like a regular Monday.

The only real thing we did to celebrate was to have a big Petersen Family Pioneer Party. Annie hosted it at her new house and most of us were able to attend. It was hot, but we had good food, good conversation, and a nice time. It ended with a water fight, shavy's, and a puppet show. It was great to see my dad's family and we had nice time.

Oh, and on the Thursday before the holiday, we went and visited some of the floats in the South Town Expo Center. That was the best paraded I've ever been to, seeing the floats in a nice air-conditioned building.

Announcing . . . a pile of dirt

2011-07-22T22:15:00.009-06:00

James, Molly, and I are building a house (or rather having a house built by Hallmark Homes).

It's been quite the process for the last couple of weeks, but now there is photographic evidence that it is really happenigng. We first had a lot.

Then, two days ago there was a big hole in the ground.

Now, we have footings!

Pretty cool, huh! We are excited! Eventually it will look similar to this, but flipped around with the garage on the left side.

We hope to be moved in before Thanksgiving. The house will be red brick with brown stucco and siding on the outside and a lot of brown on the inside. Here is the floor plan with a few modifications (but again, flip it around, garage on the left).
Now what about all the other stuff? We're going to be renting out our townhouse near the end of the year. We closed on our refinance yesterday, so we can now legally and ethically rent it. Everything has kind of squeaked through and the stars have aligned for all of this to work out. We almost bought a house, then decided it wasn't the right thing to do. However, that process opened the door for us to build and building is something we NEVER thought we'd be able to do. We are very grateful for how everything has panned out (with a little divine intervention, I think) and we feel pretty good that we have made the right decisions. (Large sums of money still really scare me, though.)

As a side note, if anyone knows some good, clean, responsible people who would be in the market to rent a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath town home in West Valley near the end of this year, keep us in mind!

The Pacific

2011-07-20T23:13:00.008-06:00

I just finished watching the last episode of HBO's miniseries, "The Pacific." There are 10 episodes and it has taken me a little more than a week to watch them all late at night (yes, instead of doing my homework, I know, but it is the summer and I can). It's one of those things that I have nearly become consumed by since I started watching it. As I sit at the computer with my headphones on, I pause the movie occasionally and look up stuff on the internet. I have learned a ton.

I like history, but as with anything, if you don't practice (or in this case continue studying) you lose it. One of my favorite courses at the U, taught by Ron Smelser, was the Age of Total War. It was an excellent class and one of a few that I would call my "favorites" (along with the History of Rock 'n Roll with John Costa and the History of Utah with Floyd O'Neil). In this class we learned mostly about WWI and WWII, but entirely about wars in Europe. This year when I taught U.S. History, I did a lot of studying in order to teach fairly about the war in the Pacific during WWII as well. I did my best and the students were engaged most of the time. My student from Brazil (with Japanese grandparents who immigrated to Brazil after the war) even told us of her grandmother's brother who died as a Kamikaze.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that I still have a lot to learn and I didn't teach nearly enough about the personal aspect or the day-to-day life of a Pacific marine. Because of all the foul language, I don't think I could ever share much of this series with my students, but it at least gives me a better understanding.

Anyway . . . again . . . while watching this, I wasn't entirely thinking about teaching, I was just thinking about the war and the people who fought it. A few days ago, after watching only a couple of episodes, I told my sister that I didn't like it as much as "Band of Brothers" because I didn't feel like I knew the individuals as well and that it wasn't really connected. I've changed my opinion. It is still not all connected by people, but you really get a better feel for the characters by the end. I didn't actually cry or anything while watching it, but inside, it is very emotional and gut-wrenching. To think about living in the mud near dead bodies, near your own filth, in the same clothes you've been in for weeks, scared to death constantly; to think about being married for a few short months, having your whole life ahead of you, then having it ripped to pieces by guns and ammo; to think about coming home to a bunch of people who love you, but have absolutely no idea what you've been doing and you have no idea how to interact with them in any sense of normalcy; I can't even imagine this.

I'm not going to say that every person should go out and watch this show. It's graphic, it's gory, it's bloody, it's full of f-bombs, and honestly has a bit more boobage than "Band of Brothers" ever thought of (in just a couple of episodes). It's probably not a movie that someone like me should be watching, but a part of me also feels like I owe it to all of the people who fought in this war to be educated about what happened. If you also feel that sense of obligation to know and learn more, then I highly recommend it. If you feel like this is not something that you can stomach and that you can respect and appreciate without it, that's fine, too.

This also gets me thinking about war in general. We could sure solve a lot of our federal economic problems right now if we were to simply get out of this war. James was supposed to be deployed this past June, but ended up choosing to be out in September after 14 years in the Guard, instead of re-enlisting. As his wife (and now a mom), I was relieved. However, James would really like to put in another 6 years and is exploring avenues with which he might do that. James was deployed for 18 months to Iraq and returned in 2005 just before I met him. He's in artillery and ran convoys back and forth across Iraq. He's told me about being in a vehicle for 12 hours without stopping even to go to the bathroom. He's told me about freezing in the northern part of Iraq in the snow. He's told me about being on the same airplane for more than 24 hours on the way back home. He's told me about his admiration for the Kurdish people. I know that Ronald T. Wood was an acquaintance of his who died and that James will forever remember him on his license plate. I know that the blue triangle is his car window is significant. I know that when we were first dating, we were standing outside my mom and dad's house, a firecracker went off, and James jumped 3 feet.

I don't think the war that my husband fought was like the war in the movie I've just finished, but that doesn't make it anything less like a war. I don't really know what his experience was like, but I'm sure it wasn't fun. My sister-in-law and my brother-in-law both deploy soon. My cousin's husband just joined the Navy and will likely deploy. If James re-up's he will likely deploy again, too. Despite all the heroes and great stories, all the motives and political explanations, all the good guys and all the bad guys, war boils down to people; individuals who train to kill and live to stay alive all in the name of freedom and peace. What I think I learned most from watching this movie is that war sucks. For a country or for a people, victory is good and sometimes seems necessary. But, for the individual person fighting it out, there isn't anything good about it.

So Close Yet So Far Away

2011-07-14T14:16:00.004-06:00

The semester ends August 5th. This is my last class, but I am not doing so well in it. All I need to do is pass it, right? It is so frustrating, though. To get a grade in this class you create your own "learning contract." That consists of a chart with a few objectives and assignments on it, entirely of my own creation. I've done ok keeping up with the discussion posts in the class, but I haven't done the assignments I created for myself. I am running out of time. Grrrrrrr....

I don't learn well this way. I need someone to tell me exactly what it is I am supposed to learn and exactly what is expected of me in order to learn it proficiently. This class is too fluffy.

So, according to my own learning contract, I need to
1. Interview someone teaching mathematics to adults in a community ed. program and write a reflection about my interviews.
2. Research strategies for teaching adult learners and revise 2-3 current lesson plans to reflect those strategies
3. Identify what strategies specific to adult learners would also benefit math students and created a list explaining them and identifying them with the philsophies of learning in the textbook.

Easy enough, right?

Alright, I've got 2 and a half weeks . . . GET TO WORK!!!!

Walking Proof

2011-07-13T20:36:00.003-06:00

Go Molly Go!

Getting the hang of it!

Sleep walking!

Molly is walking!

2011-07-09T22:15:00.004-06:00

. . . sort of.

There's no video for this post, but I just needed to make some documentation. She's not quite past more than 5 or 6 steps at a time, but she's getting more and more brave. She'll be walking around like crazy in no time!

Last Sunday, with the assistance of Shellie and her twins (who are cute little girls just a few months older than Molly), Molly started walking around the back of the primary room! It was so exciting! She took probably 10 steps or more. We've been working at it the rest of the week, but with only minimal success. Today, though, she was finally getting the hang of it again.

More to come.

I need to get my camera ready!

Gallivan-ting Toads

2011-07-09T21:28:00.007-06:00

On Thursday night I dragged James to see Toad the Wet Sprocket at the Gallivan Center. I like Toad, but it was one of those experiences that just made me feel a bit old and a bit of a dork. James, I think, was bored out of his mind, even though he made no comment in support of boredom or the opposite. He just made no comments . . . adding to my feelings of total dorkdom.

My sister and I saw Toad when I was still in high school. They played at Abravanel Hall, barefoot, standing on rugs. It sounded excellent! I have seen Glen Phillips alone a couple of times (at different ends of Bricks, In the Venue, whatever else it is called), with Nickel Creek once (at the amazing, but no longer Zephyr Club), and with the Works Progress Administration (at the State Room). I think I also saw Toad on their first reunion tour (also at In the Venue). They're okay, but I have enjoyed Glen Phillips alone and with other artists more.

This one was pretty uneventful. I've never actually paid money to see a show at the Gallivan Center and well, its nothing to write home about (does writing on a blog count as "writing home?"). It's kind of cool to see a show in the middle of big buildings,

but that's about it for the positive. There is a big concrete wall behind the audience as you stand and watch the performance (I think the wall actually houses the restrooms). All of the sound kind of claps against that building and falls harshly back towards your ears. The vocals echo. The bass drum sounds like clanging a metal can. I wasn't impressed.

I know my sister has sworn off concert going in her old age, and this one made me think that maybe I should too, even though I don't want to. I'm just not cool anymore. Oh wait, was I ever? Probably not. I'll never miss a Guster show and I won't swear off concert going all toghether, but it just doesn't have the appeal and excitement that it used to. That's ok. I think I'm content with that.

I did have fun changing my cool cell phone pictures into strange colors.

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T19:39:00.005-06:00

Where did my little baby girl go from last year's 4th of July? She grew. I can't hardly even remember the little tiny girl of a year ago. Oh well. I guess I like this little girl, too, and I'll keep her! She definitely makes funnier faces.

Things that matter

2011-07-02T22:19:00.004-06:00

I've always thought that if you are living the way you are supposed to be living and striving to do your best, things will work out how they are supposed to work out, and in your best interest.

I like President Uchtdorf's addition to this. Not only will living right help you out in the present, but it will help you for the eternity. He says at the end of this video:

"Diligently doing the things that matter most will lead us to the Savior of the world."

I found this little Mormon Message while preparing a primary lesson and I liked it!

Summer So Far (post #2)

2011-06-30T11:53:00.007-06:00

Today we wrapped up swimming lessons. I think we may sign up again for another session. Molly likes it, but it is also good exercise for the fat mamma who takes her. Cousin Natalie and other Teacher Amanda do a great job with the kids (and the parents). We had a lot of fun and celebrated today with a certificate and a sucker.

Perhaps the best part about swimming is that Molly usually comes home like this and takes a good 3 hour nap. It totally wipes her out.

On Tuesday, Molly got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Binggeli while I went to the dentist, then we went to Crown Burger and had a birthday party for James. It was a good day.

Wednesday we went to Tracy Aviary with Annie, Elliott, and Wyatt (no Willie or Parker this time. Willie is in St. George at a basketball camp and Parker was hanging out with his mom). Molly was a little grouchy, but Elliott and Wyatt were good. After the Aviary we went to Wendy's. Molly ate 2 entire chicken nuggets for lunch. We're making some progress in the food area.

Also on Wednesday, what seemed like a tornado, hit Grandpa's house during a big windstorm. It knocked down some huge tree limbs, destroyed a blind on the deck, and blew a bunch of other things around. The worst of it, however, was a glass patio table that is heavy and hasn't moved anywhere for years, got blown off a deck, shattered, and ended up in the swimming pool in a million tiny pieces. Ross started working on it, then Dee, Liz, and I did. We shop-vac'd the sidewalk around the pool and scooped up what we could from inside the pool with the net and a broom. There were still lots of individual little pieces, though. We had an idea to put a nylon on the edge of the hose and vacuum up the rest. It worked pretty well, but we had to keep stopping and emptying the nylon and rearranging it because the glass cut a few holes in it. I think we got most of it, but unfortunately, I think we may be finding small flakes of glass in the pool all summer. We'll just have to be careful. What a mess!

Our summer is going great so far! I can't believe it is almost the 4th of July already.

I also would never have believed in a million years that I'd have a daughter who looked this cute in pink. I thought it would totally cramp my style, but I think I'm getting used to it. (Yes, I know she's a little big for the Bumbo, but she'll usually sit in it for a few minutes while a comb her hair and it is a very useful restraining device.)

Happy Birthday James

2011-06-27T23:19:00.002-06:00

#31

(June 28, 1980)

Thanks for being a good dad, a good husband, and working really hard all the time! Molly and I love you and hope you have a great birthday.

Decisions Are Hard

2011-06-23T22:24:00.008-06:00

Yes, decisions are hard, especially ones that involve large sums of money. (Remember, I'm the one who searches all over the world for a toilet brush.) On April 3rd of this year I posted some of my frustrations about our house situation. Here is an update on each of these items

April 3rd:

I also spent a good deal of time over the break talking to a couple of realtors and a couple of financial guys . . . I've come up with a 6 month plan and James has agreed to come on board. In the next 6 months we will:

Addendum: The 6 month plan is no longer. It has sped up to be an indefinite number of months (if that's not an oxymoron), but what has happened is that we are no longer going to wait to sell our house. We have pretty much decided that that could take 6 years or more and not 6 months.

1) without touching our savings, try to tighten our belts and put as much extra money on our current loan as possible to help cut the difference between what we owe and what the realtors think we could sell it for.

Addendum: Yes. Paying down debt is a good idea. That will only help us and we have been doing that. In addition, we are also in the process of refinancing our current home so that A) the monthly payment is slightly less and at a 1% less interest rate and B) we will have a different type of loan that will allow us to rent our home if needed (and will likely be needed). Our current loan requires owner-occupancy.

2) lightly nudge (or pester like crazy) our current HOA board to get our complex FHA compliant. Right now we are not and this is why the other homes that our for sale are not selling. I e-mailed the presidente on Friday, but of course have not heard back from her. I'll call her this week.

Addendum: Lightly nudging and pestering has occurred, but what we found out (just this week) is that we are a P.U.D. and not condos. With the very minimal assistance (actually just asking a simple question) from a mortgage/finance lady we've been working with this week said that P.U.D.'s do not require FHA approval. I brought this up at our HOA annual meeting (also this week), they looked into it. Done. I can't believe that it took so long. If we had really been listing our house and turning down potential buyers because we were under the impression we were not FHA approved, I would be furious.

3) keep our fingers crossed that at least one of the other homes sells in the next little while and then ours will (there are currently 3 on the market and and 4th with a for sale sign up, but not actually listed).

Addendum: Right now there are only 2 listed. No one is looking at them. No one bought the ones that are no longer listed. There are 4 foreclosures in our complex. To be competitive with the 2 that are for sale and the future foreclosures we would have to sale for $10,000 to $25,000 less than what we owe on ours. However, the flip side is that there are good deals and more house for the buck available now than in the years to come when ours would sell. The flip to the flip side is that we will be landlords if we choose to go through with all this and that wasn't originally in the cards.

Back to today and decisions . . . . Yes, decisions are hard, especially ones that involve large sums of money . . . oh wait, I already said that (but it definitely bears repeating). The bottom line is that we'd like to move and now is a good time purchase a new home. In the last couple weeks it has even become apparent that we could even afford a *NEW* home and that is something we hadn't even considered before. We're still not sure what to do and need to put some thought into it. Things could move quickly or could still be several months down the road. But the good news is . . . things are moving!

(Picture courtesy of "Tiny Texas Houses" sent to me today by my sister. They are currently having an essay contest. You could win one!)

Buddy of the Day

2011-06-22T16:02:00.007-06:00

In the back of this picture is Parker. Parker is my 14 year old cousin. He has always been a good boy, albeit a bit annoying at times (especially when he's not getting along with his big brother), but he is growing up to be a very nice young man and fun to hang out with. He's a good sport and will do whatever I ask him to do.

Today, Molly and I needed to get out of the house and so we asked Parker to tag along. We went to Kohls, to the D.I., and then to look at model homes. Parker loves houses and gave me a lot of feedback about what he liked and didn't like about the houses. I appreciated that.

We also drove through McDonald's, got drinks, and split a pack of nuggets so we could try one of their new sauces. Parker got the exciting new sauce called "ranch," but it was good.

Thanks, Parker, for hanging out with us for a couple of hours today. Hopefully you didn't feel too captive.

Success!

2011-06-19T21:30:00.003-06:00

Happy Father's Day today!

What I'm blogging about, though, is Molly's success at church today. For the first time (literally in her entire 1 year of going to church) we lasted an entire 3 hours (minus a few minutes) of church without interruption, without doing laps in the hall, without having to leave a class because of a screaming child.

I don't know what happened today, but she was just a super happy girl. I tried to think if we had done something different today than another Sunday, but I don't think so. She played on the floor or sat on my lap (mostly on the floor) for all of church. She ate her fishy crackers, read stories, played with her little magne-doodle, walked back and forth on the chairs or along the wall, and was just good! At one point, she crawled away from me and even went up to another lady in relief society, that lady picked her up and held her for a good minute before she wanted to get down. That has NEVER happened. Amazing!

Finally, during the closing song of relief society she'd had enough and started screaming. I wouldn't let her crawl away from me or tear the pages of the hymn book and that made her mad. I decided that she had been good long enough, so we left a few minutes early, before the song was finished and before the closing prayer.

That's my story. I hope she's starting a new trend and will be good like this EVERY week!

James had to work today. He was a little bummed because he's the only male nurse in his office and this was his weekend to work. Oh well. I think he survived. He's venting his frustrations with some "angry birds" right now anyway.

!!!!!!!

2011-06-15T22:22:00.003-06:00

SEVEN of my last NINE posts have had one or more exclamation points in the title.

I think I need less exclamation.

Sorry, blog world, if I caused you to be over-excited. I shall take a break from exclaiming for a while.

Swimming!!

2011-06-14T13:03:00.004-06:00

We started swimming lessons today!!

Molly and I are taking a PCA (Parent-Child Aquatics) Class at the KOPFC (Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center) with NAS (Cousin Natalie, instructor). Molly loves the bathtub, so I thought we'd see how she likes the pool. She loved it!!!

She giggled and squealed the whole time (except when she was yelling, not crying-yelling, just yelling-yelling)! There were about 6-7 other kids/parents in the class and Natalie does an excellent job! We sang songs, tried to blow bubbles, and splashed a lot.

We are excited to go back on Thursday!

The Zoo!

2011-06-14T12:23:00.004-06:00

Willie, Parker, and I took Molly, Elliott and Wyatt to the zoo! It was fun and the kids were really good. Molly only yelled a little bit. Wyatt walked almost the whole time and his big brother rode in the stroller (and needed a churro really bad).

We rode in my mom's family truckster. She let us borrow it because that was the only way we'd all fit in 1 vehicle.

After the zoo, we went to Wendy's and ate it at Liberty Park.

Great day!

Eagle!

2011-06-14T12:11:00.003-06:00

Willie worked on his Eagle Scout Project (knitting hats, collecting gloves to go with them, collecting children's books, then donating it all to the Christmas Box Housse) way back before Christmas. However, he just got around to getting approval and planning a court of honor in the last month or so. His court of honor was on Sunday night. It went well.

We are proud of Willie!

So many cookies . . . . Ahhhhhhhh!

2011-06-11T16:57:00.005-06:00

Airplanes? Geese? Fleur de lis? Blobs of goo? You choose!

I can make cookies, but I have made way too many today. Yes they are edible. Yes they are quite scrumptious. Nonetheless, I am not a decorator. I have no artistic abilities and here is a tray of failures to prove it.

(Note 1: For those of you wishing to sample the cookies, you may do so at Sir William's Honoring of the Court for his Eagle (also pronounced Iggle) tomorrow night. Note 2: For those of you choosing not to come to the high court tomorrow for fear of the cookies, rest assured, they don't all look this bad (and these ones shall not be present). Note 3: The other sister (not I), known for her superb baking skills (see this cake she made for her own birthday) and many other talents, will bring other treats for your igglicious treasure! )

She's Crazy!!!

2011-06-08T22:02:00.004-06:00

My little Molly is absolutely crazy. It has only been 3 days that we've been on summer vacation and I'm already worn out (not in a bad way, it's great, I'm not complaining, I promise). She is just funny!

She spits

This started a few weeks ago, but it has become increasingly persistant. It used to be cute and funny. Or, she'd spit once and that was her signal that she was finished eating. Now, she spits ALL THE TIME and more often when she is EATING.

She argues with me

She can say "Dad" or "Dada" and she even said a full sentence on Sunday afternoon, "Hi Dad." Even when James is not here, she looks at me and says, "Dad." I say, "No, Mama." She says, "Dad." I say, "Mama." She giggles and knows that she is tormenting me.

She pulls her socks off

This happens pretty much without fail every time she gets in the car. Shoes come off first, then socks. When we reach our destination, I search the backseat for the wet socks she has been chewing on (and then threw somewhere) to put them back on her feet.

She loves the bathtub

When she gets in the bathtub, she stands up. I say, "Molly sit down." I grab her hand and help her it back down. I say, "Good girl." She stands back up. This process continues until . . . . we get out of the bath. There is one thing that interrupts this process, though. While sitting in the tub, she bends in half and spits in the tub (or drinks the water, or eats bubbles). It makes me nervous. Stand in tub . . . slip and fall. Sit in tub . . . drink tub water and choke. Oh dear.

What else?

Not walking yet. Still pretty wobbly.

Still likes to eat baby food best, but also likes yogurt, cheese, bread, cheese quesadillas (or kay-sa-dees for the Scott's going crowd), noodles, crackers, fruit loops, cheerios, chicken nuggets (except that many of these things get spit out).

She'll eat any fruit or vegetable in Gerber form, but refuses to eat them raw or cooked in non-Gerber form.

She doesn't say much (besides Dad), but babbles a lot.

She's good about playing in her crib with toys and will wave bye to me when I get in the shower.

She waves goodbye every time we leave the house to get the mail, take out the trash, or actually go somewhere.

She squeals at all little kids.

She is shy around all adults that she doesn't know and buries her head into my shoulder.

She's a good girl. I love her!

Summer So Far (post #1)

2011-06-07T20:27:00.004-06:00

On Monday, Meranda and Parker tended Molly for a little bit while I went to a Community Council meeting at school. I had to give a brief pitch for continuing funding for 2 math programs at my school - an aide in our low end classes and the after school math lab. The meeting went well. The tending part went well, too. Parker had a nice nap on our couch and Meranda took good care of Molly.

We mowed our lawn on Monday. We went for a walk Monday night and Molly fell asleep in the stroller.

We went for another walk on Tuesday morning. A little dog came out of nowhere and barked at us. It startled me, but Molly giggled. I thought of this incident later tonight because despite being fearless and laughing at the dog, tonight she was frightened and screamed at . . . a leaf. It was the weirdest thing. An old, dried up, crinkled leaf. She pick up pieces of it, then drop them on the ground. The breeze would move them and she'd scream. It was actually kind of funny, but I felt bad she was so petrified. I'm not sure if she thought they were animals attacking her or what.

Earlier today we also took Uncle Willie and Cousin Parker to meet Annie and the boys at the Aquarium. It was . . . the Aquarium, but the boys liked it. I just went for lunch.

Tonight we had the missionaries to dinner. I thought they were going to be sister missionaries. James' work schedule is so sporadic that when I saw we had a chance to feed sister missionaries, I signed up. That way, if he wasn't home, I could still feed them. Wrong. They were elders. It was fine. They were nice. But, I felt bad that they had to sit outside for 20 minutes or so while we waited for James to come home. We had barbecued chicken, butter and herb pasta, salad, and rolls. It was good. Molly warmed up a little by the time they left.

One of the elders, Elder Rosario, is from Puerto Rico. As soon as he came through the gate, I said, "I think you've eaten here before." He actually came to our house on his first day in the mission field (and ate my food and survived). He's now been out 18 months and has returned to this area as the district leader. He has 2.5 years of school in Puerto Rico under his belt, in mechanical engineering, and when he left on his mission, he was the only active Church member of his family. Now, he said, since he's been on his mission, his parents and a few of his siblings have been reactivated and his mom is even serving as the Relief Society President! Cool!

That's our vacation so far.

Oh, and James likes to watch this show called "The Voice." It's okay and there are some talented people on it, but this lady named Beverly . . . she scares me . . . and Christina Aguilara needs to wear more modest clothing.

Its Summer!!!

2011-06-02T15:10:00.012-06:00

Yippy!!

Molly and I left school early today because we could. Tomorrow is graduation, but today was pretty much the last day.

Yes!

Here is our list of things we want to do this summer:

Go to the zoo

Go to the acquarium

Go to Wheeler Farm

Learn to walk

Learn to eat regular food

Go for walks in the stroller

Clean out the green room

Go swimming

... and many other things!

I'm a dork and had kind of sad moment today. As Molly and I were driving away from school I called my mom and was excited with her for a few minutes because school is out for the summer! After I hung up with my mom, I felt like I needed to go visit my Grandma and celebrate school being out with her. I would have stopped and gotten her a diet coke and some nuggets from Wendy's to celebrate this glorious day. We would have talked about how cute Molly is. Grandma would have sung, "I love you a bushel and a peck" to her. We would have talked about my goofy students and things going on at my school. We would have talked about what was happening in the news, the ward, the family. If Molly cooperated, hopefully I could have picked up a little or taken out the trash. Maybe I could have changed the wash or refilled her drink. Sigh. Oh well.

Grandma's swimming pool was put in her backyard the year I was born. Summertime, for literally my entire life, has revolved around Grandma's backyard. Her backyard is still there and we'll try to have fun in the pool this summer, but its just not going to be the same. For my 31 years of existence, summer has meant sun, fun, french fries, and Grandma. I'm sad. She won't be sitting in her chair with her mug of diet coke and her sunglasses on. She won't be hollering at the kids to stop running or stop fighting. She won't be there on the deck to talk to.

Anyway (this post was supposed to be about Molly), I get to go from being a part-time mom of 100+ and a part-time and weekend mom of 1 to being a full time mom of 1 for a few months.

Here is the little girl I get to hang out with:

She pulls funny faces.

She sleeps with her face smashed and her rear in the air.

She doesn't always cooperate or focus on her animal sounds even though she knows them.

(Sorry about the washing machine noise in the background, but Molly snorts like revenge of the nerds at around 1:35.)

However, she is really cute, she's mine, and I love her!

(Plus, she giggles like crazy when she is delirious and I pull funny faces at her.)

Memorial Day

2011-05-30T20:19:00.006-06:00

Sunday

Valley View Cemetery
My mom's cousin Scott
Grandma and Grandpa Petersen

Bluffdale Cemetery
Great Great Grandma Jones (and children)
Great Great Grandpa Huber, son Albert, daughters Gladys and Helen, and 2nd wife Nora

American Fork Cemetery
Uncle Bevan
Great Grandma and Grandpa Chipman
Great Great Grandma and Grandpa Chipman
Grandma's Cousin Lloyd who died in WWII (only a headstone, buried in France)

Larkin Sunset Lawn in Sandy
My dad's cousin Steve
Great Grandma and Grandpa Petersen

Monday
(at Grandpa's request, we went in reverse order from the last many, many years)

Salt Lake City Cemetery
Aunt Evelyn's son David
Great Great Uncle Dee
Great Great Grandma Mary Dwyer

Mount Olivet Cemetery
Clara Dwyer and husband, Ilet (used to be Mary's daughter, but recent events have shown she was Mary's niece, interesting)

Elysian Gardens
Great Grandma and Grandpa Eccles
Great Great Grandma and Grandpa Eccles
Great Great Uncle Marvin and Great Great Aunts Ellen, Delores, and Hazel (and spouses)

Wasatch Lawn
Great Great Aunts Reva and Evelyn (and spouses)
Great Grandma and Grandpa Huber
Great Uncle Glen
Great Great Grandpa Meranda, Bessie, and second wife, Nana
Great Great Uncle George
Great Uncle Blaine
My mom's Cousin Kathy
Great Great Grandpa and Grandpa Petersen

Grandma!

We wrapped up this adventure at Wendy's.

We headed to Aunt Karen's for a Petersen family party! Everyone sat around the kitchen table and played dominoes.

Molly was sort of . . . well she screamed at us quite a bit . . . but was happy to come home to her own space. (This photo was borrowed from Rubie. Thanks, Rubie!)

Sold!

2011-05-28T21:43:00.002-06:00

I've complained a few times about the dumb class I just finished this last semester. To add to my complaints, it also had a very expensive book . . . which I bought . . . and opened the cover once. It was $150 brand new at the bookstore. I found a used version of an older edition for $70 on Amazon. The book was paper back and about 1/2 inch thick is all.

The only possible redemeption for this class was the hope that maybe I could sell the book. I posted it on craigslist and KSL, hoping some other USU student would look there for it. No luck. Last night, I thought, "Why haven't I sold this on Amazon?" I posted it last night at a buck lower than the lowest price.

Today? Sold! Some guy in Connecticut bought it. After I paid for shipping and Amazon takes their little bit, I get $60. Cool, huh? I think so!

Old Pictures

2011-05-23T21:49:00.003-06:00

My aunt Liz posted these on facebook a while ago and in order to keep them, I'm posting them here. She said I could steal them. All I can say is that I definitely had very blonde hair.

Haley and Chloe on a house boat at Lake Powell.

Grandma with Haley, Melinda, and Annie at Dee and Liz's wedding. Eleanor Roosevelt always kind of reminded me of my Grandma. I think I may have had this picture in mind when I've thought that.

Jodi's Wedding

2011-05-22T22:33:00.004-06:00

My cousin Jodi got married on Friday. She married Trevor. I forgot my camera. Here is the "photo booth" picture of us. I stole it from Annie.

Jodi got married in the Salt Lake Temple and then had a dinner at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Molly screamed most of the evening. She didn't want to be there. Sorry everyone.

Congratulations Jodi and Trevor!

Here is a picture of them (also stolen from Annie).

1 Year Doctor Visit

2011-05-17T19:55:00.005-06:00

Molly and I went to visit Dr. Havlik today for her 1 year check-up. Here is the report:

Height: 30.25 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 21 lbs 10 oz (75th percentile)
Head: 45 cm (50th percentile)

So first of all, I like Dr. Havlik, but it seems like every visit has something strange. The percentiles above are my own approximations from reading the charts. Today, I was all worried because I thought Molly was shrinking. Her growth charts said she was only in the 50th and 80th percentile for weight and height, respectively. That's okay except that it's a pretty big change from her last appointments. I didn't realize until I got home that Dr. Havlik gave us the wrong growth charts. Ours are for some 6 month old baby named Tess. Poor Tess's mom is probably having a heart attack because her baby is giant. Oh dear. James caught the mistake. I'm dumb.

Anyway, back to Molly . . . developmentally she is doing everything she is supposed to. She can pass things from one hand to another, point at something she wants, say mama and dada (though not necessarily on queue), stand up from sitting while holding on to something, etc.

She is supposed to switch over to whole milk now instead of formula. She is also supposed to take a Vitamin D supplement in a liquid form because kids don't get enough Vitamin D from Vitamin D milk. Does anyone else have a pediatrician who says this?

Molly is also supposed to be off a bottle and eating table foods by 15 months. I guess that will be our summer project.

She also had 4 vaccines today - MMR, Chicken Pox, DTAP, and Prevnar.
She will get 2 more vaccines at her 15 month appointment - HIB and Hep A.

The only really weird part about today's visit was that Molly had to get blood drawn, or at least attempted to get blood drawn. That's what the shocking picture above shows. Dr. Havlik says there is a new recommendation that 1 year olds get tested for anemia and an iron count. Molly, however, is too old to get pricked in the heal anymore and blood has to be drawn from her arm like an adult. You can imagine the terror in the restrained little girl as the poor phlebotomists tried both arms and then looked at her hand before telling me I would have to go to Primary's to do it.

I couldn't do it today. We had already been to the doctor's long enough and I had to get back to work. I'm not sure when we will make it to Primary's (if at all). I am considering not even doing it. What are the chances that she is really anemic? I don't know. Do any of you out there have a recent 1 year old who has had this done? I need to look it up on the internet. Is Dr. Havlik crazy or is this for real?

It was stressful. Shots. Blood drawn. Banging her head into the cabinet while crawling around on the floor waiting for the nurse to come back in and do the vaccines (of course right after Dr. Havlik have given us the safety lecture for the umpteenth time).

Oh well. At least she won't get the measles.

That's the report. Molly is a good baby. She is very alert and content most of the time, though not always in the presence of strangers. She is smart and very conscious of everything around her. I love her!!

Molly's #1

2011-05-13T20:41:00.011-06:00

Hey blog world, Molly here! I'm 1 year old (on Saturday). My dad isn't going to be around on my actual birthday, so everyone decided to celebrate a few days earlier.

It's a pretty big deal, you know, the fact that I am turning 1. I've been alive for a whole year!!! Can you believe it?

So, what have I accomplished in my first year?

I do a pretty good puppy impersonation. I also sometimes smack my lips together and pretend

I'm a fish. My mom is always saying things to me like, "What does a cow say?" and "What does

a snake say?" I just make all different sounds and sometimes she says "Yeah, Molly!" I can also say "da da" and "ma ma," but only when I want to. I don't really know what's going on, though. I'm just little still.

I'm really good at clapping. I'm really good at shaking my head "no." I'm really good at waving bye bye. I'm really good at pulling off my shoes and socks and taking barrettes out of my hair. (Those are my favorite things to do in the car.) Sometimes, though, the socks get stuck and then I have to yell. I've also learned to climb up the stairs. My mom tells me that they are hard and steep and scary, but I don't know why she's is always right behind me. They're not that bad, mom (although I do think it's weird that they only go up).

I also really like to sing and babble. I like to play in the bathtub. My mom says I'm a good

sleeper most of the time, but I have a hard time taking naps on the weekends. I like to play games. Last Sunday in church I entertained myself for like 15 minutes with a little easter egg. Somehow, every time my mom gave it back to me, it had a new snack in it for me to find. Yum! I also like to take things out of containers and then put them back in. That's a lot of fun!

I love going to school. I kick my feet when I get to the door in the morning (with bare feet because I took my shoes and socks off in the car). I love Miss Autumn and Miss Nancy. They take good care of me. I even give them hugs sometimes in the morning when my mom hands me over. My mom keeps telling me about "summer." She says I should remember last summer, but I don't. I just hope I like school when I go back in August.

I'm really good at crawling. I don't walk, yet, and my mom tries to get me to stand and then

sneaks her hands away. That's not very nice because standing is scary. I don't like it so I usually just sit down.

I still just mostly eat baby food. I have a hard time paying attention long enough to try other food. I do like cheese, though, and bread and fishy crackers, cheerios, yogurt, puffs, macaroni and cheese, jelly beans . . . and barrettes.

For my birthday, we had a great party!! I had a Winnie the Pooh cake.

Grandpa Binggeli and Wyatt share their birthdays on the day we actually celebrated mine. Grandpa likes to play peek-a-boo on his birthday.

I got tons of new clothes! Lots of colors! Lots of skirts! Yeah for summer clothes!

My mom and dad gave me this cool dinosaur thing. It's supposed to help me walk, but it kind of made me nervous. Wyatt and Elliott liked it, though.

My mom lit my cake on fire and then Elliott blew on it. They kept telling him that he needed to help me. I can breath just fine. I don't know why he had to breath on my cake. Duh. I could have done that. I just didn't know what they were telling me to do.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!!!

Hooded

2011-05-05T23:06:00.003-06:00

Here is my portfolio:

BinggeliMEd

I'm feeling a little regretful tonight that I decided not to go to USU's Graduate School Commencement tomorrow. I'm sure I could have figured out a way to get off work. It might have been kind of cool to get "hooded."

My name still would not have been in the program, so officially, there would be no record of me attending, though. Plus, I still have a bitter taste in my mouth about the class I have taken this semester. Maybe, too, I just have a hard time admitting I'm partially and Aggie. If my entire University education (undergrad and graduate) has taken 17 semesters and I have only been taking courses through Utah State for 6 of those, then I am only 35% Aggie. I can handle that.

Oh well. Maybe when I get my actual diploma at the end of the summer I'll drive to Logan and have my own ceremony and celebrate at Maddox's. (We have 2 graduation gowns in our house and I have a 3rd at my mom's house. I'll just need to borrow a hood.) Then again, maybe the only regret I have is that I'm not going to Maddox's.

Sigh.

Congratulations to all other graduates from the U, USU, and anywhere else this weekend!

Why do "Ax Men" Swear so Much? Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeep.

2011-05-01T22:36:00.008-06:00

I just told James . . . "I don't cook food that's healthy. I didn't grow up on a farm. I grew up at McDonald's." Ok, so that may not be exactly true. The farm part is true, but my mother may not agree with the healthy part. She would say, "I tried to get you to like other foods, but you just refused to eat them," or something like that.

I am sick of homework!!!! I was supposed to get this final project paper to my master's chair by Friday. Oh well. I'm still working on it. I have another one that is due for sure by Wednesday, but I'm stalling on this one. I figured, "What are they going to do to me? Withhold my diploma?" They are not even putting my name in the program for commencement!!! (I decided not to go. It's Friday. I am not taking work off to go. I didn't order a hood. My name wouldn't be in the program anyway. Stupid. I'll put on my own ceremony at the end of the summer when I get my actual diploma in the mail.)

We went to the Binggeli's for dinner today. Molly took a while to warm up to everyone, but then was ok. She crawled all over the house and explored the bottom drawer in the bathroom. Annie and her family came down and it is always nice to see them. RyAnn recited some super long poem about a food fight that she is reciting in a program at school. It was pretty impressive!

We went to my aunt LeeAnn's on Friday night for a bridal shower for my cousin Jodi. Molly puked all over LeeAnn's floor. (Sorry, LeeAnn.) Molly woke up on Saturday super feeverish and threw up again Saturday night. She's been pretty good today, so hopefully she's ok. She's eating fine, but doesn't want to drink anything. Not sure why.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh .. . . .. . my house is a mess. I want to move!!!!

Willie is playing AAU again this spring. He's played 3 games, but we haven't made it to one yet. He is supposed to have two more tomorrow, but after a hard fall and a concussion on Friday night, I don't think he'll be playing for a while.

What else?
This is my least favorite time of the school year. I work hard all year to try and teach students math. During the next 2 weeks, we review and study for "the cruts," also known as the CRT's. CRT once stood for Criterion Reference Test, but I have decided that what it really stands for is Constant Reinforcement that you're a Terrible Teacher. Yes ladies and gentleman, this is the week before the CRT when every student swears "we've never learned this," "you never taught us this," "this is soooo stupid."

I love reviewing (note sarcasm)!!!!!

I recently looked up the last CRT scores for my students. For most of them, it was their 8th grade Pre-Algebra score. The results? Average 80% NOT proficient. Great (note sarcasm again). In my job, some days are good and I think I am making a difference in the world. Then there are the days that I remind my students of everything I have tried so hard to teach them this year . . . and we all fail.

Time to stop blogging and get back to my never ending paper.

Do you remember the "Never Ending Story?" That movie scared me as a little kid.

Oh . . . and here is a picture of me, Annie, and Emily (though it is extremely unflattering of all of us). We finally got to finish our BYU Women's Conference this last Thursday. Though it did require going to Poovo and hanging out in a dark gym where stinky BYU Jimmer-wanna-be's usually hangout with their female refs, it was a good experience and we got to talk to some cool people. Plus, Annie said I was focused and redeemed myself from being a bit out of focus (and a goof off) during our planning meetings. Thanks for being great booth buddies, Annie and Emily!

Easter

2011-04-25T21:09:00.005-06:00

Happy Easter!

Our weekend started with a nice visit with the Binggeli's on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday night we colored eggs at my mom's house with the double T's. Elliott (with all of our help, I guess), mixed the colors until all of the eggs were brown eggs, but that's ok.

The Easter Bunny failed! The Easter Bunny realized she had not done anything for Easter and went to the store, only to find the Easter aisle ransacked and empty. The Easter Bunny got creative and found Molly some juice boxes, goldfish crackers, jellybeans, and a sippy cup. The Easter Bunny, in all her egg-laying stupidity, then forgot to put any of the goodies out. They are all still sitting on the counter tonight. The Easter Bunny will try to do better next year.

Also on Easter, we attended my mom and dad's ward. All three of them were speaking in sacrament meeting. It was a nice program. They all gave nice talks and their ward choir is really good, too. Willie has what my mom would call, "social confidence."

Afterwards, we went to the old Lake Ridge 4th Ward to hear my Grandpa speak in his sacrament meeting. He also did a very nice job.

Molly was a holy terror and refused to take a nap on Sunday. She was crazy!!!!!! We were planning to attend our ward at 1:00. James had to teach in young men's, but Molly and I never

made it. Oh well. (James is now a counselor in the young men's presidency. Have I mentioned that to the blog world? He said the young men are much more active and willing to participate in the lessons than the Elder's were. Go figure.)

Later, we had a nice Easter dinner at my Grandpa's, then I came home and graded some tests.

Here are some of James' attempts and taking Molly's picture. Oh well. Better luck next year.

Here Comes the Bride

2011-04-23T09:41:00.005-06:00

I was going to write a "royal wedding" post this morning, but of course, my sister had to beat me to it. I don't really follow much popular culture in the United States or in England, but my mom always had an interest in Princess Diana. Plus, I guess the whole royal family is just famous for being famous' sake (kind of like Elvis) and that's why I am intrigued.

Anyway, I've always thought Prince William was the more handsome of the two, but he is not aging well and is turning out to look much more like his father than his mother. I think I like Harry now.

And . . . reading certain blogs give me a stomach ache. I'll keep that to myself, though. (No, it's not a blog of anyone who actually reads this one, so don't worry, it's not you.)

Sunday Afternoon Update

2011-04-17T11:51:00.008-06:00

It's noon on a Sunday. I've returned from doing sharing time in the Spanish Branch. Our ward doesn't start until 1:00. Molly is sleeping, but I'll need to wake her up soon to eat before church. James is also sleeping (or at last check, laying on the bed playing with his phone), but also needs to wake up to go to church. Between Disneyland, General Conference, a ward conference, and and baby blessing, I have not gone to church in my own ward since March 12th. That is totally crazy!!! I feel very inactive, even though except for Disneyland, I've been at church every week since then. Oh well.

Here are a few picture updates for the week:

We've been playing beauty shop whenever Molly will cooperate. Here is an antenna. She kind of looks like the puppy dog on the Grinch. I'm actually getting better at pigtails. I've also trimmed her bangs and cut a little more around her face since this photo.

Molly is crawling all over the place and is in to EVERYTHING!. This picture was taken on her 2nd or 3rd attempt this week at emptying the instant oatmeal out of the box. Forget cool toys, just get her packets of oatmeal. The funny thing is that before she crawled away from this picture, she did put several of the packets back. No, I did not leave her unsupervised and just happened upon the oatmeal mess. I let her do it while I was doing some other stuff (also in the kitchen). Until she figures out how to actually open a packet and throws it around the floor, it's a pretty harmless toy and can entertain her until the box is empty (and sometimes longer).

Finally, Molly has her first homework assignment due tomorrow. She is the "Star" of the week and we had to make a poster to hang up at school for the week. I'm not very creative, so thanks to Grandma Judy, we have some lovely flower background on the poster.

New Post and New Pictures

2011-04-11T22:42:00.003-06:00

Here are some of Molly's most recent funny faces!

And then there's this one . . .

It pretty much describes my life. Tired. Hangers on the bedroom door that should have been put away. Trash can is full. Greasy hair. Haven't had a chance to shower. Bed not made. Squinty little girl getting her finger nails clipped. Asked James to please not take pictures of me and to please wait until I got Molly dressed to take pictures of her. You get the idea.

Spring Break Recap

2011-04-03T16:48:00.004-06:00

Spring Break is over. It is April 3rd and it is snowing outside. Go figure! I cleaned up my little yard a bit and planted pansies (that are now covered in snow). Molly and I spent lots of quality time together. We visited the double T's. We hung out at the DMV. We got the kitchen table cleaned off and threw most of it in the recycle bin. We also cleaned out 3 cupboards in the kitchen. We fixed dinner for Grandpa. We slept in until 7:00 almost every day! Hooray for days off. (And, of course, we went to Disneyland!!)

Unfortunately, a few more of my spring break projects included cleaning my house, and finishing some school work. That, of course, did not get done. School work has been left until Sunday night. Housework . . . keeping up on the laundry, dishes, countertops, and bathrooms is all I can seem to manage. One of these days, I might get the rest of it in order. Before Molly was born, I prided myself in having a fairly tidy house . . . no more.

I also spent a good deal of time over the break talking to a couple of realtors and a couple of financial guys. Thank goodness Molly had some long naps and I was able to do this. Selling our house is going to be quite an obstacle. We are in good shape to purchase a new home, though, except for the whole selling of this one. I've come up with a 6 month plan and James has agreed to come on board. In the next 6 months we will:

1) without touching our savings, try to tighten our belts and put as much extra money on our current loan as possible to help cut the difference between what we owe and what the realtors thing we could sell it for.

2) lightly nudge (or pester like crazy) our current HOA board to get our complex FHA compliant. Right now we are not and this is why the other homes that our for sale are not selling. I e-mailed the presidente on Friday, but of course have not heard back from her. I'll call her this week.

3) keep our fingers crossed that at least one of the other homes sells in the next little while and then ours will (there are currently 3 on the market and and 4th with a for sale sign up, but not actually listed).

For the rest of the month of April I am also going to keep myself busy doing the following (all of which have deadlines by the end of the month and all while James is gone for 2 weeks for Annual Training):

1) Finish my final project for the most stupid class I have taken yet at USU.

2) Finish THE final project for my Master's Degree. I am building a curriculum of online games and activities to match the Algebra 1 curriculum. I've been creating the project all year, but I have to do the final write up and report on it before the end of this month so I can walk at graduation (maybe), even though I still have one class to finish in the summer.

3) Finish my portfolio that is also a requirement for my pending degree

4) Finish my part and help Annie and Emily with our booth for the BYU Women's Conference - "Social Technology - Good, Better, and Best."

5) Teach the temple prep class to a couple in our ward - first lesson is tomorrow (and maybe we should actually go to the temple since it's been a while, but our recommends expired and we can't meet with the bishopric until Tuesday).

Phew! I hope I make it! If I do, we'll celebrate Molly's 1st birthday, wrap up the school year, and have a great summer!

General Conference

2011-04-02T10:34:00.016-06:00

Primary General Board Meeting

Study the scriptures and have personal experiences with the scriptures in order to better teach them.
The focus of primary is teaching the individual to lift up the family

Saturday Morning Session

New temples in Fort Collins, Colorado; Meridian, Idaho; Manitoba, Canada
Keep the Sabbath Day Holy, including proper dress.
Be humble like the little children.
Do Good. Serve Others.

Saturday Afternoon

When others make mistakes and offend you, just let it go.

Sunday Morning Session

Be ready to do the Lord's work on the road to Damascus, don't be afraid to talk to your friends and co-workers about the Church
Marvelous blessings often come on the heels of great trials, you will never be asked to go through trials that are beyond what you can handle
Help the needy, take care of the sick, feed the hungry
Go to the temple! Some people have to work in a nickel mine for 4 years to be able to go. You don't have to do that, so you should go to the temple often.

Sunday Afternoon Session

Love your spouse and tell them how much you appreciate them
Pay your tithing
You have to do and be. Do things, but also be who you should be all the time. Do is an activity, but be is what is in your heart all the time.
Repent!
Appreciate general conference and love the prophet.

Spring Break!

2011-03-30T22:28:00.008-06:00

It's Spring Break for Murray School District! Yippy! I get the whole week off to work on my "to do" list. Here are a few things going on.

Disclaimer: After rereading this blog post, it sounded super negative. Sorry. I am very grateful to have a few days off. It is just sometimes overwhelming because I have more things that I want to accomplish during the week than are sometimes possible.

Today we spent more than 2 hours at the DMV to renew my license. That was great fun. Molly was pretty good for the first hour and a half, then cried and fussed for a half hour, then finally conked out on my shoulder for the last 15 minutes. The DMV is the MOST inefficient place I have ever had to go. We think schools are bad? When are the documentarists going to focus on this terrible institution? I was watching each worker at their stations and all but 2 of them managed to waste 5-6 minutes doing who knows what before calling up the next person. In my number category (the C100's) it took slightly more than 1 hour to go from C120 to my number, C140. What a joke!
I would like to get my yard (as little as it may be) in order this week, but I need slightly warmer weather. I need to buy some pansies, too, because I wasn't on the ball enough to plant them in the fall. Also, the lawn is super long and needs to be mowed.
I contacted a realtor and mortgage guy today about the possibility of selling our house. It is possible, but there are obstacles. Right now, similar homes are selling for about $10,000 less than what we owe. We are not going to short sale and we are not desperate to move, but we do WANT to move. Molly needs her own bedroom. Our stairs are steep and are becoming steeper the closer Molly gets to them. I would like a garage (my car got broken into again last week). I would like a yard. I would like a basement that has a corner to put junk in that needs to be put in a corner, but not thrown out. I would like to have a room big enough for Molly to use her walker without crashing into furniture or walls or other crap because THERE IS TOO MUCH CLUTTER IN THIS HOUSE! I'm open for suggestions and ideas to solve this conundrum.
Oh yeah . . . you want to know a good way to de-clutter the junk in your car? Have someone break into it, luckily get scared off, and leave all of your stuff lying in your carport for the police to then put in your trunk. Leave it there for a day or so because you are super busy and then hurry and bring it all in the house to clean out your car so there is a place to put your luggage on the way to the airport and then find a large metal rod in the trunk with the stuff, but throw most of the stuff away and that's how you de-clutter, but then you are grateful that they didn't actually use the large metal rod because you may have had to fix a window and you don't want to do that again.
I am going to the General Primary Board Meeting tomorrow morning. It should be good.
We are supposed to teach temple prep classes to a couple in our ward, but we need to set up an appointment with them (and we should probably go to the temple ourselves . . . now that I just wrote that, I think our recommends may have expired this month . . . better check on that).
My mom is out of town, so we took her Wednesday night spot to have dinner with Grandpa tonight. It was fun! I don't usually volunteer to take meals to people because cooking is not really my forte. We had barbecue pulled pork sandwiches, chips and dip, and salad. I guess it was okay because Grandpa ate one and a half sandwiches.
I only have 2 days left of my vacation and I have a lot of things to do, still. Maybe I should spend less time blogging and more time cleaning my house. Or . . . I could just hulu last week's new episode of the office while I reread this post and then go to bed. That sounds good!

D-Land Report

2011-03-29T13:13:00.004-06:00

We went to Disneyland!!! It was great!! Here is the report.

I've been to Disneyland many times. It's quite a family tradition. James has been twice now and Molly has been once. James was worn out from literally running from ride to ride every morning with Willie. I am worn out from taking care of Molly for 3 days without having a place for her to just roll around on the ground. Oh well. It's a good worn out. Disneyland is just the type of place that you need a vacation from the vacation when you get back. Lucky for me, I am on Spring Break this week and Molly and I are just chillin'.

So, what else? We stayed at the Sheraton Garden Grove. It was very nice. We spent 3 days in the park, mostly hopping between both parks. We've got the fast pass, baby swap, and park hopping down so well that Willie wants to write a book about "cheating the system at Disneyland." I personally did not stand in any line for more than 20 minutes and I don't think anyone else did either.

I don't think I've ever been there in March and it was still pretty crowded. I don't know that it's ever not crowded except for the first couple of hours it's opened each day. James and Willie got there super early EVERY DAY! Since my mom, Molly, and I didn't make it quite that early, the two of them were able to have our Magic Morning passes on the last day. Willie knows the total, but I think the two of them rode Space Mountain 20+ times. Neither of them were feeling very well yesterday and I think that might have something to do with it.

Molly was an angel. She had a few moments of hunger and tiredness, but overall was just perfect. She took good stroller naps and loved the rides and shows she did do. She literally held perfectly still for like 3 minutes at a time during Captain EO. She was mesmerized by Peter Pan and even giggled going up and down on Dumbo. She tried to escape on the Merry-Go-Round and fell asleep on It's A Small World. She was neutral to Pirates of the Caribbean, but got a little antsy just because it is such a long ride. Most of the rides, she just sat and looked around at everything, taking it all in. She's a good girl.

My only complaint about this trip is that, as anyone who's been knows, the food inside Disneyland is way expensive. I was anticipating that. However, it seemed liked everything was just so much more expensive than before. Plus, the food as always been pretty good and of a very filling quantity for the price you pay. This time, though, it seemed more skimpy, not as good, and more than ridiculously overpriced. Oh well.

There were more highlights . . .

The Baby Center - we visited it often because there is no warm water in any bathrooms in DLand (believe me, I tried most all of them) and it was very nice and friendly. I've never had reason to use it before, but would highly recommend it!
Ruby's Diner on the Huntington Beach Pier - We left the parks on Sunday afternoon to head to this place for dinner. It was a bit chilly, but pretty fun! I had a delicious milkshake that tasted wonderful.
Plane Ride Home - Molly was a bit of a screaming bear for the first 25 minutes of the plane ride TO California, so I was a bit nervous about the return trip. But, she was really good. She played and was easily entertained for most of the way. She became kind of a maniac for the last 15 minutes or so of the flight, but once in her stroller she quickly fell asleep.
Elliott and Wyatt entertained Molly quite well. She giggles at them. Wyatt usually likes to pick fights with her, but Elliott is very caring and watches out for"little Molly."
Iced Milkshakes - After a rough evening Saturday night trying to find food (and a moron mustached kid at Red Robin not knowing how to do his job and seat people), we went back to our hotel restaurant and asked for milkshakes and fries. They said they would try. I think the shakes were made of milk and ice in a blender, but they actually tasted pretty good and we appreciated the effort.

My parents and the rest of my family are great! Here's to the next trip!

Oh . . . one more thing. Did you know that Disneyland even has it's own Mickey shaped clouds?

Jimmer Neutral

2011-03-20T21:21:00.004-06:00

March Madness is upon us. I watched the first half of the BYU game yesterday. Yes, Jimmer is good. No, I don't love him nor do I want to jump on any bandwagons and convert to BYUism. But as an avid basketball watcher, yes he is good and BYU played well yesterday. Yes, they've now made it one game farther than I had them on my bracket, but I also had them going down to St. John's and not Gonzaga (even with John Stockton's 12 year old son playing for them). So much for my bracket.

In other news, I was glad Butler pulled out a win. I wish West Virginia would have done the same over Kentucky. I wish that Michigan kid (and I don't really like Michigan) would have dished the ball off to someone else or been able to score that last bucket to knock of Duke, but oh well. I don't like Duke, Kentucky, or BYU for that matter. If BYU ever played one of those teams, it might be the only time I'd cheer for the Y . . . no, I take that back. It'd probably be the only time I'd cheer for Duke or Kentucky. I'd hate to think that BYU could actually beat one of those two teams (though this year I haven't been impressed with either and BYU could maybe even take them). Such is basketball . . .

Then there's our Utes. What's happened to them? I have no idea. The only thing that makes Jimmer mania worse is that it is salt to the gaping wound that is my Utes. I don't miss Majerus, but I miss his style of basketball. Hard nosed. Fight 'til the end. Defense wins ballgames. Fundamentals win ball games. I'd like Utah to hire the Butler coach, but since that won't happen, I think Utah needs someone like him.

Chris Hill, if you are reading my blog, I think it's time to go local. Find someone who knows how to get a few of those good, solid Utah kids to play and put them in a position to do their jobs. Find someone who doesn't necessarily look good on paper, but who has something invested in the program and in the school. Jeff Judkins. Kerry Rupp. Alex Jensen. I think it's time to invest in the past to prepare for the future. Maybe even Michael Doleac is looking for a job.

That's all. When do I blog? Molly milestones and avoiding homework. Option 2 is the matter of the evening. Good bye. Time to get back to work.

Steadfast and Immovable Decides to Move

2011-03-18T19:57:00.006-06:00

I was able to get one video displaying three of Molly's talents. They include crawling (yes, she has finally decided to move!), clapping, and shaking her head no. She refused to say "uh uh" or wave goodbye, but maybe she'll do those on another video.

Linked here

Happy Anniversary!

2011-03-09T22:21:00.004-07:00

I hate getting my picture taken, but this one makes us look like we're farting on Santa. And that guy in the background with the mustache . . . his name is Rick.

Today is our 4th Anniversary! James and I have been married for 4 years and known each other for a little over 5. We've each gained some weight in that time, gained a lot of stuff in our house, and gained a beautiful daughter. We drive each other crazy most days, but we still like each other most days, too. What I've learned in the last 4 years is that being married is a challenge, but once you commit to sticking it out forever, it takes some of the pressure off making mistakes. So we know its okay even when I ask James, "Do you even like me?" He says with kind of a forced sigh, "Ya." And when he asks me, "Do you like me today?" I say in a routine answer, "I like you every day."

We are pretty exciting people. To celebrate today's occasion, James gave me an alarm clock and I gave him a gift card to Sears (he likes tools). Both gifts beat last year's book shelf. For dinner, the three of us went to the Rio Grande. It was yummy and Molly was an angel.

This is my favorite new Guster song and I think it fits the 30-something married couple, that's us! Thank you for being a good husband! Here's to many more years, Jim Bob!

Do You Love Me - Guster

We were young, twenty one, all those years ago
In came a fascination, everything is under control
Full of life, untried, through thickets and through thorns
Out came a revelation, everything is out of control

Do you feel it?
Do you feel it now?
Cuz we want it, but we don't know how?
Do we have it, as much as anybody ever has?
I wanna wake you from your dream,
I wanna know just who you're talking to when your singin' in your sleep
I wanna find out what it means
Do you love me?

Now we're fine, all right, but all those days are gone
We read our constellations, everything is under control
Are you tired, I'm tired(I'm tired)
The tv sparks and glows
The news man gives information, everything is under control

Do you feel it?
Do you feel it now?
Cuz we want it, but we don't know how?
Do we have it, as much as anybody ever has?
I wanna wake you from your dream,
I wanna know just who you're talking to when your singin' in your sleep
I wanna find out what it means
Do you love me?

I got marbles in my mouth
Thousand words I wanna say but it's impossible to spit em out
I can barely make a sound
Do you love me?

Do you feel it?
Do you feel it now?
Cuz we want it, but we don't know how?
Do we have it, as much as anybody ever has?
I wanna wake you from your dream,
I wanna know just who you're talking to when your singin' in your sleep
I wanna find out what it means
Do you love me?

I got marbles in my mouth
Thousand words I wanna say but it's impossible to spit em out
I can barely make a sound
Do you love me, love me?

Do do do do do, do do do do do do do....

Do you have green goo coming out of your ears?

2011-03-08T21:22:00.004-07:00

Molly does. Every day is a new adventure, apparently, with this little girl and her ears. She got the tubes a week and a half ago and the good news is they are working. How do we know they are working. For the last 2 days, green goo has been flowing out of them. I shouldn't say flowing, but rather steadily gathering and oozing. If the oozing isn't cleaned up (by a q-tip or mom's pinky fingernail), then it becomes extreme caked-on crustiness.

She's had a bit of a runny nose since the weekend and so I'm assuming she's just got a bit of a cold. Otherwise, she's fine. No fever. Not too much out-of-the-ordinary grumpiness. Basically, what normally comes out of a runny nose, is now coming out her ears. The good news is that if it weren't for the tubes, the gooey green stuff would probably be pooling behind her ear drums and causing yet another infection. The other good news is that she is done taking yucky oral antibiotics (to which I would only give her after a taste of ibuprofen because she likes the taste of it and is tricked into swallowing the yucky stuff). The other good news is that this was remedied with a phone call and not a doctor's visit. Now, she has ear drops. 5 drop. 3 times a day. Repeat for 7 days. Hopefully they clear up the green goo.

Also, related to the green goo or not, I don't know, but she has had a hard time falling asleep the last 2 nights. Last night James and I fought with her for almost an hour and a half before she gave in. She's usually a really good sleeper and I don't know what the deal was. It wasn't a sad, "I don't feel good cry." It was more of a "Grrr. I'm mad at the world cry."

Tonight she did the same thing, but I didn't want to fight her. I gave in. I put her in the car and we drove to Walgreens to pick up her ear drops. She was asleep by the time we got back home and should stay asleep. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

And . . . in case you were wondering about it, I've given you a diagram of the middle ear.

And . . . just to report, James got released from being the EQ President tonight. If you see an extra smile on his face the next time you see him, that's why.