Right Choices

2007-2015

2016

We returned to the beloved Right Choices Corn Maze on Saturday. What a gorgeous day.  

This moment (above) on the cow train with Sloane reminded me of one 8 years ago with baby Quincy (below) It blows my mind how much they look alike. 

We played in the corn boxes and on the roller slides, raced the ducks, rode the cow train, played pumpkin basketball, jumped on the giant pillow, and people watched. 

Only Corbin and Reese had enough left in em to do the corn maze, so I took them for the adventure and Aaron and my folks played at the tire swings, got some kettle corn and then got a head start to the car when the babies had had it. The corn maze has 2 sections: a "mini maze" that we blew through in 2 minutes, and then the big maze. Concerned about making it out of there in under an hour, I asked some workers what we might expect. They handed us a booklet with a map and told us to just follow along with the numbers inside and we'd be out in under 10 minutes. Sweet! 

LOL False. 

It took us almost 30 minutes, but we really enjoyed it. The "numbers" were actually numbered questions to a quiz with bible verses and US history questions inside. Correct answers would lead you to turn in the correct direction. Clever! We started out with a crowd, but disagreed on the answer to one question and went right when they turned left. They hollered to us through the field for aid when they found themselves lost. What s great lesson for my kids! Eventually, they met up with us again when we got stuck in a loop, but Corbin and Reese recognized the value in not following the crowd when they know the crowd is false. This little place is just the cutest family friendly place ever.  The maze was in the shape of an American flag with the words pray and right choices in it. The message/theme was about praying for out leaders and our choice when we vote, and the bible verses supported a theme that a great leader is one who puts God first.  Beautiful. Sadly, I do not think either of the two major party candidates have God's will as a priority. This also offered a segue for Corbin and Reese about why I'm voting third party this year. It's not a popular vote, and I am pretty certain my candidate will not win, but I have the privilege to vote, and I cannot use my voice to support people I disagree with and/or do not have an eye (or even a glance) toward heaven for guidance.  This tangent might be why our trek through the maze took us so long, but it was worth it. 

Anyway, love the imagery of the maze and politics. Well done, right choices.  Thanks for a lovely day.

Red Ribbon Week

It's great, in theory. But if my children didn't love it so much, I would bag it. 

But they do love it. I try to have everything the night before, but somehow end up dropping the ball and am always scrambling to throw together at least one costume at 6am. How does this happen? I don't even know, but I do know many moms are hittin' the chocolate hard, this week to survive! Hahaha! 

Quincy rocked the crazy hair on wacky Wednesday. 

It almost got to me, today, but I didn't crack (...yet. It is only 8am).  Corbin woke me up this morning with his nose pressed against mine. "I decided to dress up. Can you help me be a fairy tale guy?" 

At 6am my creative faculties are severely lacking, so I did a quick google search for  "fairy tale boy" with a hope that we have one of these costumes already to go in the Halloween bins. He saw Pinocchio and said "I'll be him." And switched out his striped shirt for a yellow one and he already had red shorts on. Done!  "Well that was easy" was my naive thought as I got dressed. And then 10 minutes later, after appearing "in costume" to each family member and being unrecognized, Corbin came to me in distress. "No one knows who I am. I need the hat." 

And then a red ribbon week miracle happened as I opened the craft closet and found the supplies to bust out a feathered yellow Pinocchio hat and bow tie in less than 5 minutes. Glue guns are amazing things. 

I'm not sure if Corbin looks more like Pinocchio or Tweedledee/Tweedledum, but he was happy and confident as he left for school. 

Oh red ribbon week, I love to despise you. 3 kids in school (with 2 different dress up schedules) = 15 get ups we come up with. They do most of them on their own, (Exhibit A: quincy is one of the 3 little pigs with cut up soccer socks over her hands. Exhibit B: Reese is sporting the tube leftovers of said soccer socks as leg warmers for 80s day.) but each day, at least one needs some help, or is upset when their great plans don't work out.  

But we made it to Thursday and it hasn't taken me down, yet. Maybe I should get a ribbon for that, huh? ;) 

End of October Dozen

1) I was in a rental van all last week while ours was finally in in the shop getting its 5th bumper.  I am kicking myself now for not just fixing the smashed in light and putting the rest of the insurance check in savings. The insurance payment from the woman who hit my van is worth almost as much as my van altogether. Why did I fix it? Besides, the van seems to get hit and need a new bumper every 18 months anyway, might as well stop replacing it. Haha!  I don't know why it didn't occur to me before it was too late. Oh well, at least it sports a shiny, new bumper.

 And then I hit a deer tonight on my way to meet with some YW the day after I got the van back! Hahaha. Luckily I was only going about 25mph but the front bumper does have a dent.  It's so not worth the hassle of trying to get it fixed. 

2) My mom came over during naptime one day last week and brought this cute pumpkin craft. 

3) I made almost 50 of these candlesticks from a couple of branches from Katy grow's backyard. My mom's neighbor, Terry has a drill press and he let me come over and play in his wood shop for a couple hours. It was like Disneyland! The candlesticks are going to be centerpieces for Young Women in Excellence event in a couple weeks, but they are so cute they might need to make an early debut as decor for a baby shower I'm hosting next week 

4) we had Reagan over on Friday while her parents went to the temple. That girl is awesome. She hopped in the van after school and greeted me with a British accent, and kept it up the whole time she was at my house. Hilarious! I could have kept her forever. 

5) all the heart eyes for this scene 

6) my orange toenails make me happy every time I look down. I haven't had color on them since May and the orange is just so bright and cheery.

7) fall soccer is over. Corbin got hurt in the last game, but went back in for the last 2 minutes and hobbled/limped after the ball. He almost scored! Great season, Corbin! 

8) I ran 7.5 miles with Kasey last Saturday morning in beautiful brisk weather. When I got home, the girls asked to go, so I gutted out 2.5 more walk/run miles with them up to the square for a macaroon at Gwen's farmers market booth. I felt great and we had a good jog together. Then came this Saturday, when I was a pitiful pile of overheated exhaustion after 2.5 miles, and trudged through the next 3. It was awful awful awful hard and I came home feeling physically depleted and defeated. Some days ya just don't have it. But I'm also really grateful to have had those 2 hours to just be in my head.  Running (or run/walk/sweating profusely) usually does more for my mental health than my physical health. Big thanks to Aaron for recognizing this and supporting me as I leave him for 1-2 hours with early rising children every Saturday morning.  

These pics are from the week before. What cute girls I have. Running with them was so fun. I love the way they encourage each other. 

9) oh hello, georgeous trees in my backyard. I sat out on the back patio yesterday for awhile and just felt the breeze and watched the trees. 

10) Fall Parties 

Here are Q and Millie being "sadness" from the movie Inside Out at the 4th grade Glow Party.  Q and I tore it up on the dance floor for a bit. She sure loves to party! 

Corbin's party was fun, too, with a giant maze board. Corbin was a really good sport about part of his costume not arriving in the mail in time to wear to school. He wore his Jedi robe over regular clothes with an adorable smile, even though I know he was disappointed. When we got home he found the package on the doorstep and tore into it right away. What a sport. 

11) I really love having my parents so close. They are amazing and it is such a blessing for my children to be able to develop close relationships with them.  I can't adequately describe how grateful I am to finally be one of those people who "live near family". 

12) Bunco! The ladies of Primrose Lane are starting a bunco group. How fun is that? I'm the only one on the block who couldn't give a concrete monthly commitment.  evenings tend to fill up quickly with a big family, so I'm going to be the sub and play when I can.  I'm really looking forward to a fun evening with my neighbors, next week. 

Date Night With the Willies: Dinner Groups

We went to a dinner party at the McCash's tonight and had a really great time with Aaron and Julie S., Tashya P., our hosts Liz and Doug, and their wonderful neighbor, Rinki, and her son and parents, Neelum and RDK. It was a fabulously enriching evening. Rinki's parents are visiting from Delhi, India, and our conversation was rich with history lessons about India and the Hindu way of life.

One very interesting cultural lesson came from RDK, Rinky's father, who told is more about Ghandi, and how he influenced the nation. I have always just assumed that Ghandi had held some kind of religious or political office. False. He was just a good man who gained masses of followers by teaching peace and setting an good example. RDK says that he stood for so many good things, that there is a picture of Ghandi hanging in every government owned building in India. Ghandi is a symbol that remind both the people and the political professionals of the morals and ideals that the leaders and people of India want to represent. 

My thoughts: and here we are in America, fighting to remove any symbol, flag or religiously affiliated statements from government managed properties. There are 10 commandment monuments in state parks that groups are fighting to take down. No flags, artwork depicting or scriptures quoting Jesus, no symbols that represent anyone's faith, here in America. We might offend someone! Rinky replied that it's outrageous how over sensitive we are in a misguided way. Even when these symbols and statements are not of our own faith, if they still represent good message or bring peace to the community, they should stay and be respected by all. Taking offense is a very different concept in India. There is no political correctness, because anyone with a problem with someone else's beliefs is encouraged to meditate and reflect on why they are so bothered by the way another person finds happiness. Interesting! Here are some of the people we are trying to keep from offending, and they are not only not offended by religious monuments, but honor them because they bring peace and happiness to others. Rinki said, what kind of nation are we if we have no moral standard? During this election, these have been my thoughts exactly. 

I was fascinated by the meaning behind  between many Hindu customs they explained to us, and so so many of them correlate with Christian traditions.  I could have talked to Rinki all night. I just loved her.

 Rinki and Neelum offered to teach me to make Indian food. I can't wait! Thanks for hosting an absolutely fabulous evening, McCashs! 

Reese Gets Straight A's!

Reese has been putting in a lot of extra hours studying, this year. We had parent teacher conferences, this afternoon, and Reese was blown away with excitement when she found out she is getting straight A's. This is a first for her, and I'm so happy she is getting the results she desires for her dedicated hard work.  We celebrated over ice cream at spark cafe. 

Your choices do determine your destiny, Reese. Congratulations on working hard to get exactly where you wanted to go. 

Young Learners: Monsters, Moose, and Muffins

Literature: the classics Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly, and If You Give a Moose a Muffin by Laura Numeroff were the basis of today's curriculum. 

Dramatic Play: We did a lot of puppet play today. We added and removed scary parts to the green monster as we "blew" away our fears, sang 10 Little Ghosts with ghost puppets, had two puppet moose friends join us for muffin baking, and tossed around the green monster during Meet My Monster. 

Phonics: M is for Music, Monster, Mommy, Moose, Magnets, Macaroni, Mask, and Muffins

Sensory: flashlights "then Wooo went the wind and OUT went the lights and the 5 little pumpkins rolled out of sight!" 

We had story time by flashlight today! Some of my students are afraid of the dark and this was great exposure therapy. 

Sensory: Halloween/spooky themed macaroni sensory bins. The children used light up tweezers to dig up and transfer spiders, stretchy skeletons, glow in the dark eyeballs, snakes and bugs, vampire teeth, and bones while I read Bugs That Go Bump in the Night

Practical Life: what are you afraid of? What do you do when you feel scared? 

We read Meet My Monster and talked about being scared and imaginary fears vs real danger. 

Art: Big Green Monster Masks 

"The big green monster two big yellow eyes, a long blueish-greenish nose, to squiggly little ears, scraggly purple hair, a big red mouth with scarp white teeth and a big scary green face!" And so did out puppets!  We made our own monster masks to wear home.

Craft: fuzzy spiders because they're so fun and spooky

Science: how do magnets work? 

Dramatic Play: M is for Mommy

The dramatic play center was full of babies, beds, bottles, real newborn diapers, rocking chairs, (toy) potty chairs, baby car seats, blankies and strollers. The kids loved it and were great little moms and dads to their babies.   

Cooking: let's make muffins. We discovered more M's with this activity, too. MmmmMix and MmmmmmMilk! 

Math: moose's muffin match counting cards. How many muffins dies your moose have? Use a clothespin to match the correct number for your card

Fine motor/storytelling: If You Give a Moose a Muffin flannel board. 

Poetry: 5 little pumpkins 

Cognitive Game: monster memory match  

The kids love any form of memory match but the monster set is a favorite of mine. We took turns and matched all sorts of spooky imaginary creatures. 

Stink Face

So this is the fave Sloane gives us now when she sees a camera. 

We call this one the #nofilter

What a personality this baby has. 

We love you, Sloane! 

Quincy's 10 Minute Haircut

15 minutes before dinner tonight, Quincy asked me for a haircut. "Sure, why not?" I said, even though I could literally list 10 reasons "why not" that very instant. But instead, I grabbed the scissors and gave her her much desired bob in about 10 minutes. Of course she moved around a ton and I had to go an inch shorter than I had planned, but that's what happens when mom cuts hair instead of a trained professional. I think it turned out so cute, but Quincy is a pretty cute model, so I guess the cuteness is a given. The bottom layer in the back needs to be cleaned up a bit, too, but I'll get to it tomorrow. She looks pretty dang adorable, if you ask me!  She is so happy to have less tangles to deal with. 

Laundry: Party of 7

I didn't run the wash for 2 days and now it has gained strength and turned into sie kind of mutant super bully.  I will come out victorious. 3 loads after these. 

Moral of the story: stick to my regular system. Sorting is making it take twice as long. At least my helper is super cute!

Things On My Mind: Peace, Reverence, and Worship

I really loved listening to the discussion about reverence and personal sacrament meeting worship that took place in Sunday school, this week. We talked about what worship should look like and feel like for each of us, and we were encouraged to evaluate how much effort we are putting into our personal sacrament meeting reverence and worship. 

As I considered this, I felt an overwhelming peace that my worship is pleasing to Heavenly Father. We are not exactly the most reverent pew in the chapel, and my own thoughts and energy during sacrament are usually distracted away from my personal repentance and worship and redirected toward my children and helping them to feel the spirit and have a meaningful sacrament experience.  

I believe the feeling of peace I experienced was the Holy Ghost bearing witness of a truth I've been thinking a lot about lately. YES: The sacrament meeting and ordinance are not just for the adults in the room. The sacrament is for everyone, and that includes the children. Their worship will look different than mine. YES: for me, this time can be about more than just keeping my children quiet but teaching and helping them to participate and experience the joy that comes with the blessing of renewing baptismal covenants.  

With our house open and the calls from DHS starting to come in, these verses from Matthew 25 are burned like fire onto my soul and especially heavy on my heart. I think about how and if I'm applying them all the time. 

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

The Spirit and the scriptures are helping me learn that Sacrament meeting worship, for me, looks like a mother serving her children. When I mother my children, I am serving the Lord. When I help my children learn how to worship, I worship.  If I'm passing out colored pencils, or whispering truths into a child's ear, or rushing a screaming baby (that just fell face first off the pew) out of the chapel to ice the fresh hematoma on her forehead, it can all be done in love and worship. 

As the Sunday school discussion carried on, I continued to feel the confirmation that the Lord accepts my worship in the form of serving His children. I can worship as I lay out clothes the night before, and worship as I play church music in the morning to help my children honor the Sabbath day.  All of these small and simple things, if done with pure intent, are expressions of love.  It is still essentially up to my kids to choose to follow, cooperate, obey, or participate, but my own personal experience is enriched when I shift my attitude about where my thoughts and energy are focused.  

Craft Fair Weekend

The One of my favorite times of year in NWA: craft fair weekend! My mom and I only had about 40 minutes of kiddo-free time to go check out Spanker creek, but it was a fabulous 40 minutes! I haven't had a Friday adventure in a long time. This was so fun and we found s couple Christmas gifts. My mom also found a cute metal scarecrow guy for her front yard. 

We took the kids on Saturday. During naptime. Not my wisest choice, but they are kettle corn and corn dogs and listened to the band. There were really cute Halloween decorations out this year.  

My favorite find was this giant yellow fork from my friend Joni's booth, Not Too Shabby. I have no idea where I will hang it and I know it's totally ridiculous, but it just makes me laugh. A lot. We've already taken to poking each other with it often and it's been well worth the $6 I spent in laughs alone. 

The most creative/interesting thing I saw and loved but couldn't bring myself to justify spending $85 on was this rad lamp at the John Q Hammons fair. What a clever, fun piece. I want to make one! 

Saturday Night Lights

A few of the kids' friends are playing football this season, so we spent the evening cheering for Noah, Bradley, abc Simon at the Toy Bowl. 

I could hardly handle the cuteness!