Halloween, here we come!

Last night (this morning?) at about 1:30am, Dustin and I stitched and pressed the last of costumes for this year. It was so much better this year than last because we picked costumes that were easier. I knew that Sean's would be easier than Reilly's because his pattern said "1 HOUR" all over it. It only took about 4.5 hours. If we did it first, it would've made Reilly's easier, though. I am baffled at how many different ways there are to achieve the same shirt/pants/jumpsuit. His had significantly less stitching to it, but looks quite good! I think it's the best one we've made yet!

Sad, sad story.

Last week, I got a call from a neighbor who was at the emergency room. She informed me that my dog had bit her daughter and they rushed there to treat and report the bite. As a result, Maya was put in quarantine for 10 days for observation. I'm not sure what they were observing, or why they had to retain her for so long, but we followed the law - literally - to the doggy impound. Today was the end of the quarantine, so Sean and I went to the Animal Shelter to pick her up. I paid the fee and followed the girl back to identify my dog. This is a necessity because they do a 'procedure' for release and they needed to do it on the right dog. Well, let me tell you, it was APPALLING! The circumstances that Maya was in for those 10 days are nothing short of abuse! She was wallowing in her own excrement and understandably upset over the whole thing. I went up to the front of the kennel to let Maya smell my hand so she knew it was me, but just as the girl was telling me I couldn't touch her, Maya growled and slowly coward to the back of the kennel. She wouldn't come to the front for anything. I mentioned to the girl that the kennel was incredibly messy and I was concerned that Maya had been in it for the whole 10 days. Dogs are naturally clean animals and don't like to hang out where the pee/poo, so if they cleaned it, they did NOT do a very good job. After the release procedure (and bath) was complete, we met the girl out back for discharge. Maya was excited to get outside, but was unsure about me and Sean. We put her in the car and drove home, but it wasn't until we got in our yard that she seemed to be relaxing into the Maya we knew before her horrific jail time.

Since this morning, she's been very lethargic and her nose is all dry. I'm worried that she may have contracted a bout of kennel cough from the low conditions she was kept in. But it made me and Dustin think. If we had put her under the same conditions as they had - small confines for an extended period, with minimal cleanup - we could be prosecuted for animal abuse. I hope that she doesn't have any sickness that needs to be treated. Firstly, because I would hate to see her suffer anymore for this. And secondly, because I had to pay nearly $200 for her quarantine, I can not afford to spend anything else.

Please, fast and pray for us.

Reilly's Costume = DONE!!!

We worked a lot over the weekend to finish Reilly's costume. It wasn't hard, just time consuming. I am always worried about the kids staying warm while still being able to show off their costumes while they trick-or-treat, and this year was considerably easier than last year. Reilly wanted to be a 'blue' princess this time, however since we couldn't get the pattern she liked, she had to come up with a different plan. I don't know where the idea came from, but we settled on her being a hippie instead. I bought the fabric for 50% off, the pattern for $1 and between me and Dustin, it was done in a manner of hours (stretched across three days). So, we made her a tank-top and fleece sweatshirt, flared out her old jeans, added a patch and finished off with a handkerchief for her hair. I think it turned out great as-is, but Reilly's bent on adding peace signs to everything. I'm just going to push it off and then paint one on her face. Hopefully, that will work.



PS - I know the sweatshirt's forever big on her, but she'll be able to wear it more than for Halloween....

Stuff, and some stuff... and some more stuff...

Other possible header? Which one's better??

Reilly has started and quit at everything she's ever tried... I'm getting worried about the kid. I put her in gymnastics, soccer and dance and she's hated all three. I need to know - when is it okay to push and when is it okay to let her give up? There's a fine line between pushing and encouraging and I don't think you find out which one you've done until the child turns 20 and resents the heck out of you.

So, recently she's taken to roller skating. I love it because I can do it with her. The roller skating rink here is pretty expensive ($6 per person plus a rental if you need it), but on Thursdays, it's only a dollar. I'm resolving to make my schedule accommodate that next semester so that we can make it a weekly thing. Cheapest sport - EVER!!! Well, if she decides to quit that one, it's swimming. That's the only other thing I can think of. She hated soccer because it was a team sport; she hated dance because she wasn't flexible enough; and she hated gymnastics because she had to be coordinated enough to stand on her hands for a split second. The kid sure is picky! ... Rollerskating it is!

Sean, on the other hand, has taken to many things lately - video games, staying up late, whining... wait, he was already a whiz at that one... Seriously, though. I don't know what to do with that one either. He's become impossible when meal times come around. Reilly's tastes have broaden through the years and she's started becoming very experimental with her taste. Sean is quite the opposite. He's become more and more picky. I'm not really sure how to reverse it, but forcing him to eat has CLEARLY not been working. I started a rule recently where he has to try everything I cook. If he's still hungry once he's done with that, he can have an apple, or a sandwich. It's not working... he's still horrible. :(

Okay, on the up side, both kids are doing GREAT in school!!! Reilly's ahead of her class in reading by two levels and she's right on track with math. We've neglected that at home, so her counting by 2's isn't the best. On our way to Great Grandma's house yesterday, she realized that counting by 2's is just skipping every other number. She'll figure it out soon. We had parent teacher conferences last week and her teacher kept saying how much she loves having Reilly in her class. She's a great example to her friends on behaving and getting her work done. She's a peacemaker among the kids in her desk group. She's also very willing to help her teacher with extra things in the classroom. I think her teacher just loves that she'll do whatever she's asked and doesn't talk much. I was SHOCKED to hear all that from her teacher because last year went so poorly. She hasn't fought with my ONCE to go to school and she has earlier and longer days this year. I'm so proud of the little monkey! :D :D :D

Sean started reading this year because he did so well learning all of his letters and sounds over the summer. He now knows some sight words that he rewrites on notes to give to me when he's mad at me. For example, last night, he didn't want to go to bed, so he turned on the light in his room (while Reilly slept) and wrote me a hate letter. I know you're not supposed to laugh at them when they're being serious, but you wouldn't believe how hard it was just to keep from busting out. Smiling the whole time, he told me why he wrote the letter (something like, "I didn't want to go to sleep because I already knew I would have a bad dream. And you are mean because you said, 'good-night' before I wanted to go to sleep.") and then he read it out loud. It said, "See Sean. I am Sean. I am me." It had a very scary picture of a blob with spikes coming out of it, too. I'm impressed that he's so into reading, but even more impressed that he's trying to write out his feelings. :D :D :D His teacher says he's doing very well in school and, while he doesn't socialize as much as I want him to, he's doing very well with a couple of the boys. We had a field trip last week and he actually sang the songs. His Halloween program is this week and I'm so excited to get it on video! I think it'll be the first program that he's really looking forward to. :D

Oh, and we did some family pics... they didn't turn out very well, but that's - okay.

Go! Fight! Winnnnnn!

Reilly participated in a Mini Cheer Clinic at Timpanogos High this week. Reilly had a blast with her friends learning some cheers to perform at the football game on Friday. We've really been struggling lately with what to do with her. She wants to do something, but has hated everything we've tried. Soccer was disastrous - by far the worst program for her! But she's been bored with ballet lately, too. She used to love it. It's super hard trying to get her there every week. :( So, we took a break from that to try cheering. She loved it, but it was only three days, so who knows if that would last either.

In the picture are two of the young women in my ward, Britney and Alicia (I teach Alicia piano/violin). Also, Rachel (Brit's sis), Brooklyn (also a student of mine) and Elleah (our neighbor).

Here's a video I put together of her pics and videos from the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az8K6U-z1G0

Two months already?!?

I know it's been forever, but I've had a lot on my plate. After four classes and numerous papers, I have finished out my summer semester with ALL A's!! Hoorah! Things suffered - like the state of my house. It's never been as messy as it has been and that's saying a lot. I kept on top of dishes and trash, so it wasn't disgusting, but laundry and the basement got away from me. I don't think that this semester will be different, but we'll be on a better routine because everyone's in school. I hope that makes a difference. ... we shall soon see because SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW!!!

It's crazy that the summer's already over. I'm excited that we won't have kids around all the time, though. It's quite wearing to have kids screaming, laughing and crying ALL DAY. So, my neighbors both go to this school (North Ridge) that's supposed to be the best school in the district. Plus, it has an orchestra... but they suck! I mentioned that school is tomorrow, right? Well, we tried to transfer Reilly to that school so that she could participate in the orchestra and I could carpool with the other moms next door, but they won't let her in! They have pushed me off all summer and yesterday told me that I should call back on Thursday (the first day of school) to see if they had a spot for her. Well, screw that! I need to know ahead of time where she's going. I hate them.

Okay, one last thing - the backyard is DONE! We have grass and landscaping and a patio and FREEDOM FROM TRAFFIC! Finally! Here are the pics from before and after.

OXYMORON!!!

I do have some pictures and stories to blog about, but I haven't been prioritizing it lately. We moved a family into the duplex next door and she had next to NOTHING! It made me jealous because her house looks so polished, so I decided to tackle decluttering my house a little at a time. It's a lot harder than I anticipated it, though. So, it's taking a while to get through the junk. So far, I've done the hall closets, kid's room, basement and living room. I need to finish getting rid of crap in the basement (toys, shoes and camping stuff), but am having a hard time deciding what to keep and what to chuck... ANYHOO! While I'm up to my ears in homework, kids and chores, I still want something else to do in my down time... maybe something to help me fall asleep at night... I need a book! Preferably one that I can purchase on a CD or audiobook file, but I want it to be GOOD! So, if you have suggestions, please let me know soon. Thanx!