New Music

As most of you know, Ethan and I recorded an album for our parents' Christmas gifts.  The album is titled Taking Flight.  I've put two of our songs up on the sidebar, if you'd like to check them out.  We would like to ask for your help, too...

We need a name for our "band."   After listening to a couple of our songs you'll probably have an idea of our style and we would LOVE to hear your suggestions for names.  Of course, we know we're totally not "pros" or anything, but we're having fun and would love to be able to perform, but we need a name...

This is just a brainstorm, so any idea is a good idea... you can tell us as many ideas as you've got, we'd be happy to have them.  When I suggested we put it out there for our blogging friends, Ethan said, "And whosever we choose will get a free CD!"  How's that for exciting?! ;)  I just laughed, we're not selling our CD, so anyone who wanted a copy could have one for free.  Silly guy.

OK, Jeni, I know you've got a whole slew of names up your sleeve... so I hope you'll share... of course, I know you're planning on recording your own album so you can save the really good ones for you. :)

Parent-Teacher Conference... dun, dun, dun

I had my first parent-teacher conference today.  I was a little nervous, but Bryant has been doing really well, so not too worried.  The conference was great!  She filled me with mommy pride for my "genius" little guy!

His teacher just kept commenting on how he incredibly bright.  She is really happy with how well he reads and does math.  He's doing exceptionally well in those areas.  Even more of note to her was how easily he makes connections that his classmates miss.  He processing things that others don't even think about.  

She said that there is a test given next month that all the  kindergarteners will take.  Its mostly given to prepare them or give them experience taking tests.  It also has one other purpose, to place kids in the gifted and talented level class for the following year.  She told me that she would be surprised if he didn't place into it. Of course, we don't know what frame of mind he'll be in when taking the test, it might be on his birthday and that might be a huge distraction for him, so he might not, but just that she recognizes his strengths made me just about popping my buttons with pride.  

She also commented on how much his fine motor skills have improved.  You may remember at the beginning of the year she thought he was trying to figure out "how school works" and she says that he is doing great at listening and working quietly now too.  She commented that occasionally he'll do something that makes her think, "where did that come from?" but as a parent who doesn't have those moments with their kids?  As we were leaving she talked about his creativity, I think this outfit pretty much says it all.

OK, I think I've bragged enough.  Sorry.  I just love that kid and am SO proud of how well he is doing!

The Magic Touch

Our dryer is having problems.  We have to run things through at least twice before they get dry.  We are planning to get a good tax return so I thought it was perfect timing to replace our dryer is that is a hand-me-down of a hand-me-down (probably of a hand-me-down).  I'm pretty sure this dryer is from the 1960s or 70s... 

As I've talked to Ethan about it, at first he thought it was probably a problem with the washer.  See, it is pretty unbalanced and we can't seem to get to stay balanced for long... so his thought was that the clothes aren't getting enough water out of them during the spin cycle. So, he balanced it and we tried drying the clothes, still wet.  That ruled out the washer for me.

So, the next thing that we considered was the ventilation hose.  We cleaned it all out.  We cleaned the lint trap with soap and water.  We pulled the dryer out to give it more room to vent (the hose was kind of smashed up against the house).  Nothing improved.  Still, Ethan wasn't convinced we needed a replacement.  He wanted to try a new hose out of different material.

Well, about a week and a half ago, the dryer just won't start. It is making this buzzing sound, so I know there is power, but the drum isn't moving.  Ethan can't argue with this, if it won't start we definitely need a new one, right?  I tried different settings, I tried opening and closing the door several times... nothing would make it start.  I waited awhile and then called my dad, he had me fidgeting with the button thing (I don't know what its called) on the dryer door.  Then I gave up and waited for Ethan to get home.  So, he gets home, I have him try it and what happens?  Of course, it starts right up!  I guess I didn't ever actually try starting it after I fidgeted with the button thing, that must have been what it was.  Unless Ethan just has the magic touch.

And its been starting fine since then.  But we still have the problem with wet clothes.  Ethan finally replaced the hose and it seemed to make a small improvement, but I still have to run the clothes more than once to get them dry.

So, this morning Ethan stayed home because I had a conference with Bryant's teacher (more on that later).  First thing I went in to start a load in the dryer and once again, it doesn't start.  Same buzzing sound and everything.  So I try all the same things, including the fidgeting and it won't start... I yell for Ethan to come check it out... he comes, slams the door shut and presses start and it starts right up!  I was so annoyed, I had slammed the door about 6 times, I even messed with the button thing and tried to start it.  That is SO frustrating!

I guess Ethan just needs to take over the laundry until he's convinced that we really do need a new dryer... that's what he gets for having the magic touch!

Better, yes. Good, no.

The worst is over, can I get a hip, hip hooray!  We're pretty much done with the fever, the pins and needles feeling, the achey back, the painful joints.  What we're left with is the snot train, the coughs, headaches, congestion and no sleep.  So again I'll say, better, yes.  Good, no.  We'll take better though!

Bryant still amazingly hasn't been afflicted which is awesome (except that it means I have to keep getting up early so that he can get up and ready for school). This was especially difficult for me this morning as I was unable to get to sleep last night until well after 1:00 am.  (I realize that many of you probably go on less sleep than this, I, however, am a 8-9 hour a night sleep needer).  Am I the only one who just can not fall asleep unless I'm breathing through my nose?  I just can't relax like I need to otherwise.

I'm still watching Levi and Eliza for signs of an ear infection.  They've both had difficulty sleeping as well.  It seems so unfair that the thing that helps the most is the thing most difficult to come by when you're sick.

Ethan hasn't missed any work, I wonder how many innocent patient's got sick from coming to see him? :)  He is still coughing like crazy, but seems to be back to pretty much normal other than that.  I am discovering that all this illness and lack of sleep is tiring me out and when I'm tired I'm emotional, another reason I couldn't sleep last night.

So, this week is Valentine's and I am wondering what do you all like to do for the holiday?  I really love to shower my honey with love, so he's been getting valentine's most days of the month so far.  I also love making things (as you know) so Bryant and I have been working on making some for his class.  I'm learning that I'm not so good at making things with the kids.  I get too frustrated too easily.

We melted crayon shaving between two pieces of wax paper and cut them into little squares.  This part was great for the two of us together.  I actually didn't have a sharpener big enough to create actual shaving, so we used the food chopper and made little, tiny bits to melt, but it was still pretty cool.  Then, using construction paper we were cutting out hearts to lay over the wax paper squares to create a little stained glass window type valentine.  They are pretty cute.  I ended up drawing a half heart pattern on the construction paper and Bryant cut them out (after about 6 failed attempts without a pattern).  Then we just glued them all together and this is where I took over.  I was going crazy with how much glue he wanted to use or was accidentally using.  Poor kid has a nut for a mother!  I just realized I could have had him use a paint brush and that would have helped, oh well! They're done now.  He is busy writing names on tags for all of them (and doing such a great job!) and he is really excited to give them to his friends.  

Here is a picture, the paper is pink, but because of the lighting its weird.  

He has been so sweet lately.  He got invited to a birthday party for a girl in his class.  The next day he asked me if he could make a thank you card for Mia for giving him an invitation.  I thought that was so cute.  He asked me how to spell thank and invitation but he did all the rest of the work.  He then reported that she said thank you for the thank you card.  

We're hosting a youth fireside at our home on Sunday and with my illness all this week, I've got a lot of work to do to get ready for it.  So, I guess I should probably stop for now.  I hope you all have a lovely Valentine's Day!  I would love to hear what any of you do for your loved ones!

Woe is me...

Woe is me, I've got the flu.  And I don't know what to do.  So I'll just sit around my house all day in my achey, my achey way. - Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand

Bryant is the only one of us that hasn't bit the bullet and been knocked out with this nasty virus.  Ironically, Ethan is the one who brought it to us and he is the only one of us who actually got the flu shot.

Enjoy this video of Jo and Ethan being sick together on the couch. Poor guys.

That's all for now. I'm going to bed.

Spread the Sunshine!

 She is SO much fun!

Its kinda long, but as her mom, it is SO worth it!  I love all the background chatter too.  Bryant just goes on talking to anyone who will listen (and to some who don't... whoops!) and Levi cooing and talking to Eliza just makes me so happy.

If this doesn't bring some light into your life today, you can't say we didn't try!

Proof

Here is proof to my constant comments about Jonas handling his sister... there is no question that he loves her.

The last few weeks Jonas has been asking me to do a post about him, since we had one (or more) for Bryant, Levi, and Eliza.  I guess you could say he was having middle child syndrome.  Actually, he wasn't getting posted about because nothing major has been going on for him.  No trips to the ER, no major milestones happening, and no developmental delays we're trying to figure out.  

He has, though, been a really good helper lately, however, it definitely has to be on his terms. He LOVES, loves, loves to help in the kitchen.  Anytime I go into the kitchen and start making the sounds of cooking, no matter where he is in the house, he comes running and asks what I'm making.  He then proceeds to find a chair or stool to stand on so he can watch.  Even if its just watching the chicken cook on the stovetop.  If there is any measuring and dumping to be done, he asks politely if he can do it.  It is so cute!  It gets a little frustrating when his brothers all decide they want to follow his example and I end up with 3 chairs huddled around me as I cook.  And of course, if I'm making something sweet he begs to have a taste.  He is definitely his mother's son when it comes to the sweet tooth.

We've been working on some letters and he is getting good at writing the letter J, but be sure you put the line over the J or else he'll accuse you of not writing an actual J.  He shows very little interest in learning the way Bryant did, but he's loves learning in other ways.  I'm learning to be creative to adjust.  

Anytime I get the camera out he tells me he does NOT want his picture taken, so I don't have a ton of shots of him lately.  Sometimes I can trick him into it, though.

He's getting to that stage where he says funny things a lot.  I really need to keep a pen and paper with me all the time to keep track of the things he says.  While we were driving to Utah, Ethan said, (more to himself than anyone) "who came up with green means go and red means stop?" We heard Jo's cute voice in the back say matter of factly (like only he can do), "Jesus!" 

Jonas is a snuggle bug.  He loves to snuggle with, not only Eliza, but both his mom and dad and even more so when he's sick (like right now).  He loves reading books.  He loves to sit and watch TV or movies and would do it all day if we let him.  He still loves to dress up and play pretend.  He has one of the best imaginations I have ever witnessed.  I wonder if that is why he is more afraid of some things than Bryant.  We have them in swim lessons and Jonas has been so timid in the water (like his momma), saying things like "I will sink if I go in that big pool."

He makes me smile every day.  He seriously has this spirit about him that you can't help but love him and be happy when he's around.  I love being his mom.

The Famous Mommy Cafe

On Sunday Bryant asked if we could go to Pizza Hut for dinner on Monday (he has a coupon for a free personal pan pizza).  I told him we were talking about inviting someone over for dinner and FHE, so we wouldn't be able to.  Well, he just got right to work making tickets for everyone to come to our new restaurant The Famous Mommy Cafe.  He told me it was "famous" because my food is so good.  

Ethan was the ticket maker, he had to sign all the tickets.  Bryant would be the welcomer. And I, of course, am Famous Chef Mommy.  They all had tickets for lunch, then I left for a meeting.  When I returned, this is what I found...

The Sign.  He told me we needed one, so he took care of it.

The waiting area.  Since the food is so good its famous we need lots of room to accommodate all the guests.  This is where Bryant works.  The chair by the door is for him.

He even provided cushions to the seat so the patrons can be comfortable while they wait.  

What a cute little guy.  My MIL said he's mine... I guess I, too, get a little carried away in a "project."  So if you're ever in A-Town be sure to stop by The Famous Mommy Cafe, I'm sure you don't want to miss it!

Office Favorites

OK, its pretty clear that we love The Office (as evident here and here) and I know so many of you do too, so, I'm just dying to know... 

• Who is your favorite character on The Office?  
• What is your favorite Jim prank?
  
• What is your favorite Michael "moment?"
• Favorite all-time moment or event of The Office

OK, since I asked the questions I guess I'd better answer some of them...  My favorite Michael moment has to be when he "declare[d] BANKRUPTCY!" Hilarious!!!  I love, love, love Jim pranks.  Andy's phone is the ceiling was classic!  But my fav might have to be when Jim dressed up as Dwight.  Good stuff.  Sunday's episode had a sweet moment for me, when Pam said that her kids will be right that their parents are soul mates.  I welled up a bit because I feel the same way about my hubby!  I'm so glad they aren't going down the "troubled relationship" with Jim and Pam like so many sitcoms would.  Way to go writers!

Because the last ice pictures were pretty weak...

I just got the pictures off our camera again and these pictures were so much more indicative of our ice storm.  Maybe now we seem a bit less wimpy.