Shadow Cliffs

It was 80 degrees today!! Spring is here!! Or should I say almost summer. Although it seems it has been raining forever, the hills are my very favorite color! Unbelievably fluorescent green! Driving back through the canyon it is so lush and beautiful!

With the beautiful weather we headed to Shadow Cliffs with some friends. Thankfully Ben was working from home today, so he took Brooke to school (and on a daddy date to lunch before dropping her off so she wouldn't feel so bad) and Jackson and Livy and I headed to pleasanton. It was so fun. I know my body had been craving that sunshine. I was so bummed though when i realized i had forgotten my camera. Livy and the twins (Tatum and Kale) were all three in striped swim suits about the same color and they looked so adorable running around together and burying each other in the sand. Jessica and I commented so much about how we used to do that together at Rio Del Mar. Even though Jackson was a bit grouchy and actually hated the sand it was still a perfect day. I hope i can remember all those kids running around with no one on the "beach" playing so hard and smiling so much and Jake and Jackson fighting (grunting) over the water bottle and Annie, Jessica and I just soaking in the sun and good conversation! Can't wait for summer (and spring break!).

The Dentist

Livy went to the dentist for the first time today. I guess I should say, I tried to take her to the dentist. Totally opposite to Brooke's first time, Livy freaked out before we had even gotten into the hygienist's room. There was no calming her down. After about 15 minutes of screaming and kicking I walked out of there with Livy kicking in one arm and Jackson on the other hip and told them i would call another time and reschedule. I was proud of myself that I didn't get ruffled. I didn't even get mad inside. Usually I would have been fuming...but I think it was because I totally expected that reaction. And Livy never disappoints when it comes to screaming and wailing.

Brooke is way excited to go to the dentist on Friday, so i might try and take Livy with me just so she can see that it isn't that bad. But who knows, she might start screaming even before we get in the waiting room since she knows where it is now.

Fun FHE

Although tonight wasn't one of our best FHE's, we have had some fun one's the last couple of weeks. One being a fun s'mores night with our fire pit my parent's got us for Christmas. It was a lot of fun!

Livy day

Livy Day

Yesterday Emma, Brooke and Tyler came home from Emma's house and surprised Livy with a super cute bag with fur on it, pictures they had colored, two lollipops, a bakugan card, and a plastic spider and declared it a LIVY DAY! In true Livy fashion, Livy hid behind the door and let out these crying screams. Until they finally pulled out the lollipops she ate one, then she was so happy. It was so cute and nice of them.

This morning when Ben saw the pictures and and "purse" on the table (he has been gone all weekend at a Conference) he asked why the picture said Livy Day?

As I was about to tell him about it, Brooke piped up and said, "It was Livy day yesterday. We let Livy play with us all day. So now it is Livy day on Saturdays." (Yesterday she is explained it to me as: Livy can play with us on saturdays, but Emma and Tyler and me get to play alone on the other days.)

Ben said, "That is so nice. Who's idea was that?"

Brooke, "Emma's. It was so nice of her. I almost started to cry at her house when she told me."

Ben, "Cry because you were happy?" Brooke, "Yeah."

Ben, "Did Livy like it?"

Brooke, kind of smirking, "No, she cried."

Ben, "You cried because you were happy for Livy day, and Livy cried becasue she was sad for Livy day....did she like it after you showed her the presents?"

Brooke, "No, not until we showed her the lollipops inside."

Moral: Livy hates a lot of attention, but loves candy.

Mother Hen

Livia is totally wanting to be the Mother Hen with Jackson. I think she is sick of being bossed around by Brooke, sometimes Calvin, Tyler and Emma. So she is taking out on Jackson. And he usually likes it. I am trying to capture the little moments of the day. And like I have said before, Livia's favorite thing is to play 'family' and spread out lots of blankets to lay down on or layer on top of jackson. Although, sometimes Jackson cries about it, they really do have a great time together. (except of course when Livy is trying to MAKE him smile.)

Little things

Little things I am desperately trying to chizle into my memory, that I feel like are escaping me:

Jackson dragging a blanket around draped around his shoulders. He especially likes a blanket in the mornings. Like this morning when I walked in from exercising he ran up to me in wiht a huge smile dragging a little blanket, half way wrapped around one shoulder and then said, "u. u." and pointed to the blanket.

Livy loving to play family. Always needing 500 little blankets laid on the floor for a bed. (I have to remember to pack up most of the baby blankets so i don't have to keep folding them 10 times a day-literally.)

Livy crying every hour for a band-aid for her finger nails because she won't stop biting her nails. There is nothing left of them.

How much brooke loves to play with me.

How brooke and livy fight to sit on the "corner" stool to watch me make pancakes in the morning.

What we've been up to...

I am still retarded when it comes to posting pictures. I don't know how to put them in the order i want and I can't seem to figure out how to get the size I want. But i am happy that I am actually posting pictures. (A special thanks to Ben for setting up our fixed computer for my birthday gift!)

February was gone in a flash, and March is half over. I know we did a lot of fun things, but i can't seem to remember them long enough to write them down. So i thought i would just remind myself with some of the daily things. So here is a basic overview of the last month in pictures. What we have been up to- in a nutshell.

Lots of playing. And Livy loves to "put Jackson to bed" with lots of blankets. It is their favorite game. Or I should say, it is her favorite game and he goes along with it, and happily (at least for the first 5 or 10 minutes.)

Waiting for Pancakes at breakfast. Jackson will only sit at the counter in the mornings with the girls. He definitely wants to be the big boy now.

Showing us how happy he is to be sitting at the counter!

Roller skating/blading. Donna gave us some old roller skates and Livy begs to put them on at least once a day. She falls all over the place and gets right back up and says, "I'm fine mom." with a big smile.

More crafting. And yes, this is normal for Livy-she loves to be shirtless.

Art day. Friday is art day.

A familiar face these days. Actually in the last few days, she now says "do a funny face, mom" and then she sticks out her tongue. I think she has finally caught on that she isn't supposed to stick her tongue out at me, but still wants to, so she turns it into a funny "game". She is one smart cookie.

Character day at school. Brooke was Junie B. Jones in the book Dumb Bunny. She was a very cute bunny!!

Crazy hair day at school. She came up with the idea all on her own! Definitely a girl that knows what she wants. I thought it was cute rather than crazy.

Always loads of laundry.

And the snow. Brooke still asks if we will live in the snow someday.

(I smile and think-hopefully not.)

Sledding in Arnold

We love the snow! Grateful it is only 2 hours away, but also grateful we don't actually live in it (although brooke wishes she did). For Presidents Day we headed to Arnold for the day with the Skubals. It was so much fun! The weather was perfect and there was SOOO much snow. We were bummed our usual sledding place-cottage springs- was so abundantly covered in snow that we had to go back down the road a bit to find a sledding place.

This is how Livy looked at least 50% of the time. You never know what you are going to get with her. Pure happiness and cuteness or all out screaming. Keeps us on our toes.

Dan looks like he is closing his eyes.

Can you tell this girl loves it!! She didn't cry once, even when she got snow down her shirt.

Jackson was a tired champ-a champ nonetheless.

There's a smile. Proof that she did have fun, at least for a little bit.

Sleep over!

We get to have Emma and Tyler for two days and we wanted to make it fun. So ben set up his big screen for work and we watched Wendy Wu- Homecoming Kung-fu, or something like that. It was a Disney show on netflix. The kids LOVED it. Emma declared it was the "best time (she) had watching a movie." Tyler was so excited because "now I know so many more king-fu moves." They practiced kung fu moves for an hour after the movie was over. It was so funny!

And I really think i should put Brooke in Karate. She loves it!

Ball

Jackson said his FIRST WORD today. He is exactly one week shy of 18 months old. I pointed to the ball he was trying to get while we were sitting on the floor in his room. He went over and picked it up and said "Bal". It was so cute, and I was so happy. Deep down i have been a little worried that he isn't saying words yet. But he was so clear and cute about it. Oh man, i love that little boy. It was so fun to play this morning. After I got home from exercising, we had about 45 minutes before brooke and livy woke up. It was so fun to play together and have some one on one time with him.

Jackson, you are the cutest!

Little Loves

Jackson's Loves:

Getting on the kids table and throwing everything off.

Drawing. (love how he holds the crayons, pen or pencil)

his binky. (Ben has been playing the "trick" of pulling his binky out of his ear. So now when you say, "Jackson, where's your binky?" He points to his ear and smiles. It is SO cute!)

toothbrushes.

pancakes and cereal.

books.

dancing.

wrestling.

little forrest. (at least when he isn't taking his food or hitting him.)

Livy's loves:

laying on the couch and asking to watch a movie and have a sippy cup of milk. (whenever she starts to have a huge melt down, that is what she says through the tears. "Tan I have a dippy dup a meilk and lay on da touch. Please, mom?")

Hide and seek.

roller skates. Pink ones from Donna.

playgrounds.

calvin.

playing with brooke.

helping me in the kitchen (she has to be sitting right on the counter and right next to me.)

carrying jackson to where she wants him or trying to "help" him.

painting and coloring.

boppy and dwamma. (my parent's)

hitting people. (not one of my love's or her siblings)

being first at everything.

singing.

sitting on the corner seat at the counter.

Brooke's loves:

Having a "towel robe" on after her bath. (It is just a regular terry cloth robe, but she loves it.)

READING!

school.

writing notes.

riding her scooter.

hiking.

having daddy talks at night.

trying to have "inside" jokes with the parents about what Livy and Jackson are doing.

being first at everything.

piano lessons.

music.

family hikes.

going to grandma's house.

getting to stay up later than her brother and sister.

noodles.

one-on-one attention.

sitting at the corner seat at the counter.

doing homework.

playing with friends.

Standing Up

As i was preparing for my Sunday School lesson and trying to make sure i could apply the scripture to the kids everyday life, i thought of this experience i had just this last week.

A friend sent out an email informing us of one of the books that will be going to the School Board to be voted on for AP english class. The book is titled Angels in America Part 1: The Millenium Approaches. I am grateful she is so diligent in keeping many of us informed on the things that are happening. The book is absolutely totally repulsive and offensive in language and content. If you really are interested on how incredibly horrible this is you can check it out here. I couldn't even get through two pages of the book because of the language. And this is what a teacher wants to have our teenagers filling their minds with. So I wrote a letter and I got responses within two days.

I am studying Matthew 5 to teach to my kids today at church, it really jumped out at me with this experience that it is so important that we don't hide our light. "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. ¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt 5:14-16). There are other people who are trying to share their light and we need to support and help them. By standing up for things we are being a light. It was just such a good reminder that we are to share what we know to be right.

This is the letter I wrote:

To All FUSD School Board Members,

As an English major in my undergraduate studies, I have read many books. I have been exposed to good literature and horrible literature. I think it is extremely important that we use good literature to teach our children. It is appalling to me that the book Angels in America Part One: The Millenium Approaches is even being considered as a text for our teenagers to read and learn from. There are many great books that can teach lessons without having to read such foul and distasteful language. The language is offensive, vulgar and totally inappropriate for anyone, let alone teenagers. As a former student, employee and coach, and now a parent in the Fremont Unified School district, I am so disappointed that anyone would see this piece of literature fit for our students. My athletes weren't allowed to say things in the gym that were even half as offensive as the writings in this book. I am extremely disheartened, outraged and in total shock that we would consider exposing our children to the type of conduct and language that is promoted in this text. In a society that is heavily lacking in respect and morals, it would be very unwise to expose our teens to the behavior, events and language that are celebrated in this book. We should be looking for literature that will teach our teens values and respect. We should not be wasting our teens time with books about "soap opera" affairs and alternative lifestyles, they can see that on TV. I am confident that there are plenty of other books that can teach our teens about the effects of AIDS and promiscuous lifestyles without being so distasteful in language and moral values.

Before you vote to approve this book, I would expect that you will ask yourself, and the teacher lobbying for this book, what the goal and purpose of exposing our teens to this book is. From the few pages I have read, and from the overview i have studied (because I was so offended by the language in the text that I couldn't make myself read it in its entirety), I am totally stumped as to the reason this book is being given to teenagers to read.

Please vote NO on approving the book Angels in America Part One: The Millenium Approaches . It is important that we fill our teens minds with good literature that will inspire them to be better. With the school work that is already expected of our children and the minimum extra time they have, it is imperative that we choose good literature and resources for them to read that will elevate their goals and influence them to be the best person they can be and this book does not do that.

Regards,

Ashley Eyre

Former Washington High School Volleyball Coach

And within 48 hours i got some great responses from the Board members, one in particular. Here are a few parts to it:

Thank you for taking the time to compose such a detailed e-mail regarding Angels in America.

I agree that we have to do all we can to reinforce positive character traits and we have to make sure that the religious beliefs of all are not subject to ridicule or hate.

The teacher who put this book forward for Board approval has stated in public that one of her favorite quotes is 'All literature is sexual'. While I disagree with the statement and believe she has every right to her beliefs, it does provide possible insight into motivation. That said, the content of this book (and the second book of this series), is full of hate and loathing aimed at more than one religious belief.

If this book had Muslims replacing Mormons and their religious beliefs held to attack, it would probably not have ever made it to the Board's consideration. That makes for a simple analysis related to the degree of the offensive nature of the work.

The content about God, the angels' activities in heaven and earth, the placing of real people in fictional settings and the general tone of the work is certainly grounds for reflection, but it hardly meets the requirements we want to have our high school children exposed to as required reading.

It is always comforting when we know there are others who support us. As i am sure this board member was happy to know there are others out there that are concerned about the things our children our subjected to.

*Post edit-And if you live in the area, you should let your voice be heard as well. Write a letter to the board, or attend the board meeting.

Bird

I was cleaning up the art project in the backyard, friday is art day at our house. So i was going in and out from the backyard and th escreen was left open. I was walking back in with my hands full of paints and garbage and i hear a really high pitch chirp. At first i thought there was a bird right above me on the roof. Then i hear this thunk, thunk, thunk-flap, chirp. I turn to the right and there is a bird in our house crashing against the corner window trying to get out. I quickly put everything down and tried to think what to do. I grabbed a couch pillow like i was going to shew it out, but decided against it. I opened the slider as wide as it could go and moved the key board that th ebird kept getting stuck between and kept thinking what to do. Should i grab a bucket and lid and try to catch it and take it out, do i shew it out. I had a few thoughts that the bird would just eventually die and then we would get it out, i thought of trying to get seeds and making a trail to the open door.....thankfully in the 1 minute that i tried to think of what to do the bird bashed its body into the window a bunch more times and then found its way out. WHEW.

It was a bit funny because i was just outside painting with the kids and admiring what an absolutely beautiful day it was and how many birds were out. And then i realized they were "in".

It was a fun event and i am grateful it resolved itself so quickly.

Favorite things

A few of Jackson's favorite things right now are:

pushing the stools around to the counter by the sink.

pushing the little chairs to make a line and block the entry way to the kitchen.

CEREAL. Dry or with milk. He even loves to just carry around the box.

closing drawers. Often time Livy leaves the kids dishes drawer open, and jackson always walks over to close it.

sitting on his changing table and putting on socks and shoes.

bobbing his head to music.

slides and swings!

climbing.

drawing.

smiling.

eating.

loving and cuddling.

BOOKS!

the wiggles

blankets wrapped around him.

getting chased.

Verbal Snapshots

Lately I feel like I am taking in the little moments, trying desperately to store them in my memory to recall when all the kids are gone. I am realizing the statement "time flies" and really trying to change my perspective. Not grumbling as much trying to get kids in and out of car seats, but reminding myself that Brooke is already out of a car seat and how fast the time went. Or laughing instead of screaming when i am cleaning up spilled milk again or changing another diaper. Because the time really is whizzing by. Sometimes it almost feels like it is being stolen away from me.

So i am really trying to take a few moments and engrave things on my brain, hoping those things that I can't get a picture of will be chiseled into my bones, never to be forgotten.

Things like Brooke and Livy walking/skipping hand in hand to church. Livy in her pale purple dress and braid and ribbon. Brooke in all white and french braids with a bright blue ribbon she insisted on wearing. (And although i fought it a bit, it did look cute.)

-Brooke talking and singing to herself in the toy room as she plays her way into a dreamland of pet shops or Polly pockets or building towers. While Livy kind of "copies" her and dances around singing the little mermaid really loud. And Brooke not minding one bit.

-Livy jumping for joy, literally, when i tell her we can go to the "mamayuchi" park (she use to call it the Lucy park). She jumped up on one leg and threw her hands in the air, almost as if she was doing a lay up and kept shouting "yes" and "hooray, we get to go to the mamayuchi park".

-watching Livy, Brooke and Jackson play so happily together on the spinning cups. Brooke in her role as the gentle big sister (this time, sometimes she likes to be the bossy big sister or the bothered big sister, but lately it has been very gentle) trying to coax Livy to do what she wants her to do without making Livy yell at her and all the while including Jackson. It was such a great day at the park, i felt like i really played with them so much. And it was so much fun!

-Hearing Jackson and Livy play together in the toy room or wander around the house together pushing baby strollers. With an occasional scream because Jackson wants a specific toy Livy has-and then hearing Livy try to reason with him and finally give in and just give him the toy.

-Listening to Brooke read and sound out words.

-Watching Brooke and Livy's face light up when they realize they get to play hide and seek with the Archibalds.

-Seeing the pure joy, thankfulness, and relief on Brooke's face when i tell her i did her job for her.

-Remembering the feeling of how exhausted you are when you realize you still need to do the dishes and put the kids to bed.

-Brooke laughing and giving a kind of questioned look when Livy, out of the blue, says something really funny.

-the laughter and the screaming and Jackson trying to get on top of the pile as Ben tickles and wrestles the girls (while i am usually in the background saying, please stop screaming.)