Kids Are Hard On Things!

In one day recently:

We Survived!

Actually, we more than just survived. I really enjoyed the no TV, no video game thing. When the TV did come back on (oh, there was no hope that it wouldn't!), it was quite a shock to my senses. I had gotten used to the (relative) quiet in our home. The first week was the hardest, with Aidan in particular. He would request to watch a show all the time, and sometimes I really wanted him to!! But he got much better at entertaining himself with toys and books, and I played with him a lot more. I am limiting his TV watching much more than I did before, but I must say it is very nice to put on a show for him while I'm getting Logan down for a nap. We are also limiting video game time and TV for the older boys more, and so far, so good.

Computer time was much harder for me. My laptop is on the kitchen desk, and I found myself wanting to just "check" things all the time! I mostly resisted, and mostly limited myself to being online once a day for e-mail and finances. Mostly. I did realize, however, that computer usage is a serious time-management issue for me, and I need to work on it.

My reader said I missed 296 entries from friends & family during my blogging absence. Yikes! And I'm thinking to myself, "How on earth did I ever think I'd have time to blog?!" But I shall continue to try and carve some time out!

Media Fast

I haven't posted anything for quite awhile! We took a trip to Disneyland (so much fun, and needs its own post), then I had a horrendous bout with allergies and got a bad cold (not so much fun, it won't get its own post). With recovering from the trip and cold, I haven't been much of a blogger lately, though I've looked forward to starting up again. And then...

Sunday in Sacrament meeting, our Bishop challenged the families in the ward to go on a "media fast" for a month. This means no TV, video games, texting, computers, etc. I'm still going to check e-mail and do my finances on the computer, but will try to limit that to once a day. Several people from the ward council had been asked to do this for the month of August, and they spoke and gave their experiences. In some ways, I'm sure it will be very difficult, but in others I'm very much looking forward to it. I won't be blogging this month, but I'll be back!

p.s. I wrote this on Oct 1, then realized I never posted it, so I'm doing it today, Oct. 8.

Out on a Limb...

Not a limb exactly, but my neighbor's roof. The other day Colin came running to me after playing with his friend Adam and excitedly said, "Mom, we were up on Adam's roof!!!" I'm not sure what kind of response he was expecting, but he certainly didn't get a "Good job, son!" for that. You can go here to read more about this adventure.

LOTOJA Classic 2008

1 DAY

3 STATES

206 MILES

1000 CYCLISTS

SEPTEMBER 6

This past Saturday, Brandon rode the LOTOJA Classic. It began in Logan, Utah and ended in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (thus the name: LOgan TO JAckson). Brandon had a ride time of just over 11 hrs, and was in the top third of his class. This was the pinnacle of the season for him, and he trained pretty rigorously for it. It must have paid off, because he said he was still feeling strong at the end, though a bit sore in spots. On top of it all, it was on his birthday!! Happy birthday, and congratulations, honey!

Hopefully we'll be able to get some good pictures to post later.

Thoughts on Parenting

Logan's not crawling yet, but he's sure trying hard!

Today I took Logan in for his 6-month checkup. He's doing great, coming in at 14 lb 4 oz, 26" long, and his head is in the 25th percentile (very small for our family--we're usually in the 90s!). He had gone from 25th to 5th % for weight, which is the norm for my kids. As long as he's a good eater, the pediatrician says it is just a sign of how active he is. I couldn't help but compare both my attitude and the doctor's to my experience with Liam as a baby. He also dropped in his growth curve significantly over the first year, but by the time he was 1 yr old the (different) doctor had him on a high-fat, high-calorie diet, he was going in for weight checks every week, and they were running all sorts of blood tests to see what was wrong. They didn't turn up anything. Eventually, Brandon's mom found his baby records, which turned out to be almost identical to Liam's. Now we know that "travel-size kids" just run in our family. I love being a mom for the 5th time around instead of the 1st!

Our high school marching band at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade last year

But at the same time, I'm still hitting all the firsts with Liam. This week he had the opportunity to sign up for 5th grade band as an after-school program. He wasn't interested at all, even after our fabulous high school marching band came and played for their school and he thought it was very cool. I would love to provide him with the chance to belong to a group like that. I think his reticence is mainly because he doesn't like the unknown, but how far do I push him? He did sign up for chorus instead, which is also great. And, of course, he's taking piano from a fabulous teacher (hee hee), in Cub Scouts, and playing soccer. Maybe Andrew will want to be in band in a few years...(oh no, am I just trying to live through my children?!).

And my last thought for today: 2-yr olds will be 2-yr olds, especially when all their entertaining brothers are away at school. I heard, "See my rainbow!" several times before I went to see it, and it was a beautiful pink one, indeed.

Luckily it washed off without any problems, and he got to draw circles on paper afterwards.

My First Tag! "46 Different Questions Answered"

I've seen all those fun tags out there, and didn't last a week as a blogger without getting one. Thanks for thinking of me, Zippy, and sorry it took me so long to get around to it!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No. Annalise (the e at the end is pronounced, like Annalisa) is a Danish name. Both of my parents served LDS missions to Denmark, and heard it there.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Probably watching the Olympics. Happy tears.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not particularly.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Honey-smoked Turkey Breast

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 5 boys!

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I would hope so!

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Never! Well, maybe occasionally. I just have to be careful around my kids!

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No, because as a mom I wouldn't take a chance like that.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Lucky Charms (I have to fight my boys for them)

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I hardly ever wear any that tie, but yes when I do.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I'm still stronger than my oldest son (probably not for much longer, though)

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Any!

14. WHAT DO YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Whether they are kind and sincere, or not.

15. RED OR PINK? Definitely red (5 boys, remember?)

16.WHAT DON'T YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? What to choose? I'm terrible at managing my time.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Good friends who now live far away.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Nope. I just like reading your blog entries and comments on mine (hint, hint).

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Khaki shorts and bare feet.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? My boys' leftover pizza.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The most beautiful sound in the world: A silent baby monitor.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? I've never been able to pick a favorite color!

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Cool rain, newly mown grass, freshly bathed babies.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My husband.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Very much!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Whatever my own kids are playing. And the Olympics (slight difference in skill level there).

27. HAIR COLOR? Brown

28. EYE COLOR? Hazel

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Anything I don't have to make.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings--I really dislike scary movies.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The "Sound of Music."

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Light blue.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? I love both seasons, and am glad neither of them last forever (am I just indecisive?!)

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Both!

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Anything with chocolate!

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I'll have to wait and see.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? See #37

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? "Sarah's Quilt" (sequel to my all-time favorite "These is My Words") by Nancy Turner.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Don't have one.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Didn't watch.

42. FAVORITE SOUND? My kids laughing (once on an airplane a fellow passenger said my kids sounded like cartoon characters)

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? London, England

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I love to play and teach the piano.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Salt Lake City