My tender morning....

As many of you know, I'm going back to school.... Some days are a blur to me...At times I don't know how I manage to juggle being a wife, mom, student,....and other duties. Big sigh...

This morning I ended up driving the kids to school this morning so that I wouldn't be late for my Final exam. As soon as we pulled up to cul-de-sac next to the school Alycia bolted out the door. Joseph took his time to make sure he had everything he needed, I wished him a happy day, and reminded him to make good choices. I waited a little longer to make sure he made it to the playground before I left. He stood at the bottom of the hill observing an ant hill (I"m assuming)....He stood there for a good 2-3 minutes. I thought for sure that I'd have to get out and escort him up to the playground... Finally, I see Alycia run down the hill...she talks to him...and helps him up the hill. She was so tender with him....

I broke down and started sobbing in my car....

You see...Things have not come easily to Joseph...and still don't...He has made such great progress in the 9 years of his life...but still continues to struggle in some areas...

As I witnessed this sweet exchange between siblings, I was overwhelmed by this tender expression of love and compassion. Alycia has been such a blessing in our lives...

As I was driving to school I thanked my Heavenly Father for the opportunity to witness this...I'm so thankful that I was able to see that my daughter continues to show Christ like love towards her brother.....

lunches?...who doesn't like a lunch made with love....

Last night was our FHE (aka family night)......
Our lesson was on how to try to change a bad day into a better day. I told of a story about a little girl that started to have a bad day. Her favorite skirt was in the dirty clothes, her mother ran out of strawberry jam and packed a grape and peanut butter sandwich instead, and there was a dust storm outside so she couldn't play out on the swings. Rotten day huh? I gave the kids some ideas on trying to make it better by thinking of positive things like: sing a song you like, play indoor games you like...

I then turned to the family and asked what they do when things don't go well. Alycia said she listens to her MP3 player or thinks of fun stories from books. Brent said that he thinks of hymms or good music.
And finally, Joseph said:
"When I have a lunch I don't like, I just imagine it's something that tastes MUCH better."

...gasp.....Whaaaat? I thought all the lunches I pack for my family were good. I make them with love.... Brent thought his comment was hilarious....

I guess I'm going to have to ask for some feedback from now on, when it comes to lunches.....

Let me tell you how OUR family home evening went....

I hesitated to post this a couple weeks ago...Sorry...

It was Monday night...our family night...Family home evening...(as we are Mormons-Monday nights are times we spend time as a family and play games, have a mini lesson, sing songs, and we can't forget ...have a yummy dessert)... okay...now that I've explained that bit of our lives...here we go!

As Brent was giving the lesson, the kids were on the couch yawning and seemed half awake. Hmm...This isn't that bad of a lesson... The kids had to stand to read the scriptures they were given to read since they weren't keeping up with the lesson. More yawns....grr...what's with these kids?...were my thoughts....

Finally, the lesson's over and it's my turn to pick our closing song....Guess what I picked?
"The wiggle song!"....yes...I know my kids are too old to sing this song. Alycia's almost 12 and Joseph's almost 10...It's just....they used to ALWAYS want to sing this when they were young, and since they're my ONLY kids, I figured....why NOT? right???

Everyone sang and did the wiggling of the fingers, toes, shoulders, and nose....All except my tween Alycia...Well, in our family if you don't participate you get to sing a SOLO...So guess what Alycia had to do...Yup, sing a solo for us. It was the straw that broke the camel's back for her. She cried throughout the whole song. It was the saddest wiggle song I ever heard, with tears and everything...(Brent and I felt horrible)...

Both kids gobbled up their dessert and went straight to bed. I was surprised. They Chose to go to bed 7:30. They were asleep by 7:45! We were SHOCKED. What was so different in their schedule to make to go to bed so early??? Ahh....the pool. The kids swam in our pool all afterschool....THAT'S what exhausted the kids...duh....

As for singing the Wiggle song....I don't think I'll pick that one out again...I will no longer think of it as a happy song from now on....Whenever I hear or think of it, I'll always have Alycia's sad version of it...

Yummm-my

A few nights ago while Joseph was clearing off the table, we asked how his field trip went. He said it went well and that he went Easter egg hunting.
"Whaaaat?" Brent and I looked at each other puzzled. The permission slip stated that they were going to a Museum.
"I found a Jolly Rancher!" said Joseph.
"Hmm...Did other kids find candy?" Brent asked.
"Nope, I was the ONLY one to find the candy...it still had a wrapper."
"I see...Did anyone ELSE go on the hunt?"Brent asked.
"No...I was the only one to find candy. It still had the wrapper on it!"
What's with this fascination with the wrapper? were my thoughts....
Oh No....if it's what I think ....noooooo....
"Joseph, where did you find the candy?" I asked
"In the grass where we were eating our lunch after the Museum...I found it with the wrapper still on it"
"Did you eat it?" I asked...please say no....
"No, Gavin paid me a dollar for it"
"Did you tell Gavin you found it on the ground?" Brent asked...
"Nope, he didn't ask...so I didn't tell him...it still had the wrapper on it, so it's safe to eat!"

After explaining to our 9 year old the hazards of eating candy found from the ground, even WITH the wrapper still attached to it....I'm not completely convinced he understands this concept. Brent and I could not keep a straight face when Joseph told us he sold his new found treat to a fellow classmate.

....Yummmmy!

Joseph....the artist....at the Getty....

While we were in L.A., we visited the museum "The Getty". It was an amazing museum. One day is not enough. The grounds and views were spectacular! There are only so many hours an 11 and 9 year old can tolerate being educated in Art. The Getty is free of charge, but you do have to pay $10 for parking which is so worth it! A private tram takes you from the parking lot area (bottom of hill) to the top of the hill where the museum is located. The views from the tram are really cool. They have paintings by Van Gogh and other famous artists...

While we were there, there was an area where people could draw. Joseph was the brave one in our family and he chose to display his drawing...

So our son Joseph was semi-famous for the day! Go Joseph!

Our pictures from vacation to Los Angeles

We were in the LA area for a few days....This was a much appreciated break for ALL of us.... We were all counting down the days til Spring Break.





We were not used to the amount of smog we encountered while we were there. I personally think the Bay Area is way better! Anyhow... It was great to see the south side of California!

We went to Universal Studios for a few days...I think one day is enough to spend there. I think Disney is way better, since Universal only had a few rides. My friend Nicole gave us some ideas on fun stuff to do in L.A. since she's from there. Thanks Nicole! On her recommendations, we went and checked out the La Brea Tar pits (there was no time to visit the museum...bummer...), The Getty Museum (which was really amazing!!!), and the Santa Monica beach. In all...we had a great time!

It was so hard to get back into the school groove for the kids and myself... Now I'm counting down the days til Summer vacation! Woohoo! Just a month and a half to go!

What's a parent to do?

I seriously need to catch you all up on the happenings here at the Smith household. I've been struggling with Chemistry, so I've been dedicating alot of my time studying. I'm a bit burnt out. Big Sigh.....

About 6 Saturdays ago, I had a very, very grumpy 9 year old son. He had dark shadows under his eyes and was a bit whiny. He had barely gotten his gaming privileges back, due to him sneaking out of his room during the middle of the night to play the Playstation. When asked WHY he made that decision...I was told that he was just so excited that he couldn't wait to play. Well, guess what happened AGAIN! Joseph decided to wake up at 5am. In my blog post of Joseph at the Pinewood derby, that's a picture of my sleep deprived child. Arrg.....

I couldn't believe my eyes! A whole box of Skittles and Starburst are missing from my candy stash. Someone got into MY Sour Skittles! I was not a happy camper! No one knows where I hide my precious candies, except for my Wonderful Husband. Hmm....he wouldn't dare! He denied getting into it. And...of course I believed him (a little)... One day, I was cleaning Alycia's room...and what did I find? Wrappers of my PRECIOUS Sour Skittles! How could SHE know where I keep them. They're not locked. My mother-in-law Linda is one smart cookie....she was wise enough to put her candy stash under lock and key when her kids were living at home. Only a privileged few knew the combination....Brent not being one of them...Okay, I'm getting sidetracked....Well, I confronted my little candy thief...the look in her face was one of shock...How could my mom know? I think she realized then that Mom's know EVERYTHING.... In the end, she ended up paying $20 for her little feast. At first I thought the amount was a little steep...Should I give her the family discount?....Nope....She needs to learn from her mistakes....I thought for sure, she'd throw a fit about the amount....Nope...she didn't even bat an eye....grrr.....

What's a mom to do?

p.s...I plan on getting myself a container with a lock...and only "I" will have the combination...