Trish’s Blog

Going to Grandma’s house is almost a given every summer. At least, in the kids’ eyes. It’s not a matter of “if,” but “when”. A definite highlight is going to the beach. Another highlight is getting to go to the beach again.

I forgot to bring my camera the first time we went on an extremely sunny day, but remembered to bring it today and it was overcast. In fact, it was raining on us by the time we left. We were out in the water when it started to rain and Grandma said to the boys, “Oh, no, we might get wet!” They just laughed. She’s a funny gal.

One of my favorite things to do at Grandma’s beach is make dribble castles. The sand is so fine that you can dig a hole, fill it with water (or let the waves do it for you), grab a handful of wet sand, and dribble it in a pile. I like to make bridges between two spires and make a bunch so the king and queen have plenty of places to cross. What can I say? It sparks my imagination and I’m a kid again.

I was way too excited about my creation and took pictures of it before it could get destroyed (either by natural disaster or the toddler).

Hope y’all are having a great summer!

Posted on July 21st, 2010 by trish
Filed under: Artsy Fartsy, Family, Haley Kids | No Comments »

Last night we played the telephone game. You know that game where someone starts by whispering something into someone’s ear. That person gets only one listen and then must repeat it as accurately as possible to the next person in line. And it continues down the line until the last person says aloud what was whispered into his/her ear. I have always hated this game because of my hearing disability, but I have never played it with hearing aids, and it wasn’t bad. Everyone took turns starting and we had some good laughs. Especially when we let Zoe start or when I was last in line and said aloud what Josh had just whispered to me, “Help me, a unicorn is trying to kill me.” The kids all burst out laughing.

The last one we did was from an actual poem that Sarah wrote last year. None of us have ever heard it before. She has it memorized and with our encouragement, she recited the whole thing for us. One of her friends from 6th grade used to share her poems between friends and Sarah said they were kind of depressing and emo, but one day this poem just came to her. She said I could blog it.

Drops of rain fall to my face.
I wipe them off to leave no trace.
People drive by thinking I have no fears,
But they can’t see
That the rain’s really tears.

Another flash of pain strikes through my chest.
I stumble back inside, thought I know
I can’t rest.
In this house I turn away from everyone I know
I hurry to my room to pack up everything and go.

“I don’t know where to flee”
Thinks the voice inside of me.
Then I find
That I can’t.
‘Cause the hatred’s pointed at
Not him,
But only me.

We were pretty impressed, and I made a mental note to read more poetry to my children. Zack and Seth became inspired and started rhyming about poop and stuff. They thought they were hilarious. I asked Sarah to write her poem down with the date so that I could have a record of it. The boys decided that they would write theirs down, too. Here’s Seth’s:

Poo fell on my face. I Die.
Chicken’s Die, too.
(this dosn’t Make Sence)
Chickens poo on my face
From this day on…

After that, he wrote another nonsense poem, crumpled up the page to make it look old, and then gave it to Josh to read aloud. It went like, “Ugaa Ugaa tuagar par ma. are tee pee po pa.” Silly kid. We thought it was funny that he tried to make it look old, but then the date he had written at the top was 4-25-10.

I thought Zack’s was going to be just as silly, but it wasn’t bad. Josh said, “What’s it about?” and he answered, “It’s about a guy who comes in the house and shoots everybody.” Josh said, “Ok, now read it again.”

I heard footsteps on the floor.
Then I heard it on the door.
It was at a bad time.
And it was no friend of mine.
I tried it slow at first,
but it ended with a big burst.
I can not write any more.
I just lay here on the floor.

After hearing it in context, there was a little silence after he read it, and then all at once we said things like, “Whoa” or “Wow” or “Holy cow”, and then, “Good job, Zack!” It didn’t have a title when he read it to us, but after typing it up, I noticed that he put a title on it, “Just a Man”.

Now there is just one thing I would like to know… where is he getting his inspiration? He wrote it in ten minutes and then drew a cartoon picture on the back that had nothing to do with the subject of the poem. As Zoe would say, “What heck?”

Posted on April 26th, 2010 by trish
Filed under: Haley Kids, Homeschool | 3 Comments »

We got our first non-fish pet today. I’ll let the videos tell the story and keep my written words to a minimum. Bottom line, we like the little fur ball a lot. Except Josh. He’s playing the tough guy, but I think he’ll warm up to the little buddy. Josh will actually be more witness to Kuzan’s antics since the kids have to go to sleep. So we’ll let Kuzan work his cuddly magic on Daddy and report back when Josh is a puddle of goo.

Posted on March 4th, 2010 by trish
Filed under: Haley Kids, Teddy Bear Hamster | 1 Comment »

Our Scouting Unit (both the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts) celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America tonight at the Blue and Gold Banquet. The boys were invited to make and decorate a dessert. The top three would win a prize. Guess which one won first place in the dessert contest? Yeah, you know the one… it’s amazing. I can’t even do that, let alone my boys. Guess which one my boys did? I’ll give you a hint… it has bananas in it.

You guessed it! The log cake won first place (big pack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups). Second place (bag of M&Ms) was the miniature camp ground cake. Third place (Butterfinger candy bar) was the giant “100″ made up of brownies and blue & yellow icing. It didn’t matter who won because all of the boys were very proud of what they created. I talked to a few brothers who were more than willing to throw their little brothers under the bus with exclamations of, “He just measured the water, but I made the cake!”

I suggested making Banana Pudding since Josh has been craving it lately. He even got a recipe emailed from his dad which he forwarded to me, begging and pleading for it to be made. I’m all about killing two birds with one stone these days. I read the recipe and felt it was simple enough for the boys to do together. In the interest of full disclosure… They did spill the milk all over the counter while mixing the pudding. The cutting board did flip over off the table and on to the chair. A banana did jump from the peel and on to the floor. (They asked to eat that one — gross, huh?) It was very hard to take myself out of the picture so that they could do their thing. I helped them decide what to put on the finished dessert. I drew the fleur de lis on to thin cardboard, but while Zack was cutting it up, he confused the positive and negative spaces so when it came time for the sprinkles, the design was not as tight as it could have been, but I felt he did a great job. He used both yellow and blue sprinkles. (It’s the sixth picture from the bottom.)

These are the only pictures I took and I did with my iPhone, so they’re not spectacular. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of the sign I did (with plenty of last minute help). I’m hoping that someone did and will email it to me. If I am so lucky, I’ll post it later.

For Grandpa Randy, Josh reports that the recipe is a very good one. Here it is below for those who are curious. The only thing we did differently is we had double the pudding and we were unable to let it set overnight. Sprinkles are not necessary either. In fact, they kind of just dissolved into a blurry mess, so I don’t recommend it.

BANANA PUDDING

1 box Nilla vanilla wafers
4 to 5 bananas
1 lg. Jello vanilla instant pudding
3 c. milk
8 oz. Cool Whip
8 oz. sour cream

Line bottom of 9 x 13 inch pan with vanilla wafers. Cover with slices of banana. Mix pudding mix with milk. Add Cool Whip and sour cream and mix. Pour wafers and bananas. Repeat layers. Set overnight.

Posted on February 25th, 2010 by trish
Filed under: Haley Kids, Recipe, Scouts | 3 Comments »

We finished reading a chapter in our history book about Ancient Africa last week. Because Ancient Africans left few writings and artifacts, what we know of the time period is based mostly on oral history passed down. A favorite character in many stories is Anansi the Spider. We read a couple of stories, but the one that stood out is Anansi and the Make-Believe Food.

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

Anansi’s village has no food, so Anansi decides to leave in hopes of finding food for the village. He walks a very long way until he sees a pillar of smoke. When he finally arrives in the far-off village, the cassava are there asking him how he would like to eat them (roasted, boiled or fried). He tells them he’ll eat them however he wants them to, so they all yell, “Roasted!” and jump into the fire. Before he can eat them, he sees another pillar of smoke from another far-off village. The cassavas tell him that it’s the village of the plantains. Anansi decides that he likes plantains better and heads off before eating the cassava. The plantains in the plantain village are all the eager for Anansi to make a meal of them and decide to be, “Fried!” but, yes, he spots another pillar of smoke from a fire and is soon leaving for the village of rice without eating a plantain. When he gets to the rice village, they yell, “Boiled!” but Anansi leaves for yet another pillar of smoke from a far-off village. When he gets there, he is dead with exhaustion and finds that he has returned to his own village. They boil up a stew of fish bones for him since that’s all they have. No one ever finds the three villages again and the moral of the story is “Don’t be greedy, eat what you’re given.”

My moral would be to eat a bit from each village before going to the next one, but I can see how no one would really learn anything from that. Also, could there be anything more gross to eat than fish bone soup? I think they called it right when they chose something so universally disgusting to compare with the other three foods.

While reading the story, the kids laughed about the food coming to life and asking to be eaten, choosing how they would be prepared, and then preparing themselves to be eaten. When I pulled out the plantains I bought from the grocery store to surprise them, Seth said, “Wait. Plantains are real?” We all laughed and Zack yelled, “Fried!” We tasted them before frying them and they all agreed that they were kind of like a hard banana. After frying them, they decided they tasted more like potatoes. That explains why Seth didn’t eat more than one. He can’t stand potatoes.

Sarah decided that if you could fry a plantain, then why not a banana? I thought they might turn to soup, so it was a good experiment to see how they held together pretty well. I’ve had cooked bananas before, but they are usually in some kind of batter and turn hot liquid-like on the inside. The bananas cooked faster and got a little burned, but Sarah liked them better than the plantains. I really like plantains, so I got to eat a fair amount today.

Everyone was feeling pretty good after this object lesson, so I decided to give them their tests on this chapter. They cheerfully took them with their plates of plantains beside them and I thought, ‘This doesn’t happen in public school.’

Posted on February 22nd, 2010 by trish
Filed under: Haley Kids, Homeschool | Comments Off

I am one of the Nursery Leaders in my ward. That means that I attend sacrament meeting the first hour of church and then teach the children (ages 18 months to 3 years) for the second and third hours of church. By the end of last year, we had as many as 16 children, but six of them moved up into the Primary at the beginning of the new year. So we’ve had about ten children for the last couple of months, sometimes as few as six. It’s nice to go from 16 to 10 or 6. The difference is the same as a category 5 hurricane to a category 1 hurricane. Still a bit chaotic, but not life-threateningly so.

Since Valentine’s Day fell on Sunday, I thought it appropriate to make valentines for the little ones. Candy is dandy, but felt is, well, felt. One mom reported almost immediately how her daughter put her felt heart to her cheek. Aw! That’s exactly what I was going for. I put eyes on the hearts and stitched two pieces of felt together around the edges with embroidery thread. They reminded me of “heart power” on Super Paper Mario. You collect hearts in order to gain life power. So no matter what enemies attack and drain you of life power little-by-little, collecting hearts will restore your life and you can continue in the game.

So… moving on. I’m a big fan of cereal and milk. I like to eat crunchy cereal with a large spoon because the faster I can shovel it in, the least soggy it will get. Our cabinet is filled with bowls–mostly for eating cereal. We have the little plastic ones from Ikea, the ones with built-in straws, the ones with characters on them, and the deep ones made by Corelle. Those deep ones are my favorite. Zoe took out five of them at once when she was just a baby… I was holding her and got a little too close to the counter where they were stacked up, she exercised her new-found gripping reflex, I stepped away from the counter, and ka-blam-o! They fell on the hard ceramic tiles and scattered to the four corners of the house. She’s little, but the damage she can do is exponentially larger than her size. I have been slowly replacing the bowls since they’re not really a top priority in the spending budget. BUT I found some awesome deep bowls at Target the other day. Four plastic bowls (Zoe-proof!) for $2. That’s 50¢ per bowl. I got eight. They come in a bunch of colors, but I like red. There were matching cups and plate bowls, too, but these are not nearly as effective for enjoying cereal and milk.

Posted on February 18th, 2010 by trish
Filed under: Baby, Church, Crafty | Comments Off

Sarah and I love the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series. We have been waiting for the movie, The Lightning Thief, to come out since Rick Riordan announced it at a book signing we attended last year. After seeing the movie at the midnight showing Thursday night, we had lots to talk about on the drive home. While Sarah remembers actual dialogue from the books, I just accept that no movie will ever be able to cram everything in from the book. The movie was single-planed and flat compared to the books, but it was still good fun watching the characters and Camp Half Blood come to life. Sarah felt a little short-changed at the very end (you’ll know what I mean when you get to the last scene) and I thought the sparring at the end was more like dancing than fighting. Sarah, however, has forgiven the movie makers from casting a non-blonde/gray-eyed Annabeth Chase, so that’s progress for her. I think all of the actors were cast well and did a good job. I especially liked seeing Uma Thurman in her role as Medusa. Never has Medusa been so glamorous. I also love the actors who portrayed Zeus and Poseidon even though I can never remember their names. They could have chosen a better Hades. His human form didn’t have to looks so not sexy. Hades really needs to ooze bad-boy goodness to be believable. And finally, I cannot criticize the special effects when the gods on Mount Olympus are in the “same” shot as the humans because it reminded me of Clash of the Titans. It added an unexpected dimension.

We have heard a rumor that only the first book of the series will be produced, but I have a feeling that if this movie does well, they will make more. So go watch this movie and maybe there’s hope of seeing Clarisse, in all her warrior glory, given a place on the screen.

Posted on February 13th, 2010 by trish
Filed under: Movies | 2 Comments »

Watching the Olympics.

This past week, I’ve noticed that Zoe has acquired more language. She is starting to use these phrases in coversation:

“Sure.” (I asked her if she wanted to wear a certain article of clothing and got this answer. Two minutes later, I asked her if she wanted something to eat and got this answer.)

“Oh, gosh,” has turned into “Oh, my gosh.” (We have been trying to discourage this, but between us laughing when she says it and saying it ourselves, we have not had much success.)

“What heck,” for “What the heck?” (I haven’t heard her say this, but Sarah tells me about each instance when she does.)

“OK?” has turned into, “Are you OK?” or “It’s OK. It’s OK.” (She asks you if you’re OK if you trip, cough, or sneeze. She tells you that it’s OK when she hears something really loud and scary outside, like thunder and rain.)

“What doing?” has become “What are you doing?” (She opens her arms wide, tips her head to the side and bounces her arms with each syllable when she says this. It’s beyond comical.)

“It’s hot. It’s hot. It’s hot.” (She says this when she sees steam coming up from the stove or when she has a plate of hot food in front of her at dinner. She won’t stop saying it until you agree with her and repeat back to her that yes, it is hot.)

“Wa-wa-watch” (She says this when she wants to watch Baby Signing Time or The Princess and the Frog on Boxee.)

“I see you.” (She says this in a sing-song voice when playing peek-a-boo.)

“Mommy hold you.” (She says this when it’s time for a nap or to go to sleep and I don’t give her a bottle. It means she wants me to hold her.)

“Rub-bub-bub-back” (Another bedtime phrase that she usually says whining after she has flipped herself on to her tummy and wants you to rub her back. She is snoring within 90 seconds.)

EDIT: Some I forgot to mention are:

“Peck-kick-kick-kick et up” (She so often hears me tell her to “pick it up” so when she accidentally drops her napkin or fork at dinner, this is what you’ll hear her say. She adds multiple kicks for emphasis — if you don’t hear her the first time or if she’s in a particular hurry.)

“Open-nen-nen-nen-et” (She says this when she finds a snack that she can’t open on her own.)

“Want some?” (She says this like a question, but not because she’s offering you anything. It means she wants some. Usually gum or candy, but can be for whatever snack you’re eating at the time.)

“Sauce” (This is an oldie, but goodie… and she still uses it for “soft”.)

ANOTHER EDIT April 4, 2010:

“Pee pee Potter” (She says this for “peanut butter” but I often hear her singing it over and over again. “Pee pee POHhhhhh-ter, pee pee pohhhhh-ter. The kids get busted if they copy her, but I catch myself singing it, too.)

Posted on February 12th, 2010 by trish
Filed under: Baby, Family, Haley Kids | 1 Comment »

seth and zack making valentines

sarah hates posing for pictures

seth is like his dad

silly boys

zoe and foamy heart stickers

mommy, wook, watch this

Posted on February 11th, 2010 by trish
Filed under: Haley Kids, Homeschool | 2 Comments »

It has been really cold here lately. We’ve got the heat on and we’re wearing socks around the house. It sucks when we have to actually go outside and be somewhere, let alone get out of the cozy bed. I know it’s not the relentless cold of the North, however, so I’m thinking about my friends and family in Colorado, New York City and Washington DC and hoping the little whistle-pig doesn’t see his shadow today. All for you (you know who you are) because I could go another six weeks and then some of winter in Texas. It’s one of the few times we can wear layers without sweating.

Here’s hoping you don’t get stuck living Groundhog Day over and over again. See you on the other side! Hopefully, you got the girl and lost the depressing attitude.

Posted on February 2nd, 2010 by trish
Filed under: Life | 1 Comment »