Friday, March 27, 2009

Fluffy

We now have a rabbit, again. I should just admit to myself that I don't like having animals because 1) they stink and require mother (me) to clean up even more messes, and 2) they will eventually die... and it will probably be my fault. Too much death really gets me down.

So E apparently skipped out early on the adult meeting of Stake Conference. He said after one speaker mentioned Smith & Edwards one too many times in his talk about Emergency Preparedness, he just slipped out and went to IFA. Then he came home with a purebred French Angora rabbit. It is white with red eyes and very fluffly, hence its name. During my online research I discovered that you can harvest the wool and easily make your own yarn... so let me know if you are interested and I will send you the wool. I, myself, am not too interested in spinning yarn, not this year at least.

I am sitting here smelling it and must end to clean out the cage. I have decided to just clean it every stinking day to try and stay sane.

Did I mention I need to dust, vaccum, shower, get dressed and start getting lunch?

Oh, and I am applying for jobs for next year. I interviewed at B's school where I want to end up. I refuse to give up hope... I will keep hope alive clear into August. I am also applying at Ogden School District. Wish me luck. We need to start digging our way out of this hole we are in!

Lots or Love!

Monday, March 23, 2009

So, the little ponds turned out great. Wish I could say the same for the fish! Eleven of the fifteen fish were dead by the next morning. In the mad rush of trying to get to B's school, I also had to go buy more fish. But all turned out well. : )

B's class gets to go to the Aquarium this week. I think that should be super fun for them.

Some lessons learned from my Sabbath. I am always too quick to judge, especially myself. It is such a freakish habit, I'm telling you. We rushed to 9 a.m. Stake Conference yesterday in the Tabernacle, where all the seats are comfortable. : ) We are always a little late and quickly found seats after the opening prayer. It ended up that we were sitting in front of a family with little girl twins. Of course I had to ask how old they were... They have a daughter who is almost 5 (just like our S), the twins barely turned 3 (almost a year younger than ours) and they have a baby boy of about 6 months. Immediately I started feeling guilty because there was no way we wanted to have another baby. If this unknown woman could do it... maybe I should have been willing to have more babies. This mother was also thin and beautiful.

It took me a few minutes to realize what I was doing. Why are we always so willing to compare ourselves with others?! I had to remind myself that we prayed plenty... and I am pretty old... and each family gets to make their own decisions. Embarrassingly enough, I was also glad that her kids were noisier than ours. Oh what joy to realize that they are improving and getting better at sitting still for hours. : )

The next time I judged myself was during the dedication of the Draper temple. One of the speakers mentioned that he explained to his grand daughters that the Celestial room represents the Celestial kingdom. I started right into a panic thinking that I hadn't explained that to our kids as we went through the open house! I am not teaching the gospel well enough at home, my children may never have strong testimonies... etc... Crazy woman. I am still trying to talk myself out of that one. I tried to talk to B about temples again last night before bed and on the way to school this morning. It's like I can't help my crazy self.

Anywho, my point being... Let's all be more gentle with ourselves. Yes, we should recognize our faults and work on them, but try not to feel guilty about every little thing. Now I am feeling guilty about feeling guilty all of the time. I do know that if we make a constant effort, the Lord can fill in where he needs to. Upward and onward!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Oh to be able to express in words what just took place in my kitchen. I can't stop laughing, but I must. The children are a little suspicious that I am laughing at them, which, of course, is true...

I have been volunteer teaching Science in B's class to earn a few re-licensing points. Tomorrow we are building little ponds. We all have been out cruising pet shops buying fish, Anacharis (a water plant), rocks etc. So, we got home and I wanted to put the fish in a big container, I just have a large vase. During my efforts a poor little fish slipped right out of the bag and onto the counter. The kids were horrified to see it flopping, flopping. R was scared out of her wits as it flopped towards her. She screamed as she struggled to get off of the bar stool, the fish flailing ever closer.

I was trying to hand the bag with the other fourteen fish to B. "Hold the bag," I told him. It took me a couple of seconds to realize that he wasn't listening! The bag lay on the counter, water and fish pouring out of it. I started yelling, "B, hold the bag, Hold the BAG!" By now we had at least five tiny fish traveling amazingly well on their sides. Flop, flop, floppity, flop. B finally grabbed the bag as I started scooping the fish into my hands and into the water.

The last little guy had B very upset and he actually started crying. "Please don't die. Please don't die. Don't die!" I tried to assure him all was well as soon as the fish hit the water. He calmed down quickly but the girls kept asking if the fish had died. Then they all kept asking me why I was laughing. What a mess! There was water all over the counter and on the floor, on both sides of the bar. I still think we might find a dry little carcass one of these days. All is well now, the children are calm, the mess cleaned up. But the hysteria is what cracked me up, and still has me chuckling.