home, safe home?

It's official. I totally stink at being a safe, protective mother.

You see, Chandler broke his collarbone yesterday. That brings me to a perfect record - every one of my children has broken a bone. I'm five for five!

I'm not sure what I do wrong. My mom raised 7 children and to my knowledge, only one of them ever broke a bone on her watch. I, myself, did not break a bone until I was 31. I went cliff-jumping at Youth Conference (where I probably should have been acting like a responsible adult) and broke my arm when I hit the water crooked.

Chandler actually waited the longest to break a bone. He made it to the ripe old age of 9! Yep, I managed to keep him safe for 9 whole years plus 22 days! Then, I let him play a nice, friendly neighborhood game of football and he gets tackled and breaks his collarbone. So much for my safety record on that kid.

Here's the rundown:

Brakston - broken arm at age 5 while rollerblading
Alec - collarbone at age 3 when climbing furniture, hairline fracture in his leg at age 5 when a shopping cart tipped over with him in it
McKayla - broken collarbone at birth (being born - maybe I can't be held responsible for that one), compound fracture of arm at age 8 when riding her bike
Shanley - broken collarbone at age 3 falling off a bunk bed
Chandler - broken collarbone at age 9 playing tackle football

Let's not even start mentioning all the stitches my children have had...I don't want anyone to think they should start calling Child Protective Services.

it's a small world after all

Events of the past week only emphasize how small this world really is.

On Monday, my dad got a call from a friend of his asking him to go up to Primary Children's Medical Center and help administer a blessing to a set of twins. He got up there to find out the father is from Cody, WY and knows me because he graduated a year ahead of me.

On Wednesday, I went to McKayla's parent-teacher conferences. In visiting with her science teacher, I found out his in-laws live in Cody and know my parents.

On Thursday, I was visiting with a guy who was in our ward 20 years ago. I've run into him off and on over the years and he is currently doing an administrative internship at Riverton High. We talked and found out he is currently living in my sister's ward.

It's a small, small world.

will the REAL McKayla please stand up?

I attended parent-teacher conferences this week. My children do okay in school so these conferences are generally not a source of great trepidation.

I was pretty amused by the comments from McKayla's teachers. They made me wonder if I have a daughter with a split personality. Of the 7 teachers I talked to, 5 wished she would speak up more in class. They say she is so smart but they rarely hear her comment. One of them even asked me what it is like to have such a perfect child.

Then, there was the other 2 teachers...


They both wished she would shut up more!

no kidding.

So, which is she? The perfect, quiet, shy child? The non-stop chatterbox?


I have to admit that I've suspected a split personality for years. Neighbors would tell us how shy she was but all we saw was a girl with a lot of spunk and sass. She worries about her hair, paints her nails, and dresses fashionably but get her on a soccer field and watch out! She will hip check you. She wants to smell good and loves scented lotions but she is not afraid of getting sweaty. She is a good student but rarely reads - prefering to be actively engaged in some sporting activity.

I'm not sure she could be classified as shy, tomboy, outgoing, smart, girly, athletic, etc. She is a terrific combination of all of that and I wouldn't have her any other way!

today's teens not morons

I often think that most people do NOT give teens enough credit.

Take today for example. With the $30 million dollar shortfall, Jordan School District is proposing to lay off 500 employees (250 of which are teachers), increase class sizes, and cut programs. Students at various high schools staged a walkout today in protest.

KSL has a news story on the walkout. The comments are mostly negative towards the teens. Everyone seems to think they are doing it just to get out of school. The comments are quite mean-spirited and call for being ticketed, having to attend truancy school, suspension, etc.

I tend to believe that most of those students truly are concerned about the funding issue. My 14-year-old daughter has expressed her concern to me and we have discussed it at length. These students are not morons. They are understandably worried about losing their favorite teachers, having class sizes increase even more, and having their athletic/band/theater/etc programs cut.

Now, a walkout may not be the "correct" way to handle it but I believe the students are doing their best to be heard on an issue that directly affects them, their lives, and their education.

Let's not be so quick to dismiss them.

FEAST

I am teaching seminary today. One of my challenges is to try to get students to participate more and to offer insights. I truly believe students learn best from each other.

Here's a great acronym for helping students get the most from their scriptures: FEAST!

F- find (have everyone turn to the scripture)
E - explain (tell what the scripture means to you)
A - apply (tell how it applies to your life)
S - share (share other scriptures, stories, experiences, etc)
T - testify

I've got piles

It sounds like some wicked disease but it's not. Or, at least it's not contagious.

This is what happens when I clean:


Yep, last week I got the urge to clean out my hall coat closet. I thought it would be so nice to have it clean and organized.

See what happens when I clean?

I end up with piles. A pile to go to a friend. A pile to go to the garbage. A pile to go to DI. A pile to be tried on by my children before I decide what pile it goes in. A pile to be put away elsewhere. A pile I'm not sure what to do with. A pile to be placed in another pile. A pile to... You get the idea.

better late than never

No, Kevin did not forget me on Valentine's Day (even though I was 350 or so miles away). No, I did not forget to post his gifts. Yes, I was thrown off by not having my computer cord. I didn't want to upload all my photos on our desktop and then load then again on my laptop. (I admit it, I verge on lazy.) Oh, well. My children took oodles of photos of themselves (I do NOT have camera-shy children) and uploaded them on the desktop. So, finally Kevin gets a written nod for his Valentine's efforts.

He gave me these beautiful flowers - just my style. I do enjoy roses but I prefer a mix. Roses seem like perfection and a mix just seems happy and fresh and original.
He also gave me a gift certificate for a pedicure. I am so excited to use it! I really love a good pedicure!