As I think I've mentioned before, I have a love/hate relationship with blogging. I'd much rather "journal" my daily life through pictures and not have to write so much. But I cannot figure out how to post pics from my phone and our computer bit the dust a few months ago. But I really do need/want to be journaling better...
*The other day V. said to me that I was a trophy mom. That made me laugh! She said I'm such a good mom, I deserve a trophy. So not the same context as a trophy wife, but it still made me laugh!
* Our garden is starting to grow and it's exciting! Not being able to garden last year was hard, so I'm excited to be doing it this year and can't wait to eat some fresh, homegrown veggies!
* I started running again earlier this year.{And lost a little over 20 pounds!} I've been listening to my body and anytime my back started to hurt at all, I'd quit what I was doing. It was hard to baby my back last year but has definitely paid off! In May I ran a 5k Color run{on my birthday!} and I also ran a 5 miler in the foothills on Memorial Day. I had run this 5 miler 2 years ago and did it about 14 minutes faster this year! It feels so good to be running again and I've been happy that taking time off hasn't made too big of a
negative impact on my running.
* Every 2 years I'm due for a brain MRI and visit with my neurosurgeon. I had that done a few weeks ago. Dr. Reichman said my scans are spotless! And he said I can go 5 years in between MRI's and checkups now! It's been 14 years since I had my tumor removed. For there to be no sign of it now is exciting! I'm very blessed!
That's all I have time for today. I'll try to get on here to post about Steve and V's activities soon...

Listening to my little one laughing while watching Charlie Brown....I love it!

A birthday and a baptism

V. was baptized on her birthday! How special! We asked her if she wanted to be baptized on her birthday or Thanksgiving weekend{thinking that might be easier on family, maybe?}. She chose her birthday!
The night before, Steve's parents came over to give V. their birthday gifts to her. Grandma Hammond had made a lovely blue afghan for V. What's funny, is V.'s room used to be pink and we had just painted it blue that week! {Blue and green are her favorite colors}. Grandma Hammond didn't know that, but just felt the need to give V. a blue afghan. We also had asked Ruby at the start of the year if she would give V. a Navajo name when she turned 8. So she had been thinking about it all year and consulted with her Aunt Pearl. She said that she described V. to Aunt Pearl{she's never seen a photo of her that we're aware of}. Then they compared names they had picked. They both had picked names for V. that were very similar. So that's the name Ruby gave her. She explained a little bit about the tradition of girls names. Then she told us the name and what it means. So V.'s Navajo name is ~NIZHONI' YAZHI' BAH . Which means~ Beautiful Little Girl.  It was a very special evening with Grandma and Grandpa Hammond!
V. helped me with the program. We chose to have Grandma's and Aunt's on the program since her Grandpa's and Uncle's would be able to stand in on the Confirmation circle.
She chose the songs herself.
It was a very beautiful day! Steve got a little choked up while baptizing her and confirming her a member of the Church. Later, he asked me if he sounded silly. I said no. He isn't one to show emotion very often, so when he does, you know he is feeling some strong feelings. I told him it was very tender. And he gave her a beautiful blessing. V. was a little nervous before hand, but when it came down to it, she was calm. She had a special baptism towel to use that her Grandma West made for her embroidered with her name and date. Afterwards, we all went to our home for a luncheon. Family helped with food and it was all yummy! We also had birthday cake for V. It was in the shape of the CTR shield. We also had a little cake for Boyd since it was his birthday as well and we sang Happy Birthday to them both! She received some nice gifts from family members.
*Side note here* We bought her a nice, genuine leather bound scripture set, tote for her scriptures and a nice new CTR ring. That all cost a good amount so I thought it was good. The night before her birthday Steve asked if I had anything else for her. I said no. Well, yes, I had a couple other things I had bought for her but was holding off until Christmas. Steve asked me to wrap those up to give her for her birthday instead. He loves to spoil her! So we gave her those gifts first thing in the morning. She seemed happy, but I could tell she was sad she didn't get scriptures for her birthday.*
We waited to give her her scriptures and such until all the family was there. So after she opened gifts from them, we told her we had tricked her and still had a gift for her.  She was excited as she opened her tote and scripture set. The CTR ring was in the pocket of her tote. She was very happy and immediately found the Articles of Faith in her new scriptures and highlighted them.
We had the Elder Missionaries over for dinner the week before and had invited them to come to V.'s baptism. They came to our home after the baptism and explained that they had wanted to come, but had a service project that morning. But they wanted to give V. something. They first shared the story of Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty {found in Alma 46 {Book of Mormon}}.Then they said they had looked around and tried to think what they could give V. They tore one of their white shirts, wrote the Title of Liberty on it, looked around their apartment and found a wire hanger that they straightened out and tied the torn shirt too. They also gave her a card. V. was pretty excited when they gave her these. We thanked them. Then I thanked them again and told them they don't realize that she will never forget the Elders that gave that to her the day she got baptized. They have made a permanent mark on her and are such a good example to her.
It was a wonderful day! I'm so grateful for all the family and friends who love and support V. Since we are a small family, I've always hoped and have been grateful for the love and support she gets from her extended family. She will need it someday when Steve and I are no longer around.

Losing my mind

V. takes piano from a lady in our Ward{Congregation}. The other day in church Sis. Johnson comes up to me and says, " I have to tell you what V. said at lessons the other day. It must be something she hears you say a lot."
I'm thinking, "Oh no! What has V. repeated? I need to be careful what I say around her. What did she say?!"
Sis. Johnson then said that she was looking around for a pencil to write down the assignments for V. in her notebook, and when she couldn't find one she said," Oh, I must be losing my mind!"
She said V. then looked at her with a sympathetic look and said,"That's alright. So is my Mom."
Bwahahahaha!!

Trying to catch up on blogging but admitting that too much has happened so I end up just rambling....

I haven't blogged in a little bit. I had plans to post back-to-school photos, Fall photos etc. But my computer is being dumb and won't upload pictures from my memory cards. Grrr!!!
But I figured I better get back to at least writing on this blog. Hopefully I can figure out how to get some photos on here soon...
2nd Grade started for V. last month. She has  a great teacher! She already knew about half the kids in her class which made her comfortable and excited. After a month of school, she is still loving it and comes home everyday eager to talk about her day! She had a bad fall on the gravel at recess one day and when she got home all she had was a band aid on. When I took it off, I saw there was still gravel and dirt in her cut and skin. Steve cleaned it and she cried because it hurt so bad! We were a little worried it might get infected. After 4 days it was still bleeding and not scabbing over. But we kept washing it and putting fresh band aids on and it did finally scab over. Now it looks like a little scar on her knee. It seems like every Fall when V. is back in school it only takes a couple days before she comes home with band aids all over her legs/knees. She just gets running so fast and having fun! I guess it's a sign of childhood to have band aids on your knees all the time, right?
V. already met her goal in the A.R. testing/reading program they do. I'm not too familiar with this. But she said her goal was a 4. She was at 2. 5. Then she read a Magic Treehouse book {a series she is loving right now!}and she said because it was a chapter book it was worth 3 points. So she took her test on it and got her score/points up to 5.5. So she says that means she gets to eat lunch with her teacher for meeting her goal! { I love that kids love the reward of eating lunch with their teacher!} Anyway, we are out for Harvest break right now, so she will get her reward when school starts back up.
Steve has been hunting this month and he shot a bull elk with his bow 2 weeks ago. He was by himself and it was back in aways, so it took him about 9 hours to cut it up, skin it and pack it out. We decided to get all but the backstrap in ground meat. We picked up the meat from the processor the other day and it feels so good knowing/seeing our freezer full of fresh, lean meat!
Steve's brother, Mike is staying with us this week and Steve has the week off work. The 2 of them have been out hunting trying to get Mike an elk. Tuesday they took V. with them and she was thrilled and had the time of her life! They got into some elk. Steve stayed with V. in the truck where they watched the elk through the spotting scope. Mike was creeping up on the herd when a truck went by and spooked them all. SO he didn't get any, but like I said, V. had the time of her life. She loved that she got to ride in the back of the pick up {with Mike} as well. That's just part of growing up in Idaho!
Yesterday Steve and Mike went out again and found the herd of elk again. They crept up and Mike took a shot but the wind caught his arrow. SO he missed. And the elk were spooked and took off. Oh well, they have a few more days before Mike goes home to try to get him an elk.
Oh, so much more to talk about, but I feel like I'm just rambling on....
Next week is also Harvest Break and we have a fun event that week that I'll post about later! :)

Childhood

Here I mentioned that V. had never had a REAL milkshake. Well, a few weeks before that happened, I was imitating Miss Piggy. V. said, " Who are you supposed to be?" I told her Miss Piggy. She looked at me confused. I said," You know, Kermit's girl friend?" I then imitated Kermit. V. just sat there looking at me. Then she said," I have no idea what you're talking about."
I thought, "What?! My child doesn't know Kermit and Miss Piggy?!" Come to find out, she didn't know any of the Muppets. So that weekend we watched the Muppet Movie {the old one} on Netflix and she loved it!
So...Now that I corrected the milkshake thing and the Muppets thing, I'm wondering,"What else does my child need to experience whilst still a child? What did I experience in my childhood that I want her to experience?"
So what do YOU think a child needs to experience while still a child? Please comment! I'd love to hear what you did as a child that you think/want your child to do!
{ One thing I HAVE taught her is to get a spoonful of peanut butter and stick m&m's on it and eat it! Sadly, she wasn't a huge fan of that. Although she does love peanut butter m&m's. }

Confession

I may or may not have started listening to a little bit of Christmas music this weekend.
It happens every Summer!
{ While Steve was gone, V. and I may have watched Mickey's Christmas Carol last night as well. }

Funny things V. says

The other day we were walking around the greenbelt and saw a dead fish in the water. V. started telling me about how penguins eat dead fish and she thinks that's gross. I told her other animal ate dead fish as well. Bears, dolphins, whales, etc. I explained that dead fish {or live fish} is perfectly fine for some animals to eat and it doesn't bother them.
She then says," Well, if I was half penguin and half human, I'd still think it's gross and wouldn't eat them!"

This morning as we were driving to tennis V. was chattering away. She was telling me to make sure I wear protective glasses when I cut wood, to insure that I don't get a splinter in my eye. She said that would hurt so bad! She then said," I think getting a splinter in the eye would be the worst thing! Well, that and not having a birthday."
I love the way this girl thinks!!!

Milkshakes

Yesterday it was hot and we were out and about in town so we stopped at Artic Circle to get milkshakes. I asked V. what kind of milkshake she wanted. She was quiet a moment then asked," What's a milkshake?" What the????? How can my child not have had a milkshake in the 7 1/2 years she has been on this earth? She's had smoothies, and she's had a Wendy's frosty, but I realized she's never had a REA...L milkshake. After staring at options for over 10 minutes, she settled for plain, old chocolate. Needless to say, she loved it! She exclaimed," This tastes just like ice cream!"
I think this will be the summer of milkshakes. Time to go buy some ice cream and milkshake add ins and we'll make some yummy homemade ones this summer!

Yesterday it was hot and we were out and about in town so we stopped at Artic Circle to get milkshakes. I asked V. what kind of milkshake she wanted. She was quiet a moment then asked," What's a milkshake?" What the????? How can my child not have had a milkshake in the 7 1/2 years she has been on this earth? She's had smoothies, and she's had a Wendy's frosty, but I realized she's never had a REA...L milkshake. After staring at options for over 10 minutes, she settled for plain, old chocolate. Needless to say, she loved it! She exclaimed," This tastes just like ice cream!"
I think this will be the summer of milkshakes. Time to go buy some ice cream and milkshake add ins and we'll make some yummy homemade ones like my Mom used to make this summer!

*So...after I had worked at the school the other day {um..week} I was trying to decide if I should apply to be a full time cook. I was weighing all the pros and cons. Talked with Steve about it. Prayed. Then, the following week, V. got sick. She had a bronchial infection. She was home from school for 2 days. That was my answer. If I go back to work, I'd have to worry about finding a sub for me on days that V. was sick. I don't want anything to get in the way of my first job and priority; being a mother.

So there you go. For right now, I'm just going to continue with my little crafting business and cook subbing. And as Steve reminded me, I have plenty of years ahead of me. This isn't permanent. I can always go back to work full~time some other time. Right now, I need to be available 100% for my girl.

And yes, I realize how incredibly blessed I am that I have the freedom and the ability to make this choice. I know a lot of moms who would love to stay at home with their children, but financially can't. I am very grateful that I can stay at home!
*On the last day of school I picked V. up and she was in tears. She was sobbing in the car the whole way home! I asked her what was wrong and she said she was so sad because she is really going to miss her teacher. That's the sign of a great school and a great teacher who really loves her class! V. has loved this school! And her teacher was fantastic! I'm sad she won't be V.'s teacher anymore as well! I hope next year her school is just as good and that she has another great teacher!
~To clarify things, yes V. will be in a new school next year. No, we are not moving. In our school district they have only 1 or 2 grades at each school. Until Junior High and High School. At first I thought this was all confusing and was like "what?" But when V. started Kindergarten it was actually very comforting knowing she was at a school with only Kindergartners and 1st graders. No older kids bullying younger ones. No influence from older kids. No being exposed to things that a child this age is to young to be exposed to. So anyway, we are done now with this school and she will be at a new school for 2nd and 3rd grade and then move on to another school after that!
 

witches, springtime, lawn mowing, ramblings!

*V. lately has been very complimentary towards my cooking. We'll be eating something store bought and she'll say something like,"Your food is way better than this, Mom." Or," I just want your cooking, Mom."
Anyway, it's very sweet of her. And makes me feel good! She also has been eating food she used to not to eat. Well, food she would eat as a baby/toddler then quit eating as a pre-schooler but is now eating again! Yay!
{But she still won't eat potatoes or red meat. She hasn't liked those since she could start eating solid foods.}
*Steve and his brother went to the Super Cross in Salt Lake this last Saturday. They had a lot of fun and had perfect weather! While they were gone V. and I had a fun day! V.'s teacher has been reading her class 'the Twits' by Roald Dahle and she really wanted to buy it. So we went to the bookstore and she used some of her allowance to buy it. Then we went to Winger's for lunch. When the waitress asked if we wanted dessert I was about to say no when V. piped up "yes!" So we had an Asphalt Pie. V. LOVED it! She was like," This is so good  Mom! Why haven't we had this before?" I was like," ummm....Dad and I eat this fairly often. But I guess we've always had it just us." Oops!
Anyway, then V. ran through the sprinkler a little bit. But she got cold within 15 minutes {because come on, it IS Idaho and only April }, so then she got in the tub and had a nice warm bath!
So all in all, a fun day!
*My back has been feeling better so I asked the chiropractor about when he thought I could start running again. He said that honestly he wouldn't recommend running until NEXT summer. What?! I'm pretty upset and disappointed. He said even though my back may feel better and I might feel okay running now, my disks won't be fully healed. And with my vertebrae pounding on each other there would be a good chance of hurting myself again. Possibly even worse than now. So to be safe I need to wait a year to make sure everything is healed fully. Then I can run all I want. Makes sense. But still.... I was contemplating doing a half-marathon this Fall. And I had other goals I wanted to reach this year. And now all those goals are out the window. When I DO start running next year I'll have to start all over with my training. *sigh* And plus, running was such a stress reliever for me. I always felt so much better and happier after a run. Oh well. I guess I need to find other ways to relieve stress and just focus on other goals and staying healthy and getting stronger.
I also asked about mowing the lawn. I usually do that while Steve is at work. I feel bad that Steve and V. have been having to do so much because I can't. Well, Dr. Ellis said sure I can mow the lawn! But I can't start the mower. The whole pull-start thing would not be good for my back. Great! So yes, I can mow the lawn but I still have to wait for Steve to get home to start it for me! Too bad V. isn't big enough to start it for me....
* Today marks my 13th anniversary of being brain tumor free! YAY! You can read more about that here. One of these years maybe I'll talk more about that week and how I felt and all. But not today.
I have MRI's and a doctor check up every 2 years. That is not this year, but next year. Last year though, the doc said everything looked good. So I guess we'll wait and see what he says next year!
* I went to the Temple this morning. I always love going to the Temple. I really love going with Steve, but no where does it say I can't just go by myself once in awhile. I feel uplifted, re-energized, re-focused and peaceful. That's the key word here, peaceful!
* Today is the first of May. And we had snow. It's funny that just a few days ago V. was running through the sprinkler and now we have snow! But what can I say, that's springtime in southeast Idaho for ya!
I also realized today, that being May means school ends this month! When I told V., she got all sad and said she didn't want to school to end because she loves her teacher so much. So cute! You know, I think I would be totally fine with year-round school. And I think V. would be fine as well! Just have 2ish weeks off in the Fall, Christmas, Easter and Summer time. I think it'd be fun!
I also think it'd be cool to go to boarding school! Now, I don't think I could part with V. and send HER to boarding school. But I would LOVE to go to boarding school in England, Switzerland, oh alright I'll say it, " HOGWARTS!" {V. would love to go there as well!}
* Speaking of magic, V. has really been into Harry Potter. However, she watched the 3rd one for the first time the other day and had nightmares and ended up crawling into our bed that night. I warned her it was one of the scarier ones, but she wanted to watch it so I let her.
She has been waving "wands" around and shouting magic spells at everything. Even while we are playing chess{which she is pretty darn good at, I might add} she points her wand at the chess pieces and shouts spells. Interestingly, she likes Ginny more than Hermione. She pretends she is Ginny, wants to be Ginny for Halloween and wants to buy a Ginny Weasly wand. I asked her why she likes her over H. and she said it was because Ginny has brothers. And she wants brothers. Awww!
And I think Ginny is a good role model. {So is Hermione.} So I love that she wants to be like Ginny!
Anyhoo, this has turned into a bunch of rambling. So I'll quit. For today. {this thought jumping around I do has me questioning if they put my brain back in correctly after that surgery 13 years ago...}

I went out with a friend last night and had a very enjoyable time and a much needed break!
Anyhoo, when I got home V. was already asleep so I gave her a kiss then talked with Steve about what they did while I was gone. He said they went fishing then came home and had Mac & Cheese{V. would live off that if she could!}. He said that later in the evening she came into our room and had a downcast face and was humphing. He asked her what was wrong. She said{in a very serious tone}," I just don't understand. Almost all my toys are made in China. Why? Why is everything from China?"
At this point Steve is thinking that she's being all political or something and he was very surprised!
She then continued," All my toys from Santa say 'made in China' on them. I don't understand. Aren't they made in Santa's workshop? Does he HAVE a workshop? Why are they from China?"
Steve said he probably had the deer-in-headlights look at this point. He was like, "Where is this coming from? When did she get old enough to start asking questions like this?"
So he turned to joking and told her that maybe Santa made a stop in China on the way to our house for her toys or something.
 Then the next morning she approached me with the same questions. So I told her something like maybe Santa gets parts from China, or has workshops all over the world and has one in China, or something like that.
Anyway, he said she was very serious and seemed genuinely upset by all this.
It has us wondering if this is the year she stops believing in Santa. It's sad to think about her growing up. I have a friend who says in their house they say ,"If you don't believe you don't receive." She says none of her kids have ever asked about Santa{not even the teens}. If they start, they are just told,"If you don't believe you don't receive."
But I've always told V. that she can ask us anything and we'd always be truthful with her. I was thinking more along the lines of talking about life and such. I didn't think about Santa. So do I break her heart when she asks about Santa by telling her the truth or do I just say that I believe in the magic myself, because if you don't believe you don't receive. Or is that too cryptic for a child?
I guess we need to do some serious thinking about how to answer her when she asks....
p.s.
I have found a few ideas on Pinterest of ways to talk to our child about Santa. I think I might take a couple of those and change them to fit us and they way we talk with V.

March 26th

* Today as I was helping in V.'s classroom the school had a fire drill. So I got to walk outside with her class, holding her hand.

* It has been raining this afternoon and I LOVE it!

* V. has had no cheer, ballet or piano this week. Due to Spring breaks. But our Easter break starts on Thursday. So only 3 days of school this week as well. So, so far it's been a nice week and she is excited for the rest of the week! I think we'll dye Easter eggs on Friday. And she bought a little wooden birdhouse that I told her she could paint over the break. Steve wants to take us to lunch or dinner sometime this weekend. Other than that, it will be a slow, nice weekend.

* Speaking of Steve, I am wildly in love with him.....Just had to say that....

* My back has been feeling really good. Yay!! I'm hoping it just continues to get better from here on!

* I pre-ordered the Hobbit. We have been anxiously awaiting for it to arrive. Steve asks everyday if it has arrived. I got it for a good price by pre-ordering it but waiting for it is driving us nuts!Any day now....

* Next week Steve's family will be in town. We can't wait to see them. Especially our new nephew!!

V. at cheer

Watching V. during her cheer class makes me envision a little scarecrow doing cheer. Or Woody from Toy Story doing cheer. She's got long, thin, straggly looking arms and legs. I can't help but smile while watching her run, jump, kick, and roll around. Her limbs are flapping every which way!

Pleasant day...

*The weather has been so lovely the last few days!!! The sun is shining, birds are singing...it's just so lovely!! {Maybe a little on the windy side, but when you live in Idaho you get used to that!}
Today I turned off all the heat and have the front door open. It's so nice to let the fresh air come into the house! Tonight I will probably need to turn the heat on a little bit, but that's okay. I'll just turn it off again in the morning when it warms up! Spring is right around the corner!!
I have been wearing flips flops only the last couple of days!

*I also got to help in V.'s class room today. That's always fun!

*After that I stopped in to her school's gym to vote on the new school levy. I always feel good, and proud after voting. I'm grateful we live in a country where we have the freedom to vote!

*In a little bit I'll be picking the little one up from school and heading down to ballet class. Then home to make brinner and enjoy the evening as a family.

A very pleasant day today.
{I also washed our bedding today. Which means a nice, clean, good smelling, comfy bed awaits me for bedtime tonight!}

More snow fun!

We have had such a good Winter for snow this year!

During the Holidays Steve pulled V. and her cousin on a sled behind the 4-wheeler. {And maybe I joined in on the fun as well!}

It was so much fun!

 Almost everyday when V. gets home from school she asks to go play in the snow. She has loved it!

There have been a few times where she'll come in and ask for a spoon or a cup. Or both. When I looked outside I found her digging in the snow with the spoon and I'm not sure what she did the cup!
But I love seeing her imagination at work! Such a cutie!

We always follow snow playing with hot cocoa and sometimes a warm bath. I'm so happy we've had good snow to play in this year!

Justin Bieber

V. is playing and starting to get a little crazy and tired. She was saying something like," ...just in time! Justin! Justin Bieber!" I asked her how she knew about Justin Bieber. She replies," It's a beaver. Named Justin. "
I love it!!!

Soccer Dad{s}?

Soccer {summer 2012 }

I was filling out V's soccer registration online. As that is how you have to do it this year. She was already in the system because she's played in the past. All I was supposed to do was update her info. As I was looking over her info. I saw they had both Steve and I down as her fathers. I corrected it and then printed it out. It still said I was her father. So I tried correcting it again but it seems intent on leaving it where it was.
So, according to V's soccer registration, she has 2 fathers.
{ and she's still 6, has only 1 year experience, has no insurance and doesn't have a school name. As it wouldn't let me correct those errors either!}

People are better than dolls

As I was doing V.'s hair for cheer she said," You know Mom, I really like people more than dolls."
Okaaaay. I asked her why.
" Because shoes are harder to put on dolls because their legs don't bend."
Well....I guess that's as good a reason as any to prefer people over dolls".

Super Star student

Our little one was recognized at an assembly at school today! I think they try to recognize each student sometime throughout the school year. I think that's awesome! What a way to boost a child's self-esteem and make them feel like they matter and are important! Each kid up there today was smiling the biggest smile! V. is growing into such a smart, kind and lovely girl. We certainly are blessed!