Little Wishlist 2015

As I think of things to put on the list, I'll update it!
This is just as much for ME as for those shopping for us. :-)

Adri:
Anything from Carleen Tanner's Positive Parenting website (Cd's and syllabus)
Book of Mormon Study guide from Red Headed Hostess
Book: A Joyful Mother of Children  by Linda Eyre
Book: Peaceful Parent Happy Kids AND/OR Peaceful Parent Happy Siblings, both by Laura Markham
Brian:


Owen:
Size 6

Kate:
size 4T

Luke:
size 12 months, PJ's and clothes

Book Review: Behold, I Come Quickly

Book:Behold, I Come Quickly
The Last Days and Beyond
By Hoyt W. Brewster, Jr.
Published in 1994, but still 100% relevant in 2015!


Why I picked this book: My dad gave it to me. He is an avid christian nonfiction reader!

The book: This book is about the last days of this earth, signs of the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, what it'll be like when he comes, and what happens afterward (what will happen to all people according to how they lived on this earth, animals, the earth, etc...).
         The author has compiled information from the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, modern day prophets, and church history books. He has interpreted some of the information, but mostly, he has just brought all the relevant scriptures, quotes, and insights of prophets into a book. The layout is nice, and its broken down into sections that make it easy to read.
My Thoughts: This book is an eye-opener!  At first this book had me scared out of my wits! Oh my, there are horrors and terrible things in the future (and some are already happening). I actually cried while reading some parts...knowing that I, my children, OR some of my posterity might have to endure some of the hardships it describes.
         However, it is a VERY MOTIVATING book because it describes what wonderful things are to come to those people who obey God's commandments. Truly wonderful things are ahead for the righteous.
          After reading this book, I examined my life, actions, decisions, etc... and asked myself: Am I on the right track? Will I be counted among one of the righteous? How can I get prepared for these inevitable events in the future (which will be poured out without mixture over all the earth)?


Recommend?YES! For sure!

On another note....
Just after I finished this book someone on Facebook posted "write the name of the last book you read and add 'with a chainsaw' at the end". Many people were commenting their book titles with the added words. Oh my there were some silly ones! This book is no different...definitely one of the crazier ones!  "Behold, I come quickly...with a chainsaw"
hahaha! So funny :-) Made my day!

My Longest Fast Birth Story Ever - Luke

A quiet moment alone for a mother of three? It's almost unheard of! But yes folks....I actually have a quiet moment to myself to write this post. Finally! Woohoo! 

(okay, I scarcely wrote that sentence above when I realized my 2 year old--who was supposed to be napping--pooped in her pants. After I got that cleaned up, by baby of 11 weeks woke up screaming from his nap. My “moment” ended quickly!)

I call this my longest fast birth story, because it takes longer to tell the story than that of the actual birth. Ha! Well, that’s almost true.

If you want to skip all the glorious details and read the "short version", scroll to the bottom of the post and you'll see it there. 

Warning: All men should STOP reading :-) You don't wanna hear it.

Here are the details of the day and then the labor/birth that night:

On Wednesday, January 21^st, I went to my regular prenatal doctor appointment. The doc said I was about 4cm dialated and 70% effaced. Good news! That means it was getting CLOSER.

I went home to finish up things on my Pre-Baby Checklist I’d made a few weeks before. All day I was Go-Go-Go! I worked on my daughter’s room which we were remodeling. I did tons of laundry. I had Owen play in the snow with a honey bear container – I refilled it with water and food coloring, and he took it outside and squirted it everywhere making all kinds of letters and designs in the snow. I walked ½ mile on the treadmill.

After a long day of cleaning and walking I was pretty tired. For dinner I reheated a tray of enchiladas that my Relief Society president brought over. What an ANGEL she is! I just love her, AND her amazing enchiladas. I’ve asked her for the recipe, and I’ll keep hounding her for it until she spills the beans. Mmmm it was SO good!

Brian took Owen and Kate to his brother’s highschool basketball game. While they were gone, I drove myself to town and exchanged a diaper bag. I walked all over TJMaxx and somehow left with just the 1 item I intended on buying. How does that happen? Haha

Now back home, its 8 or 9pm. I painted some trim and fixed caulking in a bathroom, cleaned up the house more, took out the trash, etc…

Brian and the kids came home. I got the kids in bed.

Then, I cleaned the cushions of our glider-rocking chair. [A few days before, Katelyn smeared Vaseline all over into the fabric cushions. Commence eye roll… Anyway… ]

I finished cleaning the chair around 12:30am. Moved the laundry over again. I got ready for bed and was almost asleep when I heard Katelyn crying. (its now 1:30am) She is half naked and crying. Nothing I try makes her happy. Tough night!  Finally, she is calmed down enough and I go upstairs to go to bed.

It’s now about 2:00am and I fall into bed. Oh my glorious bed! It’s been a LONG day, and already a LONG night. I’m SO tired and soooo ready to relax.

I feel my first contraction. Its strong.
Then another.

“Oh boy” I think to myself. I get up and shower. The contractions continue to come. I get down on all 4’s in the shower and let the water hit my lower spine. It helps a little. This is intense back labor (oh my, it’s the worst!).

After the shower I yell to Brian to call his mom to come watch our kids. “Well, let me time them once more” I foolishly said. I let 8 minutes pass and I have 4 contractions.  “Yeah, she needs to come NOW,” I shout.

2:22am – Brian calls her 3 times and there is no answer. Oh no! Luckily, she calls back right away. Phew! Okay, she is on her way.

I throw my once-packed hospital bag back together, because at one point it got un-packed when I needed something out of it. I’m pausing between contractions to breath. I sit on the toilet for a few contractions because I feel like I can’t hold in my pee. I put on a little make-up.

I start blow drying my freshly washed hair. I do it the FAST way because the contractions are getting much worse. I’m no longer timing them, because it takes too much mental power while I’m trying to get things ready to go our the door and the contractions are coming too fast.

Intense back pain.

I ask Brian to push on my back. I’m in a weird position leaning over the bed while he pushes and the pushing doesn’t help the pain…made me a little ticked off. Haha. (sorry Brian!)

I ask him for a priesthood blessing. He does it immediately while I kneel at the foot of the bed. Another contraction during the blessing. I try to concentrate.

2:40am - My mother in law, Nancy, arrives. I finish blowing my hair while Brian and she discuss the details of the kids (Owen’s bus, car seats, etc…) Just before we leave I have another contraction that is 20x worse than any before. Nancy and Brian are talking and I ask them to “shhhhh”…which they don’t!! They lowered their voices, but any sound at all was upsetting to me (sorry if I snapped!).

2:45am – we are in the car driving to the hospital. I’m on my knees on the floor of the front seat, elbows on the seat, gripping the back of the passenger chair. I try to push my lower back into the glove compartment for counter-pressure, it doesn’t help at all.

I’m timing the contractions again, but it’s getting harder. [looking back at my contraction timer phone app, I timed them from 2:48am to 3:02am. They are coming every 1:50 or 2 minutes and lasting a full minute. That’s only a 1 minute rest in between contractions]

I yell at Brian to NOT stop for anything, and to roll through the red stoplights. Luckily we only hit 1 red light and all the rest were green. Brian is driving really fast – 80mph in a 40mph zone. Ah! He is awesome!

We are a mile away from the hospital and I have the urge to push. I try to hold back, but it’s painful! I grip Brian’s arm and hold him tight through these contractions. [Later, he will complain that I squeeze too hard. Haha. Sorry Bri] I’m moaning and groaning through the pain. I can’t help it. I can’t hold it in. I don’t want to be one of those loud laboring women you see on TV. They are so weird. But for real, I’m doing everything I can to stay quiet, but that is not an option. The moaning was coming out nice and loud, along with practically cutting off circulation to Brian’s arm because I’m squeezing so hard.

In between these intense contractions I flip up into the seat and put my feet on the dashboard. PUSH! It comes again.

Brian shouts “DON’T PUSH ADRI, DON’T PUSH!”

I’m trying so hard to hold back pushing. It’s almost uncontrollable.

I know I’m fully dilated. I can feel the baby crowning.

“THIS BABY IS COMING!!!!!” I shout.

We pull up to the Emergency exit. Brian runs for a wheelchair and he wheels me inside.

3:11am – We are met by 2 nurses, a male and a female. The female nurse is casually asking for my name, putting on gloves, and saying that they’ll “check me”. The male nurse is at the computer and asks for my birthdate.

Brian asks for a Charge Nurse.

Another pushing contraction comes.

“THIS BABY IS COMING OUT OF ME!!!!” I shout while gripping my big gigantic round belly and trying so hard not to poop this baby out right there in the ER entrance.

Another nurse comes around the corner and takes one look at us and yells “RUN!” while pointing down a long hallway to our right.

Brian pushes my wheelchair at FULL SPEED. Contractions still coming, grunting and cringing, trying not to push.

The nurse is running full strides next to us. Asks what # or baby this is, and also says she needed a workout tonight and is happy to run with us. Haha J

This is serious Hollywood cinema laboring right here! I feel like I should be in a movie!

Brian wheels me into a room. Several nurses join us. They are running around, they weren’t ready for a laboring woman at all. (Which is confusing, because it’s a labor/delivery room, and they are labor and delivery nurses….)

“GET THESE PANTS OFF ME” I yell.
I rip off my shoes and hop on the hospital bed before the next contraction starts (I can feel it coming and I don’t want to have another contraction in that blasted wheelchair)

The wheel chair is slightly wet. I quickly take off the pajama pants I’m wearing. CONTRACTION. OUCH!!! I can feel the head. I can feel everything so much that I don’t need a mirror or anything to know the baby is crowning and on its way out. Pain.

“WHAT DO I DO WITH MY LEGS? SOMEONE GRAB MY HANDS! WHAT DO I DO?”

Brian grabs both my hands. A nurse sees my legs apart and a baby’s head coming out and finally comes to our aid. [Brian tells me later that all the nurses eyes went WIDE and they were in shock when they realized what was happening]

The nurse says not to push too hard, because I don’t want to tear, and to relax my legs a little.

Okay…breathe…not too hard….breathe….babys head is coming….oh crap…oh crap…this is really happening….more of baby’s head…. RING OF FIRE!!!!!

Numb…

No feeling…

What just happened?....Sigh….breathe…close eyes.

“…one more small push for the shoulders, small push, come on, lets get the shoulders out” says the nurse.

I attempt a small push…maybe…I am exhausted and can’t feel much.

Gushing hot fluid, warm legs, baby is born @ 3:14am with no epidural, no doctor, and just about no nurse! 3 minutes after we arrive at the hospital our baby is born. 3 MINUTES! That is insane…this baby was almost born in the car (and that would have been a lot cheaper!)

I’m still fully clothed from the waist up. I think someone gets me a blanket for my exposed lower half and Brian helps me take my shirt off and hospital gown on. Baby is with me now, he is here! I’m so tired. He is blueish and covered in white stuff (totally normal, but movies don’t show it this way, so it’s still a little weird to me).

I’m in shock. Did that just happen? What happened? I just gave natural child birth. NATURAL? WHAT? This is crazy. Did this just happen?

Brian stays with our baby. They have him in the room with us. He is 20” long and weighs 7 pounds. [So exact! Cool buddy!]

My body is shaking. No, its on FULL VIBRATE MODE! What is going on? I’m freezing and asking for water. Feels like an eternity and someone finally gives me a little cup of water. I’m so thirsty. Shaking uncontrollably.

Still no doctor. He is on the way. The nurse keeps asking me questions. I completely ignore her. I’m annoyed. So agitated that she is asking me questions right now. I need more water. I’m freezing and shaking and jaw chattering, arms and legs are wiggling/shaking and I feel so weird. I just gave natural childbirth. Can this lady just shut the heck up and let me “rest from my labors for a season”? I am in shock, feeling cold, alone, thirsty, shaky, and now add ANNOYED AT NURSE. I want to enjoy this time SO badly! But I cant. Not one bit. My baby and husband were across the room. Baby screaming from all the “tests”, and I was feeling so lonely and horrible, and thirsty.

Nurse, shut up! I’m not going to tell you my SSN or my medical history right now. I just freaking gave birth. Leave me alone. This is all in my mind, I’m too exhausted to tell her to shut up, too exhausted to tell her to please be quiet.

Finally, the doctor arrives. He doesn’t look at my face [not even once…that I can recall]. He delivers the placenta. Then, he says I’m bleeding too much, that my uterus isn’t contracting as quick as he wants and orders Pitocin via an IV. Ugh, I’m so annoyed. If they would just give me my baby back and let me breastfeed, then I would produce my own hormones to get my uterus to contract. This doctor is just tired and lazy and doesn’t want to wait for me to produce the hormones on my own. I have to be here at 3pm, SO SHOULD HE! I don’t say anything…I don’t know why…I’m just too tired to advocate for myself. Too tired and thirsty to say anything at all. [P.S. I didn’t even tear “down there”. Phew! What a relief! No stitches! Rock on!]

The nurse starts an IV and complains that I’m dehydrated and its hard to get the vein. SERIOUSLY!!!!???? I’VE BEEN ASKING FOR WATER SINCE I WAS WHEELED IN THE DOORS!!!  I’ve always, always, always been told what easy veins I have by any nurse. This is another reason this nurse is pissing me off. The IV hurts so bad. [side note: over the next 6 hours it half way falls out twice and it hurts way bad. I ask constantly for it to be removed and they keep saying “no”. Finally, it falls out and bleeds EVERYWHERE and I tell them to NOT put it back in. Sheesh. And another doctor tells me afterward that they shouldn’t have given me an IV at all, that it should have been a 1 time shot of Pitocin, not a full out IV drip of it. Ugh, imbeciles.]

After what feels like a lifetime (but probably only 2 hours) they take us to the postpartum/recovery room. Ah, relief! Now I can relax and enjoy my baby and husband in peace. Everything about the labor and delivery room and nurses was completely annoying and terrible. If I ever have another child, I’ll know better and speak up for myself.

Baby is great at nursing. I’m so glad, and feel so happy when I look at him.

I’m amazed that I’m up and walking around so easily! The recovery seems to be much easier already. Perhaps it was the natural (no epidural) factor, or that I didn’t tear. Either way, I’m so glad I can walk around and I’m not stuck in bed with numb or weak legs.

Eat, sleep, nurse, repeat….. for 3 days. Heaven J

It took us a long time to name him. On the 2nd day in the hospital we named him Luke, and the 3rd day we chose his middle name Wade. 

Luke Wade Johnson. Welcome to this earth. We are so glad you've come.

Short version:
2:10 am : I went into labor

2:20 am : Called our mother in law to come over and babysit our other kids.

2:45 am : Brian drove me to the hospital.

3:11 am : Arrived at the hospital.

3:14 am : Baby was born with NO epidural, NO doctor, and ALMOST NO nurse!

From start to finish was just about 1 hour. I feel like super woman! J

Dear Santa...

I'm reverting back to childhood and making Santa a Christmas list :-)

I'm not sure if I made it onto Santa's "Nice List" this year.
So just in case....I'll post this for friends, family (and hubby) to see!

All the kids:
Books, books, and books!
Clothes, PJ's, Shoes
Paints and brushes
Art/school/craft supplies
Puzzles
Games
Cards
Toy box
Aprons/Apron/oversized bibs
Any books by Susan Boynton

Owen:
He likes anything/everything BOY -
pretend hunting things like guns, sling shots, bow/arrows, nerf guns (and other "manly" things)
Transportation stuff: Trucks, planes, cars, trains, rockets
Animals: dinosaurs, bugs, birds, animals, dragons, frogs
Character stuff: Spiderman, Mario Brothers, Harry Potter, R2D2 from Star Wars, Curious George, Clifford, Scout (from leapfrog)
hoola hoop
fruit, crackers, candy
balloons
games that are played with 2+ people
balls of ALL kinds
bubbles
art projects, play dough
books
music and audio books
anything with a screen/movies/games
pre-reading helps/preschool activities
Currently wearing size 5T in the baby/toddler section or XS(5-6) in the boys section. And currently wearing shoe size 11 or 12 in kids.

Katelyn
She likes all things GIRL (and non-chokeable stuff)
jewelry
babies
dolls and doll accessories
Animals: ponies, puppies, kittens
purple and pink things
toys
books
music/songs
Characters: Any princess, Clifford the big red dog
Currently wearing size 2T and shoe size 6-7


For the Baby (Baby boy due Jan 29, 2014):
Lotion/baby wash - Lavender scented would be fun to try
Bibs
Burp cloths (I like the embellished ones...but the plain ol' single layer Gerber cloth diaper ones can be bleached easily. Love 'em both!)
Diapers (I like "Pampers Swaddlers" for newborn and size 1)
Dresser for baby's room
Infant car seat
Small diaper bag
One of these as a keepsake for baby.
footed baby pants - aren't these cool?
Newborn hat for his newborn pictures

Brian:
Motorcycle, snowmobile, 4-wheelers
Bow hunting stuff (I have no idea what this entails)
Gun re-loading supplies/materials/stuff
Shed
Materials to insulate our garage
Really really bright flashlights
Bow hunting things
Hiking things
Bug-A-Salt salt gun
Bow case


Adri:
New PC or Apple computer
Pomegranates...Mmmmmm I love these sooo much!
Mormon Mom Planner 2015 (overview of planner)
Small perfume
To have my feet "read"
Jewelry organizer (maybe for wall, or top of dresser)
Coconut oil (so many uses for this!)
New sharp blades for my Wahl hair clippers
Cape for cutting Brian and Owen's hair
Lavender pillow mist (can be a DIY)
Makeup: makeup primer (Mabelline Baby Skin), concealer (Mabelline Dream Lumi Highlighting Concealer in Ivory), lipstick, chapstick
Water pick (need all the help I can get to clean my braces!)
Smock type apron like this or this.
Jewelry (staples that will go with lots of different clothes. All my jewelry seems to be broken or missing)
Lens cleaning kit
50mm 1.8 canon lens for my Canon 7D
Newborn posing pillow - They look like this :-)
Photography backdrop stand and clips and strobe/flash
At home laminator
Glam Glow clearing treatment.
Pinking shears
Cutting mat and rotary cutter



Household:
New Computer
Ironing board
Pictures of Temple or Jesus, or frames so put my own pictures in.
Pastry brush
Meat tenderizer mallet/tool
FOOD STORAGE/PREPAREDNESS ITEMS
Blackout curtians for master bedroom

Happy Mothers Day 2014 - Miss You Mom!

Mega "SHOUT OUT" to my special Mother. Wish you lived closer so we could do this in person. But these videos are super fun too :-)

I had a very nice Mothers day, thinking about the heritage of  mothers before me, and the posterity of mothers to follow. Hoping I will be a strong link in the chain of my generation.

Brian brought me breakfast in bed. Mmmm Mmm good!
The men took over primary, so I went to gospel doctrine class and then relief society. Wow, I miss mingling with the wonderful women of our ward!  Of course singing time in primary is a blast, but there is a lot to be learned in the other meetings.




2014 M-Day Video from Adri Johnson on Vimeo.

I Stand All Amazed - Senior Primary Activity

BIG hit in Senior Primary today!
I taught I Stand All Amazed last week to the Senior primary. They caught on so fast to the first verse, so today was a review/reinforcement activity.

Materials:
Poster
Paper
Cutting Tools (scissors, cricut, or big circle punch)
Glue
Ruler (optional)

How to make your code poster:-decide what words are important to color-code. Usually words referring to Heavenly Father, Jesus, I or Me, etc... In "I Stand All Amazed" I also chose words that meant Love (Love, Grace, and Care).
-cut out your circles
-glue them on!


This is how it all played out:
I asked the kids to look at the poster and tell me what was different, what was the same, what did they notice. I accepted all answers and then we sang the 1st verse (I didn't do anything except hold the poster as we sang the first time). I got a few more responses as to what the code would be. Then I sang the 1st line and I pointed to the dots as we sang (one dot per word). I had alot of responses after that! We sang it one-two lines at a time until we got to the end. **The best part:. I split the primary down the middle. 1/2 sang the black dots, 1/2 sang the colored dots. But I told them to STAND UP when it was their turn to sing. There is a section in middle where everyone was bouncing up and down in their chairs trying to keep up with the color changes. So fun and funny at the same time. For the most part it was very reverent. Only 1 time did i need to remind them that this is a sacred song, and we shouldn't sing it silly. They understood and it was A+ the rest of the time!


 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPGug1zPmsE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

First Primary Talk - Owen is a Sunbeam!

Oh my, what a darling little sunbeam we have! He gave his first talk in church on Sunday, and I couldn't be more proud. He stood up there without hesitation in front of 50 children and 15 adults.
Way to go buddy!

Owen's First Talk in Primary for the LDS Church, 4 years old from Adri Johnson on Vimeo.

Kids Book of the Week: Mom Says I Can

Winner of the 2009 Mom's Choice Award

Why we picked this book: Someone in my ward was selling some books, and this book was part of a 'bundle' that I bought from her.

My Review:  This is my favorite kids book to date. Probably because of all the hugs and kisses I received at the end. This adventurous little boy is searching for the "worlds greatest treasure". He pretends to be a pirate, indian, spaceman, cowboy, knight in shining armor, etc... I love when he finds his treasure! The illustrations are perfect! I just love them. I am so excited when he chooses this book to read at night. I can't wait to read more books by Judy Cooley: I Love You More, and I Want to Be a Mommy.

Owen's Reaction: My sweet little Owen (4 yrs, 1.5 months old) studied and enjoyed every picture, and asked questions. He is so similar to this little boy in the book, everything is an adventure in his little world.

Mommy: What's your treasure, Owen?

Owen: "YOU!" followed by big kisses and hugs. Every time. How lucky am I? Seriously!

Kids Book of the Week: Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea

Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea, by Jan Peck



My Review: I liked the repetitive rhyming words. This helped especially to get Owen involved in saying the words with me. By the way, the illustrations were darling.


Owen's Response: He asked for this book every night (right after this one about unicorns). He loves all the different sea creatures, so this book was spot on the mark! Owen giggled at the ending. :-)


Owen's age: 4.1 years

Kids Book of the Week: Unicorn Thinks He's Pretty Great

Why we chose this book: Owen picked it off the shelf at the library.

My Review:  My favorite line is "taste my cloven justice". SO FUNNY! Darling book about friendship, unicorns, and rainbows too! (I was skeptical at first, but after reading it to Owen 5 nights in a row I came to really like it.)

Owen's Reaction: He loved everything about this book. The characters, bright colors, silly storyline about a goat and a unicorn becoming friends.  He asked for this book almost every night (whether I wanted to read it or not! haha)

Owen's age: 4 years

My Little Musicians on the Piano

These two little buddies love to play the piano. I use "play" very loosely. Lets be honest...they are 'pounding' on the piano. But they are so darn cute. Whats a mother to do? Well, take pictures of course!
Not staged at all, this is totally them in real life.
A while after I got the camera out, they both wanted to 'pose' for the camera. (see the bottom 2 pictures) They both make sure cute 'camera faces'.
Love these two buggers more than anything!

Cars Party Preparations!

I'm getting ready for Owen's 4th birthday party. Wow...4 years old? Really? TIME FLIES when you're having fun! :-)
I live far away from my mom, who wants to be part of the festivities so badly! So here are a few pictures to help her feel included in my preparations.

I created the design in photoshop, and printed them on plain white paper sacks (purchased at walmart for less than 2 dollars for a huge pack!)
The paper sacks go right through the printer SO easily. What a cool idea! I'm sure I found it on pinterest years ago...and filed the idea in the back of my mind. I did this same thing for his 3rd party, with a different design of course.

Here ya go, Mom! Enjoy :-)

 

Kids Book of the Week: Robot Zot

Why I picked this book: I thought my son would enjoy a book about robots (oh, I know him so well! He loved it!), and because it was illustrated by the very talented David Shannon

My review:
It's a clever book about a robot who plans to take over Earth. "Robot Zot never fall, Robot Zot conquer all!" is his mantra. I love his ambition. It has nice artwork, and a cute message about love. My son giggles every time we get to the page where Robot Zot blasts the TV into pieces. Yikes! "Dont try this at home"....comes to mind. haha! The illustrations and colors in the book were nicely done. Images were clear, yet detailed at the same time. So after reading it several times, we pointed out different things to eachother making it more interesting.

Owen's reaction: LOVED it. It really kept his attention, and now he is absolutely CRAZY for robots. He wanted to read it over, and over, and over again. I know children learn with repetition...but I'm ready to send this one back to the library after reading it every night for over a month.

Mommy: Why do you like Robot Zot?
Owen: Because I like him so much

Owen's Age: 3 years, 11 months

Primary Music: Snowman Bowling Activity

This week in Primary we went bowling!
Here is our little "Olaf", so lovingly named by our Junior Primary.

First, I taught them about dynamics, and when to sing loud/soft during our song. Then, we reviewed "He Sent His Son" using dynamics. They sang beautifully. So much, in fact, that they earned a game!

(I found this idea via our wonderful LDS Primary Chorister facebook group. Best community ever!)

1- Wrap 10 toilet paper rolls in plastic wrap using a little tape (so you can use the tp later. hehe)
2- Add buttons, face, hat, gloves. I used tape to secure the buttons.
3- As children are signing, stack the TP. The better they sing, the taller your snowman will be.
4- After each song, I asked a teacher to choose a very reverent child who was signing really well to come knock down the snowman with the ball.

5- Repeat each song!

WOW - This was a GREAT motivator. I had every child (senior primary) sitting up straight, with arms folded, singing LOUD. Everyone wanted a turn. I wish they all had a chance to do it....I think some of them felt bad they didn't get picked, especially when they were all working so hard to be good. It was a bitter sweet feeling for me, actually. 

Tips:
**Use a big tote or bag to take to church. (I love my giant striped tote bag!)
**Have a teacher or member of the primary presidency do the "stacking" so you can still lead the music.
**I didn't use the gloves while playing the game...too difficult!
**Put 2-3 rolls as the base, otherwise it falls to quickly

** Use a ball that is heavy enough. I ended up needing a volleyball. The ball pictured was too lightweight to knock it down.

Beanies with Labels - Crocheted Christmas Gifts

This was one of my most exciting Christmas gifts to give. I crochet the beanies with very chunky yarn. Then, I added custom labels! Overall it was a very fun project, and I'm so excited to share it. (I had to wait until after Christmas...so as not to spoil the surprise!)

Link to label tutorial below.

 

I've been wanting to make labels for FOREVER! Finally a REALLY good reason to buy the materials and try it out. It took a LOT of practice/mess-ups/mistakes to get the labels to work just right. Often times the ink would smudge if I didn't remove the iron ever-so-carefully. Or if I tried peeling off the top side of the transfer paper before it was cooled, or after it had cooled too long. Needless to say...it took about 15 tries to get 5 labels that looked good enough to use.

How I attached the labels:
I cut the label down to size AFTER I did the iron-on.
Then, I used a lighter to singe/seal the edges of the twill tape so it wouldn't fray. And to give it a crisp edge.
Next, I placed the label where I thought looked best.
Lastly, I carefully sewed the label to the hat with the sewing machine. Since my twill tape was only 1/2 in wide, I just went forward for 1/2 in, and the back stitched 1/2 in. It was too short of space to do a back stitch at the beginning and at the end. So the whole 1/2 in was back stitched. Does that make sense? I used white thread, and almost no seam allowance. You can see from the pictures that its sewed really close to the edge.

HERE IS A LINK TO MY PINTEREST, WHERE I FOUND THE LABEL TUTORIAL:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/165155511308933592/

Primary Music Leader: First Sunday!

My First Day in my new calling!! 
Today was my FIRST Sunday as Primary Music Leader! I walked in for Singing Time in full-out ski clothes and said how excited I was for "skiing time". The kids giggled when the primary president clarified that it was "singing time". I made a huge deal about how embarrassing it was that I made a mistake on my FIRST DAY!!!. And that I needed HELP going from their Skiing Teacher to their Singing Teacher. I told them since I was in my snow clothes, I wanted to sing some "snow-y" songs. Of course they picked Once There Was A Snowman. As they sang, I tried to get off all the snow clothes! I didn't quite make it (on purpose!) So we sang a 2nd song: Do as I'm Doing, and they preteneded to throw snowballs while I continued taking off the snow clothes/hat/boots. By the last note of the song, I had all my snow clothes and snow boots off and my sunday clothes were underneath. They were so happy that they helped me become the "Singing Teacher" . Junior primary, Senior primary, and even the teachers were grinning from ear to ear at the charade. I had them eating out of the palm of my hand!

We had plenty of time to sing/learn He Sent His Son. The junior primary learned the first 3 questions and answers with hand motions (Not fully ASL...we did actions and a few ASL signs). They were engaged the entire time. We didn't need to do any other wiggle songs. The Senior Primary was SO familiar with the song so I just taught them the motions. We got through the whole song in Senior primary. They loved the actions, and I had them help decide what hand motions to do on "faith, hope, live like his son".

Nursery singing time also went well. we sang ABC's with ASL, Sunbeam with jumping, Eeensy Weensy Spider with props, I am a Child of God with sticks for them to 'lead' the music with me, the Monkey/Alligator song, AND If You Chance To Meet a Frown. 

**special thanks to my Aunt Debbie for the idea of "skiing teacher". She did the same thing many years ago when it was her first day as the primary music leader. :-) 

*I also had on snow boots - cant see them in the pic :-)

Monthly Bill Tracker - Checklist

So....I hate bills, especially keeping track of them! Its my least favorite thing about being a grown up!

This is what I use to keep myself sane and eliminate this conversation with myself:
"Did I pay that bill?"
"I'm sure I did!"
"But wait, its not showing up on my bank statement."
"What day did I do it?"
"How much was it?"
"GRRRR!"

All of that is now GONE because of this lovely chart! (I know, its not really lovely...but if you like spreadsheets then it IS lovely. haha!)
In each monthly box, you can use the 'checkmark' method. But I usually write the date in there, and if there is room I will write the amount as well if its a different amount than usual.

If you want a copy, comment or email me and I'll send it to you!
**update** I lost my original copy of this. :-( bummer!

Kids Book of the Week: Frog and Fly

Why I picked this book: Owen saw it on the display shelf in the middle of the library and grabbed it!

What I liked about it: It was fun to read a silly book for a change.

Owen's reaction to the book: He giggled each time a new fly was "slurped" by the frog. He even made his own froggy-noises. :-) He thought it was hilarious when the frog got what was coming to him. I loved seeing him giggle at the book too. It was super fun to read it to him smile at the silly stories.

Recommend?YES! Both boys and girls would like reading this book. It is very simple for early readers to read by themselves.

Owen is 3 years + 10 months old.

 

Kids Book of the Week: A Tree Is Nice

Why I picked this book: because it received Caldecott Medal (which is an award for the illustrator).

What I liked about it:
The simple and informative words. Also, the artwork was very authentic, and all hand-drawn. Some black and white pages. Some full-color pages. It was different from the normal cartoon stuff in other books. I believe Owen noticed the difference as well.

Owen's reaction to the book:
Owen took time to look at all the trees. He showed me the different tree shapes and he noticed that some have leaves, and others do not. And after a few days of reading this book, we talked about what each of the kids are doing with/around the trees

It was an entertaining book, and as a BONUS I think it made him more aware of trees. Yahoo!

Owen is 3 years + 9 months old.

Kite Flying 101

Owen's first time flying a kite. Yes, it was everything he dreamed it would be!
He caught on FAST. Way to go buddy.
**I must say...raising My Little Owen has brought me the most challenging, rewarding, and joyful experiences of my life. Thank you little one, for making me a Mom.