It is NOT just me! YAHOOOOOO!

Not that I am trying to be entertained by someone else's exasperation, but ... I do feel relieved, almost elated!

I was walking in Target (side note: where i get the craziest looks and it is really humorous ... people can't believe that I have 4 kids, let alone 4 boys ... way too funny!)

Anyway ... back to walking in target ... when I came across a Mom explaining why they weren't going to wait for a flu shot ... something about it taking too long, longer than they were originally told ... and to my complete joy, her son was arguing back, basically telling her that he understood and she didn't and she was wrong ... again, these are not his words, these are my way to describe the underlying thought in his remarks ...

Now to the joy part ... it was this point, I realized, that it is not just Tyson and I that have these SAME conversations ... I had long since wondered why my 8 year thinks I am such an idiot. But now I realize, it isn't just him ... and I feel comforted in the fact that other sane, competent mothers are going through the same inane conversations trying to logically prove a point to a young, illogical mind .... I love it!

Hallelujah!!!

WE MADE IT!!! Or at least almost! 12 days of John being gone and 11 nights of me sleeping with a big wooden bat next to me ... seriously, not even sure that I could swing it hard enough to do any damage to anyone in the event someone breached the security of my deadbolt!!!, but I guess an intruder dying of laughter at me trying to defend myself with a 100lbs. bat is still dying ... back on subject ... HE IS ALMOST HOME!!!
I have always been thankful for my husband (some days more thankful than others :) )but I have definitely realized how much of a team we are and how much I depend on him. It seems like eons ago that he left - so much has happened since then ... amazing how much happens in 12 days. I have always been one of those girls that loved the idea of marriage, even though I had serious commitment issues, I never doubted the idea that through a marriage two people grow together and become a whole, much more stronger than they could ever be alone ... kind of like a couple of flashlights being paired together and becoming a lighthouse light, rather than just a bigger flash light ... if this attempt at an analogy makes any type of sense. I don't know how single mom's are able to manage ... well, scratch that, I think I do and at this point, I just thank my lucky stars and a merciful Father in Heaven for one of the greatest blessings in my life ... John.

Well, anyway, here is to a happy Wife, now that her husband/best friend is almost home! YAHOO!!!

LA County Fair

I love the fair. Growing up in La Verne (which is just north of Pomona and borders the LA County Fairgrounds) we would go every year. We haven't gone in since Tyson was probably 4 or so, I am diametrically opposed to paying as much to go to the fair as I would on Disneyland.

This year, however, we were able to take advantage of a Friday promotion and get it almost free! We were able to see the animals at the big red barn, play in "under the sea" exhibits, see mini-monster trucks (which seems like an oxymoron), smell the wonderful fair smells, see all of the amazing & obnoxious lights, experience the not-so tempting petitions by the carnies and the boys ate funnel cake ... thanks Uncle Taylor!

We had a lot of fun until it became like an outdoor club ... not going on a Friday evening again, too much beer ... as a side note, do we really need drunks at a fair, with kids, vomit inducing rides and games requiring the throwing of darts?!?!?! seriously, I can't fathom the rationale here ...

One of the funniest things ... every kid area, had these murals with the faces cutout so someone (kid-sized) could stand behind and show their face in the funny scene ... well Nick, being the funny imaginative kid he is, just LOVED these, he would run up to each one, pose and want his picture taken. Tyson was a little more demure and Evan just thought it was cool that he could get out of the stroller built for two ... and then there was Josh ... stuck or strapped in as usual.

The Fairplex also has a train museum, that was amazing! It was open so we were able to go board and investigate up close some of the trains. We didn't go in all of them, but we will definitely go back to see them.

All in all, we had a fabulous time. Next year, John will have to be there with us!! :)

Lastly, you have to see this last picture ... I SERIOUSLY couldn't believe it ... check out the sign at the very center - it says, "meatlovers icecream" ... what could that ever mean!?!?! I wasn't brave enough to ask, I honestly don't think I want to know ... at another kiosk, I saw a sign for chocolate covered bacon - not sure if I can imagine anything grosser!!!

minty fresh ...

Yep, I have proof! It only takes 1 minute to cover yourself and your brother in toothpaste. (At least that is what I am assuming as I was literally only in the bathroom for one minute ... it may have taken less time, however, knowing these two boys, they may have been laughing together about it for 30 seconds!) UGH!!

The Swallows of Kabul

Just read this book, it was a short read and beautifully almost poeticly written.

It is one of those books that is going to stay with me for a long time. Did I enjoy it? Will I read it again ... not so sure. Through it one can really gain insight into another life or lives ...

Set in Kabul, you see how prosperity, hope, compassion, literally die under oppression. The idea of forced participation and forced integration into someone else's belief system is so foreign to us in the US as it is the exact opposite of the notion that so joyously gave birth to our country.

What is so interesting to me is the greatness of God that I have seen through this book. Not only, in the blessings I personally have, being a citizen of this great country and being sealed in the covenants of God and having his gospel truths ... but before that ...

I don't think one can truly understand what was at stake in the war in heaven if lucifer had gotten his way ... the harshness of this realization that it probably would have been close to what I saw in this book, is stupefying. Without the growth that comes from making our own good choices and growing from them, we would find no more satisfaction in life than pebbles in a stream, completely content to let the water roll over them or push them here or there at it's will.

Without freedoms, we are condemned to be acted upon which results in the retraction of our good character rather than its splendid growth. Human nature it seems filters this powerless feeling of being acted upon into aggression over those limited choices individuals do have ... human relations, respect and compassion.

So, why is this book still something that I am pondering ... questions still linger closer to home ...

1) do i truly appreciate what i DO have?

2) am i teaching this appreciation to my children?

3) are my children feeling this freedom or do they feel oppression from me? do they have enough room to grow in their delightful free agency in the limited sphere that i give them? or do i need to easy up ... (there is an easy correlation in this book to all walks of life, speaking specifically about children, we have all seen through the eyes of personal experience to children oppressed - verbally, physically, mentally abused, often - that act out in horrific manners as bullies, frustrated by the lack of compassion, free will and hope at home)

4) - MOST IMPORTANTLY - the divine blessing that is service and compassion ... through these two acts, we are able to see and promote the best in our world and well as men in general (meant as a species - although men do need more help than we women, do!! :) )

What an amazing gift this is, this life. So much to learn so much good we can do.

Just thought you might want to see what the boys looked like this morning ... for some reason they are facinated by faux-hawks!

I, Teresa, do hereby bequeath ...

For YEARS, I have been thinking about the need for a will. Some way to make my (& my husbands) wishes known should we pass prematurely ... and even more vitally important, keep my children cared for, safe, and let them know that we had taken the time to (get organized) think about the horrible possibility of something happening to us before they were grown.

Not a happy thought, to say the least ... and that is probably why it has taken me so long to officially do anything about it. But, with the thought of my husband leaving Sunday on his current business trip, I seriously started to unravel a little. While, I know nothing is going to happen to my him, while he is gone, the thought of him being so far away and us not being prepared, left me breathless - in a bad way!

So, I spent a couple hours, using a silly little "fill-in-the-blank" estate planning software, I had purchased a number of years back to the very least bring me some peace until we get something a little more detailed in place.

So, this is my reminder to all of you, that haven't put anything in writing, yet ... "get-er-done" ... especially if you have children. The last thing you want to do, is leave this earth without a plan for them or your assets. Luckily, in this day & age, there are so many quick and pretty painless ways to put something together ... attorneys, legal documents you can purchase on the internet ... pretty painless and will give you such a peace-of-mind.

Public Library

I had wanted all summer to take the boys to the library. For some reason or another, it just never happened ... seriously ridiculous, I know ... really why couldn't we find even 20 minutes for the library?!?!

I think I was probably just dragging my feet a little ... the closest library to us is tiny and the children's section consists of roughly 1 shelf of books - ok, really not that bad, but you would be surprised that this description isn't far off ... obviously, it just wasn't a big enough priority for me this summer.

But I really love to read and want my boys to discover that passion, too ... so, we went today. I decided to take them to another library, that is a little further and newly refurbished. It was beautiful ... but again, it was tiny and a bigger selection than my first local experience, but not what I was hoping for. We found a couple of books and went to check out - I needed to get a library card, but alas, I didn't have anything "official" with my current address on it. (i am pretty tired of the nomadic life I lead - but that is a topic for another post) ... so, we slid the books neatly back to their alpha-numeric homes and retreated, somewhat reluctantly. As, we walked out, I told the boys of the new shift in our plan ... go home, eat dinner, get what I needed to receive a library card, and go downtown to the "MAIN" library.

This appeased them for the moment and secretly, I was elated, thinking the downtown library HAD to be the experience I was looking for! I wanted the boys to feel an actual wave of excitement course through their little bodies as they enter the library, to see with wide-eyes the thousands of books and "possibilities" that reside in the hundreds of shelves. To feel the awe and wonderment of the thought "that you really can learn just about anything in a library".

Well, after dinner, we finally made it down. We all got out and put the youngest two in the double stroller and waltzed inside. I was a little worried about the noise the babies would make - remembering as a child that it was almost worse talking in the library than talking in sacrament meeting ... but we went straight to the kids section and had a ball.

The children's section consisted of two rooms ... one for reading books, as big as a class room, with narrow isles - like a library should be - and several, but not too many, chairs. Then, there was another room for 'picture' books with smaller sized chairs, blocks, puzzles and a few chairs ... I seriously think I found library paradise. The little kids could play and keep themselves busy as I helped the bigger two find what we were looking for.

Well, long story short, we had so much fun, found some great books and are planning to go back in two weeks!!! Can't wait! (hopefully, next time I will get to pick out a book for myself!)