Swimming at Nellis Air Force Base home of the thunderbirds

A friend of ours in our ward is a JAG officer on Nellis Air Force Base and invited us to swim at the base's swimming pool. The kids and Don had a blast jumping in the diving pool while I took pictures and worked on my tan and went down the slide.

Who said humans don't fly??
That reminds me that I was right when I nicknamed Don "the Flying Squirrel" way back in the MTC for how he always dove to save the ball while playing volleyball on Pdays.

boys and cardboard, guns & weapons

I never was a proponent of guns and other assorted weapons, but leave it to boys to turn harmless sticks and cardboard boxes into armor and battle each other.

I introduce to you the self proclaimed "blockhead #1" & "blockhead #2". Thomas now owns a slingshot to play paintball with his scout friends and Nathan was recently heard asking: "Papa, now when do I get a weapon?" !!! He wants a BBgun rifle for Christmas.
We told him: You'll shoot your eye out!!!! LOL.
Don can't say no because at Walmart where we bought Thomas' slingshot, we found the very same air pump rifle he bought for himself many years ago. He was so happy to remember those days, the boys just about dropped dead hearing their dad used to have a weapon to shoot small birds and small game with.
Nathan ever so practical and logical retorted that he needed a weapon to shoot the pigeons that are infesting the neighbors yard, that he had shot a bbgun and a bow at cub scout and that he would be doing a service. Ah, nathan... Even Legos are a source of inspiration...

Sacrament meeting performance

After 7.5 years of taking violin lessons Thomas had a chance to play a musicla number for the intermediate hymn on Sunday. He played "The Spirit of God" accompanied at the piano with his friend Brayden Walters. It's not my favorite piece of sacred music and we couldn't appreciate the whole sound because we sat in the overflow of the chapel, but I think Thomas gave a lovely performance, and Don & I were pretty proud of him. No reproach, no critic. Just a good chat afterwards. I love it when I keep my tongue in check. Thomas just opens up...
i hope htis year he gets more chances to use his talents. He needs to share them and bring joy around him with them.

I love it when things get done because I listened to the still small voice

Since Easter, Thomas has been passing the sacrament every week. I feel so happy when I see him walking up and down the aisles. He is growing up. The funny thing though is that he and I seem to not always be on the same wavelength. Nothing really surprising given the fact that he was always partial to his dad even as an infant, but sometimes lately it reaches "greek" proportions, especially when he talks back. I can't stand it and I fly into a rage. Not good to resolve issues is it? Anyway every once in a great while, I have flashes of genius (called inspiration from the Holy Ghost in my book) and do something completely unexpected. Noboday yells, or gets yelled at, slapped or otherwise disrespected, and things go according to plan.
I love it.
Like this morning I asked T. to vacuum the upstairs because I have a ton of translating to do. Well, I asked throughout the day to no avail. Being Monday, it's also violin lesson day at 16h00. About 20 min. before leaving I called an APB to get ready to go. At 15h55 I left with the 3 in tow and not bothering to wait for T. I left. He called on my cell, looking for me, I said I was gone. No tantrums, no screams. When we came home 1hr later, T. was putting the vacuum away and the job that had waited all day was done well. Tada♪
Maybe I'll try again tomorrow...

What were they thinking??!!

Easter being a week after his birthday, Thomas' grandma said in his birthday card and on the phone that she would bring a present for him when they would come.
The boy was so excited to see what he would receive. Don's mom called last Tuesday and asked for suggestions. Don mentionned twice that a gift certificate to "Barnes and Nobles" or "Borders" for our bookworm would be great (since his mom is a bookworm too). Thomas was clamoring for Legos or cash and I was hinting at some green as well, to put toward his new violin.
Well on Saturday, Thomas experienced the disappointment of the century while I went in shock.
This is what he was presented with!

T. can't stand it, I won't look at it because I find it disgusting, and Don was just stunned that they would just stop at a truck stop and grab this.
They didn't have to get him a present if they can't afford it, my parents rarely sends the children stuff in the mail because of cost, so they use the phone.
However after mentionning to him a couple of times, that they were bringing him a present, they were committed. I don't care if you are late, don't buy an object just to say you did your duty. I felt so bad for T. I would have cried. He remained polite and thanked his grandma and said it was an interesting gift, even if it was such a let down.
I was impressed by my son's maturity in how he handled it. What a grand soul!
When he pulls such a mature reaction, I know why I expect so much out of him, I know he has so much potential and stature in him. I know why I push him to do better, because he can.
Thomas, you are my hero in your moments of great kindness. Je t'aime. Maman.

A new family member

It's been a few weeks since the last post. Almost a month. Pfew being at risk for an old cliché, well, time flies!

After several years of pressure, we got ourselves a dog! I didn't really want to post about him (yeah it's another boy in the house) because Don in his enthusiasm posted about him on Facebook the same evening we adopted him. That was March 28th. I figured everyone who would know already didn't need to read about it here. But since this is about the family, I can't ignore it. It's like me not writing in my journal for the past 16 or so years, like nothing important ever happened in that time frame, except.. I got married to a great guy who made me move from one continent to the next and then several times on said new continent, gave birth to 4 incredible children in the process, and on and on. So I could not write a few lines about adding a dog to the brood.

For one, I've always been afraid of dogs: thought they were too needy, too messy, too expensive to keep (you know extra food, extra medical bills, etc). Cats on the other hand are more my type, but it seems a few people in this family are allergic to them beginning by me. So "Niet" to cats as mammal pets. The snakes we had in Illinois were just about the perfect pets: they didn't crave attention from us to pet them, we could handle them if we wanted too but they didn't feel abandonned or neglected if we didn't, they ate earth worm, which the kids handled just fine, and since they were caught in the wild they could always be disposed of easily in case they needed to go. They didn't bark, didn't get too dirty in the tank, and when they shed, it was all at once and very cool to behold.

So how did I give in to a dog? A few months back Don (always him. if you haven't figured it out by now, he has a prominent place in my life) innocently asked me what kind of dog I found cute. After searching pictures of dogs, I settle on the westies; with their cute faces and small size they are less threatening than any dog in my opinion. Upon hearing my opinion Don jumped to the conclusion that we were Go for a dog! WHAT ? How would he make such a jump when the question asked was "what kind of dog do you find cute?", not "Can we have a dog now?". Needless to say that I said "no" to the later. I didn't have to pursue the matter very long since upon further research the cost of purchasing such a puppy is not even something we could consider. I thought the matter closed, until March 22. You see Don (yeah the same) has always wanted a dog and in particular a husky or a malamute type dog. He has even found a few over the years that he's brought home then driven to the shelter for them to be later claimed by their owners. Back to March 22, he happened to be browsing the Nevada SPCA website with the adoptable dogs and found a westie there. He thought it was destiny or something like that. A few weeks prior he had felt that we should look into adopting (as in adding another child to the family, maybe a sister for Cheeks) but I think the road took us a different way. The very next day he went to the shelter to see the posted puppy and despite leaving work early, because of impending closing hours, he was rejected at the door with 1 min. to spare and was told to return the next day at 11 AM. In his words "fat chance, that would happen". However in hopes that the cute dog would still be there on Saturday, I had time to think if I really wanted to do this. In the meantime, my loving mother thought it might be a good idea for our son Thomas to love and care for a creature that would not judge him like his own mother does, etc... So I did think and came Saturday I reluctantly embarked in a family trip to the shelter. We saw lots of dogs in 3 diffrent places that day (of course the adorable westie named Heidi was long gone) starting at 10h30 until 19h00. We did bring home Kiba (which means "Fang" ion Japanese) the awesome shiba inu (which mean brushwood or red dog in Japanese) that very day. He looks like a mini husky which fulfills one of Don aspirations. He doesn't bark too much, nor jump on people, nor sniffs people in private parts. I think he is a good fit for us. Don takes him on his daily jogs in the morning and I tend to take care of the evening/late afternon walks. He gets us out of the house. My main issue with him is the shedding though so much to make sure is clean for a neat freak like me.

Also, I don't know if I'm allergic to him or if it's all the stuff in the air, I've been sneezing quite a bit lately. But then the kids were all sick just before and during Spring break last week.

There we are for the next 10 years or so. We have rescued a 3 year old dog. It's like having a toddler around that will never get out of that stage... Wish me luck and patience. We are starting training lessons this Saturday.

A weekend with the in-laws.

Because last weekend was Easter and Thomas was receiving the aaronic priesthood some of Don's family members were able to come down to celebrate with us.
His sister Melinda ran away (drove really even though she runs, or bikes fast, far and lot these days) from her husband and kids to do some fun shopping and spa treatments by herself here in Vegas, his brother Paul accompanied by his lovely wife Chalaine and highly strung up baby Bailey flew in to spend the weekend at our house. Late Saturday his mom and dad came down to stay with us too.
For starters Don was able to take Friday off to spend some time with his siblings.
On a side note, how come he always manages to take a day off to hang out with his sibs or to do something for the Youth of the Church, but when I ask him to take some time off to hang with us, it's like asking for the moon???

After picking up Paul et al. at the airport, after a late in-service workshop at work, instead of coming home he figured it would make more sense to spend the night there instead of driving all the way home and then wake up at some insane early hour to go biking with them at the opposite side of the valley. Don spent the night on the floor at the hotel at The Lakes where Melinda was staying and the 5 of them spent the night crammed in one room with a cranky baby. Needless my hubby who doesn't do crying babies (ask me about our 4 crying babies one day) didn't sleep a wink. After waking at some ungodly hour the 3 crazies went biking for 38 miles anyway. Don figured that his 20 miles were sufficient for one day and was wise enough to wait for them on the return part of the loop to Lake Mead.
Later they went to Hoover Dam, had lunch and eventually made their way up to our home
Mind you this is during Spring break, and because the kids were sick until Wednesday and most of the week prior, I hadn't done anything with them. So that they would not feel left out of a lame school break I took them to the Cold Stone Creamery for some ice cream. We picked up our traditionnal pizzas at Papa Murphy's and spent an inordinate amount of time picking chocolates for Easter.
I hope the children never realize what their dad does unconsciously. He avoids us. That may sound rude and rough, but how can you describe his behavior? I asked him, no I told him once that his family is us now, and if he had to make a statement he should put us first. He never answered that particular question. So here we are. oh boy I don't think I ever realized until I wrote it just now, what he does. Whenever his family comes around he just leaves us behind, it's the same when we go up to Utah. He palyed taxi Friday, Saturday and Sunday back and forth at least 5 times between our house and downtown or further.
I never got to see any of my friends when we lived there, wew were either around the friends we had made in common since being married or his family. I get so bored when we go up. Most of the sil. I would get along with are doing their own stuff. Plus I'm not in the super fitness stuff, so I don't fit. Thankfully I love reading and I always bring a good book along. I know that's how he destresses. But it's never in small groups, it's always very chaotic and loud and disorganized, too many people coming and going. No real time for bonding and sharing. If it's not physical and doing something, somehow competing (whether they realize it or not), there's nothing. So much so when I ask myself what I want to do I come up blank unless it's some alone activity by myself.
So this past weekend was not relaxing. Friday night our local bil. came over with his 2 little ones, his wife had to work. The oldest is ok when she's here but my kids tend to be a bit protective of their stuff for good reason sometimes, and we played Guitar Hero (there goes some doing).
Saturday was a bit more relaxed and I loved visiting with my sweet sil. in the morning. More up my alley. That's what I liked to do when we used to go to his Call aunt and uncle in Indiana. They have a cooler way of life for learning to be a real family. They take time to talk to each other. There is a real feeling of unity.
Then Saturday night came and the grandparents arrived. I always dread the arrival of my fil. He brings in a level of stress unmatched. Everyone agrees with that assessment and disses him behind his back, but don't confront him or else.
Despite it being an unecessary expense we decided to go try out the buffet at the new Aliante Casino. 15 of us we there. Just not my way of enjoying dinner when our local bil was there as well, and his daughter was OUT of CONTROL, and he wouldn't do anything about it: "his wife won't let him".
What kind of answer is that? If my kid hits me and calls me names, she/he gets a very stern talk down before a physical reprimand (une fessée). Is this boy/man going to stand for himself one day, we keep wondering and most of us were pretty astounded to such admission. It's not the first time he uses such a phrase as, "... will/won't let me". Can't figure being so emasculinated as to not be able to discipline one's own child or making a decision without one's spouse permission. I'm not saying decisions should be made unilaterally but to the point of not being able to assert oneself is not right.
I guess I should quit for now. this post is not too pretty, I'm just frustrated at how some people's behavior affects me and my family and my feelings of worth when they are around. And how my husband behaves with them around too. I'll leave Sunday dinner uncommented. We would see how I'm not in charge in my home anymore when they're here. Chaos is the best shorthand for it and I surrender. I like most of my inlaws and prefer them in small groups,but I don't get that very often. Bummer! I'm sure I wouldn't be so stressed (translate that as grumpy) if I actually got to spend some quiet time with them.
The kids like their aunts & uncles and miss them: Céleste wouldn't let go of her uncle Paul all weekend and Thomas asked several times to join Don et al in their bike riding. Nathan & Joseph couldn't care less, they know it's no use, they rather just play by themselves as usual. Only the 2 emotionnally needy ones feel the rejection.
Oh well, that's life, suck it up!

Easter Sunday & Thomas' priesthood ordination

Our oldest son Thomas turned 12 years old on April 5th. His birthday fell on General Conference Sunday this year and he had to wait another week to be ordained to the aaronic priesthood as a deacon, so besides it being Easter we had a great family gathering for this milestone in his life.

He wanted to hear about the day of his birth. We had a great outing together: he and I caught a late show for the movie "Race to Witch Mountain" complete with smuggled candy. Don stayed home to sleep and put the other 3 down too. It was really cool, just the 2 of us, like a date, like the outings we used to do just the 2 of us when he was so little before Nathan came along.

I've always loved the song "Just the 2 of us" by Grover Washington Jr. but this version by Will Smith is more about how Thomas & I were and more especially him and his dad.


I can't believe his life is progressing so fast. We moved to Vegas just a few months after Nathan's baptism when he was 8 and Thomas was only 10 and now he is part of the Young Men organization. The top of his head reaches under my chin. I love it when he comes to hug me after school and he is so close for me to hug back. I used to imagine what it would be like to have a tall son when he was just an infant/toddler, and now that it's here I want time to stand still. In another 4 years he'll be driving and another 3 after that he'll be leaving for his mission, followed by his brothers. I don't think I'm ready for time to accelerate at such a dizzying speed.

Granted my children argue during their breaks, but unlike some parents I hear, I am never in a hurry for them to return to school. Like a mother hen, I love having my chicks around. clucking or no clucking included.

Easter is my favorite holiday, unlike Christmas I don't decorate and don't buy presents (on y chocolates for our inevitable easter Egg hunt), I just spend some time thinking, pondering on the meaning of the Atonement and Resurrection. It gives me so much hope that it helps me handle the time passing by too quickly and reminds me that even if I hate change, I will eventually keep my children with me forever. Consequently, Sunday was emotionnally charged and joyful for me.

Yeah I need to cut the cord. I do want them to be independent and for that I know they have to leave me to really learn to be strong.

Come What May and Love It

I watched and listened to this clip this morning. The sun is bright and the air smells fresh and clean. What a day! What a beautiful way to celebrate my Father and my Savior and feel of Their love and spirit. My heart is full! Have a wonderful day filled with love from Above!

I love color, but I can't paint, I love needle work but I don't have that much time and only so many walls, I love fabric and sewing but you can only make so many clothes. So while we lived in Mt Vernon I found a new hobby: quilting. Well, really I only learned to tie baby quilts as part of our twice a month meetings for Project Linus; our way for our ward's Relief Society group to make a contribution to the community. Not only did I really enjoy visiting with my friends while we were tyins the baby blankets, but I learned a few things while watching and listening. Now I want to quilt every chance I get. These blankets are the perfect project: small, henceforth quick to make, and less expensive, and you can make a nice homemade present that will actually get used. I will take classes one of these days or read an easy book to actually venture beyond squares! I made a large one for Thomas many moons ago while I was expecting Nathan (over 10 years ago now) and it was such a long project and space consuming (that I finished) that I just put that out of my head thinking I would never embark in such a craft. When you live in Amish country and see what these ladies produce seemingly so easily, it's a bit of a blow to any wanna be quilter.
So as I said these small quilts are just right. I made my 1st one for my good friend Theresa's daughter Naomi. I hope I can post a picture of it soon. The colors are a bit unorthodox for a baby quilt, but I liked them and wanted to explore. Other than that, the 2 below are my most recent efforts, and I'm pretty satisfied how they turned out. having a deadline really helps to get the job done. Now if only I could tackle the rest of the wall hanging I started just before we moved to Las Vegas, that would be another one I could post about.

Thomas came up with this design variation for Cali (Philippe's daughter born June 16, 2006). I never made anything for her then, and I had some lovely fabric I was intending to use for Céleste, but I thought this would be a nice present for her to know her Tatie Claire thinks of her, even if I've never met her in real life, only through the Webcam. She is such a cute kid.

This one is for my brother Philippe's son Arthur (born Feb 14th, 2009). The bright spots are really squares of "fur", I added a satin binding for texture as well. This looks random, and a bit weird, but I promise it looks lovely with with the hints of light blue in the bigger squares. Well I hope so... I have to admit that compared to the pink picture this lacks some oomph. I hope his parents like it.

Joseph's new bike

Joseph is 7 years old and in 1st grade. Last week he experienced what some people call uncoolness. Since the beginning of the school year, Nathan and him have been walking to school, but 2 weeks ago, they wanted to ride their bikes, so I thought sure! Why not? It'll do them some good exercise riding the hill home, they can get there faster and they are old enough to be more familiar with road safety rules.

Joseph's bike is a hand me down, like most of his stuff- that's what happens when you have 2 older brothers. His bike still looks fine, bright blue with yellow highlights. Nobody thought there was anything wrong with it, until a kid made a comment about his "baby" bike at school. Joseph wears his heart on his sleeve, and when he gets hurt, his eyes open very wide and start to glisten. He really looks like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. So he was crushed that someone made fun of his (perfectly fine) bike.

The before colors blue & yellow.

Don having grown up in a large family with not a lot of money has a lot of hang up and understands that feeling of "uncoolness" of wearing homemade clothes, eating PBJ sandwiches every day instead of getting to use the cafeteria, etc. and simply not having the latest gadgets. I do understand that feeling as well, but I never felt like I was missing out that much (maybe in clothes, because I looooove clothes) but for the most part I don't really care about being cool, I'm pretty comfortable in my own skin, my friends never really judged me because I wasn't trendy, even if they were. However that may explain why I haven't had boyfriends mainly just guy friends. Haha, I just got an epiphany! Well that kept me out of trouble I guess!

Ok, I digress a lot. Don calls my mind dizzying for that matter!

So "retour à nos moutons", as a wonderful dad, Don proceeded to upgrade the bike. That translates into: man time in the garage with his boys! They took the bike apart (Check the photos), sanded the painted pieces, primed them, spray painted them, clean the mechanical parts and regreased them, then reassembled the bike back. It's a brand new bike with a metallic black frame & a chrome fork with flame stickers. Joseph feels on top of the world. It's quiet and fits right at home with their ninja play!

The primed frame.

The bike in pieces (down to the bolts and screws).

The finished result and its proud owner!! Tada! ♪♪

What do boys do for fun?

After the dinner on Friday night, the boys of the family left discreetly one at a time to meet in the foyer of the church to hop in the truck and head for the mountains for the 2nd weekend in a row for Don and go camping after he offered the suggestion during the week. The idea was to send Matthew (Don youngest brother who moved to Vegas last Spring with his family to go to graduate PT school at UNLV) ahead with his family to pitch the tents. The idea was for Don and the boys to drive up with the dirtbikes after the dinner so that the next morning they could play in the dust for a while. Now after last Saturday's camp out Don got sick and had to stay home on Sunday from church and Monday from work because he was miserable. So guess what? Even though he is not feeling at the top of his form, he is still going up to keep his promise. I'm not crazy, every time I've gone camping and it's not in the 50s at least at night, I freeze and I'm miserable.

The camp site with the truck, motorcycles up at Easter Egg Summit near Logandale, NV.
Nathan on the morning of his 10th birthday. Looking just as small as ever, but then good things do often come in small packages.

Thomas likes to play with sticks and fire a lot. My son?! Yep, I'm just as much of a pyromaniac, except it's ok to be one now because I'm a grown up; before that, I would hear, "you'll pee your bed if you play with matches!!!"

Joseph did get cold.

Uncle Matthew cooking breakfast with aunt Cassie looking on., and cousin Brecklyn is wandering around and baby Riley is enjoying the clean air before the dust gets stirred up.

What do girls do when the boys are gone?

Despite Don's many attempts at making me go camping with them, I opted to stay and enjoy a quiet evening with my daughter. We went home to a peaceful place full of possibilities. I love it when all seems possible even for just a night. I didn't have to make dinner, yeah! Céleste was game for anything. She is our party girl! So we chose to watch both Princess Diary movies. She loves anything glamourous and princessy these days. She really is a fun girl. She fell asleep during the 2nd one in a typical Joseph position and I had to carry her to bed with me. She always sleeps better when someone keeps her company.

Go figure, none of the boys have cared to have someone share their room or their bed, she does.

Teamwork looks beautiful and tastes delicious

Friday evening (Feb 27th) was the annual "blue and gold" dinner for the cub scouts. Each of the cub scouts had drawn out a state to represent in a cake. Nathan hasd pulled Vermont. He and I had fun making it. It was super easy and there was no competition this time around. He wanted a lemon meringue pie for his birthday the next day but he said he didn't mind using the lemon "Vermont" cake instead. I felt a bit lazy and didn't want to bake again so soon. It was delicious when we ate it on Saturday for his birthday with some Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey Vermont ice cream. We went with the theme and check our cake, it is accompanied by a bottle of Vermont maple syrup even has little Playmobil skiers on it!
Nathan measured & mixed the ingredients, greased and floured the pan, baked the cake. I cut it to shape before sticking it in the freezer. He iced the top and I the sides. To prove 2 cooks in the kitchen can sometimes work.

With THE Vermont lemon cake at the "Blue and Gold" dinner.

Basking in the glow of the candles. Already in the double digits.

Nathan and his birthday loot: the Build-a-Bear car he's asked for 2 years and a karate outfit for his rabbit disguised in a motorcycle jacket and a cowboy hat, and a play model of the Star Wars Millenium Falcon.

One more: for his birthday dinner he requested my least favorite place to eat: Mc Do. Oh well, it's not my birthday. Don took and edited this last picture from his new phone. Pretty neat, huh!

I am addicted to my new phone

I don't mind technology because it makes my life easier and less cluttered usually (except for wires, I can't stand them). I'm not a tech junky, I leave that to Don. Once I have a piece of equipement that functions as it should I don't see the point to change it because a newer one is out there. I'm happy with my stuff once I know how it works. I hate change. However, since getting this new phone I've discovered a world of convenience and entertainment. I'm hooked and I look like those crazies constantly doing something on it. I have a GPS, maps, a calculator, brain puzzles, etc. on it. I still don't get many calls on it but it's a fun distraction when I forget to bring a book. It's just plain fun, and I think it turns my "lovey fish" on ;-) to see me having fun with a piece of electronics. Now we can be geeks together!

Typical Nathan

I was called to repentance by my good friend Terina to actually use this blog to document my family's life and anything that comes to mind.
Today I'll give you an insight in Nathan's innate sense of humor, though he doesn't think himself a funny guy, you'll see why.
Last night after Don came home with his new toy (see previous post), the children gathered around him of course. Dad is sooooo cool. To avoid the crush of the awed crowd, he perched himself on the counter with Céleste at his side because and I quote: "I'm too short to look!" when she would push her brothers out of her way. So I'm making quesadillas (I am definitely experimenting with Mexican cuisine these days-"rice & beans, and beans & rice", it's economical, nutritious and filling) while they are enjoying becoming familiar with the gadget while dinner is getting warm. Once that's done everybody came around the table after much encouragement and eventually threats! It's was past 20h30 on a school night and I was hungry. When Don finally came down he complained of a bit of a backache and a "knife-stabbing" pain down his leg.
From the other side of the table quips Nathan: "Wwell it's because you were hunched over your phone for a long time, and if it's hurting like a knife stabbing in your leg, it won't hurt next time you hit yourself with a knife, because you already know how it feels!"
How can you not laugh at such logic! Even Don couldn't help it. This is the kind of humor Nathan displays quite regularly. I asked him if he meant to be funny. "Oh no, that's not funny to hurt!
"C'est pas rigolo" was his motto as a toddler because he took things so literally. He is starting to get word puns and make some of his own, however they are never as funny as when he is telling us like it is.
He is our very square peg in a very round family. It's black or white, the rules are the rules whether you are 2 or 92.
Nathan is the one who decided in Kindergarten that he would make the lunches the night before as to not be pressed for time in the morning to be on time for school. He agonizes when Joseph is behing schedule or when Thomas won't hurry to leave for school even though he (Nathan) doesn't have to leave at the same time for another hour. He is the one who will tell his brothers to do their homework before playing because that way they interrupt themselves to do it later.
I don't know what he wants to become, we keep thinking law enforcement, but I not so sure anymore, it is such a dangerous field. He has a wonderful sense of color and sells himself too short in his artistic abilities, he is so hard on himself.
His name means "gift of God", little did I know how true that would be. As any mother knows I don't have a favorite child, it's just that I find myself relying on him and appreciating his efforts to consciously make my life better and easier. He is very observant and attuned to how people feel. He helps me a lot. Thank you Nathan for choosing to be a part of our family to grow up in. Je t'aime. Maman

Changing Phones

Last night Don got himself a new cool new phone, because he is tired of people not hearing him on his old phone. He was up for an upgrade anyway, but ATT doesn't seem to care how to help their customers, so after several unfruitful attempts of dealing with their customer service, he jumped ship and went to TMobile where they had a phone that suits his fingers for typing.Yeah it's supposed to be a PHONE, but nowadays it's just not a simple job description anymore: try finding a device (I'm not calling them phones anymore!) that browses the internet, plays music & games, can be used as a GPS device, an email writer and occasionnally is used to place and receive calls, with a big enough keyboard for mensized fingers without being ridiculously large or all touch screen. It's a daunting task. If you like your carrier, your plan and the money you pay for the lot, your choices are extremely limited. The idiom "The grass is greener on the other side" comes to mind. So you put up with a failing phone, the staticquy conversation, the dropped calls and tiny keys for texting because your wife says "no" to the increased rates and the additional expenses to buy a PHONE. Ridiculous you may say. Well until the last straw: bad customer service. It's not worth the hassle of the wife. The wife, me, in this case got sick of not being able to talk to the husband and hearing the husband complain everyday. So here we are, I caved.

This is what Don got. Pretty slick. However since we changed service provider my trusty bare phone (mine is still a phone!) won't work anymore. Grr! So I let my thoughtful husband pick a new phone for me. He did really well. He picked a really nice metallic pink looking phone but if I don't want to spend extra on the beast for internet's service it's still only a phone with a camera. Just a very expensive phone!

So I'm going back to the store today and getting one just like his! Granted I'll now have to pay for what's called a data plan, at least I'll be able to play Sudoku and Pac-man on my phone... Pardon me, on my device! If I'm going down and hopping on the tech side of life I'm going down in style, not with just a phone!!!!!! Now we can send each other love emails and loves notes, and maybe even talk either on the devices or in person.

I have an Incredible husband!

No other comment is necessary. Take a rest from the previous post!

Confessions

So I have a confession to make. I'm a sucker when it comes to my kids. I'll bend over backward to do things for them. And so does their dad as good parents we want to give them all we can give them. Ask yourself if Heavenly Father doesn't want to do the same for us. He even mentions it in D&C 84:38. But I'm digressing.
Ok, so in mid-January (just before our trip to Legoland, that's for a later post) I was shopping at Target to get some supplies for Céleste's birthday party. You might ask: "isn't her birthday in November, not in January?"

Photo caption : This picture is of the actual day in November. And Nathan is present because despite what he says or does, he adores his sister. Always has since she was born. He loves little girls and is very protective of them (ask his aunts)

Well yes, technically. But a party doesn't have to be on the same month right? So I'll expand before moving on: her birthday basically falls a week before Thanksgiving or so, and here in the USA the day after Thanksgiving marks the official start of the Christmas/end of the year Holiday season. No biggie you might remark, except that planning a child's birthday party at that time of year is like trying a pin a tail on a donkey with a blindfold without being able feel for the donkey's rear end! In other words, nobody's available at the same time, because work parties, church parties, school parties, the list goes on of activities that everyone tries to cram in every possible weekend slot imaginable. So what would have been Céleste birthday party without her friends? You got it! It would not have been aparty as she wished it. So we celebrated her birthday at home on Nov. 17th with her family and then postponed the "with the friends" event for after the rush of the holidays, when no one has any other plans every weekend.

It was a success: her invited friends showed up, gave her presents, ate and drank at the big people table dressed up in Hello Kitty decorations, had fun dressing up, running up and down the stairs, making party bags and stringing glamourous bracelets, all the while with Don out of the house and away from the mayhem. Nathan was a wonderful assistant and helped me keep my sanity for the most part. The fun was over too soon and she cried when everyone had to leave with balloons & favors to plant. She again asked for a sister! Knowing Céleste I'm not surprised the question came up. I was actually wondering a few months back when she would ask it!. She doesn't want a baby sister mind you because babies cry too much. She has pre-requisites. So this finally brings me full circle to my topic of the day.
So we were at Target, a lady stopped dead in her tracks and exclaimed "how cute she was", etc. I usually don't let it go to my head because I do know the truth, our daughter is beautiful and witty and just plain adorable (most of the time). People notice her. What was more surprising was she handed me a business card and asked for my phone number so that the talent agency she worked for would call me to set up an interview. Yeah a talent agency as in modeling/acting agency. I was more than sceptical and thought "right!?". Well the agency "Tru Talent Management" did call. They have offices in Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. They are very legitimate, I checked them out before going, besides Don was just as sceptical and I rely on him a lot for this sort of double checking, he keeps a cool head when I lose mine. So we went and they talked to Céleste. After a short script memorization and repetition, they asked her if she wanted to be in commercial or catalogs. She is a born performer & charmer as those who know her would attest. To make a long story short I ended up signing my daughter up. So now I pay for modeling & acting classes and bring her to auditions, etc. and maybe land a spot on a commercial/a catalog, etc. in many moons from now if she's lucky. That's where I say I'm a sucker for my kids. I didn't think twice to sign on the dotted line. Commit me! Oh well, in all that, is Céleste having a ball? Most certainly! She loves learning to be walk and pose like a model.
She loves watching herself on the TV in acting class where the teacher records them. So maybe she is not learning the piano or the violin or dancing yet, but she is having fun. The same day as the initial interview, Nathan was asked if he would want to be a model. He categorically refused: "NO, I don't want to be famous! People bug you when you're famous!" That's Nathan, he likes his peace and quiet and being home. He likes to know where his life is going and that's it's done with order and in following the rules!
Sorry about the über long post, but I now have to confess that I'm a crazy mom who'll swallow anything when her children are praised. Pathetic but true.

Pinewood Derby

We have 2 boys so far who've been involved with the Cub scouts. One of the "rites of passage" of a cub scout is the Pinewood Derby. Now Don and I both grew up outside of the US and had no clue what this hoopla was about the PD. In 2006 we lived in Mount Vernon, Illinois (there are something like 12 Mt Vernon in the whole country) when Thomas got to make his car. With only 3 boys in the pack, the bear leader opened the fun event to whoever wanted to participate in the ward. So every member of our family decided to make a car to race. They even got names, like, the Glamour Pink Panther, the Formula 1, the Flame, The Black widow, The Classique and the Sliver.
On D-day the races were good natured and everyone cheered: a friendly competition, all in all a pleasant experience. Retrospectively, we had just been introduced gently to a sub-culture of fanatics who take Pinewood Derby car building and racing very seriously. The past couple of years we've seen first hand how fierce the competition gets between dads (mostly) through their sons. The point of the exercise is for the 8 & 9 year old boys to turn a chunk of pine into an original vehicle weighing no more than exactly 5 ounces and then race it against friends for ribbons, pins and bragging rights. Most of the time, the dads will take over the creation and it becomes a "dog eat dog" race. When you stick to the rules and your son is the one doing the creating with minimal help from his parents as it should be, feelings get quite hurt and the spirit of being christlike and a good boy scout kind of get thrown out, and people you've never even met suddenly are there: from 4 or 5 boys you know 30 cars show up for competition! It's insane! Nathan had his race on Thursday evening. We showed up early for the weighing in. He kept being pushed out of the way and when he caught eye of the competition, he knew there would be no competition for him: his car looked great I thought, until I to saw what he was up against. The Boy Scout of America has an official pinewood derby car kit, but you can find plans, stickers, special parts, etc. online to make your car so cool and so fast. I never thought grown-ups could get this obsessed. Of course the boys want to show off "their" car, and test race it on the official track to see how it handles before the official race. And that's where it started going wrong. Nathan's car looks like he did it himself, and it was slower going to the end of the track. So with tears in his eyes he asked to go home and forget about the whole event he had looked forward to. I was torn and Don was understandably upset because we think it fairly unfair for one boy to follow the rules and work mostly on his own and for others to brag about a project they've had little to do with. That's where Don said he was fairly unamerican, because he is not out to "kill" the next guy, to be better and bigger than whoever. He always cheers for the underdog and does seek recognition. The man is so smart and talented, but he is so humble about it. We both come from cultures where being an overachiever is not really pushed that much in general, I certainly don't know how to deal with that attitude that they should always be told how great they are, etc. I almost feel like a failure because we don't have so many things to show for. If I don't think about it I'm ok, but on days like that Derby thing, I feel rotten for my kids. Our kids feel left out when come time for awards given at scouts particularly. Thomas missed his "Arrow of light" by little because I didn't really care to nag him about it. We have other priorities.




Anyway on our way out tro the parking lot we bumped into Nathan's bear leader: Jodi. We told her our reasons for leaving. And guess what? She was wonderful. She asked to see Nathan's car and appropriately admired it for his efforts and she took his picture as she was planning to for all her boys. She also told him that she had gone through the same scenario with her son Brayden who's Thomas' age as well as Thomas' friend. She was so empathetic that Nathan ended up leaving feeling reassured that he was good enough and that he didn't have to be ashamed of his little car named the Bolt. Thomas and him worked on it as a team and THAT is the point of the Pinewood derby. From a sad and tense beginning, the evening went on at home where we rallied around Nathan as a family to watch a movie and have a great time. I am thankful for a kind and attentive leader who made my little boy feel that he hadn't failed and that he was loved (and not just by his partial mom and dad). And you thought I was out to whine all night. Ha! I'm an optimist and I don't stay down long. Still I feel it deep for my children. I can't always spare them pain even if sometimes I can be the source of that pain too.

Quick update on our car

I didn't take a picture of the actual damage, but here is what it looks like after being partially dismantled by the repair guys. They said it should take a week. That's it! We'll see when they actually call us to pick it up.

I suppose our tax return will come in handy to cover the deductible. Don's always very prompt to get our taxes done. No procrastinating on that one. Every year I get hounded by him to get my translating business info together. I was good this year, I asked him to lay off until Janurary 15th, and I would have it ready for him if he let me be.

I tend to be resentful or pit myself against it, if I'm forced to do something.

I'm pretty sure I was one of the first in line in the pre-mortal life to vote "yes" to keeping our free agency! Tell me I can't do something, and I'll prove you wrong and tell me to do something and I just won't. I can think for myself and make my own decisions. I have trouble with blind obedience and controversial orders. I like to know the why of things. Even when I disagree, a "why" makes it so much easier to understand and obey if the case may be. I had a hard time with that sort of attitude when I was on my mission. One of my mission presidents like to issue "rules" and I passed for a rebel because I resented him so much for not giving reasons for apparently unnecessary restrictions. That's probably why my dear husband says I have a problem with authority.

After rereading what I wrote I have a feeling that this blog might serve for more personal introspection than I expected. Read at your own risk!!!

Random hygiene/health thoughts

I got my teeth checked and cleaned this morning. I love it when they are so smooth and I can feel the air between them in the front. Silly I know. I do take good care of my teeth. I smile a lot and gross teeth are a real turn off for me. Maman was always a stickler for good hygiene even if we didn't have much money and trendy clothes, we took care of our bodies inside and out. OUt of habit when we would say our prayers, we would thank Heavenly Father for our health, etc. everytime. Only today do I realize fully what a blessing health is. Maybe it's good genes, maybe it's good habits, but rarely do any of us get sick, whether in this family (Don, the kids and I) or my first family (my parents and siblings). I have learned to be tolerant of those who do not enjoy great health (mental or physical) and especially not to take this gift for granted anymore.
Who says aging is bad? I'd rather be old and wiser than young and foolish.

By the way what is it with boys and hygiene? Is it so bad to be clean and smell good? I have 3 little boys, one started to develop body odor a couple of years back. What's up with that? He was only 9.5 when he started. Do you think it would make a difference that I can't stand being close to him when he doesn't wash? Nope. He couldn't care less. Geesh, the deodorant we bought for him even expired. I didn't even know deodorants had an expiration date. Well apparently they lose their effectiveness after a couple of years! Not that I or his father would know since ours don't last that long. Add that to the recurrent jokes on bodily functions and you're served! I feel bad for anyone who has more boys than I have around in close succession. They are a bad influence on each other.
Teach by example is what I try to do here, but I'm not very successful, so I nag. I'm really good at that. I don't know if it's an effective teaching method, but it gets results everyonce in a while, at least with the children. Another way to get it done is to do it myself. They don't care too much for their mother to come in the bathroom and scrub them. Oh well, maybe they'll see my point one day hopefully before they are grown men and woman.
Yuck I hate dirty & smelly things. I don't like messes. But that's for another day.

PS: We have proof though that washing can be rewarding experience: Don caught Nathan singing a happy song in the shower.

The car saga continues

So Don made it home in one piece. Not our little car though. At our house we give names to our cars. The small ones get the nickname "titine" (yep, maybe you'll learn some French and other weird slang in this blog) and they become part of the family (we don't change them unless they have lived their life or usefulness). So anyway, it's in poor shape and leaking oil all over the place (if you've seen the very old movie Short Circuit #2, that's bad news!). Don took it to the shop today and ran the 6 miles home. The repair shop guy says with luck it'll be ready in a week. Yeah! We won't have to consider the alternative of a write-off and trying to pay for another vehicle later. That's a load off. Still the deductible is pretty high. Oh well, we needed to fix a couple of CV joints on it. They are now really gone and the steering is really wobbly, so there's no way around it anymore. Got to bite the bullet. As far injuries on the other party, seems that she didn't pursue the matter. I hope I won't be proven wrong though and that she would try to haunt us. Anyway, Don's OK we should keep our car. Pfew!
I didn't have a chance to take a picture, but the insurance sets up a site where everyday you can follow the progress on your car repair. That should be fun to watch.

Finish January with a bang

After succumbing to the pressure of friends, I'm embarking for the blogsphere.

Don went to work this morning to add to his usual paycheck and I didn't think much of it since he regularly does that and he usually rides his motorcycle to save on gas. I spent my day doing the usual: pestering the children to pick up and clean their rooms while I took care of the mopping, vaccuming. etc. Later this afternoon after an unusual warm lunch (hamburgers done at home by me, not papa) I settled to discover this new tool called a blog.

Well, my attempts at finding something to write about just got answered: Don just called home telling me he would not be home anytime soon. Even though he called upon leaving work and expecting to see him within 30 minutes of that call, so why shouldn't I expect him soon? Bad news: he just got into an car accident: he rear ended a lady not 5 miles from home! He is doing ok but the "rear ended one" complains of a back ache. "Back ache" my eye! They were starting from a red light when the person in front of her slammed on the brakes, then she slammed on the brakes and Don ran into her. Big deal right? He drives a VW Passat and she was at the wheel of an older Suburban! Her bumper had a dent and the front of our car is crumpled. Who's got the backache?? Now Don says the car can still be driven, but doesn't know if they'll repair it. Nice! We just paid it off, I mean not 1 month ago and I love that car. It gets good gas mileage and looks nice even being a few years old (2002). It's classy.

I rant because Don says he's ok, but I worry about the bills. I used to trust people, but I've learned not to, who knows what kind of stunt this lady is going to try to pull to get my lovey fish in trouble. He'll be considered at fault of course, even though he couldn't see passed the behemoth SAV a.k.a. Suburban Assault Vehicle in front of him. Suburbans are comfy and before you feel anything the one doing the hitting is going to be hurt first. So what is she trying to pull? Plus if we can't replace the Passat, I'll be out my economy, paid off car. That really stinks. I have other plans for his hard earned money besides paying a higher insurance premium, a high deductible for a possible fix of the car.

We'll see what the rest of the day will be like. I still have some translating to do and a lesson to get ready for my 8 4-year olds in church tomorrow.