I consider myself to be a pretty clean and organized person, but I do have a few Monica Closets in my house. So, I’ve decided to hop on board with Tackle It Tuesday. I’m hoping it will motivate me to get to some of those dreaded projects that I just keep putting off. Like the kitchen pantry–which I tackled today.

The pantry is one of those places that I have a hard time keeping organized. The shelves in ours are really deep, with makes it hard to really fill them up. If I stock them too full, I can’t get to anything in the back…but I hate feeling like all the space at the front of the shelves is wasted. Joseph has some patterns to make some rotating can shelves (yes, I know you can buy them…but when did we ever do anything the easy way in our house?), so someday the shelves with my canned goods will be well organized. In the meantime, I’m making due with what I’ve got. Here’s what I stared with:

I began by emptying the whole pantry out and used the vacuum to get all the dust bunnies that were collecting in the deep, dark corners of each shelf.

Then, I started trying to figure out how to organize things and put them all back in. There are always those few items that really don’t fit into a category, and those are always the hardest for me to put back–ice cream toppings don’t really belong with the baking stuff, but they fit on the same shelf, so I just have to get over it and put them there. It really didn’t take too long to finish the project, and I was surprised that I didn’t have more expired stuff to toss out. Unfortunately, this isn’t one project where the before and after pictures are dramatically different, but at least everything in the pantry is better organized and hopefully I can do a better job of not just opening the door and throwing things back in wherever there is a space.

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I spent a good share of the day yesterday working on my new template.  I was tired of having to scroll aaaallll the way to the bottom of my blog to get to some of the sidebar stuff, so I decided a 3-column template might work better for me.  Of course, when it comes to making changes like this, I miss good ‘ol Blogger and its simple template switch-a-roo tool.  When I first made the change to my own domain, I started some online tutorials to learn how to code these things, and while I still don’t know enough to actually build my own template from scratch, I have figured out how to customize to get the boring stuff off of the original template and give it my own style.  The problem is, I’m also not good enough to know if I do everything 100% correctly, and while it might look good on my screen, it could very well be a mess on someone else’s.  So, my question of the day–does everything look to be  in place to you? 

**OK, I changed a couple of little things in the right sidebar….do you see it now?  I know that it has somewhat to do with the particular screen you’re viewing in….sometimes when I make changes, it looks fine on my larger monitor, but not on the laptop monitor.  I’m not sure what to do about that, as all of the graphics in the sidebar are well within the pixel allotment given (I usually only have problems when I forget to resize something and it’s bigger than the sidebar itself).

**Marsha, in all her brilliance (didn’t you get the memo that you’re supposed to lose brain cells during pregnancy??), suggested that I do a print screen so you could see how the page was supposed to look.  Basically, what I’m wondering is if all 3 columns are showing up now…it sounds like some of you can see them and some of you can’t.

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What a lame title.  I’m too tired to think of anything creative for this post.  Oh well….maybe next time.

Ryan’s been extra lucky this year, as his birthday celebration has been spread over several days. Every morning he asks me if his birthday is back, and I’ve given up trying to explain that he has to wait for a whole year for it to come around again. He’s just happy that people keep singing to him and offering candles for him to blow out. We were able to have Grandpa Dart and Dedee over for dinner, which was fun because we haven’t seen them for a while.They gave Ryan one of those big styrofoam airplanes…I’m sure just to watch me squirm while they assembled it (I HATE squeaky styrofoam!)…and we learned that when the styrofoam airplane package says “Age 6 and older” it really means it. Ryan really liked his airplane, but figuring out how to throw it correctly has been a bit of a challenge!

Then we spent a day at Grandma & Grandpa Z.’s house with all but 3 of the cousins (we missed you Jonathan, Gabe, and Jacob!). Grandpa had the yard full of fun with swimming pools, slides, the trampoline, and a slip ‘n’ slide. We enjoyed lunch together and then let the kids go crazy in the water. The big hit of the day was the “boat” which held pretty much all of the kids at the same time. They thought that was great! The babies all enjoyed a bit of splashing as well. After the kids had all turned to prunes, we had cupcakes and presents for Ryan.  Later on we attempted to have Family Home Evening, but Ryan’s attention span was pretty short at that point. Everybody was beat when we got home–I wish I could run the kids down so well every day because they went to bed so easily that night!

Isn’t this the cutest little pool?  The babies just love it!

I’m not sure what Ryan was upset about in this picture, but isn’t that a pathetic little face?

Emmy & Mathew had fun in the boat as well!

Emmy was Grandpa’s little buddy that day!  Look how exhausted she is!

This picture is totally unrelated to this post, but it came off the camera at the same time so if I didn’t share it now it would probably not get done.  Owen and Emmy have found that they fit perfectly under both my little red table and my hutch.  They just like to hang out there.  Today they were holding these toys up to their faces and yelling back and forth.  I couldn’t find the video camera, so the still picture was all I got, but it sure was cute!

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Me & Emma
By Elizabeth Flock
298 Pages
Finished 7/14/08

Summary:

In many ways, Carrie Parker is like any other eight-year-old girl–playing make-believe, dreading school, dreaming of faraway places. But even her imaginative mind can’t shut out the realities of her impoverished North Carolina home or help her protect her younger sister, Emma.

By turns achingly naive and utterly pragmatic, Carrie has been shaped by the loss of her beloved daddy, and her life mired by a drunken stepfather and emotionally absent mother. Charting an astonishing course of survival for herself and Emma, she hopes to transform their life into one more closely resembling the storybooks she treasures.

But after the sisters’ plan to run away from home unravels, their world takes a shocking turn–and one shattering moment ultimately reveals a truth that leaves everyone reeling.

Narrated with the simplicity and unabashed honesty of a child’s perspective, Me & Emma is a vivid portrayal of a heartbreaking loss of innocence, an indomitable spirit and incredible courage–a story that will resonate with readers of all ages and experiences.

This is going to be a hard book to review–it doesn’t feel quite right to say that I “enjoyed” the book, because, like the summary says, it really is a heartbreaking story. It seems an oxymoron to say that I really liked reading something that left my heart aching the way this story did. Me & Emma is very emotionally charged, and often left me wanting to shout at the mother and stepfather for their abusive behavior, while at the same time wishing Carrie and Emma had the wisdom and ability to stand up for themselves. The thing that really left me feeing sad what the realization that there are actually children out there who live in situations like this.

If you’re looking for a pick-me-up, you’re definately going to want to skip this one. It’s not a happy story. But, it’s very well written and reading it from the point-of-view of an eight-year-old gives the reader a mind-opening experience. The ending really threw me for a loop–I wasn’t expecting it at all–and I’m not sure if it was the late hour that I finished the book or the way it ended, but when I turned the final page I had a little bit of a creepy feeling. I’m curious if anybody else has read this and felt the same way?

Thanks for the loan Jessi….it wasn’t exactly what I expected, but I liked it enough to recommend it to my friends!

2008 Page Count: 5851

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I wanted to write up an overview of Ryan’s birthday–it’s long and drawn out, but I want to be able to look back and read the details….so feel free to check out the pictures and skip over the rest .

Ryan started his birthday right at midnight. I had just finished getting his birthday presents laid out and his birthday blog post published. Just as I was leaving the kitchen, I heard his bedroom door open. I rushed to try to catch him before he came out because I had put streamers in front of his door–I hoped he wouldn’t see them and I could get him back in bed to keep the surprise for morning. He did notice them and got the biggest smile on his face when he realized what they were for. He asked if it was his birthday and when I said yes he said “Now I’m 4!! I’m not 3 anymore! Mommy, will you sing me Happy Birthday?”. So, of course, I snuggled in and sang to him and told him about the day he was born. Seems like yesterday in so many ways…

We had a fun day yesterday. It wasn’t without its hectic moments (what day isn’t?), but I was usually able to calm those down by threatening that Ryan wouldn’t be 4 anymore if he didn’t behave. It worked most of the time .

One super cute thing that Ryan did first thing in the morning was ask if he was a deacon now that he is 4 . The family that we usually sit with on Sundays has two boys that are deacons, so that has caused Ryan to be pretty curious and has given us an opportunity to teach him a bit about the priesthood.

Ryan asked for pancakes and toast for breakfast, but by the time he finished the toast he didn’t want the pancakes anymore. Lucky me…the pancakes are usually gone by the time I get around to eating breakfast, so I came out on the good end of that one!

After everyone was dressed and ready for the day, I let him open his presents. Ryan is such a polite boy, always saying “thank you” after I handed him a present. He got a Lightening McQueen wallet with a dollar inside, a Lightening McQueen car with a flashlight under the hood, some more Legos, and a scooter and helmet. He was very happy with all of it. We had a little problem with the helmet though–when we bought it, we had tried on several helmets and then let him pick the character he wanted on it. On the way out of the store, he saw something he liked better, so we switched, without trying it on. Apparently it was a different model than the original pick because this one didn’t even fit on his head. So after all of the presents were opened, we had to load up to go to the store to exchange it for a different one.

He was really excited to try the scooter out when we got home. Our driveway has a slight incline, and of course that was where he wanted to ride. I wouldn’t let him, since he was still pretty wobbly on it, so I backed the car out of the garage so he could practice in there. As soon as he got in the garage, he saw his tricycle and that’s all he wanted to ride. Figures

We stopped at Wendy’s for lunch and ate at a park. Afterward Ryan played on the playground for a while. When we got home, we cleaned up the family room downstairs so that Ryan could ride his scooter down there.

We had to run to the store for a few things, so I stopped at Baskin Robins and got him a clown cone to eat after dinner. He chose tacos for dinner and then I poked candles in his cone and sang Happy Birthday (I saved the cake for today, when family would be here to enjoy it with us).

Overall, I think Ryan was happy with his special day. He got lots of phone calls wishing him a happy birthday, which made him excited. Aunt Cynthia wrote him a great little birthday poem on her blog, which describes him perfectly. We sure are glad to have him in our family–he keeps us on our toes!

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Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ryan is 4 years old today!! This year has been fun because he’s really aware of birthdays and has been so excited for his to come….we been counting down for a while now! I hope you enjoy a little review of his year as a 3 year old…it had its ups and downs and we’re excited to move on to the adventures that being 4 brings!

Here are a few facts about Ryan as he turns 4:

• Ryan’s imaginary friend Duggin has been a great friend…and he makes a super scapegoat when Ryan doesn’t want to get in trouble for being naughty!
• Ryan loves to eat tomato soup, pizza (without the pepperonis), and apples.  He also asks for a treat about a million times a day.
• Ryan still loves to swim!
• Ryan has been a stinker about going to primary.  He loves his teacher and does well after we have left him behind, but we get full-on trantrums nearly every Sunday when it comes time to go to primary.  In spite of this, he comes home singing new songs each week and does a great job telling us about everything he learned.
• Ryan has finally grown tall enough to ride all of the kiddie rides at Lagoon!
• Some of his favorite shows this year have been The Backyardigans, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, The Land Before Time, Chicken Little, Robin Hood, and Mary Poppins.  He loves to act them out after he watches them.
• Ryan is a great big brother.  He does his fair share of teasing, but he’s always willing to give hugs and kisses to his brother and sister, especially when they are sad.  It’s been fun to watch their relationships blossom as the babies have gotten old enough to interact with him more!
• Ryan has learned how to use the computer!  He’s a whiz at the trackball and can get around the Playhouse Disney website better than me.  He can often be found “checking his email”
• Ryan has an insanely good memory.  He can memorize things soooo fast! 

 We love you Ryan and are so happy that you are a part of our family!!  Have a happy birthday!!

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It went well. It looks like fluid is the most likely cause for him failing his hearing screen. His right eardrum didn’t register anything, and the left registered just a little bit. The audiologist said that with the decible loss that he has, everything sounds like a whisper to him. He was really cooperative and very curious when we did the booth test…it was really interesting to see him have no reaction when she sent sounds through the speakers. So, she referred me back to the ped to make a game plan for what to do next.

The ped’s office was just down the street, so rather than waiting till I got home to call, I decided to just stop in to make an appointment. The receptionist said she was booked till the end of July, but that she happened to have one slot this afternoon if I wanted it. Thankfully Grandma & Grandpa were here to watch Ryan and Emmy, so I was able to take the appointment and get seen today.

The ped said that the fluid in the left ear is clear and that in the right ear it is orangey, indicating that it’s probably been there a while. She said that we could do one of two things–give him antibiotics for 10 days to see if the fluid clears up or go straight to the ENT doc for tubes. I had pros and cons for both options, so we compromised and she gave me the prescription for the antibiotics and a referral to the ENT so that we would have an appointment set up when he finished the meds. This way, if the antibiotics don’t work, we’ll be ready to go straight to the next step without having to wait to get in to the ENT.

This really is the best thing. Part of me worried that he’d pass the hearing test today and we’d have no explanation for his speech delays. I also worried that he could have a more permanent hearing loss to deal with. Fluid is fixable, so I’m looking at this as a positive outcome!

They also weighed him when we got there–22 lbs. 9 oz! Another great weight gain for him!!

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The History of Love
By Nicole Krauss
252 pages (though some pages only have one sentence…I’m counting them all anyway )
Finished 7/6/08

Summary:

Fourteen-year-old Alma Singer is trying to find a cure for her mother’s loneliness. Believing that she might discover it in an old book her mother is lovingly translating, she sets out in search of its author. Across New York an old man named Leo Gursky is trying to survive a little bit longer. He spends his days dreaming of the lost love who, sixty years ago in Poland, inspired him to write a book. And although he doesn’t know it yet, that book also survived: crossing oceans and generations and changing lives…

This one came into my hands by way of my librarian sister-in-law. She sent me home with a big ‘ol bag of books a couple of months ago and I’ve been wittling away at them in between library books that I’ve had on hold as they come in. So far, I’ve liked everything that she sent. I’m not so sure about this one.

I have a feeling that it’s supposed to be a good book, but I finished it feeling completely confused….a total feeling of “HUH?”. To start off, you enter the world of Leo Gursky. He’s an old man, a bit crude in his advanced age, but somewhat entertaining. Then, you meet Alma Singer. The chapters alternate between the two characters, both written in the first person. I had a hard time shifting gears so much and often found myself turning back several chapters to refresh my memory about where each character’s story left off. Then, about two-thirds of the way in, the story of a third important character comes into the forefront, which tangles the web of stories even more. At one point, I found myself reading on only because I had made it so far, and not because I had any idea of what was going on in the story.

As the book started to wrap up and I was able to see where the story would like go, I breathed a sigh of relief: all of this confusion was going to come together and make sense. Wrong. The last pages of the book left me even more confused than ever. I have no idea who was real, who wasn’t, who was alive, who was dead, did anything I read actually happen to any of the characters or was it all imagined….no closure whatsoever.

Maybe a second reading would be more enjoyable…I might be able to decipher some of the tangled story lines a little better the second time around. I doubt I’ll give it that second chance though, at least not anytime soon. I just didn’t get this book. Carla, if I’ve missed the target this time and you want to enlighten me, you’ve got my number .

2008 Page Count: 5553

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