This little presentation is about 12 minutes, but I think it is 12 minutes well spent. This guy is funny. His information isn't necessarily cutting edge, but it's a nice reminder at the least. Stick it out, his last points are his best.
political apropos
(Did I use that term in an appropriate context?)
In this season of intense political warfare, a few thoughts from some smart people.
Firstly- Meredith my political sunshine:
"Democrats and Republicans have such different experiences, today, that their realities are fundamentally different. And thus, their interpretation of the "facts" will not coalesce. Ben Smith at Buzzfeed expanded on this by suggesting this divergence of realities is much more amplified this election season because in the United States now have such stark divisions in our media, that our "realities" are reinforced by an "authority" (the media). And i would take it one step further and extend this media reinforcement to include venues where likeminded people come together via online groups and forums to agree on perceived realities. in sum, falsehoods can become facts when enough people confirm them, and more than ever today, there are places to go for the affirmation."
Secondly - Dallin H. Oaks:
"That the Constitution was ratified is largely attributable to the fact that the principal leaders in the states were willing to vote for a document that failed to embody every one of their preferences.
In other words, one should not expect perfection—one certainly should not expect all of his personal preferences—in a document that must represent a consensus. One should not sulk over a representative body’s failure to attain perfection. Americans are well advised to support the best that can be obtained in the circumstances that prevail. That is sound advice not only for the drafting of a constitution but also for the adoption and administration of laws under it."
Third - Benjamin Franklin:
"For having lived long, I have experienced many Instances of being oblig’d, by better Information or fuller Consideration, to change Opinions even on important Subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise"
and lastly my ever-wise big brother Bryan:
"Arguably, [an individual] should find the best in conservativism (traditional family values, religiously-rooted morality, self-reliance, etc.) as compelling as the best in liberalism (visiting and caring for the poor, helping those who cannot help themselves, constant striving to improve others' quality of life, etc.). I am heartily skeptical of the side that claims so adamantly to have a monopoly on The Good."
It is Rice Krispies. It is karma for when I did the same thing with Cheerios as a child. It is why I must choose between neglecting the blog or neglecting the children. It is time for this mom to put her laptop away.
And yes, Miriam is wearing Eli's underwear.
In this season of intense political warfare, a few thoughts from some smart people.
Firstly- Meredith my political sunshine:
"Democrats and Republicans have such different experiences, today, that their realities are fundamentally different. And thus, their interpretation of the "facts" will not coalesce. Ben Smith at Buzzfeed expanded on this by suggesting this divergence of realities is much more amplified this election season because in the United States now have such stark divisions in our media, that our "realities" are reinforced by an "authority" (the media). And i would take it one step further and extend this media reinforcement to include venues where likeminded people come together via online groups and forums to agree on perceived realities. in sum, falsehoods can become facts when enough people confirm them, and more than ever today, there are places to go for the affirmation."
Secondly - Dallin H. Oaks:
"That the Constitution was ratified is largely attributable to the fact that the principal leaders in the states were willing to vote for a document that failed to embody every one of their preferences.
In other words, one should not expect perfection—one certainly should not expect all of his personal preferences—in a document that must represent a consensus. One should not sulk over a representative body’s failure to attain perfection. Americans are well advised to support the best that can be obtained in the circumstances that prevail. That is sound advice not only for the drafting of a constitution but also for the adoption and administration of laws under it."
Third - Benjamin Franklin:
"For having lived long, I have experienced many Instances of being oblig’d, by better Information or fuller Consideration, to change Opinions even on important Subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise"
and lastly my ever-wise big brother Bryan:
"Arguably, [an individual] should find the best in conservativism (traditional family values, religiously-rooted morality, self-reliance, etc.) as compelling as the best in liberalism (visiting and caring for the poor, helping those who cannot help themselves, constant striving to improve others' quality of life, etc.). I am heartily skeptical of the side that claims so adamantly to have a monopoly on The Good."
I hope they don't mind me sharing their words. I would love to write my own thoughts on the subject, but while I cut and pasted the above quotes Mim and Si were accomplishing this:
It is Rice Krispies. It is karma for when I did the same thing with Cheerios as a child. It is why I must choose between neglecting the blog or neglecting the children. It is time for this mom to put her laptop away.
And yes, Miriam is wearing Eli's underwear.
Now where was I...
After the 4th of July we had a fun trip down to Utah for a Hall Family quasi-reunion. I call it a quasi-reunion because all of the sibling group are still on speaking terms. (Richard and I often ponder why it is that our parents siblings groups aren't so fortunate.)
I took a whopping THREE pictures of that event. I rely entirely on Adri, who has the nice camera, to be photographer. Adri- even though we are on speaking terms I keep forgetting to speak to you about putting said pictures up in Picasa album...
It is so much fun watching my kids form lasting friendships with their cousins. If you aren't on speaking terms with any of your siblings I encourage you to reconcile. Cousins of any age are a treasure worth having, don't be the reason your child is deprived!
Ahem. Where was I?
So the trip was lovely aside from Simon getting a thrill from jumping into the swimming pool, and then doing so when there were no other people in the pool, and giving his mom quite a drowning scare.
The day we returned from Utah we became the temporary parents of two darling little boys, Jack and Ryker. Their parents left on a Wednesday to run a Ragnar relay in Seattle. Feeling only slightly sorry for myself that I wasn't included on the team, I offered to watch the boys until their parents return on Sunday evening.
Richard left Thursday to go out of town overnight, leaving me the single mother of SIX children ages seven and under. It actually went remarkably well. Richard came home Friday and by Saturday we were all going a little crazy. We couldn't leave the house because I couldn't fit them all in the van legally. But Sunday we braved church with the help of a babysitter, and by Sunday afternoon they all took naps and peace was restored.
So what did I learn from this experience? I've always wanted a large family, five or six kids. I learned about something I call proactive parenting. I anticipated every need to prevent meltdowns. I had things planned, I was ON TOP OF IT. But is that a sustainable way of living?
I've concluded I have three choices:
1. Stop with four. No more babies.
2. Have more children and go insane.
3. Commit to being a proactive parent.
Certainly gives me something to think about...
I took a whopping THREE pictures of that event. I rely entirely on Adri, who has the nice camera, to be photographer. Adri- even though we are on speaking terms I keep forgetting to speak to you about putting said pictures up in Picasa album...
 |
| Here are the girls listening to Baca tell a story. (Read: Listenting to Baca entertain them while their vacation-frazzled mothers catch their breath.) |
 |
| After a significant time investment on mine and Adri's parts, we finally settled on this condo in the Ogden canyon, which turned out to work really well for our group, and AWESOME property managers to boot! |
It is so much fun watching my kids form lasting friendships with their cousins. If you aren't on speaking terms with any of your siblings I encourage you to reconcile. Cousins of any age are a treasure worth having, don't be the reason your child is deprived!
Ahem. Where was I?
So the trip was lovely aside from Simon getting a thrill from jumping into the swimming pool, and then doing so when there were no other people in the pool, and giving his mom quite a drowning scare.
The day we returned from Utah we became the temporary parents of two darling little boys, Jack and Ryker. Their parents left on a Wednesday to run a Ragnar relay in Seattle. Feeling only slightly sorry for myself that I wasn't included on the team, I offered to watch the boys until their parents return on Sunday evening.
 |
| Simon and Ryker were born days apart, I loved getting affection from two little boys for a few days. |
So what did I learn from this experience? I've always wanted a large family, five or six kids. I learned about something I call proactive parenting. I anticipated every need to prevent meltdowns. I had things planned, I was ON TOP OF IT. But is that a sustainable way of living?
I've concluded I have three choices:
1. Stop with four. No more babies.
2. Have more children and go insane.
3. Commit to being a proactive parent.
Certainly gives me something to think about...
Les Miserables and bad timing
In ninth grade someone in my family bought the Broadway soundtrack to Les Miserables. We listened to it all the time. We were living in Virginia at the time and sometimes when I hear the songs I get nostalgic.
Richard says that when we had our first "real" conversation on the phone, meaning not the first couple awkward "ask-you-out" phone conversations, I told him that Les Miserables was my favorite book. It still is. (If I can even say that, having only read the abridged version.)
So LAST fall when I found out that Les Mis was coming to Boise I jumped on board A.S.A.P! I bought our tickets, not even thinking to look at the BSU football schedule. Fast forward one year and the I make the connection that our tickets to Les Mis are on the same night as the BSU v. BYU football game. Oops.
Richard and I love BSU. We also love BYU. But Richard reassured me that it wasn't a big deal. That was, until three days before the game/play, we were offered tickets. After a stressful hour of trying to figure out how we could see the play another night and still go to the game, we decided to just stick with the plan, we had pretty good seats and I didn't want to compromise my much anticipated experience. Richard was still being a champ about it.
Then...
Then we were downtown, grabbing a bite to eat less than a block away from the stadium. The venue for the play practically shares a parking lot with the stadium. Blue and orange everywhere. I could see a little disappointment in Richard's eyes. Heck, even I was feeling a little disappointed.
But every minute of the play was worth it. (Well except those few minutes of innuendo that the director threw in.) It exceeded my expectations. I loved it. Richard liked it too. It was the fulfillment of a young girl's dream. I could have gone back the next day and watched it all over again, hanging on every note, loving every character, tearing up in the Finale.
Despite the fact that the play and the game ended nearly at the same time, we managed to make it home without hearing a score. Interestingly, I was pretty sure BSU had won, but none of the fans were really acting like it.
We got home, put on pajamas, popped popcorn and stayed up until 2am watching the most painful game ever.
Let me be honest here and hopefully I don't get accused of being a fair-weather fan. But the beauty of watching your two favorite teams play is this. It's truly a win-win! Whichever team wins makes me feel good. But if you know me at all, you know that it also means feeling really sorry for the losing team.
So technically it was a win for the Broncos. But it was a win for the Cougars too, because it was the first time in over 20 years that BSU didn't score an offensive touchdown on the blue turf. And that's no small thing.
But, the fact is, it's just a football game. And my head was still in the clouds from this...
.JPG)
Richard says that when we had our first "real" conversation on the phone, meaning not the first couple awkward "ask-you-out" phone conversations, I told him that Les Miserables was my favorite book. It still is. (If I can even say that, having only read the abridged version.)
So LAST fall when I found out that Les Mis was coming to Boise I jumped on board A.S.A.P! I bought our tickets, not even thinking to look at the BSU football schedule. Fast forward one year and the I make the connection that our tickets to Les Mis are on the same night as the BSU v. BYU football game. Oops.
Richard and I love BSU. We also love BYU. But Richard reassured me that it wasn't a big deal. That was, until three days before the game/play, we were offered tickets. After a stressful hour of trying to figure out how we could see the play another night and still go to the game, we decided to just stick with the plan, we had pretty good seats and I didn't want to compromise my much anticipated experience. Richard was still being a champ about it.
Then...
Then we were downtown, grabbing a bite to eat less than a block away from the stadium. The venue for the play practically shares a parking lot with the stadium. Blue and orange everywhere. I could see a little disappointment in Richard's eyes. Heck, even I was feeling a little disappointed.
But every minute of the play was worth it. (Well except those few minutes of innuendo that the director threw in.) It exceeded my expectations. I loved it. Richard liked it too. It was the fulfillment of a young girl's dream. I could have gone back the next day and watched it all over again, hanging on every note, loving every character, tearing up in the Finale.
Despite the fact that the play and the game ended nearly at the same time, we managed to make it home without hearing a score. Interestingly, I was pretty sure BSU had won, but none of the fans were really acting like it.
We got home, put on pajamas, popped popcorn and stayed up until 2am watching the most painful game ever.
Let me be honest here and hopefully I don't get accused of being a fair-weather fan. But the beauty of watching your two favorite teams play is this. It's truly a win-win! Whichever team wins makes me feel good. But if you know me at all, you know that it also means feeling really sorry for the losing team.
So technically it was a win for the Broncos. But it was a win for the Cougars too, because it was the first time in over 20 years that BSU didn't score an offensive touchdown on the blue turf. And that's no small thing.
But, the fact is, it's just a football game. And my head was still in the clouds from this...
.JPG)
Take my hand
And lead me to salvation
Take my love
For love is everlasting
And remember
The truth that once was spoken
To love another person
Is to see the face of God.
And lead me to salvation
Take my love
For love is everlasting
And remember
The truth that once was spoken
To love another person
Is to see the face of God.
ihaddabaddream
I went into Eli's room this morning and he was standing by the wall, crying quietly. I looked at him suspiciously (thinking he'd pooped his pants or something) and interrogated him. When it was clear that he was emotionally distressed and not feeling ashamed or guilty, I pulled him on my lap and started asking real questions.
"I had a bad dream."
At this point he had been awake for a couple hours and I was thoroughly confused.
"You mean last night?"
"Yeah."
It was obviously still really bothering him so I asked him to tell me about it but he refused. Of course my imagination went wild and I became obsessed with finding out the content of his dream. I made guesses, I comforted, reassured, and tried to be gentle. He kept saying
"The only part of the dream I remember is the part I don't want to tell you."
The poor kid looked horrified. I told him that if we talked about it he would probably feel better, and that he could probably forget about it once he told me about it. He said
"I can't stop thinking about it. I want to forget it but it won't go out of my mind"
I told him that after we talked about it we could play a game to help him forget about it. He still refused. He said he knew he wouldn't be in trouble, he felt safe talking to me; I couldn't figure out why he was holding back. Finally I started asking the right questions.
"Who was in the dream?"
"Our family. Except Dad, and Cam and Si."
"It was just me and you and Miriam?"
"Yeah. Dad and Cam and Si were there but they were somewhere else. They were doing the same thing as us somewhere else."
"What were we doing?"
"We were looking for fruit. For breakfast."
"Did someone get hurt?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"That's the part I don't want to tell you."
"Was it me?"
"Yeah."
"Did I die?"
He nods. He's crying by this point, which results in me crying.
"What happened to me?"
"Misha."
"Misha killed me?"
Nods again.
That was about all I could get out of him, but it was enough to make me feel totally awful. I gave him big hugs and promised him Misha would never hurt me and that I planned to be alive until he had little kids to sit on my lap. It broke my heart!
While I had my doubts about whether or not to force him to tell me, I'm glad I did because I hate to imagine it festering in his little soul. Eli is a compassionate little guy, and I think his biggest worry was hurting my feelings by telling me that he had dreamt that I died.
These are the things about being a parent that no one could ever prepare you for.
"I had a bad dream."
At this point he had been awake for a couple hours and I was thoroughly confused.
"You mean last night?"
"Yeah."
It was obviously still really bothering him so I asked him to tell me about it but he refused. Of course my imagination went wild and I became obsessed with finding out the content of his dream. I made guesses, I comforted, reassured, and tried to be gentle. He kept saying
"The only part of the dream I remember is the part I don't want to tell you."
The poor kid looked horrified. I told him that if we talked about it he would probably feel better, and that he could probably forget about it once he told me about it. He said
"I can't stop thinking about it. I want to forget it but it won't go out of my mind"
I told him that after we talked about it we could play a game to help him forget about it. He still refused. He said he knew he wouldn't be in trouble, he felt safe talking to me; I couldn't figure out why he was holding back. Finally I started asking the right questions.
"Who was in the dream?"
"Our family. Except Dad, and Cam and Si."
"It was just me and you and Miriam?"
"Yeah. Dad and Cam and Si were there but they were somewhere else. They were doing the same thing as us somewhere else."
"What were we doing?"
"We were looking for fruit. For breakfast."
"Did someone get hurt?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
"That's the part I don't want to tell you."
"Was it me?"
"Yeah."
"Did I die?"
He nods. He's crying by this point, which results in me crying.
"What happened to me?"
"Misha."
"Misha killed me?"
Nods again.
That was about all I could get out of him, but it was enough to make me feel totally awful. I gave him big hugs and promised him Misha would never hurt me and that I planned to be alive until he had little kids to sit on my lap. It broke my heart!
While I had my doubts about whether or not to force him to tell me, I'm glad I did because I hate to imagine it festering in his little soul. Eli is a compassionate little guy, and I think his biggest worry was hurting my feelings by telling me that he had dreamt that I died.
These are the things about being a parent that no one could ever prepare you for.
First Day of School 2012
Cameron's first day of school was before Eli's because of the every-other-day kindergarten. He was excited and confident and never looked back. Summers with Cameron are hard, he loves sociality, structure and being busy. Going back to school just suits him.
Eli met Mrs. White at a back to school night, and she won his heart. She was sweet, gentle, petite and lovely. She was exactly what Eli needed to feel safe and excited about school. It was a teacher-student match made in heaven.
I love this picture. It just depicts their personalities so well. Cameron front and center, hamming it up for the photo-op. Eli with reserved and cautious pleasure. And Miriam, that quirky little imp.
Spirit of Boise
***This is from August of 2012. Yep. I'm all over the place.
I had heard of the Spirit of Boise Classic, where hot air balloons from all over the country come to Boise and all launch together. I was lukewarm about wanting to go, until I got a raving review from James, who had me determined to experience it. It was everything James said it would be.
I dragged the kids out of bed and dressed them in layers and loaded them in the minivan. Richard had expressed a desire to get some extra sleep instead of going to the event so the kids and I headed out quietly.
The morning was so beautiful. The balloons launch right at sunrise, so there we were with our blanket spread out on the damp grass, SURROUNDED by hot air balloons. It was breathtaking as they filled up and rose up off the ground, every where you turned you could see a different brightly colored giant billows of fabric.
I had heard of the Spirit of Boise Classic, where hot air balloons from all over the country come to Boise and all launch together. I was lukewarm about wanting to go, until I got a raving review from James, who had me determined to experience it. It was everything James said it would be.
I dragged the kids out of bed and dressed them in layers and loaded them in the minivan. Richard had expressed a desire to get some extra sleep instead of going to the event so the kids and I headed out quietly.
The morning was so beautiful. The balloons launch right at sunrise, so there we were with our blanket spread out on the damp grass, SURROUNDED by hot air balloons. It was breathtaking as they filled up and rose up off the ground, every where you turned you could see a different brightly colored giant billows of fabric.
The famous Mickey balloon. Tell me that famous mouse smile doesn't make you all warm and fuzzy...
This was for documentation purposes- this is a favorite Simon position. He is such a snuggler. Especially when his mom drug him out of bed in the wee hours of the morning.
Brace yourself for the cliché- but the look of wonder in your child's eyes is just so priceless.
Then of course- DOUGHNUTS for breakfast on the way home. Nom nom.
(That's the cool way to say yummy.)
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