Asymmetry Me

It was an impulsive decision made during an extraordinarily stressful week.Some days I feel so sassy and I love it. Other days I wonder what in the world I was thinking. I like it better in the mirror than in this photo.

Justin's response?

"I hope you only paid her half price, since she only cut half your hair."

Little Boy Growing Up

Tanner likes to make his own sandwiches lately. Mmmmm..... honey.

Alphabetization

I was inspired by an educational activity that my sister created for her children. I copied her idea and set Kinley loose on a grand Alphabetization Adventure!

I printed and cut out the names of 139 different animals and her job was to put them all in alphabetical order. It didn't take her as long as I thought it might! She lined them up all through my bedroom and then looked at me as if to say, "now give me real challenge!" Well, at least I know she can put things in alphabetical order! It must come from the CDO genes that she inherited from both parents...


I have uploaded the printable file to this link. Printable version is on sheet #2.

(If you look on the first sheet, you will also find a list of words for ocean animals... I may have been thinking of a certain mossy ocean-loving child when I was making these alphabetization lists...)

Sveiki!

Our friends the Steinackers came to visit! It was so nice to get these two cute kids together for the first time in many many years. They are just a few weeks apart in age and played together a lot as infants. Suffice it to say that the Bradshaws and the Steinackers go way back. It was fun to catch up on current events and reminisce about the crazy old days. And oh, they were so crazy! Why oh why did you have to move away?!!Our families have grown in recent years...
Once upon a time, Anda was my darling friend from Latvia. Kevin was a fellow missionary and my closest and most trusted confidante after our missions, once we returned to the states. As I bumbled through the dating scene, Kevin protected me from the persistent advances of one lovelorn Justin Bradshaw. Over time, through letters, and against all odds, Anda and Kevin fell in love. Kevin left the country to properly court and propose to Anda, leaving me utterly defenseless against Justin's wooing! By the time Kevin returned to the United States, Justin had declared victory over my heart. We were married a few weeks before the Steinackers and we have all lived happily ever after.

Girls Camp Wrap Up

I have now been able to mostly catch my breath after Girls Camp and the first week of school! Phew!

Also, when you are helping lead the charge at Girls Camp, I think it's wise to wait a few days before you report on it... you know, just to make sure it was as successful as you think it was. Waiting a few days to hear feedback from parents is a must.

Fortunately, our Girls Camp feedback has been very positive! Yay!It was great to leave the clamor of technology behind to enjoy the beauty and serenity of God's natural decor.
There were skits, of course!
And footie-pajama gangs!
We went zip-lining -- even the leaders.
We did all the best campy stuff.
We also made lanterns! We picked up some empty glass jars from the D. I. One of our leaders has a Cricut/Silhouette/Thingy and she cut out a bunch of shapes from contact paper. The girls put the shapes on their own jars, then we sprayed the jars with a frosted glass paint. Let the paint dry, peel off the contact paper, add battery-operated tea lights and wire handle and voila!
We also made our own shirts this year. One of our Beehives created the perfect design for our shirts. Again, Kanani busted out the Cricut/Silhouette/Thingy. After she spent an untold number of hours picking out the tiny pieces, the girls were able to place the contact-paper templates on the shirts and paint them whichever colors they chose. It was great to have some uniformity of design with creativity of placement and color.
They turned out so great!
My favorite activity of the week was our special service project, one that is very close to my heart. My sister's friend Emily has been following my blog since the boys were born and passed along the most perfect idea. I have been looking a long time for something that really spoke to me, something I could do in Dex's memory. Sewing micropreemie flannel diapers for stillborn little angels is exactly what I needed! When my friends in YW heard about my new interest, they felt it would be perfect for a Girls Camp service project. So now it's not just my project; it is our project. The girls traced, cut, and pinned more than 80 diapers last week! I just have to sew them up! I have two grief specialists that are waiting on pins and needles for their first shipment! We have created two of each diaper, one for the baby to be buried in, one for the family to keep in a memory box. The sizes range from 20-weekers up to about 34-weekers. THANK YOU, EMILY!
They took the responsibility very seriously and cut out so many!
I was pleased with how enthusiastic the girls were over their project.
Even our much-beloved priesthood brethren got in on the action, cutting and pinning alongside the girls and YW leaders.
Girls Camp is often about finding a new start, making commitments to improve your life, letting go of negative habits and influences. On our final night, we released balloons that represented things in our lives that we wanted to "let go" of. It was a beautiful moment.

These are the crazies with whom I passed a very lovely week!
After all the certifications, meals, hikes, campfires, sing-a-longs, devotionals and firesides; I love Girls Camp!

Projects and Passions

I have joined an exciting new project.

You can read more about it here:

"At yetlearning.com you will find everything from recipes and sewing tutorials to personal encouragement and book reviews. There is also something called Mom U. The purpose of Mom U is to help women (and anyone else) to learn to love learning and in the process become better persons, wives, mothers, and teachers; and also to help women feel more fulfilled in their chosen role."

In time it will also contain inspiration for wholesome recreational activities, family service projects, and supplemental elementary education recommendations for people like me: public school moms with a homeschooling bent.

Ancora Imparo -- I Am Yet Learning!

Crew During Swim Lessons

When we had swim lessons in the afternoon, Crew mostly slept on my shoulder. When we had them in the morning, however, he was much more awake and adventuresome.

Sometimes he just looked contentedly cute for a few minutes. I frequently trapped him on the trampoline.Most of the time, he worked on his therapy. Opening and closing his farm animals, playing with balls and rings....
Putting pegs in a foam board and using two hands to pull them apart. Using two hands together is something that we are working on. It doesn't come very naturally to him; when you really pay attention, you can see how deftly he swaps between both hands but rarely uses them together.

We also have learning games that we have downloaded to Justin's iPad. These games mostly help him with pointing, identification, cause, and effect. There are a few repetition Apps that encourage speech. Pretty cool stuff.
Sometimes you just gotta chill. My sister Heather will understand why these pictures make me want to sing the Oscar Mayer Weiner song at the top of my lungs. Is there anything better than a hammock in the summer???

School Daze

Kinley started the third grade this morning! It's weird having her hop on a school bus in mid-July, but such is life with year-round school. I look forward to spending October, January, and March snuggled up at home together. Kinley was very excited to wear her stylish new school outfit.
Our friend Isabel transferred schools this year and these little girlies are in the same class!! They also ride the bus together.
They were so happy!
Yes, we followed the bus all the way to school. That's how we roll.
I was a little nervous about the teacher that we got (reputation of strictness), but when Mrs. O. told me how excited she had been when she saw Kinley's name on her class list (Kinley has a reputation of her own), I must admit that my heart kinda melted. Who wouldn't love such delightful girls?
I have a gooooooood feeling about the third grade! We were really blessed last year and I have great expectations for our 2011-2012 adventure! Best of all, her bus drops her off at home this year 15 minutes earlier than last year!! That is 44 more HOURS at home this year!!! Yay for little happy changes!!

To Be Five Years Old Again...

Bald Eagle Baby

I remain undecided on how I feel about this hair cut...

It's very... soft, at least.

Pioneer Pilgrims

Kinley: I love celebrating Pioneer Day!! Are we going to have a feast and dress up as pilgrims?? Or maybe Indians?

Someone has her migration holidays mixed up.

Home Sweet Home

I returned home from Girls Camp late Friday afternoon. I had a lovely time; I can only hope that it was an equally good experience for the girls that attended. It's often difficult to gauge teenagers. I hope they liked it. I think they liked it.

I remained tickless all week! The kids and Daddy clearly enjoyed their time together while this cat was away. Of course, as expected, Justin now finds it necessary to offer me endless time management and organizational advice, now that his 3.5 days on-the-job have made him an expert on multitasking parenting and housekeeping.

Oh, brother.

I locked myself in my bedroom this afternoon when they all ganged up on me with a welcome home dinner request (ear splitting chant) for Manwich, which they had been eating with delight all week in my absence. I hate Manwich.

Crew has learned a few new subtle tricks in my absence. The biggest change is his more assertive requesting technique. When he wants the channel changed, he will shove the remote control into my hand. When he wants me to get him something out of reach and across the room, he will grab my ankle and shove me in the direction that he wants. It's awfully endearing.

So, I'm home again, home again, jiggity jig. Tired, hormonal, and a little sunburned, but with cute, asymmetrical hair and a song in my heart. I took the kids to the pool for a few hours this afternoon and then we all enjoyed a lovely welcome home dinner from Costa Vida.

It's past my bedtime! Nighty night!

Girls Camp Is Upon Us

I leave in just a few hours.

One thing I have learned...

Boy Scouts (particularly grown up former Boy Scouts that I happen to be married to) will never understand Girls Camp. The mania surrounding the painstaking details, endless preparations, and cheerful willingness of the leadership to throw themselves worn out and near lifeless on the altar of Girls Camp, is completely lost on the average beans-and-weenies kind of guy.

Caaaaaaaaaaaaamp

Heard at the breakfast table this morning...

Justin: Well, Kinley, your mom is going to Girls Camp this week. You're going to be the woman of the house.

I have two days to stock the fridge with Daddy-friendly meal options.

I wonder if Crew's teeth will be brushed this week.

I wonder if my teeth will be brushed this week.

I am really excited for camp.

I am very tired.

I still have much to do.

Our camp experience is going to be pretty spectacular, in my not-so-humble opinion.

They had better like my food. Or else.

I have CDO. It's like OCD but the letters are in alphabetical order. AS THEY SHOULD BE.

It's amazing what a team of CDO personalities can accomplish on a budget. Really.

I remain seriously wigged out by ticks. I cut my hair short to make tick-checks less traumatizing; it should minimize the suspense, at least.

I am the proud new owner of a one-size-fits-the-morbidly-obese smurf-blue rain poncho.

Ring pops are $.56 each, just FYI.

Kinley's prayer tonight: "Please bless Mommy that she will not get lost at Girls Camp and have to use her whistle."

Camp Camp

Our home is consumed with preparations for Girls Camp. Exciting and crazy all at once!

Leprechauns

I took this picture from my porch. Tanner really wanted to climb that hill to find the pot of gold!

Swim Lessons Week Three

We have completed our swim lessons for the summer and I couldn't be more satisfied with their progress. They had no skills to speak of three weeks ago and now they are doing all kinds of exciting things!

They can float on their backs.They can both do the American Front Crawl, though Kinley's technique, coordination, and stamina are more advanced. Kinley can also tread water.
Kinley can do an independent standing dive!
Tanner tried an independent dive once, but it didn't go so well. He went straight down to the bottom of the pool and bonked his noggin. We're back to assisted dives...
During our final class, Kinley jumped off the diving board in the deep end! (Kinley wants me to let you know that it was 9 feet deep!)
She was a little nervous the first time (that second pic is such a Kinley expression)... but after she survived it once, we couldn't drag her back to the shallows! She is so happy with her new confidence.
She is very pleased with herself.
Done for now, but we'll be back next year! It's been a great experience!

Anne Shirley's Raspberry Cordial

Kinley and (kindred spirit) Isabel each read the Classic Starts version of Anne of Green Gables. In celebration, we had an Anne of Green Gables movie viewing! To complete our evening, we made yummy delicious raspberry cordial to serve with dinner. And we didn't have to carry anyone home drunk!Anne Shirley's Raspberry Cordial

Ingredients:
(2) 12-ounce packages of frozen raspberries (340 grams each)
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 cups boiling water
3 lemons

Directions:
Mix raspberries and sugar together in sauce pan. Cook on medium, continuously stirring, until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour mixture through mesh strainer. Use whisk to stir raspberries until all juice has been extracted through strainer. Dispose of strainer contents. Squeeze two lemons into strainer. Pour boiling water through strainer. Stir raspberry cordial mixture. Now pour the entire container of cordial through the strainer one more time, just to capture a few more raspberry seeds. Chill before serving; serve with thin, floating slices of lemon in each glass if desired.

To enjoy thoroughly, don't forget the movie.

And the book.

Patriotic Pair