Miles and his buddy created some essential oil blends the other day. He really likes this one, and named it "Good Day." Here is the recipe in case any of you want to try it out: ; )
Miles has been watching Little Rascals and he came up with this plan for building a go cart with Jared. He is really insistent about getting this go cart made, and wants to follow this plan exactly. There is a bit of hounding going on. What time are you coming home from work? Can you take me to Home Depot?
I'm pretty sure that Jared, with all of his invention building skills could figure out how to build this.
Michael and I built a go cart once. It had caster wheels, but it was pretty cool. I was more of an observer in its creation. But it was always fun to get out the hammer and nails.
Favorite new food: Avocados, but so far he'll eat almost anything!
Date Nights are back! Soren eats lots of foods, and it is so nice to be able to go out again. Soren has been so sweet and pleasant for the most part. Although the past two days he has a cold and hasn't been sleeping as well. Plus I think he might be cutting a tooth.
For a good stretch there he was waking up 7 times a night! I was
dead tired. Jared and I even alternated waking up with him and I was
still exhausted. I told Jared it was time to let him cry it out. I've been hesitant because I hate hearing them cry and I don't think it really works that well anyway, you have to start over again when they are sick, etc and it is sad. He
got busy researching some oils to help Soren sleep. The next night we
tried Serenity on one foot, Vetiver on the other, and Soren slept from
8pm to 5am, then went back to sleep after nursing and slept until 9. I
couldn't believe it. I had to go check on him a couple times because it
made me too nervous to really enjoy it. But wow, it feels so great to
have some uninterrupted sleep finally.
Soren loves
playing with old cds, paper, and anything else he can chew. He loves
the remotes and typing on the computer keyboard. He also loves wipes.
The other day I gave him one in the theater and he started wiping my
face with it, then cleaning the armrest. It was kinda funny. He's
starting to have a little bit of separation anxiety. I think it is
kinda cute that he suddenly wants me and cries when I walk out of the
room. Awww. We've been to two movies in the past week and he's done
great! He even likes the car okay now.
I love hearing him jabber. He is very vocal, especially with his siblings. He is obsessed with Sugar, and intrigued by our neighbors cat. He really enjoys his bathtime too and loves splashing all over.
He is always so excited to see the kids when they come home from school. I think he gets a little bored with me all day.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was fun to host this year. My brother and his family came, and so did my dad and his. It was actually relaxing. I've hosted a few things this year and I think that a little bit of practice has helped me calm down and not be so stressed out so it is just all in all, more enjoyable. I was proud that I didn't scream at anyone while making preparations. I kept it simple and easy.
We pulled out Grandma's old china, just like my Thanksgiving dinners from childhood. And I made sure all the kids knew the story behind these beautiful blue and white plates. I have always loved my grandma's china. We were so careful with these when I was little.
My grandpa emigrated from Germany when he was in his early twenties. His brother and mom stayed in Germany and during the war experienced a lot of shortages. So my grandma would send them packages of things like sugar, unsweetened chocolate, and a new suit for a job interview, etc. After the war ended, they sent her this Spode Blue Tower China one plate at a time. I remember getting those packages all the way from Germany. It was really exciting. They always had some German cookies. I'd like to buy some of those here so my kids can try them. When my grandma died, I inherited these plates. I love this China and I love the story. I love how these remind me of her and many other celebration meals with my family. I need to use it more often.
We enjoyed turkey, ham, rolls, cranberry sauce, creamed corn, raspberry pretzel jello, mashed potatoes, stuffing, roasted potatoes and gravy.
Yum.
I had to redo the jello TWICE. I am a first time Jello maker. It was pretty funny. And I'll have to keep some on hand for next year because the raspberry jello sells out before Thanksgiving. Who knew? It WAS very popular with the kids.
The kids had a blast playing Just Dance 4. Is there anything cuter than watching this game? It is so fun.
The kids table!
Cutest Dimples ever! Jacob was really enamored by Soren and I think he liked being the older one
I love this face! I looked at him and smiled as he was yawning and he couldn't resist smiling back at me, so this is the expression I got! So funny.
Simone loves Brooklyn and Gavin!
They also played this fun candy bar game that Diane's family does each year. Of course they loved that.
It was beautiful weather too and all of our kids love being together. It would have been perfect if we could have had the rest of the family there!
My pictures leave a lot to be desired. I should have one of the adults, but none of them worked out!
Last night I had to make the trek to the baby store. You'd think that it is easy to run to the store and do stuff like that, but lately it is overwhelming to go anywhere outside my 15 minute radius. I had to drag the younger four around since Jared was at b-ball practice with Elise.
I wanted to look at the different high chairs, etc, and there are some things you just can tell online. So after realizing we weren't going to be able to get dinner at a sit down place because it was already too late and Soren was spent, I started thinking fast food.
I asked the kids where they wanted to go, and Simone says, "NOT chick-fil-a, I heard they kill chickens to make their chicken nuggets." I love kids. I remember when Elise learned that hamburgers were made from cow, and she'd always ask me when we had different meats, "Is that body?" As in cow body. It was a pretty unappetizing way of looking at it.
She went vegetarian for a few days, maybe a week or so.
Anyway, it lightened the mood for a few moments. My kids are pretty depressed about Obama winning. They were really into this election I guess!
Family pictures are so much work! Twice in one year is about enough to do me in. But it was fun and I love having new ones with Soren especially changing so much in just a few months. Plus, these were free and needed for doTERRA. So I can't complain. I'm just glad they are done.
He's not going to win, and his name is not even on the ballot. But Ron Paul got me excited about politics this election year. I love his logical, no hype, no nonsense approach to politics. I love that his ideas and actions for the past few decades are built solidly on unchanging principles.
He has been around forever, but I used to get most of my information from the news, and you don't see much of him on the news at all. I thought my only real choices were Republican or Democrat. I am a conservative, but turned off my many of the popular Republicans. I didn't vote at all last election because I just couldn't get behind McCain who repulsed me, or Obama who I don't agree with on pretty much everything.
Jared and his brother have really started investigating Ron Paul's ideas and libertarianism and I have to say, it is definitely what speaks to me more than any other party. When I started reading about Ron Paul and watching his videos, I was amazed at how many of his opinions were ones I already shared. It was very validating and inspiring to see how he explained things.
Here are the a few of the issues that were important to me. Jared is more interested in his knowledge of the monetary systems. I think those things are interesting too, but these are the ones that jumped out at me and that I can actually explain ; ). I do think balancing the budget and having a sound monetary system makes sense, particularly with what is happening in our economy right now. Free Market: "Capitalism should not be condemned, since we haven't had capitalism. A system of capitalism presumes sound money, not fiat money manipulated by a central bank. Capitalism cherishes voluntary contracts and interest rates that are determined by savings, not credit creation by a central bank. It's not capitalism when the system is plagued with incomprehensible rules regarding mergers, acquisitions, and stock sales, along with wage controls, price controls, protectionism, corporate subsidies, international management of trade, complex and punishing corporate taxes, privileged government contracts to the military-industrial complex, and a foreign policy controlled by corporate interests and overseas investments. Add to this centralized federal mismanagement of farming, education, medicine, insurance, banking and welfare. This is not capitalism! " RON PAUL, speech, U.S. House of Representatives, Jul. 9, 2002
Vaccinations:
I think our life experiences shape our political views. Immunization problems are something I've lived firsthand, so while I'd never expect it to be a big issue to most people, it is to me. I tend to be an independent person who doesn't like to be forced to do anything. I don't like government to make decisions for me regarding what gets injected into my child, or where and how I have my babies. I hate big government.
“When we give government the power to make medical decisions for us, we, in essence, accept that the state owns our bodies ~U.S. Representative Ron Paul, MD.” Love this quote.
As a medical doctor, he acknowledges the importance of vaccines in saving lives, and uses polio as an example of how successful vaccines have been in eradicating disease. But he also addresses the problems associated with too many vaccines, and government mandated vaccines. An individuals right to choose what goes into our bodies should be protected.
I love that Libertarianism limits government and supports individual freedoms.
Borders/Immigration
I've spent a lot of time in Mexico. I love the Mexican people. I hate the negative rhetoric that persists when talking about immigration. I love how Ron Paul explains it. It is rational, fair, and acknowledges the work ethic and the desperation that drives illegal immigration and the fact that we do need some sort of work program to employ these people without providing incentives to break the law. We cannot have a welfare state AND open borders. That makes sense to me.
Foreign Policy:
Ron Paul is most often criticized for his foreign policy. This is actually what I love most about him. For years now I've been frustrated with the way the U.S. has too much involvement in trying to control foreign governments. Arming those we think we might be able to influence. Our list of leaders we helped get into power include Pinochet, Castro, Saddam Hussein and many, many others. This is not disputed. Influencing the leadership of other countries is not our job. It is not something we should participate in because we are unable to simply choose leaders for other people. Isn't that the heart of democracy? Being able to choose for yourself who leads you? Then why are we setting a poor example of what democracy is by choosing and supporting leaders for other countries who did not elect us to be their protector? What happens when these dictators turn out to be butchers? These CIA led coups encourage violence, instability and civil war and is completely wrong. I hate the way the American people are manipulated into supporting these wars. I have been manipulated, and that makes me angry. The very predictable and cyclical media war propaganda is very much like the swine flu hype--scare tactics. I hate it. This type of propaganda preys on the good hearts of the U.S. people who legitimately want to help and want to save these poor people from their oppressors. But unfortunately, we don't have many examples of how our bombing or coups have actually helped implement a stable democratic government, and the people in the countries we've "helped" have hailed us as their Saviors. This is generally where the cognitive dissonance kicks in to people who have never explored American history from an objective view. It is hard to accept that we are not always the good guys. We are a good people and I love our country. We have been manipulated in many instances. However, we also need to examine our motives and learn from past mistakes. I think in decades to come, we'll look back on this part of our history and see it as we see imperialism.
What alarms me most is how fearful Americans are of Islamic people. The news is propagating a lot of this. I've met a lot of Muslims and people from the Middle East. They were warm, friendly, and kind. I loved this quote too:
"If we hate racism, we must also hate war since it is war that has bred malignant types of racism. In our time, we observe the same happening to those of the Islamic faith. Members of both parties demonize people and encourage an anti-Islamic feeling. Christians are being told, as in George Orwell's 1984, that "we've always been at war with Islam," that Islam is an inherently warlike religion, that "they" are taking over America with their mosques, clothing, & law. This whole campaign has the earmarks of a new Cold War, and perhaps hot war, in which Islam replaces atheistic communism as the enemy.
What is striking about this form of racism is how little it has to do with reality. The 9/11 hijackers were not devout Muslims, but we are often led to believe that they were. The government of Saddam Hussein was secular. What none of this mentions is that Islam, Christianity, and Judaism lived in peace, sometimes in the same regions of Europe, for some 700 years between the 8th and 15th centuries."
"A foreign policy that endorses worldwide intervention and occupation requires that people live in perpetual fear of supposed enemies. In the post-9/11 period, proponents of such policies have been able to promote the fear needed for the American people t accept policies they otherwise would have rebelled against. Fear has enabled permanent runaway domestic surveillance and the sacrifice of privacy through legislation such as the Patriot Act. A citizen walking through the airport today is bombarded with 1984-style propaganda messages that are designed to make us fear some amorphous threat and also be suspicious of others. The government designs these messages to make us feel dependent and heavily lorded over in every aspect of our lives. These messages are becoming ever more pervasive, hitting us even in the grocery stores when we are shopping. If we are fearful enough, we are willing to tolerate what might otherwise be regarded as immoral means of dealing with the enemy, such as the use of torture."
I love this video. So funny that the audience actually boos the golden rule. Kinda sad.
Death Penalty:
Ron Paul doesn't support the death penalty. Which is something I agree with. I have felt for a long time that it is better to just incarcerate for life than implement the death penalty. It just seems unnecessary at best, and at worst we execute people that were not guilty of the crime they were executed for. I've found it ironic though that democrats oppose the death penalty and support abortion.
Abortion:
Ron Paul is anti-abortion. I am strongly pro-life and I cannot wrap my brain around why some people support abortion as "choice." I actually support a morning after pill, or even a pill that can be taken within the first few weeks of pregnancy for cases of rape, etc. I see no reason why we should have the option of abortion beyond that time frame. Paul has the same views on this as I do.
"In the 1960s when abortion was still illegal, I witnessed, as an OB/GYN resident, the abortion of a fetus that weighed approximately 2 pounds. It was placed in a bucket, crying and struggling to breathe, and the medical personnel pretended not to notice. Soon the crying stopped. This harrowing event forced me to think more seriously about this important issue. That same day in the OB suite, an early delivery occurred and the infant boy was only slightly larger than the one that was just aborted. But in this room everybody did everything conceivable to save this child's life. My conclusion that day was that we were overstepping the bounds of morality by picking and choosing who should live and who should die. There was no consistent moral basis to the value of life under these circumstances. Some people believe that being pro-choice is being on the side of freedom. I've never understood how killing a human being, albeit a small one in a special place, is portrayed as a precious right."
Speaking of babies, my little guy needs me, so I'll end this long political post. I wish I could vote for Romney in good conscience. It wouldn't really matter anyway since I'm in Utah. But I'm unhappy with how the Republicans treated Ron Paul and how the rules were changed at the RNC effectively making it impossible for Ron Paul to even be on the ballot. It just isn't right to change the rules at the last minute, and I can't support that. And Romney's big tough talk on foreign policy just gives me the willies. So I guess I'll either be writing in Ron Paul, or voting for Gary Johnson, just to prove a point.
We decided to stay close to home for Fall Break. And really, I think we will do that every year. You can't really beat Utah in the fall. We went up to Park City, and it was beautiful. We stayed at the Marriott Mountainside right next to the Alpine Slide, etc. It was pretty dreamy. I loved every second of it.
Highlights:
The kids having their own room! They LOVED the mini kitchen
Doing puzzles with Monet
Exploring the hotel--great place for kids
Alpine Slide and other fun activities right next door
Roasting marshmellows and doing smores at night
Creating a leaf design on the pool edge with the leaves that had blown into the water
Swimming in the hot tubs and pools
Watching I am Number Four
Going shopping and out to dinner at Red Rock
Being surrounded by gorgeous yellow aspens
Crisp air with a tinge of campfire
Sleeping in
Scenic drive up to the Uintas and Mirror Lake, we were in a cloud for a lot of the time, but it was still really pretty.
Going on the scenic lift ride with the kids and getting to really talk to them
Fun day yesterday! It was Soren's first Halloween. I didn't see Elise the whole day. She had a dance after school, followed by running around the neighborhood with a pack of friends. She decided to go with the retro basketball player costume. Too bad we don't have Jared's old uniform from 8th grade. Wouldn't this have been awesome?
Jared is the cute number 14 showing off some skinny legs. Just look at all that hair!
Monet went trick or treating with Jean. We decided Katniss's outfit without the bow and arrows (no weapons at school) was boring and whipped up a cavegirl costume at the last second.
Simone was thrilled to be a vampire instead of a cheerleader. I think my kids like scary stuff. This is curious to me because I never wanted to be anything scary.
Miles loved his Napoleon Dynamite costume. Jared and I took turns going with him, and staying home with Soren and handing out glowsticks. I think Soren enjoyed Halloween!
Doing the Napoleon Dance
Soren enjoyed the glownecklaces
It was such a nice evening sitting out on the front steps with Soren and Sug
Elise isn't too convincing at staging a fight with a ref
