Little Drummer Boy go away

There is a parking lot to the left of our apartment complex. Interesting people tend to gather there. For the past few weeks a guy has been sitting under a tree there and jamming on his bongo drums every day. And I am talking EVERY day for HOURS! It gets really annoying. He must have amazing stamina in his arms. Luckily, the kids seem to be able to nap through it if I close the windows. Just another bit of local color here in hippie Marin.

A family trait?

Could it be that Eva loves the Pilot Dr. Grip pen with gel ink as much as her daddy? Could it be that Daddy now loses his pens more often since Babygirl grabs them? Yes it can.

Some pre-Halloween pics

Every year on the Saturday before Halloween the main street in town hosts a trick or treat for all the kids. It is tons of fun, safe for the kids and good for the businesses. Here are some pictures of Bubbs and Babygirl during Trick or Treat on 4th Street.

Will teething ever end?

Some people only take pictures of their children when they are smiley and happy. I think it is important to document that they also were cranky little whiners sometimes. Check out Eva's shirt. Yep, I still think she is cute even when cranky.

Future blackmail picture

This picture must resurface years from now at the most inopportune time. Jason suggests it go in the back pages of a yearbook. Other ideas?

My kid or what?

Found this old picture of me when I was Eva's age. Any resemblance?


By the way, Eva pulled herself up to standing position on the couch today. The trouble is that she doesn't know how to get down yet (she hasn't mastered the "fall on your bum" maneuver") so she just cries until someone saves her.

To all my Blogger friends

Please notice the new widget I put in my sidebar supporting Proposition 8 here in CA. Watch the video. I definitely agree with all that is said in it. Since I love to blog and am on the computer a lot, I like this way of showing my support. Its easy to put on your own blog too. Help spread the word and vote on November 4th. I already have and it was a YES on Prop 8.

Big News!

Jason here. I have two items of big news, on big and the other not so big. First, I took my Part 1 Board exam yesterday. I will find out how I did in a couple weeks. It was rough and I think I may have to take it again. When my friends at school asked me if it was bad I said "it was like a four hour prostate exam." It was that bad.

Now for the big news! I FINALLY beat "Welcome to the Jungle" on expert in my Guitar Hero game. I was so excited that I almost did cheetah flips. It has taken me forever to get past it. So that is my news. Rock on.

When pumpkins come to lunch

Meet "Jacko Wantern". Isn't she cute? Brendan came home with her the other day and she has been quite the topic of conversation. Brendan tells me when she is hungry and she comes to the table with us. Apparently she was sick because Bubbs requested medicine for her. He had a talk with me about the fact that she was NOT a pumpkin, but a jack o'lantern.
He is just chatting up a storm lately and is so excited about Halloween. The ward party is in a few days. I hope to post more pictures soon.

I guess watching Jurassic Park gives no good tips

I could survive for 57 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

Created by Bunk Beds Pedia

Headlamp

We had our headlamp out since we were going to the Petaluma Corn Maze. Brendan insisted on wearing it. He even watched a good portion of a show with it on, spotlighting his viewing. Eva was entertained by the light on her brother's head too.

Prop 8 stuff

Jason here. So here in California we have a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as strictly between a man and a woman, Prop 8. As you may know, the California Supreme Court overruled a similar proposition approved by voters a few years back. Nowadays it is all over the news here and it is making its way on TV as both sides go back and forth over this important issue. Well, those for Prop 8 argue that if the amendment fails then it will be taught to young children. The opposition says this is a scare tactic and that they intend no such things. In response to this charge I received the following outlining the arguments used by various groups (that are now working for the No on Prop 8 committee incidentally) in Massachusets to get gay marriage into curriculum AND to prevent parents from doing anything about it. Parents are told that they will not be notified when this is being taught and cannot opt their children out of such teachings. Check this out:

From the Human Rights Campaign Amicus Curiae Brief:

“There is no constitutional principle grounded in either the First Amendment’s free exercise clause or the right to direct the upbringing of one’s children, which requires defendants to either remove the books now in issue – or to treat them as suspect by imposing an opt-out system.” [pp1-2]



“In short, there can be no serious dispute that the books in issue are both age-appropriate and reflect the growing diversity of American families.” [p 9]



“Lexington’s selection of the [three] books…for inclusion in its curriculum is firmly rooted in the long-recognized tradition of public schools as a place for disseminating the knowledge and information that helps to foster understanding between diverse groups and individuals for the overall benefit of society.” [p 13]



(Note: The Human Rights Campaign has organized one of the largest recipient committees to oppose Proposition 8. The committee, Human Rights Campaign CA Marriage PAC (ID# 1307246) has received more than $2.2 million in contributions (as of 10/8/08), including over $100,000 from the Human Rights Campaign itself in non-monetary contributions. The committee has funneled over $2 million of its funds to No on 8, Equality for All (ID# 1259396), the main No on Proposition 8 campaign committee.)



From the ACLU Amicus Curiae Brief:

“Specifically, the parents in this case do not have a constitutional right to override the professional pedagogical judgment of the school with respect to the inclusion within the curriculum of the age-appropriate children’s book…King and King.” [p 9]



“This court has astutely recognized that a broad right of a parent to opt a child out of a lesson would fatally compromise the ability of a school to provide a meaningful education, a conclusion that holds true regardless of the age of the child or the nature of the belief.” [p 18]



“First, a broad right of a parent to opt a child out of a lesson would subject a school to a staggering administrative burden…Second, in contravention of the axiom that ‘the classroom is peculiarly the ‘marketplace of ideas’’ [citations], a broad right of a parent to opt a child out of a lesson would chill discussion in the classroom…Third, the coming and goings of those children who have been opted out of lessons would be highly disruptive to the learning environment. Moreover, such comings and goings would fatally undermine the lessons that schools teach the other students.” [pp 22-23]

The day that Brendan comes home with something like "The King and the King" is the day we start homeschooling or sending the kids to a private school. Of course, in California the diversity police try to prevent people escaping their brainwashing by requiring a four year teaching degree for any parent doing the actual teaching at home. Luckily, Christine has one of those. Seems if Prop 8 fails she might have to bust that out again.

The preferred posture

Eva has always liked to stand. At about two weeks she discovered that she could hold her legs straight and it was all over from there. The problem is that she cannot stand without help yet. However, that does not seem to satisfy her. She will be wailing her head off while sitting up until one of us pulls her to a standing position. She'll immediately quiet down . . . always.

Then she is within grabbing range of more things. Jason calls this the "two phase plan" - "cry until you stand me in your lap, then I can reach all those goodies in your pocket, Dad, like ink pens and business cards and your school ID badge that has had some really gross stuff on it like cadaver juice".

"I'm so glad when Daddy comes home, glad as I can be . . ."

I think when you become a dad you automatically become a human jungle gym.

The bad influence of Charlie Brown

Last weekend we got a pumpkin at a pumpkin patch. Ever since then Brendan has been fascinated with it. He talks about pumpkins a few times a day. When he got home from school today he asked for a pumpkin movie. Where he got that, I don't know. The only one I could think of was "Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin" so I searched for it on Youtube. I remember it being pretty harmless.
Well, Brendan seemed to enjoy it. For those of you who haven't seen it in a while, Linus spends all of Halloween night in a pumpkin patch waiting for The Great Pumpkin to appear and bring toys. Needless to say, he waits in vain and all the other kids call him a "stupid blockhead". After the movie was over I went upstairs to get Eva up from her nap. When I came down I asked Brendan if he was ready to got to the store. He said, "No, you stupid." I was shocked. My little boy has never called me anything meaner than "silly". He was sent directly to his room and later had a talk about that not being a nice word.
Just goes to show that kids absorb way more than we may think they do.

Hooray for the missionaries

Today in sacrament meeting the missionaries got up and sang "I Know that my Redeemer Lives" a capella. It was lovely. Brendan stopped playing with his cars to listen. He loves music and being sung too. The Spirit was very strong while they were singing. It was totally quiet and peaceful as they ended. Everyone had enjoyed the musical number. And then my son claps loudly and shouts, "Yay!!" Everyone burst out into laughter. It was too funny!

More Open House pictures

Father to son marriage advice?
Aunt Amber with Eva. She's due with twins any day now. She looked so ready to be done.
My sister, Amanda, with Hailey. She's holding the only granchild with curls, who, ironically, is not hers.
Eva with my aunt Becky
Dane picking his nose
Eva and Great Grandpa

Shana don't look at the next picture. It's feet!
This is me proving that I am a Telford. My grandpa has a really crooked 4th toe on each foot. This has been passed down to all my parents' kids and most of their grandkids. Both my kids have it; that's how I know they are mine (even though Brendan looks nothing like me).
The new bride posing with Amber's belly. Soon enough, Elen, soon enough.

The whole gang!

Antics of toddler boys

I wanted to share two funny stories from this weekend.
Brendan loves to jump from the coffee table to the couch while exclaiming, "To infinity and beyond" (well it sounds more like "Ooo fermi and me to be yon"). He showed all the kids how to do it at my parents' house. Canyon, his cousin, thought it was great. Later, Canny tried it while my Aunt Becky was sitting nearby. Pumping his arms to gain some good momentum, he declared, "Iffy an bee yon". My aunt repeated it to play along. He stopped and wagged a finger at her. "Not your turn," he said.

The other story also involves the boys. I went outside on one of my many trips to check on Brendan and Canny. Brendan was under the trampoline and his cousin was jumping on it. I told Bubbs to get out from under then trampoline, that it would hurt him. I didn't want Canyon to jump on his head. I went out a few other times and always found one of the boys under the trampoline, resulting in my delivering the same message again. The next time I went out Brendan headed me off at the pass, running out from under the trampoline where he had been, and yelled at me to "Go inside house, Mom." He didn't want me to spoil the fun by saying they couldn't be under the trampoline.
I said, "Excuse me! You don't talk like that to your Mommy."
He replied, in a sweet voice, "I want you go inside house PLEASE, Mom," and fixed me with a grin.


Naughty boys. :)

Open House

My brother and new sister-in-law had their open house at my parent's house this past weekend. We went up to be a part of it. It was especially nice since my grandparents were there, along with an aunt and uncle that I had not seen since I was 17 or so. It was a great weekend. There are more pictures to come since everyone had a camera!

I rarely held Eva. So many people wanted to hold her and I was happy to oblige. It was nice to be "baby-free" for a while since she has been so clingy lately. However, she seemed to really like the attention from the extended family as long as I stayed out of sight and earshot. She fell asleep on my uncle twice and loved to play with my Grandma.



My grandpa Morris - love the guy! The house was CRAZY with so many people in it, the babies and toddlers especially. Grandpa said, "You know, I started all this." :)

Canyon and Brendan did not get along so well this trip unless they were outside. They are not good at sharing yet but outside on the trampoline and swingset, you don't need to. This is one shot of Canyon in time-out for something. Utter agony.

The happy couple

Jason had a grand time discussing politics with Daniel (a family friend)and TV with Aaron (a brother-in-law).


Doesn't my niece have the cutest curls? She is going to be the big sister of twins any day now.

I do believe Brendan is taller than his Aunt Tina (who is 5). In this picture she wanted to dance with him. He wasn't having any of it.

I always leave functions like these so grateful for the time I have with family and realizing what a blessing it is to have generations get together.

Random Tag

Eight TV Shows I Love to Watch (in no particular order)
1. Monk
2. Psych
3. Due South
4. Reruns of 80's shows on Hulu.com
No others since we don't have a TV. Sorry, I'm boring.

Eight Things That Happened Yesterday
1. Woke up on blow up mattress in my parents' front room to a noisy three year old who got up WAY too early
2. Ate a yummy breakfast that my dad cooked
3. Watched conference
4. Downloaded pictures from the weekend and played with Photoshop
5. Changed Brendan's clothes three times since he was playing outside at my parent's house almost all day (muddy, diaper accidents, too cold, etc.)
6. Laughed a lot with my sister at the antics of our kids
7. Said goodbye to family I hadn't seen in over 10 years
8. Drove home and unpacked

Eight Favorite Places to Eat (in no particular order)
1. Golden Greek
2. Cheesecake Factory
3. Tsing Tao
4. Oregano's
5. Quizno's
6. Theresa and Johnny's Comfort Food
7. Amici's Gourmet Pizza
8. Grandma's house :)

Eight Things I'm Looking Forward To
1. Getting over my cold
2. Trick or Treat on 4th Street
3. Jason being done with boards
4. My sister having her twins
5. My sister-in-law having her baby boy
6. Our GPS getting here
7. The Petaluma Cornfield Maze
8. Eva getting over her separation anxiety

Eight Things on My Wish List
1. Guitar Hero 1
2. Guitar Hero 4 with drums
3. New jeans
4. New sweaters (pregnancy and childbirth have made so many of my clothes not fit anymore)
5. New camera :)
6. Replacements of my VHS movies with DVDs
7. Lip gloss color that I actually like
8. New entertainment center (not until we move out)

People I Tag
1. Katie
2. Amber
3. Annie
4. Amanda

Our weekend in UT

This past weekend we flew to Utah for my brother's wedding and Jason's brother's ordination. It was great that they coincided and that we got to see all kinds of family. It was a very busy trip (run, run, run . . . wait, wait, wait) and I will spare you most of the details, but here are some pictures and the highlights.
1. Flying with kids is not easy and Jason has sore arms from carrying the car seats through the terminal. Why is it that we always get the gate farthest from check in?

2. The wedding was great. I really enjoyed seeing family (especially the Winns since I don't get to see them much) and watching my only brother bring a new sister into our lives. He looked SO happy. However, I was exhausted when the day was through and I didn't even get to take any pictures. Bummer.

3. Brendan is the worst picture taker ever!! We couldn't coax him to be in half the pictures. Here is one we managed to get him in.

4. We are so grateful that the reception was held in a building with a nursery stocked with toys. I am amazed at how fast it was trashed though.

5. A drive through the canyon between the luncheon and the reception is just what we needed. Sleeping kids and gorgeous landscape. Really, the leaves turning colors are about the prettiest thing I have seen. Once again, no pictures. :(

6. My niece Bostyn is the funniest little girl. She does this sassy dance with one hand on her hip and a saucy look on her face. I wish I had it on film! And my nephew Drew is perhaps the nicest kid his age I know. He is awesome!

7. We have been praying for Jason's brother's family for a long time. The ordination was pretty emotional.

8. Brendan LOVES his Grandpa Jerry and wanted to play with him ALL the time. But he will only call his grandpa by his first name, Jerry, and calls his Uncle Brad "Bruncle Fred" (his brother's name). I think he does this mostly to bug him.

9. Eva is adored by all, not just our family. Too bad she is hitting that stage where all she wants is Mommy.

10. Jason + children + trampoline = stunts