Mom & Dad Questions

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it would be fun. I asked Brayden the following questions about his mom and dad. I asked the mom and dad questions a few days apart to make sure he didn't give similar answers. (but he still did anyways.)

1. What is something mom/dad always says to you?
M: Clean up your toys
D: Be good

2. What makes mom/dad happy?
M: If I tell her she’s beautiful
D: If I obey

3. What makes mom/dad sad?
M: If I hit Tawny and Mommy and myself and Dad too
D: If I don’t obey

4. How does your mom/dad make you laugh?
M: Play silly stuff
D: If I be funny

5. What was your mom/dad like as a child?
M: Lucky Charms and a rectangle
D: Toys and feet
(I’m pretty sure he didn’t understand this question. I tried explaining, but obviously did a very poor job.)

6. How old is your mom/dad?
M: 7
D: 6

7. How tall is your mom/dad?
M: not so tall. Just a little tall
D: Really super tall…..this tall (stretches his arms wide)

8. What is her/his favorite thing to do?
M: Play the piano
D: Clean the house
(I wasn’t aware that Greg enjoyed cleaning the house.)

9. What does your mom/dad do when you're not around?
M: Say “Brayden, where are you? Is Tawny okay?”
D: Say “Brayden where are you?”

10. If your mom/dad becomes famous, what will it be for?
M: Drawing
D: Reading scriptures and doing lessons at church
(Disclaimer: I do not draw. At all. I’m not sure where that came from)

11. What is your mom/dad really good at?
M: Work, reading and driving
D: Cleaning house
(Seriously, what is up with the cleaning house thing? Greg doesn’t even clean that often, only because I try to have it done before he gets home. He’s totally willing to help out)

12. What is your mom/dad not very good at?
M: Walking. She usually runs. But when she walks she falls down so much
D: Play games
(Thanks bud!)

13. What does your mom/dad do for a job?
M: Tell Dan what to do
D: Ride in tractors
(Dan is my boss)

14. What is your mom/dad's favorite food?
M: Apple pie
D: Apple pie
(I had made an apple pie the week earlier and Brayden thought it was the best thing ever. So of course we loved it too.)

15. What makes you proud of your mom/dad?
M: She loves me
D: Playing with me and no yelling

16. If your mom/dad were a cartoon character, who would she be?
M: Kung Fu Panda cause she’s super crazy strong, like a ninja
D: Lightning McQueen cause I don’t know

17. What do you and your mom/dad do together?
M: play school time
D: Read

18. How are you and your mom/dad the same?
M: have big cheeks
D: knees and feet and head and bellies and…. (it went on and on. you get the idea)
(I hope he’s talking about the cheeks on my face. I’m sure he was. He better be.)

19. How are you and your mom/dad different?
M: Mommy has a bigger bottom
D: bigger feet and head and belly and (again, on and on)
(Maybe he wasn’t talking about the cheeks on my face after all. oh well)

20. How do you know your mom/dad loves you?
M: She plays with me or says I love you
D: says I love you

21. What does your mom/dad like most about your dad/mom?
M: Hugs and kisses and cuddles
D: Wedding and married and love
(I think he just started throwing words out there.)

22. Where is your mom/dad's favorite place to go?
M: Sea World
D: Sea World
(Of course!)

So there you go. A glimpse of us through Brayden’s eyes.

Kitchen Table

So I finished this project a week or so ago and just haven't got around to posting the pics. I figured I should since I've had multiple people asked how it turned out. It's not quite what I was going for, but it's better than what it started out as. Here's what it looked like to start with.

The picture is very deceptive. It doesn't show where the finish has been worn through from scrubbing baby filth off of it. It doesn't show the huge crack that runs half way up one side. It doesn't show all the nicks and dents from my kids beating it with their silverware (do all kids do this, or am I just particularly blessed?)

We just didn't have the funds to buy a new table, and I was tired of getting splinters where the finish had worn off. So I decided to refinish it. First of all, have you ever sanded for days and days and days? I would not recommend it. Especially if your project has rounded legs. But if you ever have to do it there is this wonderful thing made by Black n Decker called the "Mouse". It became my best friend over those few days. It's easier to maneuver than a belt sander but is still electric. I digress. Moving on.

To make a long story short I sanded, stained and then refinished the table. Because I picked a dark stain I had to put 1.2 million coats on (that's what is seemed like anyways. I think it was only five.) I painted the chairs, then sanded the edges to antique it a little bit. The color was a little bright so I put a coat of stain over the chairs to mute them a little. It actually worked and I love the look it gave them. Then I had an accident. I got side-tracked and set a paper towel with polyurethane on the seat of one of the chairs. And let it dry. So when I pulled it off, it took chunks of paint with it. There was no way I was starting over, so I just sanded it down and made the other chairs match. Not what I was going for but oh-well. All in all it looks decent and only cost about $35.

Sea World, Great News and Self-Discovery

Sea World: We decided last minute to go to Sea World on Saturday. The kids had a blast and so did Greg and I. Tawny loved the fish and the sharks. Brayden loved the dolphins and the new playground they have there. Have any of you seen it? It's called the Bay of Play and is really interesting. They have a huge tree house with rope ladders, tunnels, bridges, slides...you name it, they have. They also had a water play area which we didn't do this time. But we have year passes so I'm sure we'll be back soon. If anyone wants to make a day of it, let me know. We'd love to go with you. The more the merrier!

Great News: My grandma's surgery went very well. They were able to remove the tumor, but had to also remove a kidney. But they didn't have to remove anything else, which there was a definite possibility of happening. She was able to come home today and seems to be doing great. She was walking around and doing really well. It was a very fast growing tumor. On an x-ray done less than two weeks ago, the tumor was the size of a plum. When they removed it on Wednesday it was the size of a large grapefruit. Her doctor said that usually these types of tumors are the size of a football or a bowling ball by the time they are diagnosed. A BOWLING BALL!! We are so thankful that everything has gone so well up to date, and pray that it will continue to go well.

Self-Discovery: On my last post I made a comment about needing to diet again because I look so large in the picture. But yesterday I bought a new pair of jeans that fit really well and they are a size 6. And it's not just that particular pair of jeans. Everything I tried on in multiple stores were a size 6. That got me thinking; when did my brain start thinking that a size 6 large? I think I may have a distorted view of my weight and what "skinny" really is. And it only applies to me. I don't view or judge others by the same standards. I'm discriminating against myself. Does anyone else do this?

Some Promised Pics & More

In connection with Brayden's primary talk on Sunday about responsibilities, I decided to take pictures of Brayden doing different chores and use them to make some sort of "job" chart. Brayden was helping me match socks and got a little side-tracked. He even got Tawny to join in the fun. In case you can't tell, those are Greg's socks they are wearing. Brayden thought it was so fun. It was too cute and creative to not take their pictures.

They had to makes sure Daddy saw them when he got home.

One of Brayden's other jobs is to put away the clean silverware

They also "help" me dust. This is probably their favorite chore, and they actually do help (a little).
Just random. She does this all the the time.

Brayden played basketball with Papa.

They got tired of using the ball, so Greg decided to dunk Brayden instead.
Here's my haircut. It's a little longer in the front...
And much shorter in the back.

On a side note, there's reason there's not very many pics of me on the blog. Every time I see one I swear off eating ever again. I try to rationalize that the camera adds 5 (or 10) lbs. But I don't think that's true....back to dieting I go. *sigh*

Bits and Pieces Part Two

On Sunday Brayden gave his first talk in Primary. He did so great, wasn't nervous at all. The only "slip-up" he had was when he fell off the stool by the podium. But he shook it off and did great. Elaine, I'll try to post a video of him later on in the week.

I cut my hair short on a whim.....and I love it. At the longest point she cut off 11 inches!! That's just too much hair to have period. It so cute and fun. Pics will follow...

I'm refinishing our dining room set. What a project. I knew it would be a big project but it has been ridiculous. The big time eater was that I decided to stain the table instead of paint it and it took forever. It should be done in a few days from now. Again, pics will follow.

On a much more serious note, my Grandma Wanda (my dad's mom) was diagnosed with cancer earlier this week. She has spindle cell cancer of the organ linings (kidney and spleen). It is pretty rare, rare enough that a google search won't even turn up much. Her surgery to remove a large tumor (size of an orange) is set for next Wednesday. That side of the family has been through a lot recently. My aunt just finished a round of radiation for another very rare cancer that was in her salivary glands. (Just goes to show how special my family is. We don't bother with the common cancers, just the really obscure ones that some doctors haven't even heard of.)Any extra prayers would be really appreciated.

Bits and Pieces...

I have so much to blog about and not much time. So most of this will be totally unrelated.

We went camping with our ward last weekend. We all had so much fun. Brayden did nothing but run around the entire time. I swear he slept for about two days after we got back. Not complaints from me about that. After Tawny took a tumble down a pretty steep sand dune, she decided that unless it involved food, she wasn't so interested. Luckily there was a lot of food.

Brayden and Tawny have been playing so well together recently. They'll go hours without even acknowledging me. Funny, but I've noticed a direct link to my productivity. What a surprise! In fact yesterday I took a shower without a single interruption. It's like I've died and gone to heaven.

Tawny loves everything about her daddy and you can tell she wants to be just like him. I found her in the bathroom with his shoes on. She was trying to walk, but I think those boots weigh about as much as she does.

It has been so great to be close to my family. We've been able to go to a lot of Clint's soccer games and the kids love it. We have dinner with them all the time, or just drop by to say hi. Not to mention that I now have a ton of built-in babysitters. Score! (on a side note, do you see the coats the kids are wearing? It does actually get cold sometimes. it really was freezing!)

I also had a run in with the IRS last week.(never a good thing). So here's the story. We've been looking for a home to buy here in Blythe. We have some friends that are moving this summer and we loved their home. So I spoke with her and made an offer on their home. Literally hours after that we got a notice from the IRS. Apparently there was a mistake on our 2007 taxes. A big mistake. Huge. I don't know how I missed it, but I did. So we paid it. I was able to get the penalty and interest removed by calling and sobbing out a very very sad story, but we still had to pay the difference in taxes owed. Long story short, we don't have quite enough to put down on the home we want. Fantastic. So it's back to renting and saving until we can save enough up again.

Well that's about all for now. Way to end on a positive note huh? We're not too worried. It will all work out, just not how or when we thought.