MaeLyn's Musings

I don't know what to write about today, but I wanted to write something just to stay in the habit. I asked Peter what I should write and he said, "I am a Child of God". Then I asked him if he knew the words to the song, and he said "no". Then I tried singing it and he covered my mouth to make me stop. Oh well. So here is my list of things to do today: 1. Straighten the house (check) 2. Go to the library (I have some books on hold to pick up, and DVDs I need to return today.) 3. Visit the sisters I am assigned to visit teach (must wait until my companion drops off loaves of bread for me to deliver... This has been a crazy month with sickness with us and she's had house guests, so this will have to be it for us this month.) 4. Clean out the fish tank 5. Scoop out the cats' litter (something that must be done daily with 4 cats) 6. Remember to pick up the kids from school at 1:15 since today is early dismissal day. 7. Empty the dishwasher and load ...

It is officially autumn, the leaves have begun changing colors, and there are finally a few leaves falling down. Hannah was excited for this occasion because to her it meant she could get out Dad's rake and rake leaves! She didn't want to rake them into piles to bag and toss - oh no. She wanted to rake them into lines to mark walls and create her dream house in leaves. Because just outside our front door is a slope with three levels, this year she has begun creating a three story house, with a different story on each level. On Saturday, the house had kitchen, living room, bedrooms, a bathroom, a front door and a garage. The kids found a wild grape vine a little up the street, and plucked a bunch of grapes to snack on in their kitchen, using our frisbee for a plate. On Sunday, not being allowed to play outside, the kids were designing their dream houses, complete with indoor pools, bowling alleys, theaters and soda fountains. Yesterday they were back outside moving the walls, en...

There are Mondays when I heave a sigh of relief that the weekend is over. There are other Mondays when I wish the weekend could have gone on a little longer. I'm not sure what I'm thinking today. I loved my weekend, but it left me deep in thought. Saturday evening was the General Relief Society Broadcast. It was emphasized that Relief Society is established after the pattern of the Priesthood. We were told that Relief Society helps us to reach our full potential. We were advised to "mind the gap" between what we believe and what we know and do. We were reminded about the legacy of Charity that was begun by the first Pioneer Relief Society sisters and has been passed down through the years. I left the meeting feeling that I wasn't doing everything that I should be doing, and wondering what I could add to my life to make it more fulfilling. Over the last few weeks, I've been cutting back on the games I've been playing on Facebook, feeling that they were a wa...

Last night John had his first Space Derby! They passed out rocket kits at last month's pack meeting, basically a block of wood with a hole down the middle, a propeller and a few rubber bands. He and Steven worked on sanding it down to the shape they wanted. John cut out the cardstock fins and painted it. He was so proud of it! So last night after dinner the whole family piled into the car to go to the church where the Space Derby was to be held. John got his number (#2) and after a while they had the flag ceremony, opening prayer, and the Derby began. They had a setup with four wires strung across the width of the cultural hall, each wire having a little plastic hanger with to attach the rocket. I think the point was not so much which would be fastest, but which could go the farthest. On his first race, John's rocket beat the other three he was competing against, and got about half away across the room. He was thrilled!  He only got to race his rocket one more time, and that...

I guess I should elaborate on what happened yesterday, and be competely honest with myself.    Yesterday was early dismissal day, so the kids got out of school at 1:15 and had the entire afternoon to run around and play. I was trying to work on Hannah's Halloween costume which I had started while they were still at school, and wasn't paying much attention to what the kids were doing once they had their homework done. I think that is where the trouble began. It was raining off and on all afternoon, and at one point Josh asked me if he could play outside in the rain. I told him "sure" because all summer, that is something they have been doing when it rains. They have a blast. I didn't consider that it was a lot colder today than it had been way back when it used to be summer. (Okay. It was the second day of Autumn. I just wasn't used to it yet.) I think I was vaguely aware that Peter went out as well, not remembering that I had removed his shoes when we got ho...

I know that I was once a very imaginative child. I know that I had imaginary friends, even imaginary puppies (named Copper and Penny) to keep me company as I was growing up. My children seem to have inherited the vivid imagination. John had Tinky and his brother Bonko, and an entire family of their relatives. (He made a family tree showing them all once.) Joshua has an Aunty Rita from China who he visits sometimes, and who gets sick and has her own birthday. I could deal with those just fine. I'd listen to my children tell me stories about their friends and discuss them amongst themselves and they never bothered me too much. Now Peter's stuffed animals have suddenly become very opinionated entities. Recently he's been telling me, "Chippy (the Chipmunk) doesn't want me to have that spoon." "Chippy and Penguino don't like that blanket." "You left Penguino in there in the dark. He's crying!" I'm wondering if this is a psychological...

Today is another cold day. The weather report said it might snow tonight. I am not really ready for snow yet. yes, today is the first day of Fall, but last week the temperatures were still in the 79s and 80s. I kept the boys home from school another day. They are coughing still--that hacking moist kind of cough that makes me wince to hear it. Peter isn't really coughing, but he does have great green gobs of gelatinous goober slime oozing from his nostrils. I look forward to when everyone is healthy again. Yesterday I finally loaded the pictures from our camera onto the computer, and uploaded the pictures from there to Picasa. I realized that we haven't taken as many candid pictures this year as we have in years past, and that most of our pictures were taken on vacations or trips. Why is that? Well, one reason is that I consistently forget to bring the camera anywhere, unless I have it on a packing list somewhere. Part of it may just be that as the kids grow older they are...

Monday morning is when I'm supposed to be my busiest, cleaning the house, recovering from the weekend, maybe getting some laundry going. Instead I'm sitting at my computer with my head in a bit of a haze. Am I still sick? not really. My nose is still stuffy and I have a lingering cough, and a tiny touch of a headache if I think about it, but other than that I feel pretty well. Yet my brain is still a bit fuzzy. I guess I'll take it easy today. I wouldn't want a relapse. The weather is actually cold today! The newspaper said the high would be in the 50's, and after months in the 70s and 80s, that seems COLD! It's also damp outside. It isn't really raining, but it is damp. John and Josh are home from school today, coughing and really congested. I might have left the windows open for the humidity if it weren't so cold out since my humidifier doesn't have a filter for it and my vaporizer is broken. Instead, I have a huge pot simmering gently on the stove...

Sacrament meeting began fifteen minutes ago. I am at home with four children. Steven alone is representing our family at church today. I hope he enjoys the peace and quiet of being able to concentrate on the talks and lessons today. Tuesday morning Hannah woke up after a sleepless night with a headache. She didn't have a fever and she wanted to go to school, so I let her go. Twenty minutes later I got a phone call from the school; she had thrown up. So I picked her up and brought her home. She stayed home on Wednesday as well, running a fever and throwing up. Thursday she was feeling better and I brought her back to school, but I wasn't feeling very well. As the day progressed I felt worse and worse. I wasn't throwing up. What I had was just a terrible head cold. I felt like my sinuses were stuffed and the entire front of my face hurt, even my jaw felt pressure on it. I took Ibuprofin for my headache, but two pills (200mg) did nothing for it. I dug out my 800mg Ibuprofin ...