A Pirate's Life for Me

***Be ye warned . . . lots o' pictures!***

On Saturday, February 11, we had Benjamin's 4th birthday party.  Here's the invite:

Front

(Yes, I designed the heart pirate myself.  You'll see the inspiration for it on Benji's birthday shirt, courtesy of Gymboree, but I did make this one!  I used a combination of GIMP and Picnik to do it.)

Back

It was supposed to start at 2; I was up until about 5am the night before trying to finish everything up (I may or may not have been slightly distracted by watching Downton Abbey at the same time . . .), so it was a little late starting.  I didn't get any pictures of the decor, but that's okay.  It was just some jolly roger flags and crepe paper, really (red, yellow and black; it easily could have been the same for a Lightning McQueen party!).

I originally thought about doing a Monsters, Inc. party, since Benji thinks that Mike Wasowski is hilarious.  Then I had a small epiphany: since there will be a pirate night on our Disney Cruise, I decided we'd have a pirate party and outfit all the lil' buccaneers with pirate paraphernalia.  There's a LOT of stuff on the internet for pirates, pirate parties, etc.  Not much of what I did was original, but it turned out to be pretty fun.

After some of the kids put on their shirts (which I made using skull & crossbones cardboard stencils and Martha Stewart any-surface paint from Michaels), we started with "Pin the Eyepatch on the Pirate."  Everyone got their own bandana, which was used as a blindfold for the game.  Above is Noah, observing his doo-rag.  He later admitted he could see through it, which is why he got it his patch on closer than anyone (his was #3).  Poor little dude--he wasn't feeling well.  :o(  He was a trouper, though.

 

Next was opening the package with a hook.  The hook got bent pretty quickly, but the kids had fun doing it.  It was a big candy bar, and I wrapped it in a few layers.  We gave them each 30 seconds (one minute was too long!), so it took a few minutes.  After we shared the candy bar, we went downstairs for the "boat ride."

Phoebe waiting to be towed. 

Allen tying the tow-rope on

This was actually an original idea; I had this little unused dolly, and I thought the kids could paddle themselves across the living room.  Well, that might have worked except for the carpet.  And the box which I covered with brown poster board wasn't very sturdy, so most of the kids fell out of it trying to get out.  We did a little I-Spy thing, where the boat rider had to close their eyes, and find

Ella waiting for her turn in the "boat

the red sash.  I intended to sew those, but that didn't happen.  Instead, they frayed all over everything, but they did look pretty good.  I also wanted to make a spotting scope out of empty cans.  Yeah, that didn't happen either.  I just ran out of time!  Everyone managed to keep themselves busy, between watching Seuao's rugby (or was it soccer?) game in the background, taking funny pictures, etc.


As I was taking this picture, I believe Sarah was taking the picture below with Zekey.      BTW, I owe a huge shout-out to Sarah for taking so many great pictures.  I was a little busy, and the ones I got were pretty pathetic.  Thanks so much, babe.

Love this one! 

Lex channeling John Lennon

After the marginally successful boat-rides, we had a treasure hunt.  I didn't get pictures of the clues, but I printed them out, and tried to make them look old by soaking them in really concentrated herbal tea.  I think it works better if you use real tea, because mine just turned an ugly shade of pale yellow-green.  *sigh*  Well, the kids seemed to like it anyway.  The first clue was:

"Where the Wild Things Are and the Skies are Blue
Is Where You Will Find Clue #2."

It took them a little while to get it (though Nanny was pretty excited when she figured it out!), but it was in Noah's bedroom.

Ella took it upon herself to read all the clues, and while I'm not sure the other kids appreciated it, it was fine.  The age difference makes it a little hard, and she really does put up with a lot.  Ella's such a good kid.  Anyway, the second clue read:

"In the Back Yard, Under the Tree
Is Where You Will Find Clue #3"

I put in the little notes, just in case you were wondering how much work I put into this thing.

At this point, I was trying to hold onto Benji and take pictures and help with the clues, but the boy ran over to the trampoline.  So I tried to get him off while the kids went onto the next clue.  I didn't get any pics of that one.  This clue read:

"Close to some Flowers And Near the Front Door
Is Where You Will Find Clue #4."

Of course, there weren't any flowers (hello, Mary--it's February!).  But the clue that was there read:

"On the Back Porch In Sand Without Measure
Is Where You Will Find Your Buried Treasure."

This wasn't an original idea.  I read it on some blog, and I thought it would be really cute.  I put Allen in charge of purchasing and hauling sand . . . well, it didn't cost much, but it was pretty gravelly (is that a word?).  Anyway, by the time I got Benji off the trampoline, the kids had found the "buried treasure" (I had Dave put little pretend jewels and kaleidoscopes and the swords in the sand, which was in the ginormous bucket that Mrs. X gave us to bathe baby Benji in.  At least it has come to some use!

So that was the end of the games.  Benji wasn't much of a participater; he's so caught up in his own world that being social (even at your own birthday party!) just isn't a priority.  Oh well--the rest of the kids had fun, and we are all a lot closer to being ready for Pirate Night!  Of course, Lex is going above and beyond by making awesome costumes for her crew.  If she weren't so freakin' sweet, I'd totally have an inferiority complex around her.  But then, Lexy has threatened to moon me, so I guess I'd better watch out anyway. ;o)

Captain Dave.  Awesome.

Nanny helping out the Cap'n with his sleeves, and Bex ever-ready for the picture.

We then did cake and presents.  (P.S., thanks for making the cuppy-cakes and the GORP, Mach.  You're a lifesaver.)  The cake was pretty pathetic--a red velvet cake from Costco, but when I bought it, the decorators had all left.  So one of the bakery chicks did it for me.  Not great, but I didn't have time for anything else.  Oh well.

I love the look on Benjamin's face!  Four big ones!

I didn't (i.e., Sarah didn't) really get any pictures of the presents, but that's Benji wandering around in the background, while I'm sitting on the floor opening gifts.  Lily was looking pretty tough here!

Benji got some great gifts--lots of books and puzzles, some finger paints, some clothes, etc.  Everyone was very generous, and Benji is loving them.  We haven't put him in the cute dressy outfit, but we will on the Cruise.  Thanks for the gifts, everyone!

Here are some more random pictures.  Again, Sarah got most of these. 

Allen, in all his scruffy glory

Great shot of Bex and Zeke

Phoebe!

Nanny and Sabrina (with her sword)

Auntie Sarah and Benji, who was very excited to see himself on the screen

Well, that's about all I can come up with.  A lot of the party was, erm, half-baked, but all in all, I think it came off okay.  I'm glad it's done, and I'm glad the kiddos had fun.  Happy Birthday to my sweet little valentine!  I love you all the way to the moon and back!

Make This World A Happy Place

As some of you may know, I was recently called to be a Relief Society teacher in my ward.  Do you know how long it has been since I have taught adults?  A long time.  And it has been even longer since I have actually read the manual.  In trying to do this thing without totally screwing up, I was reading through the George Albert Smith manual, I came across this amazing quote.  I wanted to put this up in my home, so I felt the need to make it into Subway Art.  This is my first foray into that world, but I think it turned out pretty well.  FYI, I used GIMP to make this. 

Isn't that quote just beautiful?  President Smith wrote it shortly after the end of World War II.  I think it's equally appropriate for today's world.  It really spoke to me, especially since I realized that George Albert Smith was called to be an apostle at age 33.  Guess how old I am.  I don't think I'll ever be as righteous and good and kind as he was, but I can bring {some} happiness into this sad world.

I think the art turned out pretty nicely too, even if it made me almost late to work today (that and the ridiculous parking situation . . . grrrrr).  I made it into a .png file with a transparent background, so you can change colors if you wish (I used a gradient fill for this version).

You can also make it pretty with digital scrapbooking, like this (paper courtesy of Shabby Princess--the Plentiful collection):

You should be able to click on these and download them if you wish.  The black & white and the rainbow one are .png files, and the golden version is a .jpg.  They should all be printable as 8x10's, but I hope there is enough resolution and margin for enlarging and/or cropping to other sizes.  I hope you can appreciate this quote as much as I do.  Please leave me a comment if you download it; I might consider making more.  :o)

Mothers of the Disappeared

Ugh.  I'm so bugged!  I did an awesome best-dressed post on the Golden Globe awards, and I was curious as to why I didn't get any feedback at all.  Well, I realized that it wasn't posted, so I published it.  Unfortunately, something happened during the creation of said post, and 90% of it was deleted.  So I tried to do it again (a shorter version), and it still won't upload.  Gah!  Sometimes I love Google, and sometimes I just want to kick them in the you-know-what.  Like the whole Google+ thing.  Personally, I think it's obnoxious, but they seem to be funneling everyone into being a member of it.  I am a member (friend me if you want, but I won't be offended if you don't), but it's just not that relevant to me.  Maybe it will be in the future, but right now it just irritates me.

Anyway, on to more serious stuff.  I want to write a bit about the drama here in Utah.  Actually, it's mostly in Washington, but it's all over Utah news, because it started here.  This is a good timeline of what happened.  Susan Cox Powell (no relation) disappeared from their home in West Valley City in December 2009.  From the beginning, the whole thing was suspicious.  Why would Josh Powell (her husband) take their kids for a "late night camping trip" in the cold desert in winter?  Those kids would have been ages 2 and 5 at the time.  How does that make sense to anyone? That was his story, and that's why he was the only real person-of-interest in the case.  Unfortunately, nothing could be pinned to him, so he was never officially charged with anything.

Then the drama started, between Susan's family and Josh's family.  There were nasty words exchanged, accusations, and even a confession on the part of Josh's father that he was in love with Susan (but that's a whole other story; the dad is currently in jail for voyeurism and possession of child pornography).  Josh took his kids and moved to Washington state to live with his creep-o father, but there was a raid on the house they lived in, which lead to the father's incarceration and the removal of his kids from his custody.  They were placed with Susan's parents here in Utah.

Last week, as Josh was still trying to regain custody of his children, a judge ordered him to undergo a "psychosexual evaluation."  I don't know what happened between that point and today, but his children were given a supervised visitation today (Sunday).  The social worker who brought the children to his house in Washington said that the kids left the car and ran up to the door before she could get there.  By the time she got to the front door, Josh had locked her out, and she said she smelled gas.  Shortly thereafter, the house blew up.    Apparently, he used some kind of accelerant to make the house burn faster, and ten minutes before the explosion, he sent an e-mail to his attorney, saying "I'm sorry, goodbye." 

How could you do that to your kids? I can't imagine the scrutiny Josh has gone through over the past couple of years, and having his kids taken away must have been terrible for him, but how can you feel bad for this guy?  How selfish and cowardly can a person be, to kill himself and his innocent children?  It breaks my heart.  Truly.  It sounds like a Lifetime movie, but one without a happy ending. 

I certainly don't know what was in Josh Powell's heart today, but I hope he suffers for what he has done.

Time Keeps Ticking Away

8pm on a Saturday.  What am I doing?  Sitting at the Surgery front desk, blogging.  There is only one room going right now, and Ann Marie is scrubbing.  *sigh*  I should offer her a break, but I'm hoping they'll be done soon.  Dr. Larcom isn't one to spend more time than necessary in surgery.

I am getting excited for our cruise--only 3 weeks until we sail!  Aaah!  Here's the rub: we don't have our passports yet.  I have been putting it off too long, so now we have to do the expedited and overnight shipping thing.  For an extra charge of $60.  Grr.  We got our federal tax refund back today, so at least we can afford to do it now.  I also need to take my car in to the dealer--it smells like gas in the cabin, so I always have to have a window cracked.  Allen says it's something about the air intake valve . . . whatever.  I also had a rattling, which I believe was part of a panel cover on the bottom of my car.  I think it broke when I hit something a few weeks ago (I'm pretty sure it was a cat, who came out of nowhere on a very dark night, though I never did find a carcass).  Anyway, it would tap-tap-tap when I would drive more than 30mph, until I was on I-15 one day and I think it broke off.  I don't think there's a problem, but I should probably get it checked out anyway.

(Update: 30min later, and the surgery is done.  I went in to help clean up, and now I'm back here at the front desk.  Now I just have to hang out until 11pm.  Not my favorite, but hey--getting paid to blog is pretty sweet.)

I meant to do a month-by-month recap of 2011.  We'll see how well I remember last year.

January: I had my tonsils out in late December (by cute Dr. Dahl . . . LOVE HIM!), so I took a few days off in the beginning of the year.  I turned 32, and Benjamin was diagnosed with Autism.  Worked full-time at PCMC-Riverton.

February: Benjamin turned 3.  He started preschool at Upland Terrace Elementary.  Worked full-time @ PC-R.  Released as Primary Chorister, called as Relief Society Pianist.

March: Allen turned 38.  Worked full-time @ PC-R.

April: Easter.  I can't remember much else.

May:  U2 concert!  There were a couple of live internet broadcasts of other U2 shows that I listened to (and danced around to while Benji destroyed the kitchen).  Memorial Day.  Baby Zeke was born.  I dislocated my right shoulder.  I worked full-time until that incident.  School finished for Benji.

June: Weather was gorgeous--a late Spring.  Spent a night in Coalville.  Had shoulder surgery.  Off work (I couldn't with my injury): short-term disability.  Started watching "Signing Time" videos with the boy.

July:  Lots of family activities, which I was actually able to attend since I was off work.  Granny's 80th Birthday shindig.  Grandmother visited.  Started physical therapy (2x/week).  Final Harry Potter movie.  Off work.

August:  Continued physical therapy.  Took vacation to California on the last week of my leave.  Went back to work @ PC-R on August 15.  Benji started preschool again, this time @ Lincoln Elementary.  Allen would take him to school in the mornings, pick him up, and drop him off at Lynndi's (our babysitter) while he napped.  Allen worked 7pm-4am.  I would pick him up from Lynndi's when I got off work.

September: Continued physical therapy.  Worked full-time @ PC-R.

October:  Completed (graduated from) physical therapy.  Started to sing in BWAS Choir (rehearsals every Sunday).  NFHP in Logan.  Worked full-time @ PC-R.  Applied for and hired for full-time position at IMC.  Martine passed away.

November: Worked full-time @ PC-R until 11/11.  Started full-time at IMC on 11/14, working day-shift (except for holidays).  BWAS Choir Practices, auditioned for solo (rejected, thankfully).  Learned about Cruise @ Mia-punzle's birthday party.  Thanksgiving.  Black Friday shopping with Peggy.

December: Worked full-time days @ IMC, orienting to Neuro, Robot, Spines, etc.  Allen's schedule changed to 4am-1pm mid-month, in anticipation of mine changing at the beginning of the year.  Allen's mother Tollene came out to stay with us while our schedules overlapped.  She slept on the couch and stayed with us from December 11 until January 3.  NFCP.  BWAS Choir Concerts @ Libby Gardner Hall on 12/20 and 12/21.  Christmas.  New Years Party.

Well, that was the year in a nutshell.  I think most of that was covered in individual blog entries, though I know I missed some big events.  I took lots of pictures, but not all of them made it to the blog.

If I had to use one word for the year, it would probably be "painful."  My shoulder hurt, and I had to sleep on the couch all summer.  Physical Therapy hurt.  Losing Martine hurt.  Leaving PC-Riverton hurt.  But there were a lot of good things about 2011 too: spending the summer with my boy (even if lifting him and changing him and bathing him with one arm hurt), spending time with family and friends, singing in the choir, etc. 

There is a lot to be grateful for.  I'm grateful I only had a calling as the R.S. Pianist--anything else would have been too much for me to deal with.  Plus, I can usually keep it together when I'm playing.  If I'm singing, I'm pretty liable to cry (like I did nearly every week in the choir).  I am grateful I have a job where I can get my hours without having to use all my PTO or being sent home early (I have about 90 hours saved up now!  It has been a LONG time since I have had that many!).  I'm grateful Benji is in school at Lincoln--he seems to be learning a lot more with his new teacher.  I'm grateful I get to take a nap while Benji is in school.  I'm grateful Tollene was able and willing to stay with us in December--having her here was so nice.  I'm grateful for all the time I was able to spend with my family.  They are my best friends.

As for the New Year . . . I haven't joined Weight Watchers yet.  I still need to.  We have been doing a "Cruise to Lose" weight-loss challenge as a family, and although I'm certainly not winning, I am down a few pounds.  Most of it came off when I stopped drinking Diet Coke.  I am drinking a lot more water and milk these days, but I still miss it.  A lot.   I think I'll fall off the wagon for the cruise, though I'd rather not go through the withdrawal headaches again.  We'll see.

So here's January's recap: New Years party.  Started working evenings (3-11pm the first week of the pay period, 11am-11pm the second week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday).  Sent Tollene home.  Benji back in preschool; started taking the school bus.  Craft day with the girls on January 16 (Human Rights Day).  I turned 33.  Read the Hunger Games series.  Birthday dinner with Peggy @ The Mandarin.  Girls nights with Bethany, Brittany and Allison @ Pizza Factory, and sushi with DeLayna.

And now we're into February.  Time really does fly.  I can't believe my baby will be four next week.  I can't believe how much I have to do for this party!  Arrrr!  If only I could bring my sewing machine to work.  Somehow, I don't think Dusty would approve. ;o)