A Young Authoress

*Warning: The following post contains gratuitous amounts of parental pride and a teeny, tiny bit of bragging. Read at your own risk.*

We are newbies to the whole public school thing this year. Maryn is almost done with first grade and we are finally getting the hang of it. We have watched Maryn really blossom and grow this year, and it has truly been a sight to behold. Not only has she grown physically, but socially and emotionally as well. We are very proud of the little girl she is becoming. She is cute, friendly, funny, helpful, smart, and affectionate with the people she loves. She really is a pleasure not only to us, her family, but also her friends and teachers. So when she got a little recognition from school for some of those previously mentioned attributes, we were a little tickled that we're not the only ones who notice how talented and wonderful she is. It was kinda validating to us as her parents. We're glad that this past year has shaped up to be a successful year in her life, and hopefully one she'll look back on with happy memories.

You may remember her tooth drama from months past. She had shark teeth for awhile there, until the first one finally came out (thanks to a little help (tugging) from her Dad.) Anyway, she decided to write about her (traumatic) big event for her writing assignment back in January. The books were submitted to a "Publishing Center", where they were typed up, illustrated, bound, and and we didn't hear anything until recently when she was chosen, along with 2 other first graders from her school to attend the District Young Author's Conference. She (okay, we) were excited about the invitation. I remember going to these Conferences as a kid in the same district and it brought back some good memories for me too.



She attended the Conference with Mark a couple weeks ago. From what I heard, it was fun to see the other books on display, enjoy the entertainment (storytellers called Magic Carpet), and participate in the workshops they had for the kids.



Here she is with her book, "The Loose Tooth", hopefully one of many more to come!!

Fighting for the Cause

Saturday the 31st was the annual Susan G. Komen "Race for the Cure" in Detroit. I've been wanting to do this race for the past 2 years, and for one reason or another wasn't able to. It's a freebie race for me as Compuware pays entry fees and provides parking, etc. It's also a great cause, and has been on my mind lately as Mark's Aunt has just recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently battling this disease. I also wanted to do another 5K and see if I could improve my time. So there you go. The girls were also excited to cheer me on again too. So far, they haven't gotten bored of it, so I can't complain. We showed up to Compuware a little late, but still had some time to get tattoo'd and painted with the breast cancer logo. The girls also got free balloon animals and beads, and then we headed up Woodward towards Comerica Park, which is where the starting line was.

It was jam-packed. Very crowded and kind of chaotic. One we got to Comerica it was still another 2-3 blocks to the starting line. Because I had gotten there late, I didn't find my buddies to run with, so Mark and the girls agreed to stay with me until I started. That meant they had to keep walking up Woodward and navigate the crowds. It started wearing on them (queue whining), so I left them to eat their packed breakfast and walked the rest of the way on my own.

The starting line was like barely 3 feet wide for literally thousands of runners and walkers, and nobody had timing chips, so I have no idea when I actually started. Furthermore, it was like the running of the bulls in Madrid once you leave the gate, weaving in and out between the bodies and trying not to run over the walkers and get a decent pace going. That slowed me down as well. The event itself was fun. They had bands set up on nearly every corner playing all kinds of music for us to run to, and there were also lots of high school cheerleaders rooting us on from the sidelines. Everyone was very enthusiastic and it made it enjoyable. The thing that especially "got me" was seeing a woman in pink running alongside me every now and then. The runners wearing the pink t-shirts were the survivors, and seeing them run or walk really kind of choked me up a little and reminded me what this whole thing was about. I did pretty well up until the last mile or so when my bladder started to reach max capacity, and I got really hot. When I saw the finish line, I started to sprint and got a little carried away in the moment and started whooping it up a little. I think I was yelling, "go, go, go" or something. Afterwards I was kind of embarrassed, but it helped to rally my energy. I think I came in around 28 minutes, which for me is my best time yet for a 5K. My last was somewhere between 31 and 32 with no crowds to dodge. Of course after I finished I immediately had to find the bathroom, so I didn't get any "after-the-race" shots.

Overall, it was a fun event and I'm glad I got to contribute in a small way to such a great cause..."racing for the cure!"

"Suzy, You're Absolutely 'Glowing' Tonight!"

My sister-in-law, Shalee issued this challenge on her blog yesterday…

“Alright readers, I hereby challenge you to a blog-off. I want to see the best
story you have, may it be a hit to your pride or at the cost of another’s. You
know, the story that you tell at parties that gets everyone rolling on the
floor, the story that makes you laugh when you think about it, or, if you are
one of those unfortunate people, the legendary story that may be told at your
expense. Let’s see it, the good, the bad, the ugly and the down right
hilarous....”

I am up for the challenge, as embarrassing as it may be. Please read at your own risk. And consider yourselves challenged in turn. I better not be the only one who ponies up an embarrassing moment or two. Let’s hear some stories!!

It was fall of 1988. I was just beginning my freshman year of high school at Stevenson. I was 14 and just entered the realm of stake dances and youth conferences. I loved going to both, and was so excited at my new prospects for meeting Mormon guys from other wards (because my Ward’s pickins were pretty slim) and meeting up with my girls camp peeps to giggle and act aloof. The theme for the dance was black and white. I don’t know what kind of theme that is supposed to be looking back, but the decorations were, of course, black and white and people were supposed to dress in black and white. So I made my best effort to go with the flow. I remember scouring my closet for a white shirt and couldn’t find anything that was just plain white. So instead, I grabbed a cream colored mock turtleneck shirt and pulled it over my giant, ratted bangs and called it good.

My brother Ryan and I usually drove to these Stake dances together, and then we would immediately abandon each other at the door to hang with our own homies. I spotted my crowd and we probably ran off to the bathroom together to spray our ratted hair with more aqua net or apply some more electric blue eyeliner to our already eerily blue shadowed eyes. We eventually made our way to the dance floor and started rocking out to some sweet 80’s tunes…maybe “Ebony & Ivory” by Stevie Wonder to go with the dance theme. At that point, I realized that part of the decorations for the black and white themed dance were black lights positioned at each of the four corners of the dance floor. It was actually pretty cool looking. Everybody’s white clothing and teeth glowed and it was quite a psychedelic experience.

The first slow song came on, and we all filed into two rows on either side of the dance floor, trying to act cool and like we didn’t care if we got asked to dance. Eventually I got asked and got asked and got asked. I was on a streak. But it wasn’t the norm for me. I started getting a bit suspicious. At one point I noticed that the guys in our little dancing circle were kind of fixated on a certain part of my anatomy while dancing. What the!?! It’s not like I have ANYTHING to stare at. Even at age 14, I was barely in an A-cup. Regardless, I knew that that’s what they were looking at. So I looked down to see what all the fuss was about. And that’s when I noticed. My little white A-cup training bra was glowing right through my cream-colored mock turtleneck!! The horror!! And the realization that I had been dancing my little heart out completely unaware of my immodesty caused me to run for the hills. I couldn’t go back into the gym to get my brother to drive me home because I was sure that everyone had seen my little white bra, and I just couldn’t stand another minute of humiliation. I sent in one of my friends to get him and being the older brother he was at that point of my life, he acted like I was invisible. I called my Mom from the pay phone and I don’t think they were home either. I remember I finally found somebody to give me a ride home, no thanks to my insensitive older brother.

I didn’t let that experience keep me away from Stake dances, but I sure felt a little awkward at church the next day. There wasn’t a whole lot left up to the imagination with me after that for a lot of people, if you know what I mean. Ugh!!

Gettin' Crazy in Toledo

We took a trip to the Toledo Zoo as part of our Memorial Day vay-cay. We went on Saturday, because the Weather Man kept warning us of torrential downpours on Monday. (He was wrong!) Regardless, we had a good time and really enjoyed seeing something new. The orangutan exhibit was really cool. Avery kept calling them "rango-tangoes". We got really close to their natural habitat (only separated by glass), and got to watch a whole little family interact. It was a Dad (he was seriously huge), Mom, and two kids, one was an active little baby. It was really captivating, and we spent entirely too much time just watching their every (so human-like) move. We also went to the Carousel.



Maryn is very enthusiastic about the carousel! We also saw some of the other exhibits including the Aviary. The picture below is our Avery in the Aviary.



The picture below "cracks" me up. I thought these little shells were so cute and their expressions are perfect. My little "chicks".



We did not go to the Butterfly House at this zoo. For some reason, they charge separate admission. At the Detroit Zoo, it is free. So we boycotted, but still got our picture in front of the building.



It was a fun day...nice weather, and nice company. We caravan'd with the Griswold's and had a yummy lunch at Applebee's. I think we'll definitely return to Toledo! I remember going there as a kid and they had a really cool Panda exhibit. I was kinda sad there weren't any pandas there this time. Does anyone know what happened to them?

Kids...Something to Think About Today

I get emails from Bright Horizons, which is the company that runs the daycare center in my building. They have lots of parental support and ideas that are easy to digest and think about. The one that came just recently was really good, so I decided to post it here.

Siblings and Birth Order: Does it Really Make a Difference?

Life with Siblings

Our children didn’t get to plan when they were born (and for some of them, it might not have been in our plans either!). If our children tend to have or develop certain characteristics that are associated with their birth order, how can we as parents help them be successful and self-confident?

First Born

--Help them develop high standards and expectations without being a perfectionist.
--Reassure them that excellence does not mean perfection.
--Encourage them to play and enjoy life and not to worry constantly about academics or other responsibilities.
--Develop a family culture of “mistakes are okay.”
--Fill your home with humor and let them learn to laugh at themselves.

Middle Born

--Help them to see their skills and talents.
--Discourage them from comparing themselves to others, especially their siblings.
--Encourage them to share their feelings and thoughts.
--Value their sense of freedom, but expect responsibility.
--Cultivate their social attributes.

Last Born

--Value their relaxed view of life, but encourage greater responsibility.
--Accept their need for attention, but encourage them to listen to others.
--Challenge them to help others.
--Enjoy and encourage their ability to be entertaining and influential.

Parenting Two or More

Regardless of birth order, children grow and develop at different rates. Children are individual people with unique, distinct personalities who share love and rivalry. What can we do to effectively parent? According to The Field Guide to Parenting by Shelley Butler and Deb Kratz:

Give each child the attention and love he or she needs. Although it is not uncommon for parents to prefer one sibling over another at times, depending on the children’s ages, interests, abilities, and temperament, our children may be aware of our feelings through our words or actions. It is also common for these preferences to change over time as the children grow and change.

Accept that siblings argue, but realize ambivalence toward siblings is typical. It is common for siblings to be fighting one minute and be comforting the next. Our children will argue and fight for many reasons:
--Jealousy. Some children feel that their sibling is liked or loved more.
--Too much togetherness. Some children have a lower tolerance for spending lots of time with a sibling.
--Independence. Some younger children argue to prove their independence from older siblings.
--Possessiveness of things. Children want control over their own things and argue or fight when that control is threatened.
--Temperament. Children with differing temperaments may have more trouble getting along together.
--Lacking the skills needed to share, compromise, control impulses, and negotiate.

Giving Each Child Attention

When we finally fall into bed at night, the question of whether we gave each of our children enough attention sometimes comes to mind. As long as we didn’t leave one at school, we’re probably doing okay, but here are a few more tips for spending time with each child:

--Make a date with each child. Take each one alone to lunch, the park, or a place of his or her choice. Schedule the dates on your calendar so everyone gets a turn.
--Schedule simultaneous playdates for your other children so you can spend more time with one child.
--Use everyday activities to connect with your children. Have conversations on the ride home from school, while you are cooking, or during any family chores or activities.
--Tell children specifically why you love them. If she complains when you're hugging her sister, give her a hug right then too. Don't try to talk her out of feeling threatened by the affection you show toward a sibling.
--Help each child. If a child is having trouble getting his homework in on time, ask him how you can help to accomplish the task.
--Encourage children to express feelings. Help them understand and accept those emotions. Acceptance of a child's feelings communicates love.
--Show children that you notice their accomplishments. You don’t have to say it in front of their siblings. Do it as you tuck each into bed each night.

Despite childhood bickering and periodic estrangements, the sibling relationship is often the one constant connection that people have in their lives, from the beginning to the end. Helping young children develop good, positive sibling relationships can bring about many years of love, support, and belonging.

I learned a lot from this quick little essay about kids—birth order and siblings. I was reminded that my children are different people with different needs and temperaments and have to be handled…differently. What works for one as far as discipline, encouragement, etc. does not necessarily work for the other. Also, I was reminded that it is important to recognize them as individuals instead of just lumping them together all the time. Too much togetherness is often a mistake that we make in spending time together as a family, we need to start doing date nights again where we spend time with them individually. This also applies to disciplining and acknowledging their accomplishments, etc. Sometimes I’ll look at Avery as she is throwing her body around and whining at the top of her lungs and wonder what she’s doing. And then I’m reminded that she’s 2 years younger than Maryn and can’t be expected to be at the same level she is. I also have to be careful to praise each one of them for their own accomplishments and remind Avery that her time will come to be doing things that Maryn is already doing. Anyway, I thought it was interesting and learned a few things in the process.

How about another tag?

This one was from Mark's blog. Even though I love them, I promise not to have this many lists next week. Have a Happy Memorial Day weekend!

1. I can never have too many . . . measuring cups and spoons. Right now I have 2 glass, and 3 sets of stackable cups. I also have 2-3 sets of spoons. I really like to measure stuff and have exact proportions for recipes.

2. I'm terrified when . . . Mark is driving and he gets really into the story he’s telling and starts looking at me to see my reaction instead of the line up of brake lights RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!!

3. I can't get enough of . . .vacation days from work. Right now I only get 10 days for the whole year. It’s just not enough.

4. I have always wanted . . . cable or satellite television. There have been many tempting offers, but I know I would be addicted to HGTV and FOOD network and be entirely useless from the hours of 7 pm-11 pm, and would probably stay up all night!!

5. It bothers me when . . . people can’t admit they’re wrong. Like today on the phone with the school secretary. Her first inclination was to be defensive and blame something on us, rather than just softening up, admitting that they made a mistake and asking what she could do to fix it or help us to feel better.

6. I dream about . . . living overseas again. I wonder what it would be like to just work and live in a different country.

7. I would never . . .wear my “underclothing” two days in a row. It just gives me the heeby-jeebies.

8. I always . . . remember to wash my hands after I use the “loo”.

9. I will . . .catch up on my scrapbooking someday.

10. I love . . . changing into my pj’s after work, and settling in for the night, not having anywhere to go or do other than make dinner, help with homework, watch tv, and do a little laundry now and then. It’s become kind of a pleasant little ritual.

Suzyish Randomness

My friend Carey tagged her readers with this list. Ever the sucker for a list, I was happy to comply. Thanks Carey! If you like it, go do your own!

*Edited to add: This list is for 8 random things about you.*

1. I have never ski’d. How do you spell that anyway? Skiied, skiid, skid? Maybe it’s “gone skiing”. Anyway, I have never been. Mostly due to my fear of heights and speed, but also due to my lily-liver chicken fear of falling and breaking something or making a fool of myself. I should probably hit the slopes someday just to say I tried and/or did it, but for now, no skiing for me.

2. My right eye has been twitching for over a week. I finally looked it up on Google this morning because it’s really getting annoying. The reasons for my twitch are either stress, anxiety, fatigue, and/or lack of sleep. Hmmm…that would pretty much sum up my life lately. I figured it was the fatigue thing, so I actually went to bed early last night and even missed the final (painstakingly long) results show for DWTS!! I missed Kristi taking home the globe!! I thought that would cure the twitching. It hasn’t. I wore my glasses today in one last effort to get rid of my twitch. Maybe it has something to do with my contacts. Anyway, it’s just the right eye and it’s just my top lid. Uncontrollable, feels like a spasm, sometimes just a couple times, sometimes longer. It’s bugging the heck out of me.

3. I am really quite crude. Some of you may laugh because you already know this about me, yet others have not been exposed to this (shameful) side of my personality. When the doors are closed (and locked), and I am in the presence of my family only, I have been known to revert into a pre-adolescent, disgusting, giggling child when it comes to bodily functions and humor. I know that there are some of you who would be shocked and horrified by this, and I’m sorry for you. However, this is one of those things where I’m just coming clean for the sake of my blog’s integrity. You know what makes this worse? That my daughter’s think it’s funny now too. EEK! Even Dad has more class in our house these days! (I can’t believe I just admitted that!)

4. I am a pack rat. By nature, I am extremely sentimental. I have saved stuff since I can remember. I packed it away like a squirrel gathering nuts for winter. When I was a Beehive, we decorated cardboard boxes to be used as keepsake boxes and mine was filled to the rim with construction paper paintings, old spelling tests, retainers, handmade tissue holders made out of yarn and that Quickpoint plastic stuff, puzzles with pieces missing, teddy bears you get for free from pharmaceutical companies, Avon jewelry bought from a garage sale, etc. Over the past few years, I’ve forced myself to purge some of it. I’ve narrowed it down to one plastic tub now for all things from my growing up years, 1 tub for mission memorabilia, and 1 tub of the girls’ baby stuff. But to make matters worse, I’ve started tubs for each of them now too. And the levels are rising. I think if I went unchecked, I could have the potential for being on Oprah someday on one of her hoarding episodes. Except it’s not stuff that I’m going out and buying for no reason, it’s stuff that I just can’t seem to throw away or part with.

5. I love naming children. I have always loved putting combinations of beautiful names together thus creating the ultimate child’s name. Since I was a teenager, I started recording different name combinations in my journals for my future posterity. I fell in love with girl names including: Linnea Rose, Emma, Catherine, and Fae was always my ultimate middle name. I figured I’d have to just have girls because I didn’t really like any of the boy names out there. I did have a few that I liked growing up however. They included: Micah, Zachary, and Taylor. After Mark and I were engaged and starting talking about having kids, I shared some of my coveted names with him and ping, ping, ping, he shot them all down. He apparently had the same preoccupation with naming children and had a collection of his own since boyhood. These included Ivy, Lake, and Parker. Needless to say, we had a tough time with naming our girls. But we loved it! We bought 2 different books and spent many hours reading over the books and making long lists. Finally Mark came home one night from delivering pizza in his little Geo Metro. I was probably 4 or 6 months pregnant, and he said, “what about Maryn?” And it was perfect. It’s kind of in honor of my 2 Grandmothers, both named Mary, with a little twist on the end. The Elizabeth comes from my sister Erin’s middle name. She was just leaving on her mission when Maryn was born and we thought it was appropriate. If Maryn hadn’t been Maryn, she would have been Avery because we always just really loved the name (found it in a book), and her middle name, Jane, is a family name on both sides for us. I love Jane just as much as I love Avery and we call her that as a nickname a lot. So if you ever want help or ideas with names, I’m your gal. So far, I’ve loved everything that any of my family or friends has used.

6. I flunked out of College German. It still stings as I write it. I took German in high school and loved it. In college, I had to take a language as a requirement for my English major, so I chose German again. Except the class was every day…as in 5 days a week, at noon, as in lunchtime, and attendance was mandatory, as in if you didn’t go every day, you failed. Needless to say, after I missed a couple classes it all went downhill really, really fast. The teacher wasn’t as compassionate as I would have hoped and he failed me…just outright. It hurt, and I felt terrible. 4 credits of a big fat E on a report card does not do well for an overall GPA, nor for parents who are working their butts off to support my flunky behind. It’s not a pleasant memory or confession to make.

7. I have only kissed 5 boys in my lifetime…Mark is #5. I was a late bloomer I guess. I didn’t date in high school at all really. The two dates I did go on were with Todd Moss and they were totally pity dates on both our parts. I asked him to Homecoming the year he moved here ‘cause I knew he didn’t know anybody and well I guess I had a teensy, weensy crush on him at the time. He asked me to Christmas dance the next year ‘cause his parents only wanted him to date Mormon girls and I was the default. My first year at Ricks wasn’t spent going on tons of dates like you’d imagine, it was spent in Dorm 5, cracking up with my peeps on a nightly basis, making late night trips to Perkins in Idaho Falls, or walking to Wal-Mart to buy peanut butter cups and popcorn. It wasn’t a dating year for me. My 2nd year at Ricks (hi Andrea!), I guess I went a little hog wild in the dating department. Because I had never really dated before, I didn’t know how to balance my work/life ratio. My grades suffered (read #6), but I sure learned a lot about love!! That was the year I met Mark, although I didn’t actually date him until much, much later.

8. I have to make my bed before I can sleep in it. Before I went back to work, I made the beds every day, most often in the mornings after breakfast, after getting dressed and ready to go for the day. I love the way they look, and feel. One of my very favorite things is clean sheets, but straight sheets neatly tucked and organized comes a close second. Now, there’s no way to make the bed before leaving in the morning, so instead I make them usually right before going to bed. As part of the girls’ bedtime ritual, I make their bed and fold down the top corner for them to climb in. Sometimes, when I go in to check on them for the millionth time, and they’ve been wiggling and dinking around, I will remake their bed as they lay in it so that their blankets won’t fall off in the middle of the night (and also to appease my OCDness). I know it’s a little crazy, but it’s just me.