Family Government, Part 1

There's been a lot of talk lately about the dreaded Global Warming being a highway that will drive the world to Socialism. The idea being that industrialized people/countries will be required to purchase "carbon credits" from less developed nations, thus distributing the wealth from wealthy nations to poor nations.

I don't know whether or not this is true, and the truth of the ClimateGate theory isn't critical to my blog today.

All this talk of wealth distribution got me thinking about the idea of socialism. I am not a philosophy major. I never was big on discussing the finer points of distinction between fascism, socialism, communism or Marxism.... that's a lot of isms.... My general understanding is that they all basically advocate taking from those who have and giving to those who don't because it isn't fair that someone has more than another. So, what's wrong with that? What's wrong with sharing?


Nothing is wrong with sharing, as any pre-schooler learns. Pre-schoolers also know that taking isn't sharing. Taking hurts the person you take from. Imagine the scene: A two year old walks up and takes the fire truck her brother is playing with. "I'll give it back in just a minute. I want to play with it." The brother's face falls, his eyes getting big, lower lip quivering with shock. The big sister walks away smugly and, having gotten something for nothing, plays with the firetruck for 30 seconds, tosses it aside (literally) and walks away. What has anyone learned? The brother learned not to trust his sister 'cause she takes his stuff and the sister learns she can have whatever she wants. And she doesn't even appreciate it.

On a more macro scale, a person who takes learns they can take. They don't appreciate it, nor do they treat what is given to them with respect. This applies whether what's being taken is a toy firetruck or money. It's could be called tax or carbon credit or welfare. Most importantly, the taker doesn't learn how to work hard. And let's face it, life is hard work, whether you have to study spelling words, take care of kids, jockey a desk or run a business. Without a basic ability to work hard, a person will never succeed at life, regardless of their job.

Taking also deprives an individual of the lesson that life isn't fair. It's not fair that one child grows up in poverty and another with extreme wealth. It's not fair that one family struggles to pay the medical bills for a sick child, while another family barely suffers from the common cold. The fact is, life is not fair. Through this understanding that life isn't fair, we can learn to be happy, despite what we don't have.

This is why we will not practice socialism in our family, however, we do occasionally practice dictatorship, capitalism and anarchy.

The second part of this little blog on family government will discuss what the "giver" and "taker" miss out on when things are given instead of taken.

Lysa

PS-- No children were ignored in the writing of this blog, which is why it took 2+ hours to write, and still sucks.

Important announcement

ATTENTION:
Every banker, lawyer, political and last surviving family member who wants to give me money, please FedEx a check to my address. I'm in the phone book. Thank you for choosing me to receive large amounts of unearned cash.

Sincerely,
Lysa

Something to laugh about

bwah hahahahahahahahaha. I'll save this one for Zerin, when he's ready... actually, the Tiger might motivate him....

The Death of Dairy

Well, it's official. The doctor said we should seriously consider going dairy free. Then gluten free. I've been reading about the very positive responses parents or children with neurologically based disorders (think add, autism, apraxia) . I know I can do it, I just hate being the food police around my child. I also don't want to learn an entirely new way of cooking. I mean, come on, I just figured out how to make "normal" bread.

I just don't want to... whine, whine, whine....

So this week is dairy week. We are going to consume as much cheese, milk, ice cream and whatever other dairy products we can find. Then we're going to be done. For a very long time.... The dr said we should see results in 2-3 weeks, but the full benefits happen for about 6 months. Dan and I will decide when we're going to do gluten free. It might be easier to wait until after the first of the year.

So, for dinner we're have scalloped potato casserole. Dessert is a chocolate cake Anya picked out from Schwanns.

So, I just don't want to. And to be fair, neither does Anya. We're not expecting miracles. We know Apraxia won't disappear, but hopefully those l's r's and non-spontaneous speeches will get easier for her.

Still writing....

house is cleaned... my goal is to maintain the cleanliness lest we lose a small child under the clutter.... children will be forced to help in this unprecedented effort.

My fingers are flying across the keyboard, typing words I hope make sense in the grand plot of this book. I'm hoping to write something not entirely horrible so I'll have an easier time editing when it's done.... ugh... I suppose I should get back to writing my novel... and the piece I promised Margie.... I'm going to treat myself to a manicure after this month... Meanwhile, here's a picture of the tire I put on the car a few weeks ago... yay me!

Lysa

NaNoWriMo HO!

Well, I'm writing away, pounding out the story every night, at least until writer's block hits. The word count on my blog isn't working but I don't really have time to fix it, cause all the computer time I get I'm using for Relief Society stuff or novel writing or working on the Op Ed piece.

Kids are running a muck, although no serious injuries have occurred, Zerin has a few more "love marks" from Normandy. I call them "love marks" because Zerin seems to love the wrestling matches that bring them on. Go Figure. Although I do remember Michael sitting on my face and farting when he was still in diapers. I hope my kids relationship will survive their childhood.

Halloween was a blast. For the first time in years I dressed up.I went as the swine flu. Dan went as the vaccine. Very funny. I didn't see any other swine flus out there. I'll post a pic when I get one from Michelle and Sam, our personal family photographers.

The sugar crash from unlimited candy on Sunday has passed, the pleadings for the sugary confections getting fewer and farther between. The remaining candy, as well as some requested and unexpected items have been carefully placed into a medium, flat rate postal box for Michael, the face-sitting farter. It will be off an a journey to the deserts of Iraq as soon as I get a good address.

The toddlers pulled the cushions off the couch and are playing trampoline. I'm trying to decide how much I care.

Lysa

It happened today....

I wondered when it would. While wrapping my hair into a quick bun, getting ready to change the unexpected flat tire, I was listening to the radio new report. Soldiers dead in Iraq. I wondered if my brother was on that helicopter. Then reality reminded me Mike is in Kuwait, waiting to go to Iraq.

Despite 11 years in the Air Force, Dan never deployed... which isn't fair to those who went 2-3x during those years... but I digress. We discussed what I would do if he died; where I would go, what memorial service he'd like, how best to spend that pitiful SGLI. Very practical stuff. It was all very superficial because an infected paper cut was more threatening (and likely) than a gun shot.

This is our first experience with a family member in a war zone. Beyond sending care packages and prayers, I don't really know what else to do. My preferred method of finding humor during a very scary, emotional situation is taking over.... we love you, Mike. I'll bet you could've changed that flat tire a lot faster than I did.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

I have been blessed with a Frisbee Toss Award from Jenn over at Rook no. 17 ! Rook 17 has some very cool, non-traditional crafts. Her ideas will definitely guide your creativity into a new direction. So check it out ASAP!

In complete compliance with the Frisbee Toss guidelines I'm gonna direct you all to the National Breast Cancer Awareness site. It's stocked with information for patients, family, survivors and women with breasts. And those for who like to cook.... they have recipes!

Oh my Toast There's even a link to learn how to read a pathology report! Fa Shizzle! Who among us knows how to read a pathology report? My deepest respect to those of you who do. You've been through something way more serious than I've had to face in my personal health history.

So, now I'm tossing the frisbee to Vanessa over at V and Co. Vanessa's blog is filled with beautiful pics of her creativity at work. She's an awesome mom and all around great friend.

The second frisbee I'm tossing out to is Michelle at The Monterey HillBaileys. Michelle rallied up her courage to begin homeschooling her youngiest HillBailey. Her talent as a teacher surpasses her own expectations, but has come as no surprise to me.

So, Vanessa and Michelle, if you choose to catch this Frisbee Award, direct your blog-reading friends over to the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month website and then toss the frisbee onto your friends...

Love and hugs, Lysa

National Novel Writer's Month....

Well, time to make another commitment I may or may not keep. lol. Seriously, I keep setting goals that always take a back seat to more important things, like making dinner, taking care of kids and facebook. A goal I've had for a long time is to write more. Not blogs or emails or status updates, but actual writing.


I have some great ideas and one astounding opening sentence. But none of these stories have gone anywhere besides my thumb drive. This time, however, I have an idea I think I could live with for a while. At least a month. November is National Novel Writing month. NaNoWriMo hosts a contest/challenge to write 50,000 words in a month. November, in case there was any ambiguity.

My house may get dirty, my kids will try to distract me and Dan may find himself washing a few more dishes. But, come November I'm gonna be a writing freak. Wish me luck!!

Lysa

See Shell by the Sea Shore - Part III

View Larger Map

Shell was actually at the Garland Ranch Regional Park in the beautiful Carmel Valley. The rock that Tenny and Anya are near is part of the Rumsen Grinding Rock. Around the Monterey Peninsula, you can find indentations in the rock that the native Americans used to grind acorns, this rock is one of them.

See Shell by the Sea Shore, Part II

This is Shell's first riddle. All good riddles need a hint though. We'll give you a couple. First, Shell will always be somewhere in Monterey County (California). She will always be.... well, that's all we know for sure now.

Tenny is learning about CA history this year. It's very appropriate that she, Shell and Anya stand in front of this rock, important to the Ohlone Indian, in our first See Shell riddle.

Have fun and don't hurt yourselves thinking about this one...

Lysa

See Shell by the Seashore

Tenny has about a thousand "stuffies". Her favorite stuffy is a dragon named Legend, who is currently M.I.A. In Legend's absence, Shell the Sea Otter has been promoted.... until Legend reappears. The role of Best Stuffy is to accompany Tenny on any car rides, no matter how short and to listen to endless riddles. Most importantly, the riddles must always be laughed at.

To honor Tenny's love of riddles, we are going to put a little puzzler on our blog. Stay tuned for more details!

Finally Fall

Dan and I arrived at church early this morning, 8:40. The service starts at 9am. There were barely any cars in the parking lot. We immediately wondered if we missed the end of Daylight savings time. Nope. It's a holiday weekend, combined with the beginning of cold season.

So far our family has been spared a wide spread family-demic. Individually we've all had a cold or two, here and there. But for the most part, an adult has always been able to function, ensuring the survival of all our children. I have little hope of such success this year. I have this foreboding vision of the family, lying in the living room, camped out around buckets. Staggering to the refrigerator to get Pedialite or ginger ale. Zerin is climbing on us, jumping from head to head like stones across a stream.

Who knows what this season of colorful lights, baked goods and used tissues will bring. I'm sure it'll be an adventure though.

Lysa

At our local goodwill Men's t-shirts are 3 for $1. I am bound and determined to take the stock pile I've gathered and turn them into a shirt I'd actually like to wear...

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/03/diy_tshirt_surgery.php

http://www.marcytilton.com/index.php?cid=194

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/freezer_paper_stenciled_shirts

I really need to go ahead and spend some quality time with my sewing machine, before the shirts become clutter and they return to goodwill.
Where can I find the time? Do they sell that at goodwill?

Lysa

A Purpose Driven Life

well, maybe not life, but definitely week. I needto find a solution to the gang of flies hoovering in my back yard. My neighbors have dogs and the flies are attracted to the dog piles. The flies cross the border into my yard. Occasionally they drift into my house and join the flight pattern of the 10 or so flies in my computer room. So, Monday I set about finding a way to eliminate those flies. I decided the best way to deal with the flies was to get them before they even find a way into the house.

My requirements were simple.
1. the trap had to be cheap.
2. the trap had to be made from things I found around my house.
3. it could not be poisonous.
4. it could not be that yucky hanging fly paper.

I decided to make a fly trap out of a soda bottle. Like this:
So, what should I put into the soda bottle to attract the flies? I think this discussion thread from Thrifty Fun had the most variety of ideas. And two or three met my requirements. I decided to start with the least gross of all the solutions.

I began with, what the author claims, is an Amish "recipe". (I wonder where the Amish get the soda bottle.) On Monday, I mixed 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of vinegar, a banana peel and water in the soda bottle. I made two traps using this method. I positioned one outside on my kitchen window sill and the second near my front door. It takes a week for the stuff to ferment and attract the flies. I had hoped the fly trap would work sooner. It doesn't.

So, today, a beautiful day, the kids are running in and out leaving the back door open. I have more flies than ever immigrating to my house and I need to implement a more immediate solution. So, on the same forum as above I read about how a plastic baggie filled with water above a door will keep the flies out. No body know how it works for sure (the flies are telling), but supposedly it works. Not for me. Maybe the light has to reflect off the water or something, but so far, no good.

My last attempt at keeping these flies away is the most disgusting of the fly trap recipes.
I took a piece of raw meat put it into the soda bottle fly trap and filled with water. An Australian guy on the forum suggested it. According to the Aussie the trap should begin to work in a day or two. We shall see.....

Free Stuff

Well, low and behold a friend of mine has become an internet star.Vanessa, I always knew of your coolness, but didn't realize the whole world had caught on!

I love the 4 Dates necklace. That could come in handy at the dr's office when they ask when the kid was born. I can't be the only parent who has to take a moment or 3 to think....

The cranberry ear rings are also delightful. But they would require a new dress since I have nothing to go with them.

Here is a shameless link to Vanessa's give away and the PamperingBeki Shop where these delightful goodies can be found.


Love and hugs,
Lysa
P.S.-- A little word of advice from Normandy, "Peeing in your underwear and pants is not a good idea."

update....

We are on the cusp of summer. The girls get out on June 12th after a final assembly, picnic and an afternoon of moving classrooms. I will probably be doing more moving than picnic-ing, but hey, that's the life of Mom.

Zerin expands his vocabulary daily. His latest acquisitions include nose, french fries and cheese. It is no coincidence that two of his new words are foods. He eats constantly. Zerin also continues to climb on everything and only fears Normandy's swift pinching fingers.

Normandy loves books, especially Fancy Nancy. She has been wearing a very fancy gymnastics leotard for two days now and, since it doesn't stink I have chosen not to fight this particular battle. She prefers to stay up late and sleep in, taking after her sister, Tenny. Normandy fears Zerin's swift sharp teeth.

Tenny's class play is this week, The Death of Baldor. It's a Norse Myth. Tenny plays Iduna, the bearer of the golden apples of youth. I'm not sure exactly what she does, because all the tellings of the myth I have read do not include Iduna. She and Dan survived the 4th grade class trip to California's Gold Country. They had a great time together and brought home many treasures.

Anya's class play was last week. She was the Parson in the Golden Goose by the Brothers Grimm. She delivered her line with passion and clarity rarely heard in a 1st grade play. It was loads of fun to watch her and her classmates enjoy the moment. And, because the Waldorf philosophy is all about living in the moment, we do not have a pic of Anya in her costume or a video of her theatrical debut.

Dan is applying for a PhD program at Argosy University. As long as he can switch to the new GI Bill, he will start in November. He is not looking forward to all the writing involved, and as his editor, neither am I. However, I know Dan will do a great job and this will help him take his career where he really wants it to go.

I am still dreaming stories and occasionally I have the time to put them on paper. My first essay should be published in the fall. The editing for print was a little more severe than I would have liked, but I am relatively happy with the end product. I adore the full product, which I have to say is a result of my editor, Heather's, help.

This summer, the girls, a friend or two and I are going to have a book club. We're going to start with Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingles Wilder. Then we're going to read Frindle by Andrew Clements. I'm not sure what we're going to finish with, but it will probably have dragons in it. The girls are going to do two weeks of music camp, called Bach to the Future. They're able to do this because of the children's choir they sing in during the year. Zerin and Normandy will have a productive summer tearing things apart and learning to get along. All in all, I am looking forward to spending time with all of my kids together again, going to the beach and possibly finishing scrapbooking the hard copies of pics from before the digital camera age.

Here's a diet coke to a busy summer!
Lysa

Sam Fox, 54th Ward Elders Quorum President

Very funny... I posted it here just in case you didn't catch it on FB.

Three little tidbits

Here's a picture from the girl's school MayFaire. This is the parade, in the very front is Anya's teacher and her class shield. She dressed like a run away fairy princess in her cape and red sparkly shoes. Very cute.

I'm on a doctor approved diet that requires me to stick to a very strict low calorie diet. The last three days have been filled with too much baking, mother's day treats and lots of other culinary pitfalls. From leftovers to lemon bars to chocolate muffins my house has been quite a dangerous place to be. Fortunately, I'm still losing weight. However, I know that in the later stages of the diet I will have to buckle down-- starting tomorrow. Water is my friend....

Dan's taking a spanish class. He's been calling Normandy "Hija" which means daughter. Tonight he asked her, "What's your Spanish name?" She said, "Pija!" It does not mean daughter... Click here for the translation.... warning, it's not a word we want to say in our house again...

Yippy Skippy

Well, almost. I'm working with an editor from Segullah Magazine and will be published this fall. I found out about the journal on Writers Relief. Thanks, WR!

Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics)

So, What's your hidden talent? Mine is knowing which of my kids is being bitten by their scream alone...

Lysa

Out of the Mouths of Filceks

Macamowee-- Normandy for Macaroni

Scene: The girls are unloading the dishwasher Easter Sunday Afternoon.
Tenny: Come on Supervisor, help me out.
Anya: Why do you keep calling me Supervisor?
Tenny: Because you aren't doing any work. You're just watching me.

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAA! This is why a collective 18 hours of labor was worth it. Actually, now that I think about it, we had to do 24 hours of foster care classes to get certified to bring Zerin home. So, technically, I was in labor with Zerin longer than for all 3 girls combined....

A slow, loud day

My kids are loud. Very loud. Normandy is the loudest, but Zerin can hold his own during their screaming competitions. Anya has a great shriek, blood curdling yet angry. Tenny can talk the longest. I don't think she even needs to stop for breath. She'd make a great professional filibuster. Is that even a profession? If not, she'll develop it.

I suppose I should be glad my kids feel free to express themselves in exactly the way they want.

Lysa

Il Divo - Amazing Grace

beautiful song. thanks for sharing, sheryl.

L

A revealing revelation

A couple times this past week I was talking to some of my mommy friends. I only run into these awesome women a few times a month and we search in vain for a time to get together. Our lives are so crammed with homework, field trip, work and family it's hard to find time.

Then it hit me. These women would be around in 2 years when this hectic time in my life is ending. Not only that, but they'll be around in 10 years. Maybe 15 or 20...

AND SO WILL I 'cause we aren't military any more. HA!

Army Family Action Plan

"you're not targeting, you're targeted"..... hehehe. I love that line...

This is what I've been busy with.... Oh, and changing diapers, cooking food and picking up toys. Occasionally I get to shower.... I wish I were kidding.

Lysa

I am a video posting nut....

Anya's baptism is Saturday at 4pm. She is very excited. My mom is visiting for another week and that's very exciting as well. I'd like to say we're taking it easy and having a relaxing visit. However, the nature of my life right now is anything but relaxing...

Lysa

Thanks to Burg, for sharing this video with me, it makes me laugh every time I watch it.

Yay! I finally did it....

Here's the video, right on my blog. I have accomplished something. Does that mean I can go back to bed now?

Lysa

A new song that I love

by Taylor Swift. If I could figure it out, I'd add music to my blog... which I know would annoy certain people (MB)... Here it is... I have to figure out how to put video from youtube on here....

Lysa

my rant against capital letters.

capital letters are a nuisance to society. i think we should gather outside our state legislature's office and publicly protest. capital letters feel they're superior to other letters and therefore, must be banished. they way the lord over the smaller letters, taking more space in a word document and more ink when the print. capital letters take away from lowercase letters and infringe on their right to ink and space. i declare capital letters discriminate against lowercase letters!

Day After New Year's Day Post

Still... no pictures. But, I did add a new widget. lds.org has a new site just for teens, and it's pretty cool. Mp3 downloads, videos, music and all kinds of other stuff I just haven't checked out yet. It looks like a fun and safe place for youth to surf the internet.

Lysa