When Life gives you Lemons...

And just as I begin to love love LOVE this time of year, the crash back to reality is that my kids always get sick right about now. I hate when my kids are sick. Dillan had what I thought was allergies what with the wind and changing temps, with a cough and slight runny nose. Then he got a fever that I quickly attacked and it quickly surrendered. Then Leah got it. Okay, not allergies. Anyway, we've been cooped up all weekend trying to get her over the yuckies. Her cough is nasty, her eyes watery and I'll spare the details of the nose. Her appetite's been okay, but she's just miserable. Dillan's made a full recovery, but unfortunately we haven't been able to get out of the house much.
We do, however, still have our loot bag full of apples. I decided to try and make caramel apples with him, in between Leah's cat naps. We had a lot of fun and they turned out great. (Even I couldn't mess them up!)
Dillan begged daily to eat them, but tried hard to eat all his dinner to enjoy it afterward.
We only made a half dozen (trying to keep sweets to a minimum) and of course, they're gone!
So now he goes to the fridge asking for a snack, where I announce that he may have an apple. I take it out and put it in his hand, where he replies: "No Mom, I don't want the yucky apples, I want the yummy ones!"
We're okay, I'm pretty sure Curious George got him back on the right track.
Next week's lesson: Candy Corn


Daddy schooling us in the art of the full apple
coating technique.




Yes, those are his jammies he's wearing.

Vote YES on Proposition 8

You've been tagged. PLEASE READ THIS no matter what state you live in.Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt children. If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches. The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family. Over time, greater acceptance of nontraditional marriage will be demanded of all people. This could impact the ability of any religion to teach and practice its beliefs. Including adoption agencies.A YES vote will not hurt gays. In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits.For your information:On Friday, October 10th, 2008 a first-grade class took a field trip to witness a lesbian wedding in California.Click Here for the article from the San Francisco Chronicle.A father in Massachusetts was frustrated when his kindergartner was taught about homosexuality at school by the teachers. He insisted he be notified in the future before such things were discussed so he could pull his boy out of school.He was taken to jail.Click Here for the story.A Catholic adoption agency In the UK closed their doors because of the Government's new homosexual equality laws. The Equality Act forbids discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the basis of sexual orientation. The law was forced through Parliament last year despite past Prime Minister Tony Blair's recommendation that Catholic adoption agencies be exempted from the rules.Click Here for more info.Earlier this month judges in Conneticut overturned the state law (just as the judges in California did) to legalized gay marriage. This is not just an issue in California. We voted years ago to keep traditional marriage as the only marriage recognized in the state of California, 4 judges overturned our vote…and we need to fight back. That is what this Proposition is about.This is happening everywhere and the leaders of the church and others have warned that the outcome of California’s vote will affect the way the other states vote.So PLEASE…even if you don’t live in California, put this on your blog or email this on. The internet knows no state line. You know contacts in California that I don’t…and so do your friends.Please pass this on as it could eventually have an effect on everyone!"Occasionally discouragement may darken our pathway; frustration may be a constant companion. In our ears there may sound the sophistry of Satan as he whispers, "You cannot save the world; your small efforts are meaningless. You haven't time to be concerned for others." Trusting in the Lord, let us turn our heads from such falsehoods and make certain our feet are firmly planted in the path of service andour hearts and souls dedicated to follow the example of the Lord." --Thomas S. MonsonClick Here for excerpts from the Broadcast given by Elders M. Russell Ballard, Quentin L. Cook and L. Whitney Clayton.A good resource mentioned in the broadcast: http://www.preservingmarriage.org/October 20th: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot if voting out of state.Click Here to get one.October 27th: Last day to apply for “Vote by Mail”Click Here for info.November 4th: Election day. Polls close at 8:00pm. Vote by mail must be received by this time and can be hand delivered if necessary.YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED...Here's what you do:In the broadcast we were asked to "go viral on our blogs, etc" by Elder Ballard. This is my way of going viral. If you feel this is an important issue I ask that you copy and paste this post...and post it on your blog. PLEASE keep it at the top of your blog through November 4th. which you can adjust each time you post under the "edit post" option. The internet knows NO STATE LINE. You know contacts in California that I do not...as do your friends and their friends...and so on. Please do this. If not for your own children and the effect it could have on them some day...for mine! After you have posted this...email this to your contacts and TAG all your blogging buddies to do the same. THANK YOU!

In other words-If you are reading this please post it on your blog!!! Thanks!

One last time. That's a promise.

Okay, let's just get this over and done with...

Must answer each of the questions below with one word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? bag
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? generous
5. Your father? talented
6. Your favorite thing? water
7. Your dream last night? Wolverine
8. Your dream/goal? Supermom
9. The room you're in? bedroom
10. Your hobby? organization
11. Your fear? spiders
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? settled
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? baker
15. One of your wish-list items? house
16. Where you grew up? RCucamonga
17. The last thing you did? floors
18. What are you wearing? sweats
19. Your TV? cartoons
20. Your pet? never
21. Your computer? constantly
22. Your mood? happy
23. Missing someone? always
24. Your car? stylish
25. Something you're not wearing? earrings
26. Favorite store? Burlington
27. Your summer? splash
28. Love someone? eternally
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? barely
31. When is the last time you cried? Sunday

Now, tag seven (7) people. (Sorry people, rules are rules. Don't hate me!)
Shannon
Amanda
Cambrie
Debbie
Amber
Summer
Rebecca

Since forever drooling over many pictures of kids in pumpkin patches and apple orchards, I FINALLY was able to get my brood out to get our own. Well, we tried anyway. We had heard about Oak Glen and decided it was time to test it out. We spent the day picking apples, hiking all over the farm, and playing with the pumpkins. If anything it was nice to get a change of scenery and get out some energy.



We just can't get enough apples. Dillan didn't want to stop.



We even saw the Great Pumpkin! It does exist.
There were apples everywhere! I really hope Leah didn't eat any from off the ground!
Notice Leah has shoes on. Real shoes. She didn't seem to mind too much, probably because they are almost 2 sizes too big. Clown Feet.
It was a fun day and a great way to celebrate the season!

Gettin' some Edu-ma-cation

This week we explored the children's museum in Old Town. The details with every room were so much fun. It was like visiting the home of an imaginary crazy inventor who had performed countless science experiments in every room of his house. Dillan is still a little young to appreciate the science behind some of the gadgets, but couldn't believe I was actually encouraging him to touch everything! The biggest hit was the music room. A real piano rigged up so that certain keys played different instrument sounds. Plus huge typani and congo drums perfect for banging out all our frustrations!

My lastest frustration? Baby shoes. Or to rephrase: The fact that my daughter refuses to wear any kind of shoe (or sock for that matter!) on her feet. Not that it's completely her fault. I have a strange relationship with feet. I LOVE being barefoot! I'm convinced that in heaven there will be no need for shoes at all. At least MY heaven. Because of this I've been cursed with exceptionally dry heels since I can remember. When I was younger (and sometimes even today), I could sit for hours picking pieces of dried skin off my feet. When I go too far they bleed and so I then have to walk-it-off for awhile until it once again becomes calloused with dry skin all over again.
I know, I've heard it many times: "Put on lotion and wear socks!" My poor mother tried many different lotion/ointments to help me, but I never comply. So, yes, my feet are nasty and I accept that.

I am very careful, however, not to impose my nasty feet onto others. It drives me crazy when someone touches me with their feet. Even Chris, who wears socks a lot, knows I will have a caniption if any part of his feet graze my skin. Yick! I've tried to teach Dillan how wrong it is to touch people with his feet, and I hope he's learning!
Anyway, back to Leah. She's got thick feet. Just like Dillan did. At home she is barefoot 100%. No big deal. I guess our training begins for out of the house. She'll just have to get used to it. She may never leave this house again.

The words of my dad echo through my mind whenever we go somewhere, my shoeless-wonder and myself. "You need to put shoes on your kids. They look uneducated!" They do or I do?
I realize "Robeez" shoes are best for newly walking babies, but something strange happened when I got them for Dillan back in the day and I've never fully recovered. I'd rather not go there. I may have to...

Weekend Roundup

Conference Weekend. Something to look forward to twice a year. It's great not having the Sunday morning marathon to get to church on time. Saturday we drove up to RC to watch conference with my aunt in her new home. She brought out a bunch of Chevron Cars. Dillan was set. Leah kept busy playing on the stairs and exploring. Afterwards, in true Taylor fashion, we drove to her school where more family met up and we played volleyball. Then we ordered pizza and watched the 2nd conference session.
Sunday we went to the grandparents home for a fabulous breakfast feast and more conference. We bummed over there the WHOLE day, until the Angels finally got past the Red Sox.
Dillan for the most part was able to stay occupied with something during the day. When he got bored he wanted to cuddle with me. I tried to get him interested in conference by pointing out the different colors and shapes on the ties of the speakers. That died off fairly quick as most were wearing red. He was content and for the most part, well behaved.
My little Princess, however, had a rough day. She went through all 6 diapers I had packed with me, not normal. She whined, didn't want to be held, then she did. She even slept close to 2 hours. But she was not happy. I'm convinced she's cutting more teeth. Slowly. Painfully. It's not fun for her nor I.
When I wasn't too distracted by my offspring, I did catch a few words of enlightenment. Some of my favorite highlights were from Pres. Utchdorf, Elder Bednar, Pres. Eyring, and Elder Nelson.
We had a lot of fun being with family, but we realize that kids can be distracting and we are sorry to anyone who feels cheated out of a peaceful conference experience because of my kids.

It's October!

October is officially "Family Adventure Month" chez nous. We've compiled a list of things we'd like to do altogether. Since Mommy can't get enough of the fall, all our activities will be fall related (or close-to, anyway) with Trick-or-Treating and Roxy's Birthday Party in Tenessee as the Grand Finale.

Yesterday we pulled out Halloween/Fall decorations. We don't have much, but add a little more each year. The other day I braved the 99 cent store to help get us ready for our conference weekend/72-hour kits compilation. I grabbed a package of pumpkin lawn bags. These bags are orange, look like pumpkins, and are supposed to be filled with leaves. Since our neighborhood has small trees that are still green, we drove across town where the trees are much more mature and stopped at a park to pick up the leaves and fill a bag.




Dillan loves the crunchy leaves. It was fun finding leaves and filling up our bag. Making our pumpkin bigger and bigger PLUS doing a small service for the community, it doesn't get much better!