Thanks Google Browzer and the Law of Consecration

Sometimes searching for things on the internet is like trying to find a needle in a haystack that is laden with needles, pins, and other sharp objects. I have been in search for some good deals on experimental items. Such items are: a violin for Mia, and tap shoes for Tiago. (experimental since who knows what a child will latch onto)

I should say that I have been blessed with this life's closest version of the law of consecration. Because other people in our ward chose to develop their talents and share them (for a reasonable price), my children can enjoy the chance to learn new skills with little pressure to be the next superstar in any given event. Mia has started violin lessons from a boy in our ward. Tiago and Mia are signed up for a dance/tumbling class from a lady in our ward. And they both have the chance to play in a soccer league due to a man in our ward.

Still you have to get the necessary supplies for such sports and that can be expensive. If you don't know already, stores cater to the girls. I could find several tap shoes for girls at very reasonable prices ie $6. Boy tap shoes start at $20. Unfortunately, there is really no feasible way to make a girl Maryjane style tap shoe look like a boy's shoe. After hours of disappointing searches, I stumbled across this site that offered the shoes I needed in the sizes I needed with the price I needed. I mean, who wants to pay $20+ for a boy's tap shoes that will be too small for him in a couple months?!

In the end, the shoes cost less then $10 a pair including shipping. What is more amazing is that the selection of the shoes were scant to say the least, but it had exactly what I needed. Now wish me luck on finding such a steal on a violin. There is hope, but we are taking about $85 for a novice outfit.

Spontaneous Fun

The other day, Tiago found some facial mud and was a bit curious. I explained how the glacier mud feels cold as you put it on, but dries in a few minutes leaving a cool crackle behind. Tiago decided that it would be funner to watch Mia experiment with mud inside. Mia was more then willing and became a mud cat.
I think that you are only supposed to have it on for a few minutes, but like Mia was going to wash her cat whiskers off anytime soon. Good thing for moisture in the air and extra topical moisturizers.

BYU Football

BYU football has already began to creep into our family conversations again. Fernando and I were watching some BYU football commercial online and become privy to the following conversation between Mia and Tiago.

Tiago="I can play football. I can catch and throw the ball so that means I can play football."

Mia= "No you can’t. You can’t play with the nets. The people are all over you at the nets."

Tiago= "There’s no nets. They throw you the ball and you catch the ball and say “Yeah” then you get the piston cup."

Proof that although we try to indoctrinate BYU into them, the football part is still a little sketchy.

Tricks of the Trade

From a few of the comments on the freezer meal post, I thought I would list a few tricks. First, most dinners can be prepared and frozen and not even contain a stitch of cream of junk. Second, if you foil line whatever baking dish you will cook your dinner in, the prepared food can be arranged and lifted out of the pan and slipped into a ziploc freezer gallon size bag for easy stacking. I fit several meals right on top of each other.

My side by side freezer could hold at least 40 meals prepared with the ziploc method. I usually make a 9x9 size dinner for our family of 5, but even if it was a 9x13, it would still work. As for the recipes, I will post them later, but for now, try out your own favorite recipes and enjoy.

PS Another favorite thing I do is prepare (cut) my meat to be in the sliced, diced, cubed, etc shape necessary for a given dish. Fresh meals in minutes.

Modest is Hottest

After caving to the pressures of media and its influence in my home, I had a little buyers remorse. The object in question: Tinkerbell PJs. We tried to find the PJs where Tinkerbell wasn't striking some dirty magazine pose in equally limited clothes, but I still wasn't satisfied. I tried to ignore it and remind myself that the man who drew such a scantily clad fairy was not trying to ruin generations of girls and their idea of beauty. I hope that he was clueless to the low self esteem of many girls who are told repetitively that the only thing that a boy will be interested in is your body so show as much of it as you can.

One morning I could take her nudity no longer. Armed with Expo markers and a willing artist called Mia, we dressed her to reveal her face and cover up her body.

(note that her skirt was lengthened and the "top" went from nonexistent to froofy. The other characters needed a little assistance to on obtaining knee length and shoulder covered regalia.)

Mia was really cute when she tried to explain to me why she was dressed so immodestly. She said "Mom, she is so small that her clothes have to be small too." Sweet, but a bit faulty on the logic. Put some clothes on Tinkerbell or I will.