First "First Thanksgiving" Play/A Girl After My Own Family's Heart

No money? No problem. With common household items you too can have hours of fun and entertainment. My sister's and I did everything from couch cushion houses to plays about all sorts of things. Because of my deep voice, I was always cast as the male. (You got to represent the other gender even if you don't have a real man to play the role. . .Kevin you weren't even born.)

Mia had lots of pre Thanksgiving fun at school and would update us daily on various facts and interesting tidbits of information. Somehow, we came up with the idea of putting on our own Thanksgiving play. Mia "wrote" the script and Tiago memorized his lines. I quoted wrote because she didn't actually write it down, though she probably could have. I didn't want her to agonize over trying to sound/spell out things like William Bradford (Tiago's character) and Plymouth Rock. I am working on the transcript if anyone is interested :)!

Mia painted the backgrounds, figured out appropriate actions, and thought of various ways Talia could participate. Unfortunately for Mia, but luckily for Talia, she was sleeping during the process so didn't have to be someone's papoose. I hope that Mia will want to make this a tradition. We'll have to work out a few kinks like the long wait between action scenes, but we have time.

WARNING: Long length, but pretty adorable especially for the relatives. Turn the volume up to hear the kids over the adoring audience.

Tongue Taco

I have so much to blog about with Thanksgiving and Fernando's family being here, but not enough time at the moment. So for now, I will leave you with this video of me enjoying a little corn tortilla taco, with cilantro, onions and the meat of choice prepared by my Mother-in-law

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

(what's with my heinous hair. . . it needs to be figured out).

RedBox Etiquette

When one uses the RedBox Terminal at any given grocery store, fast food joint, or neighborhood pharmacy, there are a few common courtesies that would make the world better for all. First, it isn't a movie store. Movie stores are built around the idea of browsing and finding many various movie options. At said movie store one can read the synopsis and ponder the age old question of "will this satisfy my mind numbing desires?" If you want to browse, head to blockbuster or better yet, do it online. Redbox allows you to view the various titles, read the plot, and even have it held for you at your nearest RedBox locations. That way when a mother of three needs to return their one movie, she doesn't have to painfully watch the indecisive bumblings of the customer in front of her all the while diverting the kids eyes from the gory/sexually explicit material glowing on front of the RedBox console.

Ok, may be there is only one common courtesy, but I keep running into the people who are unaware of life around them. Tonight being the worst with some lady returning 5 movies (a slow and tedious process, done one at a time) and trying to find her next 5 selections, but only ended up with four after flipping through the selection screens about 10 times and re-looking at the pictures on the console. Tiago did point out almost every foul movie there and described why it was a "yucky" movie. The Hulk got a bad review since it showed "his sacred body and he is mad". I did have the UN-satisfaction of giving a patronizing "you know it works a lot better if you check out the movies on line so they are held and waiting for you to slide your card and pop out just like that."

So Why do I keep tourturing myself with REDBOX? An outdoor (usually) kiosk containing "Easy $1 new release DVD rentals. No late fees. Rent and return at over 10,000 locations"

Random Blessings

The picture is to highlight randomness. It has nothing whatsoever to do with this post except for the children are apart of the post too. This was taken the Fourth of July as we were leaving our ward picnic and found many frogs to pick up and play with. I did my best to look excited with the idea of bacteria riddled frogs in my children's fingers.


This past week has brought some unexpected blessings. First, a good friend, (we'll call her L. Westbrook or Lynn W.) let me in on a fantastic deal. End result: a free membership at the YMCA near us. And for those who had my scary concept of what YMCA's look like, set your minds at ease. It is a new facility that usually costs a whopping $80 to join. For some that is not very much, but for me it is. The childcare is pretty good and the Zumba class is heaven. (Zumba is a new term for a latin jazzercise class). Could there really be anything better then good latin music and dancing for and hour? Yes, it could also burn calories and tone some flabby jabby.

Miracle number two: Fernando has a pretty great schedule this month. He does take call every few days, but then has a whole day off. Shocking. Well, on one of these off days, we went to the gym, then headed to Costco, and finally back home just in time to pick up Mia from the bus. We decided to get our mail which is located around the corner from our house. Lazily, I pulled the car over to get the mail. Nothing was found. So, I jumped back into our 2006 Civic and expected to drive the block home. False. Yes, False! The car simply wouldn't start. Talia and Tiago were done being in the car which only added to the frustration. Fernando ran home and drove the 96 Corolla to jump our dead car. To no avail. A nice neighbor who we have waived to once or twice in passing, stopped his car to try and help. He seemed to be pretty well versed with cars and we felt that gut wrenching/wallet squeezing feeling that always accompanies the words "bad starter or faulty alternator".

It should be mentioned here, the military has a funny habit of mismanagement. Now, I don't mean to judge harshly since it is a large organization. Somehow every transfer there is a risk the the military can overpay you. Strange as it may seem, the thousands of transfers that are categorically similar sometime go a muck. Then after a few months and money spent finding the overpaid people, they take their money back. All of it, all at once. Yes, it happened to us. It just so happened that a few days before the car incident, they came and found $800 they wanted back from us. Why don't they use all those post transfer money finding people to just get things right the first time? Back to the car. . .

Fernando and I had the fantastic experience of pushing our car home. I really mean fantastic. Pushing a broken car has its own kind of charm and makes one feel like they could do anything. We rolled in into our driveway just in time to catch Mia from the bus.

I was so grateful that our car chose to die in front of our mail box and not a 30 minute drive away at the Costco parking lot just before Mia came home from school. I am glad I wasn't flying solo and cell phone-less with the kids when it happened. But, I never expected the blessing that came next.

Fernando spent over an hour checking all the fuses and found no hope. We prayed and prayed again. The kids prayed, we prayed all in hopes of figuring out what went wrong. I also prayed that we would wake up in time the next day and get ready quick enough to walk to school since there was no other option. Sure enough, we made it on time for school and I had the distinct feeling to call a Honda dealership. I explain our situation and then had to have the service man repeat the next part:

Quote "Mam, it sounds like your battery has died and it is still under warranty. We will pay a tow truck to get your car to our dealership, replace the battery at no cost to you and have it done by this afternoon."

True to his word, we have a well running car (the whole reason we bought the Honda Civic) and a new battery with a new 8 year warranty. This was also music to my ears since Texas is harsh on batteries and I was told to not be shocked if I only got two years out of my battery.

There are so many other little things, including gas for $1.86. It make Doctrine and Covenants 78:17-19 even more impressive.

"17 Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
18 And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.
19 And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more."

Miscellanous Momments with Mia and School

I still can't believe that I have a daughter in school. She loves it and comes home frequently telling me how she "learns everything in school". She makes all sorts of hats like the K9 hat she made above for Fire Prevention Week. It just so happens she also made a poster about fire safety. She designed a poster called "Four" No Fires that had four drawings that showed what you could do for no fire. Her poster was put together 10 minutes before school and was a finalist in the school. To think what would have happened if she actually spent time on it.

About a month ago, I was invited to be a chaperon for a field trip to A Seussical Musical . I accepted before I thought through the logistics. Talia, a non bottle fed infant and Tiago a non babysat boy were not invited to attend. Luckily, two friends were willing to accept such a babysitting feat. Each had their own trial. Talia would nap for two of the 3 1/2 hours, but wake up hungry. Tiago screamed at the front door for at good hour plus before he warmed up to the scene. My bad. Good thing to have good friends. Everyone survived and I was glad that I went.

The play required some extensive understanding of multiple Seuss books. Luckily we had listened to recordings of such books many times on our drive from Maryland to Texas. It was good, but a little long for such little kids. After a lunch in the park and playing on the playground, Mia boarded her bus again and I came home to some happy campers and drained friends.

Mia also just received an award for being "A Pillar of Trustworthiness". I had a hard time explaining what they meant by that award. I started with an analogy to wood that holds up the house and how that is like people supporting and lifting others and then just congratulated her for a job well done.

Our Age of Anxiety

How fitting it is to have elections so near to Halloween. A time of uneasiness and dare I say anxiety. I have been listening to a fantastic book called Age of Anxiety that deals with McCarthyism. So many events of the Red Scare parallel our national crisis of today. Regarding McCarthy's or any dictator like politician's increasing influence and power, the book states it "was not the rantings of Demigods, but fear in irresolution in honorable men." It also reaffirms the scriptures warnings of unrighteous leaders and therefore their unrighteous laws are nigh impossible to destroy. We are fortunate for sure to live in a society where we are free to vote. Even with the electoral college inadequacies and funky wording on the ballots, it is a blessing to give our say.

So after a pre-halloween party at our local library, I decided to be honorable and vote. Well, as honorable as one can look dressed in a cowgirl costume complete with chaps, a Thomas the train, kitty cat princess, and flower maiden.


Three kids in tow made for an interesting experience, but I did it. I starred for as long as possible at the Presidential Candidates in limbo over the decision. There was no clear choice for me. Each candidate had serious policy issues and I felt like it came down to decide between the lesser evil. Talia felt the agony keenly. This topic will proceed further in my personal journals. The important thing is I voted.

PUMPKIN PATCH

I forgot to mention the fun we had at a near by Church's "Pumpkin Patch". In TX, there are a noticeable absence of pumpkin fields so really it's just another place the semi's drop them off after they are done unloading them at the local supermarket. No bother. At least they were strewn all over the grass and surrounded by fun fall decor. Our first trip was with Tiago and Talia and a few friends.
Tiago picked out two medium size pumpkins for him and Mia and a tiny one for Talia. Tiago was loving all the pumpkins.
He would pick up several and was curious how some had disgusting warts. (you and me both buddy) Right before we left, Tiago got a special chance to drive a cardboard tractor as shown here:

Later we brought Mia to see the patch and bought our pumpkin at the commissary another day. Funny, we kept meaning to carve our family pumpkin, but the kids go to bed by 6:30 pm. It makes for little time to do anything aside from homework, dinner, and get ready for the next day. Mia's pumpkin was carved and gutted at school in a science lesson. She wanted to let Tiago get in on the action. She kept telling him about the slime and seeds and guessed there were over one hundred in our family pumpkin. I attempted to carve Tiago's with a Lightening McQueen on it, but it was too small and just looked like a modern art piece with random holes. I just carved the family pumpkin with Mia Nov. 1 and we just opted to do a Thanksgiving one. We'll see how long it lasts.


Mia's and Tiago's little pumpkins were moldy by day 2.