Conspiracy Theory

Do you remember this post or this one? Well, it seems that we aren't the only family who has been inconvenienced by a dysfunctional automatic garage door. Fernando tried to tell me about this government interference and I just laughed for a really long time. Then other people began telling me about this mysterious interference and I lightly chuckled. As we tried (and failed) various fix it your self techniques, I was ready to believe this conspiracy. The nail in the preverbal coffin was this news brief informing all of us in the radius of the NSA our garage doors aren't going to work anytime soon. We "have two options: either retrofit their doors to change the frequency, at a cost of $50-$125, or wait and see if the NSA decides to change their frequency." LAME!!

When I break things even by accident, I fix it. Instead, this National Security Agency has found the loop hole of the law that says our garage doors are unauthorized and thereby not their responsibility. What about the Garage Door Company. . .they are thrilled that we have to buy new stuff from them to make it work! Did I say LAME! Obviously none of these people have come home with groceries and grumpy/sleeping kids and have to turn off the car to walk into the house and open the garage door from the wall unit.

Eye Glasses

Mother's day was really nothing more than another day, but in a good way. Sunday brought breakfast in bed (which was promptly taken back to the kitchen cause sleeping in crumbs isn't fun), sleeping in and taking a nap, mothering 15 yes 15 nursery kids under the age of 2, and eating a delicious dinner that was co-made by Fernando and I. We even tried a homemade guava drink. I think I spent most of the time smelling the guava in the kitchen and thinking of Snow boarding.

Most notable were the 6 cards Mia made for me and the ones she helped her siblings make. Most generous was all the sleep time I got when Fernando was wasted. Most surprising was finding out at church from an ophthalmologist about potentially being free from contacts. I guess the military every once in awhile extends the PRK surgery to dependents. Stipulations: not pregnant or breast feeding for the past or future 6 months (check), steady eye prescriptions in a certain range of poor visibility (check), not worn contacts for the past 30 days (ARG!). Oh well. I have banned myself from the convenience of my contacts and ordered new glasses online (we'll see how that goes) and hope to go under the knife a month from now! (ok I am sure the offer will be gone by that time, but I still got to try)

Does Syrup Have Sugar in It. . .Then YES!

For those of you who haven't seen the movie "Elf"(or who haven't seen it as many times as I have) you won't appreciate the title of this blog, but you can at least appreciate the pictures.

Party Girl

Mia is our resident party planner. If I was up for it, I am sure we would have parties on a daily basis. I have high hopes that our home will be the place kids want to be so I know who my kids are associating with and I have a little control over what my kids do for fun. I realize that I need to do a little more work on creating a fun environment that screams kids come play. But, until that time, I will just throw party after party in hopes to establish the idea of the fun starting at home.

We had high hopes of throwing a Cinco de Mayo party. Unfortunately, Fernando is on a rotation that has longer hours than normal (5 am-7/8pm) which isn't conducive to happy party throwing. Mia was more than sad and I kind of was as well. We haven't had a party since Easter as seen below:


Here is the game that Mia came up with. The kids had to toss a plastic Easter egg into one of the circles. Than hopscotch their way to that said egg, do the "chicken dance" and pick up the egg using only their teeth. Meanwhile, Mia played a song from one of our Easter toys and waited to snatch up the egg before the kids could get it.

Mia imagining her next fun event!

My Red Back

Although this post could have something to do with sunburns since temperatures have been crazy hot, it's not. Our ward has exploded with emergencies one right after another. At first it seemed limited to those families whose husbands were currently deployed (why not). Then the bad luck spread like a malignant growth trying leech onto unsuspecting families left and right. To give you an idea: ruptured appedix, broken arms, pregnant ladies in head on collisions, surgeries, miscarriages. . . those are just the ones I am aware of from the past few weeks.

I have tried to be apart of the get better effort and have been willing to assist when able. I had almost given myself a RED BACK from all the proverbial good job pats I had been giving myself when I learned a valuable lesson in the form of a hug.

I was talking to one friend whose daughter just became a casualty to the bad luck plague when another friend dropped off her daughter so she could go to the hospital (both friends have husbands in Iraq or some part of that mess). The first friend (broken arm daughter) just found out about the other friend's problem and embraced her.

I realized in all the dinners, babysitting, house cleaning, listening to stories etc. I had missed the biggest help a human could have: the ability to truly morn with those who morn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort.

Even though living in this ward has greatly improved my odds for getting struck lightening (at least it seems that way) I am grateful for all the examples of service and love and compassion I have seen. I have learned from those around me how to be better at being the hands of the Savior and reaching out in the way He would if He was here.

Frog Pool

Have you ever shipped site to store? Most stores these days have the option and it makes shipping a non issue. My parents wanted to send some gifts for our birthday-a-thon a few weeks ago, but shipping was more than the gifts themselves. Here is where site to store is fantastic. We picked up our package at a near by store and spent the whole afternoon using the gift. We started out as seen above using it as a dunk pool. When Tiago's body (with its lack of fat) began shaking uncontrollably, and when the grass under the slide seemed to cry out for relief and when the slide and pool disconnected, we thought of a new plan.

Splashing wasn't enough for the kids daring enough to slip down a slide into the pool. So we decided to play baseball. Home plate was the pool and plastic ducks were the bases. I was really impressed on how well the kids played and actually hit the pitches that were sent their way. Tiago hit a home run over the neighbor's fence which brought a nice conclusion to the adventure. Great gift!

Aside from Birthday's. . . .

Making up games to pass the time when Dad is on call

Enjoying our new grill
Eating Chocolate in large quantities

Ravioli making
Zoo with Friends
Fiesta Fun
Pudding Pops