Category: Family

Posts about me and my family, things we do together, etc.

How to Train Your Dragon: Family Bonding

Yesterday my wife and I decided on the spur of the moment to go see “How To Train Your Dragon” Since it was spur of the moment, our babysitting options were short. We figured it was a kid’s movie, so we could go ahead and take the kids.

…That might have been a mistake. Our toddler daughter loved seeing the dragons flying, but got bored about halfway through the movie. Meanwhile our baby son got hungry, so we had to buy some gummy bears to feed him throughout the movie (yes, we did give him real sustenance afterward).

Having said that, the movie was awesome. I mean, awesome! It was like taking my childhood daydreams and making a movie from them!

It was also a great bonding moment for my boy and I–at the end of the movie I discovered that both of us were covered in sticky, half-chewed gummy bears.

Dirty Laundry

The other day when I got home from work, I was changing into some casual clothes, and my toddler daughter asked me what I was doing, “I’m changing my clothes”

…

“Daddy pooped his panties!”

Young Masochism or Bridging the Language Barrier

So a couple days ago I was putting my daughter in bed for her nap when she looks up at me and says, “Cut me, daddy!”

?… So of course I try to think of words that sound similar to “cut” that might make sense…

“What?”

“Cut me.”

“Did you mean Talk?”

“No. Cut me!”

“…Um, I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“Cut me! Like this,” whereupon she puts both hands under her armpits, then her sides, then her legs.

“Are you sure you mean ‘cut’?”

“Yes!”

I spent about five minutes trying to figure out what she meant and getting worried that Mommy was right when she said our girl was starting to understand violence. I had her repeat it several times, tried repeating other words back; she also demonstrated what she meant a couple more times as well.

Finally Mommy came and saved the day–“She means tuck.”

Thank heavens.

What I’m up to these days…

So I’m starting to get a little more settled in at my job (programming for the LDS Church). Recently we had a company meeting and activity. The activity was very interesting–It was a “spudwood derby.” We divided up into teams, and each team was given a set of pinewood derby wheels and axles… and a potato. We had a half hour to make a usable car.

On another front, I am trying to play with music (the mood has struck again)… I’ve got one of my older computers hooked up to the digital piano and I’m trying to figure out how I can get various sound fonts working (The digital piano is pretty good, but it’s french horn is horrible and it doesn’t have a cymbal roll)… For composing I’m using Noteworthy editor. Several years ago I looked around for some notation software, and virtually everything out there was $300 or more with all the bells and whistles, but Noteworthy cost $30, which was about right considering the fact that I really don’t know what I’m doing…

I also got a new phone (LG env touch), and have really enjoyed it. I’ve started looking into apps/sites that I can create that would be useful. What I’ve got so far is a scripture lookup page–you type in the book and chapter, and it will open up that chapter on the online version of the scriptures. It’s a work in progress, but coming along nicely. If you are really that bored you can check it out at lds.jersdesk.com/scriptures

The kids are doing OK, but they’ve had colds for a good while now. My youngest has gone from happy cheerful baby to whiny clingy baby—not so fun. We still manage to enjoy them nevertheless.

Sweet Daughter

OK, my daughter is the sweetest ever (except when she isn’t, but that’s another post).

Today, while everyone else was napping, she and I had some chocolate milk together. We just sat on the floor next to each other, me with my mug and her with her sippie-cup; and out of the blue she turns to me, and with a big smile, says, “Daddy, I yuv yoo,” and gives me a big hug and kiss.

I almost cried.

She’s definitely getting more chocolate milk.

P.S. I realize it’s not terribly manly to use words like “Sweet” and “Cute”, but I defy any man to have a daughter and continue to keep those words out of their vocabulary.

Gratitude

So, at the end of November I was laid off from my job–just in time for the holidays. Needless to say, it was a fairly stressful, rough time, but at the same time, we were really taken care of very well, by our extended families, my local ward, and even some of the government programs.

I was able to find some short-term work, and have now got a one-year position with the LDS Church, so at the moment we are doing very well. The job is about a half hour away, so we’ve been getting used to having a commute, but it really isn’t bad, especially considering having no work at all.

I wanted to say thank you very much to everyone who helped us out while we were in need. We were able to have a very enjoyable time during the holidays, and we were able to keep up with our bills and everything else because of your help. Thank you!

A Good Day

I’ve been meaning to write about a good day I had a while back…

Every now and then I like to take a couple hours to relax with something other than video games or books.  I put on some good music and make a treat. It’s usually bread, hot chocolate, or… some other chocolate treat (and in case you were wondering, yes, a good loaf of homemade bread is definitely a treat).

Now, I really enjoy a good novel or video game, but there’s something more satisfying about taking my time to make a good treat while listening to some Beethoven. It sounds cheesy, but to me it is something that “feeds the soul” (or at least, that’s how I think of it, and everyone should take some time out every so often and do something that feeds their soul).

A little while ago, I was making a treat while listening to a new CD I had recently purchased. It was nice, relaxing music (the album name is Porcelain by Helen Jane Long, FYI), and I was quite enjoying myself.

Then my little daughter came in and proceeded to dance to the music (she’s been taking lessons from June on “Little Einsteins”, so she awkwardly twirls round and round in place). She was so cute to watch!

I was touched by what a wonderful family I have. They are so good to me; not just a wonderful blessing, but the reason and purpose in my life. That afternoon is one of the sweet moments of my life. Far beyond just a nice relaxing afternoon, it is one of the more precious memories that I have, and I hope I always remember it. I felt that God was happy with me, and that I was beginning to realize some of the great joys of life.

Finances

So Rossanne is the one who does the finances in our family (I’m not sure why, but that seems to be pretty universal that the wife ends up with that chore–I guess us guys are just too lazy).

Anyway, when I changed jobs to DigitalBridge, I got a significant raise, and so I thought we would have more money. I was really surprised to find that instead we were struggling more than ever.

It turns out Rosanne has been putting all the extra money into getting us out of debt. She had told me she was working on paying off our loans, but I had not realized how much. It is amazing how much we have paid off! We just recently paid off my car, and we are making a ton of progress on my student loans. Her goal is to have all our debts paid off except the mortgage by the end of the year.

I really did not think that would be possible, but so far it looks like we’re going to be able to do it (and now that I’m not spending lots of money on extra stuff, we might be able to live within our means). I am really blessed to have such a wonderful wife.

Ada and Peas

So apparently Ada really likes peas (oh well, nobody’s perfect).

Ada was in her chair and Rosanne put a bunch of peas on her tray, and she kept eating them as best she could, with only moderate success:

  • Take a fistful of peas.
  • Bring fist approximatley close to the mouth.
  • Open fist fully and press the palm to the lips.
  • Repeat.

She has also discovered that even though she only has one mouth she does have two hands, so she can perform the above process twice as fast. Needless to say there were a lot of peas to clean up when she was done.