Sunday, August 29, 2010

Oprah

I love her. I hate her. She is brilliant. She is literally the Devil. We have a very tormented, complicated relationship. I tried not to watch her this past season. I am feeling a little torn with this "last" season coming up. She said on her website she is trying to create moments for this last season. Moments, people. Is that worth my time? No, I hate her! But....

I do have to say that she did give me the gift of my favorite all time TV moment ever. Do you remember when she gave all those cars away to every member in the studio audience? And they were all teachers? I'm sorry, but that was awesome.

We were living in Utah at the time, and the season premiere of Oprah was on a Monday. That had been advertising for weeks, maybe months about a big surprise. I was mildly intrigued. When I was at church on the Sunday before a lady from my church told me her daughter was going to be on the show, who was a teacher. The show was about teachers. So, she had ruined the "big" surprise, but I decided to watch anyway since I practically knew one of the people on the show! Do you remember the moment? First, she gave away cars to about 10 people on the stage who were all teachers and had sad, sad car situations, if any at all. It was great, they all get cars. Then she said that one lucky audience member would get a new car too. Check under your chair for a box and the one with the key wins! They start opening. Their is screaming and confusion. And then, Oprah is screaming and jumping. I am crying and smiling so big. They all get a car. EVERY BODY GETS A CAR!!!! I'm laughing and crying at the same time. This is so fun!! Then she walks the entire audience out to the parking lot and there they are. All the cars. It was great. I love her. Maybe. not.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Two Down

Fourth and First grade this year. They are only two years apart, and they wear the same size clothes.



Matthew waiting for the bus to arrive in the afternoon. It was 20 minutes late, I was getting a little nervous. Apparently the Kindergarten teacher had to have a long discussion with their bus driver. At least that means it wasn't about one of mine. Phew!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Gifts from my hubby this year

A Garden A Book
and A Baby

Jeremy has always been a very thoughtful gift giver, but this year might take the cake!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Who is Harry Potter?

In May Jeremy told Spencer that if he reads the first Harry Potter book he would buy him the lego Harry Potter video game. Although he was drooling over the video game every time we went to the store, Spencer refused to open the book. We just let it go, and then this weekend he picked up the book and read the whole thing in two days.

With Spencer's autism he has a hard time with reading comprehension. He is an excellent reader and his spelling abilities are off the charts. But chapter books are just words strung together for him because he has a hard time visualizing them without pictures. We are trying to help him with this. We have been trying different ideas, and he usually needs strong motivation.

After he finished the book, I asked him about Hogwarts. Spencer immediately looked at me funny and said, "Hogwarts? What's that?" Hmmmm. Then I asked him what he thought about all of the magic in the book. "Magic. What magic?" Oh boy. So he basically missed the whole book. Jeremy and I have asked him on separate occasions what the book was about. His description seemed a little too rehearsed. Then we realized he had memorized the summary from the back of the book. Brilliant. Do you think that ingenuity deserves a video game???

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

and Sisters

Jeremy has four sisters too. We hit the sister jackpot when we found each other! Rachel is the oldest sister. We have been on a journey together, and I think it is going really good places. There are so many things I admire about Rachel. She seems to have found the perfect balance between being a mom and friend to her kids. She is an amazing party planner including finding the best treats for any occasion. Rachel is artistic and thoughtful. She is super smart and funny.

Anne is next and so kind and good. Her voice is soft and reassuring. Anne will always be on your side, whatever side that is. It is so lovely and refreshing. I love her hair. Anne is stylish and athletic. She is a brilliant decorator and quilter. Anne is good at all things artsy and crafty. She has an amazing eye for color and organization. Anne is caring and easy going.

Kjerstin is the academic extraordinaire. She is so gifted in so many areas it is hard to describe. She loves to experience life and all its little splendors. Kjerstin is independent and has the best smile. Her cooking skills are amazing and artsy. She has an adventurous spirit that she actually follows which is extremely inspiring. Kjerstin has gone out of her way to be my friend in her hectic life.

Melissa is the youngest sister. She is a gifted artist. Melissa is very compassionate to people and animals. She has such a kind heart and will always be there to listen. Melissa is really fun and open to trying new things. She is super cute and has great taste. She has always been very sensitive to my needs and looks out for me. I know she does the same for all her friends and family.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Sisters

I feel so lucky to have so many wonderful sisters in my life. Since they are really the most loyal and consistent readers of my blog I thought I would give them a shout out. This is Katie. She is the oldest sister. Exactly two years older than me because we share the same birthday! Katie has always been there for me. Katie has the biggest heart and wants to help everyone around her. She is hands down the most creative and fun mom you will ever meet. And I know a lot of moms. And she beats them all. Seriously. Katie is a fixer and loving and doesn't care if she looks silly. She just loves life.

Stacey is the sister just younger than me. The creative and artistic genes skipped right over me and landed on her. She is a total babe and is really good at doing creative things with her hair. Stacey is a strong independent woman who can accomplish goals like nobody's business. She has a killer sense of humor and is really good at organizing parties and games, definitely the one you want to hang out with at the party. She is also very good with Spencer, which has been a gift.

Karen is the fourth girl in the family. My mom used to call her the sunshine girl. Because that is what she is. She brings happiness and light into every room she enters. She is tons of fun and really fashionable. Karen is really good at making friends. She is good at remembering birthdays and sending cute cards she has made. Karen is generous and giving and wants to make sure people around her are happy.


Sally is the youngest girl in the bunch. We are almost exactly 10 years apart. I cannot imagine our family without Sally because she is the cutest and most kind person. She loves all of her nieces and nephews, and they love her. She is really good with children, and will be the best elementary teacher this year! Sally is easy going and always willing to lend a hand with my crazy life.