Time Out

On Friday and Saturday I joined about 1700 women from all over Northern California to attend Time Out for Women.

I wish I could take a "time out" like that every weekend. It was amazing.

The first Friday night speaker was Wendy Watson Nelson. I first heard her speak about 11 years ago at a BYU Leadership Conference. She was incredible then and even better this weekend.

She shared several excerpts from the talk she recently gave at the World Congress of Families in Amsterdam earlier this year. I would highly recommend reading it.

She reminded us for Elder Eyring's quote:
"As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient, won't be enough."

I spent the evening analyzing my own life and asking myself, "What am I willing to commit to never do again (or never miss an opportunity to do)- NOT EVEN ONCE!"

There was a whole long list of things... and I sat in that room committed to try. I wish I was still there. It is much harder in the real world :)

After Sister Nelson, we heard from Sheri Dew.

I have admired Sister Dew for a long time. I feel empowered to be a better person every time I listen to her speak. This weekend she asked us a few questions that really made me think (these are from my notes, so they might not be exact).

Are we being influenced or are we doing the influencing?
Are we doing what we were sent here to do?

She reminded us that "we can't underestimate the power of influence" and "what you choose to focus on determines what you see."

-When we focus on the world, we increasingly don't see the adversary. When we focus on the Savior, we increasingly see him and we can see more clearly what the adversary is doing to hurt us... and we can avoid him better.

She reminded us that our Father in Heaven is counting on us to do the things we were sent here to do.

Both ladies said a lot of other things... but the main message I got from the weekend was GET TO WORK and choose to THRIVE, because eternity depends on what we do today.

I wish every woman/young woman that I know could've been next to me all weekend learning from the remarkable men and women who spoke at the conference.

First Day

Today was Andrew's first day of co-op preschool. There are three other moms/kids that are participating... ages 18 months to 2 something. I got to be the assistant today (next week I am the teacher). The purpose is mostly social, with a simple curriculum theme... which is perfect for their age. This month we're learning about Fall/Autumn. It is making me miss New Jersey at this time of year.


Some of the resources I'll be using/modifying are from these fun little websites.

Fall wreathes, placemats, books, etc.

A few alphabet themed Fall resources

Fall flashcards, counting activities

Corn cob paintings, apple playdough, musical apple tambourines

We had such a great time today!

We colored a little bit (until Andrew bit off the tops of the crayons)

The little man drove around in this car A LOT! He got good at taking turns though... since everyone wanted to try it out. I would just say, "you have 5 seconds" and as I started counting down, he'd get out before I got to zero. He wouldn't necessarily be happy about it, but he still listened. I was proud.

This was another good toy to ride in.

His little buddy tried to push him a bit

We drove cars on a little track

We sang and danced.
Everyone loved the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Wheels on the Bus" or course!

Andrew loved pushing the stroller around with his "ball baby."

We played with bubbles- the awesome type that stay formed forever and are harder to pop.

When the train ball toy came out it was amazing how mesmerized all of the boys were. They all dropped what they were doing and came running.

Driving cars some more

We talked about Fall, colored Fall pictures, and threw leaves- their favorite part.

Dress up was also pretty funny

My little cowboy

The little guys also did a great job practicing how to share and we read some fun books.


On our drive home Andrew was SO EXHAUSTED that I had to keep tickling him to keep him awake... otherwise he'd fall asleep in the car briefly and then not take his nap. His eyes kept closing and the tickling worked less and less... so I started yelling "cookie, cookie" and he snapped awake and would fall asleep again and I'd say "cookie, cookie" again, and he'd start giggling. He giggled with his eyes close the rest of the drive home and then went right to sleep.

School is exhausting and too much fun!

Goodbye to Courtney the Corolla

I have had my Corolla for about 8 years... we finally said goodbye this morning. It was about time. My Young Women will be pleased... they thought Courtney was quite ghetto looking. I am mostly relieved, but a little sad.


This car has served me well, despite the fact that it has always made weird whistle sounds when it drives faster than 70 mph. Most of the automatic locks no longer work and for a few years the driver side window and door handle were broken. I would have to climb out the passenger side to grab parking tickets and pray that the window would go up when I went to the car wash or when it rained. It was hit or miss each time. Driving in the rain with the window down is not fun.


This car came with me to California in 2002. Elise and my mom drove it all the way from Provo (I drove in my 17 ft truck with Scotter). The day I bought this car, I skipped out on a co-ed BYU intramural softball game. Our team had to forfeit because we didn't have enough girls. I felt really bad and my friends in my ward were mad at me... but I was so excited about this car that it didn't matter. It was my first purchase as a real adult. I bought it all by myself with my own money.


This car lived with me through a lot of fun single years, three years of marriage, and the first year of Andrew's life. It is the only place where I truly let out my completely unorganized messy side. It usually held tons of books, craft and paper products for any teacher/mom/party emergency, snacks, and a hoard of sports items... including all 8 of my mini-lacrosse sticks. I am hopeful that by saying goodbye to Courtney, I'll say goodbye to that messy side of me forever... but I doubt it :)

Fortunately we cleaned Courtney up a bit and lots of people wanted to buy her. We held showings on Friday and Saturday and one cool college kid outbid everyone else. Now my Corolla is on her way to have some fun at UC Santa Barbara, with a kid who shares my maiden name.

What a perfect ending.

Caught Red-Handed

I found this evidence on the kitchen floor... with no little man anywhere to be found. It was not full to begin with, but when I found it it was completely empty. The bag had been in the bottom of my purse. I have one sneaky little boy.


When I found him he had this deer in the headlights look... and then he decided to stuff the rest of the treats in his mouth before I could do anything.


He was so proud of himself that he was dancing around.


I was just laughing at him while he showed me all the treats he already had in his mouth.


Such a goofball.

Coloring

This is how I know we're not ready for coloring with crayons yet.


That waxy texture is just too cool.


Mmm paper! Tastes like chocolate.


Surprisingly, playdough is really tasty to the little man too... :)

The Andrew Language

I have been trying to interview Andrew lately and get him to say some of the words that he knows. I feel like he picks up several new words each day right now... so I'm trying to document them. Most of these words he's been saying for awhile, but Kevin and I are pretty much the only ones who understand him. :) Life is much easier now that he's learning to communicate what he needs.

Here is some footage of him saying a few names.



Saying random words



Uncle Dan taught Andrew to say "pow." He also likes "whap." If he hears either of those words he will walk around the house hitting things.

Labor Day

I definitely enjoyed celebrating Labor Day this year!

For these two, the day started off nice and early... while I slept in until 10am. Thank you fabulous husband! Then they played at the park while I went on a nice hour long run by myself. Yay!


Later in the afternoon we went up to Christian & Ryan's house for a delicious BBQ... where once again we didn't have to labor at all! Christian is a friend of Kevin's from KPMG. We just relaxed, ate the yummy food that kept coming and coming, and basked in the San Ramon sunshine. One of the little boys at the party loved me and found out that I liked corn... so I just had to sit there and he brought me a new corn on the cob every time I finished one. Our new little friend also brought Andrew his food. We enjoyed being waited on. :)


The corn on the cob off the BBQ was incredible! Kevin couldn't get enough of the burgers and Andrew absolutely loved the hot dogs (and especially the hot dog buns). Mmm! Andrew also loved running around like a crazy man all over Christian's yard, so I didn't get too many pictures... only one of the appetizer spread :(


Andrew was also thoroughly entertained by the backyard water fixtures and the other little people at the party. We also LOVED the reversed chocolate chip cookies with ice cream for dessert. The little man just kept saying "cookie, cookie" and running around. Once we were stuffed we decided to leave before Andrew had a meltdown... and we were successful.

He didn't have a meltdown at Christian's house... but had one immediately when we arrived at my cousin Jenny's house and I picked up her new little baby girl. We are excited to be moving closer to Jenny & Chris and their darling little girls so we can see them more often. Doesn't Kevin look so cute holding baby Macy?

As long as I wasn't holding Macy, everything was fine. Andrew enjoyed playing with some of Kate's toys while we caught up with Chris and Jenny. After our quick stop with the Heymans, we headed home to get the overtired little man to bed. What a fabulous Labor Day!