Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We did. We had a great time with my family. We had a nice, big dinner on Thanksgiving. My family all played some fun games and then I went with my nieces to see Twilight (again). I hope everyone else had a good time. Now I look forward to getting home and getting all set up for Christmas!! I love it!!! As a parting, I'd like to state one thing that I am grateful for. I am grateful Inspired general authorities who prepare wonderful talks for conference. Those talks are then put in the Ensign for all to read. I am so grateful for this, because those talks in the Ensign have gotten me through quite a few rough days.

My Great Debate

I can't believe I'm even going to POST this, let alone the fact that I've been THINKING about this. I have seriously been considering Homeschooling my kids!! I know, I know, it's crazy! Growing up I thought homeschool was the most awful thing EVER. The only kids I knew that were homeschooled were brilliant, but were social outcasts with NO social skills what so ever. I thought, "I will NEVER homeschool my own kids! How can anyone do that to them!?" So, why, you ask am I even thinking about it? Well, first off, when we moved here 4 years ago I met two families in our ward that have homeschooled children that are absolutely, socially NORMAL! There is hope! I absolutely HATE what the No child left behind act has done to public school. We can't afford private school. The local charter school has the most polar opposite reviews EVER. I have talked to people who rant and rave about how great it is, and others who rant and rave about how awful it is. I don't see that as much of an option anymore. So, here is my own personal debate outlined for you. If you are so inclined, leave your opinion.

10 things about Homeschool:

1. I definitely have the skills, training, and brains to homeschool my children and give them a great education.

2. Will I have the dedication and patience needed to give the kids a good education?

3. How will it all work with 2 non-school age kids right now?

4. Homeschooling will ensure that I can give them the more rounded education I want for them with lots of music, and science, and other things that have been pushed aside in the public school system.

5. I would enroll them in other social activities like organized sports, dance, play-dates, and such to give them the social experiences they need

6. I have a very good friend/mentor that homeschools her kids that will be an invaluable resource and help to me as I get going.

7. I have another friend with kids the same ages as mine that will be homeschooling her oldest next year because she doesn't like the public school system. She will be there for support and we can each teach to our strengths and let the other fill in the gaps.

8. There is a resource put out by the public school system for homeschooling parents. It's called K12 and it's a program where you get all your lesson plans from the website and once a week you have a conference with a public teacher to make sure your kids are staying on track and not falling behind.

9. Homeschooling will help keep the outside influences I don't appreciate further at bay.

10. I can always decide to put her in school if I don't feel it's right anymore.



10 things about Public School:

1. It's easier on my time and patience.

2. I HATE, absolutely HATE what the No Child Left Behind Act is doing to the school system. I hope Obama gets rid of it soon!

3. They learn to deal with all kinds of people at an early age. This has good and bad aspects which I'm sure you are already aware of.

4. I don't like how lop-sided public education has become. I want my kids to have a more well-rounded education.

5. I have no control over what is taught to my kids either by teachers or other kids.

6. Kids tend to love school in the early years.

7. All the friends they make in school.

8. I would have to apply for a boundary exception because there is NO way I'm sending my kids to the ghetto school they are SUPPOSED to go to.

9. The school I would apply for is the best in the district and other families in the ward take their kids there.

10. I can always pull the kids out if I don't feel it's right for them.



So there you have part of my own personal debate. I really don't know what I'll do yet. Both sides have great advantages and great disadvantages. Who knows if I'll really have decided when school DOES start next year. I may just end up going with public school to see how it goes. I don't know. I hope you all can sense this dilemma I feel. My friends that are homeschooling make me excited to try it for myself. Public school appeals because I don't have the responsibility all on my shoulders. *Sigh* One day I'll make up my mind!!

Give Away?

Ok folks, here's the deal. I have 4 tickets to see Twilight on Saturday, the 22nd at 2:20pm. So far, only me and my friend Jen are going. That means I have 2 tickets left and I need people to go with us!! If you're interested in going leave a comment and let me know. I've been trying and trying to find people to go and have had no success because everyone has OTHER plans to go see it. Guess we'll see if this approach works and I'll keep trying to get a hold of people too. Come on, you KNOW you want to go!!!

Trouble

There's Trouble, here in the Stephen Family, with a capital T that rhymes with D, that stands for DUDE!!! (aka Trent)
So today around lunch time Trent was acting kind of fussy. I put him in his highchair to snack on some banana while I finished getting lunch ready. We have an old-fashioned wood highchair that was mine as a baby. I got the fish sticks into the oven, checked on Trent's banana situation, and then sat down to play a little game on the computer (like 8 feet away from the highchair) while I waited for the fish to get done. A couple minutes later I heard Trent behind me jabbering to himself. So, I turned around to see if he needed more banana, and just GUESS where I found him?..........ON TOP OF THE TABLE!! He had stood up in his highchair, an easy thing to do since it doesn't have a divider between the legs like new ones do, and had crawled across his tray and onto the table!!! Lucky for me he didn't decide to climb OFF the table too!!! What a monkey! He started this whole, "I'm going to stand up in my highchair" thing yesterday. I had to keep making him sit down. So after I found him on the table I returned him to the highchair and buckled him in, hoping that would keep him in place. The buckle on the highchair is just one I put on myself. It's not the greatest. It seemed to do the trick, at least for now..........I wonder how long it will be before he figures how to get out of IT too?

Does this sound familiar???

6:30am Hubby's alarm goes off. Roll over and try not to feel guilty about getting up to start the day.
7am Hear the rustlings of little children in the next room and get out of bed because you KNOW you're not going to stay there much longer.
7:30am Feel like making a nice yummy breakfast, then settle on cold cereal because it's easier.
8am Try to dress the squirmy squiggly baby, the tantruming two year old who has to do it herself, and the 5 year old that has decided her arms don't work any more and she need you to help her get dressed.
8:15am Start cleaning up breakfast then have to go take care of the screaming baby that the 2 year old has decided makes a good horse.
8:30am Go back to cleaning up breakfast and starting chores for the day. Have to stop because the kids are fighting over a toy.
9am Pack the kids up to run errands and take 5 year old to school
9:30 am Return home and put the baby down for a nap. Think it will be a great time to get back to chores, but 2 year old INSISTS on playing outside instead.
10am YET again, try to get chores done, only to have to stop and turn on the TV for said 2 year old.
11am Finally manage to get the dishes UNLOADED from the night before!
11:30am Pack up kids again and go get 5 year old from school.
11:45am Return home and make lunch
12pm Find that the baby has squashed mac and cheese all over himself and needs a bath, or at least a SERIOUS wiping down.
12:30pm Try to get the dishes LOADED into the dishwasher. Stop as baby makes a break for the pet food. Distract baby.
1pm Settle two unwilling children down for naps after cries of "DRINK!" and "Teep Me!!" (interpreted as sleep with me."
1:15pm Put movie in for 5 year old and take a few moments for yourself, because you KNOW you're not going to get another chance. Perhaps hop in the shower, BY YOURSELF, and perhaps, heaven forbid, SHAVE YOUR LEGS!!!
2pm Attempt the whole chore thing again and FINALLY manage to get the dishes loaded and some laundry into the dryer. Find that 2 oldest children have made an "obstacle course" out of EVERYTHING in the family room. Sigh and decided to wait until Dad gets home to tackle that one.
3pm Kids wake up from nap. Give kids a snack.
3:45pm Daddy arrives home and we should HALLELUIAH!!! (How IS that spelled???)
4pm Turn children over to daddy and make dinner. Children come whining to YOU even though Daddy is apparently available and not busy. Tell children to talk to Daddy about it.
5pm Get dinner on the table and sit down to eat.
5:30pm THINK about cleaning up dinner. PERHAPS get around to it, IF there is enough motivation and time.
6pm Spend some family time
7pm Get kids in the bathtub. Reenter the bathroom after taking baby out to get on pjs to find bathroom swamped with water. Take girls out of tub and make soak up water.
7:30pm Bedtime routine filled with, "Wait I need a drink," and "What about a snack??" comments.
8pm Put children in bed and turn out lights.
8:30pm Finally succeed in getting 2 year old to STAY in bed and GO to sleep.
8:45 pm Collapse and watch some TV while thinking about how you still have to clean up dinner. Sigh
10pm Finally finish cleaning up dinner and get ready to go to bed.
11pm Fall asleep only to hear a cry of distress from the children's room as a child has suddenly awaken to go potty.
11:15pm Go BACK to bed
2am Take wandering child back to bed
2:30am Return wandering child back to bed yet again.
3am Give up and put wandering child in bed with you, only to wake up an hour later because you are being kicked out of bed by said child.
4am Take child back to bed and wait in your own bed for any more night time visitors
4:30am Finally fall into a deep, uninterrupted sleep.
6:30am Begin again.

Is it any wonder we never feel like we get anything done?! LOL

Fall Fun

What is Fall without big piles of leaves? My kids LOVE leaves. They think they're the greatest thing about the yard right now. Here's Rissa in all her leafy cuteness.
How about an Audrey Makenna Cheesy grin?

Trent likes the leaves too. Can you tell?The kids had fun crawling through, leaping into, and throwing the leaves.
Even Ben got into the fun and let the kids bury him.

Ok, so I KNOW Halloween isn't until tomorrow night. However, it was Audrey's school party today and my parents were leaving and wanted pics of the kids in costume, so I decked them all out a day early and took pictures.

Red, U of U????

Blue, BYU?????
I feel so conflicted. Let the Ref decide!!!
Hehe, hope you enjoyed our theme this year!

The Saga of the Cart Wars

Ok, since Mel hasn't posted about this I am going to because it's WAY too good of a story to pass up. Some of you already know the story, but for those of you that don't, have a taste of humor in your day. One morning this summer a mysterious shopping cart appeared on our block. It is a red shopping cart from some store called "Bizmart." I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist anymore. Anyway, back to the story. One morning around 6am when my friends and I were up to go walking we walked past Melanie and Cody's house. Cody had just come out on his way to work (Cody is a cop/jail security officer. I know that's not the official title, but oh well). The cart was near their driveway and I said, "Hey Cody, you're not supposed to steal grocery carts!" He replied, "It was Mel!!"
Well, a few days later the cart appeared on our lawn. We COULDN'T be the ghetto neighbors (we have a running joke going with the Laytons about being the ghetto neighbors) with a shopping cart in the front yard, so we took it and left it in Mel and Cody's yard.
About a week after that, around dinner time, I heard a knock on the door. I went to answer it and saw Mel running to the car while Cody was yelling, "Hurry Mel, Run!" She hopped in the car and away they sped, leaving the cart in our yard again.
We couldn't just let it stop there, so we took the cart and left it in the middle of their back yard. When they got home, they drove down the block looking for the cart and couldn't find it. When they pulled far enough into their driveway, There it was!! Smack dab in the middle of their back yard, staring at them.
So, another week went by and Mel confessed that she and Cody were going to bring it back and just hadn't gotten around to it. Ben, sneaky man that he is, decided he would get one up on the Laytons and took the cart from their back yard and left it on their porch, right in front of their door.
Needless to say, a couple days later when we got home from the doctor's office after Marissa fell down the stairs (See the, When it rains it pours post if you don't know what I'm talking about) THIS is what we found.

Yes, your eyes are NOT deceiving you. That is a shopping cart ON our ROOF!!!! While we were gone, Cody took the cart and wheeled it into our backyard. He tied a rope to it, climbed onto our Carport and hauled up the cart. Then he climbed onto the roof and hauled the cart after him. He then positioned the cart right on top an eave on the house. When we saw this we just started laughing. To add to the hilarity, the widow across the street was watching Cody as he put the cart on the roof and was REALLY confused. We told her the whole story and she just laughed at us. And there you have it, the saga of the cart wars. Ben and I couldn't top the cart on the roof thing, so the cart is just residing in our backyard until we figure out what to do with it. Manon (the widow across the street) said she thinks it belongs to a Hispanic family on our block. Guess we'll just return it at some point. Hope you all got a chuckle out of all this.