A Third One Hundred

Alright!  For my birthday, I decided to go ahead and check the first thing off my 40 before 40 list: Item #24 -- Complete a new 100 things list!  I've created two other lists in the past, and my big challenge this time around is to try and come up with a NEW set of 100 things about me -- without looking back over the other two, first.  {List 1 is HERE and List 2 is HERE.}  That should make things more fun, right???  Hahahaha.  Without further adieu, here we go...

1.) I have a small obsession with personality tests -- I'm not exactly sure why

2.) Perhaps it's because I'm an INFJ?

3.) Or maybe it's because I'm an Enneagram Type 2 (I think)? 

4.) Words of Affirmation are my Love Language

5.) I'm an idealistic realist

6.) Road tripping has become one of my favorite things

7.) I drive a Honda Odyssey -- perhaps the most cliche of all mom cars

8.) When I was a kid playing M.A.S.H., my car options were always like 15 passenger vans

9.) Probably because my number of kids options were always 7, 8, or 9

10.) I've been a journal writer since the 6th grade

11.) I have a faux dimple in my left cheek

12.) I can't decide if my eyes are blue, green, blueish-greenish, or grayish -- it makes filling out driver's license info unnecessarily stressful

13.) My shoe size is 6 1/2

14.) So is my ring size

15.) I've still never been to San Francisco

16.) Bar Harbor, Maine is my favorite place I've ever visited

17.) I like to collect bumper stickers as souvenirs for all the places we've road tripped

18.) My current favorite breakfast option is a bowl of Crispix with a sliced banana on top

19.) I kind of have a thing for memoirs

20.) If I were to ever write a book, I think that's the genre I'd be going with

21.) My ultimate running goal is to finish a half marathon in under 2 hours

Current Half Marathon PR -- 2:16:50 from fall of 2014

22.) Red is my least favorite color to wear

23.) Probably because I'm a Soft Summer

24.) I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education

April 2002 -- Scott and I graduated at the same time

25.) I really love art

26.) Words are my superpower

27.) I'm a bit of an overthinker

28.) If I had to pick 3 fictional characters to represent me, they would probably be Hermione from the Harry Potter series, Frankie Heck from the TV show The Middle, and Beverly Goldberg from the TV show The Goldbergs

29.) I don't like flying

30.) I love a good cupcake

31.) I wish I would have tried cross country in high school

32.) Music and Library were my favorite classes in elementary school

33.) I'm so glad the schools I went to were such supporters of the Arts

34.) Sometimes I think I would love to be an elementary school art teacher

35.) Other times I think my ideal job would be as a school librarian

36.) And then, there are times when I feel really crazy and think it would be really fun to teach a high school English class

37.) My style icon is Reese Witherspoon

38.) Forming a family band is one of my greatest dreams (that will never come to pass)

39.) I sang in my school choir in 4th and 5th grade

40.) I always use my left ear when I talk on the phone

41.) While walking or running with someone else, I prefer to be on their right side -- so I can listen to them with my left ear

42.) I don't think that I necessarily have better hearing in that ear -- because I don't think I do -- but for some reason, I definitely process what I'm hearing better from that side

43.) My favorite number is 3

44.) I'm a hopeless romantic

45.) I'm kind of a messy eater

46.) Actually, it's more that I'm a careless eater

47.) My very first "real" job was working at the Gap the summer before I started college

48.) I probably used most of my paycheck on my employee discount

49.) I wish I knew more about gardening

50.) My first celebrity crush as a kid was on Sean Astin's character in The Goonies

51.) I thought he was just so cute with his braces and asthma

52.) Christmas is my favorite holiday

53.) Mostly because I love playing Santa so much

54.) But also because I love the music and the lights and the general atmosphere of joy

55.) Peppermint ice cream is my favorite

56.) Although Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla is a close second

57.) I hate confrontation

58.) I think ice skating is more fun in theory than in actuality

59.) Fish freak me out -- when swimming near me, that is

60.) The number one saying that I repeat to my kids that my mom always said to me is:  "You never know until you try it on"

61.) I asked my kids what they'll be saying to THEIR kids that I always say to them and I got some interesting answers:

62.) Jane says it will be "Save up your pennies" or "I need some elbow room"

63.) Grace thinks it will be "The whiter the bread, the sooner you're dead" (my grandma used to always say that and Grace has always gotten a huge kick out of it)

64.) I don't think Ethan responded, but if he did, it would probably be "Find a purpose"

65.) Either that or "Nothing is as big a deal as you think it's going to be"

66.) It took me an embarrassingly long time to learn my times tables in elementary school

67.) And to be honest, I'm still pretty shaky on the 12s

68.) And by shaky I mean I only know 12 X 12 off the top of my head

69.) I hate amusement park rides

70.) I've stopped the Tilt-a-Whirl at least 2 different times in my life

71.) Which begs the question -- why did I try it a second time when I knew how I reacted the first time?

72.) When Scott and I were first dating, he let me take his car home late one night and while parking near my apartment, I accidentally got stuck in a ditch

73.) I had to call a tow truck to help get it out and I think it cost me 80 bucks

74.) I was so embarrassed that I didn't want to tell Scott, but I'm also incapable of keeping anything from him, so I ended up telling him the next day when I brought back the car

75.) Luckily Scott has a great sense of humor and is super low-key and chill, so he just laughed and said I should have just called him when it happened and he would have tried to help

76.) I think I made an EXCELLENT choice in marrying Scott

77.) I try really hard to be low-key and chill, but I'm not

78.) I'm pretty intense and a little over the top

79.) And that's okay because it means I care about things -- a LOT

80.) The Grapes of Wrath is a "classic" that I've never read but have been meaning to for years

81.) Other "classics" I haven't read but feel like I should, include: A Tale of Two Cities (or anything by Dickens)

82.) Moby Dick

83.) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

84.) Frankenstein

85.) And The Chronicles of Narnia

86.) I think I'll add all of those to my to-be-read list for my 40 Before 40

87.) Composers from the Romantic period are my favorite

88.) My favorite science class in high school was Physics

89.) I kind of love poetry

90.) I'm easily distracted

91.) I love colors 

92.) When I was growing up, my most often requested birthday cake was a lemon cake like my grandma would make

93.) Unfortunately, I don't think any of my kids like lemon flavored things, which is a shame because I love them

94.) I don't enjoy cooking

95.) Keeping up with the laundry is my nemesis

96.) Fall is my favorite season

97.) I'm a light sleeper 

98.) I hardly ever think stand-up comedy is funny

99.) But slap stick comedy makes me laugh every single time

100.) I like soundtracks from Broadway musicals, but I don't always love watching the Broadway musical itself

And that's a wrap!!!  Whew.  That was a LOT harder this time around.  I'm running out of new things to record about myself.  Hahaha.  Hopefully, this weekend will be nice and chill so we can finish celebrating my 39th birthday tomorrow.  :)

Never Not Negotiating

Maxwell loves finding this patch of sunlight in the piano room to bask in.

Sunday night, Scott and I had a sit down serious chat with Grace about our expectations for her with her dog.  To be fair, she does take care of him at night, and she's usually willing to do what we ask her to do for him, but over the last few weeks, more and more of her dog duties have fallen on ME.  And as I told Scott last week, I can't decide if it's a good thing that I love Maxwell so much, or if it's a really, really bad thing -- because if I didn't care for this dog at all, I'd have no problem giving him the boot if Grace didn't step it up in her care-taking. 

But the fact of the matter is, I do love the little pupper, and getting rid of him is not really an option now that he's a member of the family.  SO.  Scott and I had a little executive council before going in to talk to her on Sunday evening so that we could outline exactly what her specific responsibilities will be.  Because simply telling her to "be more responsible" has been a little too vague to prompt any real actions.

We recognize she's a 14 year old child -- and she is in school during the day and has homework and other responsibilities, too -- so we came up with 4 main things she needs to do everyday to help take care of her pup.  1.)  Get up at 7 every morning to let the dog out and feed him before getting herself ready for school; 2.)  Do a sweep of the backyard after school for any dog poop that needs cleaning up; 3.)  Feed him dinner; and 4.)  Take him upstairs by 8 every night to put him to bed/hang out with her while she does her homework.  I think that's pretty reasonable and doable.  Right??  Here's how Day 1 went this week...

{7:05 AM Monday Morning}

GRACE: Mom

ME:  What

GRACE: Can I slowly ease into waking up at 7
GRACE:  Like can I have this week


ME:  Fine
ME:  You have to be up by 7:15 this week
ME:  Next week it's 7

GRACE:  7:20
GRACE:  Weekend 7:15

ME:  You think you're going to wake up earlier on a weekend than a weekday?
ME:  I'd say that's ludicrous
ME:  And highly unlikely
ME:  I'll give you 7:20 today and tomorrow
ME:  Then the rest of the week is 7:15
ME:  Next week will be 7

{7:20 AM Monday Morning}

GRACE:  I'm awake {after me yelling up the stairs at her}

ME:  You need to be DOWNSTAIRS
ME:  We're leaving
ME:  And Maxwell thinks he's coming with us

GRACE:  But I have stuff to do UPSTAIRS

ME:  That's why you need to get up earlier
ME:  That's the whole point
ME:  Take care of your puppy first
ME:  Then do your stuff
ME:  Open your door so he can come in

So, here we are on Day 3, and she hasn't gotten up on time once and done what she needs to do; I don't think any backyard sweeping has happened; I think she got his food ready for dinner last night; and she's tried to bring him up every night at 8, but he doesn't always want to go -- I'm his new favorite snuggle buddy.  Haha.  Scott and I figure we'll give her this week to "ease" into things, but starting next week, we're going hardcore.  If she can't step it on up, she's going back to the dark ages of no cell phone until she can prove we can trust her.  Hopefully, it won't come to that.  ;)

The Time Has Come

What's that saying?  Fool me once -- shame on you; fool me twice -- shame on me??  What should the saying be when we're right back to square (or should I say nest?) one with Jane's hair for the FOURTH time in two years?  Jane, Jane, Jane.  I really thought the third time was a charm and she'd finally get into the habit of brushing her hair often enough to keep the rat's nest at bay.  But the shame is ALL on me.  And now, I've got some major detangling to do this weekend before I take her to get her haircut for real.

 (She did NOT want anymore photographic evidence of her hair.  Let's just say we're back to "smoothing" into a ponytail everyday.)

I've threatened before to make her get a pixie cut if she can't keep up with the brushing, but she's pretty emotionally adamant that she does NOT want one, and I'm trying to decide if I'll have pity on her.  {Spoiler alert -- I probably will.}   She has agreed that something needs to be done, however, and since I got my hair cut last week (it's just barely chin length), she's willing to go as short as mine. Hopefully, by next Monday, we'll have a brand new before and after to showcase!  ;)

(Not the best picture in the world, but you get the idea of how short she'll be going.)

February Phone Dump

It's hard to believe it's the last Friday in February!  Since I still have hundreds of pictures from this month on my camera roll, I figure now is the perfect time to unload some of those while checking in on what everyone's been up to this month.

Let's start from the top...

ETHAN

This month (and last) have been almost entirely consumed by the "infamous" 1920s project/presentation in his AP Block class (AP U.S. History combined with Pre-AP English).  To say this has been a major source of stress for Ethan would be an understatement.  Apparently, this group project has been a staple of the class curriculum for more than 20 years.  Group projects are never Ethan's ideal -- because really, how can you ensure that you won't be stuck with people who do NOTHING -- but I would say he really lucked out with having an awesomely responsible and on-top-of-things group of Sophomores to work with on this one.  Their group's topic was "Business," and they were essentially required to learn and then teach to the class everything there is to know about Business in the 1920s.  I'm not sure what the exact, specific requirements were for each of the groups, but Ethan's group used a skit for the framework of presenting their topic, complete with a cardboard cutout Model T Ford, visual aids, and "costumes" for each person's focus.  Ethan was responsible for the sub-topic of the economy and dressed in shirt and tie for the occasion.  I don't really know what everyone else dressed as, but I know there was at least one person dressed to represent farming and another dressed up as a character from "The Great Gatsby," which they finished reading before the project.

 Ethan came up with this analogy/treat handout -- the Double Stuf Oreo represents the economy of the 1920s with an economic slump at the beginning, the good years in the middle, and the stock market crash at the end.

All of Ethan's hard work paid off, though, because his group did amazing on their presentation.  I know it was super stressful and so much work, but it's always gratifying to see what a sense of accomplishment comes from doing something so difficult.

They got 100%!

GRACE

Grace is a crack-up.  She had a field trip this month to the high school, where the 8th graders were introduced to the building and all the classes that will be available to them next year when they enter the 9th grade, and the stream of text messages I got from her while she was there was nothing short of    performance art.  For some inexplicable reason, she's decided she wants to try and graduate a year early.  To that end, she's signing up for two math classes next year -- Geometry and Algebra 2.  She's also decided that even though she's never played an organized sport in her entire life, now is the perfect time for her to join the 9th Grade Women's soccer team.  Because, why not?  Right?  Hahahahaha.  Oh Grace.  She certainly makes life entertaining.  Other High School pursuits she will be pursuing are: the Debate Team and maybe choir.  Although, that last one is a big maybe.  She's basically just trying to find stuff that will look good on her college applications.  You've got to admire that kind of big picture thinking.  Hahahahaha.

 When I went to put clothes in her closet earlier this month, I found this sweet display taped up on the inside of the door.  

I don't think it's possible to develop this kind of confidence -- I think you just have to be born with it. Hahahaha.

List the best things about you:

I can make anyone laugh

I'm good with little kids

I am easy to talk to

I am smart in school

I am a creative person

I am trustworthy

I am a "love therapist"

I just have a good personality

SOPHIE

Sophie's biggest news of the month is that she made it into the middle school talent show!  She's singing again this year, and as much as I've tried to steer her towards a more singer-songwriter vibe, she has consistently resisted and insists upon bringing the house down with a rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing."  I'd say she gets her "go big or go home" tendencies from me, but even I would never attempt to go THAT big.  Hahaha.

Along with her GT disco ball project, she has also enjoyed "Creating" for our February focus this month.  I think she recognized more than any of the others that creating things really DOES bring joy.   :)  She's dabbled in painting, helped Grace with decorations for Young Women's, and attempted to make her very own personalized wooden peg doll.

 (The behind the scenes look at the making of the disco ball.)

JANE

Sophie wasn't the only one enjoying an artsy-craftsy month.  But then again, EVERY month is an artsy-craftsy month for Jane.  Hahahaha.  She also had a fabulous time painting wooden peg dolls and  used up more than her fair share of art paper.  Her other fun project of the month was dressing up as Amelia Earhart for a biography report/presentation at school.  When Jane came to me the afternoon before it was due and began insisting that we needed to go to the store to BUY a costume, I was like I don't think so.  Haha.  I had her do a quick Google image search of DIY Amelia Earhart kids' costumes and after looking over the ideas decided that all we needed was: goggles, a hat, scarf, boots, and jacket.  It didn't really matter so much if none of these items resembled the ones that Amelia wore.  She was skeptical that we'd be able to find all of the necessary accessories, but I blew her mind and found the perfect thing for each category.  I think she was quite pleased with the final result.  ;)

 "Amelia Earhart" featuring: Scott's safety goggles, my scarf, a random knit hat from our winter gear, Sophie's vegan leather jacket, and Sophie's boots.  Voila!

Jane's favorite fact she learned while doing her research was that Amelia married her book publisher -- "Who DOES that???" she exclaimed.

(I forgot that Jane made this special little Valentine surprise for me at the beginning of the month.)

ALEX

Alex had the privilege of being "Camper of the Week" in his 2nd grade class this month.  The most distinguishing thing about this prestigious week was that he forgot to turn in his all-about-me sheet until Wednesday or Thursday, and he missed school on the Friday because he was running a fever that morning and had a cough.  It was all good, though, because when he returned to school this Monday, he was presented with a booklet that had a letter from everyone in his class.  I think it's safe to say that we ALL found the letters entertaining.  One in particular has become a running joke around the house -- "Your eyes flow like a river and you're as nice as a sunflower."  Hahahahaha.  Words can't even describe how much I love that letter.

Dear Alex, Your eyes flow like a river and your as nice as a sunflower and your my freind...

ISAAC

Isaac also got in on the wooden peg doll painting and discovered a latent love for art.  I was surprised at how long he stayed focused and attentive while painting each of his little people a solid color.  Granted he went a little overboard on the amount of paint he used, but he's 3 -- so that's to be expected, right??  Haha.  I'm not sure that there's too much else to report on our little Dumplin', but I have discovered in the last several weeks that he's uncannily good at directions while we're driving around town.  Or at least he's paid attention enough to the places we drive to on a daily basis that he knows each place we need to turn.  It wasn't until the invention of the GPS that I was able to perform such tasks as that.  Hahahaha.

 This kid falls asleep in the oddest positions.

 His newest obsession this month was our Scripture Time song, "I Know Heavenly Father Love Me." It's his new go to request whenever he asks me to sing him a song.

 Isaac's "people."

And my Peg person rendition of Isaac.

MAXWELL

My cute little pup pup is growing so much!  It seems as though he's gone through a growth spurt in the last couple of weeks, because all of a sudden he looks so much bigger.  We've been working on commands with him so that he'll be able to "graduate" from his puppy training class next week, and I think he'll be able to get his certificate!  As a special treat this week, I made some little doggie biscuits that I found on Pinterest for a training reward.  He really loves them and I love that they're a lot cheaper to make than the ones at the store.

 We took him to run around at a dog park a few weeks ago and he LOVED it.

(Ethan snapping a selfie with Maxwell to text Grace and tell her that her dog likes him better than her.  Hahaha.  Not true -- for the record.)

How cute is this photo I snagged from his little doggie daycare facebook page??

ME & SCOTT

I'm just gonna go ahead and lump the two of us together for this post because the most exciting happening of the month involved me being Scott's plus one at a masquerade ball fundraiser thing that he had to go to for work on Saturday night.  As kooky as it sounds, it was actually quite fun!  I enjoyed dressing up and wearing a mask far more than I expected I would.  Haha.  Scott was slightly less enthused about the mask part, but he was a good sport and kept his on for the first several minutes at least.  (And everyone had taken them off by the time we sat down to eat.)  The only real downfall of the night was that I discovered I do not really enjoy Greek food.  Or at least not that Greek food.

The only other notable thing for the month is my 39th birthday on the horizon for next Thursday.  And then the 40 Before 40 will begin in earnest!  Hahahaha.

Until next time...tootles!