Cake & Fish - Memorial Day Weekend 2009

On Sunday, we were having family dinner & Jaime had requested Chocolate Mousse Cake, so I indulged her (since she's really, really, really pregnant and all (hee hee hee)) and made it. Now, I'm no food photographer, but it does taste quite fabulous, even 3 days later at 1 in the morning.

Then on Monday, we went fishing. This is always an adventure, since our family hasn't really found our "perfect" spot. All we need is a little lake with beach-type access for the kids to play in the water, with a fast drop-off so we can fish in the same area, with not too much shade, that doesn't have a ton of people everywhere. Oh, and we want to be guaranteed to catch some fish. That's all.
We tried Harriet Lake, and after a few wrong turns, found out it wasn't for us. So we headed to Timothy Lake, found an acceptable area, were then turned off by an exceptionally large rowdy family, the steep slope, and copious amounts of billowing dust/dirt, then packed it in.

We ended up at Farraday Lake (actually Reservoir), which is where we've ended up the past 3 years. We even got our favorite little spot off an old boat launch. Tiana almost caught 2, Tristen and Mace each got 1, and I even accidentally caught one. Honestly, I was just reeling in Tiana's line. But it was a beauty! Ha ha ha!

Carseats & Campouts

So, here's the car seat I re-upholstered for PJ's sister Jaime. This project just about killed me. Seriously. But I'm very pleased that I managed to figure it out and pull it off.

Then, there was a Father-Son stake campout last weekend. PJ and the boys were going to go, but at the last minute, we decided to just campout at home. So we did s'mores in the backyard and camped out in the living room, watched movies and had a pretty good time.

Melanie who?

I always wanted to be a mom. Really. And while I realize I certainly held an idealized vision for what motherhood would be, I'm still bewildered to discover what it has become. I never signed on to become the Big Meanie. I didn't volunteer to lose who I am and what is important to me. Yet here I am. I get to be the constant voice of discipline, nagging, reminding.

Somehow, everything Dad is, loves, and does has this golden aura of "amazing" surrounding it. What the children want is frequently what comes to pass. If you were to ask my children (and maybe even my husband) what is important to me, what I enjoy - I highly doubt they could come up with anything substantial or actually important. The things I do are certainly important to the family, however, who I am has disappeared into the ether.

I crave order, discipline, organization and the absence of chaos. I love music, particularly hymns and classical. Obeying rules, and the pursuit of: education, good manners, politeness, kindness, personal independence and the Golden Rule are ingrained in who I am. I love to bake yummy things for people to enjoy. But my family doesn't even enjoy eating, and in general I have become weary of the constant battles, nagging and all that accompanies my quest for this order, and so I suppress it. My values are no longer part of the family values - theirs have become mine.

I know all my Superheroes, plus which are DC, which are Marvel, and which are Other. I know all about the Star Wars universe (yes, there is a universe), Star Trek and all manner of Sci-Fi-dom. I can quote entire episodes of Dora, Diego, Wubbzy, Blues Clues, and so on. I have 1 show scheduled on the DVR: Cash Cab. And that's because it's only 1/2 hour per episode and I can do stuff while I watch.

So often we read or hear advice for moms saying, "don't lose who you are to your kids/family/husband." Their solution? "Find a hobby! Take a class! Go out with your girlfriends!" Yet those are temporary fixes and don't address the actual change that has taken place: it has occurred deep within, we've decided to let it go because with all that goes on, it's just too darn exhausting to try and deal with pushing what I feel is important on this little kingdom I'm trying to maintain.

And so, I close the doors left open, put the shoes tossed on the floor back in their homes, organize the clutter that is apparently invisible to all other eyes, squelch the reminders of "Would you like it if he/she did that to you? Well, then don't do it to him/her!", "Where did you get it? Well that's where it goes", or "let's turn off the TV and sit down and read together."

If I were to be gone, I would certainly be missed - I know that. But what would be remembered of me? That I was always cleaning? Nagging? Punishing? Or that I loved words, musicals, dessert samplers, a good book, and a nice clean comedy.

And this is probably my fault. I have lost who I am, but it's certainly not apparent. Because I'm still doing what I do, so there's no problem, right?

Maceism of the Day - 5/19/09

I picked Mace up from pre-school and one of the teachers let me know that he and his friend Ryan were really wanting a playdate - in fact, they'd expected to be going to one or the others' houses today.

So in the car, I told Mace I'd talk to Ryan's mom tomorrow. Then, because I was trying to remember who Ryan was, I asked Mace.

Me: "Which one is Ryan?" (not really sure if he'd be able to give me any helpful info)
Mace: "Ryan has a food name!"
Me: "Really? Ryan is a food name?"
Mace: "Yeah - the Ryan on a watermelon!"

Gotta love Mace and his mind.

Kids Height Predictor

So I used one of those online height predictors for the kids (like this) and according to them:

Tristen will be 5'10"
Mace will be 5'11"
MaraJade will be 5'4"

Now, I don't actually know what they weigh, so I guessed, but as for the rest.....

I've always thought that Mace will end up a little taller and lankier than Tristen, who will almost certainly be built like Dad (because that's how it goes when you clone yourself). And Mace seems to have my body type.

But MaraJade - 5'4"?! Well, crap. Poor little munchkin got all the family's recessive genes. Thanks a lot, Aunts Andi and Jaime! :-)

Guess we just have to wait about 10-15 years and see how this pans out!

*Of course this doesn't actually "predict" anything, but it's still fun to find this out and see how it all turns out in the end.

The Holy Ghost, by Tristen Bocek

Tristen gave his first talk in Primary today that he read all by himself. I can't believe he's old enough to do this now! He helped me prepare it and even practiced it a few times, studying it during Sacrament. I think he liked that it included a personal story of his.

You'll need to turn the sound way up, and even then you may not be able to make it out, so here's the transcript:

Before we are baptized, we can all feel the Holy Ghost at some times.
But only after we are baptized do we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
This means that we can have the Holy Ghost to be with us and help us as long as we are living right.

The Holy Ghost will guide us and protect us if we listen to its promptings.
When we ask for His help, Heavenly Father often speaks to us through the Holy Ghost.

Last week, I lost my journal at the movie theater.
My mom and dad looked everywhere for it but couldn’t find it. I was very sad. My mom helped me say a prayer, asking Heavenly Father to help us find it. But we didn’t find it, so my parents got me a new one that night at the store.

Much later that night, my dad felt that he should go back to the movie theater and check again.
He looked all over, and finally found it in some bushes.
I have a testimony that the Holy Ghost helps and blesses us when we are faithful, even before we are baptized.

Completed Kitchen!

Well, it's really, really close. The countertops are in, most of the hardware is on, things are painted, sink and dishwasher work - we just need the rest of the hardware and the light fixture over the island - but it's fully functional now! We've done 3 loads of dishes just catching up with what was waiting for us. Here it is:

Happy Mother's Day!

I was going to call this "Happy @#$*!&$^# Mother's Day", but decided against it. Overall, a pretty good day. The kids were dependably horrible that morning and we almost missed the Primary kids singing to the moms in Sacrament because the boys were having one of their super long bathroom excursions, and even though we raced them back just in time, I was way too snarly by then to care and sulked through the rest of the service. We had to leave church before the Relief Society luncheon thing put on by the Priesthood to get out to Boring to be with my family. I love having our annual Mother's Day brunch/lunch at Auntie Linda's, it just sucks that I always miss the church thing. Oh, well. And we were even later getting to that because PJ had to stop off at Costco to get my and his mom's Mother's Day gifts. So I was very pleasant for a while there.

But overall, it was very nice. PJ got me the Blu-Ray edition of BBC's Pride and Prejudice miniseries to replace my DVDs (can't wait to watch it!), Tristen wrote a story about me in school (Duh! They told us to write it, Mom!) and the kids made cookie flowers (which I let them eat) at the Primary activity on Saturday. So it was good.

Jog-a-thon

Campbell Elementary's Jog-a-thon was today. Tristen got many pledges from family (Thank you!) that spurred him on to run (or walk, or sit under a tree...) 13 laps!
Way to go Tristen!

Happy starting out faces.
Warming up with his best buddy, Phoenix.
Look at him go! Such stamina! Such enthusiasm!
Actually, this is how he spent most of his time in the backfield, where he thought we couldn't see him. And he's with his lady love, Dolcee. They've been together since Kindy. They've even weathered being in separate classes this year. It's a long-term love. ;-)
Happy, happy Jog-a-thon.

Day 5

Yeah, I'm backdating - I know. But since this whole blog is for posterity's sake, I want it to be dated accurately. Sue me. :-)

Day 5 was the day of completion! (Well, mostly.) SuperBoyd was here yet again, and he and PJ finished getting all the cabinets in, installed the under cabinet lighting and such. Yippee!! Since it is now one week later, I can't remember exactly what went on that day, but here are some pics:



Now all we need is some hardware on the cabinets, countertops and many, many minor touches, and we're done!

Day 4

was much smoother than Monday. Boyd was here bright and shiny to finish all the base cabinets, so this is what it looked like when the countertop guys came to template in the morning:
Lots more installing throughout the day, and by the evening, this is what we had:

We're so close now!!

Day 3

We rested on Sunday (well, mostly - really we did), so Day 3 started on Monday, and boy, was it a doozy. I had to work, so I got the kids and myself up and out of the house by 8:30, shipping Mace and MaraJade to friends' houses for the day (THANK YOU, Makelle & Kara!), Tristen to school, and me to Vancouver.

I reminded PJ to call the cabinet/countertop guy and let him know we were a day behind schedule. Well, turns out he never received my email regarding when to template for the countertops (yeah, right!), so the soonest they can come to template is next Tuesday, with an install date of May 22!!!! That's 3 weeks with no sink, cooktop or counters! I'm trying not to have an aneurysm at work, and PJ works it out with Dennis to go to another countertop supplier, they get a quote ($500 more than what we paid) to template tomorrow & install on Monday. I'm somewhat appeased, until PJ reminds me that they only take cash or check. Well, unfortunately, we don't actually have $4000 laying around to hand over (particularly when we've already paid for counters), so I start panicking more at work, trying desperately to move money around and locate the cash we need. Fortunately, when he calls our original counter guy back and offers him the option of meeting the new suppliers' dates - lo and behold - our guy calls right back and says they'll be out first thing in the morning to template! Amazing how that works, isn't it?

By now it's 3 pm, I've spent much of my day in an utter panic, and need to finish up work and get home. Dennis, after much scraping and prepping by PJ and him, is ready to lay the floor. I come home to see actual new floor!! Woo hoo!

It really gets moving after that, with Dennis (and helper Jason) finishing the floor while Boyd (and helper Tony) installs the base cabinets. And so, by 7 pm, we have this:


It looks like a kitchen!!

Oh, yeah - and Tristen got to visit the emergency room and get 2 staples in the back of his head. Apparently it isn't a good idea to throw yourself backwards on the couch when there are drawers with sharp corners sitting there. *sigh*

Then I primed and painted the ceiling and we painted the exposed parts of the walls and went to bed around 2 am, ready to do it all again!

Maceism of the Day

Conversation between Grandpa Joe & Mace at church:

Mace: "Did we see Jesus?"
Grandpa: "Yes, we all saw Jesus when we lived in heaven."
Mace: "I didn't see Him because everyone was standing in front of me!"

Poor Mace. He's really fixated on being small/smaller/slower, etc. than the big kids these days. So I guess he decided that's why he can't remember seeing Jesus. Poor dude.

Day 2

The ceiling after PJ and I mudded into the wee hours of the morning:

The ceiling after Boyd fixed it for us:

With Boyd and Dennis as our fearless leaders again, Day 2 was all about fixing and prepping - most of the electrical/lighting was done the day before, so today was all about mudding/taping/sanding/texturing the ceiling and former soffit areas. And then tearing up the old floor and getting it prepped as well. A very long day with seemingly little progress, but very necessary. Oh, and many trips by the gophers (Ronan and myself) to Home Depot/Lowe's (we much prefer HD now, BTW). And it was the last day with the kids at Grandma's, so we were racing to get things livable/safe for their return.

Oh, and the monsoon! Holy cow! Luckily everything was safely put away when the freak storm hit around 4:30.

Day 1

Tearing it out! The guys had a ton of fun doing the demolition. Elders Tanner & Jenkins, Boyd & Scott helped out so much! Boyd was here all day long - we would have been up a creek without him for sure.


Cleared out


Ronan spent the day either glued to my side, in the middle of the fray, or hiding under the table.


PJ and I were up late, patching the soffit areas with sheetrock & taping & mudding. We were VERY sore the next day!