More Bedtime Stories

Dad: Maybe mom will sing you three songs tonight.

Mom: I think we can do that.

Dad: Score!

Mason: No, I already did that.

Dad: Were the girls there?

Mason: No.

Dad: Umm.. uh-oh.

Making Our Own Fun

We took the kids to Veterans Memorial Park to enjoy the actual spring weather, and they had so much fun. This park may be one of my new favorite outings for Mason. It was the middle ground for Heather and I, so it's a little off our beaten path and that was a very good thing. It's a huge park, with plenty of room. There was a "Wild West" themed playground that was quite crowded, but there were several other playgrounds to choose from that were not as crowded. One blue and green one was huge and we were, at one point, the only people there. Not that any of that mattered; as is always true with kids finding simple entertainment, they made their own fun by throwing wood chips at each other and running around poles in the picnic area.

We picked up sandwiches and made a picnic of it. We immediately parked in the shade, thinking it would be too hot in the sun. But the weather was great and the kids quickly wore themselves out.

Wordless Wednesday: The Original Squirt Gun

For more Wordless Wednesdays, check out 5 minutes for mom.

Improvisational Skills

Alan was super sweet and brought me roses and this small bag with a little treat (that will be very good, and I think I'm going to enjoy it while I give myself a pedicure after Mason's bedtime tonight. Chocolate + a good foot soak= heaven.) as just a general thank you and a huge, really sweet surprise. The joke was on him, though. Apparently we no longer have any vases in our house. Any ideas where we can get a couple of cheap, unique vases to keep on hand for scenarios like this?

When it doesn't rain, we pour.

We got the prep work done for our concrete RV pad a few weeks ago, and then the weather has been horrible. It's been a long couple of weeks what with the dog getting out and all. I was so glad this was going to finally be done! Really, Alan and I did a fair amount of the prep work about four years ago and then there was a concrete shortage, and then there was a funding shortage on our end and, well... you know how yards can be when you finish your own one piece at a time. Our backyard has looked like a construction zone for the last four years. We're now a little closer to having a cute yard.

Mason was our big helper from the start. I think little boy's heaven is full of rocks, dirt, and shovels. The buckets, trucks, and wheelbarrows are optional.

Well, we knew this was going to be a big day for the truck-worshipping boy at our house. Since I can't (won't usually anyway) help with the heavy duty stuff, I was relegated to kid duty. It worked out well that the mixer truck in our front yard attracted my fun neighbor and her kids, too. It was a lot of fun playing with them while our yard was in chaos. Our other neighbor from up the street also came; they have a new pug puppy, Daisy, that the kids spent a fair amount of time loving on. I took lots of pictures, trying to make sure I had everything Mason would ask to view later. The first thing he asked for was Mason touching the wet cement; that didn't happen because he was too chicken. Oh, well!

The final tally was 12 yards of concrete in two cement trucks, and two chunks of vinyl fencing were carefully ripped out and reconstructed. We opted to chance letting the truck drive on our lawn rather than pay the huge fee to rent a pumper; the real risk was the truck getting stuck (which would quickly be more expensive than the pumper!), but it didn't happen that way. There were some huge ruts in the area that is now under concrete because the truck was so heavy as it started pouring, but that is apparently normal and didn't cause any problems. We also had barely enough concrete in the second truck, and one of the workers literally climbed up into the spout to help it slide down to finish the job. Mason was basically in heaven the whole day, except for the part where it didn't occur to me that any of us would need sunscreen. So we also got our first sunburns of the season, but nothing major. I was in heaven because Alan took us out to dinner so I wouldn't have to deal with cooking and dishes. He also took me to look at rocking chairs for the baby's room, but I'll have more on that later in the week (or possibly next week at the rate I'm going).
Just finishing up


Mason helping dad rebuild the fence. He loves climbing ladders. Is that normal?


Mom and Mason shared the view on the front porch. I'm not so good at the self-photography.

National Emergency Telecommunicators Week

This was sent around at my work. It's a blog post from Sheriff Winder's blog (which I can't link to because the link I was given doesn't actually work), and will adequately answer what a day at work is like for a dispatcher. If you have ever wondered what it is like, or what it has the potential to be, read below. It isn't always this way. But it can be and you just never know.

Posted At : February 11, 2009 6:10 PM Posted By : Sheriff Jim Winder

What do you take for granted?

There are some things we all take for granted. We all walk into a room and turn on the light and expect that the lights will come on. We get into our car turn the key and expect that the engine will start. And many of us get into our police cars every day, check on and expect dispatch will be there.

Dispatch is always there and all too often we do take them for granted. We assume that no matter what happens we will always be able to push the button and someone will not only answer, but have the answers to some of the most bizarre questions. Who is responsible for the running water at 8850 West 2800 South? Will animal control respond on a missing python? Call the airport and tell them to stop the planes from coming over us. These and many, many more requests are received and addressed by our Dispatch Center every single day.


We all believe we have the hardest job, it is human nature, weather we are Patrol Deputies, Housing Officers or Intake Clerks we often convince ourselves that what we do is by far the most stressful and on any given day it may be. But take a moment and think about the role of the Dispatcher.


These men and women come to work every day and every night and immediately begin to field calls from angry, upset and frightened individuals. People who are in crisis are often not the nicest to deal with especially over the phone. They scream they threaten, and they demand. When the Deputies arrive on scene the people even if they were completely out of line on the phone with the dispatcher tend to calm down, after all they are now speaking face to face to another human and they are speaking with someone who may just take them to jail. But to the dispatcher no such restraint exists.


And unfortunately it is not just the public who speaks in less than kind tones to our dispatchers. Occasionally Deputies find themselves in stressful situations and may unintentionally take it out on the person on other end of the line. I have, on more than a few occasions heard Deputies bark at the dispatcher when they couldn't find an address, or when a tow truck failed to appear in a reasonable amount of time.


All of the stress of the rude and discourteous people pales in comparison to one aspect of the Dispatchers job.


Imagine sitting in a room with head phones on at 2:30 in the morning. You haven't heard the radio crackle for 30 minutes, then suddenly, you hear a Deputies' panicked voice. "Salt Lake Charlie 31, priority". Your heart begins to race as the adrenaline races into your blood, and yet you have to hold it together. "Go ahead 30". "Salt Lake I am 10-80 East bound 5400 South 4800 West, 100 Miles per hour blue Ford truck 3 suspects". Now your adrenaline really begins to pump and yet you still must hold it together. You hit the tones on your console alerting every on duty member of the Sheriffs Office that a pursuit has begun and at the same time you have just ensured that every Deputy, regardless of location is now switching to listen to YOUR pursuit.


"All units Charlie 30 is in pursuit East bound 5400 South from 4800 West with a blue ford truck occupied three times." The Deputy keys his microphone and nearly screams into the radio, "Salt Lake suspect has just gone dark, still east bound approaching 4000 West". Now the terror really sets in as you realize that a 5000 pound bullet, traveling 100 plus miles an hour is heading for a main intersection without its lights on. After repeating the Deputies traffic, you wait for the next location... and it doesn't come.


Dispatchers have many skills, skills that are honed over years of working under these stressful conditions and one of these skills is the ability to know how long is too long when it comes to a Deputies response. As the mental clock ticks, you become more and more concerned. "What's taking so long", you key your head set and you call, "Charlie 30",...no response, you wait a few more seconds, seconds that seem like hours, "Charlie 30" you say, your voice raising. Now not only are you afraid but so is every other person listening to the radio traffic. Has the chase ended? Are they out on foot? Does the Deputy have them at gun point? Or worst of all, has something happened to the Deputy.


After several attempts at trying to raise the pursuing deputy, and your heart sinking, you hear it. The traffic you have dreaded. "Charlie 35, I have arrived 4000 West 5400 South 10-50." Immediately you know what has happened. Two vehicles, one occupied by a person you have been working with for years, that were previously traveling at over 100 miles per hour are now in a twisted heap in an intersection miles away from where you are and there is now little if anything you can do.


As you hear the other Units Arrive it becomes clearer and clearer that something is terribly wrong. "Where is Charlie 30" you think and then you hear it, the sound of a Deputy screaming " send medical."


As the minutes click by you are only able to function because you must. After all, you still have much to do. You must still account for all of the other Units that are arriving, now from all over the valley. You must call for medical and provide as much detail as possible, and you must still hold it together!


Finally the words you wanted, and yet didn't want to hear. "Salt Lake we have 4 victims, 2 are 10-85 delta and 2 charlie minus." Now the reality of the dreadful situation sets in. "This is not good, not good at all", all of the victims are in critical condition and two are possibly fatal. And still no one has bothered to inform you how the Deputy is doing.


There is a phenomenon that occurs in these types of situations. The Deputies and emergency responders on the scene shift into a kind of automation. They know what to do and they are doing it, but for some reason they believe that the dispatchers, perhaps because they are not physically on scene don't need to know exactly what is going on. Because the men and women on the scene can see with there own eyes what is happening they become transfixed and loose sight of the fact that somewhere in a dimly lit room there is a person who is as much a part of the incident as any of them.


This, my friends, is stress. So remember next time you key that microphone, it isn't a light bulb turning on, or a car starting up, it's a human being, a friend, a partner and most importantly a vital part of our family.

From China to your house, with love

I'm not a good holiday celebrator; I think I've mentioned this. One thing I forgot was that the Easter Bunny hides eggs when he/she brings Easter baskets. My husband was kind enough to tell Mason this was going to take place a few days before it happened. It was good because it kick started my plan to help Mason enjoy the day. We already knew the Easter Bunny was going to be bringing a bike, but it inspired me to help the boys dye eggs and be prepared with extra baskets and treats so Mason could hunt for whatever the Easter Bunny chose to leave behind.

Just a question about the egg-dying process: Am I the only one who's noticed the options around these days? Alan just got the basics, an "original egg dying kit". It had NINE color options. Nine. That's basic? I think when I was a kid (and I'm not trying to complain, it was fun) we had four or six colors for options depending on the kit. If we wanted green, we made it out of yellow and blue. If we wanted orange, we made it. To be fair, Mason did try a chemistry experiment by putting the orange and purple tablets in the same cup. Since we didn't want a black egg, we nixed that cup and went with a seven-color variation that worked well.

Alan showed Mason the white crayon that lets you draw pictures (or names in our case) prior to dying. Mason wanted a fire engine sticker on his and his dad's eggs. My egg ended up being yellow and you couldn't read the "Mom" on it.

We played while the eggs dried; Mason was excited to put the stickers all over them, so we let him go nuts as soon as they were ready. (Also, probably the closest this blog will see to a belly shot; I'm not good at posing and I'm usually the one taking the pictures.)

Two nights before, Mason informed us that the Easter Bunny would be by our house that night. Alan told him that Easter was still a couple of days away, and it was going to take a while; the Easter Bunny's mode of transportation after all is hopping, and he was still clear on the other side of the world in China.


Well, as Mason enjoyed some of the candy and small toys, he let me know the Easter Bunny had brought them all the way from China. I think we'll wait a few years to get into the cultural and ecological differences that make that a little hard.

Either way, we had a fun day with our in-house Easter Egg hunt, taking Mason on long walks so he could enjoy his new bike (thanks also to Alan's younger brothers who both went on walks of their own with him!), playing MarioKart and Tiger Woods with Alan's brothers, and seeing Alan's parents after they had a weekend out of town. We also embarked on a round of Cities and Knights of Catan that might just be the longest game ever, but it was mostly fun.

His first question: "Where's the step?" He's now in the hang of getting on and off, even if he needs a little help sometimes. And one of these days, he'll have the pedaling thing completely down, too.

The helmet lecture. Would you expect any different from parents who are a paramedic and a dispatcher? Mason has taken to his helmet so well he likes to wear it around the house. Who are we to discourage this?



Happy Easter from our house to yours!

Day Three of Three

So I've had several emails/comments from people who are watching how this program worked for us. I would recommend trying it to anyone. If you don't want to dig back through my rambling, it's Lora Jensen's 3 Day Potty Training, available as an eBook for immediate download. It's not very long, I read the book in about 20 minutes even with Mason climbing all over me. I have also referred back to it several times. I only wish I would have found this sooner and I will continue to gratefully thank the co-worker who referred me.

I also apologize for the delay in getting up the information from our house on Day 2. I worked through most of Day 3, so I'm posting them together today. I also need to thank my husband who took up the reins for day three. He hadn't read the book, but after being home with me on the first day, he was a seasoned pro. He did this as well as getting our concrete pad up to snuff with gates so the dogs could go back outside instead of being on leash.

His report from Day 3 was much the same as Day 2. The boys did get playing at one point, and Mason forgot to report his need to go potty, so there was one accident. But Mason woke up dry and stayed that way the vast majority of the day.

By the end of Day 3, we came to realize how much independence our guy usually has. It isn't that we don't play with him, but at a few points during the day, we retreat to our separate corners sort of and do our own things. With this program, you stick to your child like glue for all three days. There is no taking a break to fold laundry (and what three year old is going to help with that?! Mine will just throw it all on the floor) or anything else that could be considered a distraction. I hate to admit that it will be nice to get back to normal. I love to color with him, I love to play trains and trucks, and so on. But I also like to have a clean house, which sometimes require me to make sure Mason is playing well on his own so I can do the dishes or vaccuum. And I'll admit, I take a few minutes a few times a day to catch up with email, blogging, etc. It will be nice to get back to some semblance of normal.

The bottom line is this: I recommend this program. She says there will be no accidents, but I have accepted that they happen. It's not a totally perfect process, but I think we're much better off than we were three days ago in terms of Mason being potty trained. I feel much more confident that he will be totally ready for preschool when the time comes, because potty training was the biggest setback he was having. And I also feel confident that, when it comes to Mason at least, we won't need to buy any more diapers or Pull Ups, which will be a huge break. Until we get to start all over again.

Day Two of Three

The second day of our potty training program worked out much better than the first day. Mason stayed dry all night (YAY!), which we chose to focus on. Alan and I had been in the habit of locking Mason's bedroom door; I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but Mason started climbing out of his crib when he was just shy of 18 months old. At this time, he could also reach the lock on the front door and open the door to go outside. As a result of getting a bed so young (because he was so likely to hang himself on the crib with the way he was getting out), and being able to access the great outdoors on his own, we felt locking his door was warranted at the time.

However, obviously, with the potty training thing, we have to start leaving the door unlocked so he can get out if necessary during the night. Well, this first morning, Mason didn't believe us that the door was unlocked; he didn't come out, and after stepping out his bed he had an accident. We focused on the huge accomplishment of staying dry all night; I will admit that I've started restricting his liquid intake about two hours prior to bedtime to help with this. It means I've been more timely with dinner as well, which is not a bad thing.

Otherwise, Mason was relatively accident free. He was very good about telling me every time he had to go the bathroom and getting there before we had a problem. Also, one of the previous rewards we had (which we have used all through the three days) was a bag full of trucks. They were cheap Matchbox trucks from a large pack; I think all told, I spent about $20 on them at the recommendation of Alan's co-worker who's little boy had potty trained in no time flat for trucks. Well, the majority of day two was spent by Mason trying to convince me to cough up another truck. Good luck explaining rewards for increased performance to a three year old.

The Girls

I know that imaginary friends are normal for little kids. I had one named Stephanie was a kid. I have a friend who's son had "Peeps". None of us ever figured out who his Peeps were.

That does not mean I was expecting Mason's new imaginary friends.

"The girls" went into Mason's room with him one night to sleep in his bed. "The girls" were jumping into the bathwater with Mason the next morning. "The girls" are apparently everywhere, all the time.

Should I be worried that my three year old is already conjuring up girls to sneak into his room and go skinny dipping with?

Day One of Three

So I feel like I went from nothing to post to lots of things to post, but this is the one I've been the most excited/frustrated/overwhelmed with so I wanted to get this one up first.

I was recently telling a friend of mine at work (with very active nearly four year old twins) about difficulty potty training Mason. So much of what I had heard was that I would have to wait until he was ready. Between having a new baby enroute and having paid a fair amount to register him at a preschool, I wanted to make more headway than that. We had tried a couple of approaches, and Mason responds well to Daddy to a point, but then nothing. As I was telling her about my frustration with it, she nodded in understanding and referred me to Lora Jensen's 3 Day Potty Training Method.

The first thing that caught me about it was her saying the first step was having your child assist you in throwing away diapers, Pull Ups, and anything resembling them. She instructs you to clean out your car, the diaper bag, that one bag you carried around six months ago that still has a diaper in the bottom. She said Pull Ups and padded underwear are a crutch. It was the exact same thing I'd been thinking as we used them, because we were getting no further than using a Pull Up instead of a diaper.

I'll spare you the gory details, except to say it's copyrighted information and you have to purchase it; it's an eBook available for immediate download. You use a very positive, reinforcing approach, and you can start as early as age 22 months.

So we started Day One yesterday. After four or five accidents, I was telling Alan that I thought we might've made a mistake and I didn't feel like this was going to work. It was the first time I had left Mason's side all day. Alan's valid point was that we had no choice but to continue through the night because dinner was cooking and we had already chucked all the diapers. I headed inside, resigned to the fact that I had a few more hours of mess to clean up, and what did I see? Mason sitting there, going potty. He had been playing, recognized on his own he needed to go, and went. All this had occurred in about three minutes. We had a couple of other bumpy experiences until bedtime, but I felt like we had at least turned a corner with it.

Today is Day Two; I'll be back tomorrow to let you know how that went. As for the moment, all I can say is check it out. I'm waiting the full 72 hours to make a full recommendation or dismissal, but so far so good.

Big, Fat Trouble

As Mason and I were getting ready to leave the other day, we noticed that Samson had gotten out of the yard. This was a frequent problem previously, as we didn't pour the planned concrete up the side of the house when we put in the fence but it's been at least a year since he got out. It took Samson about ten seconds to realize, without the concrete, he could wiggle out. He may be dopey, but he isn't stupid.


Well, the only one of us more stubborn than Samson is Alan, who finally managed to block the area under the fence using concrete blocks and eliminate the problem. We are preparing to pour the concrete at last and the careful block arrangement has been messed with in the last couple of weeks, giving Samson about seven inches of opportunity space to wriggle out once again. Don't ask me how he managed this without leaving a leg behind; that's another story all together. He's a contortionist to say the least.



Mason was put out by this turn of events; he was a good, faithful helper as I walked the neighborhood calling for the dog. Samson finally appeared, which is good considering neither of the dogs are usually tagged or collared when I put them in the backyard. Mason asked what was going to happen when we found Samson. I replied with what I felt was appropriate and controlled. I told Mason that Samson was "in big, fat trouble." I'm so glad it came out controlled considering how irritated I was and the fact that Mason later repeated this comment far and wide, including to random people at the store when we went for a few baby items.



While I was making dinner, Mason kept himself busy building a new fence to "keep the puppy dogs in".

I am also not sure I've mentioned much about one of Mason's delightful new games. He likes to pretend he is a "puppy dog". This comes complete with crawling on all fours, barking, asking us to pet him, licking me in the face (and then protesting when I squawk about it by telling me he was just giving me a kiss), and asking for a bone. A bone can be anything from a Pez dispenser turned sideways in his mouth to actual food. He will also lap his milk out of a cup instead of picking up the cup, which has created many awkward spills. And Mason getting into big, fat trouble of his own.

Sometimes Mom spills, too. Sorry Mason.

I just knocked this tube of candy...

...on to the floor at my feet/behind me. Any guesses on how long I'll be finding these candies under my desk? They are about the size of a Tic Tac. I think it's going to be a while. And, at eight months pregnant, I'm not entirely positive I'll make it up off the floor when I'm done.

Bon Anniversaire a Blog!

Today is the one year anniversary of my starting this blog for our little family. I'm not really known for sticking with things, so I'm just as shocked as anyone that I continue to update this somewhat regularly. Thanks for sticking with me!

In honor of this, I'm posting 100 things about myself. I was going to do this for my 100th post but I forgot. I thought about adding more to make it the same number of facts about me as I have done posts in this first year, but on looking at it, I don't think I can come up with 200 things about myself so I'm sticking with the original information.


1. My maiden name was just about as uncommon as my married name.

2. My first name is spelled with two “n”s. My mom told me when I was 17 she didn’t know why she did that, and blamed it on postpartum medication.

3. I have found two other people with my first name in the state, and that’s all I know of. Neither of them spells theirs with two “n”s.

4. The first one worked at the same credit union I did before I worked there. I didn’t believe other employees who said a former employee had the same name until her dentist’s office called. They didn’t believe me that I wasn’t her, because “Who else has that first name?!”

5. The second one was a customer at Olive Garden. Telling her the law required me to put my legal name on my nametag if I served alcohol wasn’t enough proof. I showed her my driver’s license and she left me a huge tip just because she thought my name was cool.

6. I wanted to name my son Owen so badly I bought a book about a mouse with a serious blanket dependence to convince my husband. That obviously worked out really well for me.

7. We didn’t agree on Mason’s name until less than two weeks before he was born.

8. Mason was born three weeks early when I was induced at my doctor’s insistence. He was 9 lbs 8 oz, and I delivered without a c-section, forceps, a vacuum, or any of the other crazy tools they sometimes use.

9. I had an epidural and I would do it again, especially knowing that I might be giving birth to children that big.

10. My husband is the only person I ever officially dated.

11. I met my husband when I was 15. We lost contact and ended up in the same math class at the University of Utah 3 years later.

12. I didn’t go on an airplane until I was 14. My first time was on a school fieldtrip to San Diego. (as a note, a couple people have commented on this trip... for Carolee, yes it was that school trip. And Janae, I won't ever forget Darrell's freakout either! I was glad you were sitting next to me so I didn't freak the way he did.)

13. I am halfway finished with a Finance degree at the University of Utah.

14. I want to go to nursing school as soon as I can.

15. I have driven past the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Capitol Rotunda,
and Georgetown University—without stopping at any of them.

16. I nearly peed my pants when we landed at Ronald Reagan Int’l Airport. The runway starts just yonder from the Potomac and it looks like you’re going to land in the river from the rear of a plane.

17. I have run through an airport with my shoes in my hand because I didn’t have time to stop and put them on if we were going to make our connecting flight. That’s about all I’ve ever seen of Houston, TX.

18. I have never lived in an apartment. We built a house while we were engaged and took ownership just before our wedding.

19. I have never lived by myself (unless you count the fact that my husband works so often that at times it feels like I live alone).

20. My husband and I dated for 3 ½ years before we married, which in local time is about half our lives. We were also engaged for almost six months, which is also a long time in the culture here. Although, we were both aged 22, so we were still quite young.

21. My husband and I watch our wedding video every year on our anniversary, no matter where we are. He thinks it’s really cheesy, but it’s one of the few things I absolutely insist he does with me.

22. We plan a special outing for our anniversary every year, and three of the times I’ve planned it, we’ve gone to Anniversary Inn. There was a joke about Anniversary Inn being the only trip I could plan, but I sure showed him last year! (and have now realized I never posted about what we did.... I smell a retrospective post coming....)

23. I started playing flute in 5th grade (at age 10). I can still do it, but Samson will howl because it hurts his ears, so I don’t practice often. Just to be fair, he also whines at cell phone rings, so it’s not entirely my poor playing.

24.I quit playing flute in school when I made Madrigals (by freak accident) my senior year. Trying out was a fluke, and Mads and Wind Ensemble ended up being the same class period.

25. I sing second alto. I can sing tenor and baritone if I think about reading Bass clef music hard enough.

26. I taught myself to play piano on an electronic keyboard. I eventually and briefly took piano lessons.

27. The most difficult song I learned for Piano was The Jurassic Park Theme by John Williams.

28. We had a choreographed Madrigal performance to a medley of James Bond themes during which I tripped over an AV cord in front of an auditorium full of people—including my parents, who still have the smooth moves on video.

29. I have sung songs in Latin, German, French, Arabic and Scat (jazz).

30. I have read the entire text of laws that apply to my job(s). The two I remember parts of are The Patriot Act (went into effect when I was a new accounts rep) and The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

31. I know the approved 10-code for Utah and the phoenetic alphabet. I also use them in conversation without noticing.

32. I can tell you where all fire departments in the Salt Lake valley are (with the exception of SLC Fire) and what kind of emergency vehicles run from each.

33. My husband and I are horrible about large purchases. We signed the paperwork to build our house three days after we walked through the model home. We purchased his truck the afternoon after we started talking about it. There are way more poorly researched things than this, and we have not yet found a better deal later or been completely screwed by our lack of long-term research.

34. My wedding ring was the first one I put on when we went shopping.

35. My favorite flower is a rose.

36. I couldn’t swim until I was 16.

37. I couldn’t ride a bike until I was 11.

38. I read Jurassic Park at the age of 11, because the movie was coming out on my birthday and I thought that was cool. At the same age, I also read an in-depth biography of Lizzie Borden. I have divergent interests in literature.

39. The longest I have ever worked at one place is my job at dispatch. I have been there for four years this month. The shortest time I’ve ever had on a job was six weeks. (Not including jobs that were short-term to begin with as long as I finished the original term.)

40. I am really good at writing letters of complaint. I had the vice president of our credit union call me personally within a half hour of dropping off one particularly vicious but well-deserved correspondence.

41. I can’t sleep with a blanket tag positioned near my face. I won’t lay Mason down with that side of the blanket near his face, either. I didn’t even notice this until my husband pointed it out.

42.My husband and I sleep in the exact same position, and have since before we started dating.

43. My favorite movie is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

44. I watched Dirty Dancing as a child and didn’t realize what any of the plot actually meant until I was in high school.

45. I learned how to drive a manual transmission/clutch because it was all my family had when I was in high school.

46. I spent one New Years Eve (at midnight, no less) sliding up and down my friend’s driveway with her as I was helping her learn to drive a stick shift.

47.I have traveled on a bus full of hockey players more than once. I must have fit in okay because they played pranks on me while I slept just like “one of the guys”. I will never show anyone the pictures.

48. I have maintained the scoreboard and verified goals were good for hockey games.

49.I grew up listening to Abba and still have a special place in my heart for them. My favorite songs they sing are “Fernando” and “Dancing Queen”.

50. I once took soccer game stats in a concert choir dress. The soccer game was outside and I was one of the team managers. There was a Madrigal competition at my school at the same time as the game, so I went back and forth in that thing!

51. I once went on a blind double date where my friend and I (as the two girls) sat in the backseat together rather than by a date after discovering the driver had a Barbie’s head hanging from the rear view mirror by its hair.

52. My friend and I were so bored in choir one time we figured out that a septuply (is that even a word? We meant seven times.) augmented fourth is the same thing as an octave.

53. My butt has been on every stair on one side of the pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico because I’m a freaking chicken.

54. I have been in a car (on a one-on-one date, no less—no other witnesses!) when the driver didn’t hit the brakes once as we drove down Millcreek canyon from the top. It was scary. I made him buy me ice cream afterward.

55. I usually make a special spot in my schedule to watch one trashy teen soap opera. My most recent addiction is Gossip Girl. When Laura and I watched The O.C., I wouldn’t even answer the phone if it was on and I would tape it when we went to the gym while it was on.

56. I didn’t attend a concert (besides choir or school band events-I mean a professional concert) until I was 19. The first one I went to was Tim McGraw with Kenny Chesney opening before he was huge. We cut a trip to Vegas short so we could go.

57. I got to play a shotgun in our high school production of The Unsinkable Molly Brown because I was playing bass on an electronic keyboard that had sound effects.

58. I was one of 17 people fit on one couch in Madrigals. It wasn’t comfortable.

59. I have driven to las Vegas in around 5 hours. My average speed was 95 mph.

60. I love baking, and have been known to make 3-4 varieties of cookies at a time because I couldn’t decide what I wanted to make.

61. The first time I ever cut class was my sophomore year of high school. We walked to the grocery store, and the three of us split a package of Oreos and a half gallon of milk (to have that metabolism again!!)

62. I am a Gemini. The major characteristics all fit into my personality.

63. When I was 5, my uncle told me that people could only say a certain number of words in their lifetime, and he told me I was going to run out. I believed him and I cried, imagining trying to speak and being unable to.

64. My first job was as a model for Salt Lake Community College. I pretended to be a student on a math telecourse.

65. During my first job at SLCC, we had a break and took the opportunity to find out if wintergreen Life Savers really do spark in the dark. They do.

66. When I was 15, I had a dream my house burned down and I watched. I made my mom sleep in my bed with me afterward.

67. I hate grape, apple, or banana flavoring, but I like actual apples, grapes, and bananas.

68. My favorite flavor is generally cherry, especially for Tootsie Pops, other suckers, or Starburst.

69. It is almost physically impossible for me to cook a bag of popcorn without burning it.

70. My husband and I both avoided soda and caffeine for over three years. We broke our “fast” together in Hawaii. He had a root beer, and I had the best Coke I’ve ever tasted. It was only good once my eyes stopped watering and my throat stopped burning.

71. My first car was a 1986 Chevy Cavalier with no A/C and an engine buzz in the tape deck/radio. That’s right, I said tape deck. I was a great little car (thanks again for letting me drive it, mom) that we always said kicked “ASH” because those were the exact letters on the license plate.

72. My favorite song to play on Guitar Hero is “My Name is Jonas” by Weezer. My only video game related goal at the moment is to hit 100% of the notes on medium difficulty.

73. My idea of making a snack in junior high was adding food coloring to vanilla ice cream. Don’t add all the colors. The result isn’t black like you would think, but it’s rather disgusting.

74.My skin is freakishly sensitive. I’m allergic to most jewelry (including my wedding ring—I have to take it off at night) and I’m Latex-sensitive, but I also react to random laundry detergents and soaps without warning.

75. I came to a major genealogy halt when I discovered my great-grandmother’s personal records (birth certificate, etc.) and those of her family had been lost in a fire at their local city hall in small town Minnesota, and then they moved to Canada.

76. I found out through genealogy in junior high that I was distantly related to a good friend. She and I have the same great-great-great grandfather.

77. I have been hit on by a teacher and received a better grade ‘just because’, even though I didn’t realize what was going on at the time. I was hit on again by him after graduation when I was the hostess at a restaurant he came to.

78. I realized it during sexual harassment training for my current job and went “Hey, wait a minute…”

79. The first meal I ever attempted in a crockpot took nearly two weeks to scrub out of the crockpot completely.

80. I can’t whistle.

81. I sang a song from Sesame Street under my breath during an AP test to help me concentrate. It was American History, and I passed.

82. I’m really good at history, English, and math without much effort. Everything else takes lots of studying.

83. I hate science.

84. My favorite recess pastime in elementary school was playing tetherball.

85. When I was in 5th grade, we did state reports (I got Vermont and New Hampshire, because they were both small). I remember nothing about either state.

86. I also did a 5th grade president report on William McKinley. I had never heard of him, and only remember he was one of a few presidents to be assassinated.

87. For my country report in 6th grade, I got assigned to research France. My favorite part of the report was a brochure I drew to advertise the country with a hand-drawn Eiffel Tower on the front.

88. My favorite kind of music is acoustic pop, but I can’t play an acoustic guitar to save my life. I have tried to learn on my own, but will require lots of private lessons if I want to do this.

89. I played bassoon for about 5 minutes my junior year of high school until I actually got in a full bass line and thought it sounded like a duck.

90. I played a flute solo in my last concert. It was the melody line of “Winter” by Vivaldi (part of The Four Seasons suite). I was so amazed and excited when I played it exactly right.

91. I love puzzles, especially Crosswords, Sudoku, and cryptograms.

92. I can figure out most Jumble puzzles at a glance.

93. I hate Disneyland, and will have to be dragged there when it’s time for Mason to experience it. When I was 9 or 10 and we went, my dad asked me where I wanted to go next and I told him “Home.”

94.I like scrapbooking and have tons of supplies. My favorite part is doing hand-made cards.

95. I have a freaky ability to remember names, both of people I know in person and have seen in all manner of movies and television shows. I have never, ever lost The Kevin Bacon game (also known as Six Degrees of Separation), and I’ve only resorted to IMDB once or twice.

96. My favorite animal is a meerkat. I could watch them every day but I have no desire to live in Africa.

97. Toes freak me out. I think they’re disgusting and I hate it when people touch me with them. The only exception to this is Mason, because his feet are so stinking cute.

98. I won the spelling bee in 5th grade, and made it most of the way through the district competition before I was eliminated. During the second round at the district, the microphone went out and we had to shout our answers to the judges. The phonetic alphabet would have come in handy then!

99. I have only been in one physical fight in my life. It was with a girl my same age who lived next door. When her mother came over to demand an apology, my grandfather told her where she could shove that idea and then gave me pointers should I be in a fight again. He had been in the military-he had some good tips!

100.I have ordered something from a late night infomercial. It was the Turbo Jam workouts. I haven’t been very faithful in following them, but they are sure a lot of fun compared to other workouts I’ve tried!

New Bedtime Song

These are the songs the boys come up with when mom is at work for bedtime. However, we're having a hard time remembering the whole thing. Anyone know another verse?

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese
I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed
It rolled off the table and on to the floor
And then my poor meatball rolled right out the door...


...and we're done. I can remember the entire inappropriate version (naturally), but I know there is more to the "G" rated one. I think the poor meatball ends up covered in moss or something. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you remember so I don't start laughing during bedtime again. That's not very calming for Mason and ended up extended bedtime for quite a while the other night.

Interference is usually foul.

I was at the grocery store a couple of days ago, and it was our typical favorite outing. Since sarcasm doesn't convey well in writing, I will tell you that by "favorite outing", I mean "thing I always put off until the last possible second because Mason and I both hate it more than words can say."



Well, this procrastination was well rewarded. I had a slightly tired child who was also in need of a snack and not in the mood to cooperate. Both of these things were my fault because I was trying to push through errands and just wanted to get it done rather than stopping to take care of his needs. (I've told you more than once that I'm mother of the year). Plus we were out of snack foods that I'm willing to feed him and needed to go to the store before he could have a suitable snack, and it was a few hours shy of dinner time. Also, I think my poor attitude about the grocery store translates into his behavior while we're there, because I really hate going.



So needless to say, he was wandering aimlessly. One of his favorite treats is a smoothie from Jamba Juice, which just so happens to share a parking lot with the grocery store. I told Mason if he would stick with me in the store and not cry, we could stop and get a smoothie when we were done. I figured this would kill two birds with one stone, as I could get my last errand finished and get him a snack in a timely manner.



At first, the plan was working well. He would wander a bit, but without my yelling (trying with moderate success not to be the mom who yells) and a reminder, he would come back and stick with me. A big problem we were having was the large number of mother/children combinations in the store at the same time. Mason wanted to play with other kids. Well, while he was wandering before I could get his attention to get him back, he nearly walked into someone. She blew it off with my apology and I thought that was the last of it. Really, he wasn't running around so I didn't think it was a huge deal.


Well, no sooner did I get in the line at the meat/fish counter and place my order than this woman approached me and told me she wanted to pay me a dollar to talk to Mason. I told her I didn't think that was necessary, but thank you for the thought, and she brushed me off and said "He needs to learn to respect his mother. I raised three boys myself and I know how to talk to them." Over my continued protests, while trying to be tactful and still deny her, she called Mason over and talked to him about being kind and then gave me the dollar. I was horribly uncomfortable the entire time, and this lady made me feel like I was about two inches tall. I felt she was interfering and condescending and I wanted to crawl into a hole. Unfortunately, there was not one readily available and I didn't realize I could leave the meat counter and come back to pick my order up so that I could step away from her.



In the end, her little speech didn't work and he grew more upset, ending with me putting him the cart to contain him and his screaming through the rest of the store. We had to come home and sit for half an hour for quiet time before he was thoroughly calmed down and back to his funny, unfrustrated self. I think it took even longer for me to really calm down because I was so bothered.


Has anyone else have a similar situation happen to them? How did you handle it to maintain even a shred of self-pride?