A Few of My Favorite Things

And just for fun...Here are a few of my favorite things - in no particular order...

Popcorn - some would say that this is a borderline addiction and really I would totally agree. I love popcorn, could eat it everyday and some weeks I do. I feel that it is a totally appropriate lunch or dinner (Greg does not agree) and in fact it was my lunch today and a couple weeks ago I did feed it to Wesley for dinner (don't ask it was not a good day). It is so bad that if I go to Target, the first thing Wesley asks for is popcorn because lets face it, we get it almost every time we go and he knows it. The addiction will continue for future generations - My Grandpa Meyers would be so proud.
I love how children can sleep pretty much anywhere. Yes, I have blogged about this before but it continues to be one of my favorite things and Max seems to provide many opportunities to see this. He is a stubborn soul and at times will fight nap time and then fall asleep in the most random places and positions.

Zucchini bread has become a fast favorite around our house. Wesley and Max both love it - and because it is made with a vegetable I consider it semi healthy. Recently we have discovered (thanks to my friend Erin) a fabulous chocolate zucchini bread recipe. HEAVENLY is the only word that describes it (and when the author of the recipe recommends it hot out of the oven slathered with butter...trust her and eat it this way). In fact this morning Greg requested that the only zucchini bread that I make anymore be the chocolate kind. I happen to love the regular as well so he may end up being disappointed.

I have recently become semi domesticated and have began making my own freezer jam. And thanks to my sister's roommate Andy, I have discovered how fantastic the combo of strawberry and peach is. So, good...almost like candy. I have also found that the plain strawberry (I make both) is wonderful on cornmeal pancakes. I now make these frequently to use as a vehicle to enjoy the strawberry jam. We all love them...Wesley with syrup, Max plain, and Greg eats them with various toppings. I wanted to take a picture before I started eating them but totally forgot in my eagerness to start eating, so you get the half eaten plate.

I am a huge fan of Half Price Happy Meals on Tuesdays. If you don't live around here and you local McDonalds does not do this you are missing out. We don't go every week but it is so nice to know that when it has been a busy Tuesday (and they randomly are) I can actually afford to treat the family to dinner out.

My cats...they think they rule the house. I love the mentality of cats, they have a superiority complex and it makes me laugh. I think that is why I have cats because I enjoy their attitude towards life.

Messing with Greg...it is so fun, especially the times that he doesn't realize that I am messing with him. Like these pictures of Wesley...I only have them to mess with Greg. Really, Wesley is 2 years old - he is not going to wear tiaras and bracelets forever, he doesn't know the difference yet. And with the picture of Greg - he did not even know I had taken the picture until I used it as his profile picture on Facebook.

And now for a moment of sappiness...I adore my boys. They are the best things I have created and they bring a lot of happiness to my life. They are also creating gray hairs and frazzled nerves but they are both worth every moment of craziness.

Labor Day Pictures

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1. Wesley at Dierkes Lake 2. Max didn't like the water so much 3. Me and Greg swimming 4. Max playing (not in the water) 5. John, Domnique, and Grandpa 6. Aunt Sara and Wesley 7. I bit Greg (not Charles as originally posted)...can't remember why but at the time he REALLY deserved it 8. Uncle Charles and Max 9. Wesley's red mouth...from drinking a juice box 10. Wesley swiped the whole carrot right out of the bag and started chomping away 11. The boys playing in the pool at the camp ground 12. Wesley loved riding his bike and playing in the dirt 13. Max wearing Grandpa's hat 14. First time seeing Jiffy Pop 15. Max waiting for popcorn with Grandpa 16. Greg the bunny 17. One of the nice 4H girls let Wesley hold a bunny 18. And another let Max pet one 19. and 20. Both boys first time eating cotton candy 21. Max loved the elephant ear...it was bigger then him 22, 23, 24. Model railroad room...Wesley's very favorite - went in there twice and left with him mad at us 25. Feeding the animals at the petting zoo 26. Max gave up and fell asleep 27. and 28. Wesley on a couple of the fair rides 29. With "Papa" 30. Packing to leave 31. Neither Wesley or Max made it very far before they were asleep and they slept all night as well

STUCK

Yesterday while I was fixing dinner, I heard Max start to cry...well cry is not the right word - he was screaming. So, Greg stopped what he was doing to check on him and found him with his head stuck between the couches. No, I did not stop my dinner preparations to take a picture...Greg unstuck him and walked away. Mere moments later Max began to cry, no scream again. And again, Greg went to check on him where he found that yes, he had his head stuck yet again...apparently whatever toy/random item he was after was very important. At this point I did stop my dinner preparations and I did take a picture. You can see his face is red from screaming. Once I unstuck him this time, I moved the couches closer together in an attempt to keep this from happening for a third time.

Yep...Mother of the Year - That's Me!

Wesley and Grace (one of the little girls I watch) were walking with me home from the bus stop this morning holding hands. Next thing I know their little legs get tangled up and down they go. Luckily Grace landed on Wesley and did not get hurt, just a little scared. As you can see Wesley took the brunt of the fall. I guess it is only fair since earlier in the week Wesley fell into Grace, causing her to scrap up her nose. It really has not been my week for injuries because also on the same day Grace scraped up her nose causing a bloody nose, no less - Max toppled over in the living room. I thought nothing of this because he is making attempts at walking, until he crawled into the kitchen, hysterically crying with blood dripping from his nose. So, yes crown me now as Mother of the Year.

Cabin Camping

Ok...Let's face it, I am not a camper. I like the idea of camping but the actual roughing it part is really not for me. I wanted to do something over Labor Day weekend, so I invited myself and the boys along on my parents camping trip. Lucky for me they can no longer sleep on the ground and rented a little, rustic cabin (just two rooms with beds - nothing else, you have to walk to the bathrooms but a least there were flushing toilets and showers). We cooked outside and the boys, Greg and I had a fabulous time with my parents. Wesley literally spent two days rolling in the dirt. And Max, well I kept him as contained as possible but he still managed to stay dirt covered for two days as well.

Greg and I left Boise, later then planned on Friday and arrived at the camp grounds around 9pm. We unloaded the car, got the boys ready for bed, and basically went to bed. But we were there and ready for adventure.

Saturday was spent at Diereks Lake above Shoshone Falls. We swam, and played all afternoon. We also, forgot the sun screen and at least me and my brother Charles had mild sunburns. How the boys avoided anything more then pink noses, I still have not figured out. That evening we BBQ back at camp with both brothers and their wives. The kids got to swim again in the pool and then rolled in the dirt together. That evening before bed, Wesley got his first experience with Jiffy Pop popcorn - now him being a popcorn fanatic LOVED this part of the day.

Sunday we went to the Twin Falls/Filer Fair. It was a blast. And I now know where my terrible eating habits come from, as I my Mom and I proceeded to eat our way through the fair. By doing so, I introduced my boys to the pleasures of fair food. (I personally ate - mini doughnuts, cotton candy, a gyro, curly fries, soda, and an elephant ear...also purchased - hamburgers, sausages, and corn dogs.) As a disclaimer - all of the junky/sugary type food was shared. Wesley loved seeing all of the animals and being able to touch many. He also got to feed goats and sheep and the petting area. We rode a few rides, which again Wesley loved (Max joined us on the Merry-Go-Round). But I have to say that the part of the fair that Wesley LOVED the most was the model railroad - it is huge and he could have (and would have, if allowed) stayed there all day - in fact he would barely eat anything because all he wanted to do was go back and see the choo-choo's. After dinner that night we packed up to come home, Greg had to work Monday and so our vacation came to an end. The boys promptly feel asleep in the car and slept the whole way home (woke briefly when we stopped for gas) and really never woke up when we brought them in and placed to very tired, very dirty bodies to bed. Wesley kept repeating..."Welsey's bed, Wesley's bed".

Monday was a fun day as well. Greg forgot his phone, so that was our first stop of the day. After that we hit the stores with my SIL Sara. We had fun shopping the day away. At one point, while waiting for Sara outside a store - Wesley said "alright shoes...go" and took off running (I should mention that Wesley got new shoes that have Lightening McQueen on them because lately, Car's is his favorite movie). It was so cute and very amusing for me. Later that evening we met at Greg's sister DaVette's house for dinner (Mom and Dad Weyerman, Phillip, our family, and obviously DaVette, her boys, and Shawn). It was a great way to end a fabulous holiday weekend.

Pictures of the weekend will follow in a separate post.

Silence is NOT always Golden

There comes a time when remaining silent would be a grave injustice. We, the authors of this, have reached that point. We can no longer sit silent and watch as people willfully cast lines and demand that we choose sides. We voted for President Barak Obama. We did not make this decision lightly. We researched the issues. We learned all we could. We then prayerfully, sought guidance to make a choice. We feel we made the right choice. Whether we agree(d) 100% with all of his policies we will not disclose. As those are private issues for now. We simply weighed the options and he came out on top. We were raised to support the leader of our country whether we liked him or not. This is NOT to say that we blindly follow a President. For as the Declaration of Independence points out "whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government..." [1] We watch. We listen. We hear. We understand. And then we act. As we are doing now.

Lately, there has been great controversy over the President, our Nation's President, addressing the school children. It has been referred to by acquaintances as "socialist propaganda" and even "communist, socialist, fascist propaganda." Clearly, the latter wanted to make sure their red-flag political parties (so to speak) were covered. This "propaganda" ended up being supported by Laura Bush. [2] Someone, that we think, all people would agree is beholden to none of the above mentioned parties. In his speech President Obama "urged [students] to set high goals, knuckle down in their studies and persevere through failure." [3] It has been our experience, that persevering through failure is something that Americans do well. Thomas Edison failed many hundreds of times before he successfully made a light bulb that worked. Maybe the propaganda came in when President Obama told kids to "take responsibility for their education, go to class and listen and not let failures define them." [4] So where is the propaganda we were promised? Maybe we missed it, but where ever it is, we've heard the speech, we've read the commentary on it. From both sides. And we have found no fault with it.

We particularly enjoyed when President Obama warned the kids that there is "no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying." [4] Having both worked in the educational system, we can attest to a lack of trying. Repeatedly, we have beat our heads (figuratively) against walls with students that just did not want to put effort into the class. They wanted their hands held, because they felt entitled to it. When students take responsibility for themselves, they excel. Sometimes with effort, and much help that we are willing to give, but they excel.

What in the speech made people afraid? Was it his reminding students to wash their hands? As germophobes, we appreciate this reminder. We simply don't understand what the big deal is. Except, that it seems to be all about party lines. "The uproar over the speech erupted most vigorously, perhaps, in Texas, and some districts there reversed the opt-out procedure: the only students they allowed to watch the president were those whose parents called or e-mailed with explicit permission." [3] (side note from Cynthia: I would have requested that my child be in a classroom showing the speech, if he were in a classroom that was not showing it (had he been in school yet.) As many know, Texas is staunchly a so-called red state. They tend to prefer the Republican party, and our President is not of that party.

Has our country really been reduced to silly party mud-slinging? We had sincere hope that we, as a nation, could overcome such trivial matters as which side of the political spectrum we're on. There are much larger problems and issues to be worried about. Our president talking to school children should not be one. When we become divided over topics like this, we miss the bigger issues at hand, issues that cross party lines and bring the nation together.

In conclusion, remember. All of our presidents -- past, present, and future -- are mere mortals. They are fallible men. They will all make mistakes. They will do things that we collectively look back on and think "what the hell were they thinking?!" But, we’re sure, they try do the best they know how to do. President Obama inherited a lot of problems. He is trying to fix the nation, not hurt the nation. President Bush inherited a lot of problems and did the best he could with the information he had. He was not our favorite president. But he was not the worst. (Side note from Noel: my roommate and I have decided that Harrison was the best president. If you'd like to know why, just ask. I'll explain.) As a nation we have been quick to place blame on our presidents. We need to remember that we share the burden of blame. We have willingly let things happen, and it's time we collectively stood up and started working together for a better tomorrow. And if that means starting with heeding the counsel that was given by our current President to take responsibility for ourselves, then it's time to do so.

We make a plea, alongside our President, that we do better and be better. We are all capable of so much more than we give ourselves (and our children) credit for. All of us (the authors included) need to set a better example for our children then we have over the last few days. Let's come together as a nation and give our children the furture they deserve. One of unity and respect.

Cynthia L. Weyerman
Noel T. Alton

Cited:

[1] http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.htm

[2] http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/07/laura.bush/index.html
[3] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/education/09educ.html?_r=1&ref=politics
[4] http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/08/obama-schoolchildren-stay-school-responsibility/?test=health

See also:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/09/08/noguera.school.controversies/index.html