Computer problems

Thank you so much for all your support for Brock!!!

Our computer has been down.  So I won't be able to post until later today, or tomorrow.  It is sick with a virus.  Please don't give up on me.  I'm coming back. 

A message from my son

Brock has a message to share.
He can do this much better than I can explain.

"One of the dreams I've held onto since I was a little kid was to work for one of the big two comic book companies--either DC or Marvel. This month, I've actually got a shot at it. DC Comics has an online comics arm of their business called Zuda. Each month, 10 comic submissions are pitted against each other to see which can win a contract. Right now, I have a submission in contention, MONSTERPLEX, which I wrote and created (friends David Schlotterback and Michael DeVito join me on art and colors, respectively). 


The winner of the competition is based solely on popularity. This is
where I desperately need your help. Here's a list of everything the
Zuda overlords are looking at to determine which comic they're going to sign for a one-year contract:


1. Votes (very important--can only vote once)

2. Adding to Favorites (very important, and can only be done once)

3. Star Ratings (can only be done once--also very important)

4. Number of Comments (can do this as many times as you'd like)

5. Traffic (numbers count!)


To participate (vote, favorite, leave comments, etc.) you'll need to register an account over at Zuda ( www.zuda.com -- only takes a minute or two, tops). The competition runs for the duration of the month and the entries are STRONG. I'm not one to usually ask for help, but I think we've got a good comic and I'd so much appreciate your help in this. If you don't mind my saying, the prize is also worth thousands of dollars and, needless to say, that would be extremely nice.

Anyone can register and vote and add favorites! If you have any questions about doing so, please refer to this link: http://monsterplex.blogspot.com/2010/02/big-announcement.html (That's also the official Monsterplex blog where I'm posting daily updates and links to interviews and reviews). THANK YOU so much." 

Same school 57 years later

Yesterday on our way home from Sanger to get Den's milk (another story for another day) we drove right by my Mom's elementary school.  Not sure how many years she attended there but we have her report cards from 1938-1943.

It's now a church.

(on Kings Canyon and Locan in Fresno)

So I went home and found these pictures below.
Same building, 57 years ago:
Graduation from 8th grade, 1943.
My Mom is on the left.

Look, same window and doors!!

Funny how they had Dress up Day, even back then.
Mom's on the right.
Wonder whatever happened to Elmass and Mable.

And her teachers.
She would mention their names every now and then.
She contacted I think all of them in their later years and I know she use to visit at least one of these women in a Rest Home towards the end of her life.

Miss Lambercht, Miss Reynolds, Miss Norris

Well maybe this is where McKay gets his math gene.  The only thing she got "E" for excellence was in arithmetic, reading,  and in "is courteous and considerate"

 

Mom would often talk about how she was not a very good student.

I think she was just being her humble self.

So she kept this cartoon all those years.

Look what the girls are launching now!

Watch this 1 minute commercial 
to see what Dennis' daughters have in the works.


And if you have time, please tell me what you think.

Kim and Kris are now in Nashville speaking at a Blogging convention on Social Media Advertising!

Not for the squeamish

I thought these pictures were gone forever,
but I found them today.

Sunday, my son Logan, said he feels he has turned into me since becoming a parent.  Not his exact words, but close enough.  He says when he enters a room he looks around now and tries to think of every possible scenario that could hurt his babies.  He tries, in other words, to stay on top of the game. 

This made me think of my friend Carol who works at Children's Hospital.  She was telling me about a 3 year old who will never be the same again because a flat screen TV fell on her head.  Of course we didn't have flat screen TVs when my sons were growing up, but I hadn't even thought now of those as being a danger.

Logan says, no problem, he has his flat screen TVs bolted down. 

So today as I was looking for something in the garage, I ran across these pictures from 1986. As hard as I tried back then to think of any possible dangers, this one I hadn't thought of until it happened.

It was a cold October evening and we had just all sat down to eat dinner.  I had just unplugged the crockpot with a very hot roast inside and placed it in the center of the table.  Tyler who was 10 months old, and just beginning to walk on his own, was toddling around the table while we ate.  Suddenly I saw the crockpot move quickly across the table. I knew in an instant what was happening and I flew out of my chair but I was too late.

Tyler had pulled the dangling cord, the roast landing on his back.  His Dad and I both leaped to pull the scalding roast off of our baby and he wanted to take him right to ER.  I remembered a First Aid class my Mom had recently taught in Relief Society...she had practiced the lesson on me, and I knew we had to get him under cold water.

I took him right over to the sink and put him in there with the dirty dishes, and turned on the faucet.  Then I got the doctor on the phone (no cordless phones back then but the phone was right by the sink).  His pediatrician said to keep him there in the sink with the water running, that I was doing the right thing.

I remember that night, Tyler's Daddy holding him all night long while he slept.

Next day I brought Tyler in to see the Dr and he said the 2nd degree burns would have turned into 3rd degree had we brought him to the hospital rather than kept him in the water.  I have since learned that some burns are best kept away from water, but not so in this case.

So here are the pictures.
They were taken a few days after the accident,
when Tyler was happy again.

If it helps anyone think about dangling cords, and even flat TV screens, then it was worth it.  

 Look how concerned McKay is.

Right after I called the doctor that evening, and with Tyler still in the sink, I called my Mom and told her what happened.  Then I remember tearfully asking her,  "Will he be okay?"  She said he would be fine.  Her voice reassured me.

Later I laughed, thinking...'what could she know?'
She wasn't even there.
But my Mom had that magical way of making me feel better.

Have I done any good in the world today?

I saw this video a few days ago on my friend Cynthia's blog,
and I've been thinking about it ever since.

My Mom use to sing this to herself while cleaning the house when I was growing up.

She lived these words.
It felt very right when we sang this hymn at her funeral 2 1/2 years ago.

Have a New Husband by Friday

and why I have a problem with this book.

 

I did not read this book because I want a new husband.  I don't.

It's our selection for Book club next month.

I've read many of these types.
This one was basically...'treat your husband better and he will treat you better.'

Or as the author says,   
"Ask not what your husband can do for you, 
but ask what you can do for your husband."  

However I had some strong disagreements with the author on a few things.

For example, I think most people would agree that women love compliments.

What was Dr. Leman's solution for this?
He says we should tell our husbands something like this:  "Would it ever strike you that I'd like to hear you say I look nice?  In order to get my hair done, I have to arrange for a sitter for the kids, I have to take them along to the mall to find a dress.  Oh that's a lot of fun.  Maybe you don't realize how much time and effort goes into me trying to look nice..."  

Oh, so we make him feel obligated to compliment us?
What kind of a compliment is that??

That might work a little if we were looking for a compliment on the house,  "Honey, I spent 5 hours cleaning today and it was not easy doing this while taking care of the kids, answering the phone, doing your laundry, and making your dinner, but I did it for you...so it would really be nice if you noticed and said something to me about it..."

That perhaps would fit with his logical mind.
But not about the way we look.  Either my husband is attracted to me or not, but I can't talk him into it.  And I don't want to talk him into it. 

Dr. Leman also has a chapter about natural consequences and men.  He tells us how we can get him to pick up his stuff.  Most men I know, and there are exceptions I suppose, are not into neat and tidy.

His suggestion made me laugh:
"What if you didn't pick up the stuff he lets lay around?  What if someone stops by to see him unexpectedly and sees the family room trashed, and he's embarrassed?  So?  Will that kill him?  No, but it will teach him a valuable lesson about consequences." 

Are you kidding me??  My husband is never embarrassed about any mess left behind.  Never.   
Because he doesn't notice it. 
Which has its perks too.  He tells me often that our home is immaculate.  Yeah right.  As long as he thinks so.

And I don't mind picking up after him at all.  All he does for me, it's the least I can do.

I also do not like how the author continually puts down men, referring to them as "dumb as dirt", "children" and  "like a dog that can be trained."

I did like his list of 9 things.
I added the last one before I realized I would be showing it here:

I added:  "It's not your fault."  I don't know why, but men seem to like that sentence.

In my opinion, Dr Kevin Leman did much much better with his best seller, "The Birth Order Book."  I read that when my boys were young and loved it! 

The Duggars are back...

Perhaps I am the only one who cares about this program.
But just in case I'm not...


The Duggars will have a documentary on the TLC channel tomorrow (Sunday).
They have been very quiet since their 19th child was born very premature 7 weeks ago.


(Thought I would share this clip
being it's the only TV program that we I watch.)

Clam Cookies

Last Saturday evening, Elora came over, and said to me,
"I wish we could go back in the past
and I could sit on your counter and make cookies."


We tried that, but her head kept
bumping the top of the cabinets.
That's what happens when you are 7.

So we went into the playroom.
It was just right.

So before Elora made her plea for Haiti,
she made little "clam cookies"
to have at our family dinner the next day.
Her Mom thought they were hilarious.

Elora also made name tags for everyone
and said she needed to arrive
"6 minutes early to set up the name tags
and the cookies at each plate"

Love this picture of Elora
instructing her sister and her twin cousins.

After she finished making the cookies it was close to bedtime
and she asked if she could eat one of them.

I told her that was too much sugar before bedtime.
She piped back with,"Don't worry Grandma Honey.
I'll sleep it off with a book!"

If you would like instructions on how to make
these fine cookies, here you go:

Sunday Night Cousins' Dinner

In Alpine, Utah!

The view outside that window looks incredible.

Thank you Richard and Wendy (my brother and sister in law)

for having my boys and their cousins over last Sunday.

I heard it turned into a 4 hour dinner!!

I talked to Tyler on the way home
and he said they all had a BLAST!
Can't get much better than that, right?!

And to think it all started here:

Taylor, Colt, Nicole, Lauren

Taylor, Colt, Nicole, Lauren

Thank you Lindsay for taking all the cousin pictures last Sunday!
Next time have someone turn the camera on you. :)


Oh wouldn't Mom/Grandma be proud of her grandchildren.
Come to think of it, I'm sure she is.

Mom with Lauren 1989