I gave Calvin a haircut last night

and he looked pretty good until he decided to buzz his own hair this morning.


Here are some recent pics of the kids





ps. no I didn't leave all the haircutting stuff out. It was put away as usual and Calvin was supposed to be getting dressed after a bath when he snuck in an did it. The picture doesn't do justice. He seriously looks rediculous.

goal setting for the year and decade

I realized the other day that as much as I share personal things on the blog it is often funny and quirky instead of serious. Such is my life. I like the blog to be happy. Even though my life isn't perfect and I hope nobody feels like I'm trying to put myself forward as perfect I do like to record mostly good things on the blog so that when I go to the computer and look at it I feel good. One day a few weeks ago I took some pictures of all the hideous things in my house (dave's side of the bed, Calvin's wall art, etc., etc.) with the intention of posting it so you could see the not-so-picture-perfect side of my life. But I never wanted to spend the 30 mins or whatever it takes to put it up on the blog 'cuz it'd just make me grouchy to do so.

Anyway, that isn't really about my goal setting post but it did cross my mind one day this week and I guess it is a good segue way into a pretty serious and personal post.

Last year I decided to copy Laurie and set ONE attainable goal. I chose to have family home evening. Every Monday. No matter what. No matter who is awake or home or whatever. Prior to that goal we were very irregular FHE people. For one thing, dave was hardly ever home mon night before the kids went to bed. Calvin often goes to bed by 6 on a week night so it was hard to even manage it between dinner and bed time. Anyway, I chose this as my goal for 2 reasons. 1. It was a once a week goal and therefore could be easy and I could be perfect in it. (daily goals are difficult to be perfect). 2. I think it is important and wanted it to be a part of my family life.

How did I do? I did great. We only missed a couple of times due to illness. I will also admit that we are sort of slackers in the summer when every other Monday we do a beach FHE with friends. I think FHE in the home is important for the lesson and singing time components. I LOVE our Beach FHE's but need to figure out how to still have the home time as well.

How did we make it work? First, I had to make it a priority to plan something for FHE. This became an important part of my Monday. Second, we completely gave up on waiting for Dave and had our FHE between 4-6 on Monday afternoon. (sometimes before dinner, sometimes after dinner). Most often we would have an early dinner and then go right into FHE around 5.

I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do for this year. I am very happy to have FHE as part of our life now but I do think setting a once a week goal is a little weak. I was very inspired by Dave's talk in Sacrament meeting a few weeks ago where he said that one mistake we often make is underestimating ourselves. We have unlimited potential! I have been thinking about the kind of woman/mother I want to be and want to keep that picture of myself in my mind and work towards that. I think that instead of setting goals I will focus on who I want to be. I work in Young Womens and the general YW presidency issued a goal for all the YW to pray daily, read at least 5 min in the book of mormon and smile. This is something simple yet if incorporated it will make life sweeter. I will do it.

Also, this year I will be working a lot with Calvin. He is almost 7 and though he is super smart and doing well overall, he needs some extra attention. The issue of patching (strengthening his bad eye) has become critical. The literature says that once we reach age 8 our brain is finished developing and that would mean that any vision we have not restored by next year will be lost forever. (the dr says he might have up to age 10 to strengthen his eye) As it stands now he doesn't have 3D vision or depth perception. I would be devastated if he lost these permanently. (plus what if he grows up and hates me for not fixing his eyes for him?) Calvin is DETERMINED not to wear his patch and over the last 4 years since he started wearing the patch we have fought for hundreds of hours over the issue. I have been born again as you might say and I am determined to be sweet yet strong and help him to get the most he can out of his eyes. I am not a patient person. I am not very sweet either. But I have found for the last few days that as I wake up in the morning and think "I am going to be patient and wonderful today" that I am able to do that a little better than before.

We are also trying to help Calvin sleep better ....

And about a year from now Calvin will be getting baptized, so I want to be sure that I am preparing him for that as well.

Anyway, all of my goals center around being a better me. The spiritual goals tie right in with the above since prayers, scripture reading, being in tune with the spirit are all vital to my success as a parent and in becoming who I want to be.

It is possible that I will fail at times but it is better to set lofty goals and fail sometimes than to hold ourselves back because of the fear of failure.

It is a big year in 2010 to set goals for the year and for the decade. I'd say my year goals center around Calvin/parenting for this year. It is most important right now. My decade goals are still in the making. One of them is for sure to hit 40 the right way and not be old, out of shape and fat.

to be continued....food and fitness goals for next post.

PS. pics coming soon too.

facebook

Dave signed me up for facebook so that he could link himself to his wife. I am glad to know that he wants all of his friends (90% of whom are single nurses and old high school girlfriends) on facebook to know he is married ..quick side note --Dave even started wearing his wedding ring to work (on his hospital ID, not his hand). Dave is super sweet I know, but I'm not sure I want to be on facebook. I have been very hesitant to join facebook, have even been called a facebook hater!, mostly b/c I don't want to get sucked in and I worry I'll waste too much time there. (no offense to those who do use it, I know it is pretty neat)!

Anyway, I'm still undecided about if I will join the facebook game or just let my page be blank....

mayday mayday.....we're going down....

Alexey is back in my closet. My room and closet were clean for about two days and now we are back to piles. Here is the very abridged version of what happened.

#1. Alexey did not sleep well in Clare's room. The worst part was going to sleep in the evening. She would talk and yell and sing and say "O-H" (clare says "i-O") for HOURS. We found that if we put Lex to bed and let her fall asleep before Clare went to bed it would be okay. I didn't give up because of this I just thought I'd make note. I figured eventually she'd settle down once the novelty of being w/ Clare wore off.

#2. One night I accidentally put Clare to bed when lex had been in bed about 30 min but was not quite asleep (7:30pm). She was being a crazy baby until about 9pm when Clare said, "Mooommmmm, Alexey is out of bed." After about 5 days of sleeping in the crib alexey learned to climb out of the crib.

#3. so, I moved her back to the pack-n-play....which happens to be in my closet.

#4. Next step is to move her pack-n-play down to clare's room but what if she decides to climb out of that once it's down there? For now it is not worth the risk.

#5. For some reason she sleeps much better in my closet. 7pm-7:30am most days. When she was in clares room she woke up at 6 every day. I'm not sure if my room is quieter for her of if she is just used to it or if it is warmer( I use a space heater to heat my closet for her)!

#6. Anyway, life is good and all is well.

who would have thought?

having children lowers your blood pressure.

The Principal Called

I was out walking Tressel and listening to my book on CD...Tom Sawyer. Have you read it? It is all about the shenanigans of a little mischievous boy! AS I was walking and listening to these funny little stories I was thinking to myself, "what a funny book this is! All of the things this boy does are so funny to read in a book but not so funny when it is ones own kid doing it. I should remember that when Calvin gets into trouble."

Then as I walked in the door, the answering machine was playing a message from the principal asking me to call ASAP.

Here's what happened.

Mr. Embry: "Hi Mrs. Gonda. I'm calling because Calvin was involved in an incident during recess today."

Denise: okay

Mr. Embry: Apparently Will G. told Calvin it would be funny if he took his pants off at recess.

Denise: Calvin would definitely think that is funny.

Mr. Embry: yes, well, a teacher saw him take his pants off and brought him and Will to the office where they had detention. He and Will did some work here in the office and missed recess.

Denise: Sounds good. Sorry about that!

Mr. Embry: No problem, just wanted to let you know. Will G.'s parents will get a call too. Will has a very advanced sense of humor and seems to have a knack at getting himself and others into trouble!

Denise: thanks! See you tomorrow.



Later I talked to Calvin. First I should mention that the day before this incident Calvin came home and told me "Mom! Will G. tried to kill Will M.!!!!" "Will G. strangled him by the neck!"

Anyway, back to the day of our little incident.

Mom: Calvin how was school?

C: Good

Mom: Did Will G. get into any trouble?

C: Yes, me and Will both got in trouble.

Mom: what happened?

C: Weeelllll, Will G. told me it would be funny if I took my pants off at recess.
.
.
.so I did.

Mom: What about your underwear?

C: well, he told me it would be funny if I took my underwear off too.

M: (trying not to let Calvin know I was laughing inside) Was it funny?

C: a little.................., but we got in trouble.

M: Oh, well, Calvin you are a smart kid. I'm sure you can think of lots of fun things to do without getting into trouble, right?

C: well, what if Will G. tells me to do something?

M. just tell him you'd rather do something else that is fun but won't get you in trouble.


Hopefully this isn't the first of many calls from the principal. I thought the entire incident was pretty funny! I am glad that it was something very silly and that Calvin didn't hurt anyone or do anything really bad.

sleeping arrangements

I got a new camera for Christmas and I don't really know how to use it. Dave downloaded all of our rose bowl pics for me so I was able to post those but other than that I haven't been doing much with it. So, pics to come later.

In other news, we have finally moved Alexey out of our closet and into Clare's room. It is a long story I'll share below, but having Lex FINALLY out of our closet has led to spring cleaning in my bedroom. We have been living in piles and messes since it is hard to really get clean when the baby is always asleep during cleaning time (nap and bed times). It feels good to get organized and de-junk, etc. IT also feels good that the weather is like spring. I know it is super rude to rub it in, but really it is a plug for CA. Today it was 77 and beautiful. Is it worth paying ridiculous prices for a home here? Don't know, I am still undecided, but days like today make me think maybe it is worth it!

Here is the story: Clare is CRAZY and IMPOSSIBLE when it comes to bed time. She is overall a good sleeper and knows how to get enough sleep, however she fights bed time. Then, there's night time. Somewhere along the line of her short life, Clare became terrified of the dark. She won't step outside in the dark -- insists on being carried if it is dark outside-- and sleeps with her lights on all the time. That has been the main reason we haven't put Alexey in her room. We've tried night lights and bribes and other things to get her lights off but nothing worked, and in the end I thought, "if the child sleeps with lights on who does it really hurt? as long as she SLEEPS!" then, Clare started waking up in the night and crying 'cuz she was scared and asking me to lay next to her. Sometimes I'd sleep with her for a while and then wake up and come back to bed. Sometimes I'd just talk to her and get her back to sleep. Sometimes she'd do this more than one time a night. I was racking my brain about how to calm her and thought that it would be great if someone could sleep with her. She likes to have people w/ her. Calvin is a crazy sleeper and I would never let another person share a room with him. Lex I didn't think would sleep with lights on. So, who? Then, inspiration strikes! TRESSEL! He is the family member that can sleep with lights on!! And, what are guard dogs for if not for sleeping with the children? Anyway, Clare LOVED the idea and was anxious for Tressel to share a room with her. She called it "our room" and was very happy. Tressel slept on the floor at first and then I found out he was actually moving to her bed at night. After a week or so I finally just accepted the fact that there would be no way for me to keep him off her bed so we have made a spot for him at the bottom of Clare's bed. Both are very happy about the arrangement. It gives Tressel a soft bed....quite a treat for him! And keeps Clare content. AFter a month or two of Tressel in Clare's room I asked her if she wanted to have Lex join them. She was very excited about his idea and even agreed to sleep w/ lights off for the baby. So, there you have it. Tressel cured Clare of being afraid of the dark and gives us all a better night of sleep and a cleaner room. I don't like that the girls wake each other up in the morning, but I am hoping once the novelty wears off one can get up and let the other sleep in. Maybe it is just wishful thinking.<
Here is Tressel in Clare's bed.

He takes up a lot of space and I worry about what will happen as Clare grows and needs to stretch out a little more. Dave says not to worry since there are grown people who sleep with big dogs and it will all work out. I guess it always does. (Clare uses a sleeping bag in the winter to keep warm. Even though we are in Sunny SD it is freezing at night(in the 30's and 40's) and we can't afford to heat our house.)

Here is a pic of Lex putting dirt on tressel. a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirE1BG_rbLHeD1Enlf6PI-3QumDgh_Rk_hnW5EKNg2CobPDwx8Cg2-VxTy8JkAmNApLqhY5aHdgRrYrqrvebdXr_yVe_PRjj9194lEGOiJgIwGXF3K1Is7QxOkKOWa_MBvtES4bq9avnD/s1600-h/032.JPG">


Dave spent his vacation sleeping w/ Calvin to try and get more of an idea of what he does all night and why he is so tired. Well, turns out Calvin is awake for 1-2 hours during the night (or every night dave was there). To Calvin's credit, he is very quiet and I never hear him. He is a good boy. BUT THAT IS TERRIBLE! Some nights Dave would go to bed late and then get only 3-4 hours sleep since Calvin was awake for 1-2 hours in the wee morning hours and then up at 4 or 5 for the day. Anyway, Calvin is a work in progress still. The first night Dave slept w/ Calvin, Calvin didn't know dave was in there. When Calvin woke up at 1:30am and started talking to himself. Dave said it was pretty funny, Calvin was making himself laugh really hard. He'd say "butt" and then laugh and then say "poo poo" and then laugh. It gives us a little insight into the sense of humor of an almost 7 year old boy!

roses

Dave and I went up to Pasadena the day before the rose bowl and rose parade. Our first stop was the rose palace -- a huge warehouse where floats are built and then stored until the parade. As we passed through late in the afternoon on New Year's Eve the floats were all complete of course and the room smelled like heaven. I never appreciated how beautiful and fresh those floats are. They are each filled with 1000's of perfect flowers of all kinds. It was quite a sight to behold and viewing them up close was one of the highlights of our trip.

my favorite float -- ronald mc donald house

we talked to a few of the people who helped make this float by odd fellows and rebekahs -- all 3 of them traveled across the country and stayed all week to work on the float. from them we learned a lot about the process of making the floats. It was fascinating. Did you know every bit of the float is covered with some kind of plant. Sea weed dried/crushed grain are some of the things that can make the grey and brown colors. Flowers are sometimes peeled petal by petal and then placed on certain parts, such as the birds chest, to give a layered effect.


best looking back side of a float is this one.

lead float and also the theme of the parade this year.

the other lead float. All of the red on his shirt and hat are red roses perfectly in bloom!


These are the parade tickets we picked up and later delivered to somebody else. (it was about $1000 worth of parade tickets)


this is the city hall for pasadena. quite a beautiful building.


We got up early and went down to the parade route. We found a parking spot on a side street and walked about 10 minutes to the route, arriving around 7am. There are lots of crazys who camp out all night to get a front row seat but we were perfectly happy arriving in time to get a decent seat and see it all. The parade route is 5.5 miles long. we were at about 2.5 miles where we viewed the parade.





Here are the Oregon cheerleaders. Some Buckeye fan - a complete stranger - ended up watching the parade with Dave and I. Consequently, he stood between dave and I and talked to us and yelled in my ear for most of the parade. He especially loved the oregon cheerleaders. He turned to dave and asked for high five. Dave thought this was a touch tactless since I was right there! Later at the football game I overheard the guys behind us saying, "man, I almost became an oregon fan when I saw their cheerleaders !"



We are excited to take the kids up to the parade next year now that we know where to go and how fun it is. I think they will love it!

2010 Book club list

The Tennant of Wildfell Hall --
Remembering Laughter -
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn -
The Madonas of Lenongrad -
-may- TBA --
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie -
Peace Like a River -
Death of Ivan Illyich --
Great Expectations -
Outliers -
The Help-

We always take Dec off b/c it is too busy.

A day to make me proud to have a dog named Tressel

We had an awesome time at the Rose Bowl and Rose Parade. Couldn't have been better. I have a million pics. We'll see how much time I have to post them!

The rose bowl stadium is located in this little valley surrounded by hills. In the valley with the stadium is a golf course, which for game day turns into a parking lot and huge tailgate party. It is quite a scene. We arrived at the game a few hours early so that we could walk around and see all the sights. While walking, we ran across a baracade the police set up and found ourselves waiting for the team to arrive. The busses pulled up right in front of us and out hopped Tressel and his wife, followed by the rest of the team. All were stone faced. Many of the players listening to music and trying to ignore the cameras all around. While wathing this inspiring scene Mr. Buckeye came by. He knows all the camera guys and they know him. He is a funny guy.




Dave tried to take a pre-game nap.


The band and pre-game were wonderful!




Captian Sully was the grand marshall of the parade and honored pre-game with his family. Oregon's band (by the way, not nearly as good as TBDBITL) played the national anthem complete with fireworks and a military flyby of four F-18's.


When the sunset it turned the mountians behind the stadium a bright pink. It was magnificient. Also, look at the sea of red in the stadium. I'd say about 2/3 of the stadium was red.



Ah, VICTORY! SWEET VICTORY!!



A couple of things that were funny to me about the Oregon Ohio State matchup. 1. The letter "O" -- both teams use O for their team letter. Almost all hats at the game had an o. Some were black, white and/or red for Ohio state. Some were green and/or yellow for oregon. Also the shape of the O is different for the two teams. #2. Go Ducks! and Go Bucks! rhyme. There were a couple of times when fans would yell "go bucks! Go Bucks! Go bucks!" and then the Oregon fans would join in saying "go ducks! Go ducks!" At one point it sounded like most of the stadium was cheering together for bucks and ducks. After that we mostly cheered O-H-I-O.