My Views on Internet Safety

Daniel and I have this on going dialog about Internet safety. Not a week goes by that I don't ask him something along the lines of "Do you think that's safe enough?" or "Do you really think it matters if . . . ?". To help educate me a little on the topic he has had me read several articles about Internet safety. In many ways this has been very helpful and I am grateful that he is who he is.

When we first got married I took no precautions what so ever to protect our information. Daniel was quite the opposite. He was very cautious. Over the years we have both moderated our views and now we come closer to agreeing. (Truth be told he has infected me with a small amount of unhealthy paranoia. But for me, convenience trumps paranoia most of the time.) Daniel still takes more steps at protecting our personal information then I do (you might have noticed when he first started this blog he didn't even list any of our names) . However, I agree that some safety measures are wise. This is why I didn't use any part of our name in our title (thanks for the suggestions anyways, Denise). We feel it would be best if we don't include last names on any of our posts. This is a small precaution, I admit, but I figure since we talk about where we live and about the kids in detail it would be best if that bit of information be withheld. Thus making it a little harder for just anyone to find out more about us then is healthy.

Sunday Journal Writing

"So what can I do on Sunday?" This is a common question at our house. It's not just the kids that ask it either. It seems like Daniel and I are continually trying to figure out what "Keep the Sabbath day holy" really means. Every few months we revisit the issue and I find myself reading articles on LDS.org. Today I came across this one. Another resource I use for ideas on things to do on Sunday is here. I have always liked the idea of writing in our journals on Sunday. In the past I printed out whole list of questions to help the kids come up with things to write about. Then we cut these questions into strips and placed them in a jar: a "journal jar". We haven't been too successful with the actual writing. So, a couple times a month, we'll post one of those questions here on our blog and then have each of us answer it.

On to the first question!

Journal Jar Question: What do you think about when you can't fall asleep?

Robin: Mostly about all the things I need to get done. (This is usually what keeps me from falling to sleep in the first place.)

Chris: I think about what is going to happen tomorrow, such as will I be able to play the Wii, or will I find a heirloom of my mom's or dad's? Anything like that.

Kira:I don't know. I don't usually have problems falling asleep. I think I think about nothing.

Briona: I think about stuff. (Actually she doesn't ever have a problem going to sleep. Once she is in bed she falls right to sleep. If we have let the kids stay up late she falls asleep where ever she happens to lay her head. Staying asleep is another matter.)

Daniel: Aargh. That's a tough one. I never fall asleep right away, and the things I think about have changed a lot over the years. It's one of the few times when I completely ignore constraints and obstacles and think solely about possibilities and potentials. Occasionally, I even remember that stuff in the morning.

6 Month Check Up

Michael had his 6 month check up today. Doctor says he's doing great! He now weighs 18 pounds and is 27 inches tall. He can sit up by himself (for a few minutes at least) and he is grabbing for everything. He's not really rolling yet. He does roll from his back to his tummy but he hasn't figured out how to roll back. He hates being on his stomach for any amount of time so it shouldn't be to long now before he gets it. Actually I'm glad he's not rolling yet because after he figures that out it's only a matter of time before he will really start to move.

I can't believe that 6 months have already past since he took his first breathe of air. He has brought so much happiness into our lives. Babies are such blessings!

Christmas Morning

Daniel and I woke up this morning when Kira climbed into bed with us at 8:30. She snuggled with us for a little bit and then we decided to get up and see who else was awake. Briona and Grandma we making hot cocoa in the kitchen and Christopher was still snoozing. Since Chris was still asleep we decided to have breakfast before we opened presents (this was Kira's idea).

It is our tradition to have green waffles with red strawberries and white whipped cream for Christmas breakfast. We have done this every year for the past 7 years I think.

After breakfast it was time to open presents. We always start with our stockings (that way we can start on the sugar high 1st thing). Briona was adorable. She emptied her stocking one item at a time. She would pull out each little toy and piece of candy one by one, with a gasp of delight in between. She gets so much enjoyment out of the little things.

Gift unwrapping at our house is a slow and relaxed process. After all, we have to play with each new gift before we can move onto the next. Everyone watches with

anticipation as we take turns opening and exploring our new things. I am not trying to brag but I have to say that my children amaze me. Each year I wait for pushiness, greed and impatience to creep their way into our home on Christmas morning, but my kids keep them away.

Some of the favorite gifts this year are:

Footie Jammies
New Coats
New Bike
Mini MP3 Players
and of Course
the Wii

And the icing on the cake, it started snowing!

The Nativity Story

The Complete Cast

We got together with some friends and did the Nativity Story. I loved it!!! This is something I have always wanted to do but since we don't have either a huge family or extended family close by, it just hasn't worked out before. This was Great!!! Exactly how I always pictured it!

Mary (played by Kira) and Joseph (played by Rocky) (Michael was suppose to play baby Jesus but he wasn't in the mood)



The Angel (played by Briona) and the Shepherd (played by Brittani) and the sheep (not pictured, played by Phoebe the black standard Poodle)

3 Kings (played by Chris, Reagan, and Bailee)

The Narrator (George)

The Nutcracker Tea

On Saturday night the whole family went to see "The Nutcracker Tea". This is a production that is put on by the Northwest Dance Theatre. It is a shorter version of the original ballet thus making it more "child friendly". The choreography is also geared towards children. We had a wonderful time. We ended up sitting on the very front row because we had some troubles getting to the theatre but the kids thought that was perfect.

I had to leave during the second act because Michael was getting a little talkative. Luckily there was an exit door right by my seat. I snuck through it. The door opened into what looked like a stairwell and hall. It was fairly dark inside. As I pasted through I was surprised to see some clothes on the floor but didn't think too much about it. Their were two people with head sets on at the side door (I figured they must be security). They gave me directions to the back auditorium and so Michael and I continued to enjoy the performance from there.

After several numbers, Daniel joined me at the back so that he could give me a break. I noticed a really mortified expression on his face. Then everything clicked! I asked him if he had used the same door I did to get here. Then I asked him if by chance the ballerinas were using that stairwell as a dressing room. I couldn't help but laugh. You can only imagine how he felt about the whole experience (Thank heavens it was dark!).

I asked the kids "What things did you enjoy most about the ballet The Nutcracker Tea?"

Chris Said:
These are things that I liked about the Nutcracker Tea:
I liked the Russian Faberge Eggs dance. The reason I liked that is because the dance is so energetic. I also liked the part at the beginning of the dream where the rats are trying to take the Nutcracker. The reason I liked that is because the rats are running around like crazy maniacs! There are more reasons, I just can't put them to words.

Kira Said:
My favorite part was when they were in the land of sweets. My favorite sweets were either the gingerbread men, the French Marzipans, and the dance of the Turkish Delight. I liked their outfits the most. The gingerbread men were girls about 6 years old and they had brown suits on that were like footie jammies with hoods and red buttons. At the end of the dance they popped out of the oven. The French Marzipans were teenagers and they were wearing short blue dresses and fancy blue hats with a blue feather in them. In the Turkish Delight the main dancer was immodest. She had on a top that looked like a sparkly gold bikini top. Her pants were a bit see through but she had on a bikini bottom under the pants. All of the other dancers had those same pants except they were wearing gold sparkly leotards. The main dancer had dangly things that sounded like bells. My favorite dance was the Turkish Delight because that dance was the best. My least favorite dance was the Chef and Chefettes because the chef, which was actually a girl, had a big bottom (that was actually a pillow) and she shook it a ton. It was really really really really (etc.) weird.
I really loved it. Next year I want to see the complete ballet with just me and my mom.

Briona Said:
The little angels.
The fairies. I liked their dresses.
The dragon.

New Title

Okay the first thing to go is the title. I asked Daniel why he chose Little Kidlets and he said he didn't know exactly. He mainly was thinking about this being a blog about them so he wanted a title that felt like them. I quickly pointed out that they were not going to stay little for long (in fact have you noticed how tall Christopher is now?).

Ever since Dory made a posting on her blog about how she felt about titles, my mind has been chewing on possible titles for this blog. So this is what I have come up with for now. Sunrise, Sunset. If any of you are familiar with the movie Fiddler on the Roof you'll probably already see some of my reasoning. The chorus goes:

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze

Time flies so fast. So fast that we miss it a lot of the times. The first lines of the song goes:

Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?

I don't remember growing older
When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he get to be so tall?

Wasn't it yesterday
When they were small?

I want to remember! Writing here is one way that I see that happening. It's through the things we record that our memories are strengthen.

I can't change how swiftly the days fly, but I can make an effort to capture a little of the beauty of the sunrise before it is gone. No doubt the sunset will be magnificent in it's own right, thus worthy of capture as well. Then how grand it will be in those times between when I will be able to pull out those memories and "remember".

New Direction

Warning!!!!

This Blog has been Hijacked! Well maybe not exactly hijacked by the dictionary's definition (to seize control of (a moving vehicle, usually) by use of force, especially in order to reach an alternate destination), but you get the idea. Now that I'm the one behind the driver's seat I have a new destination in mind. I think I'll let the original driver come along for the ride (because after all, he is kind of cute), but he's riding shotgun now. I won't be too controlling with the steering wheel. He can drive sometimes, too, if he wants. Then there are those backseat drivers as well. I'll give them a turn behind the wheel too, we'll call it "driving lessons". I figure with this much driving power this blog will definitely go places. Get ready for some big changes (like posts on a regular basis)!!!