Of trains and trash cans

I had a crazy Tuesday night last week. After the kids went to bed, I decided to put together a train table the boys got for Christmas. That (and our crazy heatwave)fueled me to do some early spring cleaning. I stayed up a little past 3 am, showered went to bed at 4:00, and was up at 6:20 with Collin. I don't get energy like that very much, but once I get started, it's hard to slow down/stop. I had to get rid of a couch for the train table to fit (and nearly filled a whole trash can with several trash bags from my purging), but the kids don't seem to mind. They're more concerned with "how fast can Mommy fix the train tracks if I knock them down?" and "I want to monopolize the trains."

Action Hero Babe

I just started a new 6 week exercise program today, called Red Carpet Ready. I've done the program on my own before but this time I have access to ask Valerie Waters(Jennifer Garner's trainer, and the lady who came up with the program) questions as I go along--I jumped at the chance since this is the only time she's offering it this year. I also have access to a special workout she used to help Rachel Nichols get in shape for GI Joe(the name of the workout is Action Hero Babe). I'm not allowed to talk about specifics of the workout(signed a non-disclosure) since it won't be available to the general public until the summer, when the movie comes out. Basically, it's supposed to build muscle & add muscle definition.

Anyway, I'll be adding progress reports here.

I went to Target to fill a prescription yesterday. While we were waiting, we found one of those Sit & Spin toys for under $6. Anyway, I put batteries in it, and one of the songs is William Tell Overture.

Every time I hear that song, I think of this(you'll have to push pause on the playlist on the right so you can hear the song):



Just looked it up on YouTube and they have a Dads version too:

Stake Conference

Today, we actually got to conference ahead of time. That in and of itself was amazing. As we were sitting, with 15 or so minutes before it started, one of the counselors in the Stake Presidency introduced us to Elder Rasband(see photo) of the Presidency of the 70, who was visiting. He told a little of our situation(w/Tom away) to Elder Rasband, and Elder Rasband took a few minutes to talk to us. I don't remember much of what he said, as it was rather brief. They asked how it was going and without thinking too much I said that I was so thankful to be "adopted" into 2 families in the stake to sit with us. I do remember that he had such a strong spirit about him and was impressed that he wanted to meet w/people before the conference started. Anyway, I missed a bit of the talks, Collin was having a really hard time w/so many people there. Elder Rasband spoke at the end. At the end of his talk he was talking about President Monson always being concerned about the widows, poor & needy. And that we should do the same. Then he talked about single parenting and the need to buoy those up in the stake(single parents, widows, poor, needy), and not to assume someone else is helping out. I was almost in tears--I am fairly certain he was referencing us.

Another crazy week

Monday we got the house cleaned up by my visiting teacher & 2 members of the RS Presidency. They volunteered, and I wasn't going to turn away free help.

Tuesday, Andrew was "borrowed" away by a friend from 9:00-1:00! So much free time, I didn't know what to do first. I ended up going to the farmer's market for bananas & veggies, to Kohl's for a couple shirts I can wear to church, came home, ate lunch, and watched The Devil Wears Prada (while doing 20 minutes of exercise). I had fun. From what it sounds like, this may become a regular occurence.

Wednesday, I got a stomach bug. Wasn't completely over it till late Thursday night. Sent all the kids off w/an awesome friend Wednesday afternoon(for what I thought would be a couple hours). It ended up being 4 so I could rest.

Thursday, went to a meeting about Ivy's school temporarily moving campus(for 1 school year, while they do construction/modernization at her school) & consolidating w/another small elementary school(both have the lowest enrollment #'s in the district). Sounds like, if I can have my way, Collin & Ivy will be able to go to the same elementary school.

Yesterday, got a babysitter for adult session of stake conf. You'd think it wouldn't be such a hard thing, but I had to make a lot of calls.

Head Over Feet(Another Tag)

I. Put your iTunes or other music player on shuffle.
II. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
III. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
IV. Put your own comment after song.
V. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing this (including me!).

1. If someone says "Is this okay?" you say: Will You Remember

2.What would best describe your personality: Mary Jane (I do think of myself when I hear certain parts of this song)

3. What do you like in a girl/guy: Dreams

4.How do you feel today: A New Day Has Come

5. What is your life's purpose: Linger

6. What is your backup plan?: Lullabye/Goodnight, My Angel

7. What do your friends think of you: Sweetest Thing

8. What do you think of your parents: Someone to Watch Over Me (wasn’t expecting this song to pop up, but appropriate)

9. What do you think about very often: Pretty

10. What is 2 + 2: Walk On The Ocean

11. What do you think of your best friend? She’s Always A Woman (haha...this does remind me of what one of my girlfriends has told me)

12. What is your favorite color?: All The Way

13. What are your thoughts on LOVE?: If You Asked Me To (I do have moral standards though)

14. What is one true thing about you?: Castle On A Cloud

15. What do your parents think of you?: Waltzing Back (lol)

16. What will you dance to at your Wedding? She’s Got A Way

17. What will they play at your funeral?: Iris

18. What is your hobby/interest?: I Will Always

19. What is your biggest secret?: This Is The Time

20. What do you think of your friends?: I Still Do

21. What's the worst thing that could happen?: You’re Still The One

22. How will you die?: Wanted

23. Does anyone like you? Sunday

24. If you could go back in time, what would you change?: Just The Way You Are (haha)

25. What hurts right now?: I Want to Hold Your Hand

26. What rule do you always follow?: Eight Days A Week

27. What have teachers always thought of you?: Kiss From A Rose (um, no)

28. What's something you do everyday?: From This Moment On

29. What will you post this as?: Head Over Feet

30. How will you say goodbye?: Is It For Me (haha)

I tag: anyone who wants to try this. It's pretty fun. I had to learn how to shuffle songs on my mp3 player, so there you go. Learned something new today.

"Honest Scrap tag"

Looks like I've been tagged again.

"A) First list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep!

B) Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap"

Hmm...not that much interesting(in my opinion), but I'll try. You'll find that these are pretty random things. And yes Lam, I did have to dig deep on some of these.

1. With Collin getting his at-home therapy the past year and a half, I've learned to not beat around the bush(as much) when talking w/others about anything. One of the parent trainers I had said about 90% of conversation is fluff and for kids like Collin, you have to be clear & concise. I was reminded about this a couple weeks ago when I stayed up late to watch "Must Love Dogs" by myself (if you've seen the movie, you'll know what I'm talking about)

2. When I was much, much younger(pre-teen)..I thought it'd be cool to have twins someday(a girl & boy). After having Ivy, I quickly changed my mind..LOL

3. Speaking of Ivy, when we first found out we were expecting, Tom frequently teased me we'd have septuplets(I had been on fertility drugs).

4. I've always had a keen eye for aesthetics. I can tell what colors/objects look good together pretty quickly(hence the change in the blog background)

5. Along those lines, I'm pretty artistic..pencil & charcoals are my favorite mediums. Haven't used them much since Ivy's been born(paranoid the kids will make a mess of it), but have branched out into other mediums/skills since then(basic sewing, cross-stitch, painting jungle animals on the boys' bedroom wall, recently jewelry making).

6. I get really paranoid at the night sounds of the house. No kidding, when we first moved into our house, the water heater sounded like footsteps. Still does.

7. I like lots of blankets on me when I sleep (all year long, even summer!) Good thing Tom is the opposite, he says I'm a cover hog. (I am)

8. When I was a kid, all I wanted when I grew up was to not be forgotten. This is for 2 reasons. First, I got left behind once at church when I was really little(my parents had 2 cars at the time & thought the other parent had me..nope, didn't know I was gone till someone brought me home). And second, just with so many siblings(6 sisters, 4 brothers) there's no way to give attention to everyone equally--part of why I didn't/don't want a lot of kids.

9. When I was 7 or so we lived up by the Big Bear mountains, and my mom had me & one of my brothers(1 1/2 yr younger) go to summer school at the elementary school--now that I think about it, probably to keep her sanity & keep us busy. Anyway, I just remember one day the bus was REALLY late for coming after the day was done. I told my brother, if the bus doesn't come in 5 more minutes, we'll walk home. 5 minutes came and went. No bus. We started walking. On our way out of the long driveway to the school, we saw the school bus but kept walking anyway. It was at least a couple miles to our house(didn't know that at the time or even how far a mile was). Somebody saw us walking on the side of the road & took us home. My mom freaked out, since one of my sisters was supposed to pick us up at the bus stop & we weren't there. After that, we never went to summer school again.

10. Not any new revelation to most people, but I have a hard time opening up to people. You may not, however know the reason(s) why. I second guess myself all the time, especially in social situations...I never finished past 1 1/2 yrs of college so I don't feel educated enough to be on par with others or like I have anything interesting to say. I think myself to be quite boring. I also have major trust issues, after being abused when I was younger. I think my being so quiet is a defense mechanism.

I tag: Sabrina, Natalie, Jenn(after she's done moving & settling in), Melody, Autumn, Bylle, Anita, and Tom(if you want to do this, just go to New Post in the upper corner).

Andrew's update

andrew is doing REALLY good w/his speech therapy. he's been working w/the speech therapist since august. i am just amazed how his language has just exploded this past month. andrew's starting to put 2 words together & is almost on par w/peers for the # of words he has. i credit it to the speech therapy and the electric toothbrush massage the therapist has us do above his top lip & now by the bottom corners of his mouth(this one is to control drool). we're pretty sure language was so behind because of poor muscle tone/coordination. it's improving a lot w/the massaging. still can't get a lot of letters yet, so once he's 2 the therapist is going to ask the county for 1 more hour a week(that's how much we get currently).

here are some of his favorite things to say:

"du(juice) t(please)" as soon as he wakes up
"ta tay"(thomas train)
"ddd"(dvd)--he knows what's important to him...lol
"see tha"(see that)
"hi day"(hi daddy)
"talla"(collin)
"lella"(yellow)
"o"(orange)
"lie"(lights)
"dih tee"(big tree)
"dih tay"(big train)
"lih tay"(little train)
"buh-buh"(bubble, although 30% of the time he uses D instead of B)
"wa-wa"(water--we got that 2 weeks after starting the toothbrush massaging)

still..with all of this progress, i feel bad for him that he can't use verbal words to tell ivy & collin to back up/give him some space or not to take his toys.

Christmas Letter & Card

I really dropped the ball on this one for getting it out on time. This is our Christmas letter, as written by Tom. This card was made from the photos Dina took of the kids w/Shelly. I'm sending out the last of cards tomorrow & Monday.



"Dear Friends and Family: It's that time of year again. No, not time for taxes, but it might be almost as painful. It's time for the infamous Gee Family Christmas letter.

Andrew had his first birthday this year. Due to his limited vocabulary, we were suspicious about his developmental progress. He was evaluated by professionals and they concluded that Andrew has a speech delay. He has responded well to speech therapy, and continues to make progress. He is still the most eager to talk on the phone out of the kids. He is a very social, happy boy.

Collin had his 4th birthday this year, and started his 2nd year of preschool. He continues to make slow, but steady progress with his motor skills (like putting on clothes) and voicing his needs. Collin was potty-trained this year, mostly because of Mindy's efforts. It is a rare day when Collin has an accident, even overnight.

Ivy began Kindergarten this year. She enjoys having friends and learning to read. She likes practicing basic addition skills and she even tests her parents' math skills, too. Ivy's favorite part of Kindergarten is getting her weekly prize for good behavior. She looks forward to this, more than anything else at school. Ivy improved her swimming abilities last summer, and can now, almost swim unassisted. Ivy is a very capable, if shy, 6 year-old.

Mindy is the figure behind the scenes, responsible for facilitating everyone else's growth and successes. She works with Collin and Andrew's therapists so that the boys can progress. She volunteers her time to help out in Ivy's class, from time to time. She keeps Tom motivated to keep on working to provide for the family. She also finds the time to maintain her personal fitness level, too. She won an informal fitness challenge (among friends) for seeing who could do the most exercise during a 3-month span. Jillian Michaels (from the Biggest Loser) and Denise Austin better watch out. Here comes Mindy!

Tom is the winner of an all-expense paid vacation to Kuwait. It was graciously funded by your tax dollars (through the U.S. Coast Guard). Ammenities include motorboat tours of the local ports, intermittent/censored Internet access and a 360 degree view of barbed wire at the hotel "Camp Patriot". Tom is not lacking for any tangible items or services.

His first impresions of the deployment were that it was like being on welfare. There were lines to get government hand-outs (equipment), and he was sustained by government checks. Deploying from San Diego to Kuwait left a different impression. The base is surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards. Except when the job requires it, Tom rarely leaves the base. It's a lot like prison. Tom plays chess with his roommate, which is also a nod to life in a POW camp. His fun-filled tour will come to a crashing end in early July 2009.

We're doing o.k. Thank you for all those who are helping out Mindy and watching the kids while Tom is playing with the boys in the "Sandbox." Many positive developments occured in our lives in 2008, but the upcoming year holds much for our family to look forward to. Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a happy new year.

Andrew, Collin, Ivy, Mindy and Tom"