"Attaboy Clarence"...Name that Movie!

Our family had a great Christmas Day!  But, as often happens when we come to Utah, (and by often I mean every single time) my kids catch a cold.  So today was spent in PJ's.  Lounging around playing with toys and electronics alike.

And watching TV.

One of my favorite holiday traditions is watching Christmas movies.  Every year, It's a Wonderful Life tops my movies of choice but with young children, our family movie nights revolve around choices like Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman.  I can't wait to introduce my kids to George Bailey and Bedford Falls but if the black and white doesn't throw them, the lack of animation surely will.

So on this day after Christmas, we settle for Shrek Forever After. 

credit: Dreamworks.com

Now one of my greatest, useless, talents is naming movie quotes.  If I've seen it, I can probably quote it to you.  My high school job...working in a movie rental store, so I've seen more than my fair share.  What can I say, I'm an audio/visual learner.  And when it comes to some movies - namely 80's classics - my whole family can recite it for you start to finish!  So I come by it honest.

And despite my pediatrician's warnings that too much TV will rot my children's brains.  I'm convinced that there are powerful lessons that some movies can teach them.  Especially given the fact that they (along with most red blooded American children) will jump at the chance to watch the boob tube.

My niece, a young woman with brains that go beyond her years, is taking a class, "History through Cinema".  They use movies to highlight issues.  For example, they watched Remember the Titans and To Kill a Mockingbird to discuss segregation in America.  Kind of brilliant if you ask me.  Now before you roll your eyes, no, I"m not blind to the unavoidable historical inaccuracies that Hollywood throws into movies.  But if you choose carefully, there are great lessons for my kids to learn...enter Shrek Forever After.

Quick review...A classic tale of our hero, Shrek, who has forgotten the blessings in his life and wishes that instead of changing diapers and wiping noses, he could just go back to how life was before, when he was just a scary ogre. He gets his wish.  But, once aware of the hole his absence has left in the lives of the people he loves, he does everything he can to get his family and his old life back, recognizing that the secret to having it all, is realizing he already did.

credit: IMDB

Ah, savor the Capraesque quality!

No, really!  If you stop and think about it, It's a Wonderful Life has its footprints all over that story line.  If you haven't seen it stop reading, kick yourself, then go rent it tonight!

Far and away my favorite holiday movie of all time, It's a Wonderful Life has lessons for many a phase of life but probably not in the format my kids would appreciate, understand, or sit through at their age.  

credit: IMDB

But getting them to watch Shrek Forever After and its similar lessons, piece of cake!  

Which lessons you ask....

• Underdogs matter
• Your life matters, you can make a difference
• Stop to count your blessings
• In helping others, we help ourselves
• The essence of life is relationships

and perhaps most important of all...

• Perspective changes everything!

Will my children embrace and remember these lessons after watching one movie...probably not.  But like prayers and manners, it plants the seed.  And the more you nurture the seed, the stronger it grows.

Not to mention the fact that I love priceless reminders...the secret to having it all, is realizing I already do!

Quality over Quantity

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was only 272 words long and took just two minutes to deliver.

President Abraham Lincoln wasn't the main speaker in November 1863 at the opening of the Union cemetery at Gettysburg, where he gave his legendary Gettysburg Address. That honor went to Edward Everett, the most famous orator of the time, who spoke for nearly two hours.

Gingerbread Parties!

Our family, like many others, has certain traditions during the holidays that my kids look forward to all year.

One of my daughters favorites is decorating gingerbread houses.  Sydney has had the same core group of girls over 4 years in a row and they just have more and more fun each year.  Not to mention the fact that they get cuter and cuter with time!

2009

2012

This year marked the first year for Logan to have a crack at his own gingerbread party - he wanted to do gingerbread men instead of houses...

 

I think they ate more of the candy than they actually decorated the cookies with but they had a blast either way!  I just love this tradition!

Thoughts for Thursday

My daughter got her soccer pictures back from her AYSO season.  The Glow in the Dark Panthers was the team name...democracy gone a bit awry but what are you going to do?  It was her second season playing and my second season coaching her.  It was a great experience for me and I hope for her as well!  Selfishly I hope their are many more years of it yet to come!

 

Our Thanksgiving dinner was a delicious success.  My favorite part of the meal was, and has long been, the Truman Dixie Salad!  What's better than pomegranates and whip cream...not much! Yum!

I was completely anti Black Friday and just about everything surrounding it this year .  We were just not in the mood to fight the crowds that weekend.  How did we pass the time you ask...

 

playing games and shooting hoops at Chuck-e-cheese which, thankfully, was practically void of people! 

The rest of the weekend was passed with time spent at home setting up Christmas decor and working on the tree.  It was so relaxing for mom to have the kids quiet and entertained :)

 

Our Christmas cards arrived in the mail today.  They turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself & I'm excited to get them sent out...even more excited to see all the fun ones that come in from family and friends!

My daughter's school is having their book fair this week.  It's great to see her get excited about wanting new books to read for her and her brother!

Yes, we may have gone a tad overboard!

Finally, we have discovered a new take out place.  Tommy Thai in Mountain View.  This one's menu is sure to stay near the top of the pile.  There is something about good Thai takeout on a Thursday night that makes a tummy happy!

I'm Thankful for...

I missed the boat this year on my "Thankful for list" on the blog.  Next year I have grand plans of starting on the 1st and documenting 30 days of gratitude as a good blogger should.  But this year it will have to be an all-in-one kindof thing.

so here goes...in no particular order; 30 things (big and little) I'm grateful for ;-)

• Thanksgiving Leftovers!
• Family
• Indoor plumbing
• my kids laughter
• our health
• hot chocolate
• our country
• warm fuzzy sox
• Sportscenter
• my camera
• my daughters smile
• my sons smirk
• good friends
• lessons learned
• the Gospel of Jesus Christ
• a good book
• technology
• soccer
• beaches
• mountains
• snow during Christmas time
• sunshine the rest of the year ;-)
• stepping stones
• french fries
• contact lenses
• family vacations
• food on the table
• roof over head
• clothes on the back
• love in the heart!

and last the best of all the game...

• kids in my arms

Its That Time of Year!

No, I don't mean the holidays, though that certainly is the driving force behind the occasion! 

What occasion you ask...Family Portrait Season!

This is the first year that I've posted any of the pictures I've taken, on a blog, or anywhere.  Hopefully the first of many more to come!

So head over to my photography blog & check them out!!!

tawniatherleyphotography.blogspot.com

Better Late than Never...

It seems the Autumn months have gotten away from me!  Wanted to take a few minutes to catch up!

First up:
Bahamas!!!
I mean really its enough said, right!  We took the kids on a week long vacation to The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas and it was, in a word, FABULOUS!  We had such a great time as a family, I wish we could go back every year!

Second:
First Day of School!

 

A second grader and a preschooler....mom may flip next year when little brother starts Kindergarten!  Why do they grow so fast?

Third:
Halloween!
A Disco Queen and Captain America...what could be cuter?  Not much in this mom's opinions!  Between the Trunk or Treat at church, school parties, and Oct 31st, the kids had 3 separate chances to gather more candy than any mom would be comfortable with.

all you need is love

My kids are three years apart in age.  Many have told me it's "the golden number" as far as spacing children go (this is open to much debate).  But the pro's are definitely there.  You don't have more than one in diapers at a time; the oldest one was done with the terrible twos (and potty training) by the time number two came along.  And being a "big sister" was very exciting for my daughter.  She was anxious to help take care of her little brother. 

Of course the inevitable happens whether they are three years or thirteen years apart...they are going to fight.  "He's bugging me."  "She won't let me in her room."  "I didn't do it, he did."  The list goes on and on. 

But every now and then, my kids are the best of friends and their love for each other fills our whole house.  Like this morning, when my kids decided that moms bed was the perfect place to play.

It was pure bliss for their mother to behold.  I mean its not like the bed was neatly made anyway ;-)  And the way they were making each other laugh is a sound I wish I could record and playback every day of my life!  Especially the days when they are at each others throats.

I know they will go through times when they'll forget how much they love each other.  I just hope those moments are few and fleeting!  Because when they're like this...

They make each other, and their mom, so insanely happy!

Snapseed! Where you been all my life?

I'm not the most tech savvy mom out there but I've got some game when it comes to photos.  I stumbled upon this app the other day and it was love at first tap!  I'm a fan of instagram but I've definitely found my upgrade! 

Now I love me my photoshop and I can spend hours engrossed in the editing process (just ask my family!) But this little beauty packs a good punch in no time at all and fits on my phone!  

Take this photo of my boy for example: Sitting on his grandpa's Harley and no I did NOT let him take a ride!

In about 30 seconds I had enhanced it to this...

I love it because even though you can tell its been edited when you see it beside the original, if you saw it alone you wouldn't know. To me, thats a great edit. I want people to see my photos and say "wow thats a great photo." Not, "wow thats a great photoshop job."

another 15 seconds, and I had this...

All on my phone!  I just love technology!

Graditude...not only the greatest virtue...

 

....but the parent of all others. - Cicero

I gave a primary lesson on gratitude today to a class of 7 year olds that included my daughter.  It never ceases to amaze me how much more I get out of these lessons than it feels like I give.

One of my favorite things about the gospel is how I feel I re-discover truths at different times in my life. I hear a certain principle once, and its meaningful to me, and then I hear it again at a different stage of life and it hits home for completely different reasons.

One of the scriptures we read together was in  Doctrine and Covenants 78:19 

"And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more."

I have this verse highlighted in my scriptures with a note in the margin that I added during my college institute class.  My chicken scratches read: "Its not happy people who are grateful, its grateful people who are happy!"

 I feel like writing that on my bathroom mirror with a Sharpie! 

We all have our trials in life and one thing I've learned lately is that you never really know the struggles others face.  I found out recently that one of the happiest people I know is one facing a challenge that would have me wrapped up in a permanant fetal possition.  Talking to her about it she told me "I feel like my attitude is maybe the only thing in my life that I have control over, so I'm sure as hell going to have a good one, it makes all the difference." 

I write this entry with a renewed determination to have an attitude of gratitude, knowing it can make all the difference in my happiness!  Afterall, I do have so much to be grateful for!

this day in history...

On July 13, 1930, France defeats Mexico 4-1 and the United States defeats Belgium 3-0 in the first-ever World Cup football matches, played simultaneously in host city Montevideo, Uruguay. The World Cup has since become the world’s most watched sporting event.

1930 USA Men's Team

oh happy day :)

The Women didn't get their World Cup until 1991 - 61 years later.  Crying shame!  Since 1930 the US Men's team has yet to bring home the trophy.  The US women have done it twice...so far ;)



photo credit: schmogel.com

it sucks getting old!

Some things get better with age.  Wine.  A good cheddar.  My perception of my athletic skills. ;-)
But lets face it, there many things about aging that just suck.  Not the least of which is how my body feels after a sporting event.

When I was a sophomore in college our team traveled to play in an invitational tournament at Santa Clara University.  We were all pumped to be going.  Sunny Cali weather, a few days off school & a great opportunity for us to test ourselves. 



glory days

The tournament spanned a couple of days, and I mean, all day.  We got up, ate, went to the stadium, played, ate, played more, ate, went to bed. Got up the next morning, repeated the whole thing.  We did well, taking second place & feeling good about our efforts.  We got on a plane headed home that night.  Now keep in mind, I was just the goal keeper so my level of exertion was somewhat less than that of my teammates, but we had all worked hard.  That didn't keep any of us from getting up the next morning and hitting the gym.

Fast forward 5 years and I'm living in Boston.  Unable to find a soccer team that fit into my schedule, I opted for Ultimate Frisbee. (For you poor unfortunate souls that don't know what that is, check it out here: www.whatisultimate.com)

Nathan and I played together on a co-ed team that we loved.  It was a great time and a great workout! (Especially since there were no goal keepers & I actually had to run my butt off)




photo credit: flickriver.com

We played weekly games and at the end of the season, a weekend tournament.  We played two games each day and it was intense.  Still, I remember waking up on Monday feeling good and making plans to go to the gym that night.

Fast forward 10 years.  The closest I get to playing soccer anymore is coaching my daughters AYSO team (fulfilling, yes; but not the same!)  In fact the most competition I get these days is battling my kids at bed time.

But this spring/summer I had been invited to play in a softball league with some friends who didn't have enough women to fill their office co-ed team.  (Softball was never one of my sports, but I jumped at the chance to play...anything!)
It was a fun team and we had a good time.  Last Monday was the playoffs and if we won our first game, we'd play for the championship immediately after.  Long story short, we pulled off the cinderella story, beating the undefeated team to take home the trophy.  It was awesome and I realized how much I miss competing and being part of a team!  I felt giddy. 

I got up the next morning....& I couldn't walk, or sit, or bend over, or raise my arms, without pain.  Holy crap it sucks getting old!!!

Happy 7-11 Day!

Today is a fun day for our family.  Today the 7-11 is celebrating their birthday by giving away free samples of their infamous Slurpee's! 


And now a brief history of this fabulous beverage...

Machines to make frozen beverages were invented by Omar Knedlik in the late 1950s. The idea for a slushed ice drink came when Knedlik's soda fountain broke down, forcing him to put his sodas in a freezer to stay cool, which caused them to become slushy. Many people loved them, which gave him the idea to make a machine to help make a "slushy". When it became popular, Knedlik hired artist Ruth E. Taylor to create a name and logo for his invention. She created the ICEE name and designed the original logo, which is used today. In 1965, 7-Eleven began a licensing deal with The ICEE Company to sell the product under a different name...the "Slurpee" (for the sound made when drinking them). 
(credit wikipedia)

I should rename them the "mess makers" or perhaps the "how fast can you spill mes".  Other popular choices include the "tongue dyer" and the "brain freezers".  But no matter how you choose to name it, you gotta love free Slurpee day!

Sky Mall...the funny & the "are you freaking kidding me?"

The flight home from Utah is not a long one & my kids have gotten to the age where they are pretty easy to entertain on an airplane (thank you iPad). I have always been pretty good about preparing for travel days; bringing plenty of snacks & activities to help the time fly by for the whole fam. But it wasn't until I sat down in the middle seat that I realized, this time, I had neglected to bring anything to occupy my time. If I'm not playing cards with my kids or doubling as a crayon holder I usually have the sense to bring a book or a magazine...but not this time. I sighed and reached into the seat back in front of me and scanned my options.
1. the barf bag
2. the emergency preparedness card with people looking calm and pleasant as they plunge to their death
3. the Sky Mall

I chose door number 3. As I opened the Sky Mall, the first item for sale was this chair

which can be yours for the low price of $199. I decided the background was more appealing than the chair but the mental image of me in it was certainly enough to get me to flip the page...to this...

and then this...

followed by this...

and who can forget this beauty...


Really? I mean, REALLY?

I realized at this point that I was perhaps being a bit smug about my attitude towards Sky Mall and its content. After all, the last page did have this for sale...

Leaning over my shoulder at this point, my 7 year old informed me that R2 would look "awesome" in our house. That might be true, but for the same price I could buy me 10 of these...

I closed the Sky Mall & put it back, happy to leave that dilemma to the next poor mom who forgot to grab a decent magazine before boarding the plane.

Best part of going to Utah this summer?

I think most moms out there can relate when I say its easy to get caught up in my kids lives and state of happiness and make it my own.  I mean if my kids are happy, it makes me happy. When they're cranky, it certainly doesn't improve my mood either.   So when we went to Utah this summer I knew I would be having fun because my kids would be having fun.

But the best part of the trip, for me, had absolutely nothing to do with my kids. (small amount of guilt felt but quickly abated!)

Don't get me wrong.  It was great to see my family!  My kids had such a blast with their cousins, especially in the pool!

And I got to teach my brothers and dad a thing or two about golf...like how to master the 3 putt!

We drove up to Little Cottonwood and enjoyed all the beauties of the canyon and the summer toys at Snowbird.

We took the kids to grandma's old neighborhood to see the 4th of July parade.  All fun events, all good times.

But no...as great as all those things were, NO, they do not qualify as the "best thing about going to Utah this summer"  So what, you may ask, could overshadow all those great things...

One word...Soccer! 

My sister-in-law is someone I've always placed in the awesome category.   But when she scored tickets to see the US Women's National Soccer Team take on Canada at Rio Tinto Stadium with me, it firmly cemented her awesome status for life & longer!  In all my years of playing and watching soccer I've never gotten to see the USWNT play in person.  I felt as giddy as a little girl getting a pony when I saw this...

and especially this...

photo credit: cbssports.com

An amazing save & amazing game by the girls in red white and blue!  Hands down my favorite part of the whole trip! Here's wishing them all the best as they go for the gold in London. 

Whats a tidbit?

tid·bit

noun

1. a choice or pleasing bit of anything, as news or gossip.

 

 

I've wanted to started a blog for a while but have always talked myself out of it for various reasons.

1. I am not a writer

2. What I do write can't possibly be that interesting to other people.

3. There are so many more interesting blogs out there (shameless plug for my big brother here...watchingatrainwreck)

4. I really don't have the time.

5. Setting up a blog has always been a little intimidating to me.

So, having listed the excuses, I've decided I'd give it a go.  If for no other reason that its a fun way to keep a journal & laugh at myself & my life once in a while!