Notes to the Universe

These are borrowed from my cute friend, Alison. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, right?

Dear Jim,
Thank you so much for proposing to Pam last night. I loved it!

Dear 4th grade Teacher,
Will you notify me, as soon as possible, how I did on my project that my child turned in? I'm hoping I got a good grade.

Dear Lady at the Soccer Game Last Night,
I'm really happy for you and your "enhancement". But, come on, do you really have to wear that outfit to your child's soccer game? Didn't you feel embarrassed having to adjust your shirt the whole night?

Dear President Bush,
What the heck happened to our economy? Do you think you can take out a small portion of the billions of dollars and send some to me? I'd like a pool and my basement remodeled.

Dear Kitchen,
Why do you get messy after being clean for only 10 minutes?

Dear Blogger.com and Facebook,
Why do you suck me into your spell and I manage wasting time viewing you? See above question.

Dear Inventor of Diet Coke,
What more can I say but "I Love You".

Dear Blogging Friends,
I think you're awesome! Thanks for keeping me entertained.

And now some of my own:

Dear Pumpkin Stealers,
What is up with you stealing 5 pumpkins from our porch? My kids cried, thank you very much.

Dear DVR,
Thank you for recording my favorite shows and letting me watch them whenever I feel like it.

Dear Mother Nature,
Thank you for this time of year. I love the smell of the air and the colors of the leaves.

Dear Chocolate,
Why do I crave you nonstop?

Dear Elle,
Please sleep in past 6:15. Please.

Dear Body:
Could you just pretend you are still 18? I'd like my waistline back.

Double digits

It hardly seems possible but Christian turned 10 over the weekend. It sounds like such a cliche but time really does fly. He's such a good kid - fun personality, good natured, witty, sweet with his sisters - he makes life fun around the house. It's been a tough couple of months for him adjusting to a new school but I think we've finally turned a corner. He's happier and is doing well. We had a fun party at an indoor/outdoor recreation place where the kids could do everything from drive go-carts to play laser tag and video games. They had a great time. Mike and I did a headcount every so often and just let them run wild.I love this picture. What boy wouldn't love running around in stealth mode trying to shoot the bad guy? :)
Spending all day with a bunch of 10 yr. olds, I heard my fair share of fart jokes but it was worth it to see Christian so happy. Happy Birthday!!

Having "The Talk" with Haley

By Special Guest-Blogger Mike

Its been one year now since I sat down with my oldest daughter, Haley, for our first official talk about the facts of life…or as we call it at our house…“The Talk.” I remember how awkward I felt in the days leading up to "The Talk." Those were nerve-wracking times.

Would I be able to tell her what she needed to know?

Would she understand the importance of what I had to say?

Would I gross her out?

But despite my feelings of inadequacy, I knew I had to have this conversation with her. Sure, she was only six at the time...but it wouldn’t be long before she would be a young woman. Already she was being exposed to things and ideas at school over which I had no control. She needed to hear straight talk...and as her father, it was my job to do it.

So I pulled her aside one Saturday morning. I chose a quiet place in our home, where we could be alone and where we wouldn't be interrupted. I looked at her gently and told her the truth about life's most important things.

"Sweetheart," I said. "You are a Ute fan."

Haley smiled eagerly and nodded her head with understanding.

"And not just a Ute fan," I continued, emboldened by her response. "Because you are a Mayfield, it means that you are a hard-core Ute fan. And that means two things."

"First, it means that you will be disappointed in life...a lot."

"Second, it means that no matter how bad a game is, no matter who we are playing, no matter what the score is, and no matter how bad the weather...Mayfields never leave a game early. We don’t leave Church before the closing prayer and we don’t leave games before the final gun---got it?"

Haley wrapped her little arms around my neck. "Dad...I already know all of this stuff. I'm ready."

A rush of relief flooded my body. I had done it. I had raised my little girl to be a runnin' Ute fan right smack in the middle of cougar country. I looked proudly at Haley and said, "Then I will take you with me to the football game today."

Haley quickly dressed for the game: Waterproof coat and pants. Boots. Rain poncho. It was a little overkill, but she was a rookie. I didn’t want to curb her enthusiasm.

We went to the game against Utah State University and sat down in the cool September evening. Before long, the air got cooler. I even started to shiver a little bit in my thin jacket and t-shirt. But, I was a veteran. I had sat through much worse.

Then it began to rain and then snow. Haley sat happily in her seat, totally dry, sipping on a jumbo cup of hot chocolate. I, on the other hand, began to shake as the wet snow seeped through my t-shirt and the wind ripped through my ironically named wind-breaker. Quite simply...I was freezing. And yet, I could not leave. Not after the Talk. Not after explaining the facts of life to my little girl.

At half-time, all the players ran off the field and the fans poured out of their seats to get shelter by the concession stands. Haley looked up to me and said "Is the game over, Dad?"

And that is when I saw...an opportunity.

I looked at my lovely, trusting daughter and said, "Haley, I love you. And I could never lie to you.....Yes, the game is over! Let's get the heck out of here!"

Sure I felt like a failure as a father, but the nice thing about life is you often get a chance to repent, to be better, to make amends.

My redemption came last Saturday. I took Haley to the Utah vs. CSU game...the whole game. And my undefeated Utes won 49-16 on a beautiful, fall afternoon.

It was Haley's second full game...as far as she knows.

Life is good.

Lunch date

You'd think with us only living 20 minutes apart that I'd see my sister all of the time. But, sadly, that isn't the case. We both have kids who are involved in things and stuff of our own (doesn't everybody?) so we don't see each other as often as we should. Today, she came up with my mom and we went to lunch. Since Kelly and I both have toddlers, we knew that someplace with a playland would be ideal. But since we also have more sophisticated tastes than french fries and chicken stars, we decided to get take-out from Bajio (their sweet shrimp salad or tacos are my fav) and then take it all to Carls, Jr. so the kids could play. Good plan, chicas!Could Paige be more of a poser?! I love her little attitude.
Elle & Simon are 3 weeks apart in age, which makes playdates fun for them both.Elle is a kissing machine these days. I don't mind now but I'll be reigning in her affectionate side when she hits her teens.

Wee Witches outing

Over fall break, the kids and I tried to keep ourselves entertained. So, we took Grandma to Gardner Village to see their witches scattered all over. Kids were in costume, Halloween music was playing, "professional" witches wandered around and we had a great time.Christian was dressed as Phantom of the Opera until he noticed that not everyone was actually in costume. He took his mask and cape off and went sans costume, a decision he regretted when he saw later how many kids were actually dressed up.Christian has long wanted to be a director when he grows up, so he loved pretending to film his actress-wanna-be sisters with this old-time movie camera. My 2 ladybugs. And Bo Peep. :)Dude - when you gotta go, you gotta go!

What I know

Inspired by a friend's blog entry (and I'm copying some of hers since they were so true!), let me tell you some of the things I know about motherhood:

* The house will never stay totally clean for any extended amount of time. Stop trying to make it so.
* Alone time is a good thing for kids and moms.
* Having kids changes your body ... F-O-R-E-V-E-R
* I should own stock in Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser.
* Kids will repeat things you say - to friends, neighbors, teachers .. anyone.
* My kids' necks smell yummy.
* Children suddenly decide they need something, start fighting or crying as soon as you start talking on the phone.
* The laundry will never be finished. It's always a work in progress.
* There is enough time at stoplights to read a few paragraphs of a good book. Always keep one in the car.
* As much as I'd like them to be, my kids are not self-motivated cleaner-uppers.
* My attitude can largely affect the mood of others in the house.
* Spending some time on myself helps me be a better mom and wife.
* There is no one sure-fire parenting method for every child -- they each require different things.
* Peace and quiet is only a good thing if your 1-2 yr. old is asleep.
* Whomever invented playdough, silly putty, and fingerpaints either didn't have any kids or they have a grudge against mothers.
* My kids will come running when I mention cookie dough.
* Middle of the night newborn feedings aren't as bad as I expected them to be .... the one-on-one time with the baby is priceless.
* I feel like I am guessing a lot of the time as a mother: Am I handling this situation right? Have I taught them enough of that? Was that the right thing to say?
* Band aids and kisses can cure most anything.

A mom's scariest moment...

One of my biggest fears is that something will happen to one of my kids .... one of them being kidnapped or molested being in the top few scariest for me. Yesterday, I was near panic trying to find Paige for about 20 minutes. In reality, that isn't much time but it felt like an eternity. I tried not to think the worst had happened but was getting more and more frantic as each minute passed. Here's what happened:

I drop Haley and Paige off at gymnastics together where they each have their own classes. Paige has a 1 hour class and then she sits and watches Haley for an additional 30 minutes until her class is over. Yesterday, Haley came out to the car alone and said she couldn't find Paige. I went inside to start looking, thinking she had just gotten side-tracked somewhere. But one sweep through the building turned up nothing so I had Christian come help me. We continued to look both inside and outside the building. I called a friend whose daughter takes a class at the same time and she said Paige told her she was waiting for Haley to finish. So Paige had been there half an hour before but where was she now??

After we checked every nook & cranny in the place and with both of my older kids in tears, scared for Paige, I finally went into the office to ask them to help me. And there was Paige, sitting on the floor in the back room coloring. She immediately started crying and ran to me. She started telling me about a boy who had been trying to "get" her. She said he followed her everywhere and so she started crying and another mom took her into the office. I immediately went into protective mother mode, asking her if the boy touched her anywhere, what he looked like or if he said anything to her. Then Paige started pointing and crying, "That's him!!" and I looked over and saw a down syndrome boy. Ahhhh.... I had such a wash of relief come over me as I realized that she wasn't being pursued by a scary guy. I tried explaining to her about him; how his mind doesn't work the same as hers and that he probably just thought she was cute. I didn't want to downplay the genuine fear she felt but I wanted her to understand that there wasn't anything really to be afraid of. She was freaked out, though. And I totally understood.

Needless to say, I won't be just dropping the girls off anymore. The poor girl wants to quit gymnastics because of that little boy. How do you help your kids to feel empathy for someone who is different from them, especially if it's a little scary? I'm not expecting her to be friends with him but I don't want her to run away crying from him either. Hopefully, my just being there will help her from now on.

So whatcha doin?

* We had a few friends over on Saturday to watch the Utah football game. We won, so that was good, but the better part of the afternoon for me was just having people here. We had way too much food and plenty of good conversation. I don't generally host fancy sit-down dinners but casual get-togethers are right up my alley.

* I went with Paige on a preschool fieldtrip to the fire station, which was highly entertaining. The best part was watching the fireman demonstrate how to slide down the firepole. You go! I'm sure those firemen just love it when preschoolers come by the firehouse.

* I'm in the throws of planning Super Saturday for Relief Society. Somehow this event grows and grows from week to week .... more crafts, more food, more classes, more of everything. It's always really well attended so I know it will be worth it, but it definitely takes a crazy amount of time and effort to pull off.

* I started mowing the lawn on Saturday (even though the wind was picking up and the temperature was dang cold) when snow actually started falling. That was a first for me ... mowing the lawn in the snow. Finished it just in time before snow really started coming down. 6 inches in October, baby!

* Went with the kids to pick pumpkins from our neighbor's huge garden (yes, we had their permission). The kids had a ball walking through corn stalks twice their size, picking tomatoes and cucumbers and apples from the tree. The kids always love picking pumpkins to match our family (the biggest one for dad on down to a tiny one for Elle) but this was the first time we've actually picked them from a garden. Tonight is the carving party.

What's on my happy list today?

I have to add the new movie trailer, too. Oh. My. http://www.myspace.com/trailerpark

Friday Night Lights

We live right behind the high school and have a decent view of the football games off of our deck. We even cut a tree down so that we'd have a better view.But sometimes you just have to be in the crowd to experience the whole game fever.Go BRAVES!

Antelope Island

A couple of weeks ago, I went with Christian's school class on a field trip to Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake. To be honest, I don't see the appeal .... it smells and it's barren and ugly ... but the kids loved it so I guess that's the important part. We went to the Visitor's Center, hiked to Buffalo Peak to have our lunch (a fairly scary hike, actually) and caught brine shrimp in jars. Good times! :}
This was the scary part of the hike. The picture doesn't show the sheer drop off just behind these hikers. Kids were slipping on loose rocks and the trail was so narrow. Their teacher didn't seem to be nervous but I was slightly neurotic.Catching brine shrimp.... This is before half of them wandered into the nasty water to catch as many as they could.
It looks like that's just sand in front of Christian and his friend but when he stepped onto the "sand" Christian sank to his knee in black, gooey mud. The kids started throwing rocks that would sink straight down. We were a smelly bunch on the way back in the bus.

"My best day ever!"

Paige - age 4: "This picture is of me in a convertible. So that was the best day! I had a really fun time because it was my first time riding in the front seat. It was really great. It was windy when she went a little fast but that's o.k." Paige is obsessed with convertibles and will point them out to me wherever we go. When my friend, Diana, offered to give her a ride, Paige was ecstatic. Diana said that Paige kept saying, "This is my best day ever!"

Go little bro!

Some of you know my younger brother, Thomas, is an aspiring actor living in Hollywood. He has had a few small cameos in commercials and one as a British soldier in Pirates of the Caribbean 3. His latest appearance is in a McDonald's commercial which I have yet to see, but several of my family members have on quite a few different stations including CBS, NBC, Bravo and FX. My nephew saw it twice the other night watching Spiderman 2 on FX. So keep your eyes out for it. He is sitting there having a Big Mac with an older actress sitting across from him portraying his mother, looking all raggedy with his longish hair and light beard. The "mother" reaches over and wipes some mayo from the corner of his mouth and he jerks his head sideways in adolescent rebellion. Here is a still shot so you know what to look for. Go Thomas! We are so proud of you!

Questions and answers

I don't normally wax religious on this blog but it's been a strange few days. Mike and I have been trying to make decisions about our future -- one minute we think we have an answer and then the next minute everything changes. I'm grateful for good friends who buoyed me up yesterday when I needed it: a phone call, a visit, an offer for a Diet Coke (she knows me well), a lunch date and even a late movie (all from different, caring friends). I'm grateful that Heavenly Father knows me and knows what's best for our little family. I just need to have faith in Him. I know that - I do. We have had very specific answers to prayer recently that have reminded us that He knows us and is aware of our questions. Now we'll wait for the answers.