Movin' On Up

Yesterday was a busy day at the Shaw house. We woke up (fairly) early and got started in our office. The day before (Fri) I helped my sister move into her warehouse, which meant that she would be able to use her new desk and the old one was being given to me. So we brought it home and I was very eager to get it into the room. Our neighbor, Mike, who is a cabinet maker, made us some shelves for the closet. The hubby installed them and then we placed the desk in the closet opening (to save space, the room isn't very big). We then arranged the rest of the furniture and hung pictures on the walls. We had a temporary interruption while we talked online to a tech support guy with Dish Network--the office TV's remote wasn't working... it's the UHF kind that sends a signal through the walls to the receiver in the LR, and it's signal set-up wasn't right. So we fixed that and now we are all good. The futon will go in here eventually, but for now we need it in the LR until we get a couch. We also moved our fridge back into the kitchen and switched the doors to the other side (so they open the right way) and put it where it goes! Yay! I'll post pictures tomorrow.

MEMLPN

My brother just sent some pictures from when us sibs got together and sang at the June Balloon at my brother's church at the beginning of the summer. We're silly.

Ding Dong The [Witch] Is Dead!

Well he's not a witch...

But I was just surfing around on Geneva's website and noticed that Dr. Alcalay is NO LONGER TEACHING THERE! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!

Phew! For all the current Music Students at Geneva (and future, Jme!)

Sing Me To Heaven

In my heart's sequestered chambers lie truths stripped of poets' gloss
Words alone are vain and vacant, and my heart is mute
In response to aching silence, memory summons half-heard voices
And my soul finds primal eloquence, and wraps me in song
If you would comfort me, sing me a lullaby
If you would win my heart, sing me a love song
If you would mourn me and bring me to God, sing me a requiem, sing me to Heaven
Touch in me all love and passion, pain and pleasure
Touch in me grief and comfort, love and passion, pain and pleasure
Sing me a lullaby, a love song, a requiem
Love me, comfort me, bring me to God
Sing me a love song, sing me to Heaven

At the Park

We went to the soccer park today. The Little Boy walked all the way there and back. He met a little boy named Tony and they played together very well. His favorite thing was the merry-go-round!

This Week's Book

by John Himmelman

Future Piano Virtuoso?

Sunday

Here are some pictures from our time at the farm yesterday. These pigliets were born to Xena, Laura and Craig's pig. Athena, their other pig, will be delivering her own piggies very soon. The piggies were born on Saturday during our yard sale. There are two runts and 13 total pigs. Obviously very adorable!

Laura feeding a runt.
Piggies feeding.
C and C looking at piggies.
Hubby feeding the runt again.
Careful not to step on the piggies!

Here are some pictures from our drive home. We get to see some lovely things, living out west.

Lake Lowell
On the road to Nampa.
Love the clouds and mountains!

Yard Sale

Today and yesterday we had our yard sale. Both Laura and I put stuff out on the driveway. Yesterday's sale went really well--today not so much due to some rain in the morning. I met some interesting characters throughout the day, and some of my neighbors, as well. We sold some stuff that had been here in the house when we moved, as well as some things that I decided we really didn't need for this little place. It's been good--but long, and tiring.

Tomorrow's Book at Storytime

Kid Tea by Elizabeth Ficocelli

Update: This book was great! Each day the bath water was a different color according to what the children did that day [mud-brown, popsicles-purple, dressup/makeup-red, etc.). The best part was that on Sunday they went to church and rested and they didn't get dirty, so the bathwater was clean--but the last page said, wait until Monday! The whole book rhymed. I just really liked it.

Tell Me A Mitzi

Once upon a time there was a Mitzi. She had a mother and a father and a brother who was a baby. His name was Jacob. One morning Mitzi woke up. Jacob was in his crib, asleep. Mitzi went and looked in her mother and father's room. They were asleep. She looked in the living room. There was nobody there. There was nobody in the kitchen. Mitzi went back into the children's room, shook the crib and said, "Jacob, are you asleep?" Jacob said, "Dadadadada." "Good," said Mitzi. "What shall we do?" "Let's go to Grandma and Grandpa's house," said Jacob. "Right," said Mitzi. "Let's go." "First make me my bottle," said Jacob. So Mitzi got Jacob's bottle, carried it into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and took out a carton of milk and opened it and took the top off Jacob's bottle and poured in the milk and put the top back on and closed the carton and put it back in the refrigerator and closed the door and carried the bottle into the children's room and gave it to Jacob and said, "Let's go." Jacob said, "Change my diaper." So Mitzi climbed into Jacob's crib and took his pajamas off and took off his rubber pants and took the pins out of his diaper and climbed out of the crib and put the diaper in the diaper pail and took a fresh diaper and climbed into the crib and put the diaper on Jacob and put in the pins and put on a fresh pair of rubber pants and Jacob said, "Dress me." So Mitzi lifted Jacob out of the crib and put him on the floor and she put on his shirt and his overalls and his socks. She put on his right shoe and his left shoe and his snowsuit and his mittens and tied his hat under his chin and said, "Now let's go." Jacob said, "In your pajamas?" When Mitzi had got on her shirt and her skirt and her socks and her shoes and put herself into her snowsuit and found her mittens and tied her hat under her chin, Jacob said, "Now let's go." Mitzi put Jacob in his stroller and pushed the stroller out of their front door and along the hall to the elevator. "Only I can't reach the buttons, " she said. "Take me out and hold me up, " said Jacob. So Mitzi took Jacob out of the stroller and held him way up and Jacob pressed the button. When the elevator came, Mitzi pushed the stroller in, the door closed and the elevator went down to the ground floor and the door opened. The doorman in the lobby said, "Good morning, Mitzi. Good morning, Jacob." Jacob said, "Dadadada." Mitzi said, "We're going to Grandma and Grandpa's house." The doorman helped Mitzi take the stroller down the steps and Mitzi pushed Jacob to the corner of the street and called, "TAXI!" A taxi stopped and the driver got out and came around to their side. He lifted Jacob out of the stroller and put him in the back seat and lifted Mitzi in and folded up the stroller and put it in the empty front seat and walked around to his side and got in and said, "Where to?" "Grandma and Grandpa's house, please, "sait Mitzi. "Where do they live?" asked the driver. "I don't know," said Mitzi. So the driver got out and came aruond to the other side and took the stroller from the front seat and unfolded it on the sidewalk and took Jacob out and put him in the stroller and took Mitzi out and put her on the sidewalk and walked around to his side and got in and drove away. Mitzi pushed Jacob back to the house. The doorman helped her get the stroller up the stairs and he pushed the elevator button for them. They got out on their floor and went in their front door and into their room. Mitzi took Jacob out of the stroller and untied his hat and took off his mittens. She took off his snowsuit and his right shoe and his left shoe and his socks and his overalls and his shirt and put on his pajamas and lifted him into his crib. Then she undressed herself and put her pajamas on and got back into bed and covered herself up and then the alarm clock rang in her mother and father's room. Mitzi's mother came into the children's room and said, "Good morning, Mitzi," and Mitzi said, "Morning, Mommy," and her mother said, "Good morning, Jacob," and Jacob said, "Dadada." "Come to Mommy, Jacob," said his mother, "I'll get you a nice bottle and change your diaper," and she took him out of the crib and said, "Mitzi, today can you be a really big girl and take off your own pajamas all by yourself?" "You do it," said Mitzi, "I'm exhausted." "Exhausted, are you!" said her mother. "How come you're exhausted so early in the morning?" "Because I am," said Mitzi. "Mommy! Where do Grandma and Grandpa live?" "Six West Seventy-Seventh Street," said her mother. "Why do you ask?" "Because," said Mitzi.

Okay just replace "Mitzi" with"Natalie" and "Jacob" with "Caleb" and that's my life. ;o)

Tell Me A Mitzi
by Lore Segal

Mail Man

Trip, Tramp, Trip, Tramp

So, Storytime is a complete success! I am so proud of my son. We arrive early at the library (just in case, since we've never been before) and he waited patiently to go downstairs. On the way down he picked his nose (I wasn't proud of that part, mind you) but was still able to notice the Thomas the tank engine poster. He picked out a carpet square and carried it over to the reading area (colorfully decorated with book posters, cool carpeting, and colorful barriers, marking off a reading nook). He sat right down, one of the first ones, and waited for Miss Dawn to get started. He did everything she said to do, from clap-clap-clap to pat-pat-pat to stomp-stOMP-STOMP! He was so cute! She read them two stories with songs and "games" in between. He didn't focus as much during the stories, but was still quiet and well-behaved. The last story was a group participation one. All the children got sticks that they banged together to represent the goats crossing the bridge to get to the grassy mountain. The troll was in the way, but the BIGGEST goat got rid of him and the goats lived happily ever after. The first story she read was called "Don't Be Silly, Mrs. Millie" it was really good--the teacher, Mrs. Millie, gave the children instructions, but changed the word at the end of each one, i.e. children it's time to buy your lunch but don't cut in front of anyone in the LION (instead of line) or it's time to wash your hands, don't forget to use soap and WALRUS. Anyway, the kids thought it was hilarious, and at the end, they all got walruses stamped on their hands. :-) It was a really fun activity and I am excited to go again next week. I don't think I am the only one.

Storytime

This week we begin going to Storytime at the Nampa Library for the little boy to attend the preschool-aged group. This week they are doing the book called "Goat and Donkey in Strawberry Sunglasses" by Simon Puttock. You have the option of attending either Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. I am not sure which one we are going to go to yet because each morning is different... I have been having trouble sleeping and that makes me pretty tired and with the lack of motivation... I am going to try to get over it and do stuff anyway and see how I feel, a nap may be necessary later on! The Grandmas have sent "RED" things for the boy. He's on BLUE this week and other stuff. He likes getting a sticker when he's finished a page. We worked with that Model Magic stuff and he liked that, however he then broke the animals we made... hopefully Elmer's glue will do the trick. I am back into typing now... three more interviews were sent my way. Soon I will be helping with soap because we have an event the first weekend in October that we need to get soap ready for. Yay! We start Sunday School at church this weekend, too. So there will be a luncheon and we'll be able to sit and get to know some more people, hopefully! It's fall and things are starting to get more interesting around here! I am so glad for this!

The Comfort of Jesus

So today in our pastor's sermon, he used a really amazing illustration that just made me feel so comforted by the thought that my Savior, Jesus, will come back some day to bring me home...

A father dropped his son off at the park to play with some of his friends. He told him that he would be back to pick him up, but that he had a few errands to run. He went to the bank, the local shopping center, and just as he was making his last stop, his car broke down. He spent four hours waiting for help; he of course had no cell phone; and a repair man was going to have to to come and help him get his car running again. When he finally was able to get back to the park to pick up his son, it was dark. He saw his son sitting on the curb, rocking back and forth, and singing to himself. He rushed over to him and said, "son, are you all right? I am so sorry I kept you waiting so long!" His son looked at him and said, "That's okay Daddy, you said that you would come back and get me."

Bulbous Bouffont

Check out this link and click on the "Boulbouse Bouffont mp.3" link to hear something very frightening, yet oddly hilarious.

Working in the Kitchen

click on the collage to make it bigger and easier to see

All but the kitchen sink

So we literally have everything we need except for the kitchen sink. I moved stuff into the upper cabinets yesterday and today. I can't put anything in the lower ones yet because they aren't installed, but I lay some boards across the tops of them so that I have a counter top of some sort. I just wash stuff in the bathroom sink. I am getting creative with ways to fix food with the least amount of dishes. I also got to hang some things on the walls today which gives it a home-y feel. Our bedroom is mostly together, except we need some furniture (end tables and a dresser), right now we just have crates. The boy's room is almost done. He has all he needs except for a few things on the walls and his stuffed animal holder thing (it's like this mesh tube that hangs from the ceiling and the animals live in it). The office will probably be the last thing that gets done due to waiting on a desk and shelves being built into the closet. Oh, I guess the bathroom is technically last because we haven't even started on it. Things are coming together, thankfully! Tomorrow night we are attending a local high school football game with my nephew(s). This weekend we work on the house more! Sorry it's not more interesting...

After the Storm

I experienced my second western storm at our house today. They are freaking me out. The wind blows so strongly... we lost another branch, this time it landed on my car--I think it's fine. Anyway, it made me all tense for the afternoon. Today we had pre-school (big and small!) and we shopped at Walmart and the boy pretended to be a howling wolf through the entire store. People were staring. =) My brother "remastered" my sister and her husbands albums (Red Running and Red Running: Hope) from the 80's onto a CD and I got it in the mail today. I forgot how much I still know when singing/listening to their songs and I how much I just love it! How cool to have it on CD now since I don't have a tape player anymore! Happy times.

We've Done More Work!

Little Boy's Room (curtains, furniture, he's moved in!)

Kitchen Cabinets--bought, not installed ~ Curtains and Fan in Bedroom

Lowes is my second home.

So we went to Lowes again today. We purchased a bunch of odds and ends, like: dryer hose clamps, drill bits, switch plates, curtain rods, and then the biggie...cabinets. Whew, what a bill! Our neighbor, Mike, has offered to give us some assistance with the cabinets. He's a cabinet maker. Last night he showed me all the shelving and cabinetry he did in his own house. Wall to wall cabinets and shelves, let me tell you! The man went nuts! Anyway, he has some tips for making our cabinets work, etc... My BIL will install them, I hope starting on Monday. Today he's going to hook up our new range. I can cook again! We can actually have some homemade meals this week, I bet! It's been a long time since we've done that. We are finishing our floors today, hopefully. We would also like to get most, if not all, of the trim completed. Hubby hangs it, I fill the holes and do the touch-up paint. Better go change into my paint clothes...