The Olsen Clan

This Blog has been Terminated

2012-01-07T07:24:00.000-06:00

Due to sudden & extreme life changes this website will no longer be updated. Should you wish to continue to follow the lives of Aidan, Ethan and Julie you can email me at feign.olsen@hotmail.com.

Secret Angels Day 12

2011-12-27T16:00:00.000-06:00

Mtthew 2:9-12

Luke 2:12-16

Shepherds visited and Wise men brought gifts

The gift was 12 candy canes

(Ethan is slurping his tongue)

Thank you so much to those "Secret Angels" that brought us these wonderful gifts to remind us of the may ways Jesus has given us light and life.

We are truly blessed to have such friends!

Merry Christmas and God Bless You!

Secret Angels Day 11

2011-12-27T15:57:00.000-06:00

Luke 2:1-11

The story of Jesus' birth.

The gift was a box of Fannie May Pixies.

Secret Angels Day 10

2011-12-27T15:55:00.000-06:00

John 14:26-27

The Promise of the Holy Ghost

The gifts was TWO $10 McDonalds gift cards!

Secret Angels Day 9

2011-12-21T19:47:00.000-06:00

Luke 8:5-16

The parable of The Sower

The gift was several bags of tiny toys

Secret Angels Day 8

2011-12-21T19:46:00.000-06:00

Matthew 6:9-13

The Lord's Prayer

The gift was a tin of biscuits and homemade jam!!

Secret Angels Day 7

2011-12-19T20:38:00.000-06:00

Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus is baptized

The gift was 7 bouncy balls

Secret Angels Day 6

2011-12-18T20:48:00.000-06:00

John 13:3 - 17

Jesus washing the apostles' feet

The gift was a package of break n' bake cookies

Secret Angels Day 5

2011-12-18T20:46:00.000-06:00

Luke 22:41 - 45

Jesus suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane

The gift was 5 card games

Secret Angels Day 4

2011-12-18T20:44:00.000-06:00

Mark 10:13 - 16

Jesus blessing the children

The gift was 4 chocolate bears

Secret Angels Day 3

2011-12-18T20:42:00.000-06:00

Mark 4:35 - 41

The story of Jesus calming the storm

The gift was 3 magnetic picture holders

Secret Angels Day 2

2011-12-14T19:48:00.001-06:00

On this day we read Luke 7:36-50 The story of Jesus forgiving

the woman who was to be stoned.

Our gift was an ornament of a angel singing music.

Secret Angels 12 Days of Christmas

2011-12-13T20:56:00.001-06:00

Ding Dong!

This startling sound began an exciting event for us last night.

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!!

We opened the door to find a box chuck full of presents.

One for each day starting on December 13th.

Tony is working 2nd shift so we'll open each present

right before the boys get on the bus in the morning.

There was an outline of scriptures for each day

to help get us in the Christmas Spirit!

The scripture was Luke 8:41-56: The story of Jesus

raising the daughter of Jarius from the dead.

The present was a Kenny G Christmas CD.

(Tony thought this was especially hilarious)

Thank You Secret Friends!

We look forward to opening a scripture & a present each day!

December Bulletin Board

2011-12-13T20:43:00.000-06:00

Theme: The Scriptures Teach me about the Savior's Birth and Second Coming
Scripture: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works" Matthew 16:27

Tree: Took off all the leaves and added Christmas light bulbs.
Bdays: Presents
Friendly Fun & Faith in God: Went to the Dollar Store and found christian coloring books and work finds relating to Christmas and the Bible. Tore the pages out and wala. (Wish I'd have thought of this in January)

November Bulletin Board

2011-12-13T20:39:00.000-06:00

Theme: "Reverence is Love and Respect for God"
Scripture: "thou shalt love the Lord they God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" Matthew 22:37

Tree: Added lots of fall leaves. It was a bit over the top, but I loved it.

Bdays: Pilgrim hats.

Friendly Fun: Found a Hallmark coloring book in my mom's old Primary box telling the story of the pilgrims.

Faith in God: Word Find from an old Friend.

An Ode to my Mini Plunger

2011-10-11T16:55:00.000-05:00

(based on a true story)

My toilet is old
As old as the hills
Well…it’s older than it should be
That’s true!

But it’s got a huge tank
And with the right SPANK
It’ll swallow big loads of poo.

So it’s an average day
Hand in hand, they say
My plunger & me working hard

But hark! What is that?
A tear?
A crack?
O please don’t let it be true.

I watch as the water starts to flirt with the rim
My plunger – he’s trying his best
But the crack gets wider, more bubbles leak thru
The water is starting to crest!

As I vigorously push my dear friend to his end
I plead & I shout OH PLEASE!
We’ve been thru so much
I’m asking just this once
I need just ONE MORE SQUEEZE!

SLUUUUUURrrrrrrrrp!

In awe I behold
That water so bold
Start to whirl down its designated tube

What relief I feel is halted & stilled
As I realize the sacrifice due

That big ole crack was all the way around
He was practically doubled over himself

God Bless You Dear Plunger!
It isn’t a wonder
That your time has come to an end
Endless hours we’ve spent
Keeping filth hell bent
In its right and proper place

Your replacement is tall
It’s even bright blue
But my heart will always remember you.

Plunge on, little dude!

October Bulletin Board

2011-10-09T18:47:00.000-05:00

Theme: Prayer is reverent communication between God and me.
Scripture: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" James 1:5

Tree: Added fall leaves & acorns

Bdays: Pumpkins & Spiders

Friendly Fun: Hidden musical notes in a choir coloring page

Faith in God: General Conference Word Find

September Bulletin Board

2011-10-09T18:44:00.000-05:00

Theme: The Gospel will be preached in all the world
Scripture: "This gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people" D&C 133:37

Bdays: Apples & Worms

Friendly Fun: Find the hidden missionary plaques coloring picture

Faith in God: Fill in the blank "Ways to prepare to be a missionary now"

August Bulletin Board

2011-10-09T18:39:00.000-05:00

Theme: My Body is a Temple of God
Scripture: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?...The temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Bdays: Lined paper & School related clip art

Friendly Fun: Color the pics of food that D&C 89 says are good for your body

Faith in God: Word of Wisdom puzzle

July Bulletin Board

2011-10-09T18:34:00.000-05:00

Theme: The Temple is a House of God
Scripture: "Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return tot he presence of God and for families to be united eternally" The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Bdays: Fireworks (as requested by Aubrey) and Stars

Friendly Fun: Temple Coloring Picture

Faith in God: Know your song lyrics & word find

June Bulletin Board

2011-06-04T01:18:00.000-05:00

Theme: "The First Principles and Ordinances of the Gospel Make It Possible for Me to Live with God Again"
Scripture: "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost" Article of Faith #4

Tree: Added leaves and it looks so much better! Yea for summer!
Bdays: Fish & Bubbles
Friendly Fun: Maze in the shape of the CTR shield
Faith in God: Coded message of the song lyrics from "Stand for the Right"

May Bulletin Board

2011-05-17T18:02:00.000-05:00

Theme: "The Church Of Jesus Christ Has Been Restored"
Scripture: "I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other - This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him!" Joseph Smith History 1:17

Tree: Pink blossoms, an owl, chipmunk and birds.

Bdays: Flowers

Friendly Fun: Dot to Dot of David & Goliath.

Faith in God: Alphabet Mystery from an old Friend magazine.

Spring Cleaning (otherwise known as complete upheaval)

2011-05-09T01:43:00.000-05:00

I work better with deadlines. In other words, I work better under pressure. I'm naturally lazy, so if I don't feel any pressure or have a deadline that is past my control I procrastinate. I put it on the "I'd really like to do this" list that grows ever longer with each day of my life.
So I volunteered to host book club. Now, this may seem a humble thing to do as book club is less than 10 people, but for me it is huge. I have one social event a year (July 4th) and that is IT. Why? Again - lazy. Having people over means deep cleaning the house. You see, unfortunately for my sanity (and my poor family) I tend to be an all or nothing type person. If I'm having guests I feel compelled to not only clean the house but also to:
shampoo the couches
vacuum every crevice
clean the kitchen floor on hands & knees
sweep all ceilings
clean all the walls
reorganize & dewinter our closet
"organize" random junk
spray the lawn with weedkiller
remulch flower beds
buy & assemble a new dresser for the boys
reorganize all the toys in the house
clean inside windows
wash all the drapes
bake cookies
paint my toenails
Now, your average woman would just call this spring cleaning. I call it punishment for being lazy all winter. Only this time I outdid myself. I decided that since I had been such a poo-poo all winter that I should tackle a project that I have been telling myself to do for several years now:
tear off (what is left of) the wallpaper in the kitchen

leave the border and paint a matching color
add chair rail

The wallpaper was REALLY hard to get off, but the end result was well worth it. I can't believe how well the paint matches this old border. Interestingly the color is "Cornflower Blue" which was my favorite color as a young girl. Tony did a great job on the rail. My best find was a stain stick that matched the wood exactly. Cause, you know, I had to find every single little nick in the trimwork and fix it - of course.
As it always goes with house projects this took A LOT longer than I anticipated. Mainly because:
*it's been a long time since I've done a house project and I'm telling you it is a MODE you get into. Otherwise you do what I did and end up visiting your local home improvement store 3-7 times within 2-3 days.
*I decided I only needed a quart of paint (visited Lowe's two more times)
* it didn't occur to me at first to put up a chair rail. I first tried cutting the lower wallpaper only to find that the border kept ripping. I next tried cutting the bottom of the border. Oh my goodness, I just can't relive all of this. Let's just say that I banged my head on the wall more than once when it occurred to me to just put up a %$!^ chair rail.
I had given myself a week to get this project and my deep cleaning done and it was a real push. Because, you know, life got in the way. Things like:
*Aidan got an ear infection (dr appt, rx pick up, home from school)
*a piece of the dresser was broken (had to call around for a replacement part)
*brothers don't gotta hug, they gotta fight (and whine)
All in all I think I'll volunteer to host book club again next May. Now that it is all done I feel GREAT that my house is clean and I actually got a house project done. Let's just hope I don't need a knee replacement as a result.

New Bikes

2011-04-29T00:58:00.001-05:00

The boys have needed new bikes for quite a while now. We are avid bikers so it has been almost painful to watch them pedalling for their lives on the 12" bikes. They have grown so much in only a year's time!
This year we got them 16" bikes in the brightest colors possible. The bikes are a little on the big side for them, but we plan on keeping them for two years. Hopefully we'll be able to take off the training wheels by next year. Right now, we're keepin' it safe.
We took them out....as soon as it stopped raining. Those bikes are fast! Before I would have to practically backpedal they were going so slow, but now I find I have to hoof it if I let them get a bit in front of me. Their little legs are obviously having to push quite hard so they tend to tire out, but I've noted that with age comes GRIT. Ethan is still ultra competitive and will pitch a FIT if he is not in front. Aidan still dawdles and will randomly stop his bike to gaze at a bird, no a plane, no a ..... well, you get the picture.
Have I mentioned how great it is to be out in the sun again?

(No, I did not coordinate their shirts with their bikes - though I am most pleased that it turned out that way. I know, I'm weird.)

Easter Promise

2011-04-26T15:10:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Easter all week. The boys tend to learn better with song, so each day while they were eating lunch I showed them different pictures of the Savior, told a story about his life and sang an Easter song from the Children's Songbook. After they ate I sang & played the song on the piano. They kept saying "again, mom, play it again" while they twirled and danced around the living room.

On Saturday we went to Mom & Dad's house for a delicious Easter dinner. It was a beautiful day so we were able to have an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. It has been raining, raining, raining lately, so it was especially nice to feel a warm sun and watch the boys run & giggle outside.

Later that day we put flowers on Calvin's grave. We held hands and explained to the boys that their brother Calvin was not with us now, but through the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus we will someday be with him , holding his hand.

Sunday morning they found their hidden Easter baskets. A tradition in Tony's family is to get new shoes (which they sorely needed). Now they are sporting new Lighting McQueen shoes that, ironically, slow them down a bit as they are slightly too big. Can I just say I LOVE velcro. My boys probably won't know how to tie shoes until they are 10. Egg coloring was especially fun this year because I found a kit with silly face stickers.

Creative Parenting

2011-04-14T01:40:00.001-05:00

I often hear Aidan saying "Ethan is my best friend" with such genuine feeling. Then the next thing I hear is him bossing Ethan around or hearing Ethan whine that Aidan is hitting him or hearing Aidan do his scream/cry because Ethan has "accidentally" hit him. Anyway, I could go on, but you get the picture. It's like this every.....stinking....day. As a parent I get so frustrated with all of the whining, crying and hitting that sometimes I just want to run out of the house and Calgon my worries away in someone else's bathtub because I sure as heck aren't going to find peace in MY bathtub.

Well, one night I told Tony that it was "time to engage" (as quoted from Elastigirl on the Incredibles). Tony got creative. Here's how it went down:

ACT I

SCENE ONE

(Living room in the Olsen home. TV blaring. Tony on couch. Julie multitasking around the house)

(A&E running in & out of their bedroom & living room having fun - which results in yelling at each other and hitting one another)

JULIE

(walking into living room) I have HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!!

TONY

(Jumps off the couch lunging for the boys. Boys think it is a game and start giggling and running away)

JULIE

(Relieved that Tony is going to take care of it, leaves the room)

ACT II

SCENE ONE

(Strange ripping noises can be heard and the house is eerily quiet. Julie enters the living room with a quizzical look on her face)

TONY

(talking to boys in a low growl) We do NOT hit each other. I am going to bind your arms as punishment for hitting your brother.

(in an aside to Julie with a twinkle in his eye) My Aunt Mary used to do this to me & my brothers when she babysat us.

JULIE

(puts hand to mouth doing all she can to NOT laugh out loud. Runs to get camera and starts snapping pictures.)

ETHAN

(Bound by duct tape and sitting subdued on couch. Wearing best hound dog eyes ever. Automatically smiles when camera comes out.)

AIDAN

(Currently being bound in duct tape. Thinks it is funny for about 2.5 miliseconds, then begins crying once he sees Tony's frown)

TONY

(Lectures boys about not hitting one another. Occasionally has to turn away from boys to hide smile.)

ACT III

SCENE TWO

(Living room couch in the Olsen home. Laundry basket has been commandeered by Aidan & Ethan. They are snuggling & laughing together with bottles & blankets inside the laundry basket sans duct tape.)

THE END

It's official. We're middle aged.

2011-04-13T02:11:00.000-05:00

We went to one of our favorites places the other day - Farm & Fleet - to buy Tony some new work duds. He's used to the construction scene where they wear ratty shirts and heavy duty jeans. At his new job they are a little more classy. So Tony picked out some plaid cotton button up collared shirts (with pocket) and I thought I was going to die of mortification when he bought them. I mean, they are OLD MAN shirts, you know?

Late afternoon Monday I hear the back door open and in walks this H O T T I E! So now maybe I'm thinking that I'm the one going middle aged because I was shocked at how cute he looked in his old man shirt. Check him out:

Backyard Fun

2011-04-11T11:25:00.000-05:00

Oh what do you do in the wintertime

when all the wind doth blow?

Do you put on a show

as you sled in the snow

on the hill as you whoosh on by?

Oh what do you do in the wintertime

when all the world is brown?

Do you busily frown

or come crashing down

from the tree that you climbed so high?

Oh what do you do in the springtime

when all the bird do sing?

Do you wear pirate bling

or make your sword swing

straight into your brother's eye?

Is that what you do?

Nah, neither do I.

(But I sure like watching the boys do it!)

April Bulletin Board

2011-04-10T19:45:00.000-05:00

Theme: "Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer"
Scripture: "We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel." Article of Faith #3

Tree: Little tiny buds on the tree were added in March (I forgot to take a pic). I added raindrops this month. I will be adding pink blossoms later in the month. Finally being able to add grass to the fence made a big difference.
Bdays: Bunnies & Easter Eggs
Friendly Fun: Picture of Jesus visiting the Nephites. I hid easter eggs & the letters of the word "Savior".
Faith in God: Scripture fill in the blank & wordfind of the many names of the Savior.

February Bulletin Board

2011-04-10T19:29:00.001-05:00

Theme: "The Scriptures Teach of Heavenly Father's Plan"
Scripture: "For this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Moses 1:39

Tree: Kept the snowflakes and added hearts.
Bdays: Hearts & Arrows.
Friendly Fun: Coloring picture with stuff to color, find & count.
Faith in God: A "Gospel Standards" word puzzle that ended up being too hard for them.

January Bulletin Board

2011-04-10T19:21:00.002-05:00

Theme: "The Scriptures are the Word of God"
Scripture: "Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do." 2 Nephi 32:3

Each year the Primary organizations in our building trade bulletin boards. In 2010 I had the great big board inside the Primary Room. This year I have the bulletin board in the hallway. I decided from the first to keep it fairly static. The layout stays the same, but several elements change each month. So I created a basic outdoor scene with a blank white background, a cloud border at the top, a white picket fence on the bottom and a large tree all found at the School Shop. My best find was the website simplyfreshdesigns.com. On there I found a large poster with the yearly theme as well as matching monthly theme posters I print out each month. The designer, Heather, has a blog full of free designs. I downloaded the large poster and took it to the Copy Shop downtown to be printed & laminated for very little dough.

Both the poster and the tree will stay up year round. Though the tree will have different decor according to the seasons.

I wanted the board to be more interactive this year so each month I create what I call "challenges". There is the "Friendly Fun" for the Jr. Primary and the "Faith in God" challenges for the Sr. Primary. When they complete a challenge they get to choose from a treasure box full of prizes. This month's FiG was an Article of Faith #13 word find & fill in the blank. Friendly Fun was a coloring page of a boy reading the scriptures. They had to color, count & find several things. I get a lot of my material online at lds.org. There I can find activities online from The Friend which is the church magazine for Primary aged children. Other ideas I get from a huge box of stuff my mom gave me from when she was Primary President.

I have the most fun changing out the monthly wordart, the birthday spotlights and the tree decor. These follow the seasons. For instance in January I put snowflakes all over the tree & the board and the birthday spotlights were snowmen. The 2011 Primary Theme for the year is "I Know the Scriptures are True". So in addition to spotlighting the birthday kids with their picture, we also ask them to tell us what their favorite scripture story or verse is and post that as well.

It is very difficult to take pictures of this bulletin board. It is a narrow hallway with not quite enough light to take a clear picture. In order to get the whole board into the camera's eye I have to center myself up against the opposite wall, squat slightly, put the camera above my head and slightly tilted down and take many, many pictures to get it right. It's actually rather comical to watch me doing it.

Winter Blues

2011-04-09T15:17:00.000-05:00

For many months I have just not been doing well. The best way I can explain it is to say that I have just not been able to make myself function. I'm still very much struggling, but with the warmth in the air and the sun on my face I can feel myself getting a little bit better every day. Thus, you'll see me start blogging again.

Yesterday I turned on BYU's "Living Essentials" for background noise while I was doing dishes (which I had been putting off for days) and guess what the topic was - mental health issues. I found myself turning the amp up to 42 and listening intently. The guest psychologist talked about depression, anxiety and ADD all of which have been on my mind lately. By the way, this is the 2nd time I have randomly listened to this show and BOTH times the topic just happened to be exactly what I needed to hear. Every once in a great while the Lord is not subtle.

All along this journey of (shall I actually name it....) mild depression I have known exactly what I've needed to do in order to get out of the slump. The problem is making myself do it. I'm still not there, but I can feel little bits of myself starting to "thaw out" and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to push myself further each day.

Why we don't eat in public

2011-04-09T10:30:00.001-05:00

Tony surprised us last night with the spontaneous suggestion to go out to a restaurant for dinner. This suggestion put me in a mild state of shock because:
a) Tony HATES going out in public, especially restaurants and most especially with the boys
b) We never have the money to eat out
c) Tony is not spontaneous
After picking my jaw up off the ground we drove around town trying to decide where would be a place we could all enjoy dining. Olive Garden!

Now, we have taken the boys out to eat when we were travelling cross country (often with disastrous results). The only places in town that we have braved are McDonalds and Denny's. So really, we have never taken them to a classy place like Olive Garden.

I was a bit nervy because though my boys can be quite well behaved my husband is extremely high strung. He tends to respond to any little uh-oh by the boys with this fierce frown that eminates waves of pissed-offedness that quite frankly sucks the happiness & fun out of any given moment.

Well, those boys were AMAZING. I was so proud of them! They both tried lettuce salad for the first time. Aidan didn't like the croutons, but enjoyed the lettuce. Ethan stuffed a whole crouton in his little mouth and liked the shaved carrots. They, of course, LOOOOOVED the breadsticks.

Aidan ordered spaghetti. He ate maybe five bites of the spaghetti but managed to enhale 2.5 breadsticks. Ethan ordered chicken fingers & fries. (Before Ethan's plate even settled on the table Aidan had stolen and eaten two fries. Tony & I were so shocked to see him reach over to someone else's plate that we just looked at each other and giggled) Ethan loved his chicken and fries AND and a couple of breadsticks. I was so impressed by how much he was eating that I kept praising him over and over. I remember saying "Wow Ethan, you must have been hungry!" (you can just feel it coming, can't you...)

Then the moment came when I knew we were done. You just KNOW that moment, right? The kids start fiddling around and the restaurant starts filling up. We ask for a box and a check and I whip out the wipeys. We get the boys cleaned up and Ethan starts sucking down his large chocolate milk like he just can't get enough to drink. I put his jacket on, turn around and put Aidan's jacket on (pick up the half eaten Ande's mint off the floor and placate Aidan with my own Ande's mint) and put my own sweater on.

That's when Tony starts in with a low growl: "Can I get a little help over here?!" I whip around and guess what is happening
the WORST thing possible
I mean, I'd rather the boys were crying and fussing

Ethan was throwing up.......EVERYTHING.
NOTE: discontinue to read if you are squeamish

Tony has been using those (blessedly large) cloth napkins to catch the spew. I take off his icky jacket and start using it as a bucket (Ewwwwwww). Tony & I are desparately trying to be as subtle as possible so as not to gross out the customers sitting less than two feet away. We start covering all traces with those large yellow napkins and hissing at each other. Meanwhile Aidan decides to take advantage of the situation, climbs up into Ethan's seat and procedes to chomp on fries.

Ethan is a very quiet puker which is good in this instance, but disastrous at home because you don't know it's happened until it is much too late. The angel child doesn't even cry or whine, we only know it ever happens because he comes to us wanting his mouth & hands wiped off (or Aidan is screaming at the top of his lungs ETHAN JUST THREW UP)

By this point the poor kid is between hacks so I discreetly put the jacket in Ethan's arms (and below his mouth) and make NO EYE CONTACT with anyone all the way to the front of the building where the bathrooms are. I'm praying the whole way that we don't start a sympathetic puking train with any of the other customers. Just as we reach the inside of the bathroom it starts again. I won't bore you with the gross details other than I had to clean the toilet, much of the sink area and some of the floor. Just as we're leaving I slip on another large pile of it (oh yeah) and realize I have another 1/4 of the floor to wipe up. This is when I have one of those moments I just agonize over as a mother. I said "ETHAN, did you throw up AGAIN?!" in my best whiny mommy voice. Ethan looks at me with those sickly protruding eyes and says "I'm sorry" and backs himself up against the wall. I felt this small. Luckily no one (else) had come into the bathroom only to slip & die on vomit.

I hurry and clean it up and find Tony just outside the bathroom. He's got that look on his face that says "We are leaving RIGHT NOW!". But I insist on communicating with the host because I don't want anyone entering that bathroom until it has been SANITIZED! I stuff the gross jacket into Tony's infamous fierce frown and ever so calmly talk to a 19 year old host who is very polite to me. (sigh)

Then there is the ride home. Tony has seriously gone 3 shades of red and has the fiercest frown I've seen in quite some time. He growls "THIS is why we NEVER go out to eat!!" I reply with "But the boys were soooo good the whole time!" And they were! They didn't make a peep the whole time and we only had to remind them a couple of times to use their silverware, not their fingers. They didn't fuss or whine or make weird noises. They were quiet and proper and made us smile. Tony just gave me A LOOK with his pulsing red eyes. (sigh)
Thankfully Ethan is done with his theatrics and has yet to be sick again. We are convinced that he simply ate too much. We think that chocolate milk just put him over the edge.

Kindergarten?! No way!

2011-04-08T00:40:00.001-05:00

We went to a Kindergarten orientation meeting tonight. It was surreal. How is it at all possible that our boys will be going to full time school when they are still so small and precious?

I worry about so many things....

They still have so many delays. Will they be ready by fall?
Will their teachers be SO annoyed by their active natures and their inability to process as fast as other kids?
Will all of the lovely cuteness and innocence be violently SUCKED out of them when they are exposed to the "real" world?
Should I insist that they are in the same class?
Will my heart ever recover?

These are only a few of my concerns. I just can't help but feel as though public school is going to ruin them. My logical mind asks "Did it ruin you?" Perhaps not, but I can't help but think that A&E have so many more issues to deal with than I ever have had.

It doesn't help that my heart insists on seeing them as:

(sigh) By the way, I know the answer to that last worry I listed. No, my heart will never recover.

A Bit of Good News

2011-03-29T01:15:00.001-05:00

Tony has been working a temporary job as an industrial electrician at a plant just north of Peoria. They have been so impressed by him that they have offered him a job. The pay is not very good, but we will have benefits again! I can already see a change in Tony. He really enjoys the job and likes the people he is working with. We were hoping they would offer him enough to justify keeping the job permanently but I guess that is not in the cards for us. For the moment we are happy to be employed again.

Tony has a bit of a commute so he has been listening to Harry Potter audio books. He comes home every day indignant that yet another character and/or storyline was not represented in the Harry Potter movies. I just smile and say "wait til you read the NEXT book".

I wanted to thank many of you who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers. Especially my parents who have been very supportive in just the right times and in just the right ways. It has been very difficult this past year and especially this winter. I'm very much looking forward to warm weather and bright sunlight.

School Program 2010

2011-01-31T17:07:00.001-06:00

The boys looked so adorable for the school Christmas program. They came out in homemade antlers and red painted noses. The pictures & videos are pretty grainy because, you know, it's a GYM.
This year we were the FIRST people there. Well, except for my parents. They, of course, got there before us. The staff were giving us a hard time for being so early. But hey - we got front row seats. Oh yeah.

I found these adorable shirts. Aidan's said: "I don't do mistletoe" and Ethan's said: "I don't need mistletoe". Ethan couldn't hardly keep himself from picking off the red nose.

Here are some videos clips of a couple of the songs. My favorite is the Knock Out hit "We wish you a Merry Christmas". (I was in fear for Carter's life at one point)

Faith, Hope & Love

2010-12-29T21:09:00.000-06:00

A beautifully crafted new creation by Tony. The mahogany stained wood is a stunning backdrop to the silver wire. I think they look best hung as a vertically staggered set on the wall but they can be fitted with a dowel as well. Sold separately or get a discount as a set.

Olsen Creations

2010-12-22T18:14:00.002-06:00

Tony is an artist. Did you know that? He's had some time on his hands lately and has put it to good use. He has created some beautiful pieces. If you are interested in purchasing one of his pieces stop by at http://www.olsencreations.blogspot.com/ or email him at olienfeign@live.com
You can order a custom name plaque:

Or a one-of-a-kind nativity:

If you live in town, it's not too late to order for Christmas! Yes, he's THAT fast (and THAT ~~desperate~~ eager for something to do).

December Bulletin Board

2010-12-04T23:44:00.000-06:00

Theme: I Know That My Redeemer Lives
Scripture: "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!" D&C 76:22

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T21:55:00.001-06:00

For Family Home Evening we talked about why we celebrate Thanksgiving. Then we put together a "Thankful Turkey".

The Boyz are thankful for:
Thomas (the train)
Percy (the train)
School Bus
Grandma's House
Trains (spelled TERAIN)
Blue (the color)
Ice Cream (Ethan)
Sister Steinberg (Primary teacher)
Mrs. Laird (School teacher)
Friends at School
Grandma & Grandpa

Tony is thankful for: Football & Farmin'
Julie is thankful for: Family, Jesus, Aidan, Ethan, Mom & Dad

I'm beginning to think I'm not having an influence on ANY of my boys.

November Primary Bulletin Board

2010-11-24T21:30:00.002-06:00

Theme: "When We Serve Others, We Serve God"
Scripture: "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" Mosiah 2:17

There is a cute little song that is popular in the Church that sings:

"I have two little hands folded snuggly & tight

They are tiny & weak, yet they know what is right

During all the long hours 'til daylight is through

There is plenty indeed for my two hands to do."

I thought this was a great theme for service. Cecily taught a Sharing Time the first week of November challenging the children to perform small acts of service for members of their family throughout the month. In Primary they could then put up a "Service Smile" on the board under the word that best described the type of service they did:

Serve, Teach, Love, Give or Share

On another note...(warning: please note this progressively becomes a very long rant)

I had a crisis of faith this month. I was once again trying to find something creative for the Primary Bulletin Board. I was looking through our Primary closet and found these beautiful picture posters of children with themes such as "Service", "Sharing", "Encouragement", etc along with quotes of scripture. I don't know who bought those posters, but DANG THEM.

Really, I can't say that I blame whomever it was that bought those posters because they are so beautiful and inspiring. I had all but convinced myself I was JUSTIFIED in using this artwork even though it was not Church Approved. As you can see from the picture above, sanity prevailed (or shall I say the promptings of the Holy Ghost prevailed).

To those who are confused about my dilemna, let me explain. The policy of the Church is that anything we use in Primary (and really in all auxiliaries) from lessons, to artwork, to music, etc. needs to be Church Approved. In other words, it should have the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" stamped on it OR it is something that you can find at the Distribution Center. You don't have to have bought it from the Church, but all lesson manuals, tons of music & artwork are furnished to each congregation for the use of all of the members. Well, then you have random things like BULLETIN BOARDS. Obviously the Church does not make borders or cute little leaves like you find on my bulletin board this month, so those types of things you use in good taste and in keeping with the Spirit.

My own complete faith and reasoning in the policy that all materials used should be Church Approved is twofold: 1) The Spirit is delicate and quiet. It requires a feeling of reverence in order to be present. Those materials created and approved by the Church are in harmony with all that the Spirit promotes and 2) Materials found at your local Christian store or online may not be in keeping with true doctrine. So to have each cute/inspiring/beautiful item individually or collectively approved would be a waste of time and overwhelm the leadership of the Church both locally & internationally.

Herein lies my crisis of faith. The Church has a plethora of beautiful artwork ranging from classic paintings of the Savior to photography of temples. They also have absolutely wonderful monthly magazines for adults, youth and children. What you DO NOT find is what I call "Gospel in Action" type artwork. You know, pictures of children serving others, giving hugs, participating in scouts, etc. (please note you may find this type of artwork in said magazines, but it is clipart, not full pages you can take out and put on your wall/bulletin board) For our Young Men/Young Women they have "Mormonads". These are posters with clever sayings and a scripture reference. They do not have anything like this for our children. I can almost guarantee that once a kid turns 8 or 9 they have a poster or such of a super hero or a scantily clad princess in their room. Why don't we have inspiring posters for our children like we do for our youth? I do not mean to be irreverent, but it gets reeeaaallly old putting up the same pictures month after month (i.e.: the child praying, the child being blessed or the family saying a prayer) because there is so little to choose from other than putting up a different picture of the Savior every....single....month.

I believe that much of my frustration comes from lack of creativity on my part. But let's be honest, I'm sure there are many Primary Secretaries out there that have the same level of creativity that I do. The Church puts such a huge emphasis on families and especially in strengthening our youth. I believe that our Church resources would be put to excellent use in creating more "Gospel in Action"/"Everyday Living" type artwork for our Primary aged children.

So two good things came from this experience. 1) I have GUTTED the Primary closet. It is organized and "cleansed" as I've been wanting to do since I received this calling in May and 2) I used the inspiration I got from those Christian posters to create the board for this month and I think it turned out great.

I will now be (quiet sob) setting all of those beautiful, inspiring posters & cutouts in the foyers for families to take home for their own use. Goodbye unapproved materials! I will miss your cheerful sayings, but appreciate the opportunity you gave me to be faithful and endure to the end. (I think I'll have to keep some of them for myself....)

Slow Drain - Easy on the Brain

2010-11-18T17:02:00.003-06:00

My grandpa is a genius. He can be counted on to have a simple, yet perfect solution to just about any household problem. My dad - same way (only add automotive, electrical and spiritual issues as well)
Anyhoo I often have slow drains as I live in an older home. His recipe is just so amazing that I have to share it:

Prime slow drain with hot water for a while
1/4 C Baking Soda
healthy dash of salt
1/4 C Vinegar
Give it 30 minutes to work
Again run hot water for a while
PLUNGE with a plunger

Waa Laa. I giggle and shout each time I do it because it is so amazing! Now who would think to use a plunger on a sink?! My grandpa.
(I have to admit that I use WAY more vinegar than 1/4 C because I'm like a little kid. I love watching the baking soda fiz up)
I often get these powerful moments of panic when I think "What am I going to do when my grandpa or dad isn't here to give me the solution?!?!?!?!" I just keep praying that they live for a looooong time. Hope you don't mind being here for a while yet Grandpa!

Whew!

2010-11-09T01:14:00.000-06:00

I'm glad that's over. 16 posts in a week's time. I'm finally caught up on everything since July. I tell you, my brain is not what it used to be. I'm sure I have forgotten precious details about some of these events. Oh well, that's what I get for procrastinating!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-09T00:56:00.000-06:00

Mommy's Little Monkeys

When I brought monkey costumes home Aidan was ecstatic. Curious George! he cried. Ethan scrunched up his nose and said "I don't want it". (Oh my) So we tried them on just for fun about a week before Halloween. They BOTH loved the costumes (whew). I found these adorable costumes at the Mothers of Multiples Garage Sale. They are amazingly simple to wear. They are big enough to slide over their pants & shoes on the bottom and the top wears like a jacket with a long velcro piece from neck to waist. Genius!
We thoroughly enjoyed the Halloween season this year. Grandma Swartz brought over some beautiful fresh pumpkins from the farmers market early in the month. They were so tempting that we just HAD to carve them right away. Aidan wanted a scary face, Ethan wanted a happy face. Unfortunately the weather turned unseasonably warm, so they didn't last for long.

We also started what I hope to make a fall tradition. Pumpkin Bread Cupcakes! We had lots of fun making spooky colors with cream cheese icing. We got creative and made pumpkins, bats and ghosts on our cupcakes.

As per tradition we went to Bloomington Library's parade and storytelling along with their playgroup buddies. On Friday we stopped by Grandma & Grandpa's house for our first Trick or Treat. Then our church had a Trunk or Treat that evening that was a lot of fun. That is the BEST way to trick or treat. We saw some scary characters and some adorable friends. We even saw a BORG. On Saturday we made a tour of the town going from friends to family to do our trick or treating. Plus, we carved the cute little pumpkins they got from their field trip at Rader Pumpkin Farm. Sunday we stayed on our own steps to hand out candy. Each time I would say "You can have two pieces" to the trick or treaters Aidan & Ethan would try to reach in and take their own candy. They just didn't get it. They looked SOOoooooo adorable as little monkeys!

Parent/Teacher Conferences Fall 2010

2010-11-09T00:14:00.000-06:00

Aidan
Enjoys puzzles, writing center, recess, music, blocks, magnets and the computer.
Needs to work on:

identifying squares, triangles, rectangles, color white
balancing on one foot, galloping
touch counting
lowercase letters
not falling asleep on the bus (which results in crying for mommy for about 5-10 minutes when he is woken)

Speech Therapy:
Currently working on positional and descriptive vocab. Same & different concepts. Reading a story and being able to answer questions about or retell the story.

Aidan has made a very good transition from Early Childhood classes of 7-10 kids to a faster paced PreK classroom of 15-20 kids. He does do things at a turtle's pace (typical Aidan) but his teacher is very pleased with his skills. When she did his placement tests he passed each one with flying colors. Mrs. Bennett said that Aidan loves music. She'll find him humming or singing one of their welcome songs throughout the day. He plays well with others, is eager to learn and is starting to show a longer attention span. His speech therapist Mrs. Parkhouse was very excited that Aidan has started to answer WH... questions. (what, where, how...) This was a BIG issue for us in years past. Overall Aidan has made huge strides in the three years he has been at Raymond and it looks like he will definitely be ready for Kindergarten next year. Yea!

Ethan
Mrs. Laird and Mrs. Parkhouse could not say ENOUGH about how proud and amazed they are with Ethan's progress this year. Mrs. Laird keeps exclaiming that he is a completely different Ethan from last year. (She likes to attribute this to my summer homeschool, but I personally believe that getting his tonsils & adenoids out are the main reason why he has been able to progress so rapidly)

Here are just a few of the things they are amazed about:

holding out his hand to ask for something
tapping someone's arm to get their attention
self regulating. i.e. stopping himself with calming steps to keep from getting frustrated (all without prompting)
sharing and taking turns voluntarily
memory skills
articulation and listening skills

Needs to work on:

positional and emotional vocabulary
categorizing and sequencing of 3+
attention span (especially with story telling)
WH.... type questions

Both Mrs. Laird and Mrs. Parkhouse have been working with Ethan on attention span. Mrs. Laird has been taking Ethan aside each day to a quiet place in the classroom to read a story and then ask questions about the story. Mrs. Parkhouse has been experimenting with reading the book and not necessarily keep cueing him to look at the book. She finds that he is still able to answer questions about the story even though it didn't seem like he was actually listening. They think he may be an auditory learner.
We were very happy to hear about Ethan's progress. We have seen a big difference in him at home as well.

Field Trip & Fall Festival

2010-11-08T23:44:00.000-06:00

As I'm sure I've mentioned many times before, we love Sarah Raymond PreSchool. For their field trip this year they went to Rader Family Farm again. Only this year the Rader Family did a major upgrade. We've been visiting this farm each fall for several years now. It started out with a pumpkin patch (of course), a very simple petting zoo, corn pit and straw towers to play on. Then they added a barn with a cafe, a "Little Village" of tiny houses & tricycles, hayrack rides and a corn maze. In 2010 they added a ton more stuff on to all of that! The boys especially loved the "Jumping Pillow". It is literally a ginormous pillow full of air that can hold around 15-20 people easily. I've never seen anything like it.
The boys are different classrooms this year, but their two classes are always paired together. So I was running back and forth between the two boys trying to participate with them each step of the way and, of course, get pictures. Each class went on a tractor ride and along the way picked a pumpkin straight from the patch. Aidan grabbed a pumpkin that was still on a vine. I had forgotten about the thorns that grow on the stem and poor Aidan got a handful of prickles. The boys also enjoyed playing in this large drainage pipe they had plopped onto a great big pile of dirt. (sigh) Needless to say a good time was had by all.

Each fall the school has a Fall Festival. They have lots of play stations for the kids to explore during their recess. This year they had a corn dig, bean bag toss, find the gourd, cake walk, roll the pumpkin, stamps, pumpkin decorating and "hayrack" rides. I love being able to be a part of these events. It is so fun to watch the boys interact with their schoolmates and teachers.

Ethan Can Zip!

2010-11-05T01:37:00.001-05:00

One of the great joys of parenting is being a part of the many "firsts". Another joy is finding within yourself the strength to NOT jump in and do everything for them, enabling them to have genuinely independent, successful experiences. It is so hard to watch them struggle. But each time I start to jump in something holds me back and whispers "just watch".
Ethan has always been one for pushing himself to be independent. He had been attempting to try zipping for several days, but not really getting it even when I demonstrated how to get it started and how to hold tight with one hand. The other morning I asked them to put their jackets on and Ethan walked into the living room with his jacket mysteriously zipped already. I asked him if he had zipped his own jacket,
he nodded and said "I Zip!"

Remember, be patient and just watch

Takin' It To the Street

2010-11-05T01:27:00.002-05:00

This may look a simple enough picture, but what it represents is a monumental moment for the Olsen Clan. For the first time I allowed the boyz to ride their bikes on the street. Granted we rode the sidewalks most of the way and it was only just around the block, BUT STILL, for me this was huge. In my opinion they had become expert enough in two things:
1) Riding their bikes without incident (no falling, tipping or unexpected stopping) and
2) Recognizing the shrill sound of my panic voice well enough to stay calm and stop their bikes on command.
I'll admit I panicked almost the whole way there. Even (to my embarrassment) being so dramatic as to stop all movement and exclaim "What was I thinking? Why didn't we just stay home and watch TV?" I took a cleansing breath and reminded myself that my boyz love the park, which is why we were already 3/4 of the way there.
I do so love riding bikes. But I think we'll stick to Constitution Trail for a few years yet.

Our First Train Ride

2010-11-05T00:46:00.001-05:00

Mom & Dad treated us to our first train ride ever! We were all very excited and just could not wait to wake up each morning and ask "Can we get on the train today Mom?" (P.S. this STILL happens)
We took a simple round trip from Normal, IL to Pontiac IL. Our instructions were to be there an hour early. That was probably the hardest part of the trip. The waiting.
During our wait the "California Zephr" came through. It looked just like one of those old classic 1940/50's silver bullet trains. It was hard work convincing the boys that this WASN'T our train. Finally the old Amtrack blue & silver train came. We hopped on board and rode near the back of the train. It was a bit stuffy, but I was impressed at how large and comfy the seats were. There were big long windows. The boys were having a great time looking out the windows and running from seat to seat to check out the view on each side of the train. It was a surprisingly smooth ride. I had always imagined trains to be rough riding. The trip itself was about 20-25 minutes. The time just flew by and we were in Pontiac. The train station there is just next to Fell Park. A lovely place with one of the old tractor monkey bars. It was a gorgeous autumn day and the leaves at the park were stunning. The boys played for a bit and Mom fixed us a generous snack. We only had about 30 minutes at the park before the train trip back, but the boys were excited to get back on anyway. On the way back we sat near the front on the train. It was nice & cool. Plus we found the dining car. The boys were immediately hungry though we had only just eaten a snack. They settled for just sitting at one of the booths....fooooor about 30 seconds. Oh, the energy.
We will definitely have to do this again.We LOVE the train.

October Bulletin Board

2010-11-05T00:19:00.001-05:00

Theme: "The Mission of the Church Is to Invite All to Come unto Christ"

Scripture: "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him" (Moroni 10:32)

Our Primary Sacrament Program was on Sunday, October 24th. This is a tradition in our church that is something we all look forward to. The Primary children get the chance to share their testimonies and sing the songs they have been learning since January. There is nothing quite so sweet as hearing their little voices in song. Stacie put the program together this year. She asked each child to write one or two sentences of their testimony about how the Savior loves them. It was a beautiful program.

Ethan's testimony was: "The Holy Spirit helps me feel better. I can pray to Jesus."

Aidan's testimony was: "We can take the sacrament every Sunday. The scriptures teach us that He loves us."

Both boys did a great job singing and saying their lines. (This is in stark contrast to last year!) Brother Fink had made some risers that fit snugly up against the podium wall in front of the chapel, so we could easily fit all of the kiddos on (or near) the podium. A&E's class sat on one of the risers so they got to use a hand held microphone instead going up to the podium and risking a fall off of the risers.

Another tradition is that for 2nd & 3rd hour of church we have an "after party" of sorts. Instead of the traditional class time & Sharing time we played games from the Friend Magazine (a church magazine for little ones), made puppets, colored pictures and ate fruits, veggies, crackers & cheese.

As my own contribution I created a "Name That Tune" type game on the bulletin board. Pictures & snippets of each song were their only clues. Those Valiant 10/11 Boys knew them all without hesitation! (namely Jesse) Can you guess each of them?

For the birthday bulletin board I covered the chalkboard with birthday wrapping paper, cut out some balloons and added curling ribbon to the balloons and the "top" of the "present".

Calvin Remembered

2010-11-04T16:46:00.001-05:00

Our dear friend Marilyn Mapes makes the best birthday cards. She always remembers our beloved Calvin. There are many out there missing their loved ones just as we are. We testify to you that your loved ones still live and love you. We will all be together again because of the sacrifice and example of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

A&E Turn Five!

2010-11-04T16:39:00.005-05:00

Five, Five, Five, Five, FIVE. It's true, they are 5! Five years ago they were barely alive:

Now they are healthy, strong & sassy:

We tried to pack it all in for this banner year. The day started out with a surprise. Tony found a baby possum in one of our empty trash cans. He dumped it out into the neighbor's yard and it HISSSSed at us. It was so adorable.
Their FIRST for this year was getting cash in bday cards. Being as they are "Big Boys" now, we taught them the principle of tithing. One of their gifts were cute little piggy banks so we deemed them Tithing Banks. They enjoyed plunking the coins for their 10% tithing into the banks.
Next the boys had a free breakfast at Bob Evans from their summer reading program. Ethan got chocolate chip pancakes, Aidan got eggs & bacon. Yum! We zipped over to the Children's Museum next. Only the week previous they had completely renovated the 3rd floor and we were super excited to see it. There was a stage complete with lights & costumes, puppet making supplies with a puppet stage, tons of new instruments in the "dancing room" and much, much more. They enjoyed putting on diferent hats & waving flasg around on the stage. The time went WAY too fast.

Tony & I joined them for snack time at school. They chose M&M cookies for their bday treat. During recess all of the kids flocked to Tony. He's a girl magnet.

For dinner we went to Chuck E Cheese's. (I signed up to be an online member and they sent us dang good coupons!) The boys loved all of the games and scored quite a few tickets. Aidan loved this interactive video ride. You lay on a seat that bounces & shakes to a roller coaster type movie. Ethan loved the ticket muncher. You stick your tickets in and it counts them for you while it makes this loud munching sound.
Afterwards we went to ToysRUs to score on the gift certificates they had gotten from their grandparents. They chose train stuff and a couple of little cars.
It was such a long day that they didn't even get to blow out their candles until bedtime snack!

Back To School Primary Activity

2010-11-02T16:41:00.001-05:00

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does much in the way of Humanitarian efforts worldwide. They offer to church members opportunities to put together kits of all sorts. As a focus for our Primary Quarterly Activity we chose to assemble School Kits. For a few weeks now we have asked Ward members to donate paper, pencils, erasers, scissors, etc. as well as donate materials & time to make school bags.
We had enough donations to make 25 kits!!
Along with assembling the kits we had some "Back to School" activities for each subject:
Social Studies: A large map was pinned to the bumpers. Balloons were pinned to different cities with pictures of temples on them. Jr. Primary kids got to pop a balloon and guess which temple. Sr. Primary had to try to pin as many pics of temples as they could on the map within 30 seconds. One piece of candy per temple. Did you know there are over 130 temples now?!
Science: Stacie brought two activities: How many drops of water can you put on a penny? (Clayton got over 100!) and Paper Clip Dip.
Math: Cecily came up with Addition Bingo. The kids got to use fruit loops for markers.
Reading: Back to School Stories by Kendra in comfy foyer chairs.
Art: Laura came up with a clever idea. Each child drew their own basic face, then it got passed on to each child at the table for them to add additional features. As you can imagine, it got quite creative.
P.E.: A Classic - Duck, Duck, Goose outside in the grass.

September Bulletin Board

2010-11-02T15:26:00.001-05:00

Theme: "I Obey Jesus Christ Because I Love Him"
Scripture: "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15)

Every once in a while there is a fifth Sunday in a month. Each fifth Sunday I get to present Sharing Time during Primary. In August there was a fifth Sunday, so I decided to have the Primary children help me with my September bulletin board.

During my lesson we started memorizing John 14:15 and discussed what it meant to show our love for Jesus Christ. Then each child got a heart and a crayon. They were to draw or write something they were going to do this week to be obedient and show their love for their Savior. On the left side is the Junior Primary, on the right is the Senior Primary. I think they enjoyed being able to draw then place their heart on the board.

Lincoln Balloon Festival 2010

2010-11-02T13:29:00.001-05:00

Hot Air Balloons are so fascinating! Especially for little boys. This year's festival included a Nemo looking balloon named Wally. (Not WALL-E, though it was confusing...) We ventured out further than usual to explore some of the older planes at the airport. There was a beautiful old fire engine. The planes got Aidan so excited that he started giving us a guided tour. I've included a video of it so you can appreciate how well his speech has improved. He talks nonstop nowadays. In the video he is talking about the rocket engines on the back of the planes....

This year they had the option to go up in a tethered balloon. It was very tempting, but the line was looooong. Aidan begged and begged to go up, so we promised him that we would next year.

Ethan has started crossing his legs when he sits and Tony just thinks this is hysterical. So I got a couple of pics of him doing it. I'll admit, it does look funny in an adorable sort of way.

Time for School 2010

2010-11-02T12:55:00.001-05:00

Can you believe it is time for school already? Their third year at Sarah Raymond has brought big changes for the boys.
Separate classes!
Aidan was moved to PreK with Mrs. Bennett. Mrs. B was Ethan's original teacher so we knew her to be more than capable of being a great teacher for Aidan. Bonus: Mrs. Meyer is back in the classroom too!
Ethan remains with our beloved Mrs. Laird in ECE.
Aidan was disoriented and disappointed at first, but has adjusted well. Their classrooms connect with a little inner hallway where the bathrooms are, so they see each other's classrooms constantly. The two classrooms also do social skills and gross motor skills together.
Time Change!
The boys have "graduated" to afternoon classes.
Riding the Bus!
I have finally given in. The boys now ride the bus to and from school. (sigh) They absolutely LOVE it. Every day they get off the bus and say "I LOVE THE BUS MOMMY". Aidan has the tendency to fall asleep on the bus ride to school. Mrs. Bennett says it can take up to ten minutes to fully wake him!

The Good, The Bad and The Downright Ugly

2010-11-02T12:27:00.002-05:00

The Good
I have lived in Bloomington/Normal for the majority of my life and have NEVER been to State Farm Pool. Can you believe it?! For those outside of B/N you must appreciate that B/N is the birthplace of State Farm Insurance. The company has this massive gated park south of town dedicated to only those who work for SF. Our friends the Wheelers graciously invited us to join them one evening. It took a huge gulp of pride to be seen in public in a swimming suit, but ~~a local will~~ you'll do just about anything ~~to see what SF park looks like~~ for your kids. Obviously there are going to be NO pictures.

There was an ultra fun kiddie pool, fast slides, a lazy river and......diving boards. Oh my I actually let my boys jump off the diving board!!! Now, in the public pools they don't allow this but as this is a "just about anything goes" private pool we went for it. They boys were begging me, so there were no worries about them being nervous. In true Aidan fashion he jumped high and far and just about drowned me. In true Ethan fashion he walked to the end of the board, contemplated a while and would barely clear the board. Each time they jumped my heart was painfully thumping out of my chest. To lose track of them and have to frantically grope underwater for them was absolutely frightening. They were having the time of their life.

The Bad
Ethan's recuperation from his surgery was extremely painful. About a week after surgery he just stopped eating, drinking and moving. He even starting crying in pain. We had many a night when we would wake him for his meds and he would fight us tooth and nail. Though we are glad we did it, we are even more glad that it is over.

On the day of Ethan's surgery Tony got a voicemail telling him he was laid off. This was a shock as we were counting on him working through September at least. Since that time Tony has been dedicating himself to looking for and applying for jobs. From Colorado to Pekin. He has been on one interview, but we have yet to hear back from them. I too applied for a part time job with the aforementioned SF, but was deemed unworthy. So, we are currently unemployed, without healthcare and living on unemployment.

The Ugly
Due to much time to fiddle around, Tony has been nonstop on the computer. This endless computer frenzy temporarily made him lose his mind and click on a "FREE MONEY" Walmart email. Oh yeah. It was a virus. It FROZE Windows. This amounts to a corrupted hard drive. Meaning: we lost everything. My Dad came to the rescue (as usual) and led us to a computer guru who was able to reconstruct our computer for cheap. We still lost all of our pics and files from the last year or so, but we have a working computer.

Honoring Jesse

2010-11-02T11:24:00.002-05:00

Tony & I had looked forward to attending the Olsen Family Reunion on July 24th. To our great sorrow we were not able to go out to Utah. The plan had been for our family as a whole to go to the Logan Temple to celebrate Jesse's life by finishing his temple work. In talking to Tony's parents, his Aunt Mary and Uncle Lyle we decided instead to all meet at our respective temples on the same date, same time: July 31, 2010 12:00 noon (central time). This was an answer to our prayers!

Tony & I decided to make an overnight stay in Nauvoo. We left A&E in the loving hands of Grandma & Grandpa Swartz, this being their FIRST time on an overnight. It was lovely to have leisure time to walk the temple grounds. We strolled down to see the pageant only to have a torrential downpour meet us halfway there. We ran to a grove of trees and were serenaded by a bagpipe troupe! The rain stopped just in time for the show. It was our first time seeing the "new" pageant.

The road to Jesse's temple work had been full of very emotional ups and downs. The morning of our scheduled session was no exception. Tony realized that he had forgotten his church shoes and was mortified to have to wear running shoes to the temple. Once we got there we went to the Ordinance Desk. They proceeded to tell us that they were unable to print Jesse's card. When the nice lady told me this I was struck dumb with emotion. Tony (dear heart) stayed calm (thank goodness or there would have been some very inappropriate words delivered from my pinched mouth!). Once I recovered my senses I explained that it was extremely important to fix the problem immediately. (I actually managed to say this in a calm voice though tears were half choking me.) This gentle lady took my hand and led us behind the desk to the computer. We all three figured out how to rectify the issue and were soon hearing the blessed printer saving the Nauvoo Temple from imminent doom. Perhaps I exaggerate. Then again, you don't know me. Tears were pouring down my cheeks, I felt completely spent and we had not even dressed for the session.
Next (oh, you thought the drama was over?) Tony was to begin with Jesse's Initiatory. This is accomplished in private, so I decided to make myself available to do Initiatory work as well for my own ancestors that my parents had prepared for me. The sisters in the temple were so very excited about having someone to do these ordinances that they FORGOT I was supposed to be in the 12:00 endowment session. So I'm in the middle of #7 or so and a temple worker comes rushing in. Panic immediately sets in. All I can think about while I'm ~~running~~ swiftly walking to the endowment room is that Tony is going to be soooooo upset with me for being late. (Tony is an on time, be there a half hour early type of person. Unfortunately for him, he married a get there just barely on time type of person) Embarrassingly enough they had to HOLD the session for me. Have you ever had that happen to you? Here's how it happened for me: The first thing I notice is the complete and utter silence. Everyone is dressed in beautiful pure white. THEN, I walk in the door facing the temple matron. Grave look, ever so slightly raised eyebrow. (Oh my) Everyone turns to look at who is holding up the session. (Burning cheeks) Desperately looking for Tony with a meek, cheezy smile on my face. (He's shaking his head as if to say "only Julie...".) (sigh) I keep trying to catch his eye, but to no avail.

The session itself was wonderful. We had a good chuckle about all that had happened once we were in the Celestial Room. It was such a feeling of blissful peace to know that Jesse's work was done. We know this to be true: God Lives and He Loves Us. What a joy to be a part of His marvelous work.

Coming up for Air

2010-11-02T09:53:00.000-05:00

Did you know that whales can dive for up to 120 minutes? I feel as if I have a WHALE of a project trying to catch up on this blog. As usual I have procrastinated finishing a project due to the overwhelming amount left to be finished. Therefore you are hereby officially warned of the TIDAL WAVE of blog posts I will be posting within the next few hours/days. Let's hope I don't run out of air.

Continue in Patience

2010-09-30T00:09:00.002-05:00

I have been neglecting the blog. For several reasons. Not very good reasons, but this message gives me the heart to maybe start back up. Please be patient and tune in soon for an update on our lives. Though I'm not sure that there are many out there that even follow this blog, I enjoy using this method as a journal of our lives.

Garage Sale Time!

2010-09-05T17:39:00.000-05:00

Mothers of Multiples Garage Sale

Saturday, September 11th

8am-12pm

Interstate Center

$2 entrance fee

TONS of great deals!

Hope to see you there!

Tonsils & Adenoids

2010-08-12T18:48:00.006-05:00

Our beloved Ethan had his tonsils & adenoids removed today. This is something we have been wanting to have done for quite some time now. But my mommy guilt has been putting it off. It is so hard to see my children suffer!

From the very beginning Ethan has been a mouth breather. As an infant we didn't think much of it but as time wore on we saw other issues pop up. The first issue we noted was when we went on vacation together and slept in the same room. Ethan would stop breathing for long seconds over & over. The second is that he is notably restless, even hyperactive, and struggles to focus on anything that isn't highly stimulating. We believe that this is in part due to lack of sleep. The third issue (and the most hard to cope with) is that his comprehension and language skills have lagged despite his obvious intelligence. We believe this to also be a result of the sleep apnea. Even the Dr. noted that Ethan speaks through his nose, so we can assume that he may have issues with hearing clearly resulting in improper pronounciation. The fourth issue is his vulnerability to getting strepp throat over and over (and thus spreading it to the rest of the family).

When Dr. Russell consulted with us after surgery he told us that when Ethan is asleep his tonsils collapse and completely close his throat! He said that Ethan would feel an immediate difference in his ability to breathe and sleep.

They showed us his post-op tonsils. They were the size of walnuts. I kid you not. They were huge! When he spoke we could already hear a difference in his voice. When we napped this afternoon he was able to breathe smoothly and without cocking his head clear back. What a blessing!

Thus far he is eating vanilla pudding and drinking plenty of juice & water. He hasn't yet complained of pain. He does have high pain tolerance (due to those awesome Olsen genes), but we expect ups & downs. We have felt the miracles of priesthood blessings and your prayers. Thank you!

August Primary Bulletin Board

2010-08-01T14:15:00.006-05:00

Theme: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He is a God of Miracles

Scripture: "For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles;...and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith" 2 Nephi 27:23

I've already gotten tired of just putting up wording and gospel art kit pictures so I racked my brain trying to think of something exciting, but simple. I tried to think of a way to put up David & Goliath but the thought of trying to create big figures for a bulletin board was more of a Goliath than I could handle. Then I thought of the story of the brother of Jared's faith. That by his faith he was able to witness a miracle.

The brother of Jared is an ancient prophet in the Book of Mormon who was alive & present during the Tower of Babel. He prayed that his family's language would not be corrupted. His prayer was granted and he was then given revelation to build barges and flee to the promised land. These barges were water & air tight. The brother of Jared asked the Lord how to solve the problems of steering, lack of air and lack of light. The Lord gave him solutions to 1 & 2 but told him to come up with a solution for light. He pondered & prayed and came up with 16 translucent rocks that he had created. He asked the Lord if this was the right solution and was rewarded with the best of gifts: a visit from Jehovah himself. The Lord reached out His finger and touched each rock making them shine bright. He then revealed himself to His prophet. If you want to know what happened next you'll have to read the Book of Ether!

Tony drew the Lord's hand. Isn't he an AMAZING artist?

I couldn't resist using my bugs & butterflies again. This birthday board was VERY easy.

P.S. You are probably wondering why I am posting about my Primary bulletin boards. It's because there is NOTHING OUT THERE. I have searched online for hours for ideas for LDS bulletin boards. The themes that we use in Primary are sacred in nature so it takes a bit of creativity to create a reverent yet fun bulletin board that is appealing to children. Most of the ideas I've found on Christian bulletin boards have neon treasure chests, wordly themes, loud colors or have plastered the Lord's name vainly all over the board. So I'm hoping that by posting my ideas I'll be able to help out others who, like me, are desperately trying to find reverent, fun (but not boring) ideas that will invite the Holy Spirit into their Primary room.

Swim Session II

2010-08-01T13:41:00.003-05:00

The boys just can't get enough of swim lessons. We are so sad that it is already over! On their first day they were moved up to PreK II with Mr. Sam. They've started learning how to back float, swim underwater and use arm strokes. They are definitely enthusiastic about going underwater. It seems their whole lessons they are bouncing up & down. Aidan will stay under for quite a while. He loved grabbing the rings underwater. Ethan got really good at the back float. He would visibly relax his head back. At the end of the session they got to play in the kiddie pool and go down the tube slide.

Our one glitch was swim trunks. I bought 3T & 4T and should have stuck with 2T. My mom sewed up one pair but the rest I had to safety pin. Ethan must have had a growth spurt because he went from the trunks fitting just fine to less than a week later he was flashing the whole pool. He was forever having to pull up his trunks. Plus, unfortunately, he had this habit of jumping up & down in the water several times (enough to pull his trunks down to ALERT! level) and then climbing out of the pool to jump back in. (by this time his trunks have moved even further down...) I would run over and help him pull them up and try to squish even more fabric into the increasingly dull safety pin. After a while I just gave up and started laughing every time I saw his little bottom. He didn't care. It was all just part of the fun for him. Isn't being young great?!

Sequencing

2010-08-01T13:09:00.003-05:00

One of our main concerns with A&E's development is their ability to sequence. During their IEP I voiced my concern that they do very little imaginary play. They also struggle with answering questions, even simple ones. The team of educators/therapists explained that this has to do with the brain's development on learning how to sequence. So we have been doing some exercises this summer to help. Here is one of them:

Meet Cassandra. This is a doll my grandma handmade for me as a young girl. She comes with several handmade outfits as well. Here she is sporting a beautiful sundress. But it is time for bed! What do we do to get ready for bed?
1. Take off clothes
2. Take a bath
3. Dry off & comb hair
4. Put on pajamas
5. Go to bed
6. Kiss goodnight

I took these pictures, printed them off and cut them out. The next day I put them on their table and had them put them in order. They are having fun doing these exercises, but it is frustrating for me because I can see that they have a long way to go.

July 4th, 2010

2010-07-21T00:43:00.004-05:00

Our annual 4th of July party was really a family reunion! We dearly missed Todd and I kept thinking about how much fun he would be having meeting his new niece, chucking water balloons, wrestling with his little brothers and playing bean bag toss. He only just moved to New Mexico and we already miss his spunkiness.

You'll notice a lot of pictures of Eliza because this is our first time meeting her! We all took turns loving on her. She is a very content baby and so adorable!

Mom & Dad bought a bean bag toss. It is great fun, but you wouldn't believe how hard it is to get that bean bag in the hole. Tony became quite proficient and even got four in a row! Those lefties have got tricks up their sleeves. He was funny to watch. He does this little hop when he tosses and the next thing you know he's sliding it in like butter. I tried to get a picture of it, but it's just a blur. Great grandma & grandpa got a kick out of watching all of us play. They kept cheering us on.

All of the boys especially enjoyed the water balloons. What a riot! Tony filled a small cooler only to find that Barry, Mo & Grandpa had filled a huge cooler as well. Everyone got drenched. A&E still aren't strong enough to really break the balloons, but they got the hang of bouncing them off their dad.

The fireworks at Miller Park were amazing this year. They went all out. Ethan had his hands over his ears the whole time. Afterwards he kept saying "I LOVE fireworks", "Fireworks are too LOUD", "I LOVE fireworks!". Afterward we had a special treat from Barry & Mo. They picked up some real fireworks down south. Barry & Craig set them off in the backyard to the awe & horror of us all. The fountains were my favorite. To this day the boys keep asking for fireworks in the backyard.

Peoria Zoo

2010-07-21T00:32:00.004-05:00

We went to the Peoria Zoo on a hot sticky day. It is a nice sized zoo - not too big, not too small. To the delight of Ethan you can rent wagons. Ethan immediately became obsessed with pulling the zoo wagon. Oh my. He didn't have eyes for anything BUT the wagon. That was OK because almost all of the animals were hiding. They were hot & sticky too. Sadly one of the giraffes had only just died so they had the other giraffe locked up in a cage. I have yet to see hide nor hair of an antelope. The lions had buried themselves in a niche of the rock where they just blended right in. Even the white rhinos had buried themselves in the mud. You can barely even see them! Aidan loved the huge python and kept asking to go back to see it. (I had to do that. Tony HATES snakes.) Riley loved feeding the goats. There was this old goat with a long beard that kept ramming the fence. It made everyone jump each time he did it. Afterwards we enjoyed a local favorite - Avanti's!

Family & Fun

2010-07-20T23:40:00.003-05:00

My youngest brothers came from out of town this summer so we made the most of it! Barry, Margo & Bentley got here first from Atlanta. Our first and last stop was The Children's Museum in uptown Normal. Uncle Barry really got into it. He enjoyed distributing grain, dancing & twirling and running the gravel pit.

Speaking of which, the Museum has this great new area outside of the first floor. It has two things kids ADORE playing with: rocks & water. There is a table full of rocks & sand with fun vehicles and sifters and such. On the other side is a beautiful flower garden with a water feature. There are watering cans for the kids to fill with water and water the plants. I'm afraid the potted plants next to the water feature get an overabundance of watering. This area is right next to the Amtrak station. A train stopped just as we were playing outside. The boys were in heaven!

The highlight of the first trip was on the third floor. There are large numbered blocks that when properly stacked form an arch. Margo & I decided it would be fun to try it out, only to find that we were WAY too short to do it on our own. No worries though, once we got started all of the adults starting getting into it and the next thing you know we have an arch. We were laughing and carrying on so much that the kids were all sitting there watching US for entertainment. I don't have a pic so SOMEBODY is going to have to share on their blog. Afterwards we checked out the new water feature in uptown Normal. It is very pretty. It makes you want to dip your feet in and say ahhhhhh.

Once Craig, Nina, Riley & Eliza got here we HAD to visit again. It is such a great place for kids to just go crazy. Riley had a blast making pizza, working the air hoses, feeding the cows and playing in the tractors. Eliza enjoyed playing & cuddling with grandma & grandpa.

The highlight of the second trip was Riley's artistry. He LOVED the painting wall. Check out my Picasa Web Album for a cute video of him painting a rainbow. (I can't get stupid Blogger to upload the vid) We built the arch again and rocked it...for about 5 seconds. Long enough to get a picture anyway!

June Primary Bulletin Board

2010-07-12T23:56:00.004-05:00

Theme: The Holy Ghost Testifies of the Truth of All Things
Scripture: "By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things" Moroni 10:5
I went to a Stake Primary training meeting. We were reminded that only church approved materials should be used. It hit me like a ton a bricks: that actually applies to me too! Thank goodness all I've used thus far is from the gospel art kit.
We are short on lettering so I decided to print off a few of the words in bigger print on my own and just cut them out. They ended up being HUGE. Once I got it on the board it was a little too overwhelming. I love how it looks, but I'm not likely to go that huge again! :0)

Kids love to be recognized. They also love to see their own face. Something about being on a bulletin board or on a blog gets them so excited. What better time to recognize them than on their birthday? I decided that a little corner of the main bulletin board was just NOT enough room. So, I commandeered a little used blackboard at the back of the room for a birthday bulletin board. I think it's a hit. I'll use this for June & July, just changing out the kids' pictures, of course. I made the bugs out of foam, pipe cleaners & google eyes. My favorites!

First Swimming Lesson!

2010-07-11T23:50:00.005-05:00

This summer is just flying by! The boys have completed their first swimming lessons. They loved every single minute of it. Their poor teacher Lindsey has been very patient with them. They are not any good at stopping to listen. Aidan is constantly walking out into the pool as far as he can go while Ethan keeps looking at me to wave & use his flirty eyes. They are learning how to float, kick and blow bubbles. They have mastered kicking (oh my) and are even bobbing up and down underwater. The floating is a bit sketchy. There are seven kids in the class (yikes) so there is an assistant teacher, Jon. I've noticed that he is pretty much assigned to just Aidan, Ethan and one other little boy. I talk to them before each swimming lesson about staying on the wall and listening to Miss Lindsey. As usual, it is in one swim ear and out the other.

Their next round of lessons starts Monday and they will be staying in PreK Level 1. They are taking their lessons at the same pool I did as a kid and it brings back so many memories. I am so glad my boys are little fishies!

Good Things to Come

2010-06-16T16:02:00.001-05:00

Free Stuff

2010-06-13T23:35:00.003-05:00

We are attempting to declutter our backyard. If you are interested in either or both of these outdoor slides they are free for the taking. You just have to disassemble and transport them.
The small one is a very simple mini slide with a "periscope". The bigger one has a steering wheel, small slide and an area to climb around underneath. Both are in great condition, but well used. They were given to us as hand me downs, so we are wanting to "pass it forward."

Heartfelt Thanks

2010-05-31T10:22:00.003-05:00

Thank you to those who have served our country and it's people. Thank you especially to Grandpa Ernie and Grandpa Noland. As well as our several cousins on both sides who currently serve in the armed forces.
God Bless You!

Changes at Church (long post)

2010-05-26T08:54:00.007-05:00

Due to the ever fluxuating needs of the members of our church the Stake President realigned the boundaries of the wards (congregations) here in the Bloomington Normal area. Now, instead of being Normal 1 and Normal 2 we are now the Bloomington Ward and the Normal Ward. We have come full circle--as a Primary child I grew up in the Bloomington Ward!

This was a much needed change, but change is always so painful. There are many new people to get to know and many dear friends that I don't see. It is true that you do not really realize how much you come to depend on and love people until they are gone.

Tony was released as Financial Clerk and currently is loving the fact that he has no calling. I don't expect he'll be able to rest on his laurels for much longer. I was released from the RS Presidency and have been called to be the secretary in the Primary organization. We have around 80+ kids ranging from 18 months to 11 yrs. When I was extended the calling I accepted with gusto. I love doing secretarial type work (yes, I am a geek) and I was ready for a calling that was less demanding. I enjoy working in presidencies because I get the opportunity to work closely with 3 other women. It naturally forms bonds and gives me the chance to learn so much. I'll have to say that my greatest challenge is the bulletin board. I'm afraid I have limited creativity and I haven't found many ideas online to help! Here is my first bulletin board EVER:

It is based on the 4th Article of Faith (May's theme. Each month is a new theme). "I Know That My Savior Loves Me" is the 2010 theme. I cheated a bit and left the lettering and border up from Sonia's creation and just added a few pictures. Thank goodness for the gospel art packet! I'm sure I'll be boring you with the many details of this new calling in the future, so I won't go on and on at this point. Only to say that I am excited about the fun things I'll get to do with this new calling!
Surprisingly I do miss my RS calling. I didn't think I would as it was an emotionally demanding calling, not to mention the many meetings. But I find that my heart is aching for the women I worked with so intimately. I miss seeing them and meeting with them each Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday....

The Lord truly knows our needs and He meets them through the natures of His many children. WE are the answers to each other's prayers. I'm so grateful for the many ways in which I have grown, learned and been nurtured by my friends. These dear friends and the many I have served with over the years both in RS and in YW have prepared me for these many changes. Thank you Heavenly Father!

May 21, 2010

2010-05-25T11:36:00.002-05:00

Back to Work!

2010-05-18T23:09:00.004-05:00

Great news! Tony will be back to work starting Thursday. Thank you for all your prayers. These last 7 months of unemployment have been made so much better due to all the Lord has done to help us in so many ways.

My family and our many friends have been true angels in our lives.
D&C 84:88"I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland“My beloved brothers and sisters, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.” (Moroni 7:36) On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.”

So Handsome

2010-05-04T12:28:00.003-05:00

There were big ward boundary changes on Sunday, so we dressed up to look our best. We are now part of the Bloomington Ward!

Pucker & Squint

2010-04-26T00:13:00.008-05:00

Lately the boys have taken to giving me their version of a smile. Aidan: the Pucker and Ethan: the Squint. I usually have to make a complete fool of myself making faces or silly sounds in order to get a full smile. Ethan has been perfecting the squint for quite some time now. Aidan has only just discovered the pucker. I believe as a result of having also recently discovered the full length mirror. Aren't boys silly?!

Pac Man Mania

2010-04-25T23:32:00.005-05:00

These past couple of weeks our family has passed a stomach bug around that was absolutely miserable. In order to keep our sanity we have shamefully gotten our children addicted to a classic: Pac Man, otherwise known as "the octopus game". It is a fun little xbox version that has all the classic music ditties as well as a great thumping new beat, plus the screens change with each level. The boys LOVE to have Tony play because he makes hilarous grunting noises when a ghost ("octopus") traps Pac Man. Ethan is almost frighteningly good at the game. He is a control freak when Aidan plays constantly screaming at him to "eat the cherry!" Aidan's playing is pretty casual. He thinks it is hilarious to hear the sound the game makes when Pac Man gets tagged.

Big Boy Bikes

2010-04-25T22:39:00.008-05:00

Thanks to help from family, friends and the IRS we were able to graduate the boys up to 12" bikes. They loved their trikes, but their poor little legs were pumping so hard & fast that it had become ridiculous. We caught a great sale at Toys R Us and took the boys to be fitted. They are still pretty small so we chose Toy Story 12" frame bikes. They (of course) chose Lightning McQueen helmets that came with these adorable little bells. Tony was as excited as the boys and immediately came home and put them together. They tried them out on our little patio. It was funny to watch them try to negotiate the feel of the pedals. We hopped on them as soon as we could the next day on Constitution trail. They were naturals! The usual spills of course, but those bikes are so close to the ground that no damage is done even in the worst of crashes. We took them over to mom & dad's house on Easter. Their driveway was the perfect size for learning how to make turns. Not to mention all the coddling they got from grandma each time they toppled. Each time someone would come out the front door to watch them Ethan would announce "I love my bike! I'm riding my bike!" They haven't quite learned how to use the brakes, but otherwise they've got it down. Here's some footage:

Easter 2010

2010-04-25T22:21:00.005-05:00

We had a beautiful Easter weekend. It coincided with General Conference making it a wonderfully uplifting experience. Tony & I love being able to watch conference in the comfort of our home. We colored eggs for the first time. The boys were fascinated by the process. It had been years since I had done it myself. That's one of the great things about having kids. You get to experience everything all over again.
Sunday we went over to the Swartz home for Easter dinner. Afterwards we hid eggs in the backyard. The boys LOVED this and asked to find more eggs. We'll have to really stack them up next year.
When we got home we read the Easter story to the boys reminding them that this is the day we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. We then hid their Easter baskets. Each had a trail of kisses to follow. The boys got a kick out of collecting the kisses and gobbled those up fast.

On Monday we went to the Great Grandparents home where they got even more goodies. It was great to see them. My Grandpa Ernie has been in Texas for the past few weeks for cancer treatments of a rare type of cancer. His surgery is coming up soon so we are praying hard for a successful outcome.

Remembering all that our Savior has done for us gives us great hope for the future. We are grateful for all the Lord does to bless our family.

Coupon Conversion

2010-04-07T11:03:00.005-05:00

I am converted. I've always been one of those people who says "I really should do that. I really should." My mom has always been good at clipping and using coupons. She's always giving me envelopes full of coupons and invariably I will lose them or forget to use them. So when my friend Ellen talked of having a coupon class I said "Sign Me Up!" and I actually went.

Now I'm one of those people who thinks that only crazy people would drive to more than one store just for a sale. Why do that when you can still get the best deal at Walmart? They price match! It just can't be worth the gas or the hassle!

So, I'm pretty much one of those crazy people now.

Why? Because I tried it and found that though I am not necessarily spending less money, I am getting twice the amount of groceries for the same amount of money. My parents and my church have always taught me to be self reliant. This means food storage. I am stockpiling now like I have never been able to before and all on an unemployment check. I'm not talking #10 cans from distribution. I'm talking stockpiling the stuff that we actually love to eat! (People of the church worldwide I warn you to THROW AWAY your #10 cans of flour. They are disgusting!)

Now this couponing gig could be considered a part time job if you really got deep into it. I personally have only skimmed the surface of what is possible as I am still learning. Here is my current routine.

I receive the Thursday & Sunday paper.
I went to Walmart and made a database of every single item I buy & it's price so I can have a baseline price for supposed "sale" prices. (See, I'm one of those people that just buys everything at Walmart assuming they have the best price, so I never pay attention to individual prices to know what is a good deal or not.)
I devour the Thursday ads. I write down in my little purse sized notebook the following: store, item, size of item, price. I only write down the sale items that I am interested in. I do this for each store, of course. I use this list when I'm shopping. I'll write a "C" next to a sale item when I have an additional coupon to use. This makes shopping quick & easy. In & Out.
I cut coupons out of Sunday's paper and organize them in a purse sized coupon organizer.
I use my notebook/ads to pair up sales with coupons.

Again, this routine is very basic compared to what most coupon converts have practically professionalized. My point is that with only these simple steps I am already seeing the rewards. I still struggle with the issue of buying a sale item v. do I really need this. I'm so new to doing this that I think with time I will learn how to better recognize when it is a killer deal worth buying in bulk.

I have additional things that I do. Tips I learned in a class by Kim McCormick. You can find her column in the Sunday Pantagraph or her non-for-profit company's website at http://www.retirewithcoupons.com/.

I would highly recommend taking her class. If anything, it gets you motivated to start getting the most out of your grocery budget!

Embracing Spring

2010-03-29T01:11:00.005-05:00

It was Ag Day on ISU campus. So Mom & I took the boys to the Quad to see the tractors. They were in heaven! The students were tickled to see our little guys. The boys kept running back and forth between the classic John Deere tractors and the massive eat you alive John Deere tractor. We, of course, got a traditional standing-in-the-wheel picture so you can see how very big this tractor was. The pics the students took were far better than my own. Here are a few. The rest are on my Picasa web album (see my list on the right).

Oddly enough one of our favorite places to play is the tennis court just behind our house. Aidan calls it "the red green" because of the colors of the court. It is an enclosed area free from mud & muck where the boys can ride their bikes, run around and kick around their balls. We went the other day and were joined by a neighbor giving his dog some exercise with a tennis ball. Aidan even threw the ball once, but declared that the ball was "yucky" and refused to touch it again. They had fun running with "Oreo".

Though I would not recommend unemployment, it has been a fun blessing to have Tony around all of the time. The boys simply ADORE him. I got some great footage of them playing together. Once Tony goes back to work we will all suffer greatly from withdrawal!

Mothers of Multiples Garage Sale

2010-03-01T13:12:00.003-06:00

Mothers of Multiples Garage Sale

Saturday, March 6th

8am-12pm

Interstate Center

$2 entrance fee

TONS of great deals!

Hope to see you there!

February is the worst

2010-02-16T23:43:00.005-06:00

I really hate February. We get sick every year. Then we get sick again. And usually, yes you guessed it, we get sick again. So this is our first bout. It got really ugly. It is absolute misery to watch my boys in pain. I don't sleep well for worrying about them and I practically rub their foreheads raw taking their temps. I actually had the audacity to think we were going to avoid it this year. Tony & I took them to a Valentine's party at the school Friday morning. Here they are hamming it up and looking perfectly normal.So fast forward about 5 minutes and Ethan has puked all over the play equipment. Yeah, didn't take a picture of that. We took them to the Dr. on Saturday and both of them had ear infections as well as throat infections. Have I mentioned lately how much I adore living in 2010? I LOVE antiobiotics. A mother's best friend.

Tony has been unemployed now for almost four months and we are all starting to get on one another's nerves. So being stuck together in the house for a solid week got a little hairy. Thank goodness for AFV and the Olympics. The boys are hooked on what they call "funny movies" (America's Funniest Videos). We've been watching those for our Family Movie Night lately. Ethan exclaims "Tom Bergeron!" every time the host is on screen. He looks at each of us and expects us to acknowledge his excitement. (Do you know how many times Tom is on screen?!) Aidan has started forcing this laugh that sounds remarkably (and horrifyingly) like my own. The boys love when someone falls or makes a face. Tony and I's favorites are when they superimpose Tom's head on the videos.

So Ethan is our restless roamer. He gets cabin fever bad. He practically begs me to take him to school or church or shopping. Whatever--he just wants OUT. So the other day he is climbing on the couch while I'm at a meeting and Tony is downstairs. He manages to put his head through the living room window. I kid you not.

Amazingly he only got two superficial scratches. Our family is so blessed. I just don't know how we could ever repay God for all the protection and love He gives us. I just have a hard time being positive this time of year. Right now I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I always manage to get strep throat each year and I just HATE it. Ewwwww I HATE February.

The rant is now over.

Missing Emma

2010-02-10T16:37:00.006-06:00

Lately I've been really missing Emma. She was such a wonderful part of our family. She was one of those gifts that you don't appreciate until they are gone. She was gentle, funny, stinky, patient. She taught me so many things. They took a while to sink in, but nevertheless she made her mark on my life for the better. I wish so many things. I wish I had been more grateful for her. I wish I hadn't worried about her shedding. I wish I had been more patient. Mostly I wish she could have been with us for longer. Just so I could hold her and tell her how very much she did mean to me. I'm not sure that we deserve to be with her in the next life. But I hope that she is in a peaceful place where she can bark, chase squirrels, let off nasty gas and eat to her heart's content without someone grousing at her. I miss you Emma. I still love you very much.

2009

2010-01-31T16:52:00.007-06:00

In reviewing the year 2009 I was amazed at how much we had accomplished. The boys especially have grown in height and abilities. It was a year of many "firsts". What a joy it is to be a part of a family! Here is a very brief review: January brought us out to Utah. Tony's brother Jesse died so very young. It is a tragic loss that continues to haunt us. This experience reminded us so strongly of those things we have been promised: that families are forever. We will always be a family though we may be parted in this life from one another. The boys reached a milestone: Sunbeams! They have joined the ranks of Primary. This means a lot of sitting and trying to be reverent. They were VERY reluctant to leave the fun of nursery, but they have adjusted due to loving, patient Primary teachers. February and March were miserable. We endured one sickness after another for pretty much two straight months. April the boys were re-evaluated at their preschool. Up to this point they were in Pre-K. This curriculum was not suited to the boys delays, so they were moved to the Early Childhood Education curriculum. Mrs. Vallela welcomed Ethan and Mrs. Laird welcomed Aidan. We could see an almost immediate difference. We thought the transition would be painful, but the boys dealt with it calmly. By May both boys were singing "I Am a Child of God". Aidan was developing an awareness of emotions. He often asked us "E Angry? E Happy?" Ethan even surprised us with saying "Luv You" spontaneously. We moved them into big boy beds and they started riding tricycles. They had their first field trip as well--to the zoo. They grow up so fast, don't they? In June we planted our first garden. Tomatoes and green beans. Ethan started helping out in the kitchen every night while I made supper. He would push a chair up to the counter right underneath my arm to make sure I knew he was there. My cousin Alan's daughter Danielle visited and we all went to the Peoria Zoo. July brought another milestone: A&E's first talk in Primary. They did remarkably well. They weren't nervous at all, just went right up to that microphone. We visited Prairie Air here in town. The boys loved getting into the helicopter and planes. August started a new year in school. We tried something new with having both boys together in one class with Mrs. Laird. It has been marvelous. We started a new tradition this month: Family Movie Night. We watch a movie and eat popcorn. The boys LOVE watching the popcorn pop. We had a little adventure this month as well, a tie rod broke on the van. It was a wonder to see how the Lord watches over us. I broke down just as Jennifer Hardesty was driving past and just around the corner from where Dave Koestner (whom we had just waved to) was doing a painting job. September is our favorite month! We visit Barry & Margo, celebrate our anniversary and have a birthday for our beloved boys. Atlanta was especially fun this year as we went to Centennial Park and Stone Mountain. It's hard to believe that the boys are 4! They enjoyed going to The Children's Museum and having family over for a party. We also started toilet training. By October the boys were going to the bathroom on their own. Ethan also learned how to use the remote control alarmingly well and had become obsessed with using the camera. Aidan started using full sentences, so we could actually have conversations! They participated in their first Primary program. Well, Ethan did anyway. Aidan decided to nap on the floor of the pulpit. November was difficult as Tony was laid off from work. Looks like it will be spring before he works again. We took this opportunity to take the boys to the temple for the first time. It was a gorgeous day to run around and take pictures. The boys are fully potty trained by this time! December was full of blessings. So many friends and especially my parents helped us out during this month. Dad has let us borrow his computer as ours was slowly coming to a crash. These acts of love help us to purify our minds and hearts to those things that truly matter. We are so grateful for all of our loved ones. We're looking forward to 2010 and the Olympics!

School Christmas Program

2010-01-21T17:24:00.004-06:00

We LOVE Raymond School! They have worked miracles with Aidan & Ethan. We feel so blessed to be part of this Early Childhood program. Each Christmas they have the kids sing songs in the gym to the great delight of adoring parents. Last year it was cancelled due to bad weather, so this was our first Christmas Recital EVER. Both boys did surprising well staying on task. They sang all of the words and did all of the motions. Grandma & Grandpa Swartz got there so early that we had front row seats. It was GREAT! Here they are, our little stars singing Jingle Bells and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town:

Ethan the Shutter Bug

2010-01-21T00:03:00.003-06:00

OK, Ethan LOVES to take pictures. My phone, our camera--whatever he can get his hands on. He is constantly taking them. I have to sift thru dozens of pictures each time I upload. I'd say about 50% of them come out pretty amazing. Here are some of my favorites from Christmas:

Swartz Christmas 2009

2010-01-20T15:48:00.007-06:00

One of our Swartz Christmas traditions is to spend an evening at Great Grandma & Grandpa Swartz's home to enjoy cookies and gifts for the kiddos. Aidan especially loved the chocolate chip cookies. He about cleared the table of them all by himself!

Both boys are always fascinated by Great Grandpa's train display. He has a battery powered crossing that plays train noises. The boys love to make it play over and over and...

Carol & Alan got them these HUGE bulldozers (every boys dream toy) and motorcycles that scream off a track. Aidan kept laying down on the floor wanting Uncle Todd to make the motorcycles fly onto his belly.

It was great to see Carol, Alan and Jeff. We missed seeing Laurie, Lori & Cari, Barry, Mo, Bentley and Craig, Nina, Riley & Eliza!

Christmas Day at Mom & Dad's always starts with yummy, gut busting food. This year we did something different. It was meats, cheeses and bit of potluck. Loved it! Our gift exchange always begins with the telling of the birth of Jesus. The boys get to put out a nativity as Mom reads the corresponding scriptures.

The first gift was a golf putter & balls from the Great Grandparents. Ethan immediately became obsessed with it! Mom & Dad got the boys snowpants and sleds which Aidan was especially excited about. Best gift of all was a membership for our family to the Children's Discovery Museum! Whoo Hoo! The boys will enjoy that gift all year long.

Another Swartz tradition is a homemade gift from Great Grandma & Grandpa. Grandma makes these awesome washcloths. Grandpa carves a Christmas ornament for each person in the family. This year was a Santa with a beautiful little display hook. We look forward to these gifts with high anticipation every year. Mom and Dad have decided to continue this tradition as well. They made for each of us a beautiful handmade stained glass picture of a hummingbird. They took a class together this past year to learn how to weld the pieces together.

Many of us got to see Eliza for the first time - on Skype. It was surreal to see Craig, Nina, Riley & Eliza in real time a nation away. I don't think Riley sat still for one second. It was a fun way to spend Christmas afternoon.

We feel so loved by our dear family. They are surely a blessing in our lives!

Here is another long video:

Christmas Morning 2009

2010-01-18T20:38:00.004-06:00

Christmas Morning was a beautiful thing. The boys actually slept in, so we ran into their room waking them up with "Santa was here! Santa was here!" They were so in love with each present that we had a hard time getting them to open the next one. In fact, we still have two presents unopened to this very day! Aunt Margo made a homemade matching game with Disney Cars characters on the squares. So clever! Grandpa & Grandma Olsen got them the Ice Age movies (which they have been watching non stop) and some much needed sweats. Ethan comes home every day from school and shouts "sweatpants, sweatpants!" We then had a yummy breakfast of bacon & sweet rolls and it was off to the Swartz's for Christmas.

We missed seeing our grandpas and grandmas, our aunts & uncles & cousins. But we feel grateful knowing that Jesus Christ's birth, life and death will give us the opportunity to live with our families for eternity. Merry Christmas!
*Note: This video is quite long as we wanted to share as much as we could with our relatives who couldn't be there with us.

Day 12

2009-12-24T20:06:00.005-06:00

Day 12: Crayons, Huge Coloring Pages and Trucks

These gifts have really made our Christmas such a joy! Each night we anticipate opening a present. The boys shout "Yay! Presents!" and we say a little prayer of thanks for the friends who put so much love and effort into our family. It gave us a way to come together and share a bit of excitement and remember that Christmas is all about family.

Thank you, thank you to our Angel Friends! We hope that you have wonderful experiences in your family this season such as you've given us.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Days of Christmas Cont'd

2009-12-22T22:26:00.010-06:00

We are having so much fun opening presents every night. Here's an update:
Day 4: Snowman Straws (otherwise known as whistles) and Playdo

Day 5: Christmas Pencils and Erasers Day 6: Cars! Day 7: Mini M&M's

Day 8: Disney's Cars Stickers & Notepads

Day 9: Truck book on wheels

Day 10: Stocking Caps

Day 11: Chocolate Santas (Aidan snarfed both of them)

The 12 Days of Christmas

2009-12-15T00:16:00.008-06:00

On Saturday evening we found this

on our front porch:

It's the 12 days of Christmas! This is our first one, and we have had so much fun with it. We are still trying to figure out who did this for us. Whomever it is: THANK YOU!

The note reads: "Hello Olsen Family! We have included 12 gifts in this box for the boys. Starting tomorrow, they can open one present each. The packages are all numbered. Start with #1 and move up until you reach #12 on Christmas Eve. We hope your family has a wonderful Christmas! And that you feel the love of the Lord and the love of many, many others! Love, Your Secret Elves"

We felt quite emotional about it. The boys just love opening the gifts. There are two gifts each day, so each gets their own gift to open. Isn't that clever? We, of course just couldn't wait until the next day, so we started that evening. We open them during bedtime snack each night.

Day 1: A huge chocolate bar that we all enjoyed.

Day 2: Tootsie Roll Banks filled with Tootsies

Day 3: Cars. One blue, one red--perfect!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-11T16:50:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!

Computer Woes

2009-12-03T12:58:00.005-06:00

We here in the Olsen home are in the primitive computer age. Thus, it is akin to torture to try to update the blog. Thus, this is probably one of the few posts you will see for a time. I would dearly like to show you our latest pics, but it is such a hassle just to turn on the computer that, I fear, my patience cannot tolerate it. For example: It has taken me over an hour just to get to the new post page. When I first came down the computer was frozen. It wouldn't respond to any of my desperate mouse clicks. So, I restarted. That takes forever. I like to torture myself by opening the Task Manager and watch it working. It loves to take it's time "Scanning..." Yikes. So by the time it is done doing it's thing I try to bring up the internet. (No sense in trying before it is done "Scanning..." because it will just sit and sit and sit on the sign on page until you finally hit cancel JUST in time for it to say it is ready.) It says I have no connection. Alright, this is pretty typical. I'll just reboot my modem. Alas, not today. Still no luck with internet connection. I try disconnecting/reconnecting the ethernet cable. No go. I try disconnecting/reconnecting the ethernet cable from the modem and computer, then I disconnect/reconnect the phone line. And, of course, reboot the modem. Finally! Then I have to wait for the internect connection to upload all of the emails (many of them because I hate this whole dang process) before it can really get to fully loading my homepage. Here I am now on pins and needles that this post will actually go through without me sitting here for another hour. Oh-never forget to copy the post onto the clipboard so I don't have to write this whole post over again. Have I mentioned how many times I've had to do that? It is just not feasible to buy a "new" computer at this time. So I figure this has to be some kind of test, right? Heaven help me.

Haunted Trail

2009-10-22T23:34:00.005-05:00

On Saturday we went with the Kennedys to the Haunted Trail. Bloomington/Normal has a wonderful walking trail that extends through both towns. A section of the trail in Normal is decorated and used as a "haunted" trail for two weekends. The first weekend is non-spooky for little ones, so we decided to try it out. Yeah, it was a first and last experience for us. The line was long and the trail was short. The best part was the hayrack ride back to our van. The boys are GAA GAA for tractors. Bet you can't guess who they are....

Primary Program

2009-10-22T23:12:00.004-05:00

The boys were in their first Primary Program on Sunday. The Primary has been practicing for weeks and months on songs and lines in the program. The theme was Family. Each child got to say a line about something they loved about their families. The boys were (suppose) to say: "Our family has a mom, a dad and us. We were born on the same day." They sang songs such as "Families Can Be Together Forever", "How Firm a Foundation" and "A Family is of God."

After practices we would hear funny anecdotes about the boys. Both were singing loudly, using made up words, but they were participating with gusto. Aidan apparently loves the microphone. If he got anywhere near it he would grab it and start talking--loudly.

So the real deal comes around. Ethan did fabulous standing up and sitting and singing. He didn't really get a chance at the microphone, but he made up for that by singing "I am a child of God" with the congregation. Aidan was a different story. He decided that he was going to lay down on the floor for the entire program. They did get him to talk into the microphone, but he was cut off mid sentence. It was a bit embarrassing, but definitely something I can use on him when he's a teenager. heh heh heh.

Carving Pumpkins

2009-10-10T12:34:00.004-05:00

For family home evening we went to Casey's for our pumpkins. The boys loved roaming around the pumpkins. There were white ones and green ones and really HUGE ones. They each chose a pumpkin.....and then put mom & dad to work. The boys rode their bikes around while Tony drew the faces and Julie gutted the pumpkins. It's a lot of work to gut a pumpkin! We had fun cutting into them and watching the faces come alive. The boys were fascinated by the candles glowing thru the cut outs. Aidan wanted a scary pumpkin and Ethan wanted a smiley pumpkin. We think they turned out great! Tony is a talented artist. Julie sauteed the pumpkin seeds - they have tons of nutrients. But, alas, she was the only one to eat them. I'm glad we did it early. Now we can enjoy them all month long!

Calvin Noland Olsen

2009-09-30T19:21:00.005-05:00

On this day four years ago we lost our son Calvin. We knew him only briefly and held him only once. We do not have any pictures of him alive without tubes and tape. We do not really know anything about him or what he could have become. What we do have is a promise. A promise made to us by God when we made covenants with Him in His holy temple. This promise is eternal life. This gift is made possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ. When Tony & I made covenants with Heavenly Father and were then sealed in the temple for time and for all eternity, we were promised that our posterity would be sealed to us for eternity. Our children, unbeknownst to us then, would continue on with us as a family unit in the life hereafter. This knowledge brings us peace and hope. It does not answer the "why". It does not lessen the ache. But as with all blessings we receive thru the atonement of Jesus Christ, we feel a strong motivation to live righteously and keep our end of the covenant. I feel a deep void in my life without him here. He is not the only loved one I have lost. So I turn to my Savior in times of sorrow and He always gives me relief. I am so grateful to know of His love for me. I know He loves all of His children.
I wanted to add a quote that just came to me thru Daily Gems (a spiritual thought email I get each day from the church). It is by Elder Richard G. Scott: “Fourteen years ago the Lord took my wife beyond the veil. I love her with all my heart, but I have never complained because I know it was His will. I have never asked why but rather what is it that He wants me to learn from this experience. I believe that is a good way to face the unpleasant things in our lives, not complaining but thanking the Lord for the trust He places in us when He gives us the opportunity to overcome difficulties.”