That Darn Cat

Carl and I have long resisted any pets other than the odd fish (the odd thing about them is they usually die within a week) or pet rocks, which usually keep the dust bunnies under the bed company.

Under the guise of being a good friend by getting a kitten to replace a beloved dead cat of her friend Phoenix (what a ruse!), Lucy brought home a kitten. We kept it for a few days expecting Phoenix to show up and claim the kitty for her own. That never happened.

After the kitty pooped and peed everywhere in our house and we threatened to give him back...we had named him. The first sign of resignation. His name is Ringo. Although, Carl, the biggest Beatle fan in the universe, has not once called the cat that. (Raoul, Rupert, Eddie, Phil, Roger Ramjet, Kitty-cat Berkowitz, to name just a few of the ones he's come up with.)

When we picked the name of Ringo (yeah, I picked it), it was at dinner. We went through several names and I suggested Ringo. Ava casually piped up, "That's a Beatle." Whoa. You should have seen Carl's face. I believe that must have been the proudest moment in his fatherhood...he beamed with a look that said, "I've raised these girls right!"

The girls have been so happy. They are very good about feeding him, cleaning his litter box (he FINALLY figured it out), holding him, cuddling him, walking him, playing with him and treating him like a sibling (which involves a lot of teasing, apparently).

Carl and I are happy too. This little guy is a part of our lives. He's playful and funny. We have laughed more and been more calm with a kitten in our lives. I'm the most surprised by this because I always thought cats were lazy and aloof. Not Ringo. He's a social, friendly little kitty who makes me smile. If I had high blood pressure, he would be the best antidote.

Who Made the Sky?

This one is another one of Ava's observations.

We were driving - that seems to be when we have our deepest conversations - and Ava asked me,

"Mommy, who made the sky?"

"God did, honey."

"Did he use fluffy stuff for the clouds?"

"Um, yes, I think so."

"And he used blue stuff for the sky."

More Ava-isms: about the crummy weather we've been having

The other day, I was driving the girls to school and Ava was in the car, talking away about the neighborhood park. It has been a topic of much discussion for us, since it is getting remodeled. New playground equipment has been put in and we're both dying to try it all out. The CAUTION tape has been around the playground for a while. This particular day, there weren't any big machines and Ava asked if we could play. I explained that the playground still wasn't ready.

"Besides, everything is wet from the rain," I said.

She responded,"We could dry it all off!" At which I calmly explained that we really couldn't do that because it would take too long and we wouldn't have enough towels to do it all...that was the sun's job: to dry off playground equipment. It was still cloudy at the time and the sky was ominously gray.

"Why isn't the sun out, Mommy?"she asked.

"Maybe because he's still sleeping, or maybe he's crabby and doesn't want to get up," was my reply - I'm pretty quick to explain fictitious reasons for things I can't explain otherwise. It's called creativity. :)

Then, she proceeded to have a "conversation" with the sun, which went something like this:

Sun, are you sleepy?
No

Are you tired?
No

Are you crabby?
No

Are you snuggled up in bed, with your blankies?
No

Are you watching SpongeBob?
No, I don't have SpongeBob. I only have football on tv. I'm watching football.

Big Announcement

About a month ago, I got an email from the editor of Wasatch Woman Magazine (the magazine where I have a column, called Momtrepreneur). She wanted to meet with me and wouldn't say why.

We met for tea and she proceeded to tell me about an experience that she had in the temple while debating what to do about leaving her position at the magazine. She told me that she felt like it was time to leave, and she needed to spend time with her daughter (who is 4) before she goes off to kindergarten. She and I have not known each other very long, in fact, we had only met twice before this happened.

In the temple, my name came to her as she was asking who would replace her. She then received a "download" of all my past experiences and qualifying personality traits that would make me perfect for the job. She told me that she was made to understand that I would be "scrappy enough" and that I would be able to understand and push the magazine where it needed to be.

When she told me all of this, I was taken aback. I had to admit to her that I had been questioning my life and what I was doing with my career for the past few weeks. I had been contemplating what to do with myself and asking my Heavenly Father for guidance and direction. In fact (and I never do this) I had just fasted for life direction the same weekend that she got the guidance for who to hand over the magazine to.

Over the next three weeks, I went through two interviews and an offer that was exactly what I had asked for...I wanted to have autonomy, the freedom to work from home when I wanted, and all of that was given to me - plus, the monetary requests, of course.

A full month after my friend, the former editor, told me I would be the next editor, I started. Since then, I have learned a lot, made a lot of changes, and I'm still learning and changing.

This experience taught me that we are not really in charge of our lives. It humbled me and it made me feel great. I realized that my Heavenly Father really knows me and loves me enough to give me something I'm totally ready for. This last year has all been preparation for this current chapter in my life. Who knows what will be next.

So, if you don't believe in God, I'm telling you right now. He is real. He knows you. He knows what you need. He will bring what you need into your life if you let Him.

This true story is a testament to that. It is NOTHING short of a miracle.

Rite of Passage

Sophia turned 12 in the last month and a half. She has really been looking forward to this age. Not only does she get to move on to Young Women, but she also gets to go to the temple. She was so excited about going to the temple and was a little bit nervous, too. It had been a really long time since I went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. I went along with her and was really impressed by how mature she was. She really enjoyed the experience and told me that she liked being there.

She's such a great kid. I'm so lucky to be her mom.

After we left the temple we stopped off at the local grocer and picked up some of their fresh sushi...since we hadn't had dinner prior to going to the temple. yumm-o! Our favorite food. We took some pictures prior to going and then, we hammed it up at the grocery store, later.

Tomorrow

When I put my kids to bed, I like to tell them if there is anything exciting happening the next day. This is a trick I learned to keep them in bed, so they can enjoy the exciting event the next day. Giving my kids something to look forward to helps them fall asleep happy. Most of what I tell my 3 1/2-year-old, Ava, has to do with having a play date with her best friend, Lily.

Ava has been asking me the same thing,frequently: "Mama....in the morning, is it going to be tomorrow, in the morning?" I always laugh at that because it's so redundant and cute. But, really, Ava thinks that "tomorrow" is a special occasion. I discovered this when I asked her some questions about "tomorrow."

Me: "Ava, when is Christmas coming?"

Ava: "Tomorrow."

Me: "How about when Nana comes. When is she going to come to visit us?"

Ava: "Um, tomorrow."

Me: "When is your birthday?"

Ava: "In the summer. Tomorrow."

Wouldn't it be great if we could view the world like that? Tomorrow is a going to be a really great day, full of joy, fun, and people we love. Maybe this is why children have so much energy and happiness.

You've GOT to be kidding me!

Ugh. There is nothing worse than an adult who talks down to kids. My kids may be different from most in that, they can detect a patronizer from a mile away. You know what I'm talking about: people who use the high, sing-songy voice and end each sentence in a lilt (almost like they are asking a question). "Okay, kids!! Now we're going to color this picture of a tin can! Won't that be fun?"
Fortunately, Ava has a fabulous Sunbeam teacher who is both kind and real with her...I think Ava was just tired of posing for pictures when this one was taken. This is the classic Ava look.