Author: Jo Bird

homework

/ Jo Bird / 3 Comments

In the parenting class I have been attending one of the biggest complaints by mothers is the difficulty of getting their children to do their homework and do it well. I couldn’t relate at all to this issue, not to say I didn’t think it was real, it just wasn’t my struggle yet.

Until this morning. All it took was one assignment. Homework for a pre-schooler is rare and is mostly intended to make them feel included with their older siblings, but in our case that motivation was entirely lacking. (Due to no older siblings.)

It only took about three minutes before Cameron put his pencil down and said those dreaded words.
“I can’t.”

It’s going to be a long road to higher education, I can see that now.

36 weeks

/ Jo Bird / 10 Comments

Cameron and Eli both arrived exactly two weeks before their due date. Both caught me by surprise. My doctor told me to go ahead and plan on being early with this one too. (So I can be ready.) Two weeks before my due date makes the arrival of this little darling on Thanksgiving day. Richard says that if I plan on being early of course I won’t be.

I guess we’ll see.

Three kids? Some things you just aren’t ever ready for.

majestic, moving and motivating

/ Jo Bird / 2 Comments

Today I feel like declaring that I am a Christian. I have a father in Heaven who knows and loves me, and I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior.

Sometimes when I need a spiritual boost I listen to this song. The lyrics are humbling but the quality of the music is inspiring. It never fails to help me feel closer to Heaven. Because undoubtedly I am prone to wander.

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing – Mormon Tabernacle Choir

internet DOWN

/ Jo Bird / 4 Comments

My internet was down for several hours the other day. I couldn’t believe all the things I wanted to do and couldn’t.

– Check to see if my paycheck was depostited
– Check the weather
– Update my status on facebook
– Read everyone else’s status
– Post on my blog
– Check the time of BSU kickoff
– Pay a bill
– Check my email
– Read everyone else’s blogs
– See if I was out-bid on ebay
– Read the daily news
– Find a recipe
– Get an address to send a thank-you card
– Update my Netflix queue

I’m not sure what to make of it all. I clearly rely a great deal on the world wide web and I’m not sure if that is wise…

Eli steals hearts

/ Jo Bird / 7 Comments

I am rarely able to capture my children’s charm on video camera. This time I was lucky. I must warn you, if you are related to the subject in these videos you might desperately want to reach into your computer and pull him out and kiss him. He is that adorable. (Words spoken by his biased mother of course.) They are short but priceless. (Sound is imperative, if you can’t watch it with sound, come back when you can.)

little rabbits

/ Jo Bird / 3 Comments

The other night I gave each of the boys a carrot stick to appease their growling tummies while we waited for Richard to come home for dinner. I was busy in the kitchen and before long I realized the house was quiet. Not just quiet, but silent. There is no alarm that rings louder or creates more panic for the mother of toddlers than a silent house.

I walked around from dark room to empty room with no luck and started to get nervous. Then I heard something, very subtle. The crunching sound of little teeth biting and chewing a carrot. I found them in the coat closet and relief washed over me.

Relief that they were safe, of course. But mostly relief that nothing was broken, colored on, destroyed or ruined.

this is talent!

/ Jo Bird / 4 Comments

In another life I want to be a skipper. I watched this a couple times, with a giant smile on my face. They are probably some of the most fit and toned athletes there are, it looks exhausting. I only wish it were a better quality video.

since it’s November, I’m thankful for…

/ Jo Bird / 7 Comments

In the not so distant past, while Richard was out of town, I had lousy day. It culminated in a hormonal calamity over the cellular network. Those wireless circuits carried my tears from Kuna to Spokane. Of course I felt much better after reassuring words from my husband who knows me best, but as I lay in bed I started thinking. I was thinking about a girl I know and I wondered if she ever has meltdowns. No matter how I tried I could not imagine her being upset or crying. On Facebook she is always so darling and perky. (And doesn’t FB give us great insight into the lives of our “friends”?)
Then I thought of a few women who I know that I had opportunity to see in vulnerable moments. People who under all other circumstances appeared to me to have it totally together. Seeing people in their own “meltdowns” fills me with goodwill and puts me in touch with humanity. No one has a heart so cold or a life so perfect that they are free of disappointment or discouragement.

I’m grateful that my life is good. I am grateful for relationships that allow people to be honest about their feelings. I am grateful for the example of those saintly folks who manage to see straight into the heart of the individual and therefore are full of love for all.

a dragon duo, accompanied by a pirate duo

/ Jo Bird / 4 Comments

We had a great Halloween. The boys got a jumpstart on Friday with the annual trick-or-treat at Richard’s office. It’s always an easy and warm way to start filling that pillowcase. And entertaining to see Richard’s co-workers all dressed up.

Saturday night upon returning from the neighborhood trick-or-treating I had the boys spread out their candy and told them all about the “Switch Witch”. I gave them a small bag in which to put their favorites and explained that the Switch Witch was going to come trade the remainder of their candy for a book.

Eli did not understand in the least bit what was going on and began, quite happily, to fill his bag. Cameron on the other hand became hysterical. He frantically pulled all his candy into his lap all the while wailing about how “No witch is going to take my candy!” I explained that he would keep some candy and how exciting it would be in the morning to have a new book. That seemed to subdue him.

Flash forward to Sunday morning. They excitedly go to their pillowcases by the front door and Cameron is thrilled to pull out a book. Eli on the other hand panics when he sees a book in the pillowcase instead of all his candy. He starts wailing “The ‘witch-witch’ took my candy!”

Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

houseguest

/ Jo Bird / 4 Comments

The other day as I was loading up the boys to head off somewhere I noticed this adorable dog limping along the sidewalk across the street. It was an all too familiar limp, the kind of limp Misha would get when I would take her jogging on trails. I whistled to him but his paws were so sore he only made it halfway across the street. Sure enough he had goatheads in all four paws. Not wanting him to go back where he came from I put him in the backyard and made a call to animal control. I’m such a sucker for a basset hound.

Since we still haven’t had Misha spayed I put her in her kennel and let “lost dog” (Cameron’s name for him) run free while we were gone. (Although if you try to imagine a male basset hound and female golden retriever trying to mate it is a comical notion.)
I called several locations/organizations to report a found dog and they all asked me if he was neutered. I kept saying to them “How would I know?” Some chuckled and some just ignored my naivete. After keeping him and Misha separated when it was clear they wanted to play I decided to investigate. Turns out it is pretty obvious if a male dog is no longer “intact”. I guess you can learn something new every day.
The boys got pretty attached to “Max” for the two days he was with us. In every prayer Cameron asked for help finding “the lost dog’s person”. The first day when I had Misha in the kennel, Max sat by the kennel and barked, and barked. I heard Eli (who was supposed to be napping) shout out the window “Shhh doggie! I am sleeping!”
Max’s owner picked him up last night. The boys both stood in the doorway and shouted good-byes. I got sort of attached to the little guy too.