Tag!

The "Devil's Tag" is circulating! Heather tagged me and since it's easy and quick, I have no excuse but to play. Plus, I was interested in what picture I would find. Hi Heather!

1. Go to my documents/pictures.

2. Go to my 6th file folder.

3. Go to my 6th picture.

4. Blog about it.

5. Tag 6 people to do the same.



This is from E's file. E received a children's digital camera for Christmas and it quickly became one of her favorite toys. We decided to save some pictures because they were just too funny. She takes a million photos, so we only upload occasionally. This is the 6th photo...a picture of her blocks on Christmas morning....but it ended up being more of a picture of her foot.

Here's another gem.

I tag Jamie, Lauren, Shena, Lacey, Erika, and Suzanne.

99 Things

I saw this on a blog and I thought I'd play along...

Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (on a trampoline...a Utah thing to do... haha)
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower (very cool)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (and DisneyWorld)
8. Climbed a mountain (Blue Ridge and Hanging Rock count, right? They were mtns. to me)
9. Held a praying mantis (and kissed a Banana Slug)
10. Sang a solo (several plays and at church...I won't do that again)
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (with my uncle in Florida)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (I've got 3!)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (thanks to A)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort (complete with tunnels in the front yard while living in Utah)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (not a big one- a few farms and a community store)
36. Taught yourself a new language (I started learning sign language, but it's hard to keep up with if you don't use it everyday)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (several times with my hubby)
46. Been transported in an ambulance (I was sandwiched between 2 cars in college)
47. Had your portrait painted (I've had a caricature drawn of me)
48. Gone deep sea fishing (I was with my uncle in Florida)
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (snorkeling on the corral reef off the Florida coast)
52. Kissed in the rain (and the snow)
53. Played in the mud (when I was little...lots of mud pies)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (as a teenager...that was fun...did we even watch the movie?)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (no, but helped my sister with her business)
58. Taken a martial arts class - does kickboxing count?
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (several)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial (had a blast with a bunch of friends...remember Jeff going into "labor" on the street corner? Ha ha!!)
71. Eaten Caviar (yuk)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square (flew to NYC with a friend to shop for the day...great fun)
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (no, but I've seen the changing of guards at The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery)
77. Broken a bone (my right hand...horrible experience)
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (and almost ran off a cliff to my death...I was little)
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Redwoods (amazing and beautiful)
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (winning track events, school plays, and modeling school clothes for Nordstom)
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House (I've stood in front of it. Does that count?)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (My dad has...several times)
88. Had chickenpox (severe case- covered head to toe, inside and out, and I was delirious... screaming for my mom as she was caring for me)
89. Saved someone’s life (I've given away a few BOM's...hahaha)
90. Sat on a jury (Sooooo boring. Thank goodness it didn't last long)
91. Met someone famous (Tomie de Paola, Orson Scott Card, Elder Oaks...Oh and Aaron Johnston! ;) I've seen a lot more people than I've met)
92. Joined a book club (didn't last long)
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone (emergencies only)
99. Been stung by a bee (ouch!)

Who wants to play?

Cinderella

No...it was not my idea to have E watch Cinderella. I knew she would be emotional. I knew someone would have to sit with her and talk her through the entire movie, explaining every action and making tense moments lighthearted.

When E was not quite 2, she saw a small clip of Winnie The Pooh for the first time. She was curious... she smiled. Unfortunately, it so happened to be the scene where either Pooh or Tigger fell out of a tree. She began screaming and crying instantaneously, pointing to the screen, and running to me. I tried to explain and show her that he was ok, but she was so upset and didn't want anything to do with the movie anymore. She spent the next few days asking if he was ok. Obviously, that event altered her world.

I decided she would not see movies any time soon, which was more than fine. We started watching little shows like Sesame Street, Barney, or Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. All shows I felt she could handle. Well, we still had episodes of grief or fright. Just a few examples are as follows: Baby Bear got caught in a net, Grover fell from the sky, Elmo fell off his bike, Baby Bop was sad and cried, a ball was thrown and broke a toy, Lady Elaine got lost, and a strong wind blew everyone around in the neighborhood. (As a side note, I love Mr. Rogers'. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this show with E. Yes, it was dated, but excellent programming for young children.)

So, when gathering with family and friends it can be somewhat difficult to avoid a movie being shown to the kids. Sometimes we can distract the little ones with something else, but other times...hmmm...it's tricky, especially if the adults are busy doing something and can't narrate the movie for E in order to avoid an emotional outburst and days of recalling the events that upset her.

So many people think I exaggerate the magnitude of E's sensitivity.

When we were visiting with family, Cinderella was the movie of choice. Was there anything in Cinderella that could upset her? I quickly scanned the movie in my head and thought that the stepmother could be frightening to her. So I decided against it. While I was playing a game, Cinderella started anyway and it was within minutes that we heard the wails from down the hall. Come to find out, the cat was chasing the mouse. You see people? I'm not exaggerating. Grandma was kind enough to sit with her for the entire movie, explaining everything. Thanks Grandma. There were no lasting effects from the movie and E wanted to watch it again the next day....with Grandma. I managed to get a few shots of her watching it a second time.