Memories: Fruit Roll-Ups

I don't remember this picture being taken. I don't even remember who is on the left. But I like the shot. I was six years old, and my brother on the right was four. We're sitting outside of our Glenview, IL townhome chompin' down on some fruit roll-ups. I'm already showing a good deal of attitude at six years old.

Now it's your turn! Leave a comment with a memory you have of me, and then post your own memory on your blog. Thanks Heidi, for the great idea. I'm excited to see everyone's memories!

Movie Review: Wall-E

This afternoon our family saw Wall-E in theaters. It was our first time going to a movie as a family, and it was a success. Not only did the kids sit through the film's entirety, but the parents gave it two thumbs up!

I came out of that movie motivated to make some lifestyle changes. Doesn't that seem to be a sign that it was a good movie? At least a highly persuasive one. Wall-E reminds me to treasure and care for our precious planet, along with my own body that allows me to live on Earth.

It looks as though the film is creating some hot-tempered controversies. Having just read through a few outraged posts, I feel even more inclined to voice my own opinion. There were several times during the viewing that I looked over at Janson, raising my eyebrows in surprise. Pixar makes some strong statements. Mac users will appreciate some sound effects, including Wall-E's boot-up tone. Janson noticed some shadows of Steve Jobs in this film, seeing that the CEO of Apple also has a hand in Pixar. Without spoiling the movie, I simply want to show my support behind the film's message. While the film offered constructive criticism concerning my way of life, I was motivated and buoyed rather than offended (as some viewers appear to be). I would recommend this movie to anyone, and hope that the mass viewing of Wall-E can make a slight alteration in the course of our planet's future.

Evil Villains

The evil villains in this week's chapter of My Dieting Adventures:

Oberweis Dairy Pistachio Ice Cream:


Point Root Beer (born in Stevens Point, WI, but I just discovered it lurking around our local Oberweis):


Sweet & Salty Almond Bar:



Despite their best efforts, these evil villains could not deter me from my accumulative four pound loss. Woohoo! I guess that means I'm still the hero of My Dieting Adventures. Stay tuned to see if the streak continues as I battle against this week's evil villains. I think I see beautifully buttered movie popcorn and heavenly chocolate cake along the horizon, headed my way.

Power Up Playground

I just read about this and was really touched.  After spending a night grumbling about silly things, it's nice to put things in perspective.

An LDS missionary noticed that an elementary school in Ghana had no playground equipment or electricity (probably one of many).  A group of BYU students installed a merry-go-round at the school that will generate power for the school whenever it is used.   

This project must have been beneficial to so many...  

1. Obviously the Ghana kids get some great play time and light in their classrooms.  Education can change their lives.  
2. In a small village a change like this can benefit the entire village: parents, teachers, leaders. 
3. The senior BYU technology students gained experience and life lessons.  They had to create a useful, efficient piece of equipment but still disguise it as a toy the kids would want to play with.  They also had to use materials available to the Ghana residents, which probably set up huge hurdles to jump.  What an amazing system that allowed these students to fly to Ghana, work in the local shops amongst the villagers, and see their plan brought to life. 
   
4. Empower Playgrounds, Inc. now has publicity and support to continue the effort with more merry-go-rounds, electricity-generating zip-lines, and maybe even swings!
5. I might as well add that projects like this help others understand the values and mission statements of the Church and BYU.  Sharing the gospel happens in many different forms.

Here's a great little video clip.

Now the entire village is probably saying, "Play kids, play!"  

Fireflies

My previous post was a bit heavy, so I thought I'd post something fun.  

The fireflies are out and it makes me giddy!  Like many others, I connect fireflies to fond childhood memories.  I remember watching fireflies from the back porch of my grandparent's farmhouse.  

For this post I did some Wikipedia reading.  This section made me laugh:

Female Photuris fireflies are known for mimicking the mating flashes of other fireflies for the sole purpose of predation. Target males are attracted to what appears to be a suitable mate, and are then eaten. For this reason the Photuris female is sometimes referred to as "femme fatale".

Of course I then had to click on the "femme fatale" link and read all about that.  Such fun.  I also learned that rare groups of fireflies synchronize their blinking!  Wow.  These little lightning bugs have some brains, especially those females.  :) 

Parenting Advice

I am often overwhelmed by parenting advice. Sometimes I am sensitive to the more and less obvious judgment of others. I know that no matter how hard we try to perfect our parenting, someone will think we:

• put them to bed too early, or too late
  
• spend too little time with our kids, or too much (as in, not enough for ourselves)
  
• keep our kids too busy, or not busy enough
  
• toilet train them too early, or too late
  
• discipline them too harshly, or call us push-overs
  
• read them too few books, or too many (and not enough time vacuuming)
  
• breastfeed until they're too old, or not old enough
  
• teach them new things too soon, or too late
  
• spend too much time caring about our own appearances, or not enough
  

I'm not the first or last parent to recognize and worry about the importance of parenting.  I feel like a terrible mother at least once a day. I also feel quite alone at least once a day. In a desperate potty-training moment, I realized that the challenge at hand was solely mine.  No one was coming to save me. Not at that moment, not later that night, not next week. When the going gets tough, Dr. Sears isn’t going to come calm my temper, or the “wise” neighbor down the street isn’t going to put my children to sleep in the manner she deems appropriate. Then I had this mental conversation with my husband:

Me: I feel so alone! I can’t do this by myself!
Janson: Oh Lynn, you are never alone.
Me: stick my tongue out...

And I did the only thing left to do: got down on my knees and prayed. As parents the only trustworthy advice is that which comes from above. How refreshing it is to throw out the advice of books and others and simply trust the Lord. Now I just need to kick that annoying habit I have of caring what others think. Wish me luck.