Week in Review - 11/22/2009

Dane
-Is trying to get over the cold that has infested all of the Seeleys
-Took a sick day which included being the parent at the Family BBQ at school
-Wears his Indiana Jones hat while doing housework
-Is looking forward to a short week
-Loves the concoction of 1 can Coke Zero, 1 can Cherry Coke Zero


Lorena
-Took a sick day on Tuesday to get over the cold
-Dried out her tear ducts on Wednesday night...will miss the VanNatters
-Enjoyed 80% off at Hobby Lobby for some "shopping therapy"
-Watched "New Moon" at a special sneak-peek amongst the screaming girls
-Although she has always been "Team Edward" while reading the books, might need to switch to "Team Jacob" after watching the movie


Andrew
-Finished "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"
-Started reading "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
-Watched the BYU game with Dad
-Insists that we all quiz him on multiplying numbers between 0-12
-Thinks school lunch is better than sack lunch


Cassie
-Advised Drew to "read it another time" when he only scored 65% on his AR test
-Ate a lot of homemade sugar cookies...thanks Mom!
-Enjoyed the H1N1 shot she got at the school clinic
-Loves eating salads for school lunch
-"Makes" her bed every morning by not sleeping under the covers


Elena
-Is grounded from the computer since she lied about not having homework in order to gain computer privileges
-Has to do as much housework as Mom in order to regain her computer privilege...is failing miserably
-Is wearing glasses from two years ago after falling on hers
-Got a "B" on her math test...HUGE improvement
-Forgot to rinse conditioner out of her hair and slept in it...quite a sight in the morning!


Brooke
-Cried uncontrollably when Dad did not stay to be the "Parent Helper" after the Family BBQ
-For some reason has stopped wearing clothes around the house and is choosing to walk around only in her underpants...no pictures of that
-Is in her own reading group in Kindergarten and is on "Junie B. Jones" books
-Believes her "other" (after hers and her parents') bed is the couch in the loft
-Only likes to wear "cute" shirts (when she wears them at all)

Family Picture Time

Our Family Pictures are done.

Our photographer was amazing!

Thanks Shauna!

We love you (and your assistant, too)!

http://headfirstphoto.blogspot.com/2009/11/seeley-09.html

Week in Review - 10/4/09

I am so sorry for the neglect to my blog...it's been almost 6 months...6 very CRAZY months. However, after many inquiries by friends and family I have decided to at least try to update at least once a week. Let's see if I can do it.


Andrew got to experience his second live concert...The Killers. Too bad he was so tired that he fell asleep.

Lorena started her first week in her new position. She's a Coordinator now...more money=more work.

Dane recorded the BYU game on Friday to watch after our Wii Night at the church. Too bad for him it didn't record anything but the commentary.

Brooke was tested and was discovered to be reading at a 2nd Grade Level. She is amazing!

Elena is constantly asking for some book called "Inkheart". I've never heard of it, but am sure she will be most disappointed if she doesn't get it as her book to read on our trip.

Cassie has been playing "Teacher" in our house. Her name is Miss Cassie and she gives out lots of detention.

Week in Review 4/19/09

First some Easter pictures from last week when the UT Seeleys came to visit…











Thanks for coming UT Seeleys...we had a blast!

Now, for the highly-anticipated return of the Week in Review

Dane
• Attended BYU alumni dinner, schmoozed with the new superintendent for his school district
• Got to take a sick day after Brooke threw up one morning
• On his sick day, drove out and met Lorena for a yummy lunch
• Loves to drink Pellegrino out of the bottle and looks like a drunk when he does it

Lorena
• Only has to drive 80 miles a day for 5 more days!!!
• LOVED meeting up with Shauna (PiP), Jessica, Paige, and Adrianne
• Learned a lot about pool upkeep, and how she is not good at it…she needs a Pool Boy
• Forgot about the freeway closure and almost made Jessica miss her plane (Sorry J!)


Andrew
• Gave a great book report presentation with help from his Mom
• Almost got a hit at his baseball game, but was thrown out at first
• Wished he had better hair for a Mohawk on Crazy Hair Day
• Is still wowing crowds with his Rock Band drum skills


Cassie
• Looked like Cindy Lou Hoo for Crazy Hair Day
• Snuck her Build-A-Bear to school on Pink Day
• Loves swimming in the 70-degree pool…Brrr!
• Looks darling with her permanent top teeth coming in


Elena
• Is writing a script for a Wii play…it should be interesting
• Figured out that her writing is legible when she writes small, even if a magnifying glass is needed to read it.
• Can still sleep anywhere at anytime like when her Mom and her friends are playing Rock Band
• Wants to steal her Mom’s new glasses since she loves the Transition lenses


Brooke
• Had a sick day and enjoyed throwing up on leather…couch and car
• Loves Honey Comb and hopes it never has to "expire"
• Wished she could participate in Crazy Hair Day
• Loved having baby Faith here to play with

Week in Review 2/22/09

Dane

• Cooked dinner for student teacher and student teacher's wife
• FINALLY got a Facebook account. But, if you are his student, don’t even try, he won’t be your friend
• Represented his family at Stake Conference meetings
• Decided that the best drink concoction is 1 can Coke, 2 cans Coke Zero, and a few drops of grenadine


Andrew

• Changed his Rock Band name to Skeletor McSkull. Yes, his parents are worried
• FINALLY completed all of his missing assignments…is happy to be back on the Wii
• Made his A.R. goal 2 weeks early…he’s on a roll!
• Had his first den meeting as a Bear!


Cassie

• Was student of the week at school
• Got to go on a school field trip to see “Peter and the Wolf”
• Still has a loose tooth…which she is refusing to let anyone pull
• FINALLY is in 9-year-old Activity Days…it is supposedly sooo much better than 8-year-old Activity Days


Elena

• Got the croup…again! Thankfully, no hospital visit this time
• FINALLY remembered to bring her agenda home from school on Wednesday, but forgot again on Thursday and Friday
• Got to play the guitar on Rock Band in “Lefty Mode”
• Was the Seeley Family ticket out of Stake Conference…thanks Laney!


Brooke

• Sprayed weeds with her dad on Saturday
• Got HSM 3 on the day it came out and FINALLY watched the whole thing since she fell asleep halfway through when viewing it at the theater
• Had a bedtime accident, but insisted it was “sweat” and then after a few minutes said, “Daddy, I touched my underpants and it is pee”
• Has started her birthday countdown…3 more days!


Lorena

• Crashed another Bunko group as the permanent sub
• Felt like all she did this week was load and unload the dishwasher
• Forgot to put gas in the night before and almost ran out on her way home. Ended up putting 13.5 gallons of gas in her 14-gallon tank.
• FINALLY got caught up on “Heroes”…thanks HULU!

Week in Review 2/15/09 - Birthday Edition

At IHOP for our Valentine's Day/Birthday Fun Day breakfast. It was a complete waste of $50...what a way to start the day!


Dane
• MC’d a charity concert at the school where he works. Ran around the audience at one point in a pink tutu collecting money. Whatever brings in the bucks!
• Sang with the ward choir in church
• Got to take a sick day from work to care for a sick child since his wife is no longer home during the day
• Got Rock Band 2 cymbals from his true love for Valentine’s Day

• Shaved off his goatee…looks younger…and less rugged


Andrew
• Turned 9 years old
• Only needs to complete one more assignment to be caught up at school, but told a MAJOR lie (2-month long one) so he still does not have his Wii privileges back
• Was supportive as his sisters all made their stuffed animals at Build-a-Bear, not his choice for Birthday Fun Day
• Was highly disappointed that he couldn’t use his Wii Bowling skills at a real bowling alley - his choice for Birthday Fun Day (They didn’t accept the coupon for 2 free hours of bowling)

Where bowling did NOT take place

• Said “Is this all I get?” when he opened his birthday box full of clothes. That’s the last time he opens up the “toy portion” (Lego Batman Wii) of his gift a day early to make up for his bowling alley disappointment!

Why did he get a shirt with a skeleton on it?

Because this is his horrible Rock Band character...he has a skeleton bass, skeleton guitar, and skeleton microphone. It's scary and disturbing all at the same time.

• Picked BLTs as his birthday meal


Cassie
• Turned 9 years old
• Got her curly hair straightened by her mom as a birthday treat

This is what it looked like

• Was not sick this week, but kept trying to convince her parents that she was
• Went to Build-a-Bear and created a Jack Russell Terrier named “Jacklyn”

• Asked, “Is this it?” when she opened the clothing portion of her birthday gift – she must have short-term memory loss…maybe Jacklyn could help
• Picked homemade pancakes and waffles as her birthday meal


Elena
• Turned 9 years old
• Was sick again this week and got to stay home with her dad
• Got to spend a sick day at Brooke’s babysitter’s house…she loved it
• Created Hello Kitty at Build-a-Bear and named her “Hello Kitty”

• After her siblings’ reactions to the birthday clothes, kept telling her parents how much she LOVES clothes.
• Picked homemade pizza as her birthday meal


Brooke
• Thanked Nana for the “piece of money” (5-dollar bill) she got in a Valentine’s card
• Got Elena’s illness during Birthday Fun Day in between the bowling alley debacle and the trip to Red Robin.

Employees singing to the triplets

• Got to stay home from church…and watch PBS Kids (not PBS Adults, i.e. The McNeil-Lehrer Hour)
• Wrote her own name on all of her Valentines. You should see her perfect E’s!
• Created a bunny at Build-a-Bear, named her “Gabriella”, and dressed her in HSM clothes


• Passionately sang every song to “Annie” during Seeley Saturday Movie Night
• Got to play a lot of Jenga and “Hungridy-Hungridy Hippos”


Lorena
• Successfully completed another week of work…and her house shows it!
• Enjoyed NOT throwing a birthday party for 30 kids…executive decision made in the midst of the lay-off and new job
• Sang EXPERT on Rock Band 2 and scored in the 90’s
• Got a Wii Fit from her true love on Valentine’s Day


• Almost burned her house down…It involves tidying and the iHome.

Week in Review 2/8/09

Let me just begin by saying that being a “normal” working mom is hard work! I have to be super-organized and careful with my time. So, I have cut myself down to only blogging once a week, on Sundays, as part of my journaling.

Hopefully I can squeeze in all of the week’s activities without boring everyone to death.

Dane

• Started taking the kids to a friend’s house before school and picking them up after school
• Since his wife is home all of the time, has had to let go of his “man time” (whatever that is!)
• Got a student teacher who thinks he (Dane) is “Da Bomb!”
• Now that he doesn’t have a wife that works on Sundays, he joined the ward choir
• Took all 4 kids to Drew’s baseball tryouts so his wife could go to lunch with her girly-friends


Andrew

• Hit his classroom’s all-time high of missing assignments with 14. Hasn’t played the Wii since
• Had his baseball tryouts and after a year almost didn’t fit into his cleats
• Had his last den meeting as a Wolf…he’ll be a Bear next week!
• Joined the ward choir with his dad
• Learned that you shouldn’t daydream in class or you will end up with 14 missing assignments


Cassie

• Informed her mom that she would like to wash her own hair from now on…the end of an era
• Has enjoyed doing her explorer report on Richard Grenville
• Got to go shopping with mom early Saturday morning and learned what ad-matching is
• Decided that her afternoon chore of putting shoes away is hindered by all of those who don’t put their own shoes away
• Decided NOT to join the ward choir, she enjoys just lounging after church


Elena

• Still thinks that Title I math is ALP (advanced learning placement)…her parents choose not to correct her
• Is fully recovered from her illness, although she still wants to take the medicine because it is crushed up in Sprite
• Also started to wash her own hair
• Played Littlest Pet Shop, Build-a-Bear, and Webkinz as much as she could
• Decided NOT to join the ward choir, also


Brooke

• Started going to a friend’s house during the day…loves it, but misses her mom (and her mom misses her right back!)
• Plays Jenga like a pro
• Snuck into her parents’ bed in the middle of the night every day this week…they let her
• LOVES her afternoon chore of setting the table because she gets to decide where everyone sits
• Is following in the footsteps of her siblings and is reading before Kindergarten


Lorena

• Discovered that Phoenix DOES have traffic and it is no fun
• Got more sleep than she has in years
• Loves her free weekends
• Got a new ID badge and is missing her “Rachel from ‘Friends’ hair”
• Is grateful to all of her friends (and Dane) who have pitched in and made this transition a success

Valentine's Day Galore

If you're anything like me, your Valentine's Day decorations consist of some cheap crafts made in Homemaking in a Single's Ward years ago. Example:

Don't you just LOVE the rafia?

For a long time I have told myself that it is too difficult to decorate for Valentine's Day because I have a trio who's birthday is the very next day.

Well, no more! My friend, Erika, has gone all out in the quest to make us all more festive for Valentine's Day. See her posts here, here, and here.

So, after being inspired by her, I decided to change my evil anti-Valentine Decorating ways.

Here's what I've done so far:

Front Door

Table

What? You just love my centerpiece? Well, hey, I do, too! Let me tell you all about it!

At Christmastime I saw a topiary made with round ornaments. I decided it would be cool to make one for Valentine's Day, but use hearts instead.

Here's the finished product:

Here's what you will need:

3 Styrofoam cones (small, medium, and large)
3 pots (will need to differ in size depending on cones)
1 can gold metallic spray paint
2 strands beaded heart garland (I found mine at Hobby Lobby)
10 boxes large hearts (60 large hearts)
6 boxes small hearts (72 small hearts)
glue gun


Instructions:

-Spray paint pots and cones. You will hear some fizzing as the Styrofoam reacts with the paint...no worries. Paint the pots upside down first and then with the second coat turn them over and do the inside.

-Hot glue the bottom of the cones and place them in the pots. Make sure they are not crooked.

-Hot glue the hearts to the cones. (If you really end up doing this craft, call or email me and I will give you further details on this part.)

-Drape garland around topiary

-Display proudly