A Thanksgiving Video

Thanksgiving this year was at my sister Aundi's house. As always when the Nielson family gets together, it was complete and utter CHOAS!! First we stopped at Trevor's parents, just to say high and give his parents a Thanksgiving gift. It was so quiet. So ordered. And they we get to Aundi's and it was a MADHOUSE. I actually really like this about both sides of our family--both atmospheres are great and have their advantages. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures. Grrr! Getting my family to sit still long enough to listen to anything is pretty much impossible. At Trevor's house, we were able to quickly gather round and present his parents with their copy of "I'm Grateful For..." A book I made from Afton to her Grandparents on Thanksgiving day. At Aundi's, we finally gave it to Mom during dessert. (Which, by the way, was FAB-U-LOUS. Cindy made these adorable mini desserts! SO GOOD! I love how she doesn't just make delicious and original desserts--they always LOOK to good!)

Anyway, we finally gave Mom her own copy of the book, and she began to read it aloud.  No one really listened except Dad and Jen and Rusty and Cindy--who was video taping the whole thing!

So, here is an exerpt of the video. If you want to see the book, click here!

Random Thoughts During Dancing with the Stars

I've been a little "slumpy" lately. Can't think of a darn thing to write on either of my blogs. I'm just blah. So I'm sitting here watching Dancing with the Stars, and a lot of thoughts are running madly through my head. Here they are. Enjoy.

1. Why is Christina Aguillera performing on this show? What does she have to do with anything? And why is her face plastic? Hmmm...I think I'll go post that thought on Facebook.
2. I am SO SURE that Jordan District won't cancel school tomorrow. That would be a COOL thing to do, and everyone knows we aren't the "cool" district. Canyons is. That's why they already have this week off. Granted, at the expense of their teachers, but I'm still jealous.
3. How on earth is Bristol Palin still in this competition? I've admired watching her grow in this competition, but if she wins, that just bites.
4. Is that Afton crying? Maybe if I ignore it it will go away....it went away...
5. I am so disappointed in this blizzard. I wanted it to be REALLY REALLY AWFUL! We didn't even have the lights go out. That sucks.
6. Why do people still  watch The Bachelor? (during a Bachelor commercial.)
7. What does "pickle me walnuts" mean, Len? (DWTS judge)
8. I love Harry Potter. I'm reading book 4. I want to read it instead of watching this endless finale. Seriously--this is the LONGEST finale. AND, I missed the first hour! What the!
9. That outfit that Lacey Schwimmer has on is the ugliest she's had all season. And that's saying something.
10. I really, really hate "The Situation." Seriously, I want to punch his big fat ugly pompous face. Like really bad. I hate him. I hate him SO DARN BAD.
11. Just give Jennifer Gray the trophy already. I'd rather be reading Harry Potter or playing the sims. Why am I watching this?
12. Open breaks? You are doing just boring old OPEN BREAKS? Come on, Lacey and Kyle, you can do better than that.

That is all.

Two Little Girls + Diaper Cream = TROUBLE.

I went to pick up my little girl today at Grandma Rees's, and found there was QUITE a story. An "incident" as Karen called it. Afton and her cousin Madison, 16 months her senior, apparently had a few unsupervised moments with a brand new tin of Penaten, a diaper cream that Karen uses.

The results, of course, were both disastrous and hilarious. My father-in-law got home just after it happened and, thankfully, managed to grab a camera between burst of laughter. Unfortunately, Afton's face had already been mostly wiped off, though Karen says it looked pretty much like Madison's. It was EVERWHERE. In her hair, her eyes, even her nostrils!

Karen was swabbing it out of her nose, her eyes, and it was all over! She gave them both baths and had to wash Afton's hair three times! And it's STILL a little greasy! Those little stinkers!

I think it's hilarous! And SO glad it didn't happen during MY watch!



Not Cool Anymore

You know what? I'm not cool anymore.

I am totally lame. I'm just a mean, tired, OLD junior high teacher. I'm the one who yells at them in the hallway for swearing. I'm the one that doesn't dress up for Halloween, and won't join in the fun at school dances. When did this happen to me?

As a first year teacher, I was so friggin' awesome. I had so much joy and love for what I did--I still do, but just not in the same way. Man, the stuff I did when I was new at this. I just played with the kids. Like when I'd pull out my big red plastic bat and have kids pitch wads of paper at me so I could hit it around the room. Or the time I snuck a picture of Mr. Barton, then Photoshopped him (with students watching) to look all fat, then printed 40 copies and let the kids make paper airplanes out of it. Then we chucked them in his room. I was funny. I'd read the announcements in accents. My whole class stuffed into my back room to hide from another teacher. We turned all Barton's desks upside down while he was at lunch, then he pennied my door and we couldn't open it. Every period was stand up commedian time, and I loved it.

I don't do any of that anymore. I could, I know, but I don't really feel like it. On Thursday I had an Auction with my CTE Intro kids, and somehow I was just in this hyper mood. I was cracking jokes right and left. And they all laughed their heads off and had no idea who this new teacher was. Am I really that boring? Have I lost something here? I mean, how long can you be the funny cool teacher? Isn't there a point where you are just too old to pull it off?

I usually love Halloween at school, though the other teachers hate it. I dress up. I join the kids dancing. Usually I have my ballroom kids there and I dance a couple of swings. Trevor used to come too, both of us in costume. But today? Today was awful. The kids were obnoxious. I didn't dress up. I don't do ballroom anymore, so there were no boys trained to dance. (And, might I add, that when I DID do ballroom, kids actually danced at the dances. Once a few of my kids started, the other kids would realize it's ok, and they'd dance too. Today? NO ONE DANCED)

I walked around and yelled at kids. Well, no mostly I took pictures. But then when this group of about 10 hoochies started grinding with each other, I had to become the "bad guy" and break it up, then cart them off to the principal's office when they kept doing it. Really, it was quite disgusting. I've never seen girls behave so badly at a dance. They were all dressed so slutty--somehow their more modest costumes from 1st period became shorter and lower and by the end of the day. They flaunted everything they had--and didn't have--not at the guys--at each other. It was amazing to see these girls just totally go after each other. Unbelievable. Has it been this way always, and I never noticed because I was having fun and playing? Is it the mean boring old teacher in me that has me noticing this behavior and yelling all day to stop it? Or...maybe this 9th grade class is just plain nasty?

At any rate, I feel bad that I am taking my job for granted. I know that if the day ever comes that I quit and stay home, I will miss the classroom terribly. I love what I do. I really do. I just think that as you get older, the way you do it changes. Am I wrong? Oh well. Who cares. It's the weekend. Job? What job?

Picture Tour of Afton Darla Rees

Ok, ok! I'm FINALLY updating my blog! I haven't updated in forever--I just haven't been able to think of anything to write about! Nothing's really ticked me off (that I can write about on a public blog, anyway) and I haven't been thinking deeply about anything (that I want to share on a public blog, anyway) and mega-happy "my-life-is-awesome" posts can be SO annoying. But---well, my life is awesome! So, here's a little video tour of the last month:

September 20, 2010

Afton was sick in September. Seemed to last forever. It's amazing, though, how quickly you forget the particulars after the fact. Anyway, I miss those days when I had a tiny baby who would just sleep on my chest. I thought those days were over until I had another baby. Poor Afton was so sick and slept so much, she'd sleep anywhere!

She fell asleep while DeLayna was holding her. She loves her Del.

October 1, 2010

Sometimes, Afton can get a little clingy. Especially on Daddy. On this Sunday morning, she refused to leave him alone. He had to eat and hold her at the same time. It was so cute.

  October 8, 2010

Afton and I hang out outside a lot--or, as she says, 'side.

This month she's started talking a lot--I mean, she's always talking, but now I can actually understand some of her words! Today I heard her say "Tarzan" for the first time (our cat) and then "I love you!" which was more like "Ah Juh Joo!" It was SO cute. Trevor and I had tears in our eyes, hearing her say that for the first time! Anyway, here she is outside and, as always, obsessed with the water tap.

October 9, 2010

I was upstairs getting something, and I got distracted. Afton was downstairs. I heard her rumaging around. I looked over the railing to check on her, but although I could hear her, I couldn't see her anywhere. I went downstairs, and found her here---in the entertainment center under the stairs. She's obsessed with the movie cases over there, so I guess she needed a closer look.

October 10, 2010

Getting Afton to look directly at the camera and smile is pretty much impossible. On this day, she looked SO cute so I did a little photoshoot of her playing in the front yard. And I got so many good ones!

October 14, 2010

You know, it's getting to the point where I'm constantly grabbing the camera to get a picture of her doing her newest strange thing before I miss the moment. She's just

 such a busy little thing! I can't keep track of her--she's always into something new!

October 18, 2010

I watched Dancing with the Stars on Monday. Afton loves Dancing with the Stars. She dances...with the stars. They dance, and so does she. She's awesome. Daddy came and sat with her, and then the TV held no charms for her. Daddy was near. That's all she cared about. So she gave him a kiss.






October 21, 2010

Today Afton was really on it. She got into everything! I let her--if she's occupied and it's easily cleaned up afterwards, what's the harm? First she got into the tupperware--I'm sure I'm not the only mother who has a kid in the tupperware. I have vague memories myself of playing in the tupperware drawer. It was an amazing, interesting place. But since Afton has discovered it, it seems we can never find matching lids anymore.

Yeah, it was a mess but like I said, easy to clean up. After that, I started making dinner. She got into the tin can cubbord again. She loves taking the cans out and dumping them on the floor. It keeps her occupied. I was just glad she wasn't grabbing my legs and whinning. So I let her go for it. Then I heard that sound--that unmistakeable sound of noodles hitting pergo. It is a sound I have heard before! I looked over and sure enough, she'd found an open bag of spaghetti noodles. Did I get mad? No. I grabbed my camera. And then let her continue to play in it for 10 minutes while I finished dinner. I mean, the noodles are gone anyway, she might as well enjoy them, right?

Sorry this post is pretty much ALL about Afton. But I have no pictures of anything else, really. Sorry. Though i DO have pictures of the shield Trevor's been working on for Halloween--that will be a post for another day. It's pretty awesome.

So yeah, that's the last month for me! I sure got a cute baby!

What I Like About YOU!

Ok. Afton was SO funny yesterday. We got a lot of video of it, and I've been thinking its about time to put a video of her on my blog again!

I'm not sure how I found time to do this today while teaching 7 periods--must be my supreme multitasking skills. And I'm not being sarcastic here--they really ARE supreme. Enjoy!

(I apologize in advance for how annoying my voice and comments are on this video. I'm SURE I don't really sound like that in real life.)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My New Calling - Primary Chorister

WARNING: Unlike most of my posts, this is a very CHURCHY post. Be warned. If you are not a member of the LDS church or are not very active, this post and it's meaning may be a complete mystery to you. I apologize for being exclusive on this but...sorry. It's what's on my mind today.

I always thought that my IDEAL calling in the church would be Mia Maid advisor. But then I became a junior high teacher and I realized that mia maids are like--in 8TH GRADE. YUCK. Well, I STILL think that would be a pretty cool calling, but I'm also pretty sure I'll never serve in Young Women's. Young Women's advisors usually follow a certain pattern:

1. Skinny

2. Blonde
3. Super Spiritual

4. Kissed less than 4 guys

5. NEVER served a mission themselves
6. Married to a return missionary
7. Self-sacrificing
8. Sweet as sugar

9. Married by age 21

10. Have beautiful well-behaved children

(This, by the way, is also my definition of SYT, pronounced "Sit". SYT stands for Sweet Young Thing. There's nothing wrong with SYT's, except that they tend to marry all the RM's really fast and leave nothing for the sister missionaries to date when they get home.)

Ok, I know, this is a total stereotype. There are many different types of women serving in the young women's. Some aren't married, some are fat, and a very few might even be return missionaries. But in my experience, if you are most of these things, your chances of getting called are pretty darn good. Seeing as I only fit in about...well, TWO of these (married a return missionary and blonde. Afton is beautiful but not always well behaved :) I'm pretty sure I won't be seeing the inside of a young women's room any time soon. I'm too blunt. I'd tell it like it is. I'd even admit to them that...shhh...kissing is fun. I know--we try to keep this fact from them but I'm pretty sure they already know.

Ok. I'm going off on a tangent here. This post is NOT about the ideal calling I always wanted, but the one I just got. Primary Chorister. I think this is a calling you can only love or hate. It's one or the other. It requires a lot of preparation to be good at it, and there are a few requirements you want to have--like the ability to sing and lead music. Sometimes, this requirement is overlooked. I've actually always wanted to try this calling. I remember sitting in Primary as a teacher, watching our poor chorister trying so hard, but she just didn't seem to know what to do. She really did try her best. But oh--oh I wanted to run up there and just TAKE OVER! I knew how I would do it! I was full of ideas! I was frustrated to just sit there and grit my teeth and sing.

Well, I've been chorister for two weeks now. And guess what? IT IS THE BEST CALLING IN THE CHURCH!!! Move over Mia Maid Advisor. You've been replaced. I absolutely love this calling. Let me count the ways:

• I get to be creative! I get to make stuff and glue and paste and print and glue some more. It's awesome. I don't get to do that much as a jr. high teacher. Teenagers don't care. But these kids love it. Last week I made boxes and put songs in them. When I called on someone to pick a box, they got to KEEP the box. It was mayhem. They all wanted them. I never heard kids sing so well. You just don't get that kind of enthusiasm and excitment from older kids.
• It's not that hard. I mean, sharing time has to be all meaningful. This is just coming up with fun ways to sing. The majority of the time, the kids are singing. That's easy. I love to come up with new ways to make singing fun!
• These kids CRACK ME UP. Seriously, last week we were DYING of laughter in senior primary. I made this Primary Song Wheel, and this kid spun it and got "Sing Slowly." So I had to pick a song to sing slow and I picked "Scripture Power" which is TOTALLY not a slow song. IT WAS HILARIOUS. Even the leaders were laughing.
• I get to teach my baby how to sing! For the last ten minutes I go into nursery, and there is Afton being all cute, and I get to teach her and all these other little ones a song! They totally don't sing, but they are pretty darn cute. I never thought I'd enjoy anything nursery related but it really is so fun.
• I get to have fun at church. Seriously--FUN. I love standing up in front of crowd. I love to make people laugh. And we just have so much fun together.

I don't know how long I'll feel this way--I'm sure I'll be totally burned out in a year. But right now I'm happy as a clam, and actually SAD that it's conference next week and I don't get to do my calling. So pathetic I know. But hooray! It's fun! Thanks Heavenly Father. You got this one dead on.