The Company of Good Women: Almost Sisters

This book is about three women who are very different from each other, meet and bond during Education week at Brigham Young University. It then follows them through their individual lives as well as the time that they are reunited each year. I found the book extremely slow going. As I was reading I continued to wonder when the exciting conflict was going to happen. I would have stopped reading but I always hear that voice in my head from Mom saying I need to at least read 100 pages in order to give the book a fair chance. I find after 100 pages that I have put too much time and effort into reading that I can't stop. The very end of the book has no real ending, so now I have to read the sequel. (Martin says not to but how will I know what happens if I don't?) I will let you know if the second is any better.

Great Sales!

I know that I have already blogged today but I couldn't resist. Katie and I met at Kohl's this morning. I was looking for birthday presents for Martin and she was looking for some new running shoes. This is what I found. The first set of shoes has a background story to it. At the beginning of the summer I took Ashlynn shoe shopping. She found these Nike Mary Janes and fell in love. I just could not spend $35.00 for my three year old. She was sad but got over it. Today they were on sale for $7.00. I decided that I could pay $7 and she could probably wear them for awhile and hopefully next year. The other two pair of shoes were each 90% off the original price. The Carter's sandals for Ashlynn were originally $24.99, on sale $2.49. The Adidas for Alex were originally $49.99, on sale $4.99. You just can't beat a good sale!

A Banner is Unfurled: Glory From on High

I decided that if nothing in my life was happening I could always blog about the books that I have read. I promise that I will only blog about a book if I have finished it recently. We all know that it would take me forever to catch up on all of the past books. I finished Glory From on High just last night. It is a Latter-day Saint Pioneer story very similar to The Work and the Glory. The difference is that I believe the characters are based on the authors' ancestors. The books are considerably shorter than The Work and the Glory making them much faster paced. I feel that the characters are well developed, each having unique and enduring qualities. I do not find it as well written as other books I have read but interesting none the less. A personal note about the book is that in the first volume there was reference to Edmund Durfee, who happens to be my ancestor.

Alex is now 6!

Last Friday, Alex turned six. When I asked her what she wanted to do she immediately asked if we could go to Chuck E. Cheese. She than asked if her friend Abbey could come. I told her that would be fine and let Martin know so he was in the loop. Later I was discussing with Martin how many tokens we would need and what not. His response was "Brad and I need lots of tokens." I guess in his mind he wanted his friend to come too. It was a good birthday. The kids ran around and Martin helped them get as many tickets as possible so by the end they were able to get an okay prize.

Ashlynn's First Day of Preschool

Ashlynn's first day of preschool was today. I dropped her off at 9:30am. Neither she nor I looked to certain at parting. I have been trying to prepare her for this for about 2 weeks now. Every day we would talk about how she was going to go to preschool all by herself without Mommy. She went in but looked a little apprehensive. I on the other hand was trying my hardest to not cry. I do not know for certain if she is really my last baby but today it sure felt like it.

Miracles do Happen

So yesterday was laundry day for me. I started a little later than usual since it was a holiday. I was trying to take advantage of the opportunity to sleep in at least a little bit longer than 6:50 am. I got my first load out of the washer and my second in. When my first load finished in the dryer, I pulled out the clothes and saw purple dots all over the clothes. I was so upset because my favorite pair of shorts were now ruined. After getting all the clothes out and sorted through I found the culprit in the dryer... a purple crayon. Aaaahhhh! I quickly logged on the Internet and began the search. Lo and behold, I found this:

2 max amounts (line 3) of concentrated Tide
1 cup Oxiclean
1/2 cup 20 mule team Borax
1 cup Shout liquid
1 cup white vinegar

I figured it would be cheaper to try this than buy all new clothes. Martin was such a doubting Thomas while we were purchasing all the ingredients but I held out all hope. My clothes look beautiful and purple dot free.

First Day of First Grade

Alex has been going to school now for about 2 weeks. It has been an adjustment for all of us. We now awaken before Martin gets home from work in order to get Alex to school by 8:00am. We live to close to the school for her to take a bus so it is either by mom's car or by walking. So far we have chosen walking because Mom needs the exercise. Since we walk that means we have to leave about 20 minutes before school starts. The first week was okay but it is now starting to get colder in the morning and Ashlynn complains the entire time that she is cold. I suppose we will just have to wait and see how long we can continue walking.

Alex has never been the one to hold onto my skirt and cry. She is a very independent and responsible little girl. Most of the time when I drop her off at school she doesn't even say good-bye. So far she seems to be enjoying school and learning...let's just hope that it stays that way.