Meredith's Musings

Mormons Into Media

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 16:00:00 +0000

If you're LDS and interested in music, movies, and books then check out
http://mormonsintomedia.com/
for reviews from an LDS perspective.

Willowbrook Girls: Dolls for the Next Generation of Leaders

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 15:43:00 +0000

I love the idea of these dolls! Seven girls in the 5th grade that are smart and ambitious: Cara wants to be an entrepreneur, McKenzie wants to be a Senator, Rory wants to be an engineer, Maya wants to be a scientist, Anjali wants to be an actress, Perry wants to be a journalist, and Bailey wants to be a teacher. Follow the link to find out more:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/588326574/willowbrook-girls-dolls-for-the-next-generation-of

" Diverse dolls with the smart, ambitious, opinionated characters that girls deserve."

Blue Star Museums.... Military Discounts!!

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Mon, 13 May 2013 17:47:00 +0000

We are planning our cross country trip in a few weeks and I remembered that the Blue Star Museums Initiative is a program that offers free or discounted admission to military personnel and their families from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Yay!!

The 2013 season will kick off May 21st, but there are museums across the country that offer deals throughout the year. Check it out!

http://www.nea.gov/national/bluestarmuseums/index-ongoing.php

Springtime in Wild Wonderful West Virginia

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:50:00 +0000


West Virginia is a beautiful place anytime of year, but in the spring, it is particularly amazing.

LDS Church History Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:02:00 +0000

If you're interested in visiting the LDS church historical sites, check out this link to a travel blog written by two brothers, Brad and Sheldon Christensen, that will help you do it on the cheap!

Kirtland Temple, Ohio, USA

http://worldwanderlusting.com/2013/04/21/lds-church-history-tour-free-flights-and-free-hotels/

Pittsburgh Marathon and Half Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:05:00 +0000

We had a great time in Pittsburgh last weekend! Not only was the weather beautiful, but it was a relaxing getaway for Travis and me. This was the first half marathon for me this year and I was nervous about it, but it went well and I'm glad it's over.... until the next time.

Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon & Half Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:22:00 +0000

It's a new year and a new you.... yada yada yada... so to kick off the new year we registered for the Pittsburgh marathon and half marathon is on May 5, 2013. Travis is running the marathon and I am running the half.....woo-hoo! Happy running!

Catty Wompus: A Tale of Friendship

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 03:37:00 +0000

I just read the cutest book by Julie Howe called Catty Wompus: A Tale of Friendship. It is about a girl named Catty Wompus, who seems to have it all. She has fancy clothes and many toys, but she has no friends and everyone thinks Catty Wompus is moody and mean.

One day, Catty Wompus is mean to a girl named Lucy Hope. Although this upsets Lucy, she decides to take a chance and be nice to Catty Wompus anyway. This small gesture makes all the difference in the world to Catty Wompus, and is the beginning of their friendship.

“Never think you’ll get good friends with toys and flashy things. Nothing can replace the joy that honest friendship brings.”

I think this book has a wonderful message for children teaching them to be nice to everyone. Not everyone is nice and easy to get along with, but sometimes a small gesture of kindness can make a real difference in someone’s life.

“Now listen close to what I say, you won’t learn this in school. Good friends are made by being one, so learn this golden rule.”

You can follow Catty Wompus on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Catty-Wompus/166118386834447

I love Pinterest!

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:12:00 +0000

I saw this cute idea on Pinterest and decided to copy it. It was so easy and I am pleased with the results. I was a little sad though because it made me realize my son is growing up so fast. Just this week we measured him and he is officially taller than me.

16 Years Ago Today....

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 15:24:00 +0000

....Travis and I got married! I love ABC lists, and to commemorate our special day, I have compiled an Anniversary ABC list to remember our life together.

Here goes...

A- Adventure (lots and lots)
B- Brownies (with extra cc's and nuts)
C- Church (the foundation that holds it all together)
D- Deployments (been there done that, and hope to keep it that way)
E- Education (USC, GT, SJCME, and more to come)
F- Family (what life is all about- forever!)
G- Generous (to a fault)
H- Hens (your favorite girls)
I- I LOVE YOU (more)!!
J- Jokes (a necessary part of life)
K- Katy (Precious gift #3)
L- Lily (Precious gift #2)
M- Marathons (50 states... half's too)
N- Noah (Precious gift #1)
O- Overcome Obstacles (what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!)
P- Pets (dogs, cats, chickens)
Q- Quiet (Wish we had some)
R- Relocating (8 times... 10 if you count in- town moves)
S- Sense of humor (love yours)
T- Travel (love it and want more of it!)
U- Unforgettable (our life together)
V- Vacation (always looking forward to the next one)
W- Who is right? (Me!)
X- X-tra special moments (I cherish them all)
Y- Yummy food (food adventures)
Z- Zzzzzzzzz (What's that?)

I love you Travis!
Happy Anniversary!
XO

My Goodwill Score!

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 02:43:00 +0000

I hardly ever find anything at Goodwill, so I was really excited today when I found this bookcase for $12.95! Oh, and it's solid wood too. I have plans to distress the paint more and I'm sure I will rearrange the shelves 100 times before it looks just right. But, I already love it the way it is and for now it's just fine!

Coconut Rice with Edamame

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 22:33:00 +0000

I love coconut and am always looking for coconut recipes. I was excited to try my version of coconut rice with dinner tonight. This recipe is versatile so you can adapt it to your personal taste. We had chicken, coconut rice, and edamame. The kids liked the rice by itself, but I mixed the edamame with it and thought that made it better. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cups Basmati rice
2 tsp garlic,finely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 small can of water chestnuts
2 ½ cups chicken stock
1 can of coconut milk
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup edamame

Add olive oil to a large skillet. When oil is hot, add onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes (you can always add more to turn up the heat.) Cook for a minute or two. Add rice and water chestnuts, stir to coat. Add chicken stock, coconut milk and salt, bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer; cover the pot. Cook for 20 minutes. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork, add edamame and lemon juice.

100 Ways to be Kind to your Child

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 03:10:00 +0000

Tell to your child:

1. I love you.
2. love you no matter what.
3. I love you even when you are angry at me.
4. I love you even when I am angry with you.
5. I love you when you are far way. My love for you can reach you wherever you are.
6. If I could pick any 4 year old (5 year old, 6 year old…) in the whole wide world, I’d pick you.
7. I love you to the moon and then around the stars and back again.
8. Thank you.
9. I enjoyed playing with you today.
10. My favorite part of the day was when I was with you and we were _______.

Tell them:
11. The story of their birth or adoption.
12. About how you cuddled them when they were a baby.
13. The story of how you chose their name.
14. A story about yourself when you were their age.
15. A story about how their grandparents met.
16. What your favorite color is.
17. That sometimes you struggle too.
18. That when you’re holding hands and you give three squeezes, it’s a secret code that means, “I love you”.
19. What the plan is.
20. What you’re doing right now.

Play:
21. Freeze Tag
22. Uno
23. Crazy 8s
24. Gin Rummy
25. Memory
26. Go Fish
27. I Spy- especially when you’re tired of driving and feel snappish
28. Catch

Pretend:
29. To catch their kiss and put it on your cheek.
30. That their tickle tank is empty and you have to fill it.
31. That their high five is so powerful it nearly knocks you over.
32. That you are super ticklish.
33. That you are explorers in the amazing new world of your backyard.
34. That it’s party day! Decorate for no reason!

Try:
35. To get enough sleep.
36. To drink enough water.
37. To eat decent food.
38. Wearing earrings, or whatever makes you feel pretty.
39. Calling a friend the next time you feel like you are about to lose it with the kids.
40. Giving a gentle touch to show approval, rather than saying something.
41. Dancing in the kitchen.
42. To get your kids to bop to the music with you in the car.
43. Showing your kids that you can do a somersault or handstand or a cartwheel.
44. Keeping that sigh to yourself. Just jump in and help clean up cheerfully.
45. Using a kind voice, even if you have to fake it.

Read:
46. A book of silly poems.
47. A book and then act it out. (Like “I’m going on a Bear Hunt”)
48. Your favorite childhood book to them.
49. When the afternoon is starting to go astray.
50. Outside under a tree.
51. In the library kids corner.
52. The comic book they love that you’re not so hot on.
53. About age appropriate behavior so you can keep your expectations realistic.

Listen:
54. To your child in the car.
55. To that Lego description, and think how important it is to your child.
56. For that question that indicates your child really needs your input.
57. One second longer than you think you have patience for.
58. For the feelings behind your child’s words.

Ask:
59. Why do you think that happens?
60. What do you think would happen if______?
61. How shall we find out?
62. What are you thinking about?
63. What was your favorite part of the day?
64. What do you think this tastes like?

Show:
65. Your child how to do something instead of banning them from it.
66. How to whistle with a blade of grass.
67. How to shuffle cards- make a bridge if you can!
68. How to cut food.
69. How to fold laundry.
70. How to look up information when you don’t know the answer.
71. Affection to your spouse.
72. That taking care of yourself is important.

Take Time:
73. To watch construction sites.
74. To look at the birds.
75. To allow your child to help you dump ingredients in the bowl.
76. To walk places together.
77. To dig in the dirt together.
78. To do a task at your child’s pace.
79. To just sit with you child while they play.

Trust:
80. That your child is capable.
81. That you are the right parent for your child.
82. That you are enough.
83. That you can do what is right for your family.

Delight your child:
84. Clean your child’s room as a surprise.
85. Put chocolate chips in the pancakes.
86. Put a love note in their lunch.
87. Make their snack into a smile face shape.
88. Make sounds effects while you help them do something.
89. Sit on the floor with them to play.

Let Go:
90. Of the guilt.
91. Of how you thought it was going to be.
92. Of your need to be right.

Give:
93. A look with Kind Eyes to your child.
94. A smile when your child walks into the room.
95. A kind touch back when your child touches you.
96. The chance to connect before you correct so that your child can actually hear your words.
97. Your child a chance to work out their frustrations before helping them.
98. A bath when the day feels long.
99. A hug.
100. You get to choose the next one! What is your favorite way to be kind to your child?

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 16:05:00 +0000

The chickens are awesome and we are ready to start selling fresh eggs now! Yum!

Growing, Growing, Growing

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 19:58:00 +0000

It's hard to believe how big the chickens are getting. They are all pretty girls and looking healthy and strong. Travis built them a nice chicken coop and is the model chicken owner. He takes very good care of his girls and enjoys spoiling them with good food. The kids love having the chickens too. Noah has taken to one in particular that is the runt of the litter and he named her Hannah. When we first got her she was weaker than the others and we were not sure if she would make it. But, he gave her lots of special attention until she got stronger and now she is doing great.

I am already getting spring fever and want to be outside more. I went for a run today and it was awesome. I felt great! I can't wait until we plant our garden and have fresh eggs this summer.

I thought this was sooo funny!

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:40:00 +0000

New peeps!

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:43:00 +0000

We got a new batch of baby chicks yesterday! This batch has 26 babies and so far all of them are getting settled in. There is one chick that seems to be a runt and a little weaker than the others, but we are watching her closely.

Travis read in a book that you should introduce your pets to the chicks and let them know they are yours. Here Travis is explaining to Hercules that the chicks are his and he is not to touch them. We'll see if that sinks in. We also showed the new chicks to Pepper and explained the same thing to her and all the while she was licking her chops.

It is amazing to what a difference 2 weeks makes in their growth. Here are our 2 week old chicks looking a bit like awkward teenagers compared to the new cutie pies.... but, they are still adorable!

Stay tuned for some chick flicks!

Chick Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:04:00 +0000

We have 14 chicks left and they are doing great. Travis loves having them and is very dedicated to their care. If I call him and he doesn't answer I know it is because he is down in the basement checking on them, feeding them, checking their temperature or changing their water.

So far we have found the chicks love meal worms, wheat germ, and chopped vegetables, but are not fond of strawberries.

It is amazing how quickly the chicks change from day to day. They are getting fuller, taller, and their fuzz or down is being replaced by feathers. It is interesting to see their feathers coming in and what kind of markings they have. Awww, such pretty girls!

Chicken Chronicles- Christmas Day Massacre

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:41:00 +0000

This cute little thing took out half of our flock on Christmas day. It happened when I went to the base and was gone for all of 15 minutes. When I returned, Pepper was outside romping around. I was about to let her in when Noah met me at the door crying to leave her outside because she killed some of the chicks. All of the kids were upset but especially Noah.

It happened like this... Travis was busy cleaning a couple of the chicks when he heard a commotion in the basement and yelled for Noah to check on them because he thought Pepper might be in the "hen house." Noah ran down to the basement and found Pepper in the baby pool with the chicks and yelled at her to get out, but, it was too late. There were 6 dead, 3 casualties, and 3 walking wounded. Travis had to put 3 down later that night and over the next day or so three more died.

It took a day or so for the kids to warm back up to Pepper and treat her like a part of the family again. We tried to explain that she is a dog and just doing what dogs instinctively do. However, we learned a valuable lesson from the tragedy and now we know we must be diligent about protecting the chicks from the dogs... especially Pepper!

Got chicks?

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:19:00 +0000

We do! We are now the owners of a flock of chicks. They are adorable and we are very excited about the prospect of farm fresh eggs this summer. We know it will be work and will take everyone to do their part to take care of the chicks and we hope this will be a good experiment for the whole family.

The chicks were mailed from TX and arrived on the 23^rd. When we went to pick them up at the post office the first thing we heard were the chicks peeping up a storm. I’m sure they were very thirsty, hungry, and stressed from the journey.

There were 27 chicks in the box and only one died in route. Travis took them out of the box one by one and gave each of them some water. Travis ordered an assorted batch of chicks, so it was exciting to see each one as he took them out of the box. Before long the baby pool quickly filled up with the 26 most adorable chicks we had ever seen!

Stay tuned!

So true

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:11:00 +0000

I read this quote on a friends facebook page and I like it so much, I thought I would share it.

"Anyone that imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time journey... delays, side tracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

Written by a journalist named Jenkin Lloyd Jones and quoted by President Gordon B. Hinckley.

A geocache weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:37:00 +0000

Over the long weekend we had fun with the kids hanging out and geocaching. They are really getting into it now and we finally settled on our name/handle. The corn dog crew! Not my first pick, but Noah just loves it! We took a drive up to Winchester for the day and found a couple geocaches while we were there.


I thought this one was hidden in a pretty cool place.

Good job corn dog crew!

The next one we found was in a neighborhood...

Hurry up Dad!


The kids found it under a rock at the base of this tree but Noah was afraid to pick it up because there was a bird nest on it. So, Lily took care of business and moved the rock for him.

The bird flew away while we were there... I sure hope it went back to it's nest and no one bothers it for awhile. The last time someone found this cache was about 6 weeks ago.

Way cool!

On the way home we stopped at place close by to find one called "between two barns."

We looked....

and looked...

and looked....but could not find it. We will have to get more clues and try again.

The next day on the way home from church we decided to do some more geocaching. Noah was not enthused about geocaching in his church clothes, and sat in the car while the girls looked. This one was called "Franklin's first"

We found it!

Katy is using the handheld GPS like a phone. She decided to call Nana.

A nice view of Franklin.

The next geocache we looked for was in a beautiful spot. I love the way this picture turned out. I think I need a tripod!

The hunt is on...

Still looking..

While everyone was looking for the geocache I took in the beautiful scenery. Sometimes I can't get over just how beautiful WV is.

Back to the search... we looked for quite awhile but never found it. This was a tricky one and we'll have to get more clues and try again.

I did manage to get in a picture after all. Love my girls!

You see lots of hay bales around here now and Noah thought I was weird for stopping to take pictures of them.

The last search before we headed for home was in Brandywine.

Looking...

There it is!

Katy found it. Way to go!

The girl's helped to pick up some trash that someone left behind.

Cache in, trash out!

Found this geocache... finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Tue, 31 May 2011 13:15:00 +0000

We attempted to find this geocache last fall at the little old Propstburg School with no luck. Then last weekend we decided to try again and were successful. Now we can move on with our lives!


Lily found it!


Dad helps Lily to pull it out from the rocks.


	I'm surprised we found it because it was hidden perfectly in the rocks of the church.

The cache was a little pill bottle attached to a rock with a little log book inside.

We signed our names, put it back where we found it, and look forward to finding our next geocache!

Easy three miler

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Sun, 08 May 2011 00:18:00 +0000

It has been a good running week for me. I met a friend at the track yesterday for a quick run and it was so much fun. It seemed so quick and easy and I know it was because we were talking and laughing. It is amazing how a good conversation can pass the time. I look forward to more of runs like this.

I'm glad I did...

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Wed, 04 May 2011 14:36:00 +0000

So, I decided to run the base 6 mile race yesterday even though I was still a little sore from Saturday's half. I'm so glad I did because it was a lot of fun and I ran it in 1:05:03, which is a PR for me. That is two PR's in one week! Who's your Mama?