Taylin has been tagged

This is a good time to post Taylin's spotlight. She isn't doing preschool this year...just one-on-one with me. We had Cohen's preschool at our house today and she was wondering when she got to be the spotlight (We rotate the kiddos in Cohen's class.).
Taylin in the spotlight:


Name & meaning: Taylin Dean


Taylin means:.since her name is randomly made up…Talia means dew of God or female lamb. I like dew of God. Kaylin means slender and fair. Still good on the dew of God. I don’t need her to worry about her looks already.



Dean: named after her grandmother’s middle name- valley or dean.



Taylin Dean: She is the dew of God that rises in the valley morning. Made that up all by myself. When do the valleys see the sun anyways…aren’t they hidden by some mountains. Yep, not a poet!



Age: 5 in a few months



Nicknames: Naynin (Cohen), that is it…we named her uniquely so she didn’t have to have a nickname


Favorite Activities: gymnastics, coloring AND then cutting, singing and dancing, running, playing pretend, swinging at the park, dress up and more dress up.


Favorite Foods: carrots and ranch, brisket, mangos, corn on the cob, cookies: she kindly reminded me, she loves to help in the kitchen!


Least Favorite Foods: soup, tomatoes


Favorite Music: Laurie Berkner Band, Peter and Ellen Allard, Jack Johnson


Favorite Toys: Polly pockets and tiny princesses, dress ups, and her Leap Pad (that quit working after 11 months…she treated it nicely)


Favorite Book: Kirsten, Abuela, The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon, Taylin loves books!


Favorite Item of Clothing: A pink shirt with a white collar shirt underneath, leotards, Flamenco Dress


What Makes Her Happy: “My Daddy,” of course she added, “My mommy” after further inquiry. She loves people and always wants to be with her friends and family. Dancing.


What Makes Her Sad: Saying goodbye to her friends and family. Leaving is always a tragedy…whether they live a few doors down or miles away.


Additional things I love about Taylin: Taylin is very sincere and considerate. She is willing to try new things. Taylin absolutely loves her family. Taylin is thoughtful of situations and others. She loves to learn and seems beyond her years in her knowledge, actions and maturity. Of course we are a little biased, yet very blessed. Taylin is a loving big sister!

Table Talk

I had to try something different for lunch today. The kids were still a little rowdy from preschool and had long drawn out snacks before lunch. Kennedy enjoys raiding the pantry now, so I have to monitor the kitchen a little better. Taylin and Cohen were snappy at each other and of course whining came with that. I wasn't looking forward to a lunch of bickering. As I was preparing my lunch I asked the kiddos to say two nice things or things they liked about each other. They said things like, "I like it when you play with me." Cohen was a little confused or he was just taking the opportunity to get things out on the table. He said, "Taylin, I like you, but I don't like that stranger game you play." Hey, at least he was addressing the behavior and not the person. I sat down and it was my turn. I said two things each to Cohen and Taylin. Wow, I have some loving to do!




Cohen:"Mom, I like you, but I don't like the things you said to me while I was sitting over there (time-out)." AND "Mom, I like you, but Kennedy isn't eating her lunch."




Taylin: "Mom, I love you. I like it when you say nice things to us...um, that is all. We forgot to cheers (toast and say cheers)."




Kennedy: Falling asleep in the highchair with macaroni stuck anywhere and everywhere, wiped out from preschool.


I too need to be kinder in what I say. I know my energy and patience is running thin, but we have a week until we get to see David and be together again! David even promised me some "me" time. Wow, what is that? I have a list of things I could do. Families are forever and not meant to be apart. Our hearts have grown stronger and fonder as we have been apart. On the other hand, I think the kids and I are ready for a two parent home again. It really makes a difference in all of us!

Question of the day: beginning of life.

The kids were eating Halloween cookies while I was cleaning up in the kitchen.


Taylin: "Mommy, how do we get in your tummy?"


I didn't answer immediately due to shock, fear and lack of what to say.


Taylin: "You know, when you get married, how does the baby get in the tummy?"


I am almost embarrassed to share my response, but it seemed to satisfy the curiosity.


Mom: "Well...Mommy has an egg and Daddy has a sperm. The sperm finds the egg and a baby grows. It is like when you plant a seed. A plant sprouts from it." Something like that. Luckily I had some pictures, and there was no further questions, phew!


Fail or pass me? We will see.


I am still going with honesty is the best policy and using accurate terms. So far I am not regretting that.

“A Mother’s Victory: a Husband’s Perspective”

Before the race...starting to feel the competitive edge...between butterflies!





If you know me then you will know that I absolutely love to give credit where credit is due, especially to those that work so hard behind the scenes. If you know me then you may also know that for the past three years, now going on four, I have been in medical school. As I end what has truly been one of the more difficult challenges I have faced in my life I can truly say that there is no way I would have made it this far if it were not for my amazing wife.




For almost four years now she has been patient and sacrificed countless hours and evenings alone with our ever growing family while her husband sat and studied for the nth time for some test or board exam that at the time seemed so consuming. Very few times would Amanda ever complain about my schedule. I have watched her as she has, with determination and patience, tackled all obstacles that have come her way whether it is graduating college while raising two children, making doctor’s appointments or fulfilling her church responsibilities. Many times she has placed her own aspirations and goals on hold in order to support others in need including her children and myself.




Well, just recently at the end of September I was able to witness Amanda do something for herself, something she has wanted to do for a long time. Several months ago Amanda came up to me and asked if I wanted to one day run a 5k race with her. I have to admit, I am NOT a runner. I am not sure if I EVER WILL BE. But the idea of training and doing something together with your spouse is fun no matter how intimidating the task. So we began training but then I had to leave for a month to Houston and do another medical rotation away. In the mean time Amanda dedicated herself to training finding time to run while still meeting the daily demands of three little children all younger than age 5.




As we approached the end of September she told me she had signed up to participate in a 5k at a local park near our house benefiting Melanoma research. I was excited for her and so was she. (You must know that we are both very competitive in nature and Amanda has been involved with competitive sports since she was old enough to walk.) This is not something that Amanda likes to talk about but you must know that she EXCELS at sports; she really does. She set records in power lifting in high school and was recruited for softball by several colleges. (I am not supposed to share that with you, but I think it’s awesome).





So the day of the race came and there was a pretty good turn out of people. Amanda was nervous but as the race was about to start, the adrenaline and excitement of it all kicked in and so did Amanda’s competitive side. The race began and Amanda took off. The kids and I watched as she disappeared over the hill along the premarked course hoping that all would go well. We then retired to the playground to allow the children to expend some energy.




After about 15 minutes I decided to check and see if any of the runners were beginning to come to the finish line. I looked toward the hill and saw Amanda quickly approaching. I gathered the children and we took our positions at the finish line with the camera ready to record the finish. Amanda took the last turn in a sprint for the finish, something I have seen her do before in other track races (remind me to show you her middle school long distance track races). As she came across the finish line the time read 23:41 minutes, a personal best! We were so excited for her and this accomplishment and you could tell she was too as well as exhausted.






As other runners came in to finish the race the award ceremony began. First, the top male and female racers were announced. Then the top finishers were announced by age bracket. And guess who won their age bracket? Yep, Amanda! Not only did she finish first in her age group, she was the 4th girl to finish overall! Words cannot describe how proud of Amanda I was at that moment and how proud I am of her today. She represents so many things that I aspire to be. She has a personal motto, “Fortitude”, which she so perfectly displays. I am grateful for her example and for her humility. She would have bee happy that day just to have completed that race and gone home without a medal because that’s who she is.





So at this time I pay tribute to Amanda, a mother who is a winner not only of a 5k she decided to run in but a winner in so many other areas in life…..as a daughter, a wife, a sister, a friend, a teacher, a leader, etc. I know there are many mothers out there including my own who deserve a lot more credit than they receive and to all of you I say, “Thank You.” Thank you for all that you do no matter how little or insignificant it may seem. You DO NOT go entirely unnoticed, I promise. Keep up the good work and continue running the race. You never know who you may inspire. I love you Amanda and I promise we will run the next 5k together! (I am scared).

Just a thought...

A-Tisket A-Tasket




This name keeps ringing in my ears for my "someday" business. I enjoyed this little video for some inspiration. My kids could listen to it over and over again!
Here is a little Ella Fitzgerald for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUYpUogn91U




I will be posting a vote shortly (the time line of shortly is relative).

A race or just a Sunday drive?

We enjoyed a fun ward activity last weekend. We had a Pinewood Derby with no rules. It was fun to see what everyone came up with and what the results were. I knew the kids would want to participate, so I got a car kit. With David being gone, I took matters into my own hands. That meant I stared at the packaged car for two weeks. Due to lack of materials...I stared some more just waiting for something brilliant. Well nothing brilliant came to me. I did have an idea to make a hippo car. As I hand sanded and hand sanded and sanded some more. I had just rounded off the edges. No hippo! After further pondering. Really not a deep thought the night before the race. I decided on this clever chunk of a car. The E-racer:



There you have it folks an eraser on wheels. This car won't win races, but it will erase the dust that the others' leave behind. I had three concerns: Cohen would be so let down and want every other car that entered the race; Taylin would be so concerned if it won or not (no weights or arrow dynamics); David would be less than proud of our entrance. We moved forward and entered our car. Cohen was so attached to the car and will drive it around everywhere. As soon as it was done racing...two rounds, Cohen ran it's own course. Taylin was excited as E-racer started out in the lead...then it took the clean up position at the end and her face turned to sadness almost tears. Our friend Aubrey quickly gave Taylin hope by cheering E-racer on in it's completion of the race. David enjoyed the entertainment and was more motivated to get into the next car building. He already is planning it out in his head.




E-racer came out with two awards: Most Fuel Efficient and Razzling Dazzling Show Stopper. This made Taylin shine. She was so proud. She even went back to the table and wrote her name on the awards, so everyone would know she had something to do with it.



We enjoyed everyone's inventions and company. What a great activity! Thanks Roethe family and all that helped. Rachelle was a great presenter. We were very entertained!