My pat-on-the-back post.

I did it! I finished reading Researching Your Colonial New England Ancestors today...WAY ahead of schedule, as I had predicted I would finish around Laura's graduation. And, let me tell you, it is full of useful stuff.

After I had my "I'm Stupid" meltdown a month ago, Steve told me that once he finished his residency in June, that it would be "My Time". My time to do whatever I need to do to stop feeling stupid. Specifically, to finish my degree. Which, after careful research, seemed most likely to be accomplished with four kids and a husband (child) to care for if I finished my degree online through the BYU independent study program, which happens to have a family history emphasis. I've decided to jump in right away and start this summer.

Which decision at first made me nervous.

Because I still was having a difficult time reading more than three pages at a time. (I sorta have a fiction reading preference.)

But I DO really want to get this degree thing. And in my more ambitious moments, I think I may even want to go on someday to get a masters in Library Science (they have a great program at the U or I).

So I decided I needed to build up my "textbook studying" endurance if I'm ever going to have a shot at this. I set the following goal: To come home straight from dropping the kids off at school, and study for 1-2 hours a day. Period.

This usually meant I would have to study while still in my pajamas.

(Here I am in my pajamas and cool knitted slippers:)

But that's okay. I would get ready after I studied. I would clean and cook after I studied. I would go grocery shopping and run errands after I studied. Follow the pattern?

The first week I was still having a difficult time keeping my eyelids open after a few pages. But then something miraculous happened...as the days passed, I discovered that the time flew and I was actually sad to close the book after two hours. I found myself checking things online. I found myself trying to figure out a way to type out a comprehensive outline detailing step-by-step the ways I would utilize the skills in the book.

I'm beginning to think I could actually get used to this "student" thing. I'm beginning to think I'm setting up a pattern for the next few years, and that if I just schedule a few hours to study every (possible) morning, I might actually be able to get some sort of degree.

I'm ridiculously excited...more than my "Times" font can express. Although this may bore everyone else (sorry, Mom, and probably everyone else), here are three things (though I could probably list hundreds) I found interesting in this book:

Random fact: Did you know that prior to the year 1752, March was the first month of the year? I did not know this! (Raise your hand if you did. I can't see you anyway, so I won't feel stupid by comparison.)

England and, consequently, the American colonies were still going by the Julian calendar set up by Julius Caesar, while the rest of the world had gotten on board with the Gregorian calendar (in which January is the first month) in the 1500-1600's. The Gregorian calendar was instituted in the first place because the seasons began to be off a little. The colonies finally decided to change to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, which made 1751 the shortest year in American history because it began in March and ended in December.

Also in 1752, the colonies decided to cut out two weeks in September. Thus one day it was Sept 2, 1752, and the next day it was Sept 14, 1752. Everyone adjusted their birthdays accordingly. George Washington was born on Feb 11, but by the end of his life he was celebrating his birthday on Feb 22. That is why some vital records from this time period might list two birthdays and they would both still be correct. I don't know why, but I found this completely interesting.

Something funny. There are a lot of references made in this book. Here is the title of a book written in 1874:

The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, 1600-1700: Emigrants; Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving Men Sold for a Term of Years; Apprentices; Children Stolen; Maidens Pressed; and Others Who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700, with Their Ages, the Localities Where They Formerly Lived.

Is that not the longest title to a book you've ever seen? I dare them to make a movie with a title that long.

Okay, last thing. One of the most important skills one can have if one is going to be researching during the Colonial Period is the ability to read the handwriting, which changed and evolved from one generation to the next. I find this most fascinating. For example, what letter would you say this is?

It is actually a capitalized "F". It is made up of two lowercase "f"s. Anyway, I've become a nerd on the Internet playing matching games with colonial alphabets. It's a little embarrassing.

In fact, I was hoping my next book to study would be this one:

And then I found out that the author, Kip Sperry, actually teaches this subject at BYU and is the online instructor for one of the courses I would have to take. Maybe I will take this class first! I am so excited. (Oh, this post is so boring for all of you, I'm thinking.)

So, I received this online catalog in the mail, which further thrilled me, except...

...It's full of cheesy testimonials like this, which made me laugh out loud.
Because I was like, "How dramatic! All these people making emotional claims that this online course changed their lives for the better." But then I realized I will probably feel the same way when I get my degree. Especially as I already make such passionate claims about much less significant things in my life, like--say--getting my Ipod.

Noelle this week.

Oh my goodness, this is my new favorite picture of her. I just want to kiss her little cheekies.I couldn't resist putting some of these pictures on the blog because somehow I was able to capture her while her hair was intact. Usually her hair is going in all directions, with a half-ripped out elastic lost somewhere in the mess.

Here is Noelle with her favorite thing in the world this week:

With her second favorite thing...

...which is obviously not precious enough to keep her from chewing it. And, well, ripping the dress. And I think the state of the hair speaks volumes (while being itself "voluminous").

This is what she was doing every day this week at exactly 3:00 PM (the time when I should be picking up the kids from school). Pooping. And calling for me to change her diaper. Yes, that's what I said...diaper. Because apparently the exhaustive potty-training I did in October was a really early April Fool's joke.

But hey, look. Another photo with hair intact. And smiling at the same time. What are the odds?

Practicing for the talent show this Saturday.

He has five days left to get it ready. Can he do it? Feel free to place bets in the "comments" section.

Oh, the silliness.

Isaac is always bopping to some tune/rhythm he's concocted while he plays, eats, works, etc, around the house. We call it "the soundtrack to Isaac's life." Here's the current creation on his "soundtrack". He's been grooving to this for a few days now.

Steve at work:

Mid-Feb happenings.

My sister and I were just talking about how we hate to put pictures of ourselves on our blog, but here I am posting one anyway. I was outside while it was snowing which is kinda nice (and I like how my tongue is covering up my crooked teeth). This picture was taken the same day Isaac earned the February Student of the month:

(Can you see him at the front, getting his dog tags?)

He's super proud of himself, the little kindergarten cutie:

Steve, smiling while he's doing his taxes. (Not gonna happen next year.)

My Valentine present to Steve--homemade fortune cookies ( I stole the idea from Best Bites), but instead of romantic sayings on the slips of paper inside, I printed off Mad Gab sentences, which was a brilliant idea (also Best Bites') because the cookies got rock hard fast--not so yummy after that--but they were fun to open.

Here's one of Steve's presents to me. A book. I was sick in bed most of the week, so he gave it to me early, knowing I was booooooored out of my mind. It was sort of like a DaVinci Code for Jane Austen lovers. I recommend it to anyone who is capable of lowering their literary standards for some quick entertainment. Also it is squeaky clean.

While I was in bed, moaning and groaning (and sometimes reading), the kids did lots of this:

Fiiiiighting. Plus they made lots of smashed goldfish crum messes.

Okay, for those of you who like sensational news, Steve also discovered this odd strawberry molar in his mouth:

Alright, not in his mouth, but we did think it resembled a molar. So we took pictures. It looked more molar-like in real life.

Also, I think I'm going to try once again to grow out Noelle's bangs. I know they've been bugging all of you out there just as much as they've been bugging me, which is why I decided to let you in on the exciting news!

And finally, while I was hanging out in bed, hacking up a lung, I happened to read an Ensign article that talks about how we ought to "love to learn". Okay, this is such a touchy subject for me because I think it was about three years ago, I came to my senses and realized I hadn't ONCE exercised my brain in about a decade. And guess what happens when you go a decade without thinking at all? You get stupid. That's right. I said it. Stupid. This has bothered me for the last three years, and periodically I have set goals to reverse the intellectual damage, but guess what? I'm too darn tired to care anymore. That's what having four kids does to you.

But sometimes I feel as though having four kids is not an excuse. Afterall, I am (to my knowledge) the only adult female in my ward who doesn't have a degree. And many have advanced degrees. And all of them have kids. (So, see? No excuse.) The sad part is there are about...oh, um, I don't know...ten women in the ward who are just so intelligent that I can't even talk to them because I can't follow a word out of their mouths. Let me illustrate:

Smart woman (speaks to me and my brain hears this): "Something, something, current events, and how it's related to something to do with calculus, which is really hilarious because of this funny pun that is some sort of inside joke to all those who attended Harvard or something along those lines, and now I'm talking even faster, with more references to famous Eastern European philosophers..."

And then it's my turn to speak and I can't think straight so I spit out something incoherant. And I sound really stupid. And then I avoid that person for the rest of my life.

Okay, so then fast forward back to this week when I was reading that crazy, lunatic article about "loving to learn" and blah, blah, blah and I realized, DANG IT, that as tired as I may be, I really need to learn something. Because...as tired as I am in general, I am even more tired of being stupid.

So this is my goal. To become an expert at something. Just one thing. (Gotta be realistic.) This book:

Researching Your Colonial New England Ancestors. I've been meaning to read this book for about a year now because, of all things, I have been trying to find a particular colonial New England ancestor for about three years with no luck. But every time I pick it up, I get about three pages into it and fall asleep. I finally got to page 20 after a few months and couldn't remember a darned thing on page one.

My goal is to really learn it. To become an expert on this book. Sure, it's not a degree. It's not even more than 200 pages, but I am going to become an expert on it (which means I am going to internalize it and figure out how to use it) and then after I do that I can move on to the next book.

You are wondering how I will ever become an expert when I can't stay awake long enough to read more than three pages? Well, I'll tell you. I must take copious notes and make charts while I read. Somehow the information gets stuck in my brain if I do it that way. So for that last two days I have spent an hour (each day) doing just that. I am now on page 7. But I have become an expert (relatively speaking, I mean, I wouldn't bet a million dollars on this or anything) on those first seven pages. At this rate, I will finish this book by the time Laura graduates from High School, but it is definitely better than nothing. Small baby steps, sure, but I calculate that by the time I reach my mid-eighties I will be an expert in colonial genealogical research, which excites me more than I can say.

Good for me!

(Also, winter is almost over. I can feel it in my bones. Yippee!)

Quote of the day.

Isaac: "You don't do anything but walk around and command us."

That's not true. In my free time, I also like to read books.