PFDs

There are many perks to living in Alaska. The clean air, the great scenery, the cool weather....the twilight zone quality of experiences with shipping. One of the best things is the PFD. This the Permanent Fund Dividend, and means the state pays the residents of Alaska to live here. There are lots of requirements, but the basics are that you have to be a resident in good standing, and intend to live here permanently. Even kids count. So, every October, for those who qualify, there is some money given from the PFD. This year, they added an extra amount to help ofset the high cost of energy in Alaska, which helps the Juneau residents with the avalanche recovery situation. They also sent the money earlier than usual, in September. All in all, a great perk for living in a remote (according to several post offices in the lower 48) place, or as I saw one person write on a blog recently 'a quirky state'.

God Bless America

I love this wonderful place we live, and the freedoms we enjoy. I also have a special place in my heart for New York City, and its inhabitants after living there as a nanny, and then from January 1, 2002 until June 27 2003 as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I received the letter assigning me to the New York New York South mission in August of 2001, which was unusual as it left me 4 months before I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on December 12, 2001. When all the chaos and tragedy of September 11, 2001 occurred, I felt a close tie with the people most personally affected. During my stay in New York I met so many wonderful people from all nationalities, economic statuses, and religions. They are amazing people, with memories of their past, and hope for the future....just like me and my family. We could see the Empire State Building from almost all the areas I served in during the mission, and the image of this building is a dramatic symbol to me of my love for the vibrant New York City, which is still full of memories and hope for the future. God Bless America, and those who protect our freedoms and beliefs.

Backpack Harness

We are anticipating our trip in a couple weeks, and to make the process of going through security, changing planes, and taking walks in the airports a bit easier, I wanted to get Elise a harness/backpack. Most of the models available nowadays are the kind with a stuffed animal of various species, including monkey, hippo, dog, cat, and several others. As I shopped online, however, I found it difficult to find any harness backpacks without an animal. As my child is afraid of stuffed animals, I thought it would be a not so calming experience to walk around with one staring over her shoulder, hugged closely to her back. I finally found this new model of backpack harness, that will grow with her, and can be used just as a backpack without the harness. We have used it in the grocery store, and on walks to check the mail and blow bubbles. She loves her backpack, especially when we put a special treat inside for her. Before we got the harness, Logan used a piece of rope we got at the hardware store. He thought it would make it easier to walk together than holding hands, as there is such a big difference in their heights. It worked really well for them each to hold an end of the rope, and I think got Elise in the habit of holding a 'rope' type thing when walking with an adult. Now when we walk she'll hold on to the middle of the harness, or sometimes she'll even hold my hand still!

Whoever first came up with this idea is a genius!

Kitchen Helper

We found a new way for Elise to help in the kitchen. She helps take the dishes out of the dishwasher, but this last week, I set her up on a chair to help wash/rinse the dishes. She was in the corner, so she was surrounded on three sides, and I was on the fourth. I put less than an inch in one side of the sink, and gave her one of her bowls to 'wash' with a wet wipe to use as a dish rag, while I washed the rest of the dishes in the other side of the sink. She loved it. She was so excited to be helping. Although she dumped a bit of water on the chair, and got distracted by the water, she did really well. She decided the water in the sink was more exciting than the bowl or the rag, so she put them on the counter and just splashed in the water for a while. Once we were finished with all the other dishes, I helped her put her clean bowl into the dishwasher to be washed. She did so happily, until I closed the dishwasher and started it. She was devastated that she couldn't have her bowl back. Then she got back up on her chair and used a paper towel to clean up the water on the counter, while I wiped down the rest of the counter with Clorox wipes. She was such a good helper. She wiped the microwave, and then got down and did the front of the dishwasher, the oven, and even the refridgerator. She is great at helping wipe off the down low parts. She even did the table legs! It is nice that she is getting to the point where she can be such a great helper.

She also discovered the broom and dust pan. She has been 'sweeping' the kitchen floor every day for me. She uses it like most people use a vacuum, and is so cute about letting me take turns with her. I got a great video, but my camera deleted it, so we'll have to try for another time. Here are some pictures of her sweeping the kitchen floor:

Sound Effects for Life

Do you ever feel as though in your mind you can hear sound effects for what is happening during your day? I have discovered in my efforts to talk with Elise about what we're doing, as to help her learn names for items around us, or things we are doing, I sometimes add sound effects. This didn't come to my attention until the other day when I noticed Elise doing sound effects of her own. We were having lunch, and she was eating her favorite veggie: peas. She would pick one up, and as she brought it toward her mouth make a noise like 'uuuuuuuuuuuuu', then as she popped it into her mouth she'd go 'ump'. Every pea was given the same treatment as she repeatedly popped them in like candy. It was incredibly cute! Unfortunately she got really camera shy. So I keep looking for opportunities to catch her off guard and get a picture or video.

I also noticed another sound effect. We were taking our walk, and there are large, bright yellow speed bumps in our parking lot. As we went up I would say 'Uuuup', and as we came down 'Doowwn' in a lilting voice, and then once we were all the way down, I'd say 'woah, that was fun'. Well, we anticipated each speed bump, and as we got to the last one, she was very excited and added her own sound effects. They sounded very similar to the way my voice had gone up and down, although without the distinct words. She also has learned to say 'wow' and 'woah', and says them often. What a fun thing to have sound effects for everyday things. It makes them much more exciting. Maybe I should come up with some sound effects for brushing our teeth, or changing our pants....

Little Pile of Rocks

We went outside to blow bubbles today. We needed a break from packing, and living in a chaotic space, so we decided to brave the parking lot out our door, and go for a little walk while blowing bubbles, one of my girl's favorite things to do. We managed to get a very short walk to the mail boxes before Elise decided we needed to get back to our parking spaces in front of our apartment. There we had plenty of room to blow bubbles, and she could pop them. We did this for several minutes, but she eventually decided that there were other things to interest her. Namely rocks. She found little rocks, medium sized rocks, and even miniscule rocks. She would pick one up, show it to me, them put it together with her other rocks in a pile. Then she'd look around the parking space, find another rock, pick it up, show it to me, then she'd pick up the entire pile of rocks and move them so they could be together. Sometimes she'd drop one, and then re-discover it as though it were an entirely new rock to add to the pile. Occasionaly she'd get excited and want to throw a rock. While I don't think it could have done any damage (we're talking pebbles and smaller), I didn't want her thinking its okay to throw rocks (a lesson I learned as a child with siblings), so we had to establish that rule pretty early. She was okay with just collecting them and moving them around after that. All in all, she was sad to leave her rock pile when it was time to come inside. I didn't let her keep them in a safe pile for next time we go out (another lesson learned as a child with a sibling who had a passion for a certain rock....anybody remember Brianna and Bing?) What a fun day! Bubbles and collecting rocks. Anyone wanna come have a walk with us?

Sick Little Girl

As I guess is almost inevitable, my little one is sick now too. Thankfully I'm almost 100% recovered, and am more able to care for her, with Logan at work. He's still healthy, and will hopefully remain so. Elise, however, woke up with a way stuffy nose. This means she doesn't swallow as much, and drooled through three shirts today. She is also having runny eyes, but she smiles and loves all the attention she gets. We did extra snuggle time today, and put packing on the back burner (even though we're down to 3.5 weeks). She is obviously not feeling great, but she still smiles and tries to give lots of kisses. Its a good thing I've already had this cold, cause there's no way I would refuse those cute heart felt kisses! We just hope she gets better soon, cause its heartbreaking seeing her look so miserable.