Book Review: Kabul Beauty School

Book Review: Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez

This book intrigued me. It is a New York Times Bestseller. I found the book extremely interesting. It is a true story told by the author, of her adventures as an American, starting a Beauty School in Afghanistan in 2003. Very fascinating. I enjoyed the book. It opened my eyes, once again, to the injustices suffered by women in other countries. It made me grateful to be born in the US at this time in history. I enjoyed the book, and praise much of what the author did for women in Afghanistan. Although, in reading some articles since, she may have harmed some of these women by publishing the book and writing about some experiences that are not acceptable in that culture.

Throughout the book I believe she demonstrated a lot of poor judgement. She seemed to be quick to make pretty important life decisions; and not taking them seriously enough(like leaving her children in the US during this journey of hers, allowing one of her sons to almost marry an Afghan girl in order to save the girl from a bad situation, and getting married herself wtihout really knowing the situation she was getting herself in)!!! However, that is why I would never go to Afghanistan and start a beauty school either. Sometimes it takes that impulsive personality to get some of these amazing things done! Anyway, an easy, fun, enjoyable read. I also learned a lot about Afghan culture, which is fascinating. I do hope the book does not cause harm to the women discussed in the book.

Participate in a Rally/News Conference (Senate Bill 220, Utah)!

"In its truest essence, Senate Bill 220 says that if you buy a home that is poorly constructed, the owner, will almost always be responsible to pay to fix the damage, despite the fact that the damage was clearly caused by the builder’s or the developer’s negligence. This bill does nothing more than give a free pass to builders when they build homes replete with construction defects."

This is an excerpt from the article found here: .Channel 2 News Story

This is why we do not want this bill to pass. We believe that if a developer or builder is negligent, they should be responsible for their negligence. The average citizen should not be left with the grief of a developer's negligence!!!

This Monday, March 3rd, at 9 am, at the Capitol, there will be a rally/news conference relating to Senate Bill 220 (referred to in the below posting). We will be passing out fliers to the legislators!!! The more people there the better, to show our representatives that we care about this issue. It will be covered by the press to help this become more of the "known" issue that it should be! Come if you can, bring kids, the more the merrier!!!

Kid Quotes

"Mom, you don't look horrible. Even if you do look horrible, I love you. Plus, today, I looked horrible too." -little Brandon

The other day, I told little B to put on his coat for school. Little B said, "BTW, I left my coat at school." I have made the mistake of saying "BTW" a lot, which always comes off fairly obnoxcious. Now my kids are starting to say it. A parental "OOPS!" (You may have to hear the tone in which it is said to hear how obnoxcious it is!!!)

"You're welcome, for helping set the table." -Little Brandon (He always reminds us we need to say Thank you, by telling us "You are welcome for--------"

"Mommy, why can they not make gel warm?" -Ethan (he hates the coldness of hair gel every morning!!!)

"I REALLY need a strength pill." -Laura

"Serenity now. Serenity NOW. SERENITY NOW." -Laura

"Daddy, I want to be just like you when I grow up." -Little Brandon

Benjamin and Maddie had been naughty while Ethan was in Kindergarten, making several messes. Ethan's response: "They will break our whole house and then they will go to Satan's kingdom where he rules."

"Maddie will be a Bob the Builder girl when she grows up." -Benjamin (we can only hope Maddie attains this high standing in her life!)

"Mom, you are the best cook in the world. Dad and I are good cookers too." -Benjamin (who knew a frozen skillet meal would get such rave revues!)

"Mom, it's not fair, you get to eat a shorter thing than we do." -Ethan (my bird eater, who was upset that all Mom had to eat was a veggie sub. He doesn't understand that Mom would LOVE to eat more right now.)

Senate Bill 220

Being a stay at home Mom, I usually do not get that involved in politics. However, Senate Bill 220 has just come to my attention. It looks like this is about to go through if we don't get actively involved---all of us can send some letters. Let's take some political action!!! What is also disturbing is that this has already passed through the Utah State Senate, and now will probably be passed through the House of Representatives. We have got to talk to our representatives to tell them to put a stop to it. (All their names and emails can be found at the bottom.) Just send them a letter!

What is also upsetting is that we are not hearing much about this in the media. How come the news is not talking about this when it could have a major impact on lots of people; especially our city, where lots of new development is occurring!!!

A friend emailed me this info, and I pass it on:
Approximately 80% of all new developments in Utah, whether condominiums, town homes, or single-family homes, are governed and operated by a homeowner association (HOA). The HOA represents the collective interests of all the individual homeowners. There are thousands of HOAs throughout Utah, representing hundreds of thousands of Utah residents.

Senate Bill 220 will absolutely devastate HOAs and their respective homeowner members. Generally, HOAs are created and obligated to maintain key structural areas of homes and condos, like roofs, stucco, foundations, brick, sidewalks, roadways, etc. Since the HOA has the obligation to maintain and repair those important structural elements, it is the only entity that can bring a lawsuit to seek redress for defects in the construction of those elements. Since Senate Bill 220 precludes all claims except for contractual claims (which do not exist between an HOA and the building entity), it will completely bar the HOA from successfully bringing claims on behalf of the homeowner members. Since the HOA is barred, the respective homeowners are also barred.

In its truest essence, Senate Bill 220 says that if you buy a home that is poorly constructed, the owner, will almost always be responsible to pay to fix the damage, despite the fact that the damage was clearly caused by the builder’s or the developer’s negligence. This bill does nothing more than give a free pass to builders when they build homes replete with construction defects.

These problems are not only hazardous (mold), but they are very expensive repairs (foundation subsidence, complete replacement of the stucco application, etc.). The repair work required in each of these cases is well over two million dollars. If the HOA is unable to bring these claims against the builder, it will be forced to special assess their homeowner members who will be required to pay those expensive assessments out of their own pockets. This is not only completely unfair, but it is unbelievable that our State legislators, who are charged to represent their constituents, would even think about passing this bill. They would never consider preventing an individual from seeking legal redress for a driver’s or a doctor’s negligence. Then why should we protect a builder’s negligence.

Please vote no against SB 220! This will negatively impact millions of Utah residents for generations to come. Here are some other articles found in the news regarding Senate Bill 220. These articles made me more upset. After going through problems with our newly built home (faulty plumbing issues) I definately am opposed to this Senate bill!!! Read the following articles for more info:

Channel 2 News Story

Article in the SL TRIB

If you’d like to help out, please send your own message or the following formatted one to state representatives by clicking on the following link:

Your State Representative!

I welcome any comments regarding this bill!!!

Martha Stewart and Costco

Does a partnership get much better? I think not. Being the biggest fan of Costco that ever existed (mainly for the two baby seats in the front of the cart, well and all the incredible products!!!) I could not be more happy about this partnership between Martha Stewart and Costco (discussed in Costco Connection--the Costco magazine.---I know, I am a big loser for reading this on a regular basis, but that's where I get this fabulous new information which will help me be on the lookout for these new products!!)

That is why I love Costco. I enjoy entertaining, and enjoy their great veggie tray, holiday food items, and all their "easy" entertaining food items. Granted, at this stage of our life, we are primarily "entertaining" our family at holiday times. But in a couple years, all that should change, when our family gets a little more fun to be around!!!

So, now Martha and Costco are coming together, and their primary goal is to create more food products that are healthy, home-cooking recipe type foods for entertaining. Wow, I didn't think Costco could get better, but here it goes, getting better!!! Thanks Martha!

Scooter Boy!

As most of you know, the last week has been quite challenging with all the babies. I have to say, that it is nice to have older children. It helps in knowing that the babies will outgrow some of these rough stages. I remember not that many years ago, it was Brandon and Ethan participating in similar antics. I have to say, it is amazing how time changes everything. I do love the sweet baby stages, but I am also really relishing my little Brandon right now. He will be baptized in a couple months and is so excited for his baptism. Brandon is a sweet, kind, little boy who LOVES sports. He loves to collect football cards and loves to talk sports. He loves to play and watch sports of any kind. He has a heart of gold---always has. He is extremely helpful in our family and really wants to choose the right. Brandon is a great son, brother, and friend. I am very proud of my Brandon!

Fun at the Zoo!

Well, here in Utah, people really take advantage of the "free", including myself. You should have seen the zoo today. Totally packed!!! You would have thought they were giving away cars, rather than just hosting a free day at the zoo!!! The things we will do to save a little dough! (Which actually, didn't help me as I have a pass!) Anyway, it was exhausting, but the kids had a great time! The animals were so cute. My favorite today? The cute penguins! (The best of all was that no messes were created in my home while we were at the zoo, which was ALL afternoon! A major success for today and we will be taking it!!!)
The cute penguins!
My little monkey Ethan!

Brandon

Dylan being pitiful!!! I don't think he really "digged" the zoo!

Maddie

Benj

Who doesn't love a zebra?

Boo from Monsters Inc.

For some reason, Maddie has always reminded me of the baby girl Boo, from Monsters Inc. Now that I can finally get her hair into little pigtails, I could demonstrate to the world this uncanny resemblance (in my opinion)!!!

FREE ZOO DAY!

Calling all people in Utah! Tomorrow is free admission at the Hogle Zoo. The Mom & Me Group in my ward is meeting there between 12:45-1pm (at the Discovery Playground Area just inside the gate!) I am most likely going, although, nothing is EVER 100% certain. So, maybe I will see some of you there. It should be fun. Hopefully the weather will be cooperative!!! Time for an outing, before Mama loses it!!!

Fingerpainting with Ranch!

So, this is today's mess of the day. I was EXTREMELY upset! But, what can you do!!! Anyway, to try to keep it positive, I may have to be a little sarcastic. Glad it was the 3 pound bag of Costco salad, the huge container of Gregg's Ranch (also from Costco)! I am REALLY glad for leather couches (for real), glad that Maddie showed some "upset" that I was upset, and not glad that Benj had no reaction whatsoever. Hope they enjoy their naps for the next couple hours, I know I will!!! Sorry, it has been a rough day.

OK, I know it is getting old, what is the latest mess in our household? The scary thing, is I don't share all of them with you.

So, I was really depressed last night. It was just a rough night. The kids had been pretty difficult yesterday, and when I woke up this morning, I just did not want to get up. I knew what lay ahead. Well, not the specifics, but every day seems to be the same story, just told with different details. 3 toddlers outmaneuvering me at every chance!

So, to handle the situation, I have been totally cognitive therapizing myself: it will get better, it is only a stage, try to find the fun in the mess (hence the pictures). If you make a laugh out of it, you won't cry. It will all get better, etc, etc, etc.

I love my children, but the last week or so has been horrendous. They are now ages 3, 2, and 1. They are all walking and mobile, and I feel like they are terrorizing me. I feel like the robbers on "Home Alone." They are totally finding every free second to create some type of havoc in our home.

Here are some of the options that have flowed through my mind: How expensive is day care? Maybe a week in day care could help calm them & me down. I don't know. All I do know, is something needs to change around here.

Having three this close in age is much easier when the youngest is a baby and not walking. It's amazing how well the "divide and conquer" thing works. My kids aren't trying to do that, but that is what happens. I can't keep up with all three.

Anyway, sorry for my rant. I am done, I will be better in a minute. Thanks for listening. Blogs can be there for you! I am feeling much better now! Writing can be very therapeutic. (I deleted about half of this post, as I really unleashed. I figured you got enough of it, even through scaling down. Sorry for the negativity!!!)

The Moment of Truth Lauren and Frank! Part 1!

OK, I have to admit this is trash, but Brandon and I could not stop ourselves from watching this train wreck happening. Beware, it is disturbing.

Talented Women!

I am so grateful to be surrounded by talented women. I think it is so great for these talented women to use blogs to share their wonderful talents. Here are some of the websites of friends that show those talents. Just click on any of the words below and you should get to their site:

Bon's Designs Defined (Bon)

Country Chick Boutique (Vanessa)

Suction Sanctuary (my cousin Carli)

Kim's Deals (Kim)

Lanette's Healthy Living Blog

I hope I haven't missed anyone, let me know if I have, I would love to add more!
Take a peek and be impressed with all the talent!

Hollywood Hair Makeover!

Go to hairmakeover.instyle.com/makeover/ to get your own Hollywood Makeover!!!

Laura with Jennifer Garner hair?(just a little lighter!)

Laura/Jessica Alba? Don't I wish?
Gwyneth Paltrow anyone?
J Lo? I did Beyonce too, but it was even MORE ridiculous!!!

This made me laugh! Do I make a good Gwen Stefani?

Well, my friend BON (feel free to click on her name to see her blog), also known as my friend Jen's Mom, has the link to this site ---- and I had an enjoyable time "trying" on a variety of looks. I found the best way to do this was to take a new picture of myself, pinning my bangs back and using that. So, you will have to tell me which look is the best or worst for me. After this, I am considering growing out the bangs. We will have to see!

Tagged Again!

This time I was tagged by a past mission companion, Brittany (feel free to click on her name to get to her blog). We just got reacquainted, and have found we have a lot in common. We both have been involved in adopting children. She has also adopted two children, very close together, so we have been able to share some of our struggles in having children so close together. We are also able to share in the happiness of adoption. You will have to take a peek at her cute blog. Aren't her children SOOOO cute? Anyway, it is a small world. It has been great to get reacquainted after so many years.

Anyway, here are the rules.

Four people will be tagged.
You have to answer the questions, then post on the person tagged, let them know they are tagged, and then they post the answers. It is always fun to learn more about people!!!

10 Years Ago I was: I had been married about a year and a half; about to graduate with my Master's in Social Work from BYU. At the time, I was working a part-time internship as a therapist with children in the Provo School District. I primarily did Play Therapy. It was great working with children! It was a fascinating, and fabulous experience. I learned so much and loved every minute. I love being a therapist and enjoyed all those learning experiences in the early days. (The summer prior, I was able to do a full-time internship at Wasatch Mental Health, Adult Outpatient. That was also fascinating. How ironic, that after working with children and adults, I ended up working with teens (at Vantage Point (the Youth Shelter and service center of Utah County--full time for 2 years!!!) I have loved it all. In fact, one day, I can't wait to launch back into my career!!!)

5 Things on my To Do List Today:
1-Stay in my "points" for Weight Watchers
2-Do lots of laundry
3-Mop the downstairs floors
4-Practice reading with Ethan
5-Work on piano with Brandon

Things I would do if I became a billionaire:
1-Buy a really great cabin!
2-Share the wealth with causes I feel are important, friends, and afamily.
3-Put money in accounts for the future education, weddings of my children!!!
4-Buy Brandon a Ford Mustang.
5-Buy Brandon an old car to work on with the boys in their spare time
6-Hire a nanny or two and do a lot of family travel with the kids and the nannies!

3 of my bad habits
1-FOOD!!!
2-I have a weakness for buying cute kid clothes!
3-Not exercising!

5 Places I Have Lived
1-White Plains, NY
2-Basking Ridge, NJ
3-UTAH
4-Ecuador (for 18 months)
5-Jerusalem (for 6 months)

5 Jobs I Have Had
1-Mental Health Therapist
2-"The Creamery"--ice cream scooper girl!
3-filing papers in a Dr's office as a youth.
4-Project Read-teaching people to read (volunteer)
5-Big Brother/Big Sister volunteer

Things Most People Don't Know About Me:
1-I love dates (the fruit that noone seems to know about!)
2-I love watching people dance and love "people-watching" in general!
3-My husband is the best thing that ever happened to me. (I guess most of you probably know this!)

YOU ARE TAGGED:Miss Jen
Bon
Traci
Kim

I am the Holy Ghost!

Benjamin just started Primary, and it seems to be having an affect on him. This morning he was walking around, in this blanket saying, "I am the Holy Ghost. I am the Holy Ghost." I had to take some pictures. He was using an even deeper voice than he normally has (and if you have heard him, he has a pretty deep voice anyway, so it was quite funny to listen to him!)

I am glad Benjamin is pretending to BE the Holy Ghost, although, I just want him to LISTEN to the Holy Ghost; especially when the Holy Ghost is telling Benjamin: "Put down the nail polish. Put down the nailpolish!" or "don't play in the water. Don't play in the water." I guess that is just a fantasy. After all we went through this week, we had yet another water incident last night. My husband Brandon was on the phone with his sister, and Benj and Maddie had just talked on the phone. They both walked out of our room. We heard some soundage that made us concerned, so I went to check on them. Unbelievable! Within a couple minutes, Maddie & Benj managed to get water everywhere. They got up on the counters, plugged up the drain, and filled it. Then they started splashing the water out of the sinks. It took many towels to soak up the amount of water on the floor! We even found one of the drawers filled with water. They got into great trouble once again, but I guess the lure of the water is too great. I guess I need to lock all the bathrooms or take some other great measure to avoid these messes. I just cannot believe how little time it takes for these two to create trouble. I can tell we are going to be having a fun couple of months ahead. Can I just hibernate for the next couple of months and awaken when they are out of this destructive phase?

Little Man Dylan!

Dylan loves Daddy's Blackberry! (Just as I was writing this post, we got a call from 911 Emergency. I guess Dylan had dialed their number. Maybe this is NOT the best stage!!!)

Maybe it is because he is our last. I am just loving his babyhood and am hoping he doesn't grow out of it anytime soon. He is so precious to my heart. He loves everything electronic. He loves any remotes, phones, PDA's, and even trying to pound on the computer keyboard. My heart just loves his little evil laugh when he gets a hold of one of these devices, so I will hide them from him and help him find them just to hear that laugh. It is SOOOO cute. He is a doll and a half. He knows he has us all wrapped around his tiny, little, cute fingers. I love when he plays "phone" with me. I will pretend a call is for him. He will grab whatever and say "Hewo" (his version of hello!) To die for. The things that make a mothers' heart sing!!! Other Dylan words include: "Go", "Fi" (for five, when you ask him to high five you), and of course, Momma, and Dada. Loving this stage!
Daddy & Dylan!

My Dancing King!

Handsome Ethan!




My five year old little man Ethan was doing various dance moves for me today. This is a light into his cute & funny personality. He is a cute, little sweetheart! I don't know what I would do without my little Ebone!

Earning a Man Badge!

I just love the expressions my husband uses. Often, he says things in a way I have never heard spoken before. I just love it. He described his outing today as "going to earn a man badge." I thought it was great!! Twice now, he has been able to go on a "shooting" outing with guys in our ward!!! It is about time he got some play time as a man!!! This is a hobby he really loves and would probably love more if I would allow him to have a gun!!! Can you imagine a gun in this house with our four boys? That would and could be asking for big trouble!!! (Especially considering our trouble of the last couple of days with nail polish and water. I can only imagine what could happen with a gun!) Anyway, I hope he gets plenty more opportunities to go earn himself a man badge!!!

Pretty Baby!

Having such a cute, petite, little girl around, definately is not helping my clothes addiction! She is just so darn cute, and everything looks so good on her!!! Maybe that is why I only have one daughter!!! Goodness knows we probably couldn't afford more!!! Although, this outfit wasn't expensive, Walmart isn't doing too bad these days with some of their clothing!!!

Finding an old Memory card!

Left, is, Maddie on her 1st birthday! 8 days later, Dylan was born! 15 months later, can you believe how much Maddie has changed? On the right, you can see she has changed from a baby to a sweet, little girl! UNBELIEVABLE the difference a year makes---OK 15 months makes!

Benjamin, still needing a binky, with a baby Maddie! 15 months later, he is getting so much bigger!
Brandon, Ethan, and Maddie 15 months ago. They have all grown so much. Unbelievable!

Dylan, now! To think he wasn't even with us back then. WILD!


Sometimes as a Mom, life can get a little rough! There is nothing better than motherhood in my opinion, but it can also be really rough to focus on the needs of other people 24/7, who are not often that thankful for all the hard work!!! Anyway, sometimes when I am having a rough moment, it fills my heart to see where we were a year ago! Maybe Heavenly Father knew where my heart was, as he placed in my path today, a memory card from a year ago!

On this memory card, were pictures of Maddie's first birthday! Her birthday is in November. The extraordinary thing to imagine for me, is that these pictures were taken 15 months ago, a week before our Dylan was born! Looking at these pictures, brought all types of thoughts and memories to my heart! It is amazing how much a baby changes from year one to year two. To see Maddie 15 months ago, you can hardly recognize her. She was bald, walking a little, but so, so tiny! And it is so hard to believe that Dylan was not even born yet! During this stage, Maddie and Benjamin still had bottles, Benjamin had a binky, and at that time, Benjamin and Maddie were both still one years old!

To think 14 months later, we have another child, and we are done with binkies, bottles, and formula!!! YEAH! Sometimes as a Mom, it is hard to recognize the progress of your family as you are seeing it day to day. That is why it always helps me to look at pictures of the past!!! That really shows the progress that has been made. And as a mother, sometimes that progress may only be that your child has grown healthfully and happily another year, but that is GREAT progress! Not to be discounted! So, I thought I would display how our life was only 15 months ago!

I am definately one for enjoying the moment you are in, but it gives me hope, that in a year, we will be in an even better spot!!! Maybe close to noone in diapers???? I can only dream of such a day right now!

More Messes!

What a day!!! Benj & Madison managed to quietly escape from their naps, go downstairs, find nailpolish, and put it on my floor and wall today. They also managed to flood our downstairs bathroom. WHAT A NIGHTMARE! This is all while Brandon and I were working on an upstairs project. We were so proud of ourselves for all we accomplished, until we found the "new" projects for us our children had created downstairs!!! We were so pleased that Brandon and Ethan were able to see the messes happening and not come tell us. Anyway, we now may be tiling our kitchen sooner than we expected unless we like the permanent red streaks that are now on the linoleum. Luckily, a little paint will cover what is on the walls. We were very lucky that the flood had not soaked through to the basement. Anyway, after a sobering afternoon dealing with these messes, and some naughty children, we have recovered a bit!!! Isn't it hard to believe these little cuties could create such havoc??? I guess I should've seen that boundless energy this morning and known I was in for trouble!!! I may post pics of the messes as soon as they don't make me want to cry (which happens every time I see those nailpolish stains!)

I am glad our home has a circular plan!!! They run in circles!
Running in circles!


You think you can stop me from making messes? Ha!

Playing Peek-A-Boo in the tub!