What Keeps You Busy?

Well, life has been really busy these past few weeks. Tiger has started baseball, both of the boys have been in and out of the dentist office quite a bit, and I haven't had a day off of school in nearly 5 weeks (can you believe it). I have a lot of events and cute pictures to post as soon as I have a minute, so don't give up on me. I haven't been updating my blog, but have been keeping track of all of you. Sounds like I'm not the only busy one!

So I'll ask:

What do you do in the spring to keep you busy?

Let us know!

Do You Want the Good News or the Bad First?

Well--actually--there is no good news.

As you probably read on my mom's blog (click HERE if you didn't for the original report), Derek fell in the bathtub two weeks ago and knocked his front teeth out. Well, not completely---yet! (One addition to mom's report is that not only did it tear his lip away from the gums, but it actually tore the gums between the two front teeth and detached them from the tooth in the back as well. I'm sure that is where most of the blood came from.)

I took him to the dentist for a follow up appointment today and, as I anticipated, there was no good news. His right front tooth has been gradually turning a rather greenish shade of gray since the initial impact. This, the fact that it is still really loose, he won't use it to eat, and the gums above it are still swollen and bulging forward all lead to the the prognosis that his two front teeth have to come OUT. Hmmm. . . how much Money is your first tooth worth when you're only two?

(At least his nose was clean when I took that picture!) :)

Anyway, the extraction of his front two teeth is scheduled for two weeks from today. They have to come out before the dead roots start to decay and cause infection. Just a side note to add to the bad news from before, he has to have false teeth put in ($Cha$Ching$), but they have to mount them with a retainer cemented to his molars in the back. Unfortunately, the molars haven't grown in yet, but they are starting!!! So it looks like he will just be toothless for a month or two until they come in.

The tooth fairy better start saving up!!!

Breathing Treatments

Derek has to have breathing treatments again and I thought this would be a good place to store the information since I don't really have to keep track of it here. I can just look it up when I need it. I wanted to track how frequently his asthma was flaring up. Seems like that last time was when he had to stay in the hospital in December.

Bad Day

Well, Highway 6 has struck again.

Annie and I took off this morning (late as usual) for a music conference in Salt Lake about 7:00 a.m. Just as we were leaving town, my mom called to warn us that the roads were icy and slick and it was pretty foggy. We were thankful for the warning, but decided to go ahead anyway--we were more than an hour behind them and the sun was coming up.

The roads were fine--until . . . we came around the first corner just past the Summit Station. The pictures say it all:

The damage from the wrecker window

Loading the car on the Wrecker

The first picture is a topside view of how we slid down the embankment (trunk first) and the second is a side view of the ruts where we were luckily stopped by about two feet of snow. Yes, the embankment drops again just behind our back tire marks. The deep snow stopped us just in time.

The detached bumper and the ride up on the tow cable.

The view from the backseat of the Highway Patrol car, which was a first for both of us. The officer offered to let us try it out complete with handcuffs if we wanted. We didn't! :)

The pictures uploaded to my blog post in reverse order and I took these two while we were patiently awaiting the arrival of emergency vehicles inside a chilly car that we didn't dare start.

Can you believe she is smiling!?!

Thanks Annie for the experience of my first real car accident and for making sure we both lived to tell about it. I'm glad everyone was okay--well your bumper didn't come out so well, but I think we both agree that things really could have been a lot worse!

It was kind of like a really, really expensive tabogan ride!

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

The last Monday they had the lights up at Temple Square, the Jensen clan decided to pack up and drive in to Salt Lake for a chilly night out in the big city. Personally, I don't think that I have been to Temple Square to see the lights since . . . hmmm, I don't even know when--but I bet that it has been 10 years or more.

Anyway, to the funny part of the story:

This was Tiger and Derek's first trip to Temple Square. We, of course, stopped in the visitors center to see the Christus statue. When we got to the top of the ramp, Derek just froze, leaned on the ropes, and stared up with the most intent and ponderous stare I have ever seen on his face. After a long drawn-out moment he turned to me and said "Mommy, that is a BIG white Jesus!"

After we left the visitor's center, we were heading through the busy sidewalks back to the Lion House for dinner. We turned a corner a little ways past the tabernacle where they have the statue of the restoration of the priesthood and Derek stopped again. He stared up at this statue with wonder, althought not quite as much as he did before, then turned to me again and said "Mommy, that is a big BLACK Jesus!"

Well, at least he knows his colors.

What's In a Name?

I just read Natalie's lastest post and was inspired!

Concerning Names:

I have had an interesting phenomenon happen to me repeatedly during the last 30 years which some of you may have also experienced. I have been conditioned to respond to what ever name I am called--and that is very rarely my own.

My given name is Kerstina Ann Jensen (please notice the spelling!) I am only called this by those people who know me well. Those that don't know me or have just met me call me Christina or Christine or Kirsten or Kristen or some other commonly known version of this. It doesn't bother me, it is just a fact I have come to accept and I just answer anyway. I guess it is a good thing that I am a pretty easy going person.

It isn't until people see my name written that they realize their mistake. That realization is usually followed by apologies for pronouncing it incorrectly for such a long time, then the practicing of KER-sti-na at least three times while shaking their head at how silly they feel, and then the promise that they will make sure to get it right from now on. Lastly, I get a short speech about how important names are and that I should be more insistant that people call me by right name.

I have also collected a lot of nicknames in my life and I don't know if I should attribute that to the fact that my name is hard to pronounce or if it's just because I'm the kind of person that apparently needs a nickname. Some of my favorites are Sis, Tinkerbell, Kerstinka (later shortened to Stinka and then to Smell), Teeny, KT, and the most recent--Teacher. (If you can think of any that I missed, please feel free to add them)

No one from my highschool years knows me by Kerstina. From the time I was in about 7th grade, my friends had started calling me Smell and it just stuck! Every message in my yearbooks is addressed to Smell. Griff has never called me Kerstina. When he is talking TO me, he calls me Honey or Baby or just Hey. When he is talking ABOUT me, he calls me The Old Lady or The Wife. My in-laws called me Smell for a long time but now they call me Kerstina. Griff's cousin Lynette calls me Smell to this day and so do some of his friends. Most of my own friends that called me Smell have moved on, but as I make new friends I always end up with a new nickname. At the flower shop, I was known at KT--which is definately better than Smell but a nickname nonetheless.

I have been called a few other choice names over the years that are just as important to me as the nicknames because, like the nicknames, they mark events from my life that have shaped the person I am today. From the early years, I can still hear the words "You little Shit!" ringing in my ears with the fear of the punishment that swiftly followed. From my teenage years, I can hear the names that I was called because I made a friend mad or said the wrong thing at the the wrong time and I can feel the heartache and lonliness that comes with being a teenage girl. I can hear the pet names of first love and my baby's first name for me. I can hear the pride of my mother and father when they talk about me and the approval of acquainteces and colleagues that I have grown to love and appreciate and call my friends.

You see, it doesn't bother me when people don't call me by my given name because a name is what you make it. Just like a good pair of jeans or a reliable car, it is the qualities behind the name that people remember. I try to focus on making a good name for myself and just hope that in the end, I am remembered for that.

Found this on Kelsey's Blog

You Are 55% Likely to Survive Another Great Depression

Even though you may not be expecting the worst, you're the type of person who prepares for the worst. You live a relatively modest life. You don't overspend, and you aren't very materialistic. You are also quite self sufficient and independent. You have many useful skills. You can take care of yourself and those you love... which is crucial to surviving another Great Depression.

Could You Survive Another Great Depression?