Global Warming

Global warming? No. Bad timing? Yes.

We went to Yellowstone last weekend for a business meeting I had planned. The park was closed. All the shops were closed. Even the snow was closing up for the year. There was plenty of it - but only in hard-packed icy piles. What was left on the roads was, well...water.

Trying to entertain a preschooler in a town where nothing is open was a bit tough. Toby took him to the one and only open attraction while I was in my meeting. Afterward we drove around trying to find something to do. We ended up at the closed-down-for-the-season airport when suddenly Robbie started yelling he wanted out of the car RIGHT NOW.

Toby, exasperated, put the car in park in the middle of the road. The next car was at least three months away, after all.

It turns out, you don't have to have snow to make a kid happy as long as you're willing to drag a perfectly good sled down an asphalt road and then carve a hole in the ice for him to stand in.

Meet Woody

Because we can't get enough of potty training, so we decided to start all over again.



Woody, Woodrow, or Nanna Boo Boo, whatever name he's being called at the moment - is a miniature Dachshund....emphasis on miniature. He weighs 1.5 pounds.

If I had a nickel for every time I've had to shout "watch out Woody" or "don't squish the dog!" I'd be on a beach in Jamaica by now. But he sure is cute, isn't he?

Spring is in the Air

Reed Photographic now offers studio portrait sessions for individuals, children, newborns and couples.

Book a studio session before April 15 and enjoy your choice of the following specials:

Special One: Get a free high resolution digital copy of all pictures with a regularly priced studio session.

Special Two: Enjoy a free studio session for up to three. Digital copies and prints will be available at the regular prices at your discretion. No minimum purchase required.
Both specials include: 15% discount on prints ordered in the first week.

Sessions can be any time in March, April or May but must be booked before April 15.

To reserve your session, call 801-380-9113.

Don't wait. Availability is limited.

The Defiant Child

I don't remember ever talking back to my parents as a child. Perhaps my parents do, but I just remember being too afraid to be so impertinent. That is, until I was about 14 and started pushing the limits of their patience.

I had a friend when I was about 10 that had no problem telling her mother to "shut up" or "get out" that she was stupid, fat, ugly, etc. I recall being shocked and embarrassed the one time I stayed over at her house and saw this happen. At one point her mother just turned to me and said "I bet you never talk to your mother like this do you?" I didn't know what to say. The truth was that of course I didn't talk to my mother like that but I didn't want to side against my friend either. I just shrugged and blushed...and never stayed over again.

As the mother of a three year old, it has come as a bit of a surprise to me that preschoolers back-talk. In fact, until recently I was starting to think maybe I just had a really smart-mouthed kid. We just squelched "shut up" and now we're dealing with "I don't love you" when he doesn't get his way.

We tried time-outs and all the usual forms of discipline with no obvious results. To say the least, its been very frustrating. Yesterday when I desperately needed to be catching up on work I decided instead to turn to my friend the internet for some advice. I read several articles on preschoolers and back-talk and I learned some things to try and that its a lot more common than I thought.

So, has your preschooler done this? What have you done to teach them not to do this, or even to explain what constitutes "back-talk" or "sassing"?

At times we consider the benefits of a shock-collar, so hopefully you have a better idea.

The above image is a worldle of this blog. Go have fun and make one for yourself.