Book Club: The Rent Collector

On October 22, I hosted a Book Club for ladies that lived in the ward (and some that didn't). The rules are: whoever hosts book club gets to chose the book. So the book I chose was:

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

I decided to "host" a bit different than the norm. I wanted to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions on what they thought of the book (instead of reading the discussion questions out of the back of the book and having only those who read the book in its entirety comment). I'm so glad I decided to do it this way because I learned something new from almost everyone who shared their thoughts! People who would have never normally commented, shared their opinions on what they had just read (thus far). Plus, it wasn't a lengthy discussion and after we went around the circle - we were done! (And went to the "bar" for round two of drinks and treats!

As the night concluded, we found out Katie Burton had received a 'selfie stick' from a relative, but admitted to not actually ever using it yet. So I pulled mine out so she could learn and be amazed (and hooked) on to how ingenious this item is! The selfie stick got us laughing so hard that I'm surprised none of these mothers peed their pants. My favorite part was: "The Many Faces of Laura Bell." In a matter of 3 seconds, these were all the various poses that Laura had... while everyone else's faces remained stoic and frozen.

(And the nice thing about no one in the ward knowing that I have a blog is that I can post things like this without offending anyone). 

These same "selfie stick" gals all stayed and chatted with me well until after Midnight. Since having kids, it was the first time I felt (is liberated the right word?) like I was back in College and catching up with my girls! It was so fun to sit around, without the cares of children, and chat into the early hours of the next day. We laughed, we cried, we shared intimate stories and all got to know each other on such deep, profound levels. After tonight I respect these gals so much more and have such a deeper care and love for them than I originally had before. 

It's amazing how something as simple as a "book club" really can bring you closer together!

Littles Halloween Party

For the littles at church, who don't go to school - we wanted to make sure that their Halloween was super fun and that they got an extra special reason to dress up in their costumes! Therefore, three of us gals (your truly, Michelle Jaramillo, Alicia Clinger) got together and planned a Halloween party for any child under the age of 5 (or not in Kindergarten yet) on October 22.

We started out the party where they could color a Halloween image on the table. 

Next came a spooky Halloween story.

Followed by a cake walk (where every child eventually won a prize).

After the cake walk, orange and black balloons were brought out so that the children could run and play with balloons. 

To calm the children down we gave them snacks (Goldfish, Jack-o-Lantern faced clementines, mini cinnamon rolls, cookies, and juice boxes).

Lastly, we had the kids try their hand out at a craft that they could take home with them.

I was in charge of the craft. And I picked one that I thought would keep the kids attention span, not make a huge mess, and one that they could take home and enjoy. Thus the Popcorn Hand was invented.

~ Candy corn as the fingernails

~ Popcorn to fill up the hand

~ Spider Rings as a nice little accessory

~ And tie up the end with some floss

(and you're good to go).

The craft didn't go quite as planned (most mothers ended up sitting down and doing it for their children), but everyone loved the popcorn that they were able to partake of!

(The popcorn was so kindly donated by a local movie theater and everyone commented on how cool, kind, and selfless it was for this theater to donate to children.)

Overall, I think that the kids had fun... and they looked so cute in all their various Halloween costumes. I was so nervous it would be lots of work to organize and carry this party out, but I really enjoyed being a part of the "planning committee" that I can't wait to help out again!

Making Cookies

A bunch of gals at church decided to start a bookclub and I was a little overzealous in wanting to be one of the first to host the bookclub. I didn't think about all the preparation that went in to making your home spotless and goodies to share and enjoy. Luckily, I had a little helper who made life a tad bit "easier" for me by helping me prep and make some cookies for those coming over.

We made oatmeal fudge bars and (for the most part) Lily listened very carefully to all the instructions and put everything into the mixer herself. I was the assistant (eggs, scraping, doing the fudge on the stove, etc.). She did a phenomenal job and was so excited to wash her hands before (and numerous times during). But I think that through the whole process she was the most eager to turn on the mixer and sift the flour. I was not allowed to touch these things as they were clearly her job. 

When the cookies came out of the oven I made sure Lily got to try them very first, before anyone else. She worked so hard at helping me with this little project that I made sure she was rewarded for all of her hard work. 

If this is a little snippet of what is to come, I am so excited for her enthusiasm of working in the kitchen. I can't wait to continue to teach her new things and watch her learn and grow and love to cook!

Church Filled Weekend

This weekend was so busy, busy, busy... but filled with good busy things. 

October 16: (Friday night) I had a practice at the Church for the upcoming Ward Primary Program. 

October 17: (Saturday afternoon) we went to the Children's Home Pumpkin Patch with some friends.

(Saturday night) Michal and I were asked to be guest speakers at a Youth Fireside up in Mt. Airy.

October 18: Sunday (morning) was the Ward Primary Program. 

It was definitely a fun weekend. I love when you have a lot to do and a lot going on because then it gives you a purpose and an elevated adventure (compared to cleaning up cheerios beneath the high chair).

At the Youth Fireside, I decided to pull out my selfie stick for the first time and test it out. It was a success! 

We were asked to speak on: Keeping Standards and Being Truly Converted. I shared stories about finding a hidden room in my house, Rosie Hancey's tornado experience, about meeting Elder Oaks for the first time, and about deciding to go on a mission. I tried to tie it all into keeping standards and keeping your testimony, and while some of it was a stretch, I think that it ended up just fine. Michal spoke on how much he loved food and compared eating good food to Heavenly Father's Plan of Salvation. Most people just remember him talking about Cinnamon Toast Crunch and laughing at his story about eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch - but at least he had their attention.

Overall, I think that the talks went alright. I had never spoken to an audience of just teenagers. It was a little intimidating because you know if you're doing a good job or not based on how much chatter is occurring while you're up there speaking. And kids don't really come up and tell you that you did a good job. If you do a bad job, you hear about it later from other teenagers. So, I'm hoping that since I didn't get any feedback that it means I did a "good job." However, I did have one girl come up to me and say the sweetest thing. In passing she commented, "Man, they sure chose the right people to speak to us tonight." I felt like this was her own unique way of saying that we did a good job. That one comment made it well worth it.

And Sunday after the Primary Program, I was presented with a little gift all the children put together. They wrote me Thank You Notes for playing the piano for them.

I got some of the best pictures of me playing the piano:

And some of the best spellings of my name (Trenasouki, Chrawscy, and Trenaroskee).

 But these notes absolutely warmed my heart and made me feel so loved and appreciated. They were adorable, innocent, and so lovely. 

I just love how innocent children are! I had a few notes that told me I was a better piano player than they were (or their mother was) and one that said I was an awesome pianist because I played fast. 

Thank you Primary Children for making me feel so awesome by giving me such kind and considerate notes!

Pumpkin Patch with Jude

On October 17 the McClung Family invited us to go to the Children's Home Pumpkin Patch with them. And afterwards, they shared some of their photos with me. After looking at their awesome pictures, I'm convinced that I need to take a photography class and better learn how to take phenomenal pictures. They just put me to shame.

Take for example the two pictures below. It's their picture compared to mine. 

But really, the Children's Home was spectacular! There were so many fun activities for kids of all ages!

 "pump-a-rubber-duck" station

I'm pretty sure this was Jude's favorite station. Even though the water was cold, he was so excited to keep pumping the little ducks down their ramp. Every time we went to a different activity, Jude would wander off and we would find him back here!

Kernel Corn Sandbox

I thought that most children wouldn't like this because of sensory issues. But it seemed to be a hit with Lily. She just calmly put corn kernels (one by one) into her green pumpkin bucket and eventually dumped them all out on Jude. 

Apple Shooter

This specific activity was $3/bucket, but the look on Jonathan's face was priceless as he helped the kids load, aim, and shoot the apples into the apple gun. Every time an apple crashed and exploded on one of the cars, Jonathan gave a big "Ohhhhhh" like it was a touchdown, but I think that it was better than watching football! They were kind enough to let Lily have a turn even though we didn't pay for any buckets.

On the way back to the activities, Jonathan took advantage of the lighting, background, and kids smiles and took pictures of them.  He is so, so talented. They look amazing! I took some with my iPhone, but, trust me, you can tell which ones are his and which are mine!

To wind down our day the kids went on a little cow ride throughout the pumpkin patch. The smiles on their faces tell it all!

We wrapped up by sliding down the big tunnel slide onto hay. It was not fun. Lily bit her lip because she had to sit in Mommy's lap. Wait... let me back up... Lily got to the top, refused to slide down, so Mommy had to climb up in front of all the kids in line, and sit down with Lily to get her to go down the slide. I hit the ground so hard I got the wind knocked out of me, and I'm still finding hay in my shoes from when we went two weeks ago. Next time, it's Daddy's turn to go down the slide with Lily.

And I was shocked to see Lily pet the pig. She is so weary and nervous of any animal that I couldn't believe she actually stuck her hand through the fence and touched him. Maybe it's because there was a fence between them, maybe it was peer pressure, but it was a proud Mommy moment for me to catch on camera.

As we left, we met up with Michal (who stayed home while Marco napped) and picked out some pumpkins from their awesome selection! Lily chose the smallest possible pumpkin (besides those small bitty uncarvable ones).

Everything about this place was filled with fun and laughter. It is the epitome of fall, harvest, and Halloween. We felt privileged to be invited to go with the McClung family and hope we can turn this into an annual tradition!