It's Official: Emily Doesn't Like To Read

This is the book that caused Emily (and her parents) a lot of headache this month. Sure, it looks harmless. It's even a paperback. And, at 184 pages, it should be a pretty quick read.

For everyone but Emily, that is.

For some reason, Emily is having all kinds of problems with reading. Reading books, reading magazines, reading her textbooks, reading the back of cereal boxes (OK, we're kidding on that last one) - whatever there is to read, Emily won't have any of it. Reading comprehension was something Dad had trouble with until fourth grade. That year he was given a series of little blue paper books (stapled in the middle, in fact) that contained stories and accompanying comprehension tests. They seemed to do the trick.

So when Emily is assigned a book to read - and has the entire month to do it - it becomes an ongoing headache. In the case of "The Face on the Milk Carton," she had to choose a mystery and then make a diorama about it.

Here is how it played out:

> Emily complained for weeks about having to read the book
> Mom and Dad bugged Emily for weeks about reading the book
> Mom helped Emily read the book for several nights this week
> Thursday night, Emily freaks out because she's not finished with the book

We'll spare you all the excuses we heard and share two of the best:

"I don't feel good. My stomach hurts."
"You didn't help me. I need help."

Even Lauren felt sorry for Emily and tried to come up with a few ideas (actually about a half-dozen ideas) for the diorama. But Emily spurned her, too, and suddenly found herself crying about it while everyone else went to bed.

Six hours later (at 4 a.m.), Emily woke up Dad, asking for his help. Since she took the initiative to wake up and gather the items she needed, he decided to help. An hour later, she had a beautiful diorama (not pictured, sorry).

Mom and Dad have already decided that we will not be going through this again next month.

A Short Night

Olivia's middle-of-the-night sickness will keep her home today.
The illness bug bit the YD family again Wednesday night when Olivia threw up in the middle of the night.

This followed Dad's bout with a bad stomach on Tuesday night and an extended battle with some sore molars that is going on its fourth day (yes, he has an appointment to see the dentist - on Friday).

Olivia's sickness was particularly disturbing for Mom, who had to clean it up. Like a waterfall, the vomit spilled out of Olivia's mouth on the top bunk, over the side and down to Julia and Veronica, who were sleeping below. Mom said she just about threw up herself cleaning it up.

Lauren's Latest Creation

The drawing Lauren made for Veronica features Barney.
Veronica has a growing fascination with Barney, that famous purple dinosaur who once drew thousands of children to the Holiday Inn Central during an appearance in Omaha.

Veronica knows Barney and his friend, BJ. She also knows that the show is broadcast daily at noon on Iowa Public Television. We believe Aunt Jean turned Veronica onto Barney when Dad was running late to pick her up one afternoon.

With this in mind, Lauren made a nice drawing of Barney for Veronica. She said she used the cover of a Barney book to fashion her rendition.

Our Christmas Tree

The traditional family portrait with our Christmas tree.
There would be no "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree for us this year.

That's because we alternate between "traditional" and "Charlie Brown" trees. You can look back at last year's tree by clicking here. Or check out our 2005 Christmas tree buying experience (the appropriately titled, "Do You Have A Public Restroom?" entry) by clicking here.

This year's Christmas tree buying experience was probably the smoothest in years. First, we had planned for weeks which day we would be going to get our tree. When we arrived - about an hour after they opened - no one else was at the tree farm. So we received plenty of personal attention.

After the traditional "tiny tree" photos were taken (see below), we started seriously looking for our "traditional" (a conventional, triangular-shaped) tree. It took a matter of minutes - after deciding what type of tree we wanted - to find this year's tree.

Emily (left) and Lauren with trees that didn't make the cut.
Julia (left) and Olivia with trees that are about their size.
Veronica nearly smothered this little tree.
Getting it home is always a fun trip. Every year, we wonder if it's going to blow off the top of the car. Making it even more precarious this year was the fact that the guys didn't wrap the twine around the branches, only around the entire tree itself. We didn't have any mishaps, though, and Dad had very little trouble dragging it inside once he cut it free.

By the way, we honked at the people at Santa's Woods (another Christmas tree farm) as we drove by.

Thanksgiving Day 2007

The aftermath of an in-oven fire (left)
and the revised batch of sweet potatoes.
How do you like your sweet potatoes? Extra crispy?

In the rush to make it to Thanksgiving Day dinner on time, Mom accidentally left the sweet potatoes in the oven a little too long. How long? Long enough to catch the marshmellows on fire. She yelled to Dad to ask what to do. Dad told her to throw baking soda on it.

"And ruin the whole thing?" Mom responded.

Instead, Mom and Emily blew out the flaming dish. A little scraping here and there and some fresh marshmellows on top and you never knew what had gone wrong.

Thanksgiving Day at our house began with a big breakfast and a hearty helping of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Dad asked Emily if she knew what Macy's was.

"No, but their name is ALL over the place," Emily said.

The parade was a three-hour affair, of which we watched about 90 minutes. When we switched away, it was to watch new Price is Right host Drew Carey. Most of the girls had never seen the show before, so Dad frequently paused the TiVo to further explain each game, as well as to give the girls an opportunity to bid on the prizes or make guesses related to the games.

In one game, Emily guessed the amounts the audience member guessed, while Dad correctly predicted the actual amounts - which were also the same as what the audience was yelling. In another game, the contestant did a cartwheel before she even played the game (which she went on to win). As it turned out, all six contestants won their games (only the 77th time in show history this has happened) and each showcase contestant won $1,000 spinning the wheel. Emily, Dad and Lauren each made bids on the showcase, with Emily winning being the closest (without going over) to correctly guessing the actual showcase amounts.

This was also the second time that we have not gone to Grandma and Grandpa YD's house for Thanksgiving. We did, however, parktake of a nice meal at Tante Angie's house.

The First Snowfall

Dad found three of the girls sitting down for a lunch of snow.
The day started out with the first snowfall of the season. Though the forecast called for "scattered flurries," in reality, snow fell for several hours.

Lauren made a single-ball snowman, which was pretty impressive. Emily took time to rake snow and leaves from the neighbor's yard and Dad didn't have to shovel anything because it hardly stuck to the pavement.

Of course, the first sign of snowflakes always triggers a rush of excitement - followed by scurrying around to find hats, gloves and snowpants stowed away months and months ago. Mom had spent time earlier this fall looking for some of the winter wear - a search that was unsuccessful at the time. Today, though, she cracked open a large tub in the garage and found everything packed away just as she had left it last spring.

The rule for playing in the snow at our house is that once you go out and come back in, you are inside to stay. Veronica lasted a lot longer than we thought she would. By the time she did come inside, her nose was rosy red. But she seemed to have plenty of fun.

Open Gym

The girls had fun on these makeshift stilts.
One of the benefits of having your Mom as your teacher is the use of the gym outside of school hours.

Tonight, we went to the school so Mom could do some work during break. The four oldest girls went with Dad to the gym while Veronica slept in Mom's classroom.

The girls took advantage of the gym's elaborate sound system and played "Lemonade" while playing with all kinds of gym equipment. Scooter boards, stilts, different kinds of balls - basically playing everything but basketball.

The girls also helped Mom make some "Cinnamon Monkey Bread" - which was quite a hit, as you can see by the picture above. The girls really do enjoy cooking - it's the cleaning up that they seem to stumble on.

Movie Night!

A cute movie - with a message, no less.
You know it's a special day in the YD household when Mom and Dad give permission to have a "Movie Night."

In this case, it helped that the girls are not going to be in school the rest of the week.

Blankets and pillows were gathered, spots staked out on the floor and couch and the movie choice was determined by majority vote. (For once, no one seemed opposed to the original choice.)

If you haven't seen "Evan Almighty" (and none of us had), it's a feel-good story about former TV anchor Evan Baxter (who co-starred in "Bruce Almighty") and his career switch to politician. Only just when he and his family are getting ready for the new lifestyle, God visits him and tells him to build an ark.

The movie was great. But only Emily, Lauren and Dad stayed awake to the end. The good news is that the girls who couldn't stay awake can watch it today on replay (we purchased it through Cox on Demand).

Weekend Wrap: Lauren Gets Sick

Just as Olivia was getting better, Lauren came down with a bit of a bug. It started Saturday. But first, we need to recap Friday.

We went to the Maverick hockey game that night and watched UNO lose 5-1 to Ferris State. Lauren and Emily weren't with us - instead, they were at a friend's house, having a Webkinz party. They showed off their trading cards and played with their Webkinz.

Saturday afternoon, Emily's basketball team (Ice) lost again and Lauren started feeling bad. She was throwing up that night and was very feverish. So she didn't get to go to church with us at Holy Cross and see Dad take up the collection (he was recruited by another usher). By Monday, she had not gotten any better, and, coincidentally, already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for that day.

It turns out she has tonsillitis. So she will stay home again from school Tuesday, trying to get better. If she has another case of tonsillitis in the next year, she'll probably have to have her tonsils removed.

Veronica Marks A Milestone

Veronica seems to have forgotten that she still has her diaper on.
Not quite 25 months old, Veronica is more than ready to be potty trained. In fact, Mom started the process late this summer. But once school started and Veronica was shuttled between sitters and home, the routine fell by the wayside.

But with some encouragement - and a little potty chair we found in storage - she was able to go potty like the rest of us on Saturday night. It was pretty exciting. She even got a few treats ("mum-mums," as Mom likes to refer to them).

Sunday night, she was trying to be a big girl again by getting undressed by herself for her bath. Unfortunately, she forgot to take off all her clothes. Let's go to the video...

More Ear Problems For Mom

Can you tell which ear is infected?
Mom's ear is infected again, which means sleepless nights and awful pain. On top of that, it appears she has a staph infection, which will keep her home from school on Monday.

Heading Home

Dad's boarding pass was heavily marked up by the folks from TSA.
Dad is heading home from a three-day trip to Los Angeles. (Read the posts below for details.

Here are some of his final observations:

> Contrary to popular belief, you do NOT need a government-issued photo ID card to fly. Dad flew out of Omaha and then out of LAX without his driver's license - or any other photo ID card. The only thing that had his picture on it was a tag on his carry-on bag: a Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team card he made that must look fairly official.

> Does Dad look like someone who is engaging and approachable? Apparently so, judging by the number of people who kept coming up to him and striking up all kinds of unusual conversations. Does this happen to New Yorkers?

> Local TV news in Los Angeles is not as "Big Time" as you would think. The graphics were less than impressive, the stories recycled from one newscast to another, and the cross talk is as phony as in Omaha. The only difference is that the TV crews have to drive farther to cover their stories. One station has a studio backdrop featuring a live shot of the front of LAX, which is pretty cool at night. Another station did a live shot every night from Las Vegas to talk about the "cool new games" there (it's November sweeps, after all).

There's a reason they tell you to buckle up as soon as you get on board an aircraft. The jet out of LAX was beginning to be towed away from the gate when something snapped hard, violently jolting the plane backward and sending one of the flight attendants flying. She hurt her hand pretty badly, trying to break her fall, but told everyone she was going to ignore it because she wanted to get us on our way.

Some airports now feature little "power stands" where you can recharge your cell phone or plug in your laptop. And there's no cost. As for free wi-fi, there is usually none available - unless you're flying through Denver International. So plan your long layoffs accordingly.

'Photos By Lauren'

Lauren shot this picture at one of Emily's basketball games.
When she's not making out lunch menus, Lauren is one of several accomplished photographers in our family. She and Olivia probably take the fewest pictures, but their quality is good.

How do the other girls fare? Emily is known for her goofy self-portraits. Julia thinks she's funny, too. And Veronica sometimes doesn't know down from up.
Olivia and Veronica ham it up for the camera.

Fun With Photo Booth

There Is A Lot Going On In LA

A first-hand view of the picketing union writers in Culver City.
Maybe it's just Dad. He always seems to be in the middle of things wherever he goes. And being that he was in the heart of Los Angeles on Wednesday, there was plenty going on.

For starters, OJ Simpson's preliminary hearing attracted its share of the national spotlight. Add to that the Hollywood writer's strike, and a story about people dumping ashes in the Haunted Mansion and plenty of news was coming out of LA today.

Oh, and did he mention he also saw the Goodyear Blimp making its way across the sky?

The other big story was the weather: Sunny skies and an unseasonably warm 87 degrees. The sun was intense. Dad spent the remainder of his afternoon sitting by the pool taking it all in.
The hotel pool is on the fourth floor roof.

Another Pink Piggie

Veronica, nestled in her new Piglet blanket.
Veronica loves the new blanket Mom made her - one that features a famous pink pig. No, not the "Pink Piggie" that the girls fondly refer to in song. No, this is Piglet, from Winnie the Pooh.

So far, Veronica is doing a good job of sleeping in her bed. Julia, on the other hand, has been making nightly treks into Mom and Dad's bedroom to sleep at the foot of their bed. We're not sure why. When we ask her, she doesn't offer up any explanation.

Trip To Southern California

The view from Dad's ninth floor room at La Quinta Inn.
LAX is getting a bit of a makeover. In fact, part of the famous structure around one of the control towers (not the one shown at right), is covered in scaffolding. Waiting for a shuttle is also a lot of fun, as you hope your hotel shuttle slows enough for you to jump into its path and flag it down.

Since Julia (and some of the other girls) appreciate seeing pictures from the plane, here is a shot of us arriving at the gate in Denver.

The flight from Denver to Los Angeles was a little nerve-racking. Many people could be heard sharing their stories of fright at the baggage pick-up area. Dad compares it to a thrill ride. Sitting over the wing, he was able to watch one of the engines rattle up and down as violent turbulence shook the plane up and down. In an attempt to avoid the bumpiness, the pilot tried descending and ascending to different altitudes. It didn't help - for at least the first 30 minutes of the flight, at least.


So this is the new standard in keys. Gone are actual keys. Also out: credit-card type keys. No, this is like a little memory stick. When you stick it in the lock, a green light goes on and a (loud) buzzer sounds. Nothing like waking up the rest of the people sleeping in nearby rooms.

A couple of Dad's notable observations:

- Disneyland runs advertisements with Christmas themes (one features snowmen riding bobsleds)

- Shakey's Pizza still exists! There was one just down the street from his hotel. Wow.

- When young children get tired, they cry. They stamp their feet. They wish they were asleep. But they're not smart enough to just close their eyes. And most of the time, their parents are oblivious to the cause of their children's turmoil. In one case, a little boy was practically dragged through the Denver terminal (with his eyes barely open). The second case of child abuse, err, utter fatigue, was in the hotel around 10:15 p.m. This time, the two victims were clearly up way past their bedtime.

The decor at La Quinta was nice, but somewhat 70s.

Lauren's Lunch Order

Lauren's lunch order to Dad included her treat.
Hardly a morning goes by when Dad isn't making a cold lunch for at least one of the girls. For whatever reason, the girls don't like ALL the cold lunches offered by St. Mary's. Such was the case when Dad was growing up and eating lunches from fifth through eighth grade at Christ The King.

There are a few variations on everyone's standard cold lunch. Nearly every sandwich includes either peanut butter or brown sugar. There's peanut butter and brown sugar, peanut butter and chocolate chips, butter and brown sugar and peanut butter and M&Ms.

Dad usually asks the girls what they would like for a sandwich when they wake up. But lately, Lauren has been kind enough to provide a written order, like the one above. This one reads:

Peanut butter, chocolate chips
Cookies (same kind)
Whoppers (taped down)
(Same chips)

Thanks,

LoLo

Sunday Afternoon Out

From left: Lauren, Olivia, Emily and Julia pose at the Shadow Lake Mall.
So all weekend long, the girls pestered Mom and Dad over going to look at Webkinz at the mall. Friday night, into Saturday afternoon (as the Huskers scored an improbable 73-31 win over Kansas State) and then night (when Dad tried his best to find the mall, but just couldn't seem to locate it), the girls kept moaning and groaning about getting out to check out Webkinz.

Well, not all the girls. Olivia was actually still feeling awful. Friday night, she kept Mom and Dad (well, mostly Mom) up most of the night. Saturday night was the same story. Sunday morning, she was burning up with a fever and hardly moving. But that afternoon, as Dad told the girls he would take them to the mall, she suddenly perked up.

So, there was Dad - at shops like "Sassy Something-or-Another" and "Just for Girls" or something like that. Yep, he was the only guy in those shops. But he did learn something. Webkinz are cheaper at Hallmark stores.

And if you're wondering how Emily's basketball team, not good. They fell behind 22-2 at halftime and lost 39-8. Emily played well, grabbing a ton of rebounds and oftentimes dribbling halfway down the court because her team is a little short on great guards.

Down And Out

Olivia had her "spit bowl" nearby while she slept in Mom and Dad's bed.
Olivia woke just about everyone up overnight, screaming and crying. Moments later, she was throwing up. It didn't come as much of a surprise once Mom felt her forehead. She was burning up.

So this morning, Olivia is recovering at Grandma Bep's house with Veronica. As Dad was loading Veronica into the Suburban, Olivia turned to Veronica, perked up and said, "Hey Turd, we get to be together today!"

(We're still trying to figure out why Olivia calls Veronica "Turd.")

Fright Night

For whatever reason, Olivia and Julia decided to paint their faces Thursday night. The result was not something pretty - or even presentable. As you can see from the pictures below, it made them appear more like something out of the movie "Night of the Living Dead."

We've included pictures of how they normally look so you can compare for yourself.
Olivia even made a face to go with her ugly face.
Words can't describe the mess on Julia's face.