An Anecdotal Autumnal Update

Note, I added a new list on the right, listing some of recent Netflix rentals over the past several months.

The other day, Abe was eating apple slices, and he came to me, complaining that his tongue was itchy. I said that was a little weird, and he went on his merry way. A couple minutes later he came back over to me and showed me his cure for the “itchy tongue” : He was scratching his tongue with an apple slice. Well, whatever works, I guess…

In October, Amanda got a hankering for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. We ended up making at least 2-3 batches of them the following week, due mostly to the fact that they tasted like Christmas. You might not understand what that’s supposed to mean, but if you tried one, you’d agree.

We also tried making cake donuts, which didn’t turn out quite as well. They were really heavy and greasy, and although the kids were supposed to choose EITHER cinnamon OR frosting for the topping, many of them got frosted AND dipped in cinnamon sugar. Wasn’t a good combination.

On a thoroughly unrelated note, Amanda had a terrible stomach problem a few weeks back that sent her to the hospital. As usual with stomach problems in my family, the diagnosis was “Well, it seems like it was something, but we don’t know what.” Glad we have Medicaid and don’t have to pay for that “useful” diagnosis. But I guess they did make sure the baby was doing OK and that it was nothing serious. But Amanda sure was doubled-over in pain for a couple days (except when they gave her some painkillers via an IV).

Joel’s 8th birthday was this past week, and he already knew everything he was getting (that’s what you get for letting your 4-year old help wrap the presents). So, Abe told Joel that he got a video game, a movie, and Legos. Joel was able to guess that the game was “Scribblenauts,” but didn’t know WHICH movie (“Sky High”) or that it was a Star Wars Lego playset. He also got some money from Libby and Ethan that he bought some Trio blocks with, and a gift card from Judy that he used to buy a Legend of Zelda comic book with (it took him a while to get used to reading it in the back-to-front-right-to-left Japanese style the book was printed in).

I lost on the Marvel Contest, and the job I was hoping for with the guys I worked with on Watchmen fell though (Warner Brothers went with a studio in Canada, apparently.) BUT I did get a freelance project, creating a 22-minute children’s cartoon for a guy in Virginia. He’s got a company that I think gets a lot of foreign investors, and they’re creating movies for both US and International distribution. He’s hoping the short can be entered into film festivals, as well as being used to pitch to investors for either a feature film or a TV series. We’ll see. At any rate, it’s nice to know I’ve got some money coming in for the next couple months.

Meanwhile, the past few months have convinced us (along with a lot of discussions and prayer) that NOW is the time for Amanda to go back to school. There’s no reason to wait, and there’s every reason to go. We were thinking about the fact that if Amanda had started her Graduate program a couple years ago as planned, she’d have graduated this past Spring/Summer and we’d have been on more sure financial footing. Obviously, there were reasons we didn’t have her go then, and Amanda was always hesitant to start school, knowing we still had one more child on our agenda (though that was at times debated). As Amanda has said, we’re willing to lose everything, if need be, to help her get her degree (Judy, I hope you’re ready for some temporary houseguests, if it comes to that!) It’s just so sad that I spent all these years getting a degree and work experience for a very finicky industry; meanwhile, Amanda’s career goals are ones that would keep us and our family secure and fulfilled in any city/state.

I’ve gone to see a couple movies recently:

“Where the Wild Things Are”: I really enjoyed this movie. Some have said it’s too dark and scary for kids. I’d be more worried that they’d be a little bored by it, or that the emotions the movie brings out might affect them too deeply. The effects were great, and I am SO GLAD they presented it as more of a kid’s emotional drama instead of some sort of hip/modern/wacky, “Cat in the Hat”/”Shrek”/”Grinch” type of film.

“A Christmas Carol in 3-D”: Obviously, I’m a geek for 3-D movies. This movie had a lot of fun 3-D effects, from falling snow to flythrough shots of London, to shadows coming off the wall into 3-D space. But it was TOO CREEPY to take my kids to. The director (Robert Zemeckis) seems to like having things suddenly pop out of the screen at you, in the tradition of old-school 3-D movies. But I think he forgot that this is a family film, and you can’t have Ignorance and Want presented as kids possessed by demons. The thing I was most worried about—Jim Carrey hamming it up—didn’t happen. He actually gave a good, in-character performance (though his version of the Ghost of Christmas Past was pretty annoying).

I’m looking forward to seeing “2012” next week. I know it’s just a cheesy special effects epic, but sometimes I enjoy a good “no-brainer” as my dad called them.
Sometimes I think it’s funny that people aren’t as fascinated about the Signs of the Times/Second Coming as I am. I mean, I’m not some wacko that thinks the world will end in 2012, or that we shouldn’t buy anything that has a UPC symbol because the barcode is the 666 mark of the beast, but I am fascinated by all the events and signs that happen leading to the Second Coming. I want to see all that happen—from a safe distance, of course!

Today, LeeAnn and George gave us their old baby crib. (Thanks a TON guys!) Amanda has been VERY antsy about getting it assembled, and it’s now sitting in the corner of the bedroom, ready for a baby to sleep in (OK, it still needs sheets on it). Amanda reminds me CONSTANTLY that the baby is coming soon, and I keep reminding HER that her December 26th Due Date is about 2 weeks SOONER than the Jan 8th due date the Ultrasound Technician changed her date to. Really, we just need it out before Amanda starts her Anatomy Class on Jan. 6th!

Well, that catches you up on our lives for now. I’m sorry I’ve got no fun pictures or videos to share this time around.

Halloween 2009

Here are some pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes. They had a lot of fun trick-or-treating (especially Abe, the sweet-tooth!) Click on the images to ENLARGE.

A Harvest of Blog Items

Sorry to everyone who has spent the past 6 weeks checking my blog for updates, only to be met with the same old boring blog post from August. You’d think with me being unemployed, I’d have plenty of free time for blogging, but as it turns out, I’ve been pretty busy. Here are person-by-person updates of what we’ve been up to the past month or so:
ANDY
As you all know, I’ve been working on an entry for the Marvel/Aniboom Motion Comics contest:


Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at Aniboom

I don’t want to jinx myself by saying I’m a shoe-in to be one of the finalists, but my entry is getting a lot of good reviews and is ranked pretty high. Hopefully, the Marvel folks like my entry and feel confident in my abilities to animate a Motion Comic series for them. While waiting to find out if I’m a finalist, I’ve been working on the additional scenes that need to be added to the final entry. Voting/viewing continues through the rest of the week--if you haven't viewed/voted yet, do it NOW, and send the link along to anyone and everyone who might want to watch it and help me win!

I’ve also been working on pre-production for a logo animation for Seakings Studios (those are the guys I did the “Chico” video for.) It’s going to be fun, traditional 2-D animation, kind-of a “Fantasia”/Classic Disney “Silly Symphonies” cartoons feel...

I’ve also been applying to any animation/motion graphics jobs that I’m able to find on the many job sites I frequent. Jobs I’ve applied to (but didn't get) include a number of motion graphics companies similar to 8fish, some freelance gigs doing things like video billboard ads, web animations advertising cell phone “home search” features, a job doing animated shorts for an science website, run by former astronauts, and a job in Tucson creating online Flash content and games for Charter Schools. A couple of the employers have been interested in me (along with several other applicants), but never contacted me again after the initial email. All I can think is that something better must be coming.

I’ve also applied to some of the “crap jobs”: Macey’s , Albertson’s, Best Buy and FYE, to name a few. Again, I’ve heard nothing back from any of those, either, making me wonder what job I CAN get that doesn’t involve telemarketing.
I’ve also applied to Utah Valley University (woo-hoo, I got in! Can you BELIEVE THAT?!?!) and will probably be taking some classes in 3-D animation and Flash/web development in January. That should hopefully make me employable in a wider variety of jobs.

AMANDA

Amanda turned 30 last Saturday. She doesn’t feel any older. And frankly, she doesn’t care, although she does wish she’d finished her Master’s Degree by now. I agree, but what can ya do?!
All she wanted for her birthday was a set of glass drinking glasses (we’d been using a bunch of plastic ones from the Disney Store, but they got all nasty). So we bought a set of those, and she’s much happier.
Speaking of the Disney Store, she’s gotten the OK from the midwife to return to work, so she’s been working 4-hour shifts a couple days a week, and it’s really worn her out.
Obviously she’s still pregnant, and even though she’s only 28 weeks or so, she feels like she’s 40 weeks. Her hips hurt, her right leg keeps going numb, and her belly is always in the way! Her recent ultrasound confirmed that she’s still on track to be due the beginning of January instead of the end of December, but that’s a sore spot for Amanda, so I keep quiet about it…

MADISON



Besides pretending to be a narwhal, Maddy has been doing a lot of drawing, writing, etc. Here’s a self-portrait:


Maddy is not a big a fan of school lunch. Most days, she wants to bring a lunch, which leads to one of my biggest struggles in life: making a sandwich at 7am. I don’t know WHY this is so difficult for me, but it takes EVERY ounce of strength I have to get out the bread, peanut butter and jelly, prepare the sandwich, and place it in a plastic bag. Thankfully, most of the time, Amanda makes the sandwich the night before, but on the days she forgets—UGH!

JOEL


Joel, as always, is obsessed with video games, but he’s also got a new love: Comic Books. We’ve been able to check some out from the library, and he reads through them like crazy. He wants to go buy some comics when he saves up enough money.
He also has a good friend, Kenneth, who comes over to play a couple times a week (or sometimes, Joel plays at his house). Abe also thinks Kenneth is HIS best friend.
We’ve started discussing his upcoming baptism (the first Saturday in December). I’m so proud of how much he already knows and understands about the gospel. He always amazes me with his understanding and his thoughtful questions…sometimes I can’t believe he’s also the same kid that runs through the house smacking his own butt and singing Weird Al songs…

ABRAHAM
Abe also had a birthday, and now needs us to remind him that he’s 4. He only wanted superhero stuff for his birthday, particularly his hero, Spider-man. Here’s a picture he drew of Spidey:


One of his favorite presents was his Black Spiderman Suit, which is also going to be his Halloween Costume:


Before he got that, he had to put a ski hat over his face to pretend he was Spiderman:


He also LOVES doing puzzles.

And he’ll do the same puzzle over and over. Most of the time he doesn’t even look at the picture on the box. He’s learned his alphabet and his numbers, and we’re starting to work on words (though he can already read “Spiderman.”)

ELLIOTT
Elliott just keeps making trouble for us. As I already mentioned, he’s wreaking havoc on Amanda; he’s also SO WILD--The wildest of all the fetuses that ever rented a room in Amanda’s womb. From the looks of the ultrasound, he has really long legs and a VERY prominent “maleness.” Or maybe that’s another leg…
Another recent complication: due to the flu season, hospitals have set new rules, including NO Children under 14 allowed in the hospital. Also, hospital patients are only allowed 2 visitors—not 2 visitors at a time, 2 visitors. So Amanda can have one person--besides me--visit her during her time at the hospital, and the kids are not allowed to come at all—even if we have proof of their flu shots.
We understand why they’re making these restrictions, and we can hope that the rules are relaxed by the end of December, but it’s still a little sad that Amanda will not be able to see the kids for a couple days, and that the kids will not be able to see Amanda or the baby.

Well, that about sums things up for us until Halloween. We really enjoyed General Conference last week, and were uplifted and encouraged by the many talks about hope, recognizing the Spirit, and having confidence in the Lord. It always seems that there are a few talks that are directed specifically at us—I’m sure they are directed to many people (all people?) but the Spirit helps us to really connect with those things that we most need to hear.

I’m really going to try to do more frequent mini-updates—maybe every Sunday night, or as things happen. These big, long blog posts take an hour or more to write—no wonder I put off writing them! And I’m sure most people don’t have a lot of time to read these huge essays on the goings-on of the Petersons. Have a great October!

EDIT: Hmm, sometimes the "comment" link doesn't show up--just click the blog title, and you should be able to comment on it that way. Weird interweb...