Hays' Happenings

Some more of my favorite people...

2011-02-19T22:14:00.000-08:00

It's so nice to have a camera back and to be able to document the adorableness that surrounds me daily. Life's been good to us. I finished my doctoral coursework in December, took my comprehensive exams in November and am now working on my proposal...I hope to complete it and defend it by July so that I can do my research in the fall for my dissertation. I got offered another year of full time work at Utah State and resigned from the high school last month (though I'll still finish my contract for this year in May). This should give me more time to write...now, we're just crossing our fingers that all will work out with the job market, my qualifications and everything else...

Henry and Oliver with Grandpa Landon

2011-02-19T22:04:00.001-08:00

These boys love their grandparents and Henry really gravitates toward grandpa...I think it's the "Bruiser" in him (as grandpa calls him). The kid is all muscle. He's held up his head since the hour after he was born and he's sturdy.

Henry William Hays

2011-02-19T21:53:00.000-08:00

He's absolutely adorable...with a delightful personality to match. We can't imagine life without him and the 6 months have gone so quickly. We're so glad he's part of our family.

My Boys

2011-02-19T21:44:00.001-08:00

So, it's been awhile since I've blogged or posted any pictures of my adorable sons...especially as Henry is now 6 months old and gets cuter every day. My digital camera broke and the new one holds hundreds of pictures in storage...I've just now figured out how to upload (I know, I know, with Ben around it shouldn't take me this long--but I'm not all that tech savvy). So, here are my boys...all together...with their dad.

Oliver's Missing Teeth

2011-02-19T21:32:00.000-08:00

So, Oliver was the last person in his class to lose teeth. He's had loose teeth since October but he refuses to wiggle them. So, we had to have his first loose tooth pulled by the dentist in January. It was such a graceful procedure...they gave him "sleepy water" and pulled the tooth and then prizes galore! He got chicken noodle soup, pudding, a treasure chest for his tooth, stickers, coupons for free hamburgers and a sticker. He was in 7th heaven and said he wanted all of his teeth pulled by the dentist from now on. Well...he seems to have a bit of my side of the family in him as he has many loose teeth, but a tight mouth so the permanent teeth are growing in behind the loose teeth and since he won't wiggle them he just might get his wish (thank heavens for dental insurance). When he went for a check-up in February, they decided to pull a second tooth. He was so excited to get a can of chicken soup and pudding! Even though I told him we could buy chicken soup and pudding ourselves for way less than it costs to pay our co-pay, he insisted on having just one more tooth pulled the magical, dentist way. So, he's now missing two teeth and so excited. He's growing up too fast!

Jazzed up shirts for Oliver...

2011-02-19T21:21:00.000-08:00

So, we really like shirts from Boden for Oliver...they are cute, stripy things with lots of personality added with appliques but way out of the price range for a 6 year olds wardrobe...Well, with the help of some leftover fabric scraps and fusable interface, I decided just to make my own. $5 Wal-Mart shirts and some fancy stitching later and we've got some shirts he loves to wear. Here they are in all their glory!

My first publication!

2010-12-13T08:42:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share...I chapter I worked on with George Hruby and Sylvia Read has been published in a new book coming out...here's the link (chapter 30):

http://www.reading.org/Publish.aspx?page=/publications/bbv/books/bk9313/toc.html&mode=redirect

Hays Christmas Card 2010---watch your mail for your paper copy! Send me your address if you're positive I forgot it and you'd like a copy!

2010-12-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

Cool Collage Holiday 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom holiday cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

A good weekend...

2010-01-10T18:30:00.000-08:00

We've had good weekends in the last three years, but mostly "good" has been qualified with how much stuff we were able to get done around the house as far as cleaning and laundry goes. Good means we did pretty well. However, with my new (awesome, I might add) schedule things just don't pile up like they used to and I think good will take on new meaning as far as time and weekends go. This weekend we had the house cleaned by Friday and the laundry done by Saturday morning. We had time to see our friends Sam and Andrada who came to visit us from Salt Lake and they even cooked us dinner (a very delicious curry). Then, I've been able to not only meet my goal of cooking family dinners again, but I'm really enjoying cooking again. Before the Ph.D, I could say absolutely that cooking was my favorite pastime aside from reading. However, that has not been the case in quite some time as I was always rushed and meals were culled from restaurants or whatever we had on hand. This weekend I learned that I'm coming back into my hobby...I have cooked and cooked and loved every minute of it. Two recipes that were successful were a great pot roast (how very traditional of me!) that was moist and melted off your fork and a really simple pasta salad that will be one of our go to recipes on busy nights...Here are the recipes if anyone wants to try them:

PEPPERY POT ROAST
4 lb. roast
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp onion salt
2 tsp. celery salt
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (I love how these two words sound together!)
2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup ketchup
1 T. liquid smoke
3 T. brown sugar
1 T. dry mustard
dash of nutmeg
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. lemon juice
3 drops hot pepper sauce (optional...we left it out with success because we're lightweights)

Place roast in slow cooker
Combine remaining ingredients and pour over roast.
Cover.
Cook on high 6-8 hours.

We have enough left over for dinner tomorrow! I haven't had this kind of bounty in awhile.

EASY EASY PASTA SALAD

2/3 c pesto
2 T white wine vinegar (we used rice...vinegar is what I crave with this pregnancy)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 T olive oil
3/4 lb. Orzo pasta (any small pasta would work though; or large, for that matter)
1/2 lb. tomatoes cut into small pieces
6 oz. spinach cut into bite size pieces.

1. Make the vinaigrette; in a large bowl, whisk together th epesto, vinegar, 1/4 tsp. salt, and a pinch of pepper. Graudally whick in the oil until smooth.
2. Cook the pasta; bring a large pot of water to boil. add 2 T salt and the orzo. Cook, stirring ocasionally to prevent sticking, until the pasta is al dente. Drain, rinse under cold running water and drain again. Add the orzo to the vinaigrette and toss to coat evenly.
3. Add the tomatoes and spinach and toss generly to combine. Serve.

Done in 15 minutes...thank heavens for small pasta.

I'm off to grade a stack of high school research papers. One more week for this semester and then I'm done with this group of high school kids. I'll teach one section of English 1010 next semester and that's it at the high school for teaching. It's a work intensive class though with lots and lots of grading becuase I let them revise many times so that they'll learn that is the key to good writing. The research papers are long but will be done completely on Thursday so my evening is one small sacrifice to move them forward as writers and hopefully (?) prepare them for college. Though I think the stark reality of college itself will prepare them far better than I will.

All's good at the Hays. It's going to be a fantastic year.

His head will grow...

2010-01-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

I always love it when Oliver wears headphones to watch TV...he insists on wearing them when he thinks his dad and I talk too much, which is most of the time because I have a short attention span when it comes to television. We should probably get him some that fit his head better, but it's just so amusing with these...

Friday and good news...

2010-01-08T14:08:00.001-08:00

I guess we're to the point where we can advertise this as we've told employers, instructors, etc. and had medical confirmation...we're expecting a baby in July! I had my first ultrasound on Wednesday so I'm past the three month mark and things look good. We're very excited as we've waited a long time for this so I could finish my course work and get to a place where if I had a baby I would actually get to see the baby. I finish my course work soon after the baby is born, take my comps and defend my dissertation proposal. Then, I'm ready to write the dissertation. We'll have the office finished downstairs so I have a "room of my own" (as is so necessary according to Virginia Woolf) and will be able to write while the baby naps. We're dreaming in ideals at this point, but either way even if the baby doesn't sleep as much as we'd like we're close enough to the end that it will all work out the way it should. Anyhow, I wrote my Master's thesis shorty after having Oliver, so this one will be my dissertation baby. It's too bad I can't go farther with my education because I'm not sure we'll be able to have any more kids without a really big paper to write shortly after their birth. I'm posting pictures of Oliver who is getting way too old to be a baby--he'll be six in March and one of the reasons we just couldn't put this off any longer; we didnt' want the age gap to be generational!

Snow in Logan

2010-01-06T14:08:00.001-08:00

It snowed today and I gave my students a test today so it seemed like the perfect way to continue to initiate them into the school thing. This semester ends next Friday, which has been weird because the kids just came back from a two week break to have two weeks in their classes to finish up. Mine are finishing up research papers and I hope they've learned something by being in my class, but I'm never quite sure because they just want to be out of school. They're all seniors and getting pretty tired of high school. However, I think I could say the same. I looked at the district calendar today three separate times and noted that I have less months to go than I have worked so I'm on the downhill part of the school year. I don't usually do this until March so I'm going to need to check this excitement for summer and put it in a box until March or it's going to be a long semester. Utah State starts next week and I got my syllabi completed for both classes I'm teaching. That feels good because I'm on top of things.

It's pretty outside though...it's always nice when a new coat of snow covers everything because after awhile it gets a little gray and icky in the winter and I know it's not going to melt for another couple of months so new snow is way better than no snow. And Wednesdays are always good because the week is halfway over and it's almost Friday. If you need to read a blog that updates you on what day of the week it is and how close that puts you to Friday and the summer, this is the place. I'm as anxious as my seniors to finish the semester, already! I'll try to sound less fixated on this and find more interesting things to post. That's the problem with regular posting...I'm not sure life is exciting enough to warrant the publication of each day. But...ahhhh, momentum, I'm going to keep it up just for that. Have a great day...Wednesday, that is. Two days before Friday, four months before summer.

The sweetest little boy...

2010-01-05T17:34:00.000-08:00

So, just as I was leaving for work, Oliver woke up and told me that for his birthday he would like to go without presents (a big sacrifice as he asked for a bike---he learned to ride without training wheels this summer) and would just like it if I came to his school to help with small groups. Easy enough! I've been given permission to go over when I have prep time as it is in the same district I work in and I've just been waiting to get a time from the teacher to go in. That will be so much cheaper than a bike...though we'll probably get him one of those too.

Then, I got home from work early and went with Ben to pick him up from school and on the way out Ben told him there was a surprise waiting for him. Oliver said, "Is it that mom is home?" Ben replied that it was even better (of course...I was in the car! Who wouldn't love that surprise?). Oliver's reply, "Nothing is better than mom being home." He's such a delightful little thing and definitely knows how to make us happy.

We're also on three nights in a row of family dinners...it's so much easier to do these things when I'm not in class until 10 at night...domestic bliss is mine this semester!

Back to work..

2010-01-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

It all went smoothly today, but boy was it a rough change! It's always hard to go back to work after a long and delightful break, but Oliver couldn't have been more happy to go back to school. He had a great time and came back from school all smiles. I wonder if my students left my class with the same? I think it's much harder to have seniors be happy about going back to school than kindergarteners. I'm enjoying not having to rush to night classes after the work day and am even sticking to my resolution to cook dinner so we can eat as a family. It's easy to stick to your goal on day one, but we'll see and hope it keeps working out. Either way, it's nice not be in class tonight.

Happy Holidays...

2010-01-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas and are positively giddy about next semester. We were able to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas at home, just the three of us and though it was a teensy bit lonely, we didn't lack for things to do or enjoy one another's company less. It was really a great time and so relaxing after the busiest semester of our collective lives. We delivered Christmas treats to all of our neighbors and I discovered that my son is going to be quite the cook. He loves to help, knows how to read recipes and how to get the measurements just right. He rolled all the dough for the rolls himself and was persistent and consistent. At five, he's already making my job easier and I'm so glad for that because cooking with children can be quite the chore. We then went to see the Landon and Hays' families after Christmas. We had an enjoyable time visiting with each and were unable to spend as much with either as we'd or they would have liked, but we needed to get back to prepare for the beginning of a new semester of work and school. I won't have night classes next semester and we're ecstatic. It's also my second to the last semester of course work (with only one course to take this summer ---statistics---to finish it all out). I'm taking a grantwriting course and an independent study on theory and both will be super useful for future work opportunities. It's mind boggling to think that I'm almost done and have just a dissertation to write. It also seems silly to say "just" with a dissertation, but I can honestly say that after the rigors of my schedule the last three years (full time work, full time school, and part time University professor while still being a wife and mom) it will be nice to write that paper. I won't have to take any more classes, I'll go part time at the school district and will be able to be more flexible with my University teaching schedule. What a relief! I never thought we'd get hear after that second long semester. But, here we are. Ben will stay in school too and finish his bachelor's so we'll leave Logan in a couple of years with most of our loose ends tied up. Oliver, well he's a natural at school so we won't worry for the time being. He just adores it and is looking forward to going all day next year when he is in first grade.

As for resolutions, we're going to take advantage of some of this extra time and be better about updating friends and family on our whereabouts, while also staying better connected to them. We've really been out of the loop. Happy new year everyone!

...and we're back!

2009-02-16T09:17:00.001-08:00

Wow. I wish we had been in Mexico as long as it's taken me to post. We had a great time and then life happened in fast forward until this day. Anyhow, I'm sitting in my office right now, freezing and trying to get to work. I have lots of reading to do. It's President's Day and I'm at the school (the students are gone today) trying to get some work done. I have a big paper due on Thursday that I have yet to start. I spoke in church on Sunday and I think that sucked it all out of me. I don't really want to write today. So, I'm reading and trying to figure out what to write. I'm freezing because due to school budget cuts they turn off the heat on holidays. So, typing will be a small thing as I keep making mistakes because my fingers don't move so well. School's going well. I have 16 hour days on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday and hoping my schedule will slow down soon. I'm teaching an English 1010 class (concurrent enrollment) so I have seniors who are getting college credit and it's a writing class. It is the most enjoyable class I have taught in a long time. Oliver is great...he learned to count by 5s yesterday and he can add and subtract single digit numbers like a machine. He does it in his head and I'm just so grateful that he's bypassed my math deficits. I got to talk to mom today for an hour...it was nice and then I sent some information to Max and DeAnna. I'm really trying to be more present and connected. We'll see how long this lasts...the homework black hole sucks me in for months at a time and I seemingly disappear.

We're gone!

2008-11-24T09:23:00.000-08:00

We're in Mexico right now! We left on Friday night and will be back on Saturday...it's been really enjoyable so far. The weather is beautiful, sunny and warm and the resort is nice. We've been swimming a lot and we're going into town today...Oliver is in urgent need of a beach ball. Pictures soon...

Oliver...

2008-11-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

He loves to paint and draw. The first thing he says when he wakes up is "I need to draw a picture." He sketches what he dreamed about and then always makes a picture for me to take to work. I'm glad he got his dad's talents...I think he's going to be pretty good at this. He also told me yesterday he needs 3 sisters and 3 brothers...still, the hold up is his name choices. Girls: E, Chicken and Cabbage. Boys: Oliver, Oliver, and Brussels Sprout. He even wrote them out on a list...girls names were in pink and boys names in orange. ADORABLE.

More Halloween....

2008-11-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

The cutest little mouse...he wouldn't wear the pants, just the coat. Final words, "I just want to go as Oliver...that's the best costume."

Halloween

2008-11-12T13:35:00.000-08:00

So, we lost the cord to the camera and couldn't upload pictures. I felt like I was like the last great Polaroid user because my pictures were unavailable to the public...except that even with Polaroid you can at least see your photos. Anyhow, we're back in action and I'm posting. It was a fun Halloween. Perfect weather. Oliver enjoyed handing out treats more than getting them.

Steve, you'll be jealous of this one...

2008-10-28T12:54:00.000-07:00

Oliver built himself an amazing drum kit...don't be too jealous, Steve. I'm sure he could work one up for you too.

Just shy of a week...

2008-10-28T12:49:00.001-07:00

Great weekend...not too cold. We finished digging the holes for the egress windows that we are putting in our basement as the initial project for finishing our basement. Oliver was a huge help. I also received an early birthday present. Ben found a moped for me that needs a little work...I get it for my birthday and then we'll fix it up for the summer.

2008-10-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

So as not to break my momentum

2008-10-22T10:53:00.001-07:00

Just thought I'd post quickly. I'm the chair for the professional development team at our high school. It's been a rough job and probably the responsibility that I like least. Last month, the meeting was awful. Teachers are frustrated at how the school is moving and I felt like I was getting blamed for it...the whole "shoot the messenger thing". Well, today went better. Teachers are coming around and realizing I'm not to blame. They are beginning to see that I'm just continuing a plan that was started 5 years ago...way before I was hired on. Anyhow, work is feeling a little bit better and now all I have to do is tackle a big paper that I've been putting off revising.

The best thing...I've now posted two days in a row. I knew I had some resolve and stick-to-it-ness in me.

As for family, it's nice to have Ben back. He was in Oregon for the weekend picking up a jointer for his shop. Oliver is very excited to have his dad back, though he asked if he could have a new dad without a beard while Ben was gone. He changed his mind quickly though and said he liked the beard because it made his dad more "bear-like". Who doesn't want a dad who is more bear like? They built cardboard houses and painted gourd birdhouses yesterday while I was at work. Oliver also asked if he could have a brother and sister. Without skipping a beat, he said, "If I get a brother and sister, our family will be five rather than three people. Can we name them brussel sprout and green bean?" I'm in awe of his math skills because the kid really can do simple math functions (at age 4), and not so in awe of his name choices. We'll be waiting on the kids until he can be rational in this...:)

way longer than it should be...

2008-10-21T14:59:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a lot longer than it should be. I thought things might slow down as a new semester began and the inconsistencies of my summer schedule were resolved. Not so. It's been busier than ever. I'm teaching full time at the high school, taking two Ph.D classes, teaching a Master's level writing course to elementary school teachers and teaching a Master's level reading endorsement course to my fellow teachers. I also just finished giving a big presentation at a regional International Reading Association conference in Seattle, Washington. It went really well, and was even better to get done. I'm in the middle of a research class right now that emphasizes writing and I realized I don't do enough of it to be comfortable in my own skin as an informal writer or potentially published author. I'm also working on writing up our presentation to be considered for publication. So, I'm resolving to get a little writing in at least every other day here just to increase my practice time.

We just had fall break and I had a chance to regroup. I got to spend this last weekend with Oliver, my mom, and my sisters in SLC. We had a great time attending the planetarium and eating out. We all got to eat at Benihana's restaurant on Friday night and Oliver was wowed! He kept telling the chef how "amazing" he was and decided there that he wants to be a chef. Maybe we'll apprentice him and start living off his wages?

Pictures of Oliver

2008-10-21T14:51:00.000-07:00

Here we are at a month and 7 days...

2008-06-12T12:38:00.001-07:00

One of these days I'll figure out how to post more than once a month, or in this case, a few days after the month mark. High school teaching let out on May 31st and I've been more busy than when I was working full time and in school full time at the same time. The first week of June I taught a class to a group of my high school teachers to aid them in obtaining their basic reading endorsements. The school district pays for it and the get teaching credit and an endorsement added to their teaching license. This can result in pay raises, better knowledge, etc. Well, the class went from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon every day. To prepare for it, I'd stay up until 2:30 AM the night before and would wake up at 6 to finish up...so I'm severely sleep deprived and wary of writing anything for anyone to read. I'm still keeping this schedule as a student and will be done in two weeks. Because I'm trying to post more, I'll finish this up later since I'm in a class and need to work right now.

Okay...it's only been a month

2008-05-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

A month is way better than my usual record of only writing to people at Christmas. I'm trying to get better at posting and staying in touch. Since we've moved, we're finding that we really miss our old friends...Garrisons, Gardiners, Jimisons, Pews, Hoskisson-Wytiazs, Weber-Samuelsons, the list could go on and on and we need to be better at staying in touch. So...now that I'm over trying to find a clever title and am just settling, things can get rolling. Can't believe how OCD I was about trying to figure that out...it took me a month to realize I'd never figure one out and I should just move on. It's kind of like how I lost my work keys a couple of months ago and I still refuse to look for them because that's admitting defeat. If I look for them and can't find them then they are lost and gone for good. However, if I never look I can continue to say they are misplaced. Wow...makes so much sense. Anyway, all is well here. I just finished my second semester of graduate school and did well, even with statistics (the bane of my existence). I'm almost finished with my first year of high school teaching and even was able to juggle an adjunct job in there. Yes, my personal life suffered but I'm learning how to balance this new trajectory in my schooling/career and am getting better at finding time for family and friends. Next year should be smoother sailing...not clear and placid waters, I'm sure, but the sailboat will be in better hands. The water's not changing, but the sailor is. Anyhow, life's moving forward and we're finally catching up with the momentum. I'll be posting pictures of Oliver and the house renovations soon.

Starting a blog...

2008-02-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

Too many people have recommended that I do this for too long. I can no longer ignore the peer pressure. I'm weak-willed and in need of a place to practice writing, so convenience has trumped principle and I'm starting this blog. Besides, it seems like it's the cool thing to do and I've never been too hot at that so it's never too late to try.