Over the Hill to Grandmas House

We went to see Great Grandma Friday and had a great visit with her. She made me her candied popcorn... My sister and I used to beg her to make it for us, besides her bread, it was our favorite treat. Kennedy just loved her. I think Grandma thought she was pretty neat too. I will post pictures later. So on the very snowy drive home, Kassidy and I were playing I think, then I decided we should answer some questions, so I started asking her her favorite things, here are a few.

Question- What is your favorite thing to do with....

Daddy- Sled in the winter, play horse tag the rest of the time

Grandpa George - go for walks

Grandma Karen - help babysit

Grandma Phyllis - watch movies

Grandpa Lee - sit on his lap and visit

Nana - go rock hunting for Arizona rocks

Grandpa Mike- ride horses

Mom - cuddle

IT was a very revealing conversation, I think we will make it a habit, it made her think and I got to learn more about her. It also cemented some memories for her and made her think about how grateful she is for the loving family that she has. ( and me too)

Green Bags

So I am tired of my bananas rotting before I get them used so I bought some of the "Green Bags" advertised on TV. Kassidy came into the kitchen, looked at the bag and said, "Mom, did you buy the Debbie Reynolds green bags? I hope you got them from a store and not the TV". She was so matter of fact, it was hilarious.

Apparently, my daughter watches too much TV!

Little T

Kassidy is trying for a new way to read. I don't want to break it to her that osmosis doesn't work. I tried.

Kennedy is trying to crawl. She can back up, right into the tree and presents.
Here are some pictures from the ultrasound. I think He is going to look like Kass. We shall see.

Technology is so cool

We had our big ultrasound today. The little man is growing perfectly. He has my nose. THey moved the due date up to the 14th of April. I am sure that I will miss Kennedy's first easter egg hunt. We are planning one a week early so that I can be there. Enjoy the ultrasound. I thought it was awsome.

Meeting Santa

The girls had a great time with Santa. Kassidy wants a baby alive and another Webkin and Kennedy wants boxes and paper. Kennedy did great with Santa for about 45 seconds, then she got worried. She has started to say DaDa now, Travis thinks he's pretty cool. She figured out how to wave her hand too. We walked outside to get the mail the other day, she was leaning over in front of me and I couldn't figure out what she was smiling at--- She was looking at our shadows, she thought that was pretty cool. Kassidy and Miranda have been making Christmas ornaments with some beads Grandma gave them, they have been having a great time making Christmas economical this year!! they picked out a really pretty Christmas tree too, Kennedy loves the lights and touching the branches. Of course, she wants all of the ornaments too.

Baby pictures

Disappointment

We got word from Michigan today. It appears that the appellate court (where our case is now) averages a year in reviewing cases. Because ours involves a child, they may speed it up a few months. So, It will be next summer at the earliest when we can take Kennedy to the temple. We are very disappointed of course. If the birthfather wouldn't have appealed- twice, this would all be over. I will take pictures of Kennedy in her beautiful blessing dress that her Grandma made but it doesn't look like she will get to wear it for real. Please keep us in your prayers.

It begins

Our attempt at family photo

The other night, Kennedy (who has a stuffy nose) was restless in her crib. She woke up about 10:30, was up on all 4's, and cried "MaMa". big suprise, I picked her up and she immediately fell asleep on my chest. Wow, she learned fast.

I started my new job today. It went really well. It will definately be different but I loved being able to drop off the girls and only take 25 minutes to drive to and from work. That part was Awsome. I even got to have lunch with Travis!!! (yes he whined about having to eat with his Wife-- waaa.)

Just Us

Kassidy and Diva
Kassidy and Kennedy

The five of us- notice the protruding belly

Mama

The QBQ

The QBQ is one of my favorite books, I really liked this quick note that was emailed out- Hope you enjoy it too.

QBQ! (The Question Behind the Question) QuickNote
QBQ! QuickNotes™ may be forwarded by email or printed in their entirety with full credit given for personal and group use.© QBQ, Inc. 2008. All rights reserved.

Ending the Blame Begins With ... Me.
by Kristin E. Lindeen "The QBQ! Daughter"
Have you ever made a mistake? Dropped the ball? Caused a problem? I have. And I hate it when that happens.
Before joining QBQ, Inc., I served as a university academic advisor helping incoming students pick their classes. Jessica, a co-worker, and I counseled one new student, a single mom with two little ones who was hesitant about attending college. The three of us worked closely to set a schedule that worked for her. But on the first day of school, it turned out that she'd been put in the wrong class—wrong subject, wrong time, wrong location. Bad news for an incoming student. Especially, a busy mom.
Well, we all huddled and after some creative scheduling, the problem was solved. The student—our customer, my customer—was happy.
So, feeling personally accountable, I did a postmortem to see what went wrong and what I could learn from it. I tried to ask all the right questions of myself—I mean, after all, I was raised on QBQ!
“What could I have done to clarify?” “How could I have made sure to follow up?” “What can I do to be more careful in the future?”
Later, I wandered into Jessica's office and started sharing about the whole mess. But while I talked, Jessica was only ... nodding! My frustration began to build. You see, to be truthful, I was accepting my responsibility for the problem, and rightly so. Yet, what I really, really wanted my co-worker to say was, “Well, Kristin, I could have done more, too.” When it got right down to it, I would've happily agreed to take, say, 70% of the blame, but she could and should take 30%. In fact, I would've negotiated to 80/20 if she'd wanted to. I just needed her to state I am accountable, too!
Has this ever happened to you? You’re asking the right questions, admitting to your involvement in a problem, practicing PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY!!!, but no one else is owning up to their part!? It’s not an easy position to be in. Honestly, as I was telling her, “I could have done this or that differently…” I wanted to scream out, “And you, Jessica, could have done something differently and it’d be really super for you to admit it!!” What’s ironic, is this coworker even had the QBQ! book sitting on her desk.
That was the day I realized that practicing personal accountability by using The Question Behind the Question is a choice—MY CHOICE—and not one that I can force others to make. In her office, I suppose I could've asked Jessica to read the QBQ! book again, but that probably would not have enhanced our working relationship. Personal accountability is just that: personal. I can't make someone else be accountable. My job is to eliminate blame from my life.
Since I became a QBQ, Inc. team member and began speaking and conducting workshops on my dad's (John Miller) material, I have learned that organizations struggle mightily with this blame thing—what it looks like, why it happens, what its costs are, and how to stop it. There's even a bit of confusion about blame. Some recent client statements:
Our executives actually like to ask "Who dropped the ball!?" because they feel it keeps individuals from hiding behind systems and processes.
So, blame creates fear? What's wrong with that; isn't fear a motivator?
As a manager, why shouldn't I blame my staff ... they're the ones not reaching their goals?
OK, I know I shouldn't blame others, but does that mean I should take all the blame all the time? I believe in simple, so let me simply quote the QBQ! book: Accountable people don't blame anyone. Not even themselves.
It's true, solving problems, excelling in our work, building relationships, and reaching goals are all driven by introspection, humility, continuous learning, passion, accountability, and hard work. Never finger-pointing, accusations, recrimination, and blame. Let's call it quits on The Blame Game today. We can do better. Are you with me 100%?
If not, that's okay—it begins with me.
Kristin E. Lindeen QBQ! speaker/workshop leader mailto:Kristin@QBQ.com

Ha ha, I win

Kennedy's babbling has meaning. SHe says- Ma ma ma ma. SO, I win, she said mama first.