Harrassment!

In response to several people urging me to update my blog (since it has been over a year!) I thought I better. Especially since we now have 4 kids and little Lucas has been left in the dust. At this juncture i believe my mantra is "Do it now, it won't wait." Why? Because when I tell Gabe (3) to give me a minute before helping him on the toilet, in order to finish pulling lunch out of the oven, I now have another mess to clean up:) It's either on the floor OR he has opted to get off the toilet himself leaving treasures on the toilet seat! Lovely. I should buy stock in Lysol Wipes.

Life is always busy. Doesn't matter how many kids I just like the busy life. Whenever I try to slow down I find myself being lazy and just sleeping. I love sleep but it seems like such a waste and afterward I feel guilty for not doing something more productive with my time. Like hanging out with the kids.

Raegan just graduated from kindergarten and she already likes boys! Whose kid is this anyway?! She is basically a mini-me but far smarter. Seriously, who teaches a 6 year old how to be so manipulative? Last night we were having dinner on the deck and she wanted to sit in Brody's spot and he wasn't having anything to do with it. She was trying every technique from I'll give you my dessert to you can have a sleep over. I ran inside (okay walked) to get more milk and when I got back out there she was in his spot! I asked Brody how Raegan got him out of his chair and he said, "She said please." I am proud of her for figuring that out but I believe it says a lot about Brody's character at the young age of four.

Speaking of his character, we were coming in from the garage a few weeks ago and Gabe noticed I had a pop in my hand. He said, "Mom, you are my best friend. Can I have a drink of your pop?" Of course I had to say yes to that--who could resist! Brody was right in front and heard the whole thing. I asked him if he'd like a drink of pop and who was his best friend. He said, "I'm sorry it's not you mommy." I was surprised seeing as I had the pop in my hand. Then he looked at me and said, "God is my best friend." AHHHHH. And yes, he got 2 drinks!

Enough for now--back to writing curriculum for a Club Med training I am headed to on Sunday!

Finally Updating

Well it is about time seeing as I do this twice a year. However, I figure I should update since the two people following might want to see that I do care about the birth of our fourth baby enough to add them to our family blog:) YES. We are due in late November and are very excited to add this precious babe to the Pluth contingency. I have been pretty sick, yet again. The past few days have been much better, but I must say in the evenings I wasn't feeling well AT all but no one likes a whiner so I sicked it up. No use in complaining (except at home to Bradly:)). Anyway, to the two of you who read this stuff--here's to you!

Well I am amidst writing my second book titled Webinars with WOW Factor! I am totally excited and have set a release date for March of 2009. I have hired a company to do the marketing to book buyers for this book and we are doing presales which is exciting. The scary part is getting the book finished so that it can be edited and then printed! All of this with us moving is proving to be quite the task. I am a bit overwhelmed but I know it will all come together. Here is what will be on the back cover of the book (thanks to the help of Liz!)





Death by webinar is rapidly replacing death by PowerPoint! Make your webinars effective and engaging!
A webinar is a different animal—requiring different skills and a different energy—where your weaknesses and lack of preparation leaves you completely exposed. Don’t get caught with your training pants down!
Budget cuts and a business focus on everything “green” makes human resource training via webinars a really attractive option—IF you can do it effectively. Here is the resource you NEED for designing and delivering training that justifies your investment and gets the job done WELL.

In this book, you will discover:
• What are the top 10 sins of webinars? How can I avoid them?
• Can I connect with learners online? How?
• What are best practices for webinar design, execution and follow-up?
• What tips can I use to energize my audience?
• How can I make a powerful impact with my slide design?
• How do I use the basic webinar software tools to best advantage?
• What activities can I use to ensure participant involvement?
• What techniques can I implement to make the webinar enjoyable for both host and participant?
• How do I increase retention of the training material?

Implementing these techniques and activities are guaranteed to better prepare you to involve your participants, make your training memorable, and ensure participant action planning.

Pluth Halloween

It has been 4 1/2 months sincy my last update and am almost feeling to guilty to update now~man. Anyway, getting over that I have decided to update you all on our Fall Festivities! So, here we are on a Hay Ride at the Chanhassen Rec Center. Each year Brad and I have taken the kids there for their Fall Halloween Party. They love it. This year was especially interesting as we have three kids 5 and under and trying to keep track of them all dressed up was a bit of a challenge. Here I am with Brody (2 1/2). He went as a Bee and I am a kitty:)

Here is Brad with Raegan(5) who went as Scooby Doo and Gabe (18m) as our little Monkey. Boy was he ever. Not once but twice during the evening he managed to get away from us and hide in the crowd. The first time we were in the gymnasium for the entertainment and he was running around and climbing up the risers. The next thing I know I can't locate the runner. I scan the audience for what seemed like an eternity to find the rascal running around but there was nothing! Eventually I located him sitting on the top bleacher next to another kid just sitting there eating his sucker. When has Gabe ever sat still for 5 minutes! SURE he had to pick then.

The fun continued on Halloween when Uncle Rob, Aunt Rosie and "Wild Thing" Will came over for Trick or Treating in the neighborhood. Aunt Cassie and Captain Roberto (as Raegan called Uncle John--I think he dressed up for story time at a sleepover they had at their house one time--came to take the kids around to a few houses too! It was really great to be surrounded by family and enjoy the evening together. I had to leave for Korea the next day so I was busy packing but it was a great night--our neighbors gave the kids a TON of candy because they only get 5 kids. They made out like bandits with the candy.

Cute Sayings

Of course kids say just about anything! So here are acouple of the latest cute sayings from the Pluth household:

Becky: Raegan if you spend the night at Gramma's with your cousins you won't see me before I leave on my trip.
Raegan: That's okay mom. I know you'll miss me but my cousins haven't seen me in a really long time and they miss me more.

Jody: Raegan, be careful not to slip on your way back home.
Raegan: It's okay Jody, God is watching over me.

Raegan: It is just so hard to be a good listener.

Travel with 3 Kids!

So we are currently on a trip to visit my Gramma Pat in Illinois (neas St. Louis) and it has been quite the adventure. Brody dumping any drink possible into his lap (even if it is in a sippy cup), Raegan wanting to watch the same movie 3 times, Brad losing his wallet (which is still gone), breaking the GPS charger mid-trip, or my personal favorite is trying to get three kids to go to sleep in a hotel room when one of the three is constantly being as loud as humanly possible--in any form of loudness! One night Raegan was still up at 1am!

We visited with Gramma, Uncle Sandy, Aunt Kris and Steve and Sara (who are on their way to MN) has been really fun. I admit that in a one level home (small only when there are 12 people there) it is a bit stressful hoping that your kids will be good and not scream too much...I look forward to being home---ALONE--where the noise just doesn't seem so loud:) Will upload pictures when we get home.

Gabe Crawls (Sortof!)

I just got done with the Fall Conference and decided to use the Flip Video to see what else I could capture video. Of course the kids are an easy target. Gabe decided to perform! LIVE from Moms frontroom floor, in his crawling debut, Gabe Riley doing the "Scoot and Leap".

This Fall Brad is spending time with his after school classes and enjoying a little bit of actual golf time. He will be home with the kids this winter while I will be traveling for BPG and also writing my second book. Liz, my sister, is holding me accountable to actually getting it done. I am looking forward to getting several big projects off my plate. It is a very busy time with three little ones in the house. Raegan still thinks it is her birthday! Being 4 is very exciting.