Monkey's First Primary Talk

Monkey was asked to give a short talk in Primary the first Sunday in January. I wanted to give him as much input as possible. So in preparation, I asked him a lot of questions about the scriptures, his favorite scripture story and what he learned from it. Then I put it all together with a scripture verse. He did such a great job - no fear at all. He had some help "reading" but delivered like a champ.

The Scriptures are the Word of God

Heavenly Father gave us the scriptures to teach us about Him and his Son, Jesus Christ. My favorite scripture story is about the prophet, Nephi. Heavenly Father sent Nephi to Jerusalem to get the golden plates from Laban. It was important for Nephi and his family to have the word of God. Nephi said, "And we had obtained the records which the Lord had commanded us, and searched them and found that they were desirable; yea, even of great worth unto us, insomuch that we could preserve the commandments of the Lord unto our children." (1 Nephi 5:21) I know the scriptures - the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price - are the word of God. They teach us to make good choices and to be kind to one another.

Monkey and Huggy Bear at church

Venting

Dear Government Employee who is controlling my life,

I dislike you. I am trying really hard not to hate you (especially since we aren't allowed to use that word in our house). I would like to understand what perverse pleasure you are getting from playing with our lives, but I don't.

When you moved us to WV in August 09 (at our own cost), it was with promises of a better life. A one mile commute!!!! Oh the things we could do! Real family time.  Time to devote to our callings. Owning our own home. And for a while that's exactly what we had. It was amazing. And then....

You changed your mind. My husband was forced to endure a 3 hour commute (each way). He comes home exhausted and grumpy. As am I, after being with the boys from 5am-8pm. Chores don't get done. Callings become a burden. Family time is relegated to the lowest of priorities, after all of the things that we HAVE to do. We are stretched to our limits. (And don't even get me started on the financial impact.)

Over the last year and a half you have changed your mind so many times I have lost count. Every few months you tease us by letting Wil work from WV for a week, two, sometimes even a couple months... only to take it all back again.

Now I have tried (and tried) to have a good attitude. But it just isn't working. It's killing us.

Please retire. 

Yours truly,
One Frustrated Mommy


**(Please understand that I am very grateful that my husband has a job that provides for our family. I know that it could be a lot worse. This week has been one of the "teaser" weeks and I'm struggling with the change.)

Happy Christmas Dance

This is for those excited for Christmas. Bug wanted to share his feelings!

Yesterday, I was rushing hurriedly from a meeting to pick Monkey up from school. I had just enough time to run into Walmart and pick up the last few things we needed for a Young Men's activity at our house. As Bug and I were leaving, the store the greeter gave him a bright blue sticker. I got our few bags and Bug into the car and buckled him into his seat. Which is when he decided that I needed to wear the blue sticker on my right cheek. I was so worried about being on time for pre-k picked up, I didn't even stop to pull it off....

Two hours later, after pre-k pick up, the taco bell drive thru, and at least half an hour in the tire repair shop, the nice man at the counter says, "Excuse me, did you know that you have a sticker on your face?"

oops.

Halloween 2010

Charlie Brown ("Brownie Brown") and Joe Cool. 

 

Trick or Treat!

Check out those super cool trick or treat bags. They hold WAY too much candy.

Zee and I walking around the neighborhood with the boys.

Monkey had his heart set on being Snoopy this year for Halloween. Which of course meant that Bug (and his perfectly round head) had to be Charlie Brown. Zee went above and beyond and made these fabulous costumes. I helped out by making the snoopy pants. She even made herself a coordinating Lucy costume. We had big plans to make Wil and I costumes too (Linus and Sally), until we realized we would be out of town for the ward Trunk or Treat. Then it just seemed like too much to try and sew. Wil stuck with his trusty "costume" t-shirt, which he loves (also Zee's creation) and at some point I pulled out my witch's hat.  The boys' loved Trick or Treating in our little neighborhood. There were only about 10 houses with people home handing out candy. But that was more than enough. They had a great time knocking on doors and remembering to say thank you. Of course, Monkey says his favorite part was getting candy.

Your my little chu-chi face

During those few precious quiet moments with Bug, when he was still tiny, sometimes I would hold his hand to my face while he was nursing. It was rare, since Monkey was usually trying to get my attention, but for me it was important... my link to my new baby boy.

Now it's been almost three years and I'm not sure when it happened, but Bug needs my face. Now that we've taken away his sippy cup and his pacifier, he wants his "mama cuggles" even more. I'm not so happy about that when his need for comfort means he's rubbing his hands all over my face at 3am, but I think it's worth the sacrifice. He's still my baby and I know that the day will come when he decides he's too big to cuddle with his mommy. So I'll take those "mama cuggles" for as long as I can get them.

Six!

Today is our sixth wedding anniversary. Sometimes I can't believe how far we've come and sometimes it still feels like we're just starting.  Here's my list of six* things that I love about my husband (in no particular order):


1. He does the dishes. All of them. Almost every night. Without complaint, even when the kitchen is trashed.
2. His geekiness is rubbing off on me to the point that I was SUPER excited when I saw he had gotten us Wii Lego Harry Potter for our anniversary.
3. He is always willing to serve.
4. He understands my need to have time to myself, which is usually spent shopping.
5. If you pay attention when you watch a show with him (TV, movies, commercials), he will tell you the brand and model of computer in use. Lately, this has also branched out to cell phones.
6. He doesn't complain when I burrow my feet under his leg, even when they are ice cold.

I love you, William.

*there are a lot more than six things, but Lego Harry Potter is calling my name.

"I blub you real real much"*

Friday we said goodbye to our very last pacifier. It's been a long weekend, with some good nights and some struggles (naptime). But our Bug is doing better than I had expected. Isn't he a sweet boy?

*This is Bug's version of "I love you very much" and it melts my heart every time.

Baby Jaguar

Last week I pulled out the Halloween bin and began to decorate the house. This was my helper:

Ears, tail and pumpkin cup... he's adorable

He spent most of the morning wearing this, following me around the house and growling. He was convinced that he was Baby Jaguar.

 

Do you see the resemblance?

How do you know it's Fall?

My mums are in full bloom (honestly, my flower beds are happier and healthier than they've been in months). Monkey has adjusted to school. I've pulled out my slippers and put another blanket on the bed. Zee is making Halloween costumes. My favorite hoodie has emerged from the closet. And yesterday at the store, I found this:

I wanted to buy a whole case, maybe even a year supply, just so I wouldn't be without canned pumpkin again. But, yeah,  I settled for one and it's already half gone. Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies.... the choices are delicious.

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas

My friend, Heidi, is really into doTerra essential oils. A few weeks ago she sent me some samples after hearing my whining about my boys and their inability to sleep. It didn't take long for me to be converted to lavender oil. It's amazing in it's ability to help Monkey calm down. It's been helpful at night, but the true miracle is on Sundays for church. We've gone from full blown tantrums in sacrament meeting to rarely having to remind him to quiet down.



So... when Heidi suggested I try the OnGuard (a blend of cinnamon, clove and orange to help boost your immune system) to help us all stay healthier this winter, I was all for it. This weekend my samples came in the mail and I've been putting it on the boys' feet when they get dressed.

This was the plan until Bug grabbed the sample and tried to get the cap off with his teeth, while getting his diaper changed.

Now he smells like Christmas...

Success?

I made it one month into the school year before dropping Monkey off for school in my pjs. I'm counting this one as a success.

Somebody in our house loves to play Rockband....

Labor Day on the "Root Canal"

The boys love to take their trikes to the C&O Canal to ride on the towpath. A few weeks ago, Monkey overheard Wil and I talking about his need for a root canal. Now whenever we drive over the bridge above the canal... you can hear two little boys yell, "ROOT CANAL!"

Speed Racer

Wil checking our location and pushing Bug's trike.

 

 

Ode to Sleep

This is where I would write my "Ode to Sleep".

Extoll the virtues of a full night's rest,
Wax poetic on how I wish the monster would sleep past dawn,
But, alas, I am too tired.

*the monster, my inspiration for this post

Africa

For months now Monkey has talked about going to Africa. (I have no idea where he got this idea, but it's stuck in his head for a long time.) Since my parents had come up on Saturday to celebrate my Dad's birthday, we decided this would be the perfect time to visit Africa (aka Wilson's Wild Animal Park).

When we pulled in, it was a bit questionable (part wild animal park/part junkyard)... but once we headed inside. The boys loved it (so much so that we couldn't get them to stop long enough to take a picture, unless it was the back of their heads).

Checking out the tortoises -"Hey, Mom!!! There's THREE!!"

Bug kept yelling at the rooster to "Be kiet, da yions are leeping!"

Billy Goat Gruff - this guy was mean

Why, hello, emu...

Feeding the fallow deer

What's next?

The Tortoise and the Hare

Check out my new look

Just in case you read the blog through Google Reader, you should click on over and check out the new look. My sister put it all together and I think it's fabulous.

Create your own Monster in 7 easy steps

Things you will need:
a happy healthy 18 month old
a pacifier
a sippy cup

1. Pack up all your earthly belongings and move.
2. Take your happy healthy boy and move him to a big boy bed in the new house
3. Let him sleep in your bed when he wakes up in the middle of the night, placating him with alternating pacifiers and sippy cups of milk.
4. Drag this on for almost a year.
5. Decide you've had enough.
6. Begin excruciating steps to remove child from your bed, wean him from pacifier and then the 4am milk sippy.
7. Realize that you have made this decision just as your happy healthy boy has hit his terrible two's with full force.

Ta da! You too will have your very own sleep deprived 2 year old. But watch out... cause they bite.

ps. Don't let this adorable face fool you.

righteous desires

You know how there are things in life that you struggle with for a while because they seem like really good things but it just isn't working and then you come to terms with whatever it is and then you are ok with it for a while and then you come really close to resolving the problem/attaining the goal and you realize that you can't resolve the problem/reach the goal after all and that thing you were fine with yesterday becomes a HUGE deal all over again and you feel like you have to start all over...

Yeah.

It's only taken 20 years to learn this lesson

I remember clearly my mom's frequent requests to clean my room and make my bed as I was growing up. More often than not they went unheeded and resulted in me being stuck in my room until it was clean (usually missing out on something else I had really wanted to do). I'm sure I'm not the only one who spent parts of their childhood/teenage years in the same situation.

Fast forward 20 (plus) years. Now I get it. I love my bedroom. The little details are all coming together. I'm in love with that color. I've been slowly sneaking more pillows on the bed over the last 5 years and Wil has even stopped complaining about them (he's a champ). BUT... our bedroom is the dumping place for everything without a place, along with all of the unfolded laundry. Slowly I've been able to get this more under control (except, of course, the laundry, which might always be a step ahead of me*), but it's still the last room in the house to get cleaned.

Except for the bed... it's the one thing I can accomplish quickly, without having to go in search of cleaning supplies or missing parts. And especially when it's been a no good, horrible day - walking in the room and seeing that the bed is made, makes me feel like I've accomplished something.

I'm coming to terms with the fact that my room may not ever be uncluttered beyond the time it took to take those pictures, but you can bet the the bed will be made.

*I was complaining about my plight to my mother the other day and in her wisdom she said, "Do you remember growing up and going to the M's and the G's and C's and the W's? Can you think of a time when there wasn't a pile of laundry waiting to be sorted, washed, folded or put away? Probably not, because once you have kids... it just doesn't happen. Thanks, Mom, for keeping it real.