What Goes Up...Must Come Down

My van stinks. It has that kid-infested smell that used to gag me in my sister's van when I was in college. I would never have a minivan, I thought.
Ha. I'm laughing a little at that self-righteous girl.
The van-stink is just one source of the irritation I feel right now - irritation that my kids keep getting sick, irritation that I can't seem to get the faces right on a drawing I need to finish for someone (someone who actually tracked me down and purchased from my dormant shop, bless her...), irritation that my backyard is an unfriendly mass of overgrown cactus, sagebrush, and brown, irritation that my clean, new running shoes hold much less appeal than the sweet-stuffed recipe book in my head...Nothing is safe, from the visible dirt on my floor to Jacob's newfound ability to move slower and whine more than ever.
I think it's fallout. Whiplash. Let-down...from my awesome adults-only girls trip with my mom and sisters in Chandler last weekend. While Rus was heroically dealing with kids (who unbeknownst to him were coming down with bronchitis - Beau - and the flu - Marianne), I was shopping, eating, sleeping, hot tubbing, movie watching, and traumatizing a middle-aged balding big guy in the elevator.
(Dark elevator. Said Man. Enter Amy and I. Lights flicker.
I turn to Amy and teasingly say. "Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you."
Man replies, "Oh, okay."
Amy says, "No she was talking to me."
Situation deteriorates beyond capacity to save.)

I managed to eat at Paradise Bakery and Cafe twice, try Chipotle for the first time, make it to the dessert menu at Olive Garden, and buy four pencil skirts and bright red heels. I also almost made it through a full box of lotion added tissues, thankyouverymuch pollen-filled Chandler air. Ooh and did I mention we got lost on the way to Target and thus found a couple of rewarding garage sales. Bonus. Amanda cut her hair in a drastic but successful fashion, I literally added a blonde streak to mine (don't judge), Amy found some great work/church clothes and my mom, as usual, practically walked away with nothing. How does she do that? We visited my Grandma and Grandpa in their super cute new mobile home - she had oreos for us how cute is that? Amy and I fell in love with our cousin's almost-five-year-old daughter and interrogated her thoroughly. She dealt with us very graciously. Oh and on top of all that we saw the Hunger Games. (eek!) I loved the book and I loved that the movie was well made and didn't severely butcher the book.
Can you see why coming down is hard? And irritating? If Rus was being irritating I would at least have some time away from him during the day. (Not that he ever, ever is. Irritating, I mean.) But I can't really get away from myself, which means *sigh* that I have to just fix the problem. Go to work. Get up. Stop being lazy. Stop hiding. Stop thinking of which would be better - snickerdoodles or lemon monkey bread. Rent a bobcat. Tear out the plants I don't want. Inject gardening/landscaping wisdom into my brain, Matrix style. Ug. I think I'll just go fold laundry instead. ;)
Um...here is my hair in a wandering reverse braid

...and here is my blonde streak. :)

Spring Break Away

Spring break started with some fun spray-painting with cousins...and ended with a spontaneous birthday celebration with my mom in Sierra Vista. Some loves of this past week:
*spray-bottles full of paint, half painted children and beautiful weather

*going to Discount Tire with all of my kids to get tires rotated for the manvan...okay you got me, I'm being totally sarcastic here.
*Driving to Lordsburg. I love roadtrips with Rus. He usually drives most of the time and talks my ear off. He may not freely admit it, he may not even realize it, but Rus has the gift of gab. Just don't get him on the topic of conspiracy theories. You'll have to up your "Uh-huh, yeah, right" game. But seriously, we always have great conversations when we drive. He even sings sometimes. (For grumpy Marianne.)
*Leaving Rus in Lordsburg to walk, feed, and water his Dad so his mom could take a quick trip to Alaska. (I know. Personally I didn't know "quick trip" and "Alaska" could be in the same sentence.) Rus' dad was in a motorcycle accident a few weeks ago...I'd add "minor" but his ribs would not agree. He is doing much better but Rus jumped at the chance to hang out with him for the weekend. For all of you familiar with my and Rus's seemingly regular separate vacations I want to state that this is not actually a "love." But it did enable me to visit my mom for her birthday.
*Playing Super Scrabble with my dad, Amy, and her son Luke. The board for Super Scrabble is twice as big. It makes triple word scores look paltry. The corners have quadruple word scores and there are numerous opportunities for double-double word scores and triple-letter-double-word scores. It was awesome. And we only lasted two-and-a-half hours before we called it quits. My dad won, something to do with the word "soliquid" and my uncanny ability to assist him in transforming "quid" to "soliquid" and thus earn 86 points. Amy will happily rake me over the coals in telling the story. She's just mad because she got third place right behind me.
*Making THIS Triple Layer Coconut Custard Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Just saying that makes me salivate. As do the pictures I took of the finished product. Good thing you only turn sixty once, Mom! I have to note that the yummy toasted coconut on the outside is from an actual coconut. I made the grocery list for my dad and he thought it'd be funny to buy me an actual "unsweetened coconut." So we cracked it, skinned it, shredded it, mixed it with some sugar syrup and toasted it. And it was SO worth it! Crunchy, sweet, yummy.
*Hanging out with Amy's family. They stopped at the ostrich farm on the way down - they swear it's awesome - and brought an ostrich egg with them. Amy left me a message on my phone: "We're bringing breakfast!" And she meant it. One ostrich egg equals 24 chicken eggs. Amazing. The egg comes scored on the top; you crack a tiny hole in the top, use a knife to break up the yoke, and then pour it out into a bowl. It took at least ten minutes and was a family event. This picture shows everyone's rapt attention on the egg...but not the egg. Whoops. It is under that knife Luke is holding.

 I love this picture - my mom enjoying five seconds of royal treatment from Joshua and Luke. She is holding the ostrich egg and they are fanning her with ostrich feathers.

We also had a great time doing a spontaneous dance party,  (here are the boys getting their groves on)

going swimming at the Cove, and hiding sixty happy birthday notes for Cutesy all over the house.
*Seeing my mom love on Marianne.

She could not get enough of the bug. And Marianne was super fun too. She was happy and roly-poly and just loved all the attention from my Mom, Grandpa, Mike, Amy's kids, Tyler, Gina...She does know when she's not with Mom now, though, so sometimes she was not the best sport when someone else wanted to hold her.
*Seeing Tyler and Gina. They made a lemon cream pie for my mom. Tyler+Gina+food=yumminess. Next time we'll have to get together for more than just an evening.
*Looking at slides with my Dad. He took a million pictures when he was on his mission and had them put on slides, and then never looked at them. So it was really fun to walk down memory lane with him. He also had pictures from us as kids when we lived in England. Great family pictures. It was so fun.
*On the drive home, Beau's hands got sticky from a ring pop and he was tired and grumpy and wailed over and over, "My hands are going to be sticky forever!" It was hilarious.

And that's a wrap. Good job for making it this far.

Marianne at Six Months

Lucky you...it's that time again where I get to gush again about my baby...
Last week Marianne reached the ripe old age of six months. She celebrated by being officially cleared of RSV by her doctor, going grocery shopping, helping set up for a relief society activity, and taking a big long nap.
Yesterday I realized I hadn't taken any official "six months" pictures so after her bath I snapped a few...dozen. Here are my favorites:
And if Marianne could tell you about herself she just might say something like this:

Hello world! I am so big now, I really should be keeping up with my big brothers and sisters. I get so mad when they walk away from me! (I like to shriek and yell at them; I cry if I'm desperate.) I can actually get up on my hands and knees and rock...

...if I could just figure my arms out then nothing would be out of reach! (Soon...very soon...) I can usually be found with a toy in hand (en route to my mouth), blowing raspberries, with a pink nose and a very excited little smile if you look my way. I love to grab things and play with them, so sitting right by the toy bucket where I can grab things and throw them makes me one very happy camper. Beau is great at playing with me - when I eat his toys he just says they're getting washed. As you can see I can sit up now pretty well, that is, until I fall over - which only makes me mad if I nose dive.

I still like to do yoga - see this awesome move where my hands and my feet are both off the ground?

My eyes are super blue, I have rubber-band-everything and my toes are super yummy.

I eat them every time I get my diaper changed or take a bath. Mom seems to love them, too. Speaking of Mom, and Dad for that matter, I am really getting used to them both and it makes me just a little sad to see them from afar. (Closer is always better.)
Anywho...I am pretty much amazing. The world revolves around me. That's pretty much it.
love,
The Bug.

Don't look at me hungry...you'll drool

Almost ten years ago Rus and I (as an engaged couple) realized we needed a computer. Rus's cousin Sam had one to sell to us. The computer didn't last super long, maybe a year or two, but the monitor he gave us lasted through several computers until last week when it turned off for the last time. The thing was a monstrosity, as deep as it was tall and I can't say I miss it at all considering the tight space it used to fill. After three days of living "in the dark" (no internet access, eek!), I am so happy to have a nice, thin new monitor and be once again connected to the outside world!
Those of you who know me well know that I love to cook. I try a new recipe at least once, sometimes twice (or more) a week. My kids will one day say how they hated this. Heck they say that now. I love Cooking Light and I love to pin recipes that I find surfing the net. I also love to make homemade pizza. We probably have that every couple of weeks, and Rus would tell you that having any repeat recipes is a rarity. If he likes a meal he'll say, "keep this on your regular rotation, meaning I want to see it in a few months." (I have gotten better at holding on to the ones I really like.)  My sis-in-law mentioned how much she loved the Pioneer Woman's potato leek pizza and I had to try it. So while my kids had a half pepperoni, half cheese pizza, I enjoyed this beauty:

I love it when my recipe turns out like the picture in the real recipe. :)

YUM! Thinly sliced potatoes, mozzarella, sauteed leeks, bacon, crumbled goat cheese, parmesan cheese, and a sprinkling of pepper. It was really good. I made it small so I could also make a man pizza for Rus - sausage, bacon, pepperoni, mushrooms and red onions...also good.
Another thing I've been up to in every second of my spare time for the last week was making these paper flower centerpieces. You know, you can make a craft for super cheap. But it will take you forever.

I made them for a luncheon our stake had yesterday for Sisters Barbara Thompson, Elaine Dalton, and Sharon Esplin from the general auxiliaries. They spoke on Friday night and it was a wonderful meeting. Anyway, they were meeting with sisters from the different stake primaries and I thought it would be fun to do something really bright. I saw the idea for colored rice HERE and the tutorial for the flowers HERE. I am so happy with how they turned out!
And here is Jacob. Yes, he is combing his hair. Jacob will undoubtedly be my dapper, clothes horse, gel-wearing kid. He loves to look handsome on Sundays and he loves to fix his hair. Here he is before he caught me with the camera:

And after...so handsome!

Marianne wants you to know that she knows yoga. I don't know yoga, so I can't tell you what pose this is, but she knows it well and practices everyday.

Sooo...Next week I hope to not have a baby with RSV, not have a Beau with a fever, and not freak out because my kids are off school two extra days because of parent/teacher conferences. I hope to paint a sign, orchestrate entertainment for nursery kids for a RS activity, and make a provoking argument to many women about how and why to keep their family history now. I also hope to win my playoff game. (Hockey. I'm actually looking forward to this "to do.")

Toepick!!

I am having a rare quiet moment, both Marianne and Beau asleep...I rushed and rushed this morning to get my house from "dirty/smelly" to "decent/clean" for Beau's preschool group so it's nice to relax for a minute. I have pictures to share, but mostly I just want to air my thoughts for a minute - it may be boring to you but there are some things I want to remember...
This morning Beau sat by the window in Bekah's little purple rocking chair, holding his dad's bird book. I think I've shared that Rus is a bird geek. Beau has been paying attention; he kept turning to pictures, looking outside, and saying, "There's a new bird!" It was really cute. Beau is so fun to hang out with one on one. He is talkative and perceptive and has lots of questions. He is also super imaginative, which really makes legos/ninjas/a spoon fun. (Do you sense a "but" coming?) But when he gets around Bekah and Jacob he turns into the stereotypical little brother "pest." He knows everyone's buttons and how to push them. He knows that if he walks by Bekah and pinches her or bumps into her, or blows a raspberry in her general direction she will fly off the handle. Bekah is pretty easy to get, I admit, but he even knows Jacob's buttons. I don't even know Jacob's buttons. If it wasn't my own life, I'd think it was pretty comical. As it is, I usually find myself telling Jacob and Bekah to "toughen up." How horrible is that. I am also constantly reminding them to be his friend and include him, because if they do he is much easier to deal with. It is hard though and I understand it although I pray that Beau won't be the pest forever. ;)

On to Marianne. This little chub just has me wrapped around her finger. She is so sweet, and again (I've exhausted this word, I know), so squishy. She is starting to sit up better, although she needs help to stay like this:

and not this:

I love her smiles and she gives them pretty freely. She's also really ticklish, especially around her neck. She can be really talkative at times and it is such a happy sound - somewhere between a coo and shriek. I have her sit on the counter in her bumbo (under close supervision, believe me) while I make breakfast/lunch/dinner and it turns out she loves to munch on kitchen utensils... 

...and the bread bag. And the pretzel bag. And cups. Everything goes to her mouth. She still loves to lay on the floor and play with toys and man can she get around. It's mostly just rolling and a tiny bit of scooting, but she is getting up on her knees more. I might just have an early crawler - this is bad news because I am not good at keeping my floors clean and my floors are mostly just concrete.

Now Jacob and Bekah - They both participated in the school's science fair last week. Rus was so excited to do projects with them so we struck a deal: Rus did the project, compiled the data, took pictures, made sure the kids understood their projects, and I helped them do their boards. This worked out great for both of us, I think. I made my kids hand write their boards (which the judges loved for Jacob, but didn't for Bekah), and this was a small form of torture. We all survived. Barely. Bekah's project was "Why Stuff Floats,"

and Jacob's was "Which Fuel Boils Water Fastest?"

They both received ribbons for participating and Jacob was so proud of his he taped it to his board. We went to the science fair to see their boards on exhibit and I had to laugh at some of the other projects, especially the one entitled, "Which Kind of Gum Do I Like Best?" My favorite was one a third grader from our ward did, "Which is More Effective at Crime Scenes, Dental Records or Fingerprints?" She then had her family members "steal" cookies from the table and she used the different methods to identify who took what. It was very original.

Other news: Rus and I have started working out more. He and his dad are trying to lose a bunch of weight by this summer. I'm cutting down on cookie production and increasing veggie intake as a way of being supportive. Rus might contest that all I'm doing is giving him gas. He's been running and biking, I've been running and playing hockey, (hence the "Cutting Edge" reference in the title). Inline hockey. (Roller blades, not ice skates). I joined an inline adult recreational hockey team. It's coed, 16 and up, and we play games only (no practices), on Monday and Wednesday nights. It is SO FUN. My sister thinks I'm crazy. Rus is mostly supportive (just not of the bruises and sleep deprivation because games go late). But seriously, I am super grateful to have something to do that is just fun. Wondering where the pension for hockey came from? Me too. I did it because I love to roller blade, a favorite childhood pastime, and because I like team settings. I played street hockey one summer with my brother and some friends when I was younger. The team that I am on now has all skill levels and they are really patient and supportive. I'm not the only girl - our team leader is a woman maybe in her late thirties.
Anyway...that is the news of late...what fun things are you up to?

Beau-man

This morning we woke up to at least six inches of snow. Miraculously, school was still in session and the bus even made it up the hill to our house. We were digging out the driveway because it was ten minutes past time for the bus to come, but then all of the sudden there was Bill our bus driver, hooray! Once Marianne laid down for a nap, Beau and I headed out to shovel the driveway and build a snowman. Here he is! Our first snowman! Beau and I had a great conversation about summer, melting snowmen, good guy/bad guy snowmen, and we also sang the "once there was a snowman" song a couple times. I love conversations with a three year old!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 Jacob decided that he wanted to make these awesome valentines that he came up with himself, and he wanted to give everyone a cookie. I found a recipe on pinterest to try where you make two balls and then pinch the ends together to make a heart. The picture in the recipe shows cute little heart shaped cookies from the oven. Mine looked like this:

 Although I know it's supposed to look like a heart, I can't help but think I should call them "Cupid Butts."
And here is Bekah with the valentine we made for her friends. Isn't her hat cute? She made that herself on her knifty knitter.

 And here is a Happy Valentine's Day picture from my kids this morning: Give Marianne a bow and arrow and a naked bum and she'd make a great cupid!

Also:
My dad unwittingly started a tradition of writing "Roses are red" poems when I was in middle school. I still remember my favorite one:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
You're the master of plaster
And we cast our love to you!
That was the year I had broken my wrist, and then a few months later broke my thumb. If my dad realized what a high precedent he was setting he probably wouldn't have even written the first note. Now Amy and I hound him every year to write us our poems. Yesterday I emailed him this poem:
Chips love dip,
Cheese loves curds,
If you don’t send me a valentine
I'll tell everyone you’re a terd.
He emailed me back:
Wash your mouth out with soap! I still have a few hours left...
And he did not disappoint. Just this morning I received this email, in my dad's familiar extravagant prose:
Roses are Red,
Creative of beauty that’s shockey;
Like my sweet artist, mother of four,
Who bashing and crashing plays hockey!
(I'll have to fill you in on the hockey thing later...)
So...here are the poems I am sending out this year...
To Amy:
Roses are red,
Jello is jiggly,
For all your sisterly care,
I love you BIGLY!
FYI, "bigly" is a word. Amy's son Luke says so. And the scrabble dictionary actually confirms that. Who knew!?
To my Dad:
Chips love dips,
Socks love shoes,
Mustaches love lips,
And I love yous.
I'd share Tyler's, but it's humor only he will get. (I hope.)
I hope you all have a wonderful day of love! And that it doesn't backfire: I made my kids pink crepes for breakfast this morning. I made crepes because that's one of the few breakfast foods Bekah will actually eat. Except for this morning...when I said I thought she liked crepes she said, "I do! Just not pink ones! Why didn't you ask before you made them pink?!"
I love my kids.
I love my kids.
I love my kids.
Hope your day is filled with lots of love too. Let me know if you're successful at getting your kids to love each other. :)