Hurst Family News

TShirt refashion

2012-02-17T11:53:00.003-07:00

I had a couple of shirts that were the exact same red and decided I'd try my hand at refashioning them into one cuter shirt. I told my sister I'd post pictures if it turned out well. Not exactly what I was going for but better. I may in fact add more floofies (not flowers so I don't know what to call them) later.

And I cut my bangs and decided to try them out today. If I decide against them the good news is they're log enough to just sweep to the side still.

Lando wanted to get in on the picture fun:

Then we decided to make funny faces:

THIS is what happens when you ask Daddy to put a fresh diaper on the baby...

Check out the awesome train track the boys built with Daddy last night (Charlie is in the bumbo behind Ian's arm)

TGIF

Have you ever....?

2012-02-15T09:56:00.001-07:00

...Been in 4 places at once?

Yeah...me either.

For Balentimes day the hubster got a hotel room at this place we've always seen but never been to. My amazing sister in law and her hubby and my mother and father in law took care of the two big brothers while we were away and were awesome- I owe them big time. Especially when we got the call that Landon was barfing all over the place but that they'd take care of it and we should enjoy our time together. Oy... talk about conflicted. We were only 30 minutes away so it was really hard to just let them take care of him. But grateful for the time with the hubby. We even took dorky pictures to verify our dork status:

(I'm not so good at the take pictures of yourself thing- I blame it on short arms...)

We even had a chauffeur for the getaway...

low. ri. der.

Self-portraits at sunset.

We spent the day in Farmington shopping and getting ideas for the house. A great deal of time was spent at Home Depot. We even took turns watching for employees and hopping in bathtubs to check them out. Had an amazingly awesome so delicious lunch at Olive Garden thanks to a gift card from a friend :) It was a fun day.

On the drive home we were 5 miles from 4 corners so we decided to skip on over and be touristy and experience being in 4 places at once.

Apparently they close at 5. Meaning the gates are locked and you can't get in or even close. AND they're closed pretty much any major holiday. Lame. It was 5:30--so if we had left just a smidge earlier we could have made it. Oh well. We stopped to feed the chauffeur and watch the sunset anyway. It was gorgeous. By far one of my favorite things about living in this area is the spectacular sunsets that happen a majority of the time.

Oh and make goofy faces for the camera.

"Who ARE these people?!"

See what I mean?

It was a great trip. Thanks again to all the family who helped out at home.

Mulling, ya know like Cider

2012-02-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

I have been spending lots of time snuggling this little guy in the middle.

He's rapidly growing and I wish I could stop it but for now I'll just enjoy the season we're in. He had to get shots yesterday and is teething so he's been a little grumpier than usual. Upside is he wants his mommy to snuggle him. I'm also enjoying snuggling the other two when they let me and yearn for a good rocking chair.

I've been thinking about our lives as our own Epic Hero's Journey. We have calls and quests and guides but ultimately face the challenges on our own- walking away with knowledge as our badge of bravery.

We're moments away from buying a house. I'm excited to work to make it our HOME. The choices can easily overwhelm me but thus far it's still exciting. I do need to remember to go with my gut on decisions though rather than mull for days and days.

My gut is most often right.

Also thinking about THIS post from my friend's sister. Thinking about why we do this to others- why do we apologize for who we are?

And missing my book club friends terribly. Multiple times this week I have dreamed about book club. I miss those wild nights. A bunch of women spanning a decade(or so), drunk on laughter and caffeine, testing the limits of the restaurants around town, sharing each other's worries and joys.

Also- apparently I linked my google+ account to my blogger account and I don't know how to change it back or what the real benefit was in doing so. That'll teach me to click on stuff before I understand it. It said I have 30 days to change it but I have no idea how to do so.... HELP! Guidance? Pro's? Con's? How would I change it?

When reality and dreams mix...

2012-02-07T08:36:00.002-07:00

...it's rather confusing.

I had strange dreams last night that I attribute to watching Bones on Netflix and then reading THIS article about the Powells. (Rated NFM- Not for Mama--just heads up Mom) I can watch shows like Bones based on my belief that reality wouldn't be THAT perverted. Then hearing about the Powell family brings reality back in. Sick and twisted.

Luckily my dreams were not sick and twisted--just weird.

My great uncle Ron was interviewed on TV about the northern third of California that burned 85 years ago. Not that it burned or that he's 85 but he WAS a fire captain for a long time in Lodi. Also Sacramento came to be because a long time ago there were just a bunch of podunk towns in Northern California and someone decided that they needed a place to unify them. Thus they built Sacramento. And a family up the street had a pink Volkswagon Bus and the dad was SO excited that it was up and running again. In reality this family is more of a big truck, SUV family than a VW anything. That's all I can recall now. Dreams fade quickly.

Despite how strange my dreams were last night truth remains stranger than fiction.

Photo catch up day.

2012-01-30T11:02:00.001-07:00

A little late but fun just the same:

There were 5 in the bed and the Mommy said "ROLL OVER!" but they didn't so I just snuck out. I tried singing Jingle Bells and saying, rather loudly "MERRY CHRISTMAS" but they wouldn't budge. So I decided to just get up and start grabbing a bite to eat. They woke up about 5 minutes later---to the smell of baked pumpkin french toast.

Here's a brief look back in time....

Ian's first Christmas: 2007

Landon's First Christmas: 2009

Charlie's First Christmas: 2011

Picture with Aunt Christie

Cousins :)

Charlie thinks Uncle Mike is hilarious

Moving on to the next holiday....

NEW YEARS! WOO HOO! Awesome party at my inlaws with double the Wii fun. On the deck we had my sister in law's tv and wii so we could JUST DANCE and burn off some of the calories. Great way to spend the night. Inside the wii hosted a few rounds of 007 and Jeopardy as well as a movie for the tired kiddos.

See my cute birthday boots? I love them. I also love the 4 year old who snapped this shot. (The bundle on the couch is Charlie napping and Landon is hiding a toy in some fabric while Robin Hood plays in the background)

Heartbreakers

2012-01-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

I apologize in advance to all family and friends living far away: The bricks I put on their heads didn't work.

The Biggest Billy goat Gruff will start school in the fall. He already writes his name and a lot of the alphabet. We're working on recognizing numbers. "Five-de-Five" = 55 He still loves trains and taking pictures. His days are spent running around playing "Baby Woody" to his cousin's "Baby Buzz." It may sound a lot like playing house but it's manly house dangit. "You are a TOY CAR!" which really sounds more like "You ah a TOWE CAH!" For all I know perhaps he's really from Bahston.

The Wee Billy goat Gruff can now babble and roll from back to tummy. He also likes to watch his hands and pass things back and forth. We're all very proud. I think he's teething due to the excessive amounts of drool, slight warm and swollen bottom gums from time to time. Unfortunately I think it's going to be an on again off again adventure with this one before any break through. He's also ready to try some FOOD. Bring on the bibs.

The Middle Billy goat Gruff loves to talk and sing and play by himself. He likes to be included with the big boys but is also satisfied with having the toys to himself. He loves all things boy: bugs, dinosaurs, cars, burps and other bodily functions, and making messes. Luckily for me all three also happen to love bathtime too.

Mommy goat Gruff enjoys watching the boys grow and learn and yes, even make messes. (Though I don't enjoy cleaning them up--but who does?) She also likes to spend time on pinterest coming up with ideas for the new house (that will be slow in the making) and is looking forward to Granny night tonight aka Date Night.

Daddy goat Gruff is recovering from a nasty cold that kept him from work for two days this week. Don't worry though- he managed to fly over scenic south eastern Utah and take some pictures to make the mother-in-law jealous in between sick days. He's feeling better and we're all grateful to have our happy daddy back.

Currently....

2012-01-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

I hear this little voice in my head sometimes.

"You click on blogger to see other peoples' blog updates and then get frustrated when there are only a few people who updated in the last 3 days...yet you don't update your own...Pot. Kettle. Kettle. Pot."

I have a bunch of pictures that really should be going on this post. Instead you get a brain dump. Sorry.

I don't like chevrons. Not the gas stations- the style. I don't like that they are trendy. They're zig zags people! Teal and white or black and white--- doesn't matter- i still don't like them and probably never will. Some people are into that- if that's you- awesome. You won't find zig zags on my walls or rugs or chairs. Perhaps on a quilt but that's as far as I go. I'm kind of sick of seeing them everywhere and just about ready to 'unfollow' certain boards because of them.

Ian says, "You're cracking me out." Right idea. Wrong preposition. Makes me laugh.

We have begun the arduous process of purchasing a house. Hurry up and wait. Much like the military. Only more fun. Hopefully. We'll be doing some renovations to it before we move in but it's exciting. I'll learn all about pipes and tile and flooring and mudding drywall. I'm looking forward to it. I've put my getting my nails done on hold for a while in anticipation of work.

Naptime is becoming ever more elusive. This saddens me. I love naps.

You know what else I love? My siblings. They rock. I called two of the three earlier today and enjoyed our brief conversations. I miss them. "Seester and I must speak of holy things." "Gonna open a can of whoopin' sauce." "I'll tell you when you're older." Smart alack comments muttered under breath. Munchkin. Movies. Good food. Laughter. Man- I think I'm making myself more homesick writing this. Oh well.

Charlie can now roll over from his back to his tummy on demand but can't figure out what to do next. Ticks him off. He also is starting to babble and blow raspberries. So cute.

Landon is struggling to figure out if he wants to be the baby or a big boy. I feel for him. I don't know whether I want to praise his leaps into boyhood or cry that my baby is growing up. For now I think I'll embrace both.

I find painting walls very satisfying. Perfectionist, I am not. I find that I simply like large amounts of color.

The more I think about it- the more I realize what a shock it must have been to my family that after only officially dating for a month, Sean and I decided to get married. I drank the kool-aid. But it's been working out so far. 6 years in March. And working towards, ya know, the rest of forever. I really like that the time adds up. I don't care that it means I'm getting older. I don't think it's such a big deal....yet.

Update on the car that broke down. Our beloved Nena-- it was just a hose that popped off. Sean got it back on and the clamp securely in place this time. She's good as gold again. Grateful that our lesson in acceptance didn't mean thousands of dollars down the drain.

That's it for now.

Catch ya on the flip side.

Beware of the grooooove.

2012-01-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

A few years back I learned an important lesson;

praying for patience will bring trouble just as surely as picnics bring out the ants.

So since then I have been careful and chosen my words when praying.

Praying to be able to accept one's situation is apparently a lot like praying for patience.

Let me explain.

Five years ago Sean and I were out here for a family camping trip and it was Drill weekend. (Sean used to be in the National Guard.) I was pregnant with Ian but decided to go camping without Sean anyway. There was a lot of back and forth between the mountain and town as Sean decided to come up for a night but had to return to drill early the next morning. Long story short (too late!) we camped, had a grand time and we were all ready for a little space by the time it was time to head home. So when the camping adventure was over- we got back to my inlaw's and packed up snacks and headed back on the road to Cedar City. I was tired and hungry and pregnant and really just mostly tired. Before heading out we prayed as we usually try to do before long trips. And given the long day we were both getting a bit snippy and prayed for patience. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard a weird noise and Sean was hurriedly pulling over to the side of the road. Dazed and confused and starting to panic I asked what was wrong. We blew a tire. Just past the Monticello airport. 20 minutes away from our starting point. I stood at the side of the road holding back tears and failing miserably at that. A guy driving by stopped to help us- which was lovely because we needed an axe to whack the old flat tire off to get the spare on. My sister in law and her husband drove out to rescue us and we limped back to town. We ended up staying an extra two days to get new tires and then head home. I have tried hard not to pray for patience since then for fear that I won't be able to handle what's comin' down the pipe.

Jump forward to this past weekend. It was fast Sunday and we felt prompted to fast to be able to accept our situation- whatever that may be. I was a bit hesitant about doing so but moved forward faithfully. Then this morning I get a call about 8:15am. Bad news. Nena broke down. Ten miles outside of the town Sean works in. She just got fixed- drove the commute to work and back for 4 days- no problems. Until today. so it could be a head gasket (very bad) or a popped hose (less bad) or something else entirely. The silver lining in all of this is that we had another vehicle so i could rescue him and that he had cell service because out here it's hit and miss (mostly miss). So we'll see what the diagnosis is soon (hopefully) and then make our decisions based on that.

In the meantime I feel like the emperor's groove has been thrown off. So beware.

Beware of the grooooove.

"How I spent my Christmas Vacation..."

2012-01-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

For Christmas we spent many hours road-trippin' to California to visit family.

First leg- Monument Valley at sunrise- Absolutely Beautiful

we stopped to visit great-grandma in Mesquite and had a wonderful time. Sorry I didn't bust out the camera for that one.

Second Leg- just outside of Vegas for a Milk stop and some Muppet goodness:

The boys had a grand time making Charlie's lion, Roary, say "manahmana"

like this:

FINALLY- we arrived and Ian decided we needed a "droop shot"

And then one of his brother:

Then to Uncle Mike's birthday shindig: the big TWO NINE--next year's hullabaloo will be even more spectacular. This year the festivities included trick candles- heh heh heh.

He ended up needing help from the nephew to extinguish the massive blaze.

After dinner we got a bit Munchkinly.

that's just the first 4 days.

more to come.

I know you're excited.

Can you guess what today is?

2011-12-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

CRAZY HAIR DAY part 2!

See part 1.

Ian said we had to make sad faces. Apparently Lando missed the message.

This is actually from this morning:

instructions were to make a sad face.... go figure.

It's a good idea to wear a helmet when you're 2 1/2 and fall off the bar stools a lot.

Happy Thursday.

Lucy! You've got some 'splaining to do!

2011-12-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

We had a funny moment this morning.
At least I thought it was funny.
Ian wanted an orange for a snack and I gladly peeled him one. I was telling him that when I was little we had an orange tree in our back yard and that Grandpa Wittwer has an orange tree in his back yard now. He thought that was pretty cool. He wanted to know how big it was when I was little (BIG) and how big Grandpa's is now (little--it's a dwarf tree). I tried to explain that they were two totally different trees at different houses. He wondered where I lived when I was little and I had to explain to him that it was a different house than the one Grandpa lives in now and that when I was little Grandpa was married to Oma.
"That's weally weally stwange Mom dat Drampuh Wittwoah maowied Oma."
To know them now separately I suppose so. It's all he's ever known. But for me I still think of my parents as a unit- now married to different spouses. I never really fathomed explaining divorce to my kids.
Next it'll be where babies come from. (Though when I was pregnant with Charlie we had to delve into it a bit.)

Ah the joys of Parenthood.

new camera

2011-12-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

I need name suggestions for my new camera. I didn't have a name for the old one- but I need to call this one by something :)

I knew I needed to update pictures of the squidlets so here's just a few from us playing around with the camera the other day.

Brotherly Tummy Time:

I love how happy Landon is in this one. He's always happy around Charlie.

Cheese and grumpy face:

I caught him smiling!

This guy too: (just a bit more drooley)

I can hardly believe he's nearly 4 months old!

Knuckle sucker:

Tis the season

2011-12-06T09:07:00.001-07:00

As we begin to anticipate and prepare for an epic journey this season I find myself getting more and more excited.

Not for things. Things are cool but are really just STUFF. And we have much to much of that anyway.

I find myself anticipating TIME and EXPERIENCES far more than what kind of gadgets we can blow all of our money on.

I look forward to edible trees and snowman pancakes and a trip to the aquarium and songs in the car and route 66 and crafty hours and singing songs around the piano and the joy and merriment of BEING TOGETHER. Perhaps a round of Muppetopoly or Bezzerwizzer. or both.

I love to GIVE gifts and wish I thought about it more during the year so I wouldn't feel crunched with a deadline.

So here's to the Holiday Spirit.

Play dough

2011-12-05T10:16:00.001-07:00

We made play dough today.

the boys are currently creating masterpieces on the kitchen floor.

Landon wanted red.

Ian wanted blue.

as always.

I decided that I probably DO need a new camera--hence the severe lack of pictures on the blog.

do you want to make play dough too?

Here's what you do:
in a saucepan MIX;
1 C flour
1/4 C salt
1 tsp. Cream of Tartar

once well blended together add
1 C water.
whisk until smooth

cook on MED heat and stir until it pulls from the sides and looks like play dough.

cool.
knead.
play and enjoy.

store in airtight container (we're using good ol' ziplock bags)
we added food coloring when I was kneading it... not very bright because I didn't do a lot but I think it's easier if you do it when it's in the cooking phase.

Merry Christmas.

Be-doubleEe-double-are-you-en.

2011-11-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

Light a candle for heaven's sake!

Oh my.

These boys STINK!

Luckily we're on the tail of of the barfy/diarrhea phase at our house but man!

So today I decided to make a WalMart run.

I happened to have the car because Sean flew to Navajo Mountain this morning leaving me the vehicle.

WalMart happens to be in the next state over... which is still kind of odd to me.

90 minutes driving to get there.

3 boys.

1 mom.

stupid consumer "deals" crowding the aisles, which include copious amounts of toys that the kids insist they want

0 double curtain rod brackets for my book shelves project... dang

45 minutes or an hour saying "no we're not buying that" and we're outta there

phew

we made it.

90 minutes home

1 phone call to sister dropped about 5 times... gave up.

1- 30 minute stop along the way to change 2 diapers and let the other one pee on the side of the road and feed Charlie Bucket.

Dude- I feel like I can do anything. Some think I'm just a mom.... but really I'm a superhero incognito.

I think I need a sequined cape or something.

ps- no it was not a beerrun to walmart- I'm not that classy- more like a diaperrun because of previously mentioned sick kids....i just like the song...

Variation on a theme: motorhome edition

2011-11-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

On this, the celebratory day of my birth, let me take a moment to say thank you to my mom. Thanks mom for laboring and bringing me into this world and for supporting me every step of the way. Looking back even the chastening moments were really just trying to get me to be who I really am not who I wish I were (or who I thought others wanted me to be).

I've been reading Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project sporadically when I have time to linger in the tub. Remember when it made me want to blog every day. See how well that turned out? Oh well.

Which reminds me- I saw a plaque on Pinterest that says

I second that emotion.

Meanwhile back at the farm....I was reading in the tub this morning and pondering my little sister's blog post.

Do I like myself?

Woah. Loaded question sister girl.

But a good one to get the cogs in the old noggin thinking about something other than barfy children (which we had yesterday...ew)

And that in conjunction with

being true to Maggie, a la the Happiness Project leads to much introspection.

To like me- I must know me.

right?

Well I find that often I get so caught up in chores and motherly/wifely things that I forget or neglect who I am.

So I'll share with you a little of my bathtime reflections:

I am Maggie.

I like my new skinny jeans not because they make me feel skinny rather they show off my curves which I have grown rather find of. Which is also why I like most of my various stretchmarks and scars. Weird I know. But they also feel kinda cool. I like not counting my calories. I love to build things out of cardboard. When I was a kid it was Winnebegos. They were glamorous. And practical. Where else can you travel the world or pull over and take a nap in a real bed when you want? So my cardboard boxes were almost always variations on a theme: motorhomes. Today it is cars and planes I love to create: hot glue, scissors, and I'm a happy girl. I also think that basic is usually good enough. Sometimes I fantasize that my home will be full of crafty whatnots that go the extra mile for extra details but in reality it'll be full of crafty whatnots that are good enough to make me smile and move on. Perfectionist I am not. I'd rather have time to enjoy the things I made. I love to read. Non-fiction mostly though I am getting into Young Adult Science Fiction too. I love to read aloud with my kids. I think we would all like it if I did that more. I like to wander. I found this out when living in Logan. Especially when the kids need naps I'd drive around until they fell asleep and then either find a cool spot and call someone or just keep driving to get a lay of the land. I like to know where I am in relation to my surroundings. Looking back I think that's why I had a difficult time in Germany until I found a map (towards the end of my stay). Now I know to have a map handy and refer to it often. Here in this small town people refer to places in relation to where someone USED to live--- well I don't know that someone and I certainly don't know where they USED to live once upon a time... but give me a map? and we're golden. I love and appreciate piano music. I tried a little while ago to teach myself piano via youtube...but found I get distracted by chillens. So for now I will enjoy others' talents. I appreciate others' ability to grow things but fully accept that I have no desire at the current time (or the forseeable future) to grow green things. Sidewalk chalk. Fun. Awesome. and temporary enough that if I don't like the art or want a new canvas all I need is a little water. I love to dress up. I love hats. I love words and talking about words. Hence the major in English. Now that I'm out of school and have been for 5 years I find myself longing to go back. But on my terms this time. I like home improvement projects but dislike the math involved. I get very frustrated with the math. I'd rather sand and paint. I don't like building legos but I do like using my imagination.

So do I like myself?

Yes.

Most of the time. I struggle with depression and feel like I battle the "You stink at everything" monster often. But the REAL me? under the depression? yeah. I like her. She's pretty dang cool.

If i say so myself.

Maggie's Mad Skillz

2011-11-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

I'll have to get pictures at some point to prove my awesomeness. Until then...

What is so awesome? you ask.

My thrifting skills of course.

Last winter I found Sean a London Fog Leather Jacket at a thrift store. We went looking for something else but it caught my eye and so I made him try it on...yes I twisted his arm. Didn't take much twisting after that when it looked so good on him (and was yummy warm to boot) to get him to say yes to buying it. $12. For a jacket purchased new around $100. Granted this wasn't new anymore but still in excellent condition.

Well- now fast forward to last week. We were getting ready for a trip to Logan. Looked everywhere for Sean's leather jacket. Decided it got left at work (45 minutes away not worth driving to get). So we took a sweatshirt for him and thought we'd try the thrift stores while we were up there for a backup winter coat that can get a little more beat up-one that can go sledding and get firewood and all that without me stressing. Lo and behold my thrifting skills saved us again! Walk into the first thrift store, head to the men's jackets and hanging before me is a lovely blue and white Helix ski jacket. $10. Saved almost a hundred bucks again.

That is hands down the hardest thing for me around this small town. There are NO second hand stores. At all! Kills me smalls. There is ONE in Monticello which is the next town over and I will see what it has to offer soon but I have yet to be in town when it's open. So someday I'd like to open up my OWN thrift store here in town. Or at least fully support whoever else opens one first. I also like the idea of connecting it with the Women's Shelter and offering jobs or at least clothes to those who really need them- not just those of us who get a kick out of a killer deal. Someday.

giveaway

2011-11-08T11:58:00.001-07:00

I like free--- check out the temple picture giveaway here.

Halloween ReCap

2011-11-01T12:59:00.000-06:00

The Costumes 2011:

First up is Ian the Builder

Next we have the Fierce Landon Dragon

The somewhat tired Charlie Monkey

Arrg! Avast ye Mateys! Thar be Sean the Software Pirate.

Mt. Maggie-souvious: Look out! She's gonna blow!

Curling the molten hot Magma. (Ian took this picture without any direction.)

close up shot

Droop Shot

Happy Hauntings from the Hursts

2011-10-31T13:32:00.000-06:00

First I wanted to show you my handsome boys all ready for church. Secundus wanted to be like Primus and make grumpy faces... both turned out pretty cute I think.

Ian got to participate in his first ever Primary Program yesterday. After the narrator he was the first one. Remembered his line and didn't even use his silly voice. So proud. Sang some of the songs- mostly jumped around and said to daddy, who was sitting next to him in case of a jail break, "Look Mom's singing!" Because I happen to know the songs and I was trying to encourage him to sing or at least stop jumping. So he tried, in vain, to get Daddy to sing them too--but Daddy wasn't the Primary chorister so he didn't know them (some were a bit obscure). He managed to get a few laughs from the congregation though.

After church it was time to CARVE PUMPKINS! I wasn't super thrilled at the idea (still groggy from my nap that should have just been an early bedtime) so I cleaned/roasted pumpkin seeds until the kiddos went to bed.

Behold!

Smiley face= Lando's, Jumping Spider= Sean's, Scary Teeth=Ian's, Cyclops=Maggie's

What a difference REAL carving knives has on the ability to carve decent designs! Growing up we used good ol' steak knives (sorry for breaking that one when I was trying to do my curly mustache Mom). We will add to our pumpkin knife collection every year I think. After pumpkins it was time to work on Sean's costume for work the next day (being today) Being the techie that he is we thought it would be funny if he was a software pirate.

Behold again!

Sadly he forgot his hat when he drove to work and happens to mostly work by himself in a shed (as described by him) so no one will see the real awesomeness until tonight...unless of course they check out the blog *wink*

Then today: Remember the yummy Frankenstein brains we had a few years ago? Well today we had Monster Brains again for lunch with Swamp Milk to wash it down. (Ian has blue milk here which he calls "horsey milk"--my swamp milk was green)

Now I just have to figure out what the heck I'M going to wear tonight... I think my gloves and nerdy glasses at least but I don't know what the final product will be. I'll let you know!

Oh yeah- and we made THESE. Holy scrumptious. Easy too!

HAPPY HAUNTING!

Dress Up

2011-10-27T13:15:00.000-06:00

Well I may not get any other pictures for Halloween so I figured I'll give you what I've got. Ian wanted to be Bob.

Like I mentioned before, Landon wanted to be an airplane but will have to make do with the flood style dragon. He's had the roar down since he was less than a year old.

I don't remember what they were dancing and singing to but it was pretty cute.

Side view of Sir Dragon

Maybe I'll remember to take pictures of the wee one in his getup later too.

Photos Phrom a Phour Year Old

2011-10-26T08:28:00.000-06:00

My tough boys all got Cars tattoos before working on Nena:

I asked Landon a week ago what he wanted to be for Halloween.

"AIRPLANE!"

"How about a Dragon?" (I happen to have this costume on hand from when Ian was a dragon...)

"No. AIRPLANE!"

uh...ok.

Looks like he takes after Grandpa Wittwer in his love of airplanes.

So yesterday morning I brought the cardboard boxes inside before it started raining (brilliant move on my part thank you) so I could have decent cardboard to work with to attempt an airplane. Well the morning was hectic as usual and I was hoping to work on it during a certain big brother's nap (because he often likes to help and this mama gets frustrated with little helpers especially when they are not allowed near Ex-acto knives). Then the wind picks up and POOF! the power is gone. We waited for a few minutes to see if it would come back on....and nothing happened. The quiet was nice--it's amazing how much noise everything makes- even a fridge! But it was getting dark (due to the massive clouds) so we opened the curtains as much as we could to let all the light in and I decided it was a good time to make an airplane. I give you the results:

One happy boy and a propeller that spins.

Unfortunately I don't think the cardboard will hold up until Monday because he loves to crash.

"Oh No!" CRASH! "Back Up. Beep Beep Beep!"..."Oh No!" CRASH! "Back Up. Beep Beep Beep!" Rinse and repeat a gagillion times.

He doesn't understand that airplanes only got forward.

So that evening after scriptures Ian decided to hijack the camera. The remainder of the pictures he took all by himself:

Daddy:

Chollie:

Self portrait complete with chocolate muffin between his teeth.

A snapshot of the plane:

Lando:

Mommy (and yes tired- no makeup- keepin' it real)

I've always been impressed with his ability to get the camera so the subject is in the center... I have a hard time with that sometimes. Maybe he inherited his photography skills from my Grandpa.

Sorry I haven't been blogging as much as I had promised but we're living life to the fullest so as my little photographer likes to say,

"See ya later alligator!"

Youngest and Oldest

2011-10-21T17:45:00.000-06:00

Behold:

He likes it when I crinkle my nose.

I love that the boys love each other.

Make Out Point and Lover's Lane

2011-10-20T08:51:00.000-06:00

So yesterday was Granny Night aka Date Night.

I left it to Sean to plan it. All too often my brain is fried at the end of the day. So he called at 3pm saying I had to be ready to leave right at 5 so we'd have daylight. I figured that meant we were going hiking or something. Ding Ding Ding- I win--he had indeed planned to go for a little hike. Good thing I figured it out and thought to bring along the Moby for Charlie.

We dropped the kids off with the grandparents (the boys and I had been at Aunt Dani and Uncle Fielding's house) and headed south. When it starts to get chilly, like it happens to do this time of year, heading South is the best option. Drop elevation- warmer climates. (The opposite is true in the summer. One of the many great things about living here)

Well we weren't out of town yet and Sean turns off the highway. To the old Ruins Road. Leading to none other than Make Out Point. Which I find kind of hilarious because they actually have a Make Out Point here and I grew up living just off of Lovers Lane (that's really the name of it). When I first took Sean home he saw the exit sign and joked that that should be our exit. He was a little bit red faced when it actually WAS our exit. The Lover's Lane in our town is just a street like any other. You don't even cruise it or anything. Maybe race on the way to 7-11 but probably not anymore because there are oodles of stoplights now to prevent just such racing. Not that we ever did that mind you. Perhaps it was originally the lane where couples cruised on Friday night- but to me it never crossed my mind that the name would even suggest anything. Also funny- the road in town that you DO cruise...Mooney... and yet I was never mooned while cruising until I cruised State Street in Sandy with my roommate---by some 15 year old in a Winnebego...ew. (It was probably also shocking to Sean because streets are just numbers in Utah: center and main is zero, zero and everything else just grids out from there. Streets named 100 North, or 1300 East in their relative location to Center and Main. In Visalia all we had were random names; Goddard, Sweet, Ben Maddox Way, Lovers Lane etc. so the numbers thing initially threw me off...but I digress) So when we were discussing Make Out Point the other day (because that's where Sean's older sister Tiffany jumped the Chevelle thus causing Sean's parents to decide to sell it before Sean got his license-but don't worry he's not still bitter about it...PSYCH!heh heh heh) I was shocked to find it was an actual place and people actually do go there to make out. I had heard about watching the submarines too but that's another story. So you know- being the cool people we are we went to Make Out Point...all 3 of us...I won't gross you out by telling you that Sean and I tested the name of the place out but there IS something cool about that spot that all can enjoy. There are Anasazi Ruins RIGHT THERE! 30 minute hike round trip (so really more like a walk except you go down a little ravine and back up the other side to get to them). There's also a Natural Bridge at the corner just before you get to the dead end. Pretty cool the things that are really just at the edge of town. We even had time to make it back and have dinner (which was good because I was FAMISHED).

So yeah- I learned that Make Out Point and Lover's Lane are two different things--Lover's Lane doesn't even have anything to look at...except the tattoo parlor and the Walnut Orchards that magically turned into houses last time I was in town.

Guy Smiley

2011-10-18T15:45:00.000-06:00

Mr. Blue Eyes

There's the money shot!

Sweet Boy

"Mom, gimmie the camera!"

"Hmmm..."

(PS- There is another post for today. I had to post this one for the grandparents though. To see the other post: Click on "Hurst Family News" at the top and scroll down)

Meanwhile back at the farm...

2011-10-18T14:18:00.000-06:00

So much for my blog every day goal.

Oh well.

Life happens.

On the housing front: waiting. I'll let ya know.

On the kid front: all sleeping. Charlie didn't want to be put down at ALL today but he's kinda cooperating at the moment. Wish I could get a nap in though. (Watch, as soon as I hit post one or all 3 kids will magically wake up and that 3 minute nap I was hoping for will vanish...)

On the crafty front: we made puppets today but the boys don't totally get the idea of acting out a story so I told them to try just telling a story... we'll see. Pretty cute to see them get so excited though. We're going to have to make more puppets.... I just need to get more felt first- a task not so easy given my limited resources. I think we need to get a tension rod for the doorway too so they can have a curtain to hide behind, like the wizard in the Wizard of Oz...everything is more magical that way. The cardboard box they are currently using is pretty hashed already. Also I do have fabric for a couple of other projects but waiting for a critical part before I can really get down to it.

On the Nena front: Engine and transmissions are pulled. Yay... I think... It's a little sad to see her with her front bumper off and her guts hanging out like that but we're all hoping that with the work that goes into her she'll be back to her peppy self again soon. Sean is excited about the new transmission being all clean and plans on also cleaning the engine really well as he goes so she'll be good lookin' when she's all put together. Had to order one tool already- I know Sean wasn't too sad about that other than it halted work for a few (rainy) days. He loves new tools about as much as I love new fabric. Oh the possibilities.

On the Halloween front: Ian wants to be Bob the builder- I'll fashion a wonderful tool belt for him. Landon doesn't know what he wants to be and I'm trying to convince him he wants to be a dragon because I happen to already have that costume. Charlie will be a monkey just like the other two were for their first Halloween. Sean and I have no clue. I love the Ms. Frizzle idea and Amelia Bedelia but I can't bring myself to work on my own costume. I'll probably end up dressing 50's style with gloves and hat and glasses (because that's what I have on hand) and Sean will probably end up a pirate again. He was a hick last year but sadly his overalls have lost the hooks... lending to the hickish look but don't stay up very well. I yearn for the days when I had an awesome costume box. High school homecoming week left me stocked every year with cool new costumes. Through the years and many moves I've had to seriously thin my costume collection. I think now that we're settled in one town it's time to begin building it back up. Maybe my camera will even cooperate long enough to get pictures too. Or we'll resort to using Sean's phone... ah technology.

That's all folks.
Until tomorrow...
or the next day...
or maybe next week...

The Help

2011-10-14T13:20:00.000-06:00

Small town living means a few things:
Run into my father in law almost every time I go to buy fabric. The fabric is sold at the hardware store.
Business hours=shut down when the sun goes down (and I think I should sleep then- silly winter)
Options? What options?
Speed limit 30.
Movies? you mean MOVIE singular.

We have a theater here that has one screen and plays one movie. It usually runs for a week or two and then onto something else. Understandably so when the population is less than 5000 how many of those people are really going to go see every show every week or have enough demand for more variety. So a few months ago the Book Club read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.   I loved Skeeter. Gutsy. Finds her voice and helps others to have a voice. The other characters? Hilly- Bully. Elizabeth- Spineless. Minnie- Large and in charge--a says-it-like-it-is character. Abileen- Strong. I was excited when I found out there was going to be a movie and that it was coming out weeks after I was reading the book.

But not to our neck of the woods.

Enter totally bummed Maggie.

So Tuesday when a friend mentioned on facebook that it was playing here I jumped on the chance to go see it. Last night Sean took care of the kids and I got a girls night out. It was great. After all the hype I felt like the movie didn't move me like the book did. But it was enjoyable and I think they did rather well at adapting it into movie form, which says a lot given that most movies from books are rarely worth the effort. I recommend the book but if you're a person with little time for reading (What?!) I'd still recommend the movie.

House #2

2011-10-13T11:26:00.000-06:00

So I missed yesterday.

Sorry.

I did get feeling better but didn't get around to posting. My bad.

We looked at another house last night. (The first one accepted the other offer and since ours was second in line we'd only get it if the people backed out or the money fell through- neither of which are likely. Ce la vie) This other house is better suited to my liking except that it's not finished. As in-- it has sturdy walls but no insulation- plumbing for bathrooms but no toilets- plumbing for kitchen but missing a wall and hm- pretty much everything else in it. But it has new windows and a new roof and is laid out well to do the finishing work. It is small- but would suit our needs and we'd get to design a lot of it ourselves since we'd being doing the work. And the lot is a third of an acre- good sized but not overwhelming. It's been on the market for a while and we're hoping there's not a lot of back and forth bargaining on the price since it needs so much work. It would certainly be a good learning house. We probably wouldn't actually be able to move in to it until spring. I'll let you know how it all goes whether we buy it or not.

Charlie is beginning to smile. It's super cute to see his little face light up. Never long enough to get a picture (oh and my camera is on it's last leg as it is- perhaps I'll get a new one for my birthday again) So far the count is grandma 3 and mommy 2 for little smiles. I'm hoping he figures it out and is more smiley now.

The big bothers fill their days with cars and trains and building things. Daddy spends a good deal of the time working hard. He had to get a new tool for Nena so hopefully work on that front can move forward again soon. I know- sounds like I just crack the whip right? A Whoopah!

sorry.

2011-10-11T08:32:00.001-06:00

Woke up sick.

No blog.

I hope this passes quickly.

Take off your shoes and stay a while.

2011-10-10T14:34:00.000-06:00

So grateful that the sunshine is back!

I firmly believe that all living things are solar powered- not just high-fa-lootin' cars.

We spent the morning making cards to send to loved ones (hope they make it in the mail sometime this century) and Charlie learned to love his new swing. $2 at a yardsale and it's exactly what I've been looking for! It's a wind up kind so no worries about batteries. Also only swings long enough to calm him down so it's not incessantly going all the time. I kind of like it myself. It looks like THIS

(mostly).

It works for us and I only put him in it if I'm around-- I do NOT trust his siblings. A little common sense goes a long way. Saves my back too because usually if he's really upset I'm swing him in his carseat for a minute to calm him down- and it kills my back.

We had Charlie's blessing this weekend (similar to a Christening) and my Dad and Step-mom we able to make the long trek out here for it. It was good to see them- though far too short. They kept raving about the area so perhaps we can convince them to come out and visit again sometime. (Hint Hint) People don't get why we would move to such a small town... that is- until they've been here. It is beautiful. Want picture proof? People come from all over the world to see things like this:

Bear's Ears

Prettier shot of the Bear's Ears with a road. I like this one better.

Delicate Arch near Moab-- you may have seen this on the Utah license plates.

Glen Canyon Dam

Goosenecks (which looks similar to the Grand Canyon in my opinion) but it's the San Juan River not the Colorado.

Lake Powell

Monument Valley at Sunset

Monument Valley with road

Shiprock NM

The Sleeping Ute

Twin Rocks

Wilson's Arch

And they're all within two hours of here.

So come visit us people!

Stay-cation

2011-10-07T21:28:00.000-06:00

Friday:
So far so good. Haven't done a whole lot today except watch about 9 episodes of Lie to Me. Pretty sweet gig this vacation business. Not my vacation mind you- but my Sister in Law's and Sean managed to take the afternoon off (seeing as he worked late earlier in the week). Which kind of makes it my vacation too. More people to play with kiddos less laundry folded than there should have been- a stay-cation if you will.

Today it was cold enough outside that I was grateful I left my case of soda in the car so that I didn't even have to wait for it to be refrigerated to enjoy its bubbly goodness. One of the perks of Fall. Another is that my birthday is just around the corner... HINT HINT BABE- Don't forget :)

Looking forward to more family time this weekend for Charlie Bucket's blessing.

It's no Physics Phriday but I'll take it.

do-what-you-can-but-if-it-doesn't-work-out-it-wasn't-meant-to-be

2011-10-06T13:48:00.000-06:00

All three are asleep- two with the promise that if they take a nap they can stay up until Aunt Trish gets here. They're pretty excited. :) I even tucked Ian in with wishes of "Snug as Aunt Trish in her Mustang"--he liked that one.

So we put in an offer on a house last night and now we wait. I'm a firm believer in the "do-what-you-can-but-if-it-doesn't-work-out-it-wasn't-meant-to-be" philosophy so I'm really just waiting to see what the next step will be. Working on gathering the essential documents. That's the really fun part. I'm not over the moon excited but not full of dread- just peacefully waiting. Don't get me wrong- it IS exciting and I AM excited. Just not "oh-my-gosh-this-would-be-perfect-and-the-world-will-stop-spinning-if-we-don't-get-it" kind of excited. Also wouldn't be jealous if someone else got it. That's something I'm learning about living in a small town. If you apply for a job, per se, and you don't get it but then your friend does.... ouch right? Initially a little bit. But in the end you're excited for the other person. In a bigger town you likely wouldn't know the other person so it's easy to be upset or jealous or angry that THEY got it and YOU didn't. In a small town I'm learning that you just have to let things go. Or else you run the risk of alienating all possible friends because of holding a grudge over something rather petty. And yes- the job thing did in fact happen to us. But life has a way of working out for all of us. And no- I'm not Pollyanna.

So Today is Thursday and day 4 of daily musings. I find it hard to find things to blog about (and yet I manage to ramble on) mostly because I think nobody is really interested in the day to day stuff. I should save my posts for when we do fun stuff or I have something brilliant to say. But I find I still have thoughts and feelings even on the less exciting days. Don't we all? And isn't that really why I love to read and write anyway? It bridges the gaps and reminds us we're all essentially more alike than we are different. Of course some of us just happen to have a better sense of humor. (I kid.) Speaking of humor- has anyone else out there seen the TV show "Lie to Me"? It's on Netflix and I love it- far more than I loved Monk simply because Mon is a bit neurotic and Cal is focused more on emotions. Check it out if you haven't- if you have- what do you think??

Numbers, Numbers everywhere

2011-10-05T09:53:00.000-06:00

Well Hello Wednesday.

Remember back in February and April when I mentioned finances? Yeah me either. Well we're back in the saddle again. Did up a new budget with the new income. I'd like to say it's exciting to see exactly where the money is going... but... how is it possible that it still feels like we don't have much? If rent got bumped up to $850 a month we could manage--- but just barely. Apparently that's what housing costs around here. Which is ridonkulous if you ask me. So we're looking at different options: renting vs buying. And when I say buying I mean cheapo- fix it up type- so we can get this debt out of the way and pay less than we would in rent. Today just may be one of those days but I'm kind of hating money and bills and all things grown-up.

In other news: made it to the gym today. And now I'm thoroughly wiped out for the remainder of the day. So I wonder--- is it worth getting up extra early (5am folks) and feeding the baby so I can go work out for 30 minutes and come home totally wiped out and not have burned all that many calories and then need/want a coke or two to get me through the day which is only as many calories as I burned that morning working out?? Wouldn't it just be better if I cut out the exercise and the coke? I'd still break even right? (Budgeting even applies to calories too apparently) Just a thought.

Blessings related to these two items lest you think I'm just totally a cranky-pants today:
Money- We have enough to meet our needs which includes expensive repairs to our beloved Nena. Also have health insurance now- SUCH a blessing.
Gym- I get to spend a little extra time with my hubby in the mornings than I would get to otherwise.

What're you up to for your Wednesday musings?

Mail Time!

2011-10-04T10:07:00.000-06:00

Here's the mail

it never fails,

it makes me wanna wag my tail

when it comes I wanna wail MAIL!

(Ah Blue's Clues how we love thee)

This morning there was a knock at the front door- and that usually means one of two things: Either the neighbor kid is here to see if Ian can play or there's mail that wouldn't fit in our box. Both are good things and today it was the latter. A bright green Snoopy envelope lit up the boys' faces when I told them who it was for.

"To Ian, Landon and Charlie"

"It's for US MOM!"

Open it up and there are shirts and a book for the boys. Ian and Landon immediately decided they needed their Thomas the Train shirts on. And Charlie was just excited to be out of bed. Now we're off to read some of Little Critter. I *Love* Little Critter and suspect that perhaps the book is for Mommy too, not just the boys.

THANKS OMA!

WE LOVE YOU! and not just because you send us mail :)

MCS Middle Child Syndrome

2011-10-03T09:51:00.000-06:00

Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project suggests blogging a little bit every day. Interesting idea and hard to fit in but I like the IDEA. Probably won't happen but we'll see how far I can make it.

The boys are watching Peter Pan and napping (Charlie is the only one napping) while I take a moment on the computer. Lest you think that Landon is going to end up with middle child syndrome (you know- nothing new, no pictures to document his life, never big enough or too big...) let me share some things about my second born:

He knows most of his colors now- though pink throws him off. He leans towards warm colors- red, orange, yellow, hot pink for his favorite things. The other day we went to the Teddy Bear Clinic where the kids each get to choose their own bear and go through the doctors' office to show that it's ok to go to the doctor. The bear got a cast at one station and the kids could choose what color they wanted. Landon wanted a hot pink cast for his bear, Chopper. He's all better now so he got to take his cast off today.

My fearless one is at the stage where he's starting to be afraid of things. Mostly large animals. Like the elk head he thought was going to get him when he was with Daddy getting beans in Colorado. Or talking about bears on our walk yesterday. Don't blame him though- I wouldn't want to be face to face with either of them. He loves the smaller-stuffed-friendly versions of animals though. He's also starting to play pretend with his stuffed animals.

He loves the sky and all things in it. This is one thing I particularly love about Landon. We always joked that he would love to fly because he got to go on a plane hours after entering this world. Turns out it might be true. He *LOVES* airplanes, clouds, rainbows, stars, the moon- anything in the sky. Maybe he'll be an amateur astronomer like my grandpa. Maybe he'll be a meteorologist. Maybe he'll be a pilot. Maybe he'll just be a well grounded human with a love of all things above.

Landon has the longest eyelashes I've ever seen. Not that he has any sort of control over that- just think it's interesting. He also has curly hair like his daddy. I'm thinking of letting him grow it out a little as long as he lets me comb/brush it.

Landon's favorite book is Goodnight Moon. He loves to snuggle and sometimes just be NEAR you.

I love my second born.

My second born loves hats and food. Just like his mama. :)

Making Gingerbread Cookies December 2010

Fed Felt Fireman hat at the thrift store. Yes we went to the store in jammies...so sue me.

Mommy's red hat and cheese pizza. Age 1.

Dual weilding swards at Thanksgiving 2010.

Nothing better than a bear and a boy and some chocolate milk.

Daddy's villian hat from the Melodrama. July 2011

Popcorn: good for eating and throwing at Daddy. July 2011

July/August 2011

Chollie Tortoise

2011-09-29T09:38:00.000-06:00

Just a quick little blog because I don't want to spend all day typing:

Ian has difficulty with his pronunciation at times.

Landon Maurice is "Lando Marie"

Charlie Curtis then becomes "Chollie Tortoise"

So glad my baby doesn't look like that guy.

"Chollie" and I spent a few days in California visiting family. It was most definitely a good-for-the-soul trip as intended. I'm still getting back into the saddle of three kids and no help during the day. Quite a change from one kid with Grandma and Auntie fighting over who gets to hold him. However I did not take a single picture with my camera. So you just get the tortoise picture instead. YAY

Now back to cleaning and herding and playing with the mancubs.

All In One Go

2011-09-20T15:53:00.000-06:00

I thought since it feels like forever since I sat down to do a blog entry I'd just do it all in one go.

Ready?

(In the voice of Peter Pan) "Here we GOoooo!"

This is how Landon shows he can be a good big brother. He is "reading" one of his favorite books to Charlie. It's in the shape of a tractor and all about...you guessed it- TRACTORS!

Other big brother wanted in when he heard Lando say "Cheese!" (PS I don't know how the scratch on Lando's face happened only that we didn't realize it was a full scratch and not just dried blood that had run down his face until the next day...)

So the boys keep me busy. Same story as every other mom right?

Know what else keeps me busy (and makes a grand mess?)

Crafting.

But it's good for the soul most of the time and doesn't hand me boogers as presents. So here's the story behind THIS craft project. You see I'll be flying to California to visit my Grandma soon but it'll just be me and the wee babe (who is a month old now- can you believe it? but more on THAT later...) Well airport "security" being what it is (a joke) I have to practically dress down to my skivvies in order to prove I'm not harboring any weapons (other than dirty diapers- meh heh heh) and thus allowed to board the plane. The car seat gets checked so I don't have to lug the massive thing around and I'm left with my wee babe in arms and a carry-on (it's not a long trip) and my trusty diaper bag for holding said dirty diapers until a trash can can be located. Hm...so just how am I supposed to remove my shoes and belt and sweatshirt and sunglasses and watch and rings and ID and little ziplock baggie of liquid items no larger than 3 oz.? I'll tell you. Put the baby in a sling. Now I *do* have a Moby Wrap but that is 5 yards of fabric and requires two hands to take off and put back on-- as I will of course have to remove it for security to scan and deem acceptable. So where would I put the baby in the meantime? Stroller? Still a bit too little for the umbrella type (though I could make it work if I really had to). Lay him on the conveyor belt? Agh! Don't scan the baby! I'm just getting my shoes off dangit! (Note to self: flip flops) Hand him to some stranger- No I don't THINK so! So what can I use to hold the baby while I strip down for the safety of all on board and then be able to remove one handed so it too can go through the x ray machine? A sling. Cool. Except I happen to live in a rather rural town with limited shopping options and DIDN'T think of it soon enough to order online. Enter: the Internet. Thanks Internet for introducing me to crafty blogs and Etsy.com. I found a pattern online for a sling. Paid my $6 for the PDF. Waited anxiously for the email.

DING!

Woo Hoo- finally (I think it took a whole 6 hours...in a world of instant gratification I don't do well to wait that long. I think I did some laundry... probably not though.) So I made my sling. Had to figure out the somewhat cryptic instructions and use what material on hand that I happen to have 2 yards of... space aliens it is. I wasn't very happy with how it was turning out. Not to mention it was supposed to be a "30 minute" pattern--which it would have been if I knew which direction to fold the fabric and didn't have 3 kids begging for different things. (Waah- hungry? dirty? gassy? hm.. "Mom I need a snack!" "He has my Lightening McQueen!" "Water!" "Ready to be wiiiiiped" "Waah" and so it goes.)I think it took more like 3 or 4 hours for it to be "done". Then I went to my sister in law's house and told her about all of it and guess what? She HAS a sling. That I could have just borrowed. That is better than the one I made out of blood, sweat and tears. DOH!

So I borrowed hers to use as a guide and tweaked my own so it's awesome now, too. Then I had a baby shower for Sean's cousin to attend and thought, "Now that I know how to do this- I could probably whip one out before the shower." So I did. And it was lovely. Easy peasy. 30 minutes-ish to do (plus extra for the extras I added). I finished it before Drop Dead Diva was over so less than an hour. And the fabric I got for it was a beautiful lilac color. See?

Even has a cell phone pocket and a loop to clip keys to or a binky.

The gift sling was a major success and I'm hoping to report back that mine worked just as well as I'm hoping.

Now for some fun.

I'm sure most of you just scrolled through the pictures FIRST and then went back to read (if at all- I do babble so I don't blame you.)

This little squirt is a month old now. Crazy!

Don't be confused: I don't actually think my kid in an orangutan. He happens to have reddish hair though and it sticks up after he has a bath... which is really what I was trying to show you in the above picture-- the one below is just for reference.

It looks really reddish in the sun but I failed to capture that in this shot below. Sorry.

I don't happen to know his exact stats because we haven't been to the doctor in a week but when we were there last he was 8lbs. 15ozs. So it's probably safe to say he's over 9lbs now. And last I knew he was 23 inches long. To recap: he's gained 2+ pounds and 3 inches since birth. What a champ.

I happen to love this next shot of him-- and yes I'm totally biased.

This last one is likely the best shot for his reddish brown hair though you'll probably just say it's the red blanket and not really his hair that makes it look that way. Well for those who don't believe me- you'll just have to see him in person and decide for yourself.

Anyone who read the whole blog- thanks :) Hope you enjoyed the update- it's not likely to happen as often for a while as I get used to this whole thing.

Hurst Reunion 2011

2011-09-13T09:42:00.000-06:00

Had a lovely reunion this last weekend. Charlie even did really well for his first camping trip.

Thanks Aunt Trish for arranging it all.

4 generations of Hursts.

Then we took family pictures. Here are some of my favorites from our little family:

This kid was awfully grumpy during the photo shoot.
Luckily we had goldfish to bribe him.

Climbing on the fort.

My sweet boys. (Note Landon is hiding his goldfish.)

The Mama.

And the Daddy:

...and so the light reflects off the disco ball...

And the non-cheesy shot...well...less cheesy :)

And for the grand finale:

Droop Shot

There are oodles more family pictures. But that'll do for now.

Love these boys...

2011-08-31T22:04:00.000-06:00

Something fierce.

Now that's not saying they don't drive me BONKERS sometimes, because they do-- but the rest of the time? Yeah I love 'em. I think I'll keep them. (Check back after they've played in the mud or smell like puppies- or worse when they're teenagers and I might have a different answer...we'll see.)

I don't think Ian is biting Charlie-- I think he's giving him kisses like I asked him to.
I hope that's what it is at least.

I'm fully aware that my camera decided to go all funky on me for this shot. I blame the mostly dead batteries. But I could just claim it's artistic right? He just looked so cute sleeping I couldn't resist- mostly dead batteries and all (mostly dead- which is slightly alive. "TO BLAVE!")

Party Post

2011-08-28T09:42:00.000-06:00

The next two pictures are for you Ericson:

I know it's a weird picture but at this angle you can see Spencer's face.

Reminiscent of cakes past perhaps? Yeah but it worked for me. And it turned out pretty yummy.

Cake from a box and frosting from a can.

My pride and joy: or at least my project that I'm very proud of:

Sir Topham Hatt was originally going to be a spider for Daddy's Birthday but I didn't get it finished.

He graciously offered it for Ian's Party.

Here's the BEFORE^

We had two kids at the party with quite the swing.

After everyone left Ian wanted to practice some more.

Now here's the AFTER:

Which of course reminds me of a quote from a lovely little movie called Napoleon Dynamite:

Principal Svadean: Look, Pedro, I don't know how they do things down in Juarez, but here in Idaho we have a little something called pride. Understand? Smashing in the face of a pinata that resembles Summer Wheatley is a disgrace to you, me, and the entire Gem State.

Later Deb asks if Pedro is still allowed to run for President. To which he replies:

Pedro: Yes. I don't understand... they say you're not allowed to have pinatas that look like real people, but in Mexico, we do it all the time.

Heavy, heavy hang over thy poor head,

What do you wish with a BONK on the head?

Part of the party was sidewalk chalk art.

All in all I think the kids had a pretty good time.

I know Uncle Tyler did :)

Charlie's First Week

2011-08-26T09:17:00.000-06:00

I'll spare you the details except to tell you that this was a different and amazing birth experience.

Friday just before midnight baby Charlie made his debut.

Charles Curtis Hurst

6 lbs13 oz

20 1/4 inches long

11:44 pm

8-19-11

Happy and Healthy

So blessed.

Proud grandparents

Protective and adoring big brother

Group Shot of all my boys.
Landon really IS excited about being a big brother- just not about Mom taking more pictures.

Sleepy Boys

So far the only picture I have with me and Charlie. I'm usually behind the camera. And yes I did my hair and makeup before the picture. I learned my lesson.

Group Shot again. These boys just LOVE their little brother. Landon calls him "Little" all the time. This is when we came home from the hospital. They were so happy.

We have a picture like this of Landon- I'll have to try and find it. I think they look like brothers for sure.
Look at those eyes: I love when he's awake.

And when he's asleep. Just a sweet little angel.

Welcome to the family. You were worth the wait. Hope you enjoyed your visit with our family on the other side and now we're so happy you're with us.

What day is today? IAN'S BIRTHDAY!

2011-08-25T09:15:00.000-06:00

So apparently I don't have photo documentation of last year's festivities. Bummer. Well just to remind myself- last year we did a party at the park with a store-bought cake with Thomas the Train plopped on top. Ian loved it. I plan on doing a similar theme this year- mostly because it's easy for me and pleases the man child.

Here are rounds two and one.

So here's to my firstborn: HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN! Can't believe he's 4. Next year this post will be about him starting Kindergarten and being 5. Crazy nuts. We're having a grand celebration for the firstborn on Saturday so I'll post pictures (assuming I remember to TAKE them) after that. Today he gets to have whatever he wants for dinner. What does he request? Macaroni and Cheese. Comin' right up, son.

Here are a few things about Ian:

He loves to swim and just BE in the water.
Foods he could eat all day long: burritos (with salsa and sour cream of course), macaroni and cheese, cheese pizza, olives, pickles, goldfish crackers, pink lemonade, chocolate milk (wonder where he gets THAT craving from), chips and salsa, cantaloupe, red grapes
He loves to write- letters, numbers, stories, grocery lists ANYTHING. Currently he can spell IAN, OMA, DAD and MOM on his own. And he knows that L is for Landon.
He is fascinated with all things in motion: Trains, Cars, Trucks, Submarines--and he's very interested in the actual mechanics of these things not just that they go. See:

Loves the outdoors- especially the mountain. He's always happiest up in the mountains- even since he was a wee babe. We took him to cut wood when he was 6 weeks old or so and he was as happy as could be. It used to be that the only thing that would calm him down as a baby was to take him outside.
He loves the snow. Can't wait for winter.
His favorite color is probably blue. Because that's what color Thomas is.
Favorite phrases lately: "See ya later alligator!" "After while crocodile!" "Sure thing chicken wing!" "Because I'm a silly goober." "Can I hold de baby?" "I want 4 because I am almost 4" (Guess what kiddo? Now you ARE 4!) "Let's call __________ on Daddy's computer." (Skype-his new favorite thing) "What day is today?" "No, what number is it?" "I'm ready to be wiped!" "Can we go in da Suburban?"

Love you goober.

So glad you're mine kiddo.

For your viewing pleasure:

2011-08-16T11:48:00.000-06:00

A DELUGE of pictures:

First up we have this sweet boy's first birthday.

(No this one is NOT mine- he's my nephew--isn't he cute though?)

I love that he has brown eyes and hope perhaps his little cousin will too.

This one is for Great Uncle Mike (and all other Uncle Mikes).

The tradition continues.

Peek-A-Boo

(Yes the picture IS turned the right way- Lando is sticking his head out the back of the stroller after which he promptly announced "See Me?!")

Blue Icing makes for blue fingers and mouths: Silly Grandpa (See where the boy children get it from?)

Look! Look! I finished Wee #3's Blankie:

With apparently at least a week to spare...

Here are some of his friends waiting for him:

(Ian loves the bear and Lando loves the giraffe- wonder what baby boy Hurst will choose)

Now, I am well aware that this one is not a great photo.

However, if you look closely you can see a hidden message quilted into the green and navy blue strips.
There are also 7 hidden stars in random places on the blankie.

I used invisible thread this time and cotton batting to see what would happen. The invisible thread is kind of a pain to work with (maybe less so by hand but I don't have the patience for that) BUT the cotton batting: I LOVE. Good thing I got lots of it. I love that it shrinks when you wash it and gives the crinkly look to the blanket. I think with each blankie I've tried new things which is kind of fun because they all end up so different.

Here's the back of the quilt.

And here's Wee #3's outfit for family pictures coming up in September... this kid had BETTER be here by then. :)

And last but not least (because it's huge)...Here's the new Suburban.

We need a name for it so we know what to call it when it needs some encouragement or praise. Word to the wise: Don't badmouth your cars or they'll show you who is boss... in fact, our dear sweet Jetta, Nena, has shown us this time and time again. She's what one might call moody and gets jealous easily. When we borrowed Aunt Trish's Mustang she threw a fit and wouldn't work. Now that we have the suburban she decided to let her transmission take the day off. So we're technically back down to ONE working vehicle. But don't be fooled: We have been immensely blessed in this. We paid cash (Yay for no vehicle debt) for the 'burban (as Sean likes to call it) and hopefully will be able to budget the repairs for our beloved Nena. AND we have a working (and registered) vehicle. The timing was divine. Grateful for that.

So there's our little update. No baby yet. He's comfy (according to HIM) right where he is. I go back and forth between wishing for labor and being grateful I'm not in that much pain right now. The emotional roller-coaster I could do without though. I've also stopped doing things I'm not supposed to do: like rides up the mountain (where we saw 60+ deer, 8 turkeys and a badger and a few meandering cows) and driving to Monticello by myself and leaning over on the floor for hours quilting. I figure we're trying to get this kid here anyway right? Why should I be afraid of a little 20 mile roadtrip?

Currently....

2011-08-12T23:14:00.000-06:00

I should probably go to bed seeing as I'm feeling a but grumpy but eh- why?

So first update: the one I know you guys are dying for.... no baby yet. Only at a 2 so no membrane stripping yet either to get the party started. (TMI? Eh. My blog.) Kind of frustrated about the whole thing. I'm losing patience and starting to worry that my umph for labor is waning. Want to meet this kiddo. Want to NOT be pregnant anymore. Would rather hold him in my ARMS than in my belly. Kind of getting sick of pregnancy talk. Mostly in relation to "When are you due?" uh yesterday "Man you really ARE bigger now than before." gee thanks. I feel as big as a whale. Glad you noticed. Have you seen my new and improved WADDLE too? FYI: talk in relation to size when pregnant is not usually appreciated. In my opinion, not really appreciated in any circumstance unless referred to by me first. Which I don't refer to. People are so much MORE than a size or a number or any of those other stupid labels we get caught up in. Couldn't one relate to another on a DIFFERENT level? But that's really a blog for another day.

Again the words from Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen come to mind. "Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth."
I get the giving advice bit. I get that it's likely connected to something deep down that the distributor is passionate about. Or it worked for them. Or it sounds like a good idea. Or they just couldn't come up with any other small talk. But folks- unless I ask- I'm probably not interested in whatever philosophy you're trying to sell me on. No really. I'll try to remember that the next time I open MY mouth too.

Don't really have anything else for you tonight folks. Tired. Grumpy. Emotional. Think it's really time for bed now that the boys are FINALLY asleep.

In other news: We got our second vehicle today. It's a gas guzzling, American loving, 8 passenger holding Suburban. Never thought I'd be a suburban mom. Ever. Would rather be a mini-van mom. But this fits the bill and can go off road. Bonus. Oh and has a sun roof. We might make that mandatory from now on. Just for tradition sake. All of our vehicles have managed to have one without it ever being on our list of wants (except the truck- but how do you put a sunroof on a vehicle that only has a regular cab? hmm...) Anyway- I'll probably post more about it (complete with photos) another day after we've had the chance to play with it some more.

Here's hoping the sun'll come out tomorrow.
Or
the son'll come out tomorrow.

However you choose to swing it.
See ya later navigator.

The Strong Silent Type

2011-08-09T23:08:00.000-06:00

Don’t worry about the future;

or worry,

but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. (Everybody's free to wear sunscreen)

It was more like 9:30 am on what would become an idle Tuesday.

My Grandpa died last night.
Suddenly and unexpected.
It's still rather shocking.

I've come to the keyboard countless times today to try and figure out how to write. I feel I NEED to write. I don't know what to write because I don't know what I feel. I think my husband is right though; sometimes you have to write to know what you feel.
Wise words, Love. Wise words.

Memories float in and out of my mind- but I wish I could hold on to some of them long enough to see what they are. To re-live them if only for a moment:
The money Grandpa gave me when I was heading off to college. It was HIS money- HIS way of showing me he was proud of what I was doing.
The broad, soft-bristled hair brush that smells like him.
The fresh, long pieces of chalk he would get me and my brother from the top shelf in the kitchen. I'd usually drop mine and half of it would roll through the cracks in the porch.
The critter books he would sit on the floor and read for hours on end. I loved to listen to him read.
The duct tape marks on the ceiling in his bathroom left over from when he'd cover up the skylight while developing pictures or film.
His telescopes.
The lawnmower that lives in a doghouse.
His cat that hates everyone but him. Brown Shoes. Or Ten Speed- I can't remember which.
The smell of his cigarettes.
His soft knit beanie rolled up on his head.
The sunglasses on the table.
Plaid shirts and faded Levi's.
Grandpa's spot on the couch and at the table.
His little black battery operated radio. I don't know what he always listened to but it was always on the end table.
Watching CNN with no sound. I think he liked to read the ticker tape at the bottom with the headlines. Why bother with closed captioning when it can never keep up with the news?
Arguments in the front room. Though my Grandma always says that arguments are German past-time.
Sitting in the shade of the Mulberry tree visiting.
His dentures I was always too afraid to peek at even though I knew where he kept them in the bathroom at night.
Hale Bopp Comet slides that he took himself.
Black and white photos from his time in the Navy and early years of my Mom's childhood.

Little things.

But they're really the big things.

He didn't talk much (unless you got him started on religion or politics or science) but that was ok.
You could just sit in a room with him and smile and it was ok. You didn't have to make small talk. You could just BE.

I'm sad that I won't get any more of his hugs. My grandpa was a tall, lanky man, but he sure gave the best hugs. Tight. Strong. Let you know that you're loved.

We all have faults. Sure. We're human. But I sure will miss my Grandpa and I know I'm not the only one.

Grandma and Grandpa at my little brother's high school graduation. June 2006

HERE is the "symmetrical" attempt

2011-08-04T18:55:00.000-06:00

My apologies blogosphere: Shari pointed out that I had the wrong picture posted before. So HERE is the attempt at making it Symmetrical--alas I didn't have the right amount of squares (see how the bottom left one looks TOTALLY out of place) because the pattern I was going off of makes a 3x3 square quilt- but I like the 3x4 size better:

And again the final pattern for the top-- much more mixed up-- I like it better that way.

After sewing it together it's a little... lumpy. But hey- that's life right? I'm not about to unpick the stitches and redo it. I'll post more when I get it actually finished. Or when the baby comes- whichever is first.

Blankies and Camping- Strike that reverse it.

2011-08-04T11:31:00.000-06:00

We went camping with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Nikki, Uncle Tyler and Brocky Boy last weekend. This time we actually stayed the night. It was fun but an air mattress at this stage of pregnancy is less than ideal. We didn't stay the second night.

4 Wheeler ridin' and shootin' and playin' in the dirt wore the boys out. (Let me clarify: the grownups were shooting--the boys were assigned to find all the treasure AKA the shells)
Tired Boys:

I spy with my little eye: Uncle Tyler up a tree.

So that was then and this is now... I've been working on Wee #3's quilt since apparently I have time. This is one of the original iterations of it. Tried too hard to be symmetrical on the blocks at first.

THIS is what it is going to be:

It's a darn good thing I took a picture of it because as soon as I turned my back, Lando had messed up 3 of the squares. No biggie- referencing my picture I restored it. Well then I transferred the pictures to the hard drive and what should happen? Looks like Hurricane Lando struck again- only this time ruining the WHOLE thing. So I have put this picture BACK on my camera so I can fix it when Hurricane Lando is down for a nap. Sneaky little gremlin. Who wants to bet I'll get the whole blankie done before Wee #3 makes his arrival? I have a whole week ya know.

Let's play catch up...

2011-07-27T14:50:00.000-06:00

When the 118th Sapper Unit got home this little town stopped traffic and welcomed them in. My Brother in Law is on the first Fire truck. They also had a program honoring them and their fallen brother.

Given I had hurt my foot a bit wicked the day before it made for a long day- still adjusting to the boot.

Below is the following day when they had a parade in Monticello celebrating Pioneer Day. Again, Brother in law is here in the front- sans uniform (he wasn't the only one).

Here are the boys waving:

At the horses:

After the parade (which in my oh so humble opinion-paled in comparison with Blanding's for the 4th of July) we stopped by a new little shop in town and this boy was in HEAVEN:

He even got to do the controls!

After the train shop we walked over to Great Grandpa's house (a mere block away) and visited with him for a bit before heading home for naps.

Grandma and Grandpa went camping the following weekend and let us come up and play for a bit. 9 miles from the house and it was WONDERFUL!

This doesn't even begin to show their excitement and joy at being on the 4 wheeler.

I also DID ride a 4 wheeler but left the driving up to Sean this time around. When I had to find the ladies' tree it was a bit hilarious to see my predicament with a boot on my left foot and a ginormous pregnant belly preventing me from seeing what I was doing and throwing off my balance. It was a moment I won't forget. Sorry if now you won't be able to forget it either... but it was pretty funny.

And last but not least: After 2 and a half months of being moved in, we are finally MOVED IN. My mother in law helped us finish up our room and it's so nice to finally have everything in order. Ahhh.

(Please excuse the yellow bandanna on the dresser--I was too lazy to remove it and take another picture)

My little monkies think the rocking chair is pretty great. Thanks for sharing it with us Aunt Trish.

Now that you're all caught up on pictures hopefully the next set will have a bouncing baby boy in them. Another long night last night with 3 hours of contractions and then nothing. Tomorrow is Sean's birthday and his sister, Tiffany has her money that wee #3 is making his debut tomorrow.... looks like you might be owing me some money sister in law :) A lot can happen in 24 hours I guess.

But I do also accept gifts in place of cash--Just FYI.

Contemplating Today

2011-07-26T11:08:00.000-06:00

Feeling a bit contemplative today and glad it's raining so I don't have to feel guilty about bumming around in my PJs at 10:30 am (which let's face it- PJS are normal around here until early afternoon).

Yesterday was a long and strange day for no reason in particular. Just was.

Then I got on Facebook before I went to bed and saw that a girl in Visalia was shot by her boyfriend- murder suicide. I went to high school with her older brother and really she was just a grade below us and had connections to our circle of friends too. Instantly my mind flashes to the Halloween party we went to at their house Junior or Senior year. Grant singing Mack the Knife on Karaoke. Playing in the strobe lights in the "graveyard".

I didn't sleep well last night. Kept thinking I was having contractions- which I might have been- hard to tell. Nothing that gets things really going though ya know? And then I was thinking about the girl's brother. We aren't close friends. More like acquaintances but "friends" on Facebook. You know how that goes. He said this morning (via FB) "I keep expecting to see her walk through the door...Last night I heard her laugh. I think that's God's way of saying she's up here with me and she's ok." Just kind of guts me.

Another friend is mourning the death of her grandfather. Another dealing with the anniversary of loss of a child. For some reason, in this month of celebration, there seems to be a lot of loss and mourning too. Strange. To everything there is a season, I suppose.

So what am I going to do today- probably phase two of nesting. Thinking. And cleaning. (And sneaking in some reading.) Yesterday was phase 1- cooking. I'm over THAT one today. Cooking requires A LOT of clean up and sadly by the end of the day my feet were so swollen and back so achy that I left it to my dear hubby and father in law (and others who helped too- THANKS). Which of course means PBnJ from here on out probably.

To those who are currently suffering loss and heartache: My heart goes out to you.

Newest Summer Accessory

2011-07-22T16:05:00.000-06:00

Well since I am a fashion guru I thought I'd let you in on a little secret but shhh! We don't want it to catch on too quickly or you end up just looking like you're trying to hard to fit in.

This summer's hottest fashion (literally) is das boot.

It comes in black so it goes with everything. Wear it with socks or without (though you'll regret the smell later if you choose without). You can dress it up with a flower or maybe some hot pink duct tape. I like to compliment mine with a ginormous baby bump and waddle around. Turns out I slightly tore my calf muscle in my daring rescue efforts. So I get to wear this beauty for up to two weeks. The doctor said it is actually better if I could manage with a splint that puts my foot in a downward angle but that would mean crutches and with a 2 and 4 year old to chase that's kind of out of the question. Things that are proving more difficult that I didn't have to think about before: grass (so uneven and grabby), inclines of any type, bending down to change a diaper, driving (luckily my inlaws have an automatic...I don't dare try with Nena), general foot space (this thing is HUGE!) and walking in pretty much any direction. I am so not used to it and feel rather ridiculous. So that's the update. No contractions either so it looks like the next few weeks are bound to be interesting.

SuperMom to the rescue....OUCH!

2011-07-21T20:48:00.000-06:00

So there I was minding my own business, chattin' with the fam when what should fall ~~out of the sky~~ down the stairs? It's a bird... It's a plane... It's..... LANDON! The two year old tumbled feet over head and head over feet I don't know how many times. Enough to scare the bejeebers outta me. My sister-in-law remarks that she's never seen a pregnant lady move that fast. Yeah. Me either. Caught him just before he hit the tile at the bottom. Phew! Crisis averted. He didn't even manage a scratch- mostly scared him I think. He was more upset about dropping his train. When Grandma found the little red freight train and returned it the waterworks ended. At least on his part.

You see, I'm so agile and mobile at this stage of the pregnancy. 37 weeks- farthest that I've made it in my 3 pregnancies. Well in my lightspeed movement to snatch the kiddo before he smacked the bottom and REALLY shook things up for tonight I got a Charlie Horse, a leg cramp if you prefer. And holy hannah it's a doozy! Dare say it's the worst I've had since swim team in high school--perhaps worst ever even. I fear something might actually be torn. So I've been stretching it and trying to walk on it. Then I got online and looked up what you should do for a torn calf muscle. Ice it- preferrably in the first ten minutes. Stay off of it and for heaven's sake DON'T STRETCH IT. Dang. Missed the memo on that one. It's wrapped up at the moment and when the boys are finally in bed and Daddy has a spare moment I'll have him get me the peas from the freezer. Until then- "I got you babe. duh duh duh duh duh duh. I got you babe."

Perhaps I'll figure out how to get that magic pinterest favorite button thingie on my laptop. I have it on the desktop but alas- I don't know how to find it past the initial tutorial Anyone have tips? I have Chrome browser and so far googling it hasn't helped.

I'll let you know if all this adrenaline and excitement puts me into labor. So far- we've got no real contractions or anything so I think we're ok for a bit.

Random Survey

2011-07-20T14:04:00.000-06:00

If I could say one thing to myself twenty years ago....
Always make time to play. I don't think I play enough these days.

My favorite place in the world....
home- more specifically probably my bed.

The Lesson I keep learning over and over....
Trust my gut. I have pretty good instincts and a tendency to second guess every one of them.

The movie I watch when I want to laugh...
10th Kingdom with Sean is what comes to mind first. Most
funny movies are even funnier when Sean's around.

The most scared I have ever been....
Sliding off the dirt road with just my 14 month old in the truck with me. It was October and a fall storm was coming in. We didn't have anything on us- I don't even know if I had a spare diaper. Hiked down the mountain to some cabins. Bishop Bulloch rescued us. I hate the feeling of the tires slipping even now. Makes my stomach drop. There have been a few other hair-raising moments but this one comes to mind first.

No one knows I....
....I don't know.

Unhealthiest thing I've ever passed off as dinner....
Hm- not my strong suit. Ice cream?

Personal Philosophy...
A life lived in fear is a life half lived. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

Book that changed my life...
The New Testament

I unwind by...
blog hopping, watching movies, reading, candle-lit bubble baths

What keeps me up at night....
worries, checklists, back pain at the moment too- though thankfully not heartburn anymore.

I define "downtime" as...
Time to myself

Guiltiest Pleasure...
reading in bed all day, yummy foods

My mom was right about...
more than I realized

My mom was wrong about...
I don't know- I have forgotten most of those.

The last time I lost my temper was...
Yesterday or Monday- don't remember which. Tired me. Wits end. Tired boys. Bad combo.

My favorite moment of the day...
Morning snuggles

I wish I had more time for...
writing

I always make time for...
food

I'm currently reading...
Rebekah by Orson Scott Card

Home means...
Love, Comfort, Security

Hormonal imbalance or just Rude?

2011-07-19T10:19:00.000-06:00

I could easily become addicted.

Found this blog recently and love it. While I may not agree on all her points- I certainly feel it triggers thoughts and gets the rusty cogs turning in my brain. THAT I love. I like people that make me think.

I also like a little wit and sarcasm. And a touch of snarkyness thrown in doesn't hurt.

I blame the hormones.

At least I hope it's the hormones, but I feel a bit snarky and rude lately and not near as remorseful about it as I should be. I get this way sometimes.

My husband however may have gotten the brunt of it the other night and for that I AM sorry. I may have accidently broken his toe- at the very least bruised it- by throwing a bucket of wheat on him- not on purpose- he was just there. So what did I say? Sorry- you were in the way. Ugh. Rude. Sorry Babe. Yes, the children were on the stairs yelling at me and yes, I was totally consumed with getting ice out of the freezer to satisfy my intense NEED for ice and yes, it had been a really long day. But I still am sorry that I hurt you in the first place and then was rude about it afterward.

See folks? I'm not perfect. I don't spend all day taking my kids to the pool and playing ball and eating popsicles and making PB&J in star-shaped sandwiches. (Which I am now craving a PBnJ in the shape of a star....or perhaps a tunafish sandwich on white bread with pickles and iceberg lettuce...dang) Sometimes I throw containers of wheat and then blame my husband for having his feet in the way. And I ~~waste~~ spend a lot of time reading other blogs when I could be doing something productive like putting away the LAST of the laundry.

But hey I posted today and *if* you're reading this then chances are you, too, are neglecting laundry or dishes or yardwork and now I don't feel so bad. Thanks.

Now back to what I was supposed to be doing...

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime...

2011-07-18T08:59:00.000-06:00

Eat Banana Flavored Popsicles

I prefer the red ones- cherry maybe?

Take silly pictures.

Kissy Face

"Droop Shot"

Play Catch with Daddy
(Also known as Get-Bonked-In-Da-Head-By-Da-Ball with Daddy. Don't worry- he recovered.)

Fetch the ball and Drive Tonka trucks.
(This one is a classic- Antique even-
it was Sean's as a kid.) Oh and apparently we don't wear pants at our house... I do- but my kids don't.

And of course when it's hot outside nothing beats a trip to the pool:

I know this one is fuzzy but look at the joy on Landon's face.

My little fishie

What you can't really see in this picture is Ian squirting Daddy with the squirt gun at the top of the play area.

Time to warm up

This is before his hair cut.

(After Hair Cuts) Two of my boys and a cousin. So much fun.

Let me clarify: The pictures are from different trips to the pool- I did NOT in fact cut the boys' hair AT the public pool...ew.

Currently...(baby edition)

2011-07-12T09:11:00.000-06:00

I feel more like THIS:

And less like THIS:

I'm also starting to stress a little bit. Life has been so crazy with packing and graduating and moving and getting a job and figuring out how to get settled that I feel like this whole baby thing is rapidly sneaking up on me. I'll be 36 weeks on Thursday and delivered Landon on 36 weeks exactly with not much (if any) warning that I was in labor. My back has been driving me nuts lately and since I have back labor that makes me nervous. I also slept well the other night (not last night though) and I usually only do that before I go into labor.

Other things I'm stressing about currently:

Hospital bag not packed. Though living less than 2 miles from the hospital I feel slightly less concerned about this than last time.
Sean works 45 minutes away. WHAT IF...he can't get back in time...(though again with my tendency to be in the hospital ALL freaking day I think he should be able to make it)
Will kidlet #3 come early?
Will he have to be in the NICU like Lando was?
Will I get to hold him?
Can I ever lose the baby weight? (At this point less of a concern- but real just the same-and no I'm not asking for advice on HOW)
Will his brothers be understanding?
Can I handle 3?
What about our car?
Will I struggle with Postpartum Depression again? Cause that really sucks.
Where is my insurance card? Dang. Switching rooms a week ago messed up what little of a system I had for things.
Is this Midwife thing really going to work out?

Well now that you know what's going on in my little (somewhat fried) brain- here's to today: Cheers! Now it's time to tackle some of my room. But I will have you know- we DO have wee #3's carseat and it does (kinda) fit in our car, and we have a pack of diapers and the clothes are washed and folded as are the receiving blankets and the bassinet is all set up and ready to go and I have a pile of things that will go into the hospital bag (well at least a list). So I'm not TOTALLY unprepared. Now, if we could only come up with a name....

And there will be a 4th of July post someday... soon... I think.

WELCOME HOME!

2011-07-10T18:58:00.001-06:00

My brother in law just got home from Afghanistan! Thanks for all you do! Glad you're home :)

Just a little teaser...

2011-07-07T13:57:00.000-06:00

Until I can get around to ACTUALLY blogging.

Roasted Corn

Self Portraits

Ghost Chickens in the Sky

Looking for more Popcorn

We had a wonderful 4th.

After these messages we'll be riiiiight back!

Now back to your regularly scheduled blog-hopping.

copy cat

2011-06-28T09:22:00.000-06:00

Mimicry is the highest form of flattery right?

So I am following Tawnya's idea and making a "to do" list for Summer.

EOTS (Edge of the Seaters) Melodrama

Best 4th of July Fireworks ever

Parade (watch- not be in)

Netflix movies on the Wii

Make it to 36 weeks (and beyond?)

Have baby

Come up with name for said child

Sleep before and after baby is born

Party for Sean's Golden Birthday

Plan Ian's Birthday Party (he's already given me a lot of suggestions)

Park Days

Pool Days (and pool Dates which are even better--no worrying about kids drowning)

Zax Pizza in Moab after kidlet is born

Family Reunion Campout in September to finish off the summer

Cookouts

Roasting parties over the firepit in the backyard (need to get starbursts...)

Flip Flops

Swim suit days instead of regular clothes

Soda or Ice Water Runs (depending on my mood)

Ok well that's really probably about it. Hm. Not very exciting. Looks somewhat exhausting. Though the first 3 will be checked off this weekend.

There's No Place Like Home

2011-06-27T06:41:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning from a dream and immediately thought of this scene;

the final scene from The Wizard of OZ.

You can watch it HERE. Or the M&M's version....

All my dear friends were there. You and you and you....

there was talk of babies and books and politics (Oh My!)

Lovely food and laughter.

It certainly felt like HOME.

To the lovely ladies of the book club: Dorothy said it best, "Oh, but it wasn't a dream! It was a place! And you - and you - and you - and you were there. But you couldn't have been, could you?"
"There's no place like home."

You are all loved and missed.

Organized Chaos

2011-06-21T13:54:00.000-06:00

So we've been working on organizing things around these here parts.

Here's our closet:

It's about as wide as a big suitcase and has to work for both me and Sean. Do I smell a challenge? So I went to Organize.com and purchased some hangers that help expand the possibilities for this small space. These little do-hickeys allow multiple hangers to fit in the space of less. 6 hangars in the space of 2 or 3:

See?

It makes it to where before we could only fit some things- now I can fit all of my regular shirts (my Maternity wardrobe is slightly more limited than my regular wardrobe which helps) and pants and Church clothes- and Sean can fit work clothes and play clothes and church clothes. And shoes. I'm happy that now things are a little more organized and not so much on the floor. (Those are the boys' clothes that I don't know how they ended up in OUR room). But I digress... Progress has been made and I think it was worth it.

And now for something totally different:

I caught a clip of Studio 5 this morning and it inspired me to play around with my hair a bit. I'm growing it out (despite my urge to go chop it off) because I like to be able to try things like this. I wasn't sure if it was really long enough but voila! It was. My little sister always does crazy cool things with her hair and in my efforts to be more like her I give you this: (And please ignore my crappy photography skillz---I don't know how to take pictures of myself and the mirror throws me off.)

And last but not least a small ode to my hubbie:

Super cool

Even sporting socks and sandals

All the while playing the part of my knight in shining armor

N is for the White and Nerdy side that comes with your brilliance. Oh and have I mentioned

I LOVE YOU!

(Can you tell I am NOT a poet and didn't major in Poetry? To each their own.)

Happy belated Father's Day babe. The front is a coin counting jar and the back is a charging station which looks cooler with all his gagillion gadgets plugged in. (But he wasn't home so I had to make do with this shot.)

As our good friend Tigger would say: TTFN!

Wee little Piggies...

2011-06-18T16:29:00.000-06:00

Pioneer Woman says to write my blog like I'm talking to my sister.

Well in that case:

Sister Girl- we totally should try THIS for 4th of July.

Oh and I painted my toenails today.

Dayglow Yellow.

See?

No I know- NOT the greatest paint job. I'm more of a be-messy-and-let-the-excess-come-off-after-my-next-shower kind of girl. And in my defense- I can hardly reach my toes as it is. And then the boy children took off their socks and requested "too". Ian is a little sad his aren't as bright as mine are but that's because I didn't do a white layer under theirs. Did anyone else paint their nails with White Out and Highlighter Markers in high school? I totally did and I'm kind of excited that the yellow is the same color as the Highlighters. I like to think it is so bright it almost makes my feet look tan. Now if I could figure out a strategy for the rest of my body I'd be set. I'm thinking lighting bolts. All over. A bit much? Probably- but it's safer than tanning right? Or orange-streaked self tanning lotion.

AKA: Little Suzy Homemaker

2011-06-17T09:16:00.000-06:00

Little Suzy Homemaker decided to make muffins this morning. This is what I did:

Take One of these:

Add one of these:

Some of this (15 oz. or so-which is 1/2 a big can):

And finally 1/2-whole bag of these:

(Chocolate Chips: mine were Western Family Milk Chocolate and I used about 2/3 of the bag)

Spray cupcake/muffin tin (or line with paper cups).

Bake at 350* for 20 minutes.

Pour cold glass of milk and enjoy.

Not quite the chocolate Costco Muffins (my own personal brand of heroin) (if you watch the clip imagine me saying this to a chocolate Costco Muffin-cheesy and a bit hilarious) but pretty darn good.

I also like to pretend they're kinda healthy because they have pumpkin in them. That's got to be good for you right?

(My 4 year old said this morning, "I don't want anymore because you put too much chocolate in it." I'm pretty sure my kid has been abducted by aliens sometime in the night.)

The one in which I learn my lesson...

2011-06-14T09:19:00.000-06:00

About trying to sleep and allergies. My allergies have been on full attack lately and it drives me batty. Happens every year since I was a kid. Some are worse than others. I've tried every medication under the sun for it. Some work just fine- others knock me out- and others don't work at all. I remember distinctly in 6th grade coming in from recess and getting a wet paper towel to put on my eyes. It must have been after lunch recess because we always had reading time after lunch (and I think some of the kids slept). This was also when we'd make glue balls--but I digress. The teacher questioned why I was getting a wet paper towel and NOT reading. So I told him it was for my eyes. Allergies. He understood. Most people growing up in the Valley could empathize. For some it's the Walnuts, for others the cotton, and others the pollen from any number of blossoming things. For me it's all of that. And dust and sage brush I'm learning. So here we are at last night. I was tired. My allergies decided to hit a one-two punch. One eye- two eyes. Knowing it was going to be another long night because numero Uno is sick I wanted to be able to get what little sleep I could between cries of "Mommy, my nose is stuhwy." So I thought I'd take a little Alavert. It hadn't kept me hyped before. Should have taken Benadryl. I could NOT sleep. I wasn't feeling buzzed- hyper like some meds have a tendency to do to me. Just could not go to sleep. My eyes didn't itch any more but my legs were getting jumpier and jumpier. (They do this when I am tired- it's worse when I'm pregnant). I think I finally fell asleep about 3 (which is about the time the medication wore off).

So now I know- don't take any allergy medicines before bed unless I KNOW they are going to knock me out completely.

On today's agenda I do believe there will be a NAP on the list. Top priority- just not sure where it'll fit in.

What has summer brought YOU?

Wanna know how I did?

2011-06-09T10:50:00.000-06:00

SO how did I do on my list from yesterday?...

Shower (at some point)---I did in fact shower- at which point the boys thought it would be a good idea to escape. Luckily Aunt Nikki and Uncle Tyler caught them. THANKS GUYS!
Clean Kitchen- we've all been so pooped at the end of the day...it needs some serious attention. -- I managed to get the dishes done and wipe the counters. Took out a load of garbage that almost did me in at the end of the day.
Read my Book: Currently Book 1 of Hunger Games. (Note to self: need to get a library card ASAP)-- Seriously loving this book. I just finished section one of book one so I'm not moving very quickly but I've been busy with other things. (See below)
Bagillion loads of laundry- why do they sneak up on me? (really I'll probably do one maybe 2) Only managed 2 loads (my guess was correct) but they are 99 percent put away- which doesn't usually happen. On load 1 for today after a night of "I wet my bed" again and again. Load two will be appearing shortly.
Think about cleaning up my room. Thought about it.
Get overwhelmed at the prospect. Got more than a little overwhelmed. But now the piles of DIRTY clothes are gone just one load and that silly 1 percent to get taken care of (see I told you I've been too busy to read...)
Not bother. I didn't.
Get a Soda. 12 pack of vanilla Coke this go around. Did you know that beer was originally packaged in 6 packs because that's all a woman was supposed to be able to carry...? According to a game we played the other night (not a drinking game- who do you think I am anyway?) it's true. I'm not known for my fact checking skills....
Play with the squidlets. We read lots and lots of books.
Read Amelia Bedelia and explain that what she is doing is SILLY. Ian doesn't get most of the jokes- except the potted plants. He figured out that one on his own. I think he's catching on. I think I'll be Amelia Bedelia for Halloween. Didn't actually read this one yesterday nor did squidlet numma 1 take a nap (which is when we usually read it).
Fight Heartburn and it's evil sidekick: TUMS. (I loathe Tums...) The power of Maifestation: Around lunch time I noted on Facebook that I was craving heartburn inducing Mexican food. Not 20 minutes later my mother in law comes home for lunch and brought what? BURRITOS for lunch! Pretty good and definitely heartburn inducing. There's still half of mine in the fridge because I couldn't get through it. It was awesome.
Sneak bites of PB Treats. Who me?
Pretend I don't know where they all went. I DID share....
Look at my toes and think "I really SHOULD repaint them- or at least take off the ancient chipping polish..." Thought that as I typed it.
Probably not bother with that either. Didn't bother- thought I did clip my cuticles which were out of control. Step in the right direction though the purple chipping polish is still there in all its non-glory.
Oh yeah and my first Appointment down here. There's a new midwife in town that I get to go see. I'm excited. Hope all goes well. Appointment went well. I REALLY like this new midwife, I feel comfortable with her and trust that she knows what she's doing. We may even get to be her first birth down here. (She's been in Alaska and Happy Valley previously). She kind of reminds me of my grandma too (only perhaps less cranky).
At some point there will be gnashing and wailing as it is time to get ready for bed. To be honest I don't remember much about that time of night. Sean was lovely and got the kids bathed and ready for bed and then spanked them all soundly and sent them to bed. (Joking- he didn't spank) I was pretty tired by the time we called it a night.

So there you have it folks. I did most of what I said I would do. (And not much more). I'd say that makes my list pretty realistic. Look Elise- I totally got 2 blogs out of one list--sweet. Love a double whammy.

Here's to today: Cheers!

My brilliant list of things that won't get done today...

2011-06-08T09:26:00.001-06:00

"Sammach!"

"Panpake!"

Evidently the kids were pretty hungry this morning. Landon ate two maybe 3 pancakes before a smile returned to his face. He's a much happier camper now. I just like the way he talks. His brother used to take the first syllable, or some other part, of a word and double it. Example: Granola Bar was "Nol Nol Bah" whereas #2 frequently takes the last syllable "Ah Bar". Landon is getting better at communicating exactly what he wants and sometimes doesn't have to be pointing at it for it to make sense. "Wih Me" means "come with me"- as in he wants to explain/show me something but cannot do it without the object. It saves the frustration of mommy saying, "I have no clue what you're talking about kiddo." Cute kids. Their saving grace.

Wanna know what's on my list today?

Shower (at some point)
Clean Kitchen- we've all been so pooped at the end of the day...it needs some serious attention.
Read my Book: Currently Book 1 of Hunger Games. (Note to self: need to get a library card ASAP)
Bagillion loads of laundry- why do they sneak up on me? (really I'll probably do one maybe 2)
Think about cleaning up my room.
Get overwhelmed at the prospect.
Not bother.
Get a Soda.
Play with the squidlets.
Read Amelia Bedelia and explain that what she is doing is SILLY. Ian doesn't get most of the jokes- except the potted plants. He figured out that one on his own. I think he's catching on. I think I'll be Amelia Bedelia for Halloween.
Fight Heartburn and it's evil sidekick: TUMS. (I loathe Tums...)
Sneak bites of PB Treats.
Pretend I don't know where they all went.
Look at my toes and think "I really SHOULD repaint them- or at least take off the ancient chipping polish..."
Probably not bother with that either.
Oh yeah and my first Appointment down here. There's a new midwife in town that I get to go see. I'm excited. Hope all goes well.
At some point there will be gnashing and wailing as it is time to get ready for bed.

That's about it.
All in a days work.
Or list.

I'll fill you in on how much ACTUALLY gets done :)

Onward and Upward folks. Onward and Upward.

Practice Trumpet Every Day

2011-06-07T11:34:00.000-06:00

Ian has requested this song EVERY morning.

Not bad. And he is learning the days of the week.
And what "detest" means.

Ya gonna go to school Dad?

2011-06-03T10:52:00.000-06:00

And now for: A look back.

Apparently Landon doesn't want to look back. He'd rather look forward. In a minute kiddo. For now, bear with me.

HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO!

The proud parentals.
Thank you so much for instilling a love of learning and hard work into Sean's life.

The fam-damily that came to watch him graduate. Thanks for coming! Ian and Landon are not pictured here because they were either asleep or grumpy. Sean has been through 5 graduations and some of these folks attended them all. Seminary, High School, Basic Training (or was it AIT?), Bachelor's Degree and now a Master's. Crazy!

I'm so proud of you babe for working so hard!

Hooray for the Class of 2011!

Kid: Ya gonna go to school Dad?

Bill Cosby: No, I graduated.

Kid: Ya gonna go to school Dad?

Bill Cosby: NO, I graduated.

Kid: Ya gonna go to school Dad?

Bill Cosby: NO, I GRADUATED!

Currently...

2011-06-01T14:20:00.000-06:00

Currently:

The boys are asleep. *Sigh of relief* I've been up (kinda) since 5:30 this morning which my body didn't appreciate today. Headache is waning though.
I am listening to Classical Baby CD that either my mom or I found at a thrift store. I throughly enjoy how it relaxes me. Clair de Lune is probably my favorite. It also happens to be the first one so I don't have to skip any other songs to get to it. Tertius loves track #4. He went nutso just a bit ago when it came on (On the Beautiful Blue Danube).
Tertius is what we jokingly call baby #3. We cannot come up with a decent REAL name for him. Tertius comes from the movie Stardust. I'll hit my 30 weeks mark tomorrow which means 10 or less to go. Kind of freaking me out. Washed the wee sized baby clothes yesterday. Still so worried that he's going to come early and we'll be in Grand Junction for a week (or more). So I'm trying to get stuff ready now- that way if I'm prepared he'll stay in until 40 weeks right??? First time around: not prepared what-so-ever. 3 weeks early. Second time around: bag packed. Not in the car though. 4 weeks early. THIS time: hopefully bag packed and IN the car. We'll see I guess. I'm feeling HUGE so no- there will probably not be pictures of my ginormous belly on the blog. So don't ask. Also my hormones are so outta whack it's not funny. No really. I've been cranky for no real reason. Poor Sean. He is good to put up with me.
Frustrated at lack of resources here in town. I want to shop local and support local businesses. And I'll be darned if I haven't tried. Due to Ian's recent crazy growth spurt his feet have grown out of the shoes I thought would last him through the summer. There is not a single pair of Boy/Toddler (I don't know what they call this awkward in-between phase) shoes sized 10 or 10 1/2 for sale in all of Blanding. It's ridonkulous. And Sean needs more khaki's for work. Went to search for them and they don't carry his size. So online it is I guess. (Nearest shopping is 90 minutes away and that's only Walmart. Anything else is 2 hours.) I was warned about this phenomenon. We'll adjust. Though it is a little maddening.
Looking forward to paying off debt super fast. We should have my school debt taken care of almost about the time that Sean's come due.
We went to the community pool last night. It is AWESOME! The kids had a blast but it was still a little chilly. They even have slides in the kiddie pool and the boys thought that was sweet. I have to control my over-reacting when near large bodies of water with the kids. Ian is getting better at testing what he can and cannot do on his own. Landon will walk on the bottom only if he's holding a grownup's hand. I don't mind. I was 8 when my sister fell in our pool and have issue with little ones and water since then. PS- She's fine: See?
Kind of itching to go to Moab with all of the tourists. Mmmm. And have some Zax Pizza. So good. I could probably convince Sean to go if I remind him of their on tap root beer.... not really in the "hurry and pay off debt" budget but maybe...
Sad that I'm missing Book Club tonight but I hope the girls all have a blast without me. And may they have a good waiter like Leviticus. Sean and I talked it over and "Book Club" is mostly just code for "Girls Night Out"---I haven't finished the book- but will soon I promise. I'm enjoying this one. This month is The Forgotten Garden. You should check it out.

That's it folks. Wish I had more brilliance and bling to spice up my entries but woe is me- I do not. Have a great Wednesday.

Fathers & Sons "outing"

2011-05-28T00:30:00.000-06:00

Tonight was the annual Fathers and Sons outing for our new ward. So excited.
Ian has been talking about it ALL DAY.
"When is Daddy going to get home?"
"I want to go camping RIGHT NOW."
"Today we are going camping with Daddy and Lando and Drampuh and Uncle Tyloor."
And so on and so forth. All Day.
But there wasn't dinner provided for them up there so we did our own BBQ with Dutch Oven Yummy Potatoes. It was delish.
There were some projects around the house that needed to get done (aren't there always? My room is my own current project- and then maybe a blanket for this kiddo). So the boys, armed with power tools and sledge hammers, earned their keep. Then decided to just camp in the back yard. Win-Win really.
Hard manual labor that I don't want to do (and get to opt out of anyway) gets done (or started at least) and campfire and ice-cream from the local burger joint across the street are throughly enjoyed. The boys get a night with Daddy sleeping under the stars and Mommy gets to watch chick flicks and stay up late with little to no worries. (I'm a worry wart- worries don't just POOF! and are gone.) AND Blog in the middle of the night.
And I can look out my window and see all 5 boys cozy in their sleeping bags.
AND I get to hog the bed as much as I want tonight. (And the COVERS!)
Tee Hee Hee.
Tomorrow will be Bountiful Baskets, Laundry and probably more outside work thrown in. I heard something about digging a hole...? Goodnight all.
Happy Fathers-N-Sons.

Blessings abound.

2011-05-23T14:32:00.000-06:00

I'm baaaack!

Well sort of. I still need to be quick about posting but I need to update you on our lives.

We moved.

We made it safe and sound. No incident or even funny stories to report from that. Sorry. We're mostly unpacked at this point. Except for a few boxes in our room: namely my "Sewing essentials" box---not sure where to put it or if I should in fact unpack it at all. The weather has been crazy- but I'm loving the wide open spaces here. We even hiked Posey's Trail the other day. It was loverly.

Today is Lando's Birthday! YAY! He's two now- but really I've been saying he and his brother and 2 and 4 respectively for a little while now. Two years ago I was in Blanding on vacation and went into early labor. I thought they'd send me home. Turned out we spent 4 days in Grand Junction Colorado (after giving birth) where Lando was in the NICU. LONGEST 4 DAYS OF MY LIFE. Those Moms and grandmas and other loved ones who have done more time in the NICU have my respect. He's happy and healthy (though prone to ear infections and allergic to cats just like me).

Sean just got a job! Starts on Wednesday. Real job with benefits. *sigh* We really are feeling so incredibly blessed. We found out about the opportunity the week we were moving. Sent in a resume. Phone interview number one. Would you be willing to relocate? They didn't understand we were moving on purpose and were looking for a job to support that decision. So then we moved. Phone interview number two. Lots of technical questions. Sean wasn't feeling too great about it. Called on references. Face to face interview this morning. Job offer this afternoon. So. Blessed. Things really are falling into place. That's not to say it's all roses but right now it feels GREAT to have hard work pay off.

Last week we took the boys to Farm Days. Kind of missed the good stuff but got to ride a 4wheeler around the farm instead- the perks of a small town I guess. I have pictures I'll post later.

Moving...

2011-05-10T19:53:00.000-06:00

Oh My Dear Blogosphere readers (I know at least my mom and little sister read this- hence the plural)

Sorry for neglecting you.
As it happens- life happens. And around these here parts it means packing and graduating and cleaning (less of that though- mostly just packing). We're in the home stretch. Moving on Saturday. Crossing fingers and toes and eyes that all goes well. I will do a Mother's Day part 2 post at a later date. My dear sweet mama deserves a post of her own and I cannot do it justice with the limited brain power on which I am currently trying to function. Breakdowns are a daily occurrence. Despite getting rid of SO MUCH STUFF- we still have FAR too much. But I'm at the "I-don't-care-throw-it-in-a-box" stage and Sean has been so good to keep us a bit more organized than that.

Today I had a fun test- the glucose test. Drink a ~~nasty~~ lovely orange drink and draw blood in exactly an hour. Silly vampires- why can't they just take it from my neck and be done with it? Plus once I'm a vampire wouldn't that make me impenetrable to needles? I like that idea. And I wasn't supposed to have anything sugary all day-- so what did I do as soon as it was over? ICE CREAM! We made our last stop (and first in Logan) for Cold Stone Ice Cream. There is no Cold Stone in the booming metropolis we're moving to. But that's ok. We'll be right across the street from the local burger joint and they have yummy soft serve. The doctor says I'm gaining weight perfectly with the pregnancy- and he's not worried about it- so I figure why change what I'm doing now? Bring on the icy creamy deliciousness . (Though I may regret that after Wee #3 is born and have to lose "baby weight". Bah- that's another day. Beauty comes in all forms.)

Attended my last book club last week. I don't even really want to post about it. It was lovely- though we were missing a few- and missing them a lot. I may have to make an annual trip up here for a weekend bookclub getaway at some point. Enough of that.

We look like drunkards. Our house is floor to ceiling with alcohol boxes. The liquor store always has the best boxes and they give them out for FREE (in Adam Sandler's voice)! It was a little awkward when I went in a few weeks ago with my pregnant belly. The looks I got--boy were they relieved when I said I just wanted boxes. Pretty funny though. Made me think of the movie Baby Mama. "I knew something was up when I saw you beatin' yo' baby bump." Classy movie. I laughed so hard I almost peed. Must have been one of those need-a-laugh nights.

Well. I really need to get back to packing SOMETHING- though at this point I'm not sure what. Probably the Schnapps box.

Mothers Day part 1

2011-05-04T09:18:00.000-06:00

Mothers.
Everyone has one.
Not everyone knows theirs.
But everyone knows one.

I've been thinking about mothers a lot as we near the day we celebrate mothers and motherhood. I've also been thinking of dear friends who have lost a child or have tried to have children and are trying so hard to find a way to bring children into their home. My heart aches for them. I wonder how they manage to get out of bed on days like Mother's Day. I would certainly struggle with the yearning and the loss. I love them dearly. I think of them often but don't mention it because I don't really know how to.

In Primary on Sunday we were practicing a song for Mother's Day. Pretty typical really. But it got to me. I had a hard time keeping my emotions in check with the older kids. Why? It wasn't because of their enthusiasm. (They think I torture them sometimes by making them learn something new.) No. It was one boy. He was sitting off by himself with his head in his hands. I was feeling very sensitive to him on Sunday and explained to all of the kids that we don't always have our moms here with us but we can still honor them by thinking of them. You see, his mom died a few years ago. His dad has remarried. He's been dealt a hard hand to play with his own physical ailments. I know he misses his mom. A lot. I know when I'm physically ill there's something about my Mom that is comforting. Now that's not to say his step-mom hasn't tried. I don't know much about his relationship with her but I can see his pain of losing his mom is still tender. He's also going to be coming up on a milestone in the next year- turning 12. Milestones are hard when you miss someone.

My heart goes out to the mothers in waiting and the mothers in mourning and those who have lost their mother and those who silently bear their own cross with burdens too big to describe. You are not forgotten.

SO TODAY IN ARCHERY.....

2011-05-03T19:50:00.000-06:00

SO TODAY IN ARCHERY.....

(That's a little throwback to my RBC friends)

Today:

Sean finished all the work for his Master's Degree. We'll find out the grade soon- likely a sturdy B. In his other class he got an A. Graduation is on Friday- HOORAY!
I did a buncha laundry along with the entire population of Logan it seems. At least the clothes are clean now and I got some quality time in with my book.
The Landlord's son come by and tell us somebody wants to look at the place- when would be a good time. Uh May 15th? I did actually say that and I wasn't really kidding but he was talking to Sean so tomorrow it is. Ye Haw. Someday I will have my own house with my own roof and my own yard. Someday. Someday. Someday. I am a little looking forward to Sean being able to point out the unique personality of the place (leaky toilet- back yard in name only-expensive utilities....) What really gets my goat is that the landlord plans on renting it RIGHT after we leave- which means there are no plans to fix/clean anything. We've been here two years- the carpets at least should be cleaned. Maybe I just had picky landlords in the past that required that sort of thing. (We cleaned them ourselves a year ago when I just couldn't stand it anymore-should have done it sooner.)
Is just one week away from the beloved glucose test. I am however looking forward to it being over.
The boys each had their own box to play in. I used to make motorhomes out of my boxes. Ian made a skyscraper and Landon had... well a box.
I can feel another chair trying to break on me as I type. Guess the Walmart card table and chairs don't last long when used on a daily basis eh? Thus far we've had 2 where the back support has come clean off and two that are on the verge- like mine currently is. Kinda weird. I plan on coming up with a super crafty solution for all of this at some point.
Our sourdough starter went bad. Well I don't know if it was TODAY that it went bad- but we checked it....and it was....well....NOT dead- but alive in a green and fuzzy kind of way. We'll start fresh in Blanding.
As I was driving home from the laundromat I spied my sister and her roommates taking pictures by the old skating rink...in the rain. I honked and waved.
When Sean came home early due to his final I got a lovely nap. When I woke up I freaked out because I forgot Sean was home and thought I had left the boys to their own devices for 45 minutes... PHEW. They may have been left to their own devices for 45 minutes but at least there was a conscious adult around. :)

That's pretty much it for today. We're a day shy of 3 weeks from Lando's 2nd birthday. Crazy how time flies. And how was YOUR day?

Yard Sale Weirdos

2011-05-01T12:33:00.000-06:00

So much of the weight that has been on me in recent months has lifted. Piece by piece it was taken away by strangers and friends who came to our yard sale. As far as furniture goes we only have our bed, the boys' beds, the kitchen table and my grandma's coffee table (and two folding tables but they hardly count because they fold up). There is still a lot of stuff- bikes and luggage and camping gear and toys and whatnot- but I am amazed at how simplifying just the amount of furniture clutter clears the other clutter in my mind. Thus far I like this simpler way of life. Hope I can keep it in perspective for a while.

A yard sale is one quick way to find all the crazies that live near you. (Disclaimer: I did NOT put "no early birds" in my ad---but given the dismal turn out for our last yard sale I thought it superfluous. I have learned my lesson folks.) On Thursday the weather was nice enough that the boys and I decided it was high time Nena got a little scrub down. Having already checked the weather and knowing precipitaion in one form or another was due within 24 hours I knew it was a little silly to wash her. But sometimes it makes you feel better to get dressed up even if only for a few hours. And due to the lovely Spring the birds are out- and thus they leave their marks on our car- poor Nena was in dire need. There we were minding our own business when a little black car pulls up in front of our house. Not a big deal. Being close to an intersection we have random people pull up in front of our house all the time to get better directions or answer a phone call or turn around. Rarely does anyone ever get out of their vehicle. Enter crazy number one. A lady who reminds me of a Madam-Sophia-palm-reader-with-crooked-lipstick gets out of the little black car and comes over.
"Are you selling couches?"
"Yes."
"How big are they?" To which I'm thinking I dunno lady, couch sized? Instead as I'm covered in suds and wielding a hose I politely reply, "I don't know. They're just inside. Take a look if you want." Mind you the love seat is covered in all sorts of things in my attempt to get ready for the upcoming sale. Then she goes on about what other things I'm selling.
"Any dressers?"
"Yes. Two of them."
"And how big are they?"
"One's tall the other shorter. One's painted white the other is wood colored. 5 drawer and 3 drawer."
"Can I see those?"
"Uh, no. They're kind of hard to get to right now."
"Oh ok." She proceeds to tell me some story about her daughter but to be honest I wasn't listening much. I just wanted to wash my car and move on with my day. She had the info she was after. I thought she'd leave. She did finally. We finished washing the car and went to the Zoo with Aunt Dani, Ari and Daddy. Grand time. No camera.
Return home- eat dinner- then there's a knock at the door.
It's the same lady. Different outfit. Fresh lipstick.
"Which dresser is the white one?"
Really? You drove over here to ask me that when you could just wait a few days and see it for yourself LIVE and in person.
"The tall one."
"Oh." Some more about how her daughter has to work on Saturday and hope she can get over here and blah, blah, blah. I'm heartless I'm sure. The daughter probably really could use these things. At this point I wanted the lady off my porch. As politely as I could muster, I explained that I hope her daughter could stop by on Saturday but I'm not selling anything before then. She left.
Not an hour later our landlord comes by- evidently he DID get my voicemail but chose to come over instead of calling. That's fine. He owns the place. Just a little tired of people I DIDN'T want to see coming over.
Then miracles of miracles a dear friend of mine showed up with this month's book club book. (THANKS- I'm loving it so far) I cannot describe how happy I was to see her little red car with her and her hubbie in it. Friendly faces are a tender mercy. Wish we could have visited more. But that is life. So Thursday was jam packed.
Friday- Madam Lipstick drove by again- but didn't stop this time. Phew.
Saturday. It snowed in the morning- just frozen rain really. But it was cold and dreary. 8:30 am- half an hour before the sale is scheduled to start. 2 cars are lined up outside our house waiting. Oh the waiting. I never knew we were so exciting. An old man in a car with a trailer hooked up to it gets out and starts wandering the yard, presumably looking for the stuff. Nothing in the back yard except chickens and dogs Mister and you can HAVE them for FREE. Turns out he was looking for camping gear or guns. Sorry. We're keeping those.
Anyway, there were numerous characters that came to the sale. Bought our stuff. Lightened our load. I am grateful. And they gave me good blog material.
Now off to church.