Library confusion

One of my favorite things about Evie going to preschool is being able to sneak off to the library for half an hour with only one child in tow, and actually pick out books for myself. I spent a pleasant 20 minutes perusing the shelves and, impressed with my self-restraint at selecting less than 20 books, went to check them out. For some reason no matter how long or short a time I spend in the library, when I am ready to check out, everyone else is ready at the same time. Plus one of the patrons was arguing over whether or not she had returned a book they said was lost and were making her pay for. Well, long story short, Lila was not thrilled with being restrained in a stationary stroller for that long. While I was trying to entertain her the lady in front of me turned and smiled at her, and then said, "Oh dear, he isn't very happy is he?"

Seriously? He?

I have had people make that mistake when my kids were tiny newborns and dressed neutrally, and it never offended or bothered me. But give me a break.

I like hand-me downs as much as the next person, but who in their right mind is going to put a little boy in a coat like this? Give them a pink binkie? Dress them in overalls embroidered with little flowers? And pink tennis shoes? Plus she was sitting in a purple stroller with pink flowers all over it. Short of making a sign that read, THIS IS A GIRL!, I don't know that you could get much more gender specific.

And don't try to tell me she probably had bad eyesight, she wasn't checking out any large-print books...

Wanna see my bear bum?

(Not what you were expecting?)

Three things I've learned today:

1) If Evie wears these tights to church she will end up asking someone that question.

2) No matter how early we start getting ready, we will inevitably end up being 10 minutes late to church.

3) It is much, much easier to pick up the dirty diaper than to spend the time to photoshop it out of the picture... but go ahead, guess where it was.


Evie became a Sunbeam today. She was so excited to graduate from the Nursery class and go to Primary with her big brother. (Jake told me she kept turning around and waving to him during Sharing Time.) She has been singing "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam" for 24 straight hours and when we got out of the car at church she told me, "Mom! I am going to be a sunbeam! Because Jesus wants me to..."


(This picture made me chuckle. She isn't upset, she just had something in her eye.)

Evie's strengths will probably not include math...

The other night we were over visiting my dad, and growing bored with a conversation that didn't include her, Evie started to count the decorative brads on the arm of a chair. She was counting quietly to herself, but fortunately there was a lull in conversation that let us catch what she was saying...

"....4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 19.... and that one, and that one, and another one, and that one, and that one!"

We were hysterical by this point, but oblivious to our laughter she stood up and proudly announced, "Hey guys! I counted them!" Grandpa asked her, "And how many were there?" Evie looked confused for a split-second then said, "A lot."

And she was off to find other things to count...

The Four Musketeers

These are my cousins, Sarah, Emilie, (me), and Catherine. We were all born the same year, and through some lucky twist of fate we have ended up being close friends as well as family. We have a long standing (11 years and counting) tradition of spending New Year's Day together. Some years it is the only day we have seen each other. But I am so grateful for this tradition and the relationship I have with these amazing women. I am grateful that each of them has taken the time and effort to invest in staying close through an undeniably busy decade.

10 years ago we were in Disneyland for the Millennium New Year! We were all 20 years old and sure that we were so grown up and ready to take on the world. Including travelling out of state to celebrate with hundreds of thousands of strangers. (Well, it felt like that many.) It was a crazy and fun trip where we spent all day riding every ride and staying up late into every night playing cards and talking, talking, talking.

I am not entirely sure who's brilliant idea it was, but I am fairly certain that it would have been Sarah. Coming up with fun and crazy plans is right up her alley. I know that we actually got there and had someplace to stay because of Catherine. Planning and execution would be her department. Emilie would be in charge of making sure we were all in touch about how we felt about the trip. I was probably the comic relief.

10 years has seen a lot of change. Marriage, moving, schooling, graduations, jobs gotten, jobs lost, birth, death, sickness, health, heartbreak and happiness. And through it all we have been together. Sometimes more together, sometimes less. But even if only once a year we would get together and talk. And talk. We talk a lot. We are very good at it. It's one of my favorite things about our relationship. We can talk about anything and everything, and what starts as a request for house keeping tips could very easily end up in deep, soul bearing discussions about what it means to be the best women we can be.

I love that we are so similar and so different at the same time. I love that we can appreciate each others differences and feel connected through our shared genes and history. I admire and am inspired by each of my cousins for their unique and special attributes.

Sarah is a true people person. She makes everyone around her feel special and interesting, not that she is just making small talk but that she really cares about you and your life. She is a driving force for keeping us connected and always has the great plans for a girl's night or play date with the kids. She is a wonderful mother who takes such joy in teaching and playing with her boys. She makes me want to be more spontaneous and give my children more varied experiences.

Catherine is so smart and driven. She always keeps the conversational ball rolling with interesting topics of discussion. She is the newest mom of us and is so dedicated and loving to her sweet little girl. I think she is also very brave and takes on new life experience with poise and confidence. She makes me want to be better informed and aware of the world outside my front door.

Emilie is so in touch. With her heart and spirit. Talking to her is like having an emotional and mental health check-up. She is very good at helping you to find the words to express how you are feeling and giving you a safe, judgement-free place to express it. She is an amazing mother to four and gives it her all. She is so in tune with each of her children and their needs. She is also quick to sympathize with the failures and frustrations that comes with being the parent of young children. She makes me want to be better at being patient and Christ-like with people, especially my kids.

I love that we start each year renewing these friendships that have been a large part of helping me become the woman that I am today. I love the memories we've made and I look forward to many more years of New Year's Days together.

Happy New Year!

We enjoyed a quiet evening at Pa Dave's. We watched some movies, we played hot dice and when midnight rolled around the kids banged on pots and pans to welcome in the new year. Then Jacob promptly had an emotional break down. My poor tender heart. He and I went into the library to have a quiet moment to talk about what was upsetting him.

Me: What is wrong sweetheart?
Jake (Through the tears): I am just so worried about making a resolution.
Me (Stifling the laughter that insists on welling up during these moments): What? Why?
Jake: I don't really know what a resolution is! *sob, wail, sniffle*
Me: Oh honey. It just means that you decide something you want to do this year and what to do to accomplish that goal.
Jake: Oh. Okay. Well then, I want to learn to be a better golfer.
Me: That sounds like a resolution that Pa Dave would like.
Jake: And I want to try canoeing.
Me: *repressed snort* Well, naturally. Another excellent goal.

This led to an entirely different discussion about how that would most likely be something he would get to do in a year or so when he goes into Cub Scouts. And how he was nervous to go into Cub Scouts. Which led to a discussion about the expression "borrowing trouble". Which ended ultimately with his fear of Brian and I dying and leaving him to face these new experiences alone. (Has anyone written a book about How to Help your Overly Analytical 6 year old Cope with Death and Grief? Because I am feeling entirely inadequate for the job.) Needless to say I was no longer laughing, and we spent quite sometime just holding each other and crying for the pains and fears of this life. But eventually we both calmed down to the point that we could join the rest of the family for the traditional New Year's Eve toast with sparkling cider. Guess what? Lila likes it.



Of course after this we were ready to load up and head home. While Jake was gathering his toys and clothes I was explaining what had taken us so long to talk about. Which left all the grown-ups teared up and smiling. But Jake came back a tad too soon, when he saw me crying again, he was off again. Well, Evie wasn't about to be left out of any emotional display and I soon had two over-wrought children hanging off of me, sobbing for all they were worth. Lila fussed a little, but mostly because I didn't have free arm for her. So that was how we rang in the New Year, sobbing, hysterical, and more then a little overwhelmed. I am thinking it can only go up from here...

"Santa changed our house!"

Any one who has been to my house in the last year has had to suffer through sitting on our breaking and broken couch and love seat. Pushing 12 years old or so, they had given faithful service through more than one family of small children and a few pets, they had been jumped on, spilled on, thrown up on, urinated on by each of our children when they were new babies, and generally manhandled and mistreated through several moves and more or less accommodating doorways. They were trashed. No support from the springs, no cushion left in the cushions. You sat down and just kept on going. Add to all that, Brian's deteriorating ability to gracefully lower himself to a sitting position and well... I was just sort of waiting until the day he fell on to the couch and the frame gave way, like in movie when someone jumps into a bed and it jack-knives on them.

We had been discussing for sometime when we might be able to afford to replace them, and had come to the conclusion that a really warm place would have to freeze over first. Then we thought that maybe for Christmas we would ask our families to donate to a new couch fund instead of presents. That would work, it could be what we would give each other for Christmas, anniversary, and birthday... and maybe next year...

Then a month or so ago my dad called and told me he had found a motorized recliner on sale and purchased it for Brian. I was so excited. It is exactly what he needs, it rises up to meet him so he doesn't have to fall sit down on it. We made arrangements for it to be delivered around the 22nd so it would be something of a Christmas surprise. Not a week later my in-laws called while Christmas shopping to tell me they had decided to get a motorized recliner for Brian and had found a great sale on one. I told them my dad had already bought one for him and gave them his phone number when they said they wanted to go in on it. (I found out later that the chair my dad had purchased was the same one my in-laws were looking at... it was meant to be!) They also arranged to have it delivered up to their house and we made a plan that when we went to my Dad's for Christmas Eve, they would bring it down and take away the broken love seat. I was so excited to see Brian's reaction when we came home from the party, I could hardly wait!


But not only was he surprised with his new and awesome chair, when I came through the door I burst into tears. There was a new couch as well!


The kids were just as excited by the surprise. Evie kept laughing and saying, "Santa changed our house! Oh my goodness, Santa changed our house!" I kept trying to explain that it was our families and not Santa who had made this Christmas miracle, but I don't think she got it. But we know it was them and we appreciate it more than we can express!


And now I have to admit to having a Mima Kim moment. My dad and Caite and Patrick were coming over to our house to open our Christmas Eve jammies and do the traditional Christmas toasts. (Gotta love that sparkling cider.) My dad called as we were driving up our street and told Brian to wait until they got there to help us carry all the kids and presents in the house. (My kids were totally spoiled again this year, but that is another post altogether...) Brian thought that was a little weird, but chalked it up to an excess of Christmas spirit and over protectiveness on the part of my dad. I told him to wait in the van with the kids and I would carry the bags in the house. I wanted to see the chair and how it was set up so that I would know where to stand to get a good picture of Brian being surprised by his chair. I ran in, dropped the bags in the kitchen and smiled hugely at the chair and how good it looked in the room. Then I hurried back outside to make sure one of the kids didn't follow me in and ruin the surprise. As I walked out the front door my dad was pulling in the driveway. He opened his door and frowned at me, "Hey! You peeked!" I frowned back at him, not wanting Brian to know that there was a surprise inside and hissed back, "I already know about the chair." He looked at me for a moment and whispered again, "Yeah, but you peeked." I rolled my eyes in frustration and walked over so we wouldn't be overheard, "Da-aaad (with exaggerated patience), I already know about the chair. It isn't a surprise for me." Then I hurried over to help herd the kids in the house and furtively passed my camera to Caitlin so she could get the picture of Brian as he came in the door. And I am sure you can picture the rest, how much my family laughed at me as I realized the chair wasn't the only new furniture and the good-natured ribbing about my lack of observation. I guess I'm more like my mom then I knew. I didn't care though, we got new furniture! Best Christmas Ever!

Lila's One year old photos...

I was really sad when I realized that with Josh and Elena moving back east it would probably be back to Kiddie Kandids for us. I had gotten spoiled with have my brother be able to take beautiful and artistic pictures for me, and you can't beat the price when your family does it for free because they love you!


Then I remembered our friend Elizabeth is a really talented photographer. She took some pictures for me after Jacob was born. She did my cousin's wedding pictures, and even a family photo shoot for Josh and Elena! I am so happy with how they turned out. If you'd like to see more of my cute baby click here.