Easter eggs and mud pies

I actually had something good and funny to write about, but as I sit here posting these pictures, my mind has gone blank. So maybe, just maybe, there will be a grand total of TWO posts today! We had a good Easter, Bryce and the boys went to his mom's house for some steak, while I got some much needed rest. Then we all went to my parent's house for fried chicken and saw my brother's family again for the first time since they moved to Arizona. Ashley and gang were all there, and my niece Regan as well. It was a lot of fun, the kids especially had a blast together.
Bryce chose to name our Easter egss some interesting things. Belle is his nickname for me, then there's Fynn, Ewan and even Iris because we're hoping for a baby girl. But, of course, he couldn't forget to name one for the Wii.

Getting down to dirty business.

I had put some cream on his face for a rash he has, and the combo of that cream with the dirt he was getting into made for an interesting paste.

The scientist.

Before I ever had kids, and thought about having them, this is one of the things I always pictured, a little boy squatting in the grass looking at flowers. *Sigh*

Mommy feeds me healthy snacks! (Hint, those aren't carrots.)

This is what he does all day, be it inside or out in the dirt. Squatting or laying down, pushing trains around, making them crash, inventing stories about them...


And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARY ANN!!! Thanks for everything you do for us!

It's the New Year, what else am I supposed to do?

So... yeah... resolutions. Mixed feelings about those. On the one hand, as my sister Ashley pointed out, it's not as if you wake up on January 1st a completely different person. Like all those habits that are so hard to break all year magically become less difficult to deal with. Or you wake up with a shiny, brand-new case of will-power and self-discipline. On the other hand, it is a chance for a new beginning. I think we are all always looking for ways to self-improve or a new beginning, and having the calendar date begin with 1/1 just screams "FRESH START! COME AND GET IT, COME ONE COME ALL, FRESH START FOR A BARGAIN!"

So, in the spirit of those conflicting feelings toward ye olde New Year's resolutions, I am trying to steer clear of the cliched stuff (except for weight loss, have to try that one) and gearing toward more random, hopefully helpful stuff. Don't get me wrong, I'm still trying to improve in terms of scripture study and prayer, but those are nothing new. So in that spirit, here is my list of resolutions, in no particular order, hopefully not forgetting anything right now:

1. Lose 30 lbs. in preparation for baby #3. I am so sick of seeing my double $%! chin in pictures.
2. After tucking Ewan in, spend at least 10 minutes of "just being" time with him. Wherein we may talk about anything from the meaning of life to where fleas sleep.
3. Stop being so BUSY! all the time.
4. Stop yelling.
5. Stop being afraid of offending people. Be more upfront with people when I'm upset.
6. Stop getting upset so much.
7. Take kids to park once a week.
8. Be outside more.
9. Choose to be happy.
10. No, I won't be giving up Coke, but perhaps I'll cut out the 20 oz. (Does anyone else hear that crazy, maniacal laughter?)

So there you have it. See you all on the other side.

And life returns to shades of normal

What a letdown, huh? It's over. Bryce took Friday off, so we've had this awesome five-day weekend, and then *poof!* it's over and he's back at work today. But I suppose it's okay; the last five days have just truly been so wonderful and fun, and made me fall just that much more in love with my little family.

Christmas Eve was nice. We headed over to my parents' house for pizza and presents. At home, Ewan and I left snickerdoodles out for Santa (though I've heard he prefers Coke and Funyuns. Go figure... The cookies were gone at any rate.) and we also left out some cheese for Santa Mouse. Miraculously, Bryce and I were able to get in bed at 11:00, but we couldn't sleep! I was so excited for the boys, and Bryce was wound up. We just talked and talked for hours. I think we finally fell asleep at around 2:30. The boys woke up at around 8:00 and Fynn had a fever, but after some medicine, he was able to enjoy his Christmas. Unfortunately, Ewan seemed to enjoy Fynn's stuff a lot more than his own, which I'll expound on in a minute. We headed over to Bryce's parents' house for presents, and were going to stay until dinner, but Fynn's fever popped back up quite high, so we all went home. Bryce and Ewan went back over there to have dinner, while I had a meal of Denny's take-out at home. Good grief, I can't remember the last time I ate food that greasy. But all in all, it was a good time, and I am so grateful for my family, both immediate and extended, and for this life we have. Unfortunately, I'm the type of person who - when things are going well - starts looking for the next upheaval or tragedy. But let's not get into that.

So, about Ewan's presents. I don't know how much I've mentioned on here what a unique little boy Ewan is. He isn't your typical CARS! TRAINS! BALLS! CLIMBING! little boy, although he does like those things sometimes. But his favorite things are ALL types of music, he loves to identify and guess all the instruments, and reading. His favorite toy in a while has been that Little Einstein's baton. He is very sensitive and sweet, and extremely smart. Over the few years of his life, I've bought him cars and other boy toys, but they largely go completely unused on his shelves, gathering dust. He doesn't like to color, although he loves to paint and do Playdo. So anyway, when consulting Santa on what to buy, I advised lots of games and puzzles to help with learning to read, a few kid instruments. Some brain-teasing toys. He has actually shown a little more of an interest in trains after discovering Thomas, so I did advise a train set. Sure enough, come Christmas day, that was Ewan's set of stuff. But he was playing with Fynn's stuff. Constantly. He just didn't seem overly excited about anything of his own. Then today, in the chaos of their post-Christmas room, I looked around and realized all of the TOYS! were Fynn's. I had inadvertently provided Ewan with a completely "funless" Christmas. I didn't mean to, it just worked out that way. One thing he had asked for a few times was a "car track." So today, we took his Target gift card from Grandma and bought him a really awesome car track. I had to call Uncle DJ to come assemble it for me, but after it was all done, he had a blast, and so did I! The cars go really fast and jump a ramp. So a lesson learned for little ol' me and some good old-fashioned boy fun for my precious Ewan who is constantly surprising me.

Now we go immediately into planning Fynn's birthday party. His birthday is this Sunday, and we'll be having his party on Tuesday since most people are off. It's a dilemma because I don't ever want to cheat him out of a good birthday just because it's so close to Christmas, but what do you buy for a little boy who just scored so many treasures? It's a conundrum, I say.

When Fynn has a fever, he just lays on whoever will hold him, completely motionless but wide awake. For hours, if possible. You can see his little eyeball peeking at me here.

Ewan's loot. While nice, not FUN!

Fynn's loot. FUN!

Opening presents at Grandma's.

Calling his agent, because he's so stinkin' cute!

And oh, yeah, my awesome husband got me a GUITAR!

Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!

We are so excited at our house! We've been tracking Santa all day. He's in Poland as of this writing, and the above subject is Merry Christmas in Polish. We are going to leave him some snickerdoodles and milk, and I don't know about Bryce, but I'm certainly waiting up to see if I can't get a glimpse of the big guy. Maybe even a picture. I haven't been this excited for Christmas in years. I hope you all have a very starry, Christmas spirity night.

A Perfect Day

I am actually a little embarrassed about part of what's going to be posted here, mainly because it seems so greedy and worldly, albeit totally fun. And also, I've never, never, never done something quite like this in my entire life, so there's that... It started when I decided for part of Bryce's Christmas, I would let him get some sort of video game system. I've never wanted one before, for many reasons, but I also felt too much like a tyrant by restricting them. I also I realized I can't shut Ewan off from the modern world, and that with limits video games can be fun, even beneficial for a kid of the 21st century. Even a 28 year old kid. Sooooo... of course Bryce wants a Wii, which there's no way we could afford outright. Now, Bryce and I are very careful about credit. Like, we don't use it, really. We've had credit cards before, but we've only used them on vacations, and a little for Christmas one year. But that's it. Our main goal right now is to be totally debt free. However, we talked about it and came up with a plan where he could get his Wii. Then that blessed man promised me something so wondrous and fabulous that I'm still reeling.

A shopping spree.

That's right, I got to go to Old Navy and spend the equal amount of the Wii he will buy (using the future tense as every time we've tried to inquire about the availability of one at any retailer, they pretty much laughed us out the door) on clothes. I'm even cringing that I'm admitting this on here. Please don't judge me! I recently posted this about how lame my shopping has been, and my style has left the building, but that I'm trying to get it back. But I was able to get some really good, classic clothes that I love and feel beautiful in, and it.was.so.much.fun. So fun that it is almost easy for me to ignore the nausea that creeps in every time I think about the bill. Almost. But it was a one-time thing, and the subsequent relief Bryce will feel when I'm not griping twelve hours out of twenty-four about my horrible wardrobe is probably worth it.

After the spree and a nice lunch of pasta at my favorite chain-restaurant (so sue me, restaurant snobs), I went on a date with Ewan to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was very cute, and they did such a good job. The voices sounded EXACTLY like the cartoon I remember as a kid. Also, too many shows geared toward kids these days try so hard to appeal to the adults as well, that 90% of the jokes fly right over the kids' heads. Not so with this one, it was appealing for me, but not at the expense of the kids' understanding. And the best scene is when Theodore creeps into Dave's room after a nightmare and curls up right on his shoulder. (Reminded me of being a kid with a litter of kittens curled up all over me, tucked into various crooks and crannies of my slumbering body.) Unfortunately for Ewan, he complained of a bad headache for most of the movie, but he was able to enjoy it nonetheless. After that, we went home and had a pizza picnic on our living room floor.

Luckily, even after all those carbs and cheese, I do still fit in the clothes. Regardless, I don't need to be skinny to carry this, perhaps my favorite purchase.

Christmas Tag

I'm supposed to write twelve things that get me in the Christmas spirit. Here goes:

1. Watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
2. Snow. (Ha!)
3. The smell of fresh Christmas trees.
4. Santa Mouse, a book from childhood that Ewan has now.
5. Seeing the excitement in Ewan's face over things I was once excited about.
6. Egg-nog, not that I've ever had any of either kind (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), but the idea of it is soooo Christmas. I think I should try some.
7. Olives.
8. The thought of Grandma's house. (*Sigh*)
9. PRESENTS!
10. Memories of Barbies from Christmases past.
11. There's a song by Phil Collins that was playing one Christmas on my sister's new radio, and I don't know the name of it, don't remember the words, but every once in a verrrrrry long while, by chance, I'll hear it, and BAM I'm seven years old and opening my Barbie McDonald's and Hawaiian Barbie while listening to it. If I ever figure out which song it is, I am so putting it on iTunes.
12. Movies like You've Got Mail, Serendipity... anything that takes place during that time of the year.

Lame list, I know. And I'm only tagging one person, Ashley. And I realize there's nothing on here about the real reason for Christmas. I'm keeping my feelings close to my chest on that one. My words won't do it justice.

After a long day away from home...

...Ewan peruses his latest mail from Santa.

For some reason, his hand looks freakishly large in this picture.

A mishmash of mishmashing

Today is an odd day, although in a good way. One of my visiting teachers offered to take the kids for a while so I could do some Christmas shopping, or whatever my heart so desired. I opted to keep Fynn, as his face sometimes melts off when left in the company of others, but Ewan was very excited to go play. Especially when he saw all the Thomas the Tank Engine toys, including the big train table. (What IS it about that show...? It's like...magic...or something.) So Fynn and I went to Target (but, of course.) We then came home and I cleaned the kitchen like a mad woman, and now Fynn is napping. So here I am with, like, nothing to do. It's FAB. I am aware my posting has been quite boring, and perhaps you are sick of seeing pictures. If so, boo hoo for you. Something crazy/charming/funny/sad/scary should happen soon, and you'll be the first to know. (On another note, I must say a public THANK YOU! from the bottom of my heart to the owner of the Gold Taurus.)

The other day, I was running around cleaning, and became aware that Fynn had been veeeeerrrry quiet for a looooong time. I was afraid of what I'd find, but all he was doing was sitting in the corner and looking at books. It was so sweet. Then he pooped. While just as important as reading, it was not as sweet.

I gave him his very own ear of corn the other day. He devoured it, sucking, chewing, gnawing, moaning the whole time. And he was NOT happy when I took it away.

Ewan and I wrote a letter to Santa a few days ago from him and Fynn. I was amazed to open the mailbox today and find that Santa had found the time to answer their letter and they EACH got a response. Their little names were on there and everything. What a great guy, and so fast!

Okay, so this is random, but I love these toys. They are fairly new, as far as I know, and I just think they are so fun and old-fashioned. They are made of wood and plastic and there are different characters along with play houses, firetrucks, animal hospitals, etc. I bought the Hulk and Spiderman a while back, and recently decided I had to have that cop and robber. (For Fynn, of course, not me. Ahem.) And the four of them are going to fight lots of crime together. I have a very strong suspicion Santa got some more of this stuff... But who knows, I've been wrong in the past.

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

...then I've just written a novel. Here are some pictures from our very eventful, and exhausting, Saturday.
As Sarah and Shannon both mentioned, we had them over for a little Christmas get-together. Our dog, Sugar, was banned to the laundry room (with a broken pet door). This was our view of her for the duration of the event.
The kids did a gift exchange, and I mentioned to Sarah, who was buying by proxy for Aubree, that Ewan would just die for Leo's Baton from Little Einstein's. I was right, as you can see from his face. He had to be resuscitated shortly after this picture was taken.

After being resuscitated, he began to conduct. (Side note, the kitchen is a work in progress.)

And conduct. In fact, I've been listening to that thing play Beethoven and Bizet for 24 hours now. He says Bizet is his favorite.

Fynn making his signature face. He cared far more for the packaging than he did for the precious little cars Shannon bought him. Um, I mean, that Natalie got for him.

My cute little owl, hunting for rabbit.

We then traveled to the Gaylord for their Christmas display.

Yeah, um, they had live reindeer corralled in little pens. While neat for the kiddos, I wanted to release them so badly. Ewan asked me where Rudolph was.

A simply beautiful shot Bryce took of this cool wall with water cascading down.

Unfortunately, we didn't think of having someone taking a picture of all of us. Next time.

They have cool little cities set up all over with trains going around. I recommend the Gaylord for Christmas time. It's so fun, and you can really feel the Christmas excitement going on everywhere. (But be sure to eat dinner first. I was having such a hunger melt-down, we left before we could see Santa. Which was okay with Ewan, because I think he's terrified, although in love with the idea, of him.) Of course, all the beautiful people in their fancy dresses had me more than a little concerned over the cookies and fudge I had consumed at the party...

Verklempt

Perhaps it started with my previous post about a soldier surprising his daughters. Maybe it's the Christmas spirit. Or maybe I'm just PMSing. But I am so overcome today, that I can't stop breaking into tears. The good kind.

I sat down with Ewan to write a letter to Santa Claus. He was very nervous about it, and kept telling me that I had to do it, because he didn't know what to say. It was so sweet, almost like a school boy composing a love letter. After we sealed it and he put stickers all over it, we sat down to talk about Christmas and Santa coming. He asked me if Santa would bring Rudolph. I told him he probably would, but that we wouldn't see him. He wondered how Santa would get in without a chimney. We tossed around some possibilities, the window, the door, possibly walking through walls. Talking about possibly hearing the reindeers' paws on the roof overcame him to the point of jumping and down and shining eyes. I've been worried about how to bring that beautiful Christmas feeling into our home, but seeing his eyes, and his !GASP! at the excitement of it all, I knew he felt it, and I found myself choking up, literally. I started to cry (and that's when I found a convenient opportunity to throw in a plug for the true meaning of Christmas.) I think he was wondering why I was crying. We then looked at pictures of Christmases of yore. Meanwhile, Fynn is cruising along, holding onto the couch, and kept stepping away and taking two steps at a time before he'd fall. So of course I started bawling some more.

I don't get sentimental often, as it's hard to do without sounding like a blowhard and I don't like to expose myself. But oh, man, I have such a nice little life and a wonderful little family, and such a good husband. I knew from the time I was very small that being a mother was my calling. I used to mother my Cabbage Patch Kids like they were real. From the very moment Bryce and I met, we knew we would have this family someday.

I'm just not one of those people that needs to have a huge name for myself. The modern attitude for women is so much about accomplishing something beyond family. It's just not an attitude I understand. Not that I don't think women should strive for big things, I just don't understand those that feel like family isn't enough. I was watching a movie recently, and the main character had two daughters, and she was talking to someone about their talents. She mentioned one was an accomplished painter, and the other was of extraordinary intelligence. She then said, "But those are their accomplishments, not mine. I need something that's mine." I just don't have that attitude; to see my kids happy, finding things they enjoy and excel at will be the pinnacle of my life. Some modern women may think that is sad, or pathetic, but to me it's everything. Sure it will be nice to write a children's book someday, but if I don't, big deal. It doesn't matter.

Okay, okay, now alert the folks at Hallmark they have nothing to worry about, and let's go back to pretending I'm just a cranky old witch.

A Tinkling Chandelier, An Owl That Hoots

Tonight was the ornament exchange for our Relief Society. We did the whole "pick numbers, you can steal three times" deal. (What's that called again, I'm blank?) Anyway, Missy picked this pink chandelier one, which I loved. It didn't match her tree, so she said I could steal it. She even protected it for me. Since I love all colors on my tree, and eclectic things, I swooned when I was able to keep it. It's pink, with very light purple and green beads. Love it.
Someone else had this owl ornament, and for some reason lately, I am loving owl stuff. I have this necklace I wear all the time. I had to find out where it was purchased, so of course Shannon, Erin and I all went immediately to Walmart and I found one just like it. (That's right, Bryce. I did.) I bought a second one for Rhea, whom Erin had taken it from. Rhea loved it, so I will take the other one I bought to church for her on Sunday. Is this not the cutest dang thing you've ever seen in your life? The picture doesn't do it justice. (On another note, as you can see in the background, I still have that *%#! rabbit.)
And just because I love her so, I end this post with a picture of my prettiest of pretties, the lovely Batgirl, a-snug under the tree:

A Plethora o' Pictures

I sat down to post some Christmas pictures, but when I got into it, I realized there were some others I hadn't posted. So enjoy the abundance.

Any day now, he'll be going green and walking on his own.

George finding any warm place he can.

Really didn't want his picture taken.

Cousins

Pirate CheeseBeard

My fairy ornament, she of the "put a tree light up her butt, and her wings will glow." I had to include this because it looks like she's just sitting there on that branch.

This is as crafty as I will ever get. I've made all our stockings over the years. Fynn's is by far my favorite, with its little motorcycle under his name. I think I was smoking crack made from scrapbooking paper when I made Ewan's, three years ago. Can you say overkill? I think I'll redo it next year.

Yeah, that's been a problem.

Concentrating.

This may be my favorite picture of him EVER.

Taken by Bryce.

Our fat tree. The reason the ornaments are all wonky is due to that little guy in green a few pictures up. I need a better picture of this tree...

Warm weather rant and Christmas Cleaning Fairies

I'm fed up. It's 80 degrees outside! Give me a break. I'm sorry , but no, Jimmy Buffet, I don't want to spend Christmas on Christmas Island. How am I supposed to feel the Christmas spirit when I had to go grocery shopping in a bikini* to ward off the heat? I mean, yeah, there's good will toward men, peace on Earth, yada yada, that's all fine and good. But I want SNOW! ICE! COATS! FROSTBITE! Sledding on a chunk of plywood attached to the back of my big brother's Chevy truck!* Or something equally as ridiculous and fun. The fact that I literally have not owned or worn a coat in over a decade speaks to the sad state of Christmases lately. I had hope on Thanksgiving, but alas, it's lost. I can accept there won't be snow, fine, but good grief, give me at least some rosy cheeks and the need for hot chocolate! (*Disclaimer #1 * I did not really shop in a bikini, that would be horrifying. But I wanted to. Disclaimer #2 * Sledding on plywood attached to the back of my brother's truck really happened, on the icy streets of Grand Prairie. I was probably 12 or so. And it was awesome.)

On another note, after a very busy week where I had something going on every day and had no time for house work, I was having a major breakdown on the phone to Bryce over the ridiculously filthy state of my home, and how I wouldn't have time to clean it properly. Then Mariah, our sister-in-law and Mary Ann, Bryce's mom, pulled up out front. While I was glad to see them, I was distressed because my house was so icky. But oh my gosh, they CLEANED MY HOUSE! Seriously. Mary Ann dusted and scrubbed my bathtub, Mariah vacuumed everything and made my bed, they put up toys and dirty clothes and I was able to clean the kitchen. My house looks awesome, and my major crisis was averted. Thank you so much, ladies. Now the house will be clean for our tree we're going to pick out tomorrow. I am so blessed to have the family and friends I do, and I hardly deserve it.

"Once there was a gingerbread man, baking in a gingerbread pan."

Last year I really wanted to do gingerbread cookies and decorate them, but I was nine months pregnant with a David Beckham-like octopus creature, and never felt like it. But this year, I really wanted to do it. I want us to have fun Christmas traditions so that Ewan and Fynn will really feel the Christmas spirit, and remember it all their lives. Of course, being a woman of the modern world, I made them from a kit, rather than making them from scratch. (Bertice would be so disappointed. But I did wash my hands, so that will redeem me.) Ewan had so much fun. Oh, and I'm in the process of redoing my table, so pardon the ugliness in one of those pictures. *Bryce was confused by the "David Beckham-like octopus creature" comment. What I meant was, he kicked me all the cotton-pickin' time, and it felt like he had eight limbs. (Pretty self-explanatory to me.) Have I mentioned what an extremely hard pregnancy that was?

Because I'm not a real baker, I don't own a rolling pin. This is from a Play-do set. I did wash it.

I let him do all the shapes.

Bryce's crazy-eyed gingerbread bear. He's wanted in seven states.

Ewan's crazy-eyed snowman. Wanted in Wyoming.

That's my chocolate-chip covered Christmas tree. I was less concerned with creativity and more with how it tasted.

Ditto.

Save me from the highchair, please, Mommy, please. If you click on that picture, you'll see why it was BATHTIME!