Mistaken Identity

This is Dave blogging from my in-laws house in middle-of-nowhere Idaho (I can't complain too much because they now have high-speed wireless Internet). We have been to Idaho many times since I met Tanya in 1998. On those trips to Idaho, I have been pulled over multiple times (more than once and less than 4 times) by Idaho cops (I swear they profile Utahn's). Admittedly, I do have a little bit of a lead foot (but the speedometer didn't work on our first car either).

Okay, now to the real story. Yesterday, our little family was peacefully driving down a country road in previously mentioned middle-of-nowhere Idaho heading back to Tanya's parents house after visiting her grandpa and her sister/brother-in-law/nephew. Tanya and I were admiring the beautiful sunset, Emma was watching Madagascar on the DVD player that Santa brought for Christmas, and Nathan was peacefully sleeping. All of a sudden, I heard the vivid sound of sirens. I looked in my rear-view mirror and noticed a car that was still somewhat in the distance and was pretty sure lights were flashing. I had the sinking feeling of despair in the pit of my stomach. I proceeded to pull over and wait until the car got closer. As the car got closer, I noticed that there were no lights flashing at all...it wasn't even a police car! I still heard the sirens though. As I started to put things together, I realized the sound of sirens was coming from the movie that Emma was watching. *audible sigh of relief*

I wish I could blame my idiocy on high-definition sound. Unfortunately, we are not that advanced yet.

Fashionably Late

The time is 20 minutes before we need to leave for preschool. Emma has just finished leisurely enjoying her taco salad for lunch today and is now covered with bits of chili and cheese. I busy myself cleaning up lunch and getting Nathan ready to go while Emma heads to her room to change her shirt. At about ten minutes before we need to leave I hear "I HAVE NOTHING FASHIONY!!!" I think she means fashionable. I start my before preschool ritual "Emma, we have to go, hurry!" Ten minutes later I hear "PERFECT, THAT WILL WORK!" I wait in rapt anticipation to see the perfect item. Five minutes later Emma walks downstairs wearing a pink and white striped clearance rack shirt from last summer. She is walking like a model down the stairs in her "fashiony" outfit. We have no time for hair at this point so I rush her out the door. While Emma pulled every item of clothing she owns out of her drawers Nathan waited patiently. I give him a cookie to eat while he is waiting. Emma does not get a cookie, because if you did the math you know we are now late. On the way to preschool Emma begs Nathan to share the rest of his cookie. He obliges and when we get to preschool, I turn around to find Emma covered in crumbs and notice that we didn't wash her face after lunch. We were too busy looking for "fashiony" clothes to look at her face. I have nothing to clean her face with, so I do what every good mom says she will never do. I wash my daughter's face with my fingers and a little spit shine. It was either that or cold snow. We are now officially later than fashionably late as I wave goodbye and send my "fashiony" child off to class. I have a little Deja vu. I think I've done this before.

Snow Party

We held our first Snow Party of the year! This is not the kind of party where anybody gets notice. We simply woke up to a snowy wonderland and decided today was the day. Our young guests got one hour notice to come decked out in their best winter gear. Fun, Fun, Fun!

We warmed up with some delicious hot chocolate and cookies.

Sweet Dreams

Each night just before I slip on my fuzzy socks and climb into bed, I peek my head in "just to check." I can't resist a quick peck on the foreheads as I pull their blankets up to their chins. Tonight I can't resist making permanent my "mother moment". Sweet Dreams my sweethearts.

Lost Cat: Friendly and Loveable

LOST!

Friendly, Black Feline

If you know him, please visit my front porch. He (I'm only assuming it is a He) has become a permanent resident of my porch for the past week.

This morning he ventured from the porch to my front room...and then to my downstairs family room...and then back up to my front room where he found a cozy spot underneath our Christmas tree. How, you may ask did he get into your house? Let me tell you, he is a sneaky little guy. I ran outside this morning to hand Dave something he had forgotten on his way to work. When I got back into the house I joined Nathan at the kitchen table and started hearing a weird thumping noise. I about jumped out of my skin when I saw my furry friend sitting on the couch thumping his tail. I think he was proud of himself. The next thing I heard was a high-pitched squeal "get it out, get it out!" That would be Emma who had just woken up and heard the commotion.

If you are one of my siblings this should bring back fond memories. Remember the Christmas morning that we woke up around 2:00 AM only to find a wild cat (was it black?) rampaging around our Christmas surprises? Mom and dad made us wait until 9:00 AM to open our presents after dad chased the cat out. Like it was our fault a wild

creature had chosen Christmas morning to enter our domain!!! It felt like an eternity of waiting, but now that morning will forever be immortalized as one of my most memorable Christmas mornings ever.

Now that the cat is back outside Emma has become very concerned about it's well-being. She was not happy about the bowl of cold milk I offered the cat this morning. Yes, I know that was probably a bad idea, but I simply cannot let it starve and it is here all the time anyway. Emma wants the milk to be warm "because cats like WARM milk". She fed the cat her leftover crepe this morning and is now insisting that we make it a bed.

Quite seriously, this newest wannabe member of our family cannot stay. I actually kind of wish he could stay because he really is a loveable cat. Unfortunately cats trigger spontaneous sneezing, sniffling, breathe tightening episodes in two members of my family.

Soooo, if you are a neighborhood friend - do you know whose cat this is? Or would you like him to visit your front porch?

Doing my Best...

to convince my children that the holiday season is

cozy


delicious

Joyful

Chocolatey

Goodness


colorful

brilliant

family

traditions

Maybe they already know

Emma Got Tagged

Questions answered by Emma:

1. What is something mom always says to you? I love you
2. what makes mom happy? hugs

3. what makes mom sad? Not obeying

4. how does mom make you laugh? By tickling me

5. what was mom like as a child? I don’t know
6. how old is your mom? I don’t know

7. how tall is your mom? 30 feet tall

8. what is her favorite thing to do? Play with her kids
9. what does your mom do when you're not around? Work
10. if your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Playing

11. what is your mom really good at? drawing

12. what is your mom not very good at? Dancing (what?!!! I’m a GREAT dancer)

13. what does your mom do for her job? Play with her kids

14. what is your mom's favorite food? Fruits and vegetables
15. what makes you proud of your mom? Her coloring
16. if your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Giselle
17. what do you and your mom do together? Play and watch movies

18. how are you and your mom the same? Our hair is the same color. We both like to talk.
19. how are you and your mom different? Our eyes, by how we dance

20. how do you know your mom loves you? She is nice to me
Emma tags Sarah, Aaron, and Abby

Thanksgiving Day at the ER

Every other year we spend Thanksgiving Day in a small country town in Idaho with my family. This year was our year. My aunts and mom rented out the local bowling alley for some traditional Thanksgiving morning fun. It is an old bowling alley with outdated equipment. The balls kept getting stuck in the ball returns and we all got into the habit of taking the balls out of the returns. Dave was helping a ball out of a ball return when another bowling ball came rolling up and hit his hand, wedging his third and fourth fingers between the two balls. Within seconds Dave's hand turned black and we headed to the ER. The hospital was a small town hospital with poor signage leading to the ER. They had to call in the doctor and the radiologist. The doctor was pleasant and very friendly as were the other staff members. They confirmed that Dave's fourth finger was broken and put it in a sling - if you can call that grossly out of proportion contraption a sling. Dave still managed to join the guys in the annual football game. I think he used his wrapped arm for defense. He also used it the next day while braving the crowds during Black Friday, maybe as defense again or maybe just for sympathy. I'm not sure because I was cuddled up in bed on Friday morning.

Back to Thanksgiving...The football game was the impetus for the next visit to the ER. Since Dave was now an expert on the local hospital scene he went with my cousin, Chris, to the hospital later in the day when Chris dislocated his shoulder. I really wish I had been there when the same doctor got called into the hospital for another member of my family.
Lucky for us the other activities of the day were less dangerous -- a ping-pong tournament, a game of Catch Phrase, games of pool and foosball and of course eating.

My Nomination for Greatest Invention

While scrubbing walls decorated with green scribbles, I started thinking about life before the Magic Eraser. I seriously cannot imagine what moms of previous generations must of thought when their little ones expressed their creativity all over clean white doors or walls. Maybe those moms were more vigilant about making sure their older children never left writing utensils anywhere even close to within reach of younger siblings. Not that I don't try to keep markers and crayons from Nathan. I do.

Long before Nathan was born Emma had an art drawer with all sorts of art supplies. It has never been a problem until now. Nathan discovered the joys of the art drawer while I was taking a shower yesterday. Nathan is an early riser, so it is hard to take a shower before he wakes up. Usually Nathan hangs out close to me and I can hear him. On this particular day it was a little too quiet. I hurried and finished my shower, simply nodding and responding "okay" when Emma reported Nathan's latest artwork. My little Picasso was happily decorating my bedroom walls, doors, and bed. I bee-lined to the bathroom to grab my handy Magic Eraser.

Unfortunately the Magic Eraser falls short when it comes to removing green marker from our bed sheets. It seems there is room for someone else to come up with a great invention.

Does Santa really fly?

Christmas preparations started early at our house this year. At least it is early for us. I decided that I wanted to have all of my Christmas shopping done and many of the other details in place by December 1st. I feel driven. I am well on on my way with a stack of already addressed and written Christmas cards sitting on the entertainment center. If it wouldn't be tacky to send Christmas cards in November I would probably drop them in the mail tomorrow. Our closet is over flowing with wrapped and labeled gifts while our guest room is storing already-tagged and ready-to-go neighbor gifts. My inspiration came the week that Nathan had croup. We stayed in the house the entire week (2nd week in November). This gave me plenty of time to make lists and plan all that I wanted to do. I decided that I want to December to be magical, not just for the kids, but for me as well. All too often I'm busy shopping and thinking about things that needs to be done rather than jumping head first into the enjoyments of the holiday season. This year I have vowed to attend as many Christmas events and activities as possible. I made a list of those too. Wow! We're going to have fun - that is if my kids are on the same page as me.

All this talk of Christmas has compelled Emma to wonder about the jolly little man that visits our house every year. In her intuitive manner, Emma has asked "Does Santa really fly?, How does Santa have time to make toys if he is visiting kids at the mall?, How does Santa go to all the houses in one night?" The list goes on. My question is "How do I answer all these questions?"

Trust Fall

Remember the "trust fall", the one where a person stands on an elevated location and falls backward, relying on multiple people to catch him? I encountered the trust fall in Seminary and then later in life in an employer sponsored team-builing exercise. I distinctly remember the momentary feeling of panic before letting go and falling back.
Nathan, having just reached 18 month of age, doesn't have any of that feeling of panic. He loves to climb onto the couch and jump off. Now he has taken it to a whole new level. One night Dave was lying next to the couch when Nathan suddenly, with no warning, tipped off the edge of the couch on purpose. Dave caught Nathan and it became a game. The two of them played at it for awhile, Nathan never doubting that Dave would be there to catch him and Dave never failing to protect the giggling little monkey from hitting the ground. What pure faith and trust!

Soup Season

Fall is the perfect time for soup. I love to try new soup recipes during this time of year. The other day when I had some fresh pumpkin I tried Pumpkin soup. It was so delicious I want more. I'm not sure if it would be as good with canned pumpkin, but it probably would be. Here is the recipe. I added a few of my own spices and additions to a base recipe. This is the way I did it and my whole family liked it.

1/2 cup onion
2 Tbsp. butter
2 cups mashed cooked pumpkin
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. parsley to garnish
1/4 tsp. thyme
dash of garlic powder
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half and half


Chop the onions and gently brown with butter in a pan. Put mashed pupkin with onions in pan. Add the salt, sugar, nutmeg, thyme, pepper and garlic. Slowly add chicken broth and heat thoroughly, but do not boil. Right before serving add the half and half. Garnish with parsley. I would have put pumpkin seeds on top if I had had any left over from Halloween. Yum!

Girl's Day

During Emma's and my "girl's day" on Saturday we discovered some new talents. We sent the boys to the last BYU home game for the season and us girls had five hours to hang out.

Emma decided she wanted to put together these wooden 3-D puzzles that Dave bought at a garage sale. She sorted through pieces while I put them together. In the middle of trying to get one particular piece to stay on the Lobster I asked Emma if I was going to have to make any more of these. She very cutely responded "Yes, it's one of your talents." I'm so glad to know that putting tiny pieces of wood onto a lopsided wooden lobster is one of my talents. Funny, but I became attached to the Lobster by the time it was done and made Emma promise not to touch it. This was after she dismantled the Brachiosaurus that I had painstakingly put together. About then it was lunch time and I asked Emma what she wanted to eat. She got this gleam in her eyes and said "I want to eat your lobster." Funny, isn't she?

After lunch we went swimming and discovered one of Emma's hidden little talents. She can completely seal her nostrils without using her fingers. She just sucks them in and closes the holes. It looks weird, but comes in very handy under water. Thank goodness for handy little talents!

Garage Sale Treasures

When I first married into Dave's family 10 years ago I must admit it took awhile for me to get used to the DI shopping and later the garage-sale shopping. I didn't see the point. I've learned though to be open minded. My mother-in-law has an amazing ability to find amazing things at garage sales. She goes to garage sales faithfully at least once a week. When we go to visit Dave's parents Dave goes to the Saturday garage sales with his mom. I prefer to stay safely tucked in the comfortable house. Sorting through what I see as other people's junk just isn't my thing. BUT, I sing a different tune now than I did years ago. I still don't like to go to garage sales, but I love to see what my mother-in-law and husband find. It's almost like Christmas when they bring home their treasures.

I can call my mother-in-law and ask her to look for something and she almost always finds what I want and it is usually in great condition and at a fraction of what it would cost new. I can walk around my house and see garage sale items in every room. From the bedroom dressers I refinished to the jogging stroller and bike trailer in the garage to Nathan's booster seat in the kitchen - I have reminders everywhere of how great a garage sale shopper my mother-in-law is. It is a talent to be able to find such great stuff. I'm not always enamored with the garage sale finds. One time Dave called while I was about half asleep at 7:00 AM and asked if I would like this wooden bedroom set he had found. I said sure as long as he liked it. My very kind Father-in-law hauled it to our house and after enduring this bedroom set for about a year I sold it for a profit. All in all I now believe in garage sales...as long as I don't have to be the one sorting through the stuff.

Loving the Snow!

Emma and Nathan were so excited yesterday morning when we woke up to beautiful, white, shimmery snow. Having been through winters before Emma knew exactly what she wanted to do - have a snow party. We were outside fully clothed in our winter gear by about 9:00 AM. It took us about a half hour to get dressed in gloves, hats, coats, snow pants and boots. Emma made snow angels and ate the snow. I loaded the kids up in the sled and dragged them around the neighborhood. They loved it and I loved it too. No one had shoveled their walks yet, so we sledded on the side walks. Nathan loved the snow until his mitten fell off and his little hand got cold. We topped our perfect winter morning off with some delicious hot chocolate. Yum!

The first thing Emma did when she woke up this morning (Thursday) was to see if we still had snow. She disappeared and came back down dressed for the morning. I laughed when she showed me her attire. She said the four layers of shirts were necessary to keep her warm.

I procrastinated what I really needed to do this morning (grocery shopping) to play outside in the fluffy white stuff. We played on the field across from our house. Nathan kept tripping as he trudged along in the 2-inch high snow. He patiently waited for me to pick him up each time and headed on his way. Emma fully loves the snow. She made lots of snow angels on the field. I made some too. There is something magical about the first snow of the year that sticks. The first snow angels, the first sledding, the first snowball, the bright red cheeks, the first cup of hot chocolate - magical!

"He Started It, She Started It"

It is really a toss-up sometimes who starts these things, but somehow my cutie pies end up serving time in the time out corner. This is how the most recent one went: Nathan took a sticker from Emma's huge sticker collection without asking permission, Emma pushed Nathan away, Nathan wacked Emma back, Emma pushed Nathan a little harder, Nathan prepared to hit a little harder and Emma sent him to the floor. Uh, oh! It's time-out time. Emma was on her way to time out before I even said it. I don't think Nathan is old enough to understand time-out and I didn't send him there, but he followed Emma to the time-out corner where they gave me their biggest smiles for this adorable picture.

What Comes Up Must Come Down

Whether it be balls or kids the theme at our house lately is sending things up into the air and watching them come down. Nathan is awesome at catching things that he throws. He can't seem to get his hands on enough balls so he uses other random things like baskets and toy binoculars...and food. They all work about the same. He throws the objects up and squeals in his attempt to catch them. Maybe he loves this game because we cheer so hard for him! Yay, Nathan!

Oh, and what is more fun than being the object that comes down?

My favorite was the day Emma jumped off the couch and her little shadow followed. With no fear at all Nathan leaped into the air into what would have been a belly flop onto the floor if his very quick mom hadn't caught him midair. He wanted to go again, of course!

Halloween Witch

My sister uses an idea that I wanted to try this year.

The HALLOWEEN WITCH came to our house after Halloween. The kids each got to choose ten pieces of candy which they can eat whenever they want. The rest of the candy went into a big bowl for the witch. Emma set it out by the front door. The HALLOWEEN WITCH came after the kids were in bed and exchanged the big bowl for a fun book for each kid. The kids got to choose if they wanted to participate. They loved their books.

Cute Trick-or-Treaters

This was a fun year for trick-or-treating. First, the weather was great! We got a few drops of rain, but it was so much warmer than years past. Emma is an old pro at trick-or-treating now. We went with a group of friends around the neighborhood and the "older" kids (ages 5 & 6) were way ahead of the younger group. It was fun to look at these kids and remember the past few years when we have trick-or-treated with the same group and they were toddling along like Nathan was this year.
Nathan was an adorable pumpkin. He wanted to eat all the candy as he got it and didn't waste any time by unwrapping the treats. When we got home and sorted through the candy at least 1/4 of Nathan's candy had bites in it. He was a little trouper, climbing lots of stairs and holding out his bag. He got distracted a couple times and wandered off, but that is why we brought the wagon with us. He didn't want the night to end.
Emma decided she wanted to be a scary witch instead of a cute witch so at the last minute she threw on these lovely glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth.

We have a ton of candy between our ward Halloween party last night and tonight's trick-or-treating. The Halloween party last night was great. They had set up a bunch of carnival games. Nathan couldn't get enough of the games with balls - golf & bowling. He kept walking in front of other kids to get to the balls. My favorite game was "Wack-A-Deacon." The Scout Master in our ward worked with the Deacons to create this big ply wood contraption with holes in the top. The Deacons took turns being the "moles". They popped their heads out to get wacked by swim noodles. Towards the end of the night the bishopric members including Dave got to be the "moles" popping out. Nathan thought "Wack-A-Deacon" was the greatest game. Both Emma and Nathan got to wack their daddy. What a good sport! I wish I had taken my camera to the party.

Crunchy, Crunchy, Leaves!

4 Reasons I love the Leaves in our Backyard:

1. They are crunchy

2. I like to jump in them

3. My kids' like to jump in them...and look at those smiles

4. Leaves make great art projects