Three

Three things I've been waiting three months to tell you.
1) We will have three kids three years old and younger come Nov. 8. Ish. They've already changed the date once... and I'm sure its likely to happen again.

2) Three meals a day is NEVER enough.
3) Three-year-olds make good big brothers, but have three times the energy I do...

Oh, I finally am posting the picture of the beloved Ergo.

This bump makes it a tad uncomfortable though.

Things I want to remember part 2.. million...

I like blogging. Some days. But its useful even when I don't. I consider it to be my informal journal- since my actual journal writing has gone WAY downhill.
Anyhow.
Funny/memorable things my kids have said that I won't remember in a week if I don't write down even though I should really be in bed sleeping...

1. Background: Brother loves the game hide and seek. I'd taught him before, but when King re-taught him the other day, it was all of a sudden WAY more fun. He's played it AT LEAST three times today. The second game we played for about ten minutes (with me trying not to smile when he'd say, "Mommy! Find me first!" ... There's no one else playing!) I was a bit tired and laid down on the couch. He wanted to play more, so I tried the lame line, "I'm going to hide right here. You go count."
"You have to have the blanket to hide. Don't you know that?"
Oh yeah.
2. Sister can say "hot, uh-oh," and has added to her repituare of ONE sign. She now has two. (Brother has decided signing is the coolest thing ever and always asks "How to say that with your hands." That is another story for another time...) Back to Sister's two signs. More, and please. She's also decided to consent that she has other body parts besides her fingers, nose, and belly-button. She'll now point to her hair, her eyes, and her ears. Progress.
She's also picked up the adorable habit of twirling her hair with her left hand while she sucks on her right. At this rate, by the time she's three she might sport bald patches and only eight fingers. The others will have been sucked off.
(PS: Yes, her hair not always this crazy... just half the time...I do try...)
2 1/2: Sister has a very delicate palate. Brother's is improving all the time... slowly. Sister turns her nose up at a meal one day, then GOBBLES the same meal down the next. One never knows what to feed her. Case in point? Tonight we made home-made pressure cooked beans. DELISH. So good. I thought she'd love them. She loves beans... No go. So we pulled out the corn so she'd eat SOMETHING. This is also a tried-and-true favorite. Nothing. So I mixed them. Vwala. Sucess. She at the whole thing... She might be a tad stubborn.
3. Random tangent. Why does it ALWAYS seem to snow on Conference Weekend. Uncanny.
Saturday we enjoyed the day listening to Conference and working outside with my parents. We even got a tad pink. Sunday we woke up to 4-6 inches of snow. Go figure.
Good night.

What do I call this post?

I'm positive I've said I'll never endorse products of any kind. If I didn't say that here- I meant to.
Why?
1) The obvious. I say, "I love it." You say, "I hate it." Or vice versa. We all have our own opinions. I have better things to argue about.
2) I don't want to be held accountable when you come back and say, "But you said.... you loved/hated..." Don't take my word as gospel.

That being said.
I heart Ergo Baby Carriers.

My sister told me AFTER I'd gotten my Baby Bjorn Sport/Active (that I loved) how much she loved her Ergo carrier. She could carry her babies on her front, side, back. And it held them until they were 40 pounds. I tried it on. That's nice. But I have a new Baby Bjorn that was given to me by loving people. I'm fine.
And I was.
Baby #1. Great.
Baby #2. Great.
But baby #2 got bigger. And maxed out the 26 lb. carrier at 21 lbs. (She's a tad bigger than brother). Problem- this girl LOVES to be held ... all at the hardest moments: carrying laundry, cooking dinner etc. And the Bjorn only held her in front. Thus making juggling things around her body a bit harder.
All the while my sister continues to post pictures of her lugging her 2 year old around Asia on her back in the famous Ergo carrier of hers.
I broke down.
I sold my Bjorn.
I bought an Ergo on Ebay. Used.
And I love it.
Today I cooked a meal, and hauled laundry up two flights of stairs with sister tucked neatly, lightly, on my back. Breezy Peazy. So nice!! Sick kid? I still get two hands when I must have them. Tired and wants to be held when I'm cooking dinner? Check.
I tried to coax a smile from King by telling him how thrifty and nice on the budget I'd been (after selling the Bjorn first and not buying the NEW (I should have) on sale for $50. (If it happens again, I'm buying it and selling the old on ebay again. Not to knock my new Ergo- just sayin.). All in all I only spent $22. STEAL!!
So yes. If you asked me today if I'd endorse a product- I'd tell mom's with small ones.
Just buy the Ergo. You'll thank me one day.


I'll take a picture tomorrow. I hope to post it by next week.

Things I need to write down before I forget.

In no particular order.
1) King. Bringing me home my OWN box of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies was one of the nicest things you've ever done for me.
2) Sister. You did it! THANK YOU! Thank you. Thank you. THANK you. THANK YOU for FINALLY trying to communicate with something other than looks and screams. Months of trying to teach you to sign (while you look at me like, "yeah, right mom.") has paid off with ONE sign. "More." Ahhhh..... but its something. (I should add that you did it PERFECTLY the first time- not like an infant- which tells me you've had the capability and know-how for months now, and are just too stubborn to do it when asked/probed/bribed/pleaded...)
3) Brother. WOW! You have been cooperative lately!!! What a joy! I know I get easily frustrated with you and expect you to be 5 or 10, not three. You seem to take it in stride. I'm so proud of you. I love the way you break of the TINIEST piece of whatever you are eating to share with sister. Note- tiny means minuscule so "she couldn't choke, Mom!"
4) Spring. Thanks for showing up.... finally. I love you. I planted strawberries (thanks mom and grandpa) today in your honor. I hope some of them survive.
5) Nachos. When did you become so addicting? I love you too. Not as much as King. Or the kids.
Good night.

I looked out the window and what did I see?

Loads and loads of snow just waiting for me.... (or my brother in law T and hubby to shovel). I just watched.
An hour and a half later T came in. Good work guys!
Mind you- we had NO snow yesterday, and woke up to at LEAST six inches.
That was more snow than "then storm of the decade" we had a few months back. Go figure.

(Pardon the photos. It's hard to get a good shot without leaving the comfy cozy indoors- which I didn't.)

Side note: Today is Tuesday. Forcast for Thursday? 60 degrees.

Loads of Pictures

So, I haven't uploaded pictures since Christmas.
Slow. I know.
So kick back. Relax. Enjoy or ignore the minimal commentary.
Here goes.

First, King had a birthday.
How I missed taking pictures of the actual event, and how I missed recording it I'll never know. But I sure love that man! I don't know what we'd do without him.

The kids (Brother) helped Grandma make some cookies. Lady got to help lick the beater. Heaven. Capital H.



Sharing. Thanks babe.
And with all that goodness... she still needed her fingers...
Brother helped put cookie dough on the pan with one hand while eating finished cookies with his other. Good multi-tasking.
They also played outside a bit. Spring..... is..... coming.... very.... slowly....
We went to the Children's Museum with some friends. You'd think after the dozens of pictures I took, I'd find more I liked. But I didn't. So here's my favorite. Brother is filling up the fire truck with gas while sister gleefully drives. Our friend B in the background is wondering why I keep pulling out the camera.
If sister pulls her fingers out of her mouth, she might look like this.
The other 99 % of the time she looks like this.
Brother and King get to play in the evenings or weekends.

Both kids get a ride...
Some rides end up better than others.
Lady woke up with THIS crazy hair from a nap.
After we took a picture, she tried to comb it in place.
It's been birthday-central around here.
Brother had a birthday! 3? Not possible. (More on this later)

Everyone enjoyed cake. (Thanks Grandpa!) Lady enjoyed wearing it.
We spent a nice afternoon at the park. Swings are a hit with this guy.
She's getting used to them- but I think they'll win her over.
Slides? We'll see.
I'll try to do better. No promises.
Until next time!

Crochet

I'm trying to learn something new. The old saying says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Since my new skill isn't going so well, how do they define old...?
Sister A (the one NOT in Thailand) is trying to teach me to crochet via google video chat. That's hard. Which string do I go through? What do you mean two on top? How many threads do YOU see? So with some help from her, some dozens (yes, DOZENS) of hours trying to read patterns, and a few local friends I just remembered could crochet... I am learning.
How's it going?
Um. We've got:
One red pot holder King says is useless. Something about burning his fingers through the holes.
One red scarf. NOT useless.... just very skinny so I wouldn't spend all year making it.
One HUGE beanie- it was supposed to be beautiful. That's not the first word that comes to mind when you see it... and no, you probably won't be seeing it.
One half started beanie number 2- since I learned a LOT on the first try- we're giving it another round. Ask me in a week or two how its comin...

Heart Failure

Today I had my first near-death experience... in a while I should say. Not the typical near-death experience. An emotional, not physical one.
Let me explain.
Our stake (um... group of church congregations in an area) hosts an "institute" or religion class every Tuesday. I. Love. It. LOVE IT. It is fantastic. The teacher is amazing. (REALLY! GENIOUS-knock-your-socks-off-learn-so-much-you-want-to-do-better kind of amazing!) There is a co-op nursery (if you have kids you rotate helping) with a FANTASTIC-former-teacher running it. What more can I say. Love it. I go to my "special class" and Brother loves to go to "his special class." We're all happy.
Today was my day to help in the nursery. It went great! Brother chowed down on the massive amounts of goldfish, mini marshmellows and teddy grams provided, along with a sucker or two, he played well with other kids, shared with Sister, glued cotton balls on a paper sheep etc. etc. etc.
It was great. It went SO well.
Until the last five minutes.
Here I am, holding sister on a hip, helping small children collect their suckers, stickers of Jesus, and cotton-ball-sheep, and all of a sudden, I can't see Brother. No worries, there's 25 kids in here, just look around.
So I look.
I call.
Nothing.
He's not there.
See what I mean? Near death experience.
Ok, don't panic- he just slipped out the door when others were going in and out.
I walk out the door.
He's not there.
By the drinking fountain? He LOVES that thing.
No.
Back in the nursery. Calling now. Brother! Where are you? Still nothing.
Back out in the hall. Up and down the hall- checking the classrooms.
Running outside. Getting close to a panic now.
Back to the nursery.
ALL THE WAY AROUND THE INSIDE OF THE CHURCH! Yes, I'm running now (still have Sister on my hip who is LOVING the ride and giggling...). By now HORRENDOUS thoughts are starting to cross my mind.
I've lost him.
My little boy.
I was helping someone else and now he's gone. How do I find him? WHERE could he have gone? There were at LEAST a hundred people at scripture class. Did he go with one of them?
Back to the nursery, back outside, making another round of the church when FINALLY someone calls out that they've found him.
And I instantly have blurry vision.
For a non-crier this is big. The lump in my throat is unimaginably big. The second I see him I am crying. On my knees asking where he was and why on EARTH he wasn't answering me.
It turns out he was hiding (and YES, that little, adorable, lovable, stinker heard me). I guess he thought it was a game. He and another little boy (who's big brother was also starting to have a panic attack) had hidden somewhere (no, I still don't know exactly where) and it took several of the grownups a few minutes to find them.
So I composed myself, loaded the children in the car and drove home- all the while trying to impersonate a calm, rational, nice parent who just politely lectures their two year old on answering mommy. I mostly succeeded. Once the kiddos were fed I sent them straight to bed, only to collapse on my own and then promptly burst into more tears. A few minutes later I was able to compose myself enough to call King and tell him our latest scare, I mean adventure.
And I learned a few things. About myself.... and Brother.
1) Toddlers cannot always distinguish game vs not game. I may banish hide and seek from our house temporarily.... not really, but I'd like to.
2) Imaginations can be destructive. Mine tends to jump into overdrive a bit too quickly. This "game" realistically lasted less than 7 minutes... My brain was telling me he'd been gone FOREVER.
3) That panic, that terror, of losing a child must be in some way what our Father in Heaven feels when we take off on our own (literally or figuratively). We choose our own path, find something we think sounds like a fun game- and we don't respond to His calls nor do we come to Him despite all his efforts to rescue and "find" us. I wonder if he feels helpless? Being omnipotent- is that even a possible Godlike feeling? It's a parent-like feeling.
4) Although I thought those "leash" things for kids were a bit inhumane, I've since changed my tune now that I'm a mother...
So tonight I am feeling rather grateful. I am so VERY grateful my two babies are home, safe, tucked in their beds and sleeping. I am so grateful that despite my wild imagination, worst fears are seldom realized and our Heavenly Father is looking out for us (and my children). And the more I've thought about it today- the more I am grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It gives me assurance that even if one day, my day is a living nightmare instead of a seven minute episode, that days can get better. That families are forever. That despite all the horrible and bad things that CAN happen, their is healing, hope, and possibility for change. That may not sound like a connected thought to you, but I assure you it is.
Anyway.
Good night everyone. Go hug your toddlers again... and don't teach them to play hide and seek.

(The innocent face.... remember he'd just blown out SISTER'S candles twice.... But we still love him.)

Catching up: Parts 1-47

I'm grateful the only people who know about and actually READ this blog are people who love me, because I'm debating whether its been a few weeks or a few decades that I'm behind....
Here's to catching up: But I should warn you, I'm in a rambling mood.
Firstly, (is that a word?) Christmas.
To make what could be an INCREDIBLY long post just about this holiday very very short- here's the nutshell version.
Building up to Christmas we attended or hosted a half dozen Christmas Parties. I wish I'd set the odometer on our car... I think we added a few hundred miles. Yet, like every year, we don't regret our "tour de family" and our mad dashes around the state all month. It was GREAT to see people. As a tradition, we always have a group of friends over for an eggnog tasting, white elephant giving, dinner eating, carol singing party. And, just like always, it was great.
Christmas day was a blast and a whirlwind at our house. Does that make it a winter storm (blast... whirlwind... get it... nevermind)? Having ten in the house keeps life exciting. We took some funny footage Christmas morning of all six kids in the kitchen literally bouncing off the walls and out of their skin. The older children had the two toddlers excited as all get out to open stockings and see what Santa brought them. Us Scrooge-like parents made them wait till EVERYONE was up and ready before they could single file into the big room (aka "Grown Up Room" if you ask Brother and cousin T). It was great to watch their excited faces as they opened Christmas surprises. I need to go raid Uncle T (King's Brother)'s camera to get more pictures.
My OCD side demanded we take down all Christmas decorations, declutter, clean, and attack the ever growing laundry pile before New Years, so my poor nieces and nephews might be wondering if I'm really part Grinch... maybe I am...
Next came New Years:
My mom and dad arrived home from visiting my sister in Thailand on New Years Eve. Since Thailand is on a COMPLETELY different time schedule I thought that MAYBE, just maybe, THIS would be the year mom makes it until midnight before crashing. (Did I mention my parents used to turn all our clocks ahead, let us celebrate early, and then have us in bed before 10... Well, they did.) Back to the story. Did we make it? Not quite. Mom, King, and I made it till.... ok, only 11 playing games. Dad had already crashed. We did vaguely hear all of our neighbors party and set off fireworks while we were sleeping though. The next day we spent time celebrating Mom's Birthday and making resolutions I'm trying not to break...
Now that January has started, it's birthday month! Two Brother's in Law, Lady, and King, (plus several cousins) all claim this for their birthday month. So far we've really only CELEBRATED Lady's. Again, I have awesome footage... and not great pictures. Imagine a yummy cupcake and pudding/cool-whip topping smeared all over her face though! I can't BELIEVE she's already a year! She has grown SO much and developed such a personality. Definately strong willed, that one. Brother would attempt signing please and more for things he wanted... Lady uses her well developed lungs. The highlight of the night would have been blowing out the candle. We sang, Brother blew it out. We sang again... Brother helped again. Oh well, maybe when she's two...
Another note on Lady, she FINALLY decided walking was a fine idea. She's been toying with the idea FOREVER. A few steps here, a few steps there... Two days after her birthday she decided she was confident enough and off she went. Interestingly enough- that is the EXACT day Brother decided to walk too. Hmm. Well, we're off for now. More later...

Christmas

One day, ONE day, I'll post about Christmas.
Its been, what? Three weeks? And I JUST got the photos off the camera.
One day I'll post about all the traditional stuff:
You know, the failed family photos
(notes to self: 1: Don't get upset with brother right before you take a picture. 2: Don't try to make sister's hair curl. It just looks like a mohawk. 3: Don't ever wear lipstick again - at least not that shade.)And the sweet smiles on Christmas morning from this one
and this one
Oh yeah, and these four.
(Boy howdy were they excited about that present- this was just the stunned look before the fantastic reaction.)
But until I actually get around to posting, here's all you get.