these are a few of my favorite things...

I have been trying to set a weekly goal for myself. Generally, it is a better payoff if the goal I set can accomplish something, like getting the closets cleaned out. But sometimes I have to be more realistic about where I am at that week (i.e. get out of my pajamas before noon or make sure I talk to at least one adult per day.) This week I am going to do something a little different and I am going to share it with all of you (yay!!) If you are tuning in for angst or funny kid stories, I can probably oblige you next week ;-) This week, I am focusing on a little more gratitude.

Please assume in this scenario that the things I have the most gratitude for are not tangible. My kids, my family, my friends and my beliefs far outweigh anything I could ever own. But, when I am down or uncomfortable, I find myself appreciating many of the little material things around me that make my life easier or happier. I am a creature of comfort. When certain ones have been taken away, I tend to notice more the things that give me other forms of satisfaction. Gratitude for everything, right?

Stay tuned (or not... :-) I plan to pick one thing every day for a week (in no particular order.)

Official Retraction

When I was younger, I often heard grown-ups mention how much they loved listening to the speakers from General Conference and I privately thought they were kind of full of it. At the time, GC was only exciting because we got to stay in our jammies all day instead of getting dressed up for church. We were allowed to lounge and eat yummy food and draw or color as long as we were quiet and at least acted like we were listening. My parents would turn on the Saturday session as well and listen as they went about their regular work. I thought they were nuts for wanting to voluntarily listen to church stuff on a saturday. As I got older, experiences helped me value the messages shared in conference more, but I still wouldn't say that I looked forward to it other than that I still enjoyed the novelty of not getting out of my pajamas. Part of me continued to think that people who who claimed to crave hearing wisdom directly from our prophet and leaders were exaggerating a tiny bit.

I am here to officially retract that. I now genuinely look forward to General Conference. While I still have a healthy and genuine respect for being not having to get myself or my children into church clothes, I find myself excited to hear what is going to be said. I am surprised at how much I look forward to hearing what Elder Holland is going to say this time or that I perk up when I hear President Uchtdorf's now familiar accent. His talks touch me often enough that I find myself seeking out copies of past ones when I am having a particularly down day. I am genuinely reassured by the consistent reminders that the Lord holds a special interest for me, not only as a mother, but as a single one and will help me fill in the spiritual gaps in our home. I need to hear that my kids and I will not want for lack of in-house priesthood ;-) Raising my kids in this gospel is important to me but it is never a job I thought I would have to tackle alone. Teaching, encouraging and hoping that my children choose the path I know is best for them is a scary thing for me, as is the idea of bearing the burden of heartbreak alone if they stray. More than ever, I am grateful for the assurances from the lips of leaders I trust that I am not alone in this area at least. I do need those reminders often as well as testimonies of the importance of taking the hard road even when quitting feels more do-able. I finally feel like I can fully appreciate the "mortal messengers with angelic messages" that gather to speak particular comfort, encourangement and guidance to anyone willing to listen throughout the world twice a year.

So, when my kids complain now that General Conference is boring, I get it. But, I really hope they also 'get it' someday as well. In the meantime, we have established a few traditions over the last few years to make the day more noticeable for them. I hope that in the years to come, it will help the kids associated GC with good memories and good traditions. Aside from being good instruction, I remember General Conference as being good family time as well. Behold our creation:


I can make a wicked fort when I need to. It has rooms and everything. We are lucky that we don't have any more chairs in the house, or else it would have been bigger. Cleaning it up wasn't as much fun as setting it up. They emerged every hour or so to get more food or add toys to the collection inside. I don't think they have ever been so entertained or so quiet for so long.


Junior even designated a bathroom, although he was a little miffed when I wouldn't let him use the red cup he is holding as a real toilet. I am more than happy to be the bad guy on that one.



And in the tradition of Mormons everywhere, we make cinnamon rolls. The boys get really into helping me cook and this is a good treat for little helpers. General Conference around here means strengthening your soul while blocking your arteries a little.

Listen to/Read General Conference Here and if you only listen to one thing, let it be Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk in the afternoon Sunday session.

Green Day!

Very few holidays go uncelebrated around here. Including (especially?) random ones like St. Patrick's Day. Every year, since Junior was old enough to care, Lucky the Leprechaun has left gold coins around the house for the kids to find and has turned all of our food green. Unfortunately, Junior is getting wise to "Lucky's" best tricks and may need to get a talk within the next year about not spoiling things for the younger kids. Breakfast was Lucky Charms because "Lucky" is not a great morning person. Although the milk did turn pour out white and come up green in the cups and in the cereal bowls (a drop of food coloring in the bottom of each. It's awesome and blew Junior's mind last year although this year he has gotten all "scientific" and figured it out. Boo!)



For lunch we had lime yogurt and green grapes and made mac and cheese that magically turned green mid-stir (again, put a drop of green food coloring under the noodles and when you stir, everything changes color.) Bubba was impressed :-)



Bubba spent the rest of the day in character, although he did defer to his green light saber in honor of the day.


Junior was relatively sure that he knew Lucky was fake but not sure enough to not write him a note (in the play kitchen) and then sit and stare at it in hopes of catching him reading it. Lucky had a hard time leaving a reply while his back was turned. Fortunately, this was not Lucky's first rodeo...


Dinner was Pesto Chicken Pasta, green grapes, avocado, green apples, broccoli, green Jello jigglers, green salad, green goddess dressing, green irish soda bread and green cake for dessert.


We were joined by Aunt Mak and Co. and fortunately, by our BFF neighbors (because we made so much that there were still leftovers even after sending everyone home with some.) Hey Mak, how come your kids are the only ones not wearing any green? Just sayin'...

Eventually, I'm sure that my kids will make me stop dying their food green, but I have that covered. I'll start making real irish food like stew and boxty and soda bread. When they get tired of that, then I will probably start pestering them for grandkids to spoil instead. Either way, hopefully I'm covered for awhile. I like to pretend that this is all about them, but I think holidays in general might be why I had kids in the first place :-)

If you think this is bad, then you should see what I have planned for April Fool's Day!

just 'cause I love it...

I just found these pictures on my camera and they made me smile, so here you go!

For the record, the third picture is my favorite Bubba smile. Is there anything that can make a little boy more joyful than being allowed to throw a snowball straight at mom's face? By the time the snowball hit, it was more in the knee region, so the camera was saved. Totally worth the risk for a shot of that smile though :-)

the meanest mom in the world

We hit a new milestone on Sunday afternoon. My boys became fed up with how "mean" I am and decided to run away to dad's (or as Bubba puts it "escape to dad's"). The tipping point was when I gave them a choice between riding their scooters outside in the sunshiny, inversion-free air or helping me sort out the toy room. TV watching was not on the list, which bummed them out considerably. There was wailing and teeth gnashing and unnecessary stomping as they got their boots and jackets on, but they were smart enough to know which option to pick. 20 minutes later, Junior approached me and let me know that they would be leaving for J's imminently and on foot. Each boy had a wal-mart bag looped over a stick with one pair of pajamas, one set of clothes, clean underwear, Raffi and Monkey (respectively) and their baby blankets. I gave them each a kiss and told them that I loved them and would miss them and would really like it if they stayed but to put on jackets either way.

I watched from the window, gambling on Junior's inborn obedience compulsion. He knows that leaving the cul-de-sac is Verboden and while he tends to test me on many of the little things, one of the things I love most about him is his willingness to obey. He was 4 years old before he even figured out lying. True to form, he hesitated at the corner and stopped his brother (who does not possess an inborn obedience compulsion.) Ultimately, they returned to the house and asked for paper to draw a map to J's. There was a lot of whispering and refusing me entry to the kitchen while this was going on.


Among other things that they thought I couldn't hear, they discussed their strategy. When Mom is mean, they will take off for Dad's and then when Dad gets grumpy, they will just head home again. Below is Junior's map. It contains my house as a starting point and J's as an ending point. To the right and the left, you will find Montana and New York. Junior figured J's house to be roughly "six blocks or maybe six miles away" (it's more like 30.) By the time they were done with their maps, they set foot outside to realize the sun had gone down and with it, the temperature. Instead, they told me it was too cold and left their loaded sacks by the door. They made me promise not to unpack them because they intended to try "escaping" tomorrow.



Although we will genuinely have to have a talk about the dangers of really 'running away' I took at least two things from this episode. The first is that their blatantly cartoony hobo version of running way a la sacks tied to sticks over their shoulders suggests that I was totally right in refusing any more TV. The other is that I am absurdly pleased that they did such a good job packing on their own. It was a Mom win (you know, aside from the whole 'running away' thing ;-)

a little more evidence why my boys are the best boys. ever. anywhere...

Junior crawled into bed with me at the crack of dawn the other morning and said "so...I've been thinking about taking us all on a cruise."


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Overheard between the boys:

Junior: "Mom can hear everything"

Bubba: "yeah, even when we whisper really quietly"

Junior: "even when we only think things too.

Bubba: solemnly/glumly "seriously"

Par-tay

Junior woke up on his 7th birthday to his breakfast of request; pink donuts, bacon, and pink milk. I like it when he chooses breakfast...


While Junior spent the day in school, Bubba and I blew up 40 balloons. Bubba supplied the air and I tied the knots. Then we stuck one to Sis' hair to see how long she would leave it there. After the first few minutes, she forgot it was there and spent the next three hours looking just like this. Her hair is notoriously staticky (sp? eh. don't care...) One day Junior came home from school and told me that when his teacher asked them to list things that float, his suggestion was "my sister's hair."


Around Halloween when Junior picked his difficult Rabbid costume, he also told me that he wanted a Rabbid cake for his birthday. I was really hoping he would move on, but he did not. Anyone who is curious about the toilet and rabbit and plunger and junk pile can read about it here. The misspelling of birthday refers to the "baahhh" sound which is the only sound the rabbids make. I thought I was pretty clever. So did my 7 year old :-)I'd like to thank scarcity for causing me to have to pay waaayyy too much to order and ship the Rabbid figure and Sis' dollhouse for the rest of the cake props. This was, without a doubt, the weirdest cake I ever expect to decorate in my mommy years.


Junior wanted to hold his party at 'Jump On It' which is a huge room full of trampolines. It's actually really awesome. We had friends join us there and everyone jumped until they dropped.


If I recall, both Bubba and William were tattling about something in this picture. I think I pretended I couldn't hear them.


My awesome neighbors Formerly Phread and Mr. Formerly Phread brought four of their kids to play and invariably always knew where Sis was when she had managed to escape me. Good folks! If you ever have the opportunity to live right next door to these guys I highly recommend it.


Getting Sis up the slide ladder. A major labor of love.


Charisse and Jessica brought their crews along and hung out to gossip with the mommy's (which is our idea of a party).


It's not a party without the Bradshaws. Love these guys!!


Junior was very excited this year by the idea of money. After his birthday weekend was over, he had enough to go to town on the toy section of walmart.


Happy Birthday to you...


Of course he picked the piece that had the plunger on it :-)


Sis was the only one who actually looked the way the rest of us felt.

I'd say it is nice to have it over for another year, but Bubba is already laying plans for his own party. I have about 4 months...