The Donkeys

Ok. Picture this. My 18th birthday. In the middle of an eons long family car trip. My parents decided that riding stinking donkeys down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon would be a great way to spend my big day. When they asked me to sign the liability form (b/c I was 18 and they couldn't sign it for me) I nearly refused. Many, many hours later, painfully perched in a chair, hoping I'd washed off all the stink in the shower, I had to sit through the waiters at a very formal restaurant singing "Happy Birthday" while my family quietly smirked. I'd made them promise they wouldn't sing to me.

I couldn't wait to be dropped of at college a few days later. Now, I'm thinking I'll have to remember this one when I have a snarky teenager. Take 'em down a few notches.

Earning a Lollipop

The bishop in our new ward hands out candy to kids who come to his office and recite a scripture, an article of faith, or for the young ones, tell him the name of a prophet. Ethan caught on pretty quickly.

1st time - Ethan was shy and wouldn't say anything, but the bishop gave him a treat anyway for coming up to shake his hand.

2nd time - With prompting, Ethan named President Hinckley to earn his candy.

3rd time - Ethan quickly named a prophet and gave a big, sly grin while he chose a treat.

Today - The bishop had to meet with someone, but a member of the primary presidency was continuing in his stead. Ethan was the very last one, after helping fold chairs in the gym. He walked up and SANG. Picture our little guy belting out "Life could not be better. 'Cause I choose the right down to the letter. Hey look! My mom made me a sweater. Life could not be better." And then, because the sister was so amazed and didn't know the song, Ethan sang Nephi's Courage with her. The boy really earned his lollipop today.

The song is from this movie. Watch the video clips. It's so cheesy. But Ethan LOVES it. Nephi is his new hero. We have Nephi, Ammon, Alma, and Esther, but Nephi is by far the favorite at this house. (I'm partial to Alma. John thinks they're all ridiculous.)

And yes, I'll get video of Ethan singing this song. It shouldn't be hard. He sings it CONSTANTLY.

Naptime Bliss

"But Mooom. I'm not tired." As he rubs his eyes and yawns. I quickly promise to come back in ten minutes and hold his hand again if he stays in bed. Knowing that either he won't stay in bed and will lose the privilege, OR he will stay in bed and promptly fall asleep. Because no kid can lie quietly in their bed for that long and not fall asleep.

That was more than an hour ago. And Edward is also asleep. I love quiet.

I Don't Recognize Myself

When I look in the mirror it's still me. But when I review my days lately, I find myself looking around to see who's pulling the strings.

I've mentioned before how much this move has motivated me to be a homemaker. Cooking, cleaning, just doing more of what I should have done all along. And I'm liking it. Now, I have a new calling as well. Provident Living. Food storage, emergency prep, resource management (finances), and more. In general, planning and preparing for the future. Or, learning to be self-reliant both now and in an uncertain future.

This added focus is coming out all over the place. I baked with yeast. I soaked beans instead of using canned ones. I've been feeling like we have too much stuff. I'm considering cutting our spending significantly next month. I even realized I could mend a torn shirt instead of throwing it away!

What next? A wheat grinder?? Probably.

If anyone is interested, my first newsletter will be on Food Storage. Articles will include "3-months vs. 1 year", "What am I going to do with 400 lbs of wheat??", and "Baby Steps". Email me if you want a copy.

My Husband the Marketer

John hasn't started a serious job search yet. But he's been really actively networking. Getting to know people in his field here in Austin. Self-branding, if you will.

It's paid off. John had 5 interviews last week. FIVE! Like I said, he wasn't even looking. Two of them went really well. Really, really well. More once things are final.

Man he's good at marketing.

The Importance of Hats

Ethan, heading out to ride his scooter in the driveway.

"Dad, I'm going to wear my hat. So I don't hurt my bones."

29th Birthday

Yup. I'm 29 today. Still John's hot young wife for one more year.

Let me tell you the highlights of my day. I woke up early to let John finish preparing for a big interview. (It involved an hour long presentation of a marketing analysis. Really major interview.) Then off to the Laundromat to do the many loads that have piled up while I've been searching our boxes for the socket wrench set. (The washing machine is broken and I think I can fix it if I can just get the agitator off!) When Ethan and I got back, we had a blah lunch and tried for naptime. Ethan wasn't having it today. He kept insisting that TV and jumping on beds were acceptable quiet time activities. Then, just before Edward woke up, I discovered fire ants in the living room! Edward's already been stung while outside with dad, and he likes to try to catch ants (snacks that make you work for them!), so I knew we needed to avoid the living room (and attached kitchen) until at least dinner time. Without a car, there was no where I could go. (Everything really is bigger in Texas. Including the distances between things.) So I called up a neighbor and headed over for a few hours. John finally made it home and we had pizza delivered for dinner. Then he left again (darn callings!) and I put the kids to bed myself. I watched an episode of Torchwood while waiting for John to get back. (Probably the best part of the day. I love that show.) Then we ended the day by pulling out all the furniture from the walls and spraying the whole downstairs for ants.

Not my favorite birthday ever. But maybe not as bad as the stinky donkeys on my 18th.

Lesson #8

Don't store your boxes in a garage where tarantulas might move in. Or even better, don't move to a state with large arachnids.

That's right. We have a tarantula living in our garage. It's at least the size of my hand. I've seen it twice at a distance and I swear it could take on a small dog. People keep telling me that its not dangerous but that doesn't make me feel any better. I won't even park the car in there.

We have to set aside a day to move the boxes and bins out to the driveway and figure out where it's living. Then a young woman in the ward has volunteered to come catch it for us. She has one at home and would like another. Creepy. Anyway, I'll put up a picture when we catch the monster.

Recap 2: Edward Gets Off of His Belly

This was back in June, but we thought the grandparents might like to see it. I have some video of the "crawl" that will be up soon.

Recap 1: Still in Boston

A few pictures from our last month in the Bay State.

Ethan doing one of his favorite things.

John found his old scouting shirt. Anyone else reminded of Tommy Boy?

Ethan feeding Edward. Note the slightly terrified face.

"Yummmm"

"Don't smile... "

Our little ham.

Lesson #7

Carpet ALL the stairs.


Do you see the bottom step? Do you see how it's not carpeted and thus nearly the same color as the tile? When you're not paying attention, it's really easy to think you're at the bottom and then stumble off. With a baby in your arms. Not the safest part of our house.

Lesson #6

Wear shoes while gardening.

We moved into a home where the lawn and landscaping had been ignored for the previous five months. The lawn was practically dead. The shrubs needed some serious pruning. And some nasty weeds had taken a firm hold. Our great friend Mary drove out from Houston our first weekend here to help us get settled in. After unpacking Edward's room and putting him down for a nap, she and I decided to tackle the shrubbery in the front of the house. We trimmed and pruned, reshaped and weeded. Then, just as I warned that I'd cut some stinging nettles, Mary stepped on one. She looked down and saw that her foot was already bleeding from something else. Poor Mary had walked out without her shoes. At least she had missed stepping in the poison ivy!

Lesson #5

Strawberry applesauce is not a good substitute for banana puree.

(This isn't a moving lesson, but it's funny.) A few days after unpacking our kitchen I decided to make us feel more at home with a little banana bread. For some reason I was using the food processor to puree the banana rather than mashing it with a fork. I picked it up and glanced at the bottom to check for chunks...and lost my grip.

After the mess, I wasn't willing to give up, but didn't have much in the house to substitute. I found some of Ethan's strawberry applesauce cups and decided to go for it. In the end, the bread was inedible and my clothes are stained. And we all got a good laugh out of it.

Lesson #4

Be careful what you pack on top of your dryer.

After more than a week of trips to Home Depot to get the right pipe fittings, I was finally able to hook up our gas dryer. Then I turned it on. Each time the drum rotated there was a LOUD thump. I researched online and in the manual. Nothing seemed right, so I decided to just open it up and see if I could tell what the problem was. (Yes. I am the daughter of an engineer.) After removing the top I determined that the seam of the drum was scraping the top of the dryer. The entire top was dented so subtly I hadn't seen it until I knew what I was looking for. I took a rubber mallet to it and now have a fully functional and quiet dryer.

The dent was apparently caused by a box slightly smaller than dryer top. When additional weight was added on top of that, the smaller box left a dent. Don't do this! The repair wasn't hard but was a major pain because of the way the top is attached.

My Favorite Movie

Now, don't laugh. My favorite movie is The Prince of Egypt. Yes, the animated movie. Every time we watch it I am struck by different parts of Moses' early life.

Today I felt his mother's pain as she gave her little baby son to the river and the Lord's hand. Would I be able to have that amount of faith? Even with the alternative?

I was moved by his struggle to decide where he belonged. In pharaoh's house with the man who had ordered his slaughter as a child? Or with an oppressed people he didn't understand?

And today I was particularly moved when Moses was called by the Lord to return and save the Israelites. He clearly felt inadequate, unworthy, and unable to do what the Lord had asked. But he did it anyway. He faithfully obeyed and followed the Lord's instructions. And succeeded! I know that my struggles as a mother pale in comparison to delivering the Israelites from bondage. But the Lord gave me these children to raise. He has given plenty of instruction. All I have to do is faithfully obey Him and follow His instructions and I can succeed.

Jazz Hands

John was reading reviews of some of the local schools and came across a listing of charter schools. He asked if we would ever consider send our kids to one. I said yes, if Ethan or Edward had a particular talent or skill at something and there was a charter school that emphasized it. (Music or science would be areas that wouldn't surprise us.)

John immediately mentioned that maybe we should do more to encourage our little singer. Ethan is constantly singing the songs he knows and making up new ones. I've been thinking about singing more and playing more, and more appropriate, music (Sweeney Todd and some of the Camelot songs are a little much coming out of the mouth of a three year old).

Later that same evening we were sitting at the dinner table talking about the good parts of our day. Ethan burst into made-up song to finish his sentence and ended with jazz hands. I turned to John and said "We need to introduce this boy to show tunes."

Any suggestions? I've never been a huge fan, so I don't know very many. I'd love your help in finding some shows that Ethan would love!

New Blog

No, keeping up with this one is enough for me. I'm posting because one of my favorite people has finally started a blog. I'm not sure how she has the time, but I'm grateful for it.

Kolette Hall and her husband Jason live a hard life. Jason has been a quadriplegic since he was a teenager. Kolette wasn't deterred when they met at the Y and they married. Several years later Jason's specially equipped van malfunctioned, causing the brakes to fail, and he spent more than a year in the hospital followed by many more years of surgeries. Their day to day life is more difficult than I can even imagine, but they somehow manage to be some of the happiest people I have ever met.

I've been privileged enough to see some of how they maintain perspective and choose to be joyful through their struggles. Go here to read their story and here to read Kolette's blog. Her first post is about "Thriving vs. Surviving".

And if you ever have the chance to hear Jason speak, GO! He is hilarious and truly inspiring.

National Cheesecake Day

Did you know that today is National Cheesecake Day? At least at the Cheesecake Factory. It's their 30th anniversary. To celebrate, you can buy slices for $1.50 instead of $6-$8. The catch is that you have to dine in and you can only buy one per customer. So our plan is to go in with some friends (and our kids), share an appetizer, and buy cheesecake all around to take home. Do you think they'll let me count Edward as a customer?

I hope you see this early enough to enjoy it!

Grateful

Today I am grateful for

-Both boys having early bedtimes, so that even when they have a hard time going down, there's still time for me to relax.

-New motivation to be a home-maker. (It still confuses me too. But we're all liking it.)

-John working from home, at least for a while.

-New friends who already feel like old friends.

-The strength to step out of my comfort zone. And to let others into it.

-Not being pregnant again. (Yea. That was scary. Maybe I'll post about it tomorrow. Maybe.)

-The knowledge that John and I are where we're supposed to be in every way. Married to each other, two kids, self-employed, in this town, in this ward, in this particular house, even arriving when we did. We completely felt led here and already know some of the reasons why. (I have to admit that it's a comforting feeling. It took us several years to see just a little of why we were in Boston. Here, it only took a few days. The Lord really does know what he's doing.)

Lesson #3

"Tile floors throughout!" is not a plus.

The Kitchen
The Living Room
The Playroom (from the loft)

They seem like they should be wonderful. They look great. They feel cool in this hot climate. But they have some huge downsides.

Even after I'd cleaned them, our feet were turning black. So I used some trial and error to find a mop that captured the dirt in all the crevices and in the deep grout lines. The mop works really well, but needing to use it nearly everyday is frustrating. Sweeping is nearly useless, although I do it to get the bigger messes. That means I mop or let Edward scoot around on filthy floors. Yuck. Maybe if I get Edward a microfiber outfit...

Then there is the problem of the pain. Yes, both boys have fallen and cried already. They'll learn to be a little more careful. But I'm talking about the pain in our feet, knees, and hips from walking on such a hard surface all day. In the playroom we decided to put down foam pads to help the kids be more comfortable (and to decrease the echoing.)

Ethan's first tower on the new floor
We do have carpet upstairs, so we at least have a soft place for our feet to get a break.