Sunday. A day of rest?

Baby and I went to church for the first time in 5 weeks on Sunday. (Yay!!!)  Getting ready for church is always a hairy event but with a newborn and tired mom it is nothing short of miraculous. Ironically baby was the first one dressed and ready.  Shortcuts had to be made.  I gave up on trying to fix my hair when the baby was crying.  I may or may not have gone in slept in make up.  (No really, I can't remember if I did my make-up or just touched up the previous day's wear. Sad I know.)  We managed to pull ourselves all together and actually make it a little early.  It was Stake Conference.  You know you're a Mormon when Stake Conference sounds fun and relieving to you.  Two hours of church instead of three.  No lessons to teach.  No meetings before or after church.  It is one of those infrequent "show up and listen" Sundays.  Now if every Sunday were like that I would actually be bored.  I like being involved.  Teaching lessons.  Having my children go to Primary.

As I was saying, we made it a little early in order to get a parking space.  Score.  That was a success.  Then we were all walking in and I noticed a few things.  Mira's dress ribbon had gotten untied in the back and her hair bow was a little wonky.  Calvin's shirt had something, it was either a little disheveled or untucked or had something dirty on the back.  I can't remember.  I do remember thinking, "Huh.  We did the best we could.  We're here.  It isn't perfect but it will have to do.  Oh well.  Big deal."

We then got a seat and over the next two hours proceeded to strategically tap into our arsenal.  Coloring books.  Books.  Drawing.  Holding out on the snacks as long as possible.  Allowing two bathroom/water breaks (so use them wisely!).  Everyone was doing great.  Behaving.  Staying in our section of chairs.  Keeping their voices down.  Baby even slept in her car seat for a while.  I was able to listen to the speakers and was really enjoying myself.

After a while baby got hungry so I took her out to find the mother's room where I could comfortably feed her.  It took a little searching but I found it.  Talked to a really nice mom who was holding her 5 month old, ninth child.  She was so relaxed and happy.  Model mom for sure. After I got baby fed I realized I needed to use the restroom so I brought her back to Sean and took Mira with me.  Then as I was adjusting my skirt and putting my outfit back together I saw IT.  There on the back of my skirt:  A dried up Cheerio stuck there.  Mocking me.  Of course I promptly removed it and didn't bat an eye.  It really didn't surprise me, and THAT my friends is the sad part of this story.  When you go to church with day old make up and a cheerio stuck on your backside and it doesn't even phase you.

I can't think of a title for this post.

Hi.  I'm trying out the blog thing again..Its been a while.  I have a theory about that.  Its called, "Facebook killed the blogging star." (to the tune of "Video killed the radio star!").  Instead of perusing blogs and thinking of clever posts like I did 5-6 years ago, I waste an hour with that *darn* never-ending newsfeed and then wish I had my hour back.  Which is exactly what the creators of FB hoped I would do. Except I don't buy anything or play any games, so maybe I'm not their ideal customer or client or "friend" or whatever they name us guineas, as in guinea pigs.  They must have some code name for us, especially as they are discussing their latest tactic to keep us hooked.  

The fact is, I miss writing.  I think I'm ok-ish at it.  I certainly have written a lot in journals as a teenager and beyond.  My English teachers liked my papers because I had a strong voice in them.  My worst grade on a paper was a Science paper.  Apparently I had too much fluff and not enough facts and that doesn't fly in Science.  Here's the thing:  I never was one for the rules of writing.  I learned just enough MLA technicalities to get me by on citing sources, placing your parenthesis and the likes.  I also have always been a decent speller which I attribute to finger spelling lots of  words (in sign language)..  The fallback rule in our family was and is, if you didn't know the sign, just spell it.  Turns out that there are lots of words that have signs, we just didn't use them in lieu of spelling.  I find this bemusing.  But I break a lot of rules.  I write sentence fragments.  I start sentences with 'And' and 'But.' (but I just put my period in the right place, right?!)  I change tenses as my eighth grade teacher pointed out.  I also will switch from 'I' to 'they' and do all sorts of distracting grammatical errors.  My writing reflects my speaking and I lately I don't think I'm so hot at that either.  The problem is twofold:  1.  I haven't been in school fulltime for 10 years and am a bit rusty on formal writing and B. My academic brain has been sucked out by birthing and raising babies and been replaced with knowledge such as where the pacifiers are strewn about the house, how many nighttime diapers are left in the drawer and picking up the permanent marker off the couch before the 2 year old spots it.  (That 1./B. thing was on purpose to see if you were paying attention.)

So what do I do about this?  One theory would be to practice.  The more I write the less rusty I'll become.  Like riding a bicycle.  Haven't done that one for a while either.  Another would be to go back to school.  Enroll in a college course that I'll actually be graded on.  But seeing that we have a 4 week old newborn and three other kids (see I used the numerical symbol the first time and the spelled the number the second time!), I don't think that is going to happen anytime soon.  I've read some other friends' blogs, and it is inspiring to read their full, uninterrupted thoughts.  It makes me a little embarrassed to write and subsequently post this.  But I think honesty is important.  Even if its just to myself.  I want to find my voice again.  And maybe, just maybe, as time goes by, any given English teacher will cringe less at my errors.  And my true friends won't judge me too much.   

Candid photos

 These are our last two attempts at a family photo.  One in St. George and the other on our front porch before church (I've thought about doing it after church but everyone is so tired and disheveled and the clothes are off before you can say "snap-dragon").

I think they are OK.  Its real.  Like my son who loves to do silly faces or put his hands by his face for pictures.  Like we're wearing whatever we were wearing that day.  But they are a far cry from the dew drops in the field, purposely mis-matched but somehow all pulled together professionally photographed and edited picture.  I like those pictures.  I like how you can blow them up super huge and everyone still looks good.  These are not one of those.

Our family has been through a lot these past 6 months.  Heck, this past 1 1/2 years.  We moved to a new state.  Started a new job.  Rented a few houses.  Bought our first home.  Survived Sean being in the hospital for a month and home for another month with GI surgery and recovery.  And more.  But we are intact.  We are together.  We are healthy.  We have each other.  Our children laugh and play a lot.  We try to keep our yelling little.  To quote someone else, we are not perfect, but we are perfect for eachother.  I'm good with that.

Flatline.

I'm not sure if my blog is dead.  I pull it up on my computer screen once or twice a week to check.  I poke it to see if it will move.  Occasionally I'll link to another person's blog--- "oooh!  their's is ALIVE!"  Its been dying for a year and before that it was limply hanging on.  I blame it on Facebook.  All these little snippets of life took over long, thought-out blog posts.  It reminds me of that song, "video killed the radio star."

I've thought about posting.  A lot.  But usually out of a sense of duty.  I should post about this.  Or that.  Lets face it, our shoulds don't usually get done.  And if they do, its begrudgingly.  Sometimes I actually want to post, but then its late at night and I go to bed instead.  Not tonight.  Tonight I am sacrificing a little sleep to post to the world.

I am still here.  I may have been in a self induced coma in the cyber-world but I still exist!  I still have good days and bad days.  My kids still do cute things and not so cute things.

I can't make any promises.  That would be too should-y.  But.  If you read this post.  Just know.  There might be more to come (so non committal eh?)

Where-Am-I-Mart

The funny thing about chain stores is, you could be anywhere in the world and practically not know it.  Because once you step into WalMart or Target or the likes, they all look the same.  Its kind of eery.  Even Winco.  For the most part I know where everything is because they have the same set up as the one I shopped at in Oregon.

Anyhoo I think I've sworn off Wal-mart for quite a while now.  I went in tonight because I needed q-tips and dish soap along with my food items.  I thought it would be better to go to Wal-Mart instead of Winco.  Not so people.  NOT SO.

First (and please tell me if this is happening in Wal-Marts around you too), I walk in and there is a tv screen on the ceiling telling me about fresh and guaranteed broccoli.  Okay....weird.  Then as I keep going there are intermittent tv screens on end cap displays.  One telling me my family will love me if I make them a Manwich.  What?!  I've never even eaten one before- I barely know what it is- but I found myself almost thinking about buying one!  There were more but I tried to ignore them.  Couple that noise with a few screaming kids and the hustle and bustle of Saturday night shopping and you make one crazy night.  I came home in a bad mood, had to eat some treats and watch an episode of The Middle (and laughed my head off) on hulu just to relieve my stress.  Phew!  Should've gone to Winco.  Next time people.  NEXT TIME.

Our Darling Ez

Look at this kid.  Doesn't he just make you smile?  There is nothing that we don't adore about this little guy.  His smile, his eyes.  The cute way he says "da-da"  I thought I'd post about a few current Ez-isms.

• He can shriek VERY loudly!  One of his favorites is to crawl up to someone who is on the floor, shriek at them and grab their hair.  We call it his screaming falcon.  He especially loves to do it to Calvin.  Cal thinks its hilarious.
• He is a good crawler, can pivot around, pull to standing, etc.  One fun thing is to give him a plastic bottle on the kitchen floor.  He will throw and chase that thing all around the room.
• The other two kids are in love with him.  They never grow tired of him.  Mira still loves to hold him.  Calvin is an awesome big brother, always helping.  Sometimes during quiet time he will ask to play with Ezzie while I nap.
• He is a happy kid. Very friendly and smiley.
• Lately he has started pulling his hats off.  Him and I were going back and forth the other day.  I'd put the hat on, he'd pull it off.
• He really likes food.  In fact he also likes non-food and is always putting stuff in his mouth.  We really have to watch him.  But as far as food goes, he is not picky.  He'll eat almost anything we give him.  Which is why we were so perplexed when the doctor said he is 1% range for his weight.  Weird.  
• He likes watching ceiling fans.  Has started pointing to things (super cute).  Pointed at a dog the other day but when we got close, he got scared!  Never seen him be scared before- it was sad and cute.

We are in love with our little Ezra!  He is growing so fast.

Introducing....The Glazier Scrubbers!

Hello.  Is your house dirty?  A bit dingy?  Dull?  Well do I have the solution for you!  Not one but TWO bright and capable scrubbers for hire.  Here is what the scrubbers have to say about their work, Mira scrubber says:  "Your house will be so clean and all your friends will say, "Wow how did your house get so clean and you'll say, Oh it was my best workers in the whole world." Calvin scrubber says, "Your house is dirty? We scrub and scrub, BAM!  Its all clean."

The Scrubbers- in uniform 

They will wash your dishes, mop your floor, fold your laundry.  They will even scrub your toilet.  Mind you, they don't always do this at MY house, but I can guarantee they will at YOURS.  Just be forewarned that if they do dishes, they must do them sans shirts (so their clothes stay dry you know).

Well there you have it!

Biking Mira!

Temple Square!

Now that we live so close to SLC, we have a chance to visit every so often.  Recently we were able to go to a regional conference at the Conference Center with Apostles Jeffrey R. Holland and Dieter H. Uchtdorf.  Very cool.  Here are the pics we took after.

The Mountain Life

 

Real life, titled:  Food Sculpture with Pandi

 Hey everyone! {Wave} Remember me?  The girl who hasn't posted in 8 months?  I've thought about it, believe me.  Then I justify it by saying, "I'm spending more time with my kids."  But truthfully its been bugging me.  So---- here goes.

My first 'ribbon salad' (out of jello). 

We've been in Utah for exactly 6 months now.  Its been as smooth a transition as you could hope for after living in Oregon for (sniff) 10 years.  I remember one of our first days here, the kids and I were at home, Sean at work, and I was attempting to not let them watch tv all day.  Calvin was bored so I told him to pick his one show for the day.  He wanted "Wild Kratts" which was on at 3:30 pm.  It was currently 10:30 am and we both just stared at the clock---- he subsequently asked frequently if it was on yet--- the 5 hours passed VERY slowly that day.  I asked myself why I tortured us so. (There were other days where the tv was on a lot more to survive).

At the suggestion of our good friend Brooke, we bought a membership to the Treehouse Children's museum within our first week here.  I love, love, love that place.  We're going to a Fairy Tale Ball there in a few weeks.  They do everything so wonderfully that I'm almost brought to tears with how perfect it is.  We went to a magic show on New Year's Eve and did a countdown to noon.  They gave each kid a party blower and m&m's so the kids could eat them on the chime and make a wish.  I learn something new every time we go because they have books everywhere about different things.  My kids have gotten to be in little plays there...  Its the kind of place that seems very understated.  Every time we go, I wonder if we should even bother because we've seen everything already, but then we get there and we explore a new area, or an old area in a different way, or they have some new thing going on.  I apologize for rambling on this, but I really wish every city had something like this--- it has been an amazing part of our lives.

We've started something called Bountiful Baskets here where you can get tons of different fruits and veggies for $15/week.  Such a great deal!!!  Replaces my CSA void that I did in Oregon.

Cal's been going to preschool 3 mornings a week.  We carpool with 2 other kids from church.  Its been a fun routine for him to have his own time.  Usually Mira and I get one-on-one time to read books or go to the pet store (her favorite place).  He is a really good helper and loves to hold Ezra and do things to make him laugh.  One of his and Mira's favorite games that has continued from our Oregon days is play "Bolt & Penny" (from the movie Bolt).  They can fight like siblings but they also can play like friends.

Sean really likes his job and got to go snowboarding a lot over the winter.  He got funny looks when he kept wearing his Nikes to work his first month because they all wear Salomon shoes there.  I've enclosed a picture of one of his so you can get the idea.  We're becoming Salomon junkies now- they have products that we'd never heard of before and now we are hooked on all their cool stuff, especially the shoes.  He never thought he'd be a blue shoe wearer but they are soooo comfy.

Lest you think our life is perfect- I'm posting some real pics (I'm not a professional photographer by any means- and yes her hair IS that crazy sometimes).  Mira likes to dress up and change outfits at least 5 times a day.  Recently she found a box of 18 mo boy clothes for Ezzie.  Her outfit below is one of them.

Calvin feeding Ez

Ezra is getting so big.  We call him our choo-choo baby.  He crawls, he pulls himself to standing, he rolls, he sits (but only for a moment and then he crawls).  He started being hungry for food at 5 months, so fed him we did.  This kid can eat!  Judging from his long fingers and his appetite, we're thinking he'll be the moose of the family (crossing our fingers for pro-basketball).  He is a smiley, happy baby and brings us all much joy.

 My favorite decoration of the year is my Easter egg tree.  My collection started when I bought painted eggs in Germany.  The kids and I painted our own eggs this year to add to the set.

And how is Utah?  People here are really nice.  After calling a woman about renting a house- she told me she'd ask her friends if they had anything available when hers wouldn't work. How nice is that?!  Our ward has been really sweet and down-to-earth.  Our primary consists of about 20 kids total.  Mira is one of 3 Sunbeams.  They only do one combined Sharing Time so we always have the Sunday School hour to prep stuff.  Our ward is about 2 blocks wide and 14 blocks long.  Much, much smaller than when we were in Oregon.

I try to ignore all the plastic surgery billboards, commercials and radio ads. "I did it for me" is what they all say.

My two favorite restaurants have been Kirt's Diner in North Ogden and Costa Vida (kind of like Mucho Gusto to my Eugene friends).

Before moving to Utah, I always thought of cities as Ogden, Logan, Salt Lake and Provo and then other scattered cities.  Turns out that (at least for Ogden) there are many conjoining towns that run into eachother. It took me a month to realize that the Wal-Mart I go to down the road is in Harrisville, and two blocks north of us is North Ogden (a separate town), or when I drive down Antelope road to my cousin's house, I pass through 3 towns before reaching her house in Syracuse (a town I'd never heard of before moving here).  One lady joked this morning that everyone wanted to be mayor so they made enough cities for all the politicians.

We put an offer on a beautiful home in North Ogden and didn't get it.  Sigh.  Guess it wasn't meant to be and we'll keep looking for our perfect home to buy.

Real story, After getting home from church today I noticed pen on the toilet lid.

Me:  Who drew pen on the toilet?

Calvin:  Not me!  Wait, let me check (comes up to see...), no not me, I remember!

Mira:  Not me!  Ok, let me see (looks at it then says...)  Maybe a bear did it.

Me:  We don't have any bears here.

Mira:  Maybe it stuck (snuck) in.

....then later after admitting she did it, Sean said, "a Mira bear did it!"


Well, that's it.  I hope I haven't bored you with my extremely long post.  Signing off---- A