Let Me Eat (Cheese)Cake

Today is my birthday. I am 39 years old. Just 365 days away from the ever dreaded 40. But you know what? I’m okay with that. I know people who can’t claim their age and just say they are 29 until they are dead, but I’m okay with getting older. I wear every year like a badge of accomplishment. My body definitely has more aches and pains than it used to, but I think I’m a much more interesting, and hopefully better, person than I was 10 or 20 years ago and I wouldn’t want to go back just to have fewer knee problems and the ability to do crunches.

Twenty years ago not only was Kevin just some dude I met in high school, but I was dating a boy who turned out to be less than a stellar example of a human being. In fact, he inspired the very first entry on my grown up list of requirements in a future spouse (as opposed to the teenage version that had hair color, height and such things included): my future spouse needed to treat me like a human being. At that point I was still so shy that 95% of the smart aleck comments rolling around in my head stayed in my head thereby depriving everyone else of my wit and humor. (Don’t bother telling me I’m not witty and funny…it’s my birthday. Humor me. ;-D) I was not sure what I wanted to do with my life and my spiritual understanding was still pretty rudimentary. I had a testimony and all that and knew the basics of the gospel, but I had no idea of just how much the Lord was guiding my life or how often He was going to pick me up and help me get through all the hard times that were to come. I was still pretty self-centered, although going from being a big old fish in high school to a teeny tiny guppy at BYU had helped that some. And most of the people and experiences that helped shape me into a better person while I was in college were still to come.

Ten years ago I was married with one child and another on the way. That in itself had pretty much cured me of my “I’m the center of the universe” complex. But Matthew was still five years away and let’s face it. He is freakin’ hilarious and my whole family laughs more with him around. In addition, my culinary abilities took a very serious leap when I had to dump my cookbook and start over…minus the milk, eggs, and nuts. And considering how much I like to eat, I can’t see that as a bad thing although it was pretty tough at first. And I was still nearly ten years away from tiny hair bows and baby dolls, although at the time I had no idea it would be so long. Kevin had just gone back to school so I never saw him. And we had all of our stuff crammed into a tiny apartment. I had not started quilting yet so I had no idea how much I was going to enjoy that. And I had never been the primary chorister, a calling I that I had no idea just how much I was going to love. I was still not terribly likely to share my wit with a lot of people, but that was mostly because I didn’t really have any friends in the ward I was in and had yet to meet many of the ladies that would inspire me to really let loose and be myself. (Murray ladies, I’m talking to you…although some of you are no longer Murray ladies…but you know who you are!)

So from where I’m sitting, 39 is looking pretty good. I’ve added some pretty amazing ladies to my list of friends that inspire me to be myself and don’t look at me with shock and dismay when I make jokes about my lack of 19-year-old figure or call my offspring “idiot children.” I have a fabulous hubby who totally gets me. He came home today with Disney princess party plates, Magnum white chocolate ice cream bars, a package of dry erase markers, and flowers. I have four great kids who amuse me more often than they aggravate me and who make my life a lot richer and a lot less boring. I’ve quit doing crafts just because they’re trendy and do those that make me happy. And since I’m currently the choir director for the third time, I’ve pretty much got it figured out and am actually enjoying it instead of feeling stressed. I know who I am and in spite of my flaws, I’m okay with it. Doesn’t mean I don’t try to better myself, but I’m less likely to beat myself up when I’m less than perfect…which is every day. So lift a fork and eat some cheesecake in my honor. I’m 39 and I’m proud of it.

Time Marches On

Another year has come and gone and once again I feel that time is passing too quickly. I get nostalgic when I realize just how fast my kids are growing. I wish I could slow things down so I can savor their childhoods for just a little bit longer. And yet I look forward to those things that are still to come. So forward facing, we march into next year…

Happy Holidays!

We had a really nice Christmas this year. In spite of the family party I missed due to Migraine (and yes, it deserves to be capitalized) which the boys were still able to attend (thanks to Uncle Cory for coming to pick them up) we had time with all of our family. On Christmas Eve we ate dinner with all my sibs and their families at my parents’ house. We also had our annual reading of the Christmas story from the bible. Once we got home, the boys watched Santa’s progress on NORAD’s Santa Tracker as they got ready for bed. Each year we give the kids one spiritual gift-something we hope will help them in their spiritual development in the following year-and we open those on Christmas Eve so they won’t get overlooked and lost in the hubbub of Christmas morning. This year Matthew got some scripture stickers and I made Daniel and Nathan some study aids that they could slip into their scriptures. After that we left out cookies for Santa, carrots for the reindeer, and doughnuts for the elves. Nathan and Matthew made the doughnuts earlier in the day. Nathan made two or three and then he was done but Matthew really loved it and made tons. Jingle Jangle (our elf) is probably going to need to go to the gym a couple of times to work off all those doughnuts!

Christmas morning was actually pretty relaxing. When Kev and I got up at about 7 a.m., all the boys were still sleeping. I actually contemplated leaving them and going back to bed, but we decided they would probably be grumpy if we didn’t wake them up. Daniel got a Lego set (no surprise there), a glow in the dark Star Trek model, a Protector model (think “Galaxy Quest”) that Kev is going to help him light, a couple of origami books (Star Trek and Star Wars-there was fist pumping and a great big “Yes!” for those. I love when I can get that reaction!) and some other small sundries in his stocking. Nathan and Matthew gave him an Optimus Prime Transformer.

Nathan was just about the happiest kid ever because Santa brought him an electric keyboard. He has been learning to play the piano and has discovered that it helps him to feel happy when he is grumpy (which I love J) but due to all my stupid headaches there are days when the piano is too much noise in the house. So having an electric keyboard that he can play in another room (and even with headphones if we can find some that work well with it) is just about as perfect a gift as he could get. In fact, it has been at the top of his wish list for months. He was so excited when he unwrapped it that I actually got a little teary-eyed. . I don’t have as many pictures of Nathan as I do of the other kids, but that is because he spent almost the entire day playing his keyboard. Nathan also got a book about how to draw and a nice sketch pad. Daniel and Matthew gave him a Transformer.

Matthew got some pretty cool Avengers masks, an Avengers Lego set that included the Ironman mini-figure and a couple of small Transformers…the exact ones that he had asked Santa for in his note. He was pretty excited about that! He also got a set of Avengers sheets (yes, they were on his bed by the end of Christmas day), some Avengers books and an assortment of small stuff in his stocking…much of it was Avengers themed. Santa must know that he has spent the past four months in his Ironman costume.

Malia wasn’t sure about the whole unwrapping presents thing at first (we’ve been telling her all month not to play with the presents under the tree) but by the end of the day she had it all figured out. She got a Little People House, a baby doll (I found one that can suck her thumb, just like Malia), her very own play phone and a couple of books. Santa stuck a pair of sunglasses in Malia’s stocking and it was so funny to see how much she liked them. She also got a quilt. It was such fun making a totally girly quilt! I’ve made lots of cool boy quilts, but they aren’t really fond of flowers so it was great to be able to branch out. She doesn’t like to be under the quilt, but if I lay it on the floor she will toddle right over and sit on it.

Nathan and Matthew have actually played with the Little People and the baby doll nearly as much as Malia has. It kind of makes me laugh, but with three boys in the house how was I to know that they had an innate need to play the nurturer that I was not meeting? Anyway, I love it. I love that they are men enough to play with dolls and that Malia is a tough enough chick to make awesome car noises.

I gave Kev a wireless keyboard to go with the poorman’s Tivo that he has built for us. He gave me the food processing attachment that goes with my Bosch as well as the cookie paddles and the bowl scraper. He spoils me. J In the afternoon Kev’s parents joined up for some quality hanging out time and dinner.

Yesterday we got to drive down to Cory’s house (Kev’s brother) and spend time with all his sibs there. They have a couple of acres in Mapleton and the boys loved sledding, tromping through the snow, and visiting the horses and chickens in the barn. This morning I walked into the laundry room where Matthew left his soaking wet pants (he took his snow pants but was too darn lazy to get them on) and it took me a couple of hours to figure out why the entire room was stinkeriffic…obviously rolling around in the less than pristine hay in the barn will do that. If I had realized that was what he was doing, I would have washed the pants when we got home last night. As it was, it took two washes in hot water and Oxyclean to kill the aroma. But he had fun so I really think that is what matters. And Malia was thrilled with the huge number of baby dolls, stuffed animals, and tiny kitchen toys she found there. (Cory has three daughters.) She was especially entranced with the toy food. The plastic Oreo looked real enough that she tried to twist it open (she’s one of those people that eats the filling first) and when she couldn’t she tried to bite it.

So good holiday. Lots of time with family. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

At Long Last

Remember way back at the beginning of October when I said I had finished a project and was super excited? Well, Christmas has come and gone, the gift has been given, and I can finally show it to you!

Sometimes when I finish a quilt, I am disappointed with how it turned out. Sometimes I get it done and know that if I were to do it again there is one thing I would do different. And sometimes it turns out just exactly the way I hope it will. This was one of those times. The pattern and the colors worked beautifully together and I am thrilled with how it looks.

I made this for my brother Adam and his wife Ronnie. I hope they will enjoy it.

All Dolled Up for Christmas

It's a good thing I got Malia's dress done earlier in the week. If I had waited until yesterday it would not have gotten done due to the biggest freaking migraine I've had in years. So luckily for me, my OCD worked in my favor and her dress was all ready in spite of the fact that I was only just barely functional this morning...Kev took a bar stool to church so I could lead the choir without falling down halfway through. So although I was not at my best, Malia was dressed to the nines!

Neighborhood Santa

My boys have always really enjoyed delivering our neighbor gifts. It doesn't matter where we live or what we give, they just love doing it. And they are old enough that I can send them out the door with a list and a bag of gifts and they can deliver them on their own. Which works great for me.

This year Matthew really wanted to be Santa for delivering neighbor gifts so I took two minutes to make him a quilt batting/elastic beard to go with his hat. Daniel went festive with his elf hat. It doesn't even matter that 75% of the people they tried to visit were not home. It was still fun to see them head out the door all decked out to spread some holiday cheer!

At Age Five, a Week is a Long Time

First thing this morning, Matthew sidled up to me all bleary eyed and half asleep, hugged my leg and said, "Six days 'til Christmas."

Apparently he's just a little bit excited. If only that excitement would translate into a desire to lessen the bickering with his brothers...

We’ve Acquired a Biped

Two days ago Malia decided she was ready to walk. She is a stubborn little thing and true to form, no amount of coaxing could get her to walk until she decided she was good and ready. That has been her routine with all things. We’ve just kind of had to sit back and wait for her to decide she wanted to do it. But now that she has decided that there are pros to walking (she can roam around and hold onto stuff or even suck her thumb at the same time that she is getting where she wants to be) she is off…

This evening she celebrated her new skill by toddling over to the table as we were getting ready for dinner, reaching up and pulling down a place mat. Unfortunately for us, there was a full glass on the place mat. The glass shattered on the floor, Crystal Light splashed everywhere, and Malia looked completely unconcerned. Sigh. Remind me that not only did I survive Matthew’s toddler years (He was a huge freakin’ turkey!) but now I look back and laugh. He certainly was a creative genius when it came to being naughty. So watch out world…excuse me, watch out ME…here she comes!