Loving the Baby

I know this is just another day for moms all over the world, but for me the novelty of having a girl child has not worn off. I think this is just about the cutest thing ever:

Dinner Was Late

The last snow that fell was not “fun snow.” It was too powdery to pack into snowballs or snowmen. So although we had lots of it and it hung around for a good long while, the boys never went out and enjoyed it. Today’s snow was definitely of the fun variety. After nearly a month of indoor recess due to frigid temperatures and terrible air quality, all three boys were more than ready to be outside. Daniel didn’t even bother coming inside when he came home from school. He just dumped his backpack in the entryway and headed back out. Nathan got his homework done in record time and then he was out the door as well. And as soon as Matthew realized that the other boys were outside, he ran out as quickly as he could. Then Malia stood at the window and called, “Dadoe! Dadoe!” So we bundled up and went out as well.

Daniel made a snowball as he headed out of the school yard. By the time he got home, it had turned into this:

Malia didn't like sitting in the snow...

...and she really didn't like standing in the snow.

I took a snowball in the bum and when I turned around, this is what I saw:

Journal Jar #2-The Most Surprised I’ve Ever Been

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a particularly athletic person. I can dance and I can play volleyball a little bit, but besides that I’m pretty useless. As such, P.E. was always the class I dreaded. I absolutely hated having to run the mile and a half knowing that I would be the last person to finish. Those classroom weigh ins and such were humiliating. And having to hang from the chin up bar in front of everyone knowing full well that I was never going to get my chin anywhere even remotely close to the bar was sheer torture.

So you can imagine my dismay when I got called down to the counselor’s office just after registration for 9^th grade and was told that due to the number of classes I was taking that were only taught during one period, the only P.E. class available for me was the class reserved for the girls’ basketball team. They had talked to the teacher and explained my situation. She had agreed that I could take P.E. at that time and could adjust to my abilities. To me, it seemed like just about the worst thing that could ever happen. But I wasn’t about to drop orchestra or one of my accelerated classes so I could take P.E. with the normal people. So I ponied up and agreed that it was a workable solution.

P.E. that year was one humiliation on top of another. Not only was I still the last one to finish the 1.5 mile run, but I was out there by myself for at least twenty minutes after the rest of the class went in. Not only could I not make a basket to save my life, but I didn’t even know the rules for basketball. The only unit where I didn’t feel like a complete dork was aerobics. Only then did my ability to be graceful put me just one step above all those Amazons. Now don’t get me wrong. Those girls were nice to me. They never teased me or treated me like crap. But we weren’t exactly friends either. It was a pretty miserable situation. One of the only perks was the fact that Cassidy, one of my best friends since kindergarten who lived just around the block, was in another accelerated gym class for the same reasons I was. She was marginally more athletic than I was, but not much. So at least I had someone to commiserate with.

Flash forward to the end of the year. As usual, I was invited to the end of year awards ceremony. That was not a big surprise for me. Neither were the majority of the awards I received. I think I received an award for orchestra and English that year. I know there were others, but honestly I can only remember for certain one specific award. As they got ready to announce the award for outstanding girl in P.E., I pretty much tuned out. I mean, there was no way I was getting that award. So after they announced my name, I just sat there for a minute. And then I started laughing. Right out loud. And my parents were sitting in the audience laughing. I walked up to receive my award, still laughing, and then they announced the winner of the second outstanding girls’ P.E. award. It was Cassidy. And then there were two sets of parents laughing. I’m sure everyone there thought they were the worst parents ever. But they weren’t. They were just as incredulous as their two academically inclined daughters. After the fact, we were told that we were chosen to receive those awards not because we were the best female athletes in our grade, but because we had tried the hardest to do the best we could in a tough situation. Only then did just a little bit of pride join the overwhelming humor of the event.

So there you have it. Most surprised I’ve ever been. And honestly, one of the funniest moments in my life.

I See You!

Malia has gained quite a few words in the last little bit. Many of them may not be understandable to anyone but us, but others are clear as day. It makes figuring out what she wants a lot easier…as long as we can get her to use her words instead of whining. She will say the sound of “x” and that means either Chex or Kix. She says “Bye, bye” clear as day. She also says mine (a word I could do without), ball, bow, Elmo, and my personal favorite, yeehaw! Dad obviously means Dad and Dad-oe is Daniel. Mom-oe is Matthew and Non-nan is Nathan. I’m even fairly certain that she says thank you. Today she was sitting in the midst of a great pile of her books (a common occurrence) reading. She pulled out one of her favorites, a book that has eye holes in each of the pictures so the book doubles as a variety of masks, and read it for me:

Just in case you can’t understand the Malia-ese, she is saying, “Peek-a-boo!”

You’re a Good Man, Matthew!

On Friday night I took the boys to see a production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” I’ve seen this particular show three times and it is always super fun. If you’ve never seen it and have a chance, you should go. Anyway, last year Matthew went through a phase where he was listening to the “Charlie Brown” soundtrack multiple times every day. So I thought it would be a great thing when he got a copy of the cartoon version for Christmas. Except that he really didn’t care. He didn’t even bother to take it out of the shrink wrap. Until last weekend, that is.

He absolutely loved the play on Friday. Not only was his cousin, Sarah, playing Lucy, but he was sitting in the front row in a small theater situation. He sat cross-legged on his chair, super still, and grinned for two hours. He has watched that cartoon three times in the past two days. I have a feeling this is going to be his newest t.v. jag, which has got me thinking about some of the never ending t.v. and movie loops I’ve endured in the past decade.

Daniel was a Sesame Street kid. We used to time his naps by Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers. Then they changed up the t.v. schedule (this was in the days before Netflix, of course) and we had to come up with something different. He loved Winnie the Pooh for a while. And then there were the Thomas the Tank Engine years. But my favorite of Daniel’s movie obsessions was “Singing in the Rain.” Seriously. He was four years old and he watched it over and over and over. And I was perfectly okay with that.

Nathan watched Thomas for a while, but he was a big fan of Bob the Builder. There was a recording of a live Bob the Builder show (think ice-capades minus the ice) that he watched non-stop for a while. It only made me a little bit crazy, so it definitely could have been worse. And then he went through a “Doodlebops” phase. You would think that would have made me super crazy, but there was something strangely mesmerizing about that show…not to mention the fact that Moe Doodlebop bears a remarkable resemblance to my brother, Seth (except for the fact that Seth is not orange all over).

A couple of years ago Matthew had a very serious Lightning McQueen phase (Cars, Cars 2, Mater’s Tall Tales). He played “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” in a constant loop for a while. I don’t have anything against Donny Osmond, but I really could only handle that particular video in small doses. But I didn’t mind listening to the soundtrack ad nauseam. Go figure. He loved Curious George for a while and more recently had a period of time spent watching “Superhero Squad.” And of course he had a big old “Iron Man” phase. He still watches that one, but not every day anymore. Lately he has been watching Transformers cartoons. I have a feeling that Charlie Brown and Transformers are going to be taking turns for the next little while.  But I’m okay with that. Considering some of the things I’ve endured in the past decade, I’ll take Charlie Brown any day.

It will be interesting to see what kinds of things Malia will be into. I’m kind of hoping she has a “Sleeping Beauty” phase or even a “Beauty and the Beast” one. Those kinds of flicks have been a little bit neglected at my house.

Journal Jar #1-Guilty Pleasures

I feel like my blog has been in a rut lately. It seems that I just don’t have many brilliant things to say. And while the log of my family’s comings and goings is important (especially when I print the blog books-my kids love to look at all the pictures and read about the past year), I think I could also be recording some things about me. So I’ve pulled out the journal jar strips and I’m going to use those as blog topics. So when I have nothing much to report and feel like writing I’ll pull out a topic and start pontificating. But I will admit right off the bat that my first topic was blatantly stolen from my sister, Rachael. She wrote about her guilty pleasures and it made me chuckle…and think about what my own are. So without further ado, let me introduce my own personal guilty pleasures. Enjoy. And feel free to mock me mercilessly if you feel the need.

1.Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I stumbled upon Buffy after I had graduated from college, moved back home to take a job, and as of yet had no social life. I used to watch and grade papers at the same time. The very first time Kev and I “hung out” post high school and before we got engaged, he came to my house because I told him Tuesday was Buffy night. I figured that if he couldn’t support my habit, I didn’t want him anyway.

2. Digital scrapbooking graphics. I have a bunch. I really don’t need any more. But when I see a cute kit sometimes I just can’t help myself. I mean, they are just so cute and color coordinated and high quality (as big as I could possibly need with NO PIXELATION!) and I love to use them to pretty up cards, invites, my blog books, labels, etc.

3. Teen fiction that falls under the category “paranormal”…unless it’s smutty. Twilight may not be profoundly life altering fiction, but it sure is fun. J

4. Sharpies. Any color, any kind of tip, I love them all. There can never, ever be too many Sharpies in the world.

5. Post-it Notes. They call to me from the office supplies aisle with the voice of a siren…

6. A package of cookies hidden in the pantry so I can sneak one or two at a time when I really want a little something sweet and don’t want to share with the kiddies.

7. The two hours between the time when the kids go to bed and when I go to bed. I absolutely love being a mom, but I really covet those two hours when I can focus on just being myself.

8. Ribbon. I’ve always liked pretty things, but ever since Malia was born I just can’t seem to get my hands on enough ribbon. There are so many colors and patterns and widths and so many, many things that can be prettied up by a bow! Not to mention all the cute hair clips I can create. And it goes on sale for $1 a spool at Hobby Lobby pretty regularly so it is a pretty supportable addiction.

9. Long, hot baths and an audio book. I know I should be helping Kev do the dishes and get the kids in bed, not to mention the fact that my tub is so huge that when I fill it up the boys must resign themselves to cold showers, but in spite of those things I love it so much that I really can’t feel guilty.

10. Iceberg Onion Rings. I know they are terrible for me in every possible way, but they are sooooooo good!

Now, 'fess up. I can publicly admit I'm a Buffy fan. What are your guilty pleasures?

Oldies But Goodies

Let me preface this narrative by telling you that my car, with its sixteen onboard computers, does some kind of neat stuff. One of those things is that the radio will give station info as well as song titles, artists, and genres. It can only do it if the info is embedded in the broadcast, but it sure is handy when you just can’t quite bring to mind the name of the band. Having said that, let's move on.

Last night I took the boys to see a play. I didn’t plug in my ipod before we started driving, so when I was displeased with the selection of music on Classical 89, I started flipping through the stations to see what else I could find. I happened to come across a song that I knew, so I quit surfing. Luckily for me, my boys are just young enough that they don’t get ten kinds of embarrassed about the fact that their mother sings along with the car radio. So I was belting it out, “Don’t you forget about me, don’t don’t don’t don’t,” just a little bit pleased to realize that I still know all the words. That was when I happened to notice the song info scrolling past. Don’t You…Simple Minds…Oldies.

Oldies? Seriously?!

Since when are the songs of my youth considered Oldies?! But then I stopped and did the math. I am nearly 40, a fact I lauded just last week, and that would make all the songs I grew up with 20 to 30 years old. But just how old does something have to be in order to be classified as “Oldies”? I’ve always had such eclectic tastes in music and movies that to me everything seems kind of timeless. I grew up listening to Chopin, Beethoven, Frank Sinatra, ABBA, Elton John…I could go on but suffice it to say it is a list that spans centuries. I love classical music and let’s face it, if anything deserves to be called old, it’s classical. But I’m not sure that twenty years should really be classified as old. I mean, can you imagine Beethoven saying, “Dude. Let’s find another opera house. This one is playing ‘Oldies.’ I mean, Mozart was so two decades ago.” Somehow I just can’t imagine that. I think that some things, like people and music, just get better with age…unless they were just stupid to start with (Achey, Breaky Heart—shudder).

So maybe to the younger set, U2 and Bon Jovi are outdated. But you know what? I still like them. And suddenly I’ve got a very serious hankering to put myself together a rockin’ 80’s mix tape playlist. Oops. Just showed my age there. Good thing I’m willing to claim it. :-)

Who Are the Animals in Your Neighborhood?

Yesterday Matthew peered out at the back yard through the window and declared, “There have definitely been either deer or caribou in the back yard.” I snickered because I really have no idea where he learned about caribou. It’s not like when I was five…

…and lived in the Phillippines…

(My brother, Adam, and I at the market in Bagiuo)

…where seeing caribou…

…was actually likely to happen. There just aren’t that many caribou wandering around in Utah. Deer, yes. Elk, you betcha. Even the occasional skunk wanders into the neighborhood. But no caribou. So I’m left wondering where in the world he learned about caribou. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t on the note his teacher sent home to let the parents know the curriculum they would be covering this week.